From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Furthermore, now is indeed a good opportunity to quickly capture Fuyang; if we don't act now, we'll really suffer significant troop losses...

···

End of the meeting.

The Northern Expeditionary Army, including Zhang Muzhi and Chen Yulou, immediately launched an attack on Fuyang County.

As Zhang Muzhi had predicted, the enemy's morale was low, and they captured Fuyang County in just one hour.

thereafter.

Zhang Muzhi and Chen Yulou led the team into Yuhang.

In Yuhang City, the people spontaneously came out to line the streets to welcome the Northern Expedition—it wasn't just the Confucian Association and the Cultural Street that supported it; the people of Yuhang also supported it.

Actually.

From the moment the Northern Expeditionary Army entered the Jiangnan region, the people of Jiangnan were overjoyed and longed to break free from the rule of the warlords.

After all, the quality of the officers and soldiers under the warlords varied greatly, and forced buying and selling, abduction of women, and extortion were happening every day. Even if the Confucian Association's security team tried to manage it, it would be a drop in the ocean.

These officers also bullied ordinary people, but dared not lay a hand on the city's original wealthy people and gentry. How could the people not hate them?

# Chapter 442 Setting the Scene

Upon arriving in Yuhang, Zhang Muzhi immediately sought out the Confucian Society and met with Jiang Liu, Lu Jin, Hong Guniang, and others. He laughed heartily and said, "Brother Jiang, it's been a long time! I thought you'd become a bit more official-like after becoming the president, but I didn't expect you to still be full of youthful vigor!"

"Unlike Brother Mu, who is now a general."

Jiang Liu feigned a polite gesture of clasping his hands in a gesture of flattery.

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Muzhi laughed loudly, "Brother Jiang is still the same young man he always was, full of humor."

"Speaking of which, how long are you and President Chen going to stay in Yuhang?" Jiang Liu asked.

"About two months."

Although Chen Yulou was no longer the leader of the bandits, he still felt a sense of familiarity with the title "Chief Chen". "Two months later, we will continue to head north. During this period, the rest of the Northern Expeditionary Army will also enter Yuhang to start a new round of recruiting soldiers and collecting supplies before continuing the Northern Expedition."

Zhang Muzhi asked, "So, are you guys going to join the army?"

This is the best way to give the extraordinary person control over the discourse!

Judging from the abilities controlled by the supernatural beings on Cultural Street, most of them are not actually applicable to war, but are more inclined to basic aspects of people's livelihood such as production and construction.

"I would like to, but the Confucian Association has only been established for a short time, and I can't just be a hands-off manager now."

Jiang Liu declined politely, but didn't rule out the possibility entirely. "But I think there are many young extraordinary people on Cultural Street who are willing to participate in the Northern Expedition... Speaking of which, I have developed a Foundation Building Method that can improve one's Qi Refining aptitude. If an ordinary person perseveres for twenty years, they can also embark on the path of Qi Refining."

"Twenty years?"

Zhang Muzhi thought this was taking too long.

The Northern Expedition was not yet over, and the faster his troops gained strength, the greater their chances of surviving the war.

"If someone could become an extraordinary person overnight, that would be a problem."

Jiang Liu's words were loaded with meaning.

"Too."

Zhang Muzhi also understood human nature. When an ordinary person suddenly acquires a large amount of wealth, very few can hide it, let alone suddenly gain power.

The first thought is definitely to ride on someone else's head.

Therefore.

The hardships of spiritual practice are unavoidable; otherwise, one's mental state will be in serious trouble.

Foundation building.

It builds not only the foundation for cultivating Qi, but also the foundation for one's mind and character.

If you can't even endure this, how can you talk about spiritual practice?

“The Northern Expeditionary Army I lead will cultivate this Foundation Building Technique, and after the Northern Expedition ends, we will cooperate with the Confucian Society you established as much as possible… By the way, besides the goal of bringing the extraordinary people back to their original state and returning them to their 'humanity' as a whole, does the Confucian Society have any more specific measures?” Zhang Muzhi asked.

"Confucianism is the leader of the three religions, so of course it has to suppress Taoism and Buddhism."

Jiang Liu grinned and chuckled, “If things are to change, then Taoist priests and monks can no longer accept the support of wealthy patrons and tenant farmers from the foot of the mountain; they must become self-reliant.”

To cultivate oneself while being bound by the offerings of 'mortals'...

What kind of real person or Buddha are they?

If you want to be able to cultivate yourself without worrying about food and clothing, you either need to acquire property to earn money, cultivate your own land and grow your own food, or you can hope that the people who come to burn incense for peace of mind will donate more money, but you cannot force them to donate money.

"Haha, we really are kindred spirits!"

Zhang Muzhi also had this idea.

Monks and Taoist priests.

