Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 300 The Journey of Star Luo, Imperial Sword Manor
The Western Regions may seem vast, but in reality, they are sparsely populated.

Moreover, it's not that the population is too small to develop; it's that these places simply lack the space for development.

Vast stretches of Gobi Desert produce almost no resources, making it impossible to support a population.

The most prosperous area in the entire Western Regions is the land bordering the Ming, Yuan, and Central Plains.

These lands had long been occupied by the Demonic Sect and the Rakshasa Sect.

The rest of the population generally live near the few oases in the desert.

If we consider the total output of all resources in the Western Regions as a total, then the land occupied by the Demonic Sect and the Rakshasa Sect would account for at least 30%, or even 40% of it!

The Western Regions, with a total area dozens of times larger than the two religions, comprised countless city-states and countries, and together they only occupied 70% of the area.

However, all of this data comes from before the establishment of the Star Luo Sect.

With the establishment of the Star Luo Sect, Kunsha's three thousand Rakshasa soldiers swept across the land with lightning speed, frantically occupying various city-states.

By the time the various city-states in the Western Regions reacted, the Star Luo Sect had already taken over all the city-states within two thousand miles of the former Demonic Sect and Rakshasa Sect.

It's not that we can't take over the more distant places, but rather that two thousand miles away lies the desolate Gobi Desert.

Kunsa chose to temporarily halt operations and first digest the territory he had occupied.

To rule a land, simply conquering it is not enough; one must also be able to manage and tax that land.

Although the Demonic Sect and the Rakshasa Sect were the overlords of the Western Regions in the past, they had no control over any other places except for their own small territory.

What the Star Luo Sect wants is this power of administration; it wants to completely rule the entire Western Regions!

But power needs to extend through human tentacles, and managing these occupied areas also requires a large number of people to act as agents of the leader's will.

That is, officials.

Western monotheistic religions can compete with kings for power, and even completely suppress kings at certain times, making kings vassals of the church, thanks to their churches that are spread throughout towns and cities, and even villages, across the country!
It is the result of the pastors in all the churches constantly preaching.

If there is only one church in the capital of the entire country.

The pope could only bow down to the king and could never rise to the point of suppressing the king.

Although the Star Luo Sect has the suffix "-sect" in its name, it is not actually a sect at all. It was only started by the Demonic Sect.

The Jade Rakshasa followed suit and called themselves the Rakshasa Cult.

Of course, the Rakshasa religion also has its own beliefs, but they believe in the Jade Rakshasa and the Rakshasa talisman.

As for the Star Luo Cult in Kunsha, it was merely a name, a temporary transition.

Once the Western Regions are unified, the name will be changed.

In short, whether it's a religious sect or a nation, what's needed to effectively rule a region is manpower.

Even with Xiao Ai as a support, Zhou Ming could not avoid this.

No matter what, Ai Haibara can't do everything herself; at most, she can only delegate tasks to those who carry them out.

Officials, in addition to being implementers, are also supervisors, and can play a role in supervising other implementers.

Just like when a parent calls to check on a child doing homework, the supervisory effect is completely different from when the parent stands by and watches.

If Ai Haibara cannot personally take charge and cannot stand in front of these implementers to supervise them, then naturally, slacking off and laziness will occur.

Moreover, if all these tasks were left to Ai, energy consumption would increase significantly.

The first batch of seeds for the Perfect Land are not yet mature, so Zhou Ming felt it was best to use them sparingly.

Once we've digested this two thousand miles of land, we won't need the Rakshasa army anymore.

But Kunsha didn't let them sit idle. Five hundred stayed behind at headquarters, two thousand were scattered in all directions, and the last five hundred went directly to the Western Regions, wreaking havoc among the various city-states, specifically attacking the wealthy ones, plundering food, gold, silver, and other resources and treasures.

In this way, not only can the territory of the Star Luo Sect be stabilized, but also the losses of Xiao Ai can be reduced. She no longer needs to control three thousand people as before, but only five hundred.

It saves time and effort.

Even after all the wealthy city-states had been plundered, there was no need to bother controlling these five hundred people; they could simply be allowed to return to the Star Luo Sect.

As for the support given to various city-states in the Western Regions by the Yuan and Ming dynasties after their response.

Kunsa was initially a little worried.

However, it was later discovered that neither of these two countries intervened directly; at most, they sent some experts and provided some material support.

He was no longer worried.

master?

Five hundred Rakshasa soldiers easily surrounded and killed them.

supplies?

