Lord of the Desert

Chapter 494 Looking for trouble
December 18, the 32nd year of Zhenghe.

As the solar term approaches the Great Cold, the rainfall in the capital decreases.

In the north, cold waves from Hezhou have frequently moved southwards over the past two months, turning the area north of Yuzuo Mountain into a white ice wall. Hong Fan flew over the mountain ridge a few days ago and saw the cold air surging into clouds along the steep mountain walls, like a backward waterfall.

The end of the year is approaching and there are many miscellaneous things to do.

Xiao Chu even wanted to invite Hong Fan to stay in Shenjing for the New Year.

Just at this time, news came from Dahua Martial Arts Academy.

This was the third time Guan Qimai summoned Hong Fan in Jianwei Hall.

"You handled the Qingdi Zhenzong matter properly last time, especially eliminating the scum from the Evil List, which saved me a lot of effort."

He stood behind a wide table, which was unusually tidy, and looked prepared.

"Since you came back from Qingzhou, has anyone used the Zhenzong matter to embarrass you?"

"No, everything is business as usual."

Hong Fan told the truth.

"That's good. These people still know something."

Guan Qimai nodded.

"I came to you this time for something serious."

He made the number three with his fingers, indicating the third task, and then pushed a thin book from the corner of the table over.

Hong Fan picked up the booklet and saw three regular script characters "Foundation Building Secrets" printed on the cover.

"Just flip through it, it's very superficial."

Guan Qimai gestured.

Hong Fan read it as he was told and found that it was a book of attributeless, secret-level skills. The sentences in it were extremely plain and there was nothing remarkable about it except that it was easy to understand and practice.

But this is undoubtedly a genuine martial art, and its upper limit can reach the realm of communication between heaven and man.

"This 'Foundation Building Technique' was compiled by me. It is simple and easy to understand and not prone to errors. Although it is not very effective in fighting and cannot reach the innate level, it can be practiced in all directions."

Guan Qimai explained.

"This is now the teaching material for the Zhangwuyuan Martial Arts School."

"Martial Arts School?"

Hong Fan had never heard of this word.

"Yes, the martial arts academy will fund the establishment of the school and teach people martial arts for free."

Guan Qimai actually sighed.

"I started this seven years ago, and it has expanded from one county in Qingzhou to ten counties in the three eastern states, covering a population of 400,000."

“This is a great policy!”

Hong Fan stood in awe.

“Whether it is good governance depends on who it is for.”

Guan Qimai glanced at him and sneered.

“And it’s extremely difficult to do this.”

He paced in the hall with his brows furrowed and his hands behind his back.

"Practicing martial arts is a dangerous thing. Without a reliable teacher to guide you, it's easy to go astray. Every year, hundreds of martial arts techniques from ancient times are discovered in Dahua, most of which are third or fourth level or even fragments. Nearly half of those who practice privately end up dying or getting disabled. But hiring a teacher is very expensive."

"There are now 40,000 school-age teenagers in public schools, and a total of 2,000 teachers are needed. Most of these teachers must be hired locally, and their training must be at least guantong. The average annual salary is 130 taels per person, which adds up to 230,000 guan per year."

“It’s not just the teachers who are spending money.”

"The students of the public school are all strong laborers in their families, and most of them cannot leave their jobs. The school system is one month and there are ten days of martial arts training. During these ten days, the public school provides two meals a day, and meat is required. Each meal costs more than ten coins per person, and the total cost is 10,000 taels a year. Pills are indispensable. The minimum standard is 300 coins per person per month, which is 150,000 taels. In addition to the venue, teaching aids, administration, and some miscellaneous expenses, the ten counties have to swallow 500,000 strings of cash from the martial arts academy every year."

Upon hearing this, Hong Fan nodded with a calm expression.

"I forgot you are a very rich man."

Guan Qimai originally thought that this number would scare the other party, but then he realized that Hong Fan's wealth was not comparable to that of other Tiqi.

"But no matter what, 500,000 guan is a considerable sum even for the imperial court."

This is absolutely true.

Last year, Dahua had an annual income of 80 million taels, of which 12 million were military expenditures. The total budget of the Zhangwu Academy was even higher, reaching 14 million taels - this included the food and clothing of more than 200 city-level institutions in Kyushu and more than 1,000 county-level offices with a total of 100,000 staff members.

It was for this reason that Jin Ziming's earning of more than one million in annual taxes for the central government was a remarkable achievement.

"In the past two years, Fantian Society has consumed a lot of funds from the academy. Five hundred thousand taels a year is all I can scrape out - so this money must be spent with results, and it must be the best results."

Guan Qimai almost gritted his teeth when he said this.

With Hong Fan's intelligence, he immediately understood the other party's concerns.

Guan Qimai was not short of 500,000 guan. He was worried that the money would not be invested and would lead to a backlash within the Zhangwu Academy, interrupting its policy plan. However, with a little mental arithmetic, it is clear that universal martial arts education is an almost insurmountable obstacle. According to the current population of Dahua, the most basic teaching staff would cost 160 million guan a year, which would correspond to an annual fiscal revenue of at least 2 billion guan.

