Chapter 281 The Shadow of the Famous Tree of Man
"Haha, we're a family, there's no need to thank me!"

Yang Zhengshan patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "Go back and prepare. We will return to Anning County in a few days!"

It's almost December, and it's time for Yang Mingcheng to go back and visit.

As there was less work to do this year, Yang Zhengshan planned to let Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingzhi and Jiang He go back together.

As for himself, he decided not to go back.

He did not have much sense of belonging to Yangjia Village. Although he always cared about Yangjia Village in his heart, Yangjia Village was not his real hometown.

Moreover, if he goes back, it will probably cause quite a stir, and he will definitely have all kinds of social engagements.

What he hates most is socializing, so it’s better not to go back.

"Well, I'll ask my family to prepare it in the next two days!" Lu Wenhua said.

If he goes back, he won't go back alone. He will definitely bring his wife and children with him. Since he is going to stay there for a while, he must make all kinds of preparations.

In the following days, Yang Zhengshan was still busy with the affairs of the yamen, but there was not much to do in the Wei Si Yamen now, so he had some rare free time.

On weekdays I just stay at home to comfort my wife and play with my children. My life is pretty comfortable.

Of course, he did not forget to do the important work. Tenglongwei will make a big move next year, and there are still many things that need to be prepared before the New Year.

But he just needed to give the orders and didn't need to do it himself.

While Yang Zhengshan was taking some time off, several people were talking about him on a towering mountain deep in Changqing Mountain.

In the Darong Dynasty, the court treated the forces of the underworld differently. The court always had a gentle attitude towards some powerful sects that were willing to cooperate with the court and let their disciples join the army.

As for some underworld forces that are only concerned with making money and practicing, the court is too lazy to pay attention. As long as these underworld forces do not go too far, the local government will not take the initiative to suppress them. Some officials will even take the initiative to collude with such underworld forces to make money together.

The underworld forces that the court hates the most are those that do not do their job properly and have their headquarters outside the imperial court.

This includes the Star-Moon Gate.

Of course, no matter what kind of underworld force it is, if it becomes powerful enough and makes the court feel threatened, it will be suppressed by the court.

The Xingyue Sect is a huge sect, and also a sect that often does evil things.

For such a sect, even if its headquarters is outside the imperial dynasty, the attitude of the court is limited and repressive.

The reason why there are restrictions is that the Xingyue Sect is powerful and has a large number of disciples. If it is suppressed too harshly, it will inevitably cause greater unrest.

Therefore, the court often turned a blind eye to the actions of Xingyue Sect in many places.

Take Huang Yifu for example. Is it true that the Jing'an Guards of Jing'an Prefecture are unable to break through Huang Yifu's stronghold?

Do not!
With the strength of Jing'an Guards, they can still break through at a cost.

It’s just that Huang Yifu had never done anything too excessive, so the government office and the Jing’an Guards did not make up their minds to kill him.

The Xingyue Sect is different from those sects that mainly rely on master-disciple inheritance. The Xingyue Sect absorbs warriors and forces from outside the sect.

Generally speaking, as long as someone is willing to join the Xingyue Sect and has good strength, the Xingyue Sect will be willing to grant him the identity of a swordsman.

Huang Yifu was not originally a disciple of the Xingyue Sect. It was only more than 20 years ago that he committed a serious crime and was wanted by the government, so he had to go up the mountain and become a bandit.

Later, he spent several years transforming from an ordinary bandit into a boss.

Huang Yifu was a smart man. He knew that being a bandit had no future and he would be wiped out by the government sooner or later.

If you have no one to rely on, you have to be careful in what you do.

So he joined Yuhengxingtang and became a swordsman of Yuhengxingtang.

In recent years, he has followed the rules of Yuhengxingtang and stopped robbing houses. Instead, he collected tolls.

However, most of the tolls he collected were given to Yuhengxingtang.

For Yuheng Xingtang, these swordsmen on the periphery are tools for making money. If one swordsman is lost, a way to make money will be lost.

At this time, Yuhengxingtang's leader Luo Jinsong, legal advisor Li Chengguo, accountant Qian Zhonghe, and patrol officer Ji Zhengfei had just received the news that Huang Yifu had been killed.

In the Qixing Hall, the hall master, the legal advisor, the accountant and the patrol officer are called the four heads. The first three are as the names suggest: the hall master is the head of the hall, the legal advisor is the hall master's deputy who helps the hall master manage the hall affairs, and the accountant is in charge of money and grain.

The patrol officers were responsible for patrolling the swordsmen outside and supervising whether they handed in their taxes and levies truthfully or embezzled any.

Two days ago, Ji Zhengfei happened to inspect Huang Yifu's stronghold and found that the stronghold was empty and all the property in the stronghold had disappeared.

At first he suspected that Huang Yi-fu had run away with the money, but after some investigation, he found out that Huang Yi-fu had been killed.

"Yang Zhengshan, the second-rank general appointed by the emperor himself, was actually granted the position of commander of the Tenglong Guard. He previously served as the garrison commander of Anyuan City in Chongshan Town. In March of this year, Chongshan Town conquered the Hu tribe in the East China Sea. He led a thousand cavalrymen to defeat seven Hu tribes in eight days, and then killed Duobato, the leader of the Korcha Banner, and Meng Temu, who proclaimed himself king!"

