Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

After reaching an agreement, Zhang Zhiwei and Lü Ci transformed into lightning and left for Chongqing.

Zhang Dafoye returned to Changjun; he still had some things to arrange.

However, the more than ten truckloads of fully armed elite troops he brought did not withdraw; instead, they moved into Changsheng Mountain.

The reason is that Chen Yulou's trip to Chongqing is to transfer all of Changsheng Mountain's elite troops.

Without these people in charge, Changsheng Mountain might run into trouble, such as an invasion by foreign enemies or internal strife.

To avoid this situation, Zhang Dafoye brought ten truckloads of fully armed elite soldiers.

These elite troops were not there to attack Changsheng Mountain or to intimidate Chen Yulou from the beginning. They had already decided that after Chen Yulou's troops left, they would help him guard this place.

Chen Yulou's emergence from seclusion was predetermined by Zhang Zhiwei and Zhang Qishan's arrangements. The only difference was whether Chen Yulou was aware of the times. If he was not, then Zhang Zhiwei would help him to be aware of the times.

The structure of Changsheng Mountain is less like a village and more like a large settlement with a population of over 10,000.

Of these more than 10,000 people, only about 300 were true Unloading Ridge Warriors, who were Chen Yulou's direct troops.

For Chen Yulou, none of the bandits and thieves in the seven southern provinces and six northern provinces combined were as important as these 300-plus Xieling warriors.

These three hundred or so men were the foundation and source of his confidence as a gang leader. Their importance was comparable to the eight hundred personal guards of Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) when he raised his army, the eight hundred personal guards of Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin) during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and the eight thousand Jiangdong followers of Xiang Yu who dominated the world. This was an absolute core force that could not be lost.

In addition to these three hundred loyal followers of the Unloading Ridge faction, he also had eight hundred elite troops, consisting of an engineer battalion responsible for demolition and a pistol company responsible for guard duty.

In addition, he also had a bandit gang of about three thousand men.

This unit was a mixed bag, unlike the loyal elite troops, yet it was still an important part of its strength.

The above constitutes the entire fighting force of Changsheng Mountain; the rest consist of elderly, weak, women, and children responsible for logistics.

Now, in order to help Zhang Zhiwei build an air-raid shelter, Chen Yulou needs to transfer all of Changsheng Mountain's elite forces, including the more than 300 core Unloading Ridge Warriors, 800 engineers and pistol company elites, as well as some logistics personnel.

As a result, those left behind in the mountains were just a motley crew of ordinary bandits, the elderly, women, and children, leaving the defenses virtually nonexistent.

In the world of outlaws, who doesn't have a few mortal enemies?
If their enemies take advantage of the situation and destroy their stronghold, Chen Yulou will have no way to explain himself to his brothers.

The people Zhang Dafoye brought this time are essentially his safety net.

In addition, the Buddha left behind a sum of money to ensure that Changsheng Mountain could continue to operate normally during his absence, completely relieving Chen Yulou of any worries and allowing him to devote himself to the massive project in Chongqing with peace of mind.

Seeing that Zhang Zhiwei had considered things so thoroughly, Chen Yulou had no more hesitation and immediately organized his men and set off.

In this era, transportation was inconvenient, and Chongqing was a mountainous city, making land travel difficult. In order to save time, Chen Yulou decided to travel by water, via the Xiang River into the Yangtze River, and directly to Chongqing.

The massive ship was packed with people as the unloading warriors carried the tools and supplies into the cabin.

On the shore, elderly women, children, and others were saying goodbye to their loved ones, their sobs mingling with words of comfort.

"Hey boss, be careful on the road! Make sure you bring everyone back safe and sound!" an old man with tears in his eyes shouted.

He was an elder of the Xieling lineage, and his sons all became Xieling warriors of Changsheng Mountain.

Chen Yulou's actions almost wiped out his descendants, so naturally he was worried.

In his view, the so-called construction of air-raid shelters for the young celestial master was no different from performing corvée labor for the previous dynasty.

Chen Yulou took a large bag of silver dollars from his pocket, stuffed it into the old man's hand, patted him on the shoulder, and said:
"Don't worry, Mr. Li, I will definitely bring everyone back safely."

After saying that, he turned around and uploaded it.

The old man clutched the silver coin in his hand, stood on the shore, and watched the large ship slowly sail away, remaining there for a long time.

As the large ship sailed further and further away, the relatives on the shore appeared to be only the size of ants.

Chen Yulou stood at the bow of the boat and glanced back. His eyesight was good, and he could still see the worried faces of his relatives on the shore.

Although he appeared confident in this operation, he was actually quite uncertain about it.

