The Villain's Counterattack

Shaolin does not want the Murong family to become powerful, but they also do not want to see the Murong family fall.

Shaolin, Beggars' Sect and Murong Family form a loose alliance. If the Murong Family becomes too powerful, it will inevitably affect the status of Shaolin. However, if the Murong Family is defeated, the external pressure on Shaolin will inevitably increase.

The Beggars' Sect's influence has declined significantly due to Qiao Feng's departure, and Deputy Leader Ma Dayuan has also disappeared. According to intelligence, he personally traveled to the Liao Kingdom to invite Qiao Feng back to continue his leadership. After being rejected, he followed Murong Trading Company to the desert, quietly leaving midway and reappearing at a stronghold along the way. Then...

The Beggars' Sect had lost its chief, deputy chief, and law enforcement elders in succession, leaving the top leadership vacant and few capable people to take over. If Murong Fu had not used the Lingjiu Palace to clean up the power of the Xixia Yipintang, their days would have been very difficult.

At this time, the Murong family was suddenly attacked, and the Murong Trading Company suffered heavy losses (in fact, most of them evacuated on their own initiative, and the only losses were some floating assets, which were then taken back many times over from the attacking party). The most crucial thing was that their front-line forces in Yazhou Prefecture against Tubo were eliminated, which undoubtedly brought a lot of pressure to Shaolin.

After Master Xuanbei met Murong Fu, he took a group of Shaolin disciples to Sichuan. They got a lot of information from Cao Yi, but the more they read, the more frightened they became. They didn't know the darkness of the officialdom of the Song Dynasty before, but now that they know, how can they not be worried.

It could even be said that after learning more information, Master Xuanbei became somewhat pessimistic. Was it really okay for the Song Dynasty's top brass to play this way? Were they truly committed to governing the country? After hearing Murong Fu's so-called pyramid theory, he imagined a herd of golden pigs pressing down on a pile of drained, dead wood, while wolves and tigers watched from outside, even engaging in a fight.

In response to Master Xuanbei's admonition, Murong Fu's answer was very direct: "The longer you nurture the termites of a country, the greater the harm they will cause. They are so entangled that it is difficult to remove them." Murong Fu compared the Song Dynasty to a building. Those who were against him were the termites that corroded the foundation and pillars of the building. The Liao Kingdom, Western Xia, and Tubo outside were the jackals and tigers eyeing the building covetously. The border troops were the gates and walls, and the Murong family and Shaolin were just hunting knives and cornerstones.

Murong Fu asked Master Xuan Bei if there was any way to hunt down jackals, tigers and leopards to ensure that the building would not be invaded?

Master Xuanbei chanted the Buddha's name and said that he was willing to contribute his little bit of strength, and he did so indeed. However, it was impossible for him to compete with the power of an entire country.

Murong Fu asked Master Xuanbei again, the domestic dormitory building was infested with termites, and the foundations were damaged by the building. Is there any way to stabilize the building and get rid of the termites?

This time, Master Xuanbei stopped chanting the Buddha's name and just rolled his eyes. You, the head of the Murong family who is both civil and martial, can't do it, let alone me, an old monk who eats vegetarian food and chants sutras. Isn't this making things difficult for me?

Master Xuanbei advised Murong Fu that it was better to resolve a feud than to create one. Stability was what everyone wanted. If the Song Dynasty was unstable, external enemies would approach! However, he also knew that the Murong family was the victim. Just as they had attacked and ambushed outside Yanmen Pass upon receiving news that a Khitan master was attempting to seize Shaolin martial arts, the Murong Trading Company was being attacked. If they did not fight back, the consequences would be disastrous.

Moreover, deep down in his heart, Master Xuan Bei still regarded Murong Fu as his own. Those who tried to rob the Murong family's wealth were outsiders. However, these outsiders were not only numerous and powerful, but also represented the upper class of the Song Dynasty. This made Master Xuan Bei embarrassed.

This is an internal struggle for interests, an irreconcilable contradiction. So whose interests should be sacrificed to end this dispute?

A mutual loss is the worst outcome, but Murong Fu was so stubborn that he chose this worst outcome. That's why Master Xuan Bei came to visit him, trying to persuade him not to be so stubborn and to make some appropriate concessions.

