Chapter 628

Wei Yuan achieved a brilliant victory, routing over 100,000 of the Lei Ze tribe's army with less than 10,000 men, slaying 20,000 and capturing 50,000, while suffering less than 1,000 casualties himself.

But in Wei Yuan's heart, there was another dimension of calculation. If one were to fold the soldiers into immortal silver, and the artillery shells and bullets into immortal silver as well, then the military expenditure Wei Yuan consumed in this battle was three times that of his opponent; this was a typical victory of steel and gunpowder.

Afterward, Wei Yuan led his army back and joined forces with Cui Yu. The 100,000-strong Lei Ze army besieging Cui Yu had automatically lifted the siege when the news of the defeat on the front line arrived, yet Cui Yu had actually not pursued them.

Wei Yuan also found it a bit strange, feeling that this didn't quite match Cui Yu's style. After careful questioning, he learned that Cui Yu had encountered setbacks everywhere when facing Lei Dong, and all his plans had gone bankrupt due to certain factors. During a night raid, a soldier had clumsily detonated an artillery shell, which in turn ignited several carts of shells, killing over 300 people in the surrounding area.

Such incidents had left Cui Yu with a heavy psychological shadow, and he became suspicious, feeling that Lei Dong seemed to be an unparalleled military genius. This time, when the Lei Ze troops retreated, Cui Yu also felt there was a trap and didn't dare to pursue.

Wei Yuan understood this very well, and then he and Cui Yu rescued Xu Yi together. As usual, Wei Yuan spent some time understanding the entire course of the battle; he listened to Xu Yi speak, while several Dao foundation warriors listened to the officers under Xu Yi, and they quickly pieced together a panoramic view of the battle.

Xu Yi's defeat was entirely due to being outnumbered; she was suddenly surrounded by an enemy force ten times her size, and after several bitter battles, she lost more than half of her troops, ran out of ammunition and food, and had to find a perilous place to wait for rescue.

Including the logistics soldiers, Xu Yi had brought a total of 7,000 people. As a result, there was a torrential rain on the day of the great battle, many firearms became damp, and the unit's firepower was greatly reduced. In the end, after several battles, Xu Yi lost nearly 3,000 people, while the casualties inflicted on the Witch tribe exceeded 20,000.

At this point, Wei Yuan understood that there was nothing wrong with how Xu Yi and Cui Yu had fought; the two of them had resisted over 200,000 Lei Ze troops with just over 20,000, losing 5,000 and inflicting 50,000 casualties on the other side.

When facing a Son of Luck, heaven and earth target you, and many factors outside the battlefield suddenly appear. For example, Xu Yi being ambushed and the torrential rain; for example, Cui Yu's ammunition suddenly exploding, and so on.

Cui Yu's ammunition explosion, in particular, made Wei Yuan extremely vigilant. As firearms are widely used in the future, there will only be more and more ammunition. This time, Wei Yuan brought a total of 10,000 artillery shells, loaded into 50 large cargo carts, and they were all fired in one battle. In the future, the amount of ammunition will only increase; if this explodes, it will be a complete disaster.

At this point, Wei Yuan made a painful decision: when he returns, he will purchase a batch of Feng Shui formation disks from the Tianji Hall, and at the same time, he will invite several senior brothers and sisters from the Tianji Hall to the army to hold the line. Wei Yuan even thought of the official title, calling it Chief Feng Shui Officer, rank five, equal to a Prefect.

The three joined forces and entered the Red Sand Oasis under the leadership of the Desolate Ancestor tribe.

The Red Sand Oasis is located on a terrace; this area is several thousand li in radius, with a hot and dry climate, completely different from other regions of the Witch Domain. The Red Sand Oasis is actually a collective name for more than 700 oases of various sizes, so the surroundings are mostly desert, and dark red weathered rock pillars can be seen everywhere, hence the name Red Sand Oasis.

This place has a quite terrible climate for the Witch tribe, so it was specifically set aside for the human race used as offerings. In the eyes of the Witch tribe, the human race is rough and easy to raise, and can survive anywhere they are thrown.

For hundreds of years, the human race here has multiplied and grown, gradually changing from the initial few thousand to the current 300,000, forming the four great families of Wang, Xie, Zhang, and Li. The four families each have their own strengths, but their common mission is to continuously contribute offerings to the Witch tribe's Heaven Sacrifice.

The largest oasis here is a hundred li in radius, with several lakes nearby and a large city with a population of over 100,000. The Lei Ze tribe still had over 10,000 people in this city; they hadn't received the news of the defeat, so they didn't have time to escape. There were tens of thousands of Lei Ze Witch people in the entire oasis area.

By the time Wei Yuan's army arrived, the local Lei Ze Witch people and the garrison had stirred up a small wave, and over a thousand who resisted instantly turned into corpses, so Wei Yuan successfully took over Red Sand City.

When entering the city, most of the sacrificial people on both sides looked blank, not understanding why the human race would walk together with the noble and supreme Witch tribe masters. But they were already accustomed to obedience, and even if they didn't understand, they wouldn't say it out loud. The Witch tribe masters would naturally notify them of what they needed to know; those who weren't notified were those who didn't need to know.

After entering the city, Wei Yuan ordered Xu Yi to lead 3,000 light cavalry to sweep through the surrounding Lei Ze tribes, and all Lei Ze Witch people had to gather outside the city within a time limit, otherwise they would be killed.

Afterward, Wei Yuan naturally occupied the City Lord's Mansion and summoned the heads of the four great sacrificial families in the city, as well as representatives of various Lei Ze Witch forces who hadn't had time to escape, and brought them into the City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord's Mansion is a typical Witch tribe style building, with an arched high roof, and the interior is exceptionally tall, a full three zhang, to accommodate the huge size of some Witches.

