son-in-law

Chapter 1317: Inner Demon (Part )

Chapter 1317: Inner Demon (Part )

Zhangcun has now been transformed into a town.

From north to south, the town, surrounded by a small river, resembles a teardrop shape. The government offices and residential areas are built around the small hill to the north, and the town stretches southward for more than ten miles along a network of roads, with several bridges of various sizes crossing the river.

Before dawn, Ning Yi took his children out for a run. Ning Wenwen, who is fourteen years old this year, has already grown tall. She inherited Yunzhu's beauty and is a very pretty girl. However, she reads too much every day, which has damaged her eyesight. She wears a pair of silly-looking glasses. When her father drags her out of bed to exercise in the morning, she is unsteady and listless.

The younger Ning Shuang and Ning Ning were energetic and lively. Ning Ning, in particular, had a good talent for martial arts and practiced swordsmanship with Hong Ti. Now, carrying a wooden sword and dressed in a female warrior's outfit, she was quite adorable. However, her goal was to roam the world as a chivalrous hero like her second brother, Ning Ji. This truly worried Ning Yi, who feared that one day she would follow in Ning Ji's footsteps and run away from home to seek her fortune in the martial world. He could send the boys of the Ning family out to learn the ropes, there was no other way, but he still had his own selfish desires when it came to the girls.

Especially as Ning Wenwen's figure gradually matured, she read too many books on a daily basis, even romance novels. After Ning Yi discovered this, he nagged her several times, subtly asking her if she was in a relationship.

Ning Xi is in Chengdu, Ning Ji is in Fujian, and Ning He has been sent to the countryside. These three are the only children they can raise now. As for Ning Ke, whose schedule is stable, she's already up and likes to run to the kitchen to help the cook, saying she wants to prepare all sorts of delicious food for her father, mother, and aunts and sisters. She's very filial, and Ning Yi doesn't dare disturb her. However, Jin'er often feels that her daughter has a tendency to become a maid, and tries to get her to learn and train with her father. Ning Ke usually runs to the market, buys some things, and then happily comes back to work.

Now eleven years old, Ning Ke can already cook several dishes that Ning Yi praises highly. In addition, she has learned to cover Wenwen's books, make wooden swords for Ning Ning, mend her mother's clothes, and has many other useful and useless skills. She also has many good friends in her class.

Ning Yi has always maintained the habit of running in the morning. He has also tried to promote this fitness method to his family. Tan'er, Yunzhu and others flattered him on the surface, but they were actually unwilling to go because such behavior was too far from ladylike. Hongti occasionally ran with him out of a need for protection. Only Xigua often exercised with him when they were together, and they talked about various topics along the way. Xigua also felt that it was healthy. Among the women around him, she was actually the most modern. Of course, to put it bluntly, she was more like a tomboy.

After running several miles with the three little girls, when they turned back, Wenwen was still listless. The four of them bought four plump white steamed buns next to the vegetable market. Ning Yi, Ning Shuang, and Ning Ning sat by the roadside and ate them, exchanging information about how sweet the buns were. Wenwen ran to the bookstore to look at the latest magazines. She was eyeing miscellaneous books like the "Story Club" of later generations. Ning Yi didn't stop her, but could only hope that there would be fewer love stories in them.

Back home, the courtyard was bustling with noise. Three women make a drama, and according to the principles of combinatorics, four women can make five dramas, and five women can make sixteen dramas... Although his wives were all reasonably understanding, Ning Yi still felt his head buzzing whenever one of them got angry. Now, it was Tan'er who was feeling resentful, and the expressions of the others were quite varied. Ning Yi could only occasionally communicate with their expressions.

After breakfast, the children went to school, and everyone else went to work. Ning Yi went to his office to work. His bodyguards were sometimes Hong Ti and sometimes Du Sha.

Most of the daytime hours do not belong to one's private self.

Living in Zhangcun, he received daily summaries of major events in the entire southwest region in the secretary's office.

Due to Zou Xu's actions, the land administration has been somewhat delayed, but a large number of villages have still been gradually reformed in this process. In this process, precious seedlings who support the new land policy and even have theoretical consciousness have been selected and gradually introduced into study classes. Some of these young people selected from the countryside are naive, some are radical, and many are even illiterate, but they wholeheartedly agree with the four classes of people and the redistribution of land. If it weren't for Zou Xu's problems, Ning Yi would have kept them under wraps for a while, allowing them to become more mature through learning before taking on important responsibilities. But now, Ning Yi can only consider putting them into the next cycle.

