Zhili Nangong County. The eighth day of December in the twentieth year of Guangxu.

The land in Jizhong could have been called the first rich in Zhili. It is populated, the villages are dense, and the folk customs are also known as strong, and what is even more remarkable is that in the north, the proportion of literate and hyphenated people in the total population can also be called the first in the north. This place in Nangong County has always been regarded as the first county in central Hebei, and it is known as Jinnangong in folk songs. All kinds of piles are better than the average level of Jizhong.

The people in the north are conservative, and there are a little more literate people who are half-connected, plus the feet of the Son of Heaven are well-informed. There are more undercurrents of people with different thoughts. In the Manchu officialdom, such places were known to be exhaustive and stubborn, and although they were rich, they were also notoriously difficult to govern. Every year after collecting taxes and grain, the government has to be polite to the people, and dare not be so vicious in the pursuit of comparison, for fear of provoking rebellion in the people. These Diao people are often not poor ordinary people who have no pants, they are often local clans. Lianzhuang will be organized, boxing practice, incense burning, with the clan and practice boxing and burning incense two means to clean up the local villagers to be obedient, a husband rises, often 10,000 people should be peaceful, surrounded by the government are light. Counting the history of the northern part of the Qing Dynasty, the small-scale chaos has not stopped, that is, ten years ago, these incense-burning riots were a big storm! As the Qing Dynasty's ability to control its rule became weaker and weaker, local officials turned a blind eye to the behavior of self-protection of the people's associations.

It can be summed up in one sentence that the local order to the south of the Qing Dynasty was often maintained by the gentry. However, the local order in the north, in this year, is often maintained by various incense sects, and if you want to count the names of these incense sects, it may be difficult for the immortals to do it.

At this time in Nangong County, it is neither a collection nor a temple fair, and there are many abnormal characters in the county. Most of these characters are wearing close-fitting gowns, but they have loose trouser legs, their braids are black and thick, and some guys have sparse hair on the back of their heads, and the braids are considerable, and you can see that a wig has been added at a glance. Tianjin Wei's gangster braids are mostly scattered, and magnolia flowers are inserted in every section. And these men with tanned faces, walking with their shoulders crossed and thumbs up, and looking like Lao Tzu has a fist stick on their bodies, but their braids are all coiled, and they are wrapped around their necks in a thick circle. The braided rope is also only available in red and yellow.

Pedestrians on the street, when they saw these gentlemen appearing in the city, most of them avoided taking a step. Some people also showed envious looks. These are all men who can please the great god and are skilled in boxing! Everyone has seen it in person, a few fists will fight kung fu in the Yingshen Competition, and the four-petal musket that beats soybeans and iron sand will hit the belly against it, and it will not be red!

Those with fast eyes can still see that many of the team leaders in the county's horses, fast, and strong classes have also changed their pants with loose legs and followed in the crowd with braids. On this occasion today, it is clear that the township boxing will come to meet, I don't know if it is a few Zhuangtou boxers who have fought a big fight and come out of the life to say that they are together, or if a few more boxers are united, everyone comes to drink Qixin wine. Although there are many more characters than usual, who will talk about them this year! Even if the county lord's sedan chair bumped into these gentlemen on the road, the county lord had to stop the sedan chair and hide in the alley to avoid them!

Seeing that the sun is gradually rising overhead, in the backyard of Master Feng, who is known as the richest man in Nangong County, such boxers have come one after another, and there are few who can enter the yard, most of them are squatting or standing around Old Lady Feng's house, taking out the truncated smoke pot and making fire with each other. The servants of the Feng Mansion had already flashed far away, but they kept bringing buckets of tea.

In the back house, all the people who can come in are very majestic boxing brothers, and the big guys are going to gather together, no matter how they don't deal with it, they have to talk and laugh loudly, and cheer for home. But today, these senior brothers all looked respectful and stood upright in the backyard. Just looking at the backyard study with the curtain hanging low.

