What a lucky world!

Chapter 288 Wen Lang Pays Homage to the Master
"Compete for supremacy?" Zhang Mu was taken aback by Wen Lang's question, then laughed, "You overestimate me..."

"How vast is the world."

"Leaving aside the four cities and three strongholds... Oh, now the White Lotus Sect, one of the three strongholds, has rebelled."

"There are still so many powerful and influential families in this world."

"My small martial stronghold has no more than 10,000 soldiers at full strength, and the highest combat strength is only at the Gathering Courage Realm."

"You ask me if I have the ambition to compete for power?"

"What can I use to fight back? My head?"

Wen Lang simply looked at Zhang Mu, listened to him finish speaking, and then shook his head.

"When the founding emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty raised his army, he was just a minor village head. The most powerful generals he later became at that time had only reached the Qi Condensation stage and commanded only a few hundred soldiers."

"However, after seven years of valiant effort, he swept across the nine provinces and established the Great Yu Dynasty, which lasted for four hundred years."

"How did the founding emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty compare to the current chieftain?"

"Chief, please do not underestimate yourself."

"In my opinion, the chieftain has great potential."

Zhang Mu raised an eyebrow and looked at Wen Lang standing in front of him again.

"Are you a disciple of Zhang Taiyue?"

"Exactly."

“Zhang Taiyue devoted his entire life to saving the crumbling empire, yet you are here talking to me eloquently, trying to seduce me into vying for the throne.”

Do you think I should believe you're plotting against me?

Wen Lang's expression remained unchanged; he merely sighed softly.

"Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos."

Who wants the world to descend into chaos?

"Chief Zhang, do you know why I became the Wind Watcher?"

Zhang Mu raised his chin, signaling Wen Lang to continue.

"Because I want to perform an autopsy!"

A hint of interest appeared on Zhang Mu's face: "Continue."

"The great fortune is long dead."

"When this dynasty was on its deathbed, a potent medicine was placed before it."

"That is the 'Treatise on the Nation of Mud' which aims to bring peace to the world."

But An Tianxia is dead.

"The moment An Tianxia's head fell to the ground, the last breath of the Great Yun Dynasty dissipated."

"What my mentor did was not some miraculous cure for the world, but merely slowing down the decay of a corpse."

“My teacher has his own principles, and as his disciple, I should always do my part to serve him.”

"So I became a weather observer, traveling the world on behalf of my mentor to find out the cause of death of this corpse."

"Perhaps, after I prove to my mentor that the great fortune is dead and there is no need to save it, my mentor will have a new change of heart."

"It's just a pity that there were maggots in the corpse. The maggots had already gained momentum. One of the maggots bit my mentor, forcing him to leave his hometown and drift away on a raft at sea."

At this point, a hint of emotion finally appeared on Wen Lang's calm face—an expression of regret, resentment, and helplessness.

“I have a senior brother who was a third-place scholar in the imperial examination. He has a strong and unyielding personality. To temper his character, our master sent him to Changlin County in Yuezhou to serve as the county magistrate. This area was where the White Lotus Sect was most powerful. When the White Lotus Sect rebelled, the prefect ordered the residents to hand over their grain and burned down the granaries to prevent a single grain from falling into the hands of the bandits.”

"My senior brother refused to accept the chaotic orders and angrily asked how the people were going to survive?"

"There is only one sentence above: the local people have close ties with the White Lotus Sect and are all rioters."

“Resistance was useless. My senior brother dared not face the people and threw himself into the sea of ​​burning grain, perishing with the grain, leaving no trace of his body.”

“I also have a senior brother who is humble and does not pursue an official career. He opened a school in his hometown and teaches young children. When the White Lotus sect gathered 30,000 followers and wanted to attack the city, he went alone to the White Lotus army and persuaded them to turn back from their misguided ways.”

"He reasoned with them and appealed to their emotions, and finally averted the war."

"But the local guerrillas tricked my senior brother into surrendering at a certain place, and then sent a large army to annihilate him." "The 30,000 White Lotus soldiers who originally surrendered all became the military merits of that guerrilla general, and my senior brother also died in the chaos of battle."

