From a humble farmer to a great martial arts master

Chapter 127, Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game)

Huaiyin County Government Office.

Fang Yanping looked at the uninvited fourth prince's trusted guard in front of him and frowned slightly when he heard him ask about the local landlords.

Landlords in this county?

Is it related to the Qian family?

He snorted and said in an unfriendly tone, "If we're talking about the biggest landlords in this county, it's definitely the Qian family. They've been around for a century, owning nearly 100,000 mu of land. I've taken almost half of it as government land, and I've divided the other half among myself. What do you want to know? Hmm?"

The guard, sensing Fang Yanping's resistance to the matter, remained calm: "It has nothing to do with the Qian family. Your Highness simply wants to inquire whether there are any individuals in Huaiyin County who, in the past decade, have purchased large amounts of land while simultaneously experiencing rapid improvement in their martial arts skills?"

Fang Yanping was slightly taken aback, and one person quickly came to mind—Ren Qingshan!

Did they come from Qingshan?

"Why does Your Highness ask this?"

He countered with a nonchalant question.

The guard said in a deep voice, "I'm just following orders. If you have one, then you do. Just tell me the name."

Are they going to deal with Ren Qingshan?

These two conditions have essentially pinpointed Ren Qingshan!

Fang Yanping was startled, then after a moment's thought, he said with a half-smile, "Me?"

The guard was momentarily taken aback.

"I have investigated many of the Qian family's properties, and their strength has been developing rapidly recently. They are about to break through to the Internal Organs Realm."

The guard's lips twitched slightly: "Is there anyone else?"

"There's also Zhou Zhongwang, the commander of the garrison sent by His Majesty. Recently, he has been exploiting local landlords in his own name. He must have 20,000 mu of land, which he plans to use to transport grain to the northern border. His strength is also increasing very rapidly."

The guard's eyes widened, a chill creeping across his face: "Is Magistrate Fang perhaps toying with me?"

"You scoundrel! What kind of creature are you! You dog of a servant, go back and tell the Fourth Prince to keep the Divine Dragon Sect in check, or I will impeach him and report him directly to the Emperor!"

"And matters within the county are not his concern—is he plotting a rebellion to establish a separate base?"

Fang Yanping immediately became angry and questioned him sharply.

The crown prince is the designated successor, and can openly and legitimately cultivate relationships with the central government, win over local officials, and build his own faction.

Out of consideration for checks and balances and human relations, the emperor tacitly permitted his other princes to participate in various affairs of the martial arts world, but they were not allowed to get involved in political affairs.

The Fourth Prince's actions have already constituted an overstepping of his authority.

Upon hearing the word "treason," the guard's expression changed drastically. He took a deep breath, a surge of anger rising within him: "Lord Fang, please don't exaggerate. His Highness's actions are loyal to the emperor and patriotic; how dare a mere county magistrate like you interfere?"

"I will truthfully report your attitude to the master, and you will bear all the consequences."

He coldly uttered two sentences and stormed off.

Fang Yanping stared at his back, hesitated for a moment, and then refrained from making a move.

"No need to see me out!"

After the guard left, Fang Yanping thought of Ren Qingshan's letter from yesterday, in which he said he was about to go to the northern border to transport grain for disaster relief and asked him to take care of his family. He became more and more certain.

The Fourth Prince Wants to Seize the Land!

We must avenge the Qian family!

Without further hesitation, Fang Yanping immediately wrote a letter and submitted it to the emperor again, explaining that the fourth prince, Zhou Shifeng, was using the pretext of the severe drought in the northern border to commit crimes in Fengcheng Prefecture, harassing landlords and harboring ulterior motives!

"Captain Feng, I've heard so much about you."

Fengcheng Prefecture.

In a quiet and elegant teahouse, Zhou Shifeng smiled at the man before him, appearing gentle, refined, and polite.

"Your Highness flatters me. May I ask what brings you here?"

Feng Jianqin asked gently and politely, as this was her first time meeting the Fourth Prince, though she had heard of his reputation before.

Among all the princes, he was the strongest on the surface, already a master of the eighth level of the Innate Realm.