The sun is getting bigger and bigger, although it is still the climate in winter, but the weather has gradually been moving towards early spring, the sun is baking, and the padded jacket is also sweating, and I feel a little impatient. The door of the study was lifted, and the eldest master of the Feng Mansion walked out first, the richest man in Nangong, who had taken advantage of thousands of hectares of land in several counties in Jizhong and donated the title of Daotai, was actually dressed in a short suit of a boxing club, with a red head rope tied to his braids, and a solemn expression: "Zhang Protector, Venerable Shentu, Master Han is here!" The sky is yellow and the earth is barren, the ancestors save the world, senior brothers, salute and act! ”

The dozen or so senior brothers present all clenched their fists and bent down: "Welcome to the Dharma Protector Zhang, Venerable Yan, Master Han has arrived!" ”

In the shouting, I saw Zhang Yu, Han Zhongping, and a man who looked like an iron tower striding out. Everyone knows that the man who is like a black pagoda is Yan Shuqin from Xiaogezhuang in Wei County. It is said that he was born to learn boxing, and at the age of seven or eight, he was able to invite Erlang God to come up, and Twenty Lang took over the position of the senior brother of the Daddy Boxing Club at the age of twenty. I don't know how much money he spends like running water. More than half of the boxing incense altars in the Jizhong area were pulled up by him for 20 years! In the eighth year of Guangxu, the boxing will pull the flag, Shen Tuwang will fight the front as long as he is against the officers and soldiers, everyone has seen it, the officers and soldiers are like windy guns and cannons, and he is fanned by a big pu, and none of them can hit his body! Eight years after Guangxu, although he was hidden in the rivers and lakes, he was directly subordinate to the province, and his fame became bigger and bigger.

Zhili, Shandong, Henan. Whether it is someone who believes in the White Lotus, a person who believes in Maitreya, or the Six Detachments Society, or even the Red Gun Society and the Yellow Gun Society that simply practice boxing to protect the family, who doesn't recognize this Senior Brother Yan, as long as he burns incense, who doesn't recognize this Senior Brother Yan as the first Venerable under the throne of the lifeless old mother?

Yan Shuqin's footsteps were winter, and he strode out first with a red face, and someone cheered in a low voice: "Yan Ye is strong!" Lord Shentu, we are looking forward to you! ”

As for Han Zhongping and Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu has been incognito for a long time, and Old Man Han has always been hiding behind the scenes. Only some of the most confidant senior brothers have heard of the two names. Today, Zhang Yu and Han Zhongping are both wearing the same close-breasted gowns with braids. In the past, the cautious housekeeper, the rich and leisurely shopkeeper, how can you still see the slightest shadow? Zhang Yu's gloomy face was completely gone, his eyebrows were raised, his waist was straight, and he was still the number one master of the Xingyi Song family who was high-spirited back then. Old man Han also straightened his back, usually the old man wore a shoulder no matter how hot it was, but now when he wears this dense-breasted coat, he is still strong, as if he was still the general of the kingdom of heaven thirty years ago!

Yan Shuqin's face was flushed, he glanced back at Han Zhongping and Zhang Yu who were standing on both sides of him, turned his head and said loudly: "Blessed by the motherless mother, we have finally waited for this day!" The demon star descended into the world, and the main world was in chaos. The demon star is a Western white devil! They build factories, dig mines, and build churches, which is to steal the dragon spirit of our China! One dragon, two tigers and thirteen sheep in the imperial court, plus ten kinds of two hairs, were fascinated by the medicine of foreign devils, and helped toss our country. On the day when the time came, the land could not be planted, the food could not be eaten, and the world was plagued............ Tens of millions of us people are going to gouge out their brains for foreign devils! ”

These words were all used to being said by the senior brothers present to their subordinates. Regardless of whether they believe it or not, this kind of thing will probably be taken true after a long time. Yan Shuqin raised his voice, and the people below echoed it one after another.

"It's long overdue to smash this world! From the beginning of the [***] court with foreign devils, we feel that the Qing Dynasty is going to slip the eaves...... Now don't say anything else, Tongnan Palace will need 100,000 brothers, the fist stick is familiar, and the ability is great, anyway, this is said to be a ghost and a mallet, and everyone is also very difficult, His Holiness said a word, there is no old mother on top, whoever doesn't oppose his mother, who is a dog in and out! ”

"We also have foreign guns, the boss of Beiyang, from Lushun to Tianjin Weili ashore, set up in the military grain city, a fast gun fifty foreign to get it, we Lianzhuang more than a dozen jars, more than dare to say, two hundred one-headed can be taken out quickly! Now everyone really feels that they have to change, what kind of thing has this world become! Don't talk about the foreign devils, the little nose is almost about to surrender this time, those dwarves, who has caught them with their eyelids? If you keep doing this, no one will be able to live steadily! ”

