I am an immortal in heaven and earth

Chapter 314: Northern Lingbao Faith
Thanks to good governance and favorable weather, the two counties of Yushan and Dexing, as well as the area around Poyang and the entire Nanchang Prefecture, all had a bumper summer harvest.

It was not just Xu Jia who was happy, but the common people. The people who were reclaiming wasteland around Poyang had already started to harvest crops under the scorching sun.

The leader of a production team personally went to the fields to harvest. The steel sickles sent from the Salt and Iron Bureau were a powerful tool to ensure the summer harvest.

On the ridge of the field is a wooden barrel of summer tea. They will start harvesting at dawn and will not go back to rest until the scorching sun becomes unbearable. Then they will continue harvesting before the sun sets and until it is dark.

His thick soles stepped on the soft soil, frogs were jumping wildly, and the sound of the sickle cutting the rice was like a pair of scissors cutting a piece of cloth.

The old men were holding winnowing baskets and carefully picking up rice grains in the fields after they had harvested. They were dazzled and almost lay on the ground, crawling on the soft soil, picking up the fallen grains.

The drooping ears of rice and the bulging rice grains made him excited and expectant. He wanted to say something loudly, but no sound came out.

After all the rice was harvested, the team leader in charge of this area began to organize people to thresh the rice overnight.

The original type of pedal-operated roller thresher had already been made. They threshed bucket after bucket, filled the large baskets woven from bamboo and willow twigs, and then counted them, one basket, two baskets, three baskets…

Their brigade is composed of ten refugee households, each of which is responsible for taking care of a cow and cultivating one hundred acres of land.

The cow was not exhausted to death, purely because it was a bull demon. In addition to eating grass, it also absorbed the essence of the sun and the moon. This group of bull demons were given the Lingbao Daomin Lu, and the most common wish they made was to cultivate and plant crops regularly and open up wasteland. The victims knew that these bull demons were magical, and they all called them "the powerful bull king" or "the powerful king bodhisattva."

Some people even practiced the "Old Farmer's Kung Fu" taught by Xu Jia. While practicing farming, some people had a flash of inspiration and combined the way the bull demon used to plow the fields to create the "Powerful Bull King Kung Fu". In fact, it is just a method of watching a bull plow the field and using its hind legs to exert force. It is a lower body kung fu in which the feet connect to the ground like roots. After practicing it, the legs become as thick as bull legs, and the feet become as sharp as bull hooves, which can strengthen the tendons, bones, skin and flesh.

These strong farmers will be the "seedlings" for selecting Taoist soldiers in the future.

"The basket is gone!"

"How is that possible? We have prepared three hundred large baskets!"

"There are many?"

"We can still fill at least 40 or 50 baskets!" the farmer said happily. "Once they are dried, we can store them in the barn. The barn will be full."

"There was so much rain in the spring, and not a drop of rain in the summer. How can we have a good harvest?"

Xu's father was in charge of the autumn harvest in Poyang, while Jin Chan was in charge of Yushan and Dexing. He bought a lot of land and distributed it to farmers for planting. He also provided them with food (they ate in the canteen), paid agricultural taxes, and some wages. This was another model, completely different from that in Poyang.

Father Xu was also felt by the mood of harvest. He had always been very concerned about the refugees in Poyang. He felt that the first half of his life had been wasted and his studies had been in vain. Only after enlightenment did he realize that the solution to the problem was not in books.

If seven or eight of these refugees gather together, they will become gangsters; if dozens of them gather together, they will form sworn gangs; if hundreds of them gather together, they will become kings of the mountains.

Tell them: Confucius said, the ancients said.

The next moment, the white knife goes in and the red knife comes out.

Don't even mention respecting scholars. When you're hungry, the best thing to eat is scholars.

There were more than a few hundred refugees and disaster victims here, some of whom had fled from all over the place, and some of whom could not stand the oppression of the landlords and voluntarily gave up their official identities and willingly became refugees...

In order to control them and work together to open up the wasteland, in addition to Xu Jia letting the little demons choose people to set up a hall and spread their faith and magic, someone must solve the problem. Violent solution is the backing, material solution is the foundation, but to truly understand their inner needs and win the hearts of the people, we still have to rely on policies.

Xu Jia had already told him that he wanted to "distribute the land equally." Xu Zhiyuan knew very well that distributing the land equally was "rebellion."

The reason why Yue's army had such high combat effectiveness in the beginning was because of the equal distribution of land. When land was distributed equally, the people would be loyal to him, and it would be easy for him to wear the yellow robe in the next step.

In rural areas, Xu Jia has the final say. Most of the immortal halls are located in rural areas, with a few in counties. However, there are no small temples. The immortals are worshipped at home. When someone asks for something or makes a wish, they just offer some incense and are invited to go home to worship. It does not follow the "public route", which can be said to be the way of obscene sacrifices in the wild.

