In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 313 Time is running out

"How can an army like this fight a war!"

Lu Mingyi watched the army slowly advancing, feeling utterly helpless!

These soldiers were old, weak, sick, and disabled—that would be an understatement. They were all listless and weak, their armor loose and worn. Many of them had never even been trained. If these soldiers went to the battlefield, it would be a miracle if they didn't desert.

However, that's not the worst part. The worst part is...

The problem of ghost soldiers in the three major battalions was extremely serious. The three major battalions, which had a nominal strength of 60 soldiers, actually only had 20 soldiers. A full two-thirds of the troops disappeared from the books...

"Ugh!"

Lu Mingyi turned to look at the capital city behind him and sighed deeply.

With military preparedness lax, natural disasters occurring frequently, and the people suffering, His Majesty only cares about indulging in pleasures in the harem. Even he, an old general who has been idle at home for many years, can see that the Xia Kingdom... probably doesn't have much time left.

…………

…………

Two days later.

Looking at the massive city ahead, Chen Dao turned to Manager Wang beside him and asked, "Is that Dingxing City?"

"Not bad!"

Shopkeeper Wang nodded with a smile, "Compared to the name Dingxing City, we prefer to call it the County City!"

After saying that, Manager Wang gave a shout and led the group toward the city gate.

As they got closer, the city walls of Dingxing became clearer in Chen Dao's eyes. Compared to the city walls of Taiping County, which were not much better than mud walls, the city walls of Dingxing were obviously more magnificent. The walls were estimated to be at least ten meters high, and there was a large flow of people outside the city gate. Caravans were being checked by the guards before successfully entering the city.

"Shopkeeper Wang."

The soldiers guarding the city clearly recognized Manager Wang, and without even checking him, they let Manager Wang's caravan into the city.

Upon entering the city, a cacophony of noise assaulted his senses. Chen Dao looked up and saw a wide brick road beneath his feet, wide enough for at least six carriages to travel side by side, bustling with people.

Along both sides of the road, various shops lined up one after another, far surpassing the prosperity of Taiping City and Ding'an City that Chen Dao had visited before.

Manager Wang led Chen Dao to a restaurant called Wangxinglou and checked him in. He then said, "Mr. Chen, please stay here for the night. I will go and inform the head of the household."

"Ah."

Soon, Manager Wang led the Zheng family's caravan away, while Chen Dao and Chen Cheng put down their luggage in their guest rooms and then dined in the restaurant's lobby.

However, what Chen Dao didn't notice was that in a corner of the restaurant's lobby, a man was staring at him with bloodshot eyes, as if a deep-seated hatred was hidden in the depths of his eyes.

In fact, Chen Dao did have a blood feud with this person!

The man's name was Sun Shu, and it was easy to tell from his surname that he was from the Sun family of Ding'an City.

Sun Shu was the eldest son of the Sun family and the most talented martial artist among the younger generation. Several months ago, in order to give Sun Shu a chance to advance further, the head of the Sun family, Sun Ren, sent him to the county town to seek out mid-grade martial arts techniques.

Sun Shu did not disappoint Sun Ren's expectations. Soon after arriving in the county town, he made contact with the Wang family and had the hope of learning mid-grade martial arts and advancing to the sixth-grade martial artist.

however……

When he returned home, wanting to tell his clansmen the good news, he was greeted by... an empty, haunted house like the Sun family home!

Sun Shu was completely stunned. After making some inquiries, he learned that the magistrate of Ding'an City had colluded with outsiders to wipe out the entire Sun family...

At that moment, Sun Shu almost lost his mind and nearly went straight to Li Qingyun's door to kill him!

Fortunately, a sliver of reason kept him in check. Li Qingyun was an official appointed by the imperial court. If he killed Li Qingyun, even the Wang family in the county town might not be able to protect him. More importantly, he would lose the opportunity to learn a mid-grade martial art.

After all, no matter how powerful the Wang family is, it can't be more powerful than the imperial court. The Wang family would not protect a murderer who opposes the imperial court, much less teach him mid-level martial arts.

After much deliberation, Sun Shu decided to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​killing Li Qingyun.

Of course, this did not mean that he gave up his idea of ​​revenge; he began to investigate the identities of those who had partnered with Li Qingyun.

Because Chen Dao and Xu Zhiwen did not conceal their identities, Sun Shu quickly discovered their identities and from then on, he focused his attention on Chen Dao.

Li Qingyun and Xu Zhiwen are both officials appointed by the imperial court. He has neither the ability nor the courage to touch them for the time being, but Chen Dao, a farmer's son, is not someone he needs to worry about!

Of course, Sun Shu wasn't stupid. Chen Dao was capable of wiping out the entire Sun family, so his strength must be considerable. Naturally, he wouldn't dare to go to Taiping County, which was Chen Dao's stronghold, to kill him. Instead, he sent out spies to keep an eye on Chen Dao and monitor his whereabouts.

Fortunately, his efforts paid off. A few days ago, his informant sent word that Chen Dao had left Taiping County and was headed for the county town where he was located!

So Sun Shu waited patiently in the city until Chen Dao finally arrived.

Looking at Chen Dao's handsome face, Sun Shu clenched his fists under the table, his eyes flashing with surging killing intent!

"call!"

After a long while, Sun Shu finally suppressed his murderous intent. The restaurant was crowded and noisy; killing Chen Dao in public was obviously unrealistic, especially since...

Just now, Sun Shu also saw Manager Wang. Manager Wang personally brought Chen Dao over and arranged for him to stay, which means that Chen Dao has some connection with the Zheng family. Sun Shu dares not provoke the Zheng family.

but……

Just because he doesn't dare to provoke the Zheng family doesn't mean others don't!

Soon, Sun Shu paid the bill, gave Chen Dao a deep look, and then turned and left.

Why do I feel like someone is watching me?

Chen Dao, who was eating, glanced back and saw Sun Shu hurrying away. However, he did not know Sun Shu, so he did not think much of it.

After having a full meal with Chen Cheng, Chen Dao went to rest in a guest room at the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Manager Wang and Qingying returned to the Zheng family and were reporting the situation to Zheng Qiuyan.

After the two finished their report, Zheng Qiuyan asked calmly, "Are you saying that the person who sold the Blood Feather Chicken wants to obtain my family's Cloud Shadow Palm technique?"

"Yes."

"interesting."

Zheng Qiuyan chuckled. In the entire Taicang County, Chen Dao was the first person to dare to covet the Zheng family's Cloud Shadow Palm.

"You go down first."

Zheng Qiuyan waved to Manager Wang: "Arrange for Chen Dao to come and meet with me tomorrow."

"Yes."

Manager Wang accepted the order and left.

After Manager Wang left, Zheng Qiuyan looked at Qingying beside her and asked, "What do you think of Chenjia Village?"

"Very special."

Qingying thought for a moment and said, "That Chenjia Village is different from all the villages I have ever seen. It seems that everyone there can live and work in peace and contentment. The villagers each do their own job, as if the cold disaster has no effect on them at all."