Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 338 Lu Xiaofeng Offers a Plan, Star Luo Sect Extorts Money

Because he needed to make contact with the Star Luo Sect, Lu Xiaofeng naturally brought a lot of valuables with him.

But clearly, now is not a good time to bring these things out.

After all, the current situation can be described as a complete seller's market.

The other party is asking for an exorbitant price, so being ripped off is no big deal. The real problem is that their appetite is too big, and all the valuables they have on them won't be enough to satisfy their demands.

In particular, they now have the Eastern Depot as a competitor.

With all that stuff they carried, how could they possibly be as wealthy as the Eastern Depot?
"Master, you misunderstand. We only have some travel money on us and did not bring much gold or silver with us."

"Oh? Could it be that you're trying to use your fake identity from the Eastern Depot to get something for nothing from me?"

"That's not entirely true..." Lu Xiaofeng said awkwardly.

He never expected that by impersonating someone from the Eastern Depot, he would actually run into someone from the real Eastern Depot.

Kunsha said, "I don't care what your intentions are or what you're planning. If you want the intelligence, pay for it. Otherwise, this intelligence will be sold to the Eastern Depot."

Lu Xiaofeng's lips curled up slightly as he said, "Master, you've misunderstood again. Although we are not with the Eastern Depot, we have the same goal: to find substantial evidence to convict Iron-Blooded Marquis of his crimes."

Therefore, even if all that intelligence falls into the hands of the Eastern Depot, we don't care. As long as we can ultimately pinpoint Iron-Blooded Marquis to the ground, that would be ideal.

"In that case, see them out!" Kunsha's expression hardened, and he waved his hand directly.

"Master, wait!"

Lu Xiaofeng quickly said, "I have something else to say. Although we share the same goal, we are also here on orders. If we accomplish this task, those behind us will naturally be rewarded. Therefore, we also greatly need that intelligence."

Kunsha snorted coldly: "If you need information but can't come up with the money, aren't you just trying to extract it empty-handed?"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Forgive my bluntness, but the leader has unified the Western Regions and is determined to reform. However, what the Western Regions need right now is not gold and silver, but good seeds, tools, technology, salt, iron and other resources!"
Although these things could be purchased from the Central Plains using gold and silver, firstly, it would take time, and if it dragged on too long, it might miss the planting season; secondly, if the various states of the Central Plains knew that it was the religious leader who was buying these things, they would likely try to stop him.

Kunsha said, "Does that mean you can provide these things?"

"cannot!"

"Then what's the point of all this talk?"

"Don't worry, Master. Although we can't provide it, the Eastern Depot can!"

Lu Xiaofeng said with a smile, "Although the leader has reached a deal with the Eastern Depot, times have changed. We were not present before."

The Eastern Depot has no idea that we share the same goal as them. If they think that our goal is to destroy the evidence, save the Iron-Blooded Marquis, and that we have already paid more gold and silver as a reward, they will naturally be anxious and come to the leader to discuss this matter again.

At that time, the cult leader can negotiate terms with them again. How much supplies they can obtain from the Eastern Depot will depend entirely on the cult leader.

"it is good!"

Kunsha clapped his hands and laughed, "What a brilliant plan! This way, we can easily overturn the agreement I just reached with the Eastern Depot and make them ask us to raise the price."

But what is it that you want?

Lu Xiaofeng smiled and said, "It would be enough if we were treated the same as the Eastern Depot."

"That won't do!"

Kunsha flatly refused: "They really spent money. If we give you the same treatment, they'll probably be unhappy."

"So, what's the sect leader's plan?"

Lu Xiaofeng didn't really expect to receive the same treatment as the Eastern Depot.

He then came up with an idea.

Although the idea is clever, it is just an idea.

They were trying to get something for nothing, taking advantage of others' generosity. The fact that Kunsha could provide them with some protection already shows a certain level of morality.

Those who are not very particular often like to discard their usefulness after they have served their purpose.

Your idea was great, but it's mine now!

Kunsha said, "Although you have always said that the Iron-Blooded Marquis has his own little tricks in the Western Regions, no one knows exactly what these little tricks are."

All we have here are the account books of the Demonic Sect and the Rakshasa Sect, containing records of many merchants who have come and gone.

Just now, what I discussed with those people from the Eastern Depot was simply to hand over all these records to them so they could review them at will.

"Once the plan is complete, I can let you see the same record documents a day later, how about that?"

"One day? No way!"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "A whole day, twelve hours. If they find a clue, they could probably reach their destination in that long time!"

In fact, no matter how much time Kunsa gives him, he will definitely refute it.