He also had a considerable reputation in the martial arts world. He enjoyed making friends with heroes and had many followers who came from the martial arts world, including all sorts of petty thieves and scoundrels.

The Divine Dragon Cult was also under his control, and he often secretly engaged in shady dealings.

Because of his status as a prince, as long as he didn't go too far and cause a stir in the court and the public, no one cared about him.

After exchanging pleasantries with a smile, Zhou Shifeng finally got to the point and asked if there were any martial arts experts in the city who owned tens of thousands of acres of land.

He only said that he wanted to do his part to help with the severe drought in the North.

Feng Jianqin listed the well-known grain merchants, landlords, and martial arts experts in the city for him. As she spoke, she hesitated slightly, but ultimately did not reveal her junior brother's name.

Why would a junior disciple like me associate with someone like that?

Besides, my junior brother has already gone to the Northern Territory.

Associating with a prince is a risky business; you can neither hit him nor scold him. There is no other way but to serve him. However, he is not the crown prince, and getting too entangled with him is not a good thing. You might be purged in the future.

Zhou Shifeng was quite satisfied with the sixteen names he received, all of which were from local landlords.

After thanking him politely, he left with a smile.

Although Feng Jianqin found it slightly strange, the northern border was currently suffering from a severe drought, and landlords were highly sought after by various forces, so she didn't think much of it.

"Lan Chonglou greets Your Highness. Your presence is an honor to my humble abode."

The Lan family.

Seven names matched the list of local landlords and those who participated in the Shenxiao Autumn Festival. Zhou Shifeng began to probe them one by one.

As a prince, he didn't want to do such trivial things personally, but the "Book of Earth" was truly too important, and it was inevitable that his subordinates would be unreliable in their work.

-

Lan Chonglou was also somewhat bewildered, wondering why this son of the Human Emperor had suddenly come to the Lan family.

Fear outweighed surprise.

After all, it is common knowledge that the Fourth Prince is in charge of the Divine Dragon Cult behind the scenes.

They respectfully welcomed him in, brewed the best tea, and Lan Chonglou didn't dare to sit down, standing with his hands clasped at his sides, very cautious.

Zhou Shifeng was pleased with this gesture and waved his hand with a smile: "Sit down. Did Patriarch Lan attend the Shenxiao Autumn Festival that day?"

Upon hearing this—

Lan Chonglou had barely sat down when he was immediately scalded and jumped up as if burned: "Go, go! My eldest son is a disciple of Shenxiao, and I was invited to the ceremony as a family member. But my Lan family has absolutely no connection with Shenxiao!"

He immediately retorted.

During the Autumn Sacrifice, many members of the Divine Dragon Cult died. Is this a purge?

He dared not speak out in anger. The Divine Dragon Sect was an evil cult that had committed atrocities during the autumn festival and had killed many people. The court had not pursued the matter, but the evil cult was now seeking revenge.

But—the other party is a prince.

Zhou Shifeng shook his head and smiled: "It's not about that. I just wanted to ask how many acres of land the Lan family owns now?"

Lan Chonglou stared intently at him, holding his breath. Upon hearing this, he quickly replied, "The Lan family now owns over ten thousand acres of land, piecemeal at best. If Your Highness requires it, I will gladly offer it to you to express my gratitude for Your Majesty's boundless grace!"

The Lan family's main business is medicinal herbs.

These lands were acquired gradually over the years for unforeseen needs.

When faced with something like this now, it's better to sacrifice money to ensure safety.

Seeing his quick wit, Zhou Shifeng felt not joy, but rather a sense of trouble.

broken.

If the landlords are to be investigated, given my position, I will inevitably be seen as someone who solicits bribes.

If this reputation were to spread and reach the capital, it would certainly lead to a lawsuit.

However, if no investigation is conducted, the successor of the Earth Book can be found blatantly mixed among a group of landlords, making it impossible to distinguish him.

"I came to see you not for this matter."

"Bring all your direct descendants of the Lan family and come with me to Shenxiao Mountain."

After a moment's thought, Zhou Shifeng quickly came up with an answer: the Earth Book would trigger the reaction of the Divine Firmament Seal, so he only needed to bring them up the mountain one by one and test them separately.

