Wars in the world can be quite an opportunity for martial artists. As long as they choose to join a certain faction and serve it, they can gain wealth and glory.

If they are lucky and the chosen faction truly becomes the emperor, then it’s like a carp leaping over the dragon’s gate, accompanying the king, and the rewards at that time would be beyond imagination.

Qin Yuesheng hurried westward, the location of the Wujiang River was conveniently situated between Jiangnan and South Dian, making it easy to recognize.

Qin Yuesheng galloped at a speed faster than a steed. Any passerby who saw him would shout ’saw a ghost,’ indicating that Qin Yuesheng’s speed was beyond their imagination.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A group of horsemen galloped quickly along the official road, all wearing official uniforms, seemingly soldiers from unknown whereabouts. The sight of them galloping, raising dust, made them appear quite formidable.

Before long, as they approached a town not far from the official road, the leading man gestured with his hand, and all the soldiers behind him, seeing his signal, pulled their reins sharply to slow down their horses.

"Let’s go, capture all men over twelve years old, take any women who seem sturdy or good-looking, plunder money and grain, and abandon everything else," ordered the leading general.

Immediately, all soldiers dismounted, drew the swords at their waists, and rushed towards the town, disaster already looming.

In the Jiangnan area, besides Liu Xian’s rebellion, there were Wu Bao in Jianye City in southern Jiangnan and Cao Mengda in Black Mountain City in western Jiangnan. However, these two had lower official ranks than Liu Xian, holding only the position of governor.

But compared to Xun Sheng, the military forces of these two were much stronger, with the cities they commanded being the second and third in rank in Jiangnan, with Yangzhou Prefecture naturally being the first.

This group of soldiers was under Cao Mengda’s command.

Since they were rebelling, they had to keep expanding their army to become strong enough to compete with the imperial court, as a rebellion with only a few tens of thousands would be laughable.

Forcibly conscripting soldiers everywhere was Cao Mengda’s initial plan.

In the past few days, he had forcefully conscripted twelve thousand strong soldiers, but his brutality had spread widely in the western Jiangnan, giving him a bad reputation.

Seeing a group of soldiers rushing in like tigers and wolves, the townspeople panicked; they had never seen such a scene and hurriedly ran into their homes, locking their doors tightly.

But these soldiers were not to be stopped. Soldiers chopped with their swords and elbowed forcefully, quickly smashing windows and doors of street houses, rushing in to start capturing people.

"No! What are you doing?"

"Don’t take my father! You are bad men."

"Big brother! Second brother! Fourth brother!"

...

In an instant, the town was filled with cries and shouts. Any family with men of appropriate age had them taken by the soldiers as strong men.

Anyone who dared resist was either beaten violently on the spot or knocked out instantly by a blow from a soldier’s sword hilt, hands tied behind their backs, utterly powerless to resist.

"There are a lot of men in this town, quite a haul this time. Lord Cao will surely be very pleased," said the leader of the soldiers, stroking his moustache while still on horseback.

A follower next to him immediately chimed in, "If you can take more strong men back, that’s credit for you. Now is the time when Lord Cao values talents, and you are sure to stand out and prosper."

"Hahaha." The man laughed heartily, quite pleased.

Just then, a young figure suddenly appeared from the official road. The young man was sitting on a horse without a saddle, controlling it in a very awkward manner. Anyone experienced in horseback riding could see that he was evidently a novice.

"I’m puzzled. Is horse riding really this hard to learn? Without anyone teaching me, I really can’t handle a horse?" Qin Yuesheng was quite puzzled, tugging at the mane of the horse beneath him.

As a martial artist of the Fifth Layer of the Inner Power Realm, even in the Central Plains he was considered an expert. It was surprising to others that he couldn’t ride a horse. Although Qin Yuesheng’s speed far surpassed a steed, he had encountered robbers blocking the road to Wujiang River, whom he swiftly killed, seizing the leader’s horse.

During the journey, Qin Yuesheng was trying to teach himself how to ride. After a while, he could not grasp the essentials, so he removed the already shabby saddle and continued practicing.

And so it happened that he stumbled upon the soldiers forcibly conscripting strong men.

"Sir, that lad is carrying three weapons on his back. He seems to be a martial artist. If we can take him to enlist, he would surely be a great asset, much better than ordinary folks," one of the followers said to the moustached man.

The moustached man nodded, understanding that martial artists, due to their years of training, were much stronger in strength, physique, and speed than ordinary people, potentially capable of taking on many. Martial artists specializing in external training were even more formidable, unstoppable on the battlefield.

With this thought, the man rode towards Qin Yuesheng, cupping his fists in advance, and said, "Please hold on, sir. I am Huang Ke, a Centurion from Black Mountain City."