All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

In the past two years, 43 of the hostages who were released have died suddenly without any warning. They all died suddenly after bleeding from their mouths and noses.

Later investigation revealed that these people were all hostages who had been patted on the back by Chen Zhen back then, including Prince Deyu of Japan and General Endo.

It was precisely because of this incident that Chen Zhen became the person most hated by the Japanese, and the wanted notice for Chen Zhen lasted for a full hundred years.

Years later, Chen Zhen's character in film and television, along with his feud with Prince Deyu and General Endo, was adapted into more than forty film and television versions, which were sold far and wide both domestically and internationally.

Of course, all of this is a story for another time.

In the following six months, thousands of Shadow members gradually withdrew from the mainland and went to a region in Southeast Asia.

Zhang Xiaopeng's agents purchased numerous plantations in the area and secretly built their own power base.

Southeast Asia is not peaceful now, and it will become even more chaotic in the next few years. The Japanese will soon launch a war in the South Pacific, and Southeast Asia will fall into turmoil.

Of course, Bai Jiaxuan had already informed Zhang Xiaopeng of all this, and had given him a map of the future power distribution, as well as a map of the war-torn areas, all of which had been marked for Zhang Xiaopeng.

The reason why the Shadow Organization has been able to develop so rapidly over the years is not only due to Zhang Xiaopeng's outstanding leadership, but also to Bai Jiaxuan's early planning.

Sometimes, a few casual words from Bai Jiaxuan could be interpreted by Zhang Xiaopeng as a perfect match, one that could save him from many detours.

Zhang Xiaopeng, who developed his business in Southeast Asia, led his shadow organization to change its name and continue to take a low-profile approach. He first cultivated agents and then amassed a large fortune through support and monopoly.

The area is rich in rubber, sugar, rice, bananas, and various fruits. These things, which are not valued in the mainstream world, can actually accumulate into wealth comparable to that of a nation.

In addition, they can develop their own ports. With the end of future wars, the next big thing, large oil tanker transportation business, will be the key to truly controlling the world.

Because of its distance from the world's center, and thanks to Bai Jiaxuan's reminder, the Shadow Organization is quietly but rapidly expanding its influence in Southeast Asia.

As the Shadow Organization gradually established itself in the region, its members on the mainland began to migrate to Southeast Asia.

Of course, Zhang Xiaopeng also gave an order at the end, saying that some peripheral members who did not want to leave their hometowns could decide their own future and fate.

Some members, through their life experiences, chose to join other factions, and Zhang Xiaopeng eventually let them leave.

Of course, such a large organization cannot be completely withdrawn in a short time; everything is being carried out quietly.

Special intelligence gathering and operations are still ongoing, and spies infiltrating the enemy are still developing in secret.

Of course, the arms and pharmaceutical business had long since ceased.

Around 1940, apart from a few major cities where intelligence gathering still existed, the other branches were practically defunct.

After the medicinal powder business ceased, Wuzhishan entered a period of rest and recuperation, and almost stopped causing trouble. Zishui County also seemed to have forgotten about the Bailuyuan area. As the situation became increasingly chaotic, Zishui County was worried that Wuzhishan would cause trouble again. The two sides had not fought for several years.

This is exactly what Bai Jiaxuan had hoped for. In reality, Wuzhishan is now almost an empty shell.

The data and wealth were all transported away over the years. Since 1940, no new members have been recruited to the mountain. Now, only the last fifty old members remain on Wuzhi Mountain.

These were things that Zhang Xiaopeng insisted on leaving for Bai Jiaxuan.

Although Bai Jiaxuan is no ordinary person, there are many things that he cannot do in person and have to ask others to do.

After considering Bai Jiaxuan's future plans for Bailuyuan, he ultimately decided to keep those fifty people.

With the deterrent effect of those fifty men, and the lingering influence they had maintained over the years, Zishui County has not dared to make any further moves against Bailuyuan in recent years.

The Bailuyuan area enjoyed a rare thirty years of peace amidst the chaos of the world, becoming a paradise on earth.

After leaving Shanghai, Bai Jiaxuan spent most of his time enjoying family life in Bailuyuan. On his sixtieth birthday, Tian Xiao'e gave birth to another son for him, named Bai Xiaonan.

Thus, Bai Jiaxuan had six children and grandchildren!

During this period, Bai Jiaxuan would occasionally travel to distant places. Although most of the Shadow Organization had withdrawn, some people still had members of the Shadow Organization carrying out missions with them.

