Block and strike!
Progressive block and punch!
One hammer blow after another!
Five consecutive parrying punches, each powerful and heavy, shook the ground. After five strikes, the entire Baozhilin training ground seemed to be shaking, as if it were about to collapse.
Li Boyang's Banlan Chui was powerful and heavy. Each strike carried the shockwave of Tai Chi and made a sound like a cannon firing when it hit Yan Zhendong's palm. Every time Yan Zhendong took a hit, he was pushed a small step backward.
The impact of the five blows shattered the windows inside the arena, and Yan Zhendong was pushed back about three meters.
The three-fold power of Tai Chi begins with the extremely strong and powerful shock force, which emphasizes only extreme strength and ferocity. With one strike, it can knock down both the person and the horse, just like Li Yuanba of the Tang Dynasty. No matter whether the enemy's weapon or body comes into contact with the hammer, the shock force will spread throughout the whole body, and the whole body can be considered a vital point.
The second level is soft strength, which means lifting heavy objects as if they were light. It looks light and weak, but it is actually as heavy as a thousand pounds. This is the level of "using four ounces to move a thousand pounds". To move a thousand pounds, you must have more than a thousand pounds of strength.
The third level is the combination of strength and softness, the unity of strength and softness, the ability to use strength and softness at will, and the ability to change from the real to the illusory at any time.
These five parrying punches demonstrate that Li Boyang has already mastered the basics of powerful strikes.
"Impressive skills. I never imagined that Mr. Li's martial arts were so amazing. He truly lives up to his reputation."
It was Nalan Yuanshu who spoke. During the duel between the two, he was taken to the training ground by the militia soldiers, where he witnessed Li Boyang's five powerful Banlan Chui strikes.
Nalan Yuanshu was a military officer, and not one who got in through connections. He had real skills and his martial arts had reached the level of Huajin. However, he rarely used his skills, so he was not very famous.
"Sir, your Tai Chi is really powerful. I, Lao Yan, am impressed. If you do a couple more moves, I won't be able to take it."
Yan Zhendong let out a deep breath, looking somewhat listless, clearly having expended a great deal of energy.
In other words, Yan Zhendong's Iron Shirt technique is truly as hard as refined iron, which is why he was able to withstand five blocking punches. If it were someone who was not good at horizontal blocking, they would most likely be smashed to pieces if they tried to withstand those five punches.
"Master Yan, you flatter me. I don't have the strength for another few moves. My body can't take it anymore after just a few."
Li Boyang was telling the truth. These five parry punches were all delivered with hidden force, and he did so because he knew that Yan Zhendong was prepared to withstand his attack.
After five blocking punches, his body felt completely drained, indicating that Yan Zhendong was actually stronger than him. Judging from his condition, Yan Zhendong could at least withstand two more punches, while he himself could only muster the strength for one.
However, this is not a life-or-death battle. If we were to truly determine who lives and who dies, the outcome obviously cannot be calculated in this way. In reality, the difference between the two is not that great, and the life or death is still fifty-fifty.
“Master Yan, let’s call it a day.” Li Boyang picked up a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, then turned to Nalan Yuanshu and said, “Governor Nalan, let’s talk in the study.”
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Chapter 33 Banquet Turmoil
“Mr. Li, it is indeed as you said, the White Lotus sect is eyeing the Tongwen Guan.”
Inside Li Boyang's study, Nalan Yuanshu stood to the side, looking at Li Boyang sitting in a chair and speaking.
He spoke with a cautious tone, and looking at the person in front of him who seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, Nalan Yuanshu had no awareness of his status as a third-rank military officer.
He didn't find it strange at all that Li Boyang was sitting in a chair while he was standing to the side, as if he were a subordinate reporting to his superior.
The man before him was no ordinary person. It could be said that the most authoritative figure in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, was not Zhang Shusheng, who sat in the office of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, but Li Boyang, who stood before him.
Nalan Yuanshu cautiously suggested, "Sir, should we start cleaning up? The telegraph office is of great importance; what if something goes wrong..."
"Whom Heaven wishes to destroy, it first makes mad." Li Boyang said, tapping his five fingers on the table in a circular motion.
"Ignore the Tongwen Academy; let the people of Guangzhou see the true colors of these guys."
Having suffered a setback at the medical conference, Li Boyang naturally recalled the plot of the second Wong Fei-hung movie, in which the White Lotus Sect destroyed the Tongwen Guan after the surprise attack on the medical conference.
Nalan Yuanshu worriedly said, "The Tongwen Guan is run by foreigners. What if something goes wrong and causes trouble?"
"It's just a war of words, what can they do to us?"
"If something really happens at Tongwen Hall, you should spread the word that it was the White Lotus Sect who did it, and make sure that everyone in Guangzhou knows about it."
"Also, the telegraph office needs to be strengthened. It's near the Tongwen Guan (School for Foreign Languages), and I'm afraid those crazy guys will storm it."
If the White Lotus Sect really destroyed the Tongwen Academy as depicted in the movie, then the righteous path would naturally spread. Once he was ready to deal with the gentry, he would have the government charge the White Lotus Sect with treason and eliminate the gentry as accomplices of the White Lotus Sect.
This is done under the guise of righteousness, leaving people speechless. Let the White Lotus Sect run rampant for now; the more outrageous their behavior, the less powerless the gentry will be when it's time to take action.
Not only that, he also wanted the White Lotus Sect shareholders to make him even more insane, to make them think he was afraid, and to let them act recklessly. Li Boyang had already made up his mind about how to deal with the gentry.
The more fanatical the White Lotus sect becomes, the easier it will be for them to get involved. The White Lotus sect was originally supported by those gentry, so how could they easily escape the connection?
Nalan Yuanshu clearly guessed what Li Boyang was planning; it was no secret in the government that Li Boyang wanted to deal with the gentry.
He himself was a gentry member who sided with Po Chi Lam, but he also changed his class stance. His family was no longer confined to the land, but followed Po Chi Lam in investing money in industry and establishing factories.
In just a few words, he seemed to have already sealed the fate of bloodshed in Guangdong and the two provinces. This man was indeed a ruthless character who could turn the tide at will.
“Yuan Shu, the pharmaceutical factory of Jardine Matheson is about to open. When you get back, remember to tell your governor that if our people want to get involved, they should send the money.”
"Profits are distributed according to share capital."
Binding interests together is Baozhilin's biggest tactic. With Li Boyang's vision that is two hundred years ahead of its time, he naturally knows how to make money quickly.
Today, Po Chi Lam is bound together with a large number of wealthy merchants and officials by the bond of interests; otherwise, it would not have the confidence to target the gentry of the entire Guangdong Province.
Li Boyang was determined to eliminate the gentry, retain only the facade of the capital, and implement independent rule internally.
Nalan Yuanshu beamed and quickly said, "Don't worry, sir, your colleagues have absolute trust in you."