The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 380 Return to Yazhou Prefecture

Leigushan is not like Lingjiu Palace, nor is it the blessed land of Langhuan. Although it is the hiding place of Wuyazi, it actually has only three wooden houses. The rest are mostly traps and strange gates set up by Su Xinghe to resist Ding Chunqiu's invasion. Apart from that, there is nothing worth lingering.

After resting for two or three days, when Wuyazi's health improved slightly, Murong Fu and Wang Yuyan set off for the next destination. Wuyazi did a simple disguise and makeup and had a carriage to himself, while Wang Yuyan openly shared a carriage with Murong Fu, which made the four concubines Zhu, Zi, Qing and Bi particularly excited and jealous, but they could do nothing about it.

To be on the safe side, Su Xinghe chose to continue staying in Leigushan, but he received a document from Murong Fu, which allowed him to leave for Gusu Academy in three months and work for Murong Fu together with the Eight Friends of Hangu. This was also Wuyazi's idea, and he made the decision after witnessing the martial arts of the four Zhu, Zi, Qing and Bi.

The Xiaoyao Sect is a hidden sect. Ordinary outsiders will be killed if they hear the name, which shows how secretive it is. However, there are not many disciples in the sect. Both Lingjiu Palace and Xixia Yipintang are just peripheral forces with a few real Xiaoyao Sect disciples mixed in.

The purpose of this public trip has been largely accomplished. After that, we will detour to Dali and follow the border to Yanmen Pass. After meeting General Feng Bo'e, we will meet Gong Ye Qian and return to Gusu City.

During his time passing through Yazhou Prefecture, he had to make some noise to let the Song Dynasty court know his dissatisfaction, otherwise he would lose many benefits in the future. Since he resigned from the post of Yazhou Prefecture Governor, the situation in Yazhou Prefecture has been getting worse and worse. It was not only because the newly appointed officials were incompetent and greedy, but also Murong Fu took the initiative to evacuate or hide many capable people, and the impact was absolutely huge.

As people leave, more people will come. There is definitely no shortage of people who like to make money in the Song Dynasty. After six or seven years of hard work by Murong Fu, the entire Yazhou Prefecture is definitely the most suitable place for doing business in the Song Dynasty. The environment here was built quite well by Murong Fu, which brought great convenience to latecomers.

Needless to say, the hidden ones still control a considerable amount of resources and channels, while the evacuees split into several groups. The real confidants rushed overseas to build the Great Yan Kingdom, followed by those who returned to Gusu City, and those who joined Murong Trading Company to travel around the world. Of course, a considerable number of them formed a new trading company and settled in Dali Kingdom, standing on the other side to control the trade channels and cooperate with the hidden ones to continue to be in charge of the trade in Yazhou Prefecture.

Zhuge Yi, the descendant of Wu Hou, followed Murong Fu away and chose to go to the capital with his granddaughter. Some of the other clansmen and tribes integrated into the local people, while some retreated again and acted as guardians of Wu Hou's inheritance. However, a considerable part of these inheritances had been copied by Murong Fu, originally there were more than a dozen copies, which served as the facade of Gusu Academy.

It is said that Wuyazi followed Murong Fu all the way, and the two of them often sat and discussed with Wang Yuyan. Murfu, on the other hand, wrote secret manuals on the table with tea, and showed Wuyazi the "Nine Yang Magic Art", "Yi Jin Jing", "Tai Chi Magic Art", "Six Yang Melting Snow Art", "One Yang Finger", "Six Meridians Divine Sword", "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms", and even the outline of the Nine Yin Manual.

Wuyazi had the highest opinion of Tai Chi, but was most interested in the Nine Yin Scriptures. He asked Murong Fu for a complete set. This set of martial arts was created by Huang Shang and belonged to the future martial arts that had not yet been born. Murong Fu copied a copy for him, which made Wuyazi very excited. He then passed the Tianshan Six Yang Palm and Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand to Murong Fu and Wang Yuyan.

