In this regard, Yuan Gang did not say anything more. He knew that anything he said would be redundant.
Daoye himself was a person who was neither good nor evil. His judgment of right and wrong was also very vague. He would not be able to distinguish right from wrong as clearly as Yuan Gang. In Daoye's eyes, there was no absolute good or evil, good or bad. He did not care about people from all walks of life.
As for Niu Youdao, he did not stay in the courtyard behind the Prefectural Governor's Manor for long. The Prefectural Governor's Manor was under the control of the Heavenly Jade School. He did not want to stay in an environment where the Heavenly Jade School could decide whether he lived or died at any time.
Using the excuse of looking for a place to brew wine as an excuse, he explored the outskirts of the city and found a valley with a good environment. Thus, he moved out of the city and lived in a valley outside the city.
The living conditions in the wilderness needed time to slowly improve. So, they built a thatched hut by a mountain stream.
The surrounding environment was not bad. Verdant hills and clear waters, with mist curling up in spirals in the morning and birds returning to their nests in the evening.
There was no need to worry about safety either. The Immortal Retaining Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain seeking refuge here was equivalent to offending the imperial court. Thus, they all moved here as well.
The disciples of the three sects worked together to guard the mountain, keeping a tight watch on Niu Youdao's residence. The experts of the three sects gathered together. Outside the perimeter, there were several thousand troops mobilized by Shang Chaozong as a garrison. It was difficult for outsiders to break in and disturb the peace.
At the bottom of the cliff of the valley, a mile away from the residence, the craftsmen worked day and night to expand, penetrate, and connect the caves in the cliff to make it a place to brew wine.
The night was quiet. From time to time, the clanking sounds of the craftsmen working could be heard from afar.
On the cliff, a glowing moon butterfly danced gracefully in the night under the guidance of Niu Youdao's Qi activity. The butterfly egg bought in Star picking City had finally broken out of its cocoon and became a butterfly. Although it was still small, it was still dazzling.
Under the starry night sky, Niu Youdao stretched out a hand, the Xiao Yue butterfly gently floated down, like a star landing on his fingertip, illuminating his face clearly. In his eyes, there was the bright shadow of the moon butterfly, his eyes were filled with perplexity, a sense of loss welling up from the depths of his heart lingered in his eyes for a long time.
Shang Shuqing, who was staring at him from the side, didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt that Daoye was like this moon butterfly. Although he was shining brightly under the night sky, he was lonely.
Shang Shuqing had no idea what he was thinking about. Why would he reveal such emotions?
She also came to live in this valley. The reason she gave to Shang Chaozong was that since she didn't need to care about the military and political affairs, she might as well stay here and keep an eye on Daoye's situation. If anything happened, she could inform her brother in time.
Lan Ruoting reserved her attitude towards this and remained silent. She did not say anything.
Shang Chaozong, however, thought that his sister's words were reasonable and agreed.
Seeing that the moon butterfly resting in Niu Youdao's hand was so beautiful, Yuan Fang looked at the box in his hand. It seemed that his moon butterfly hadn't reached the time to break out of its cocoon yet.
They were planted at the same time, but the time they would receive them was different, which made him a little puzzled.
Not far away, Yuan Gang lay on a large rock, his head resting on his arms as he looked up at the starry sky.
He often looked up at the vast starry sky, not knowing how many unknown and mysterious things were hidden in it.
Under a large tree, Lu Shengzhong sat cross-legged with his back against the tree. He quietly looked up at the night sky alone, thinking about something.
Everyone had their own thoughts.
It was late at night, and everyone went back to their own places. At the foot of the mountain, two servant girls welcomed Shang Shuqing and accompanied him to rest.
Niu Youdao returned to his thatched hut and played with the moon butterfly that had just broken out of its cocoon. The hut was brightly lit because of the moon butterfly.
Although this thing was glowing, it was afraid of strong light, especially the sun. It didn't dare to show itself during the day.
