The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 440

The woman didn't know why Jiang Ning asked this, but she still replied, "It's alright, no one will starve."

Jiang Ning then asked, "Having six children in the family must be a lot of pressure, right?"

"No."

The woman couldn't help but sigh when this was mentioned: "But things are much better now than before. Before, there were still some taxes, but now the government has exempted a lot of taxes, so we don't have to pay a lot of taxes. In addition, the security situation is much better now, and there are no bandits stealing our food. That's how we survived. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to survive, and this child would have been sold to another family."

Jiang Ning nodded.

By observing this woman's words, we can get a glimpse into the lives of the people in Shaanxi Province. Although their lives are still far from good, at least they are able to survive.

"Great...Great hero, can my son join the Huashan Sect?"

At this moment, the woman asked nervously and cautiously.

Before the Huashan Sect recruited disciples, both the sect and the government were promoting the idea that any disciple who could join the sect would receive subsidies from the sect if their family was in financial difficulty. That's why the woman brought her son to try her luck.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Your son's aptitude and talent meet the requirements for joining my Huashan Sect. The Huashan Sect will come to your village to investigate your family background. Once it is confirmed that there are no problems, there will be no issue. However, even if your son meets the qualifications for joining my Huashan Sect, it will still take several years before he can enter. Why don't you come again in three years?"

The woman quickly asked, "But didn't I hear that younger people can also join the Huashan Sect as long as they meet the requirements?"

Jiang Ning nodded: "That's possible, but it will take a few years. If you want him to go with the Huashan Sect now, you can only let him live at the foot of Huashan for a few years first, and then he can join the sect when the time comes."

"That's alright, as long as he has the good fortune."

The woman waved her hands repeatedly.

Jiang Ning continued, "But if we let him come with us now, you and your husband won't see him for the next few years. Would you be willing to go to the foot of Mount Hua to live and take care of him for a few years? The Mount Hua Sect will also give you money as a subsidy."

The woman smiled wryly and said, "My family's fields are all here, and only my husband works here, so I won't go."

Jiang Ning nodded and said nothing more. He told the woman that he would notify her after the investigation, and she left after thanking him profusely.

After the woman left, the next person who had been waiting for a long time rushed forward, grabbed his son, and started registering.

Jiang Ning was in charge of registration, while Lin Pingzhi tested their physique. This continued until evening, when it got dark, but the long queue for registration still stretched as far as the eye could see. It wasn't until the officials maintaining order said to come back tomorrow that the queue dispersed.

"I'm so tired."

Lin Pingzhi stretched his muscles and bones and felt sore. He hadn't expected the people of Hanzhong Prefecture to be so hospitable.

"Thank you for your hard work, Junior Brother."

Jiang Ning smiled.

Lin Pingzhi quickly shook his head: "Senior brother is the one who's working hard, registering people all day long."

He was alright; he was just testing the children's physical attributes. Jiang Ning, on the other hand, was taking notes and talking to them at the same time, which was both mentally and physically exhausting.

"Gentlemen, will it be the same time tomorrow?"

At this moment, a constable stepped forward and asked.

This man was none other than Officer Tan, whom Jiang Ning had met once before.

Jiang Ning nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your help, Officer Tan."

Officer Tan waved his hand and said, "You don't need to thank me. This is the prefect's order, and I am just following orders."

When I saw Officer Tan again, his personality was still the same as before.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Officer Tan, I met Prefect Chen when I went to the capital a couple of years ago. He has now been promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue. I mentioned you when I talked to him. Vice Minister Chen said that under your leadership, the security in Hanzhong Prefecture has improved a lot, and there are fewer and fewer thefts and illegal activities."

Upon hearing this, Constable Tan's expression turned serious: "Thank you for the compliment, Vice Minister Chen. This is merely my duty, nothing to boast about."

Jiang Ning smiled and asked, "Is it still difficult for Constable Tan to deal with the trouble caused by some江湖人 (jianghu people)?"

