Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 220 Shared Interests, Human Nature in the Martial World

If we were to talk about the two most famous heroes of the Song Dynasty, they would naturally be Qiao Feng in the North and Murong Fu in the South!
His reputation was so great that it even surpassed that of many older generation figures in the martial arts world.

Chief Steward Wang proposed inviting Murong Nan to be the leader of the alliance, and everyone immediately nodded in agreement.

"Nan Murong is wonderful! If we could invite Young Master Murong, that would be extremely helpful!"

"Indeed, if Young Master Murong were to become the leader of this alliance, a single wave of his arm would surely draw a huge following!"

"Steward Wang, we're counting on you for this!"

Steward Wang nodded repeatedly and said, "I will do my utmost to make this happen."

The Wang family of Suzhou and the Murong family have a very close marriage relationship. The younger sister of the Wang family patriarch married Murong Bo, the previous patriarch of the Murong family.

Unfortunately, fate was unkind; Murong Bo died young, and his wife, overwhelmed with grief, also passed away a few years later.

As for the Wang family, the patriarch also died young, which means that the power of the Wang family now falls into the hands of Madam Wang.

Despite this, the kinship between the two families remained unchanged.

Moreover, besides being related by marriage, the two families also have vested interests, making them difficult to sever ties easily.

The current steward, Mr. Wang, is someone the Wang family has sent out to manage finances and such.

If we want to invite Murong Nan to be the leader of this alliance, then this person should be the one to step forward.

The steward, pleased with the flattery, turned to the head of the Zhu family with a smile and asked, "Brother Zhu, what do you think of my suggestion?"

The head of the Zhu family smiled and said, "Nan Murong is naturally the best candidate, but I have heard that recently in the martial arts world, many people have died inexplicably from their own signature techniques. I am afraid it is the Murong family's technique of 'using their own methods against them'."

Therefore, given that Young Master Murong is currently embroiled in numerous troubles, inviting him to become the alliance leader at this time is probably... not very appropriate!

"Hehe, rumors in the martial arts world are always based on hearsay, they're all false and unreliable!"

Manager Wang said, "Seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving. Brother Zhu, you can't believe this rumor."

“That’s true… Judging from your intentions, you all want Young Master Murong to intervene, and I certainly won’t disappoint you. In that case, I’ll ask Steward Wang to put in a word.”

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Once this matter was settled, there was nothing else to discuss.

After chatting for a few minutes, they all said their goodbyes.

Only the Zhu family head and Yi Jifeng remained in the living room.

"Ugh……"

The head of the Zhu family sighed and said, "Nephew, as you can see, although I am willing to help you, the others are adamant that Young Master Murong should be the leader of the alliance. I am... powerless to do anything about it!"

Although Yi Jifeng was also feeling bitter and that all his hard work had been in vain, he said, "This matter is naturally not the fault of Patriarch Zhu. It's just that my reputation is too small to be heard by them."

The head of the Zhu family hurriedly said, "Nephew, don't give up. I'll think of another way. If... if it still doesn't work out in the end, I can recommend you to join the alliance, take on an important position, and build up your reputation."

"Thank you, Master Zhu."

Yi Jifeng quickly apologized and then took his leave.

The head of the Zhu family knew he was in a bad mood, so he didn't say anything.

Walking through the Zhu family's mountain villa, one sees red decorations and colorful ornaments everywhere, creating a festive atmosphere for the New Year.

Yi Jifeng felt no joy at all. He walked alone to the pond in the manor, staring blankly at the rippling water.

"What is the young master of Mingjian Manor looking so lost about here?"

"Ok?"

Yi Jifeng was startled and turned around to see a golden figure standing right behind him.

"It's you? You always end up here!"

"Of course I came for you!"

Jin Jiu smiled and said, "I came here specifically to help you resolve your doubts."

"Clarify my doubts? What doubts do I have?"

"Why would the Zhu family patriarch support you to become the alliance leader? Don't you have even the slightest doubt about this?"

"Huh?" Yi Jifeng was taken aback: "Because I intervened in the affairs of the Sun Moon Cult, saving his men and their businesses. Could it be for something else?"

"Ha ha……"

Jin Jiu laughed: "I've always known you're naive, but I never imagined you could be this naive! Just because you saved someone? As far as I know, the people and businesses you've saved extend far beyond the Zhu family. Why didn't anyone else think of you?"

"That's because I didn't explain this to them."

"Hahaha……"

Gin laughed again, this time a loud laugh.

"You really are living in your own fantasy all along!"

Come on, I'll show you... the truth!

As he spoke, Yi Jifeng felt his body completely out of control. He got up and followed Jin Jiu.

When they encountered servants on the road, it was as if they couldn't see them at all.

In a short while, the two of them had walked to one side of the hall where they had been.