Although the journey is arduous, the cost is minimal and there are no other risks.

Upon hearing this, Lan Chonglou immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Highness, spare our lives! What crime has my Lan family committed to deserve such an execution?"

Zhou Shifeng had just taken a sip of tea when he heard this and almost spat it out.

idiot!

Unexpectedly, these merchants were so timid, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow.

"Who said I was going to wipe out your entire family?"

"There's something I need to confirm. Honestly gather your whole family and come with me. If everything is alright, I will let you return safely."

Hearing this, Lan Chonglou was skeptical but dared not disobey. Feeling frustrated, he gathered his family and followed him all the way to the Divine Firmament Sacred Realm.

Of course, nothing was found.

Then the whole family returned.

It was a false alarm.

This matter quickly spread throughout the entire prefecture.

For a time, the landlords in the prefectural city were all in a state of panic, completely at a loss as to what to do.

The fourth prince's actions were truly unexpected.

But he was a prince, and no one dared to say anything.

Although no one has died yet, it doesn't mean that no one will die in the future.

Many local landlords went to the government to plead their case and try to find out the truth, but the government offices, the demon-suppressing bureau, and the guards were all clueless and completely baffled.

Some cautious landlords have already begun to flee, waiting to avoid trouble.

If you really offend him, as the saying goes, a prefect's family will be wiped out, a county magistrate's family will be ruined, and a prince—he might even have his entire clan executed.

In this way...

Even grain merchants and unscrupulous traders in the market dare not inflate grain and land prices anymore.

The people who wanted to sell their land were naturally cursing loudly because land prices had dropped.

Merchants who wanted to sell their grain also cursed loudly, because grain prices had also dropped.

Farmers who had hoped to take advantage of this year's bumper harvest and high grain prices to buy more rice and exchange it for some money are now just as worried, but dare not speak out against it.

This chain reaction—

This quickly led to reports being filed at various levels. In the end, Wu Shaoqin stepped forward and invited Feng Jingxian to deliver a letter to Zhou Shifeng, asking him what he was doing, causing such a commotion in the prefectural city and disturbing the peace.

Zhou Shifeng dared not neglect the prefect and the former third-rank general, and met with him in person, though he couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed.

He had done this very discreetly, thinking himself to be a man of deep cunning, and had not alerted any experts.

However----

These unscrupulous merchants and troublemakers!

For a mere penny, a great deal was ruined!

Upon meeting Feng Jingxian and Wu Shaoqin, Zhou Shifeng kept his mouth shut and did not reveal anything about the "Earth Book." However, he had to back down and promise not to disturb the landlord again before preparing to leave the prefectural city.

One day later.

He left the city and went to the Divine Firmament Sacred Realm. He chatted with Hua Xuanfeng for a while and stayed in the Divine Firmament for the time being, thus ending his campaign.

He secretly ordered the followers of the Divine Dragon Cult to infiltrate the city and continue their investigation.

Yanshan Prefecture.

After passing Yanshan Prefecture, the northern border lies ahead.

Yanshan Prefecture is located further north of the capital. It is a tributary of the Grand Canal in southern Beijing and the northernmost wharf.

People from the south and north flocked to the area, where produce was abundant.

After half a month, Ren Qingshan finally arrived here and was unloading the ship. He was in a very good mood.

Not to mention the romance and beautiful scenery along the way.

The events that happened in Guangfeng City, as seen on "television," the reports from Shenxiao disciples to Hua Xuanfeng, and the conversation between Zhou Shifeng and Hua Xuanfeng—Ren Qingshan couldn't help but laugh after piecing together the whole story.

This prince, however, is all talk and no action.

However, if I were in that situation, I wouldn't have any particularly good solutions either.

Landlords connected officials above and common people below, making it extremely difficult to trace them unless they were all killed—after all, princes were not emperors.

That's why they say it's hard to fight against landlords.

"Walk!"

"Let's go into town!"

After watching the guards and servants unload all the goods, Ren Qingshan took inventory and then waved his hand dismissively.

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