Two years ago, when he went to the capital, Chen Qingyuan mentioned that he wanted the constables of Hanzhong Prefecture to go to Mount Hua to learn martial arts and improve their skills so that they could better govern Hanzhong. Jiang Ning agreed and mentioned it to Yue Buqun when he returned. However, Jiang Ning spent most of his time away from Mount Hua and was unaware of what happened afterward. Yue Buqun also considered it a minor matter and did not mention it to Jiang Ning.

When Jiang Ning brought up the topic, Constable Tan smiled and said, "We have to thank Master Yue for this. Two years ago, the prefect wrote to Mount Hua requesting that your sect teach us constables martial arts so that we could better catch thieves. Master Yue agreed, and to take care of us, he didn't send us to Mount Hua to learn martial arts, but instead sent his disciples to Hanzhong to teach us. In the past two years, our brothers' martial arts have improved, and it has indeed become much easier to catch those Jianghu people who have committed crimes."

Chapter 599: Being too famous is also a kind of trouble

"That's good."

Jiang Ning nodded.

At this point, Constable Tan continued, "Actually, the security situation in Hanzhong Prefecture is much better than before. It's not just Hanzhong; the entire Shaanxi province is like this. Ever since the Huashan Sect launched its massive banditry a few years ago, everyone from the government to the common people knows what kind of sect the Huashan Sect is. Those wealthy young men and bullies have become much more restrained and dare not be too arrogant. As for those Jianghu people, they dare not cause trouble in Shaanxi."

Jiang Ning smiled noncommittally.

But Officer Tan changed the subject, saying, "But these are things that the government should do; it is the government's duty."

Officer Tan stared intently at Jiang Ning.

“If the imperial court were strong and the government had enough power, these things should have been done by the government. The imperial court would have maintained order and eliminated violence. There wouldn’t have been so many troublemakers in the martial arts world, to the point that some martial arts forces were even stronger than the local government, and the government even had to do things for them.”

Jiang Ning glanced at Constable Tan.

After a while.

Jiang Ning smiled.

"You're right."

Officer Tan asked in surprise, "You agree with my idea?"

He had expected Jiang Ning to be furious.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "A stable government and a stable dynasty are indeed beneficial to the living environment of the people."

That is why Jiang Ning did not refuse when Zhu Houzhao asked Jiang Ning for help.

Jiang Ning wasn't helping him, but helping the people.

"But it is often the government that oppresses the people the most and makes it impossible for them to survive."

Before Officer Tan could even feel happy, he heard Jiang Ning's next words.

Officer Tan was stunned.

Jiang Ning looked at him with a smile.

The tragic situation in Taiyuan and Pingyang a few years ago is still vivid in Jiang Ning's mind. Local officials colluded with grain merchants to raise prices, forcing people to sell their children and even resort to cannibalism. Jiang Ning has not forgotten this to this day; he cannot forget the ugly faces of those people.

Jiang Ning did acknowledge Tan's ideas, and he never harbored much resentment towards the government. On the contrary, he believed that a stable dynasty could ensure the survival of the people.

But it is often the government that bullies and oppresses the people the most. He has seen too many similar things, both in his past life and now.

Officer Tan remained silent.

After a long time.

“I admit that the problems you mentioned do exist.”

Tan, the head constable, argued with Jiang Ning, but instead of acknowledging Jiang Ning's words, he acknowledged them, which did not mean he was persuaded by Jiang Ning.

Tan, the head constable, looked at Jiang Ning earnestly and said, "I will change all of this. Although I am just a small constable now and can't change anything, I will keep climbing up to a high enough position. I will change all of this, and I will make those corrupt officials who oppress the people kneel under the executioner's blade."

"I will definitely do it!"

Hearing the other person's unwavering vow, Jiang Ning turned to look at him, then turned back and smiled.

"Then I wish you success."

Lin Pingzhi listened silently to their conversation.

He just thought this junior constable was quite special.

After Officer Tan left, Jiang Ning and Lin Pingzhi were packing their things.

There were six members of the Huashan Sect who came to Hanzhong Prefecture this time. In addition to Jiang Ning and Lin Ping, there were also Shi Daizi, Liang Fa, Gao Genming, and Tao Jun. In order to improve efficiency, Jiang Ning divided into two groups and set up registration points to recruit disciples.

