Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 237 Unkind and unjust
Xu Hao, who was standing by, looked at Song Xian in shock when he heard his plan. He didn't expect that Song Xian's plan was to take advantage of the geographical advantages of Tianshan Mountain, invite the Muhe grassland forces to move in, and collect a 10% tax on all supplies entering the Tianshan shops in the name of the inspection area.

I have to say, this idea is indeed bold.

Let’s not talk about inviting Muhe Grassland shops to settle in, what does this mean!

The Tianshan Mountains were originally an independent buffer zone between the Muhe Grassland and the Qin State. If a market were to be opened there and shops belonging to the Muhe Grassland forces were to be invited to move in, it would be barely acceptable.

But charging a 10% tax on all items in the shops is a bit too bold.

You know, the shops in the market are all backed by powerful forces, such as the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family. Song Xian actually wanted to collect taxes from them, which was really too bold.

Jiang Feng looked at him deeply. He was not shocked by Song Xian's bold idea, but was a little surprised by his foresight.

Presumably, from the moment he took control of Tianshan, he had already thought of establishing a market and collecting taxes today.

From establishing inspection areas to opening markets to collecting taxes, each step is closely linked to the next.

"If you want to open a market in Tianshan, you need the consent of forces like the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family. How can you possibly collect taxes from them?"

"Of course we can exempt the owners of the market town from taxes. In fact, we only need to collect 10% of the taxes on the items brought in by other forces, which will be a considerable income." Song Xian replied calmly.

As early as when he was planning to take over Tianshan, he had a complete series of business plans. Setting up inspection areas and establishing markets were just part of the plan.

Other follow-up measures will be carried out after the market town is established.

Of course, he also knew that Jiang Feng was not the direct person in charge of the market town, but he had to get Jiang Feng's support first before he could gain a foothold in Tianshan and carry out his own plan.

Otherwise, you will be kicked out sooner or later.

"Even so, can you guarantee that those forces stationed in the shops in the market will pay taxes obediently?"

Song Xian replied, "Of course they wouldn't take me and my sect seriously, so I need your support. I believe those businesses are willing to pay, because even if they pay a 10% tax on their goods to the inspection area, they will still make a profit."

"That's because the transaction prices of items in the two places differ by more than 30%. In Dongluo City on the Muhe Grassland, a monster material that sells for ten spirit stones will cost thirteen spirit stones in Bianxi City."

"Ore that sells for ten spirit stones in Bianxi City will sell for thirteen spirit stones in Dongluo City."

"These two places are only a few thousand miles away from the Tianshan Mountains. If they pay a 10% tax, they can still sell for a much higher price than the local market."

"As long as the market can be established and attract the forces from Dongluo City and Bianxi City in Muhe Grassland to set up shop, it is completely acceptable for them to pay a 10% tax on supplies."

"A demon beast material originally sold for ten spirit stones, but after paying a spirit stone tax, they can sell it for twelve spirit stones in the Tianshan Market."

Jiang Feng's eyes flickered slightly. "Using Tianshan as a transit point for trade between Bianxi City and Dongluo City does sound good. However, the risks are also great. It could anger the powerful forces of Qin and the Muhe Grassland. Tianshan was originally intended as a buffer zone between the two sides. Now if it becomes a free trade market with participation from both sides, if some important figure learns of it and becomes unhappy, it would be a disaster for you, and it might even implicate our sect."

"I think that now that Qin and the Muhe Grassland have signed a peace agreement, and in this mutually exclusive intersection of the Tianshan Mountains, both sides have forces participating in trade, isn't that a symbol of peace? Why would those powerful forces care about a small market in the Tianshan Mountains?"

Song Xian certainly knew that there was a little risk in doing so, but there is no free meal in the world. As the first person to try something new, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

If Tianshan can really be built into a transit station for trade between Qin and Muhe grassland, the huge benefits and the risks will be insignificant. This risk is definitely worth taking.

"Let me think about this." Jiang Feng did not give an immediate answer.

Song Xian didn't expect him to agree immediately. Being able to meet Jiang Feng today and reveal his plan was already a success.

"Then I won't bother you any more. I'll take my leave now."

.........

The next day, he went to Luoyun Sect to visit Wen Yiren and brought up the matter of relocating the market, hoping to get her support.

He did not tell anyone about the 10% tax collected from the shops that moved in, and he concealed this part. This part was originally intended to fool Jiang Feng and gain his support.

As for the specific situation, we will see when the time comes. Even if we really want to collect a 10% tax from all shops, it is not appropriate to talk about this with Wen Yiren now.

Because this tax is shared by Jiang Feng and Tianshan, and there is no share for Luoyun Sect, if they knew about this, they would definitely ask for a share, otherwise they would not support it.

