All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Zheng Mang looked at Bai Jiaxuan with a shocked expression when he saw the pistol in Bai Jiaxuan's hand.

Bai Jiaxuan said with a smile.

"Those fifteen boxes contained one hundred and five rifles, thirty-five pistols, five heavy machine guns, and the rest were bullets!"

After hearing Bai Jiaxuan's words, Zheng Mang's eyes widened, his mouth agape, and he looked at Bai Jiaxuan with an incredulous expression!

Bai Jiaxuan saw the look in the other person's eyes and burst into another hearty laugh.

At this moment, he saw a wild rabbit about 100 meters away looking around in the field with a wary expression. Bai Jiaxuan smiled, released the safety of his pistol, and then shouted at Zheng Mang.

"Alright!"

Zheng Mang followed his gaze and saw the wild rabbit by the field. Just as he saw the rabbit, he heard a crisp gunshot. The rabbit in the distance kicked its legs and stopped moving.

Zheng Mang was taken aback. Bai Jiaxuan smiled, put away his gun, rode over, dismounted, and picked up the wild rabbit, which weighed about four or five pounds. He had a snack to go with his drinks tonight!

Bai Jiaxuan mentioned the wild rabbit and then said with a smile.

Do you think I'm very skilled in martial arts?

Zheng Mang nodded quickly!

Bai Jiaxuan lifted the wild rabbit in his hand and said.

"No matter how skilled I am in martial arts, can I kill this rabbit from a hundred meters away?"

This question left Zheng Mang speechless. He could only smile awkwardly and remain silent.

Bai Jiaxuan continued.

"In the future, whether on the battlefield or in individual competitions, the status of kung fu will only decrease. Firing a shot is just a blink of an eye, but it can take a life in an instant. No matter how good an individual's kung fu is, they are still just flesh and blood. I plan to have you learn to shoot and establish an armed force. And you will be the leader of this force!"

Zheng Mang was stunned when he heard Bai Jiaxuan's words. It took him a long time to react. He shook his head vigorously, as if it were a rattle drum, and kept shouting.

"Brother Bai, I...I can't do it, I can't do it, I've never even touched a gun before!"

Seeing Zheng Mang's uncertain shake of his head, Bai Jiaxuan smiled and then placed the pistol in his hand into Zheng Mang's hand.

"No one is born knowing how to use a gun. I gave you this gun, and you just said you'd do whatever I told you to do. Now I'm asking you to learn how to use a gun from me, and this is how you do it?"

Bai Jiaxuan's words made Zheng Mang feel a little embarrassed. He looked at the pistol in his hand, and for some reason, a strange impulse welled up inside him. His face flushed, and he stammered.

"Brother Bai, can I...can I really do it?"

Bai Jiaxuan laughed heartily, patted him on the shoulder, and said...

"As long as you're willing to learn, I guarantee you'll become a sharpshooter in three months!"

Bai Jiaxuan's encouragement gave Zheng Mang an unprecedented confidence in his eyes. He gripped the pistol tightly in his hand, and finally raised his head, looking at Bai Jiaxuan with great enthusiasm.

"Brother Bai, can I try now?"

Bai Jiaxuan revealed an approving expression and waved his hand, shouting.

"Come on, let's practice over there!"

When Bai Jiaxuan returned home, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon. He came back alone. Before parting ways with Zheng Mang, he gave him a bag of silver dollars, about a hundred dollars, as well as the pistol and a box of bullets.

He instructed Zheng Mang to find a suitable location in the surrounding mountains over the next few days—a place where he could retreat or advance at will. He planned to build his bandit hideout there, which would become the secret military base of Bailu Plain.

Bai Jiaxuan didn't hide anything from Zheng Mang and told her his purpose directly: the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China did not mean peace; on the contrary, it was the beginning of an era of chaos.

Bai Jiaxuan told Zheng Mang about the current situation in China. Zheng Mang was a little confused, but he also gained some insights based on his trip to Shanghai.

In big cities like Shanghai, Chinese people are bullied by Westerners and Japanese, let alone in remote areas like this. With the change of county magistrate, all sorts of exploitation of farmers will soon follow. If they want no one to dare to bully them in the future, they can only build their own armed forces.

After finding a good place, Zheng Mang was about to start looking for people. Bai Jiaxuan directed him to look for people among the little beggars.

Go to Zishui County or Chang'an City, it won't be difficult to bring back three or five each time. These days, there are plenty of people selling their children, so there are naturally plenty of homeless beggars. As long as they can get enough to eat, they can find anyone.

