NABC Chapter 44 Dragon and Serpent Martial Seal
Chapter 44 Dragon and Serpent Martial Seal
"Of course, of course, I will definitely go tomorrow." Feng Xiu cupped his hands in greeting.
Then, Blackie left.
As soon as Hei Ye left, Feng Xiu's expression returned to normal, a look of seriousness flashing across his face.
He stood there, silent for a long time.
"Young Master, what exactly is Master Hei doing here?"
At this moment, Xiang Geng was really confused. After Feng Xiu's brows relaxed slightly, he couldn't help but ask.
"What are you doing?"
By cutting ties with Liu Wenjun, two key pieces of information were revealed, showcasing the leverage for future cooperation.
"Of course I'm here to see my old friend. What else could I possibly be here for?"
Feng Xiu smiled faintly.
After saying this, Xiang Geng clearly didn't believe it. Friend...?
Would the eldest son become friends with someone like that?
"Yeah, tell me, what kind of person am I in Blackie's eyes?"
Xiang Geng was speechless. He couldn't imagine how Master Hei would view a rich young master.
Is he just a fat sheep who only knows how to give away money at will?
Just as they were wondering, Feng Xiu slowly spoke.
"I am a martial artist, and also the head of a family. I have fists, power, and wealth."
A gentle breeze rustled the bamboo leaves.
"Even in Qingyan City, where there are many families, I am his biggest connection."
...
...
It was already afternoon when we returned to Qingyan City.
The carriage entered the inner city and returned to the mansion. Feng Xiu went directly to Zheng Bo's room.
Although it's called a room, it's actually Zheng Bo's private office. All decisions, big and small, involving income and expenditure for the Feng family all require Zheng Bo's approval.
There are only two people in the mansion who can make decisions, and Feng Xiu often needs to consult Zheng Bo for advice.
At that moment, Zheng Bo was looking through the account books inside the house when he saw Feng Xiu enter and quickly got up.
"The eldest young master is back. How did it go? Is there anything seriously wrong with Dendrobium Village?"
Feng Xiu shook his head, sat down in the chair, and casually took the plain tea that Uncle Zheng handed him, taking a small sip.
"Uncle Zheng, there's something I need you to do for me."
"Please speak, young master."
Feng Xiu put down his teacup. "Take stock of the managers of each shop and farm, and the street officials. Pay special attention to whether there are any elderly people among them."
When people reach a certain age, those who should retire should do so; conversely, young talents who deserve promotion should be promoted.
A knowing glint flashed in Zheng Bo's eyes, as if he roughly understood that Zheng Bo was preparing to cultivate his own team.
Feng Xiu seemed to have seen through Zheng Bo's thoughts and said in a deep voice, "Zheng Bo, don't overthink it. It's just a matter of scaling back the family business."
"Furthermore, the Feng family's properties in other major cities and counties should be relinquished or sold as appropriate."
Qingyan City is the root of the Feng family. Their business methods have gradually matured, and their power is deeply rooted.
However, in other major cities, there are still a considerable number of Fengji Restaurant and Fengji Corner Shop.
Revenue is decent. If you factor in the transportation losses between Qingyan and other locations, and cover the manpower and material costs, you can only say that it's not a loss.
Zheng Bo was stunned. Feng Xiu's radical reforms had already touched upon a family steward's plan to "maintain the status quo".
"Young Master, what's wrong...?" Uncle Zheng frowned and asked directly.
Feng Xiu sighed. He didn't know whether he should speak or not, and remained silent for a while before finally speaking.
"Blackie told me some information earlier."
"In a few days, a very important person will be coming." Feng Xiu spoke slowly, each word as if he had carefully considered it for a long time.
"Who?"
Zheng Bo was startled; he rarely saw Feng Xiuhui with such a worried expression, and exclaimed in surprise.
"Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison Cavalry of the Eastern Army Governor's Office".
Eastern Army, Cavalry Commander-in-Chief?!
Suddenly, Zheng Bo felt a chill run down his spine and muttered, "The garrison of the Governor's Office, why are they here?"
