All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Moreover, the opponent was completely unharmed after I fired those twenty bullets. Such a master is unheard of. In the face of such a master, my life is just like an ant under my feet, which I can crush at any time.

Almost in an instant, Blind Liu made the most correct choice of his life!

Having lived a life of constant danger for decades, no one knows better than Blind Liu when it's time to kneel!

Upon hearing Liu the Blind's plea for mercy, the shadowy figure stopped abruptly. He suddenly let out a cold chuckle, then waved his right hand. Liu the Blind screamed and suddenly covered his left ear.

One ear, without a care in the world, was cut off and fell to the ground.

The shadowy figure's sneer faded, and he spoke in an icy tone.

"This ear is a perfect match for your blind eye. Consider it a lesson to you. Remember, if there isn't a single soldier left outside the city by tomorrow morning, you can prepare to die!"

After saying this, the dark figure suddenly vanished into the tent, the tent flap trembled slightly, and without making a sound, the figure disappeared from the tent.

Blind Liu covered his bleeding cheek, his face contorted with uncontrollable terror. Only a few seconds later did a group of soldiers hurriedly pull open the tent, allowing the firelight to illuminate the entire tent.

When Liu the Blind Man saw the soldiers rushing in, he felt no sense of security whatsoever. His teeth chattered, and it wasn't until the army doctor came to bandage him that he fully came to his senses. Clutching the blood-stained gauze, he hurriedly summoned his men and directly announced the order to withdraw the troops.

Liu the Blind's army retreated so quickly that they even abandoned some cannons that couldn't be moved. By dawn, the guards on the city wall discovered that the area below the city was already empty.

The crowd could hardly believe their eyes!

The Zhen Song Army, which had been besieging the city for seven months, actually withdrew, and in such a hasty manner, that no one could believe what they were seeing!

But this is the truth. Apart from some facilities that could not be moved, the Zhen Song Army did not leave behind a single wounded soldier and retreated completely.

By the time the cheers from the city walls reached inside the city, everything had already settled down!

Bai Jiaxuan watched quietly as Bai Ling's lifeless eyes finally welled up with tears of joy once more after learning of the withdrawal of troops from outside the city. He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Raising a daughter is so difficult; I've really worried myself sick. But it's finally come to an end!

The retreat of the Zhen Song Army was a month shorter than in the original novel. In the original novel, Liu the Blind retreated because he was forced to do so, as reinforcements were coming and he was surrounded by enemies on all sides, so he finally chose to retreat.

In this lifetime, the sudden mobilization of the Zhen Song Army became a historical mystery. Countless historians in later generations tried to uncover the truth, but ultimately, the truth disappeared into the long river of history...!

Chapter 58: Back to Shanghai

At the foot of the Xi'an city wall, in front of some broken walls, two young people, a man and a woman, walked by hand in hand, their faces full of excitement, each holding a freshly developed photograph.

In the photo, the two are all smiles, their eyes brimming with undisguised affection, their youthful energy seemingly etched into that moment forever.

Seeing that no one was around, the girl let go of the boy's hand, her excited expression slowly fading, and a trace of melancholy appeared on her face. She looked up at the boy in front of her, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"Zhaopeng, are you really leaving soon?"

The boy noticed the reluctance and complex emotions in the girl's eyes. He gently ruffled her hair with a touch of tenderness and answered casually.

"Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow. Military academy starts on the first of next month, so there are only seven days left. We're crossing several provinces, so time is a bit tight!"

Although she already knew the answer, Bai Ling, who was just beginning to experience romantic feelings, still couldn't hide her disappointment. She felt her eyes getting wet, so she quickly put on a bright smile and said casually.

"Alright, I'll wait for you. I'll wait until the day Ge Ming succeeds, then we'll go back to the plains together and never leave again!"

Lu Zhaopeng nodded with deep affection, the two smiled at each other, then held hands and walked away into the distance.

After taking a few steps, Bai Ling suddenly remembered something, so she quickly stopped again, took out two silver coins that had been split in half from her pocket, handed one half to Lu Zhaopeng, and kept the other half for herself.

Lu Zhaopeng was somewhat confused.

Bai Ling smiled mischievously and pointed to the two broken silver coins.

"Don't you think this silver coin looks familiar?"

