Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 170 - 134: Entering Jiang Family Village, Meeting Jiang Fugui

Chapter 170: Chapter 134: Entering Jiang Family Village, Meeting Jiang Fugui

The Jiang family’s militiamen at the gate, armed with blades and armor, saw a group of unfamiliar faces and immediately became vigilant while their gaze filled with aggressiveness.

This was also one of the characteristics of soldiers; once they were on the battlefield and saw blood, their ferocity was ignited.

However, at this moment, an old farmer stood in front of them, while making eye gestures, at the same time he stood in front of the man in plain black, smiling apologetically.

The old farmer was their elder and was also the father of one of the Jiang family youth.

Outside, they could act tough like ruffian soldiers, brandishing weapons to scare others, but at home, if they dared to act this way, their parents would teach them what "bamboo beats meat" meant.

Governing the world through filial piety, the clan was the ultimate embodiment of the filial law.

Even though Jiang Jucai had become the Deputy Horse Leader of a hundred cavalry in the Nanchun Army, after all, the Nanchun Army was formed by local powers, and there were no large horse farms in the south, so a hundred cavalry might well be all of the horse soldiers there were.

Being a deputy showed merit indeed, but a senior position required connections.

Yet despite this, Jiang Jucai would not dare to hit his own father. If he did so today, his reputation would be completely ruined tomorrow, be talked about for a lifetime.

The young Jiang family’s militiamen were too inexperienced to recognize Gu Wen, but they also sensed that something was amiss, and all reined in their arrogance while curiously sizing up the man before them.

The man’s hair and pupils were black, his features ordinary, and he looked around with curiosity, occasionally nodding with satisfaction.

"Jiang Family Village is not bad."

The villagers’ complexions were ruddy, the roads well-maintained, and the unity within the clan was evident. As soon as strangers entered the village, at least half of the village’s able-bodied men had come.

It was clear that Jiang Fugui had followed his orders; although he controlled most of the land, he did not treat the villager’s within the clan like peasants, but rather used it to win over people’s hearts.

In modern times, the clan system was seen as dross, but in ancient times, it was absolutely an advanced system, and a united clan was even more so an advanced representative of rebellion potential.

As the saying goes "circumstances create heroes," unless one defies the heavens with talent, trust is more important than ability.

Just like in the army, ferocity is useless in the face of stability, leading troops in battle, and insurrections alike all prefer stability.

Even without the ability to rebel, following his original trajectory, Gu Wen could have been a local magnate, marry a suitably matched and beneficial wife, and take a few beautiful concubines.

Nanshui was far from the northern plains and had never seen a major war.

Suddenly, Gu Wen felt a slight chill on his back and, for some reason, Yu Hua’s gaze was fixed deeply on him.

He came back to his senses and asked, "Where is Jiang Fugui?"

"He’s inside, quickly ask the elder to come out to meet Mr. Wen."

As soon as the old farmer’s words dropped, the expressions of the Jiang family’s militiamen changed instantly; these two words were of significant weight to the Jiang Family.

Because the Water House boatmen, to a certain extent, made their living under Gu Wen, and their children naturally had to become boatmen when they grew up.

The most often heard phrase was, "once you’re strong enough, go make a living under Mr. Wen."

This was the legendary Mr. Wen?

Gu Wen paid no attention to the gazes around him and waved his hand, "I’ll go in and find him directly."

Then he walked in, saw a child scrutinizing ants on the ground behind the big gate, Gu Wen approached and rubbed the child’s head with a smile, "Do you remember me, Juxian?"

Jiang Juxian, the youngest son of Jiang Fugui.

Unlike his brother Jiang Jucai’s cleverness, Jiang Juxian was slower from a young age, but thankfully there was no issue with his intelligence.

The child sniffled, his voice clear, "It’s Mr. Wen!"

"You’re still clever, come and take me to your father."

Gu Wen lifted Jiang Juxian and headed towards the double gates under his guide. The Jiang family’s mansion was not simply for living in, its structure akin to a fortress, something Gu Wen specifically arranged to fend off bandits.

He touched the rough stone walls, knocked to test the sturdiness, and Chi Yu Zi punched, creating a hole in the wall.

His speed and strength were condensed to the extreme, and astonishingly, he did not cause any vibration or damage to areas beyond his fist.

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing how much you treasure it, I thought it was some treasure from the Three Pure Dao."

"Make sure you fix it."

Gu Wen continued forward, the arguing voices becoming clearer. He asked, "What happened between your father and your elder brother?"

Jiang Juxian replied, "Big brother went to do a big thing, daddy is very angry."

Indeed it was the child acting on his own initiative.

Initially, Gu Wen was somewhat surprised. Could it be that Jiang Fugui had come to his senses and, becoming a landlord, suddenly developed a bold courage, foolishly conspiring in rebellion.

Now was not the time for rebellion.

The Daqian Dynasty might look shabby, but as long as the government’s rule still existed, as long as most places recognized the Dynasty, then it would be difficult to defeat Daqian. Eliminating all Transcendent forces, Daqian was still not at the point of complete collapse.

Someone needed to kick the last kick, but that kick could easily crush that person instead.

The Nanchun Army had fought for half a year and only managed to take a ferry point and a few surrounding towns; even failing to kill a Prefectural Governor, how could that be seen as a big deed?

So, it was the child’s play.

Gu Wen walked out of the narrow corridor and turned the corner, just in time to see Jiang Jucai and his mother in the courtyard, while the room’s door in front of them was tightly shut.

Mrs. Jiang patted the door, "Elder, elder, Jucia is young and ignorant. Jucia, quickly apologize to your father, kneel down!"

"Let him roll away! Even if I starve to death, I don’t want to see this beast. If he wants to drive me to death, he might as well keep standing outside!"

Jiang Fugui’s voice filled with rage came from inside.

Jiang Jucai’s face was stiff, unwilling to show any emotion, his face barely hiding his fear. If it weren’t for his newly cultivated boldness on the battlefield, he wouldn’t have dared to talk back to his father.