He then immediately exchanged a glance with Feng Xiu, who remained calm, and Feng Xiu nodded.
"yes."
"What else could Yunzhou possibly have?" Feng Xiu sighed softly.
Having traveled through time for so long, it's impossible that Feng Xiu wouldn't understand the military system of a country.
The Great Liang Dynasty has been established for over four hundred years. Its military system consists of seven armies: the East, West, South, and North Armies, the Navy, the Imperial Guards, and other prefectural and county troops.
The Eastern Military Governor's Office is the highest military institution in the three prefectures of Yun, Jin, You, and Yunling, and it has three guards and nine battalions under its command.
The Garrison Battalion was an independent elite force within the Eastern Army. It was not under the jurisdiction of the Three Guards, but was directly under the command of the Governor's Office, and was divided into four divisions.
The Cavalry Command, Infantry Command, Supply Command, and Scout Command are specifically responsible for the defense of key passes, supply routes, and cities in the three prefectures of Yunling.
If it were just a military leader of 500 men, Feng Xiu believed there was still room for maneuver.
But this is the Cavalry Commandery, nominally the Eastern Army Commandery!
"I see, I see, no wonder He Lusi dared to do that~"
Zheng Bo murmured to himself, everything made sense now.
"Young Master, what should we do? What should we do?!"
Zheng Bo panicked for once, speaking urgently, and then looked at Feng Xiu as if he had grasped a lifeline.
"There's no other way. I've thought about diverting the family's resources. Even if we lose the farm, we can always start over."
Feng Xiu shook his head, "But that incident before caused too much of a stir."
Duke Zheng remained silent, but naturally understood the meaning of the imperial edict.
"We pushed the Ganlin Grand Ceremony too hard. Afterwards, Father joined forces with other grain merchants, and at least in the Governor's Mansion, we've already been blacklisted."
I knew earlier that the River Law Office was backed by the Eastern Army Commandery.
From the very beginning, Feng Xiu had no intention of putting up any resistance; he gave a bitter smile.
"I originally thought that the River Law Division would collude with the Junshu Office, whether it was to take a piece of meat from the major families or to get grain at a low price."
Feng Xiu sighed again, shook his head, and didn't finish his sentence.
All of these duties, including corvée labor, taxation, and grain transport, were under the jurisdiction of the Civil Affairs Department of the City Lord's Office.
The chaos in Jinzhou was known to everyone, even the major grain merchants who were aware of the strategic value of Jinshui wheat.
They never considered that the military might be the mastermind behind it all.
These two functions are different. Even if they are considering taking back the farm and buying grain at a low price, the final decision still needs to be made by Qingyan City.
And this is the strength of each family.
But now the result is that the Eastern Army has personally intervened, and the troops sent are the elite cavalry of the garrison.
"Young Master, it's good to plan ahead, but it's not that bad yet. There's more than just the Feng family in Qingyan City."
Zheng Bo's aged face hardened slightly, and he forced a word of comfort.
Feng Xiu didn't speak, but gently touched his right wrist with his left hand, reaching inside his sleeve.
Finally, from the lining of his sleeve, he pulled out a stiff piece of paper about the size of his palm.
The paper was faintly yellowed, and in its center was written the character "令" (order).
It bears the official seal of Qingyan City, issued by the River Law Office in the twelfth year of Tianfeng of the Great Liang Dynasty.
River Law Guide.
It was the key to the Feng family's prosperity and their resurgence, and it was also an important piece of evidence regarding their water rights.
But nowadays, it's basically no different from a piece of waste paper.
"Yes, there's more than one, but that makes it even better!"
"To quell the rebellion, to bestow rewards, and to keep those bandits at bay, we need food and money. But where will the money come from? Where will the land come from?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Bo opened his mouth, and his face wrinkled and trembled.
The atmosphere in the room froze instantly, and both of them remained silent.
"Perhaps, Father was right. With the world in chaos, getting involved in martial arts early on would allow us to transition to other professions sooner."
Feng Xiu sighed and placed the River Law Guide back on the table.
He gently touched his forehead and rubbed his temples; this matter was beyond his control.
