The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

Osmanthus Village, which had no villagers due to the plague a few years ago, is now very lively.There were many people walking around the village. They walked very fast and seemed a little anxious.These people's expressions were numb and their eyes were empty, like zombies.

There were also some people sitting on the ground, holding steamed buns in their hands and eating them hungrily.These people's faces were dark, their hair was messy, their clothes were torn, and their hands were covered with dirt and wounds.

King Chu and Lin Geng were sitting among this group of people. Their descriptions were the same as those of this group of people, and their original appearance could not be seen at all.

A few days ago, King Chu and Lin Geng sneaked into Osmanthus Village in disguise.They were so well disguised that they didn't attract anyone's attention.

There are a certain number of people here, and as long as there are a large number of people, it will not attract the attention of the stewards.Furthermore, the people here all looked very embarrassed. Everyone's face was so dark that it was impossible to see their appearance or tell who was who.

The middle-aged man sitting next to King Chu accidentally choked because he ate too quickly.He hurriedly raised his hand and beat his chest. Seeing this, the King of Chu hurriedly handed his water to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man took the broken bowl of water and drank it hurriedly.After taking several sips, I washed away the steamed bun that was stuck in my throat.

"Uncle Zhang, are you okay?" King Chu's voice was no longer as clear as before. It became very rough and hoarse, and his accent became very strange.

"It's okay." Uncle Zhang returned the unfinished water to King Chu, and said to King Chu with gratitude, "Thanks to your water."

"It's okay. You'd better drink the water. I'll go to the well to get water later."

"Then I'm welcome." The middle-aged man's legs and feet were a little inconvenient. If he wanted to fetch water from the well, he would have to walk for a long time.

There is a river in Guihua Village, which should be said to be a stream, but the stream water cannot be drunk because it contains wastewater from copper burning.Fortunately, there is a well in Guihua Village, but the well is behind the village, which is a bit far away.

"Uncle Zhang, why are you so polite to me?" After King Chu finished speaking, he lowered his head and ate the steamed bun in his hand roughly.At this moment, someone walked by behind him and accidentally bumped into him, knocking the bun in his hand to the ground.

King Chu didn't hesitate and quickly picked up the steamed buns that fell on the ground.There was some dirt stuck to the bun, so King Chu blew on it twice and continued eating.

The dirt on the steamed buns was not blown away, and there was still dirt when he ate it, but he didn't care at all.

When Uncle Zhang saw King Chu's appearance, something strange flashed across his eyes, and he immediately lowered his head and continued eating the steamed bun in his hand.

King Chu finished the last steamed bun in his hand in two or three mouthfuls.He raised his dirty hands, wiped his mouth casually, and then said to Uncle Zhang: "Uncle Zhang, I will go to the well to get water. Give me your water bag."

Uncle Zhang pulled off the water bag tied around his waist and handed it to King Chu: "Wang Si, thank you."

"Thank you." After King Chu finished speaking, he took his and Uncle Zhang's water bags and went to the well to fetch water.

Uncle Zhang looked at the back of King Chu as he left.King Chu's back was a bit stooped.People in Osmanthus Village all have rickets in their backs, which is caused by bending over to do things for a long time.

King Chu walked to the well and found many people squatting here.Some people eat steamed buns and drink well water.Some people poured well water directly on themselves.

The day is getting hotter and hotter. In order to cool down, people here often wash themselves with cold well water.

King Chu waited for a while, then took the bucket from someone else's hand, drew a bucket of well water, and filled his and Uncle Zhang's water bags with water.

Fortunately, there is a well in Guihua Village, otherwise they would have to drink the wastewater poured into copper smelting.

The people in Osmanthus Village all looked calm, never meddling in other people's business, and would not bully others.They smelt copper here day after day and could not leave Osmanthus Village at all.They knew in their hearts that as long as they escaped from Guihua Village, there was only one way to die.They also knew that when the copper was finished smelting, they would still die.

