The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 298 Borrowing chickens to lay eggs
These pirates were really hungry. After brutally slaughtering the entire village, they began to search frantically for all the food they could eat. They stuffed large amounts of uncooked rice into their mouths and chewed the hard beans directly. One lucky pirate After finding a piece of bacon, I hurriedly hid in the dark and devoured it. I looked like a group of hungry ghosts from hell and a group of demons on earth.

Li Hongji, perhaps because his conscience was still intact, or because he was disdainful of it, did not participate in the massacre of the villagers. Instead, he stayed outside the village and stood guard until there was no movement in the village, then he walked heavily into the village.

The moonlight was pale, and the house was stained with blood inside and outside. In a relatively open courtyard of a farmhouse, Kang Dayong and several Japanese pirates were eating barbecue by the fire, and there were two local dogs that had been killed next to them.

"The second boss came at the right time. You deserve to be blessed!" Kang Dayong generously threw a piece of roasted meat to Li Hongji.

Li Hongji thanked him and took it. He was already very hungry and immediately began to eat. However, he soon felt that the taste was wrong. It didn't seem to be dog meat. When he took a closer look, his expression changed slightly and he blurted out: "This... is not dog meat." ?”

Kang Dayong chuckled and said: "Of course it's not dog meat. How can dog meat be so fresh and tender, and cleaning the dog hair is too troublesome. This meat is delicious and very rare. Don't waste it, the second master."

Li Hongji felt turbid waves surging in his chest and abdomen, and he couldn't help but vomited wildly. Several Japanese pirates laughed when they saw this, and munched on the barbecue while holding it in their hands.

Kang Dayong looked at Li Hongji who was escaping in embarrassment, with a proud and evil smile on his face. He picked up a half-cooked barbecue and started tearing it up, which made the scalps of the Japanese pirates tingle.

Even though Kang Dayong was eating with gusto at this time, he actually didn't like it and was even a little nauseous. This is the second time he has eaten this kind of meat. The first time he tried it was just out of curiosity. This time he just wanted to establish his authority and make his subordinates fear him, and also damage the prestige of the second boss Li Hongji. His purpose was obvious. Also achieved.

"Hehe, although this kid Li Hongji is quite talented, he is not courageous and ruthless enough. He dare not eat this and even vomited in public. That's it. It is impossible to replace me!" Kang Dayong thought in his heart, while He swallowed the half-cooked barbecue with all his strength.

Li Hongyi whispered angrily: "Brother, Kang Dayong is so unkind. You helped him so much, but he actually used this method to humiliate you in public. It's really abominable."

Li Hongji said disdainfully: "As the saying goes, those who win the hearts and minds of the people win the world. They only make people fearful and unpopular. They will not achieve great things in the end. Moreover, this move is against the harmony of heaven and will be sent by heaven sooner or later. Kang Dayong will imitate this person. It will not end well. As the saying goes, if God wants to kill him, he will go crazy. If you don’t believe it, let’s wait and see!”

Li Hongyi searched around the outside of the village and finally found his cousin Li Hongji who was gargling by the river. He handed over a bowl of cooked white rice, but the latter felt nauseated and couldn't eat it after eating half the bowl. The taste of that meat fills your mouth.

Li Hongyi said in confusion: "Since Kang Dayong will not end well, why should we follow him? Why don't we run away now to avoid being implicated by him."

A trace of anger flashed in Li Hongji's eyes, and he sneered: "Kang Dayong didn't trust me and was afraid that I would replace him, so he deliberately used this method to suppress my prestige and make everyone fear him. Unfortunately, he was completely wrong. "

Li Hongyi said sarcastically: "Although eating that kind of meat is disgusting, it's really scary. Now when those guys see Kang Dayong, they feel like they've seen a ghost. They all bow their heads and listen to each other."

Li Hongji suddenly fell silent. He turned out to be just a narrow-minded angry young man who hated corrupt officials, the powerful, and social injustice. But if he could continue on the road of trafficking official salt and make money to support his family, the most he could do was continue to be a Just an angry young man who is cynical and curses. But the last time he went to the salt field to carry salt, he was humiliated by Jia Lian and pissed on his face in public. In addition, the salt field officials robbed him of the salt and seized it, demanding a huge ransom, so he was forced to go to a dead end.