It seems that this is just a sacrifice and a belief, not a political power.

But you must know that the most important affairs of state are sacrifices and war.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor offered sacrifices to heaven, princes offered sacrifices to earth, scholars and officials offered sacrifices to famous mountains and rivers, and ordinary people offered sacrifices to their ancestors or various land gods.

At the beginning, ordinary people did not have the right to worship the gods of heaven, earth, mountains and rivers, but only the right to "worship ghosts."

The belief class is also a class, and it has been like this for a long time. The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven is the highest level of sacrifice.

The first to reform the rights of sacrifice were the earliest Tianshi Dao, which was contemptuously called the Five Pecks of Rice Dao by outsiders.

Since then, it has been considered a revolution of faith, with the gods being re-canonized and the heavens, the earth, and the mountains and rivers being incorporated into the Taoist pantheon. Taoists have the right to worship the heavens, the earth, and the mountains and rivers.

It even spread again, and ordinary people also had the right to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.

This is the community god among the gods of the land and grain. Originally, he was of noble status, but gradually evolved into the land god scattered in villages and towns. The land god is the community god, and in some places he is called the community god or the community god. The flames used during sacrifices are called community fire.

If we talk about true belief, many people may worship the God of Wealth, but in rural areas, more people worship the land. The county magistrate is not as good as the current one.

There are various immortals, some who cure diseases, some who exorcise evil spirits, some who interpret dreams, some who choose auspicious days, some who find things, some who dig the ground, some who repair stoves, some who build houses, some who forge iron, some who water trees, some who plan wood...

The main point is, it’s real.

What remains is to build up the armed forces. They have already been built, but they are still Boy Scouts, all Taoist children. The first batch was sent to Luzon, and the second batch is still being trained in the mountain temple. These are the core Taoist soldiers, who must be proficient in martial arts, magic, and be able to practice both martial arts and magic.

For non-core personnel, young and strong people have to be selected from among the refugees.

Arming, seizing power, and land reform are three things that are linked together and cannot be separated, but now is not the right time. Now is still the time to "farm hard", store up grain, and slowly claim the throne.

First, carry out land reform in Yushan, Dexing, and then seize Hongzhou Prefecture by force. It is the place where the dragon rises. Hongzhou Prefecture is the provincial capital of Jiangnan West Road. By seizing this place, you can connect the north and south, east and west, Jiangzhou, southern Jiangxi, and the land of Hunan and Hubei, the entire southeast plain, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and complete the Golden Triangle. First, farm like crazy, and then seize the entire south, including the land of southern province, eradicate the Changsheng Sect, and restore the coastal economy. In this way, not only food will be available, but money will also come. With both money and food, you can lead the Northern Expedition.

This is the plan made by Xu Jia.

There seem to be few successful attempts to conquer the north from the south in history.

Xu Zhiyuan also wanted to see what the so-called "Great Harmony in the World" was like.

……

A good grain harvest here does not mean a good grain harvest in other places. It is still okay in Jiangnan West Road. When there are disasters in other places, we can still get some pork to eat every half a month. Since ancient times, we have attached great importance to agriculture and sericulture, and have been pragmatic and not engaged in empty talk.

The situation in the north was terrible. First, there was a severe cold weather last year, with frost and snow lasting for nearly five months. It started snowing in October last year, and there was still a cold snap in March. Spring came for a few days in April, and it was midsummer in May. People planted crops, but there was another severe drought. Except for the places where water conservancy projects were being built, most places relied on digging wells for water, which could barely irrigate some of the land.

Just before the harvest, a storm came from nowhere and soaked the summer grains. The weather was so hot and humid that the wheat in the field sprouted overnight.

Soon after, a large number of refugees appeared, chanting something like "Spiritual treasures save the world and deliver countless people". They said that a Heavenly Master appeared in the south, who was the savior sent by Heaven. His talisman water could cure the plague, he had the ability to turn stone into gold, he had a bowl that could produce an endless supply of food, he could deliver the living from suffering and help the dead ascend to heaven.

This was the work of Mirage Dragon, and he also dropped this water energy. He is a thousand-year-old demon in the realm of immortals. Although Mirage Dragon is not a real dragon, he has the ability to create clouds and fog. He is secretly doing bad things, using illusions to brainwash some people and incite them everywhere.

……

Xu Jia was aware of the sudden emergence of a "Lingbao belief" in the north. Some people were even classified as "fanatics" based on their belief.

Xu Jia was also curious at first. After calculating, although it was somewhat obscured by the mirage dragon, he could still see that "it was a disaster rather than a blessing."