The hundred silver dollars that Bai Jiaxuan gave me should be enough to cover my expenses for a while.

The method of finding people among beggars reminded Bai Jiaxuan of the world of "The Grand Mansion Gate," where he established the Black Family Army, which at that time trained young beggars from childhood.

However, this time, he doesn't plan to go all out. What he wants to build is just a privately customized elite force, which will not be very large and will be kept to less than one hundred people. There will definitely be eliminations and casualties in the future, but the total number of people will eventually be kept to less than one hundred.

He didn't need to cultivate great figures who could change history; he only needed to teach them to recognize their own names, for everyone to be a good marksman, and for everyone to be loyal to him—that would be enough.

When Bai Jiaxuan returned home, he found several people already there. He recognized them as Lu Zilin's father, Lu Taiheng, who was waiting for him in the main hall with a few other elderly men.

Seeing Lu Taiheng's sickly appearance, Bai Jiaxuan quickly went over to him, took his hand, and had Xiangcao serve tea.

Upon seeing Lu Taiheng, he had already guessed the purpose of these old guys' visit.

It's obvious without even guessing, it's about Lu Zilin!

As expected, Lu Taiheng burst into tears, recounting that after Lu Zilin was arrested, the Lu family was now at its wit's end.

During this period, the Lu family was almost completely broke. They not only sent dozens of silver dollars to the county, but also took away all their grain and other supplies. In the end, they still couldn't rescue Lu Zilin.

Lu Taiheng came here to beg Bai Jiaxuan to hold a village meeting so that everyone could pool their money and find a way to rescue Lu Zilin and the other two from the county.

Bai Jiaxuan kept a sullen face and did not agree to the old guys' demands to save Lu Zilin. He was determined to save Lu Zilin, no matter what conflicts he had with Lu Zilin. But that was an internal matter of Bailuyuan. He had led the peasant movement, so he had to find a way to quell the matter.

Thinking of this, Bai Jiaxuan took a sip of tea and then said in a deep voice.

"Uncle, you all go back first. I've got my mind on this matter. Here's what I've done: I've made a few friends while I was out here. I'll go out tomorrow and see if I can get one of them to help resolve Zilin's situation. Don't worry, Zilin is suffering for me this time, and I'll definitely find a way to get him out!"

When the group heard that Bai Jiaxuan had such a "friend," they were overjoyed and immediately stood up, shook Bai Jiaxuan's hand, and repeatedly said "thank you!"

After seeing off the old guys, Bai Jiaxuan looked at the sunset outside Bailu Plain and couldn't help but let out a long sigh!

This matter can't be delayed any longer; we must find a solution as soon as possible!

After dinner, Bai Jiaxuan and Lu San spent more than two hours finally moving the fifteen boxes of munitions from the inner room to the grain storage cellar.

Lu San never asked what was inside the box, because he had already accepted his employer as his own. Since his employer asked him to move it, he would move it.

This trip to Shanghai left a very deep impression on Lu San, and among all the things, Bai Jiaxuan's sudden change was the one that impressed him the most.

Lu San, a peasant with little education, had watched Bai Jiaxuan grow up since he was a child. He just couldn't understand why Bai Jiaxuan in Shanghai suddenly seemed like a different person. His kung fu, martial arts, and demeanor were nothing like the master he remembered.

He couldn't figure it out for a month at first, until he was in Shanghai. One day, a disciple of the Jingwu School took him to a teahouse. In the teahouse, he heard someone telling stories.

When he heard the storyteller talk about those heroes and great men, some of whom were born with superhuman strength, and others who were suddenly protected by immortals, Lu San vaguely thought that he had found the answer and that his master might be one of those extraordinary people the storyteller was talking about!

Bai Jiaxuan had no idea that Lu San viewed him this way. He was valuing his family's long-term worker more and more. Originally, he thought that if Lu San asked, he would tell Lu San some things.

But Lu San never asked, so Bai Jiaxuan didn't say anything either.

After finishing all that, Bai Jiaxuan quickly told Lu San to go back and rest, while he himself went home, took off his thick clothes, and went to the bathhouse.

The child slept with his grandmother today. Xiangcao brought him the boiled water. Bai Jiaxuan glanced outside and saw that his mother was already asleep. He then chuckled and pulled Xiangcao into the bathhouse.

Chapter 36

After a night of working the muddy fields, Bai Jiaxuan yawned listlessly.

That morning, he went to the village to find out what was going on. A few days ago, Tian Fuxian had already come to collect grain once. At present, almost every household in the village had been plundered. Bai Jiaxuan's face was gloomy all morning.