Song Xian only recounted the other benefits of moving the market to Tianshan, such as being able to attract Muhe grassland forces to settle in shops, increase customer flow, and build it into the largest bilateral trade market, with revenue definitely being higher than that of Nanyuan Market, etc.

As expected, Wen Yiren did not express her opinion and only responded with a few ambiguous remarks.

She couldn't make the decision on this matter alone, not to mention that it had nothing to do with her interests. Song Xian's reputation wasn't that high enough to gain his full support with just a few words.

Song Xian was not disappointed. This visit was just a prelude to talk about this matter with Jiang Feng and Wen Yiren and let them know his thoughts.

Relocating the market is not a trivial matter, and it certainly cannot be solved so easily.

After leaving Luoyun Sect, he returned to Tianshan and did not go to the Kong family to lobby again.

First of all, he had no connection with the Kong family, so it was unlikely that he could convince the other party.

Secondly, in order to build a market town in Bianxi City, among the three major forces that need to be connected, the Beast Taming Sect and the Luoyun Sect account for the majority.

Although the Kong family also holds a share, its proportion is not large compared to the other two families.

This is also because the Kong family’s power is not as great as that of the Beast Taming Sect and the Luoyun Sect.

Needless to say, the Beast Taming Sect is the overlord of Xijiang County, while the Luoyun Sect is the local tyrant of Bianxi City.

The Kong family is just following the two families to get some benefits, so as long as they can deal with the Beast Taming Sect and the Luoyun Sect, the matter will basically be settled.

In addition, this matter is still in the planning stage and nothing has been decided yet, so Song Xian does not want to make it known to everyone.

Therefore, we only visited Jiang Feng and Wen Yiren, the two parties with vested interests.

…………

Bianxia Town, Ding family residence.

In the spacious and bright hall, Ding Yuan, the elder of the Ding family who was in charge of external affairs, was waiting. Seeing Ding Wenxiang striding in, he stood up and greeted him.

"Master, I heard an important piece of news. I heard that the market may be relocated to Tianshan Mountain."

"What?" Ding Wenxiang frowned immediately. "Migrate to Tianshan? How come I didn't know about this? Whose idea was this?" "It's said to be the Hunyuan Sect's idea. They want to take over the market and move it to Tianshan. Rumor has it that Song Xian has been going to Bianxi City frequently recently just to discuss this matter with Jiang Feng in secret."

When Ding Wenxiang heard this, his face suddenly became gloomy, his eyes narrowed slightly, and anger rose in his heart.

It would have been fine if the Hunyuan Sect had used the alliance with Bianxia Town to attack Luofeng Valley and seize Tianshan by trickery.

Having already received so many benefits, he actually set his sights on his market. Humanity is truly insatiable.

Back then, when the Qingyuan Sect was at war with the Loose Cultivators Alliance and asked the Hunyuan Sect to send personnel, he even spoke well of Song Xian.

But who would have thought that Song Xian would now set his sights on him, wanting to squeeze him out of his market position. This was really too much and was intolerable.

"Where did you get this information? Is it reliable?" Ding Wenxiang suppressed his anger.

"It was revealed by the head of the Beast Taming Pavilion in Bianxia Town's market. He said that when he last returned to Bianxi City, Wei Yuan, the Beast Taming Sect's person in charge of Bianxi City's market, discussed this with him. He said it was Jiang Feng's idea to move the market to Tianshan."

The Ding family has been in charge of the Nanyuan Valley market for many years and has good relations with the heads of several major shops in the market. The elders in charge of the Nanyuan Valley market often invite them to drink together, and send them gifts during festivals. Of course, they sometimes ask them about some not very confidential matters.

The person in charge of the Beast Taming Pavilion in Nanyuan Valley certainly knew what it meant to move the market town to Tianshan. Leaking this news to the Ding family was also a favor to allow the Ding family to prepare.

Hearing that it was the head of the Beast Taming Pavilion who leaked the news, it was certain that it was true. Ding Wenxiang's face was grim, his eyes were cold, and his voice was as low as a lion's roar: "Song Xian is so good, he tricked us into attacking Luofeng Valley, and he took Tianshan from it. I haven't even settled the score with him yet, and he's plotting against us again. He is unkind, so don't blame me for being unjust."

Ding Yuan also had a solemn and serious expression on his face.

The market town accounted for half of the Ding family's financial income. Losing the management rights of the market town was unacceptable to them.

But the Hunyuan Sect is no longer the weak sect it used to be. Now, after annexing the Tianshan Sect, the Hunyuan Sect has become the largest force in Bianxi City besides the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family. Its strength is no longer something the Ding Family can contend with.

