Destiny is ashes

Chapter 354 Linlang Chamber of Commerce, the Beginning of Oligarchy (23)

——I see. This is the process by which primitive capital, at a critical moment, colludes with local armed forces, joins forces to embezzle civilian assets, and evolves into a local armed oligarch.

After understanding this, An Jing nodded slightly. He pointed his scabbard at the old man and asked him to bow his head: "You are avoiding the main point. You and Linlang Chamber of Commerce are in a cooperative relationship."

"Your team is composed of beast hunters from around Broken Blade Mountain and herbalists who are familiar with the conditions in the mountain. This is also your chance to eliminate your competitors... I guess many hunters and herbalists who were unwilling to cooperate with the Linlang Chamber of Commerce were forced away or even killed by you, right?"

"Yes, yes..." The old hunter prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed, bleeding: "We have been fooled by our own evil ways, this is retribution, retribution..."

"It is indeed retribution." An Jing did not care about the other party's confession at the moment. He said thoughtfully: "Your team has been independently traveling in the mountains and associating with the beasts. The independence and secrecy are too strong, and it is also to avoid being controlled and divided by the Linlang Chamber of Commerce."

"Because of this, you were spotted by the True Demon Cult, and then they took over your position and completely controlled you, becoming their painted skin hidden around Broken Blade Mountain."

"In addition, the orders from the Linlang Chamber of Commerce have become more and more radical. At the beginning, they used you as a knife to embezzle the assets around Broken Blade Mountain. Now, they have directly started to hire you, and perhaps other bandits and villains, to attack the escort convoys escorting aid supplies..."

"What are they going to do? Completely block the connection between Broken Blade Mountain and the outside world?"

An Jing fell into deep thought.

The first thing he thought of was that the Linlang Chamber of Commerce and the True Demon Sect were collaborating to commit a bloody sacrifice in Linjiang City.

But he soon gave up the idea.

What Linlang Chamber of Commerce showed was pure greed.

They took advantage of the disaster to integrate resources, completely control the high-quality assets around Linjiang City, achieve a monopoly in a certain area, and want to become an all-powerful oligarch.

The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce is to make money, make more money, and control more resources.

In this regard, the Linlang Chamber of Commerce is almost successful and does not need to cooperate with the Demon Cult. Moreover, if it really wants to sacrifice blood in Linjiang City, then why did it go to the trouble of acquiring assets and forcing people to leave?
As for the purpose of the True Demon Cult, An Jing had some guesses.

Considering that the great demons in Xuanming Manor had clearly shown their attention to Fuxie, An Jing could only believe that the demons, for various reasons, also knew that the fragments of Fuxie were located around Duanren Mountain.

The frost disaster in the north made the area around Broken Blade Mountain a lawless place without Dachen officials. The beast tide blocked the actions of various folk warriors, and the induction team was perfect and had the legitimate identities to travel deep into the mountains. The hunters and herbalists also knew the mountains well and could find the fragments and visions of hidden evil for them.

Did the Linlang Chamber of Commerce really know nothing about the True Demon Cult? An Jing thought that was not necessarily the case, at least they were using each other.

Because the previous induction team and Linlang Chamber of Commerce also cooperated, the forces behind this group of warriors in the induction team will almost monopolize all the profits in Broken Blade Mountain after the beast tide ends. The combination of these warriors will become a huge local interest-force group that is no less powerful than the Linlang Chamber of Commerce.

This is obviously not what the Linlang Chamber of Commerce wants to see, so the Chamber of Commerce may have a cooperation channel with the True Demon Cult. The Chamber of Commerce helps the True Demon Cult provide some supplies and cover, and the True Demon Cult helps the Chamber of Commerce eliminate this group of warriors from the inducing team. If they are questioned at that time, they can also put the blame on the True Demon Cult.

If this is the case, then the Linlang Chamber of Commerce must have its own channels for transporting food and medicine.

They drove the True Demon Cult/Induction Team to block Linjiang City's support materials in order to completely control all food and medicine, master all resources in the city, and complete the reintegration of the city's assets!
It was a very ambitious and courageous action. An Jing could even be sure that there was definitely support from Dachen officials behind this, otherwise, the Linlang Chamber of Commerce would never have been so reckless.

Perhaps there are more hidden secrets behind this, but this is something An Jing cannot analyze at the moment. "Xu Tai."

Looking up, An Jing looked at the escort leader standing beside him with a frown on his face: "You are from the vicinity of Linjiang City, do you know the situation in Linjiang City?"

"Ah."

Xu Tai seemed to have just woken up from a dream. Ever since the old hunter began to talk about their cooperation with the Linlang Chamber of Commerce, the warrior's hand could not help but reach for the hilt of the knife at his waist.

But now, he suppressed his anger, took a deep look at the dejected old hunter in front of him, and then said calmly: "Strictly speaking, I am not a city dweller - there is a circle of Linjiang Outer City outside the wall of Linjiang City, which is the residence of fishermen and other poor people. I was born in a poor family there."

"My parents were too tired and had old illnesses in their early years. They passed away a few years ago. Since then, I have rarely been back. But in my memory, it was a pretty good city. The folks from the outskirts of the city were poor but simple. I would go there to help them and always get a fish back home."

"One fish a day keeps my body healthy, and that's how I got the chance to enter the martial arts academy."

"Although the rich people and masters in the city are high and mighty, they did not discriminate against me, a person from outside the city, in the martial arts academy. I am afraid they disdain me and think that I am not their competitor, so they want to win me over. I am often treated to dinner by them. Before I returned to my hometown to eliminate the bandits, they also gave me this knife."

Xu Tai patted the long sword at his waist. It was also a magic weapon. Although it was not as good as the Ba Hai Sword and An Jing's previous Purple Yao Ming Jin Mace, it was also a mid-level magic weapon with two forbidden spells.

One cent for one effort, one bowl of rice for one word. Xu Tai shook her head and said with a complicated expression: "Although I disdain to associate with mediocre people like them, I don't want to say bad things about them directly... They are not bad people."

"Anyway, I have a good impression of Linjiang City. This time, I led the team to deliver food back because I wanted to help my family."

"But now it seems..."

"Yeah. It's not good."

An Jing stood up and opened the door, letting the biting cold wind sweep into the house. He didn't care about the old hunter kneeling on the ground shivering, but looked in the direction of Linjiang City: "According to the practice of Linlang Chamber of Commerce, some people with wealth in the city will also be exploited by them and squeezed out of their last bit of money."

"If my mother were in the city..."

An Jing was silent for a while, then asked: "How much do you know about Linlang Chamber of Commerce?"

"Here's the weird thing."

Xu Tai frowned, "Linlang Chamber of Commerce is a large chamber of commerce in the state capital. I heard that they have people in the court (Shen Zang can enter the court for meetings)."

"How could such a powerful backer suddenly come to a rural area like ours to make money?"

"What's their main business?" An Jing asked, and Xu Tai thought: "It's very diverse. They do almost everything, even accepting commissions to rob escorts, and there are many warriors."

(End of this chapter)