A Night in the Grid

Chapter 560 Preparation

Chapter 1 T’ai Prefecture

Almost half of T’ai Prefecture was already in the hands of the Leiyin Magic Sect. Outsiders only knew that the Leiyin Magic Sect was good at business, but they did not expect them to be so good. Large sums of silver were spent in exchange for good farmland, orchards, manors and other foundations. Then, those devout believers, those poor followers who followed the Leiyin Magic Sect, constantly became similar to tenants. Really, only similar to tenants. They still had to pay rent to the Leiyin Magic Sect, but the interest rate was much lower than that of the original landlords. These loyal believers were firmly linked to the Leiyin Magic Sect, both in terms of faith and economy. And these people were still envied by those believers who had not yet obtained land.

In T’ai Prefecture, there were 80,000 households who had similar economic ties with the Leiyin Magic Sect. In addition to the officials and wealthy believers that the Leiyin Magic Sect could directly and indirectly control, the Leiyin Magic Sect was actually acting on behalf of the government in performing administrative duties. Although there was much dissatisfaction within the Xiling court, Lei Huang, the leader of the Leiyin Magic Sect, was Sun Boping’s son-in-law, and although the Leiyin Magic Sect actually controlled the power, it still paid much attention to saving face for the government. Now, there were a lot of taxes, but the Leiyin Magic Sect came forward to pay the bills for all its believers. Over time, in T’ai Prefecture and the surrounding prefectures and counties, the prestige and control of the Leiyin Magic Sect far exceeded that of the government.

The military strength of the Leiyin Magic Sect in the area was also quite large. The Guardian Army and the Zongmo Corps totaled nearly 20,000 people. Moreover, once something happened, almost all the believers of the Leiyin Magic Sect would take up arms and stand on their side, and more than 200,000 people could be mobilized... The 20,000 people in the hands of the Leiyin Magic Sect were all first-class in training and equipment. Not to mention that the current level of the Zongmo Corps was almost no less than that of Yun Prefecture’s special operations battalion.

With high-level connections and powerful military force, no one could stop the Leiyin Magic Sect from controlling T’ai Prefecture. No one could really understand where the money of the Leiyin Magic Sect came from. Funds were transported into Xiling along that secret path for the purchase of land and for the various expenses of the Leiyin Magic Sect. And although the Leiyin Magic Sect was very upright, it also had sufficient means to deal with those who were enemies of the Leiyin Magic Sect. Eliminating enemies and eliminating dissidents to seize land was also a pleasure. Since T’ai Prefecture was the front line facing the attack from the Yun Prefecture direction, land prices had been declining continuously in recent years, and many aristocratic families preferred to move to places closer to the capital. This also gave the Leiyin Magic Sect a chance to take advantage of the situation. In the beginning, the local officials did not notice this, and by the time the governor of T’ai Prefecture realized this, it was actually impossible to reverse it. Ministers in the central government who were at odds with Sun Boping had also tried to curb the development of the Leiyin Magic Sect through the Daoming Sect. But in other those prefectures, it might still have some effect, but in T’ai Prefecture, the Leiyin Magic Sect was the absolute ruler.

In this winter, the atmosphere in T’ai Prefecture was a little different from usual. The higher-ups of the Leiyin Magic Sect, including Lei Huang, seemed to be expecting something. The Guardian Army raised the level of alert in the controlled areas by two levels. This was something that could be seen. Patrols of the Guardian Army came and went, but there were no signs of preparation for war. What could not be seen was that the Guardian Army and the Zongmo Corps had successively begun to replace their horses. A large number of military horses from Northern Liao made the Guardian Army even more majestic. And those military weapons were quietly hidden in the homes of more and more loyal believers, allowing them to deal with any abnormal situation.

In addition to the Guardian Army strengthening its patrols, the various altars of the Leiyin Magic Sect began a new round of cleaning, and even renovation and reconstruction, and most of the priests, high-level priests, etc. were issued new robes. The Zongmo Corps also began a new round of re-equipment, but the content of training and daily service of the Zongmo Corps, such as guarding and vigilance, increased by a full 30%.

All of these situations meant only one thing: Ye Tao was coming.

