Chapter 22: Large-scale Civilian Settlement

As he drew closer, Lin Mu saw farmers working in the fields. Seeing the smiles on their faces as they chatted with one another, Lin Mu could make an initial judgment: this was a civilian stronghold.

The farmers within a civilian stronghold could chat and laugh softly in the fields without a hint of oppression—a situation that would never occur in a bandit stronghold.

In a bandit stronghold, the farmers were essentially plundered; they lived under constant oppression and suppression, and there would be no such sweet laughter in the fields.

As he slowly stepped into the territory of the stronghold, Lin Mu received a system notification

"—System Prompt: Lord Lin Mu, you have discovered a large-scale stronghold. Population: 120,483."

"—System Prompt: Lord Lin Mu, you have discovered a large-scale stronghold. Territory Series Quest activated. Territory Quest 1: Subdue or kill any 100 Tier-2 soldiers from any four large-scale strongholds. No time limit. Reward: None."

Finally, the exclusive quests for Lord players had been activated. Territory quests were exclusive to Lord players; whether one subdued or crushed and destroyed a stronghold, it counted as conquering it.

These quests offered no system rewards; the system was extremely stingy.

Lin Mu’s intention for this stronghold was to subdue it. However, compared to a stronghold with over a hundred thousand people, his tiny little village was like a sesame seed compared to a watermelon. Lin Mu was the sesame seed.

The idea of a watermelon submitting to a sesame seed was pure nonsense—nothing more than a pipe dream.

So, how should he begin?

In his past life, Lin Mu had no experience in subduing large-scale strongholds. Previously, he had always followed a standard procedure: recruiting refugees, gathering refugee waves, purchasing population, or attracting players to join.

A more brutal method was to attack the stronghold with troops, suppress them with military force, capture them, and then subdue them.

He had never done the job of "getting something for nothing." Lin Mu pondered for a moment, wondering if there were any prerequisites, but he still had no clue.

Regardless of the suddenness, Lin Mu and Xiaohu appeared in the sight of the farmers.

"Eh? Old Wa's family, look at those two! They don't seem to be from our stronghold!" A sharp-eyed farmer immediately asked the person beside him upon seeing Lin Mu and his companion.

"Hmm, yes. We are in such a desolate, mountainous area, yet there are others here. Could they be spies from the bandits?" a farmer asked in surprise.

"Probably not. Look at that man; he looks like the 'Outsider' the Sages spoke of!" When players descended upon the Mythical World, the laws of heaven and earth marked them in a way that allowed natives to identify them. As for what specific mark it was, Lin Mu had never been able to figure it out.

"Eh, you're right! He should be an Outsider. Quick, go notify the Chieftain that an Outsider has arrived!" Saying this, the farmer hurried off toward the direction of the stronghold.

Lin Mu had keen ears and heard their discussion.

He quickly asked politely, "Hello. I am Lin Mu, the village chief of Zhenlong Village. I am an Outsider. Are you people from the stronghold ahead?"

"Ah... oh... yes, yes." The farmers hurriedly put down their farming tools and gave Lin Mu a slight bow in return.

"Are you all civilians of the Great Han?" Lin Mu continued to probe.

"Yes, we are all Han civilians wandering far from home. Because of a plague in our hometown, we had no choice but to wander in desperation. Fortunately, the Chieftain was kind enough to take us in and provide a stable place to settle," a farmer responded.

"Then, may I request an audience with the Chieftain?" Lin Mu asked. From their words, Lin Mu guessed that this Chieftain was likely a kind-hearted person.

If so, this was indeed a civilian stronghold; the probability of it being a bandit stronghold was zero.

"You may, you may! The Chieftain has instructed that Outsiders are welcome in our stronghold!" the farmer said happily. He had finally met the "Outsider" the Chieftain spoke of. He had heard that Outsiders were invited from beyond the heavens by the Sages and were granted immortality by the Sages' grace; he was truly envious.

To Lin Mu's surprise, he found the "kind-hearted Chieftain" mentioned by the farmer quite easily.

He was a middle-aged man dressed in the attire of a scholar. He was elegant and handsome, with a slight beard, a ruddy complexion, and piercing eyes. His physique was not particularly robust, but his gait was steady and powerful.

