The Tyranny of Greed

Seriously, who is this lunatic?

And besides, are my three layers of divine techniques fake?

What kind of crossbow bolt could turn me into a hedgehog?

Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique! Mountain-Shrinking Fist! Great Wisdom Zen Technique!

Save me!

Watching himself die for no apparent reason yet again, Zhu Yuanzhang felt utterly bewildered.

[Start Over]

By the Qinhuai River, the setting sun was like blood.

This time, when Zhu Yuanzhang disembarked, he did not rush to enter Taicheng.

Instead, he first found an inn by the Qinhuai River to stay in.

Today was the twentieth day of the tenth month; there were still five days until Hou Jing breached the city of Jinling.

And the Wu-Zhe Assembly would not be held until the end of the year.

There was no need to rush.

Perhaps that Black-Clad Noble was a sworn enemy of Tongtai Temple.

And Zhu Yuanzhang had simply happened to run into him.

Zhu Yuanzhang refused to believe that if he waited one more day to enter Taicheng, he would still be so unlucky as to die in such an inexplicable manner.

"Proprietress, I need a room!"

"Coming, guest! Please, come inside!"

The person guarding the inn was a buxom proprietress. Seeing the Tongtai Temple monk's robe on Zhu Yuanzhang, her eyes immediately lit up.

She personally stepped out, holding a folding fan to welcome him.

"My humble shop happens to have two superior rooms left; the Zen master may take his pick."

"No need for such trouble, just open any room for me. However, there is another matter I need your help with."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a silver ingot from his bundle and slapped it onto the counter.

Seeing the silver, the smile on the proprietress's face grew even more intense.

She reached out to take it, but could not budge Zhu Yuanzhang's arm, which had become as hard as iron after practicing the Mountain-Shrinking Fist.

It wasn't that Zhu Yuanzhang was reluctant to part with the silver.

In his bundle, the gold and silver Fahui had prepared for him were enough for a family of five to live happily for a lifetime.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that five days later, Hou Jing would sack Jinling and loot the city wantonly.

By then, gold and silver would likely be no different from waste paper.

"I have been ordered by His Majesty to prepare for the Wu-Zhe Assembly. I need to purchase some grain, salt, meat, and vegetables to be delivered to Taicheng tomorrow."

Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang released his grip.

The buxom beauty impatiently snatched the silver into her hands.

Without waiting for her reply, Zhu Yuanzhang took another silver ingot from his bundle and attached his entry pass for the city.

"See that this is done for me as quickly as possible."

"You can count on me!"

The proprietress tucked the two pieces of silver into her pocket, her face full of excitement.

"Huzi! Huzi! Go fetch some hot water and take it to room A-7."

"Yes..."

The one who echoed back was a young man with a tiger-like head and brain.

He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, but his body was quite sturdy.

"Follow me, honored guest."

Huzi led the way.

Upon reaching the fourth floor and looking at the room's furnishings, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied.

It was truly the capital of Xiao Liang.

The quality of the inn was indeed incomparable to anything in Hao Prefecture.

"From here, you can take in the view of the Qinhuai River. Every night, cargo ships pass by below; if the guest needs anything, you can just call out to them directly."

As he spoke, Huzi patted a wooden barrel hanging beside the window.

The barrel was half a meter in diameter and over a meter deep.

If a person curled up their body, they could even fit their entire self inside the barrel.

"Everything in the room was newly furnished this year. If you need hot water or food, just call for me."

Huzi rattled off a few more scattered instructions regarding the location of public amenities and interesting spots in the vicinity before preparing to leave.

However, he was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang.

"You don't seem particularly worried about Hou Jing crossing the river?"

"You jest, guest. To say we aren't worried at all would be a lie."

"Then why are you..."

"You mean why we haven't packed up the whole family and fled across the river?"

A complex look flashed through Huzi's eyes.

He then spoke.

"Does the guest know who our ancestors were?"

"Hm?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked the young man up and down.

Viewed from this perspective, the man before him was indeed excessively robust.

Within his consciousness, the [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] trembled slightly.

It caused others to inexplicably feel three parts more favorable toward him.