Suppressing his inner turmoil and stopping himself from thinking about it, he instead asked:
"Forget about that, what has Shouzhuo been up to lately?"
To reiterate, the power of the families in Qingyan City is not so easy to control. We haven't reached that point yet, and thinking too much will only cause more trouble.
When Zheng Bo came to his senses, his expression changed slightly, revealing an inexplicable sense of strangeness.
"The second young master... is in the training room."
Feng Xiu raised an eyebrow. "Could he be in the training room?"
"It seems that Xiao Han is teaching well." Feng Xiu nodded again.
Zheng Bo wanted to say something, but swallowed it back, and only said, "The eldest son will know once he goes to see for himself."
Feng Xiu didn't ask any more questions and turned to walk towards the training room.
The door to the practice room was ajar.
The moment I pushed open the door and stepped across the threshold, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly rang out!
A fist came straight for Feng Xiu's left rib!
Feng Xiu instinctively raised his hand, his five fingers like hooks, and grabbed the man's wrist.
However, just as he was about to touch the other's arm, Feng Xiu sensed something unusual.
It's as if an invisible film is covering the skin, soft yet resilient; when you apply force, it's reduced by a third.
Instantly, Feng Xiu frowned and tightened his grip slightly.
The instant his fingertip tore through the membrane, the invisible force on the membrane transformed into a small gray snake, tearing and biting along his finger!
"Snapped!"
He crushed the gray snake shadow with his bare hands!
Immediately, Feng Xiu twisted the man's arm and forcefully pulled it away, then thrust his right knee out!
"Bang!"
A knee strike landed squarely on the man's chest.
"Hiss~" The man gasped, staggered back five or six steps, and froze on the spot.
Feng Xiu then saw the person's face clearly.
Being clumsy?
Feng Xiuren was a bit silly. His eyes narrowed slightly, and then he carefully looked him up and down.
With a ruddy complexion and a robust physique, his eyes no longer held the usual frivolity and restlessness; simply standing there, he exuded an indescribable air of strength and vigor.
Is this Feng Shouzhou?
At this moment, Feng Shouzhou rubbed his chest, grimacing and complaining, "Big brother, you hit me too hard, it hurts so much."
Feng Xiu ignored him and turned to look at the door.
Zheng Bo had a smile on his face.
"Second Young Master has broken through to the Blood Burning stage."
Burning blood?
Even after hearing these words from Zheng Bo, Feng Xiu still felt a sense of disorientation.
I haven't even reached that level yet, and you've already advanced?
He knew that Su Wantang had left him a record, but this was happening way too fast.
Looking back on this past month, Feng Xiu dared not slack off in the slightest. He endured scalding hot iron filings and burning medicinal baths day after day without fail.
Feng Shouzhuo, on the other hand, only had one round, took a nap, and when he opened his eyes, he was burning blood.
Feng Xiu really didn't know whether he should be envious or jealous.
Burning blood is the first threshold of martial arts, the watershed that distinguishes martial artists from ordinary people, the realm that has held Zheng Bo back for his entire life.
It's only been a few days, and Feng Shouzhou has already broken through?
Feng Xiu took a deep breath before slowly accepting the fact, his gaze sweeping over Feng Shouzhuo again.
Feng Shouzhou felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and gave a dry laugh: "Brother, it's me."
"Alright, Feng Shouzhou." Feng Xiu laughed. "You've even learned to ambush me now."
Feng Shouzhuo's smile froze.
"B-Big brother, I just had a sudden urge to try it out," he stammered, "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
Feng Xiu's lips twitched slightly as he looked at him like this.
Still the same coward.
He waved his hand and didn't pursue the matter further.
At this moment, Zheng Bo stepped forward, took out a black, ancient-looking booklet from his pocket, and handed it to Feng Xiu.
"Young Master, there is something I must tell you." He paused, "This cultivation manual was originally prepared for you."
But after the Second Young Master broke through to the Blood Burning Realm, this old servant thought it best to let him learn it first.
Feng Xiu took the booklet and looked down. Four large characters were clearly written on the cover.
Dragon and Serpent Martial Seal!