That's it, who can stand up to these religious believers now? Fighting for water and land, killing people, the whole Zhuangzi immediately believed in the religion, and the lawsuit was sent to the yamen, how much silver was stuffed, or they won! The best river beach land was said to be used to build a church, and Ermaozi bought it for five two or eight two acres............ If we don't set up an altar and burn incense, we will toss and die to the court with foreign devils and Ermaozi! ”

That's the truth! Senior Brother Feng, there is a thousand tilt cards at home, what is it like? The best hundreds of people in Quannangong poured water on the ground, and it wasn't for Ermaozi who believed in foreign religion to rob it, and half of Senior Brother Feng's belongings were stuffed with dog holes! The county can't go to the government, the government can't go to the province, and the Beijing control is also controlled, what will happen in the end? In this world, only by burning incense and respecting the lifeless mother can the world be saved! Brothers huddle together, and no one is afraid! Now in this Nangong City, aren't the brothers still walking sideways? This god is a bully! Venerable, in a word, now Tongzhili, it is our world, it is not forced out, in a word, it's the opposite! ”

Yan Shuqin was so excited that he gasped, and Senior Brother Feng, who was halfway home, also had a hideous look on his face. Old Man Han and Zhang Yu glanced at each other and nodded. The cold reception he received from Xu Yifan completely returned to him at this moment. North China is still their territory, without Xu Yifan, they still make this plate of trough cakes! has been by Xu Yifan's side for a long time, and he is used to seeing Xu Yifan's strong ability to control all affairs everywhere he goes, and both of them have almost forgotten what kind of dry firewood is drenched in oil on this land of North China!

In northern China, the most intense contradiction at that time was the contradiction between the parishioners and the common people. The North China Missionary Church is more than the order of the old colonial powers such as Britain and France. In recent years, the Russian Lao Maozi and the German missionary orders have occupied a large share of the missionary work of the great powers in North China. Britain was more secular and had never been very interested in missionary work, while France was focusing on the southwest and had little power in northern China. Because of this, in the history experienced by Xu Yifan, the Gengzi Incident was also the most trooped by Germany and Russia! -- It was said that it was a special case, and 20,000 troops were dispatched, which was used by the rising countries to compete for position among the great powers.

The empires of the rising powers, such as Russia and Germany, were much more brutal in their expansion than the old colonial empires. With their almost unbridled support, the parishioners are also frantically competing for all sorts of economic interests. Lesson plans of all kinds are emerging one after another. In this day and age, what good people will go to the church? Most of them are bankrupt and unemployed. When they join the religion, they are just trying to live a life of a fox and a fake tiger, and in the struggle for property and industry, they really use any means! With these people as examples, more and more people even raised villages to join the church, whether it was to rush to fight for water during the busy farming season, or to fight for feng shui in the grave mountain, or to fight for clan weapons, the order supported the people of the church. Some villages in Jizhong have almost become fiefdoms of churches, building walls, not paying money and food, buying weapons for self-defense, and setting up their own courts, just like a country within a country!

As soon as the dispute involved the actual economic interests of the parishioners and ordinary people, the Xiangjiao, which could only develop with difficulty, suddenly had a fertile ground for growth. The common people needed to form associations to protect themselves and fight against these religious forces, and even the middle class joined the altar of incense to prevent their property from being usurped by the parishioners. The mediocrity and weakness of the court and local officials contributed to the crazy development of the Xiangjiao, and the Xiangjiao uprising in the eighth year of Guangxu was just a harbinger. Over the years, although the organization of the Xiangjiao has been sloppy -- the feudal superstition has reached such a point that it is difficult to be serious and close to the organization based on the principle of geographical division -- it can be added together to become an out-and-out behemoth of North China!

Seeing that the people's hearts were available, the three of them were excited. Yan Shuqin glanced back at Zhang Yu and Han Zhongping again, and added fuel to the excitement of the senior brothers present.

