Slaying the Enemy

According to the Records of the Great Feng: Geography, Yunzhou spans 60,000 li (approximately 33,000 kilometers) and is rich in resources, including agriculture, sericulture, porcelain, and medicinal herbs. Before Emperor Wuzong rose up in rebellion, Yunzhou was among the top five most prosperous prefectures in the Great Feng Dynasty.

The official road stretched far and wide, winding its way to the horizon, with black soil fields on both sides and rolling mountains in the distance.

The sun had just risen, and the air still carried the chill of last night as the procession of over a hundred people slowly made its way along the official road.

The clatter of horses' hooves mingled with the rumble of wheels.

"In the early years of the Yuanjing era, Yunzhou had a total population of five million. After that, the Yellow Register was compiled every ten years, and the population gradually decreased. In the 30th year of the Yuanjing era, Yunzhou had a population of more than 3.5 million. Now it is the 36th year of the Yuanjing era, and in four years it will be the year when the Yellow Register is recompiled. I wonder how many people are left in Yunzhou?"

Governor Zhang lifted the curtain and said with emotion.

A population decrease of 1.5 million in 30 years is terrifying, and the actual population decrease would only be more than that. Because Yunzhou has fertile land, famine is not a concern unless there are natural disasters.

In other words, if people reproduce and live normally for 30 years, the population can grow steadily.

Going from 5 million to 3.5 million isn't a simple subtraction; the actual population reduction is at least double. Xu Qi'an cursed, "What kind of hellhole is this?"

Governor Zhang glanced at him and continued, "Half of the population loss was due to excessive taxes. People abandoned their fields and became refugees, or went to the city to make a living, or became outlaws. These people are not recorded in the Yellow Register."

"Furthermore, banditry is rampant, with arson, murder, and looting adding insult to injury. Sometimes, mountain bandits will come down from the mountains to rob the people in order to replenish their labor force. Of course, mountain bandits are not included in the Yellow Register."

Xu Qi'an gazed silently into the distance, listening to Governor Zhang's words while analyzing the situation in his mind.

At the beginning of the Yuanjing era, there were still five million people. By the tenth year of Yuanjing, the population had shrunk. By the thirtieth year of Yuanjing, there were 1.5 million people gone. In fact, the population was even greater. Yunzhou took a sharp turn for the worse in these twenty-odd years, which was almost the beginning of Emperor Yuanjing's cultivation of Daoism.

Because the Emperor of Great Feng was obsessed with Daoist cultivation, the Witch God Cult felt that an opportunity had arisen. The Witch God Cult had been plotting for over twenty years and would not engage in minor skirmishes. A war between Great Feng and the countries ruled by the Witch God Cult was inevitable.

As he was thinking, his head lolled to the side, and he almost fell asleep.

"You don't seem to be in good spirits." Governor Zhang scrutinized him, frowning. "What's wrong?"

The governor remembers that Xu Qi'an has been well-behaved and has not frequented Imperial Academy of Music along the way, so he should not be in such a state of financial distress and exhaustion.

Xu Qi'an turned his head and smiled wryly at the governor, "Nothing much, I've just become a master of time management."

This is his eighth sleepless day. His brain is throbbing with pain, and his blood vessels feel like they're about to burst. This morning, while eating, he even had a slight hallucination, thinking that Xu Lingyin was stealing his meat bun.

His eyes were bloodshot and his eye circles were dark and bluish, which reminded Xu Qi'an of his own life in the "blessed" 996 work culture, where he occasionally had to experience 007 work, and he looked just as miserable.

"Two more days. If I can get through these two days, I should be able to advance to the Spirit Refining Realm. I can't let myself fall asleep, otherwise all my efforts will be in vain. Why does my heart feel so pounding?"

Xu Qi'an took a deep breath, removed the water pouch, and poured it over his head to stimulate his body and invigorate his spirit.

A caravan of three hundred people trudged along the official road, with flatbed carts carrying goods. Underneath the tarpaulins were silk, tea, porcelain, and cosmetics, which were abundant in Yunzhou.

There are also some specialties of Yunzhou, such as snake saliva inkstone and yellow crystal.

The caravan's owner was a burly man named Zhao Long, who was once a renowned hero in Yunzhou's underworld, with connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

Tired of the life of constant danger, he relied on his early reputation and connections to start a caravan business.

He always managed to smooth things over with the mountain strongholds along the way, leaving Yunzhou safely and spreading his goods to various places, making a fortune.

Over time, many merchants were willing to spend a lot of money to join Zhao Long's caravan, hoping for a safe journey.

Zhao Long's caravan has evolved into a hybrid of merchant and escort business.

Yang Yingying was one of those who sought refuge Lower Vehicle this big tree, but she left Yunzhou as Rogue Person and spent twenty taels of silver to request the protection of a merchant caravan.

After all, a weak woman like her could never leave Yunzhou on her own. She might be kidnapped by bandits on the official road one day and become their wife.

With her looks, she'd be more than qualified to be a bandit's wife.

Yang Yingying was originally a woman from the Yunzhou Imperial Academy of Music). In her youth, she was a top courtesan. Later, she was fortunate enough to meet a good man who redeemed her from her servitude, and she was kept in his courtyard as his concubine.

Now over thirty, her beauty remains undiminished; in fact, her figure has become even more voluptuous, adding to her mature womanly charm. She has bright almond-shaped eyes that sparkle when she looks at people.

As Yang Yingying rode on horseback, she noticed the intense gazes of the bodyguards around her and couldn't help but tighten her cloak and bury her head even lower.

At first glance, her hands appear to be protecting her ample breasts, trying to avoid being defiled by the gazes of certain men, but in reality, she is protecting something in her arms.

It was this object that forced her to leave Yunzhou.