For example, both Bai Ling and Bai Xiaowen, who are far away from home, have secret agents in their lives.

These people usually don't contact Bai Jiaxuan. Only in emergencies will they try to contact the spies in Xi'an City via telegram and telephone, and then contact the spies in Zishui County before sending the intelligence to Bai Jiaxuan by express courier.

One winter, Bai Jiaxuan received a telegram. He eventually left home for three months, traveling thousands of miles at breakneck speed, and finally appeared by Bai Ling's side at the most critical moment, saving her life.

That incident also caused Bai Ling to break away from her harem, and in the end, she didn't even go home, being sent onto a ship in Southeast Asia by Bai Jiaxuan.

In the original novel, Bai Ling also lost her life because of that incident, but in this life, Bai Jiaxuan rewrote Bai Ling's fate.

It was because of that incident that she completely lost faith in Ge Ming and finally accepted her father's arrangement to flee to another country.

What could be more despairing than being wronged and hurt by your own people?

Bai Ling's departure relieved Bai Jiaxuan of a worry. A mother worries when her son travels far away, but a father is worried too!

After Bai Ling left, only Bai Xiaowen remained. However, Bai Xiaowen did quite well, rising through the ranks until he was forty years old, when he became a powerful local lord.

Given Bai Xiaowen's status, Bai Jiaxuan expects him to hold a high position in the future, but his landlord father will likely cause him a lot of trouble.

As 1949 approached, Bai Jiaxuan had no choice but to make plans for his family.

The chaotic era was about to end, and he had fulfilled the promise he made at the ancestral hall: to protect Bailu Plain during the chaotic forty years.

He originally thought that he would live out his life peacefully like this.

In 1913, he was 28 years old; now, in 1949, he is 64.

He originally thought he would only live to be seventy years old, but now he is sixty-four, his youngest son is only four years old, he can eat and run, and even go through three nights in a row, he is still full of energy, his hair is jet black, and he doesn't have a single white hair.

He believed he could live another fifty years.

Most importantly, it's already 1949, and he still doesn't have the slightest premonition of a return.

This is a difficult situation; he can only try to find a way to settle his family.

Today, after nearly forty years of peaceful development, Bailuyuan Village has a population of nearly three thousand. In forty years, the population has tripled from one thousand to three thousand.

Of course, Bai Jiaxuan remained the head of the clan.

Although Bailuyuan enjoyed nearly forty years of peace under his rule, forty years is far too long, and many people have forgotten what war is like.

The older generation who experienced the chaos of those years have almost all passed away, and the younger generation doesn't show much respect for Bai Jiaxuan, the old clan leader.

The reason is simple: Bai Jiaxuan has restricted everyone's development over the years, prohibiting the entire village from developing all sorts of messy side businesses. Although everyone has enough to eat and drink, there are almost no wealthy households.

And the most crucial point is the inequality between the rich and the poor.

In previous years, clan leaders like Bai Jiaxuan almost monopolized the village's path to wealth by cultivating medicinal herbs.

Later, after the medicinal powder business stopped, some villagers thought of making a fortune by selling poppies, but Bai Jiaxuan hung them in the ancestral hall and whipped them dozens of times before suppressing those evil practices.

Later, Bai Jiaxuan also found some new medicinal herbs for everyone to grow. After these herbs matured, they were directly transported to the county town pharmacy for sale.

Although these medicinal herbs are more profitable than growing wheat, they are far less valuable than the mysterious medicinal powder they once were.

This has led to a lot of dissatisfaction with Bai Jiaxuan.

Bai Jiaxuan, in his forties, married an eighteen-year-old concubine and lived a very comfortable life at home, which naturally aroused dissatisfaction among many people.

If it weren't for some old guys supporting Bai Jiaxuan, the younger generation would have already wanted to overthrow Bai Jiaxuan's position as clan leader.

Besides these reasons, the most crucial reason is...

Just last year, Lu Zhaohai secretly led a group of people into the village. This group not only had rich experience in propaganda, but also combat experience.

Lu Zhaohai is no longer the same person he used to be. His current status is extraordinary, and he has returned home in glory.

Although Zishui County is still under the control of the White Party, it has actually been thoroughly infiltrated by the Red Party.

Bai Jiaxuan was naturally aware of the purpose of this group. In addition, Bai Jiaxuan's control over them was not as good as before, and he was no longer willing to exterminate them. As a result, they quickly established a branch in the Bailuyuan area.

Bai Jiaxuan knew very well that kindness is appreciated, but resentment can grow. Even if he had protected Bailuyuan for forty years, he would eventually have to settle accounts with those who deserved it.

