Martial Arts Crossover: My master tricked Huang Rong into becoming my wife!

"Master." Chen Yanzhou picked up the wine jar and filled Hong Qigong's bowl with it, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "If you think that simply giving out porridge isn't enough, I have a way to cure the root cause."

Hong Qigong raised an eyelid and said irritably, "Don't try to comfort me with your words. These are tens of thousands of mouths to feed; your 'Yiyun Division' can't solve this by just sending a few cartloads of goods. This is a national crisis, beyond human control."

"It's true that the country is in trouble, but who says that beggars can't save the country?" Chen Yanzhou picked up a piece of duck skin, slowly put it in his mouth and chewed it. "What is the one thing our Beggars' Sect has the least shortage of? People, and spies all over the world."

Hong Qigong sensed something was off in the young man's words and slammed his wine bowl on the table: "Stop beating around the bush, spit it out."

Chen Yanzhou put down his chopsticks, dipped his finger in the wine, and drew a winding line on the table.

"This is the Yellow River, this is the Huai River."

He then drew a horizontal line below.

"This is the Yangtze River."

Chen Yanzhou pointed to the blank area, his eyes gleaming: "Now that the Jurchens have invaded the south, the people are displaced, and most of them are fleeing south along this line. The journey is long, and countless people have died of starvation, disease, or being killed by fleeing soldiers. The first step we need to take is to pave the way along this line."

"Pave the road?" Hong Qigong frowned.

"It's not road construction, it's station building." Chen Yanzhou pointed to several spots on the table. "We'll rely on our Beggars' Sect's branch in the north to set up secret stations along the way."

Whether it's a dilapidated temple, a cave, or an abandoned village, anything that can provide shelter from the wind and rain will do. Our people will stay there, providing the fleeing people with hot water and showing them a way to survive.

"Isn't this still charity?" Hong Qigong shook his head. "The Beggars' Sect's resources are too limited to sustain this."

"Of course it's not free." Chen Yanzhou shook his finger. "This brings us to the second step—screening people."

"Among the refugees are young and strong, old and weak, craftsmen and scholars. The current government is blind, treating all these people as a burden. We cannot be blind."

"If any strong and healthy men have no ties, we should persuade them to stay. We can organize them to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land in the mountains, forests, or villages where we have strong influence, and even set up workshops. In chaotic times, food and weapons are the most valuable. If these people stay, they can be self-sufficient, and if the Jin army comes in the future, our Beggars' Sect will also have supplies."

Hong Qigong's eyes flickered slightly, and he involuntarily leaned forward: "What about the elderly, the weak, women, and children?"

"Send them away." Chen Yanzhou slid his finger down. "Keeping the elderly, weak, women and children is a burden and will deplete our grain reserves. We'll send them south, station by station, through the post stations, until we reach the banks of the Yangtze River."

"As for those special talents, such as blacksmiths, doctors, and scholars who have studied..." Chen Yanzhou paused, his expression becoming serious, "they are of utmost importance."

Hong Qigong fell silent. He looked at the water stains on the table, then glanced at Chen Yanzhou.

"You want to turn the Beggars' Sect into... a second dynasty outside of the Song Dynasty?" Hong Qigong's voice trembled slightly.

"It's not that exaggerated, it's more like a 'shadow government office'." Chen Yanzhou chuckled. "We set up receiving points along the Yangtze River to screen the people sent down again. Those with skills go to workshops, those with education go to schools or accounting offices, and the rest are distributed to various places for resettlement. Our 'Yiyun Division' is doing so well now that we're short-handed."

"The displaced are no longer displaced, but a resource."

If those Confucian scholars who spout benevolence and morality were to hear Chen Yanzhou's words, they would surely condemn him as cold-blooded and calculating.

But to Hong Qigong, it was a wake-up call.

"If this method succeeds, it could save countless lives! But..."

He frowned again: "How much silver will this cost? Just maintaining those post stations alone is an astronomical figure."

