The Rise of History’s Most Powerful Empire

While a town wasn't much, it was Zhong Yu's first base in the Three Kingdoms.

After putting the people and guards under observation, he exchanged 500 soldiers to guard Eastern Township and the surroundings.

These average soldiers were even better than Eastern Township's guards, who hadn't seen battle for years and lacked discipline.

While his men trained every day and did mock battles every third. They had been through a couple of battles and seen blood. There were no recruits.

With them around, he would conquer the lands in peace.

This time around, he didn't hide himself.

But took his cavalry and 1,500 soldiers westbound.

He raised quite a few villages on his first day.

The county city's guards had yet to receive news of this clan's destined army and it was now at their gates.

The enemy stormed the county city and spread death before they could do anything.

Among the shouts of agony and screams of death, the guards put up some resistance at last, but that was when they already lost a third of their numbers.

Having no real training and never being on the battlefield caused their downfall. In the ancient times, elites wouldn't be routed until half of them died. Ordinary soldiers at a third of casualties and recruits at a mere tenth.

To have been holding on for so long was already considered a miracle.

But the pressure on them from seeing their friends die got to them, forcing them to scramble around for cover.

The battle was quick to start and even faster to finish. He let his soldier loose on the city, so that no one would get out.

He then led his cavalry and a few soldiers to capture the county's office, quelling the last resistance.

He then sent 500 soldiers to various villages and townships to secure them. With how easy it was to take the county city, those defenseless towns and villages stood no chance at all.

He had the county under his thumb in under a week. Roadblocks were in place and caught any that dared make a run for it to report these happenings. 

The culprits found would be forced into labor for a decade for their crimes.

Zhong Yu left 1,000 soldiers to guard Fangling County city while he took the rest towards Shangyong County city. He had to make the most of the Han Dynasty being in the dark of his existence to cover more ground.

He was at Shangyong County city's gates in three days, attacking any township and village on the way, posing no resistance against this army of 1100 soldiers.

No one in their right mind would have the guts to face the black cloud rumbling towards them.

This county city feel the same as the last. First the cavalry swooped in before they could react and took the gate.

In the city, his brave, staunch, trained and ruthless cavalry dealt with any resistance with practiced ease. The laid back guards didn't stand a chance. 

More clamor came from within, wails and cries of grief and pain.

Zhong Yu sent his soldiers in next, to placate the chaos swiftly.

They'd kill all those thugs, taking advantage of this ruckus to loot. Since Zhong Yu saw the city as his own, he would not let even one of them off.

An hour later the city was his and all guards dead or in shackles.

The county magistrate killed himself. In the Han Dynasty, the officials had some backbone left unlike the Ming Dynasty's, where they were scrambling to beg the barbarians of the Qing Dynasty for mercy.

While he now had two counties, the size of them was more around five counties with their population reaching close to 80,000.

The end of the Easter Han marked the populace struck by natural disaster, wars, famine and plagues.

The Han Dynasty still had 40 million people when Emperor Ling climbed the throne. But then followed the locust plague in the Central Plains, the overflowing waters of Yellow River. To top it all off, there were constant bands of barbarians and bandits invading the lands, forcing people to migrate.

Of the 40 million, it was a miracle if even 30 remained. Then there was Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turban Rebellion, about to happen in a year. With the population dropping further, the vassals would find their fields barren, with no one to sow them, or soldiers to fight. 

At the start of the Three Kingdoms, there were only a few millions people left alive. A county city's population would be around 4,000, while he, right now, had around 30,000 in a county.

‘Way too many.'

A county magistrate handling a couple of counties was impossible. There'd be many matters ignored and overlooked. Zhong Yu planned to split these counties into more.

Fangling County's Eastern Township, South Township and a part of North Township would form a county, called Shuiqing County. While the rest would form another, Guanqian County.

Shangyong County had its east half become Zhushan County and its west the remaining Shangyong County.

The four counties form a region, the Fangling Region. Each county would have 10,000 people, like many others in the Central Plains. 

Taking the two counties, Zhong Yu had expanded his force. Now it was a time to grow for the next month and await his fortune income to call for more soldiers.

As for the governing of the county cities, since he was a traitor with no clan behind him, he had to handle it himself and the talents he got from the system.

But these people had no use for him and wouldn't help him at all. They also took up space and farmland for nothing, not even paying taxes. 

Wearing that disdainful look and unable to understand where they got the confidence from. ‘Think I won't kill them?'

To get more land tax, he had to free more lands.

While also gaining more fortune since killing a person netted ten times the fortune.

Xinjian County of Fangling Region had 60,000 people netting 240 fortune a month.

That would mean 480 soldiers which was hardly many.

He planned on taking Hanzhong Region and needed 5,000 men at the least. That would mean he lacked 2520 soldiers.

This world was crude, needing 250 people to give him one fortune per month. While killing 25 would net him one as well. 

He had to kill 30,000 people to even come. He was fated to go against those clans in the Hanzhong Region.