However, it was easy to store and store it. It was a special small metal box that was hollow in the middle, and a frame could be pulled out like a drawer. When the moon butterfly fell into the frame and spread its wings, it could be pushed into the box.
In the box, there was an entrance to feed the moon butterfly. The Wan Shou Clan had a special food for the moon butterfly, called 'Dew Drop'. It was a small pill that could be crushed and mixed with water, and the moon butterfly would be fed like a dew drop. Feeding the moon butterfly once would last for a few days.
The box wasn't big, and it was usually hung on one's belt. It looked like a jade pendant that the Wan Shou Clan had specially made for the moon butterfly.
In short, the Wan Shou Clan was doing very well in their business. They monopolized all the surrounding areas of the items they sold, and after selling one item, the buyer would have to buy another one.
Because of this, the Wan Shou Clan was one of the wealthiest clans in the world.
"What's the matter?" Niu Youdao, who was playing with the moon butterfly, glanced at Yuan Gang, who was leaning against the door with his head lowered.
Yuan Gang walked in slowly and said slowly, "Over the years in Small Temple Village, I have trained a few clever people, and they can be used as soon as they are brought here. As for Big Stick and the others … I want to get someone to bring them here and give them a chance."
Niu Youdao was silent. Slowly, he said, "It's not a bad thing to be simple."
Yuan Gang, "How can this world be simple? It's better to give them a chance to stand out. "
Niu Youdao, "It's up to you. As long as they don't regret it and you don't regret it, it's fine."
Yuan Gang turned around and left. He went straight to Shang Shuqing's place and asked them to send someone to Small Temple Village to look for them …
A few days later, someone from Mount Five Liang came. It was Lu Shengzhong's master, Chang Zhiyi, one of the five elders of Mount Five Liang. It was also because of this identity that Lu Shengzhong was able to stand out among the disciples of Mount Five Liang and follow Wang Heng.
Mount Five Liang did not understand the situation and did not know if Lu Shengzhong was telling the truth. It was impossible for them to come all at once.
Their own disciple had to take care of it and bear the risks themselves. They sent Chang Zhiyi to check on the situation with only one follower.
"Bastard!"
When the master and disciple met, Chang Zhiyi scolded Lu Shengzhong angrily. Lu Shengzhong knelt down and kowtowed, crying.
Niu Youdao did not disturb him and watched from afar.
When the master and disciple had calmed down, Lu Shengzhong brought his master to meet Niu Youdao.
There was a kitchen named 'Nan Shan Temple' that prepared food and wine. Not to mention the wine, the food was so delicious that Chang Zhiyi could not help but taste it.
Chang Zhiyi verified the situation of his disciple. Niu Youdao naturally covered for Lu Shengzhong.
On the other hand, Niu Youdao also asked about the situation of Mount Five Liang.
Mount Five Liang was not doing well. Since the incident at Canglu County, it was not a short period of time. Wang Heng had been looking for Mount Five Liang to settle scores, but Mount Five Liang was still in hiding and did not dare to show up.
However, Mount Five Liang had heard about Shang Chaozong's rapid rise. It was even earlier than Lu Shengzhong, who was previously imprisoned. If Shang Chaozong was willing to take them in, they would naturally be willing to seek refuge with him since there was a way out and they could avoid the danger on Wang Heng's side.
However, Chang Zhiyi, who was only responsible for confirming the situation, did not dare to rashly agree to let Mount Five Liang go from light to dark and turn Mount Five Liang into a different existence.
However, Mount Five Liang did not have any other choice at the moment. In addition, Niu Youdao's words made sense. He did indeed point out a direction for Mount Five Liang to develop. After a few exchanges, Mount Five Liang sent people to confirm again. After confirming that there were no mistakes, Mount Five Liang officially agreed.
A verbal agreement was useless. Niu Youdao had a request. Mount Five Liang had to move here. If he did not control the lives of the higher-ups of Mount Five Liang, he would not dare to use them. Shang Chaozong's strength was not so great that he could make people die for food.
