Chapter 223: To seize a fortune in the South
Chapter 223: Want to take a fortune from the South
The iron-hooped box made of jujube wood is painted green and surrounded by five circles of copper buttons, emitting a metallic luster in the sun.
Such silver boxes are very sturdy, and each box can hold just one thousand taels.
Qiu Pingan shouted: "Go back to Beiyuan!"
The Beiyuan disciples lifted up ten silver boxes and left the front hall of the Dharma Protector Hall amid the astonished and envious gazes of the crowd.
They looked proud, as if they were carrying not only the reward money, but also the lost dignity and honor.
"Among the group of people who were promoted to incense masters back then, Qiu Ping'an was the youngest. How has he been doing these years? He has not made any progress, but has regressed."
"Brother Tang, everyone has their own aspirations, and they cannot be forced."
Two people were standing in front of the corridor. One of them was Han Zhong from the Canshe South Garden. The man he called "Brother Tang" was actually the leader of the Dihu West Garden and the person most respected by the hall master Di Baiying.
The two were originally close friends, from the same village, and met when they were young. They traveled together and joined the Sun Moon Divine Sect...
Then something unexpected happened.
When Dongfang Sect Leader first took the throne, he asked the Dharma Protector Hall to elect a deputy leader. Di Baiying recommended Tang Xiao, the 'Moyun Golden Eagle'. However, Heimu Cliff unexpectedly appointed Han Zhong instead, and a rift arose between the two sides.
Han Zhong laughed and said, "This crane hasn't flown or sung for three years, but this time it has fought a great turnaround."
Tang Xiao sneered, "Deputy Hall Master Han, you are exaggerating. Yang Fengming is the former Hall Master of Suzaku Hall. He is indeed in a prominent position, but he is not known for his martial arts. How difficult can it be to take his head? Maybe it's just a blind cat meeting a dead mouse."
Han Zhong shook his head and laughed, "Brother Tang, what you said is a bit petty. If Yang Fengming was so easy to kill, no one would have passed the buck. Although Old Han had a conflict with Deputy Hall Master Zhang, he still respected his ability."
Tang Xiao frowned and asked, "Deputy Hall Master Zhang?"
Han Zhong pretended to be surprised and said, "Brother Tang, you don't know yet? After the Saint Lady took over the government, the first thing she did was to write a letter to commend Xuehe Beiyuan, dismiss Zhang Yu from his post as elder, and officially appoint him as the second deputy head of the Dharma Guardian Hall, and specially allow him to walk and discuss matters in Chengde Hall."
"Humph!"
Tang Xiao turned away.
Seeing him walk away, Han Zhong smiled contemptuously: "With such a narrow mind and tolerance, you can only be a hall elder for the rest of your life."
"Zhang Yu is only in his early twenties, but his momentum is already at its peak. Not only does he have the trust of the Eastern Sect Leader, but he also seems to have established a relationship with the Saint Aunt."
"No matter which side gains power in the future, he will be able to sit firmly on the Diaoyutai."
"Look, this is what we call pattern!"
Xuehe Beiyuan killed Yang Fengming, the biggest traitor to the Sun Moon Sect since the reign of Eastern Sect Leader. This news spread like a gust of wind from the Maple Forest Slope under the Black Wood Cliff to the entire Sun Moon Sect.
The young man, who had served in the local government for a long time and had rarely held a high position, responded to the contemptuous looks and slanderous words with his indisputable achievements.
From then on, there was a new person named Zhang Yu on the Black Wood Cliff.
........................
In the main hall of Xuehe, three plates of star and moon crabapples are blooming beautifully on the table. All the disciples of Beiyuan know that the commander is very fond of these flowers and usually serves them like ancestors.
Everyone stared at the ten boxes of silver.
It looks like a lot, but it's not easy to spend when you really want to.
Zhang Yu picked up the teacup and asked softly, "Who will speak first?"
