Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 277 The Three Brothers of the Eldest Branch, The Merchant's Ambition

The whole country and the four seas.

People often like to use these four words to describe the whole world.

But the vast majority of ambitious people in the world only set their sights on the vast Kyushu, hoping to conquer that endless land.

Even those who were born on the sea and became overlords of various islands only set their sights on Kyushu.

They often do not value the world, or even ignore it.

The reason for this is that although the world is vast, it is not fully visible and has few resources, and there are no signs of human habitation for thousands of miles.

Only a very small number of losers in the competition in Kyushu will turn their attention to the four seas.

The Pu family, in the very beginning, was actually one of the losers.

In the past, foreign tribes migrated south and occupied vast and fertile lands, causing the powerful clans of the Central Plains who originally lived on those lands to retreat southward.

In order to maintain their wealth and status, they often fought for the already limited land in the south.

The Pu family was just a small clan in the south, unable to compete with the powerful clans of the Central Plains. They lost their land and people, and had no choice but to turn their attention to the sea.

With that shift of gaze, the world suddenly seemed vast and boundless.

The ocean is vast and boundless, containing endless treasures. Although it cannot compare to land resources and is extremely difficult to obtain due to the obstruction of seawater, it has no competitors.

The Pu family thus began to prosper.

Today, it has become the largest hegemon in the Song Dynasty's sea areas.

An island in the sea is the base of the Pu family's fleet.

After receiving the message by carrier pigeon, Pu Yuan, the head of the eldest branch of the Pu family and also the current patriarch, summoned his three sons and showed them the message one by one.

The eldest son, Pu Lingfeng, said disdainfully, "Second Uncle has been living in the old house for so many years, serving and flattering the old man. Ha, he really did serve him well, and now he's even sending a message by carrier pigeon, wanting to stand up for him?"

The second son, Pu Lingyun, also curled his lip: "Second Uncle is as stupid as ever. Doesn't he realize that the old man is in his prime, able to eat and sleep well? Why has he stayed in the old house for so many years without even leaving the house?"

The third son, Pu Lingzhi, holding the message, said, "Second Uncle wants us to confront the Murong family so they can hide behind and reap the benefits. Alas, the Pu family is about to face a crisis. If things go wrong, the family business will be in danger of collapsing. And internal strife is still rampant within the family."

The old man must be confused. Every piece of intelligence from the sea was sent to the old house, so how could he not see the danger? Why would he support his second uncle at this time?
How can the Pu family prosper with these guys around?

Pu Yuan stopped them after they finished speaking, saying, "Alright, no matter what, he is still your grandfather, so be polite."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The old man has stayed at home for so many years, and I'm afraid he's been living a peaceful life for too long. He really thinks that the Pu family's position at sea is as secure as Mount Tai, which is why he made a mistake."

I called you here not to complain, but to tell me the current situation, and how we should handle things in Jiangnan.

The eldest son, Pu Lingfeng, remained dismissive: "With so many sons, it's no big deal if one of them dies. Let's deal with it after we resolve the current crisis."

The third brother, Pu Lingzhi, said, "Eldest brother, Second Uncle's dead son is not important at all. Father's point is how to handle things in Jiangnan. With the crisis looming ahead, Jiangnan is our rear, and we should stabilize it even more."

The second brother, Pu Lingyun, frowned: "Third brother, you don't intend to submit to the Murong family, do you?"

The third brother said, "Right now, the Giant Whale Gang is coming on strong. If things go wrong, our entire Pu family could be destroyed. Jiangnan is our escape route, or even... our way out!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

That's right, the great crisis that the Pu family is facing is none other than the Ming Dynasty's maritime overlord... the Giant Whale Gang!

The Giant Whale Gang had long been the overlord of the Ming Dynasty's seas, but after changing its leader last year, it suddenly became brave and aggressive, not only conquering various territories on land, but also seizing countless benefits vacated after the fall of the Prince of Nanping.

They further expanded their territory at sea, greatly increasing their strength.

Of course, everyone now knows that the young leader of the Giant Whale Gang was nothing more than a puppet.

The organization that truly controls the Giant Whale Gang is called the Invisible Man.

This organization is shrouded in mystery and has always remained hidden in the shadows.

Although the Giant Whale Gang incident has exposed a great deal of power, the exact identities of its members and the number of powerful individuals hidden within it remain a mystery.

With the support of this mysterious organization, the Giant Whale Gang became the overlord of southeastern China, and at sea, it was the only overlord of China.

All of this originally had nothing to do with the Pu family.

