Chapter 173 Times Have Changed

Chapter 173 Times Have Changed

Chapter 173 Times Have Changed (Subscription Request)

The day before the ancestor worship festival, Xu Qing went to the Black Wind Village, which was originally owned by King Lin, in Qixia Mountain.

Li Gongyu was also there.

Since there was a danger, Xu Qing would not hide it from his uncle. Besides, the officers and soldiers under his command were nominally led by Li Gongyu.

There is no such thing as privately transferring troops, Xu Qing has already completed the procedures in advance.

Li Gongyi had 1,000 men under his command, but Xu Qing only transferred 500 soldiers. These 500 soldiers were unimaginable in the eyes of other external commanders.

In fact, the average captain has less than 30% of his troops under his command.

When there was an inspection from above, they would temporarily find extras to deal with the inspection, and even the military uniforms were borrowed from colleagues.

The salary of extras in Jiangning Prefecture is lower than that in Yingtian Prefecture, but much higher than that in many prefectures. Who said that Jiangning Prefecture is becoming more and more prosperous now?

But the most expensive extras in the world were those in the Jingying in the capital. So some sons of noble families served in the Jingying, and whenever there was an inspection, they would mostly ask their own servants and tenants to make up the numbers. They also received subsidies from above, so they didn't have to pay any money, which was like making extra money for nothing.

But the five hundred people brought by Xu Qing were obviously not comparable to extras.

Gu Wuji and Ren Tianyou naturally brought their disciples and gangs with them as well.

Previously, when Gu Wuji saw his own disciples, he felt somewhat disappointed in them as they were not as well-organized or as imposing as the members of the Giant Whale Gang.

Moreover, Gang Leader Ren's subordinates have seen a lot of blood and have murderous intent.

Gu Wuji felt somewhat inferior.

Looking at Xu Qing and his group now, they are even more shocked.

It is not possible to tell the combat effectiveness of this group of government troops for the time being, but enforcing orders and prohibitions is no joke.

Well, actually this is what Xu Qing mainly focused on.

Li Gongyu usually trained officers and soldiers when he had nothing to do. Xu Qing also asked Meng Yuxuan for advice.

Strict discipline sounds easy, but it is actually the most difficult part of military training.

Because adequate pay was a must, they also had to eat and drink well, train continuously, and emphasize discipline. These things were very boring, but fortunately Li Gongyu was responsible enough to have a strict military appearance.

Moreover, these soldiers were farmers who lost their land in the process of converting rice to mulberry trees.

In order to solve this problem, Xu Qing also specifically proposed the suggestion of a conscription system to the Prime Minister.

In fact, many places are doing this, and Xu Qing is just going with the flow.

In a good reform process, many policies and decrees do not come out of thin air, but rather because the problems already exist and some people have tried to solve them. Then the leaders see the trend, seize the opportunity, and act accordingly.

The prerequisite for going with the flow is that you must be solid and not let your foundation be blown crooked by a gust of wind.

Therefore, a bad reform process means that the enemy infiltrates the reform faction, pretends to be the disciples of the reform leader, worships him as a god, and distorts his teachings!
Gu Wuji and Ren Tianyou were certainly not experts in military training, but when they saw this kind of military appearance, they knew that as long as they had been in the battlefield a few times and were well-paid, they would soon become elite soldiers.

Moreover, when veterans lead new recruits to develop for a period of time, it will snowball and they will grow bigger very quickly.

Throughout history, many feudal lords who ruled a certain area played it this way.

Therefore, most people who start an army do so in their hometowns. Firstly, it is easy to recruit soldiers, and secondly, they can develop themselves in advance.

When you go to a foreign place, let alone the food and drink of hundreds or thousands of people, even the daily training of dozens of people will be seen by others and cannot be hidden at all, and it is easy to get into trouble.

What's more, Xu Qing played it more advanced, using the court's organization to train his own soldiers.

The procedures are all formal and there is nothing wrong with them.

In fact, Xu Qing's achievements are far inferior to those of the generals in the Nine Frontiers.

And those chieftains who were granted titles by the imperial court were even more independent, not much different from the former princes.

Xu Qing discussed the battle plan with Li Gongpu, Ren Tianyou, Gu Wuji and others, and tonight was the usual reward before the troops set out.

Before he went up the mountain, he specifically looked for a cow that had recently died of illness, and also bought sheep, pigs, and various fruits and vegetables. Before going to war, it was necessary to reward the troops and boost their morale.

