The Villain's Counterattack

The Song Dynasty, especially during the Northern Song, was not a small territory, but it was surrounded by many hostile neighbors. Furthermore, the literati in the court suppressed the military, leading to a weakened military. Despite having sophisticated weapons, they lacked a strong army, leading to widespread suppression. Even so, throughout the Northern Song, the Song Dynasty won more defensive wars than lost. It's no wonder that the literati were unfazed, continuing to suppress the military and undermine their own strength with a clear conscience, each one doing so with no shame.

It is said that Murong Fu and his companions rode their horses all the way into Sichuan and Shu without stopping for many times along the way. They went straight to their destination, Yazhou Prefecture, where they visited the prefect, exchanged paperwork, and stayed for three days. They contacted local civil and military officials and the Beggar Gang branch, and learned about the situation in Rongjing County, Yazhou. Then they left behind two attendants and guards, and the others rushed all the way to Rongjing County.

As the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people, not to mention the remote frontier where the emperor is far away, so public security is really not something to be expected. Murong and his entourage galloped on horseback, but had to dismount half the time. It was simply because transportation was inconvenient, and if it weren't for the horseshoes, the damage would have been enormous.

The magistrate of Rongjing County had changed several times in the past ten years. In the worst case, he was replaced twice a year. There was even a period of half a year when no one was sitting in the county government office. This shows how bad the environment here was. This was also the reason why many ministers in the court who were dissatisfied with Gusu Academy sent Murong Fu here.

What they said was that you, Murong Fu, came from Gusu Academy and were proficient in both literature and martial arts, so they put you in the place where you can best display your strengths. If you do well, your value will be promoted quickly. Moreover, news just came that the Tubo Kingdom was not stable on the border. The general guarding the border was eager for quick success and took the initiative to send troops, but was ambushed and had to retreat with serious injuries.

Murong Fu was appointed as the magistrate of Rongjing County as a Jinshi, but was secretly granted a secret order to take advantage of the situation and participate in military affairs. This was a convenience given by important officials of the court after they saw the achievements of Bao Bu Tong, Feng Bo'e and others. Murong Fu said that his family was undergoing transformation and was unwilling to take this obviously trap-like job, but was dismissed by the important officials in the name of state affairs.

Murong Fu: Haha, what the hell is this about putting national affairs first? With foreign enemies surrounding us, you blindly suppress military generals and capable officials. Is this what you call putting national affairs first? If you don't want to see me, the direct descendant of a martial arts family, and the civil officials, then just say it directly. This Jinshi (Jinshi) is just a skin.

A senior official of the State of Song said: "Hmph, you reckless bastard! After studying for seven or eight years, you think you are a scholar. How can you expect such a good thing? Even if I destroy an entire continent, I will bring you back to your original form. That bastard guarding the gate is also a stubborn person. If I can bring both of you down to dust at once, that would be even better."

Sichuan is mountainous, and transportation is inconvenient near the border, so banditry is rampant. Normally, the situation is better with government troops suppressing the bandits. However, once the government troops are busy, they will be controlled by the bandits composed of local indigenous people. After all, transportation is the biggest problem, and logistics is their lifeline.

Located on a plateau, the Tibetan state enjoyed a commanding position and had frequently harassed Han people since the Tang Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty was no exception. Murong Fu's appointment to Rongjing County was particularly vulnerable to these harassments. Though his forces were limited, the guarding general had inadvertently trapped himself. Just as the government troops were powerless to defend the border, a local tyrant suddenly launched an uprising, beheading the magistrate, who had been in office for less than six months.

This incident caused turmoil in the entire Yazhou. Although troops were sent to repel them, there was almost no change in the county town, which made many scholars and candidates in Houguan hesitate. No one was willing to go there to die. Yazhou sent one or two people to replace them, but they were either killed or injured. They reported the matter to Chengdu Prefecture, but no one dared to respond, so they reported it to the court.

The court was hesitating whether to send a military officer, when they turned around and saw the name of Murong Fu from Gusu College appear among the Jinshi scholars. The ministers discussed privately that this was a good opportunity. Everyone who graduated from Gusu College had some skills. Even the Imperial Censor Bao Bu Tong was a first-rate master. He called himself a civil official, but he beat the military officers of the court and made them flee in panic.

