hotmtlnovel Chapter 91 Golden-Armed Child, the Number One Cool King in the Martial Arts World!
Chapter 91 Golden-Armed Child, the Number One Cool King in the Martial Arts World!
Chapter 91 Golden-Armed Child, the Number One Cool King in the Martial Arts World!
During times of famine, allocating resources is by no means an easy task and is easily hampered by various factors.
The hoarding of goods and price gouging by unscrupulous merchants is not the most serious problem, but the simplest one, because these unscrupulous merchants all have powerful backers behind them.
Without the guarantee of high-ranking officials in the imperial court, how could they dare to do such a thing? Officials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works shirked responsibility, each citing classical texts and able to spout three thousand grand principles, but they didn't even have a single bag of grain.
At this point, it's time for Liu Qingci to show his power.
Liu Qingci: I'm a brute! I'm illiterate! I don't understand道理 (principles/reasoning), all I know is fists! Either bring out the grain, or I'll go get it myself!
"Acting as one pleases" means that Liu Qingci can do whatever he feels is convenient, and wherever Liu Qingci goes, it is equivalent to the emperor personally visiting that place.
Meanwhile, shops in Linglong Pavilion and the Hua family allocated grains, medicinal herbs, and cotton cloth. Jinfeng Xiyu Tower, a "clean stream" in the underworld, also donated a sum.
Pulled together by various forces, three days later, a batch of supplies was initially mobilized, and three thousand imperial guards were mobilized. Liu Qingci was appointed as the imperial envoy, Xu Qingya as his deputy, and thirty-five imperial physicians led a grand procession to the disaster area.
Yin Susu and Yang Yan stayed in the capital, partly to help collect and transport supplies, and partly to keep an eye on the various forces in the capital to avoid being schemed against by villains.
As Yang Yan's secretary, Qin Nanqin would definitely have to stay in the capital to organize intelligence from various regions, especially regarding bandits.
Information on thieves and assassins.
Every natural disaster is inevitably followed by human calamity.
Unscrupulous merchants inflated prices, bandits plundered everywhere, ambitious people spread rumors, and powerful families took the opportunity to buy up land at extremely low prices and gather refugees. After six months of training, the refugees became "elite farmhands".
They were called "manor servants" but were actually "private soldiers".
The "three thousand retainers of Zhujiazhuang" and the "five thousand retainers of Zengtou City" were mostly young and strong people who, after a little training in their spare time, became a powerful force in their own right.
In times of chaos, such forces are numerous.
Xu Qingya didn't want to comment on the merits or demerits, he just wanted to say: Don't mess with me, or I'll chop them down one by one!
Seven or eight days had passed since the dam broke, and the floodwaters in most areas had receded. The victims were fleeing to the capital with their families. Less than fifty miles ahead, they saw groups of refugees, a scene of utter devastation.
Liu Qingci asked anxiously, "Qingya, what should we do now? Set up a soup kitchen here?"
Xu Qingya reassured him, "I'll go ask. Don't go out. Hunger can unleash your animalistic instincts; when people are extremely hungry, they're capable of anything!"
"You—you better watch out—"
"I'll be back soon!"
Xu Qingya dismounted and quickly changed into a blue robe, looking more like a chivalrous knight-errant than an official. To be honest, in the eyes of the common people, the weight of a great knight-errant was greater than that of the imperial court.
This impression will take a long time to change, and may even require the efforts of two or three generations.
If Xu Qingya were to comment, the deepest, cruelest, and most vicious pit dug by the late emperor was that it completely destroyed the dignity of the court, making it difficult to find loyal and virtuous officials throughout the court and the country.
Xu Qingya looked around and quickly identified the disaster victims' clothing. He soon found an old man wearing a round-necked robe, being supported by a man and a woman. His face was ashen and yellow, like rotten wood, and he looked as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
It's him!
Xu Qingya leaped over, grabbed the three people, and took them to the nearby woods. The surrounding disaster victims ignored them; they were numb with hunger and had no mind to care about others.
Xu Qingya gently put the three down and handed the backpack to the old man. Inside the backpack was a water pouch and a bag of bread. He activated his pure yang true qi to turn the cold water in the water pouch into warm water and gestured for them to drink.
The old man took a sip and sighed, "Young man, who are you? You don't look like a chivalrous knight!"
