Chapter 900: Sect Leader Peng, Tianyu Sect Has Reached the Time to Choose

Peng Youzai said, "Elder Niu's words carry the weight of gold. This Peng is all ears."

Hearing a man like him speak this way left Guan Fangyi feeling emotional as well. She still remembered what it had been like when she first followed Niu Youdao to Qingshan Commandery. Back then, Tianyu Sect had been so overbearing. Now the situation had reversed, and even the dignified Sect Leader Peng had learned when to bend and when to yield.

Feng Entai, seated to one side, felt a faint melancholy too. He was also thinking back to those days.

"There's no need for empty courtesies between us." Niu Youdao waved a hand. "I invited Sect Leader Peng here because I wanted to ask about the situation in Beizhou. I hear things there have become somewhat chaotic. Is that true?"

Chaotic?

What chaos was there?

Peng Youzai was inwardly doubtful and uncertain. He sounded Niu Youdao out.

"I don't know which aspect Elder Niu is referring to."

Niu Youdao said, "The administration of Beizhou's commanderies and counties. I hear it is far less stable than when Shao Pingbo presided over affairs there."

"This..."

Peng Youzai hesitated slightly.

"It isn't exactly that the administration is worse than when Shao Pingbo was there. Back then, Beizhou stood on its own and was constrained by neither Han nor Yan. Officials great and small throughout Beizhou all answered to Shao Pingbo, while Shao Pingbo believed troubled times called for harsh laws and always governed with a heavy hand."

"After Beizhou returned to Yan, too many officials were inserted from every direction. Most of those officials, great or small, have cultivated relationships with one or another of the three great sects. Never mind Tianyu Sect—even Inspector Shao Dengyun can only close one eye and pretend not to see with the other."

"Of course, Beizhou is hardly the only place with this problem. Many provinces and prefectures elsewhere are much the same."

Niu Youdao naturally understood this situation.

Relatively speaking, the provinces directly controlled by the three great sects were actually better off.

Take the provinces under Zijin Cave's control. So long as no other force interfered, local officials needed to pay respects to only one faction. Naturally, matters were much simpler.

Places like Beizhou were more complicated.

Too many factions had interests tangled together. One side squeezed the officials, then another came to squeeze them as well. They paid tribute to one household only to have to pay another afterward.

The local officials certainly were not going to pay out of their own pockets.

With one group after another squeezing them, who ultimately suffered needed no explanation.

For existences like the three great sects, controlling a territory meant drawing profit from every direction.

That was also one reason everyone fought so desperately to seize territory.

And it was precisely why Niu Youdao had sternly warned Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain not to become insatiably greedy after taking charge in Nanzhou.

Niu Youdao nodded, showing that he agreed.

Then he suddenly said, "But Beizhou is my territory!"

Those words made Peng Youzai and Feng Entai both turn to stare at him.

Niu Youdao was hardly the only man with his hand in Beizhou.

He merely influenced the military forces.

All three great sects had interests there.

Seeing their reaction, Niu Youdao asked another question.

"Shao Dengyun's faction are my people. Sect Leader Peng has no objection to that statement, does he?"

Peng Youzai nodded faintly.

"Everyone knows it."

Niu Youdao said, "So many factions have stretched their hands into Beizhou that Shao Dengyun finds it difficult to govern, Sect Leader Peng finds it difficult to act, and I find it equally displeasing."

"This Niu believes..."

"Sect Leader Peng, don't you think Beizhou's situation has reached the point where it ought to be cleaned up?"

"This..."

Peng Youzai hesitated, unsure how he was supposed to answer.

Niu Youdao continued.

"I have now thrown in with Zijin Cave. Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain are unhappy about it."

"They cannot conveniently move against Nanzhou, and because Beizhou guards the frontier, with Han and Song still at war, Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain likewise cannot act rashly there for the moment."

"But once the war ends, they will certainly uproot my influence in Beizhou."

"How could this Niu simply stand by and watch?"

"So this gap before us is also my best opportunity to take control of Beizhou."

"The military forces are already in my hands. What I need now is the support of the cultivation force stationed in Beizhou."

"So long as those two forces are both willing to lend me their strength, everyone else can only step aside."

"If anyone insists on using force, the people under me are no vegetarians either."

"Whoever dares move against my Beizhou, I dare seize one of the provinces in their hands."

"An eye for an eye. Nothing could be more natural!"

With matters stated this clearly, Peng Youzai and Feng Entai finally understood why Niu Youdao had summoned them.

