Chapter 46

The night at Taibai Peak gradually grew quiet, with the distant sound of scattered drinking games carried by the night breeze. Hu Niu sat beside Xiao Letian, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Today, Xiao Letian had truly frightened the young girl. She never imagined that Xiao Letian would have the nerve to privately mint silver coins. She also didn't know who the person called "Wangye" was, but she knew that both her father and Xiao Letian respected him. The little girl was even more puzzled by how the bandits who once besieged her were now so gentle and friendly.

Although Hu Niu was not favored at home, she had seen the world. She understood most of Xiao Letian's economic layout except for the overseas trade part. She knew that this was profiting from the fire, and every penny Xiao Letian earned was actually taken from the harmful and oppressive policy of fire consumption.

Born into a merchant family, Hu Niu knew even better that cutting off someone's means of making money was like killing their parents. Xiao Letian was digging into the wealth of all the corrupt officials in the country. How could this be allowed?

Just as Hu Niu was worried about Xiao Letian, the door opened quietly, and a half-drunk Fan Lian walked in. He looked at the sleeping Xiao Letian, patted his daughter's shoulder, and led her out.

"Father, is it really right for Xiao Letian to do this? He is making enemies with all the officials in the country! If the court finds out, he will be executed with his entire family..."

Fan Lian smiled bitterly and said, "Daughter, since we separated from your uncle, I have been very clear that there is no place for us in this vast world. Since the separation, do you know how many people have cut ties with us? They look down on me, thinking that I am doomed to die without any support. They don't believe I can start over from scratch..."

"I refuse to believe that. I will make them see with their own eyes that even without the family, I, Fan Lian, am still the leader of the Shanxi merchants who can control the wind and rain. I can still create a great fortune. And Xiao Letian is our hope..."

Fan Lian didn't dare to look his daughter in the eye and said, "Daughter, I don't know if my choice is right or wrong. On the surface, not letting you be a concubine seems to save you. But following me on this dangerous path, I am a bit afraid."

"Don't ask too many questions about this bandit camp. Just pretend you don't know anything, and keep everything to yourself... especially about the Wangye. You mustn't even hint at it. Do you know why I didn't bring A Chou over? Because she talks too much. Just say you spent these few days in Yixian County..."

The father and daughter discussed for a long time in the night. Occasionally, Hu Niu would wipe her tears with a handkerchief. Shi Dakai watched them from behind the flowers, sighing to himself, "Such a bold merchant, how many are there in the entire Qing Dynasty? Perhaps only Hu Xueyan can match him."

Shi Dakai didn't know that Hu Xueyan, now with a fortune of millions, was like a fattening pig to the Qing Dynasty, destined to be slaughtered. All the forces were watching him closely, and any mistake would lead to his destruction.

And in real history, after the silk war with foreign merchants, Hu Xueyan lost millions of silver taels. Instead of providing emergency support, the Qing government allowed officials to withdraw their deposits and extort him. In the end, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered a strict investigation, and Hu Xueyan lost all his titles and died in poverty.

Xiao Letian didn't want to follow in Hu Xueyan's footsteps. He didn't even want his father-in-law to take the risk. He had seen the true nature of the Qing Dynasty's upper echelons. They treated everyone as slaves and viewed all Han people as lambs to be slaughtered. Once you became fat and caught their eye, your fate was to be torn apart by wolves.

So Xiao Letian decided to rebel, starting with the corrupt financial system of the Qing Dynasty. He didn't want to be a loyal subject and decided to cut out a large piece of flesh from the fire consumption, knowing that the money would be wasted if given to them.

The next morning, Xiao Letian bid farewell to Shi Dakai and returned to Yixian County. He was already somewhat famous in the Qing Dynasty and couldn't disappear for long. County Magistrate Liu had already reported to him in secret that Yixian County was full of mysterious figures, most likely spies from various factions.

Fortunately, the officials of Yixian County had already pledged their loyalty to Xiao Letian, keeping his secret trip to the mountains hidden. In the eyes of the people of Yixian County, Xiao Letian, the overseas traveler, had been staying at Qing San's house.

In the following days in Yixian County, Xiao Letian began to write his "Journey to the West." Each chapter was sent to the capital by fast horse. When scholars Luo Hao and military secretary Wen Xiu received the latest chapter, they immediately organized a team to copy it and post it in the major bookstores of Beijing.

Now, in front of every bookstore in Beijing, there were crowds of scholars and servants waiting for updates. Whenever a new chapter was posted, the crowd would immediately surround the board. In the spring of 1865, Xiao Letian truly became famous in Beijing.

Xiao Letian's debate with the old scholar Wang, the bizarre kidnapping case, and the industrial zone plan that sparked discussions in the court, all pushed his reputation to its peak. The mysterious silence of the Qing Dynasty's upper echelons added to the intrigue, and the wind of Western learning began to blow.

The court remained as usual, with the two empress dowagers carefully balancing the political situation. Prince Gong and Fuqing no longer dared to discuss the industrial zone plan in the court. Instead, they secretly began preliminary investigations under the cover of the Zongli Yamen. As for what the Eight Banners would achieve, only heaven knew.

