Chapter 164 Capitalist Gentry vs. Feudal Gentry
In Ada's dream, a giant palm representing the Five Finger Mountain fell.

The reason why he showed such a strong state was, on the one hand, because during Zhou Tieyi's previous training, he beat Ada half to death with the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm], which left a shadow in Ada's heart, so part of this giant palm was manifested with the help of Ada's own dream power.

Another reason is that in dreams, without the constraints of material things, the spirit is the dominant factor, and he possesses the authority of many gods. He has successively condensed the images of the Green Emperor and the Red Emperor, and comprehended the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm]. Coupled with the talent of [usurping gods], Zhou Tieyi's spiritual talent is actually better than his physical talent.

The third reason is naturally the blessing effect of [Mirage] in dreams.

Facing this giant palm falling from the sky, Ah Da even felt that he was completely powerless to resist. He, the tall and strong martial arts god, looked at Zhou Tieyi and was just about to surrender when the next moment, the giant palm really fell.

Every bone in his body was shattered, every inch of his skin was twisted and deformed under the pressure of the rocks, his internal organs were broken, and fishy and sweet blood rushed from his throat to his nasal cavity. Ah Da couldn't even tell whether this was reality or a dream.

By the time he came to his senses, his entire body was pressed under the Five Finger Mountain, with only his head exposed. However, the pain all over his body was still real and tangible.

Zhou Tieyi walked to Ah Da's side and squatted down. "Do you know what is good about being in a dream?"

Ah Da raised his head with difficulty.

"The advantage is that time, space, and matter here can be stretched or shortened at will. Even if you are injured, it is easier to treat than outside. We have plenty of time tonight."

After that, he snapped his fingers.

The next second, Ah Da felt that the mountains on his body disappeared, and the serious injuries suffered by the God of Martial Arts were completely healed. Everything that just happened seemed like a dream.

He wanted to flatter Zhou Tieyi so that he would go easy on him, but Zhou Tieyi ignored him and continued, "In this dream, you are the most powerful. Think about your understanding of the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm] and where are the flaws you have seen!"

After saying that, the same giant palm fell from the sky again, but this time the giant palm did not evolve into the shape of a mountain, but the shape of a Buddhist country that Ah Da was more familiar with.

It was a golden giant palm that could encompass the heaven and earth. Under this giant palm, there was no place to hide.

Where's the flaw?

Ah Da looked up and drew out his Sky-Splitting Sword. This time he didn't waste any words and flew directly forward, chopping at the Buddha's palm. No matter where the flaw was, he had to give it a try. Anyway, in this dream, as the young master said, he had many opportunities to try and fail.

Gusts of wind gathered on the blade, and Ah Da felt his familiarity with the swordsmanship as never before, as if the next moment, he would be able to comprehend the first dragon seal on the Sky-Splitting Sword and condense his combat skills.

With a loud bang, the Buddha's palm remained unchanged and pressed down again, suppressing Ada at the bottom.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and clapped his hands, "Not bad, at least he knows how to swing a knife, otherwise I would really have to consider whether to change the captain of the personal guard."

The four words "Captain of the Royal Guard" also served as a demon in Ah Da's heart, and to a certain extent, could even offset his fear of the "Buddha Kingdom in the Palm".

"Come again!"

This time, Ah Da did not use honorifics to address Zhou Tieyi to please him or beg for mercy, but instead he growled angrily.

He understood that if he could not truly transform, begging for mercy would only make the young master look down on him.

Zhou Tieyi stopped smiling and instead used [Buddha's Kingdom in the Palm] seriously, knocking Ah Da to the ground time and time again.

During this process, Ah Da gradually gained some insights. First, whenever he was less afraid of the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm], the giant palm that fell from the sky would become smaller.

After being crushed hundreds of times, the giant palm unexpectedly changed from the invisible Buddha kingdom to a ten-foot-wide fire pit.

Second, even if one's mind is restricted by the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm] while one is in a dream, it is still one's dream after all, and one can still feel the world outside the Buddha Kingdom.

Without the constraints of matter, the ancestral qi of heaven and earth can even create something out of nothing. The moment he swung out the [Splitting Sky Sword], he could feel the ancestral qi of heaven and earth entwined around the blade, just as it was recorded in the book he had read!
"Come again!"

