Chapter 11 Fuzhou City

"Are they going down the mountain with us too?"

Chu Yuan looked at the many ordinary disciples of Qingcheng Sect who were gathering in the square, carrying bags on their backs and swords in their hands.

"Yes."

Yu Canghai nodded and said:

"This time, our Qingcheng Sect will go all out. A total of twenty ordinary disciples will go down the mountain with us."

“Is there too many people?”

Chu Yuan frowned.

He believed that no matter how elite the people were, they would not be many.

Chu Yuan had learned before that most of the ordinary disciples in Qingcheng Sect had never practiced internal skills. They only learned the introductory sword technique "Qingfeng Sword Technique" and were just minions in the martial arts world.

If we let so many ordinary disciples go down the mountain with us, if anything unexpected happens, these ordinary disciples will all be killed.

"Not many. We came down the mountain this time to cause trouble for the Fuwei Escort Agency. If we have fewer people, we won't be able to show the momentum of our Qingcheng Sect."

A trace of hatred flashed in Yu Canghai's eyes.

"OK then!"

Chu Yuan said helplessly.

It can be seen that Senior Brother Yu Canghai really harbors great hatred towards Fuwei Escort Agency and Lin Yuantu.

"Junior brother, go back and pack your luggage first. It's thousands of miles to Fuzhou, and I'm afraid it won't be possible to return in a short time. You need to take some clothes and a sword."

Yu Canghai said to Chu Yuan.

Chu Yuan thought about it and agreed. It was four or five thousand miles from Shu to the coast.

This journey would probably take several months, so we would need to bring some clothes and weapons.

Chu Yuan turned around and went back to his room, taking a set of Taoist robes and a sword.

After everything was ready, when Chu Yuan returned to Songfengguan Square, he found that everyone was ready. Yu Renyan, Hou Renying, Hong Renxiong, Yu Renhao and Luo Renjie were all there, waiting for him.

"set off!"

Seeing Chu Yuan coming, Yu Canghai gave an order.

Suddenly, the group of people went down Qingcheng Mountain in a hurry.

This was also the first time Chu Yuan went down the mountain after joining the Qingcheng Sect.

soon.

At dusk, when the sun sets.

Chu Yuan and his friends came to Xujiadu near Dujiangyan again.

Three years later, when I came here again, Xujia Ferry was still busy, with boats constantly entering and leaving the ferry, but compared with three years ago, there was no change.

As usual, Chu Yuan and his companions rested for one night at Xujia Ferry.

This time they did not take a boat, but went ashore after crossing the river. Yu Canghai got nearly thirty horses from a stable in Guan County not far away. After leaving the county, everyone rode their horses to the east.

"Brother, where did you find so many horses?"

"Of course it's ours. Who would give us horses for free?"

"That Ma Si just now, could it be that he is part of our Qingcheng Sect's business?"

"Of course!"

"Otherwise, you and I, as well as the disciples of Qingcheng Sect, will be starving all the time?"

"Our Qingcheng Sect is at the foot of the mountain. We not only have horse stalls, inns, rice shops and other businesses, but there are also tens of thousands of acres of fertile land around Qingcheng Mountain. All of them belong to our Qingcheng Sect. Our Qingcheng Sect's business is spread all over Bashu!"

"Ten thousand acres of fertile land! So much land?"

"That's nothing. Those fat, big-eared, evil-hearted bald men own more land. Some big temples own several times more land than us..."

Seeing Yu Canghai leading out nearly thirty horses from the stable at once, Chu Yuan became curious. While on the way, Chu Yuan asked his senior brother Yu Canghai.

Chu Yuan knew that horses were not cheap in ancient times, and ordinary people could not afford to buy or raise horses.

Only wealthy families can afford to raise horses.

In ancient times, owning a horse was no less valuable than owning a valuable BBA car for modern people.

While on the road, Chu Yuan's conversation with his senior brother Yu Canghai gave him a deeper understanding of this dynasty.

In his view, Taoist temples are vested interests.

"No wonder there are so many people around Qingcheng Mountain. They can't afford to feed their children, so they send them to the Taoist temples in Qingcheng Mountain to become Taoist priests."

Chu Yuan suddenly realized.

However, after careful investigation, Chu Yuan realized that the Qingcheng Sect was a special case.

The reason why the Qingcheng Sect owns so many industries is that the Qingcheng Sect is the number one martial arts sect in Bashu, and is as famous as Emei, Kunlun, and the Five Mountains in the martial arts world.

These industries and businesses were accumulated by the Qingcheng Sect from generation to generation in order to support themselves. The land was owned by the people around Qingcheng Mountain, who took the initiative to sell their land to the Qingcheng Sect and then rented the land from the Qingcheng Sect to grow crops.

In this way, relying on the prestige of the Qingcheng Sect, they could avoid being exploited by the imperial court and local officials.

