Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Kaoshan Village is located under a hill more than ten miles northwest of Xiaoheishanyi. It is the remnant of Yiwulu Mountain. The villagers are all Han people who moved from Xiaoheishanyi in the early years.

150 years ago, the Qing army invaded the customs in large numbers, and millions of family members and servants followed the army southward. As a result, the population of Shengjing area decreased sharply, and it once fell into a situation of sparsely populated land and barren fields.At the worst time, I could walk hundreds of miles out of Shengjing without seeing a single person.

In order to change this situation, in the [-]th year of Shunzhi, the Qing government issued the "Order to Recruit People to Reclaim Liaodong", and the earliest "invasion of Guandong" in the history of the Qing Dynasty began.

A large number of Han refugees from southwestern Shandong, Zhili, Henan, Shanxi and other places came to the Liaoxi Plain through Shanhaiguan, and others crossed the Bohai Bay from Dengzhou into the Liaodong Plain.

At that time, the Qing government had very loose control over refugees entering Liaodong. As long as they had a "seal" issued by the local prefecture and county yamen and registered at Shanhaiguan Customs, they could be released.

After the early immigrants arrived, each household was given 25 acres of land, as well as cattle, farm tools, and rations before the autumn harvest.In addition, there are no restrictions on residence, and it is very common for Banners and Han people to live together.

However, a few decades later, in the middle of the Kangxi period, a large number of Han people arrived in the pass, and the problem of confusion between flag fields that did not pay taxes and civilian lands that paid taxes became increasingly prominent.

The banner people were not good at farming, and the land assigned to them was often abandoned in large areas. After the Han people arrived, they signed long-term lease agreements with them, negotiated a good share of the land, and farmed it on their behalf.Especially those flag fields that have been cultivated for a long time are essentially transferred, but the government does not collect taxes at all.

You must know that "not paying for food" was the ultimate dream of all farmers in ancient China. When they found that there were loopholes in the law, they would take advantage of the loopholes to the extreme.So they either put the newly reclaimed wasteland in the name of the banner people, or concealed it to evade taxes.

In order to change this situation and resolve the land conflicts caused by the mixed residence of Manchu and Han people, in the 18th year of Kangxi, the Qing government carried out the "Flag-Han divided rule" after a detailed inspection of all cultivated land and pastures in the Shengjing area.To put it simply, the Banners and Han people lived separately, the land was divided into boundaries, and the people who originally lived together were moved out and formed separate villages.

Kaoshantun was a village established under such circumstances. Basically, the Han people here came from Yizhou in the southern Shandong area - which was later known as Linyi.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yizhou was densely populated and had many mountains and few flat lands. The common people had to go out to flee in times of disaster. For more than 100 years, immigrants from Yizhou alone in the Shengjing area accounted for almost half of all immigrants from Shandong.

Late at night, there are crowds of people in front of the Guandi Temple at the west end of Kaoshantun Village.Under the eaves, the light emitted by two angry wind lanterns made of Korean paper illuminated the empty space in front of the door.Several guys in Taoist robes were walking back and forth, holding lanterns to check the people attending the opening of the altar one by one.

When the light shone on the face of a middle-aged man, a young man wearing Taoist robes was seen with arrogance on his face, asking: "Zhou Tianzhu, is your friend from Xiaoheishanyi here?"

"Here he comes. He is it." The middle-aged man pulled Fu Bao, who was cowering and holding a bundle, over.

The young Taoist held up the lantern and looked Fu Bao up and down, and then said: "You have received great blessings today. The real person taught the exercises personally. Do you understand the rules?"

"I understand. It's just that I am poor and have nothing else to offer. My mother asked me to bring cotton clothes to honor the real person." After Fu Bao said this, he opened the baggage in his hand.

When the young Taoist saw the brand-new cotton robe exposed inside, he showed a very satisfied expression on his face and said, "How good! When you see the real person later, you will kowtow and offer it to me in person. This will show your sincerity."

In these days, making a cotton robe in the north costs about five or six pounds of cotton, plus the fabric, which costs at least [-] cash.If it were made of satin, the price would be at least two or three taels of silver, which is terrifyingly expensive.

The cotton-padded clothes Fu Bao brought were actually distributed by the Beihai Navy to the poor households in Xiaoheishanyi. Each family had one piece, which could also be used as a quilt at night.The style is exactly the same as the military coat of later generations, but the color is gray.

"Thank you, sir." Fu Bao agreed hurriedly. After the two Taoists walked away, he pulled Yongtai and said softly: "Why did he call you Zhou Tianzhu?"

Yongtai rolled his eyes and said, "My surname is Zhou! My great ancestor served under the garrison of Guangning in the former Ming Dynasty."

