Chapter 394

Daze Marsh…… Actually, in Wu Tie's heart, he would rather call this place Daze County, Daze Township, or something like that.

In the forest, they cleared a space a hundred li wide, erected a fence twenty li long and wide with round wooden posts, and outside the fence was a moat three to four zhang deep and five to six zhang wide, filled with turbid wastewater.

This is Daze Marsh.

Outside the moat lay the reclaimed farmland; the fields were fairly neat, planted with various crops, lush and verdant, the tallest corn stalks almost as high as two people.

Between the fields were ridges of varying width for people to walk on.

Wu Tie, accompanied by the thin man who called himself Li Erhaozi, rushed to the fence; the wooden gate reinforced with iron plates on the west side of the fence had already been opened, and a drawbridge was lowered, spanning the moat.

Outside the west gate was a fairly wide dirt road, with countless worms writhing and twisting in the sludge over a chi deep.

Hundreds of laborers escorted a slow-moving convoy of beast-drawn carts; above their heads, more than three zhang above the ground, two twenty-zhang-long small barges flew slowly alongside the convoy, assuming a formation of escort.

Wu Tie narrowed his eyes; the convoy was still more than ten li away, and through the thin mist he could see the massive beast-drawn wagons.

Pulling the carts were sturdy beasts, three zhang long and over two zhang tall, resembling azure oxen.

These big beasts were grouped in threes, with thick wrist‑sized iron chains fastened to them, the chains pulled taut, constantly ringing with a 'clang‑clang' sound.

Behind each beast, the beast‑drawn wagon was about five zhang wide and a dozen zhang long; its heavy body was entirely cast of refined iron, each wagon had eight large metal wheels, piled high with cargo like small hills.

However, the cargo was covered with thick hides, so no one knew exactly what was inside.

Just seeing the one‑chi‑wide metal wheels sink deep into the mud showed that these wagons bore a heavy load.

There were over two hundred such wagons, each with a driver, and two or three guards flanking each side.

At the front of the convoy, a dozen men in soft armor rode on beasts resembling gray wolves but several times larger, slowly approaching the west gate.

Wu Tie had sharp eyes; from far away he could already make out the appearance of the leader.

Li Erhaozi pointed carefully at that person and told Wu Tie that he was the tax clerk of Daze Marsh, Qian San.

Qian San was tall and sturdy, lean; beneath his black skin lay muscles like iron rods and steel bars, giving an impression of extreme hardness.

His clothes and soft armor were somewhat damaged, yet wearing them he exuded the aura of a general who had shattered golden armor in a hundred battles—no sense of shabbiness, only a fierce, heroic spirit and fighting intent that swept over one.

"A tax clerk… is that a civil official?" Wu Tie muttered, stroking his chin: "Is he the tax clerk under the tax bureau of the prefectural magistrate's office? Yet he looks like a battle‑hardened man."

Li Erhaozi gave a dry laugh: "Lord Qian San, he isn't an official of the prefectural office… the prefectural office has seen its magistrates die one after another, so who's left? Lord Qian San is… he is the tax clerk dispatched by the Black Phoenix Corps under the Divine Might Army to Daze Marsh."

Wu Tie turned his head to look at Li Erhaozi, blinking hard.

"Divine Might Army… Black Phoenix Corps… the tax clerk stationed by the Black Phoenix Corps?"

Wu Tie slapped his forehead hard; these were things that 'Huo Xiong''s memory didn't contain. After all, Huo Xiong was merely a minor lieutenant in the Divine Martial Army, knowing mostly about its own affairs, and knew very little about the Divine Might Army.

Li Erhaozi lowered his voice and hurriedly explained Qian San's background to Wu Tie.

The Divine Might Army is the main field army of the Da Jin Divine State, a reclamation force dedicated to expanding territory for the Da Jin Divine State, opening up more living space in all directions and seizing more resources.

Under the Divine Might Army, countless units of various sizes were organized according to the heavenly stems, earthly branches, the 108 stars, etc.; those with official establishment formed the army's core.

However, within the Divine Might Army, aside from the regular units directly under the Da Jin Ministry of War, there were other auxiliary forces.

For example, a certain noble clan's concubine‑born son, deeply favored by his elders, cannot inherit the family estate due to the primogeniture rule.

Such a concubine‑born son, if untalented, would merely scrape a living from the cracks between his elder brother's fingers who inherited the business, spending his life in idle dependence, and that would be that.

But some ambitious concubine‑born sons, while still indulged by their elders and while the elders still held clan power, would use clan resources to raise a private army and join the Divine Might Army's great undertaking of expanding territory—this too is an excellent path.