A bodyguard watched Yang Yingying's retreating figure with lustful eyes. She rode on horseback, her silk skirt clinging to her body, the contours of her taut buttocks truly alluring.

The burly bodyguard spurred his horse and caught up with Yang Yingying, grinning as he said, "My beauty, keep me company tonight. All the money I earned on this trip is yours. Ten taels of silver!"

Yang Yingying ignored him, neither responding nor rejecting him, as if he didn't exist.

The bodyguard said a few more words, but seeing that the beauty ignored him, he left cursing.

Several bodyguards who knew him well burst into laughter, mocking him. But disappointment was in their eyes. This woman was unyielding, and they had no chance either.

A ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of the bodyguards who had blood on their hands. If this beautiful woman traveling alone hadn't run into Boss Zhao, she would have been eaten alive long ago, leaving not even bones behind.

Zhao Long, who was at the front of the caravan, raised his hand and made a gesture, and the escorts immediately drew their weapons as if they were facing a formidable enemy. However, the swords were only half unsheathed. This was an unwritten rule of escorts.

People in the underworld are after money, and unless there's a huge disparity in strength, they won't fight to the death. Besides, Boss Zhao has always had some influence in the underworld; otherwise, he wouldn't be in this line of work.

Seventy or eighty people suddenly leaped out of the dense woods on both sides of the path, their swords and spears gleaming. More than twenty horsemen charged out from the side road, all of them strong and well-equipped.

Zhao Long was a little puzzled. He traveled this road several times a year, and he knew exactly which section needed to be bribed and which hilltops needed to be given gifts.

When did this group of highway robbers appear in this forest? Zhao Long gestured to his bodyguards to calm down, then spurred his horse forward a short distance and called out loudly:

"My name is Zhao Long. Friends, what kind of gang did you used to belong to?"

As he got closer, he suddenly realized something was wrong. These bandits had crossbows hanging from their waists and standard-issue long knives in their hands—all military equipment.

Zhao Long had heard that some large bandit strongholds were not lacking in military supplies, with swords, crossbows, and even muskets, but those were top-tier bandit strongholds and should not be here.

"Ningyan, you look like a sick man whose body has been drained by women." Song Tingfeng and Xu Qi'an walked side by side, taking the opportunity to tease and mock him.

Xu Qi'an glanced at him and said calmly, "A friend of mine asked me if I had any aphrodisiac and kidney-tonifying pills from the Bureau of Astronomy."

Song Tingfeng's smile froze.

"My friend is Zhu Guangxiao. Guangxiao, you already have a fiancée, why are you working so hard?" Song Tingfeng shifted the blame to Zhu Guangxiao.

Zhu Guangxiao glanced at him silently, then, feeling resentful, retorted, "I cherish women, but you're so shameless. Every morning, the girls who sleep with you can't get out of bed."

"You yourself don't know how to exercise restraint, and you've depleted your health."

Warriors are physically strong and energetic, but even the Bull Devil King, who toils from dusk till dawn every day, will eventually suffer from depletion of his Qi and Blood.

"I'm really good at this," Song Tingfeng said Qi Ingestion, unconvinced. "Only the girls from the Imperial Academy of Music can cooperate with me so readily, even though they're also struggling to keep up."

"Tingfeng."

Hearing Xu Qi'an call him, Song Tingfeng turned around and asked, "What?"

It's not that you're great, it's that they tolerate your insignificance.

"Get out."

Amidst the banter and joking, Jiang Luzhong, the team leader, said in a deep voice, "There's a smell of blood ahead. Everyone, prepare."

Clang. The sound of blades being drawn was uniform as the Tiger Guards and the Nightwatchers simultaneously drew their swords and removed their crossbows.

"Charge!" Jiang Luzhong spurred his horse and charged forward.

The governor's entourage instantly entered marching mode, moving at a rapid pace and in an orderly manner.

After marching for ten minutes, a dense forest appeared ahead, and the wind carried a strong smell of blood.

The moment they entered the dense forest, arrows shot from both sides, attacking the night Nightwatchers and the Tiger Guard who were running wildly.

Jiang Luzhong raised his hand and pressed down, causing the rain of arrows to crash into the invisible wall of air and fall helplessly.

He waved his hand and said, "Tiger Warriors, enter the forest and kill the enemy."

As he spoke, Jiang Luzhong looked ahead and saw hundreds of corpses lying on the official road, their blood staining the ground. The horses had also been killed, and the goods transported by the caravan were scattered all over the ground.

He immediately analyzed the situation because he had smelled the blood beforehand, and ordered his troops to launch a surprise attack. When the bandits heard the sound of hooves, they were too late to retreat, so they ambushed the bandits in the woods.

The sounds of fierce fighting echoed from the dense forest. The Tiger Guard was one of the five guards of the capital. Although not as brave and skilled in battle as the Imperial Guard, it was far superior to the local armies.

The two sides were evenly matched, and arrows and blades clashed as they fought back and forth.

Jiang Luzhong was taken aback, somewhat surprised, and turned to look at Xu Qi'an: "Ningyan, have you ever killed anyone?"

"Killed one, seriously wounded another." Xu Qi'an casually reported the battle results, looking at the caravan lying dead on the ground.

Jiang Luzhong scoffed, "You're just a kid who hasn't even grown his first hair yet."

The Nightwatchers burst into laughter.

Apart from Xu Qi'an, a newbie who had joined the Nightwatchers less than two months ago, everyone else was a seasoned martial artist who killed without batting an eye.

Jiang Luzhong pointed to the woods and said, "Go, practice your skills. Kill at least ten."

Xu Qi'an withdrew his gaze and slowly exhaled. "Okay!"

P. S.: The backend seems to have crashed a bit. I updated a while ago, but it hasn't refreshed yet.