Originally, Ye Tao had not planned to come to Xiling at this time. Several months ago, Ye Tao had ordered the Leiyin Magic Sect to stabilize the northern border of Xiling. If it hadn’t been for the sudden appearance of the Xiling delegation, there would have been no need to touch on the issue of the Leiyin Magic Sect again before the conquest of Chunnan. But now the problem was very serious. Since a large amount of power in Xiling was decentralized in the hands of local powerful families and local dignitaries, it would be a very serious problem if there were different opinions everywhere. Although the command of the army now completely belonged to the central government of Xiling, after all, these soldiers and their commanders were still from local aristocratic families. Whether it would be possible to control the overall situation and various places at the first time was a very serious problem. The Xuan Pass could be opened to Dongping at any time to allow the Dongping army to enter, but after all, it was a bit beyond reach, and the army and other forces that were already within Xiling would become the key to victory at that time. And now, among the troops that could be directly controlled within Xiling, the most powerful were the Guardian Army and the Zongmo Corps. Now, the special operations battalion, Ye Tao’s guard battalion, the inner court guards and other units were infiltrating into the interior of Xiling, hoping to concentrate enough combat power at that time to make various arrangements. And at this time, the agreement between the two countries had not yet been reached. Ye Tao didn’t care, he had no interest in such an agreement.

“Lord, it’s been a long time since we last met.” Lei Huang led a full squadron of the Zongmo Corps to the mountain pass to welcome Ye Tao.

After continuous renovation, this mountain pass had become wide and neat, but the vegetation above the pass was very dense, and nothing could be seen from aerial reconnaissance. The pass and the mountains on both sides were also under the control of the Leiyin Magic Sect and the Yun Prefecture military. Not to mention people, even if a bird wanted to pass through this pass, it would really have to go through many obstacles. It was precisely because of this caution that this pass could continue to maintain its secrecy while its traffic capacity was constantly increasing. Ye Tao was also able to take a comfortable carriage, with a small number of elite guards, through this pass to T’ai Prefecture.

“Lei Huang, what are you doing here?” Ye Tao patted Lei Huang’s shoulder and said affectionately.

“Lord, everything in T’ai Prefecture is under control, there is nothing to worry about. Your coming here is the most important thing.” Lei Huang’s closeness was obvious.

“Let’s go, we’ll talk as we go.” Ye Tao re-entered the carriage and beckoned Lei Huang to come up with him.

The carriage was specially designed and manufactured for Ye Tao, and obviously reflected the highest technical level of this era. This time, because it was almost equivalent to going deep into enemy territory, Ye Tao did not bring his family with him, and the carriage seemed particularly spacious.

“Lord, will Xiling... really surrender directly?” Lei Huang still couldn’t believe it. He knew that with him and the Leiyin Magic Sect in Xiling, and Sun Boping in the central government in a high position, there was no suspense in a fight, but he didn’t expect that the Xiling royal family would be so straightforward and directly send a delegation to negotiate peace.

“Probably. The treatment of the Xiling royal family will be a little higher than that of Northern Liao, after all, the national strength of Xiling is there, and their active surrender is a significant contribution to the great cause of unification.” Ye Tao said with a smile: “Other conditions don’t matter, since they have this attitude, they have naturally thought about what they want. It’s nothing more than security guarantees and future family development. I’m not interested in these things, but you need to tell me about the preparations you’ve made here.”

“Yes, Lord.” Lei Huang began to give a detailed explanation in the car. This extremely seductive speaker spoke calmly when giving a detailed report. It could be seen that he was very clear about the various preparations of the Leiyin Magic Sect, and some specific figures came out of his mouth without having to look through documents and archives.

