Chapter 1609 1611【Infernal Affairs】


    After the imperial court rewarded him, Xiang Nan paid his respects three times and finally accepted it.


    Just in time, two thousand hectares of land were allocated to him at the foot of Laojun Mountain. Anyway, the Heluo area has suffered from repeated wars, and most of the ten houses are empty, and most of the land has become ownerless land.


    Xiang Nan then recruited refugees and leased the land, taking 10% of the rent.


    Comparatively, other landlords often charge 30% to 50% of the rent. Coupled with land tax, corvee, etc., tenant farmers often work hard for a year without even a penny left.


    Therefore, when there are natural or man-made disasters and the harvest is poor, they will be forced to sell their sons and daughters and wander around.


    Hence, the conditions here in Xiang Nan were so favorable, and many people immediately came to seek refuge.


    In fact, even if the land rent in Xiangnan is not that cheap, like other landowners, tenant farmers are more willing to rent land in Xiangnan. After all, within a radius of five hundred miles, who doesn’t know the reputation of Tai Chi Master?


    After the tenant farmers arrived, Xiang Nan not only provided them with seeds and farm tools, but also provided them with small interest-free loans so that they could buy livestock and build houses to tide over the difficulties temporarily.


    ?In this way, the people will naturally be more grateful and worship Xiang Nan more diligently.


    In less than a year, eight villages were formed at the foot of Laojun Mountain, each with a population of 2,000 people. They are like satellites, guarding Laojun Mountain.


    In addition to paying rent to Xiang Nan, in these eight villages, during the off-season, the men in the village, young and old, would practice martial arts with the Taiji sect to strengthen their bodies, practice weapons, train queues, and arrange troops.


    ?The euphemistic name is to strengthen defense, protect the environment and the people, and avoid attacks by bandits. In fact, Xiang Nan''s purpose was to have a usable team on hand, which could serve as farmers in peacetime and soldiers in wartime.


    In this way, eight villages can have 10,000 soldiers and horses. Coupled with the leadership of the Taiji Sect disciples, it is a team that can fight tough battles.


    By then, even if the imperial court sends a large army, there will be no way to capture him.


    Unlike Song Jiang, after recruiting troops, he was assigned to attack Daliao, Fangla, Tianhu, and Wangqing, and lost his troops and generals. In the end, when the military power was withdrawn, there was no one available. By then, a glass of poisoned wine would kill him.


    Xiang Nan will not be so stupid. He must always ensure that he has a group of available people on hand.


    …


    Time flies, time flies.


    In the next few years, Xiang Nanduo practiced martial arts in the temple and evolved Tai Chi to a higher level.


    ?In addition, he also traveled around, treating diseases and saving people.


    Xiang Nan went to many places such as Yanzhao, Qilu, Heluo, Jianghuai, Shanxi-Shaanxi, Sichuan-Tibet, Yunnan-Guizhou. Especially wherever there is a plague, he will go there to cure the disease and eliminate the disaster.


    In ancient times, due to underdeveloped medicine, coupled with the fact that the people were hungry, cold, and physically weak, it was difficult to resist the invasion of viruses, and therefore plagues often prevailed.


    From 674 BC to 1911 AD, more than 300 major plagues were recorded in history books in more than 2,500 years.


    Influenza, smallpox, plague, tuberculosis, malaria, dysentery, typhoid fever... any minor illness may kill a person.


    Xiang Nan, because of his superb medical skills and foresight, was familiar with history books and knew where there might be plague. So be prepared in advance.


    ??As soon as the plague came, he had already written prescriptions, prepared medicinal materials, donated doctors and administered medicines, and eliminated the disease. As a result, there were countless people alive and he was praised by more and more people.


    From north to south, from east to west, Tai Chi''s name is getting more and more famous, and everyone calls him a "living god". More and more people believe in him among the people, and many people offer immortal tablets, kowtow three times in the morning and evening, and burn incense in the morning and evening.


    This can also be seen from the incense in Laojun Guan. Its pilgrims come in an endless stream from south to north and from east to west. Hundreds and thousands of people come to offer incense every day. The money collected for sesame oil alone amounts to tens of thousands of taels a year.