Whether it's himself or He Zhicheng and others who leave Sichuan next, this method of using the new land policy to select those who agree with it, and then using these agreeable people to promote reform, is the only relatively healthy method he can choose.

There will be some radicals and some extreme things, but that's just how it is. He has been promoting the Four Principles of the People in the Huaxia Army for many years. After defeating Zong Han, he spread his ideas throughout the country for two years. In Chengdu, many scholars have begun to agree with this ideology. However, most scholars, or rationalists, hope that the whole thing will remain in a fair and impartial state while moving in a positive direction. But in fact, Ning Yi realized that if he only hoped to seek reform in a harmonious atmosphere, the progressive ideas that the Southwest society could accept were almost exhausted.

He had to steer things a little further, but as someone with experience from another world, he also hoped to keep this progress within a reasonable range.

The world is like a giant spring, dragging itself forward for twenty years. Certain thoughts and ideas will take root and sprout, but if the only intention is a peaceful and beautiful future, today is almost the time to stop. The productivity and combat power of the Chinese army can undoubtedly sweep across the world. Although the reforms are not yet complete, as long as it breaks out, the entire world will be willing to kneel down. He can become an emperor, or an emperor in name but in reality, and a thousand years later, he may even gain the title of the greatest emperor of all time because of his enlightenment through the investigation of things.

However, as the pioneering role of the study of natural phenomena grows stronger, the opportunity for enlightenment among the four classes of people will become increasingly slim. At least in his generation—or rather, in his dynasty—there will be virtually no chance for it to take root. Material prosperity may promote some intellectual enlightenment, but its role and direction are not fixed. When the study of natural phenomena is "sufficient," academic aristocrats, academic cliques, academic corruption, and academic monopolies will likely overshadow everything. Confucianism will simply transform into a humanities discipline where people can spout off whatever they want after mastering the terminology. If one imagines it, the empire he establishes will somewhat resemble the Warhammer Empire from a previous life's game.

It would be interesting in his imagination, but in reality, it would be a future he wouldn't really want to choose.

Having lived in this world for over twenty years, he finally stepped into a place where he had absolutely no experience before.

Just drag it out for twenty years...

he thinks.

Twenty years ahead, some things will take root and sprout.

Then he withdrew.

Besides the new land policy, some of the groups that have completed the phased work have been gradually recalled, and the logistics reserves and initial mobilization in the army have been almost fully mobilized - these preparations began in April, even earlier than the mobilization of the Jurchens in the north - but for the time being no one knows who will be sent out.

Ning Yi's idea was only shared with a few people, including Qin Shaoqian and Su Tan'er, and of course, the first thing he heard was opposition.

However, he has already made many arrangements for this plan, such as Peng Yueyun, Tang Minjie, and several other groups that have been assigned to key positions. Even if he is not in Sichuan, some of these people will be in key positions to keep things under control and prevent them from getting out of control.

Around noon, Ning Xi came to find him with a lunchbox. The father and son sat down and ate a meal together. Ning Xi had made some very delicious dishes to go with the rice, and the two of them ate very happily.

"How is Chu Yi's health? Should we just go back to Zhang Village?"

“She’s in good health. She said she still has work to do and will come back in two months. But my mother is not happy. She told me that if she doesn’t come back next month, she will go to Chengdu.”

As the eldest daughter-in-law in the family, Min Chuyi is already four months pregnant. She is a martial arts expert with excellent physical condition, so her family is not too worried, but they still feel a certain level of tension.

“She doesn’t need to go to Chengdu. Let Chu Yi come back. If they’re too scattered, it will be difficult to keep her safe. But what are you doing coming back now?”

“Mother said you’re getting restless and want to go out, but she doesn’t agree, and I don’t really agree either.”

"You think you can tell me what to do?"

"He who eats another's food is bound to be obliging, so I'll just offer my suggestion." Ning Xi smiled, then continued, "Actually, there's another matter I wanted to discuss upon returning. These past few days, I've been receiving news from outside, and I saw a news article..."

As he spoke, he pulled a newspaper clipping from his pocket. Ning Yi took it and glanced at it, then looked at it again, frowning. It was a newspaper from southeastern Fujian, reporting on the death of the five-foot-tall lecherous demon Long Aotian in Huaiyunfang.

Ning Yi took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and frowned as he looked at his son: "Anything else?"

Ning Xi shook her head.

