Chapter 90: Arrival at Qiangyin
Chapter 90: Arrival at Qiangyin
September 25, 2017
Thanks to 'Jianwen Baihu' and 'Yin Ai' for their generous support!
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Zhang Wen's Surrender technique was already close to reaching level 2, and Li Xiong's surrender provided him with a significant amount of skill experience, causing the technique to soar past the halfway mark of level 2.
At level 2, the success rate of the Surrender technique had reached 10%, but it could still only be used three times a day on the same person. However, the cost had increased from 1 gold to 2 gold, making it more expensive.
But at this point, Lu Hai Kong no longer cared about such a small amount of money. He wouldn't neglect Zhang Wen again, as the latter's loyalty had reached 80 points, indicating his genuine desire to follow Lu Hai Kong.
"Let's go. Let him have some time to himself, and you should also take a rest. You've worked hard these past few days," Lu Hai Kong said approvingly, patting Zhang Wen's shoulder.
Zhang Wen was momentarily stunned. In his impression, Lu Hai Kong was a cruel and domineering person, so this was the first time he had encountered such a gentle and caring side of him. His mind was a bit overwhelmed.
It wasn't until Lu Hai Kong took the lead and left the assembly hall that Zhang Wen continued to stare at Lu Hai Kong's departing figure in a daze, unsure if the previous cold-blooded and cruel Lu Hai Kong was the real one, or if this gentle and concerned Lu Hai Kong was the genuine one.
Zhang Wen had no answer, but his loyalty silently increased a bit more.
After Li Xiong's surrender, Lu Hai Kong began to take action and make preparations for establishing a mountain fortress.
Although Li Xiong had surrendered, his loyalty wasn't high, so Lu Hai Kong didn't intend to involve him in decision-making. Instead, he asked Wang Fat to approach Li Xiong.
Lu Hai Kong was confident that with Wang Fat's abilities, he could extract all the information Li Xiong knew that Lu Hai Kong needed, given that Li Xiong had already compromised.
From then on, Wang Fat spent every day by Li Xiong's side, extracting the information Lu Hai Kong required. Each night, he would submit a written summary of the day's findings to Lu Hai Kong, without including any personal opinions or thoughts, as per Lu Hai Kong's instructions. Lu Hai Kong wanted to ensure that the intelligence he received wasn't tainted by Wang Fat's perspectives.
On the third day after Li Xiong's surrender, Lu Hai Kong, along with all his subordinates and belongings, forcibly dragged Wang Oldman and set off on the journey to Qiangyin, determined to establish his mountain fortress within Qiangyin County.
This was a bold move, as Qiangyin County was the most remote area of Bingzhou, with a significant portion of its territory lying beyond the Great Wall. It was the farthest region from the economic and cultural center of the Han Dynasty and the closest to foreign tribes like the Xiongnu and Xianbei.
Due to the ravages of these foreign tribes, Qiangyin County was nominally Han territory, but in reality, many areas were desolate and uninhabited, making it the least suitable place for development. However, in Lu Hai Kong's eyes, it was the most suitable place for his own development.
Because of his identity as an outsider and a mountain bandit, his mountain fortress was destined to be established far from the prosperous areas of the Han Dynasty. Only in such a place could he find temporary peace and space for development.
Moreover, there was an even more critical factor: the base of the Dark Wind Fort, a rich and powerful evil force, was also located here. Lu Hai Kong felt it was his duty to represent justice and eradicate them. This was a force that casually spent 50,000 gold, and even Li Xiong himself couldn't fully account for their wealth.
One thing was certain: if this sum of money fell into Lu Hai Kong's hands, he would undoubtedly soar to new heights.
Although Shanwu County had ceased their organized pursuit of Lu HaiKong, he wasn't foolish enough to lead his group directly along the official road.
Led by Li Xiong, the group departed from the mountain path, heading towards Qiang Yin County.
Along the way, Lu HaiKong couldn't help but express his gratitude to Li Xiong. If it weren't for this young man and Li Yi's stunt, Hu Yinxiong's gang would have come after them, and Lu HaiKong wouldn't have had horses to ride. Most importantly, it solved the issue of transporting supplies for Lu HaiKong's group.
With over 3,500 gold coins, several hundred basic secret manuals, and provisions for dozens of people, these supplies would have been a significant burden for Lu HaiKong without a dozen or so horses.
The journey from Shanwu to Qiang Yin was over a hundred kilometers, and even if they took the official road, it would still take a day or two. Since Lu HaiKong's group was traveling through the mountains, it would naturally take even longer.
Moreover, Lu HaiKong wasn't simply making his way to Qiang Yin. Along the way, whenever they encountered mountain fortresses or nomadic encampments, Lu HaiKong would take the opportunity to eliminate them.
On the first day alone, Lu HaiKong destroyed three mountain fortresses and seven or eight nomadic camps, seizing over a thousand gold coins and various supplies. Notably, Lu HaiKong also captured a bandit chief and brought him back to Zhang Wen, hoping he could persuade the bandit to surrender.
As they traveled, occasionally clearing out a mountain fortress or nomadic camp, it took Lu HaiKong seven days to reach Qiang Yin County.
During those seven days, Lu HaiKong had destroyed over a dozen mountain fortresses, countless nomadic camps, and directly contributed to the load carried by their ten or so horses being significantly heavier than when they had set out. On average, each mountain fortress brought Lu HaiKong a profit of three to five hundred gold coins. By the time he reached Qiang Yin, his net worth had reached 11,000 gold coins.
The captured bandit chiefs had increased from one to several, not because Lu HaiKong didn't want to capture more, nor was it due to a lack of ability, but simply because they lacked the manpower to control the increasing number of captives.
In the 1619 book, the original version is without error!
Moreover, Zhang Wen's persuasion skills had a success rate that was truly touching. After days of uninterrupted effort, it was only upon reaching Qiang Yin that he barely managed to persuade one bandit chief to surrender. The man had a mere twenty-something strength points and looked rather dim-witted, falling short of Lu HaiKong's expectations.
However, after clearing out numerous mountain fortresses, Lu HaiKong did obtain several impressive items, and they were all related to territory development.
A residential building blueprint, a nomadic camp blueprint, and a logging camp blueprint.
Initially, Lu HaiKong thought these items had nothing to do with him, but after bringing them back, Wang Fat was overjoyed upon seeing them, explaining that these three blueprints were all incredibly useful to him.
In reality, the mountain fortresses of the foreigners were another form of territory, just without the protection of the Han Dynasty. Any territory that could develop a mountain fortress was fair game.
In other words, if conditions permitted, Lu HaiKong could transform his mountain fortress into a massive city. Of course, the stronger his mountain fortress became, the more likely it would attract the attention of the Han Dynasty, increasing the chances of facing a siege.
However, the possibility of a siege was a concern for the future. Upon reaching Qiang Yin, Lu HaiKong's immediate priority was to establish his mountain fortress!
(End of Chapter)
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