However, several months ago, when the Pu family was on a business trip, they discovered that ships belonging to the Giant Whale Gang had appeared in the waters of the Song Kingdom.

It was precisely because of this incident that Pu Yuan stayed on this island to handle affairs, and did not go ashore for several months.

The most important point is to determine whether the Giant Whale Gang's influence has already spread here.

After months of effort, Pu Yuan's anxiety finally subsided.

The Giant Whale Gang has indeed arrived in the waters of the Song Kingdom!

The vast ocean has no national boundaries.

Even ethics and morality are obscured by the deep sea, let alone national laws.

People might still be wary of the nearshore area, since there are naturally skilled individuals who can use their lightness skills to cross the sea and reach the shore.

However, if it is in the open sea, as long as the enemy's ships are destroyed, even a grandmaster can only starve to death on the vast ocean, and no matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to return to the shore.

All evil will be buried by the sea.

Therefore, the thing you fear most at sea is people.

Whether they are thieves or merchants.

Often, it's just a matter of a single word or a single thought.

Only strength is the sole standard in this vast sea.

In the past, the Pu family was the most powerful overlord in the Song Kingdom's sea areas.

But now, they are facing a challenge from the Ming Dynasty!
"The Ming Dynasty..."

Pu Yuan sighed.

East of Kyushu, the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful nation, rivaled only by the Yuan Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty was powerful, but the martial arts world was no less formidable. While there were countless experts on the surface, there were also countless powerful figures hidden in the shadows.

The invisible figure behind the Giant Whale Gang is one of them.

"Our Pu family's strength is barely enough to deal with the Giant Whale Gang. If the invisible person behind the Giant Whale Gang makes a move, I'm afraid the entire Pu family could be crushed in an instant."

The third brother, Pu Lingzhi, calmly said, "According to the current intelligence, there are many invisible experts, among whom there are so many grandmaster-level experts that you can't count them on one hand."

"We, the Pu family, should know best how many grandmasters we have."

Grandmaster!

In the south of the Song Kingdom, experts of this caliber are extremely rare.

As for the open sea, they are even rarer.

On the surface, the Pu family only has one Grandmaster-level expert, but in reality, there are three. If they were to leverage their connections and offer monetary incentives, they could still secure assistance from several of them in times of crisis.

However, whether it's one, three, or five or six, it's no different from the invisible organization.

The eldest brother, Pu Lingfeng, sighed and said, "So, we have no choice but to withdraw from the competition in this sea area?"

Pu Lingzhi nodded, but then said, "Even so, the Giant Whale Gang is ultimately an outside force, and we may still have a chance. However, facing such a powerful enemy, we must first find a way out!"

Pu Yuan nodded: "We should consider defeat before we even consider victory. Business is nothing compared to the lives of our family. As the third brother said, we should indeed find a way out first."

The second brother, Pu Lingyun, was very dissatisfied: "So, does that mean we have no choice but to admit defeat in front of Murong Fu?"

Pu Yuandao said, "Although our business is spread all over the Song Dynasty, you should know where we are most deeply rooted and where we earn the most money."

That would naturally be the Suzhou area, which is close to the sea and at the estuary.

This is their best way out.

Pu Lingzhi sighed and said, "I'm afraid that even if we wanted to admit defeat to Murong Fu, he wouldn't accept it!"

Pu Lingfeng angrily said, "What? They don't want to accept it? Heh, how arrogant does Murong Fu think he is? His Murong family has a great reputation, but do you think my Pu family is someone to be trifled with?"

"Shut up, second brother!"

Pu Yuan scolded, "Third brother, why are you saying that?"

Pu Lingzhi said, "Father, eldest brother, second brother, you should know that the first alliance failed to be established, but the second one was successfully established with the Zhu family as the leader under the threat of the Sun Moon Divine Sect."

However, the Zhu family was ambitious and wanted to establish a foothold in Jiangnan. During the alliance, they used their power to continuously annex the businesses of various families in Jiangnan, behaving in an ugly and undisguised manner.

Later, Murong Fu returned. What did he do?

The eldest brother, Pu Lingfeng, said, "He took direct action, snatched Yi Jifeng's position as alliance leader, and even killed the Zhu family head on the spot!"

“Indeed!” Pu Yuan nodded: “This Murong Fu is so young, yet so ruthless… The name Murong of the South is well-deserved!”

Pu Lingzhi said, "And now, he's targeting our Pu family again, which is probably intentional."

Pu Yuan frowned: "Are you saying that Murong Fu is deliberately retaliating against us?"

"Yes, Father. When the Zhu family attacked Jiangnan before, we were all following behind and got a good taste of their food!"

