Otherworld Advance Team-Chapter 1817 - 1810: Receiving Reinforcements

"You, you and your son are teaming up to annoy me, aren’t you."

Jiuyun Zheng’s breath was somewhat rapid, seemingly overwhelmed with anger.

"If father truly thinks so, then let it be so."

Jiuyun Ke showed a look of obvious disappointment.

Seeing his son’s expression, Jiuyun Zheng’s mood was visibly swayed again, and he fell into long contemplation.

Should family interests take precedence, or should national interests come first?

For Luo’er and the others, this question doesn’t even qualify as a question.

But for the major aristocratic families and sects of the East Prosperity Nine States, this is a deadly question.

All along, the policies these aristocratic families and sects pursued prioritized family interests.

But as a result, the country became fragmented. Though it is called a nation, its governmental structure is as loose as that of Abisien beyond West Outer Heaven.

After the establishment of the Dongsheng Empire, the political group named the Wen Family had been constantly absorbing the interests of the aristocratic families and accumulating them at the Imperial Court.

All the benefits that naturally belonged to the aristocratic families were deprived by the Wen Family Imperial Court through various reasons and means.

The most important of these is the power to tax locally.

Before the Dongsheng Empire, the area the Kyushu Dynasty could tax was limited to a small piece of land in Zhili. All taxes in Kyushu were monopolized by the aristocratic families of various states and sects.

Of course, these benefiting aristocratic families and sects would also squeeze out part of the profit for the Imperial Court to maintain its basic operations.

Because they knew very well that the continuation of order was beneficial to their development and profit plundering.

So, the dynasty before the Dongsheng Empire could really be described as a beggar’s feudalism, a poverty dynasty, truly scavenging for sustenance.

With the establishment of the Dongsheng Empire, especially with the establishment of the Wen Family Imperial Court, the Imperial Court’s past sluggishness was swept away.

The Wen Family Imperial Court forced the major state clans to recognize the court’s policies through strategies like united fronts and distant alliances while attacking nearby adversaries.

The land occupied by aristocratic families and sects was continuously reclaimed by the Imperial Court, and most of the tax revenue rights were also reclaimed by the Imperial Court.

Currently, although the Imperial Court still relies on local aristocratic families for taxation, the court must take the lion’s share, and the collecting aristocratic families can only take a small portion.

And they cannot transfer taxes to tenant farmers because the Imperial Court has set up a monitoring agency responsible for collecting and handling public opinion across the Nine States.

The Wen Family Imperial Court’s approach is somewhat like boiling a frog in warm water.

Gradually, imperceptibly, these aristocratic families realized they are increasingly unable to escape the system established by the Wen Family Imperial Court.

To continue surviving within the system, they must abide by its rules, which are set by the Wen Family Imperial Court.

The approach of the Wen Family Imperial Court to these stubborn forces can be accurately described with one word: domestication.

Of course, the Wu Family clearly dislikes this term because it makes them seem just like barbarians.

The Wen Family Imperial Court is not only domesticating these stubborn forces but also actively civilizing its governed subjects, though externally the tone should be called enlightenment.

The Wen Family continues embedding itself into every facet of Kyushu society, making it so that from aristocratic family sects to the three teachings and nine streams, none can escape the system they established. This is the strength of the Wen Family Imperial Court, and also its charm.

But the court has changed, the people have changed, society has changed, yet certain aristocratic families and sects stubbornly cling to their inherent thinking, refusing to embrace reform.

For Jiuyun Zheng, whether to send troops and assist the court in external battles is the very reflection of the new-old conflict.

It’s said that under heaven, all land belongs to the king; along the shores, all are subjects of the king.

Therefore, be it the populace or the great clans, all must prioritize imperial interests, which is the new concept championed by the Wen Family.

But for someone like Jiuyun Zheng who stepped from the old era into the New Era, such issues leave him internally conflicted.

Jiuyun Ke’s attitude isn’t because he agrees to deploy private soldiers to assist the royal army; he simply wants to help his younger brother.

When elder brother Jiuyun Ying passed away, Gaofeng Yu, who regarded him as his own, was deeply grieved, bedridden for three full months due to severe illness.

This incident profoundly affected Jiuyun Ke. He doesn’t want to see his siblings in trouble again, nor does he want to see his mother’s health suffer in any way.