"I am Xu Qingya! May I ask, sir, how was the disaster situation when you left your hometown? How many disaster victims did you see along the way? How many soup kitchens were needed? You can tell me slowly and give me a rough number."
"Xu Qingya—this name—I seem to have heard this name before. He's a chivalrous swordsman. Why are you asking about this?"
Are you going to do disaster relief? What can one person do? Don't waste your energy!
Although the old man was unsteady on his feet, he spoke and acted with great composure. He carefully drank two sips of warm water, handed the water bag to the people around him, and told them to drink some hot water first, then eat dry rations, and to eat sparingly, as long as they weren't hungry.
This is why Xu Qingya chose him.
He was wearing a round-necked robe, and he was a scholar. Whether he was good or evil, at least he had the ability to describe the flood situation instead of just shouting and yelling.
Xu Qingya laughed and said, "Old man, just tell me about the disaster. When you get to the capital, you will see soup kitchens at the city gate. These two brothers can work at the Luoshui Wharf. They can carry bags for a day and have a meal provided."
The soup kitchen was run by Linglong Pavilion, and the dock was a business jointly operated by Linglong Pavilion and Tianying Sect. Liu Dinghuan gave Yang Yan and Yin Susu passes, so everything went smoothly.
The Dragon Guardian Villa is responsible for maintaining order.
Xu Qingya and Liu Qingci were not in the capital. Beitang Xin'er was in full charge of the Dragon Guard Manor. Even Beitang Mo was under her control. Anyone who dared to cause trouble would be made to taste the power of the East Wind Mystic Art and the North Electricity Mystic Art.
Mi Cangqiong also contributed some effort. He secretly formed a force called "Youqiao" and mingled with various underworld forces, specializing in doing dirty work.
If any thugs cause trouble or shamelessly freeload, let "Youqiao" teach them a lesson. Thugs aren't afraid of high-ranking officials because high-ranking officials won't bother with such lowlifes. Thugs are afraid of big thugs. Most of Mi Cangqiong's subordinates are big thugs.
The old man chuckled, "Master Xu, or rather, I should call you Lord Xu. You're in charge of disaster relief? I never imagined the imperial court had an official like Lord Xu!"
"Thank you for the compliment, I am truly unworthy!"
"Then I'll tell you about what I saw and heard along the way—"
The old man was a scholar who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. He worked as an accountant in the suburbs of Bianliang City and was very popular and well-regarded in the area. The man and woman who helped him all the way to the capital were his apprentices. They were strong and stubborn, and would rather die than abandon their master.
"Thank you, sir. This silver is enough for you to settle down in the capital. Remember, don't flaunt your wealth. Just go directly to the capital and don't meddle in other people's business!"
"I am over seventy years old this year, and I still understand this principle. However, I cannot fail to repay your kindness in providing me with a meal. I have no other skills, but I am good at accounting and bookkeeping, which should be of some help!"
"In that case, I'll write a note. You can find the soup kitchen with the bird and flower pattern on the signboard, give my note to the staff, and they will serve you."
"Thank you, Lord Xu."
"These are difficult times; I wish you peace!"
Xu Qingya quickly wrote a note, stuffed it into the old man's hand, and disappeared in a few leaps. He then found several other disaster victims and inquired about the situation in the disaster area.
This time, we found a butcher. He was very fat and could withstand a lot of hardship. When the flood came, he quickly put two pieces of salted meat in his pocket and secretly ate a couple of bites in the middle of the night. He has persevered all the way until now and is in the best mental state.
Waiters, vendors, teachers —
Xu Qingya found more than a dozen disaster victims and categorized and summarized their accounts. His brows furrowed. The situation in the disaster area was several times more serious than he had imagined.
Few disaster victims came to the capital seeking survival, not because they didn't want to, but because the disaster was too severe for them to cross; most died on the way.
Xu Qingya lowered his head and smiled bitterly.
For some reason, I suddenly felt that fate was unpredictable.
I remember the original plot of "Wind and Cloud". In the chapter "The Amazing Youth" in which Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun first appeared, the final ending was a flood that caused countless people to suffer.
Nie Feng used his Wind God Leg to lead the people to safety. In order to buy time for Nie Feng, Bu Jingyun desperately used his Cloud Dispelling Palm to resist the flood, but was seriously injured and went missing, losing his memory. It took five years for him to transform from A Tie back into Bu Jingyun.
