With the vigorous promotion of the Imperial City Division, the news of Chu's hegemony quickly spread throughout Kyushu.
However, although this move made everyone in the world know the strength of Chu State, the talents Lu Yuan expected to join the army did not appear.
Think about it too.
Although Chu State has initially established its hegemony, it has only just reached this threshold.
In the world of Jiuzhou, there are many more powerful forces than Chu.
Even the Ning State, without counting the innate masters, is still stronger than the Chu State in terms of superficial strength.
Chu State may have just entered the top ten in the choices of people in the world, or it may be ranked outside the top ten.
Unless it was an innate master who was desperate or had no choice but to do so, there was a very small chance that someone would seek refuge in the Chu Kingdom.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan didn't have high hopes for this.
His real purpose is not to let those innate masters take the initiative to vote.
The reason why he wants to confirm his status as a hegemon is that he wants to capture other countries' lands in the future. If there are innate masters on those occupied territories, Chu State can have the strength to recruit them.
Just like Qian Yue and Zhou Guo took the initiative to invite domestic Jianghu masters to join, so that Chu could do the same when they have suitable candidates in the future.
For example, Lu Yuan's hometown when he first traveled through time was the Liuyang Sect in Yuzhang County.
To this day, the Liuyang Sect in Ningguo still maintains its independence. Even after the Baifeng Temple, Jiuchuan Sword Sect and other Jianghu sects have turned into sects and become states, the Liuyang Sect has become the only Xiantian sect in Yangzhou, and it can be said to be the dominant one. Wulin.
The leader of the Liuyang Sect, Yin Huixuan, was the third Grandmaster of the Second Innate Realm in Yangzhou, besides Lu Yuan and Ningguo Emperor Shen Qiu.
As long as the two of them and Lu Yuan's clone Huang Xuan didn't take action, Yin Huixuan was the well-deserved number one in Yangzhou.
For such a powerful master, Lu Yuan was naturally very coveted and wanted to take him under his wing.
He believed that Shen Qiu of Ning State had the same idea.
It's just that although Ning Guo's innate masters have been trained in the past few years, two more have been added, reaching a total of six.
But even if there were six innate masters, when facing Yin Huixuan, Shen Qiu still had no confidence in defeating him and keeping this person.
Therefore, even if Ning Guo was extremely dissatisfied, the only thing Ning Guo could do was to maintain the independent status of the Liuyang Sect and remain outside the world.
But Ning State doesn't have that ability, but Chu State does.
Whether it is the clone Huang Xuan or Lu Yuan himself, they are sure to defeat Yin Huixuan.
Among them, if Lu Yuan took action personally, or even killed this person on the spot, he would be very sure.
If the clone and the main body attack together, Yin Huixuan will definitely die.
With this strength, as long as he can capture Yuzhang County, Lu Yuan will be absolutely sure to make the Liuyang Sect surrender and let Yin Huixuan serve.
In fact, with Lu Yuan's current strength, in the entire Jiuzhou, except for those immortal sects, he is sure to kill no matter who he is in the secular world.
Just like Ningguo.
As long as Lu Yuan wanted to, he could sneak into Jinling City now, then sneak attack Shen Qiu, and directly assassinate the Ning Emperor.
But being able to kill the opponent does not mean that Lu Yuan can successfully swallow the entire Ning Kingdom.
Ruling the world cannot be achieved by just one person.
Lu Yuan needed experts to help him suppress his territory, officials to help him manage his territory, and an army to help him maintain order.
Among them, officials and the army are easy to deal with, but top-level masters and innate masters are not so easy to train.
There are currently six innate masters in Chu State, among whom Ji Hui is dying and may die tomorrow.
Therefore, the Chu State can really use only five innate masters.
But the territory that Chu State wanted to defend included five counties.
Evenly divided, there is only one innate per county, which can barely meet the demand.
Large powers like Zhou and Liang each have more than ten innate masters. The number of top masters is so sufficient that they can easily suppress the territories of several or even dozens of counties.
The Chu State did not have this background and forced the snake to swallow the elephant. Even if the Ning State was eaten in one bite, there would not be so many people to protect the territory.
However, the Linhai family, which was unable to stabilize its territory and lost its foundation, started to cause chaos everywhere. Four or five innate masters became assassins, which was enough to turn the entire Chu country upside down and make it completely unstable.