Ah Da growled again, but this time his voice sounded more tired than ever.

His martial arts god also became blurred.

Zhou Tieyi smiled. Even in a dream, there is consumption, and this consumption comes from the mind. If he really exhausted Ada's martial arts god here, it is estimated that in the real world, Ada's blood will go out of control and he will go crazy and die.

Fortunately, I have the corresponding means.

Zhou Tieyi raised his hand again, but this time he did not make the demon-subduing seal. Instead, he gently twisted his index finger and thumb, transforming it into half a blooming lotus, making the preaching seal.

It takes the power of nightmare as its source, the Buddha kingdom in the palm of its hand as its skeleton, and the preaching seal as its form of expression.

The soft Buddha light bloomed and shone on Ada's martial arts god. Ada felt warm all over, as if he was soaked in hot spring water.

"What do you think is the core of [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm]?"

Hearing the young master asking, Ah Da regained his composure, thought seriously for a while, and replied, "The eldest young master told me that it is to use the small world in the palm of your hand to pry open the real world."

When Zhou Tieyi is busy on weekdays, Ada and the other four will train with Zhou Tiege in the afternoon.

Before, Zhou Tieyi specifically asked Ada to ask his brother about the issues of [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm], and Ada naturally listened to him.

However, his understanding and talent were far inferior to Zhou Tiege. Even though he trained day and night with the two brothers, he still could not grasp that sudden flash of enlightenment.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said, "You watched the two of us perform the palm technique, so you must want to perform it with the palm technique as well, but the first-grade Buddhist Dharma is beyond common sense, and it can be performed with almost all the power in the world."

Even if it is the Blood Sea Lord who was suppressed by the Buddha, the power of Taixu Huanzhu is enough, Zhou Tieyi added in his heart. He even felt that the first-grade Buddhist Dharma performed with these two powers was more mysterious. He just didn't know if this was because one plus one was greater than two, or if there was another secret.

Ah Da understood and replied, "Master, do you mean that we can also perform the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm] using swordsmanship?"

When training in the real world, even though I know that the young master is now stronger than me, I dare not really use a knife against the young master. A warrior has reservations in his heart and naturally cannot exert his full strength.

But it was different in my dream. I had just swung my sword hundreds of times, and was about to break my fear of the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm]. In addition, I didn’t have to worry about the young master’s safety...

Thinking of this, with the blessing of the Dharma Seal, Ah Da seemed to have seized the opportunity of a flash of inspiration.

Zhou Tieyi waved his palm at the right time, "Catch it."

This time, he did not conjure up a towering palm. Instead, he transformed the Dharma Seal into the Fearlessness Seal and struck A Da in front of him flatly, breaking his last obsession with the [Buddha Kingdom in the Palm] with his fearlessness.

Ah Da reacted. He looked at the hand that was hitting him. This hand seemed to be in the real world. It seemed slow, but it could encompass his five senses and make his mind gradually fall into it.

But this time, he didn't hesitate any more, he drew out his sword and slashed at the palm.

At this moment, he truly felt the wind, the wind that penetrated the heaven and earth, the universe, and was everywhere.

And this wind is the bridge between oneself and the heaven and earth.

With a slash of the sword, the entire dream turned into a whistling wind, blowing away the Buddha's palm that obscured the soul, and also blowing away the nightmare created by Zhou Tieyi.

In a quiet room.

Zhou Tieyi and Ada woke up at the same time.

But this time, the two people's situations are exactly the opposite.

Ah Da was in high spirits, with a gleam in his eyes like a bright lamp that could illuminate a dark room. The Martial God in his body solidified once again, especially the long sword held by his Martial God. The two strange dragon emblems condensed on it represented that he had crossed the boundary that many sixth-grade warriors could not cross, and he had comprehended the combat skill [Splitting Sky Sword]!
Zhou Tieyi's expression became a little gloomy. His nightmare technique was broken, which was a drain on his spirit. Fortunately, it was just a dream after all. Because of the Blood God Son, Ah Da's spirit and energy gradually connected with his own, and the backlash to him was much smaller. He estimated that after a good night's sleep, he would be almost recovered.