Basically, the Eight Banners of the Han Army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Shengjing area no longer have Han surnames since the late Kangxi period, but instead have Manchu names.For example, the famous traitor Li Yongfang gave up his Han surname from his son's generation, not to mention his grandchildren's generation.However, even so, they are still listed as members of the Li family in the "Eight Banners Manchu Clan Genealogy" compiled during the Yongzheng period.

After the Northern Navy captured Shengjing, the various Han armies and Baoyi families, seeing that something was going wrong, hurriedly gave their family members Han names and restored their Han surnames.However, these families and places of residence have long been listed in the Eight Banners Tongpu, and no matter how much changes are made, that dark history cannot be erased.

Fu Bao rolled his eyes after hearing this and said, "Oh! So that's it. Then I need Brother Zhou to take care of me in the future."

Yongtai said with a proud look on his face: "After I kowtow tonight, I will be the same disciple. I will defer the debt for a while. How about you repay half of it at the end of the year?"

"Brother Zhou is so generous, I can't thank you enough. If you have anything to do in the future, just ask me and I will do my best." Fu Bao said nice things, but he was sneering in his heart.You bastard still want money?Just wait to take advantage of the North Navy’s weapon!

At the same time, on the south side of a hill five miles south of Kaoshantun, the Northern Navy, which came from Guangning City to support them, was already assembled and on standby.

The barren mountains are silent, the night is dark, and a waning moon hangs in the sky. It was extremely quiet when more than 200 people and 200 war horses gathered together. Except for the rustling of dead branches and grass in the cold wind, the only sounds left were the sounds of war horses chewing beans and the occasional call to answer orders.

The letter written by Shen Guisheng was very useful. The garrison commander of Guangning City received the letter at two o'clock in the afternoon, and at three o'clock he sent two companies of troops to Xiaoheishanyi, and also sent his deputy to lead the team. .

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the troops did not garrison at Xiaoheishan Post. Instead, they met up with a squad sent by Sun Yuan on the way and then went off the post road to the west. At dusk, they came to the east of Yiwulu Mountain to hide and wait.

In the open space, a temporary squad field tent projected a soft beam of light through the gap in the curtain, dispelling the darkness.In the tent, after receiving the intelligence from the scouts ahead, the deputy battalion commander leading the team pointed at the map and issued action orders to the officers.

"Second Company, you go eastward from here, block off the east and north directions of the village, and control the intersections entering and exiting the village. No one can be let go. Third Company Commander, you surround them from the west and south and block them. We live at the intersection of the mountain and we must not let those guys escape into Yiwulu Mountain. When you arrive at the designated location and complete the deployment, report to me immediately. When the signal flare goes up, immediately shrink the encirclement."

The two company commanders stood at attention and saluted: "Yes!"

The deputy battalion commander looked at the watch on his wrist and said: "It's 8:07 now, departure at 8:20! You don't have much time, go get ready!"

After the two company commanders went out, the deputy battalion commander looked at another middle-aged officer in the tent and said in a kind tone: "Old Zhang, Xiao Shen said in the letter to the battalion headquarters that you are from Lianjiazi. You have also traveled across the world, and you have a sharp eye for these evil ways. It will be up to you when we enter the scene later to capture the leader of the Bagua Cult."

Lao Zhang still had the same indifferent expression, raised his hand and saluted: "Yes!"

After Guisheng finished writing the letter at noon, he did not stop at Xiaoheishanyi. He had a hasty lunch and asked Sun Yuan to send a subordinate to accompany him and Yonghe in a hurry to Shengjing.But before leaving, he kept Lao Zhang and asked him to assist in the arrest mission.

Lao Zhang's real name is Zhang Xiude. He joined the Intelligence Bureau only half a year ago, and he has only been in Beihai Town for more than a year.Before that, he worked as a martial arts master for several years in a noble family of bannermen in the capital.

That's right, he was the martial arts guard who beat the old man of the Shumulu family to death with a "black tiger's heart punch" more than a year ago, and then left a letter and escaped over the wall.

The reason why Guisheng kept Zhang Xiude was because the latter was quite familiar with the Bagua Sect.

Twenty years ago, Wang Lun, the leader of the Qingshui Sect, led tens of thousands of followers to capture Linqing.Zhang Xiude, who was only 20 years old at the time and lived in the old city of Linqing, had no time to run away because his father was bedridden.Worried that his family would be harmed, he had no choice but to join Wang Lun's team and kowtow to become his master under the threat of sword and gun. From this, he also saw many internal rules of the Bagua Sect.

However, only ten days later, tens of thousands of Qing troops mobilized by the Qing government gathered in Linqing and surrounded the old city like an iron barrel.A fierce offensive and defensive battle ensued, and Zhang Xiude's parents, wife and children also died under the sword of the Qing army.

