Chapter 397: Fei Zai Brings Tribute

With Wang Song’s reminder, Wangchuan realized that the strongest thing in his hands right now was the several hundred martial arts master copies in the Armory Manual Vault.

Although the highest among them were only Third-Rank martial manuals, the twenty Niche Cultivation Method master copies in his possession really could help the people under him break through to the Second Rank very quickly. With proper allocation, he could rapidly produce a batch of Third-Rank Martial Artists.

Wangchuan immediately contacted Li Na and had her compile the data for every employee in the game studio, learning exactly which martial arts each of them currently possessed, along with their precise three-attribute values.

Once a martial artist broke through to the Third Rank, they would quickly slip out of the studio’s control and be forcibly recruited to form an entirely new game studio.

He could first raise all the martial artists under the Hall, the branch helms, and the islands to the First and Second Ranks.

Then he could cultivate all the studio’s martial artists to the First and Second Ranks as well.

Altogether, the disciples under Sanhe Commandery Hall came to roughly over two thousand people.

If every one of them broke into the ranks, that would become an extremely terrifying force!

And once those two groups of men were combined...

The only word for that foundation would be terrifying.

But Wangchuan also knew that blindly spreading all martial arts and cultivation methods without any order was not a good thing.

First of all, once the martial artists under him broadly increased in strength, the monthly wages he would need to pay out would increase tenfold, perhaps a hundredfold. The Hall’s profits would be greatly diluted.

Then there was the practical issue that people always sought higher ground.

Sanhe Commandery did not have that many positions to offer.

He would not be able to keep everyone.

So...

This had to be planned for the long term.

After returning to the game, he made a trip to the Armory Manual Vault.

There were three disciples responsible for copying manuals there. The moment they saw him, all three rose and bowed with great respect.

“Hall Master!”

“Hall Master!”

On the desks before them sat stack after stack of already-copied martial manuals.

Wangchuan glanced at them, then said, “You’ll be working hard for a while.”

“I’ve just taken office, and I intend to reward every disciple in the Hall with a martial manual... Bring in a few more disciples to help with the copying. But every single martial manual must be kept under strict control inside the Armory Manual Vault. None of them are to be taken outside.”

“If you do the job well, I’ll reward each of you with one hundred taels of silver afterward.”

These three Caobang disciples were only Quasi-Martial Artists. Every day, when they entered and left the Armory Manual Vault, they had to be checked to ensure they were not sneaking anything out. They were also forbidden from practicing martial arts themselves. Their monthly wage was fifty taels of silver.

They had already been very satisfied with that arrangement.

“Thank you, Hall Master!”

“We will definitely copy the manuals with all our strength!”

“We are willing to serve the Hall Master.”

Wangchuan then took out the four Five Poisons Sect master copies he had obtained separately and handed them over.

“These four martial arts are to be entered into the vault.”

“You three will be jointly responsible for managing them.”

“Yes!”

After leaving the Armory Manual Vault, Wangchuan went to the Weapon Room.

Zhao Heiniu accompanied him.

After announcing to the three master blacksmiths that Zhao Heiniu had officially assumed the position of acting deputy hall master, Wangchuan said to them, “For the coming period, market demand for weapons will greatly increase. I intend to prepare in advance and train another batch of blacksmith apprentices.”

“But Hall Master, the Hall can’t accommodate many more forging tables.”

Master Lin voiced the concern.

Wangchuan replied, “Space is not the problem. I’ll purchase some land and property through the government and get this matter settled as soon as possible. When the time comes, I’ll need one blacksmith from the Weapon Room to be assigned specifically to teach them.”

“We obey the Hall Master’s command in all things.”

The three master blacksmiths, together with the other blacksmiths, all answered in unison.

...

Now that Wangchuan had taken office, he truly intended to make sweeping changes and accomplish something substantial.