At this moment, the layout of the City Lord's Great Hall had changed; two chairs were placed on the highest platform, with Tian Yu and Wei Yuan sitting side by side, and several chairs were placed on both sides, with Desolate Witches sitting one by one on the left, and military generals and cultivators like Cui Yu on the right.

At this moment, a woman in red was also sitting on the right side. Although she was sitting in the back row, the scorching heat emitted intentionally or unintentionally by the Great Desolate Sun opposite her inexplicably disappeared when it reached her, and even Cui Yu and others in the front row were sheltered.

The Great Desolate Sun and another Desolate Witch were both solemn, their gazes always on this woman in red. The woman in red, however, didn't even raise her head, just focusing on the storybook in her hand.

That Desolate Witch became curious and whispered to the Great Desolate Sun: "What do you think she's reading? It seems to be quite good."

The Great Desolate Sun pondered: "There's no need to think about snatching it. However, Tian Yu, that little rabbit, is on good terms with the human race. When the time comes, let him ask Wei Yuan. If it's good, let's get one for each of our brothers." "Can do!" The Desolate Witch's eyes lit up.

At this moment, a soft and calm voice sounded in their ears: "Although this storybook is good, it's not something you would like to read."

Both Desolate Witches were startled, their expressions even more solemn.

On the high platform, Tian Yu was rarely somewhat restless and whispered to Wei Yuan: "Is it really okay for me to sit here? I'd better go down! There are two ancestors sitting below, I, I feel uneasy."

Wei Yuan whispered back: "Sit steady! Show your momentum as the richest man!"

Tian Yu said: "Being the richest man is no use; if you can't beat others, isn't that just saving money for them? If the two ancestors get angry, I'm afraid I'll get beaten."

At this moment, the hall doors opened wide, and the heads of the four great sacrificial families and seven or eight Lei Ze Witches walked in. Seeing Wei Yuan sitting in the high position, the Witches' expressions changed, but they wisely didn't speak.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wei Yuan said: "Lei Ze is already the past, thrown into the swamp of history. From now on, this land will be bathed in the scorching heat of the Desolate Witches again! Who has any objections?"

Wei Yuan waited for a long time, with a sword aura already in his hand, but unfortunately, no Lei Ze Witch jumped out to oppose him.

Those who would speak nonsense had already been beheaded before entering, and those who could stand here alive were all obedient Witches.

Wei Yuan cleared his throat and continued: "From now on, the entire Red Sand Oasis, together with the surrounding red soil terraces, all belong to the Desolate Witches. In this land, all old Lei Ze laws must be abolished, and new laws must be implemented. The core of the new laws is to divide all residents into four grades, as follows:

The first grade is called the Desolate Clan. All those who come from the Desolate Ancestor tribe and have been reviewed and approved by Lord Tian Yu are the Desolate Clan, enjoying supreme rights. The second grade is the Azure Clan. That is me and my clansmen. We are the loyal and reliable brothers and partners of Lord Tian Yu, and our rights are equal to the Desolate Clan. The rights of the first and second grades are as follows..."

!

"The third grade is the Sacrificial People, and the fourth grade is the Marsh Slaves. The obligations of the third and fourth grades are as follows..."

Wei Yuan spoke for a long time, and in the blink of an eye, a legal code of several hundred articles was released. The main content was that the upper clans of the first two grades enjoyed various privileges, and even if they killed the lower clans, they only needed to pay money. The lower clans, on the other hand, bore various obligations, and if they offended the upper clans, they would be hanged.

The legal code was detailed and rigorous, which shocked the Great Desolate Sun, who hadn't expected Wei Yuan to be such a great talent in governing the country. Even if the Desolate Witches didn't have long brains, those who had cultivated to the level of the Great Desolate Sun were much smarter than ordinary people, and they could see Wei Yuan's great talent in governing the country from this legal code at once.

But for Wei Yuan, the legal code compiled by the Human World Fireworks was too simple; he could compile thousands of them without repeating.

Next, Wei Yuan ordered people to take the Lei Ze Witch people away, and then Cui Yu left the hall to lead troops to search and arrest the Lei Ze Witch people in the city, confiscate all their property, and then concentrate them for custody.

The sacrificial families basically maintained the status quo. Wei Yuan, under the name of counting offerings, asked the heads of the four great families to send all the young people of the right age in their families to the City Lord's Mansion for centralized aptitude testing.

After testing the suitable ones, Wei Yuan also planned to test the entire sacrificial clan, striving not to miss a single talent.

After establishing basic order, Wei Yuan published the legal code, and then it was time to count property, personnel, and local resources, which would take some time.

Batches of scouts had already been scattered to find key locations and prepare to establish defenses.

Taking the Red Sand Oasis, the merchant caravan of the Desolate Ancestor tribe heading to the depths of the Witch Domain could bypass a large circle, saving at least several thousand li of distance. And starting from this place, if they could take down a pass city a thousand li to the north, they could seal off the merchant route of the Lei Ze tribe heading west. Sealing off the Lei Ze's merchant route was equivalent to sealing off the Xu family's merchant route.

In the following days, Wei Yuan continuously established defenses at various key transportation points, while large batches of cavalry arrived one after another from Qingming, and cargo teams transported over a hundred carts of weapons and equipment. Wei Yuan himself was continuously establishing forward camps in the north of the oasis, hoarding military supplies, looking like he intended to march north.

After a few days like this, Tian Yu finally couldn't help but find Wei Yuan and said: "Didn't we agree that this piece of land would be used for you to plant mulberry and produce silk? Why don't I see you surveying the fields?"

Wei Yuan slapped his thigh, only then remembering that he had completely forgotten about this.

(End of chapter)