Days later.
At Fusu Great Wall, Zhu Qiong, the Commander of Ten Thousand Cavalry, led 5,000 cavalrymen escorting one hundred thousand human civilians, who were treated as tribute, to Fusu Great Wall. The seventh-realm martial artist bowed respectfully at the foot of the wall and said, "Zhu Qiong, a general under Marquis Chun'an of Furong Prefecture, is leading five thousand cavalry to escort one hundred thousand tribute here. Please grant passage, here is the transit pass!"
Below the city, a martial soldier from Fusu Great Wall stepped forward, accepted the pass, and then stepped into the city. He walked to the city gate and delivered the pass to a Heavenly Origin realm martial artist guarding the gate. This martial artist was Liu Xilong.
Liu Xilong unfolded the pass and read it repeatedly.
"Liu Xilong, can you read? What are you looking at!"
Not far away, a young Nascent Soul realm sword cultivator, sitting on the city wall and nurturing his sword intent, cursed and laughed. Although he looked much younger than the middle-aged Liu Xilong, they were of the same generation and grew up together at Fusu Great Wall, with a very close relationship. He spoke to one of the leaders of Fusu Great Wall without any politeness.
"Damn it!"
Liu Xilong rolled his eyes and said, "So what if I can't read? You can read, but is your realm higher than mine?"
The sword cultivator laughed heartily: "What's the use of a high realm? Do you dare to go to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool and contribute to the world with Lin Zhao?"
"Do you think I don't want to?"
Liu Xilong pouted: "It's Lin Wanhua who won't let me go. She said Fusu Great Wall is a strategically important place, and I, Liu Xilong, a Heavenly Origin realm martial artist and the strongest martial artist at Fusu Great Wall, must stay here..."
"Tsk tsk."
The young sword cultivator pinched his nose: "That's true. If it weren't for you, Liu Xilong, Fusu Great Wall would have been breached by the demon race long ago."
"Go to hell!"
Liu Xilong picked up a brick and threw it. The sword cultivator unleashed a sword aura that shattered it.
"Cough cough..."
Below the city, Zhu Qiong felt a bit awkward. He cupped his fists again and said, "Zhu Qiong of Furong Prefecture, please grant passage, Lord Liu Xilong!"
"Got it."
Liu Xilong directly threw the transit pass down and said in a deep voice, "Open the city gate!"
...
Fusu Great Wall, North City Gate.
Several people stood on the city wall: Lin Wanhua, Qin Yu, Liu Xilong, and Ye Lin, all of whom were in the Upper Five Realms. Currently, they were the only young cultivators in the Upper Five Realms in charge at Fusu Great Wall. As for old sword immortals like Han Fang, they rarely appeared, but once Fusu Great Wall was attacked, these old fellows would definitely show up. After all, they could still heed Lu Xinghe's dying admonition.
"Another tribute."
Qin Yu frowned and said, "One hundred thousand human civilians, just handed over to the Northern Four Clans as food or cauldrons. Is the imperial court of the Great Shang Dynasty still as spineless as ever?"
Lin Wanhua said, "Wen Shuyang's strategy from back then, few dared to refute it. Whether it was Li Chunyang, Wen Hao, or Lin Yan, they all highly respected Marquis Wen. However, Wen Shuyang's signing of the Lingnan Alliance back then was merely to appease and pacify the demon race. Now that times have changed, it's time for some adjustments."
"What then?"
Liu Xilong laughed: "Lin Wanhua, are you going to lead everyone to slaughter these soldiers from Furong Prefecture and keep these hundred thousand civilians?"
Lin Wanhua glanced at him and said, "Most of the supplies for our Fusu Great Wall come from the Great Shang Dynasty. If we really do that, the food for the entire Fusu Great Wall from now on will depend on you, Liu Xilong."
"No."
Liu Xilong touched his nose: "I don't have that ability."
"..."
Lin Wanhua sighed. She couldn't make the decision. The descendants of the Xia clan at Fusu Great Wall were ultimately just convicts and refugees. The Dragon Banner of the Great Shang Dynasty hung on the southern city wall. If they truly broke ties with the Great Shang Dynasty, the only fate awaiting Fusu Great Wall would be annihilation. Furthermore, it would benefit the Northern Four Clans, and perhaps even be the beginning of the decline of the human race.
The burden on her shoulders was too heavy, so she had to be cautious.
However, there was someone who seemed very suitable to intervene in this matter.
Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Ye Lin, send a message to Lin Zhao of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, inform him about the matter of these hundred thousand tribute going north, and also inform him of the marching route of Zhu Qiong and the others."
"Yes, City Lord!"
Ye Lin happily went off.
Lin Wanhua looked down at the unarmed civilians from Furong Prefecture below the city. This was all she could do to help them. As for whether Lin Zhao would take action, it depended on Lin Zhao. He would naturally consider it. In Lin Wanhua's mind, Lin Zhao's military strategy was the best in the world. He was Lin Baiyi, and it was most appropriate to let him make the decision. Now that the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool was recruiting soldiers, if these one hundred thousand young and strong people truly went to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Lin Zhao would no longer have to worry about recruitment.
...
Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Tianran Ju.
Lin Zhao spread the feathered letter on his desk and read it carefully for a long time.
Beside him were Su Qingjiu, Wuzhi, Mu Zuo, Chu Yu, Xiang Ji, Xu Sheng, and other key figures from the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool. Looking at the clearly marked marching route of the tribute on the feathered letter, everyone had their own thoughts.
"Lord."
Wuzhi frowned and said, "The Great Shang Dynasty doesn't care about the lives of one hundred thousand people. What should our Snow Domain Heavenly Pool do?"
"Let's not rush to a conclusion."
Lin Zhao looked up at everyone and said, "What do you say?"
