Wu Feng shook his head and said nothing more, turned his head and said: "Tianxiong!"
"My subordinate is here!"
"Do you know the Gu family of Bashan?" Wu Feng pondered for a moment.
"This subordinate knows a thing or two." Song Tianxiong nodded.
"Tell me about it." Wu Feng's horse slowed down even more.
"The Gu family of Bashan has a history of nearly a hundred years in the imperial martial arts world. The original founder of the Gu family, Gu Jingzhong, was originally a knight-errant. However, this man was eager to learn by nature and had a very high understanding of martial arts. When he was young, he had With a cold cloud sword, he once swept through seven water bandit villages in the south of the Yangtze River and killed seven water bandit chiefs. He became famous, but he was just a master in the martial arts world. He traveled around in his middle age and learned from the great swordsmanship schools in the martial arts at that time. He combined the unique skills of the Shan sect and the Yao sect, which is famous for its fists, kicks and light kung fu, and innovated his own unique skills, and finally achieved great success and became a martial arts master. He retired to Bashan in his later years and laid the foundation of the Gu family." Song Tianxiong carefully said every word. Slowly tell the origin of the Gu family.
"Well, what happened next?" Wu Feng nodded slightly.
"Although Gu Jingzhong founded the Gu family, the Gu family at that time was just an ordinary member of the imperial martial arts world. It was nothing in the huge imperial martial arts world. The main members of the sect were limited to Gu Jingzhong. The second head of the Gu family was relatively conservative and self-contained. Although his martial arts skills were quite extraordinary, he was helpless in expanding the influence and power of the Gu family. The Gu family's strength and influence in the empire's martial arts world declined. Later, the third After the acting head of the family, the younger brother of the second-generation head of the family, took over, he drastically reformed the old habits of the original sect and vigorously absorbed new blood from people with surnames other than Gu into the Gu family, which made the Gu family's power grow greatly during the more than ten years he was in charge of the family. Progress, power and influence gradually expanded, and by the time the fourth head of the family, the father of Gu Jingzhong, the current head of the Gu family, took over, the Gu family was already well-known in the Kansai martial arts world." Song Tianxiong said as he thought.
"After Gu Jingzhong's father, Gu Kaiming, took over as the head of the family, he continued the strategy of the previous head of the family, continued to vigorously attract talents with foreign surnames, and vigorously enriched the economic strength of the family. In the later period of his tenure as the head of the family, the Gu family changed its original reliance on bodyguards As the only source of income, the Gu family's economic income gradually changed to growing tea and selling salt as the main source, and its economic strength also increased significantly. Later, Gu Kaiming gradually began to make friends with local officials and vigorously participated in various charity activities. , worked hard to improve the image of the sect, and achieved good results. By the time Gu Jingzhong took over as the head of the Gu family, the Gu family had become one of the most important martial arts sects in the Kansai martial arts world." Song Tianxiong finished introducing the Gu family's situation in one breath.
"So, the Gu family has considerable influence in the Kansai region?" A thoughtful expression appeared on Wu Feng's face.
"You can say that, but there are still some problems." Song Tianxiong hesitated.
"Oh? Tell me." Wu Feng nodded with interest. He had practiced martial arts since he was a child, but his master had never talked to him about anything in the empire's arena. Apparently, he didn't want him to pay attention to this aspect. Later, He left the empire and traveled around the mainland. When he returned to the empire, he joined the army. He didn't know much about this side of imperial society until the appearance of the Butler Sect, the Xueshan and Tianshan sects in the northwest, and the Huanfeng Sect in the Western Regions. Only after he got involved in the affairs under his jurisdiction did he understand it, but he did not expect that the existence of a sect would also experience so many ups and downs.
"The current head of the Gu family, Gu Jingzhong, is the old man just now. His martial arts has reached its peak. He is ranked among the best in the martial arts world of the entire empire. Moreover, he is extremely ambitious and wants to make the Gu family an influential figure in the empire. The sect, so in the first ten years after he took the throne, the Gu family's power and influence also expanded, but in the past few years, they have encountered trouble. To be precise, their situation is very bad, and their power and influence have also been affected. Greatly weakened." Song Tianxiong glanced at Guan Yingying next to Wu Feng, and saw that the lady was also listening to his introduction attentively, so he had no choice but to continue speaking.