Although the imperial court is corrupt, it is not yet completely dead. A centipede is still alive even after death. If Xu Jia is labeled as a "Yellow Turban bandit" and an imperial decree is issued to order heroes from all over the country to organize their own troops to fight against him, most people will be willing to do so.

This group of people are the hidden dragons who have gained the "qualification to compete for the dragon" and the princes in troubled times.

Secondly, a large number of disaster victims were coerced into spreading the wrong idea, which attracted more people to accept it. However, when they met Xu Jia, they found that it was not what was said in the propaganda, so they set up their own schools and had disputes over "real and fake Lingbao". As long as there are people with ulterior motives, there must be many who do bad things in the name of Xu Jia.

Third, a large number of incense burning thoughts came flooding in, but only a few of them could generate copper coins for wish power, which had an impact on Xu Jia's mythological belief structure.

Although Xu Jia is now Xu Jia, and Xu Jidi has replaced Xu Jia's title of "Master Xu", accepting incense and handling such matters, he is the Marshal of the Heart, but these claims all point directly to Lingbao Tianshi, and Xu Jia himself must bear them.

This kind of belief is chaotic and disorderly. It is just a passion and a one-sided desire for others to make decisions for him, but it has no rules and is completely different from Xu Jia's "making decisions for himself".

This is a type of peasant uprising, which is completely different from our own way of expanding on the ground.

The only advantage is that there is a large population. Xu Jia can take advantage of the opportunity to complete the land reform and the revolution, but he will inevitably be used as a gun and must confront the imperial court and various armies that are sent to suppress the rebellion.

It is true that it is a grand event, and there is also a great possibility that he will be a pioneer for the king.

Xu Jia thought for a moment and felt that he could take on this wave. To be honest, he was not worried about the food. As long as America continued to offer sacrifices to him and send some food to him, Xu Jia would distribute it in public.

Corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can all be called fairy food, and they can then be transported in large quantities overseas to open up new land. Overseas countries are fully capable of accommodating these unstable populations.

All you need to do is promise to reclaim wasteland and keep one acre out of ten acres for yourself. Most people will choose to farm overseas.

In addition, these people are also needed for conscription. Not to mention anything else, as long as the salary is full, they will be invincible. They can distribute the land equally, match up single people, criticize the local tyrants and landlords, and sing a few songs of White Haired Girl.

Xu Jia felt that these experiences were truly a treasure. Now there was only one problem, which was the food problem, but land reform was aimed at solving the food problem. So by this calculation, he had made a profit and had no loss, as he got both food and benefits.

But they couldn't just leave it alone, so Xu Jia immediately called Ao Jin over. This boy secretary was very helpful: "This year's grain harvest is good, but many people will surge in the future and continue to open up wasteland. Can you expand the scope of your Raozhu, or make more sacrifices?"

"The Rao Pearl is a rare treasure. I have cultivated it for hundreds of years. It is formed by gathering the power of abundance. To expand its scope, we need to hold a large-scale harvest festival. It is best to hold it once a year. With the help of the power of the festival ritual, the Rao Pearl can be amplified ten or a hundred times, just like you, the master, opening an altar to perform a ritual, but it consumes the power of the earth veins. The limit is to bless it once every three years. It is best to hold the festival during the New Year, and hold the festival together so that everyone can be happy together."

"As for refining a new one, that's going to be troublesome. It also requires someone to practice for hundreds of years to refine one."

"Then hold a sacrificial ceremony." Xu Jia said, "Once every three years is too long. It would be better if it were once a year."

"That consumes too much power from the earth veins. Unless it is a blessed land with a natural god to comb the earth veins, the effect will not only get worse, but it will also cause desertification and turn the land into a dead place. It will take ten to eight years to slowly recover."

"Poyang is not afraid of that. We can dig up silt to make fertilizer, which will bless us year after year. We are not afraid of exhaustion. The traditional five grain cycle model is already very good. Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, sun, moon, yin and yang are all in operation."

"I still need to study fertilizers and learn some chemical engineering skills." Xu Jia thought that it would be better to make fertilizers. Fertilizers are equivalent to the power of the earth veins.

Education has been extended to Taoist children, but unfortunately the time is too short and there are few direct scientific research talents. We need to recruit more senior Taoists. Those who can make elixirs can study chemistry, those who can refine tools can engage in industry, and those who can do both can engage in military industry.

Cultivation + technology is the way of the future.

"Go and give the order now to hold a harvest celebration, and by the way, also hold a ritual to liberate the souls of the dead, so that the living and the dead can celebrate together!"

The Buddhist meeting held by Xu's mother is about to be held, so it's a good opportunity to do so.

This is also a good deed, and it can also be used to refine a part of Xiao Naihe.

The most important thing is to inspire people. When people join the ceremony, they will have a sense of cultural identity and religious identity, which is a very important thing.

(End of this chapter)