He wasn't worried about Zhang Zhiwei's character, nor was he worried about accidents during the construction of the air-raid shelter. The Unloading Ridge Warriors weren't afraid of even the most heavily guarded tombs, so naturally they weren't afraid of these small situations either.

What he was worried about was the warlords in Chongqing.

As a gang leader, he naturally knew who he could mess with and who he couldn't.

The warlords of Chongqing are among those you shouldn't mess with.

This man, nicknamed Liu the Loser, was extremely greedy and ruthless.

Although he had little interaction with this warlord, many of his men had fled from Changsheng Mountain.

It is said that this man frantically levied land taxes in advance to raise military funds. Last year, his 21st Army collected land taxes up to 1975.

The 24th Army, which was stationed in its territory, had its talents pre-conscripted in 1985.

The 20th Army was pre-conscripted in 1689.

His border guards are even more outrageous, with a planned conscription period until 2035, which is a hundred years from now.

Although Chen Yulou was a well-informed and experienced leader of the underworld, he was still stunned by these actions.

The thought of dealing with these people next gave him a headache.

Fortunately, there are tall people to hold up the sky when it falls, and the little celestial master will handle everything. He only needs to rely on him.

"Has the flight route been decided?" Chen Yulou withdrew his gaze and asked. "Since you've decided to work for the Little Celestial Master, you must do it cleanly and efficiently, without dragging things out, lest you leave a bad impression."

That's always been his nature. He either doesn't do something at all, or he does it thoroughly. He hates doing something and getting nothing in return for it. It's a thankless task.

Hong Guniang said, "It's all arranged. However, to get to Chongqing as quickly as possible, we need to pass through dangerous shoals like Konglingtan and Qingtan in the Three Gorges, where the current is extremely rapid and there are many hidden reefs. Our current boat cannot pass smoothly with the current, either upstream or downstream, and may even be swept towards the reefs by the rapid current, causing it to run aground or sink. Therefore, we will need to use manpower to pull the boat with ropes."

The so-called "human-powered towing assistance" by the Red Girl actually involved dozens or hundreds of boatmen forming a zigzag formation, with the lead singer as the conductor, pulling the boat in unison.

This method was extremely laborious, resulting in a significant increase in sailing time. The chants used in this manner later became known as the Sichuan River Boatmen's Chant.

Chen Yulou naturally understood all this. He turned his head and glanced at the brothers still busy on the deck, and said:

"We have over three hundred brothers from the Unloading Ridge team on our ship. Once they use their skills, each of them is incredibly strong. We'll have them work hard and act as boatmen to pull the boat through."

The young woman nodded: "That's what I think too."

The Unloading Warriors, skilled in shoveling and unloading, possessed strength far exceeding that of ordinary boat trackers. They could not only pull large ships but even lift them and propel them forward, significantly reducing travel time. "Next, it's up to the Little Celestial Master," Chen Yulou said.

...

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhiwei was strolling along the Yangtze River, accompanied by Lü Ci and Wang Ai.

In recent years, the world situation has been constantly changing, and Zhang Zhiwei has been guiding Wang Ai in his work.

In Shanghai, Wang Ai had already transferred most of his businesses, but the headquarters of the Tiantong Church remained unchanged.

Wang Ai originally wanted to relocate, but Zhang Zhiwei rejected his suggestion. Once the place of faith was decided, relocation would involve too many complications.

Moreover, he was unwilling to completely lose control of Shanghai, so the main church of the Tiantong Church remained in Shanghai, but the archbishop Wang Ai moved to Chongqing.

He built a branch church here, ostensibly to establish a second parish, but also to more easily control the situation at the Tiantong Steel Plant.

Upon learning that Zhang Zhiwei was coming to Chongqing, Wang Ai hurriedly went to greet him.

"Senior Brother Zhang! It's been a long time! Your cultivation level... is truly unfathomable!" Wang Ai said respectfully.

He felt that Zhang Zhiwei before him was as if he were one with heaven and earth. Seeing him was like seeing heaven and earth. Although he did not show any imposing manner, he still inspired awe. His majesty was even greater than before.

"You've made great progress too," Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile.

Wang Ai said, "Lu Mang and Hedgehog are getting stronger and stronger, so I need to improve my strength as well, otherwise I'll be a burden. By the way, where's Lu Mang? Why didn't he come along?"

“He went home to go on a blind date,” Lü Ci said.

“This guy…” Wang Ai was taken aback, “He’s so fickle, he’s forgotten his principles for the sake of a pretty face, he didn’t even come here.”

"Let's leave him aside for now, what about you, Fatty?" Zhang Zhiwei asked, "Any progress with Guan Shihua?"

He also remembered that the chubby boy was particularly fond of the chubby girl Guan Shihua.