Nie Feng and Xiong Ba made a pact: Xiong Ba would provide one million taels of silver for disaster relief, and in return, Nie Feng would serve Xiong Ba for five years, helping him establish an impregnable empire. The early expansion of the World Society was largely due to Nie Feng's efforts!
Someone asked: Where is the imperial court?
Even the late emperor wanted to laugh when he saw this question!
Why did Nie Feng trust Xiong Ba so much in the early stages? Because Xiong Ba was genuinely willing to spend one million taels of silver to help with disaster relief!
Never mind why Xiong Ba paid for it!
Just look at the actual results!
Xu Qingya shook his head, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and returned to the convoy. He found Liu Qingci and said seriously, "Move forward quickly. The situation in the disaster area is not optimistic. We don't have enough manpower. I want to leave some people here to boil water and prepare medicine!"
Liu Qingci said, "There are over three thousand people here, surely there are plenty of people who can do the work? How come we're short-handed?"
Xu Qingya said, "If too few people stay behind, their fighting strength will be insufficient, and they are likely to be robbed by the disaster victims. If too many people stay behind, their food and supplies will be a considerable expense, and the losses will far outweigh the gains!"
Liu Qingci almost fainted.
Cheng Lingsu said, "Indeed, medicine should be prepared. The disaster victims have traveled all the way from Bianliang to the capital, and they are exhausted and hungry. In addition, the cold has taken its toll on their bodies. If they can drink a bowl of hot soup, they should be able to make it to the capital without any major problems, let alone the long journey!"
It's hard to find the right balance in this kind of thing!
Only those who frequently help the poor know what to do. Are there such people in Xu Qingya's circle of friends?
As it turns out, it really does exist!
That person is Chu Liuxiang!
There are four most skilled thieves in the martial arts world. The Thief Saint and the King of Thieves are there for fun and to show off their skills, while Fan Liangji and Chu Liuxiang are truly skilled at stealing treasures.
The difference is that Fan Liangji is born in the Year of the Rat, and he likes to hide treasures and build treasure vaults. According to rumors in the martial arts world, he has thirty-six treasure vaults.
Chu Liuxiang would sell the treasures, which would then be transformed into copper coins, rice, flour, and linen by Li Hongxiu's skillful hands, and distributed to ordinary people. Chu Liuxiang's living expenses mainly came from his family's manor. Chu Liuxiang was a small tycoon with fertile land and shops, earning 40,000 taels of silver annually.
The pseudonym "Ma Baiwan" was mainly responsible for laundering money for Chu Liuxiang. Of course, Chu Liuxiang was not good at these things, so Li Hongxiu did them.
Xu Qingya had Chu Liuxiang's contact information and sent him a letter before setting off. He originally wanted Chu Liuxiang to manage the soup kitchens in the capital, but now it seems that he is more suitable to be in charge of the soup kitchens along the route from Bianliang to the capital.
Bianliang is about 400 li away from the capital. Even if a soup kitchen is set up every 100 li, two would be needed. Chu Liuxiang alone could not manage it. Xu Qingya's eyes lit up and he thought of a group of excellent helpers.
"Qingci, send a message to His Majesty, asking the monks of Baima Temple to help treat the disaster victims, the high-ranking monks who chant scriptures and practice Buddhism to be responsible for comforting the people, and the martial monks to be responsible for maintaining order! Once the disaster is over, bestow some titles upon them."
"Will this work?"
"The White Horse Temple has a very good reputation, with many eminent monks and virtuous masters. I think it's worth visiting!"
"Okay! I'll go write the letter right away!"
"Ling Su, Bai Feng, you two go and gather a batch of medicinal herbs. I plan to open four locations between Bianliang and the capital. Depending on the distance, leave different quantities of medicinal herbs, iron pots, and rice at each location!"
"Let's do it right away!"
"One more thing, be careful!"
Xu Qingya rubbed his temples wearily.
If we encounter something like this just fifty miles outside the city, who knows what will happen on the rest of the journey?
The only saving grace is that there won't be too many evil spirits and heretics plundering. The route from Luoyang to Bianliang happens to pass through Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple, the pinnacle of martial arts in the Central Plains, is located. The Shaolin monks are too lazy to deal with those small mountain strongholds, and large strongholds are definitely out of the question.
