Chapter 153

  After obtaining the military power from the three generals, Tang Yin immediately put the Junjun, Sanshui Army, and Chifeng Army together with the Pingyuan Army, with a total force of nearly 100,000, into Tian Guan, strengthening the city's defense, stockpiling grain and grass, and making a long-term resistance against Wang Ting.

  At the same time, he ordered the mobilization of troops throughout the prefecture, expanding the Pingyuan Army from its original 80,000-strong force to 100,000, and increasing the 20,000-strong forces in San Shui and Chi Feng counties to 50,000. The prefectural army's 10,000-strong force was also expanded to 30,000. This ensured that there were 200,000 troops stationed at Tian Guan, with an additional 30,000 prefectural troops available for mobile deployment.

  At this time, whether Tang Yin was forced or voluntary, he really had a heart to compete with Wang Ting.

  However, Qiu's worries turned out to be unnecessary. Half a month later, Wang Ting's historian arrived in Shunzhou, bringing with him the edict of the Wind King.

  Feng Wang Zhanhua did not investigate the beheading of Yu Heyi, or he simply had no intention of dealing with this matter now. The Ningguo army of 400,000 people attacked Yancheng, and various places in Fengguo sent troops to reinforce, temporarily gathering an army of 200,000, plus Wang Ting's direct troops, joining forces to resist the Ning army. The battle was fierce, and countless soldiers on both sides were killed or injured. Zhanhua was already busy with this matter, and had no mind to care about the distant Tianyuan Prefecture.

  Zhan Hua's edict only had a few words, which read: "I have united the chaotic country, and it is reasonable to execute those who should be executed. The position will be temporarily taken over by Tang Yin, the General of the Northern Garrison."

  Upon receiving this decree, Tang Yin could finally breathe a sigh of relief. From then on, he was the officially appointed governor of Tianyuan Prefecture by the emperor himself, and thus had the legitimate authority to govern the prefecture.

  Qiu Zhen and others were overjoyed. Now their strength was not yet strong, so it would be better if they didn't conflict with Wang Ting.

  The historian handed Tang Yin's edict and then dryly said: "Lord Tang, I have something to ask you."

  The prefect was the highest official in the local area, and even if he was transferred to the royal court, his rank was still high, while the historian was only a lower-ranking official in the royal court, so he was naturally very polite to Tang Yin.

  Tang Yin was delighted in his heart and took over the decree. With a smile, he said: "Please speak if you have anything to say!"

  "When I, your subordinate, passed by the Tianmen Pass, I found that there were many troops stationed there. I don't know what Your Excellency's intention is in doing so." The historian asked casually, but actually had doubts. It was unusual to station a large number of soldiers at the Tianmen Pass, which was such an important and strategic pass, making one suspect Tang Yan's intentions.

  At the words, Qiu Zhen's face changed slightly, and just as he was about to speak, Tang Yin smiled and said: "When the capital is in trouble, how can my Tianyuan Prefecture stand by and do nothing? The soldiers stationed at the Heavenly Gate are preparing to go to the capital as reinforcements. It's just that the position of prefect is vacant, and I have no right to command, so the army has not moved yet."

  "Oh! So that's it!" The historian put his mind at ease and nodded repeatedly, smiling: "Then General Wang can send troops early to relieve the capital of its crisis!"

  "This is natural."

  "I will now return to the capital and report back to Your Excellency. Farewell, Lord Tang!"

  Seeing off Shi Guan, with Qiu Zhen at the forefront, the crowd bowed to Tang Yin and said in unison: "Congratulations on your promotion, sir!"

  Although the county head and county head are only two levels apart, the actual power they hold is very different. The Tianyuan County has a population of over 30 million, with three counties under its jurisdiction: Pingyuan County, Sanshui County, and Chifeng County. In addition to Shunzhou and surrounding towns directly under the county's administration, Tang Yin's territory is several times larger than before.

  Tang Yin was formally appointed as the head of the county government and his first move was to consolidate power.

  He formally removed the two county guards of Sanshui and Chifeng from their posts, and Liu Feng and Zhang Ting, recommended by Shangguan Yuanyi, took over. The county guard has local real power and must be taken over by trusted personnel. As for the subordinate officials of the two counties, Tang Yan accepted Shangguan Yuanyi's opinion and did not move them for the time being. If all the officials in the two counties were to be replaced at once, it would likely cause unrest and panic in the two counties. It was better to do it slowly.

  Due to the addition of the Tianyuan Army under his command, Tang Yin had to make appropriate adjustments to the duties of his generals.

  Xiao Mùqīng served as the commander of the Pingyuan Army, with ten legions under his command. Bái Yǒng served as the commander of the Sanshui Army, with five legions under his command. Lǐ Wēi served as the commander of the Chìfēng Army, with five legions under his command. Gǔ Yuè served as the commander of the Tiānyuān Directly Subordinate Army, with three legions under his command.

  Originally, Pingyuan County only had five legions, and there were only five legion commanders. After Zhāng Zhōu's death in battle, only four people remained. Now, the number of legions has expanded to twenty-three, and the selection of legion commanders and deputy legion commanders is extremely lacking. They can only be selected from among the thousand-man commanders of the Pingyuan Army.

  In addition, Táng Yìn specially selected several outstanding dark-system cultivators from the Dark Arrows to serve as legion commanders. This was the first time that the Dark Arrows provided talent to the military, and it also marked the formal entry of dark-system cultivators into the high levels of the military.

  Yu He was killed by Tang Yin, but the mansion was not vacated. He still had more than 100 family members detained in the county government, and at this time, Tang Yin showed another ruthless side. With one order, he executed Yu He's entire family of over 100 people.