By then, the territory has expanded, but there are not enough defenders, and the entire Chu State's defense line will be leaky. Outsiders can easily find a flaw, and then swarm up and completely tear the Chu State to pieces.
It is precisely because of this that before he had enough strength, even though there were many surrounding Chu countries that could take over, Lu Yuan resisted the temptation and did not take action.
In the southwest region, he ennobled three vassal states and asked them to serve as barriers to monitor and deal with the Yi states, as well as the Soviet Union and Song Dynasty.
The Soviet Union's previous state affairs were in ruins, the country was in turmoil, and the country was in ruins.
Lu Yuan didn't take any action, he just took the opportunity to gather some fugitives from the Soviet Union, and made a deal with grain, earning a lot of money and some benefits.
The Nanhai Kingdom didn't even have an innate master, and it kept jumping between the Chu Kingdom and the Ning Kingdom, challenging his bottom line.
But Lu Yuan still didn't take action.
Because he captured the Nanhai Kingdom, he did not have enough strength to hold it.
Rather than eating the Nanhai Kingdom and then being hostile and flanked by Su and Ning, it is better to act as a buffer. The three countries are afraid of each other, and no one dares to make the first move.
The only thing Lu Yuan took action in the past two years was the newly conquered Hehe County.
This is also because Hehe County is far away on the plateau and is surrounded by mountains and jungles, which are natural barriers.
The only channel of communication with the outside world is Xichuan County.
Xichuan County is guarded by Huang Xuan. As long as this clone is here and as long as Xichuan County does not fall, the outside world will never be able to attack Hehe County, and this place will be absolutely safe.
Calculated in this way, each of the five counties of Chu State is actually guarded by at least one innate master, and more than 100,000 troops can be mobilized at any time, so safety is absolutely guaranteed.
Lu Yuan was very careful every step he took to expand outward, not exceeding the scope of his capabilities.
certainly.
Being cautious does not mean that he will really give up on Ning State, Su, Song and other countries.
Ning Guo and Lu Yuan still have to fight.
He was not prepared to give up on Su, Song and other countries.
It's just that the opportunity to annex these countries and completely unite Yangzhou needs to be delayed a little.
Lu Yuan planned to wait a few more years until his two sons reached adulthood and achieved innate breakthroughs in eight or nine years.
Eighty or nine years later, his cultivation reached a further level, reaching the point of condensing two qi, and he had an extremely powerful force that could truly overwhelm the entire world.
After eight or nine years, he would refine a few more clones, allowing the Chu State's innate combat power to completely break through the ten-man barrier.
By then, having accumulated enough strength, Lu Yuan would be absolutely sure that he could wipe out the entire Yangzhou in one fell swoop.
At that time, Shunchang will be destroyed.
Whether it is the Linhai Family, Su Xuange, Xie Ning, or the small countries in the southwest, anyone who does not surrender will face destruction.
This time is not far away.
Lu Yuan has been working hard in this world for more than twenty years, and he can wait less than ten years. He has the patience.
Even unifying the entire Nine Provinces and Ten Regions is only a matter of time for him.
As the only immortal in this age of the end of the law, Lu Yuan has so many advantages that he doesn't have to do anything else. He just needs to endure it and survive those immortal cultivators and innate masters, so that he can be alone in this world. rule the roost.
The reason why I am participating in the struggle for hegemony now is just to rely on luck to increase my share before the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is completely exhausted.
What he has always fought for is spiritual energy, and the world is just incidental.
…
"But now, we can start refining the second Yellow Turban Warrior."
In the quiet and empty palace, Lu Yuan looked at a pile of spiritual materials neatly arranged in front of him. These were all the alien remains collected by the Chu Kingdom over the years.
He took a deep breath, a smile appearing in his eyes.
After the last time he separated his spiritual thoughts to refine a clone, for more than four years, Lu Yuan had been diligently practicing Taiping Taoism every day. Lu Yuan finally accumulated enough strength to refine a second clone.
Chu State will soon welcome another innate fighting force.
Over in Qianzhong County, after Ji Hui passed away, someone was finally able to take over.
"Having a clone who is equivalent to the second level of Xiantian is enough to scare those feudal states and other thoughtful people.
In this case, Huang Xuan should be able to get out and no longer have to worry about suppressing the southwestern countries, and can be sent to other places. "
Lu Yuan picked up a copy of the alien slough, and was thinking in his mind while he was using his mana to refine the spiritual materials.