By September 28, the day the rebellion ended, the Zhang family's house had been reduced to ruins in the fire.The injured Zhang Xiude used his good water skills to sneak into the canal at night, followed the floating corpses all over the river down the river, and finally escaped with great difficulty.

After such a painful experience, Zhang Xiude hated both the Qing army and the Bagua sect that caused chaos and harmed others.So as soon as Guisheng opened his mouth, he agreed without hesitation.

Not long after the Beihai Navy was dispatched here, the opening ceremony of the Guandi Temple in the backing village on the other side was about to begin.

In the main hall of the Guandi Temple with the door closed, a Taoist priest in his 50s with a long beard was sitting on a futon with his eyes closed and meditating.Sandalwood curled up on the altar table, and the flickering candlelight illuminated the clay sculpture of Guan Gong on the altar. It also made the marks left by the tattoos on both sides of his cheeks vaguely visible.Suddenly, someone knocked gently on the door twice outside the hall, and then there was a soft "squeak" sound, and a middle-aged man wearing a Taoist robe walked in.This man was of short stature and his face was covered with oil and sweat. There were also traces of tattoos on both sides of his cheeks. Although he had been washed with lotion, the ink marks were still there.

The man walked up behind Lao Dao, bowed and said: "Dad, the time is coming, will you take over?"

"I've told you several times that in situations like this, you should be called a real person! Why can't you change it?"

"Yes. A real person. It's almost time for the people to show up, and it's time for Mr. Xie to show up." After finishing speaking, the middle-aged man curled his lips, thinking that his father really regarded him as a god.

As if there were eyes in the back of his head, the old Taoist said in a tone that said he hated iron and steel: "It's true, Nen is the boss. In the future, the foundation of the Liu family will still be passed down by Nen. We must pay attention to our words and deeds. We, men, are the eldest. What is Leng Tian trying so hard for? Isn't it just to save our family's fortune? There's no rush for this kind of thing, let them wait a little longer."

It's okay for middle-aged people, who doesn't know that you have long planned to pass the leader to my third brother.Although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he said: "Dad, what you are teaching me is that my son must pay attention to it in the future."

At this time, the old Taoist stood up slowly with the help of the middle-aged man, adjusted his robes, and asked, "How many people have come today?"

The middle-aged man said: "57 people."

The old Taoist frowned, turned to look at his son, and asked, "Why are there so many?"

The middle-aged man said: "Don't worry, we have verified it. In addition to the ones from this village, there are also a few brought by Zhou Tianzhu, and he has guaranteed them all."

After listening to this, the old Taoist walked back and forth in the small main hall a few times with his hands behind his back. Just when the middle-aged man felt a little dizzy, he heard him say: "Tell everyone, I will teach the practice today and leave after noon tomorrow."

The middle-aged man said in surprise: "Let's go? Dad, there are several other villages to the east that we have agreed upon. If we don't go, we will charge a lot less!"

The old Taoist shook his head and said: "No, this mountain village is too close to Xiaoheishanyi. I always feel uneasy."

The middle-aged man said with a nonchalant expression: "There are only more than 30 Beihai soldiers, dad is too cautious, right? There used to be [-] soldiers there, but we didn't take it seriously."

The old Taoist's eyes widened fiercely and he said: "What do you know! The Tatars have many soldiers and horses, but they can't be used against the Beihai soldiers!"

Seeing that I was angry, the middle-aged man had no choice but to agree: "What dad said is true."

The old Taoist thought for a while and felt that he should explain it clearly to his son, and then sighed and said: "It's true, today's Guanwai is no better than before. Don't look at the Beihai soldiers under the banner of Qian Ming, but the things our family does, they don't matter where they are. There is no room for it even in this generation. Be careful of sailing the ship that lasts for ten thousand years!"

The middle-aged man said sarcastically: "Then where should we go next?"

The old Taoist stroked his goatee and said: "I will definitely not be able to go back to Shanxian County. I will go to Jinxiang first. The money collected from teaching the exercises these days is almost more than 2000 taels. You leave early tomorrow morning and go to Gaoqiao Factory to find a return. Boat in Northern Jiangsu. This year’s damn weather is so cold it’s life-threatening. I’ve been here for 20 years, so I’ve had enough!”

"Su Bei? The Hou family is in Jinxiang."

"Asshole! Can we just take a boat back to Shandong? Now Jiaodong is occupied by Beihai soldiers! Let's go to Northern Jiangsu first, and then take the canal to Jining."

"oh oh!"

The old man only understood what he meant when he saw his eldest son. He shook his head helplessly and said to himself that when he was a child, this child seemed quite smart. How come he became more and more stupid as he got older?It seems that the third child will be counted on to help the Liu family in the future.