You have to know that Bao Bu Tong served as an official for five years, becoming a Imperial Censor, but never receiving a promotion. He was unattractive and easily offended, but his accusations were always well-reasoned and well-founded, making it difficult to argue even if you tried. Backed by the Suzhou Academy and possessing property in Bianliang, he had no shortage of money but only a fondness for fame, and he loved to catch dandy boys and corrupt officials.

He alone brought about many political enemies for Gusu College, but he was upright and had not done many bad things. Even if he was framed, he could easily resolve it. He was a man of both wisdom and courage. The only problem was that his mouth easily offended people.

In fact, he was also under consideration by the court officials this time, but he rejected the nomination as soon as he was nominated, saying that he had no experience in local governance and had no such idea. He did not want to join the cabinet in the future and only wanted to do an easy job of criticizing and finding fault. Such a heavy responsibility should be handed over to more capable people.

On this day, when Murong Fu was still one day away from Rongjing County, he encountered an ambush by a group of a hundred people. He really looked down on this group of people. Not only were they in a mess and had no order, but there were only two or three third-rate fighters among them, and no one above third-rate. He didn't need to take action himself, his guards alone could capture them all.

Not a single person was killed, and even less than half of the people were injured, as most were knocked down.

After careful interrogation, Murong Fu easily found their lair. They were the natives in the mountains, with a population of about three to two thousand, and 40% of them were young and strong men who could fight. Murong Fu rushed into the battle alone. He was not afraid of group battles when he combined the "Star Shift", "Qian Kun Da Nong Yi" and "Tai Chi Magic Skills". He quickly captured the leaders of the village.

There are not many villages like this in Yazhou. After all, this place is a border area. Any slightly larger village will attract the attention of many people and will be easily attacked. This village is called Qianhua. It was originally just a tribe in the deep mountains and forests. It accidentally obtained some ancient heritage and cultivated one or two second-rate masters and twenty or thirty third-rate masters, so it tried to walk out of the mountains and forests.

They tried to establish transactions with the outside world and soon received feedback. There were two major clans in Rongjing County, the Li clan and the Yan clan. The Li clan relied on some underworld forces in the county, while the Yan clan had close relations with the indigenous ethnic groups in the mountains outside the city. The Qianhua tribe quickly established contact with the Yan clan and sold out all the tribe's local specialties smoothly, with a good return.

As transactions became successful time and time again, the Yan family began to slowly win over the Qianhua tribe. However, because the initiative in trade had always been in the hands of the Yan family, they became very passive and often did things that were inconvenient for the Yan family, such as cutting off trade traffic, attacking government offices with the cooperation of the Li and Yan families, and ambushing the new county magistrate on the way.

The chief of the Qianhua tribe is a tall and burly man with scars all over his body. However, this man is just a cover. The one who really holds power is his father, a hunchbacked old man who visits Cang Cang. He calls himself an old man, but he doesn't say his last name.

Murong Fu didn't know if it was an illusion, but he sensed a hint of nobility from him. His words and actions were not like those of an ordinary native. Although he had never taken action from beginning to end, he watched Murong Fu charge into battle and see his people fall before him, but he showed no sign of panic, let alone fear.

"I am willing to be your vanguard, sword in hand!" The old man walked slowly to Murong Fu with a cane and performed an ancient etiquette. Murong Fu narrowed his eyes slightly and returned the same etiquette. He drew the sword from his waist and threw it with a "clang" sound, and the sword fell in front of the old man and penetrated three feet into the ground.

"If you want to join me, you must be valuable enough. What help can you bring to me? Not to mention just these two thousand old, weak and sick people?"

Everyone in the Qianhua tribe was upset when they heard this. They were also a well-known and powerful force in the area within hundreds of miles. Wasn't it a bit too much to describe them as old, weak, sick and disabled?

Murong Fu: Haha, I single-handedly defeated a powerful force? Do you believe it? I don't believe it anyway.

"I am willing to go out and eliminate the two major cancers in Rongjing County, the Li and Yan families!"

"What do you want?"

"May the pure land of a hundred miles remain peaceful and undisturbed!"

"Can!"