"Thank you for your kindness, young master."

Ah Da half-knelt on the ground and said sincerely.

He knew how much Zhou Tieyi had invested in him, and he would be ashamed if he couldn't make any progress.

Zhou Tieyi stepped forward and patted Ah Da on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "Practice well, this is the way to live up to my expectations."

······
The next day, the tenth day of April, a drizzle fell again in Tianjing, a spring with little rain.

Because Zhou Tieyi was guiding A Da in his dream yesterday, he slept in, which was a rare occurrence.

After the morning, he got up and had breakfast, then picked up a pen and paper and began to write down what he needed to do recently.

Although the train workshop has already started recruiting people and borrowed the production equipment from Huwei Bingfang and Gongshu's apprentices, it will take at least three months from renovating the dormitories, training the newly recruited ordinary people, to participating in production. Being able to start production in July is considered fast for the subordinates, but this part of the work cannot be done quickly because it is related to the re-optimization and adjustment of the production structure.

After that, ordinary people will be able to do the job and build the first qualified steam engine. Then they can promote the various uses of steam engines and expand reproduction.

The military heroes of the Railway Chamber of Commerce have already invested, but one hundred thousand taels is at least a hundred times less than the amount he had in mind. He has to beg for alms himself and let the entire Tianjing suffocate for his dream first.

As for the method of begging for alms, Zhou Tieyi has already thought of it. He can take advantage of the situation to establish the connection between the Tianjing News and the Chamber of Commerce, and use the tiger's skin to raise a big banner. However, how can we, the military hero, take the lead? The Queen has eaten my bait, so how can she not spit out something?

I have already arranged the basic preparatory work for "Tianjing News" and handed it over to Hu Wenlang, Mei Juncang and Wu Qian to complete. This will take at least half a month. During this process, I can check whether the general ideas are correct and I don't need to do it myself.

And half a month later, he could prepare for the gambling fight between his brother and Shenxiu. This gambling fight could just serve as a selling point for the Tianjing News, and he could also earn some extra money for his expenses.

In other words, during the half month of preparing for the Tianjing News, he had free time, which he could use to practice his martial arts.

"It really takes time to use it."

Zhou Tieyi sighed. No matter how talented he was, he still needed basic time to practice martial arts. For example, now in the [Record of Supervising Soldiers and Killing Demons], apart from the [Tiger Roaring Fist], he only had a basic five-element military formation to master, and he had never touched the rest of the sword and gun techniques. This would not do.

Strength is the foundation, power is just a "guardian" to ensure that you can get through the period of weakness, you can't put the cart before the horse.

Then he thought about what his enemies would do to him in the next half month.

First of all, there is the evil god represented by Guan Guan, which is the root cause of the unrest in Da Xia. Although it seems to have brought him a lot of benefits, he has also unknowingly helped the evil god to stimulate the internal conflicts in Da Xia.

We can’t let Daxia fall into chaos, at least not so quickly!

Judging from the [Ancestors Deification Method] released by the other party, it is obvious that the evil god wants to stir up conflicts between the imperial power and the power of local land gentry this time. This is an open conspiracy.

The only way is to undermine one of the two. With the support of the imperial power, one can only undermine the power of the local gentry.

And this feudal empire full of fantasy.

The power of the gentry comes from two sources: first, land, and second, the method of spiritual practice.

The industrial revolution that he promoted was precisely a sharp weapon to disintegrate the local gentry. With industry as the core, he could cultivate a group of new "capitalist gentry" and let them fight against the feudal gentry. Before the capitalist gentry completely won, he could profit from the relationship between imperial power, capital and the feudal gentry.

This is a plan for the next five to ten years, there is no need to rush.

As for the short-term goal of the evil spirit...

Zhou Tieyi could figure out with just a little thought that the other party must be planning some bloody sacrifice, revival of the gods, natural disaster, or something like that.

My identity as the God-Slaying Bureau can be used for this.

In the illusory world of Taixu, one has to come up with a more convincing identity in order to truly infiltrate the enemy.

Thinking of this, Zhou Tieyi smiled slightly.

