The Dutian Lingguan Road that started from the Taoist soldiers

Chapter 24: All parties are calculating
Until late at night.

The two sorcerers returned to the villa one after another. As soon as they returned home, someone was already waiting at the gatehouse and led them to the back hall.

At this time, Wu Yong was still practicing the Soul-Binding Talisman. The cinnabar and spirit blood had been replaced twice, and the waste and inferior talismans next to him had piled up very high.

Although Wu Yong no longer practiced Qi Xian Dao, he once planted a Fusang tree in the Qi sea of ​​his Dantian.

Fusang tree, the sacred tree of Yandao, is a branchless tree. It has a trunk but no branches. Its leaves are winding and twisted. It reaches up to the nine heavens and connects to the three springs below.

This is the world tree often mentioned in storybooks!

This was because after Wu Yong's grandmother learned that he was lacking in spiritual roots, she swallowed her pride and returned to her mother's clan in Daoting Yujing. She begged for several years and finally, by chance, obtained a branch of Fusang wood and planted an acquired spiritual root in Wu Yong's Dantian Qi sea.

I would swallow my pride and travel far and wide just for this grandson, so that at least he could embark on the path of cultivation!
After Wu Yong planted the Fusang wood in his Dantian, he turned to practicing Taoism and military tactics. Compared to ordinary strongmen, he had an extra Dantian.

Therefore, he was not short of spiritual power. He drew nearly a hundred talismans in half a day without any signs of insufficient spiritual power!

Fortunately, I finally got two talismans.

Hearing the noise outside the courtyard, Wu Yong knew that the two men had returned, so he carefully used a piece of wood to press the soul-binding talisman onto the table.

Later, he went to the table, warmed up a pot of hot tea, and looked up at the two returning warlocks.

"Thank you for your hard work, two stewards. Have you had your meal yet?"

"Danyang is located in Zhujiang River, connected to Penglai Sea. I have sent people to get fresh spiritual materials to prepare two river-scented dishes."

"Someone, tell the kitchen to deliver it now!"

As he spoke, Wu Yong asked the two to sit down and poured each of them a cup of spiritual tea.

The two were neither well-known strongmen in Dongzhou nor direct descendants of the Wu family. Although they were not treated poorly when they went to Danyang to pay their respects to the two families, they were not treated badly.

But if he was just an ordinary sorcerer, it would not be worthy of the two families in Danyang to hold a welcoming banquet for him.
At this point, you are most likely on an empty stomach!

Wu Yong waited until late at night and poured tea for the two of them, which moved them greatly.

When the kitchen staff and the doorman brought two food boxes, as soon as they were opened, the aroma immediately hit us.

The meal is made from river fish and spiritual vegetables. The spiritual rice and fresh shrimp and fish are all tender and milky white. The soup becomes more fragrant after being boiled for a long time, and it is garnished with slices of spiritual vegetables. It is simple but not monotonous!
It can be seen that the kitchen also put a lot of effort into it.

Seeing that the two men were not drunk, Wu Yong helped them open their food boxes, served them soup and asked them to fill their stomachs.

"Why haven't you rested yet, Master?"

"You've troubled me to prepare a meal for us. It really makes us feel ashamed."

One of them was a sorcerer steward who was born in a family, Wu Changgui, chewing the spiritual food gently and looking at Wu Yong!
The two of them were humiliated by the two families in Danyang for the whole night, but fortunately Wu Yong treated them well and was attentive and considerate, which warmed their hearts.

"How can I sleep well until you two return safely while I'm going to pay my respects to the mountain?"

"It's getting late now. I guess you two haven't had your meal yet. Let the kitchen prepare it."

As he spoke, Wu Yong refilled the tea for the group.

After eating a few mouthfuls of the spiritual food, Wu Changgui could no longer hold back and began to resent Zi Ling Zhao.

"Master, you don't know, Zhao is so domineering, she left me alone for the whole night."

"It was late at night before I saw their eldest son. If the master hadn't given me a heavy hand salute, I would have been kicked out by that bastard."