  This is called cutting the grass and eliminating the roots. If you leave behind Yu He's family members, they will come out to avenge Yu He at some point or seek an opportunity to retaliate against Tang Yin. Leaving them behind would be troublesome and a disaster, so it's better to make a clean break and thoroughly eliminate the entire Yu He clan to prevent future troubles, with no one left to testify.

  As for the guests who came to congratulate me, they were all dispersed. The guards, servants and maids in my mansion were all replaced by people from the original county government.

  Since Tang Yin took control of the Tianyuan Prefecture, there have been earth-shaking changes in both the military and political circles. However, with the assistance of Shangguan Yuange and Qiu Zhen, the Tianyuan Prefecture remained stable, and the people only knew that Yu Hetong was executed for treason, and his position as prefect was taken over by Tang Yin.

  County government office.

  Tang Yin moved to the county governor's mansion, and Fan Min naturally followed him, and it was just right to expand the Fan family business to Shunzhou.

  The conditions of the prefectural government were much better than those of the county capital. What made Tang Yin most happy was the silver warehouse in the prefectural government, where there was a large amount of money accumulated over the years. The total amount was so large that it took three days to count and roughly calculate, with only silver reaching 7 or 8 million taels. Adding up various gold, silver, pearls, antiques, paintings and calligraphy, the total exceeded 10 million taels of silver. This huge sum naturally became the financial basis for Tang Yin's expansion of his army.

  It was said that on a clear morning, Tang Yin got up and was stretching his muscles in the courtyard when Fan Mian came over with a little girl who was only eight or nine years old.

  This little girl was Zhang Zhou's daughter, Zhang Yu. The little girl was dressed in luxurious finery, looking like a small princess. Tang Yin did not disappoint, from the day he adopted Zhang Yu, he treated her as his own younger sister, not only letting her live a life of luxury and abundance, but also hiring someone to wait on her.

  He had just taken over the Tianyuan County and was busy with official duties, so he hadn't seen Zhang Yu's face many times. The one who had the most contact with her was actually Fan Min, possibly because of his love for the house and the crow, Fan Min also liked this little girl very much, and took her around every day.

  Seeing Tang Yin dancing with a knife in the courtyard, Zhang Yu's eyes showed a hint of fear, hiding behind Fan Min, only revealing half of his head, his big black eyes curiously watching Tang Yin.

  "No need to dance anymore, look at how scared you've made Xiao Yu!" Fan Min pulled Zhang Yu's hand and didn't dare get closer to Tang Yin, standing far away with a dissatisfied loud voice.

  Her relationship with Tang Yin has become increasingly intimate, and Fan Min has now become the mistress of the county government, sometimes even asking Tang Zhong to check the county government's expenses.

  Tang Yin sheathed his sword, flashed a smile at the two of them, and seeing Zhang Yu looking at him with a hint of fear, he let out a gentle sigh, walked forward, bent down, and asked: "Little Jade, are you getting used to living here?"

  Zhang Yu didn't answer directly, but instead looked at Fan Min first, then nodded slightly.

  Zhang Zhou's daughter is perfect everywhere, but this one fear of childbirth makes Tang Yin feel very awkward.

  Seeing a flash of disappointment in Tang Yan's eyes, Fan Min hastily said: "Tang big brother, do you know or not, Xiao Yu is very clever, I showed her the shop's account book and she can remember everything after reading it once!"

  She didn't exaggerate, Zhang Yu's ability to remember everything at a glance was something even she couldn't match.

  "Oh?" Tang Yin was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing and said to Fan Min: "Even if you have the intention of cultivating Xiao Yu into a merchant like you, she's still young after all. Don't let her see things like account books."

  "Got it!" Fan Min stuck out her tongue at him.

  She herself was not yet twenty years old, and she was still a child. How could she possibly take care of Zhang Yu, who was ten years older than her? Tang Yin thought to himself that if Zhang Yu was really so clever, he should find a teacher for her now.

  After having dinner with Fan Min and Zhang Yu, Tang Yin went to the main hall of the prefecture's capital to discuss military affairs with Qiu Zhen and other generals.

  They are still debating whether or not to provide aid to Yancheng.

  Shangguan Yuan let go of his good fighting spirit, and was the most resolute pro-war faction. He decided to follow Tang Yan, who although did not let him take charge of a certain army unit, gave him the position of Tianyuan Army's General Vanguard Officer, and regarded him with exceptional importance.

  Qiu was indeed opposed to sending troops, his opinion being that their side had not yet gained a foothold in Tianyuan Prefecture and it was not suitable for large-scale military action. Moreover, although the Tianyuan Army had twenty-three legions under its command, this was merely an organizational structure; up until now, including new recruits, they actually only had over a million soldiers.

  On one hand advocating for immediate dispatch of troops to join the war, on the other hand advocating for rest and recuperation first, Tang Yin also found it difficult to make a decision at that time, so the matter dragged on like this.

  Fortunately, Wang Ting is now too busy to look north, and no one has high hopes for the distant Tianyuan County.

  Tang Yin had his own concerns. If he sent troops, as Qiu Zhen said, it was a good time to rest and recover, not suitable for military action. But if he didn't send troops, once Wang Ting defeated the Ning army, when they counted the number of troops who came to their aid after the battle, they would find that only Tianyuan County did not send any. How would Xian Hua view him then? If he caught Wang Ting's attention, the Yu He Yi case might be brought up again, and if thoroughly investigated, what would happen?

  After some deliberation, Tang Yin decided to send troops after all, but a sudden event unexpectedly held him back.