He had not called them here to settle old accounts.

He wanted Tianyu Sect to throw in with him and help him secure control over Beizhou.

Standing behind Niu Youdao, Guan Fangyi's eyes flickered.

Inside, she was marveling again and again.

Zijin Cave was suppressing Master Dao and suppressing Nanzhou's forces. On the surface, Master Dao had submitted, but beneath the surface he was not yielding in the slightest. He had already struck back again and again, contending with Zijin Cave.

Zijin Cave refused to let Nanzhou's forces expand.

Master Dao had secretly seized hold of Guangzhou already.

Now he was stretching his hand toward Beizhou as well, intending to take complete control of it.

Master Dao plainly had no intention of missing the opportunity to expand his influence after his own status and position had risen.

Struggle!

Only now did Guan Fangyi feel she had fully understood the deeper meaning of that word Niu Youdao had spoken before.

This truly was a struggle.

Niu Youdao kept his gaze fixed on Peng Youzai.

He was clearly demanding that Tianyu Sect formally declare its position and choose a side.

When no answer came for a long time, Niu Youdao refused to let the matter drag on indefinitely.

"Does this put Sect Leader Peng in a difficult position?"

"Let me put the words here first."

"If I cannot have Beizhou, then all I need do is send a message to Han or Song and I can have either of them attack Beizhou whenever I please. I can hand Beizhou to another state with both hands at any time."

"Whether I have that ability, Sect Leader Peng knows perfectly well."

"When that happens, Tianyu Sect will get nothing!"

The hearts of Peng Youzai and Feng Entai grew heavy.

Both men knew Niu Youdao truly did possess that degree of influence.

That was precisely why Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain still did not dare uproot Niu Youdao's claws in Beizhou. At present, the two sects did not dare act rashly against the forces he controlled there.

Beizhou's troops followed Niu Youdao's influence.

Whether Han or Song attacked, so long as Niu Youdao gave the word, Beizhou's troops would inevitably resist halfheartedly.

That would inevitably allow the enemy state to take Beizhou with ease.

Would Han and Song listen to Niu Youdao?

So long as Niu Youdao used the threat of sending troops to support Song as leverage, either side would have reason to cooperate with him.

Song desperately wanted Yan to send troops and help drive Han back.

Han desperately did not want Yan to send those troops.

And Niu Youdao truly did possess this enormous influence at present.

That was also why all three great sects had previously wanted to win him over.

Whoever controlled Niu Youdao controlled a certain measure of influence over the greater situation.

Whether Han or Song moved against Yan, so long as Niu Youdao held back Yan's truly battle-capable military forces, Yan's current national strength would have an extremely difficult time facing another foreign invasion.

Yan had fought for too long.

Its vitality had been badly depleted and had not yet recovered.

And Niu Youdao had paid an enormous price precisely to secure this measure of influence over the broader situation.

To save Shang Chaozong's son and Shang Shuqing, he had taken a tremendous risk, been beaten into a grave state, and nearly lost his life.

In the end, Shang Chaozong had not disappointed him.

The Prince had rallied thousands upon thousands of troops and confronted Yan's three great sects head-on.

The Shang faction had cut off its own road of retreat and completely taken Niu Youdao's side.

The military force that served as Yan's mainstay had now been grasped completely in Niu Youdao's hand.

After considering the matter again and again, Peng Youzai still did not give a final answer.

Instead, he sounded Niu Youdao out.

"What does Elder Niu want Tianyu Sect to do?"

Niu Youdao answered indifferently, "It is time to clean up the disorder in Beizhou."

"Could this Niu possibly be inferior even to Shao Pingbo?"

"Those corrupt officials and filthy bureaucrats—Tianyu Sect can deal with them."

"Kill a batch."

"Kill them ruthlessly."

"So long as they were officials sent there by the imperial court, don't leave a single one alive."

"None of them are good men anyway."

"There's no need for courtesy, and no need for mercy."

"Kill them!"

"Confiscate their estates!"

"Everything seized belongs to Tianyu Sect!"

Peng Youzai's heart pounded as he listened.

He hurriedly warned, "A great many of those officials have connections to Zijin Cave. Quite a few send annual gifts to important people inside Zijin Cave!"

The property that cultivation forces stationed in the provinces formally presented to the three great sects had to be handed over to the sects as a whole for centralized distribution.

Those payments appeared openly in the accounts.

They did not fall into the private hands of individual disciples of the three great sects.

The bribes sent upward from officials below were different.

