Chapter 195: I Want Song Jiuming's Head

The very first condition put Peng Youzai in a difficult position. The difficulty, however, was not for Tianyu Sect as a whole but for him personally. Feng Lingbo was his son-in-law. If he stripped his son-in-law of military authority, how was he supposed to explain it to his daughter?

He also needed to think over the second condition. Giving up the wealth Tianyu Sect extracted from the two commanderies was not impossible. The key was to weigh how much the new source of income could offset the loss, and how much surplus it would leave. This concerned the interests of everyone in Tianyu Sect, from top to bottom. He could not agree rashly and wash his hands of the consequences. If anything went wrong, he as Sect Leader would have to answer for his decision. Running a household was never easy when so many mouths were waiting to be fed.

As for the third condition, Tianyu Sect disciples had made sacrifices when Shang Chaozong attacked Qingshan Commandery, while Guangyi Commandery had supplied troops, money, and grain. Qingshan Commandery had not simply fallen into Tianyu Sect's mouth without cost. Now they were being asked to spit out half of it at once. Emotionally, some disciples would surely find that difficult to accept. Even if Peng Youzai agreed, he would first need to bring the sect to a unified position.

Yet refusing was difficult too, because the conditions and the reasons behind them supported one another. What Niu Youdao had said made complete sense.

On the first point, if Guangyi Commandery and Qingshan Commandery both fought for control once war broke out, that would indeed be disastrous. And if Nanzhou were conquered, the benefits Feng Lingbo could receive would certainly exceed anything he possessed in Guangyi Commandery. Peng Youzai would naturally make sure his daughter and son-in-law were not treated unfairly.

On the second point, giving up the extraction of wealth from the two commanderies so the people could recuperate and the pool of military recruits could grow was even harder to argue against. If they wanted to attack Nanzhou, they needed manpower. They could hardly go into someone else's territory and recruit soldiers there without objection.

On the third point, Tianyu Sect truly did not possess the strength to bear every pressure alone once war began. It needed others to share the burden. Nor could Tianyu Sect keep every benefit for itself while expecting others to shoulder risks for nothing. Some interests had to be surrendered. After weighing all of this, Peng Youzai could neither agree immediately nor reject the conditions outright. The elders beside him had fallen silent as well, each deep in thought.

Fei Changliu, Xia Hua, and Zheng Jiuxiao were considering their own positions too. Their three sects were indeed in an awkward situation. With Song Jiuming fallen and a new Commandant of Justice in office, their people were gradually being driven out of the Commandant of Justice's network. The three sects' principal sources of income were being cut away, and they urgently needed a new road forward.

The three sects had always attached themselves to temporal power and had never truly controlled territory of their own. If they could finally obtain land belonging to their own sects, it would represent a major transformation. Everything had to grow from small beginnings. The territory offered now might not be large, but what mattered was the prospect beyond it: one-third of all Nanzhou.

Then again, a bright future was only a prospect. Whether it could actually be realized remained uncertain. Even if Tianyu Sect accepted the condition and gave the three of them half of Qingshan Commandery to divide, that was still rather little. And they did not yet know whether Niu Youdao's demand that Tianyu Sect stop extracting wealth from the territory would apply to them as well.

From the sound of things, Niu Youdao wanted the people to recuperate, so the three sects would probably be subject to the same restriction. Yet without extracting wealth, how were they supposed to meet the expenses of their disciples? Everyone was calculating the interests of his own house.

Peng Youzai suddenly asked, “Niu Youdao, where did you get the formula for this liquor?”

Niu Youdao smiled faintly. He had intended to bring this up even if Peng Youzai never asked, so the question suited him perfectly.

“You do not need to know where it came from. You need only understand one thing: the person who gave me this formula is someone Tianyu Sect cannot afford to provoke. Otherwise, would I dare hide inside your own shop and bring it out, inviting death upon myself?”

He looked at Peng Youzai with amusement.