Over the years, Ji Hui from Qianzhong County has been in a coma and has never been seen outside.
Although many people know that there is an innate grandmaster from Baifeng Temple guarding Qianzhong County, and there is no shortage of top-level combat power.
But many people also know that Ji Hui, an innate combat power, is seriously injured and cannot take action at all. He can only fight when he is desperate.
Therefore, the intimidating power of his innate grandmaster is not as strong as that of a normal grandmaster.
If it weren't for the fact that there were three vassal states of Chu in the southwestern region, they could support each other with Qianzhong County. At the same time, Dongting County also bordered central Guizhou and could send reinforcements at any time.
Today's Qianzhong County is definitely not as peaceful as it is now.
But even so, in order to ensure the balance of the southwest region, Lu Yuan had to ask Huang Xuan to patrol the south of Xichuan County from time to time, so that this master of the second innate realm could intimidate many forces in the southwest region and prevent them from doing anything. Be careful.
It is precisely because of Huang Xuan's presence that the southwest region can maintain its current general balance.
Those three vassal states have always been honest and did not dare to make any small moves.
But as a result, Huang Xuan was also dragged to the southwest, unable to leave Xichuan County at all, and his hands and feet were completely restrained.
Even because of the distraction of Southwest, this clone couldn't even take care of the affairs of Xichuan and Hehe counties.
This undoubtedly goes against Lu Yuan's original arrangement.
In his original vision, Huang Xuan, a master of the second level of Xiantian, was responsible for the defense lines and areas of Xichuan, River Valley, and the three counties of Hanzhong that he would capture in the future.
General Huang Xuan unified the three northwest counties of Chu State and became a general guarding one side, preparing for future attacks on Zhou State.
Now he is dragged into the southwest affairs, which seriously disrupts Lu Yuan's plan.
Therefore, in order to liberate him, it is necessary to find a second person, someone who is powerful enough to deter many forces in the southwest and at the same time safeguard Chu's interests here.
Looking around the Chu State, the only ones with this ability are Lu Yuan and Huang Xuan.
But as the leader of Chu State, Lu Yuan had to take into account the overall situation and guard the capital, so naturally it was impossible to guard the southwest.
Therefore, the best way is naturally to train another clone and arrange him to go to Qianzhong County to take charge of one county and three countries belonging to the Chu State there, and help Lu Yuan manage the entire southwest.
"It will take about half a month to refine this clone."
Putting down the tempered spiritual materials in his hands, Lu Yuan glanced at the half-finished materials and estimated the specific time.
It took half a month, and it was barely a big project.
Picking up a new spiritual material, he sighed, lamented his hard work, and then continued to temper it.
…
Time passes slowly.
While Lu Yuan was busy in retreat and refining the clone of the Yellow Turban Warriors, the outside world was also changing.
Xiangyang County, Xicheng Prefecture.
At the border between Chu and Zhou, the Han River passed through Hanzhong County, flowed eastward, and entered the land of Xiangyang County.
At this time, the Han River was surging, and a fleet of boats came from the upper reaches. They soon left the boundaries of Hanzhong County and entered Xicheng Mansion.
"who?"
On the border between Xicheng Mansion and Hanzhong County, there is a Shuijin Checkpoint, which guards this important waterway and warns people coming from Hanzhong County.
At the same time, this place is also responsible for collecting customs duties from people coming to Chu State from Zhou State. However, this pass can provide Chu State with a customs duty of hundreds of thousands taels of silver every year, which can be regarded as an important place for wealth.
Therefore, there are not only a thousand checkpoint defenders sent by the county government here, but the navy also stationed a fleet here to be responsible for the safety on the water.
At this time, the naval fleet patrolling the river quickly discovered the Hanzhong fleet coming from the river, and immediately went up to stop it.
Faced with the naval obstruction, the fleet did not forcefully break through and stopped cooperatively.
When the navy officers approached the ship's side and arrived at the flagship of the fleet, a group of people had already been waiting. The leader was an official in a red robe, who immediately came over with a smile and said: "I am an envoy from the Kingdom of Zhou. This time I am here as an envoy to the State of Chu. This is my credential..."
During the contact, the news of the envoy from Zhou State was quickly transmitted back to Baling on a fast boat.
Half a month later.