Wen Lang paused, then gave a bitter laugh.

"When the White Lotus bandits attacked the county town, I fought them off while calling for help."

“Yongning Prefecture is only about 200 li away from Wan’an County, and the prefectural city is only about 700 li away from Wan’an County.”

"I have pleaded thirteen times in one day, but not a single soldier has come to our aid."

“All my cries for help were like shouts into a vast, empty valley; the only response I received was my own echo.”

"It's as if this county doesn't exist in the world."

"It seems that the 22,323 households registered in the county town, totaling 96,088 people, are not included in the national roster!"

"This dynasty corpse has rotted down to the bones."

"If I were to ask the chieftain to kick this bone off the precipice of history and replace it, how would the chieftain think I'm plotting against you?"

Ye Hanzhou listened from the side and nodded secretly, also looking at Zhang Mu, seemingly eagerly awaiting Zhang Mu's answer.

Zhang Mu yawned: "Hmm..."

"As expected of Zhang Taiyue's disciple, his words are both reasonable and persuasive, with rigorous logic, and are very moving."

"But it's still the same old problem. Even if the Great Yun Dynasty is so rotten that only bones remain, it's still the bones of a giant beast as high as a mountain. My Qianyuan Martial Village is just a wild beast in the mountains. We can't kick it!"

Wen Lang remained silent, looking at Zhang Mu, who in turn stared directly at Wen Lang.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

“Like a mountain of bones, others will move them.” Wen Lang said, “If the chieftain can see his own strength, then the chances of winning are twenty percent.”

Zhang Mu shook his head: "Twenty percent? Not enough!"

“There will always be time,” Wen Lang continued. “Once we reach 50%, it’s time to get involved.”

Zhang Mu sat up slightly and asked with curiosity, "How did you figure that out, sir?"

Wen Lang raised his finger and pointed to the white-horse guards standing at the door.

"Although I am just a scholar, I travel all over the world and have the convenience of being an observer, so I am confident that my eyesight is quite good."

"The chieftain's troops, though lacking cultivation, possessed robust blood and energy, their skin glowed faintly, and even their horses had spirited eyes."

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be a method for training troops!"

"The fact that Wuzhai dares to use military training methods to train its troops means that the chieftain must have long harbored great ambitions!"

Zhang Mu opened his mouth, not expecting that this was where he had given himself away.

"To enter the city with troops and not commit the slightest offense is true benevolence."

"To give up money and grain to save the people is righteousness."

"In chaotic times, it is wise not to strive to stand out."

"Such power is rarely seen in my life. In my opinion, it must have great fortune. I am willing to follow in its footsteps and one day travel thousands of miles with the chieftain."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mu's expression turned serious. He stood up and bowed to Wen Lang, saying, "I will have to trouble you in the future, sir."

Wen Lang straightened his clothes and bowed deeply to Zhang Mu: "This student is willing to use all his knowledge to assist my lord."

After speaking, Wen Lang stood up and said, "My lord, my previous suggestion that the grain should not be distributed in full was the first strategy I offered to you."

"We can move the grain away first, set fire to the granary, and tell the outside world that the White Lotus rebels retaliated by burning the grain."

"Then, transport 30% of the grain into the city by cart, saying that the lord was thinking of his hometown and specially left the grain from the Wuzhai."

"This will win over the hearts and minds of the entire city."

“Thirty percent of the grain is certainly not enough. Half a month later, the lord will arrange for the Yuanwei Escort Agency to transport another ten percent of the grain into the city. Half of it will be given to the elderly, children, orphans and widows, and the other half will be sold at a low price in limited quantities.”

"This will ensure that everyone in the city remembers the kindness shown to them and feels a deep sense of kinship with Wuzhai."

“If we continue to do this every month, the people will surely be won over within three months, and within six months, Wan’an County will no longer be Wan’an County of Dayun, but Wan’an County of Wuzhai!”

"What do you think, my lord?"

(End of this chapter)