Their targets were still the local gentry, merchants, strongmen, and noble clans.

As a result, with all the arrested officials in Jade Peak County purged and no one left to govern, the County Town descended into chaos!

That evening, at 133 Hu Dong Third Lane in the South City district of the County Town, lay Li Lu’s home.

At that moment, Zhao the Seventh, along with a few of his men, cautiously knocked on Li Lu’s front door and called out in a low voice.

"Lord Li, it’s me, Zhao the Seventh! They’re gone!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

A moment later, the door creaked open to reveal Li Lu’s grave expression.

"Are you sure they’re all gone?" Li Lu asked in a low, heavy voice.

Zhao the Seventh nodded. "All gone. My men saw it with their own eyes. They rode out of the north gate and headed north."

Hearing this, Li Lu let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Zhao the Seventh, clapped him on the shoulder, and smiled. "I owe you one. Come on in."

Zhao the Seventh clasped his hands in a salute. "Thank you, my lord. You’re too kind. As it happens, I have something I need to discuss with you."

With that, he had his men stand guard at the door and entered by himself.

He didn’t go all the way inside to sit down, however, stopping in the courtyard to speak.

"I was merely following Lord Cheng’s directive. Since I happened upon this information, it was only natural to report it to you. I can’t take any credit for it. It’s just that..."

At this, Zhao the Seventh leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice. "My lord, the County Town is in utter chaos. There’s looting and rioting everywhere. This could be your opportunity. You could form a gang and take control of the entire County Town, or at least the entire South City district."

Li Lu glanced at Zhao the Seventh upon hearing his words, falling silent for a moment.

He had known in advance that the clan forces occupying Jade Peak County were going to purge all the officials from the County Magistrate’s Office. He had not only made his only nephew go into hiding but had also warned several of his trusted subordinates to do the same, thus avoiding this deadly purge.

And the source of that information had been Zhao the Seventh.

One of Zhao the Seventh’s men was a newly arrived refugee who had snuck into the County Town through a hole in the wall, bypassing the entry restrictions. After joining Zhao the Seventh’s group, he told them that those clans purged all the officials in every County Town they took.

Thus, Zhao the Seventh had followed Cheng Zongyang’s prior instructions to report any war-related intelligence to Li Lu, which in turn allowed Li Lu to escape the calamity.

"No," Li Lu said, shaking his head. "When those clans return, they’ll likely eliminate a troublemaker like me first thing. Coupled with my former identity, I doubt I’d be able to get away."

Zhao the Seventh chuckled slyly. "That’s simple enough, isn’t it? You could find someone trustworthy to unify the South City first. You support me from the shadows, and I’ll go unify the East City. Then you find two more trusted people to unify the West and North Cities.

This way, it’s all covert; no one will know you’re the one pulling the strings. When they return to take over, you can hand everything over willingly. You’d be giving them a stabilized County Town. You probably wouldn’t just be found innocent, you might even be rewarded for it! Besides, surely they wouldn’t bother targeting a former Chief Constable, would they?"

After hearing him out, Li Lu couldn’t help but sink into deep thought.

’He was probably the strongest person left in the County Town now.’

’It actually seems feasible.’

He couldn’t help but look at Zhao the Seventh, his gaze flickering. "You’ve been in a gang before, haven’t you? Don’t deny it, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. A simple peasant wouldn’t come up with such a winding scheme."

Zhao the Seventh clasped his hands and chuckled. "Nothing escapes your discerning eye, my lord. If you need it, I can arrange the manpower. I guarantee I can get a district under control within seven days!"

After a moment of thought, Li Lu finally said, "Come back after 7 p.m."

Zhao the Seventh’s face lit up. He clasped his hands and said, "Yes, my lord. I’ll remember."

The events in Jade Peak County had no bearing on the situation in the mountains. However, in the Imperial Study within the National Capital of Yangzhou Prefecture, the Sovereign was fraught with anxiety.

Although they had won the first battle against the Jin Kingdom on the northern front, two of the Thirteen Royal Families had since flooded into Haining Prefecture, throwing the northern war effort into disarray! This led to a defeat in the second battle, forcing them to fall back and defend.

The Imperial Court had no choice but to deliberate and then divide its forces. They dispatched a contingent of Martial Artists conscripted from the populace of the two eastern prefectures, sending them all to Haining Prefecture to assist its Border Army in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the news from Xiangyang, Linchuan, and Xichuan was no better than the situation in the north; in fact, it was even more severe.

"Aren’t those Thirteen Royal Families afraid of losing all their clan soldiers? Aren’t they worried the Xiliang Kingdom will seize the opportunity to reclaim its old lands? And all for some Firebird of unknown origin! A pack of lunatics!"

Emperor Liang furiously slammed a memorial reporting the fall of Qianye Prefecture in Xiangyang onto his desk, cursing aloud.

Several elderly men stood below him. One of them was Su Wuwei, the patriarch of the Su Family, who had previously led the hunt for the Firebird.

Upon hearing Emperor Liang speak of the Firebird in such a dismissive manner, he immediately stepped forward, bowed, and declared:

"Your Majesty! This Firebird is no trivial matter. In the hundreds of years since our nation’s founding, a creature that understands Magic Techniques has only been read about in historical texts; one has never been seen in the flesh. It was responsible for the two-year drought in the Land of Four Mansions of Da Liang. In the end, it even unleashed that one devastating attack, causing countless citizens and mountain creatures to suffer once again.

"Your Majesty, this Ability is far beyond that of any Exotic Beast. It is undoubtedly a Demon Beast, just like those in the ancient records!

"We learned from eyewitnesses that the creature came from the east. To the east lies the sea, so it must have come from overseas.

"This must be connected to a higher Realm, one above Innate. This is what the patriarchs of the Royal Families and the Martial Arts factions behind the Jin Kingdom are truly after. Therefore, it is also the key for Da Liang to break through its current predicament!

"As long as someone from the Six Paths Bureau or the Reincarnation Bureau can seize this opportunity to achieve a breakthrough, all of our current troubles will cease to be a problem!"

But another man stepped forward to refute him.