Chapter 308: Managing Factions: The Shen Family in Trouble

The War Order actually possesses such power!

Demanding people and getting people, demanding money and getting money—isn't this deliberately indulging the partitioning of the city and allowing others to swallow up other factions to grow stronger?

The most unfortunate among this are the scattered martial artists, as well as the independent, weak-powered merchants and wealthy individuals.

Zhou You listened to the chatter at the table as they described the changes brought about by this aristocratic order.

First, Song Fugui poured out his grievances; the oil shop he runs has become a fat piece of meat for all sides to plunder, forcing him to provide oil and money.

As everyone knows, whenever a city is defended and fought over, oil is a very important item of consumption.

If oil is splashed on the ground, it can make enemies lose their footing, making climbing the city walls as difficult as ascending to heaven; lighting it creates a prairie-fire effect, bringing about massive, destructive damage.

Song Fugui dares not open his oil shop anymore; if he continues to open it, he will surely lose everything.

Merchants with small businesses like him have all, more or less, encountered looting and extortion, making it impossible to continue their business.

As for the martial artists, those backed by a martial arts hall need to follow the hall master to the city walls to block the enemy; those without backing are a bit more miserable, being dragged away to fill the numbers, with a high probability of becoming cannon fodder.

People like Jiang Hua and Shi Gaofei belong to the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall faction and have the protection of Wang Laohu's War Order.

Once the War Order is issued, the game of big fish eating small fish is staged everywhere; with the tacit approval of the aristocratic families, all sides are looting money and resources and pressing men into service to expand their influence.

This is the final madness before the war, a twisted feast.

Unfortunately, the Shen Family Trading Firm has become the prey of other big sharks and is about to be swallowed up, with not even the bones left.

"A War Order?"

Zhou You was lost in thought when Jiang Hua, at his side, reminded him, "Junior Brother Zhou, you must be careful. If someone uses a War Order to forcibly conscript you, things will become troublesome."

If he were still a martial arts hall disciple, he could be immune to conscription from other War Orders, but he is now a free man.

A free man means having no backing and being a wild source of manpower for War Order conscription.

Because this order was jointly issued by the two great aristocratic families, it possesses supreme authority in Gongliang City.

Once anyone dares to defy the War Order, they will surely face a thunderous, crushing destruction.

In fact, dozens of martial artists have already refused conscription and were hunted down, their homes raided and families exterminated by those holding the War Orders.

There were also merchants and wealthy individuals who were unwilling to lose their life savings and attempted to find ways to escape, only to be cast into a state of eternal doom.

The enemy has not yet attacked the city, but the city itself is already in total chaos.

These friends were worried that someone might take the opportunity to deal with Zhou You, using the War Order to pressure him—"A War Order? I have one of these too!"

Zhou You slapped the table, sending the plates and wine pot to opposite sides.

A War Order!

Shi Gaofei's originally lazy eyes opened wide; he recognized that this token was exactly the same as the one Wang Laohu brought back to the martial arts hall.

This token is a high-end item; ordinary people have never even heard of it, let alone forged one.

Who could have imagined that just a moment ago everyone was lamenting and condemning the supreme power of the War Order, and now it appears before their eyes.

Their heads were a bit dazed, and for a moment, they couldn't react.

"Young Master Zhou, I will follow you from now on."

Song Fugui knelt on the ground, hugging Zhou You's thigh, "Rather than letting my family assets benefit other bastards, I would rather offer them to you."

During this period, he was truly furious from being extorted; everywhere he turned, people wanted money and oil, and they wouldn't even give him a straight answer.

They were purely treating him like a fat sheep to be slaughtered! He was certain that Zhou You was one of his own and would not treat him poorly, so he immediately expressed his allegiance.

Song Fugui is not alone; he also has his wife's family's vast influence, including his brother-in-law Liao Daheng's mountain goods business.

