Chapter 17 Presbyterian Church and Zhangshitang
In the courtyard of the bamboo building, Liang Zifeng was installing quartz sheets on the doors and windows while watching the third and fourth brothers practicing with wooden Tang swords. He was doing two things at the same time as usual, and the little girl was watching with great interest.
The practice of swordsmanship must be combined with actual combat in order to master it, otherwise it will just be a show. Therefore, Liang Zifeng asked the third and fourth brothers to take time out every day to practice fighting.
The two little guys fought in good shape, and they used basic sword techniques such as chopping, slashing, thrusting and blocking quite well. They did not just rely on sword techniques, and sometimes they also coordinated attacks with their hands and feet. The only thing was that they were far behind in footwork.
"Okay, stop for a moment." Liang Zifeng stopped what he was doing and called the third and fourth brothers over.
"Second brother, I feel that I am now strong enough to hunt two wolves." The fourth brother trotted up to Liang Zifeng and said with a complacent look on his face.
"You?" Liang Zifeng looked at Lao Si speechlessly, then shook his head, "If you have weapons in your hands, one wolf might be a possibility, but if you have two, you'll probably be in danger."
"Why? I think my swordsmanship is pretty good." The fourth brother said unconvinced.
"Third brother, tell me why." Liang Zifeng did not answer, but looked at the third brother and asked.
"Uh." The third brother lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Is it footwork?"
"Yes, that's right." Liang Zifeng looked at the third brother with appreciation, then nodded and said, "Just now I saw you fighting, and you have indeed mastered the swordsmanship, but during the fight, you hardly used footwork. If you really fight, you will be led into the rhythm of the enemy.
Therefore, you should work harder on footwork in the future, think more about why those footwork is done in a certain way, and then use footwork more often in combat practice, and don’t be afraid of getting hit. Only when you get hit will you remember it deeply and make the footwork an instinctive habit. "
In order to impress his younger brother and sister, Liang Zifeng began to teach them moves, using footwork to perfection. He often appeared beside them or even behind them when they were not paying attention, making them deeply aware of the importance of footwork in actual combat.
In fact, if it weren't for his mental power, Liang Zifeng wouldn't be able to achieve that level, because with the help of mental power, any flaws of the opponent would be caught by him, so he could use his footwork so skillfully.
As for mental power, the third brother and his friends also have the method of cultivation and visualization, but cultivating mental power is not something that can be done overnight. It is also related to talent. As far as he knows, there are quite a few people who practiced the method of visualization in their previous lives, but it seems that none of them really have mental power. At most, they are just full of energy.
Liang Zifeng guessed that his ability to cultivate spiritual power was related to death or a last breath. If this was true, then it would be impossible for his younger brothers and sisters to cultivate spiritual power.
However, there are still many benefits to practicing visualization. The first is that you will be more energetic than others. The second is that you will be much more sensitive in spiritual perception than ordinary people, which means that your sixth sense is very strong.
……
After the Double Ninth Festival, the weather in the mountains began to cool rapidly, but the Liang family’s new house was still being aired out, and by late September it was almost cold.
On September 25th, Liang Zifeng painted the walls and ceiling of the new house with white lime, making the originally dim room instantly brighter.
After watching Liang Zifeng's actions, some villagers followed suit and painted their thatched houses white. The effect made those villagers very happy.
On September 28th, Liang Zifeng and his sister moved into the new house. After all, it was almost October and the weather at night was indeed a bit cold, so they moved in early so that the new house could have some homely feel.
Although she had seen it many times, the little girl who had just moved into the new house was still very excited. She ran up and down the stairs tirelessly and even put her head against the window to look out. No one knew what she could see.
In order to keep the heat as much as possible, the windows of the new house are all double-layered, but the quartz stone sheets themselves are not very transparent, let alone double-layered.
There is only one completely transparent window in the lounge on the third floor, which was cut out of a crystal column that Liang Zifeng obtained by chance. There is only enough space through that window to see the scenery outside.
On the day before moving, Liang Zifeng specially took his younger brothers and sisters into the mountains to hunt, and also let the third and fourth children have some experience. They all hunted a wolf alone. The little girl just came to join in the fun, but seeing how powerful the third and fourth children were, she actually wanted to grow up quickly and practice martial arts.
On the afternoon of the day of moving, the new yard was filled with banquets. Almost everyone who could come from the village came, including those who had contacts with the Liang brothers and the more prestigious elders in the village.
The people who came talked about the Liang family's new house while eating, and they did not hide the envy in their eyes. They all decided to build a cement brick house in the future.
I don’t know if it was because God couldn’t bear to see everyone in such a good mood, but when Liang Zifeng and his sister were still immersed in the happy mood after moving, someone from Liujia Village came early the next morning to report that a village near Majiazhuang had been massacred by bandits, and all the more than 500 people in the village were killed.
In addition, the people of Liujia Village also brought news that three more villages had appeared within a radius of five or six miles around them, the farthest of which was 3 miles away from Yuanshan Village.
The increase in the number of surrounding villages has made this area more lively and popular, but it has also increased their risk of exposure. However, there is nothing they can do about it as everyone just wants to survive.
In order to deal with possible bandits, Yuanshan Village established a council of elders and a meeting hall at the suggestion of Liang Zifeng. The elders were prestigious old men elected by the villagers, and major decisions in the village were made by the council of elders.
The Talk Hall is the organization that manages the daily activities of the village. It usually has only five or six people. These people are nominated by the Council of Elders and voted by the villagers. The villagers' assembly can also vote to remove members of the Council of Elders and the Talk Hall as long as a majority of them pass.
Originally, the villagers wanted to elect Liang Zifeng as the elder, but Liang Zifeng declined on the pretext that he needed to concentrate on practicing martial arts. In the end, the elders' council was filled with older people.
The head of the Talking Hall is Yang Tiezhu. After all, he has the best relationship with Liang Zifeng and his strength is the highest besides Liang Zifeng's brothers.
Thus, the Elders' Council and the Advisory Council of Yuanshan Village were formally established, with 18 elders and 6 people in the Advisory Council.
The first thing the Elders' Council did after it was established was to discuss how to deal with possible bandit problems. Liang Zifeng and the people from the Council also participated in the discussion.
Finally, it was decided to set up a village protection team, which would patrol the area around Yuanshan Village on a daily basis and form alliances with surrounding villages to deal with possible problems with bandits.
……