Bai Jiaxuan finally made a decision: to run away with his whole family.

It's time for me to leave.

Before fleeing, Bai Jiaxuan still chose to hold a clan meeting. After all, he was a clan leader, and it would be somewhat shameful to run away without a clear explanation.

Besides, he also wanted to give everyone a choice; those who were willing to follow him, he was willing to take with them.

Another point is to pass on the position of clan leader to the next generation.

The reason he ultimately chose to flee was not only because of the prevailing trend, but also because he knew that the will of the people was the right one, and he didn't need to fight against the trend. He was an old-fashioned person, and it was time to retire. There was no need to fight for a moment's pride.

Staying in Bailuyuan in the next twenty or thirty years, when I'm already an old man, and people still spit on me from time to time, is really unnecessary. Besides, I have such a big family to support, and I can't let them suffer.

The last clan meeting of Bailuyuan was finally held in the spring of 1949. On that day, Bai Jiaxuan, wearing a black mandarin jacket, helped Lu Zilin, whose eyesight was already failing, into the ancestral hall.

The newly built ancestral hall is much more spacious than the previous one. Bai Jiaxuan sat in the main seat, while Lu Zilin and a group of old men in their seventies and eighties sat on the side. Lu San, who is now seventy years old, also sat among them.

The ancestral hall was now packed with people. Lu Zhaohai led a group of young people to stand at the front, with the same air of authority as Bai Jiaxuan when he stood in that position back then.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Time Flies

It has been nearly forty years since Bai Jiaxuan became the head of the family.

Thinking about it carefully, it's been several years since the last clan meeting was held.

For the first twenty years or so, the meeting was held only once every three to five years. In that era, everyone had enough to eat and drink, and Bailuyuan was peaceful and uneventful. There were only trivial matters in and around the village, so there was no need to hold a clan meeting. Besides, Bai Jiaxuan was not a person who cared about face.

The last time a clan-wide meeting was held was in 1941, and it has been a full eight years since then.

This time, almost half of the clan's more than three thousand people came. Bai Jiaxuan simply didn't make a fuss and had chairs moved outside the ancestral hall.

Outside the ancestral hall, a huge crowd had gathered, including almost all the men, young and old, as well as a considerable number of women. Everyone was talking amongst themselves as they looked at Bai Jiaxuan, who was sitting in the main seat.

Many young people were pointing fingers at Bai Jiaxuan.

This is normal. In recent years, although Bai Jiaxuan is the clan chief, he has rarely been involved in affairs. The village's security is handled by the joint defense team, and village cadres also handle mundane matters and family affairs. Bai Jiaxuan, as the clan chief, is more like a mascot.

To the young people, Bai Jiaxuan was a lucky charm, but to the old folks in the village, he was a pillar of stability. The older generation had experienced everything Bailuyuan had gone through over the years, and they knew how precious it was that Bailuyuan had been able to enjoy forty years of peace amidst chaos.

But old people will eventually grow old. More than forty years have passed, and the world has changed dramatically. Even the little kids who used to follow Bai Jiaxuan around are now surrounded by children and grandchildren. Of the old folks from his and Lu Zilin's generation, there are now less than fifty people left in the village.

As the group grew, morale crumbled. Bai Jiaxuan closed his eyes and remained silent, ignoring the discussions in the square, until someone shouted for a quick meeting, at which point Bai Jiaxuan slowly opened his eyes.

Now in his sixties, he deliberately controls his inner energy to make himself look older, so that his skin is wrinkled. Although he still has a full head of black hair, his demeanor is somewhat like that of an elderly person.

Unlike that old man Lu Zilin, who was the same age as him but now has a full head of white hair, dim eyesight, and two front teeth, sitting next to him with a leisurely and contented look.

Bai Jiaxuan coughed twice before opening his eyes. Looking at the thousands of people in the square, his tone remained unchanged. He glanced at Lu Zhaopeng standing in the front row. The little kid who used to call him Uncle Jiaxuan was now in his forties. His middle-aged and overweight appearance gave him an even more imposing aura.

Bai Jiaxuan withdrew his gaze and slowly spoke.

"Today I'm convening this clan meeting mainly to discuss two matters with everyone!"

Although Bai Jiaxuan said he wanted to discuss it, his tone was anything but. His style of doing things over the years had always been decisive and independent, like a parent.

"The first thing is that I'm getting old and my energy is waning, so I'm preparing to pass on the position of clan leader to the next generation!"