"Our ancestor was once a lieutenant under the Marquis of Donghun of the former Qi. Later, when the current Emperor raised his army and besieged Jiankang, the defending general Zhang Ji betrayed the Emperor from within. When the city fell, my ancestor was killed alongside the Marquis of Donghun."

As Huzi said this, a bitter smile touched the corners of his mouth.

The so-called Marquis of Donghun was none other than Xiao Baojuan, the last emperor of the Southern Qi.

He and Xiao Yan were both members of the Southern Lanling Xiao Clan.

Due to failed policies, the state collapsed and he lost his life, with the Southern Qi being usurped by Xiao Yan.

"Xiao Liang and Xiao Qi belong to the same lineage."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment.

He asked, "Even if you could no longer be a family of generals, how did your house fall to being mere merchants? Did His Majesty punish your family?"

"Not at all."

Huzi shook his head.

His expression remained quite calm.

"The Liang clan's possession of the state is smaller than a single commandery of the Han. Most of the people are merely retainers; they eat without farming and wear clothes without weaving, serving princes or relying on generals."

"Although my family background is not illustrious, in the past, securing a position as a military officer in the imperial court would not have been difficult."

"But the current Emperor rose to power by slaughtering his own brothers and stealing the world. Consequently, he is suspicious and paranoid. All the wealth, silk, and official positions in the world are monopolized by the Xiao Liang royal family."

"They indulge their relatives, plunder the world, imprison the innocent, and coerce the virtuous. The people are displaced, the towns are ruined, and as a result, banditry and theft are rampant..."

The man opposite him said a great deal.

Yet, Zhu Yuanzhang only understood one thing.

Xiao Yan had reserved all opportunities for officialdom and wealth for his own brothers and children.

This left everyone else in the world with no path for advancement.

This was true even for the civil and military officials of the Lanling Xiao Clan left over from the Southern Qi.

How much more so for those of even lower status in this dynasty?

And yet, despite Emperor Wu of Liang's painstaking efforts to enfeoff his own descendants to guard the four corners of the realm, he could not change his fate of being abandoned by all.

Zhu Yuanzhang remembered it very clearly.

In history, the reason the loyalist armies were repeatedly defeated by Hou Jing's smaller forces was precisely because every member of the Xiao Liang royalty who brought troops harbored their own ulterior motives.

They wanted to use Hou Jing's hand to eliminate Xiao Yan, weaken the strength of other loyalist armies, and then vie for the imperial throne.

Having realized this.

In an instant.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a stirring in his heart.

The [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] shimmered with a faint light upon his forehead.

He looked out the window toward the sky above the Qinhuai River; the gray, murky heavens were wreathed in dark clouds.

Bones piled up, clogging the riverbed.

Vengeful spirits and ghosts wandered the wilderness.

Such heavy aura of calamity!

But it lasted only for an instant.

As the Holy Wish-Fulfillment dimmed, everything before his eyes returned to normal.

The Qinhuai River remained a scene of bustling prosperity.

Countless pleasure boats drifted down the river, the rouge washed from the dancers reflecting shimmering, colorful light across the water's surface.

"Many thanks for clearing my doubts..."

Zhu Yuanzhang cupped his hands and said.

He was not certain whether what the Holy Wish-Fulfillment had just shown him was merely an illusion.

Or if it was, in truth, the future that would soon come to pass.

Now, connecting it with history, a conjecture began to form faintly in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang still did not know exactly what Emperor Wu of Liang intended to do.

He seemed to know, however, how Emperor Wu of Liang had failed.

"But it is not yet certain."

"It still requires verification!"

"No need for thanks; I merely wished to form a good connection with the Chan Master."

Huzi scratched his head.

A self-deprecating, bitter smile appeared on his face.

On his dark, honest face, his eyes were filled with bitterness and self-reproach.

"Perhaps it is because I have had no one to confide in for too long; I have spoken too freely to a mere acquaintance."

"To have said such arrogant and treasonous words to the Chan Master—I beg the Chan Master to keep my secret."

"Otherwise, I would have no choice but to abandon my home and business with my aunt and flee to Lingnan overnight."

Zhu Yuanzhang knew this was the effect of the Holy Wish-Fulfillment.

He shook his head and recited a Buddhist name.

"With Dingguang Buddha as my witness, this poor monk will certainly not betray the benefactor."