Chapter 2 The People's Husband in Bamboo Creek (Part 2)
As the sky grew dark, Li Chonger returned to the dilapidated thatched hut where the peasants lived temporarily. The dilapidated thatched hut with air leakage from all sides was freezing to the bone in the middle of the night, making it impossible to sleep soundly. But having a place to stay was better than sleeping on the street.
When I woke up in the morning, I found that two of my legs had been eaten by refugees and I felt much better.
Lying down on the thatched bunk, Li Chonger remembered that when he had just crossed over, he was full of ambitions, ready to support the Ming Dynasty, conquer Manchuria, and also take in Princess Kunxing, the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, etc. as a harem.
According to the classification on a later Q&A sharing website, Li Chonger can be considered a mid-range star.
The so-called low-end Mingfen regarded the traitors as sinners of China and put all the blame for the Ming and Qing dynasties on them; the mid-range Mingfen hated the Donglin Party members and Shanxi merchants the most, and incidentally thought that Chongzhen was a waste;
High-end Ming fans accept the reality that the Ming Dynasty has indeed come to an end, but the successors to the Ming Dynasty should never be Manchu aliens.
But Li Chonger didn't understand the rules of the Ming Dynasty officialdom at all, and he really thought that he was possessed by the halo of the protagonist. When he organized some rural warriors in Mizhi County, he was too limelight and received too much credit, which angered Ai Guobin, a general from the three sides of Shaanxi Province.
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This Mr. Ai only divided up the food transportation and deducted wages in the process, which directly led to the destruction of Li Chonger's family. Li Chonger was lucky, and was captured by the Qin army who went out to suppress the bandits in Shaanxi.
The civilian husband did not directly lose his life.
But the fate of his other relatives was bleak. Even the little girl who always followed him died in prison. He was so incompetent that the people around him ended up like this. The more he thought about it, the more Li Chong thought about it.
In my heart, I just hated myself more and more for being incompetent and weak, and I also hated the Ming Dynasty officials who were in the same league as Ai Guobin, the chief minister.
Li Chonger recalled that in his previous life, he had seen a Ming version of a Soviet joke on a Q&A sharing website, "We Ming people are not even afraid of living, how can we be afraid of death!".
In addition to Li Chonger and Bai Youcai, there were also several Shaanxi civilian husbands living in the house. They could fall asleep when lying down and were not affected by the harsh conditions at all.
Li Chong'er's mind was focused on the sharp blade he had hidden. He gradually became dissatisfied, so he took out the dagger and quietly polished it.
"Houba, do you want to do something big?"
Bai Youcai's voice suddenly came from behind Li Chonger. In the dark thatched house, Li Chonger was startled by this question. He subconsciously clenched the weapon in his hand. The important thing he wanted to do was to surrender to the exiled thief Li Zicheng.
, Prepare to rebel. If you say this, do you still want your head?
"Lao Gai is still awake, what are you talking about?" Li Chong'er hid his weapon and lowered his voice to fool Bai Youcai.
"Ever since I told you that I knew the thief during the day, I've been thinking blindly. Could it be that I want to join the thief in the mountains?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Li Chonger covered Bai Youcai's mouth, "Thieves are all bitches who want to be beheaded. If these words spread and the generals hear it, our heads will be hanged."
The city gate is closed."
"Then what are you doing polishing that knife?" Bai Youcai narrowed his eyes, showing an understanding look, "I can't hide my worries at all. During the day, you looked like you wanted to kill that officer and soldier. I
Can’t you see what you want to do?”
"I also met a few fellow villagers in this city..." Bai Youcai said this close to Li Chonger's ear.
Fellow fellow? Fellow Bai Youcai, they are naturally from Li Jiqian Village. Have they actually sneaked into Zhuxi County?
Li Chonger was shocked. This group of thieves, whom the officers and soldiers could not find after searching everywhere, had already infiltrated into the county. Li Zicheng was Li Zicheng after all. It seemed that the thieves were intending to turn around and take the initiative to deal with this gang.
The officers and soldiers are incompetent in suppressing bandits but have the skills to harm the people.
"Fellow fellow? Why don't you hurry up and ask the officers and soldiers to come forward so that you can receive a reward?" Li Chonger was already sure that Bai Youcai would most likely rebel against him and he would not be able to do the work of a civilian man again.
A few months, one old and one young, they will definitely not survive for long.
"Why don't you tell the truth? Receive the reward, accept the reward, let the dog masters know that I and the bandits are fellow villagers, why don't they just pick off my head?" Bai Youcai spat, "You have
Come on, tell me whether you want to do this with me or not. How long can we survive if we continue like this?"
Li Chonger knew that this was his only chance to contact the rebels, but after all, defecting to the bandits to rebel was a major matter that would lead to beheading him. He still did not dare to express his feelings to Bai Youcai directly, so he pretended to say: "You are talking crazy, I
I won’t tell anyone. Whatever you want to do, just do it. If you really want to get rich, don’t forget about me.”
"Then give me the knife." Bai Youcai was annoyed when he heard this and reached out to grab the knife. "Just like an aunt, you starve to death on the roadside and no one will collect your body."
This weapon was Li Chonger's favorite. How could he give it to Bai Youcai? Li Chonger blocked Bai Youcai in one fell swoop. Although he was so thin from hunger that he was out of shape, he was stronger than Bai Youcai at a young age.
Youcai was more than half a head taller, and the two of them started to fight and gained the upper hand.