A god resurrected from ancient times...

This identity is enough to gain the trust of the vast majority of gods and evildoers.

Besides the evil gods, there is the Queen of Heaven.

The Queen is now cooperating with him, and the only conflict should be the gambling fight with Monk Shenxiu.

However, the Queen Mother has already obtained the authority of the Tianjing Guard, so there is no need to be so anxious about the Yulin Guard, otherwise it will appear that the Queen Mother is too eager to seize power.

Therefore, the outcome of this gambling fight is of no importance to the Queen.

In fact, from her perspective, the probability of her deliberately letting her brother lose a game is greater, because this is more in line with her shrewd character.

But I have to win!
Apart from the gambling match with Monk Shenxiu, as for the "Tianjing News", once it is really established, it is estimated that the Queen Mother will start to take action.

This is not to say that the Queen Mother is not smart and is unaware of the dangers of the Confucianists watching closely and the internal strife on her side.

It is because power animals cannot control their greed for power. Moreover, the Tianjing News is a powerful tool for enlightening the people and reforming Confucianism. Even if the emperor himself takes action in the end, he would not feel strange.

Fortunately, I can perfectly grasp every stage of the development of the newspaper. I can not only set traps for Confucianists, but also set traps for the Queen Mother and the Emperor.

At that time they will have to ask me to go back and take charge of the situation.

As long as I can control the newspaper for ten years, the whole world will praise the great achievements of me, Zhou Tieyi!

This is much faster than the Four Books and Five Classics.

Ten years later, they had grown stronger and had other means to replace newspapers and control people's hearts, such as banks.

Apart from the Queen Mother, the Confucians hated him the most.

However, there are many Confucianists, so the reaction is slow.

That day, he brought money and goods to the residence of Sun Dan, the leader of his disciples. The next day, Confucianism did not react strongly, so he guessed that Confucianism wanted to check the accounts slowly.

This is a good thing. You check the accounts for three months, and you have three more months to grow and strengthen your interests. When the time comes for you to compete in the court, it won't just be my Zhou family that will be dealt with.

In political struggles, the most important thing is time. For many things, one more day of resolution time can make a big difference in the outcome.

Therefore, after I knew about Mei Qingchen's affairs, I would delay time as soon as possible. After dealing with the first part, I would delay time for the second time, and I could gain a lot of benefits in the process.

The benefits he gained included asking the emperor to continue to protect him, otherwise no one would help him deal with Mei Qingchen.

So in the past, many people thought that civil servants were good at procrastination. It is true that procrastination can solve many problems, either by solving the people who created the problems or by causing problems for those who created the problems.

This is much more beneficial than just getting things done quickly.

It is estimated that Confucianism will not sit idle during these three months. It will definitely try its best to find out about itself and look for its weaknesses.

Railway Chamber of Commerce?

If Confucians still want to pursue justice, they will never resort to conspiracy to cause trouble. Otherwise, if Confucians set this example, not only will the emperor laugh, but other schools of thought will also look down on them.

"Tianjing News"?
The Confucians will resort to some tricks. As long as their own first edition of the newspaper appears, if they cannot seize the power of the newspaper, they will definitely find a way to follow suit and publish an edition.

That’s not a problem, I already have an idea.

The above is how the Confucian masters calculated their own thinking.

Then what remains is the calculations of those second-generation Confucianists.

They have only read half of their studies and are too ambitious, so they will definitely come up with some shady tricks.

However, he didn't dare to use this dirty trick on himself, because he could really kill people.

Therefore, they only dare to use this dirty trick on their own subordinates.

Wu Qian.

Zhou Tieyi thought about it and realized that the biggest weakness of his men was Wu Qian, who had no foundation.

The last time he went to Simin's Mansion, he was plotted against by Dong Xiu De. It is estimated that now the legitimate sons of the nine ministries have secretly resented this ignorant retainer. Once they are negligent or get entangled in things, one of them will always jump out to cause trouble.

It would be possible to help Wu Qian strengthen his strength appropriately. Zhou Tieyi thought about it, wrote down the last calculation, then gathered the papers together and threw them into the brazier to burn them all.

(End of this chapter)