After settling matters in the Weapon Room, he immediately went personally to the government office. With money opening the way, he acquired the ruined temple that had once housed the Beggar Sect sub-branch and got the title deed into his own hands...

Then he set his sights on a large, long-abandoned compound.

That compound had originally been the residence of an official, but later it had been turned into an escort agency. Since escort work was highly dangerous, the escort agency had been sold off cheaply and gone bankrupt. The property had been repossessed and left vacant.

Not long after, Fei Zai arrived at the prefectural government.

“Hall Master!”

Fei Zai was now a Second-Rank Martial Artist, the hall master in Rong County, and at the same time the chief escort leader in charge of four escort agencies. Much of the old roguish air had faded from him, replaced by maturity, steadiness, and the depth of someone capable of standing on his own.

Fei Zai respectfully knelt before the giant bear pelt and lifted his smiling face.

“After learning that Hall Master has risen higher, I came especially to offer my congratulations! Also, this is the Hall’s profit and the escort agencies’ profit since Hall Master left for the capital!”

Chen Ergou took the stack of Gold Notes and placed them in the Hall Master’s hands.

Wangchuan glanced at them.

They were Gold Notes in one-hundred-tael denominations, twenty-seven of them in total.

“So the shipping business in Rong County has fully recovered?”

“Thanks to Hall Master’s blessing, Rong County’s shipping affairs have fully recovered! In addition, the overland business of the four escort agencies has also been fully opened up.”

Fei Zai spoke in detail as he answered:

“With the manpower Hall Master assigned, the escort agencies are strong in both men and force, and all the various greenwood factions give us face. For our heavy consignments, we occasionally also call in experts from the Hall to participate. By now, all the official road routes leading into the inland counties of the prefectural commandery have been fully opened. Every month, there is quite a considerable income.”

“Mm.”

“Very good.”

A smile appeared on Wangchuan’s face.

“Reward him with one hundred taels of gold, plus two Third-Rank martial arts manuals, and one Thousand-Forged long saber. Keep up the good work.”

Chen Ergou immediately noted it down.

Fei Zai was overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Thank you for the reward, Hall Master! Hall Master can rest assured. I will definitely do everything in my power to watch over Rong County Hall and the Qingfeng Escort Agency for you!”

“Do you know whether the Beggar Sect’s forces in the inland counties of the prefectural commandery have changed in any way?”

Wangchuan asked casually.

Without hesitation, Fei Zai replied, “Ever since the end of the martial arts tournament, the Beggar Sect’s businesses and disciples everywhere have become much more restrained. Normally, whenever our escort convoys passed through, they would never miss a chance. They would definitely send people over to extort a little money under the guise of alms... But after the tournament, their people have rarely come out and moved about.”

“However, I did receive one piece of news. It seems the Beggar Sect has been waiting for a new sub-branch master to be assigned.”

“And besides that!”

“In Kuaiji County, north of Sanhe Commandery, the Beggar Sect has established a temporary sub-branch. The local Beggar Sect disciples, as well as the heads of some of their enterprises, all gather there and make contact.”

“Kuaiji County.”

Wangchuan knew the place.

It was a county outside the waterways, more than eighty li from the Sanhe River basin.

It was a county the Caobang could not extend into.

“Now tell me more about this temporary sub-branch in Kuaiji County. How many businesses does it have? How many Beggar Sect disciples? How many Second-Rank Martial Artists?”

Wangchuan was interested in Kuaiji County now.

There was almost no way the Beggar Sect sub-branch could re-enter Sanhe Commandery.

The new sub-branch would likely be established in Kuaiji County.

The new sub-branch master would probably settle there first, then begin rebuilding from that point.

Wangchuan had no intention of letting the Beggar Sect’s power continue growing inside Sanhe Commandery.

Fei Zai naturally understood the enmity between the Hall Master and the Beggar Sect, so he laid out everything he knew about Kuaiji County in full detail.

Wangchuan listened very carefully.