With the protection of the Retaining Immortal Sect and other sects, any one of them could take care of Mount Five Liang. Only when the higher-ups of Mount Five Liang were here could he be at ease.
When the excavation of the cave was done and the brewing facilities were being built, the head of Mount Five Liang, Gongsun Bu, also arrived with hundreds of Mount Five Liang's disciples.
By the time Gongsun Bu arrived, everything that needed to be discussed had been settled. Gongsun Bu was only here to make the final decision.
Slowly, the mountain breeze blew, the open-air stone tables and stone stools.
He met Niu Youdao and sat down. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Niu Youdao did not waste any time and directly took out a stack of gold notes to show Mount Five Liang his wealth.
"Five hundred thousand!" Niu Youdao pushed the stack of gold notes in front of Gongsun Bu.
Gongsun Bu and the few Elders were slightly shocked. What a huge sum!
One of the Elders took the gold notes from the table and quickly counted them. He nodded slightly at Gongsun Bu, indicating that it was indeed five hundred thousand gold coins!
Gongsun Bu asked tentatively, "Is this money for Mount Five Liang or for the work?"
Niu Youdao said, "Whether it's for Mount Five Liang or for the work, it's up to you. Every year, I will give you a minimum of five hundred thousand. If the work is done well, there will be other rewards. If the work is messed up, it's not child's play. After this, I will give you a reward and punishment plan to let you understand. You can arrange for the spies to be sent to the various countries. You must arrange for reliable people. You must think carefully and come up with a plan as soon as possible. I want to see results within three months. You can discuss the details with Yuan Gang. "
Once they saw the financial resources, Mount Five Liang quickly calmed down. They chose a location nearby to build their residence and quickly carried out Niu Youdao's arrangements. Not long after, groups of Mount Five Liang's disciples quietly left the area.
Lu Shengzhong was specially summoned by Niu Youdao. After a private discussion with Niu Youdao, Lu Shengzhong also left quietly. He was going to Bei Zhou to meet up with Wu Sanliang.
Everything was carried out in a tight and orderly manner. Yuan Gang could be considered to be a participant, but he could also be considered to be observing the entire process.
From the day they left Small Temple Village, Yuan Gang could be said to have personally witnessed Daoye's series of tricks. He started from scratch and quickly gathered a group of people. He admitted that he would not be able to do this if he were in Daoye's shoes.
Niu Youdao also temporarily diverted some of his attention to the brewing of wine. The specific operations were still handed over to the monks of Nanshan Temple led by Yuan Fang. He was only responsible for teaching them. If he did everything himself, he would be too busy.
The brewing of wine would be the main source of income here for a long time to come. Teaching the brewing method to Nanshan Temple was also to keep it a secret. He was reassured to hand it over to Yuan Fang. A group of people with firm beliefs was the best choice to keep it a secret. Moreover, Yuan Fang was a miser. He was the kind of person who would dream of others stealing his source of income.
Only this group of monks knew the specific process of brewing.
Inside the cave of the brewing grounds, there were three entrances. Each entrance was guarded by two disciples from the Celestial Retaining Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain, who were on duty at all times.
The three sects also attached great importance to this matter. In Niu Youdao's words, once the Heavenly Jade Clan stole the brewing method, there would be nothing left for them. The Heavenly Jade Clan might even kick them out of the competition.
The three sects guarded this place with all their might. They also kept a close eye on the monks of Nanshan Temple who lived here, afraid that the secret would be leaked.
Other than the monks of Nanshan Temple who brewed the wine, even the three sects themselves were not allowed to enter the brewing area, let alone the people of the Heavenly Jade Clan. In this matter, the three sects would not make any concessions to the Heavenly Jade Clan.
Every entrance was guarded by five people sent by Shang Chaozong. It could be said that the three sects were supervising each other and preventing theft.
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