There must be a set of rules for bargaining.

However, he misunderstood.

What is Kunsa's current status? How can you negotiate with him?

waste time!

"It's settled for one day."

Kunsha made the decision immediately, saying, "Qingfeng, take them to the archives!"

"The four of you, please follow me."

Left with no other choice, Lu Xiaofeng had to leave with Huo Tianqing.

Both the Demonic Sect and the Rakshasa Sect guarded the road from the Central Plains to the Western Regions, setting up checkpoints along the way and charging tolls to travelers.

Especially itinerant merchants.

Due to differences in culture and technology, the products of the Central Plains and the Western Regions also differed greatly.

Products from the Central Plains can be transported to the Western Regions and sold for ten or even a hundred times the price.

Goods from the Western Regions were transported to the Central Plains, which was even more remarkable, because the Western Regions were sparsely populated, with few wealthy people, and it was difficult to gather them together.

But the Central Plains were different; there were many wealthy people there, and they were concentrated in one area.

When so many wealthy people gather together, a situation arises called "keeping up with the Joneses"!
This results in goods from the Western Regions often fetching higher prices in the Central Plains.

If some rare items attract the attention of the wealthy and lead to bidding wars, then it's perfectly normal for them to sell for thousands or even tens of thousands of times the original price.

This trade route was the Silk Road, the Gold Road!

With the Demonic Sect and the Rakshasa Sect guarding this path, how could they not make money?

To put it bluntly, these toll fees extracted from passersby account for a large portion of the income of the two religions.

Such a large sum of income naturally needs to be clearly recorded and accounted for.

This also generated some side income.

For example, the intelligence transactions that the Eastern Depot and Lu Xiaofeng are currently actively seeking out.

The number of times may be relatively small, but it adds up to a considerable number.

Therefore, both religions have always maintained the habit of keeping records.

Who knows, these records might one day turn into intelligence fees for them.

To some extent, these archival records are also important assets of the two religions.

Therefore, the Star Luo Sect, which inherited the Rakshasa Sect and annexed the Demonic Sect, naturally kept these records carefully.

Sure enough, business started coming in.

Inside the archives, Iron Claw Flying Eagle, the chief of the Eastern Depot, was leading several of his men in examining numerous documents and files.

Members of the Star Luo Sect were watching closely to prevent them from damaging the documents. Seeing Huo Tianqing enter with several people, they exclaimed in surprise, "Qingfeng King, who are these people...?"

"Them? They are guests of the Star Luo Cult, also here to buy information."

Iron Claw Flying Eagle was startled upon hearing this, a bad premonition immediately rising in his heart: "Azure Phoenix King, the information they want to buy can't possibly be..."

"So it's the head of the Eastern Depot, Iron Claw Flying Eagle!"

Lu Xiaofeng suddenly spoke up, smiling as he spoke.

"You are……"

"Just a nobody in the martial arts world, not as famous as the big boss."

Lu Xiaofeng sneered, "The Western Regions are thousands of miles away from the Central Plains. For a high-ranking official like you to condescend to come here, you really are Cao Zhengchun's good dog!"

Upon hearing this, Iron Claw Eagle felt even more certain that his suspicions had been confirmed.

Only an enemy of the Eastern Depot could utter such sarcastic remarks.

According to intelligence gathered, could it be that they want to rescue Zhu Wushi?

Flying Eagle looked at Huo Tianqing to the side and said, "Qingfeng King, selling the same intelligence to two different people, isn't the Star Luo Sect being a bit too unruly!"

Huo Tianqing said, "I didn't want to either, but right now the Western Regions are in dire need of rebuilding, and the Star Luo Sect does need a lot of gold and silver. The price offered by these friends is even higher than that of the Eastern Depot, so we can't help but be tempted."

Although this action is disreputable, it is ultimately for the benefit of the people of the Western Regions. If the Eastern Depot is dissatisfied, let them spread it far and wide. For the sake of the people, our Star Luo Sect can bear this infamy!

"You!" Flying Eagle gritted his teeth.

Huo Tianqing said, "All the archives and documents in the archives are the property of my Xingluo Sect. Please be careful not to damage them."

After saying that, he left the archives directly.

Only the two sides remained inside the museum, locked in a tense standoff.

Lu Xiaofeng stepped forward and snatched the files from one of the men's hands, saying, "We offered a higher price than your Eastern Depot. We should be the ones to look at these files first!"

"You are far too arrogant!"

Flying Eagle roared in fury: "Do you think you can bully my Eastern Depot just because you're outside the Ming Dynasty?!"