It is even rarer to find someone as generous as Xu Qing.

Because in Xu Qing's eyes, these officers and soldiers are officers and soldiers now, and if they really want to form a large team in the future, they can all be trained to be officers.

Only by rewarding these people generously can you expand your influence in the future.

After all, as living people, it does not mean that just because they are your subordinates, they will be loyal to you forever. That does not exist.

Only if they know that they will be treated well, have a future, get promoted, make money and play with women if they follow Xu Qing, will they naturally be loyal to him.

Even if there are objections in your heart, your body will be honest and refuse to betray you.

Even the many practical ideas of the Fushe Society were not as useful as the results actually demonstrated by Xu Qing. If you follow Xu Qing, you are guaranteed to get promoted and make money.

This is the core competitiveness of Fushe.

As for slogans, they are a must.

Having slogans means there are bottom lines and rules.

They are all robbers and bandits. One of them claims to be doing justice, but you can only kill his mother and rob his mother. Even if your actions are exactly the same, the intensity of their resistance will be different.

Compared with Luojiao, Xu Qing's ideas are naturally more advanced.

The Luo sect and their branches only know "the Mother of No Birth, the Homeland of True Emptiness".

It sounds pretentious, but what it means is, brothers, don't be afraid of death, because when you die you can go back to your hometown.

When Xu Qing does things, not to mention that it is always the brothers who follow me, and they can eat meat, this is real. To be able to eat meat, for the mud legs of this era, isn't it equivalent to living in a vacuum hometown, and why do you have to die before you can go there?

Xu Qing made pre-war mobilization and combat plans here.

Su Lianqing and other core members of the Red Flower Society acted as scouts at the foot of the mountain, collecting intelligence.

In addition, Xu Qing also asked Zuo Qianhu for help.

After all, Su Lianqing is still nominally from the internal factory.

From the perspective of the Internal Factory, Su Lianqing was a secret agent arranged by the Internal Factory to be beside Xu Qing, and would push Xu Qing's intelligence to the higher-ups on a daily basis.

But in fact, it was Xu Qing who agreed to Su Lianqing joining the inner factory.

With the help of the Tiqi from the inner factory, Xu Qing had more information about Qishan Island.

On the other hand, Zhou and the others were already protected by the government troops, and Feng Wu was in charge. In addition, Heavenly King Lin was still in retreat in Xu's mansion, and once he finished his final practice, he could come to support Xu Qing.

If the Xu Mansion is in danger, King Lin can force himself out to help.

...

...

Qishan Island.

The altar has been set up, and the corresponding instruments, talismans, and offerings for the ghost gate opening ceremony have all been prepared.

The leader of the Luo Cult was somewhat uneasy. He said, "Some unknown people have appeared outside the island and seem to be spying on us. They are probably Xu Gongming's men. He will probably come to disrupt the ritual of opening the Ghost Gate."

A ball of white mist condensed into the shape of Heart Moon Fox. "It is impossible for him to recover to his peak strength, and Lin's descendant also needs to recover from his injuries. With the strength he has now, how can he fight us? As for his men, they are just right to be used as sacrifices. Once the Ghost Gate is opened, we will not be needed for the rest."

It was confident and even expected that Xu Qing would bring people to kill it. By then, it could offer more sacrifices to deepen the opening of the Ghost Gate.

Get more in one fell swoop.

When the boy from the Xu family has suffered enough, it will be a natural thing to tempt him to return to the Wen Xiang Sect and restore the prestige of the Wen Xiang Sect.

Once the Wenxiang Sect's great cause is accomplished, it may be able to survive another thunderstorm with the luck of the founding holy spirit.

Humph, if it weren't for the fact that the Heavenly Master was not so particular and still suppressed its true body, it wouldn't have been in so much trouble.

When the leader of the Luo Sect saw Xinyuehu's crazy look, he felt even more uneasy. He decided that if the situation turned bad, he would be the first to retreat.

Anyway, the Luo sect has always been mainly about making trouble. It doesn’t matter whether it succeeds or not, as long as there is chaos.

...

...

The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the day to honor ancestors, also commonly known as the “Ghost Festival”.

Xu Qing and his group sailed to Qishan Island.

Not only was the island desolate, it also had many piles of rocks, and there was only one flat area for landing.

At this moment, the only flat land was still standing with strange rocks. At noon, white fog suddenly rose up, and there seemed to be ghosts howling in the fog, which was very eerie.