When Wu Changgui mentioned this, his face fell, and even the fresh shrimp and fish fillets in his mouth lost their flavor.

But after a few verbal complaints, he got down to business.

"The Zhao family of Danyang is the undisputed local boss in Danyang. They circumvented the county government, bypassed the river patrol officers arranged by the Dao Court, and monopolized the checkpoints upstream and downstream of Zhujiang River. All ships coming in and out have to pay a customs duty."

"Even in the Danjiang Market, 80% of the goods in it were already skinned by the Zhao family before they entered or left Danyang!"

"He was very proud, but before he left, the eldest son of the Zhao family still took a letter and asked me to pass it to the master."

With a light tap on the mustard seed bracelet, Wu Changgui handed the secret letter to Wu Yong.

Secret message?

Wu Yong did not shy away from it and immediately opened the envelope to read it.

Danyang County is different from Dong County and Shouchun County. Danyang faces the sea in the southeast and is surrounded by rivers in the north. Agriculture and fisheries are its main industries, but river transportation accounts for a larger share!
Zhujiang River is one of the few large rivers in Dongzhou that flows directly into Penglai Sea. It connects to Jiuzhou in the west and Penglai Sea in the east, and the resources it handles are incalculable.

As the de facto local tyrant in Danyang, the Zhao family naturally could not tolerate the guys from the sea coming to Danyang to plunder!
Without the safety guarantee of the air routes, will they still do business? If no one does business, who will they collect tariffs from?
If someone dares to break into Danjiang Market today, someone will dare to rob merchant ships on the river tomorrow. Naturally, we cannot let them set this precedent.

No matter who is behind the water unicorn, they have crossed the line!

However, the He family is a nail that the Wu family of Dongjun has stuck in Danyang. Even though the Wu family is now in decline, and even though the He family has always been submissive to the Zhao family,
It's impossible to help the He family when the Zhao family has no profit, right?
So, according to what Zhao said, since someone from your Wu family has come, I will give you all the information about the other party’s stronghold, and you can deal with it yourself!
You can show off your power as a local boss without having to do anything yourself.
Wu Yong read the letter over and over twice, then handed it to the two of them.

"Let's see!"

Although I don’t know how much truth there is in Zhao’s words in the letter, the map information should be reliable.

It was covered with several strongholds under the command of the Water Unicorn - Lu Yuan. From Zhujiang to Penglai Sea, everything that was done openly and secretly was seen by the Zhao family, and even the number of troops was clearly marked.

"The attitude of the county government is quite good. The county governor personally met with me, and the specific content is roughly consistent with Zhao's letter!"

Another sorcerer took Ziling Zhao's letter, read it carefully, and then spoke.

"The governor of Danyang County is not from an aristocratic family. Instead, he was succeeded by a casual cultivator more than 30 years ago. He has barely been able to gain a foothold in Danyang in the past 30 years."

"In the beginning, Danjiang Market was initiated by the county government and was taken over by my Wu family and established one by one."

One is a figurehead county governor with an unstable foothold, and the other is a gradually declining old family from another county. The cooperation between the two can be said to be a win-win for all.

The establishment of Danjiang Market. The Wu family of Dongjun, the prominent families of Danyang, and various traveling merchants bought land and built streets, which not only brought the county government its first pot of gold, but also brought in a good income of nearly 40% of the annual transaction tax.

"So, this major case doesn't seem to have anything to do with the two families?"

Wu Yong picked up the teacup, took a sip, and shook his head.

"The county government is in charge of the military preparations of the county. The Zhao family dominates the lower reaches of Zhujiang River. Even the river patrol officer of the Dao Court has been sidelined. How could they not know about the troop movements of the river bandits?"

Wu Yong didn't believe that the two of them were completely unaware of the situation.

Perhaps, the pirate had to pay homage to the two before taking action.

"I think the Zhao family's distribution map of pirate sentry points is not well-intentioned. The letter is also intended to provoke us intentionally or unintentionally!!"

