The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 447 The Murong family has since become the Murong royal family of the Great Yan Kingdom!

If you can't win, then surrender. This is a common tactic used by the literati of the Song Dynasty. As the emperor of the Song Dynasty, the emperor sees many things very clearly. The Murong family has switched from military to civil, but they attach equal importance to both military and civil. This is not in the interests of the wealthy families. Moreover, the Murong Trading Company has been thriving and has made huge profits, which has aroused the jealousy of many wealthy families. As a result, they have attacked the Murong family in an attempt to eliminate it in the bud.

However, the Murong family today is no longer a babe in swaddling clothes, but a tiger that has begun to show the temperament of the king of the jungle. It has fought its way out of the enemy on all sides. Although it suffered heavy losses, it has frightened its enemies.

In the eyes of the emperor, it is common sense to negotiate peace at this time to bring the Murong family into the ranks of his own people, and then slowly control and weaken them in the areas he is familiar with, so as to slowly erode and devour them, or use coercion and inducement to truly make the Murong family a part of the wealthy family.

It's just that sometimes some things can't be inferred by common sense. Conflicts of interest may be compromised, but academic disputes are extremely fierce and life-and-death. If it were just the Murong family and Murong Trading Company, the wealthy families might pay some price to compromise after a bloody fight and bring the Murong family into their ranks.

However, the existence of Gusu College made them tremble with fear and walk on thin ice. In their view, the distorted and castrated Confucianism can be released, but the essence of the various schools of thought cannot be released. This is to dig out the roots of their wealthy families. As long as Gusu College exists, they will be hostile to the Murong family.

So will the Murong family give up Gusu College?

The Murong family had been a single-line successor for five generations, their retainers consisting entirely of valiant warriors. These individuals were insufficient to propel the Murong family to prominence, nor could they truly establish it as a powerful family recognized by the upper echelons of the Song Dynasty. Gusu Academy was the foundation of the Murong family's rise, and Murong Fu, no matter how foolish, would not act so self-destructively. He would rather cut off his own tail and continuously shrink the Murong Company's sphere of influence than preserve Gusu Academy. This was a decision made after a clear understanding of the situation.

Under the unique circumstances of the Song Dynasty, the wealthy and powerful families and aristocratic clans were destined to be unable to use force against Gusu Academy. They could only resort to tactical tactics, such as suppressing Gusu Academy students and candidates, or even challenging them. However, Gusu Academy's students were no ordinary contenders. With Murong Fu and the Eight Friends of Hangu, these tactics were ineffective, and they even repeatedly brought fame to Gusu Academy.

As for directly using violence to attack Gusu College, this is even more unfeasible. Once they do so, they will lose their moral justice and set a precedent comparable to the bloody succession fight of Li Er in Xuanwu Sect. In the future, academic disputes may turn into bloody battles with swords, which is definitely not the result they want. Moreover, this action is enough to prove that the Murong family is worthy of being a military family, and their military strength is not comparable to that of the literati families like them.

They originally planned to physically cut off the roots of the Murong family. As long as Murong Fu died, the two newborn babies would be useless and could die at any time. By then, what would it matter if Madam Murong had supernatural powers?

Once the Murong family is destroyed, no matter how powerful Gusu Academy is, it will lose its direction. Then they will have room to intervene, and it will be much easier to slowly divide and eliminate the doctrines they do not want to spread.

In just one battle at Taihu Lake, three top-notch masters and one top-notch master from the four major families were killed, which made them see the military advantage of the Murong family. Although it was only an advantage at the level of martial arts masters, it still made them feel apprehensive.

If such an opponent was offended, it was best to strike them down immediately, otherwise there would be endless trouble. In this regard, the wealthy and powerful families had a longer-term vision than the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. This time, many of the noble families joined forces to suppress the Murong Company. Firstly, they were dissatisfied with the Murong family's expansion and the wanton dissemination of the essence of the various schools of thought. Secondly, they were also motivated by the Murong Company's incredible profits, which aroused their ill will.

But he never expected that the Murong family was so powerful in terms of military force, and Murong Fu had a strong personality. He would rather cut off his financial resources than give them convenience. He did not get any benefits from the many families, but offended the Murong family for no reason. If he gave in at this time, who would bear the losses of Murong Trading Company in dozens of cities?

It has always been the right of the victor to settle accounts. If the Murong family cannot be defeated, they will have to compensate for their losses. The losses of Murong Trading Company can even bankrupt one or two top wealthy families. They don’t know that Murong Fu had made preparations and transferred the wealth, and they don’t know that many people did not suffer losses but were sent to Goryeo and Liao outside the Song Dynasty.