Therefore, he doesn’t care about anything else. Even if the Imperial Court intends to borrow the Jiuyun Clan’s military power to strike Yipa, he must comply.

"Enough..."

Jiuyun Zheng sighed long with hands behind his back, "Lead three thousand elite Cavalry, and follow him out of the pass."

"Thank you, father!"

Despite the joy, Jiuyun Ke was still slightly uneasy, "But, three thousand..."

"Get more if needed!" Jiuyun Zheng said irritably with his back turned.

"Thank you, father, thank you!" Jiuyun Ke said excitedly.

The Jiuyun Clan’s Cavalry aren’t limited to just Nine Thousand.

As mentioned before, although each aristocratic family can only retain less than ten thousand in private forces, as the saying goes, there’s always a workaround for policies from above.

Solving this kind of problem is very simple; a few families need only unite to expand their forces without any concern.

In fact, as the absolute ruling clan in the Northern Province, the Jiuyun Clan integrated all family private soldiers within its territory and claimed all their spots under the name of alliance.

These Nine Thousand Battalion nominally belong to various families, but the leadership and command rights are entirely held by the Jiuyun Clan.

Of course, such loopholes aren’t unbeknownst to the Wen Family Imperial Court.

But both the Northern Province and Yun State are significant border zones of the Empire, so the Wen Family Imperial Court tacitly allowed such annexations. After all, this clan helps guard the borders and the court doesn’t need to pay any salaries, so why not?

However, everything has pros and cons. Though it’s good the court doesn’t need to spend money on soldiers, conversely, they have difficulty mobilizing private troops under the state clans. Hence, the court took the step of sending Jiuyun Shuang on an expedition, forcing the Jiuyun Clan to send troops.

"Then, father, should I go see Xiao Si(fourth brother)?" Amid his joy, Jiuyun Ke asked cautiously.

"Are you trying to anger me to death?" Jiuyun Zheng scolded irritably.

"Alright, father take care of yourself; your son takes his leave."

Jiuyun Ke said, slowly exiting the room, excitedly heading towards Jiuyun Shuang’s direction, presumably to deliver the good news.

Watching his son’s lively figure disappearing into the distance, Jiuyun Zheng sighed heavily and helplessly shook his head.

"The Wu Family won’t let the Wen Family off; sooner or later they’ll clash, and it’s uncertain whether the Wen Family has the ability to resolve it."

He said, slowly closing his eyes.

"If not, what about the fourth one, what of the Jiuyun Clan..."

Jiuyun Ke found Jiuyun Shuang running all the way, grabbed his hand, and said excitedly, "Fourth brother, father agreed to let me lead three thousand elite Cavalry out of the pass to assist you in battle!"

"Is that so," Jiuyun Shuang showed a delighted expression but then slowly faded, "Actually, second brother doesn’t have to do this. Even without family troops, I am confident to settle the three Yipa divisions."

"What are you saying? How powerful the three Yipa divisions are, you might not know..."

"I know, I’m well aware. Know yourself, know your enemy, and you’ll win a hundred battles. Second brother, don’t forget, although I’m in the Military Armament Department, I’m also familiar with strategy," Jiuyun Shuang shook his head.

"With only those ragged soldiers?"

"Second brother don’t say that; the soldiers are serving their country," Jiuyun Shuang frowned slightly.

"Anyway, now that the soldiers are secured, how do you plan to deploy them?" Jiuyun Ke asked.

"I hope second brother will go out of the pass and patrol the frontline, attracting the attention of the three Yipa divisions, while I directly assault the crucial position, and then attack the three divisions of Yipa from inside and out in one fell swoop," Jiuyun Shuang said after pondering for a moment.

"You’re entering the enemy territory alone, that’s undoubtedly suicidal," Jiuyun Ke said in surprise.

"I am confident."

"Think of other methods, this plan makes me uneasy."

"Second brother, if you trust me, just do as I say. If you don’t trust me, don’t go out of the pass. My army alone is sufficient."

"Again, I am your second brother, are you saying provocative words to me again? Don’t you know I barely got the military credentials from father, nearly falling out with him?"

"Second brother, I know you mean well for me. So trust me, I won’t let you all down," Jiuyun Shuang said confidently.

Follow current novels on (f)reew𝒆bnovel