Winter began on the first day of October, and a heavy snowfall covered the mountains around Qianlong Valley. Snowflakes fly in the Valley of the Hidden Dragons, melting when they hit the ground. The mountain spring that flows out of the crevices in the rocks is steaming in the pool.

The young dragon lord was wearing a dark purple slim knight's suit, a pair of cowhide boots, and a sword belt on his body, but the sword was held in his hand. The tan hair was a little grayish, and the hair on the temples was tied up at the back of the head, and the rest was left to be scattered.

The young dragon lord stands on the ridge above the dragon gate, facing south, with a waterfall flowing down behind him, a forest to the east, a mine to the west, and a lake to the south. The mountains high above the valley are covered in snow, the slopes between the cliffs are lush with trees, and the pools at the bottom of the valley are steaming. In this situation, in the eyes of the young dragon lord, there is no better fairyland in the world.

This heavy snow came too suddenly, more than a month earlier than before, which made the young dragon lord see an opportunity to capture the Hetao area.

Since the grain and grass were burned, the Duke Liang of Hanoi City really collected grain in the Hetao area, causing public resentment to boil. With the infiltration of the Holy Theravada missionaries, most of the local population has been separated from Gongliangbo.

Among the more than 400 people who have newly joined the Hidden Dragon Valley, more than 100 of them can go to the battlefield, plus more than 300 people from the Royal Dragon Clan, there are nearly 500 soldiers in total. And the defenders of Hanoi City had 1,000, more than twice as many as the army of the Royal Dragon Clan.

In the council chamber, Lord Shaolong made a proposal to immediately capture the city of Hanoi. As always, Alanjiyi supported the proposal of the Young Dragon Lord, and eight of the Ten Sacred Warriors expressed their support, and the two Great Elders finally decided to send troops to attack Hanoi City.

The two Great Elders led their troops out of the Hidden Dragon Valley from the underground river, and the two dragon knights rode their dragons over the ridge, and they met on the outskirts of Hanoi.

The subordinates in front of the station were two dragon knights who rode dragons from the sky to the city, and cooperated with the ten holy warriors who had already mixed into the city to solve the defenders of the city gate.

The plan was hindered from the beginning, and since the granary was burned, Gong Liang Bo strengthened his vigilance, and personally put on armor and went to the city to supervise the battle.

Despite this, when the two dragons appeared in the sky above Hanoi, the soldiers defending the city were frightened. Even Gong Liang Bo himself was so frightened that his face turned blue and shivered in the cold wind.

At this critical moment, the Ten Great Saint Warriors came out and eliminated the defenders of the city gate without much effort. By the time Gong Liang Bo reacted and ordered reinforcements to the city gates, it was already too late. The city gate was opened, Wu Chengzi led the army to break in, and the two armies met at the city gate.

The combat power of the Ten Saint Warriors is ridiculously high, and it can be said that they can defeat the defenders with one as a hundred. On the city walls and in the streets and alleys, there were the corpses of the defenders, and the soldiers of the Royal Dragon Clan only killed and wounded more than 20 people.

Seeing that the general trend had gone, Gong Liang Bo hurriedly stuffed his family members into the carriage, and rode a horse to lead more than 50 people to abandon the city and flee. The rest of the defenders saw that the lords had fled, and they had no intention of fighting, so they all disarmed and surrendered.

After this battle, the Royal Dragon Clan killed more than 300 enemies and accepted more than 500 soldiers. From 500 soldiers out of the valley to more than 1,000 now, not only conquering the city, but also more than doubling the number of soldiers, the battle of the Royal Dragon Clan has been bloody.

In the next few days, the Young Dragon Lord and Alanjiyi rode dragons to clear several viscount domains in the Hetao region one by one. Since then, the Royal Dragon Clan has taken full control of the Loop.

From the fall of the Dragon Kingdom to the present, the people of the Dragon Clan have been hiding in the Hidden Dragon Valley for twelve years, and now they are finally out of the valley to breathe. In the past month or so since the capture of Hanoi City, all the people of the Yulong clan have moved out of Qianlong Valley and settled down in the Hetao Plain.

Another heavy snow covered the ground, and the charcoal fire in the council chamber burned red. The young dragon lord proposed, "It is a harsh winter, and most people are already staying at home. Therefore, it is necessary to take this opportunity to verify the population of the Hetao area as soon as possible. All adult men were recruited into the army and trained in a centralized manner to prepare for the big war after the beginning of spring. ”

Ah Lan Jiyi took the lead in expressing his position, "This proposal of the Young Dragon Lord, I, Ah Lan, agree with it. In the current situation, everyone must understand that although we took advantage of a heavy snow raid to take Hanoi City, after the beginning of spring, it is difficult to guarantee that Gongsun Jingyang will not send a large army to conquer. Therefore, this proposal of the Young Dragon Lord should be completed as our next priority. ”