Lu Yuan walked out of the retreat hall with deep fatigue.
Behind him followed a man in a green robe, with an air of elegance that made one know that he was extraordinary at a glance.
This was the second clone of the Yellow Turban Warriors that he had spent half a month of hard work and channeled a lot of spiritual energy. Lu Yuan named this clone Qingyunzi.
Well, this name has more Taoist meaning and is closer to the identity of a Taoist.
It is also more in line with the abilities Lu Yuan gave this clone.
Like Huang Xuan, Qingyunzi's strength is still equivalent to that of a warrior in the second realm of Xiantian.
However, what is slightly different from Huang Xuan is that in addition to Qingyunzi's inherent body of steel and iron bones, and the ability to gather energy to form a blade, the third solidification spell is not infinitely powerful, but was changed by Lu Yuan into a talisman sword technique.
If Huang Xuan's three abilities of steel and iron, gathering energy to form a blade, and infinite strength were added together, he would eventually create an invincible melee mage.
As for Qingyunzi, who has steel bones, energy-gathering blades and talisman sword skills, Lu Yuan positions him as a long-range mage with super defensive capabilities.
The steel and iron bones give Qingyunzi extremely strong vitality and protection. The energy gathered into a blade gives him a certain degree of melee combat ability. The talisman sword skill allows him to use the talisman sword to kill enemies with the sword across a hundred feet.
Huang Xuan prefers to be a warrior with martial arts and spiritual skills, while Qing Yunzi is more similar to a pure swordsman. The two have completely different preferences.
Huang Xuan's life-saving ability is slightly stronger, but in terms of lethality, Qingyunzi is definitely far better than Huang Xuan.
This was also a choice Lu Yuan made deliberately in response to the situation in the southwest.
If Huang Xuan was powerful in the past, he might still miss if he wanted to kill a master in the first level of Xiantian.
So at this time, Qingyunzi, who was proficient in killing, capable of both close combat and long-range combat, and mastered the talisman sword technique, would be an out-and-out terrifying god of death against those ordinary first-level innate warriors.
In any one-on-one situation, as long as he encounters Qingyunzi, Lu Yuan believes that none of the innate masters in the southwest can escape alive.
A swordsman with an absolute advantage in suppression and who is especially good at killing is the guardian Lu Yuan has prepared for Southwest.
"As long as Qingyunzi is here, Southwest will be completely worry-free."
Lu Yuan suppressed his exhaustion and thought happily.
With the addition of another top-level combatant, Chu's defense was further strengthened, which made him quite happy.
A huge stone fell from his heart. The hard work during this period suddenly turned into endless fatigue and sleepiness, which made Lu Yuan want to take a long sleep to recuperate his spirit.
But just when he was planning to have Qingyunzi placed in the palace, and then go to rest himself.
A personal eunuch outside the palace looked happy when he saw Lu Yuan coming out, and hurried over.
"Your Majesty, the State of Zhou has sent envoys to ask for an audience with your Majesty."
The personal eunuch came closer, bowed respectfully and said: "Now the right prime minister is leading people to entertain him, and he is sending a message back to the palace, saying that the Zhou Dynasty has important matters coming, and the right prime minister cannot make a decision. If the king is out of seclusion, please come over and discuss the state affairs. .”
After listening to the eunuch's words, Lu Yuan frowned: "Zhou Guo?"
He was a little confused and didn't know what the purpose of Zhou's sudden envoy was.
However, Sun Siwen, as the Right Prime Minister, said that he could not make a decision. The matter was important and he had to come forward in person. Then he thought that this matter was indeed extraordinary, and he really wanted to see it.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Yuan glanced at the personal eunuch and said, "Have someone send a message to the Right Prime Minister and ask him to take the envoys from the Kingdom of Zhou and wait at the Qianming Hall."
Having said this, he looked at the slightly dirty clothes on his body. He had been working hard on the spiritual materials for the past few days and had not bothered to clean them, so he was starting to stink.
Lu Yuan, who had just condensed his Qi realm, could not yet achieve the level of ice muscle and jade bone, which was not stained by dust and dirt, and did not hide filth.
Nowadays, I still need to eat and take a bath.
Moreover, after being tired for days, he really needed to relax, so he said: "Also, prepare some hot water and clothes for me. I need to take a shower and change clothes."
"yes."
The personal eunuch responded, then took a small step back and went to prepare.
