Chapter 446

It’s only the tenth today, twenty days still before the Martial Gathering officially begins, yet the population has already surpassed 900,000; by next month, a conservative estimate puts it over a million—more than the combined populations of the three northern garrison towns. This must be restricted!

Lin Kai quickly calculated in his mind and made a decision, then ordered Ying Yi: “Notify Kong Xiu to continue building wooden huts outside the city as temporary housing. Starting tomorrow, all outsiders who are not participants in the Martial Gathering must not stay in the city for more than ten hours. I will instruct the Azure Dragon Four Armies to set up checkpoints for screening; anyone who violates this rule will be expelled immediately and barred from entering Hongmen for five years.”

“This method is excellent!”

Upon hearing this, Ying Yi’s eyes lit up and he immediately nodded in agreement.

The Martial Gathering has an age limit—participants cannot exceed twenty-five years old—so most competitors are accompanied by elders, which is the primary reason for the sudden population surge.

Prohibiting non-participants from lingering in the city will at least eliminate one-third of the population, significantly easing the pressure within.

But Ying Yi suddenly thought of something and asked softly, “My lord, the city’s population is far greater than before, and security pressure is immense. The four armies—Azure Dragon, Golden Sword, Golden Eagle, and Zhenwu—totaling four thousand men, are already insufficient. Shouldn’t we petition Yuwen Sizheng to redeploy three more major armies from Ba Shang?”

This year we’re using the banner of the Nine Garrison Martial Gathering, and the three northern garrisons are all holding back their anger, sending many people to cause trouble. Lord Zhao himself said that daily, there are gatherings, riots, and brawls in the city—mostly orchestrated by the sons of those three garrisons. As the Gathering draws nearer, we still don’t know what their true intentions are. More troops are better than being unprepared.”

After hearing Ying Yi’s words, Lin Kai’s eyes flickered with a dark hue, then he shook his head: “The Ba Shang armies cannot be moved. Yuwen Sizheng is too occupied to attend to us now. The Sicheng has already been generous to allocate four armies for Hongmen.”

“Cannot be moved?”

Ying Yi blinked in confusion. “Ba Shang has no defensive needs. The five armies—Yunjiao, Longwu, Tulong, Hubao, and Heijian—all station there. Isn’t that unnecessary?”

After the Hongmen War ended in September of the year before last, Xia Chuan dispatched the Longwu, Tulong, Hubao, and Heijian armies to garrison Ba Shang, while Yunjiao remained in Hongmen.

Lin Kai’s Qingjiao Army, after completing the population relocation mission in Ba Shang, stationed for a time in Xia Cheng before later arriving in Hongmen to join Yunjiao in defense.

Last year, when Hongmen was plagued by supernatural disturbances, Tulong briefly returned to reinforce, then went back to Ba Shang; thus, Hongmen has always had only Yunjiao and Qingjiao.

But with Hongmen’s population surging, and at the end of last year, the Great Xia added six new armies—Gangzong, Golden Sword, Golden Eagle, Zhenwu, Yingwu, and Zhaolong—this year’s early deployment in Hongmen saw new changes.

Yunjiao was transferred to Ba Shang; Hongmen now is defended by Qingjiao, Golden Sword, Golden Eagle, and Zhenwu.

Compared to Hongmen, Ba Shang has virtually no defensive needs. Why keep five major armies there? And those five include the two strongest armies in Great Xia—Yunjiao and Longwu—while the remaining Tulong, Hubao, and Heijian are also among the top-tier forces.

Seeing Lin Kai say nothing, Ying Yi continued: “If the five armies can’t move, what about other garrison forces? Longshan has no demands either. The Shanhe, Lieying, Xiongwu, and Beizhao armies can be moved. Of the eight armies—Shenwu, Xuanwu, Longyuan, Dongyang, Gangzong, Yingwu, Zhaolong, and Feipeng—we have troops everywhere in Great Xia!”

Hearing Ying Yi list all twenty-one armies of Great Xia in one breath, Lin Kai’s face broke into a smile. He seemed about to say something, but held back, chuckling: “Each army has its own mission. The Sicheng will arrange them properly. Why do you worry so much?”

“My lord is right—I overthought it…”

Lin Kai’s words were already quite stern, yet Ying Yi detected no hint of reprimand in his tone, so his expression didn’t change. But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something, his face darkening as he looked up at Lin Kai with surprise: “My lord—is the Sicheng launching an external campaign?”

