107 Chapter 107 (1/2)
The people started whispering amongst each other, the fountain hologram had finally been turned off, the new ruling clan and their members had left the square. No one dared to utter a word or question them about anything, they were still afraid. The Zhang Clan used to rule this city before, but even then they weren't like this. They weren't as bad as the evil Cheng Clan, but they still upheld the status quo.
The woman in the picture explained a couple of things. That there would be something like the 'police' patrolling the city, this was easy to understand as they were just guardsmen in strange uniforms. The other things were a bit odd, the woman said that some of the taxes would go to something called 'health care' and you could sign up to a clinic and get yourself checked out by a physician without having to pay. The taxes would cover the expense instead.
”Are they testing us or something, this sounds too good to be true...”
Some of the people whispered after the threat of the powerful family was gone. They having left after doing their strange announcement.
This wasn't all, besides the police and free clinics for the masses there would also be a school. This wasn't just a martial arts school in which you could earn some low graded techniques, no. This would be something that youths from a young age could attend, learn how to read and write and even have some free standardized techniques and cultivation manuals to choose from. They even said that the promising students would have an option of being invited into the midst of the powerful Zhang Clan.
”Yes, why would they want us to join their family, wouldn't that just lower their prestige?”
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”But what if it's true... It wouldn't be bad to have my little Wang'er to learn something from such a powerful clan...”
”Yes, if even one of my brats could join that clan I would be set for life!”
The people's reaction to the things that the Zhang Clan was offering was mixed. They wanted to believe in the families' goodwill, but they were also afraid that those places might have some shady dealings. It wouldn't be much of a stretch if they had their kids enroll in that 'free' school and then some Zhang Clan uncle would come demanding payment, their kids could even be captured and turned to slaves.
Most of these people were from the first up to the third level of Qi condensation, this was the realm the vast majority of regular people reached. The bottleneck past the third level was just too hard without having the backing of a clan and their knowledge. It was a risky move to attempt it on your own a lot of people crippled themselves while struggling to force their way through.
”Wonder what the other families think about this...”
”Not like they can go against the Zhang Clan, anything is better than those blasted Chens.”
”Hope that Patriarch of theirs has a slow death... his bastard kids were always bullying everyone, how many young girls lives did the end?”
The people started rumbling about how the old clan was trash, their bravery kicking in at the moment the city was taken over by the new power.
The Cheng Clan wasn't the only family clan in the city though, it was only the strongest. This city was far too large to have only one big faction to run it, there were many smaller family clans around that were just controlled by the big overlord that was the Cheng Clan. This wasn't anything new, the same thing was also true back in Spirit Spring City. You could say that the Cheng Clan was the Dark Palm sect to these lower clans, but now it was replaced by the Zhangs.
In this city, there were three other powers. There was the Xing Clan they were mostly involved in the more shady businesses having stakes in the pleasure district and the gambling spots around it. Then there was the Kuan Clan they were responsible for the food supply and the farming areas around the city, they would go to the village areas and transport the rice and wheat while taxing the farmers. The last were the people from the Situ Clan, they had a monopoly on the medicine in the area most of the clinics and apothecaries belonged to them.
The three factions kept themselves at bay, but if they ever worked together then they could have been able to compete with the Cheng Clan. That clan in question was focused on strength, so they didn't really need to spread themselves thin with many establishments. They collected taxes from the lower three clans and protected them in response, acting like the military of the city. So they were more like a mafia family that was collecting protection money while running some shady businesses on the side.
But now there was a new tiger in town, the old families used to work with the old Zhang Clan but that family didn't really exist anymore. The new Patriarch was making things clear after one of the businesses owned by the Xing Clan was raided. It was the place old fatty Mu was the owner of, they didn't even come to the Xing Clan to work things out before going into action.
In a certain secluded place, there were three men sitting around a round table. They were looking at the map of Moonlight City, some red marks drawn on it, one in the spot of the slave trader Old Fatty Mu.
”What are they thinking, are they trying to squeeze my Xing Clan for spirit stones?”
Xing Deng the Xing Clan Patriarch spoke up, his fist slamming onto the table while his brows quivered in anger. The people sitting at the table were the Kuan and Situ Clan Patriarchs, the three had called an emergency meeting after the leading family was taken down. They didn't like each other, but when their livelihood was being taken away they would work together.
”My people reported that they want to give free medicine to those useless commoners, preposterous!”
This was the Situ Clan Patriarch named Situ Rong who earned his living by overpricing all medicine that his businesses made, if some renegade pill maker popped up in the city he would be either recruited under this family or removed from the city.
”Damn Zhangs, they want to lower the taxes on the blasted farmers as well and they want to reexamine the quality of the food we produce!”
This was the Patriarch of the third family Kuan Yin, he was also angered. The taxes would be lowered and his family might even have to pay fines if the food didn't meet the Zhang Clan's standards.
”This is just blatant bullying!”
”We must make a decision brothers... do we lose face or do we strike back...”
Xing Deng asked while leaning back, in his mouth was a large cigar and he looked more like a mafia boss than a cultivator. He was the most ruthless from the bunch, he had no qualm in using people as slaves or selling them off for body parts.