"Ranks! Senior Brother Zhang Dharma Protector and Master Han may not hear much - this Chapter Dharma Protector Senior Brother is the year when our Xiangjiao pulled the flag in the eighth year of Guangxu, known as the one punch covering Zhili, leading the team to rob Zaoqiang County, and scared the government to offer a reward of 1,000 taels for the head! Senior brother, he has been incognito all these years and participated in the Praetorian Guard, this time in North Korea, Zhang Protector and the devil fought a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and he was afraid that he would not personally cut off hundreds of devils' heads! This time, he came back with 200 disciples of the Xiangjiao who had stopped at the head of the camp in the Praetorian Guard and had eaten the money, just to be on a par with this world! ”

The people below exclaimed in surprise and almost surrounded them.

"The one from the Song family? It is said that when he went home to take revenge, he entered the courtyard alone, and more than a dozen masters were not his opponents alone, and he could take it empty-handed when a foreign gun shot a projectile. ”

"Back from the Praetorian Guard? Isn't that Haidong Xu Shuai also standing on our side? ”

"If that's the case, then it's a good feeling! Who doesn't know that the one who can fight in the whole Qing Dynasty is Haidong Xu Shuai, but he didn't think about it, he is also a childless old mother, maybe it is Wuqu Xing who is going down to earth............"

"What kind of martial arts star, Xu Dashuai was born in Haidong, and it is said that Sun Wukong came to the world! Push back the picture above all said! ”

The people below were talking chaotically, and Senior Brother Yan had to raise his voice: "Of course Xu Dashuai is on our side!" He is a hero who fights little devils, can he look at foreign devils? The Liangjiang Yamen has set up an altar for the childless mother...... Otherwise, we wouldn't have let our two hundred spices come back! When the time comes, we will start in the north, Xu Dashuai will pull the flag in the south, and this Jinluan Hall will have to change to someone to sit! ”

Xu Yifan's prestige is already known to the world. The countryside is praised by word of mouth, and he is already a god-like figure. He is also on the side of the Xiangjiao, and the prospect of pulling the flag is simply a fiery red!

Some of the senior brothers were so excited that they tore open their mouths, not knowing what to say to express their loyalty in front of Venerable Yan, and some of them kept patting their thighs, as if they didn't know the pain.

"This feeling is ...... Hi! This feeling is ............"

There are even some of them, but they can't even speak.

Yan Shuqin is the organizer of the meeting, and seeing that Zhang Yu is so moving, he is afraid that Old Man Han will be a little unhappy. The reputation of his career in his life was not raised by Old Man Han! Walking the rivers and lakes, the emphasis is on having broad hands and enough friendships. Although their family is a family of incense, they are all sorghum flowers, how can they have any money! It's not that this old man Han is bold when he finds out that he is young, loves to make friends, and takes out a lot of money for him to squander, how can he be where he is today? Not to mention that after the defeat in the eighth year of Guangxu, it was the old man Han's Da Shengkui who saved his life, and he hid in Suiyuan for a few years before he escaped. Without this god of wealth in the north, how could the Xiangjiao have the scenery and grandeur it is today?

He hurriedly coughed: "You rank first slow and happy, there is another amazing figure here, that is, Zhuge Liang Tuosheng, our Master Han!" Xu Dashuai Haidong beat the little devil and taught Xu Dashuai to put up the gossip array, it is our Han Shizun! This time, Han Shizun went north in person, just to draw a way for us to pull the flag this time, let's start an incident this time, smash the pot and sell iron, and buy and sell with a hammer, and we can't make a fuss like thirteen years ago! I'm here to send a sentence, Master Han spoke, it is the decree issued by the mother, if anyone dares not to obey, don't blame me for not talking about the righteousness and affection burned by an incense head when the time comes! ”

When I arrived at Han Zhongping, the backyard, which had been shouting and excited, was finally a little cold. For some senior brothers who have just made a name for themselves, the name Han Zhongping is unfamiliar, and it is not surprising that he is just a sturdy old man. can't compare to Zhang Yu's sky-high reputation back then! For some old people, although the name Han Zhongping is not familiar, they all know that in recent years, there is always someone behind the development of the Xiangjiao cause, and how many people in the Xiangjiao are obedient to the characters behind the scenes. When I saw the real person at the moment, he was just an unsurprising old man, but when he looked at the eyes in the past, he was in awe, and he even subconsciously pinched his throat a little bit when he was panting.

It seems that the Xiangjiao is really a big thing, Haidong Xu Dashuai is a person of the Xiangjiao, and the old man Han behind the scenes finally stood in the foreground!