"The money comes from the sheep's back." Chen Yanzhou chuckled. "We'll advance the funds initially, and once those workshops are up and running and the reclaimed land is harvested, the money will be recouped. Besides, it's not unreasonable for us to charge a 'protection fee' for escorting those wealthy families south, is it? This is called robbing the rich to help the poor..."

Hong Qigong was amused and pointed at Chen Yanzhou, laughing and scolding, "You little devil, you're obsessed with money."

"Master, that's not the most important thing."

Chen Yanzhou suddenly stopped smiling, looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and then leaned close to Hong Qigong's ear, speaking so softly that only the two of them could hear.

"Most importantly, we need to do some 'side jobs' in those remote areas of the South."

Hong Qigong's heart skipped a beat: "What kind of side job?"

"Training troops."

Chen Yanzhou uttered two words.

"The government troops are useless; they crumbled as soon as the Jurchen cavalry arrived. We should select reliable young men from among the refugees and the poor. Our Beggars' Sect has no shortage of experts; you can simply assign a few eight-bag elders to be instructors and teach them combat techniques."

"We don't expect them to be able to directly confront the Jin army's formation, but we do hope that they can make it difficult for the Jin dogs to move an inch in the mountains and fields."

"We won't rebel, but we need to have a knife in our hands."

Hong Qigong fell silent immediately.

Training!

This is a major taboo for the imperial court, and also a major taboo for the martial arts world.

Looking down at the emaciated people below, at the mercy of others, and thinking of the lost land in the north, Hong Qigong felt a surge of patriotic fervor.

If the imperial court won't take care of it, then our Beggars' Sect will!

If the government won't protect me, then I, Hong Qigong, will!

"You brat..." Hong Qigong took a deep breath to calm his agitated emotions, "This is a matter of life and death. If the imperial court finds out, our Beggars' Clan will be considered traitors."

"That's why it has to be done in secret." Chen Yanzhou blinked, regaining his innocent look. "We're just organizing local militia to defend against bandits and go hunting on the side. What crime have we committed? Besides, when the Jin army really marches south, the court will be begging us for help."

Hong Qigong stared at Chen Yanzhou for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Good lad!"

That smile completely swept away the previous sense of dejection and discouragement.

That was a laugh brimming with heroic spirit, a laugh that showed his heart for the world.

The diners and the shopkeeper downstairs were startled by the sudden laughter and looked up, wondering if the old beggar had gone mad.

After laughing enough, Hong Qigong grabbed the Eight Treasure Duck on the table, tore off a large piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it vigorously, as if he were crushing the bones of those golden dogs.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Chen Yanzhou paid the money and then returned to the Beggars' Sect branch with Hong Qigong.

……

That night, the Beggars' Gang's Xiangyang branch was brightly lit.

Lu Youjiao stared dumbfounded at the huge map Chen Yanzhou had spread out on the table, covered with dense markings.

"This...this is a rebellion?" Lu Youjiao's voice trembled.

Chen Yanzhou said with a smile, "Grandpa Lu, this is called 'saving the country through indirect means'."

Hong Qigong sat at the head of the table and spoke in a deep voice.

"Stop talking nonsense. If you have legs, pass on the order: from today onwards, the Beggars' Sect will no longer be just beggars. We will support half the sky for this Great Song Dynasty."

Lu Youjiao took a deep breath and looked at the map. Although he hadn't read many books, he knew that if this matter was accomplished, the Beggars' Sect would no longer be a bunch of scoundrels, but a righteous army worthy of being recorded in history!

"Your subordinate obeys!" Lu Youjiao clasped his hands heavily, turned around and strode away. His back view even had the air of a general going to war.

Only the master and his apprentice remained inside the house.

Chen Yanzhou rubbed his sore wrists and yawned: "Master, the regulations are done and the order has been issued. Can I go back to sleep now? I still have to go to Baicaotang to cut herbs first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright," Hong Qigong nodded and said.

Chen Yanzhou didn't care about anything else and went straight back to his room.