“Sect Leader Peng, you haven't developed any crooked ideas, have you? I advise you not to think too much. If I weren't certain of what I'm doing, I wouldn't dare play this game. If anything happens to me, a whole crowd of people will immediately begin brewing this liquor. Once everyone knows how to make it, it will no longer command any price.”

Peng Youzai had already been wondering about exactly this. The bastard was bold enough to bring such a lucrative secret directly into Tianyu Sect's own shop. Hearing this, he probed, “The Ice and Snow Pavilion gave it to you?”

Niu Youdao gave a sly smile.

“No idea. Someone came to me in a dream and entrusted it to me.”

He deliberately kept the answer vague. That only made everyone suspect the Ice and Snow Pavilion even more strongly. Otherwise, if Niu Youdao truly possessed such a profitable business, why had he never brought it out before? Why had it suddenly appeared only after this trip to the Ice and Snow Pavilion? Their thoughts could not help running in that direction.

“Very well. Give me one day to think it over. I will give you an answer tomorrow.”

Peng Youzai sighed. This trip really had unexpectedly brought him face-to-face with serious business. Niu Youdao smiled and nodded.

“Good.”

Peng Youzai then turned to Fei Changliu and the other two.

“Gentlemen, could you lend me those three jars of liquor for the time being?”

The dignified Sect Leader of Tianyu Sect had personally asked. They could hardly refuse him such a small amount of face. Fei Changliu and the others naturally agreed. As everyone began dispersing, Zheng Jiuxiao hurried after Niu Youdao.

“Brother Niu, could we speak somewhere private?”

Niu Youdao glanced at Fei Changliu and Xia Hua, who had followed behind him as well, then nodded and extended a hand.

“Everyone, please come with me.”

The members of the three sects followed him away.

Back in the reception hall, Peng Youzai stood with his hands clasped behind his back and watched Niu Youdao and the others disappear inside. Then he turned toward the jars of liquor and signaled to Chen Tingxiu.

“Have Wu Kong sell these jars. Push the price as high as reasonably possible. Let's test the market first.”

Chen Tingxiu understood. The result of that test would be crucial to the chain of decisions before them. He nodded and immediately went to arrange it.

Niu Youdao and the representatives of the three sects temporarily borrowed a smaller hall inside Tianyu Sect's shop and gathered together.

“Brother Niu, can you actually make decisions for Qingshan Commandery?”

Zheng Jiuxiao first sounded him out. The whole thing still felt absurd. Qingshan Commandery was clearly Tianyu Sect territory. How had this fellow become the one pointing fingers and dividing things up?

Niu Youdao smiled and asked in return, “Does it matter whether I can personally make the decision? If Tianyu Sect agrees, do you think Qingshan Commandery itself will still present a problem?”

True enough. Zheng Jiuxiao realized he had asked a foolish question. He tried another.

“Once the territory is divided among us, are we also forbidden from extracting wealth from the local population?”

“No!”

Niu Youdao rejected the idea without hesitation.

“If people on one side of Qingshan Commandery are treated well while people on the other side are treated badly, the moment you start squeezing your territory, everyone there will run away. Once the people are gone, what the hell are you going to extract? Who will you extract it from?”

That was true too. The three sect leaders looked at one another, speechless. Fei Changliu frowned.

“Whether the spirit herbs produced by such a small territory will even cover our cultivation needs is uncertain. But our disciples must at least have their basic expenses guaranteed. If we have no basic source of revenue and cannot even maintain their ordinary expenses, what would be the point of attaching ourselves to Commandery Prince Yongping?”

Xia Hua nodded.

“Exactly.”

Zheng Jiuxiao said, “If a portion of the liquor business could be divided among us, that should solve the problem.”

“Naturally I have considered that.”

Niu Youdao continued, “But no one yet knows what price this liquor will actually command once it reaches the market. Peng Youzai himself is still weighing the matter.”

“I have already proposed a whole series of conditions to carve out interests for you. If, before this business has even shown results, I continue slicing flesh from Tianyu Sect, will they agree?”

“Take another step back. Without knowing the market, how are we supposed to divide the business? How much should each side receive? None of us knows.”

He looked at the three of them.