"If that's the case, then we'll just back down and admit defeat, won't that solve it?"

"Father, you've also seen the intelligence, so you must know what Yi Jifeng and the Zhu family's attitude was on the night Murong Fu seized the position of alliance leader, and what Murong Fu did?"

"This……"

The Murong family kept the news of what happened that night a secret.

Although the truth eventually got out, what outsiders knew was a distorted version of the truth.

The information gathered by the Pu family was naturally the most accurate.

Pu Yuan was well aware that Yi Jifeng had been willing to relinquish the leadership of the alliance that night, and the Zhu family had also decisively chosen to submit.

However, Murong Fu still managed to knock Yi Jifeng away, and then directly killed the head of the Zhu family.

Now, Murong Fu has also taken action against the Pu family.

The Pu family wants to back down, but will Murong Fu accept it?
The eldest brother, Pu Lingfeng, asked, "Is it possible that Murong Fu just wants to make an example of someone?"

"Big brother! Killing one chicken to scare the monkey is enough. Why kill one more?" The third brother shook his head.

The second brother looked at everyone and said, "Perhaps things aren't as complicated as we think..."

"Second brother, that's Murong Nan. Do you think he's a simple person?"

"Shut up, second brother. The Murong family has a long and distinguished history, with a rich family tradition of learning. This generation's Murong Fu is already famous as the Southern Murong at such a young age. Do you think he's just an uneducated barbarian like you?"

The second child pouted, "If it's wrong, it's wrong, why are you scolding me..."

Pu Yuan asked, "Third brother, what do you think we should do now?"

Pu Lingzhi thought for a moment and said, "Father, do you think... the Sun Moon Sect has any chance of winning?"

"You want my Pu family to join the Sun Moon Cult?"

Pu Yuan shook his head and said, "The Sun Moon Sect has always been known as a demonic sect and is unpopular. I'm afraid they are not good masters. Moreover, the Murong family is deeply rooted in Jiangnan and I'm afraid they will not lose to the Sun Moon Sect at all."

Even if... even if the Sun Moon Cult could truly defeat the Murong family, without official protection and lacking popular support, they ultimately wouldn't be able to hold onto the Jiangnan region!

Pu Lingzhi said, "I naturally understand all of these. However, while the Sun Moon Sect has many shortcomings, it has one advantage: their leader is powerful, being a Grandmaster-level expert."

While the Murong family possesses numerous advantages, it also suffers from a significant drawback: its sparse population. Murong Fu has no siblings of his generation, no uncles or aunts of his predecessors, and no descendants of his own. Although it is called the Murong family, he is the only member of the entire clan, and he is only at the Innate Realm.

"Father, think about it. Swords have no eyes. If these two sides were to fight, and Dongfang Bubai were to kill Murong Fu, wouldn't the entire Murong family be wiped out in an instant?"

"Um?!"

Pu Yuan's eyes lit up.

"You go on."

"Father, if Murong Fu dies and the Murong family is gone, the Sun Moon Sect will have countless weaknesses and will not be able to hold onto Jiangnan. Then who will be in charge of this land?"

Pu Lingzhi said, "Father, whether we submit to the Murong family or the Sun Moon Cult, we are always at the mercy of others."

"If that's the case, why can't we take over Jiangnan ourselves and become its masters?"

Although Pu Yuan already had a guess in his heart, he still felt a tremor in his heart when he heard these words. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Third brother, I never thought you had such ambitions in your heart!"

Even so, he was still very tempted.

The boundless ocean holds endless wealth, but due to the obstruction of the sea, taking away this wealth is not easy.

As the dominant force in the Song Kingdom's seas, the Pu family's territory and influence were probably larger than the entire map of the Song Kingdom. However, their wealth was comparable to that of several other merchant families.

It is evident that the land of Kyushu is far richer than the sea!
The prosperous Jiangnan region was occupied by the Murong family, and even a vassal of the Wang family under their command was able to rival the Pu family.

It would be impossible for the Pu family not to be envious.

It's just that I've never had the chance.

Now it seems that perhaps the opportunity has arrived!
Although Pu Yuan was also aware that this matter was probably far more complicated than the third brother had described.

If Murong Fu is truly dead, then other families will naturally set their sights on the Jiangnan region.

If the Pu family wants to become the overlord of Jiangnan, they must defeat many forces, including the Sun Moon Cult.

Even so, Pu Yuan was still filled with excitement.

Even without the current overwhelming force of the Giant Whale Gang, let alone the fact that they are now so powerful.

For that vision, he will definitely help Pujiachong!
(End of this chapter)