Plans Had Changed

"Not too bad!"

Lord Li nodded. "I still have some influence in Yicheng. The merchants’ association elected me president of the Yicheng branch last month, and I’ve already taken care of my connections with the Gui Yuan Sect. The Yicheng City Lord is a good friend of mine, and the local militia will nominally be placed under the City Lord’s administration.

The regulations we submitted in name are based on that thing you mentioned about protecting the borders, pacifying the people, and wiping out the bandits. In reality, everyone knows it’s just talk.

With gangs like the White Horse Gang around, protecting the borders and pacifying the people is impossible. But sending elite soldiers to safeguard the trade routes shouldn’t be a problem. That way, everyone’s costs will go down.

"What? Is there a problem?" Lord Li asked in puzzlement. Gu Sheng had explained everything to him clearly at the time, and he had followed the plan all along. There shouldn’t have been any problems. So why was this boy frowning?

"The plan needs to change!"

Gu Sheng raised his head and said solemnly, "I think the local militia should follow the regulations: protect the borders, pacify the people, wipe out the bandits, and safeguard the region."

"You’re crazy!"

Lord Li stared at Gu Sheng in disbelief. Was this really the same cunning little fox he knew, the one who could talk endlessly about profit?

Chu Xin tugged at Lord Li’s sleeve. "Dad~"

"Ao Yu, you can’t act willfully over this matter!"

Lord Li patted his daughter’s little hand, then angrily lectured Gu Sheng. "You do know where the bandits around Yicheng come from, right? Most of the annual fees you pay flow through various channels to the White Horse Gang and the major gangs in Yicheng.

"Do you think the White Horse Gang’s eight thousand members came from nowhere? Aside from the White Horse Battalion inside the city, most of their forces are maintained in the various strongholds outside the city.

"All along, the Gui Yuan Sect, the various city administrations, and the major gangs have had an unspoken understanding. The city belongs to the City Lord’s administration, and the major gangs must not allow disorder within the city. Outside the city, apart from areas containing important resources and mineral deposits, most regions are simply handed over to the gangs to manage.

"Now you want to protect the borders, pacify the people, wipe out the bandits, and safeguard the region. That means taking away the major gangs’ interests. Do you think they’ll agree?"

"Let’s see what happens first!"

Gu Sheng said no more and directly handed over a scroll of paper.

"What’s this~"

Although Lord Li was somewhat irritated, he still accepted it. After looking through it, he was drawn in by the contents.

He read quickly. After carefully pondering it and calculating the figures in his head, he wore a bitter smile. "I have to say, you’ve drawn us a wonderful pie. Indeed! We overlooked this before. In reality, these commoners are the…

"Your idea of dividing up territory, commercializing the gangs, pacifying the people, and collecting taxes is excellent."

Gu Sheng’s plan was actually very simple. He intended to imitate the organized crime syndicates of modern Japan: standardize and corporatize the underworld industries, then divide up territory among them. If everyone stopped exhausting themselves by fighting and undermining one another, their businesses would grow larger and larger. Naturally, they wouldn’t allow disorder inside or outside the city.

Once Yicheng was pacified and the bandit problem eliminated, its economy would inevitably develop. Profiting from war could only work for a while. Only stable economic development was a long-term solution.

"This plan is excellent. The merchants’ association should be able to approve it, and there shouldn’t be any problems with the City Lord’s administration either."

Lord Li nodded repeatedly, but as he continued, he frowned. "The White Horse Gang won’t agree, though. Those people are shortsighted and only care about their immediate interests. During the early stages of this plan, sacrificing some of their interests will be unavoidable.

"The far-sighted leaders should be easy enough to persuade. What worries me are the ordinary gang members and bandits below. Getting them to restrain themselves and stop causing trouble will probably be difficult~"

"Hmph~ They’re nothing but a bunch of scum. If they refuse, wipe them out!"

Gu Sheng snorted coldly. When it came to bandits and thieves, he followed Akainu’s absolute justice of answering slaughter with slaughter. It might be somewhat biased, but it was entirely appropriate for dealing with bandits and thieves. In this era, anyone who became a bandit was basically no good.

"The bandit problem is easy to resolve, but the gangs will be difficult to move. We’ll need to consider this carefully!"

Lord Li warned him solemnly. In this high-martial world, the Nine Provinces had experts capable of breaking through an army alone. Numbers were of little use against a master. Unless an expert foolishly charged head-on into a large army, there was no reason to fear an army that couldn’t even catch its enemy.

The same applied to bandits. They might have large numbers, but their combat power was not even one-tenth that of an army. A few significant casualties would cause their entire line to collapse. If an expert infiltrated a stronghold and launched attacks day and night, it wouldn’t take many days to wipe out a small stronghold of fewer than a thousand people.

"I’ll first find some people to discuss this with!"

Lord Li made his decision. "After I return today, I’ll speak with the merchants’ association and the City Lord’s administration. I expect this can be settled by the day after tomorrow at the latest. I have some ties with Third Master Liu of the White Horse Gang, so I’ll speak with him as well. We should be able to gain some support.

"Ideally, we’d get Fourth Master Hong of the White Horse Gang to approve it. Unfortunately, he’s been stationed at White Horse Lake for years and has handed all matters, large and small, over to his son Hong Zhenjie and the various leaders. The White Horse Gang’s young master, Hong Zhenjie, happens to be overbearing and impossible to reason with.

"Oh, right. Be careful during this period."

"You mean the White Horse Gang might attack us?"

Gu Sheng’s voice turned somewhat sinister. If the White Horse Gang truly came looking for trouble, he wouldn’t mind wiping them out.

"No~"

Lord Li shook his head. "The White Horse Gang has still cared about its reputation over the years. If they wanted to extort some money from you, Third Master Liu would have come to your door long ago, so they probably won’t attack.

"However, Fourth Master Hong hasn’t acted in years, and several of the leaders have half-retired to make way for others. Hong Zhenjie lacks prestige, and the situation in Yicheng has become rather turbulent and inscrutable. Many experts are secretly recruiting troops and building forces, apparently preparing to challenge the White Horse Gang.

"They need money to establish gangs, build factions, and develop their power. You made quite a commotion when you returned, so you may well have attracted someone’s attention. Those people won’t give me any face, much less take Teng Village seriously. They might even attack Teng Village directly."

"I understand. Don’t worry about it."

Gu Sheng waved his hand, not taking the matter too seriously. Teng Village was no longer a soft target. At least, there was no force in little Yicheng capable of threatening him. If those people dared to provoke him, they could wait to be wiped out.

"By the way, you’d better settle things quickly. Come to me if there’s a problem!"

Gu Sheng seemed somewhat anxious. He had no choice but to be anxious. He and Chu Xin didn’t have much time left in The Nine Cauldrons World—less than ten days. Before leaving, he had to establish the basic framework and ensure that everything would proceed according to his arrangements after he was gone.

"Good!"

Lord Li nodded. Although he didn’t know why Gu Sheng was in such a hurry, he didn’t ask further. The end of the year was approaching, and the White Horse Gang was preparing to collect its annual fees again. Perhaps that was why Gu Sheng was so anxious.

"Ao Yu, go home with your uncle first!"

Gu Sheng gave Chu Xin some instructions, then saw off the reluctant girl.

As one of the first batch of Reincarnators, Chu Xin could sense good and evil. Her potential was certainly not weak.

Gu Sheng naturally needed trustworthy helpers if he wanted to rise in the modern world and the Lord God Space. Therefore, he had to cultivate Chu Xin’s ability to act independently and make her a powerful aid at his side.