"So what if I bully you?!"

Lu Xiaofeng did not back down at all. He unleashed a burst of true energy at the level of a grandmaster, making his aura incredibly powerful and directly suppressing the flying eagle.

The eagle, possessing only innate strength, was so shocked that it took two steps back.

He never expected that the person in front of him would actually be a grandmaster.

Fortunately, there were several people behind him who fought alongside him, so he was not afraid of Lu Xiaofeng.

Li Xunhuan and his two companions stepped forward at just the right moment.

The eagle was instantly paralyzed.

Although there are six of them, they are all born with innate abilities.

The opposing team only has four people, but two of them are grandmasters.

If a fight breaks out, they're doomed!

The group immediately lost their nerve and could only watch as Lu Xiaofeng and the others examined the numerous files and documents.

What's even more infuriating is that even after they've finished reading a document, they don't put it down; they just hold it in their hands and refuse to let Flying Eagle and the others see it.

Flying Eagle and the others felt incredibly frustrated, and in the end, they could only snort coldly as they walked out of the archives.

"Boss, what do we do now?"

"Those people are clearly Iron-Blooded Marquis's men. If they find the evidence first and destroy it, we'll have completely ruined this trip and jeopardized the Chief Supervisor's plans!"

"Shut up, do you think I don't know?!"

Although the other party did not directly state that they were on the side of Iron-Blooded Marquis, judging from their attitude just now, it was almost certain.

Moreover, as a subordinate, the ultimate goal of accepting this task is to complete it and gain credit.

Even if those people weren't Iron-Blooded Marquis's men, but rather stood with their Eastern Depot, they still couldn't sit idly by and watch the other side find clues.

If this task is completed by someone else, wouldn't their long journey to the Western Regions have been in vain?
"Let's go find the Star Luo Cult Leader!"

Iron Claw Eagle gritted his teeth and said.

The task must be completed.

But in terms of pure competition, they simply cannot compete with those two masters.

Therefore, we can only rely on the local strongmen of the Star Luo Sect.

Flying Eagle soon met the Star Luo Cult Master again.

After complaining for a while, he offered to buy access to those files at a higher price.

Kunsa then indicated that the other party had already offered a price.

Moreover, the Star Luo Sect doesn't need much gold or silver; what it needs more are good seeds, tools, salt, iron, and so on.

But Ironclaw Eagle can't make decisions about these things.

Fortunately, they carried with them the alien blood pigeons, which were used to facilitate communication with the Eastern Depot, and now they came in handy.

Upon receiving the news, Cao Zhengchun immediately began investigating which faction had recently sent people to the Western Regions, and at the same time, he used the alien blood pigeon to give his bottom price.

Although the current situation is entirely dominated by the sellers, and there is competition among buyers, Cao Zhengchun cannot allow the Xingluo Sect to speak recklessly.

"I don't know which side those people are on. But I do know that in the Ming Dynasty, few forces dare to oppose the Eastern Depot, and no one dares to openly interfere in this major case."

Once the quantity of these supplies reaches a certain level, the scale of their transportation will become impossible to conceal. At that point, my Eastern Depot will be able to thoroughly investigate which power is behind those individuals.

Therefore, they simply cannot offer a higher price. Even if they could, Master, my Eastern Depot can guarantee that these supplies will absolutely not reach the Western Regions!

With Cao Zhengchun backing them up, Flying Eagles were full of confidence.

After quoting a price, he launched into a long, rambling speech, attempting to reduce Kunsa's room for negotiation.

"Excellent, excellent, truly worthy of being the head of the Eastern Depot!"

Kunsha praised, "With your silver tongue alone, Cao Zhengchun should value you highly. However, I have already received the money from those guests and have no intention of returning it. Therefore, you only have one hour of priority."

"An hour? That's too short!"

"That's your problem."

Kunsha waved his hand and said, "Qingfeng, take them to the archives."

Having said that, he got up to leave.

Flying Eagle panicked immediately: "Wait! Master, we...we can raise the price!"

"Oh?"

Kunsha immediately sat down: "How much more?"

In the end, Iron Claw Eagle almost quoted Cao Zhengchun's bottom line price to secure the right to lead by one day.

There was nothing they could do; Kunsa knew Cao Zhengchun's bottom line from the very beginning.

They wouldn't budge until Iron Claw Eagles offered their bottom price.

Ultimately, this bottom price was negotiated.

However, Iron Claw Flying Eagle also mentioned other conditions, such as the Star Luo Sect having to provide them with enough paper, pens, inkstones, and manpower.

(End of this chapter)