In addition to the Guardian Army and the Zongmo Corps, the Leiyin Magic Sect had also contacted many local garrison troops one after another. Moreover, this contact was synchronized with their evangelism, which had spread to almost every prefecture in Xiling. The most powerful of these was a large camp located 170 miles southwest of Anqing, the capital of Xiling. The commander of the army was Tong Bingwen’s son, Tong Sinian. Tong Sinian’s wife was a royal noblewoman, although she was not very close to the country’s main family line, she was still a princess, and she knew a lot about the royal family’s attitude. He seemed to have expected that the Xiling royal family would not go to war with Dongping. Before the Xiling royal family had made a decision, he had already agreed with the representative of the Leiyin Magic Sect to act in unison at that time. Tong Sinian guessed the origin of the Leiyin Magic Sect, which surprised Lei Huang, but after Lei Huang personally met Tong Sinian, he was relieved. Tong Sinian was Tong Bingwen’s son after all, and he was too familiar with the Dongping army. Tong Sinian had even run to T’ai Prefecture to observe the Guardian Army. No matter how disguised, the temperament shown by an army that originated from the common people and was based on protecting the common people was completely different from an army established by aristocratic families to maintain their own privileges. That kind of heartfelt belief in the legitimacy and justice of what they were doing gave the soldiers of the Guardian Army and the Zongmo Corps a unique personality charm. This also infected Tong Sinian. Whether it was for himself, for his family, or just for self-protection, he took a step ahead of the Xiling royal family and personally assured Lei Huang that he would obey orders. In order to gain Lei Huang’s trust, he even sent his pair of children to T’ai Prefecture. Three days ago, these two children arrived at the Leiyin Magic Sect’s headquarters. The two children, one five years old and one six years old, were at the time when they were extremely curious, and they were also very brave. The brother and sister ran around in the headquarters all day long, constantly asking various questions. Tong Sinian’s condition was that this pair of children should be sent to Yejiabao (Ye Family Fort) for education. After he completed the mutiny, he would resign from his military position and go to Yun Prefecture to retire. Apart from this, he did not make any other requests. Lei Huang felt that this condition was still very reliable. Ye Tao immediately agreed. In fact, the conditions proposed by Tong Sinian also showed his keenness and open-mindedness. In any case, after the great changes in the country, he could not stay in the army, so he might as well be generous and exchange it first. The future development of his children was the most important thing. After Xiling was incorporated into Dongping, the original structure of the powerful families would undergo great changes, and it was really hard to say whether the Tong family would still be valued, so it would depend on the children’s own efforts. Only if the children had talent and ability could the Tong family create a new glory. And when it came to education, Yejiabao was probably the best in the world. The Dai family, known for cultivating outstanding children, naturally taught Ye Tao everything they knew without reservation, and Ye Tao and Tan Weixin added many new ideas and methods, paying more attention to the cultivation of vision, learning ability, thinking ability and personality perfection. It was not without reason that many important ministers of Dongping shamelessly wanted to send their children to such a remote place. However, now Yejiabao was basically no longer open to the public. Getting a spot was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Another important force was in T’ai Prefecture, namely Du Jie, the commander of the T’ai Prefecture border army. He really did not have the courage to fight against the Yun Prefecture army, and the Du family was also discussing surrendering to Yun Prefecture. It was not appropriate for Lei Huang to reveal the secrets of the Leiyin Magic Sect in front of this guy, so he indirectly reached an agreement with Du Jie through Ge Lan’s subordinate, Zheng Mingsu, who was now stationed in the Tieyun Cavalry Camp north of T’ai Prefecture. In fact, Zheng Mingsu was still a little confused as to why Ge Lan would order him to contact Du Jie, and Du Jie actually came over so easily. Ge Lan knew Lei Huang’s identity, so he was not worried about the risk of leaks.

Du Jie had less than 20,000 troops in his hands, but at least they could be used to stabilize the local area, or maintain local security after the army passed through, and crack down on small warlords. More importantly, with this guy Du Jie around, the Guardian Army and the Zongmo Corps could focus on the south without having to worry too much about the rear security.

Lei Huang now understood his identity as a clergyman, and he also knew that this identity was really useful for the general public. He solemnly promised Ye Tao that the Leiyin Magic Sect could mobilize another 50,000 to 60,000 troops. In fact, if he did not have to consider combat effectiveness, he could even mobilize more than 500,000 believers to launch a "holy war." He would not dare to play like this with the regular army, as the casualties would be heavy. But he was preparing to partially mobilize when solving the Daoming Sect, to provide support for a small number of elite main forces and strengthen psychological pressure. After Ye Tao slightly inquired about the Leiyin Magic Sect’s own food reserves, he also approved Lei Huang’s plan. The religious war against religion relied on the number of people, to drown the other side’s main branches and leaves in one go. Otherwise, letting a large number of the other side’s middle and high-level clergy scatter to the local areas without centralized control would cause headaches for the next few years or even decades.

Although it was a call to the believers, the Leiyin Magic Sect had also hoarded enough weapons and armor, which were now stored in warehouses in different locations. Once he called on the believers to fight together, he could not let the believers go into battle with firewood knives. Now there were 350,000 pieces of various standard weapons, 40,000 sets of various armors, and 11,000 war horses in the warehouse. Although the Leiyin Magic Sect had limited manpower and the maintenance of the weapons was really not very good, the quantity was there, and it was more than enough to arm the peasants.