Most of the Taoist temples on Qingcheng Mountain are not as wealthy as the Qingcheng Sect.

In fact, the richest people are the monks in the temples.

The monks in the temples like to collude with local gentry. They only acquire land and do not do business. They share the money they earn with the temples in proportion.

It is very common for some large temples to own tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land.

Chu Yuan didn't know how to ride a horse at first, but after riding for a few days on the road, he learned it.

In Chu Yuan's opinion, if one lived in ancient times, one must learn to ride a horse.

Learning to ride a horse in ancient times was as important as learning to drive a car in modern times.

Otherwise, if you go on a long journey, you can't just rely on your feet to travel, right?
That would kill people!

Between Bashu and Fuzhou lies the Chu area, which is Guizhou in later generations. The Chu area is full of mountains and is extremely difficult to travel.

Chu Yuan and his companions finally took the Shaanxi Road, passed Hanzhong Prefecture, and went through the Baoxiang Plank Road to Xiangyang, passed through the three towns, and then to Nanchang Prefecture...

It finally took half a month, and on July 20th, we arrived outside Fuzhou city.

"Fuzhou City is just ahead. I didn't expect it to be so prosperous!"

Seeing the city appearing in front of him, the city walls were towering and the city gates were tall. On the official road beside him, caravans loaded with goods were coming and going in and out of the city gate. The dusty Chu Yuan held his horse's belly and looked at the not-so-distant Fuzhou City with a surprised look on his face.

This was the most prosperous city he had ever seen during his journey these days.

The Ming Dynasty was different from the modern times, as it had a small population.

Even in a county town, the population is only between 2 and 5 at most, which is similar to the population of a modern town. It is basically impossible to find a county town with a population of over 10.

The caravans and common people passing by saw that although they were wearing Taoist robes, each of them was riding a horse and carrying a long sword. Their eyes were sharp and they were obviously people from the martial arts world. They were immediately frightened and stayed away from them.

"Junior brother, you don't know that Fuzhou City is located on the coast. There are many sea merchants and foreigners around it. Countless goods arrive here every day and are shipped to other places. As a result, this place has become prosperous."

Seeing Chu Yuan stop, Yu Canghai also stopped the horse under his crotch and said.

"Although Lin Yuantu angered our master to death and has an irreconcilable feud with our Qingcheng Sect, I have to say that he has a very good vision. He opened the Fuwei Escort Agency in Fuzhou City, and there is endless business to be done."

Then Yu Canghai said again.

"Then there must be a lot of fun things in Fuzhou City."

Yu Renyan's eyes lit up while on horseback, and he didn't know what he was thinking!
You boy...

Chu Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He was so young and still only wanted to play. No wonder when he grew up, he would tease little girls and die at the hands of Lin Pingzhi.

"You don't work hard in your training. You are so old, but you only know how to play. Your uncle started two years later than you. Look how far behind him in martial arts you are now!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Canghai became furious and scolded Yu Renyan.

Yu Renyan felt a little aggrieved when he heard this. There were many disciples in the sect who were not as good as his uncle in martial arts and older than him. His four senior brothers were no match for his uncle, so why was he just scolding him?

But he knew that he couldn't say this out loud. If he said it, he would not be scolded but beaten.

I could only grit my teeth and swallow this grievance.

Chu Yuan couldn't help but touch his nose when he heard that. It was quite embarrassing that he had accidentally become someone else's child.

Hou Renying, Hong Renxiong, Yu Renhao, and Luo Renjie, four brothers, some patted his head, some spared his face, and they also felt a little embarrassed.

They felt that although the master was scolding his fellow disciples on the surface, he was actually scolding them.

"Let's go into the city and find an inn to stay in first. Lin Yuantu's 70th birthday party will be in seven days."

Yu Canghai didn't think too much and waved his hand.

Immediately, all the people from Qingcheng faction entered the city together!

……

In Fuzhou city.

Fuwei Escort Agency.

As a force in the martial arts world, it is equivalent to the Sun and Moon Sect.

The Fuwei Escort Agency covers an area of ​​one hundred acres in Fuzhou City. It has more than a thousand martial artists, escorts, and security guards, as well as coolies and odd jobs, affecting the livelihoods of more than ten thousand people.

An old man with snow-white hair and a long goat beard under his chin, wearing a purple round-necked brocade robe, a black square scarf on his head, with a straight chest and abdomen and a dignified demeanor, was sitting on a throne in the main hall of the Fuwei Escort Agency. He was holding a teacup in his hand, staring at the busy yard outside the house, motionless, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

"Dad, I just got the news that the Qingcheng Sect has entered the city."

At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a black shirt, a slightly fat figure, and a Liuhe hat, who looked like a wealthy man, walked in from outside with a worried look on his face, and walked up to the old man and said.

"finally come!"

The old man muttered to himself and stood up suddenly from his chair.

(End of this chapter)