In addition, it has the support of the Beast Taming Sect behind it, or more precisely, the support of Jiang Feng.

The reason why Hunyuan Sect was able to annex Tianshan was because of Jiang Feng's support.

Although it is unknown how he persuaded Jiang Feng to support him in taking the position of the head of Tianshan Sect, it is an indisputable fact that Jiang Feng strongly supports Song Xian.

Whether it is hard power or soft power, the Ding family is no match for the Hunyuan Sect.

In addition to Jiang Feng, Song Xian also has a close relationship with Wen Yiren of Luoyun Sect.

Among the three major bosses in Fangshi, important figures in two of them have close relations with Hunyuan Sect.

Those who fight with force are no match for the opponent, and those who fight with softness do not have as strong a relationship as the opponent.

For the Ding family, this seems to be a dead end.

"Master, what good plan do you have?"

Ding Wenxiang fell silent. Although he was filled with rage, he had not lost his mind. He also knew that the Ding family was no match for the Hunyuan Sect. In every aspect, the Hunyuan Sect was far stronger than the Ding family.

After a while, he said, "We need to proceed slowly. So, you go to Tianshan right away to scout out the situation. I'll go to Bianxi City to visit the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family and try to win them over."

.........

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Zhong Wenyuan walked into the Tianshan Hall, which was brightly lit. He glanced at Ding Yuan who was sitting upright and strode over.

"Friend Zhong, long time no see. I hope you are well." Ding Yuan stood up and bowed, his expression quite solemn.

"Fellow Daoist Ding, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. My sect leader has important matters to attend to. If you don't mind, please feel free to tell me what you have to say."

Seeing his expression, Zhong Wenyuan had already guessed why he came.

The two took their seats, host and guest respectively. Ding Yuan said, "Since Sect Leader Song has important matters to attend to, it's the same as speaking to Fellow Daoist Zhong. Everyone in Bianxi City knows that Fellow Daoist Zhong is your sect's political elder, responsible for specific matters. I'm here to verify something with your sect."

"Fellow Daoist Ding, please speak."

"I have heard that your sect intends to relocate the market town of Bianxia to Tianshan. Is this true? Fellow Daoist Zhong, please, for the sake of our relationship, tell me the truth."

Zhong Wenyuan frowned: "From whom did you hear this, Fellow Daoist Ding?"

"It doesn't matter who said it. I just want to know whether this is true? Fellow Daoist Zhong, please give me an answer, yes or no?" Ding Yuan stared at him.

"Brother Daoist Ding, are you here to call for an explanation?" Zhong Wenyuan replied coldly without being polite.

"I dare not. I simply wish to know if it is true. I am perplexed by this rumor. Since our two sects settled in Bianxia Town, we have always shared a common purpose, helping each other and maintaining a close relationship. Your sect clearly knew that the Nanyuan Valley Monastery was our property, so how could you rely on your power to seize it? That is why I have come to demand an explanation."

These words were neither humble nor arrogant, and they placed the Hunyuan Sect on a moral high ground. If the Hunyuan Sect admitted that it had done so, it would undoubtedly label itself as unkind and unjust.

"Since you must know the answer, I will tell you. I have no knowledge of this matter, and as far as I know, our sect has no such plan at all. I don't know whose rumors you believed, but please don't believe them." Zhong Wenyuan answered calmly.

Of course, he would not admit that the Hunyuan Sect wanted to seize the management rights of the market town. This matter had not been finalized. If he admitted it now, it would inevitably cause enmity with the Ding family and cause unnecessary trouble.

"If Fellow Daoist Zhong says so, then I will definitely believe what you say."

Ding Yuan had a blank expression on his face. He couldn't be 100% sure that it was the Hunyuan Sect behind this. After all, he had only heard one side of the story.

The rumor might be wrong, or the migration to Tianshan Mountain might just be an idea of ​​Jiang Feng, the leader of the Beast Taming Sect.

He expected Zhong Wenyuan's denial. Even if it was really the Hunyuan Sect that was behind this, they probably wouldn't admit it.

Unless they are fully prepared to break off relations with the Ding family, the situation is not yet at that point.

He came here just to find out the truth and convey his own attitude.

"Fellow Daoist Zhong knows that the market industry is a most important source of revenue for our government. Losing the market is equivalent to cutting off our government's finances. As the saying goes, cutting off someone's money is like killing their parents. No matter who the other party is, if they want to seize our property, our government will do its utmost to deal with it."

"I completely understand. I would also like to ask you not to believe one-sided statements, so as not to damage the friendship between your faction and mine."

"Then I won't bother you anymore. Goodbye."

(End of this chapter)