Chapter 518: Four Legendary Chests
Chapter 518: Four Legendary Chests
To be precise, this was the second time Lu Haikong had a disagreement with Xi Zhaitai, and both instances were due to the same reason. The only difference this time was that Lu Haikong more explicitly expressed his discontent.
It's hard to say whether Lu Haikong's rapid growth over the past year had not yet made him a seasoned politician, or whether the deep bond between Lu Haikong and Xi Zhaitai was the reason for their dispute.
Perhaps it was a bit of both.
Despite their argument, the two continued working together as usual the next day, though it was apparent to those with keen eyes that something had transpired between Lu Haikong and Xi Zhaitai.
Lu Haikong's mood remained low in the following days, causing everyone around him to tread carefully. Even Tian Feng and Wang Yue felt the pressure.
Fortunately, Lu Haikong didn't stay long in Jin Yang. After issuing a few military orders, he led the Black Gale Legion and the Bloodbath Legion to the battlefield in Changshan Commandery.
When Lu Haikong arrived in Changshan, it was already the 22nd of September. Gao Shun had been in Changshan for five days, during which he successfully captured Shangai, Yuan Shi, and Jing Xie counties, as well as eight Outsider territories.
Interestingly, Lu Haikong had previously captured Shangai and Yuan Shi, and Gao Shun's subsequent capture of these areas still earned him merit points. However, the amount of merit earned was slightly different from Lu Haikong's previous conquest.
Gao Shun received 100,000 merit points for capturing Shangai, 130,000 for Yuan Shi, and 150,000 for Jing Xie. Additionally, the eight Outsider territories he conquered earned Lu Haikong a total of 500,000 merit points. Together with the 500,000 points from pacifying Taiyuan Commandery, Gao Shun's total merit points reached 1,000,000 in just a few days, adding to Lu Haikong's total of 2,313,000.
Unfortunately, due to a possible system bug or because Lu Haikong wasn't personally present during Gao Shun's conquests, he didn't receive any system chests for the captured counties and territories.
In reality, the system chests for the conquered counties didn't disappear despite Lu Haikong's absence. As soon as Lu Haikong arrived at Gao Shun's location, the system promptly notified him.
[Congratulations! Your subordinate general, Gao Shun, has conquered Jing Xie County. You have received one Legendary Chest.]
[Congratulations! Your subordinate general, Gao Shun, has conquered eight Outsider territories. You have received one Legendary Chest.]
The rewards for the eight Outsider territories were accumulated, while the county chest rewards were only for Jing Xie County. The chests for Shangai and Yuan Shi, which Lu Haikong had previously conquered, were no longer available.
It was unclear whether the system chests were unavailable for a certain period after being claimed once, or if they were permanently unavailable after the second conquest. If it were the former, it would be manageable, but the latter would be quite troublesome.
However, this wasn't something that could be verified in a short time. For now, Lu Haikong could only take advantage of the ongoing Yellow Turban Rebellion to conquer more cities and earn more chests.
At this point, Lu Haikong was solely focused on earning merit points and obtaining chests. As for the wealth of the conquered counties, if possible, Lu Haikong wouldn't mind plundering it and sending it back to his base. Unfortunately, when Gao Shun attacked Changshan Commandery, the Yellow Turbans in the counties and the elite troops in the Outsider territories had already retreated to Julu and Weizhou.
The elite soldiers and most of the provisions had been taken away, leaving only enough to sustain the counties and territories. Unless Lu Haikong disregarded the lives of the common people, he couldn't plunder much wealth.
While wealth couldn't be seized, talent could!
In any era, talent was the most important resource.
Lu Haikong deeply understood this, and by talent, he didn't just mean the top-tier individuals like Xi Zhaitai and Tian Feng. He also valued those with practical skills, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, and more importantly, the small officials with administrative experience.
This was the type of talent Lu Haikong valued the most, and it was currently the most lacking in his forces.
Amidst the chaos of war, many small officials were having a hard time. Lu Haikong seized this opportunity and instructed Xi Zhaitai's intelligence personnel to mobilize skilled workers and officials.
Of course, Lu Haikong merely issued the orders; he didn't personally oversee these tasks. Both Xi Zhaitai and Xin Ping were capable of executing their duties well.
Soon after Lu Haikong's arrival, a new round of attacks began, and the troops marched towards Weizhou.
After Lu Haikong's initial attack, the upper part of Changshan Commandery, including Zhongshan Commandery, was conquered. The original plan was to follow the route of Gongsun Zan, who was coming down from Changshan Commandery, but Lu Haikong changed course and headed towards Hejian Commandery, leaving Changshan and Weizhou to Gongsun Zan.
The two men began clearing the Yellow Turban forces on the edges of Julu Commandery, seemingly aiming to isolate Julu and Weizhou from the rest of Jiuzhou.
However, Lu Haikong and Gongsun Zan remained on edge, keeping a close eye on the Yellow Turban forces in Julu and Weizhou. They were cautious of any sudden moves from the rebels.
The Yellow Turbans in Julu and Weizhou, however, seemed lifeless. They ignored Lu Haikong and Gongsun Zan's attacks, allowing them to conquer Hejian Commandery and Ping'an Commandery on one side and Changshan Commandery and Zhao Commandery on the other.
In the 19th book of the 6th volume of the 1st edition, there was no mistake!
In just three days, Lu Haikong directly captured the entire Changshan Commandery. Unfortunately, throughout this conquest, he only obtained two legendary chests: one for the city of Fangzi and the other for Pingji.
It wasn't that after obtaining these two chests, there were no more legendary chests when attacking counties. The Yellow Turbans had withdrawn their main forces, so many counties hadn't been reached by Lu Haikong yet, and the Yellow Turbans within those counties had already been defeated by others.
Those with such capabilities were mostly from influential families.
These families, originally located in the center of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Jiuzhou, had adopted an ambiguous attitude towards the rebels. But when they saw that the Yellow Turbans were on the decline, they quickly turned against them and launched swift attacks.
Lu Haikong could only describe this situation as troublesome. Several valuable legendary chests had slipped through his fingers, but there was nothing he could do. He had no choice but to lead his troops towards Zhao Commandery.
What Lu Haikong didn't expect was an interesting scene that unfolded as he marched south towards Zhongqiu in Zhao Commandery.
A rare group of Yellow Turban cavalry was chasing a burly man, who wielded an axe and seemed to possess considerable strength...
Chapter end
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