"Senior brother, only about a dozen people met the requirements today. I wonder how things are going for the other senior brothers."

Lin Pingzhi said.

The two were on their way back to the inn when Lin Pingzhi brought up the day's results.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "It should be similar to where we are."

Lin Pingzhi added, "If our third senior brother and the others are in the same situation as us, then there will be more than thirty spots available each day. That way, by the end of tomorrow, we will have enough spots that Master gave us."

This time, Yue Buqun requested to recruit a total of 300 disciples. If these were distributed among Jiang Ning, Linghu Chong, Feng Buping, and Cheng Buyou, each of them would have more than 70 spots. If Gao Genming and his group could register more than 30 people a day, like Jiang Ning, then they would have enough spots in three days at most.

Such efficiency excited Lin Pingzhi.

It took them several days to recruit disciples last time.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Those who can register may not meet the entry requirements. We will also investigate their family backgrounds. Only those with a clean family background can join the Huashan Sect."

Lin Pingzhi also laughed.

"Too."

As they were talking, the two returned to the inn and found that Gao Genming and the other three had not yet returned. Jiang Ning decided to order food first and wait for them to come back.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Gao Genming and the other three returned.

"Junior Brother Jiang Ning, when did you return to the inn? The food is all ordered, you must have been waiting for a long time, right?"

Shi Daizi asked in surprise.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "It won't be long. Senior brothers, you've worked hard. Sit down and have a meal."

The four sat down and chatted idly throughout the meal.

Although Yue Buqun taught them to remain silent while eating and sleeping, this rule had been broken several years ago, and Yue Buqun didn't say anything. Besides, the people present were all fellow disciples, so they didn't care.

During the meeting, Gao Genming and the other three also talked about their achievements today.

"My junior brother Tao and I registered a total of twenty-one people today."

Gao Genming said.

Liang Fa also said, "My fourth junior brother and I also registered seventeen."

"so much?"

Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised.

He originally thought that Gao Genming and Shi Daizi's sides were about the same as theirs, but he didn't expect there to be so many more. Gao Genming's side actually had more than twenty registered.

It should be noted that when Jiang Ning was in Pingliang Prefecture last time, he could only register a maximum of seven people a day. Although Pingliang Prefecture was not as prosperous as Hanzhong Prefecture, it was still a prefecture, which surprised Jiang Ning.

“My senior brother and I have also registered thirteen people here, so that makes a total of fifty-one.”

Lin Pingzhi couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Fifty-one people registered on the first day alone, so it won't even take another day; the quota will be filled by tomorrow morning.

"There are so many children with martial arts talent in Hanzhong Prefecture."

Lin Pingzhi couldn't help but say.

Shi Daizi nodded and said, "There are indeed many, but their physical attributes are not very good."

Martial arts training requires talent, but among the children they have registered so far, although their physical attributes meet the entry requirements, none of them can be considered exceptionally good. This is different from the batch of disciples Jiang Ning recruited in Pingliang Prefecture last time. Those disciples all had good physical attributes, and Ye Ying was the most talented among them.

"Should we limit the number of people when we register tomorrow?"

Liang Fa then asked.

More than fifty people have already registered today, and I don't know how many more will register tomorrow.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and shook his head.

"No need, proceed according to the original plan."

Anyway, they'll be investigating backgrounds later, and they'll screen out those whose family backgrounds don't meet the requirements, so registering more people won't hurt. Besides, usually, there are more people registering on the first day, and then the number gradually decreases.

Hearing Jiang Ning say this, Gao Genming, Shi Daizi, and the other two nodded and said nothing more.

But the situation took another unexpected turn the next day.

"What? More than two hundred?"

The next evening, when the six people from Jiangning returned to the inn and tallied up the total number of registrations, they were all astonished.

They thought there would be fewer people on the second day than on the first, but to their surprise, the number of people queuing to register on the second day was not only not less, but even more. By the end of the day, Jiang Ning and Gao Genming's group of four had registered more than 150 people, and with yesterday's registrations, the total had exceeded 200.

This left the group speechless.

"Why are there so many people?"