The Chieftain was the first to speak. "Is your Excellency an Outsider?" he asked with a look of wonder and certainty.

"I am Lin Mu, and I am indeed an Outsider," Lin Mu confirmed.

"Haha, good! According to the legends of the Sages, although Outsiders have frail bodies like rootless duckweed, their potential is extremely high. Some Outsiders have limitless futures. I have finally had the chance to see one in my lifetime," the Chieftain said happily while stroking his beard, as if the rumors of Outsiders had long been in the ears of the natives.

"I am honored to serve as the Chieftain of Qingfeng Stronghold, Gao Hai, courtesy name Yuanfeng," Gao Hai introduced himself.

Lin Mu was slightly surprised to hear that he had a courtesy name; it seemed he was also an extraordinary person.

"I am Lin Mu, currently the village chief of Zhenlong Village." Since introductions were being made, he would present himself as a village chief as well. A small status meant nothing, but it placed him on equal footing with this Chieftain, granting him the right to a balanced dialogue.

In *Mythical Three Kingdoms*, social hierarchy was extremely distinct. Commoners and humble families, scholarly clans and prestigious families, official clans and powerful clans, nobles and imperial relatives, the imperial family, and so on—the classes were clearly demarcated and rigid.

Furthermore, the circulating currency also reflected the class distinctions of the Great Han court.

As the saying goes: "Gold and silver treasures, gold and silver treasures!" The officials and nobles of the Great Han Dynasty generally treated gold and silver as highly valuable treasures to be collected; they typically did not use gold and silver to trade with the lower classes. They mostly used copper coins. In the terminology of the NPCs, they called copper coins "money" (qian)—for example, 10,000 *qian* meant 10,000 copper coins—while silver and gold coins were referred to as "silver" and "gold."

Of course, among officials, things like bribes and tributes were conducted using gold, silver, gems, jade, and precious jewelry to show respect!

Moreover, among the upper echelons—such as imperial relatives, eunuchs, scholarly clans, and powerful families—the more precious currency in circulation was [Gold Ingots] and [Han Dynasty Gold Ingots].

Setting aside [Han Dynasty Gold Ingots] for now, the actual value of a single [Gold Ingot] was 100 gold coins. However, if a player wanted to exchange for a gold ingot, they would have to pay more than 100 gold coins. Exactly how much more depended on one's relationship with the official or powerful clan performing the exchange; high-level wealth was concentrated in the upper echelons of society.

Regarding these bribes and tributes, Lin Mu remembered a joke from his past life: A wealthy "whale" player wanted to bribe a eunuch in the divine capital, Luoyang, to secure an official position. However, he failed to exchange his gold coins for the gold ingots used by the upper class. Instead, he brought dozens of wagons filled with copper coins. This drew massive attention, as the presence of a "whale" player was always a spectacle, especially when attempting to bribe an official. Countless people watched him, and the player became famous.

The currency used by natives was physical, unlike players who could use virtual numbers to represent wealth.

The dozens of wagons of copper coins were covered with hemp cloth. A long procession of wagons arrived at the eunuch's mansion. Seeing such a spectacle, the gate guards knew something was happening and turned back to report to the manager.

When the manager came out, he assumed the player would be offering many valuable items and was very happy. After all, if the master got the lion's share, the manager could also get a taste of it. Thus, the happy manager didn't even bother to check what the gifts were.

Later, the player was kicked out, but all the copper coins were confiscated. The mission failed, and the money was gone. Having lost nearly ten million copper coins, the wealthy player was left in tears and despair.

The manager even barked at him in a rage, "You lowly creature! You actually dare to use these stinking copper coins to bribe my master? You truly do not know what is good for you! Get lost!"

Later, the player understood the secret: the elites looked down on copper coins. This reflected that even their greed had "taste" and "art." Bribing someone with copper coins was akin to insulting them; if they didn't kill you, you were lucky to be alive. If gold coins or gold ingots had been used, given the boundless greed of the officials governing the empire, that player would have had a very high chance of success.

Many people laughed at the time, and Lin Mu had laughed heartily when he saw the recording on the battle forums! However, this also reflected the side effect: the class system of the Great Han Dynasty was incredibly rigid!

Social status and social prestige were, in any era, the fundamental requirements for equal dialogue.