They'll snatch it from you halfway there!

After all that, none of the city-states received a single grain of food.

The Star Luo Sect has become quite wealthy.

Of course, these two countries weren't stupid, and they quickly changed their strategies.

But as long as they don't personally intervene, Kunsa doesn't care.

support?

As the saying goes, you can't make a wall out of mud!

The two great nations were indeed powerful, but the various city-states in the Western Regions were far too weak.

They can't be helped up at all.

There is nothing to worry about.

In contrast, another matter made Zhou Ming pay more attention.

Ancient Shu Kingdom!
This is a kingdom located between the Tang and Sui kingdoms, not far from the Central Plains.

This royal family was appointed by the Zhou emperor hundreds of years ago, but it has now fallen into extreme decline. Although they have the title of king, virtually no power in the country has ever paid them any attention.

The Imperial Sword Manor is the strongest and oldest martial arts force in this country, with a history of over five hundred years, and it can be said that every generation has produced capable individuals.

Unfortunately, the Yin family of Yujian Manor has never had many descendants, with only two or three offspring in each generation, and various misfortunes always occur, causing the offspring to die young.

As a result, even in the next generation, there were still only two or three offspring.

No one dared to speak of this openly, but secretly, everyone said that there was a curse hidden in the bloodline of the Yin family, which destined them to never prosper.

The Yin family was also small in this generation, with only two brothers.

The younger brother was abducted when he was just a few years old and was not found until he was an adult, when he was finally reunited with his family.

For more than a decade in between, many people thought that the Yin family only had one son.

But neither of these brothers is easy to deal with.

Yin Hao, the elder brother, was deeply devoted to his wife and only married one woman. However, after his wife gave birth to a son and a daughter, she was weakened by childbirth and soon passed away.

Yin Hao never remarried.

Yin Zhong, the younger brother, never even got married. It is said that he had a love affair when he was young, but his beloved passed away due to illness.

Yin Zhong, like his brother Yin Hao, was deeply in love and therefore had no intention of getting married.

This resulted in the next generation of Yujian Manor having only one son and one daughter.

It is clear that the curse of a small population still lingers over the Imperial Sword Manor.

"A curse?" Zhou Ming sat in an inn, listening to the idle chatter of other guests at the other tables, and a thought suddenly struck him.

He knew perfectly well that the so-called curse was actually Yin Zhong himself.

This guy often pretends to be his own bloodline descendant and blends in with the Imperial Sword Manor.

His method was substitution.

It is said that the current Second Master Yin of Yujian Manor was kidnapped when he was young and only returned to his ancestral home when he grew up.

In reality, it was Yin Zhong who abducted him.

More than a decade later, Yin Zhong returned to Yujian Manor as the abducted child.

As for the real Master Yin, he actually did not die.

Although Yin Zhong is ruthless, he is not really that ruthless.

The real Master Yin was sent to another wealthy family, where he not only grew up healthy but also married and had children.

It's just that he was abducted as a child and has almost no memory of the Imperial Sword Manor.

This is also why Yin Zhong kidnapped the child when he was young.

Because he didn't want to kill his own descendants, yet he needed this identity.

To prevent the child from causing trouble when they grow up, they simply abduct the child when they are still young and their memories are incomplete.

Unfortunately, Yin Zhong miscalculated this time.

Whether it was due to extraordinary talent or other influences, the real Master Yin actually recalled his childhood in the final stage of his life.

So, before he died, he told his son about it.

Right now, his son is probably near the Imperial Sword Manor.

If Yin Zhong had been doing this for the past few hundred years...

So to some extent, the bloodline of the Yin family of Yujian Manor has not been stagnant, nor has it been lacking in numbers; rather, it has spread throughout the ancient Shu Kingdom and even to other distant kingdoms!
It's just that none of these bloodlines have acknowledged their ancestors.

Of course, this wasn't what Zhou Ming was concerned about.

What he cared about was that, strictly speaking, all of these people were descendants of Yin Zhong, and of the Tong clan bloodline.

But among them, is there not a single person who has awakened a natural talent?
Moreover, while the lineage of the Dharma Cultivation Path is extremely rare in this world, it is not entirely nonexistent.

Didn't any of these people encounter something that led to the development of their own bloodline abilities?

Of course, whether it's awakening innate abilities or just encountering the path of cultivation and developing bloodline power.

The probability of either of these possibilities occurring is extremely small.

But even the smallest possibility, when faced with a huge number, can become an inevitability.

