191: Chapter 192 The Background of the Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce

"Because the Wang Family is the largest landowner in Qingfeng County, and also the local tyrant of Qingfeng County." Zhou Yuanshan picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone unhurried.

"The current head of the Wang Family, Wang Chongyuan, is the County Magistrate of Qingfeng County."

Hearing this, Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

No wonder they say the Wang Family is the local tyrant of Qingfeng County. Good heavens, they are both the referee and the player; who could possibly compete with that?

However, it didn't end there. Zhou Yuanshan continued, "Moreover, the Wang Family's Old Ancestor, Wang Zhengyuan, was once a fifth-rank high official in the imperial court."

"Although he has retired now, I heard that two years ago he achieved a Breakthrough to the fifth-rank Realm."

"The Old Ancestors of the other four great families are at most at the sixth-rank Perfection, not even on the same level as the Wang Family."

Fifth-rank!

Lin Ye's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

Although there is only a one-rank difference between the sixth-rank and the fifth-rank, when it comes to the Realm, the higher you go, the greater the gap becomes.

The gap in between is probably even larger than the sum of the gaps from the ninth-rank to the sixth-rank.

A Family with a fifth-rank Martial Artist presiding over it and a group of families with only sixth-rank Martial Artists are indeed worlds apart.

"Besides this, Qingfeng County governs thirty-six towns, and more than half of them are controlled by the Wang Family."

"For example, Black Stone Town is controlled by a collateral descendant arranged by the Wang Family.

And like Black Stone Town, the Wang Family controls at least twenty other such towns.

More importantly, even in the military, the Wang Family has people inside."

Good heavens, they have a grip on both the military and political affairs.

Out of thirty-six towns, the Wang Family occupies more than twenty directly.

Other families are still supporting underlings in the county city to fight for territory, but the Wang Family has jumped out of the small pond of the county city and taken the route of encircling the cities from the countryside.

In terms of territory size alone, the other four families combined are no match for the Wang Family.

The Wang Family has territory, population, and tax revenue, so naturally, they can afford to raise more Martial Artists and cultivate more descendants.

In this way, a perfect positive cycle is formed.

This is only because it is an ancient Dynasty; if it were modern times, if such a huge force appeared locally, it would have long been taken down as a model for cracking down on organized crime.

"Therefore, although the Wang Family does not directly participate in the fights of the subordinates, they have a transcendent status in Qingfeng County.

When the four great families see people from the Wang Family, they have to be polite; this is the foundation of the Wang Family."

It was not hard to hear that Zhou Yuanshan's tone carried deep awe.

"However..."

As he spoke, Zhou Yuanshan picked up his teacup and took a sip, then immediately changed the subject.

"The Wang Family is not the only dominant force in Qingfeng County."

"Oh? Is there any force that can wrestle with the Wang Family?"

Hearing Zhou Yuanshan say this, Lin Ye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

His first thought was the Demon Suppression Division, but after thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem right.

The Demon Suppression Division is strong, but it does not participate in local struggles, let alone interfere in politics, and the imperial court would not allow the Demon Suppression Division to do so.

"That's right, the only force that makes the Wang Family feel wary is the Five Tigers Sect!"

"The Five Tigers Sect?"

Lin Ye was now even more interested.

He had dealt with the Five Tigers Sect quite a bit, and their foundation was indeed impressive; they were once a second-rate School.

"Don't look at the Five Tigers Sect as just a Jianghu School; in terms of top combat power, they are far above the Wang Family, and they have more than one fifth-rank Martial Artist alone."

"However, the Wang Family has official backing after all. As the saying goes, the people do not fight with officials. Even though the Five Tigers Sect is stronger, they will not go head-to-head with the Wang Family, and both sides can be considered to mind their own business."

After listening to Zhou Yuanshan's account, Lin Ye had to marvel at the strength of the Wang Family.

This is just a third-rate Family of the Great Han; the higher-level second-rate, first-rate, and even top-tier families must possess unimaginable power.

No wonder that among the three major forces, the Family force is the largest!

"By the way, Deacon Zhou, you've been talking for a long time, but you haven't mentioned the Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce."

Lin Ye picked up the teapot and filled Zhou Yuanshan's cup, asking casually.

It was unclear whether Zhou Yuanshan was deliberately concealing it or had some taboos about it.

Zhou Yuanshan's hand holding the teacup paused for a moment, and then he laughed out loud.

The laughter was hearty and frank, without any embarrassment of being exposed.

"Brother Lin, are you trying to get information out of me?" Zhou Yuanshan pointed at Lin Ye with a smile.

"Fine, since Brother Lin asked, I won't hide anything."

As he said this, he put down his cup and sat up straight.

"Standing behind our Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce is not just any single Family.

The four great families of Qingfeng County—the Chen Family, the Sun Family, the Wu Family, and the Zheng Family—are all shareholders behind the chamber of commerce, and even the Wang Family has a stake in it."

"I see." Lin Ye suddenly realized.

So the Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce is an enterprise jointly controlled by all the families in Qingfeng County.

No wonder the Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce can issue silver notes; this is clearly the result of a multi-party game.

"It seems Deacon Zhou has spilled all the Family secrets to me." Lin Ye smiled and raised his teacup to signal.

"Hey, what kind of secrets are these." Zhou Yuanshan waved his hand, looking indifferent.

"These things are open secrets in the county city; Brother Lin will know as soon as you ask around when you get to the county city.

I'm just telling you in advance so you can be prepared."

Lin Ye nodded in thanks and did not ask any more questions.

The carriage moved steadily along the official road, neither fast nor slow.

Lin Ye leaned against the couch, closed his eyes, and sorted out the information he had just received in his mind.

He roughly had an outline of the layout of Qingfeng County.

Inner city and outer city, families and Gangs, each occupying a side, keeping each other in check.

The Wang Family is the largest landowner, the Five Tigers Sect is the only opponent, the four great families are the backbone, and the four major Gangs are the lowest-level executors.

Four kinds of forces, from top to bottom, nested layer by layer, forming a relatively stable ecosystem.

Then what position does his Demon Suppression Division occupy in this web of forces?

Lin Ye thought about it and felt that the Demon Suppression Division was more like a relatively independent existence.

It does not need to look at the faces of local forces, but it will not randomly participate in the struggles of the major forces.

After all, these forces have been operating in the county city for generations, and their relationships are intertwined; offending any party would be unnecessary trouble for the Demon Suppression Division.

...

"Brother Lin, we are almost at the post station ahead." Zhou Yuanshan's voice came from across.

Lin Ye opened his eyes, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked out.

At this moment, the sky had already darkened, and not far ahead, the outlines of several buildings could be vaguely seen.

"This is a post station established by the government." Zhou Yuanshan pointed to the buildings and explained.

"It is specially used for passing officials and caravans to rest. The conditions are not very good, but it is better than sleeping in the wild."

The carriage stopped slowly at the entrance of the post station, and Lin Ye and Zhou Yuanshan jumped off the carriage together.

The post station was not big, with two courtyards in the front and back; the front was a hall for passing guests to eat, and the back was for guest rooms to stay.

Zhou Yuanshan was obviously a frequent visitor here, and as soon as he entered the door, he greeted the station master familiarly.