"What's the trouble?" Guan Yingying asked impatiently before Wu Feng could ask.
"About seven or eight years ago, the city guard of Bashan Prefecture, where the Gu family is located, changed its people, and the current city guard Xie Wuyong was appointed as the city guard. This man graduated from the Imperial University and was born in a Jiangnan noble family. He was conservative by nature and was headstrong, especially in the martial arts world. The people in the country had a bad feeling and believed that the use of force to violate the law was the source of unstable local security. Moreover, Bashan Prefecture bordered Tiannan County and was also a place where many ethnic groups lived together. Therefore, when he took office, he made great efforts to rectify social security and deal with the problem. The Jianghu forces within his jurisdiction carried out large-scale purges, and several local Jianghu sects were disintegrated by him using local security forces and ceased to exist."
"Because the Gu family has always had a good reputation in the local area, it was not included in the list of purges and was not affected. However, the living environment has become quite bad. Xie Wuyong also deliberately restricted people with connections to Jianghu sects from entering the local military and political circles. It turned out that those who had already entered were eliminated, belittled and excluded by him under various excuses. He also restricted the scale of the industry operated by Jianghu sects in terms of economics, which made all Jianghu sects in his jurisdiction in a difficult situation, and the Gu family was no exception. It turned out that the previous generations of Gu family heads The efforts made have now been greatly weakened, but the Gu family's status and influence in the empire's martial arts world have not been greatly affected." Song Tianxiong saw that he had finished recounting the situation one by one.
"That's a matter of time. Without the economic and social foundation, the so-called influence of status in the martial arts world is just a castle in the air. How can you still think about practicing martial arts and fighting when you don't even have enough to eat?" Wu Feng shook his head and said, " However, it stands to reason that since Gu Jingzhong is the head of a family, he should not be a mediocre person. Isn't there any other way to change this unfavorable situation?"
"Your Excellency, I don't know. According to my subordinates, the Gu family did not think of a solution, but they also tried their best to please and make friends with Xie Wuyong, but to no avail. Although Xie Wuyong was born as a scholar, he has a very stubborn character. It is difficult to change an opinion once one has formed an opinion on something, and he does not have a good impression of all people in the world. Therefore, although the Gu family tried their best, it did not have much effect. However, given that the Gu family's reputation has always been good, Xie Wuyong did not If you embarrass the Gu family too much, of course it will be difficult to think about how much improvement there will be." Song Tianxiong seems to have more than a passing knowledge of these situations.
"This Xie Wuyong is hateful. Are all people in the martial arts world bad? How can he beat everyone to death with one stroke?" Guan Yingying said angrily.
"It's just that everyone has different views on things. I can't blame him entirely. This Jianghu sect is inherently difficult to distinguish between good and bad. Based on the principle of guarding against the slightest, it can be regarded as a method." Although Wu Feng does not completely agree with this method , but I also feel that this is just a matter of different governing methods.
"Then the Gu family has been struggling in recent years?" Wu Feng asked again.
"It should be like this. If the current Jianghu sects in the empire cannot get the support or approval of the government, which one can survive well? Winning the support of local officials and even powerful people in the central empire has always been the key to various Jianghu sects. In fact, many of the rise and fall of many sects in the empire over the past few hundred years are the result of the changes in the government forces they each rely on, although not all. The Shahe sect in Nabashan Prefecture is also in the Kansai martial arts world. It can be regarded as a sect with a certain weight, but it is in a state of collapse because Xie Wuyong used the excuse of his disciples to bully the market and purge them. I am afraid that the whole Gu family also feels the coldness." Song Tianxiong also showed a helpless smile on his lips.
"Well, Tianxiong, I think you know a lot about the martial arts situation in the empire, but you don't seem to be a disciple of any sect, are you?" Wu Feng was a little surprised that his subordinates were so knowledgeable in this area.