In the absence of Xie Xiaoman, the four incense masters looked at each other in bewilderment. Each of them had the skill of killing, but they were not very good at business. Otherwise, Liu Ruyan, a third-rate master in the Qi Hai realm, would not have to sell her homemade rouge and powder to Qianhonglou in order to maintain the orphanage.
The handsome scholar before was quite useful, but unfortunately he became a sacrifice to scare others.
Finally, it was Qiu Pingan who spoke first. "Sir, according to the established rules, the Blood Crane North Garden has a quota of twelve incense masters, thirty-seven flag masters, and three hundred disciples. Currently, there are only about sixty people in the garden. The most urgent task is to... recruit soldiers."
Zhang Yu asked: "How to recruit soldiers?"
Qiu Pingan continued, "First, if the masters of the various halls of the Divine Religion voluntarily join the Dharma Protector Hall, according to the rules of the church, they should not be obstructed. However, the rules of the church are the rules of the church, and this usually brings a lot of trouble. I don't think it's worth offending people for no reason."
Zhang Yu asked, "If it doesn't work internally, then we can only recruit heroes from the martial arts world?"
"I'm afraid this will take a long time."
Qiu Ping'an looked at Zhang Yu. He knew very well that this adult had an impatient personality and was afraid that he didn't have the patience.
Zhang Yu asked, "How much silver do you think it will cost?"
Qiu Pingan smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, if you want to recruit enough people, let alone 10,000 taels, even 100,000 taels would probably be barely enough."
Zhang Yu frowned and said, "So much? After the list is submitted to Blackwood Cliff, the monthly salary should be paid by the sect."
Liu Ruyan said at this time: "Sir, we are not looking for peasants who can't afford to eat. Even ordinary disciples must have martial arts skills and be given a settlement allowance. Besides, the Dharma Guardian Hall has no territory, and the disciples' salaries are purely supported by the church's finances, which is 30% to 50% lower than that of ordinary halls. If we want to stabilize people's hearts, we can only make up for this deficit in the garden."
"As for the usual rewards, pensions, weapons, armor, and medicine, they are also an expense..."
In short, the problems faced by top-notch underworld forces like the Sun Moon Sect are the same as those faced by the imperial court.
Where does the money come from?
At its peak, there were nearly 30,000 followers, but now only half of that number remains, which is more than 10,000 people.
How to feed these more than 10,000 full-time believers is a big problem.
The Five Mountains Sword Sect, Shaolin and Wudang, these leaders of the righteous path, not only have wealthy ancestral heritage, but also originally followed the elite route, concentrating resources to cultivate a small number of talented people, and relying on them to make a name for themselves in the world.
The influence of the Sun and Moon Sect is spread all over the country, and its business is too big. No matter how it streamlines the bureaucracy, expenses are inevitable.
Zhang Yu pondered for a long time and said, "Then we can only open up the source?"
Qiu Pingan asked: "How do you plan to increase your income?"
Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I think Qianhonglou is doing good business. Master Shangguan makes a lot of money every year."
Ji Bamao, who was originally dozing off, became interested: "Could it be that the Lord is going to open a whorehouse?"
Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "We can open a restaurant in Pingding City."
Liu Ruyan had run a small business before and knew that making money was not easy.
She said, "Are you planning to sell wine? Qianhonglou has more than twenty kinds of fine wines, and there are countless taverns and inns in Pingding City. I'm afraid that even if there is a profit, it won't be much help."
Zhang Yu smiled confidently and said, "I have a unique secret recipe for brewing wine. Everyone who drinks it says it's good. It guarantees profit."
Qiu Pingan asked, "Sir, do you want to use this restaurant to attract heroes and heroes in the martial arts world?"
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, and felt more and more that this was a talented person.
The Blood Arhat scratched his head and said in a muffled voice, "Half a copper coin can stump a hero. This is too unpleasant. It would be better to kill him and get rich."
What he meant was that, just like killing Yang Fengming this time, he could find another killer with a generous reward to kill, and gain both fame and fortune.
"To get a fortune?"
Zhang Yu's heart was slightly moved.
Judging from the time, there will be a huge fortune in the southern world, which will become ownerless.
(End of this chapter)