    ?This has also made Taiji Sect more and more powerful, with more than a thousand disciples, and it has become a famous sect in the martial arts world, no less famous than Shaolin Sect.


    ? Among them, Deng Chang and others were the first-generation disciples; the three hundred disciples brought back from Luoyang City were considered the second-generation disciples; in addition, the third-generation disciples were selected from the eight major villages, all children in their eighties or nineties. When they grow up, they will be able to take over the family.


    ?In addition, Xiang Nan also secretly selected outstanding seedlings and sent them to Shaolin Temple to learn skills and implement his own undercover plan.


    ??He himself has no way to return to Shaolin to practice martial arts. Let’s not talk about whether he, as a first-generation master, can worship the Shaolin Temple again. Even if he wanted to do it himself, Shaolin Temple would not do it.


    After all, they were expelled from the Shaolin Temple, which is equivalent to the abandoned disciples of the Shaolin Temple. It was impossible for the Shaolin Temple to take him back, so he could only use Infernal Affairs.


    …


    In the 16th year of Zhengde''s reign, Zhu Houzhao contracted pneumonia due to falling into the water. Coupled with the year-round drinking and meat-producing, and excessive debauchery, the body has long been strong on the outside and dry on the inside, with no replenishment for the deficiency. Therefore, the medicine was ineffective and he soon returned to the west.


    Because Zhu Houzhao had no sons, his cousin Zhu Houcong took the throne as emperor, which was also the famous Emperor Jiajing.


    At the beginning of Emperor Jiajing''s accession to the throne, he reorganized the dynasty, promoted advantages and eliminated disadvantages, reduced tax burdens, re-employed virtuous ministers, removed guarding eunuchs, strictly monitored the system, and punished corruption and bending the law.


    ?After the implementation of these New Deals, the politics became clear, the people were happy with their work, and the national strength was restored to a certain extent. It was called the "Jiajing New Deal" in history.


    ?However, Emperor Jiajing was not without all his shortcomings. He believed in Taoism and was obsessed with practicing alchemy and the art of immortality. This is directly related to his birth in Huguang.


    Because the practice of witchcraft has been prevalent in the Huguang area since ancient times. In the early days of his accession to the throne, because he had not yet taken control of the power, he did not dare to act arrogantly yet.


    ?A few years after he took the throne and gained great power, he began to act like a monster. He suppressed the Buddha and valued Taoism, doted on the alchemists, and indulged in practicing the art of immortality.


    ??In the third year of Jiajing''s reign, Shao Yuanjie, a Taoist from Longhu Mountain, was recruited to the palace to explain Taoism.


    What is good above is bound to be bad below. For a time, there were countless people who contributed Taoism, alchemy books, and secret laws, and they often received gold, silver, jewelry, and even official rewards.


    As a well-known Taoist priest in the world, Xiang Nan was a loyal and loyal person conferred by Emperor Zhengde. He also had countless living people and was known as a "living god", so he was naturally taken seriously.


    In the third year of Jiajing''s reign, Emperor Jiajing issued an order to recruit Xiang Nan to the palace to explain Taoism and teach immortality.


    ?However, Xiang Nan failed to come after repeated calls and paid his respects many times.


    On the one hand, accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. In particular, Emperor Jiajing was suspicious, sensitive, jealous, willful, violent and cruel.


    In Chinese history, the only coup d''état involving palace maids occurred during the Jiajing Dynasty. If he hadn''t been too cruel, treating the palace maids as human beings and beating them to death at every turn, he wouldn''t have aroused the wrath of heaven and the people.


    ?Hang Nan naturally does not want to serve an emperor like this.


    On the one hand, Xiang Nan’s Infernal Affairs has achieved initial results. Since the seventh year of Zhengde, he has successively sent undercover agents to Shaolin Temple. After more than ten years of planning, it has now begun to bear fruit.


    ?Among the disciples he sent, some have already entered Bodhidharma Academy and learned the two superior martial arts of Crazy Demon Wand Technique and Demon Subduing Fist, and they have been secretly sent to him.


    He is currently practicing and has no time to pay attention to Emperor Jiajing.


    (End of this chapter)