Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 656 - 297. Shen Gufan’s Confidence

New Yu Era 1325, December 5th

Before Hexi became an official prefecture, Xingnan Prefecture City was considered the easternmost city of Yongzhou, virtually the largest city of the former Hexi, with a population of over five million, which indicated its prosperity.

It could be said that with the withdrawal of the Rakshasa Holy Sect, the Xiong Yun Gang, being the strongest entity in the city, should have been able to relax. However, Wan Renjue, the gang leader, had visibly aged significantly over these past four-plus months.

With the withdrawal of the Rakshasa Holy Sect, not only did they take all the staff from the Prison Admin Department and the Prefecture Government Office, but they also withdrew all stationed Mansion Army, placing the entire burden of city administration squarely on the shoulders of Xiong Yun Gang. It was only when they took over that Wan Renjue realized how difficult being in charge was.

A city with a population of over five million, not to mention maintaining public order and mediating various conflicts, even basic necessities like food and sanitation became major problems. With the Rakshasa Holy Sect's departure, Xiong Yun Gang—having no prior experience in administering an entire prefecture—was overwhelmed and thrown into disarray the moment they took over.

Firstly, with the departure of the formidable Rakshasa Holy Sect, the second-rate and third-rate powers within the prefecture started conspiring and scheming against each other, some even colluding with outsiders, beginning to carve out their own territories within the city;

Secondly, with no one from the Prison Admin Department managing affairs, the Martial Artists in the city began to act recklessly. Incidents of arson, murder, and looting crimes surged. Some could be handled, some could not, and some were committed by their own people, leaving Wan Renjue in a state of extreme distress.

The two troubles intertwined, not to mention that the Xiong Yun Gang's own forces were insufficient, even Wan Renjue himself, as the gang leader, wished he could clone himself into ten to handle the unending flurry of affairs in the city, without a moment to spare.

Although internal anxieties and troubles were burdensome, exhausting him, Wan Renjue could still cope. However, external threats were unacceptable. If not promptly defended against, they could prove fatal. Wan Renjue understood that with the Rakshasa Holy Sect's departure, tension was sure to arise in Xiayuan. After visiting Hexi and seeing Shen Gufan, he was even more certain of it.

Since returning from Hexi at the end of June, he made a decisive move to consolidate multiple forces within the city, seizing control of Yuzhao and Jiu Sun counties. The number of Martial Artists in Xiong Yun Gang had expanded to over four hundred thousand. Despite the city's shortage of manpower, he still forcibly assembled a Xingnan army of one hundred and eighty thousand to guard the Prefectural City and the other two counties.

Of course, he also sent people to constantly monitor the developments of the Jinling Shen Family to the east. Discovering the sudden appearance of Shen Family's armed force of one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers sent chills through him while also secretly feeling fortunate for his early preparations. Otherwise, any delay might have proved disastrous.

Yet even so, he felt unease.

Of the one hundred and eighty thousand in Xingnan, only seventy thousand were long-time gang members who composed the gang's private army. The other one hundred and ten thousand were recently assembled from various sources. They might have Cultivation, but their combat ability was seriously lacking;

Unlike the Shen Clan, which had been discreetly strengthening over the years, their one hundred and fifty thousand were bona fide Clan Army units. According to the intelligence gathered by his spies, Shen's army was far superior to the Xingnan army as a whole, including fifty thousand soldiers who seemed to be significantly stronger than his own forces.

......

With the people of the Rakshasa Holy Sect having already withdrawn, Xiong Yun Gang moved the main hall of their headquarters for better control of the city.

In the main hall of the Prefecture Government Office, Wan Renjue was discussing city affairs with his nine Hall Masters when suddenly, four urgent messages came from outside.

"Report... Iron Palm Gang and Golden Sword Sect are fighting again in the west city."

"Report... Hundreds of Martial Artists are rioting in the south city, all heading towards the city gates."

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"Reporting to the Gang Leader... In the east city at Guangxian Pavilion, five third-rate powers have formed an alliance, declaring they will not accept our Xiong Yun Gang's command and intend to autonomously control the east city."

"Report... Soldiers from the Xingnan army are causing trouble in the west city, leading to a riot. The Young Gang Leader has gone to handle it, but the situation is already in complete chaos..."

When the first message arrived, Wan Renjue's face showed a trace of impatience, but with the second, third, and fourth messages following, he immediately sensed something was amiss and his expression drastically changed.

Situations like these large-scale riots, countless incidents had occurred over the past five months, but they were usually spaced out, not clustered and erupting dispersedly as they were now, affecting all city areas at the same time. Almost without thinking, it was clear to him what was happening.

"These cunning bastards, hiding so deep, finally couldn't restrain themselves and erupted in a coordinated riot. This is definitely creating an opportunity for the Shen Family. Gang Leader, let me take men there. We must handle this quickly, otherwise it could escalate and lead to severe consequences!"

"Gang Leader, Mr. Qiao requests to join the battle."

"I'm going too."

"At this critical moment, there must be no major chaos in the city."

The nine Hall Masters clearly realized the gravity of the situation, and immediately several with angry expressions rushed forward to volunteer. Although there were many rioting areas, mostly involving third-rate powers, since all nine Hall Masters were Grandmasters, leading their subordinates to handle the situation shouldn't be difficult.

Wan Renjue shook his head, not accepting his subordinates' request to fight, and instead with a stern expression, looked towards the east and solemnly told the nine, "We must not act rashly. Over the past five months, we have spent so much effort investigating the forces within the city that colluded with outsiders, yet so many have slipped through. Today, their coordinated outbreak of riots must certainly be in collusion with the Shen Family, being well-prepared with the enemy hidden and us exposed. We should not act hastily. First, we need to understand the movements of Shen's army before responding!"