The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 352: Murong is the master of martial arts

Murong Fu defended the ring for three days, and finally ended up with one draw and more than a hundred wins. He left a scroll of booklets on the ring, and then left with his maids and guards. However, the flag on the ring had a new message: The world's martial arts originated from Murong.

Qiao Feng first browsed through those booklets which did not contain much content. Each booklet had only a hundred words, at most three to five hundred words, and some illustrations. There was not much actual content. After reading it, Qiao Feng could not help but burst into laughter, shouting "The best martial arts in the world comes from Murong" and left laughing.

Everyone was curious, but it was several respected martial arts masters who took over these martial arts classics. These old masters unfolded the volumes one by one, and after reading them carefully, they couldn't help but show an expression of being at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

What do you think?

This was the general outline of martial arts in the world compiled and drawn by Murong Fu himself, which included fists, feet, fingers, palms, swords, spears, sticks and clubs, but the content made them laugh and cry.

For example, the general outline of leg techniques lists the most basic types such as bouncing legs, kicking legs, sweeping legs, cutting legs, whipping legs, etc., and briefly describes the methods of external demonstration. There is nothing more. The booklet clearly mentions that this is the general outline of the Murong family's leg techniques. If other martial arts schools use these and do not exceed them, they are automatically assumed to be from the Murong family.

Such a blatant rhetoric left many veterans looking at each other in bewilderment, thinking, "Isn't this just cheating?" Every martial art is derived from a basic combination of movements, with some added variations and control of power. But the physical form is an extension of these, and no one is exempt.

The training methods of other boxing techniques such as straight punch, jab, swing punch, hook punch and cannon punch are also explained clearly and concisely, but there is no mention of internal strength.

Sword techniques are introduced the most, such as stabbing sword, chopping sword, lifting sword, hanging sword, cloud sword, pointing sword, collapsing sword, intercepting sword, holding sword, piercing sword, cutting sword, etc. The names are fancy, but they can be summarized as chopping, stabbing, pointing, lifting, collapsing, intercepting, wiping, piercing, picking, lifting, twisting and sweeping.

However, once these booklets came out, when he looked back at the martial arts he had practiced, he found that when all the moves were broken down, there was not a single one that he could escape. Doesn't this confirm the saying that all the martial arts in the world came from Murong?

Although it may seem like cheating, it is also a solution. After watching it, many people in the martial arts world cannot say that they have gained nothing. At least they have a deeper and more intuitive understanding of the most basic aspects of martial arts, but most of them have lost nothing.

Everyone who read these booklets either cursed loudly or said with a strange look on their face that all martial arts in the world came from Murong, and then walked away with a big laugh. For a time, these booklets spread throughout the world at an astonishing speed, and most of the many martial artists gathered in Gusu City retreated, but a few liked the environment here and even joined Gusu Academy.

Being used as a gun is never a pleasant thing. That civil official and his family background were exposed in public by Murong Fu. Who was involved in each and every incident and how they instigated and pushed the events forward were clearly stated. Many of those martial artists who lost face had some identities and backgrounds behind them, so how could they let it go afterward?

Murong Fu has proven that he is indeed a man of both civil and military talents. The reputation of Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south is not in vain. The so-called martial arts of the world come from Murong was originally a trick used by political enemies to covet the Murong family's collection of books and wealth, and they were just fools being used.

However, Murong Fu used another little trick. On the one hand, he proved that Murong was a joke among all martial arts in the world, severely slapped the faces of his political enemies and the fools who came to make trouble, and at the same time demonstrated his true strength.

He told the world that the Murong family was originally a martial arts family, and they had not declined, and were still powerful in martial arts. He also made it clear that he was trying to transform himself into a scholarly family and the efforts he had made to achieve this. Now they could already say that they were a scholarly family.

The Murong family is behind Gusu College. They have trained more than a thousand scholars, and more than one official has passed the imperial examination. The most representative one, apart from the foul-mouthed censor Bao Bu Tong, is the young master of the Murong family, Rongjing County Magistrate Murong Fu.

However, both of them were somewhat eccentric in officialdom and not very sociable. Bao Bu Tong had been an official for many years and had never been involved in any corruption or bribery. He had never formed a clique for personal gain and dared to criticize anyone with his foul mouth, no matter whether they were civil or military ministers or royal relatives. As long as he caught them making a mistake, he would criticize them harshly in the court.

Murong Fu, the magistrate who was exiled to a small county on the frontier as soon as he entered the officialdom, was even more outrageous. At the beginning of his tenure, he forcefully suppressed the powerful and indigenous tribes, and then he mobilized the people's manpower to carry out various tasks in a big way. Many of his actions did not conform to the rules, but the results were unexpectedly good.

Just look at how he solved the murder of the previous county magistrate, disrupted the infiltration of Tibetan spies, wiped out the Tibetan army that sneaked into the Song Dynasty, and ensured the food supply of the border fortress. Although it was a bit against the rules to privately recruit border army captains as county lieutenants, it greatly improved the county's defense capabilities, intimidated the natives, and ensured the safety of trade routes and official roads.

Rongjing County was well-governed, but the magistrate was absent from his post most of the time. This situation not only did not bring about any chaos, but instead made Rongjing County orderly and developed in an orderly manner, which was truly shocking.

