Chapter 194 Bloody Rivers and Lakes 3
Hong Batian was completely dead, and deader than death. Yet, his death stirred up a bloody storm! The Sand Boat Gang and the Flying Eagle Gang were, frankly, both businessmen and criminals. Only the Hongyun Gang focused on teaching martial arts. To succeed the leader, one must kill their enemy. And who was that enemy? Wasn't it the imperial court? Wasn't it Zhao Xiaofei?
Li Zichu was very happy when he heard that Hong Batian was dead. He thought that the prince could rest easy now. However, someone took advantage of this opportunity to stir up trouble, which made Zhao Xiaofei very upset. He almost lost his life several times!
What about the "tangs" and "branches" of the Sand Boat Gang and the Flying Eagle Gang? They were all targets for raids by the Imperial Guards, with large numbers of them laying siege to some of the "tangs" and "branches." "You say you're dissatisfied?" Do you know what the Imperial Guards do? They specialize in dealing with all kinds of dissatisfaction! This is what Zhao Xiaofei had said when he reprimanded Li Zichu.
When Li Zichu was in Nanjing, he was always afraid of the local students and gentry causing trouble. Zhao Xiaofei asked, "Do you know why Taizu designed the Jinyiwei?"
Li Zichu thought, "How can I say that?" Zhu Yuanzhang established the Jinyiwei to eliminate meritorious officials, fabricating charges and putting innocent people to death. Emperor Taizu was worried that after his death, his grandson, Emperor Jianwen, would not be able to control the meritorious officials, so he launched a series of large-scale purges, using various pretexts to slaughter all the civil and military officials who had assisted him in conquering the country.
But these words could not be said openly, Li Zichu replied: "I have learned little and cannot understand the true meaning of the Grand Master!"
Zhao Xiaofei smiled and said, "Will those civil and military officials be dissatisfied with the next emperor? Taizu established the Jinyiwei to deal with these dissatisfied officials! If all those who disobeyed were eliminated, wouldn't the remaining officials be those who obeyed? Do you understand? Taizu designed the Jinyiwei to deal with all kinds of disobedience! If they were subdued, wouldn't the world be peaceful? What do you think?"
Li Zichu was filled with admiration after hearing the prince's words, his admiration for him flowing like a torrent of water. Yes! The prince was absolutely right! The Imperial Guard specializes in dealing with all kinds of disobedience! From then on, this became Li Zichu's motto!
Teams of men in black Jinyiwei uniforms rushed into the homes of these so-called helpers and hall masters and began to search for valuables. The Sand Boat Gang and the Flying Eagle Gang had the most money, totaling over 5.7 million taels of silver, as well as countless pieces of land, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.
When Zhu Mianzhu saw the list of property, she was secretly shocked. She had never expected that these gang leaders and hall masters were richer than her father. If her father had been so wealthy, how could he have ended up dying for his country? Therefore, Zhu Mianzhu hated these gangs even more.
"I would like to ask Lord Li! Do you know how many such underworld factions there are in our Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Mianzhu asked while sitting on the dragon throne.
"To answer your question, Princess, there are no less than a hundred such companies across the country!" Li Zichu replied.
"Are all the hundreds of families so rich?" asked Zhu Mianzhu.
"There are good and bad ones, but there are still some worth tens of millions of taels!" said Li Zichu.
Zhu Mianzhu knew it was impossible to kill all the people from these martial arts sects, confiscate all their property, and even more impossible to eliminate their spirits. Zhu Mianzhu said, "Please arrange to invite those so-called famous and upright sects. I want to hold a martial arts conference."
Li Zichu gasped after hearing this. "Holding a martial arts conference? Give birth to the child first! You'll be suffering next month." But he didn't dare disobey the princess.
Li Zichu asked again: "What should we do with those who are unwilling?"
Zhu Mianzhu said: "What do you think we can do by keeping you here? It's nothing more than taking the blame for the emperor and the prince. Do you understand?"
"I understand! I understand!" said Li Zichu.
"You don't have to come these days. My due date is in these few days. You can handle everything as you wish! In a word, let these idle people in the martial arts world work hard for our Ming Dynasty! Try to find some respected elders to be the judges for the martial arts competition, and try not to see bloodshed! The winner will get a signboard. I have it in mind. It's called the Supreme of Martial Arts! And make a sword. Call it the Heavenly Sword! When the Heavenly Sword comes out, who can compete with it? No one in the martial arts world dares to disobey my orders! Carve these words on the sword!" said Zhu Mianzhu. Zhao Xiaofei said this when he was telling Zhu Mianzhu a story. She remembered it and needed it today!
"I understand!" Li Zichu said. In his heart, he was shocked by the princess's words! Is the princess the reincarnation of Wu Zetian? She's more creative than the adults in the court; they might not be able to come up with such an idea!
The supreme master of the martial arts world! The Heavenly Sword! Who can challenge the Heavenly Sword? His command is unwavering! This statement sent shockwaves through the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty, and all major sects expressed their willingness to participate.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard sent out the invitations, and even the martial arts sects in the enemy-occupied areas crossed the river to the south of the Yangtze River, preparing to participate in this martial arts event.
Who wouldn't want the title of Supreme Martial Arts Master? Who wouldn't want to possess this precious sword? With it, you'd be number one in the world! No other martial arts sect could even dream of it!
Whether it's for fame or profit, they all have to go. They all have to fight for the title of the best in the world!
"Sir! A total of eighty-nine sects have come this time, and they are all masters! Even Shaolin and Songshan have sent people!" Wang Hu said, holding the list.
"Very good! Treat us well!" said Li Zichu.
All the major sects have now gathered at the foot of Wudang Mountain. It can be said that 90% of the masters of the sects in the country have gathered here.
The catchy slogan for the First Wulin Conference hangs at the Outlet Inn at the foot of Wudang Mountain. The name is obvious from the moment it's mentioned. Outlet Inn? Why don't you name a 7 Days Inn? A Super 8? A Home Inn? That's what Zhao Xiaokun, the eldest brother, asked Zhao Xiaofei. He even wondered if he'd been too lazy to come up with a name because he'd been spending so much time with Qin Baobao at the outlet mall lately.
When the two brothers returned from modern times, Yuan Feifei, now known as Concubine Yuan, was taken care of by her mother and sent to the best hospital. Yuan Feifei would not be lonely there because there was so much to learn.
The brothers were no longer afraid that Concubine Yuan would say something wrong, because last time Yuan Feifei said that the Ming Dynasty generally did not celebrate the Spring Festival, but celebrated the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Zhao Xiaokun told his mother: "Feifei is a history enthusiast, especially Ming history!"
From then on, Liu Aiping believed that her daughter-in-law was a little silly. She was probably obsessed with Ming history and became a little silly.
Liu Aiping said this secretly to her son Zhao Xiaofei, and told him not to tell his elder brother about this.
Zhao Xiaofei returned to Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty and met Princess Kunxing. Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianzhu was about to give birth, so Zhao Xiaofei stayed with her. As expected, Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianzhu lived up to everyone's expectations and gave birth to a son, named Zhao Puwen!
After accompanying Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianchu through her confinement, he proposed to go to Wudang Mountain to preside over a martial arts competition. He would give the sword to whoever won first place.
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