"Yes," Wen Chengzi also stood up in agreement, "We should indeed be prepared for danger in times of peace. Population is the foundation of a country, and taxation is the lifeblood of a country. Only when the population is clearly verified and the lifeline is stabilized can the country develop healthily. The old man raised his hands in support of the proposal of the young dragon master. ”

Wu Chengzi stood up, "Elder Wen has said so, can I object?" He glanced at the ten Saint Warriors, "Do you have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads, "No, we all agree with the Young Dragon Lord's proposal. ”

"Okay, all pass," Wu Chengzi said, "Then next, let's all listen to the arrangements of the Young Dragon Lord." ”

After more than half a month of census, the total population of the Hetao area is more than 50,000, plus more than 10,000 people from the old department of the Royal Dragon Kingdom who came to take refuge, a total of more than 60,000 people. The young dragon lord selected strong adult men from them to reorganize and enlist in the army, and obtained 3,000 elite soldiers.

The weapons, armor, and shields needed by these 3,000 elite soldiers were all crafted by Iron Hammer and Amu Shan and craftsmen. The badge on the armor shield is the same as the banner of the Imperial Dragon Clan, which is the Yinglong totem embroidered on the forehead of the young dragon lord by Alanjiyi, which is a shield badge of a gold dragon with gold on a black background.

The shield represents protection, and the young dragon lord who guards the "place of the dragon man" is the golden dragon of Yingde - the dragon of the dragon. Dragonlia, a place where there will never be a slave owner.

Snowflakes were flying all over the sky, and the snow on the walls was up to the ankles. The young dragon lord stood on top of the city, the cold wind whistling in his ears, and his hair was very messy by the wind. The figure of Alanjiyi appeared on the covered bridge, and she slowly walked towards the Young Dragon Lord, and she put the cloak in her arms on the Young Dragon Lord.

"It's getting colder and colder, and the young dragon lord has to pay attention to keeping warm. ”

The expression of the young dragon lord looked very heavy, "I still remember when I was a child, standing in the Dragon City and watching the snow, what a beautiful thing it was! Now standing at the head of the city and looking at the snow, I can't find the beauty of that time." ”

"Time has passed, and things have long been different," Alanjiyi said with a heavy heart, "No matter how beautiful this snow is, it can't hide the remnants of the past engraved in my heart?"

"Chinese New Year's Eve is just a few days away, and I want to change the name of the city before the New Year arrives." ”

"Presumably the Young Dragon Lord has already thought of a name!"

"It's called Dragon City," the Young Dragon Lord said categorically, "and in this place, build a brand new Dragon City." The walls of the city were too low and old to be easily breached, and it was necessary to build a fortified city. ”

"The idea...... It's good, but it's ...... At present, in our situation, if we want to build a city, I am afraid that the national strength will not be enough. ”

"We'll talk about building the city later. Now that we have taken advantage of the severe cold to occupy the Hetao area, and after the beginning of spring, Gongsun Jingyang will inevitably raise troops to attack. At the moment, the most important thing is to build barriers in various dangerous places in preparation for the big war after the beginning of spring. ”

"This is important," Alanjiyi reminded, "since we conquered the Hetao region, we have counted the population and reorganized the army, which has made those viscount lords who were originally loyal to Gongliang Bo very dissatisfied. And when it came time to census the population, these viscount lords were very resistant, unwilling to tell the truth about the population of their family districts. If he doesn't care about these land snakes, Ah Lan is worried that these viscount lords will be in trouble. ”

"This reminds me," the young dragon lord turned and walked towards the covered bridge, "It seems that those dangerous places must not be guarded by these people. ”

"Xianningzi in Xianning Town, relying on a brine spring to make salt, is the richest. During the population inventory, Xianningzi resisted the most. Because he knew that once the population was verified, he could not escape the calculation. ”

"For the sake of the stability of the Hetao and the absorption of the population, we have waived the calculation for three years. Even if the population of his Xianningzi family is 300, he doesn't have to pay for any in the past three years, why should he resist the census?"

"I'm afraid only he Xianningzi knows this in his own heart," Ah Lan Jiyi followed behind the young dragon lord, "but he relies on the control of the lifeblood of salt making, and there are a lot of salt workers under him." If you want to pay the tax, the tax of the salt workers under him must also be counted on his head!"

"This is not the root of the problem, the root of the problem is whether he is a slave owner or not. "The words of the young dragon lord hit the nail on the head.

"Is the young dragon master saying that the salt workers under him are most likely his slaves?"

"With this possibility, the officials who investigated the population should know the situation of Xianningzi, right?"

The official who surveyed the population came back from Xianning Town and said that Xianningzi did not ask him to check the population one by one, but casually reported a number and asked him to come back and report it. ”

"How many people did he report?"

"A hundred people in total. ”

There is a huge Xianning town, such a large salt industry, and there are only a hundred people in total?Is he coaxing a three-year-old child?" The young dragon lord said very resolutely, "Check, we must find out this Xianningzi." ”

"I have sent officials to go there three times, but they have all returned in vain, and I have not even been able to enter the gate of Xianningzi Fortress. ”

"Xianningzi controls the production of salt, salt is profitable, he is not short of that money, it is unlikely that he will not let the officials who investigate the population enter just to avoid the calculation of the tax. Most likely, Xianningzi wanted to hide the fact that he was a slave owner. It seems that I have to meet this Xianningzi in person for a while!"