They were all people who did not engage in productive labor.

Despite possessing abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people, most of them reside high in the mountains, detached from worldly affairs, truly a waste of their talents.

The greater a person's ability!

And the greater the responsibility one takes on!

The greater the corresponding rights obtained, the better!

Even extraordinary individuals can return to humanity and participate in the great affairs of the nation in the future!

therefore.

The goal of the future Confucian Association is to target, or rather, to integrate and change those who follow Taoism and Buddhism.

In short, it only takes three steps.

Step 1: Return the land to the people and dismantle the "landlord" status of Taoist priests and Buddhist monks.

In other words, the land under their mountain gate was divided and returned to the people, so that the Taoists and monks could find their own way to earn money and maintain the basic conditions needed for their Qi cultivation and practice: to have enough to eat and wear.

The second step: The Confucian Association will step in to help the extraordinary individuals from the Taoist and Buddhist sects establish new livelihoods.

The third step: to unite the Taoist, Buddhist, and other sects and families from the supernatural world, resolve the conflicts between them, encourage healthy competition, and seek win-win cooperation in both livelihood and spiritual practice!

However, a problem must be considered in this process:

Completeness.

This force is spread throughout the country, and its members are all troublemakers. Jiang Liu's attitude towards them is the same:

As long as they don't publicly announce their withdrawal from Quanxing—

A clean cut!

But we must take things one step at a time. If we take too big a step, we'll run into trouble. Right now, we must first improve the foundation of the Confucian Association, which is Yuhang.

Otherwise, everything will come to an end!

In the following two weeks, as the rest of the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Hangzhou and learned about the Confucian Society, they experienced both joy and sorrow.

Fortunately, with the support of the Confucian Society, the Northern Expeditionary Army was able to obtain a large amount of supplies.

The worry is that the members of the Confucian Society are all eccentric individuals, and they may use this opportunity to interfere in future national affairs.

Many members within the Gong faction didn't have much of an opinion. After all, people with supernatural abilities are still human. If change is needed, how can we exclude them?

However, there are many differing opinions within the Guo faction.

Even though Zhang Muzhi and Chen Yulou talked until their throats were dry, it was to no avail. In the end, a Mr. J smoothed things over, changed the subject, and glossed over the matter by saying that the situation of the "Northern Expedition" was still extremely serious.

But everyone present knew that the warlords were a bunch of rabble!

As long as you don't get careless, there's almost no chance of failure!

What's so serious?

It's clear that Mr. J's attitude towards the superhumans is the same as that of emperors of dynasties throughout history. He doesn't treat them as real people, but only thinks about controlling and using them, nothing more.

The Northern Expedition may succeed, but it's impossible to completely transform the land of China solely through it! Further efforts are needed!

Zhang Muzhi had a premonition.

Upon learning of this, and understanding Zhang Muzhi's pessimism about the Northern Expedition, Jiang Liu exclaimed in amazement, "Brother Muzhi truly lives up to his reputation as someone who personally experienced the events of the Xinhai Revolution; his insight is indeed sharp. That old J cannot view us cultivators with a calm mind; he is destined to fail."

and so--

Brother, be more careful when you encounter people who support the "pot" faction in the future.

I have a feeling this time will be even more dangerous than last time. Perhaps the fruit planted hasn't even ripened yet, and that guy surnamed J, for the sake of power, will, under the guidance of the foreigners, pluck it prematurely and swallow it whole.

"We definitely need to be on guard!"

Zhang Muzhi nodded vigorously.

In the following period, Zhang Muzhi, Chen Yulou, and the rest of the Gong faction launched a "land redistribution" campaign against Taoist and Buddhist temples, local gentry, and wealthy landowners near Yuhang.

For a time, some chaos arose in and around Yuhang City, but under the joint guidance of the Confucian Association and Zhang Muzhi and Chen Yulou, the local Taoist and Buddhist eccentrics calmed their minds and gradually established corresponding livelihoods, thus avoiding the fate of sitting idle and running out of resources.

Local monks and Taoist priests, such as Ru Song and Zhang Mingyuan, were deeply grateful for the help provided by the Confucian Association.

Although it was a scheme orchestrated by Jiang Liu and Zhang Muzhi, the monks and Taoists did not believe that the Confucian Association was capable of cooperating with Zhang Muzhi and Chen Yulou.

Furthermore.

Every time the Northern Expeditionary Army conquered a place, its troops would establish local labor unions, farmers' associations, youth associations, women's associations, and so on.

In particular, the faction led by Zhang Muzhi would teach the local tyrants and gentry a lesson in the most violent way.

Ill-gotten gains shall be confiscated!

The family's land is still being used for farming!

Therefore.

These Taoist priests and Buddhist monks should still remember the kindness shown to them by the Confucian Association!