Looking solely at the apparent losses, the staggering figures terrified them, yet they could find no reason to refute their claims or to understand where this enormous wealth had gone. They knew their subordinates were inherently greedy, and they also knew that local officials rarely had much to lose. However, since the problem lay on their side, the Murong family, as both victims and victors, had every reason to demand compensation from them.

If we really want to settle the accounts later, the losses of many cities will be borne by many wealthy families together. It is not unbearable, but doing so will damage their own strength and allow the Murong family to become bigger again, which they cannot accept.

But it is unrealistic to expect them to forgive the past just because they acknowledge the status and position of the Murong family. They are also very clear about Murong Fu's character. He is a strong man.

In fact, at this point, many families realized the strength of the Murong family and Murong Fu's toughness, and the voices of cutting losses in time were not weak. However, many wealthy families with a long history and a long vision believed that the best thing to do was to completely destroy the Murong family at all costs, even if it meant breaking the rules.

If the Murong family rises to prominence, a second, third, and even more military families will inevitably follow suit. Countless Gusu academies will then open up to the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought, using military force to safeguard the pursuit of knowledge, and using the practical application of the Hundred Schools of Thought to challenge the false Confucian defenses constructed by the aristocratic families. If the foundation of their existence, the Confucianism of the Great Song Dynasty, is breached, the consequences will be disastrous. Their decline will only be a matter of time, and may even be even more tragic.

Before the peace envoys arrived, the imperial court's transfer orders soon reached Gusu City. The Gusu prefect and other high-ranking officials were transferred one after another. Then the local army underwent changes. There were even fleets of unknown origin that appeared on the sea, approaching the Taihu Lake.

The entire Gusu City was in turmoil, and the atmosphere of impending storm frightened many knowledgeable people, who quickly left this troubled place. The power of Murong Trading Company was also shrinking rapidly, and Gusu College was even more relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside. The number of patrol boats on Taihu Lake also doubled.

A game on a larger scale began. Murong Fu issued one order after another, causing huge shock to the entire Song Dynasty.

Riots broke out in Sichuan and Shu, and several counties were captured by native people and refugees. The Tubo and Xixia armies gathered, and there seemed to be unusual movements.

Suddenly, several pirate groups appeared on the sea. They were galloping along the Golden Route. All the merchant ships of the Song Dynasty, unless they were docked at the ports belonging to the Seventy-two Island Owners, were looted by them. They even captured the people and the merchant ships became their spoils.

An alarm came from Yanmen Pass. Due to the contraction of Murong Trading Company, many commodities of Liao State could not be supplied. Liao State strongly demanded that Song State increase its annual tribute. Among them, silver and money were secondary. Refined salt, good tea, fruits, steel, etc. were the key. Murong Trading Company was the real big spender on many of these things. After they contracted and retreated, it was difficult for other families to meet their demands even if they united.

Moreover, these were not transactions, but annual tributes, paid free of charge and given out without compensation.

Due to the contraction of Murong Trading Company's business, the employment situation in many cities deteriorated significantly. Also, because the trading company transferred a large amount of wealth before it withdrew, the officials were unable to get any benefits and lost a large amount of taxes, forcing them to transfer this part of the burden to the people. For a time, the people complained bitterly, and some people with ulterior motives only gave a little guidance, and a large number of rioters killed officials and rebelled. For a time, the whole country was in chaos.

In several cities, within days of the troops' departure, rioters swarmed in, slaughtering entire families of rulers and looting the city's wealthy families, merchants, officials, and government warehouses. These rioters, of varying backgrounds, murdered and robbed the city, only to have the troops return and arrest them, only to find them scattered. The vast wealth they had lost was never recovered.

Looking at the piles of memorials in front of him, the emperor's forehead was throbbing with veins. I just wanted to get some benefits by joining the wealthy families, but why did it suddenly seem like the world was in chaos and everyone was rebelling?

On the stargazing tower of Chanhe Villa, Murong Fu cast his gaze eastward, muttering to himself, "In this battle, most of the Song navy was destroyed. The Great Yan cavalry marched out of Yanmen Pass and attacked Hedong, Hebei, and Jingxi. The Great Yan navy marched out of Goryeo and attacked Jingdong and Huainan. The Great Yan will replace the Liao and officially enter the historical stage. From now on, the Murong family will be known as the Murong royal family of the Great Yan!"