In the first month, Wuyazi focused on self-cultivation, focusing on internal strength and rarely moving around. In the second month, he began to practice the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter of the Nine Yin Scriptures. It was not that he did not want to practice the Yi Jin Jing, but this method was too difficult to get started, which even Wuyazi found difficult. So he turned to the next best option and practiced the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter, which was less difficult but had quite good effects.

When the group arrived in Yazhou Prefecture, Wuyazi turned to practicing Tai Chi again and took the initiative to find his granddaughter Wang Yuyan to practice. Although neither of them had given their all, Wang Yuyan found herself restricted in every way and could only exert 50% to 60% of her strength out of 100, and was being controlled tightly.

However, every time Murong Fu volunteered to fight, he was ignored by Wuyazi, so he had to carefully study the two new magical skills he had learned by himself. It must be said that the Tianshan Zhemei Hand is indeed extraordinary. Although it only has three palm techniques and three grappling techniques, a total of six martial arts, it contains the essence of Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts and can integrate all martial arts in the world into one. Any martial arts moves in the world can be transformed into these six-way Zhemei Hands.

This martial art is even better than Dugu Nine Swords. Not only can it be performed with bare hands, but what's even more outrageous is that it has no upper limit. Although martial arts have no upper limit, people do have an upper limit. This martial art is currently the most suitable for Murong Fu to practice.

The Tianshan Six Yang Palm is unique. It is one of the few powerful palm techniques in the Xiaoyao Sect. Although it is called the Six Yang Palm, it requires the combination of yin and yang to appreciate its subtlety. The combination of hardness and softness has infinite uses, but it is most suitable for promotion with Tai Chi magic, and is quite consistent with the Great Shift of the Universe and the Change of the Stars.

After discussing Taoism with Wuyazi again and again, both of them were in the recovery period, but they studied the Nine Yin Scriptures thoroughly, which greatly accelerated their recovery speed. Especially Wuyazi, his Taoist cultivation was even better than Murong Fu's, and he was quite smooth in practicing both the Nine Yin Scriptures and Tai Chi. On the contrary, the Buddhist Yi Jin Jing was a little difficult to get started.

Wuyazi had also seen Murong Fu practicing Dou Zhuan Xing Yi and Qian Kun Da Neng Yi. Seeing that Murong Fu did not actively demonstrate them, he knew better and did not ask for them. One of these two martial arts was the core and direct descendant of the Gusu Murong family, and the other was the signature skill of the Ming Cult in the Western Regions. Neither was suitable for external display.

On this day, the carriage arrived outside Yazhou Prefecture, but before it entered the city, it was stopped again and again. It received seven or eight petitions, including those from ordinary people, businessmen, and local wealthy families. Although Yazhou Prefecture was still prosperous, the smiles on the faces of the people were obviously much less than a year ago.

The new prefect knew about Murong Fu's coming early on, and asked the important officials of Yazhou to wait in front of the government office in advance. Without waiting for Murong Fu to visit, he ordered people to deliver the invitation and welcome him at the largest restaurant in Yazhou.

By the way, the real owner of the largest restaurant in Yazhou Prefecture is Murong Fu. Even after leaving Yazhou Prefecture, the restaurant is still prosperous and no one dares to cause trouble.

After receiving the invitation from the new prefect, Murong Fu was personally received by the restaurant owner and checked into the most luxurious villa. He settled everyone down, washed up, and then leisurely went up to the top floor of the restaurant and walked into the most luxurious private room, where a group of Yazhou officials had been waiting for a long time.

Although Murong Fu's official position was a nominal one, his rank was higher than that of the prefect of Yazhou, and he also held a title. Everyone present stood up to greet him. After Murong Fu returned the greeting slightly, he directly threw a stack of petitions in front of the new prefect.