The young dragon lord wore a set of leather armor, a khaki skirt, a pair of boots, and rode a maroon horse out of the north city gate. The little dragon girl also wore leather armor and followed closely behind on a yellow-maned horse.

Xianning Town is located in the north of the Hetao Plain, 60 miles away from Hanoi City and 50 miles away from the southern foot of Qianlong Valley. Xianning originally belonged to a very ancient country, relying on a salty spring to make salt and prosper the world, rich side, once known as the salt tyrant.

Gongliang Bo, as a vassal of Gongsun Jingyang, the Marquis of the auxiliary state, had to give Xianningzi enough face during his reign in the Hetao area. With the strength of Xianningzi, it is enough to dominate the Hetao Plain, but in view of the prosperity of salt in the world, he bows down to Gongsun Jingyang, a new magnate.

Gongsun Jingyang originally planned to make Xianningzi the earl of the Hetao region, but he was afraid that he would not be able to control him in the future, so he sealed his uncle Liang to Hanoi City. Xianningzi was dissatisfied with this, so when the army of Yulonglia came to attack Hanoi City, Xianningzi did not send troops to support.

As for the Xianqiu clan, which has been entrenched in the Hetao area for thousands of years, he also regards the dragon lia, who defeated Gongliang Bo, as an enemy. However, to his surprise, in just two or three months, the power of the Royal Dragon Clan has grown unimaginably.

During the period when the Imperial Dragon Clan was surveying the population after occupying Hanoi City, Xianningzi used his money to gather bandits and robbers in order to protect himself. and united the Yuqiu clan in Hekou Town, the Zuoqiu clan in Chaoyang Town, and the Xie Qiu clan in Dugu Town to prepare to create a rebellion against the Dragon Clan.

It is not difficult to see from the surnames of their four major families and the emblem of raccoon dog that this raccoon dog is a family with the same ancestor and different ancestry. Its ancestors are the last monarch of the ancient country of Xianning, Xianqiu, after the ancient kingdom of Xianning died, the people were divided into several branches.

Everyone who enters the Hetao area is the lord of flowing water, and this raccoon dog is the iron vassal. Even after thousands of years of vicissitudes in the Hetao area, they still do not fall. The secret of their ability to survive thousands of years is that they kneel very quickly when they encounter a particularly strong force, and they are also very quick to turn back when others become weak.

When the Dragon Heavenly Relic rode the dragon back then, they immediately knelt down. But when King Changyang killed the Imperial Dragon Heavenly Relic at the bloody celebration banquet, and Gongsun Jingyang led the troops to come, they immediately rebelled against the water of the Imperial Dragon Clan and knelt down for Gongsun Jingyang.

But this time, Yulongya came, Gongliang Bo ran away, and the two ruthless characters of King Changyang and Gongsun Jingyang still existed. Therefore, this raccoon dog is very hesitant to kneel for the dragon Leah. In case they kneel now, after the beginning of spring, Gongsun Jingyang will lead a large army to defeat the Dragon Wing, and they will have to kneel again, how troublesome it is.

Therefore, they decided not to kneel, ostensibly courting the Imperial Dragon Clan, but secretly recruiting troops to protect themselves. After all, no matter how powerful the dragon riding dragon is, it is not the same as being destroyed by the "dragon slayer" King Changyang. If the King of Changyang dies and the Dragon Lady rides the dragon again, they will kneel down immediately without hesitation.

The young dragon lord and the little dragon girl were riding horses in the snowy forest, when suddenly there were several howls of wild deer. The alert red horse stopped and pricked up his ears, snorted his nose, and neighed. After the young dragon lord dismounted, he looked in the direction of the source of the sound, only to see blood stains on the snow, and an adult deer being bitten by wolves in the distance.

A young wild deer cub is being chased by a big bad wolf, and the young dragon lord sees this, pulling his bow and releasing arrows to drive away the wolf. After the arrow was fired, the wolf was not afraid, and the hind leg of the fawn was still bitten by the big bad wolf. The fawn limped towards the young dragon lord, and the wolf looked at the young dragon lord viciously, without fear at all.

The young dragon lord just released the arrow just to deter and drive away the wolf, and he did not intend to kill it. But the big bad wolf at the moment didn't know whether he was disgusted with the young dragon lord's archery skills were too bad or how, and obviously didn't take the young dragon lord seriously.

The young dragon lord took another arrow, and the big bad wolf flew towards the young dragon lord with his big mouth open. The young dragon lord drew his bow, and an arrow shot out, directly through the wolf's mouth. After the wolf fell to the ground, he kicked his feet a few times before dying.

The rescued fawn ran to the young dragon lord but obediently stopped, looked back at the doe that was bitten by the wolves in the distance, and let out a cry of compassion.