"He led his troops to exterminate at least 80,000 Hu people, and countless Hu people died under his guns!"

"Dobato has the eighth level of acquired cultivation, and he is still in his prime. Mengtemu has the ninth level of acquired cultivation. Although he is over sixty years old, his strength should not be underestimated!"

"The fact that Yang Zhengshan was able to kill these two men on the battlefield proves that his cultivation is likely at the ninth level of the acquired realm!"

Ji Zhengfei told Luo Jinsong and the other two the news he had heard over the past few days. At the end he couldn't help but sigh, "This is a killing god on the battlefield!" Luo Jinsong, Li Chengguo and Qian Zhonghe seemed to know each other and couldn't help but reveal a conflicted look.

They were unwilling to provoke someone like Yang Zhengshan.

He has strength, status, and military power, and is the most feared person by the underworld forces.

Yang Zhengshan not only has strength, status, and military power, he is also a killing god on the battlefield.

Who would be willing to provoke such an existence easily?

"Huang Yifu has really caused us a big trouble!" Li Chengguo said with a frown, stroking his graying beard.

They don't care about Huang Yifu's life or death. He is just a peripheral swordsman. If he dies, he dies. They can recruit a new swordsman or appoint a new one at any time.

What they care about is Qingfushan’s financial resources.

Collecting tolls is a very profitable business, and most importantly, it is risk-free and will not attract suppression from the government.

Such a stable and profitable way of making money is still very important to them.

Huang Yifu is dead now, and he was killed by Yang Zhengshan.

Should they send a group of people to take over Qingfushan’s financial resources?
What if they sent people there and aroused Yang Zhengshan's dissatisfaction, and then he wiped them out, wouldn't that be sending people to die in vain?

As for dealing with Yang Zhengshan, they didn't even dare to think about it.

Use force?

There is no warrior at the ninth level of the acquired realm in their Yuhengxing Hall!
Suppress Yang Zhengshan officially?
If they had this ability, they wouldn't have to hide in Changqing Mountain.

Luo Jinsong also frowned, "The headquarters requires us to hand over 100,000 taels of silver next year! According to our income in recent years, if there is no income from Qingfu Mountain next year, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to come up with so much silver!"

Why did Xingyue Sect set up the Seven Star Hall in Darong?

I just want to make money from Dayong!
The swordsman is a tool for the Seven Stars Hall to make money, and the Seven Stars Hall is also a tool for the Star Moon Sect to make money.

"Why did it suddenly increase so much?" asked the accountant Qian Zhonghe in surprise.

Luo Jinsong had never mentioned this news before.

In previous years, they only had to pay 70,000 taels to the headquarters, but next year the amount was increased by 30,000 at one time.

Thirty thousand taels of silver is not a small amount of money. Although their Yuhengxingtang has several good ways to make money, their annual income is only around 100,000 taels.

After deducting daily necessities and the amount that needs to be handed over, there is almost nothing left in Yuhengxing Hall.

Luo Jinsong hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know the specific situation, but I think it should be related to the Lu Sheng Dynasty!"

The Lu Sheng Dynasty was located in the southeast of Dayong and was an island dynasty.

The Xingyue Island where the Xingyue Sect is located is not far from the Lu Sheng Dynasty, and the Xingyue Sect has invested a lot in the Lu Sheng Dynasty over the years.

This involves the secrets of the Xingyue Sect, and even Luo Jinsong only has a vague understanding of it, let alone Qian Zhonghe and others.

When the Lu Sheng Dynasty was mentioned, several people fell silent.

After a long while, Li Chengguo spoke again: "The most urgent matter is whether we can occupy Qingfu Mountain again!"

"I think we need to communicate with General Yang. Perhaps we can pay a small price to get his consent!"

Luo Jinsong nodded slightly, agreeing with Li Chengguo's idea, but he asked again: "Who should be sent to pay a visit to General Yang?"

Several people looked at Luo Jinsong, and Luo Jinsong's face turned black. He couldn't help but complain in his heart: "What a bunch of disloyal bastards!"

They are killing gods on the battlefield. What if General Yang is dissatisfied with them? Wouldn't that mean they would be gone without return?
Luo Jinsong was also a little afraid of Yang Zhengshan!

A man's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Anyone who knows about Yang Zhengshan's battle record would probably feel afraid.

But right now it seems that Luo Jinsong is the most suitable person to go.

Because only Luo Jinsong can represent their Yuhengxingtang!

"Forget it, forget it, I'll go there myself. If I can't come back, don't forget to collect my body!" Luo Jinsong said helplessly.

"Well, it's a bit difficult to collect the body. Don't worry, Hall Master, we will build a cenotaph for you!" Li Chengguo said in an unkind way.

Luo Jinsong was so angry that he could only turn away.

There was no way. Although Li Chengguo was under him, Li Chengguo was of higher seniority and was as strong as him. He could only be courteous to Li Chengguo.

Of course, Li Chengguo was not just making sarcastic remarks. Although what he said was not very nice, Li Chengguo and his companions were still very worried about Luo Jinsong.

But worrying is useless, Luo Jinsong must go.

If they fail to hand over enough silver next year, the punishment from the headquarters will be more severe.

(End of this chapter)