Chapter 543: The House of Outsiders
Chapter 543: The House of Outsiders
After Lu HaiKong returned to Liangqi, he immediately withdrew his troops on the same day, taking his men directly back to Handan. He openly declared his intentions, stating that he would evacuate the battlefield without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Xin Ping also began to take action, once again heading towards Luoyang.
Unlike the previous time, Xin Ping's journey to Luoyang was not a small affair. His entire team consisted of over a thousand people, and it was impossible to openly display Lu HaiKong's insignia. Instead, they disguised themselves as several merchant caravans, each caravan carrying over a dozen carts of goods towards Luoyang.
These carts were not filled with gold and silver but with ancient artifacts unearthed by the tomb raiders.
These artifacts had little use in Lu HaiKong's hands, and there was no market for them. Lu HaiKong decided to make good use of them by sending Xin Ping to Luoyang to establish connections.
In this world, there was no shortage of greedy individuals. People would do anything for wealth, and Lu HaiKong truly believed that these artifacts, worth several million, would create a stir.
However, that was Xin Ping's battlefield, and Lu HaiKong did not pay too much attention to it. He was more concerned about the situation in Jiuzhou.
He clearly understood that the Jiuzhou campaign was the primary factor influencing the court's attitude towards him, while Xin Ping's actions in Luoyang could only serve as an additional flourish.
On the Jiuzhou side, after Lu HaiKong withdrew his troops to Handan and displayed such a stance, Huangfu Song had no choice but to take action.
If Lu HaiKong had simply left, there wouldn't have been much of an issue. But now, even if Huangfu Song wanted to send envoys to smooth things over, there was nothing he could do.
Both sides had completely broken off relations, and Huangfu Song knew that even if he presented the Imperial Seal, it wouldn't be of much use.
In fact, after calming down, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun might have vaguely guessed Lu HaiKong's intentions. Lu HaiKong's actions were likely to preserve his strength, but even if they guessed correctly, what could they do?
Huangfu Song had no way to deal with Lu HaiKong now, especially since Lu HaiKong was turning the tables and reporting him to the court. Huangfu Song could only wait for the court to reprimand Lu HaiKong.
On one hand, Huangfu Song sent troops to capture Liangqi, while on the other, he worked to boost the army's morale, control public opinion to minimize the impact of Lu HaiKong's actions, and prepare for the logistical matters of launching an attack on Julu.
If possible, Huangfu Song wanted to wait for a while, hoping that the court would pressure Lu HaiKong into compromising before he attacked Julu.
Of course, his idea was good, but it was destined to remain unfulfilled.
Lu HaiKong had torn off all pretenses to avoid attacking Julu, and even if the court pressured him, he wouldn't pay any attention.
...
On Lu HaiKong's side, after the withdrawal of troops from Liangqi, Handan focused solely on two tasks. One was gathering intelligence on Julu, and the other was assisting the tomb raiders in their operations.
Lu HaiKong wanted to utilize the Yellow Turban's power to deal a heavy blow to Huangfu Song, thereby gaining the rights he could negotiate with the court. To achieve this, Lu HaiKong needed a thorough understanding of both Huangfu Song and Julu's strengths.
Lu HaiKong couldn't allow Huangfu Song to easily conquer Julu, nor could he let Zhang Jiao completely annihilate Huangfu Song.
If Huangfu Song conquered Julu effortlessly, Lu HaiKong would be in trouble. His army would become useless, and he would need to prepare for the court's punishment.
Zhang Jiao easily defeated Huangfu Song, and Lu Haikong also faced a challenging opponent in Dong Zhuo, whom he couldn't defeat alone. Therefore, this seemingly simple task turned out to be more difficult than expected.
In this situation, Lu Haikong needed to have a general understanding of both sides' strengths. Huangfu Song's side was straightforward, and Lu Haikong had his ways to deal with it.
However, obtaining intelligence on Julu was more challenging. The Yellow Turban's power was more concentrated than ever, and the county town of Julu seemed to be filled with Yellow Turban Taoists. Even Yue Ying's Phantom Guards would find it difficult to infiltrate.
But if the Phantom Guards couldn't get in, there was another group that could—a loose organization of outsiders under Lu Haikong's command called the House of Outsiders.
After Lu Haikong's full intervention in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the House of Outsiders became active. During this time, they had been causing trouble in Jiuzhou.
The plot missions within the Yellow Turban Rebellion were far richer than Lu Haikong had imagined. However, some tasks were beyond his current abilities, and he couldn't accept them. But they were suitable for members of the House of Outsiders.
Over the past month, many members of the House of Outsiders had earned a considerable amount.
Lu Haikong also used the House of Outsiders to hire outsiders for assistance. Currently, one of the most significant tasks Lu Haikong posted in the House of Outsiders was to gather intelligence on Julu. This task had just been posted, and there were no results yet, but these outsiders should not disappoint Lu Haikong.
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Apart from posting tasks, Lu Haikong also planned to hold an auction within the House of Outsiders.
To be precise, it should be a procurement meeting, as Lu Haikong wanted to purchase artifacts from the outsiders on a large scale. This wasn't the first time Lu Haikong had done this.
After all, artifacts came in countless varieties, and who knew which one might be helpful to Lu Haikong? Since they had gained quite a bit from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Lu Haikong should take the opportunity to stock up on some artifacts. Besides, Lu Haikong currently had more money than he knew what to do with.
There was no other way; the existence of this group of Treasure-Seeking Commanders was the reason. With them, making war profits was like child's play.
Over the past period, the previously idle Treasure-Seeking Commanders had become extremely busy in the two counties of Changshan and Zhao Guo.
Lu Haikong wasn't sure how much they had earned in the past month, but it was definitely in the tens of millions.
On Lu Haikong's side, under Wang Ti's management, the market in Bei Feng gradually revived. The livestock market in Bingzhou was less affected by the war situation, and its recovery was smooth. Although it couldn't compare to the peak of Jiuyuan County in terms of volume, money was still flowing in, and Lu Haikong didn't need to dip into his savings.
In this situation, Lu Haikong's pockets were filling up again, and he wanted to splurge.
On the one hand, he spent on the outsiders, and on the other, in his home territory, both of Lu Haikong's mountain bandit camps were undergoing military expansion.
They recruited large numbers of Elite Horse Bandits, Mountain Bandit Bodyguards, Mountain Bandit Archers, and other units. Especially after witnessing the terrifying power of the Bloodbath Legion, Lu Haikong was determined to create as many Bloodsoaked Knights as possible during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, especially Elite Horse Bandits.
(End of Chapter)
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