They can only die in this village with no hope of survival.What else do they fight for and seize?

King Chu filled the water and returned, handing Uncle Zhang's water bag to him.

"Uncle Zhang, let's go."

Uncle Zhang sighed deeply, then put his hands on his knees and stood up slowly.

"Let's go."

The King of Chu did not reach out to help the limping Uncle Zhang, because Uncle Zhang did not need it.

Uncle Zhang hunched over, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked slowly with a limp.After walking for a while, he was sweating profusely.

"Fortunately, it's cool in the mountains at night, so I can have a good sleep at night."

King Chu did not speak and walked quietly beside Uncle Zhang.

Lin Geng did not follow King Chu and the others.After he and the King of Chu got in, they pretended not to know each other in front of others, and the two of them never said a word in front of others.

King Chu and Uncle Zhang walked for about two or three moments until they reached the entrance of a very large cave.

As soon as I walked to the entrance of the cave, a wave of heat hit my face.Then, the sound of a blow was heard, very loud.

When we walked into the cave, we found that it was bigger and there were more people inside.Some of them were busy lighting fires, some were busy smelting copper, and some were busy forging iron...

The older ones are responsible for lighting the fire, while the younger ones are responsible for smelting copper and forging iron.

Uncle Zhang went to the stove to light the fire, and King Chu went to the other side to strike iron.

There was a busy scene in the cave, but apart from the sounds of blacksmithing and copper smelting, no one could be heard talking.The people here seem to be unable to speak. It's not that they can't speak, but they dare not speak. Once they are discovered by the supervisor, they will be whipped by the supervisor.

They work hard, and if they don't do their job well, they will be beaten.They can only sleep for four hours a day, and they start working at [-] o'clock in the morning and end at [-] o'clock in the evening.

At Haishi, King Chu followed Uncle Zhang back to their house.

The houses left by the villagers of Guihua Village have become the houses of King Chu and others.On weekdays, they only come back to the house when they go to bed at night.

After returning to the house, King Chu and the others lay on the bed and slept.Washing, bathing, etc. are impossible.

When I come back from work every day, I am so exhausted that I can only breathe and have no extra energy to do unnecessary things.

In King Chu's room, there were not only him and Uncle Zhang, but also several other people, including Lin Geng.

At midnight, when everyone was asleep, King Chu and Lin Geng opened their eyes from the dark night, and then they left the house quietly.After they left, Uncle Zhang, who had been snoring, woke up.He climbed up, looked at the direction King Chu and the others were leaving, and sighed softly in his heart.Then, he sat up and bowed to the moon in the night sky, praying to the gods to protect King Chu and the others from being discovered.

Every night late at night, after King Chu and Lin Geng left, Uncle Zhang would pray for the gods' blessings.

Uncle Zhang didn't want to die, he wanted to leave Osmanthus Village alive, so he hoped that King Chu and the others could succeed.

King Chu and the others usually come back after an hour, but tonight they have not come back. This makes Uncle Zhang very worried, thinking that they have been discovered by the steward.

Just when Uncle Zhang was extremely anxious, King Chu and the others finally came back.

In the next few days, King Chu and Lin Geng worked diligently during the day and left secretly at night after everyone fell asleep.

A few days later, late one night, a group of people came to Osmanthus Village.Their movements were very neat and they quickly took control of Osmanthus Village.Most of the stewards and guards guarding here were killed, and the remaining ones were captured.

The people who were working were also controlled.They didn't know what was happening, and they all had a look of fear on their faces.

Although they have long known that they will die, when death does come, they still can't help but be afraid.

But Uncle Zhang stood in the crowd with a smile on his face, because he knew that Wang Si and the others had succeeded, and they were saved and no longer had to die.

Wei Mian looked at the workers and told them not to be afraid. They were not here to kill them, but to save them.

After saying some words, Wei Mian asked the workers to go back to the house to rest.They will arrange for them to go home early tomorrow morning.

