“I am an official, so naturally I must abide by the laws of the court,” Fang Zhiyi said, then turned and muttered, “But there are always people who are not officials.”
"Sir, what did you say?" The county magistrate was a little hard of hearing.
The next day, the yamen runners received a case: a scholar had been robbed and murdered in the wilderness, and it was determined that it was done by bandits from the nearby mountains.
Fang Zhiyi was furious: "Suppress the bandits! Suppress the bandits!"
Although the number of government troops in Yangcheng was not large, with the presence of the Zhetian Sect, the sect members put down their businesses, changed into uniforms, and picked up knives. They could find people the government troops couldn't find, and they had no qualms about doing things that the government troops couldn't.
The death of a scholar was something Fang Zhiyi was going to report. His superiors praised his immediate action to suppress the bandits and gave the scholar's family some silver as a token of their condolences.
Under the guise of suppressing bandits, Old Man Zuo and his men turned the surrounding hills into their own territory. Following Fang Zhiyi's instructions, they actually discovered two mineral veins, and Old Man Zuo almost worshipped Fang Zhiyi.
This isn't some corrupt official, he's practically a celestial being!
The county magistrate stroked his beard thoughtfully, only smiling. At most, he would only ever be a county magistrate; why should he care about so much?
The renewed expansion of the Zhetian Sect finally attracted the attention of another sect.
While collecting rent in the city, the eldest disciple of the Double Blade Sect accidentally stumbled upon a group of people from the Shrouding Heaven Sect having dinner in a restaurant. He recognized one of them and had fought with him before, which immediately aroused his suspicion. He followed them and discovered a shocking secret: the Shrouding Heaven Sect had infiltrated the city. No wonder they had been keeping a low profile lately!
Seeing the bustling crowds at the Zhetian Sect's shops, he felt inexplicably resentful and hurriedly returned to his sect to report the matter.
"How dare the Demonic Sect swagger around Yangcheng and even open a shop?" The leader of the Twin Blades Sect was furious. "They must be oppressing the people again! Yang Ping, go and inform Sect Leader Lin of the Flying Fire Sect. The rest of you, come with me!"
"These corrupt officials in Yangcheng are blind! They actually let a demonic sect operate right under their noses!"
Everyone was indignant, but they were dumbfounded when they got outside the city.
"We have to deposit our weapons here when we enter the city?" There was no such rule before.
The guard was getting impatient; he had always disliked these roughnecks.
"Yes, it's a rule set by our county magistrate. There are many merchants from outside Yangcheng now. If you're carrying knives, guns, and clubs around the streets all day, who would dare to do business here?"
"Who are you talking to?" a disciple with a fiery temper asked.
The soldier didn't say anything, but simply took a step back, and the other soldiers at the door immediately drew their swords.
"Stop." The leader of the Double Blade Sect still had some reservations about the imperial court. He glanced at the soldiers and cursed them as lackeys in his heart. He then ordered his disciples to disarm themselves. Even without weapons, he could easily enter and exit with his martial arts skills.
“That’s right. To develop the economy, stability is the first priority. Only when it’s safe will people come to do business. The more people come, the richer we will become. Isn’t that a good thing for you too…” The soldier rambled on as he stepped forward and put away their swords.
The sect leader was completely confused.
What nonsense about economic stability? I've only been in seclusion for a short time, has the world undergone some changes that I'm unaware of?
When he entered the city and saw its prosperity, he was a little dumbfounded, but then he suddenly remembered that his own shops were also here, and he inexplicably agreed with what the soldier had said earlier, after all, it was money, wasn't it?
His good mood continued until he saw the bustling Sihai Trading Company, where he immediately spotted Zuo Qianqiu sitting behind the counter, smiling and fiddling with an abacus.
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