Chapter five hundred and forty-eight the butcher's knife fell
After he finished speaking, the entire shed fell into silence. No one agreed or objected. Everyone looked at him blankly.
"Is there really no other way? I don't want to die yet." A middle-aged man held his head and yelled in pain. It's normal to have this kind of thinking. Everyone wants to live until they actually face death.
For a moment, you don't know how much you want to live. No one has the right to deprive others of their desire to live, even if he is a terminally ill person.
"You should think carefully about it today, I will come back tomorrow." After Zhang Xianzhong finished speaking, he was about to leave. Perhaps his previous estimate was wrong and he should not come to discuss with them. The result of the discussion might be in vain.
"Wait a minute." After taking a few steps, he was suddenly stopped by someone. It was the young man who had just asked.
"Do you have anything else to ask?" Zhang Xianzhong looked pleasant and looked nothing like an executioner.
The young man said to himself, but it was more like speaking to everyone else: "Actually, I don't want to live like this for a long time. It is too painful to go on like this, knowing that there is no hope of living.
But I still struggle every day, it’s really painful.”
After listening to his words, everyone fell silent, with sadness and despair in their eyes without exception. It seemed that they all felt the same.
Zhang Xianzhong didn't understand what he wanted to express by saying this, but he still listened patiently and did not interrupt what the young man said.
"Can you take good care of my mother for me? She will be very sad if I leave. My father died early. My mother has worked hard to raise me all these years. Unfortunately, I am now
I can't repay her kindness in raising me." The young man smiled, but tears welled up in his eyes.
"I will." Zhang Xianzhong promised.
"Look, if we stay here like this now, what is the difference between us and the dead? Mr. Zhang is not from Hanzhong. He has so many people under his command, and he also has war horses and food and grass. He could have just left.
But he didn't, he chose to stay here to resist the Manchu thieves."
"What about us? We are all natives of Hanzhong. Do we have less affection for this place than he does? Our ancestors are buried here for generations, and there are relatives and friends that we cannot let go of. Do we really think so?
Will they have no choice but to die miserably at the hands of the Manchus or die of untreated diseases?"
As soon as he said these words, the whole audience fell into silence again, but this time was different from the previous one, everyone had hesitation in their eyes. Hanzhong is the place where they were born and raised, and they have grown up here since they were young.
, and have always hoped that their children and grandchildren can grow up healthily here. But now someone has come in, and they are defenseless and there is nothing they can do.
Now that they are no longer useless people who can't do anything, they have weapons that no one can resist, so should they continue to remain silent?
"Master Zhang, I don't want to be successful and famous after my death. I just hope that you can remember your promise today and take good care of my mother on my behalf. I would like to thank you here first." The young man struggled after saying this.
He got up and kowtowed to Zhang Xianzhong.
"Don't be like this. Since I said it, I will definitely keep my promise. No matter whether I, Zhang Xianzhong, lose or win today, I will take good care of your relatives." Zhang Xianzhong helped the person up.
I only heard the young man laughing loudly and saying: "I originally thought that I would be a mediocre person all my life, unwilling to farm at home but not be able to pass the exams. I never thought that today I would be able to do something like this, imitating the saints and sacrificing themselves for others."
It’s not like I came to this world in vain. Mr. Zhang, please count me in your plan.”
After he finished speaking, other people who were hesitant at first gradually became firmer: "Count me in."
"Master Zhang, count me in too."
"Master Zhang, you have to take good care of my wife and children. I thank you for your kindness."
Zhang Xianzhong is not someone who has never seen big scenes, but the scene in front of him made him want to cry: "Don't worry, leave the names of your relatives and where they live, and I will take good care of them."
"You tell me what to do, and all of us will cooperate with you." The young man who helped Zhang Xianzhong whispered beside him.
After hearing what he said, Zhang Xianzhong turned his head and looked at him seriously: "The reason why you did not pass the examination must be because the examiners are blind. I will go and pick them out one by one and dig out their eyes.
"
The young man couldn't help but laugh after hearing his words: "There's no need to dig out your eyes, but if you really see them, you really have to give them a good beating for me to vent your anger, so that they won't do it again in the future."
I dare not humiliate a poor student."
Zhang Xianzhong nodded: "I will definitely do it."
Except for a few old, weak, sick and disabled people who couldn't move, almost everyone agreed to Zhang Xianzhong's plan. Zhang Xianzhong would take advantage of the darkness tomorrow to send them to the enemy camp. It was up to them to see how far they could achieve it.
.
When I left there, the atmosphere among the patients was better than before Zhang Xianzhong came. Everyone was talking about the passion and ideals they had when they were young, their families, and their futures. It was not lively.
Like a group of people who are going to die tomorrow.
After walking out of the temporary sheds, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly punched the wooden stake hard. The guards next to him looked at each other in shock.
It stands to reason that those people are willing to take the initiative to cooperate, and adults should be happy. What is the reason for this now?
"If he can really get the honors, he will be a good official." Zhang Xianzhong murmured to himself, but unfortunately he was too far away and no one could hear what he said clearly.
"Many of them are still children." Zhang Xianzhong didn't know what was wrong with him. Things were obviously moving in the best direction, but apart from the moment of relief he felt just now, he felt even heavier now than before he came.
.
"Go back. We can't make any mistakes this time. We want to let those Manchus know how powerful we are." He pounded the wooden stake again and left without looking back.
The guards behind him looked back at the small shed with dim lights, heard the laughter coming from inside, then looked at the bloodstains on the wooden pile, and sighed in unison.
"Don't think about it, just follow me."
As the sun sets, the last ray of light shines on the group of people suffering from the epidemic. They have been living in darkness. This is the only ray of light, but it is accompanied by eternal silence.