Compared to probability, Zhou Ming was more inclined to believe that Yin Zhong had done something to the bloodline.

But this raises another issue.

If Yin Zhong did indeed tamper with his own bloodline as he suspected, to prevent his descendants from awakening the Tong clan bloodline.

So what about myself?

Of course, these questions only passed through his mind briefly and did not bother him for long.

Because the answers to these questions weren't that important to him.

Whatever the answer was, it's all in the past.

He is now rich and powerful, and his future potential is limitless.

Those things in the past cannot determine his present, much less affect his future.

It would only make him slightly confused for a second or two at most.

He was less tempted by such thoughts than by a dish on the table.

Every region has its own customs and its own cuisine.

Of all the things to do—eat, drink, and have fun—eating comes first.

Zhou Ming was naturally a good cook; otherwise, the maids around him wouldn't have been able to develop such high culinary skills.

The ancient Shu Kingdom existed for hundreds of years, and the Imperial Sword Manor is equally ancient, naturally giving rise to its unique culinary culture.

"It's a pity that no matter what, there will be a time when you are full. It's better to have a projector. You can't just eat the food; you can just taste the flavor."

Zhou Ming called the waiter to settle the bill.

The waiter glanced at the table in front of Zhou Ming, feeling unsure of what to do, and immediately called over the manager.

After calculating, the shopkeeper said, "Sir, the total is one hundred and fifty-one taels of silver. I'll give you a 20% discount, so you can just pay one hundred and twenty taels."

One hundred and fifty taels, for one meal.

It wasn't that the prices at Yujian Manor were high, but rather that Zhou Ming ordered a lot.

There were eight kinds of drinks on the table, and hundreds of other dishes.

Otherwise, with his current cultivation level, it wouldn't be easy for him to fill his stomach while eating and practicing.

but……

"A 20% discount? Shopkeeper, how can you possibly make a profit doing business like this?"

"Sir, you misunderstand. This is an order from the Imperial Sword Manor. For five days before and after the manor lord's succession, in order to welcome guests from all over the world, all food and lodging businesses near the Imperial Sword Manor will offer a 20% discount."

Zhou Ming laughed and said, "20% off? Such a big discount, you're losing a lot of money, shopkeeper. I'm a newcomer and don't know about this. Haven't you thought about giving me the thirty taels?"

The shopkeeper's expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly said, "Sir, you can't say things like that. If the Iron Guards hear this, I'll be so wronged! Besides, the Imperial Sword Manor is compensating for all the trouble they've caused. Whatever discount we offer, they'll return the same amount of silver. We won't lose out!"

"Oh? Is that so? It seems I misunderstood."

The shopkeeper wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, quickly calculated Zhou Ming's bill, and saw him off.

As they were leaving, they ran into the Iron Guard of Yujian Manor.

The so-called Iron Guard is a private armed force established by the Imperial Sword Manor, and all members are selected from loyal and respectable families.

Every single one of them was clad in iron armor and silver helmets, with an armor coverage rate of 100%!

With the succession ceremony for the manor lord approaching, there are too many outsiders near the Imperial Sword Manor, which is why this Iron Guard patrols around to prevent anything from happening.

The Iron Guard that passed by the inn's entrance consisted of ten men, each strong and heavy, fully encased in armor, exuding a heroic and fierce aura. They were clearly not delicate flowers in a greenhouse, but rather a true iron army that had seen blood and killed people.

The shopkeeper, who had previously expressed great fear of the Iron Guard, now looked at them with respect and even envy, whispering, "If my son could join the Iron Guard, his life would be worthwhile..."

Zhou Ming glanced back at him and couldn't help but nod secretly.

Although the Imperial Sword Manor has been passed down for five hundred years, it still maintains its fundamental principle of treating the people kindly.

In other places, no matter what kind of celebration is being held, people are expected to cooperate, and there is no compensation given afterward.

What the Imperial Sword Manor did was simply what it should have done, but there are too many forces in this world that oppress the weak. In comparison, what it should have done seemed merciful.

This further won the hearts of the people for the Imperial Sword Manor.

The fact that ordinary people would still send their children to fight in such a brutal place as the Iron Guard and take pride in it is a testament to the will of the people.

With such popular support, even if the next head of the manor is a bit muddle-headed, naive, or even stupid, the status of the Imperial Sword Manor can be guaranteed.

No wonder Yin Haoming, knowing what kind of person his son was, still agreed to pass on the position of manor lord.

(End of this chapter)