Zuo Ci waited for Xu Yin to restrain his sword intent before approaching and asked: "You have almost reached the Earthly Immortal Realm through cultivation, right?"
Xu Yin nodded calmly, "With the blessing of luck in the past few years, my practice has progressed very quickly, and I have vaguely touched the threshold.
My sword intention is not only something I learned from my friends, but also something I learned from the higher dimensions of the void. The combination of the two allows me to vaguely feel the existence of the law at my current level of strength."
Zuo Ci showed an envious look, "I've been practicing for many years, but I still don't have a clue. Alas, it's just personal fate."
The two stayed in the mountains for many days and decided to return together.
After arriving in Ji County of Yan State, Xu Yin received news from the Chamber of Commerce.
"Gongsun Zan was assassinated while hunting in Qingzhou, and died of serious injuries!
In order to find out the murderer, his son Gongsun Xu wanted to implicate the Jizhou nobles. As a result, he developed elbow and armpit injuries and was killed by several women in the palace!"
Xu Yin was shocked, so he read the details of Gongsun Zan's assassination again.
In May, Gongsun Zan led the White Horse Yi Cong on a hunting trip in the mountains and forests of Qingzhou. On the way, three men wearing the uniforms of lieutenant colonels came to report the military situation.
Gongsun Zan laughed and cursed, but did not take it seriously. As a result, the three of them suddenly took action. Two of them restrained Gongsun Zan's soldiers, and one of them stabbed Gongsun Zan in the back with all his strength.
After being seriously injured, Gongsun Zan was bursting with strength and preparing to resist. Those who didn't want to stab him in the back had already poisoned his weapon.
Gongsun Zan couldn't use any strength for a while, so he could only escape quickly on horseback.
Three assassins pursued and killed him, and two of them died under the command of the white horse followers. Before his death, the last one wounded Gongsun Zan twice with a single blow from the God-killing Crossbow.
This blow directly killed Gongsun Zan, and the news was known to Gongsun Xu who was accompanying him. As a result, the three dead soldiers either died in battle or committed suicide, and no clues were found.
However, it can be seen from the fact that the three assassins can easily enter the military camp, go in and out of Gongsun Zan, and also have the military uniforms, passwords and God-killing crossbows of Baima Yicong. Without the help of internal personnel, they will definitely not be able to complete the mission.
Gongsun Xu did not doubt that it was a problem with Baima Yicong, who had followed Gongsun Zan for many years, but thought it was a problem with the Jizhou gentry who had recently joined the Youzhou system.
So many people were tortured and many were killed.
But he didn't expect that after conquering Jizhou and Qingzhou four years ago, he had robbed the Tian family's legitimate daughter as a concubine.
This woman has been hiding from the harem. On the surface, she wants to please Gongsun Xu, but secretly she is preparing a revenge plan.
Until now, after Gongsun Xu had killed many wealthy people in Jizhou, this woman waited for the opportunity to come. After getting Gongsun Xu drunk, she ordered the strong women around her to strangle him with iron ropes!
Then he set fire to the palace and burned Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Xu's family members to death. Of course, he was also buried in the fire.
For a time, Gongsun Zan's troops were leaderless. Under the leadership of the Tian family, the Jizhou gentry launched a counterattack that had been brewing for four years. The two sides fought in chaos across Jizhou.
Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army intended to come out to quell the chaos and take control of the military, but the Jizhou gentry also regarded him as an enemy bandit, and many parties were involved in a melee.
At this time, Liu Bei had already sent troops. Regardless of whether he was once considered a core figure in Gongsun Zan's group, he was the only one with the strength to swallow up the entire chaotic Jizhou and Qingzhou.
He was the only one with such a reputation to win over the hearts of the Jizhou gentry.
When Xu Yin saw Liu Bei leading the troops out of the mountain in person, he stopped interfering in the matter. He believed that with Liu Bei's full-fledged ability, he no longer needed to remind him all the time.
What's more, at this time, Kong Ming and Liu Bei had successfully integrated into the Liu Bei Group and played a huge role in logistics and government affairs. Kong Ming was Liu Bei's military advisor, and Ju Shu was in charge of a large part of the government affairs.