The empire's western regions were also not peaceful. In the spring of that year, the military leader of the Khanate of Kokand, Yaqub Beg, began to intervene in the rebellion of the Hui people in Xinjiang, openly sending troops with the support of the Russian Empire. It seemed that the historical event of Zuo Zongtang's campaign in Xinjiang was inevitable.

As for Zeng Guofan, who was clearing the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he also used the excuse of clearing the Taiping remnants to avoid his scheduled return to the capital. It was clear to everyone that the Zeng brothers were silently protesting the court, and the industrial zone plan in Jiangnan could not proceed without them.

In summary, the Qing Dynasty was still not peaceful, which made the ambitious scholars more willing to study Xiao Letian's Western learning. Some radicals even began to secretly organize, wanting to become the first batch of disciples in Western learning.

Although the late Qing sky was gloomy, some people were beginning to wake up and were willing to accept change. However, change was always painful, as evidenced by Xiang Shaolong, who had let Xiao Letian go.

In the mountains of Yanqing County, there was a village called Xiangjia Village. The village, bound by clan ties, was led by Xiang Shaolong, who was both the clan leader and the village chief.

In the threshing field in front of the village, about thirty to forty disciples were practicing horse stances under the watchful eye of their master. No one dared to slack off, and sweat dripped from their foreheads.

Xiang Shaolong, sitting on a stone roller, appeared to be watching the disciples, but he was actually lost in thought.

Xiang Shaolong had been recuperating at home for a few days, often recalling the words Xiao Letian had said to him and the content of "Journey to the West." He was often so engrossed that he lost his appetite.

Curiosity can kill the cat, and Xiang Shaolong was a person with a strong curiosity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been swayed by Xiao Letian's radical ideas. Unfortunately, his one moment of weakness had plunged Xiangjia Village into deep crisis.

In the fierce battle that night, only four or five of his disciples died, but many were injured. Over twenty disciples were scarred by iron sand, and the compensation for the dead and the medicine for the injured cost Xiang Shaolong over ten thousand silver taels.

Heroes in the martial world valued righteousness over wealth. Although Xiang Shaolong appeared to be well-off, his family's resources were not abundant. Without the protection fees from the trade route from Yanqing to Zhangjiakou, the village would have starved long ago. Now, with over ten thousand silver taels spent, life in Xiangjia Village was becoming increasingly difficult.

However, Xiang Shaolong did not regret his decision. A true hero stands by his word. Since he chose to let Xiao Letian go, he would not regret it. Now, Xiang Shaolong was lost in thought about the history of firearms in "Journey to the West," fascinated by the colorful world of firearms.

"Foreigners are so clever, inventing machine guns that can fire thousands of bullets in an instant. How spectacular must that be?" As he was thinking, a crying figure suddenly ran to the village entrance.

"Uncle Long... wu wu wu, Uncle Long... I'm sorry, I've been expelled from the county school..." The figure was a boy of about fourteen, who fell to his knees in front of Xiang Shaolong and burst into tears.

The onlookers recognized him as Xiang Ying, the village's scholar and Xiang Shaolong's nephew, who was highly praised by the county's old scholar, Yang Lao. He was proficient in reading and writing and was expected to take the scholar examination next year.

Amid Xiang Ying's sobs, the villagers were furious. It turned out that on his first day back to school, Xiang Ying was publicly scolded by the old scholar, who said that the people of Xiangjia Village, being of bandit origin, were of low character and not worthy of reading the classics. He was then expelled on the spot.

"Let's go, let's go to the county and argue. When have we ever been bandits? Even if Yang Lao has a high status, he cannot defame our honor. Let's sue him..." The crowd was about to rush out, but Xiang Shaolong shouted.

"Be quiet, I will handle this... Xiang Ying, tell me exactly what the old scholar said." Xiang Shaolong asked.

"Wu wu wu, he also said that someone in the county has already reported us to the authorities, accusing us of extorting merchants... and my master whispered to me, telling me to give up on my studies. He said that our Xiang family will never produce a scholar in a hundred years..."

Xiang Shaolong understood immediately. This was the work of the powerful figure in the capital. How ruthless, to cut off the Xiang family's path to success for a hundred years? But Xiang Shaolong knew that the powerful figure in the capital had the means to do it.

The revenge came quickly. As Xiang Shaolong trembled, a dark object suddenly flew towards his face, a hidden weapon.

"Who dares to show off in front of me!" Xiang Shaolong caught the small sleeve arrow in his hand, but upon closer inspection, he saw a letter wrapped around it.

"Uncle Long, you have excellent skills, but I wonder if you can handle an army. Hahaha, this is our strategist repaying your favor..." The voice quickly disappeared.

Xiang Shaolong had a good memory and recognized the voice as that of Sima Yun, a young man with excellent lightness skills, one of Xiao Letian's subordinates. He stopped his disciples from chasing and opened the letter.

"Leave Xiangjia Village immediately. The troops will attack tonight with guns and cannons. Do not stand in their way. Remember this."

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