"Let's do this, what else can we do?"
Mu Zuo said in a deep voice: "The Great Shang army responsible for escorting them only has 5,000 cavalry, led by a Commander of Ten Thousand Cavalry of the seventh realm. The combat strength of Furong Prefecture's iron cavalry has always been at the bottom. Those pampered young masters from the land of fish and rice, how can they fight? We only need to dispatch a thousand-cavalry camp to defeat them. Their marching route is to cross the Xi Jian River and head straight for Gu Xiao Pass. After handing over the one hundred thousand people at Gu Xiao Pass, they will be taken over by the demon race. We will ambush them directly in the vicinity of Tong Jing Lake, catching them off guard."
"Right!"
Xu Sheng said in a deep voice, "Lord, your subordinate is willing to lead the army to battle!"
"Let's not rush..."
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "So, everyone is willing to fight for these one hundred thousand lives, right?"
"Yes!"
Wuzhi and Chu Yu also nodded with smiles. As for Su Qingjiu, she didn't care. If Brother Lin Zhao told her to draw her sword, she would draw her sword. She would just be a well-behaved little Jiu'er and not worry about anything else.
Lin Zhao pressed his hands on the desk and remained silent for a long time.
"Lord."
Wuzhi frowned: "What are you hesitating about?"
"Yeah..."
Chu Yu said, "Lord, do you have any concerns?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao looked up and said, "We must save these one hundred thousand civilian tribute. The key lies in where to make our move. Currently, the forces of the demon race and the human race are clearly separated, with the mountain range stretching for thousands of miles where the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool is located as the boundary. To the north are the Northern Four Clans, and to the south is the human race. If the demons do not cross Gu Xiao Pass, they are not considered to have moved south. If the humans do not cross Gu Xiao Pass, they are not considered to have moved north."
"The Lord means..."
Xu Sheng frowned tightly.
Lin Zhao lightly pointed to the location of Gu Xiao Pass on the map and said, "If I'm not mistaken, after passing Gu Xiao Pass, Zhu Qiong will lead his 5,000 cavalry south on their return journey. Therefore, intercepting them south of Gu Xiao Pass would be equivalent to declaring war on the Great Shang Dynasty. This is very unwise, as we need to purchase a large amount of supplies from the Great Shang Dynasty."
He frowned and said, "But what if we ambush them north of Gu Xiao Pass? That would be different. North of Gu Xiao Pass, we would be snatching these one hundred thousand tribute from the hands of the demon race. The demon race would resent us, not the Great Shang Dynasty. Even if we do this, it will not implicate the Great Shang Dynasty. This is the best outcome."
"..."
Chu Yu looked deeply at Lin Zhao with her beautiful eyes and said, "The Lord's consideration is indeed the most stable!"
Wuzhi, Mu Zuo, Xu Sheng, Xiang Ji, and others also nodded in agreement.
...
Lin Zhao continued, "It's only one hundred thousand unarmed human civilians. I believe the demon race will not dispatch too many troops to receive them, perhaps about ten thousand would be enough. The remaining challenge is when we enter the designated location to prepare to ambush the demon race's receiving army and rescue these one hundred thousand people from their hands."
Mu Zuo took a deep breath: "Does the Lord have any ideas?"
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "It will take many days for a group of civilians to walk from Fusu Great Wall to Gu Xiao Pass. Therefore, we can set off in advance, secretly deploy our troops to the predetermined location north of Gu Xiao Pass, and then catch the demon race off guard. However, I still have a concern: the movement of a large number of troops from the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool will inevitably escape the eyes of demon scouts and those in the Upper Five Realms. Therefore, we need a mobile formation to conceal the aura of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool army, so that we can reach the predetermined location for the ambush without anyone noticing."
"Concealing formation, a specialty of the Mohist school."
Wuzhi said, "I'm afraid we'll need to dispatch people from the Mohist Ancestral Home."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao turned to Su Qingjiu and said, "We need a formation to conceal the aura of 5,000 people. The number of Mohist cultivators required should not be large. Little Jiu'er, go to the Mohist Ancestral Home on my behalf and dispatch people directly from the Mohist Ancestral Home. If this matter can be accomplished, the entire plan will be stable."
"Okay."
Su Qingjiu smiled and nodded: "When do I depart?"
"Leave now, the sooner the better."
"Mm!"
...
The Mohist Ancestral Home, like the Military Ancestral Home, is located far from the mortal world, amidst the swirling clouds in the sky, only a thin line away from both the mortal world and the upper realm.
"Swish!"
A streak of pure white sword light knocked on the mountain. Su Qingjiu landed in front of the Mohist Ancestral Home and said softly with her fists clasped, "Su Qingjiu of Changming Mountain, seeking an audience with the Grand Master."
"Oh my..."
Inside the mountain gate, a man who was nurturing his sword intent opened his eyes. It was Xu Shuo, the second elder of the Mohist school. He looked at Su Qingjiu, couldn't help but smile, and immediately got up: "Sword Immortal Su, please wait a moment, I'll go and announce you?"
"Mm."
Su Qingjiu smiled and nodded.
"No need to announce."
A voice came from within the ancestral home. Immediately, a corner of the protective mountain formation in front of Su Qingjiu parted. The voice was extremely gentle: "Sword Immortal Su of Changming Mountain is invited to the ancestral home for a meeting!"
"Thank you."
Su Qingjiu leaped onto a wisp of clear wind and headed straight for the ancestral home. Xu Shuo also followed, rising with his strength and heading there together. Since Su Qingjiu had come, there must be something. Otherwise, this great sword immortal who had been diligently fighting barbarian sorcerers in the south would not have come to the Mohist Ancestral Home, as they had no particular friendship.