"This is a formation." Ren Tianyou said.

Xu Qing nodded and said, "Let me do it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flew ashore with the Wuji Sword, and the white mist turned into monsters with bared fangs and claws and rushed over.

Xu Qing looked calm as he drew out his Wuji Sword. Suddenly, arcs of electricity appeared from the sword, moving freely and quickly the white mist monsters disappeared.

But the rocks began to move on their own.

Xu Qing chopped with his knife, and the rocks in front of him split into two, and paper figures rushed out one after another.

"Xu Jieyuan, I'm here to help you." Gu Wuji felt unhappy when he saw that the Wuji Sword in Xu Qing's hand actually had the effect of thunder magic.

After all, the Wuji Sword had been with him for many years, and he was reluctant to see it get damaged, so he rushed forward subconsciously.

When Ren Tianyou saw Gu Wuji rushing forward, he couldn’t hide and followed him.

Then, disciples of Zhengang Sect and members of Giant Whale Gang came ashore one by one.

Then the government troops attacked under the command of Li Gongqi.

After this short period of time, Xu Qing has figured out the operating rules of this formation with his powerful spirit and the ability to sense the energy in the formation with the Heaven-Buying Tribulation Hand.

With the swing of Wuji Daoxin, he quickly broke through the formation and successfully reached the shore with his men.

But this was only the first step. When they really got outside the altar, they saw densely packed poisonous creatures all around them. The air was filled with terrible and bizarre fragrances that made people dizzy after smelling them.

"Heavenly fragrance miasma." Ren Tianyou was knowledgeable and recognized the origin of this thing at once.

Fortunately, Xu Qing was already alert, and his spiritual power had already created a strong wind that blew the miasma towards the altar, but a strange fox laugh was heard over there, and soon Xu Qing's spiritual power could no longer blow away the miasma, and instead it was pushed back little by little by the other side.

"Sure enough, my current soul power is still a little short of the possession level soul." Xu Qing This was just a small test.

He transmitted the message in secret to Gu Wuji and Ren Tianyou, and the three of them burst out with blood and energy almost at the same time. The powerful blood and masculinity directly caused the spiritual power in the miasma to show signs of collapse.

At the same time, Gu Wuji and Ren Tianyou were also shocked.

The spiritual power of this fox demon was so solid that the spiritual power that drove the miasma did not dissipate directly.

The fox's laughter over there was impacted by the powerful energy and blood, and became more and more unbridled, with the pitch getting higher and higher, as if it was going to reach the sky.

The sky was getting darker and darker.

During the stalemate, Li Gongyi ordered the government troops to form a battle formation and move forward until they were about 150 steps away.

"Fire arrows!"

These archers had all prepared themselves mentally in advance and were ready to string their bows.

Divided into three parts, the rain of purple lightning rockets fell on the altar without mercy.

"Rockets?" On the altar, the leader of the Luo Cult was surprised at first, and then heard a loud noise. The rockets exploded before they landed on the altar.

"Fang Xiandao's purple thunder gunpowder." When the Luo Sect leader smelled the gunpowder, his mind and soul became extremely depressed.

He retreated quickly without thinking.

In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace.

It took the archers two rounds of shooting to use up all the purple thunder rockets.

They also watched the scene with excitement.

In fact, the physical destructive power of the purple thunder rocket is not that scary, but the noise just now would definitely make the war horses panic if it were on the battlefield. If it were an officer or soldier of average quality, they would probably have a psychological breakdown after a few rounds of shooting.

Because this sound was exactly like thunder exploding in your ears.

The corner of Ren Tianyou's mouth twitched. He didn't expect that Xu Qing could actually get Fang Xiandao's purple thunder rocket.

This guy is so weird.

He clearly remembered that Xu Qing had a big feud with the Dongming Gang, and naturally he also became enemies with Fang Xiandao. How could he still get Fang Xiandao's purple thunder rocket?

The Big Whale Gang didn't have much of this stuff in stock, so he was reluctant to use it.

Moreover, as the smell of gunpowder filled the air, the poisonous creatures gathered around the altar fled away.

As for the believers around the altar, they all fled for their lives like monkeys after a tree falls.

Li Gongyu fought the battle with the wind in his hands, as if Li Yaoshi was possessed, with the demeanor of a military god, commanding his soldiers to beat the fallen dogs.

...

...

On Qishan Island, Xu Qing's troops destroyed the altar with great ease.

