Martial Arts: I Have Chapter 105 - 102: Unwillingness; Breakthrough to the Eighth

Chapter 105: Chapter 102: Unwillingness; Breakthrough to the Eighth Grade

At this, Chief Wang glanced at the doctors and paused.

Seeing the hesitation on Wang Tianfeng’s face, Chang Younian shot him a look and dismissed the doctors.

As if granted a grand amnesty, the doctors imdiately left with their infected colleague, afraid that if they moved too slowly, they would be dragged back for another trip through the gates of hell.

With only the three of them left in the courtyard, Chang Younian calmly uttered a single word:

"Speak."

Wang Tianfeng cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, after the various families essentially cleared the city of refugees, a fight broke out!"

Chang Younian was taken aback. "Who?"

"The Zhao, Wang, Ma, and Fan Families have started fighting the Four Great Gangs!"

Chang Younian’s expression changed. "What happened?!"

Wang Tianfeng quickly explained, "It was caused by mbers of the four Noble Races, who took the opportunity while clearing out the refugees to kill several n from the Gangs."

Chang Younian’s face turned cold. "Didn’t I order those four families not to make a move without my express command? What about the An and Miao Families?"

Wang Tianfeng continued, "They haven’t gotten involved. Also, the n from the Gangs who were killed were all high-ranking mbers."

"A bunch of reckless fools!" Chang Younian slamd his hand on the table and stood up, ordering Wang Tianfeng, "Go and bring those four worthless curs to !"

"Yes, sir!" Wang Tianfeng cupped his hands and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, the Black-robed Steward at his side snapped his folding fan shut and raised a hand to stop Wang Tianfeng. He then spoke to Chang Younian with a calm expression, "Your Excellency, we must prioritize."

Hearing this, Chang Younian faltered.

The Black-robed Steward continued, "A battle between them was inevitable; it has only happened sooner than expected.

Even if they all die, Your Excellency can still casually support a local Strongman to take their place. Your Excellency, the plague is the top priority!"

Chang Younian’s expression softened slightly. He looked at Wang Tianfeng and waved his hand. "Ignore them. Continue to properly handle the matters concerning the refugees and the common people."

Wang Tianfeng stole a glance at the Black-robed Steward, a chill running down his spine. ’This man’s heart is frighteningly calm!’ But he still asked the County Magistrate:

"Your Excellency, if the fighting gets too vicious, I’m afraid it will throw the County Town into chaos. And the An and Miao Families will profit from it."

The Black-robed Steward cupped his hands toward Chang Younian again.

"Your Excellency, this subordinate has a plan."

Chang Younian nodded. "Let’s hear it."

The Black-robed Steward smiled.

"It’s simple: pull the firewood out from under the cauldron, and they will naturally quiet down."

"Explain."

The Black-robed Steward opened his fan and said nonchalantly:

"Your Excellency, the people in the city are currently in dire straits, and the refugees outside the walls are in urgent need of treatnt and settlent. Yet, there are still lawless elents within the city disrupting the peace and obstructing Your Excellency’s disaster relief efforts.

Why not have Director Qi lead his n to shut down the black markets where these criminals hide, and arrest those rabble-rousers who extort money from the common people and rchants? Furthermore, the county is in desperate need of grain and dicinal Materials. We can temporarily seize and requisition all the granaries and dicine stores in the city. After the county recovers, we can simply compensate them at market price."

After hearing this, Chang Younian understood the aning behind the Master’s plan and smiled.

"An excellent plan, Master. We’ll do as you say. Chief Wang, have Qi Yue co see ."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

As Wang Tianfeng turned and left, he was reeling with shock.

’Pulling the firewood out from under the cauldron!’

The confidence of the An and Miao Families ca from the Four Great Gangs. The Gangs were their foundation and their main source of inco. The Gangs’ revenue ca from protection fees from various street vendors, regular paynts from rchants, and their own Gang-run industries, which included grain, dicinal Materials, at, and mountain goods.

Without money, no matter how much trouble the Four Great Gangs and the An and Miao Families stirred up, they wouldn’t be able to do anything in the long run.

This would cut off the Four Great Gangs’ source of inco, while also seizing the An and Miao Families’ dicine and grain storehouses in the city, along with their other shops.

In short, all industries related to the An and Miao Families would be brought under control through temporary requisition, with the promise of compensation after the disaster.

This way, they could forget about playing the fisherman and reaping the rewards.

As for the price and timing of that compensation, well, that was a different story entirely.

Now, they would have to quiet down without even needing to be fought.

He was thankful that his Wang Family was on the County Magistrate’s side. Otherwise, they would be in huge trouble.

In the struggle for power, for a Noble Race to ascend to the rank of a Noble Family, it wasn’t enough to just have the qualifications to enter officialdom. They also needed vast financial resources to establish a firm foothold in the Commandery City.

Without wealth to grease the wheels, their hands would be tied in the Commandery City, rendering them completely ineffective.

This was why Chang Younian had allowed the four Noble Races to collect additional tax silver. The Four Great Gangs, along with the An and Miao Families, were also amassing funds through various ans, all in preparation.

The reason Chang Younian had allowed his opponents to accumulate wealth was so that he could swallow their assets and strengthen his own power after his victory.

Now, with this move of pulling the firewood from under the cauldron, no matter how steady the An and Miao Families were, they could no longer sit back and watch the show.

After Wang Tianfeng left the County Magistrate’s Office, Chang Younian spoke to the Black-robed Steward, his voice tight with suppressed anger:

"Guiding the Doctor... do you know what it ans to use that contingency plan?"

The Black-robed Steward’s expression grew a little more serious as he said in a low voice, "Assisting and requesting aid will naturally yield different outcos, but the ti has co. If this situation drags on any longer, the people in the city and the refugees outside will all die from the plague. At that point, no matter what rits Your Excellency has accrued, they won’t be enough to offset the grave cri of standing by and watching as nine out of ten hos in the County Town are left empty.

Your Excellency, the Zhu Family will not sit idly by. In fact, this subordinate suspects they have already begun to use the plague and the refugee riots in the County Town to their advantage. Things have deviated from the plan, so we must resolve this before our superiors issue their orders.

Therefore, Your Excellency must prepare early. What must be abandoned, must be abandoned. It is better to seek no rit than to be found at fault. If we cannot gain credit under the guise of ’assisting,’ then we must request aid to maintain the status quo. That is far better than being punished, or even dismissed from office!"

Hearing this, Chang Younian’s face darkened, and he ground his teeth. "Dammit! After scheming for so long, even going so far as to let the refugees blockade the city to create a pretext for the Commandery City to continuously send us grain, and even turning a blind eye... how could these refugees suddenly riot!