Expanding territory also brings great military merit; accumulating enough merit or opening up a sufficiently large tract of land allows these concubine‑born sons to obtain a small plot as their own fief.

Building a city and establishing a manor counts as branching out the clan, creating a cadet line—beneficial for both the family and oneself.

Even some top‑tier noble houses don't mind the cost of raising a private army; they eagerly dispatch clan elites to form troops that join the Divine Might Army, continually seizing new territories for the clan—this is also a way to increase the family's strength and deepen its foundation.

Such private armies that join the Divine Might Army on their own have all sorts of names; they are not counted in the army's official establishment, and while the Divine Might Army has authority to bind and manage them, it lacks strong compulsory command power.

Put bluntly, these private armies are essentially the Da Jin Divine State's official mercenaries?

The Black Phoenix Corps is exactly such a private military unit.

Nearly half of Daze Marsh's territory was taken by the Black Phoenix Corps, including the largest landmass where Wu Tie now stands, which was also conquered by the Black Phoenix Corps.

The Black Phoenix Corps has opened several mines in the nearby mountains, and Qian San is precisely the manager responsible for operating those mines.

Qian San is called a 'tax clerk' because Daze Marsh and the Black Phoenix Corps agreed that, for the coming years, fifty percent of the marsh's annual tax revenue would be paid to the corps as military funds, and Qian San also oversees that portion of tax authority.

In short, Qian San is the Black Phoenix Corps' spokesperson in Daze Marsh, solely responsible for collecting money from the marsh.

Wu Tie and Li Erhaozi were still some distance from the west gate, whispering here, while beside the gate a row of wooden buildings had already seen hundreds of sturdy men emerge; under the shouts of a few officers, they formed a reasonably neat line behind the gate.

Most of these men were at the Chonglou Realm, a smaller portion at the Perceiving the Profound Realm, and only the few officers constantly issuing commands had just stepped into the Life Pool Realm.

"Are they the Black Phoenix Corps?" Wu Tie pointed at the men in tattered soft armor.

"Mm, mm!" Li Erhaozi nodded vigorously.

"What about the state troops?" Wu Tie's eyebrows twitched violently.

"Hehe…" Li Erhaozi gave a dry laugh while looking at Wu Tie: "The state troops… the successive marsh governors died, the successive commanders of the state troops died… uh, even the station chief and clerks of the relay station are dead…"

Wu Tie remained silent.

Li Erhaozi pointed at the wooden lodgings where the Black Phoenix Corps soldiers lived and said softly: "Originally, that place was for garrisoning the state troops, but then… a fire burned it clean, the few remaining state troops also perished, and these wooden buildings were rebuilt by the Black Phoenix Corps."

"Who did it?" Wu Tie frowned, glaring hard at Li Erhaozi.

"Who knows? Anyway, it wasn't me, the little guy." Li Erhaozi gave a dry laugh: "Look, I'm just a first‑level Chonglou Realm cultivator; I can bully ordinary folks a bit… but I don't have the guts to oppose the military lords."

The weather in Daze Marsh is really hard to describe.

Wu Tie and Li Erhaozi had just muttered a few words here when a large expanse of dark clouds drifted in from somewhere, and with a 'splash‑splash' sound, raindrops the size of thumbs poured down upon them.

Inside the fenced‑off urban area, the undried sludge instantly turned to mud, then to suspicious‑looking filthy water; the moat outside overflowed, quickly mixing with the filthy water in the city.

'Splash‑splash,' countless splashes of various sizes sprang up from the ground.

Outside the west gate, Qian San's convoy of beast‑drawn wagons crept forward slowly; the Black Phoenix Corps soldiers inside the city met them at the drawbridge, helping the drivers urge the beasts to pull the wagons into the city.

Qian San's resonant, forceful voice carried through the rain: "Hurry and move all the goods into the storehouse… those ores can be left piled in the open for now, but the medicinal herbs, beast meat, hides, sinews, bones, and the foodstuffs dug up must be rushed into the storehouse—we can't let the rain ruin them."

After cursing the damned weather, Qian San bellowed at the people huddled in twos and threes under the eaves of the thatched huts: "Hey, anyone with breath? Quick, help move the cargo—each person gets three sweet potatoes, men and women alike…"

Once again greeting that damned weather, Qian San roared: "Old Qian, I'm feeling charitable today—old geezers, old ladies, and any kids who can move, come help; each gets two sweet potatoes!"

Near the West Gate, tens of thousands of people suddenly poured out from the thatched and wooden huts piled haphazardly together; braving the rain, under the direction of the Black Phoenix Army soldiers, they surrounded wagon after wagon and swiftly unloaded bundle after bundle of goods from them.

