Mr. Fan Zhongyan pays for the dinner with his own money. He can invite whomever he wants and is not afraid of others gossiping behind his back.
Four tables were opened in the dining room, and everyone gathered and sat down happily.
Fan Zhongyan, Bai Yutian, Wushan Taoist, Chen Xiwen, Liu Jindao, Yang Xingbiao, Ma Chuhe, and Wu were sitting at the same table. Zhen Jinlian sat at the same table with Dong Xiaowan, Cui Yingying and other masters and apprentices. Shi Qinghua followed the soldiers from Yanzhou Prefecture. They sat at two tables.
For the first glass of wine, Fan Zhongyan, accompanied by Zhen Jinlian, toasted the other people present. The second, third, and fourth cups... were all toasted by other people present to Fan Zhongyan and his wife. First, drink the wine and drink it slowly, then drink it slowly, just to have fun, not to drink too much.
After lunch, Wu San and his soldiers bid farewell to Fan Zhongyan and returned to Yanzhou. Everyone saw him off at the gate of the government office.
Dong Xiaowan and her disciples bid farewell to Fan Zhongyan and returned to the White Lotus Sect. Bai Yutian took him out of the city with Wushan Taoist priests.
Before leaving, Shi Qinghua followed his master Feng Wanli's entrustment and handed over the prescription for refining Hua Gong Powder to Bai Yutian, honoring his master's order.
Bai Yutian saw Cui Yingying's eyes watery and unwilling to leave. In order to comfort her, he sang loudly: "A sword sweeps across the rivers and lakes, and the hoofs of horses thousands of miles away will not wash away the dust. I am not afraid of the floating clouds covering my eyes, but I am afraid of the swarms of magpies trying to save the gods."
Hearing such a strong voice, Cui Yingying had nothing to worry about, so she galloped away with her whip.
Watching Cui Yingying go, Bai Yutian turned the horse's head, pointed it south, and straddled the horse.
Taoist Wushan stepped aside and said, "Are you really ready?"
Bai Yutian smiled and replied: "Taoist Master, what have you planned?"
Taoist Wushan said displeasedly: "Why are you pretending to be ignorant? You are relying on the heroes of the world to eliminate the Dragon Slaying Society."
Bai Yutian said: "Do you think it's feasible?"
Wushan Taoist replied: "It is possible. I am afraid that it is not easy to be the leader of the martial arts alliance. If it cannot be recognized by the court, whoever becomes the leader of the alliance will die."
Bai Yutian asked: "In your opinion, who is more suitable to be the leader of this martial arts alliance?"
Taoist Wushan said: "It would be better to find someone who is willing to accept the imperial court's favor to be the leader of the alliance."
Bai Yutian said: "Taoist Priest, I don't think this is feasible."
Wushan Taoist asked: "Why?"
Bai Yutian thought to himself that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Song Dynasty had emphasized culture and suppressed military affairs, guarding the inside and the outside. Due to heavy taxes, the people lived a difficult life. Whenever there were natural or man-made disasters, and the court failed to provide timely relief, peasant uprisings often occurred, and people from all walks of life often participated in them. The imperial court believed that the power of Jianghu was one of the causes of social troubles and was extremely afraid of it. It never stopped suppressing or persecuting Jianghu heroes.
Then he said: "Taoist Priest, if this person has a venal heart and is willing to work with the imperial court to suppress the forces of the Jianghu, wouldn't the heroes of the Jianghu be unable to guard against him in the future, and their lives would be in danger?"
Wushan Taoist said: "But in this martial arts alliance, if no one comes forward to get close to the court and avoid the court's suspicion, how can trust be established between the heroes of the world and the court."
Although Bai Yutian felt that what Wushan Taoist said was reasonable, he couldn't let go of the worries in his heart, and said: "Taoist Master, you are not saying that the younger generation is unwilling to agree, but where can you find such a person? Not only do you have to have He has a very high reputation, is willing to get close to the court, and is not harmful to Lu Xun's heart. He will not do anything to harm his fellow Jianghu people. The most important thing is that the court still trusts this person and can rest assured about him. This kind of person is not difficult to say first. It’s not hard to find, but I’m afraid it doesn’t exist at all.”
Wushan Taoist said: "Don't tell me yet, as far as Shanren knows, there really is one in the world, and it's easy to find."
Bai Yutian asked: "Who?"