Murong Fu's answer was very simple. If one has the courage to come and rob, he must be prepared to withstand the counterattack of the Murong family and be able to withstand the Murong family's surrender. Otherwise, he must be mentally prepared. Not only will he have to pay multiple compensation for the losses, but he will also be in danger of having his family and clan destroyed.

Murong Fu repeatedly emphasized that the Murong family has its own rules in doing things and will not do anything to the extreme. They will demand multiple returns for what the other party has done and will remove their names from the list of partners. As for being sought after and killed by enemies later, it has nothing to do with the Murong family.

Even the Murong family welcomed this. After all, no one wanted to cooperate with an ungrateful person, so it would be best to find a new partner. Master Xuan Bei also understood this, but the newcomer might not be more suitable than the previous one. For the sake of stability, it would be better to be still than to move.

Not only that, what made Master Xuanbei even more helpless was that many of those who attacked Murong Trading Company also had connections with Shaolin, which was the most difficult and uncomfortable thing for them.

In the struggle for interests, Shaolin's face is sometimes not that useful. Those who covet Murong Trading Company's wealth will not listen to Shaolin's advice and stop. Murong Trading Company will always want to get it back after suffering a loss. At this time, even if Shaolin steps in, it will not be possible to stop Murong Trading Company from settling the accounts. After all, they are the victims, and a little compensation or double compensation is the minimum.

The compensation is not double what the other party has gained, but double what Murong Trading Company has lost. As for whether it was robbed, destroyed, or transferred in advance, many things are unclear. Murong Trading Company will take out the account book, and no matter whether you took it away or not, as long as it was lost because of you, you will need to pay compensation.

The Murong family possesses a vast empire, but when divided among the various cities, they are less powerful than the local tyrants. However, they have their own methods: self-preservation is their primary concern, and then they muster sufficient strength, with top-tier experts leading the charge to settle accounts. If top-tier experts prove ineffective, they will deploy super-top-tier experts, but how many super-top-tier experts are there in the entire martial arts world? Furthermore, the Murong family possesses peerless experts, but if they were to act, the price the enemy would pay would likely be even higher.

Murong Trading Company and border military fortresses withdrew a large number of personnel. Many people only focused on the vacant interests, and no one noticed where these people went.

The answer is Goryeo and the northern desert!

The entire territory of Goryeo was incorporated into the management of the Great Yan Kingdom. The number of personnel sent from the Murong family in Taihu was too large. Goryeo quickly completed the sinicization of the top leaders, and all powers were controlled by the Murong family, including military power.

Afterwards, these talented individuals began migrating northward, breaking up the original tribal structure and beginning to build urban settlements. Murong Fu had already discovered coal and iron mines in the north, and cities had been prepared years earlier, though kept secret, under his military control and used as military camps. Now that the time was ripe, Murong Bo led a group of management talents to settle in, officially gathering troops and quickly utilizing the three cities, each housing a hundred thousand soldiers and hundreds of thousands of residents.

This ratio was high in the Central Plains, but the nomadic peoples' universal military service made it less striking. However, the difficulty of concentrating so many cattle, sheep, and horses meant the inevitable establishment of numerous strongholds and fortresses, dramatically altering the situation in the north and northeast. Fortunately, the Murong family had already established their power and possessed sufficient military resources to conceal these secrets. Merchants traveling primarily belonged to the Murong Merchants Group, while others were closely monitored to prevent exposure.

Unfortunately, Ma Dayuan became a victim. He was discovered because he was too close to the city and died at the hands of Murong Bo.

He witnessed with his own eyes that a big city had appeared in the place where the tribe had originally settled. Although nomadic peoples dominated the city, there were also many Han people and even literati mixed in. Ma Dayuan was discovered before he had time to explore further. He killed several of the enemy's spies and was chased. He was eventually killed by a middle-aged master in gorgeous clothes.

Having chosen neither to resurrect on the spot nor to return to the Central Plains, Ma Dayuan, believing he had discovered Lin Bufan's secret, reappeared at the Liao border post. He carefully reflected on his discovery, trying to recall the source of the familiar feeling he felt from the master, but he could not figure it out.

After careful consideration, Ma Dayuan found Murong Trading Company, sent two letters, and then left the Beggar Gang's mark, and then carefully set off for the big city again. However, he didn't notice that a burly figure appeared not far behind him, smiling coldly at him: Ma Dayuan, I finally found you!