Yan Shuqin arched his hand: "Just ask Master Han to give us a few words of guidance on how to act in the future, and today I will invite all the ranks, that is, such a charter, the decree is issued, the big guy drinks the wine and does it, let's have the next wine in the future, it should be lively in the Jinluan Hall of Yanjing City!" ”

In the eyes of everyone, Han Zhongping walked out slowly, and at this time, the look on the old man's face was only resolute. In the backyard, the sound of coughing and spitting is not heard.

“………… Senior brothers, let's endure for decades, and we have finally waited for this day...... I think about how many sects respected the Dharma back then, and the dead and the dead were chopped, and finally let us wait until today! The more you achieve great things, the more careful you must be. Since the flag is pulled, my words are military orders, and if I violate them, I will march the law............"

He slowly swept his gaze, and saw that everyone's snorts were already heavy, as if they were waiting for his old man to announce that he would pull the flag tomorrow.

“………… After everyone drank Qixin wine and returned to their own incense altar, the first thing was to restrain their subordinates! If Ermaozi wants to make trouble, let them do it, at this time, don't cause a big thing! The more fierce they are, the more beneficial it will be for our future events! The old man will enter the capital with Zhang Protector and ask for a name, equipment, foreign guns, and even money for the big guys! Hundreds of thousands of children of the Xiangjiao Sect, when the time comes, it will be hundreds of thousands of troops, pull the flag and order, this world, it is really time to change the master! ”

Old Man Han said sonorously and forcefully, but he was stunned below.

“………… If we deal with the imperial court, why do we burn incense? ”

"This is going to the capital to get a deer, can the court listen to us? It's your own brother who can be relied on! If you don't have a foreign gun, you can just take it, Xu Dashuai is the Venerable of the Xiangjiao, and he also has a foreign gun there, isn't it............"

The voices of dissatisfaction came one after another, and gradually became a wave. Yan Shuqin saw that it was not a problem, and shouted loudly: "Master Guan is still in Cao Ying's heart and in Han, what can be wrong with Master Han's thoughts?" ”

Before he finished speaking, Old Man Han had already raised his voice: "The first thing we have to deal with is not Ermaozi!" ”

No one thought that an old man's voice could be so loud that it seemed to shake the roof tiles and fall to pieces!

"Ermaozi used the strength of foreign devils to collude with the imperial court, and we were overwhelmed, if we want to deal with it, we can only deal with it one by one! Got into the belly of the imperial court, in their name, with the strength of hundreds of thousands of children of our incense sect, and with the support of Haidong Xu Dashuai, the imperial court may not want to deal with foreign devils and two hairies. Under their banner, we can sweep away ten kinds of Ermao in one fell swoop! Their house is ours, their land is ours, and their money and women are still ours! These guys who have eaten foreign devils' drugs, from old to young, have all been through our knives! When Ermaozi is killed, Tongzhili will already be all our world, and when the gate of Yanjing City is gone, I am afraid that it will not be opened? When the time comes, in Yanjing City, there will be no knife sealing for ten days! ”

One of the most important reasons why the incense religion has developed to such a point is that the conflict with the people is the most important reason. Old Man Han shouted out the slogan strategy of dealing with the people first, which immediately hit the appetite of the senior brothers present. To be honest, don't look at them shouting and pulling flags, but looking at each other, no one looks like they can wear dragon robes. For them, the imperial court still exists more in the imagination. But to pull every parishioner over and over the knife, and to turn their fields, houses, money, and women into their own things, is really something that can be seen in front of your eyes!

There was a heavy wheezing voice below, and I don't know who picked up the head first and shouted: "with Han Shizun!" Ermaozi is over the knife, and the house is over the fire. Kill the clean, and then open Yanjing City! ”

More people then responded: "Drink the wine, drink the wine!" Whoever has a soft egg loose bun will sacrifice the childless mother here first! ”

Everyone's eyes were red, and Yan Shuqin was also raising his arms and shouting. Zhang Yu quietly retreated into the shadows, his face expressionless, but Old Man Han's expression was not much excited at this time, but more desolate.

Xu Yifan, Xu Yifan, I really don't have you, this wind and thunder in the north, I Han Zhongping can't stir it? Even if the whole of North China is bathed in a sea of blood, this revenge will inevitably be avenged! This sin was not done by me Han Zhongping, but in the hands of you Xu Yifan!

(To be continued)