Wang Ai was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said, "My relationship with Shi Hua'er is quite good, but there hasn't been any substantial progress."

Lu Ci said, "No progress yet? Didn't you say his opinion of you had changed?"

“Changes in perspective are one thing, but feelings are another; they don’t conflict,” Wang Ai said.

“Fatty, what you’re saying really resonates with me,” Lu Ci said, raising an eyebrow.

Wang Ai waved her hand and said, "I don't want to talk about these things now. I have more important things to do: expanding the church, spreading the faith further, and increasing our strength. All of these are more important than this."

"Great, very energetic!" Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile.

The experience was indeed very challenging. After serving as an archbishop for so long and going through so many things, Wang Ai's demeanor underwent a complete transformation.

He used to be just a chubby, sinister-looking boy with a youthful face, but now he has some of the air of the Ten Elders.

"By the way, Senior Brother Zhang, I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation and want to break through, but I don't know how. Could you please give me some guidance?" Wang Ai explained his predicament.

Zhang Zhiwei glanced at Wang Ai and smiled, "Your strength largely comes from the power of faith, and you also cultivated the Godhood Mask to impersonate yourself. I've already explained the latter to you very clearly, and you know what to do."

"The biggest problem you are facing now is that you are not mentally strong enough and cannot truly control yourself."

"As the saying goes, control yourself, control your enemy."

"If you can't even control yourself, how can you control the power you invite?"

Wang Ai was taken aback and quickly asked, "Senior Brother Zhang, what do you mean...?"

Zhang Zhiwei said, "Your focus in your cultivation should be on improving your self-control."

"And the first step to taking control of yourself is to control the desires that your body gives you."

“Without spiritual practice, everyone in the world is controlled by their body. Just like how people need to eat because their bodies receive hunger signals, so they go out to find food.”

“This food may not be what you really want to eat,” Zhang Zhiwei said, looking at Wang Ai. “Fatty, your figure is a typical example.”

Wang Ai was a smart person and understood immediately. He scratched his head and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, you mean that I'm being controlled by my own appetite, so I need to lose weight?"

"It's not about making you lose weight," Zhang Zhiwei said. "It's about freeing your body from its control over you."

"What should we do?" Wang Ai asked hurriedly.

Lu Ci was also listening intently from the side; this was a problem he also had to face.

Zhang Zhiwei said, "There are many methods, but they all test one's understanding. However, there is one method that is both the simplest and the most effective: asceticism."

Asceticism… Wang Ai and Lü Ci were both taken aback.

"Is Brother Zhang talking about ascetic monks?" Wang Ai asked.

Zhang Zhiwei nodded and said, "The meaning of asceticism lies in tempering one's will and improving one's control over one's body."

"The specific principle is that the body is very afraid of pain. Once it is in pain, it will send out a signal to stop the behavior."

"The more your body dislikes something, the more you must do it with willpower. Through this repeated tempering, you gradually regain control of your body by 'self-awareness'."

"Control your emotions, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, so that these emotions do not arise from the interference of external delusions, but come from the heart. I can be happy when I want to be happy, and sad when I want to be sad."

“If you can do this, Fatty, you’ve succeeded,” Zhang Zhiwei said.

Wang Ai said, "It sounds difficult. I don't even have the ability to resist the urge to eat. I'm afraid I can't do asceticism. When I see beautiful things, I can't help but want to possess them."

“This is human nature, and it’s a bodily instinct, but it’s not necessarily what you really want,” Zhang Zhiwei said. “That’s why we need to cultivate ourselves, that’s why we need to seek truth.”

“I can’t help you with all of this; you’ll have to figure it out for yourself. By the way,” Zhang Zhiwei changed the subject, “how’s the arrangement for letting Chen Yulou’s men into the city, which I told you about before, going?”

“Not very successful,” Wang Ai said. “I communicated with the warlord here, but he disagreed. He said that he was an official and Chen Yulou was a bandit. If he let Chen Yulou in, wouldn’t that be collusion between officials and bandits? How could he face the millions of people in Chongqing? If he finds out where Chen Yulou is, he will definitely wipe him out.”

Zhang Zhiwei laughed immediately upon hearing this: "That sounds pretty damn convincing!"

“It’s definitely a bluff. To put it bluntly, he just wants money,” Wang Ai said. “He’s been eyeing Tiantong Steel Plant for a long time. At first, he wanted to take it over directly, but then he realized he couldn’t manage it, so he thought about taking a percentage of the shares. I’m afraid he’ll use that to blackmail us this time.”

"Really?" Zhang Zhiwei laughed. "But I don't want to pay, and I still need to get the people in. Fatty, do you have any ideas?" (End of Chapter)