Ning Yi said, "How credible can such news, published so openly, be? Besides... the deployment of cannons to bombard people in the capital... is mostly for the purpose of covering up the truth..."

"...That's what I think too."

Ning Xi took a breath as he spoke. Having read the news, he too had been filled with anxiety. Now that the news was back, it was simply a way for father and son to comfort each other: "But… Father, I'm worried about my second brother… Do you know how worried Mother will be about you now that you're out here? Zou Xu has gotten his chance, and you are his key to victory. Killing you won't be easy, but compared to defeating the Huaxia Army, it's much easier…"

Ning Yi frowned as he looked at the young man before him, his first child in this world. Ning Xi had always been obedient and well-behaved, the kind of child who had never caused his family much worry. But now, after taking on many responsibilities, he was finally able to offer his father his opinions and suggestions.

He thought of Ning Ji, then turned back and asked, "If I go out, you'll practically be the crown prince. What are you thinking?"

“I…I never thought about becoming the crown prince.” Ning Xi thought for a moment, then smiled. “It’s not just that you, Father, said you never thought about making me the crown prince. The main reason is probably…Father, you and Mother are both so amazing. You paved a very smooth path for me. In the past two years, I’ve met a lot of people and read a lot of history books. The emperors who achieved great things in history all had a lot of bitterness and resentment. They may have experienced too many hardships in their lives and know how tempting power is. But in our family…you see, from my aunt to my brothers and sisters, they are all intact. I…don’t think being an emperor is that good…This is what I talked about with Chu Yi before…”

He paused slightly, his gaze turning serious: "Of course, after Chu Yi got pregnant, I thought about this matter very carefully. I think the only thing I'm afraid of is Dad... What if you give up your power in the future, and others don't let our family off the hook? That's what I'm worried about."

His words were frank. Ning Yi nodded.

The father and son had spent a fair amount of time together in recent years, but now that Ning Yi had expressed a desire to make a change, this meeting became somewhat unusual. After dinner, the two went for a walk, and Ning Xi said, "Dad, I think Ning He will amount to something."

"Ok?"

“On the way here, I went to see him,” Ning Xi said. “He helped Uncle Cui with land administration studies and taught the two neighboring families to read, enabling them to pass the land administration exam. Last month, the families received their land allocations. When I visited, Ning He kept talking about equality, saying that all people are born the same and should all have land… He’s quite nice.”

"...He's only eleven years old, how could he understand so much?"

“There may be some parroting of others’ opinions, but Father, you sent him there to study precisely because you wanted him to learn these things, right? I think… you should bring him back. In terms of specific knowledge, Zhang Village is better at teaching. Aunt Hong can rest assured then.”

“Yes, I will consider it,” Ning Yi said, pausing slightly. “Regarding the second son, we should receive more detailed information in a few days… regardless of whether he is dead or alive.”

"...That's what I think too."

When Ning Ji was mentioned, there was another moment of silence.

The father and son left the office and walked out. It was a cloudy afternoon in Zhang Village, and the atmosphere was peaceful. Apart from some officials who brought documents, they encountered several children lined up and counting by the roadside. When they saw Ning Yi, they saluted him, and Ning Yi returned the salute. Ning Xi went over and called out the names of a few children, telling them to line up and leave.

“Actually, I’ve thought about it carefully. What will happen to the Huaxia Army after I leave?” Ning Yi said as they walked to a secluded spot. “When I say ‘leave,’ I mean what will happen after I disappear… The Huaxia Army will be like a powder keg, exploding in all directions. The whole world will be unable to withstand the impact of its division. After all, there are people here who are similar to Zou Xu, and even people who can surpass him under certain circumstances.”

Ning Xi frowned: "Then... Father, please don't disappear." He didn't really like hearing such words.

“But…” Ning Yi looked at him, pondering for a moment, “But… for a dynasty, or rather a regime, many decisive things, its direction or slogans, must be established as early as possible. If they are established, there will be something to use for the next few hundred years. For example, in the next few decades, when the development of science becomes more and more rapid and internal stagnation intensifies, people who want to make improvements will remember the slogan of the Four Classes of People that I left them. Two hundred years later, when a paperhanger wants to carry out a reform, he can also pick up the Four Classes of People as a banner to do something.”

"Father, didn't you say you hoped the Chinese army wouldn't be a cycle that lasts three hundred years?"