He went out twice. Once he went to Dali alone and opened up trade channels with Dali. A large amount of tea and medicinal materials poured into Rongjing County. The second time he returned to the Central Plains alone, this time he had more personal matters to attend to. He caused trouble for Mrs. Murong, who accepted the capital contribution from her adopted daughter, an ancient descendant. Naturally, this made other civil officials and noble families jealous. Unable to get what they wanted, they created the farce that all the martial arts in the world came from Murong.

Although it had once caused considerable trouble for the Murong family, drawing countless martial artists into Gusu City and significantly impacting public security—for a time, the Taihu Lake was practically overcrowded, with Gusu Academy seeing double-digit numbers of rogues expelled daily—in the end, Murong Fu suddenly emerged with a powerful force, instantly suppressing everything and using a basic pamphlet to undermine the foundation of the situation, rendering the notion of Murong as the sole source of martial arts knowledge in the world a joke.

After the storm, the aftermath was far from over. Those people in the martial arts world who had been cheated and exploited were unwilling to let it go. They turned their spearheads against the people and families who had cheated them, and for a time, they made the other party embarrassed and suffered heavy losses.

The family business was destroyed, and the family residence was often visited by people from the martial arts world. The loss of money was nothing, but the other party had set their sights on their collection of classics and other inheritances.

Aren't you just jealous of others' inheritance? Then I'll take your collection and see if you feel bad.

Needless to say, the result was truly heartbreaking, so heartbreaking that he could not breathe. However, the martial artists who attacked were no mediocre ones, and ordinary servants and guards, and even government runners, could not handle them. When he wanted to ask for help from the martial artists, he found that his family had such a bad reputation among the martial artists that no one was willing to help.

Besides, their reputation among the literati is also not good. Envy and jealousy are human nature, but the conspiracy and frame-up are exposed. You were able to harm the Murong family this time, will you harm our family next time just because I have something good in my hands?

How can I make friends with such a person?

As Murong Fu leisurely made his way to Rongjing County, these scholars and literati were almost unable to hold on. They sent people to ask for help from the Murong family, but were dismissed by old lady Murong with a sentence: "We are not familiar with them."

How could the civil minister bear to let go of such a huge loss? He worked hard to collect information for several months and launched a counterattack in the court, impeaching Murong Fu. After all, many of Murong Fu's behaviors could not stand up to scrutiny.

"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Rongjing County Magistrate Murong Fu for ten serious crimes. The first is dereliction of duty. As the Rongjing County Magistrate, you were absent from your post for most of the year you were in office. Where does this put you in a position to betray the grace of the Emperor?"

"Secondly, they abused the people's power. According to reports from local officials, after Magistrate Murong took office, Rongjing County levied massive forced labor. The longest labor requirement was eight months, while the shortest was two or three months. This tyranny has caused widespread outrage and resentment among the people of Rongjing County. It is rumored that a petition from the people of Rongjing County is on its way, and they are about to resist the capital."

"Third, they appointed people based on personal connections, employing a large number of students from Gusu College to fill the government offices. These students, without official status, were able to wield the power of the government offices."

"Fourth, he secretly communicated with the border troops. Not only did he control the official roads to and from the border, he also had frequent exchanges with the border troops, and even bribed and recruited border army captains to serve him."

"Fifth, he colluded with foreign countries. Shortly after assuming the position of Rongjing County Magistrate, he traveled alone to the Dali Kingdom. It is said that he even entered the Dali Imperial Palace and had secret talks with the Dali royal family."

"Sixth, they seized and plundered, forcing the ancient Zhuge clan to hand over their family heritage and even holding their legitimate granddaughter as a hostage."

"Seventh, they maintain private armies and plot nefariously. The Gusu Murong clan has thousands of soldiers under their command, dominating Taihu Lake. Rumor has it that tens of thousands of martial artists have invaded the Murong clan, yet they were unable to succeed. This shows just how powerful the Murong clan's private armies are."

"Eighth, spreading rumors and slandering important officials of the court, causing lawless people to come and cause trouble."

"Ninth, they oppressed the good, abused lynching, and wantonly suppressed businessmen in Rongjing County, imprisoning powerless businessmen and forcing them to confess under torture."

"Tenth, he is lustful and disrespectful to society. He is often accompanied by beautiful maids, and he fights with others for women in public, which undermines the dignity of the court."

"These ten crimes are well-documented. Your Majesty, please take heed and punish these treacherous villains severely!" The old minister with a big beard spoke with righteousness and his words were sonorous and powerful.

The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty was very excited to hear this. He narrowed his eyes and cast a glance at the Censor Bao Bu Tong, who was curling his lips frequently and showing disdain in a dark look not far away. He smiled slightly and said, "How could such a thing happen? County Magistrate Murong is so audacious. It seems that he has been committing crimes for a long time. Why has no one reported it? Censor Bao Aiqing, this County Magistrate Murong seems to be from your master's family. I wonder what you have to say?"

All the court officials cast curious glances at him. You know, this foul-mouthed Bao Bu Tong has always been known for his integrity. I wonder what he has to say this time since it concerns his young master.