It has been 20 years since my father and son were exiled outside the customs, and none of my three sons have peace of mind.If he hadn't wanted to gather more money before leaving, he wouldn't have wanted to stay outside the customs for another day!

This old Taoist is none other than Liu Tingxian, the current "Zhongtian Cult Leader" of the Bagua Sect, and the middle-aged man beside him is his eldest son Liu Chengli.

It is said that the demise of the Liu family's direct line in Shanxian County in the 51st year of Qianlong's reign did not completely eradicate the family.In the 38th year of Qianlong's reign, Liu Tingxian and his son were exiled to Fushun due to the implication of their brother Liu Shengguo.

In the 45th year of Qianlong's reign, Hou Pu, the head of the Hou family in Jinxiang, who was lucky enough to slip through the net, saw that the news had passed. Thinking that after Liu Shengguo's death, the Bagua sect had no one in charge, he decided to revitalize the sect, so he sent his disciple Xu Yunqing to Shengjing to find Liu Tingxian and his son.

Some people may ask, why do we have to find someone from the Liu family?Can the Hou family also establish a sect themselves?

This really doesn't work.You must know that the ancients were very particular about status when doing things. As long as the Liu family did not die, the leader could only belong to their family.One of the foundations of the Bagua Sect is family inheritance, and the Hou family has been the hereditary head of the Zhengua Sect since the early years of Kangxi. If you want to "reasonably and legally" control the various sects of the Bagua Sect in Guan, you must pull the tiger's skin and pull the banner. .

Liu Tingxian and his son lived a miserable life at that time. Not only did they not have enough to eat every day, they lived in a thatched hut in the winter and howled with the cold.When he saw Hou Pu's letter and received the 1000 taels of silver from him, he was filled with joy and immediately agreed to take over as the leader.

However, Liu Tingxian was a branch of the Liu family. Apart from having a treasure scroll in his hand, he didn't know any other rules in the religion.So he asked his third son Liu Chenglin to worship Xu Yunqing as his teacher and learn the teachings, oral techniques and prayer rituals.Once the son learns it, the father will naturally learn it too.

So starting from this year, although Liu Tingxian was outside the Guan Guan, he became the nominal "Zhongtian Cult Leader" of the Bagua Sect. It was the Hou family who was actually in charge of the academic affairs within the Guan Guan.From then on, every two or three years, the Hou family would send people with money to the outside of the pass to pay tribute to the leader.

The Northern Navy occupied Jilin, and its troops reached the wicker border wall. People everywhere in the area under the jurisdiction of General Shengjing were panicked.The army's pressure on the border certainly seemed like the end was coming for the bannermen, but it was not much better for the Han people.

After years of tireless propaganda by the Manchu and Qing government, Beihai Town has long become a representative of all evil deeds in the hearts of the people in the Shengjing area.Zhao Xin and his men are like a group of fanged wilderness demons. Wherever they go, they rape, plunder, and capture the survivors as slaves.

The Han people wanted to escape, but where could they escape?

It has been more than 100 years since they came to Guanwai, and this place has long been their hometown. Their houses, fields, and even family cemeteries are all here.Even if you hide in the mountains with your livestock and belongings, you can't live without coming out for the rest of your life.Especially in the cold winter, the elderly and children simply cannot bear it.

From ancient times to the present, when people feel confused or even despair about their future destiny, they feel helpless and can only pray for the protection of gods.

The four Liu family members, father and son, saw this opportunity and took advantage of the Qing Dynasty's negligence in supervising the exiled prisoners, so they fled from Fushun to western Liaoning. Since the beginning of this spring, they have been traveling among Han villages in various places, secretly preaching and cultivating disciples.

Liu Tingxian talked to his eldest son for a long time, and felt that the time was almost up, so he told his son to start the ceremony and brought everyone into the hall one by one.

In the open space outside the temple gate, more than 50 people who were waiting for the opening of the forum to teach the exercises had been impatient for a long time. They were whispering to each other and talking one after another.Because Fu Bao was worried, he kept tiptoing around, looking left and right.In fact, what he was thinking was that when the Beihai soldiers came soon, he would lie down on the ground with his head in his arms, or it would be safer to find a corner and hide.

Suddenly, everyone in the empty field heard a "pop" sound, and then a man in Taoist robes shouted: "Quiet! The Holy Emperor is enthroned!"

The noise gradually subsided, and everyone, including Fu Bao, pricked up their ears and listened carefully.Just listen to the Taoist say loudly: "Now read the names of the sponsors, and those who hear them will take the people they recommend into the palace in turn!"

"Zhou Tianzhu!"