"What...what kind of trick is this?"

"Shh! Don't talk!"

In the hall.

The butler handed over several red envelopes: "Master, these are the New Year's gifts that the guests just gave us."

"Ah."

The head of the Zhu family took them, opened them one by one, and revealed an expression as if everything was expected.

"Someone, prepare tea."

The servants immediately went to do it.

The butler stood aside and asked, "Master, Young Master Murong has a great reputation. Why not choose him as the leader of the alliance instead of pushing that unknown Yi Jifeng up there?"

"Hmph! Murong Fu? He'll be the leader of the alliance? Are you afraid my business in Jiangnan is going too smoothly?!"

The head of the Zhu family said in a low voice, "Qiao Feng in the North, Murong in the South, these six simple words perfectly describe the division of power between the North and South of the Great Song Dynasty! In the North, countless heroes and warriors fought against foreign tribes. Whoever had the most men and the strongest strength would become famous!"

In the South, long periods of peace have made it the domain of wealthy and powerful families! Whoever has the deepest foundation and the widest network of connections can become famous!
Behind the name "Nan Murong" lies not just the Murong family, but many powerful clans in the south, with the Murong family at their head!

The Murong family were descendants of the Xianbei people and the Yan state. However, with the rise of the Ming and Song dynasties, many foreign states either fled or perished. The Murong family chose to integrate into the Song state at that time.

The resources of a nation, transformed into a single family, demonstrate just how powerful they must be.

The former head of the family, Murong Longcheng, was even capable of competing with Emperor Taizu of Song.

Having lost the competition, he had no choice but to turn to running the family business.

Under his management, the Murong family had become the most prominent family in Jiangnan many years ago.

Although the family had declined somewhat by the time it was passed down to the former head of the family, Murong Bo, he still maintained a wide circle of friends and connections.

Putting aside everything else, the current abbot of Shaolin Temple is Murong Bo's former close friend.

This alone surpasses countless martial arts families.

Murong Bo died young, and the family business passed to Murong Fu.

Murong Fu was even less capable.

But the Murong family's ancestral assets were truly immense. These assets included not only martial arts skills and territory, but also connections and networks of interests.

When you meet a high-ranking official in Kaifeng Prefecture or a high-ranking monk from Shaolin Temple, you should address them as "Sir" or "Master."

People greet each other by calling them "uncle" or "elder brother".

How to compare?
That network of interests was already established back in the Murong Longcheng era, with many beneficiaries tied to the Murong family, maintaining the existence of this network of interests.

Unless we take them all down in one go, we shouldn't make a move lightly!

So why are Qiao Feng of the North and Murong Fu of the South the most famous in this country?
Because in the North, the Beggars' Sect was the largest sect, and Qiao Feng was its leader.

In the south, the Murong family is the most prominent clan, and Murong Fu is the head of the Murong family.

Even if the greatest heroes in the world possess martial arts skills comparable to or even far superior to theirs, without their influence, they still cannot achieve a wider or greater reputation!
"In Jiangnan, to do business, you must first pay homage to the Murong family, join their alliance of interests, and send them money. Only then can you do business!"

The Zhu family head spoke with hatred in his voice: "Over the years, I have sent at least 30 million, if not 50 million, silver to the Murong family! That is all my money!"
I'm already sixty years old, and I've been exploited for thirty years. Must the Murong family continue to exploit my descendants?!

The steward suddenly realized: "So the patriarch wants to support Young Master Yi in order to weaken the Murong family!"

"That's right. Although Mingjian Manor has declined, its foundation remains. In terms of martial arts, this young master is in no way inferior to Murong Fu."

Furthermore, Mingjian Manor doesn't have many businesses under its control, so even if it expands because of this, it won't affect us.

Most importantly, he also inherited the gentlemanly and chivalrous spirit of the old manor lord, and a gentleman…

The head of the Zhu family slowly said, "We can deceive them with force!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Jifeng felt a surge of anger rush to his head, completely burning away his reason.

He was about to rush into the hall.

Unfortunately, his body was bound by the gin and he couldn't move at all.

"You! Let me go!"

"Why did you let go of him? Why did you rush in and question him? But wasn't this position of alliance leader something you wanted yourself?"

"Really? You don't think that just because you want to be the leader of this alliance, everyone should unconditionally cooperate with you, do you?"

"I..." Yi Jifeng was speechless.

But he quickly sorted out the logic and said, "This was not my initiative. I saved his men and property first. Patriarch Zhu invited me here. After hearing that I wanted to revitalize Mingjian Manor, he brought up this plan and wanted to make me the leader of the alliance."

I had done him a favor, yet he plotted against me!

and so.

Yi Jifeng is good.

The Zhu family is corrupt.