"My lord, I am not a martial artist, but the master who taught me kung fu can be regarded as half a martial artist. He is a lay disciple of the Daxiangguo Temple. My martial arts also come from the Daxiangguo Temple sect, but I have not become a disciple. So I don’t count as a disciple of the Daxiangguo Temple. During my training, I also heard the master talk about some anecdotes about the world, but the most important thing is that I learned about it through Mr. Tong from the Security Bureau after I became the chief of your bodyguard." Song Tianxiong scratched his head and answered. road.
"Oh, I heard that the Daxiangguo Temple is one of the top martial arts sects in the northern part of the empire. It is as famous as the White Horse Temple in Zhongzhou, the imperial capital." Wu Feng has also heard of the name of the Daxiangguo Temple. "Why are you suddenly interested in these martial arts sects?" Are you interested in anything?"
"Well, Tianxiong is honored by Your Excellency to take up the position of Chief of Guards, and I deeply feel the great responsibility. Since Your Excellency has entrusted Tianxiong with the responsibility of his own safety, how can Tianxiong dare to slack off? Nowadays, the situation in the empire is ups and downs, and there are more and more people in the world. The more involved the forces they are attached to, and even the rivers and lakes forces as far away as the Western Region are involved. To prevent unexpected events, Tianxiong feels that knowing something about these rivers and lakes forces and their important figures will help him complete the task better. This is such an important task, so I specifically consulted Mr. Tong, who has been in the world for many years, and I benefited a lot." Song Tianxiong's face turned red, but he still told the whole story.
"Well, yes, it's good that you have such intention." Although Wu Feng didn't say much, his eyes were full of admiration. His subordinates were so dedicated in doing things, which made Wu Feng feel that he had not seen the wrong person.
"Then in your opinion, what is the purpose of this Gu family being so enthusiastic about getting to know us?" Wu Feng asked this question thoughtfully.
"Well, although the Gu family is a martial arts sect, it has a good reputation, and the housekeeper where Miss Yingying works is also from the same martial arts branch. My subordinates don't know the situation and dare not speak nonsense." Song Tianxiong took the time to assess the situation. Although he had doubts, he I didn’t want to draw any conclusions about matters involving the housekeeper, so I simply kept silent.
"What are their intentions? They are just doing their best to be a landlord after seeing my father's name. Brother Feng, please don't make things so complicated, okay? They don't even know who you are!" Yingying was a little unhappy.
Wu Feng and Song Tianxiong exchanged glances and stopped talking.
The group of people soon arrived at the market town in front of them. The Gu family had booked the most famous Shanzhen Restaurant in the town. This is a large restaurant that combines a restaurant and an inn. It looks quite impressive.
When Hua Yumei and his entourage arrived, Wu Feng's entourage immediately packed the entire restaurant. After inviting Wu Fengfeng and others to sit down, they saw that the rest of the people were either standing still downstairs, waiting for orders, or just waiting. On alert around the restaurant, even Song Tianxiong stood expressionless behind Wu Feng. Only Qin Shuangying took a seat next to the two Guanhua girls at Wu Feng's signal. This scene made Gu Jingzhong and others feel even more Wu Feng's identity was extraordinary, but they scratched their heads and couldn't think of anyone in the northwest who could be so powerful.
During the banquet, everyone in the Gu family took turns to toast. Wu Feng only tasted the wine briefly, and always maintained a calm look. He also gave vague answers to several people's insidious inquiries, leaving everyone in the Gu family confused about the details. In fact, Wu Feng had no intention of hiding his identity for long, but Wu Feng considered that the restaurant was a crowded place, so he deliberately kept it vague.
Although the main characters of the Gu family did not get any valuable information while drinking and chatting, the "Fire Phoenix" Gu Yunxia had a girlish heart and a good literary talent. She soon had a lively conversation with Hua and Qin. Guan Yingying, who was a little angry at first, finally couldn't bear the loneliness and joined their conversation.