The leader of the Luo sect has already boarded a ship.

It was the ship of the Wenxiang Sect. Yun Yuzhen and Elder Li were both there at the moment. They were both opposed to opening the Ghost Gate, but under the pressure from the Luo Sect's leader and Xinyue Fox, they agreed against their will.

But when they saw the purple lightning rockets, they ran out just like the leader of the Luo Sect.

The three of them tacitly agreed not to mention this matter.

Especially the leader of the Luo Sect. In terms of combat power, he actually had no rivals on Qishan Island, and he slipped away. It is actually very embarrassing to say it out loud.

But the higher the kung fu skills, the more afraid of death.

He had only practiced Shura Yinsha Gong to the seventh level, and was still a long way from the ninth level, so he naturally would not take risks if he could avoid them.

Xu Qing was surrounded by five hundred elite soldiers, purple thunder and rockets, and two masters of internal organs. He was afraid that during the fight, he would be left behind, and then he would have no place to cry.

And what if there are other powerful people or firearms around Xu Qing?

He is trying to stir up trouble, not to get himself killed.

If Xu Gongming was willing to fight him alone, the Luo Sect leader would naturally not be afraid.

The problem is that there is no such opportunity.

He knew that the Xinyue Fox was unreliable. He really thought it was still two hundred years ago.

I guess he's been locked up for so long that his brain isn't working very well.

The ship of the Wenxiang Sect sailed away from Qishan Island at a very high speed. There happened to be a favorable wind, and with the current flowing, it felt like it was traveling a thousand miles a day.

Luo Sect leader, Yun Yuzhen, and Elder Li were silent for a while before finally speaking: "There's no need to spread what happened today."

Yun Yuzhen nodded: "I don't actually agree with opening the ghost gate. If the things in the underworld were really powerful, they would have ruled the world of the living long ago."

Elder Li: "I can see what the Great Master means. This is a thorough evaluation of Xu Gongming's strength. We have to consider the follow-up development."

The leader of the Luo Sect thought that Lao Li was good at talking. If Xu Gongming could not become the leader of the Wenxiang Sect, it would not be inappropriate to let Lao Li take over.

This woman, Yun Yuzhen, is always thinking about eternal youth. She is not the type to accomplish great things.

He couldn't help but lament deeply that getting things done was difficult.

No wonder the previous leaders, when they saw powerful figures in the Luo Sect, would send them out with gifts, allowing them to open up branches and develop on their own.

If those two guys hadn't run away just now, with their strength plus the Heart Moon Fox, working together, wouldn't they be able to defeat Xu Qing and the others?
The leader of the Luo Sect could no longer help but understand why there were so many talented people in the Luo Sect throughout the generations, but none of them succeeded.

What can you do by following a group of insects?

He thought of King Lin. If anything happened to Xu Gongming, King Lin would definitely risk his life for him.

Not to mention King Lin, Xu Gongming could even ask Gu Wuji and Ren Tianyou, two of his enemies, to help. What kind of monster is this?

The leader of the Luo Sect did not understand this at all.

"Could this person be the Purple Star descended to earth, calling for heaven to respond and earth to respond?"

He felt that he and Xu Gongming were in completely different worlds.

Really incomprehensible.

...

...

On the altar, the soul of a white fox was shriveled and looked confused.

Who is it and where is it?
Has it been betrayed?
Xinyuehu was totally unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Those rockets, Fang Xiandao’s things?
More than two hundred years ago, it also fought with Fang Xiandao. How could the firearms it made be so powerful and so sophisticated?

This is also because it still doesn't understand humans well enough.

In the previous dynasty, the firearms created by Fang Xiandao were assigned to craftsmen to complete. It was a task assigned by the court. If the job was done well, there would not be much reward. If the job was done well but the quantity was not enough, they would be punished, so they had to rush the work.

And the raw materials are not good either.

This batch of purple thunder rockets that Xu Qing brought out was sold by Fang Xiandao.

Merchants these days value credibility. If the things you sell are not good, people will not buy from you. In order to keep the business going for a long time, of course the quality is very good, even better than what they use themselves.

At the end of the day, the returns on the Purple Thunder Rocket are very high.

But in reality, its lethality is not that great, except when used against masters of Taoism.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with using it to scare people.

Fang Xiandao emphasizes practicality as the main thing. If there is profit, let alone selling purple thunder rockets, other powerful firearms are all negotiable.