"But as long as you become the leader of this alliance, you will inevitably cause an impact on Murong Fu's reputation in the Jiangnan region. What he is scheming for is just something that was bound to happen anyway."

Yi Jifeng was speechless again.

"It's okay if you don't understand, let's keep watching..."

At that moment, a person walked in through the side door.

However, he was the head of the Pu family.

"Brother Zhu!"

"Eh? Brother Pu? Why have you returned?"

"Hey! Brother Zhu, don't beat around the bush with me. My Pu family and the Zhu family are in similar situations. We've long wanted to make a move against that number one family in Jiangnan and test them out."

"Then why did you, Brother Pu, want to support Young Master Murong as the leader of the alliance just now?"

"Brother Zhu, why ask a question you already know the answer to? The Wang family's steward is sitting right there, and as soon as he speaks, the other families immediately respond. How could my Pu family possibly stand up and oppose him? In the end, didn't you also support Young Master Murong becoming the leader of the alliance?"

"So it was out of necessity, I misunderstood..."

"Haha, it's because I acted too convincingly that Brother Zhu misunderstood."

The head of the Pu family said, "The alliance is of course the best thing, but it is probably inappropriate to ask Murong Fu to be the leader of the alliance."

The head of the Zhu family said, "Yes, but with the support of Steward Wang and those people, what are we supposed to do?"

The head of the Pu family said, "In my opinion, what Brother Zhu just said about many masters in the martial arts world being inexplicably killed by their own special moves could be used as a basis for something... We might as well expand the impact of this matter and make Murong Fu ashamed to sit as the leader of the alliance."

"That's one way."

The head of the Zhu family nodded: "Then... what if this fails?"

The head of the Pu family said, "If this matter fails... I have heard that Dongfang Bubai of the Sun Moon Divine Cult is already a master-level expert, but Murong Fu is only at the innate realm."

Brother Zhu, haven't I said enough?

"Enough is enough!"

At this moment, another person walked in through the side door and shouted, "How dare you plot against Young Master Murong in secret!"

The head of the Pu family was startled, but upon seeing who it was, he wiped his sweat and exclaimed, "Oh dear, Brother Li, you scared me to death!"

The head of the Li family shouted, "You scoundrel, who calls you brother?!"

"Brother Li, stop joking. You've already heard it, so why don't you share your thoughts as well?"

"my thoughts?"

The Li family head laughed: "The Murong family has been arrogant for too long, they really should be disciplined!"

Jin Jiu patted Yi Jifeng on the shoulder: "It seems that you have a chance at the position of alliance leader that you want."

Yi Jifeng, however, showed no sign of happiness.

"I did want to become the leader of the alliance and revitalize the Famous Sword Manor, but... I never imagined that I would become the leader in this way."

"So what do you want? Just because you saved a few people? Don't be ridiculous. The world is bustling, everyone is driven by profit. Profit is the number one driving force in the world."

This isn't a bad thing at all. You want to be the alliance leader, and they also want to put someone out to be the leader. It's clearly a win-win situation, perfectly in the interests of both of you!

Yi Jifeng actually understood this as well.

but……

"This is not the martial arts world I imagined!"

"Hahaha, the martial world? Then tell me, what is the martial world you imagine? Is it like your grandfather's back then? Have you ever thought about why, when the great demon Xiaoyao Wang of the Western Regions was rampaging, only your grandfather and the Shaolin monks took action?"
Are there really no other martial arts figures in the world besides these two?

"This……"

"What is Jianghu? Let me tell you, wherever there are people, there is Jianghu! The human heart is Jianghu!"

However, the hearts of the vast majority are corrupted; only one or two hearts are truly pure and righteous!

"That's right, that's the kind of martial arts world I've been looking for."

"Oh well."

Jin Jiu nodded: "Have you ever seen a lotus flower? It blooms on the lake, a flower of the virtuous. However, the roots of this virtuous flower are deeply embedded in the mud, drawing strength from it to grow straight and upright branches, which support itself and allow it to bloom on the lake, becoming a flower of the virtuous!"
Look at Murong Fu, isn't he just like that? Rumors say he's a refined gentleman, gentle and elegant, with an excellent reputation. But who would have thought that the Murong family is so powerful and domineering? Even powerful clans like the Zhu, Pu, and Li families can only survive by submitting to his oppression!
Isn't this just like the lotus flower amidst the mud?
You want to be a lotus? Then let me ask you, do you have roots that draw strength from them? Do you have branches that support your growth above the lake?

You want nothing! And you want to be a lotus flower? Hah... dreaming!

Yi Jifeng was in a complete state of confusion: "Then what should I do?"

"You don't need to ask me; you probably already know the answer in your heart. What should be the first step for a lotus to grow?"

Looking at the scene inside the hall, Yi Jifeng's eyes gradually hardened, and he spoke.

“Take root!”

(End of this chapter)