Since the power of the Youzhou gentry has been greatly reduced and the number of refugees has increased, a child from a poor family has a lot of room for development. His personal talents can be fully utilized without relying on the guidance of family power.
After Xu Yin and Zuo Ci arrived in Jizhou, Liu Bei had already pacified the place.
He even had a tough battle with Zhang Yan of the Montenegrin Army. In this battle, Zhao Yun officially rebelled from the Montenegrin Army and fully devoted himself to Liu Bei's camp, and made great achievements.
At this time, when Xu Yin came to Xindu, Liu Bei was meeting with Jizhou nobles from various places.
The Jizhou gentry originally wanted to lure Cao Cao into the throne. Compared with Liu Bei, the emperor's uncle who didn't know the truth, they believed in Cao Cao, who was also a descendant of the gentry.
Moreover, Cao Cao's subordinates were mainly composed of Henan nobles, and the Henan nobles had a close relationship with the Jizhou nobles. Even if the Jizhou nobles' overall status was lower than that of the Henan nobles after joining Cao Cao, it would still be better than living under the vulgar border warlords in Youzhou.
It's just that the Youzhou nobles headed by the Tian family never expected that Liu Bei was so powerful. Not only did he have cavalry that was no weaker than the white horse Yi Cong, but he also had a group of brave and capable infantry.
His two generals, Guan and Zhang, were close to Lu Bu's level and were ten thousand enemies. Kong Ming, Ju Shou and others also had extremely high levels of Confucianism and Taoism, and had very good coordination abilities.
After the first battle, no one was convinced.
Among Gongsun Zan's many subordinates, those who disobeyed were all wiped out in this battle, while those who obeyed were directly dispersed and collected.
Although the Montenegro Army has a large force, most of it is composed of poor people.
Kong Ming took action to promote the policy of returning locals to locals in Youzhou. The prestigious Zhao Yun stepped forward as a guarantee, which instantly destroyed the morale of most of the Black Mountain Army.
Coupled with the many victories led by Liu Bei on the battlefield, the overall morale of the Montenegrin Army collapsed. A large number of lower-level soldiers defected and quietly became refugees, accepting the people sent by Kong Ming to return to their native lands.
After Zhang Yan was defeated, he retreated into the mountains and was never seen again.
After the chaos in Jizhou's territory over the years, the strength of the Jizhou nobles was not as strong as before. Many forts were unable to retain their original scale, and a large number of people had to be liberated and absorbed by Liu Bei's forces.
At present, the Jizhou nobles can only use their little political bargaining chip, which is knowledge and governance experience, to negotiate with Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was not impatient at all. He unswervingly pushed forward the assessment and selection system, and no one could refuse.
Even the gentry from all over the country who were accustomed to serving as officials under the imperial examination system had to compete with poor families at the same time. This made many gentry children complain endlessly, but they had nothing to do.
Cao Cao, whom they were counting on in the south, was currently engaged in a fierce battle with Sun Jian and Liu Biao's army, and was really unable to move north to take care of both. He was very lucky that Liu Bei did not come to attack him.
After the meeting ended, many Jizhou nobles shook their heads and left in disappointment after meeting Liu Bei.
They wanted to gain a high position in Liu Bei's power, but were rejected by Liu Bei neither softly nor hard. They could only think about how to review their studies, how to participate in the assessment, and how to find ways to build a good relationship with the assessment officials through the back door.
Liu Bei walked out with Kong Ming talking and laughing, and happened to meet Xu Yin outside the door.
Kong Ming saluted and said, "Teacher, are you out of seclusion?"
Liu Bei said in surprise: "I have been waiting for you for a long time, Immortal Lord! Everything is being implemented according to the strategy we discussed at the beginning. Currently, Jizhou, Bingzhou, and Qingzhou are all in my hands!"
After I successfully conquer Cao Cao, capture Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou, and then enter Guanzhong in the west and conquer all the beautiful places, then the unification of the world will definitely be in my hands!"