Wu Tie smelled the scent of herbs and the stench of blood, just as Qian San had said—many of these goods were herbs and meat obtained from hunting.

Wu Tie stood in the rain curtain, silently watching crowds of men, women, old and young braving the rain to transport goods.

Qian San sat on his mount, his cold, sharp gaze sweeping the surroundings.

He suddenly spotted Wu Tie standing a hundred zhang away; he vigorously rubbed his face, shook rain from his eyelashes, narrowed his eyes, stared hard, then muttered a curse.

Qian San's gray wolf mount lunged forward a few steps, and Qian San finally made out Wu Tie's appearance through the mist and rain.

The gray wolf growled low, carrying Qian San to Wu Tie's front.

The massive gray wolf stood before Wu Tie, a head taller than him; Qian San seated on its back towered over Wu Tie, looking down with icy eyes full of some unfathomable meaning.

"Tax Secretary, Qian San?" Wu Tie also stared at Qian San for a long time before finally speaking up.

"Black Phoenix Army, grain and logistics officer, Qian San." Qian San narrowed his eyes, carefully examined Wu Tie's battle robe, then the seal and token at his waist: "A third‑rank general?"

"Huo Xiong, originally a commandant of the Divine Martial Army, he had earned some minor merits, was valued by his superiors, and was promoted to be the chief commander of the state army in Da Ze Zhou." Wu Tie said this courteously.

"You're also an unlucky one; I don't think you'll last a few days here." Qian San's words were most unpleasant.

He pointed at Wu Tie and sneered: "As a third‑rank general, in the Divine Martial Army you should at least command hundreds of thousands of elite troops, with tens of thousands of personal guards around you… Where are your troops? Your guards? Your cavalry? Your… warship?"

Qian San shook his head and muttered: "Especially, being 'promoted' from the Divine Martial Army to become chief commander of the state army? Damn, a fine Divine Martial Army turned into a state army—you must have offended someone."

"People like you usually don't live long." Qian San shook his head, patted his mount's head, the gray wolf bellowed, and carrying Qian San turned and left.

"So I'm too lazy to bother with you, wasting feelings on a dead man—damn it."

After throwing out a curse, Qian San left just like that—clean and decisive.

Wu Tie stood there a moment, gave a dry laugh, and looked at Li Er Haizi: "Lord Qian, you've got quite a personality."

Li Er Haizi gave a dry laugh, looked pitifully at Wu Tie: "My lord, do you have any other orders? If you're free… how about I help move the goods? Hey, I don't dare go out of the city to hunt, but these three sweet potatoes will tide me over for a while."

Wu Tie's face twitched.

Chonglou Realm… even if it's just the first layer of cultivation in the Chonglou Realm…

Even in the netherworld, in that barren rocky world, having the first layer of Chonglou Realm cultivation would allow one to live quite comfortably.

This Li Er Haizi…

Wu Tie subconsciously touched the hilt of his sword; Li Er Haizi's face changed abruptly, he thumped to his knees with a "dong" and kowtowed desperately: "My lord, my lord, I am respectful to you; even if I have made a mistake, the magistrate sentenced me to frontier service—I am a convict sentenced to the border, and my death penalty has already been served by that frontier duty…"

Li Er Haizi's head struck the ground hard; the ground was full of mud and water, and he quickly became a filthy mess.

"Take me to… the governor's mansion… no, the governor's residence." Wu Tie released the sword hilt, glaring angrily at Li Er Haizi.

The state army's garrison beside the West Gate has already been occupied by the Black Phoenix Army; Wu Tie now only wants to settle down quickly, find a place to live, and then consider his actions in Da Ze Zhou.

"The governor's residence…" Li Er Haizi looked pitifully at Wu Tie: "Originally, there was a governor's mansion, a three‑story wooden building… but the governor was also killed, a fire burned it down… now the ruins are used to raise pigs."

Li Er Haizi blinked his eyes, carefully looking at Wu Tie: "How about… the other day, Zhao Lao San and his brothers went out hunting and were swallowed by a giant python… if you don't mind the ill omen, you could temporarily rest in their house?"

Li Er Haizi strained to squeeze out a smile: "That wooden house of Zhao Lao San and his brothers is quite impressive; if it weren't that several groups have their eyes on it and are fighting over it… the house would already be occupied… but for now it's still vacant—if you move in, no one would dare to contest you."

Wu Tie's face kept twitching, and he remained silent for a long while.

The bleak wind and cold rain beat upon him; after a long, long time, he slowly exhaled.

"This is, all four are empty, emptiness upon emptiness!" Wu Tie looked up at the sky, speechless, shaking his head.