There are quite a few chivalrous and passionate heroes in the martial arts world.
Upon learning that Xu Qingya was leading a disaster relief effort, many chivalrous individuals spontaneously came to offer their assistance. Among them were Yin Jiu (long axe), Fang Shi (short axe), Li Qingming from Yongcui Manor in Tiger Hill, Leng Feng (Li Qingming's fiancée), and Yang Huyun, the chief镖头 (chief镖头) of the Tiger Might镖局 (Tiger Might Escort Agency), who led the entire镖局 to transport money, grain, and cloth.
The world of martial arts is never short of bandits.
There was more than one disaster relief convoy.
Xu Qingya and his group were escorting supplies.
While they may seem worthless, these are all hard currencies.
They claim the stolen goods are valuable, but they lack channels to sell them.
However, in order to purchase large quantities of supplies from grain merchants, medicine merchants, and cloth merchants, the later caravans will definitely transport a large amount of gold and silver. Some mountain strongholds have their eyes on this money. As long as they can rob this money, they will not have to worry about the rest of their lives!
As for whether the disaster victims live or die, what does it have to do with them? They are ruthless bandits who kill without hesitation, not benevolent bodhisattvas who save people from suffering. This is their livelihood. "The Bodhisattva Huaguang passed by and left behind a gold brick before leaving!"
Even Bodhisattvas are no exception, let alone ordinary people.
Although there were no large mountain strongholds along the way, the dozens of small strongholds combined were not to be underestimated.
According to intelligence, two people are the most skilled in martial arts.
One is the Invincible Young Master of the Soul-Severing Valley. He is over forty years old but is very well-maintained and looks only in his twenties. He has profound and surging power and has never been defeated since his debut. He is extremely arrogant, has a very serious case of mysophobia, and hates seeing outsiders.
One is the Seven Killings Valley Master, Golden-Armed Boy. This person is proficient in the Thirteen Protectors' Iron Bell Cover technique, making him invulnerable to swords and spears, and possessing immense strength. In particular, his pair of iron arms can easily twist and break enemy weapons. Golden-Armed Boy does not need weapons; his arms are his weapons, enough to sweep away thousands of troops.
The two valleys are easy to defend and difficult to attack, complementing each other. Shaolin monks once tried to wipe them out, but were repelled three times by the two. The two monks did not dare to offend Shaolin and did not kill them, so the matter was eventually dropped.
Both Invincible Young Master and Golden-Armed Child were proud and arrogant, but when they thought of Xu Qingya, who had defeated Ancient Sword Soul head-on and killed Zhu Datianwang with three strikes, they couldn't help but feel a little worried and decided to find a few more helpers.
The helper that Golden-Armed Boy found was named Du Tiandao, the master of Tiandao Manor, who bullied men and women and committed all kinds of evil deeds.
Because of the many evil deeds he committed in his youth, his enemies attacked him when he was away from home, killing his wife and cutting off his son's hands. Du Tiandao then hired a master craftsman to forge a pair of iron hands for his son. The father and son colluded and committed countless evil deeds. In the past two years, they have been busy trying to whitewash their actions, hoping to transform the Du family of Tiandao Manor into a martial arts family.
The people that the Invincible Young Master found are the most powerful.
That was Lian Ni Chang, the leader of Mingyue Village on Dingjun Mountain, who stayed in the capital to cultivate in seclusion!
The Invincible Young Master wasn't worried that she was a fake.
Lian Ni Chang cannot be faked.
Lian Ni Chang's hair isn't white, it's silver, a unique silver-white. Even the world's best painters couldn't recreate such a silver-white. Once you see Lian Ni Chang's hair color, you'll never forget it.
The four men distrusted each other and found a picturesque valley to discuss how to rob disaster relief funds, how to launder the money and sell the stolen goods, and how to evade capture afterward.
Golden-Armed Child spoke first: "I won't say anything unnecessary. I want 30% of the profits this time! Our Seven Kill Valley has the most people, so I should take the lion's share!"
Du Tiandao quickly added, "We from Tiandao Manor have fewer people, but those who participate are all experts. I also want 30% of the profits; you can discuss the rest!"
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