Lu Zhaopeng then carefully examined the half silver coin in his hand. Upon looking at it, he immediately remembered that it must have been a month ago when he handed the only silver coin he had to Bai Ling so that she could buy some food for the children.

In reality, back then, let alone a silver dollar, even ten or a hundred dollars wouldn't buy a steamed bun in the city, but it was still a glimmer of hope.

Bai Ling was incredibly lucky, so she naturally didn't need that silver coin. It wasn't until the siege ended that she took out the silver coin and had someone cut it in half, giving each person half a silver coin.

Bai Ling's eyes sparkled as she picked up her half of a silver coin and said with a smile.

"From now on, this will be our token. If we meet again many years from now, when we're both in our seventies or eighties, I don't want to see a wrinkled old man claiming to know me. Without this token, I won't recognize him!"

Bai Ling said these words with a smile, but Lu Zhaopeng across from her felt incredibly heavy-hearted at that moment. He silently clenched the half silver coin tightly in his palm, slowly took Bai Ling's hand, and responded to the girl with his eyes!

This is not just a token, but a vow between two people to be together for life.

These two young people didn't realize that one was a white party member and the other a red party member—what did that mean?

In the coming years, not only will the two be unable to meet again, but their identities will also bring unimaginable consequences to each other.

Fortunately, all of this was observed by a middle-aged man with a long face.

Bai Jiaxuan, who was hiding in the corner and silently watching all of this, was very unhappy!

He desperately wanted to rush out, grab Lu Zhaopeng by the collar, and demand, "My daughter is only sixteen! This is puppy love! Puppy love! Don't you know that?"

But in the end, he hid his sadness and frustration and disappeared from Xi'an.

Thinking of his eighteen-year-old wife, Bai Jiaxuan's heart fluttered. The matter in Xi'an was over, and it was time to go back to being his master!

The matter in Xi'an has come to an end!

After this incident, Bai Ling returned to school to continue her studies, but secretly rallied students from other schools to give radical speeches and propaganda!

Bai Xiaowen went directly into the White Party's army, joining a certain army group and officially starting his military career as a company commander. He was highly educated, brave and resourceful, and quickly won the attention of the higher-ups.

He was also a secret fighter on the front lines, often walking between light and darkness.

Lu Zhaopeng, on the other hand, was recommended to a military academy, and his future prospects are bright.

As for his elder brother, Lu Zhaohai, he had already been assigned a mission by the organization to infiltrate the Bailuyuan area and, as a primary school principal, begin to promote the ideology of revolution in the local area.

Bai Jiaxuan, the clan leader, seemed to have never seen, heard, or witnessed the children's little antics, nor did he seem to understand their lives as they forged their own path.

Bai Jiaxuan didn't interfere much with the lives of the villagers on Bailu Plain; he let everything take its natural course.

Bai Jiaxuan has worked tirelessly for over twenty years to manage Bailuyuan, single-handedly creating Wuzhishan, ensuring that the people within a twenty-mile radius are no longer oppressed by the government.

In just over twenty years, the local population more than doubled. In such a chaotic world, a large population meant resources. Without the oppression of the government, the local people still had surplus grain in their homes, which was also a kind of resource.

After the siege of Xi'an, the Bailuyuan area became thoroughly famous.

People fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat. In chaotic times, such fame represents a burden and means that one will inevitably be scrutinized.

Sure enough, when Bai Jiaxuan returned to Bailuyuan, he discovered that in just one year, the population of the Bailuyuan area had increased by 30% again. These people were not locals, but refugees from other places.

Most of these people were poor farmers, but a small number were from various factions with ulterior motives.

There were people from both the White and Red factions, as well as spies arranged by various warlords, external forces spying on them, and even bandits and spies from other places.

This group had different motives: some wanted to make money from the local area, some wanted to recruit soldiers from the local area, and others wanted to occupy the area and develop their power.

Due to the diverse population, local security deteriorated rapidly, with petty theft and various bloody incidents occurring frequently, gradually turning the area into a hotbed of trouble.

Bai Jiaxuan watched all this with a cold eye. The chaos caused here involved not only outsiders but also his own people.

Propaganda personnel from both sides were aggressively trying to win over the local population, causing unrest among the locals. Additionally, various warlord forces were using money to seduce local young people.

Originally, Bai Jiaxuan didn't want to get involved in these matters. He only wanted to protect Bailu Plain and didn't want to deal with other troubles.

