Cui Wenhe sat opposite Yang Zhi, with Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu behind him.
After Chen Jinnan fled, the Fujian region carried out a major purge of the Heaven and Earth Society.
At first, they put up some resistance and blocked Yang Wenguang's army.
However, once Zhang Xianzong arrived, the scales of victory immediately tipped in his favor.
Cui Wenhe fled with Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi'an, hiding all the way from Fujian to Jiangnan.
The three of them hid in Jiangnan under assumed names, and were doing just fine, but someone, looking for trouble, saw how generous they were and set their sights on their money.
As a result, the person who had designs on them died, and the three of them also attracted the attention of others.
"Lord Yang, let's skip the formalities. Why have you gone to such lengths to invite the three of us brothers here?"
As a member of the martial arts world, Cui Wenhe disliked dealing with government officials.
Too many rules, too many hypocritical words. It's just a matter of a few words, but they always like to make it mysterious, as if they want to show off.
"Haha, Mr. Cui is indeed a man of few words. I'll toast you."
Yang Zhi was not angry. Instead, he raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
“Mr. Cui, I have no other intention than to say that it is a pity that your extraordinary skills are buried in the world.”
Cui Wenhe looked at him, a smirk playing on his lips, and said with a hint of amusement, "Lord Yang, if I remember correctly, the position of Governor of Jiangnan is an official appointed by the imperial court, isn't it?"
“Right now, the three of us brothers are on the imperial court’s wanted list. Aren’t you afraid that someone with ulterior motives will report this to the capital when you try to recruit us like this?”
"Haha, Mr. Cui, you're overthinking it."
Yang Zhi laughed heartily: "Jiangnan is Jiangnan, and the imperial court is the imperial court. You can't confuse the two, sir."
"Moreover, what merit or ability do I possess to recruit such a capable person as Mr. Cui?"
"What I want is to cooperate with you, sir."
"Cooperate on what? Cooperate on a rebellion?"
Cui Wenhe spoke with a hint of sarcasm. The biggest rebel leader in Jiangnan, the White Lotus Sect's Eternal Mother, had already fled, leaving behind a bunch of scoundrels who actually wanted to win him over.
No matter what, he was the second-in-command of the Heaven and Earth Society.
Where did this governor of Jiangnan get the audacity to speak to me like that?
Yang Zhi shook his head: "No, no, no, Mr. Cui, with the Regent Prince, a disciple of a divine being, in charge of the Ming Dynasty now, how could anyone possibly rebel?"
"What I want to do is not to rebel. What I want to do is to be like Wang Xianzhi, the city lord of Wudi City, and turn Jiangnan into a place where all the heroes and heroines of the martial world can live together."
"Let us no longer be bound by the imperial court, nor by those prestigious sects. We can live a peaceful and undisturbed life here."
"This requires us to unite and go to the imperial court to demand this right."
"Our strength is too scattered. Only by uniting can we, like the four great legends of the martial arts world, sit down with the imperial court and discuss matters."
“Mr. Cui, you have been in charge of the Heaven and Earth Society in Fujian. Your abilities are recognized in the martial arts world.”
"We in Jiangnan are missing out on talents like you. Don't worry, once you join us, your treatment in Jiangnan will definitely be better than in the Heaven and Earth Society."
"With your addition, we are more confident in negotiating with the imperial court."
Yang Zhi became more and more excited as he spoke, his expression becoming somewhat dazed, and he was lost in his own fantasy.
"At that time, we will only need to pay a portion of the taxes to the imperial court, and countless heroes and heroines will be able to live freely in the land of fish and rice in Jiangnan. What a wonderful thing that would be!"
Looking at his appearance, Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi'an were somewhat tempted.
Having practiced martial arts for so many years and finally developed such skills, they naturally wouldn't want to hide their identities.
But now that the imperial court has officially registered the three brothers, if they become too conspicuous and attract the court's attention, they're doomed.
Although the imperial court suffered setbacks on the border, it still had many henchmen at its disposal, and could easily control a few grandmasters.
When Cui Wenhe saw the two brothers' reaction, his heart sank. Just as he was about to say something, a boy rushed in.
The guards at the gate, upon seeing the boy, not only did not stop him, but instead bowed to him.
The boy handed Yang Zhi a letter and whispered a few words in his ear.
"Haha, I'm so sorry, something has suddenly come up at my residence. Please forgive me and wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."
Yang Zhi stood up, bowed, and then left with the boy.
Cui Wenhe watched his retreating figure and sighed.
"We finally settled down, and then this mess comes up."
Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi'an exchanged a glance, then asked, "Mr. Cui, is there something wrong here?"
"Heh, I just saw the two of you, and after hearing what Lord Yang said, you seem somewhat tempted."
The two brothers didn't lie and nodded.
Cui Wenhe sighed: "Do you know why the White Lotus Sect wants to take over Jiangnan?"
"Because here, there is a hidden dragon vein."
"So I don't believe a single word he said. Why should a governor of Jiangnan give us, a bunch of people in the martial arts world, advice?"
"What kind of power does the Jianghu have? Those people are all a disorganized bunch. They talk about brotherhood, but they all have their own agendas."
"If you let them eat and drink with you, they'll be your brothers. But if you're in trouble, they'll just disappear."
"The three of us are on the imperial court's wanted list. Are there any of our former brothers who could lend us a hand?"
“They all avoided meeting us, fearing they would be implicated.”
"So this governor of Jiangnan must have other plans. I estimate that his first target will not be the imperial court, but probably us Jianghu people."
Cui Wenhe felt a pang of regret; he should have gone to the Liao Kingdom with Chen Jinnan back then.
"And even if we take a step back and assume that what he said is true, do you really think things will turn out the way this governor of Jiangnan thinks?"
"The one in power now is not Emperor Jianyuan, who can negotiate everything; the one in power now is Li Chang'an, the regent of the Ming Dynasty."
"That prince didn't weigh the pros and cons."
"If they start fighting, they won't care about anything else."
“Our Heaven and Earth Society has countless followers, and it involves countless ordinary people, officials, and merchants in Fujian. He didn’t even blink an eye; he arrested them all and threw them into prison.”
“The prisons in Fujian were so full that the people built several more overnight.”
"Kill the guilty, send the innocent to labor reform, and if anyone dares to resist, they will be sent to kill them without mercy."
"Why does he think that just because we outnumber him, we have the right to negotiate with that prince?"
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