Chapter 729: From the City Tower, Wine Sent to Secure the Northwest; Chang'an's Red Attire Marches into the Sandstorm

"Dragon Slaying Technique?" Yuwen Ze inhaled a breath of cold air.

Chen Yan lowered his voice, and that voice seemed to carry a bewitching power: "War is indeed a meat grinder, but it is also the most thorough reshuffling of wealth! In the battle of Lingzhou, those lofty aristocratic families and landlord magnates—those who died died, those who fled fled—had their Land Deeds turned to ash. Within Lingzhou now, haven't tens of thousands of acres of ownerless fertile fields remained?"

Yuwen Ze nodded: "It is indeed so. However, according to Da Zhou Law, as long as the original owners later come forward and have their clan vouch, the office must return the lands."

"Return them? Hell no!" Chen Yan burst out a vulgar curse, brutally cutting off Yuwen Ze.

"When you arrive in Lingzhou, the first decree you issue, in the name of the Lingzhou Prefect, is to re‑measure the land! Any fertile field whose original owner is absent or cannot produce a genuine Land Deed shall be taken into state ownership!"

Chen Yan's eyes bloodshot, like a mad gambler, delivered the final killing blow: "Then, allocate those lands, in black on white paper, even carved on stone tablets, entirely to the families of the fallen heroes! To the low‑rank veterans who retired due to injury! The remainder, divided per capita, to those Liuren who cannot even afford grass roots!"

Boom!

Those words were equivalent to detonating a megaton bomb in Yuwen Ze's mind.

He was so frightened that he stood up at once, stumbling back two steps, his face full of disbelief: "A Xiong! Impossible! This… this is like exhuming the ancestral graves of the northern elite families! If the war stabilizes completely, those Great Clan families will jointly petition Chang'an and surely pin a 'plundering private property and marauding with troops' label on you and me!"

Looking at Yuwen Ze's panicked expression, Chen Yan's cold smile grew even more brazen: "Offend the great families? A Ze! You are a Yuwen! You are the Grand Preceptor's own flesh and blood, the future Prince of Jin of Great Zhou! What elite clan are you afraid of?!"

Chen Yan seized Yuwen Ze's collar, pulled him before him, and stared into his eyes: "Remember this, brother! In this chaotic age, all ancestral laws and great families are merely toilet paper! Only the blade you hold in your hand, and the people's hearts behind you, are the unbreakable truth!"

"Think about it: when those Liuren who could only live like dogs obtain their own land; when the widows and orphans of fallen soldiers have food to survive. Who will they regard as the grateful benefactor? They will see you, Yuwen Ze, as a reborn parent! As the sole deity they will ever be loyal to in this life!"

Chen Yan released Yuwen Ze, then swung the wide sleeve of his Purple Robe: "As long as the land is divided and the hearts are won, then, not even a handful of sour scholars from great families cursing in the streets— even if the sky fell, the hundreds of thousands of citizens of Lingzhou and the tens of thousands of armored men will without hesitation block their flesh and blood in front of you, Prefect!"

Silence.

Silence as if death.

In the great hall of the Zongguan Fu, only the charcoal in the brazier crackled 'pop'.

Yuwen Ze stood dumbfounded in place.

This is truly the Dragon Slaying Technique that strikes at the very core of feudal dynastic rule!

After more than half a incense stick's time, Yuwen Ze's eyes, originally hazy from alcohol, fully erupted with a heart‑pounding ambition and ruthless glare.

On his gentle face, a trait of a domineering hero, just like his father Yuwen Hu, slowly surfaced.

"Bang!"

Yuwen Ze suddenly lifted the hem of his battle robe, faced Chen Yan, and, with great solemnity, knelt heavily on one knee upon the blue bricks.

He clasped his fists, raised them over his head, and his voice rang like iron, exuding an unyielding resolve.

"A Xiong's words thunder in my ears, enlightening me!" Yuwen Ze raised his head, his face already fully ignited by the flames of ambition, "I, Yuwen Ze, will not disappoint you, A Xiong! The heavens of Lingzhou, I, Yuwen Ze, will overturn!"

Seeing Yuwen Ze kneeling before him, fully transformed, Chen Yan nodded with satisfaction.