"Stop making trouble. If you wake up other people like this, we might lose our heads. I'll do it with you. I'll do it with you. Isn't that okay?"
While protecting his weapon, Li Chonger hurriedly agreed to work with Bai Youcai. Having said that, Bai Youcai is not the kind of ruthless person who fishes for law enforcement. If the trouble continues, it will really happen.
It's a big deal. Li Chonger can still trust Bai Youcai now, not to mention the current situation. If the matter is leaked, the mastermind is also Bai Youcai. At most, he is a person who didn't tell the truth and was coerced.
Bai Youcai sat down. It was almost late at night. The wind blew into the thatched house, and the two couldn't help but shudder. There was another sound of crying and wailing outside the house, mixed with squeaks and squeals.
There was a sound of gnawing. I wonder if another hungry person was eaten alive.
"I don't dare to kill officials and rebel, but if I can get a few coins to fill my stomach, that would be a good thing." Li Chonger lowered his voice, still looking like he was hiding something, "Gai Lao said.
, how do you plan to get in touch with that gang of thieves?"
Bai Youcai was stunned for a moment. He just saw that some bandits had sneaked into the county, and he was fed up with the hard labor of the people who were worse than death, so he planned to join the bandits and kill officials for rebellion. How many days could he live?
God, it's better than dying of exhaustion and starvation now. I haven't thought of a specific strategy.
"Isn't it... just asking them directly to join the gang? We are all fellow villagers anyway."
"Nonsense! You have already seen that someone has sneaked into the county. What if the first reporter comes out? Can people trust you? How many lives are at stake? If it were me, I wouldn't even look at it.
Gai Lao, you cut off your head to avoid future troubles."
Li Chonger hated the fact that iron cannot become steel. Fortunately, Bai Youcai did not act rashly and came to find him first. Otherwise, things would definitely be bad. "We must at least submit a letter of surrender so that others can trust you, right?"
"Hey, Houba, you are knowledgeable. After all, you are a person who has been a villager and done important things. This kind of work is different. I almost became an old fool and died if I didn't do it."
"How many days have you been in the county town with those fellow villagers you are familiar with?" Li Chong'er's murderous intention surged in his chest and he wanted to get in touch with the bandits. Just having Bai Youcai, a fellow villager in Li Jiqian's village, was not enough.
Insurance. He had to try to get an officer and soldier's head to use as a surrender certificate, so that he could gain the trust of the bandits. However, he did not know when the bandits would attack, so he killed the officers and soldiers rashly, arousing their vigilance, and things went bad.
"We saw it before we last left the city to search the mountains, and it's been almost half a month now." Bai Youcai answered while clasping his fingers.
"That's about it. The bandits can't stay too long outside the barren and foodless county. Today, the officers and soldiers killed the good and took credit, reported the military merit to the county master, and spent the whole night drinking and having fun, without any precautions.
, if I were a thief, I would do it tonight!"
It's late at night now, and time waits for no one. I'm afraid the bandits outside the city and in the city will start taking action soon!
"Lao Gai, do you know where the thieves who sneaked into the city are?"
"There are several familiar faces in the dilapidated City God's Temple next to the county government office..." Bai Youcai recalled for a while and replied, "I know one of the people there. Come to think of it, he is my distant nephew.
.”
"Damn it, it's not too late, let's take action immediately and kill officials and rebel!"
Li Chonger clenched the weapon in his hand. His eyes, which had been numbed by hard labor, almost turned red. He gritted his teeth with a fierce look on his face.
"There are so many drunken officers and soldiers tonight. They are wearing tiger skins and are not even afraid of refugees who are dizzy from hunger. I see many people are left alone." The moonlight shines through the leaks in the roof of the thatched house.
The weapon in Li Zhong's hand reflected a breathtaking cold light, "Let's pick off an officer's head first to make a pledge, and then go find fellow Gai to do something big!"
Bai Youcai looked at Li Chonger, who had a fierce and ferocious look on his face, and felt a little panicked. This young man usually always had a well-behaved and dull appearance, but at this time he showed a relentless ruthlessness.
, really doesn’t look like a farmer from the Ming Dynasty.
"Killing officers and soldiers...hou baby, do we really want to kill people now? I feel a little panicked."
"Bah, how can these dog officers and soldiers be considered human beings? They are just a bunch of jackals. I am used to watching people eat people. Are I still afraid of killing a jackal?" Li Chonger spat, having been abused by the officers and soldiers for a long time.
The anguish and hatred of the whipping all burst out in one breath at this time. In his previous life, he was considered a good and gentle man, but after being tortured by the scene of the end of the Ming Dynasty, he actually didn't feel the slightest resistance to killing someone.
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"Lao Gai, in this world, either you eat people, or people eat you. Let's do whatever we say and set out now!"
The night is vast. In Zhuxi County tonight, the moon is neither too bright nor too dim. It looks the same as before. There are only dozens of drunken officers and soldiers scattered on the street, swaying crookedly.
Either with a knife hanging on his waist or a whip in his hand, even the starving people with red eyes would not dare to approach these officers and soldiers. The authority of the imperial court has not been completely destroyed, and the officers and soldiers, dressed in tiger skin, can even overwhelm the hungry people to survive.
Many people in the Ming Dynasty did not dare to have the slightest objection even if they fell dead on the roadside and became a starving corpse.
unless……
Unless the world is so bad that no one can see any hope, the most docile people of the Ming Dynasty will become the most ferocious beasts in the world.