Those were private profits.

Never underestimate local officials.

So long as power remained in their hands, they would think of every possible way to cultivate relationships in every direction and protect themselves.

Moving against such people meant cutting off the private streams of wealth belonging to certain individuals in the three great sects.

Cutting off a man's road to wealth was like killing his parents.

One could imagine how deeply this would offend people.

How could Peng Youzai not be alarmed?

Then again, if things had not worked this way, how could Tianyu Sect have preserved territories such as Guangyi Commandery back then?

There had naturally been favors and payments behind the scenes, with people speaking on their behalf.

Niu Youdao said, "Whether they have Zijin Cave behind them is not important."

"I am also a man of Zijin Cave, and I am an Elder of Zijin Cave."

"If even I cannot stand the sight of them, what is wrong with killing a number of corrupt officials who bring disaster to the state and misery to the people?"

"Kill them!"

The muscles in Peng Youzai's face twitched.

He understood now.

This was not merely a matter of offering support.

Niu Youdao did not believe empty promises from Tianyu Sect, nor was he giving them any opportunity to muddle through.

Killing those officials was not the true objective.

The true objective was to make Tianyu Sect present a blood pledge of allegiance.

He wanted Tianyu Sect to offend the three great sects beyond repair and completely choose Niu Youdao's side.

Niu Youdao watched his reaction and asked calmly, "Is it that you don't want to support this Niu, or are you afraid?"

Peng Youzai replied, "It isn't that I don't want to support Elder Niu. Whether I'm afraid or not can be set aside for the moment. The problem is that if we act this forcefully, Beizhou will fall into disorder."

Niu Youdao said, "With Beizhou's military and the cultivation force stationed there joining hands to suppress matters, how much disorder can killing some corrupt officials really create?"

Peng Youzai said, "That's not what I mean."

"If we start slaughtering people indiscriminately without any proper reason, it violates the rules."

"There will be no way to explain it to the imperial court or the three great sects."

"They will inevitably intervene."

"When that happens, will Elder Niu be able to withstand the pressure from Zijin Cave?"

"Elder Niu is now inside Zijin Cave. Surely you cannot ignore every rule Zijin Cave has."

There was no way Peng Youzai could agree to simply run wild like that.

Niu Youdao only needed to loosen his lips and say a few words.

But if Tianyu Sect charged ahead and Niu Youdao later dusted off his hands and stood to one side watching the spectacle, wouldn't Tianyu Sect have been tricked to death?

Who knew whether Niu Youdao was merely using the opportunity to take revenge on Tianyu Sect?

Niu Youdao said, "Sect Leader Peng can rest assured."

"This Niu is not an unreasonable man."

"I won't put Tianyu Sect in a difficult position."

"I will give Tianyu Sect a perfectly legitimate reason to act!"

"If no opportunity appears, don't move."

"When an opportunity is delivered into Tianyu Sect's hands, then act."

"That way, Tianyu Sect cannot claim I'm making things difficult for you, can it?"

"How about it?"

"This..."

Peng Youzai still hesitated.

Niu Youdao said, "Sect Leader Peng, Tianyu Sect has reached the time when it must make a choice."

"You must choose."

"There is no road of retreat."

"I must resolve the matter of Beizhou while this opportunity exists."

"If I miss it, I fear there will never again be such a favorable external environment."

"So today—right now—you must give me an answer!"

Peng Youzai hesitated again and again before finally gritting his teeth.

"If such an opportunity truly appears, Tianyu Sect is willing to lend Elder Niu its strength!"

Turned around, those words also meant that if no perfectly legitimate opportunity to act appeared, Tianyu Sect would not have to do anything.

He had still left Tianyu Sect a road of retreat within his wording.

Niu Youdao nodded.

"Good!"

"I hope Sect Leader Peng keeps his word and isn't merely playing games with me."

Peng Youzai said, "I would not dare."

Niu Youdao said, "Once those people have been cleaned out, if the imperial court sends new officials there, then for every one it sends, Tianyu Sect is to secretly assassinate one."

"Kill them until no one dares go."

"I refuse to believe there are truly men beneath Heaven willing to throw away their lives merely for the sake of scraping together wealth!"

"In short, from this point onward, appointments of local officials throughout Beizhou are to be controlled entirely by Shao Dengyun."

"There is no need for any other outside force to interfere."

"You and Shao Dengyun are to join hands, take full control of Beizhou, and be ready at any time to answer my call!"

[End of Chapter 900]