But now that even Bailuyuan Village is starting to run into trouble, he has no choice but to take drastic measures to rectify the situation!

Soon after, Wuzhishan began posting notices in several nearby villages, announcing that from that day forward, each village would implement a population registration system.

All locals will be registered for population information, and outsiders can find two locals to act as guarantors in exchange for temporary residency rights.

As for those who do not register, they must leave the local village within three days of the start of the registration period. Those who do not leave will be killed without exception!

At the same time, the local authorities prohibited the promotion of various ideologies and the holding of large gatherings and other activities.

In addition to these, a series of rules were also established. In short, the previous lenient policies have been completely reversed after this notice was issued!

Of course, there are those who disobey, but the vast majority of villagers are willing to obey. They are all ordinary people, and everyone hopes to live a peaceful life. Now that things are getting more and more chaotic, everyone has been hoping that Wuzhishan will come and take charge!

Soon, a tense atmosphere began to spread. Those who wanted to disobey the registration system tried to slip through, but Wuzhishan had been operating locally for twenty years and was not comparable to those outsiders.

The clan chiefs of the local villages naturally cooperated fully with Wuzhishan's arrangements and commands, and began to eliminate the outside forces in their villages one by one.

Three days later, gunfire erupted in several villages, killing dozens of people that day. The next day, the frightened outsiders fled in droves.

From that day onward, local security improved rapidly, but the forces of both the Red and White factions remained hidden underground, either because they were affiliated with the locals or were themselves locals. These people secretly carried out their activities in Bailu Plain.

No matter how secretive their actions were, Bai Jiaxuan was fully aware of them, but he didn't go so far as to wipe them out. At least they didn't openly launch a major attack, and the Bailuyuan area once again returned to its former tranquility.

However, this matter is definitely not over. Bai Jiaxuan is also very clear that this purge has almost become the original sin of Wuzhishan, and the local gentry and clan leaders who aided and abetted the evil will not have a good future either.

Despite Wuzhishan's efforts to protect the local people's livelihood for over twenty years, when the day comes for the flowers to bloom for a hundred days, the first target will be the people of Wuzhishan.

Even local clan leaders like Bai Jiaxuan didn't fare well!

Bai Jiaxuan wouldn't dwell on these things; at least, in this chaotic world, he could still enjoy a few peaceful days.

Late at night, in a dormitory at Bailu Town Primary School, Lu Zhaohai grabbed the books in his hand and slammed them to the ground.

A middle-aged man who looked like a tailor sighed, picked up the book, and said with a helpless sigh.

"We have no choice but to hide for now. The bandits of Wuzhi Mountain are too fierce. Our men can't hold them off at all. An entire action team has been wiped out!"

Lu Zhaohai's eyes were bloodshot as he looked out the window and spoke angrily.

"These stubborn old fogies, these village bullies who aid and abet evil, one day our cause will succeed, and sooner or later we will save the people of Bailuyuan!"

Lu Zhaohai and the tailor exchanged a glance, both revealing firm and resolute expressions. Ge Ming's emotions filled the entire dormitory!

Bai Jiaxuan, this old-fashioned man, is now indifferent to worldly affairs. After resolving the village matters, his relationship with Tian Xiao'e has also been put on the agenda.

Actually, there was no need to test it. After so many years of marriage, Xiangcao had vaguely sensed something was wrong after Bai Jiaxuan returned from Xi'an.

Bai Jiaxuan would go to Zishui County every few days, and when he returned, the scent of rouge on his body was noticeable to anyone who wasn't blind.

After witnessing Xiangcao's passive-aggressive behavior, Bai Jiaxuan had no choice but to confess.

Xiangcao was quite sensible. As a woman in feudal society, she naturally understood men's thoughts. Rather than letting him mess around outside, it was better to let him into the family.

And so, Tian Xiao'e was invited back to Bailuyuan by Bai Jiaxuan!

After a simple banquet, she officially entered into the family and became Bai Jiaxuan's concubine!

With everything going smoothly, Bai Jiaxuan felt completely comfortable and was living a wonderful life!

Tian Xiao'e had not had a good life in recent years and her health was very weak. After Bai Jiaxuan took care of her, she finally became pregnant the following year!

That autumn, Tian Xiao'e successfully gave birth to a girl, named Bai Xiaoning!