Chapter 435: Quest Rewards
Chapter 435: Quest Rewards
September 25, 2017
It was evident that the Flying Wolf Cavalry had taken this stance out of concern for Lu Hai Kong's wife and daughter. After all, Lu Bu had publicly declared his intention to kill Lu Hai Kong on numerous occasions, so they believed that Lu Hai Kong and Lu Bu should be irreconcilable enemies.
Additionally, there was the matter of Lu Hai Kong's background as a bandit from Jiuyuan.
Ding Yuan had previously spread word in Jiuyuan that Lu Hai Kong was a ruthless butcher with blood on his hands and was beyond redemption.
Although Lu Hai Kong's reputation had improved significantly after the siege of Jiuyuan, it still had some lingering effects.
Lu Hai Kong didn't dwell on anger or regret at this point. Since he was already aware of the situation, he confirmed the details and swiftly dealt with the matter.
The Flying Wolf Cavalry officers who had beaten Wei Shi and her daughter were given thirty staff beatings each, and the civilians who had driven them out were also punished with eighty strikes each. Lu Hai Kong neither showed them special treatment nor made things difficult for the mother and daughter. He treated them like ordinary people and handled the incident as a routine civil matter. However, Lu Hai Kong did arrange for a small group of guards to protect them.
After resolving this issue, Lu Hai Kong began addressing the matters in Jiuyuan County.
As mentioned earlier, Lu Hai Kong intended to relocate from Jiuyuan County, and this relocation was a massive undertaking.
The first issue Lu Hai Kong tackled was the Jiuyuan County military.
The Jiuyuan County military was primarily built by Ding Yuan, and although Ding Yuan's reputation had been tarnished in the eyes of this military, Lu Hai Kong couldn't be certain how many of Ding Yuan's confidants remained within its ranks.
Therefore, Lu Hai Kong's first step was to strengthen his control over the military.
After the intense battles over the past dozen days, the remaining Jiuyuan County military forces numbered just over 20,000, barely a third of its peak strength.
Many of the soldiers were highly elite, with combat strengths of 20 and above, which Lu Hai Kong valued greatly.
So, his first move was to reorganize the Jiuyuan County military, and he made significant changes. He demoted several of the highest-ranking generals and promoted numerous officers from the lower ranks, while removing those with close ties to Ding Yuan.
Lu Hai Kong had expected resistance during this process, but surprisingly, there was none. Some of the military's previous beneficiaries grumbled, but no one openly objected. Lu Hai Kong effortlessly restructured the Jiuyuan County military and consolidated it into the Wuyuan Army.
Although the reorganization of the Wuyuan Army was relatively easy, it still took a considerable amount of time, around six or seven days, even with Lu Hai Kong's efforts to expedite the process.
During these six or seven days, the battle reports from Wang Ti and Zhao Er also arrived.
Soon after receiving the reports from Wang Ti and Zhao Er, Lu Hai Kong received two system notifications.
"Congratulations! You have completed the quest 'Suppress the Wu Xian Rebellion' with an 'Epic' rating. You have earned the following quest rewards."
"You have obtained a Legendary Treasure Chest.
You have gained 10 million gold.
You have received one Subordinate Talent Upgrade Opportunity.
You have received one Soldier Rank Upgrade Opportunity for 800 soldiers."
"Congratulations! You have completed the quest 'Hunt Down the Wu Xian Rebel Leaders' with an 'Excellent' rating. You have earned the following quest rewards."
You obtained a Legendary Treasure Chest.
You acquired 500 sets of Elite-level equipment.
After receiving the system notification for completing the quest, Lu Hai Kong realized that the evaluations for these two quests should have been consecutive. If Zhao Er had not eliminated Wu Yan Yong, the evaluation for Lu Hai Kong's first quest would not have reached the 'Legendary' level.
The rewards for both quests were quite impressive, but Lu Hai Kong merely admired them at the time and did not claim the rewards.
After all, Lu Hai Kong was still in the process of reorganizing the Jiuyuan army and was in a busy state.
Moreover, Lu Hai Kong not only had to deal with the military issues in Jiuyuan, but he also had to initiate the relocation of the Jiuyuan population.
The relocation process was not particularly difficult, as most of the several hundred thousand people in Wuyuan Prefecture had already fled, leaving only a few remaining in Jiuyuan County. The citizens, having just experienced the ravages of war, had no choice but to follow Lu Hai Kong, despite their reluctance.
Lu Hai Kong also promised to protect their property as much as possible during the relocation and offered a series of preferential policies upon their arrival in Qiang Yin.
In the end, many people did not understand Lu Hai Kong's actions. Logically, the Wu Xian rebels had been defeated, and according to the cultural heritage of the Wu Xian tribes, they should have needed several years to recover before causing trouble again. In this situation, Lu Hai Kong, with nothing better to do, decided to relocate the people of Jiuyuan County.
Why relocate the people of Jiuyuan County? He should have brought back the refugees who had fled from Wuyuan Prefecture to rebuild it.
They had no idea that Lu Hai Kong had his own reasons.
He was well aware of his origins as a mountain bandit and how he had managed to integrate himself into the court as a mountain bandit. His rise to this point was purely coincidental.
Looking ahead, Lu Hai Kong knew that he would not be able to continue his ascent.
As an outsider who had risen from the bottom and was not related to the imperial family, the Han Dynasty would not tolerate him. Even though he was about to become the Inspector of Bingzhou, giving him nominal control over Bingzhou, he knew that it was only in name.
Take Zhang Yi, for example, who was from an established aristocratic family and served as the Inspector. He Jin could easily deal with him, let alone Lu Hai Kong.
Therefore, Lu Hai Kong never truly intended to become the Inspector of Bingzhou. For him, it was merely a title that would provide him with more convenience in carrying out his plans. He never thought of abandoning his identity as a mountain bandit and becoming the Inspector; doing so would only hasten his demise.
Lu Hai Kong had never operated within this system before and lacked the confidence to believe he could topple the court's old foxes without prior experience.
It can be understood that Lu Hai Kong's current control over three prefectures and his acquisition of the title of Inspector of Bingzhou were merely means to parasitize in Bingzhou, drawing nourishment from the Han Dynasty to cultivate and strengthen his mountain fortress.
Lu Hai Kong's true goal was not to manage and develop Qiang Yin but to establish a mountain fortress on a larger scale.
As a mountain bandit, the power of the mountain fortress was the only true power he could control; everything else was illusory.
Hence, Lu Hai Kong paid no heed to the construction of Wuyuan Prefecture and focused on transporting the people to Qiang Yin, planning to find a suitable location and build a grand mountain fortress..."
(End of Chapter)
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