In this day and age, if one can obtain the protection of a War Order, life will be much easier. Since Zhou You brought out the War Order in public, it was not a simple whim; he also needs material resources and manpower, not just for defending the city, but for sticking together to break out after the city falls.

"Sorry, Junior Brother Zhou, we have to follow our master; we cannot help you."

After their astonishment, Jiang Hua and Shi Gaofei expressed their apologies.

The master-disciple relationship is paramount; even though they knew that siding with Zhou You would offer better treatment, they still had to remain under the War Order of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall.

However... "I have a neighbor who is a Blood-Qi martial artist; I will arrange for him to meet you another day."

"What a coincidence, I have a distant cousin who was in the countryside and recently moved into the city. He used to recruit Apprentices and teach boxing in the countryside and brought over a dozen Apprentices; could you please look after them?"

Song Fugui also remembered something; Liu Bing, who once lived in the same room, had also entered the city.

This roommate was eliminated from the hall back then, but after returning to his hometown, he relied on his strong fists to lead a group of brothers in practicing boxing and fighting, competing with other villages for water sources and land, and he improved rapidly through the tempering.

Now, he is also a wild Force-using martial artist, and at the level of refined Force.

"Hmm, tell him to bring his people over; I don't mind having more people here."

Zhou You estimated that if Liu Bing could train to this level under the resource-scarce conditions of the countryside, his perseverance must be extraordinary; as long as he is given some Secret Medicine, breaking through to Blood-Qi will not be a problem.

This banquet was not eaten in vain; his friends had gathered the basic foundation for him to start his venture.

"Everyone, while we are in high spirits, let's go support Senior Brother Shen and solve the problem."

Zhou You grabbed the War Order, drained his wine cup, and signaled for his friends to follow.

Shen Family Trading Firm...

Shen Sijing and Xu Ying stood side by side, their expressions angry, but their trembling shoulders revealed their helplessness.

The trading firm was about to be swallowed up; the massive amount of heart and soul they had painstakingly invested for so long was going to waste.

Under the righteous banner of the War Order, they didn't even have room to resist.

Zhang Hongmao is a tycoon in the city who usually keeps over a dozen Blood-Qi martial artists; now that he has obtained a War Order issued by the Xu family, he is rapidly recruiting soldiers and buying horses, having already expanded into a behemoth.

He said he wanted to conscript the Shen Family Trading Firm, and surprisingly, no one opposed him; even his usual business partners and the highly respected seniors within the firm dared not say a word.

Seeing that the closure of the firm had become a foregone conclusion, Zhang Hongmao actually pushed for more.

A fifty-year-old man actually harbored the delusion of forcibly marrying Shen Sijing's younger sister; one must know that Shen Siying calls him uncle.

Master Shen's hair had turned white from worry, and he begged others to intervene, but no one dared to get involved.

It was truly a miserable scene where prayers to heaven went unanswered and cries to the earth went unheard.

"Senior Brother Shen, if there is really no other way, abandon the firm and the house; take Master and the young lady and flee."

Xu Ying said fiercely, "I will fight them to the death."

"No."

It wasn't that Shen Sijing hadn't thought about fighting to the death, but they couldn't afford to; the entrance to the firm and the area around his home were filled with the other side's eyes and ears, all of them hoping for the family to cause a stir so they would have a reason to wipe out the household and confiscate their property.

Zhang Hongmao held the War Order and possessed the power of life and death; now, he only lacked a reason to take action.

Shen Sijing hadn't even told Zhou You, because he knew this junior martial brother was also unable to protect himself; perhaps he could escape the conscription of the War Order by relying on his connection to Qi Fengzhang, but now he too had to be cautious and keep a low profile.

Originally, he could have sought shelter at the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, but for the sake of his own business, he had long since severed ties with the martial arts hall.

As things stood now, even if he wanted to take his family assets and defect to Wang Laohu, he could find no way to do so.

It wasn't that he hadn't asked a few fellow disciples to intercede, but the person currently in charge of the martial arts hall was Lu Jianqing, and the other party had coldly refused.

(End of chapter)