Wushan Taoist smiled and replied: "Jiang Qingcheng, Old Man Jiang."
Bai Yutian was very surprised and said: "You are talking about my master! How is this possible?"
Taoist Wushan said: "Do you dare to say that your master's reputation in the world of martial arts is not high? Do you dare to say that your master cares about fame and fortune? Do you dare to say that your master has done things that harmed fellow martial arts practitioners?"
Bai Yutian didn't dare to say it.
He thought to himself: "As the son of a sword demon, I am able to travel freely in the world. It should be due to the three words 'Chunyangmen'. The old master has not set foot outside Kuanglu Mountain for twenty years. He said that he is so profitable and enlightens his heart." , unless that person is mean-mouthed. People in the martial arts world mention his name with no disrespect. He must have never done anything harmful to his fellow martial artists. However, if his master is willing to get close to the court, he can also gain the court's trust. It sounds a bit mysterious, I wouldn’t believe it.”
Wushan Taoist glanced at Bai Yutian and said: "Boy, your father committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. No one was seen alive, and no body was found after he died. Everyone guessed that he was not dead but was rescued. The imperial court deliberately suppressed your father, and the Dragon Slaying Association I wish your father would die, but I didn’t go into it further. Do you know the reason?"
Bai Yutian asked: "What's the reason?"
Taoist Wushan said: "It's because Lu Yijian and others guessed that Jiang Qingcheng was most likely the one who rescued your father."
Bai Yutian asked: "Does my master have any contact with Lu Yijian and the others?"
Wushan Taoist said: "As far as the mountain people know, they not only have contacts, but also have a very good relationship. It is also because of this relationship that Lu Yijian and the others are willing to let your father go. They feel that even if your father is alive, he will not be able to do anything in the future." I will take revenge on them."
Bai Yutian was a little confused and asked, "What on earth is going on?"
Taoist Wushan said: "When the court wanted to eradicate your father, the first person they looked for was your master Jiang Chengcheng. But your master felt that although your father was a bit arrogant and domineering, he had no evil deeds and no ambitions. Song Wuhai not only did not agree to this matter, but also advised Lu Yijian and the others not to do it. The imperial court was determined to eradicate your father, so Lu Yijian and the others were forced to go rogue and find the Dragon Slayer Guild to do this, which is why today's evil consequences occurred."
Bai Yutian reined in the horse, got off the horse, waited for Wushan Taoist to jump off the horse, walked together, and asked: "But Taoist Master, even so, you can't say that my master is willing to get close to the government and still get favors from the court." Trust?"
Taoist Wushan said: "Have you ever heard of the Sword Immortal cultivating his mind and martial arts?"
Bai Yutian replied: "I heard something from Senior Master Li Yiru and Senior Huanghe Yijiangu. They said that Senior Xiu Xinwu was my master's wife, and my second uncle Jiang Yulang was their son. It's really true. Is that what happened?”
Wushan Taoist said: "This matter is absolutely true, there is not a single lie."
Bai Yutian was a little puzzled and asked: "But my master is in the south of the Yangtze River and rarely sets foot in the Central Plains. And Xiu Xinwu is in Bashu and never leaves home. How did these two people meet and how did they meet?" Are you married?"
Taoist Wushan said: "After my investigations over the years, I found that your master and Xiu Xinwu met because of a peasant uprising."
Bai Yutian asked: "What kind of peasant uprising?"
Wushan Taoist said: "More than forty years ago, a peasant uprising broke out in Shu by Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun."
Shu is located in southwest China, surrounded by steep mountains, numerous passes, and difficult terrain. It is known as the "Land of Abundance".
From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, it had been controlled by local separatist forces. Separate regimes such as the former Shu and the later Shu were established. These separatist forces did their best to plunder and plunder the people. When Huang Chao's uprising army approached Chang'an, Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty led a large number of noble officials to flee to Shu. Later, most of the Tang Dynasty's well-dressed tribesmen fled here.
Until the early Song Dynasty, the aristocratic families, powerful people, and landlords in Shu were crazy about annexing land, which was more prominent than in the Central Plains. There are many wealthy people in the Sichuan Gorge, and they use small servants as tenants and make them slaves. There may be dozens of households in the house. If the rent is mediocre, the tenants will inherit it.