Moreover, Fang Xian Dao is not a monolithic organization internally. It also has its own factions. If one faction does not sell, it cannot guarantee that the other faction will not sell.

"Is this the Heart Moon Fox that escaped from the Tianshi Mansion?" Gu Wuji looked doubtful.

That's it?

"How outrageous!" Xinyue Fox couldn't stand Gu Wuji's gaze and suddenly swelled up.

"Be careful." Xu Qing said.

He summoned the Star Evil without even thinking twice.

boom!
A force of soul explosion hit the altar.

Xu Qing and others were washed down by a gust of air. At the same time, Xu Qing's Star Gangsha hit the white fox, like a bowl of water poured onto a hot iron plate.

He heard the white fox's shrill scream, and then saw a shadow crawling into the altar.

At this moment, a dark and deep crack opened inside the altar.

Xu Qing saw that the little snake of luck was constantly emitting black gas, and he knew something was wrong. He did not turn around and leave, but immediately took out the demon-sealing talisman from the master of Chaotian Temple, went directly to the altar, and stuck it on the gap.

The momentum of the gap's expansion stopped immediately and gradually closed, and the Demon-Sealing Talisman turned into ashes in the blink of an eye, exhausting all its power.

The black energy of the little snake of luck also decreased.

Xu Qingsong breathed a sigh of relief.

Ren Tianyou said sarcastically: "Brother Gu, I heard that these fox demons are the most vindictive. It probably remembers you."

Gu Wuji's face darkened, and then he said firmly: "It's just a mere evil spirit, what's there to be afraid of."

Ren Tianyou chuckled.

Seeing Gu Wuji in trouble, he felt so relieved.

Xu Qing thought, fortunately the two old guys understood the overall situation. If they had quarreled among themselves just now, he wouldn't have to fight this battle.

These guys, as long as they have a little bit of ability, none of them will be worry-free.

Except for Brother Tianwang.

He is the candidate for martial arts grandmaster, closer to him than his own brother!
It can be said that the friendship between the brothers has been sublimated after this incident, it is higher than the sky and broader than the earth!
In addition, Xu Qing was a little depressed.

This round of expenditure was huge, but in the end it was nothing good. Even the soul of Xinyue Fox exploded and entered the ghost gate of the altar.

I don’t know if he will come out again to cause trouble.

But the opponent's nature is extremely high, and it is unrealistic for Xu Qing to kill all of this evil spirit in one breath.

This is also the most troublesome thing about demons and evil spirits. It is very difficult to eradicate them.

For example, the leader of the Luo Sect and others, when the battle is slightly unfavorable, they will just run away. It is easy to defeat such people, but how to kill them all?
Xu Qing had to admit that those who had accomplished something in history were all able to escape. Their abilities might not be the best of their time, but their ability to survive was definitely the best.

Whoever survives to the end wins!
He was indeed a bit depressed. Why was it so difficult to start his own business? Any slightly more powerful opponent would be ruthless and ruthless.

However, this incident with the Purple Thunder Rocket gave Xu Qing a new direction.

He felt that Fang Xian Dao's firearms business could be vigorously developed. It seemed that if there was a chance, he would have to go to sea again.

The firearms in this world are obviously different from those in his previous life. They can be combined with Taoism and talismans. If a martial arts master or a Taoist master masters the firearms, they will be more powerful and even cost less than magic weapons.

I wonder if the Prime Minister has seen the terrible threat posed by Fang Xiandao.

Of course, the good thing about Fang Xian Dao is that it is not a monolithic entity and cannot unite. This is also normal. The smarter people are, the more combative they are.

It would be strange if the people of Fangxiandao, who study things to gain knowledge and cultivate their spirits, could unite as one and serve as tools peacefully.

Xu Qing himself understood that cultivating the spirit and soul was actually helpful for opening up the mind, and martial arts actually had a similar effect. The smarter you were, and the others were not stupid either, the harder it would be for them to work together.

Unless there is a common big goal that can unite these people to do the work, and the external crisis is terrible enough, it will be impossible for everyone to not unite.

Everyone was cleaning up the battlefield, and before they knew it, it was evening.

Xu Qing suddenly felt a strange and cold breath.

He followed the scent and found a small cave entrance on a hill on the island not far from the altar.

Xu Qing's soul sensed the past, and he was surprised and suspicious, "Mine cave?"

The ore here is not ordinary iron ore or coal ore, but...

(End of this chapter)