"If we really take down the strongholds one by one, I'm afraid we will have to remain in a stalemate with the pirates. Then we will be stuck in a dilemma on the sea."

The warlock steward put down the letter, served himself another bowl of soup, and did not seem to care much about the letter.

It seems that Zhao is dissatisfied with the pirates in his words, but in fact he is instigating their downfall.

What an ulterior motive!

"Well, today I met the captain of the East China Sea Fleet arranged by General Manager Lie. I asked him to be a middleman among the powerful people on the sea and send a visiting card to the Water Qilin!"

"It is meaningless to clear out the strongholds under the command of the Water Qilin. We should decapitate them with one strike! Only then can we have a deterrent effect."

"He is respectful at first but arrogant later. He will visit me with a respectful and gentle attitude, and then kill me with the force of thunder!"

"When I pay my respects to the mountain, I want to ask the two battalions of soldiers to slaughter the island for three days without leaving anyone alive!" "What do you think?"

As Wu Yong spoke, a hint of cruelty was revealed in his warm smile!
But as a middle-class family, they were respectful at first but arrogant later, involving everyone, and offering a heavy gift and a visiting card to the pirates, which was not a good thing.
"The master is wise!"

"That's how it should be!"

The foreign sorcerer immediately put down the spoon in his hand, stood up, took a step back, and bowed lightly to Wu Yong.

Wu Changgui also realized it later and immediately stood up and bowed.

As a retainer, no one doesn't like to see his master being domineering. Of course, besides being domineering, he also plans and plots repeatedly, and can consult with his subordinates.

For example, Wu Yong waited for the two men to return late at night without turning off the lights, and personally prepared spiritual food to reward them. He had his own calculations in mind, and he could clearly distinguish the malicious intentions of each party.
After working for Wu all day, they returned late at night. The host was still waiting for them in the back hall, offering them a cup of tea and preparing a hot meal. How could one not feel a sense of belonging?

In this way, you are already a very good host!
"No need to act like that. Come, hurry up and eat. You've been running around day and night and are really tired. You two should go to bed early tonight."

After some discussion, Wu Yong waited for the two to finish their meal and pushed them to go to rest as soon as possible.

After a day, I am very tired.

Fortunately, the situation in Danyang has been preliminarily clarified. It is better to go to bed early and visit the He Mansion tomorrow!
Danyang is located on the river and surrounded by the sea on two sides.

The rushing river is always accompanied by wind and fog, especially in the early morning in Danyang, which is a little cooler than in Dongjun!
Wu Yong got up early, washed up, and went to the backyard to do morning lessons. The Taoist military method is not a pure body training method, but more similar to the Taoist martial arts immortal, with both dynamic and static exercises.

Jing Qigong uses spiritual energy to move the body around, open the meridians and orifices, and refine the essence.

The dynamic exercises vary according to individual strengths. For example, every morning when Wu Yong's purple air rises, he takes a breath of the morning glow and combines it with the energy of the yellow sky to practice the flowing cloud sleeve dance.

The Flowing Cloud Sleeve Technique is a type of hand skill. The spiritual power is gathered in the palms and sleeves, and it is released and received by the heart. When being soft, one can use the opponent's force to counter attack, thus making the attack invisible.

When it was just cast, it could split mountains and shatter rocks with a wave of its half sleeve, and it could catch magical weapons in the palm of its hand without getting hurt.

Soft yet strong, combining both hardness and softness, a very practical physical technique!
Wu Yong moved left and right in the courtyard, flicked his left sleeve, and chopped with his right palm. The unparalleled force shattered a rockery in mid-air.

This sleeve technique alone is comparable to a second-level spell.

"Master, breakfast is ready. Do you want it delivered now?"

A figure stopped at the entrance of the yard and asked.

"Have your meal first, I'll bring it to you after I've showered and changed my clothes."

Wu Yong restrained his strength, and the collar of his wide robe opened slightly, revealing his angular chest. The breeze blew, and he felt unusually refreshed.