“You tell me. How am I supposed to negotiate something when no one has any foundation for the numbers?”

The three sect leaders fell silent. That was also true. They had no idea what share to demand.

Niu Youdao said, “So everything waits until the results come out. If Tianyu Sect dares eat all the meat alone and leave everyone else to starve, then they too will have to weigh the consequences.”

Zheng Jiuxiao stroked his beard.

“In my view, this liquor should sell extremely well.”

“Sect Leader Zheng, stop thinking about the liquor for now.”

Niu Youdao sounded almost painstakingly earnest.

“First wait until Tianyu Sect agrees to the series of conditions we already put forward. Once the overall matter is settled, production of the liquor will remain in my hands. Are you really afraid there will be no room to negotiate then?”

“The reason I brought the three of you into this is precisely because I do not want Tianyu Sect alone to become too dominant. I have made myself this clear. Do you still not understand what I mean?”

Zheng Jiuxiao nodded.

“Fine. Then we will wait until matters have a definite outcome.”

Niu Youdao gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment. Then one eyebrow rose and his tone changed.

“Some matters can wait until there is an outcome. Other matters require an accounting now.”

The three men exchanged glances. They could roughly guess what he intended to discuss.

Sure enough, Niu Youdao said calmly, “What attitude do the three of you intend to take regarding the matter between me and the Song family? Don't tell me that after coming this far, you still intend to keep one foot in each boat.”

Xia Hua said, “If Tianyu Sect agrees and all three of our sects attach ourselves to Commandery Prince Yongping, then we'll be on the same side. Naturally we will no longer concern ourselves with the Song family.”

“You have to break completely with one side or the other.”

Niu Youdao's voice remained calm.

“I have shown sincerity in solving this problem. Shouldn't the three of you show some sincerity as well?”

“I won't beat around the bush. I want Song Jiuming's head!”

“As long as the heads of the principal members of the Song family are delivered to Qingshan Commandery, the grievances between us will be considered settled. You may also regard it as the three sects' pledge of allegiance.”

“...”

All three were speechless.

Fei Changliu said heavily, “Song Jiuming may have fallen from office, but he was once a high official of the imperial court. The court cannot simply allow people to attack him at will. Otherwise, every official in court would fear for his own future.”

“More importantly, Song Jiuming lives in the capital, where experts are numerous. One careless move could bring enormous trouble. He is genuinely difficult to attack.”

“When you were trying to kill me, you were willing to use any means necessary. Now suddenly you think trouble is inconvenient. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

Niu Youdao gave him a cold sidelong look.

“That is not my concern. I only look at the result.”

“I don't like forcing people. Decide for yourselves. I absolutely will not compel you.”

The people of the three sects took their leave in silence.

Once the outsiders were gone, Yuan Gang mocked coldly, “Planning to change professions and become a brewer now?”

Niu Youdao chuckled.

“You always used to think all these miscellaneous things I learned were pointless. What do you think now? They have some use after all, don't they?”

“The old saying is right: many skills never burden the body. Learning a little more never hurts.”

He patted Yuan Gang on the shoulder. Outside Tianyu Sect's shop, the three sect leaders walked abreast in silence while the others followed behind.

“Do you really think that liquor business will be so profitable?”

Xia Hua finally could not resist asking. She did not like strong liquor herself, so she found it difficult to judge.

“It will absolutely sell.”

Zheng Jiuxiao was decisive.

“It is a tremendous road to wealth!”

Fei Changliu silently nodded. After a passerby coming from the opposite direction had gone by, Xia Hua lowered her voice.

“Then does that mean we may truly have to deal with the Song family?”

Zheng Jiuxiao sighed and shook his head without answering. Fei Changliu was wondering the same thing, and the thought left him profoundly depressed. Liuxian Sect disciples had mobilized in force and come here on the Song family's orders specifically to kill Niu Youdao.

How had things turned around so completely that, in the blink of an eye, they were about to obey Niu Youdao's demand and exterminate the Song family instead? Offending both sides and pleasing neither—what kind of damned situation was this?

[End of Chapter 195]