This kind of side households, namely tenant households, account for more than 70% of the total households in the area, and in some remote areas the number reaches 80% to 90%. They have been fixed on the land of the landlord for generations, and have a strong personal dependence on the landlord like slaves. In addition to paying land rent to wealthy landlords, they also had to bear heavy taxes or corvees sent by the government. Their exploitation was more severe than in other areas, and their lives were even poorer. In order to survive, they had a strong desire to overthrow the oppression and rule of the landlords.
When the Song Dynasty destroyed Hou Shu, they not only sent troops to plunder them, but the imperial court also transported the gold, silver, jewelry, copper coins and silk cloth stored in the treasury of Hou Shu to Kaifeng, the capital, known as the "Rijin Gang". To this end, a large number of civilians were forcibly recruited and transported by land and water. It took more than ten years to complete the transportation, which further increased the burden on the people.
In the Chengdu area, there are many people but little land, and farmers are not able to raise enough crops to support them, so most of them engage in side businesses such as textiles and tea picking.
In order to monopolize the cloth and silk trade, the Song Dynasty established a "Bo Buying Service" in Shu, prohibiting individual farmers and small traders from buying and selling freely. The wealthy and powerful landowners took advantage of the opportunity to speculate, selling cheap and selling high, exploiting the people and profiting from it. As a result, the people became increasingly poor and lost their family business and property. Many small traders were forced to lose their jobs, and the cottage industry was severely damaged. As if this was not enough, the Northern Song Dynasty court also classified tea as a monopoly, buying tea at low prices and selling rice at high prices to tea farmers, causing many tea farmers to go bankrupt and cut off their livelihood.
In the fourth year of Chunhua reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, another severe drought occurred in the Shu region, resulting in a famine, rising prices, and widespread starvation. Under the double coercion of natural and man-made disasters, farmers rose up and broke out in an uprising in order to seek their final survival. Among them, Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun had the largest uprising. They not only put forward the slogan of "equalizing the rich and the poor", but also established the Shu regime for a while. The aristocratic landlords in Shu were purged one by one, some died in ravines, some were exposed in the countryside, some were suppressed, or some were expelled. Or become a prisoner.
Bai Yutian said: "Taoist Priest, why does this peasant uprising have anything to do with my master and the others?"
Wushan Taoist said: "When turmoil broke out, the court had to suppress it. Although your master was in the Jianghu, he didn't know the hardship of the people in Shu. For the justice in his heart that was loyal to the Song Dynasty, and to show off his skills, he went with him. .”
Bai Yutian asked: "Why did it get involved with my master's wife cultivating the mind and martial arts later?"
Wushan Taoist said: "After your master arrived in Shu, through what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears, he knew that the poor people in Shu rose up to fight because life was worse than death. In an instant, his conscience discovered that not only did he not dare to fight against 'Shu' The mob started to attack, and they saved a few people from time to time, showing the good side of people. Once when I rescued people, I happened to meet Xiu Xinwu. After the two got along, a spark of love accidentally sparked, and it became a matter of life and death. Lover."
Bai Yutian said: "Isn't Xiu Xinwu the so-called mob?"
Taoist Wushan said: "How can a woman with a finger like a spring bamboo shoot and a believer in the Pure Land Sect go on a killing spree?"
Bai Yutian asked: "What happened next?"
Wushan Taoist said: "What happened next? In order to find a way for those who were rescued to survive, Xiu Xinwu moved them out of Shu and set foot on the yellow land we are standing on now. Those people wanted to express their gratitude to Xiu He was good at Xinwu, so he followed her to believe in the Pure Land Sect. Later, in order to no longer be oppressed, he worshiped Xinwu as the main body, and formed the White Lotus Society, which is now the White Lotus Sect."
Bai Yutian asked: "Isn't this great? Why did my master fall out with Xiu Xinwu?"
Taoist Wushan said: "The original starting point of the White Lotus Society was not problematic, but as more and more people joined, good and bad people were mixed, and some scum who used their name to seek wealth inevitably appeared. Your master Jiang Qingcheng gradually discovered that the White Lotus Society was harmful to the country of the Song Dynasty. She Ji asked Xiu Xinwu to disband the White Lotus Society, but he did not get Xiu Xinwu's approval. He became angry and returned to Jiangnan in a rage. After he was angry and rushed to Xiu Xinwu's side, Xiu Xinwu had already been killed by Zhao. Mingxiu did it secretly."
