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Not to mention whether he could meet him, firstly, there was no benefit. Anqiu could be certain that the King of Chu would definitely not treat him kindly.

After all, when someone who hopes for your death appears in front of you, who wouldn’t dislike it?

So after arriving in Chu State, he planned to take a tour there first, gather some intelligence, and observe the condition of the people.

Although there were spies reporting back from various places, reading reports could never compare to seeing and experiencing everything with his own eyes.

If he could gain a deep understanding of Chu State, it might be of great use when meeting Lu Yuan later.

It was not at all easy to transport ten million silver tales across borders to Chu State.

Although this time only silver was being transported, without various armors, weapons, grain and supplies, it would be much easier.

However, when the silver finally arrived, it would be at least three months later.

In three months, he would have enough time to get a deeper understanding of this newly rising power, Chu State.

Anqiu had already planned everything carefully in his heart.

…

Dan Ding Path was preparing to probe Anqiu’s bottom line, but Lu Yuan did not know about it, and had no means to inquire about Liang Country’s news.

However, he had already anticipated that there would be a day when his relationship with Dan Ding Path would fall apart.

The secret of longevity could not be exposed. Since this was the case, the Taiping Dao Book could not be used as his public cultivation method.

Even though he was indeed focusing on cultivating this method.

But when safety was concerned, necessary disguises needed to be in place.

Presenting himself as mainly practicing the Five Thunder Book in front of the world and the Immortal Cultivation World of Nine Provinces was a long-established strategy.

So, eventually, it was inevitable that he would fall out with Dan Ding Path.

Therefore, Lu Yuan started to actively prepare for possible retaliation from Dan Ding Path.

The most crucial preparation was to speed up the cultivation of the Taiping Dao Book.

As long as he could raise his Immortal Realm to a certain level, cultivating to the point of condensing vital energy, even if Dan Ding Path started a war against him, with such strength, he could face them without fear.

To speed up the cultivation of the Taiping Dao Book, the best method was to expand his territory, enhance his country’s strength, gather more Qi Luck, and use it to accelerate his cultivation.

Previously during the Northern Expedition against Zhou Country, he had followed Wuan Marquis’s arrangement twice, taking risks to launch surprise attacks. This time, he disregarded the unstable internal and external situation in his newly-established country and still aimed to attack Da Changhe Country and annex it.

It was hard to say Dan Ding Path did not play a part in these decisions.

If it were not for the pressure from Dan Ding Path, with Lu Yuan’s lifespan and the potential of Chu State, there would have been no need to be so eager, and they could choose to develop at a steady pace.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had nothing to say about it.

It was his own decision back then, and the aid from Dan Ding Path had indeed helped him a lot.

Their financial support and the weapons and supplies during the Northern Expedition were indispensable for his success.

Since he had enjoyed such benefits, he had to face the risks that came with them.

He had been prepared for this since he stepped onto this path.

No regrets.

However, at this time, Anqiu had not arrived yet, and Lu Yuan did not know everything that was happening.

It was only natural that he did not realize the threat from Dan Ding Path was about to fall upon him.

At this moment, his attention was attracted by a rebellion happening in Su Country.

…

“Su Xuange’s oppressive and brutal rule over the past few years has driven their people to death, and now it has finally shown its terrible consequences,” Lu Yuan sighed, holding the intelligence report from the Imperial City Department urgently sent from Su Country in the Chamber of Political Governance.

Upon hearing his words, Cui Changqing and Li Wei looked at him with curiosity.

Lu Yuan noticed it and smiled, then handed them the report, “You two Loyal Subjects may take a look as well.”

Both of them took it and read it together, their faces showing shock.

Cui Changqing more so, exclaiming: “Su Country’s people are so resentful that rebellions have broken out everywhere!”

Yes, this report was about the rebellions in Su Country.

The story began with Su Country’s Winter Tax last November.

As mentioned before, Su Xuange, driven by his own ambition and also for self-protection, had insanely raised a professional army of 100,000 soldiers and even implemented a militia system in his country.

Su Country was just a small country, and Yulin County, where it was established, was not prosperous. There were many mountain ridges and few plains, making it unsuitable for large-scale grain production.

It was only because of its proximity to the sea and trade opportunities that the country had some income and was not completely impoverished.

But even so, after being ravaged by Jinghai Country earlier, the situation in Yulin County had become increasingly dire.

At the time when Su Xuange went to establish Su Country, there were only a little over two million people left in the region.

Such a poor and mountainous county with a small population – how much could it be squeezed?

According to Lu Yuan’s estimate, with a normal rate of taxation, the most they could get in a year would be about five million silver tales.

But five million silver tales, where could that raise an army of a hundred thousand?

That’s why, not long after Ninghai Country was founded, Su Xuange had increased the tax rate in his country. It changed from the original one in five ratio during the imperial court period to a one in four ratio.

In addition, he also added various types of miscellaneous taxes with different names to collect money.

Through all these unscrupulous means, Su Country’s annual tax revenue rose sharply from the original four million silver tales to eight million silver tales, doubling in the process.</p