Even if the imperial court was sold, it couldn't afford this expense.

The road is still too long, so long that it makes my eyes go dark just thinking about it.

But for such a vague matter, this annoying old man in front of me is already trying to figure it out inch by inch by using scratching and biting methods.

Hong Fan couldn't help but stand in awe.

"Principal, what's wrong with the public school?"

He got completely serious.

“There are so many problems.”

Guan Qimai sighed.

“First, martial artists from sects and aristocratic families discriminate against public school students, and in addition to provocation and suppression, they also murder them.

Just to say that there have been 30 reported unnatural deaths this year, many of which must have been man-made.

Second, if the lower classes practice martial arts, it will cause unrest in local order.

To cite a few examples, in years of poor harvest, students from public schools resisted rent demands on behalf of their families, stood up for oppressed villagers, and banded together to denounce injustice, which even led to bloody conflicts.

Last year, when you did not come to the capital, the court received a petition from seven families in Juzhou, accusing the public school of spreading martial arts and causing immoral people to infest the local area.

Third, public schools violated the master-apprentice tradition.

In the past few years, more than one person has said to me in person that "learning martial arts without a disciple is a betrayal of the teacher and ancestors", and that it goes against the principles of Zulong's teachings. Public schools often suspend classes temporarily due to this kind of pressure.

Fourthly, public schools lack teachers and thus are a mixed bag of good and bad people.

Locally hired teachers cannot escape the influence of the local area. Some of them are bad at teaching, slow at teaching, or even chaotic at teaching. Every year, there are cases of students in various counties going astray and having their meridians damaged. Even though teachers with excellent moral character do not do evil, they often have to resign due to pressure..."

He talked a lot, complaining like a grumble.

"Is this how you nip it in the bud?"

Hong Fan looked solemn.

The universal public school was of course in opposition to the monopoly forces such as the aristocratic families and sects, but he did not expect the latter to react so strongly.

"That's not the case."

Guan Qimai glanced at Hong Fan strangely.

"I have traveled from Qingzhou to Shenjing, and nine out of a hundred people I have met are either thinking about the present or themselves, and not thinking about danger in times of peace."

"The school has been in operation for seven years, and has taught more than 50,000 students. More than 200 have reached the Guantong realm, 15 have reached the Hunran realm, and there are three who have achieved the heavenly and human communication realm."

Guan Qimai was a little proud when he talked about this - this ratio was naturally much lower than that of the Hong family, but it was much higher than Duan Tiannan's wild growth method at that time.

"Studying is similar to being a soldier, especially since warriors from public schools have similar backgrounds and tend to get into a fight. How can there not be trouble when a group of warriors appear in a stagnant place?"

He smiled calmly and profoundly, as if everything he said was what he had seen with his own eyes.

"In the past, the landlords didn't care about the harvest when collecting rent. Since there were no capable people in the village, they had to pay it. Now there are more hot-blooded people who can see through the inner world. Should we resist the rent? The same goes for other things like usury and bullying. Of course, there are even more bad things done by students from public schools. Don't I know what kind of people the poor are? It's normal for them to become more and more evil once they gain power."

"Conflicts accumulate little by little, gradually becoming as intense as a raging fire. Of course, there are people who take advantage of them."

Guan Qimai's face turned cold and he asked.

"Have you heard of the Guzhou Pan family?"

Hong Fan nodded.

He had rejected Prince Sheng Xiao Ji in person, so how could he not know the Pan family?
"I feel that the current crown prince is not virtuous enough, and I support the second prince to inherit the throne. Pan Yucheng's granddaughter married Xiao Lao San, who is naturally opposed to me, so I fanned the flames behind the scenes - at the beginning of the year, he contacted some imperial envoys to impeach the military academy for its chaotic politics, causing unrest in the area."

Guan Qimai explained casually.

Hong Fan never thought that the matter of fighting for the throne could be discussed so blatantly.

Although he helped Guan Qimai to complete two tasks, he still did not think that the relationship between them was that deep; but on second thought, the princes and princesses did not have much face in front of the Martial Saint, and no one would dare to pursue it if the news got out.

"This time, I want you to find fault with the Pan family."

Guan Qimai tapped the table with his fingers, making a loud clanging sound.

"I have already asked several suitable candidates about this matter, including Yuan Ci, but they all declined. However, I think you must be brave enough."

This "kindness" made Hong Fan feel pressured.

He immediately realized Guan Qimai's secondary purpose beyond the mission - because of the special relationship with Xiao Chu, the Pan family would probably not dare to retaliate excessively, otherwise it would damage the relationship between the eldest princess who holds military power and her younger brother.

This was another conspiracy that killed two birds with one stone, and the old man across the table didn't even try to hide it.

"Please give me your instructions, Headmaster."

Hong Fan took a deep breath and nodded heavily.

The Blazing Explosion Codex was one of the few martial arts codes outside of the Ten Scriptures that was believed to have the potential to reach the realm of Martial Saint, so he was determined to obtain it.

PS: Happy May Day everyone~~~
(End of this chapter)