Hongmen currently bears the heaviest defensive burden; the Sicheng and Yuwen Sizheng surely can’t overlook it. With twenty-one armies in Great Xia, how could they not spare a few to reinforce?

The only explanation: Lin Kai is hiding something from him.

Seeing Lin Kai give a slight nod, Ying Yi’s mind flashed with countless thoughts, then he quickly raised his hand toward the north, pointing toward Chuishan Town, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Upon receiving Lin Kai’s confirming nod, Ying Yi’s expression jolted.

“So that’s it! So that’s it! I knew it—why did my lord suddenly raise the banner of the Nine Garrison Martial Gathering and deliberately send envoys to provoke the three northern garrisons? It was all to expand the Gathering’s influence and draw attention!”

Seeing Ying Yi had already exposed the truth, Lin Kai no longer held back. He smiled lightly: “Beishuo’s infiltration into Chuishan has become too severe. Duan Hong is barely hiding his intent to merge Chuishan into Beishuo. If he continues like this, Beishuo will be right at our doorstep.”

Cai Qiuyang’s heir, Cai Shiqi, fancies himself clever, believing his family’s reputation alone can pressure Duan Hong into resisting Beishuo’s influence. But he doesn’t realize Duan Hong sees him as a fool…”

At the mention of Cai Shiqi’s name, Lin Kai’s face twisted into a cold sneer.

Though he hated to admit it, if one were to name the most famous figures in the Nine Garrisons today, Cai Shiqi, the heir from Caiqiu, would certainly be among them.

Cai Shiqi began operating in the Nine Garrisons last October. But Lin Kai, through intelligence from Jinshan Town, had learned they arrived in late August, having stayed in Jinshan Town for over a month before beginning their activities.

His fame stems from last year’s end, when he used the names of Lord Shang Yang and Lord Qin Feng to host a unique “Clearing of Injustices” gathering at Qinggang Mountain, on the border between Jinshan and Wuchuan.

Before the gathering even began, Cai Shiqi ordered Jinshan and Wuchuan to broadcast the news across the entire Nine Garrisons. The invitation letters sent to the seven town lords even listed his name before those of Qin Feng and Shang Yang.

The “Clearing of Injustices” naturally referred to the false accusations Caiqiu had suffered due to Chen Yiqing’s crimes.

To be fair, Cai Shiqi did possess some skill. The joint invitation from Jinshan and Wuchuan’s lords was taken seriously by the seven towns. Six town lords attended; only Great Xia sent Xiang Fuhai.

There was no choice. Great Xia naturally wouldn’t engage in such a spectacle. But Lord Xia Hong was away, so they could not attend. They claimed Xia Hong was in seclusion and sent Xiang Fuhai as his proxy.

Of course, officially it was Xiang Fuhai leading the delegation, but in truth, Xia Chuan was in command. They used Xiang Fuhai’s name merely to spare Cai Shiqi’s face—after all, if the lord himself didn’t show, even a Xianyang-level representative failing to attend would be too blatant.

Unfortunately, they still underestimated how much Cai Shiqi valued face. Even though Xia Chuan had gone to great lengths, upon discovering Great Xia’s lord was absent, Cai Shiqi publicly berated Great Xia, even calling them “barbarians without manners.”

“A mere 53 Zong strength—if not for Caiqiu’s name, hmph…”

A lord’s humiliation demands death. Lin Kai was present at that gathering. When Great Xia was humiliated by this brat, had Xia Chuan not intervened in time, he and Yuan Cheng and the others would have killed Cai Shiqi on the spot.

Regardless, the “Clearing of Injustices” succeeded: Cai Shiqi thoroughly exposed Chen Yiqing’s crimes and cleared Caiqiu’s name.

Moreover, he himself became famous throughout the Nine Garrisons, and he firmly established a positive image for Caiqiu, declaring that Caiqiu would never behave like Cang and would bring lasting peace and stability to the Nine Garrisons…

Whether effective or not, at least the high-ranking officials of each town shifted at least half their suspicion and caution from Caiqiu to Cang.

In the months since, this Cai Shiqi has traveled across the northern territories, performing acts of chivalry, genuinely earning Caiqiu a surge of goodwill.