"Yazhou Prefecture is where I've put my heart and soul into this place. I have many fond memories here, and it's also a treasure land that Gusu College has developed with all its might. It's a place where we can showcase our best capabilities and achievements. I don't want Yazhou Prefecture to fall into decline. On this point, you and I should have the same goal, right?" Murong Fu's first words made everyone look at each other in surprise.

The new prefect also had his own ideas. He admired Murong Fu and didn't think he was much worse than him. However, upon taking office, he discovered that not only could he not surpass his predecessor, but he was actually declining. This was something he couldn't accept. Although he also had the idea of ​​traveling thousands of miles to serve as an official just to make a living, he absolutely didn't want Yazhou Prefecture to decline and become what others called a mediocre official.

Bento first patted his chest and assured that he really wanted to be a good official, but many things were beyond his control.

"Abilities can be cultivated and improved, but attitude is the most important. Apart from that, you also need to clearly distinguish who are your own people and who are outsiders!" Murong Fu's words startled the new prefect. He knew that Murong Fu handed the petition to him not to make things difficult for him, nor to show his power, but to give him guidance. Although he was unhappy, he also knew that this young man, who was a dozen or twenty years younger than him, had much better administrative abilities than himself. If he could get his guidance, he might be able to shine in Yazhou Prefecture and eventually be promoted to the central government.

So the new prefect bowed deeply and asked Murong Fu for guidance.

"It is outsiders who export wealth, it is our own people who import wealth, it is outsiders who plunder wealth, and it is our own people who create wealth. The most important thing is to judge whose wealth can remain in Yazhou Prefecture and whose wealth will eventually flow out." Murong Fu raised his glass slightly. The officials listened attentively and hurriedly raised their glasses with him. However, they drank without taste, and their minds were not on the food and wine.

Murong Fu nodded slightly at this. At least it wasn't a truly hopeless case. "Wealth comes in many forms. There are fixed assets and floating assets. If your vision is limited to floating assets, you're shortsighted. The many terraced fields, roads, water conservancy facilities, and even people and houses are all wealth."

"Money is only a part of wealth, not all of it. Wealth can function better when it flows. Compared with the wealthy merchants from outside, the wealth of the people can better represent the prosperity of Yazhou Prefecture." Murong Fu took out the petitions one by one and showed them to them, and analyzed the tricks and the true meaning behind them one by one.

People are suing local officials for corruption, but is the focus really on this corruption?

This wasn't the case; rather, their corruption affected normal production operations. "If you do things well, a little corruption doesn't matter. In fact, the better you do things, the more room you have to intervene and gain benefits. This is a win-win situation, achieved through your own ability. But if corruption ruins the job, and you end up taking a small profit while causing the people and the government to suffer, who else can the people sue if not you? These two petitions exemplify this situation. All the previous officials in Yazhou Prefecture were capable people. If the new officials are incompetent, they might as well trust the people below them."

"Yazhou Prefecture boasts a thriving trade, with all industries operating in good order. New merchants entering the market, if they operate properly, will only benefit. However, if these merchants disobey the rules, focusing only on immediate profits and using illegal means to disrupt the existing order, it's tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. While they may gain temporary benefits, they ruin the overall situation, harming the existing merchants, and the existing business system. These three petitions are examples of this. You will investigate the relevant industries to see if tax revenue has been significantly reduced. If so, let them fill the gap. This isn't your fault, and you shouldn't be held responsible."

"Also, Yazhou Prefecture wasn't originally a place suitable for farming. Its main industries are the trade in medicinal herbs, tea, lacquer, fruit, and bamboo wares. Therefore, there's no need to attach too much importance to the small amount of land held by the local aristocratic families, let alone take it away from them casually. Not only is it not of much value, but it can also easily give rise to gossip. This is the foundation of public stability. The benefits are modest, but the impact is enormous. These petitions address this point."

"Are you really that short of food? Or do you think you won't be an official if you don't take away the last bit of food from the people?"