"Of course I hope so, but what if I can't do it?" Ning Yi smiled. "This world... this society, if you want to describe its state and reality, it's not a clear-cut concept. It's in constant motion, constantly in conflict. People's desires, their short-term material demands, are constantly eroding the world. But does that mean we shouldn't have short-term demands? No. The purpose of a nation is to allow people to satisfy their desires. But to ensure long-term satisfaction and prevent imbalances in distribution, there must be someone constantly curbing those short-sighted, unsustainable demands. So, Ning Xi, you see, the existence of a nation is very simple: to satisfy people's desires for as long as possible. The rulers are like accountants, constantly calculating the balance of income and expenditure in society. Many years ago, when I talked to your Uncle Qin about positive and negative numbers, I was referring to these very things."

"The desires and conflicts in this process exist within each of us. At every stage of a society, people who understand long-term interests must be created. How are they created? By relying on grand goals and ideals... So after we created materialism and capital, we must also find something to counterbalance them."

“Father, there are similar things in Confucianism.”

Ning Yi nodded: "To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations... If it didn't have these, it wouldn't have lasted for two or three hundred years. However, Confucianism's approach to scholarship is not rigorous. Its experiential science based on practice will inevitably lead to academic cliques and academic corruption sooner or later. Academic corruption will inevitably cause scholarship to become detached from practice. Once detached from practice, it cannot strengthen itself. The only way out is to castrate and attack its opponents in order to achieve self-consistency. Ning Xi, you must remember that this is the inevitable direction for all scholarship with unclear measurement methods. The reason why Confucianism works is because it is a shell. It contains the self-awareness of elite individuals over thousands of years and a large amount of sociological experience derived from practice. However, it is also wrapped in a bunch of bloated and useless metaphysical terms. Its upper limit is very low and it cannot cooperate with the development of investigation of things and reason."

He spoke these overly verbose words, his gaze fixed on the short-haired young man beside him.

Ning Yi could recall the time when his child was little, stealing juice because he was craving it, watching him grow up, and seeing him frowning with hunger at Xiao Cang River, and how he fell and bled while chasing a rabbit... These were his children. Ning Yi once thought that the children in his family were like NPCs; they would stay by his side, grow up slowly, and always stay by his side, listening to him, and he would handle everything smoothly. But now, Ning Ji had run away, and Ning Xi was about to become a father, and might even have to shoulder more responsibility.

“I hope that wisdom can come from the millions of people, and that there can be a bottom-up force that can gradually be incorporated into the operation of society. I hope that everyone can take responsibility for themselves and thus protect their own interests. For this reason, the people must be enlightened and their innate and unquestionable rights must be formally recognized…” Ning Yi said, “But I am not entirely confident. Even now, I feel apprehensive.”

"If I go with you on this trip out of Sichuan, the potential of the world might be raised. If I don't go, the future is pretty much predictable..."

The father and son walked along, gradually passing the side gate of their courtyard, where they saw five young people—three men and two women—coming out, carrying several large and small bags. Seeing them off were Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin'er. Since Ning Yi's rebellion, they had mostly worked as teachers at the Huaxia Military Academy—as had Ning Yi, so they were currently colleagues, although Ning Yi taught the advanced classes.

Teacher Nie and Teacher Yuan are now renowned for their students, who occasionally come to visit them. Some of these students were able to enter Nie Yunzhu's class when they were children. Some of them came from families that were high-ranking officials or veterans of the Huaxia Army, while others had no family. Among the five students, one boy and one girl were orphans whose parents died at the hands of the Jurchens. They had grown up with the Huaxia Army since the time of Xiao Canghe and basically regarded their teachers as their parents. Every time they came to Zhang Village, they would come to visit them.

Yunzhu waved and greeted them with a smile. The five young people noticed Ning Yi and his son, and came over to greet them and chat. Ning Yi naturally knew that they were the cadres who had been recalled this time. After exchanging a few words, he waved to Yunzhu and Jin'er before leaving with Ning Xi.

A soft footstep sounded, and Jin'er ran over from the road behind, holding two umbrellas in her hands. She handed them to Ning Xi: "Why didn't you two bring umbrellas for your walk?"

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and Ning Yi watched her turn and walk away.

Many years ago, when he was running along the Qinhuai River, after they became good friends, Jin'er handed him an umbrella several times when it was about to rain.

"Have I ever told you about what happened on the banks of the Qinhuai River back then?"

"I've mentioned some things," Ning Xi said softly. "Mother will be jealous."

Ning Yi laughed and told Ning Xi about the story that happened when they were running back then. At that time, Nie Yunzhu came out of the brothel and lived there with her maid. She spent money extravagantly. When she ran out of money, she wanted to earn more but couldn't find a way. Ning Yi gave her some advice and helped her establish Zhu Ji with the first small cart.