In the afternoon, he rode his horse alone to Zishui County. After entering the county town, he first had dinner at a restaurant near the county government office.

It was dinnertime, and the group of old men who worked at the county government office entered the restaurant in small groups, talking about recent events at the county government office.

Bai Jiaxuan sat down by the window, drinking and eating snacks alone for more than two hours.

From the conversations of this group, Bai Jiaxuan finally understood the background of the newly appointed County Magistrate He.

This man was originally just an ordinary businessman. Riding the wave of the revolution, one of his cousins ​​had some influence in the province, and he benefited from that, so he was assigned to Zishui County.

Bai Jiaxuan leisurely finished his wine, swayed as he went out, led his horse to an inn, booked a room, and then fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, Bai Jiaxuan opened his eyes, yawned, rubbed his eyes, took out a pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time. It was 3:30 in the morning, just the right time.

This pocket watch was also borrowed from Boss Huang; it has a silver case and is a high-end item!

He put on his clothes, opened the window, and slipped out.

Since County Magistrate He had just arrived in Zishui County, he was probably worried that he would be beaten for committing too many evil deeds. So he had been staying in the family compound behind the county government office, where there were security guards at the gate.

Bai Jiaxuan scaled the wall and entered the county government office. He didn't know which building County Magistrate He lived in, but that didn't stump him.

In a small room near the entrance of the family compound, Bai Jiaxuan saw two soldiers fast asleep, slumped over a table by the window. He shook his head as he noticed their guns were leaning against the wall.

He knocked one person unconscious, then shook another person awake. The other person looked at Bai Jiaxuan, who was wearing a mask, with a blank expression.

After regaining some composure, the soldier tried to scream, but when he looked up, he saw a dark gun barrel pointed at him, which terrified him so much that his legs went weak and he collapsed into a chair.

Bai Jiaxuan didn't make things too difficult for these henchmen. After asking where County Chief He lived, he knocked him unconscious and then left.

Ten minutes later, Bai Jiaxuan sneaked into a room. By the moonlight streaming through the window, he saw an old man on the bed embracing a fair-skinned girl, sleeping soundly with snoring all around.

Bai Jiaxuan gave a strange smile, took a few steps forward, sat on the edge of the bed, and gave County Magistrate He a slap on the neck, which immediately silenced the snoring.

The other woman heard the noise, mumbled something in a daze, and before she was fully awake, she felt a pain in her neck and also fainted.

Bai Jiaxuan did not kill the two men; he merely knocked them unconscious.

Previously, he said he was going to find a few "friends" to help rescue Lu Zilin, and this "friend" was naturally himself.

Bai Jiaxuan had many ways to rescue Lu Zilin. He could pay to ransom her, or he could go to the prison in the middle of the night to rescue her. It was just a small county town; even if he wiped out all sixty security teams, it wouldn't be difficult.

However, those methods will only lead to endless trouble in the end. Once you pay to redeem them, the county will definitely take the opportunity to extort money from you. No matter how much money you have, it won't be enough to satisfy these wolves.

If a violent rescue is used, the situation will escalate and only bring more trouble to Bailu Plain. Therefore, if we want to safely rescue Lu Zilin and the others without causing trouble for Bailu Plain, we have to think of other methods.

Bai Jiaxuan's current method is what he thinks is the most suitable.

Bai Jiaxuan believed that for someone like County Chief He, the solution was to instill fear in him of the unknown enemy, making him hesitant to provoke him, in order to quell the storm.

Bai Jiaxuan wasn't in a hurry. It was only four o'clock, and there were still more than two hours until dawn. He then began to search the room carefully.

In less than five minutes, he found a box hidden under the bed. He took it out, weighed it in his hand, and was immediately delighted. He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise on this trip.

Bai Jiaxuan placed the box at the door, then returned to the bedroom, took out the prepared razor, and slowly walked towards the bed.

After spending twenty minutes getting it done, Bai Jiaxuan was finally satisfied. He picked up his suitcase and went out.

Bai Jiaxuan then returned to the inn, packed the box into a sack, threw it under the bed, took off his clothes, got into bed, and fell fast asleep.

Meanwhile, County Magistrate He slept soundly through the night without a single dream.

The next morning, he vaguely heard a commotion outside. He grumbled a few words in annoyance, and without even opening his eyes, he casually picked up the warm girl and prepared to go back to sleep.

He didn't open his eyes until someone knocked on his door. The girl in his arms was also woken up, and the two of them reluctantly sat up.