He knew that from this moment, the two great gates of Northwest Dazhou were truly forged into a steel defense line wholly controlled by him and the Yuwen family!

At dawn the next day, the east just began to glow with a blood‑red sunrise.

The west gate of Tongwan City had long been opened, five hundred fully‑armed elite cavalry lined up in formation, their warhorses exhaling white mist, poised to charge.

Above the city tower, the cold wind howled.

Chen Yan donned a sleek set of black Xuan Armor, personally lifted a bowl of warm marching wine, and handed it to the departing Yuwen Ze: "A Ze, the road to Lingzhou is treacherous. Outside Lingzhou's city, there are still several scattered remnants of the defeated Qi army fleeing. Be careful in all matters; upon reaching Lingzhou, immediately take over the city defenses and implement new policies. If any blind Troublemakers dare to obstruct, do not be merciful—apply the method I taught you last night, kill the chicken to warn the monkey!"

Yuwen Ze solemnly took the wine bowl, tipped his head, and drank it all in one gulp.

He smashed the bowl in one blow; the shards sprayed a string of sparks on the Qingshi slab, and his gaze had shed the last trace of frailty, replaced by cold sharpness and resolve: "A Xiong, rest assured! This nail of Lingzhou, I, Yuwen Ze, will even stake my life to nail it firmly onto the northwest map!"

Having said that, Yuwen Ze gave Chen Yan a firm clasped‑fist salute, turned without hesitation and strode down the city tower.

He vaulted onto his horse, gave the white horse a sharp spur, and the steed let out a long neigh.

"Set out!"

The five hundred elite cavalry surged like arrows released from a bow, raising clouds of yellow sand as they raced westward toward Lingzhou.

Chen Yan stood before the bastion, his gaze deep as he watched the black torrent gradually vanish at the horizon's edge, and a massive stone in his heart finally settled.

With Yuwen Ze governing Lingzhou, aided by his veteran subordinates, Lingzhou had become the most solid left wing of his strategic map.

"Send the orders down," Chen Yan said without turning, issuing a cold command to Zhangshi Zhang Wenqian and Gu Yuci behind him: "From today, the entire Xiazhou is sealed! Deploy all the embroidered envoys of the Mirror Department, rigorously inspect all merchants and travelers passing through the checkpoints! Any foreign force daring to smuggle sand into Xiazhou at this time, once discovered, shall be slain on the spot without permission!"

"Understood!" Gu Yuci thundered his assent, murderous aura surging.

Chen Yan turned, descended the city tower, and walked straight back into the Shufang of the Zongguan Fu.

Upon entering the study, he walked straight to the massive, detailed geomancy map of the Seven Prefectures on the wall.

The brush in his hand, soaked in cinnabar, heavily circled several key nodes on the map.

Although the Grand Preceptor granted him the privilege of "establishing a office, building teeth, and independently training troops," those three words are easy to speak but as hard as scaling heaven to accomplish.

What does training troops require?

A mountain of grain!

Countless forged iron to forge armor and Horizontal Blades!

And an enormous herd of warhorses!

This cannot be sustained in a short time solely by Xiazhou's taxes.

Just as Chen Yan's mind, like a precise machine, rapidly simulated the design blueprint, a frantic footstep suddenly echoed from outside the study.

"Zhu Guo! Zhu Guo is overjoyed!"

The usually composed chief clerk Zhangshi Zhang Wenqian, at this moment unable even to report properly, pushed open the door and rushed in with a beaming face, "People from Chang'an have arrived! The embroidered envoys of the Mirror Department personally lead a escort; several carriages have already reached the gate of the Zongguan Fu!"

"People from Chang'an?" Chen Yan's eyebrows twitched slightly; the cinnabar brush in his hand halted abruptly, "Wasn't the Grand Preceptor's secret edict just delivered? What change has occurred in the court?"

"It's not an imperial decree! It's... it's your household members, Zhu Guo!" Zhangshi Zhang Wenqian, trembling with excitement, reported repeatedly, "It's several of your side consorts! The Grand Preceptor personally ordered a hundred elite embroidered envoys to escort the ladies to Xiazhou to reunite with you!"