The two walked to a pavilion by the river and sat down. A light drizzle had begun to fall from the sky outside.

“If you can’t hold onto the sand, just let it go. That’s what I told your Aunt Yunzhu back then,” Ning Yi said. “At that time, I never thought about the Four Classes of People, nor did I ever imagine that someone would actually kill the emperor and rebel.”

Things have changed, and now, facing the whole world, the Chinese army has a commanding view of all others.

In the pavilion, shrouded in the drizzling rain, father and son chatted about many things. Ning Xi understood some of the things he'd heard since childhood, while others, though still incomprehensible to the young Ning Yi, were generally understood as well. That afternoon, shortly after returning to his office, Xigua returned to Zhang Village, and the two discussed the topic of leaving the pass. Of all his wives, she was the one who best understood Ning Yi's thoughts on the world and was the most supportive of his reforms.

“Even if you go out, the danger isn’t great,” she said. “But your older sister is just concerned about you, which is understandable.”

“There are risks in everything we do, but we can’t give up just because there are risks. I think that makes sense.” Ning Yi laughed. “So, you support me coming out of seclusion?”

"I have always supported you..."

"But there's something I want to tell you in advance."

"what's up?"

"Considering my current good physical condition, long-term training, sufficient well-coordinated security forces, and the current strength of the Huaxia Army, the risk of me leading the team out is indeed not high. However, we cannot ignore this issue just because the risk is not high..." The sound of rain still lingered outside the office. Ning Yi slowly began to speak, pausing slightly at this point, "...So before I leave, I will leave a will."

"..."

“If I go out and die outside,” Ning Yi said, emphasizing each word, “…Ning Xi will take over the ruling power of the Huaxia Army and let go of my obsession with the Four Classes of People. In other words, one day in the future, he will become the emperor of the Huaxia Army to suppress the tendency of the Huaxia Army to split after I leave.”

"……Why?"

“Because… I’m arrogant…” Ning Yi said, “I arrogantly believe that only I can bring the four classes of people to a perfectly suitable position, because I was born with that knowledge. And you, if you insist on doing this, lack the experience and won’t be able to do it properly…”

"..."

Xigua frowned, pondering his words. The two had been together for nearly twenty years. Ning Yi had said many strange things to her. Sometimes she questioned them, sometimes she wrote them down, and even shared them with many of her comrades for discussion and reflection. But no matter how she thought about what he was saying, she couldn't understand it.

It was only after a long time that she slowly and solemnly shook her head: "I...I don't agree."

Ning Yi sat to the side, watching the serious and solemn expression on her face, listening to her refusal. After a while, he laughed, the laughter growing louder and louder. He opened his arms, and Xigua, confused, moved over and sat in his lap. Ning Yi held her and laughed for a long time. Xigua said, "You know... what you said... is unreasonable."

“Of course I know, so I’ll be happy if you refuse,” Ning Yi said. “That means that even seemingly unrealistic ideals have taken root and sprouted.”

“Ning Liheng, that’s also my ideal,” Xigua said solemnly.

After a while, she said, "You are also my ideal, so... I will definitely not let you die."

"Nonsense! I am invincible, how could I die?"

The summer rain fell all afternoon. As evening approached, Ning Yi still had a few tasks to finish, so he told Xigua to go home and meet Tan'er and the others. After a while, Ning Ke came over with a food box, and the father and daughter ate dinner by lamplight.

After finishing his work, Ning Yi didn't rush back. He opened the bottom of his office cabinet and took out a box containing some of his most confidential items: some of his unpublished theoretical articles, some large volumes marked "XX Theory" or "XX Program," and some wills or letters he had written over time.

Reaching this position requires preparation in advance for many things, including writing a will. It's not a negative thing; he had already written countless wills back in Xiaocanghe.

But every time he writes earnestly, it gives people a strange feeling. It's as if he came to this era like a visitor from outer space, and it seems that at some point, he will also leave like a visitor from outer space.

He spread out a piece of paper, dipped his pen in ink, and pondered for a long time in the light of the oil lamp.

"Ah Gua, it's like seeing you in person:"

He wrote down the familiar address on the paper, and then continued writing:

I once told you that I had seen light from another world. Today, I want to tell you a more detailed story, as a serious reference for your future—and for the future of this world…

Sorry for the delay; there will be a separate chapter later.