After he bathed and changed his clothes, he changed into a half-armor robe, a light scale armor, half a green robe, and tied his hair like a wolf's tail. The unrestrained freedom of the immortal was added with a bit of heroic spirit.

Wu Xuan and the two sorcerers were waiting in the back hall early to have dinner with him.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. What message did that kid bring? I asked him to tell you to have your meal first."

Seeing that the others had not taken any action and were waiting for him, Wu Yong apologized.

"Master, please don't blame him. It's us who wanted to wait. It won't take long."

Wu Chang waved his hand.

Wu Xuan also sat quietly aside, looking at Wu Yong.

"Then let's get started!"

Wu Yong quickly sat among the group and had his meal together.

Normally, aristocratic families like these would not participate in each other's meals, but Wu Yong's habits from his previous life were hard to change, and it was indeed easy to get closer at the dinner table.

The spiritual food used by Wu Shi was not like the crops of the mortal world, but was beneficial to spiritual practice.

Wu Yong often summoned the sorcerers in his mansion to enjoy spiritual meals together, and exchanged ideas on cultivation and general affairs.
All in all, this isn't a bad thing.

The four of them sat around a small table, and after they finished their meal, they began to discuss the Dao.

"Oh, right, today I'm going to the He Mansion to visit my grandfather and take a look at the current situation of the Danjiang Market."

"I'll trouble you to stay in the other courtyard."

"Yin Erlang is building the Three Evils Altar in the backyard. If he is short of spiritual materials, please provide them for him."

After saying this, Wu Yong handed a mustard seed bag to Wu Changgui, the Wu commander who was born into a family.

After chatting with the three of them for a while, he selected four Qigong practitioners as guards and headed towards the He family residence.

The villa is located on the south bank of Zhujiang River, only a few miles away from He Mansion, and can be reached in less than an incense stick of time.

As a relative by marriage, Wu Yong should visit his grandfather, the head of the He family, as soon as possible.

However, all parties had some plans, which delayed them for one night, so they could only prepare the gifts and visit He's house early the next day.

Wu Yong and five guards rode on dragon horses, went east along the street, and came directly to the He family's mansion.

This complex of buildings with carved beams, painted buildings, double eaves and heavy arches is located on the bank of the Danyang River. Inside, there are painted caissons with different kinds of spiritual lights floating around, which is very grand and majestic.

From the outside, it can be seen that there are quite a few barriers and formations in the He Mansion, all of which are flashing with spiritual light and are of great value.

The five people had just walked in, before they had even entered the door, when the servants of the He family came out to greet them.

"Meet Wu Zongzi!"

A Qigong practitioner wearing a black robe and a feather crown on his head immediately stepped forward and bowed.

He was one of the Taoists who welcomed Wu Yong yesterday together with the He family boss, He Miao.

"The master is in the mansion. He said last night that the eldest son of the Wu family would come to visit tomorrow. Sure enough, a magpie was singing early this morning."

"It turns out that the prize of welcoming Young Master Yingyong has fallen on my head!"

The Taoist was very sweet-spoken and made Wu Yong laugh easily.

"Hahahaha, you chatterbox!"

"Today, the morning is the most important part of the day. Meeting someone as talkative as you early in the morning is really refreshing!"

Wu Yong also joked.

"Is Grandfather here now?"

Before the Taoist could answer, a hearty laugh came from the gate of He's mansion.

"Yes, yes, yes! Your grandpa is in the morning breakfast right now. Come in quickly, Yong'er. Your grandpa has been missing you for a long time!"

He Miao had been tossing and turning in the front yard all morning and was about to go in, pulling Wu Yong.

"Here, help the concierge to place Longma and wait for me in the front yard!"

Wu Yong turned around and gave instructions to several attendants.

He then gently took out a brocade bag, shook it, and threw it into the hands of the Taoist in black clothes!
He smiled to He Miao:
"I met a magpie in the morning, saying that today is a good day.

(End of this chapter)