Hearing the word "go home", the eyes of these people with gray and empty eyes burst into light, a ray of light called hope.Their expressions became expectant and excited.Can they really go home? Can they really go home?However, they did not ask out of fear.

Wei Mian saw what they were thinking and loudly told them again that they could go home, and that they could go home safely.

After hearing this, the workers returned to the house with joy and excitement.

Uncle Zhang also returned to the house with a smile on his face.

At this time, King Chu and Lin Geng were counting the copper and weapons in the cave.

In the past few years, the prince's people have stolen a lot of copper and forged many weapons.It is impossible to complete the inventory in one night.

"Your Highness, please wash up first." Wei Mian felt very distressed when he saw King Chu looking like a beggar. "My slave has already asked someone to boil the water. I will help you take a bath."

The King of Chu nodded lightly and returned to the house where he had been living during this period.

When Uncle Zhang saw King Chu coming back, he quickly stood up and saluted King Chu.

"Grass people..." These people didn't tell him the identity of Wang Si, but he guessed that Wang Si's identity was definitely not simple.

King Chu stretched out his hand to help Uncle Zhang up and said in a gentle tone: "Uncle Zhang, your legs and feet are not good, so you don't need to salute." King Chu's tone returned to normal.

"Sir, the grassroots have boiled water for you, please go and take a bath as soon as possible."

King Chu took a deep look at Uncle Zhang and said, "Uncle Zhang, I have something to ask you later."

Uncle Zhang said respectfully: "Yes, sir."

After King Chu had taken a bath and was clean, Wei Mian had another table of delicious dishes prepared.

The King of Chu called Uncle Zhang over and used it together.

Uncle Zhang sat down tremblingly, eating with King Chu and answering his questions.

The king of Chu asked about smelting copper and forging weapons.Uncle Zhang was one of the first ones to be brought in to do the work, and he knew the things in Guihua Village best.He reported everything he knew to the King of Chu.

"Uncle Zhang, I have something to trouble you with."

After hearing this, Uncle Zhang looked panicked and said hurriedly: "Sir, if you have anything to do, just tell me, and the common people will definitely do it."

"I would like to ask you to come to the capital with me, and then go to the audience together to tell the emperor what you just said to me."

Uncle Zhang was stunned and said with his mouth wide open: "Go to the capital to see the emperor?"

"Yes, I would like to ask you as a witness to follow me to the capital to report to the emperor what is happening here." King Chu smiled gently at Uncle Zhang, "Don't worry, I will protect you and not put you in danger. .”

"I...I...I..." Uncle Zhang panicked for a moment and didn't know what to say.

King Chu glanced at Wei Mian, who immediately understood.

Wei Mian helped Uncle Zhang retreat, and King Chu also stood up and left the house, going to the cave to continue counting things.

The prince and Duke Zhen, who were far away in the capital, had no idea what was happening in Osmanthus Village.The King of Chu and others took control of Osmanthus Village and would not let the prince's people tell the prince and others what happened here.

The prince is not worried about things in Osmanthus Village.What he was worried about now was King Wei's injury.

Just two days ago, the King of Wei and the governor of Pengcheng were assassinated and were seriously injured.

The prefect of Pengcheng wrote a letter telling the prince that they had found the King of Chu and were injured by the King of Chu's men in the process of arresting the King of Chu.However, the King of Chu did not get any relief. He was also injured by their people, and the injury was not light.

The prince learned that the King of Chu was seriously injured and escaped from Pengcheng, so he asked Jinling to send people to search for the King of Chu, and no one was left alive after he was found.

Jinling quickly found King Chu and successfully killed him.

The matter of stealing copper is over, and the next thing is the matter of Jinling Cao Gang and Salt Gang.Then, I will write about the male protagonist’s trip to Yangzhou. After that, the male protagonist becomes a king and goes to Lingnan to engage in infrastructure construction.