Nowadays, Li Hongji obviously has no way of turning back. He can only go all the way to the dark side, otherwise he will have to commit suicide!

Li Hongji was silent for a long time, and then he whispered guiltily: "Hongyi, it was my eldest brother who harmed you. If you had not followed your eldest brother to Yangzhou to sell salt, you would not have fallen into this situation. You might have married a wife and had children in your hometown. "Li Hongyi smiled bitterly and said: "This can't be all your fault, brother. If you want to blame it, blame it on the social injustice, blame Jia Lian for being too arrogant and domineering, blame those corrupt officials for being too dark. The reason why our brothers are where we are today is because of them. Forced!”

Speaking of the past, Li Hongji couldn't help but grit his teeth, put his hands on Li Hongyi's shoulders, and said solemnly: "Yes, they forced it all. We brothers are right. I, Li Hongji, do not believe in fate, nor do I accept fate. Since the world is unfair, then I will destroy this world.

Hongyi, don't look at the current national power of the imperial court, but it is actually suffering from internal and external troubles. The two emperors are fighting at home, and the Tatars and Jurchens are watching outside. Especially the Jurchens are getting stronger and stronger, and they have defeated the Jin army in Liaodong. Two Liaodong managers, one was defeated and beheaded, and the other burned himself.

Now the imperial court has to station 200,000 troops outside Shanhaiguan for a long time, and it also spends a lot of money to build city defense fortresses. If things go on like this, the Jin treasury will inevitably be overwhelmed, and civil strife will inevitably break out. "

Li Hongyi nodded in agreement: "Yes, I heard that the imperial court not only increased the salt tax this year, but also issued an additional 100,000 yuan of salt. This shows that the imperial court's finances are already stretched."

Li Hongji's eyes flashed with excitement and he said: "Jiangnan is the richest place in the country, and the salt tax is an important source of the national treasury. If Jiangnan is unstable, the imperial court's finances will inevitably be even worse. Then there will be chaos in the country, internal and external difficulties, and it will be a good time to change the situation." It’s a good time for us brothers to make preparations today, and we may be able to achieve something successful.”

Li Hongyi's heart was beating fast, and his blood was boiling. He asked hurriedly, "How can we prepare in advance?"

Li Hongji glanced around and lowered his voice: "Kang Dayong is cruel and murderous. Although everyone is afraid of him, he is not popular among the people. Now he has committed this crime again, which harms both heaven and morality. He will definitely not end well. Let's Stay with him for the time being and secretly cultivate power. If there is a chance to replace him, then replace him. If there is no chance, you can lead your own team to start a new business in the future. It is better than starting from scratch. This is the so-called borrowing a chicken to lay an egg. ”

Li Hongyi nodded and said: "I listen to you, brother. I'll hit you wherever you want!"

Li Hongji patted Li Hongyi on the shoulder happily and said: "Good brother, in the future, no matter how big or small, if you conquer the country, you will be half as good as you!"

Li Hongyi smiled and said: "That's not necessary. The eldest brother can just give me the prime minister's position and the younger brother can sit there."

"This is easy, but we are cousins. If I become king, you will be crowned a prince!" Li Hongji said proudly.

Li Hongyi was also eager when he heard this. Suddenly he woke up to something and reminded him in a low voice: "The origins of brothers Zhu Jinaxe and Zhu Jinyue may be unusual. Brother, please be careful."

Li Hongji's eyes flashed, and he nodded: "So Hongyi, you have also seen it. These two people are proficient in riding and archery, and their archery skills are so superb. They definitely cannot be ordinary people, let alone go to sea to be pirates. In addition, these two people are The two brothers have been destroying the salt field for a while, and it seems that they are going to the salt field. Maybe...the two brothers have some connection with the Jurchens. "

Li Hongyi said in shock: "Brother, what do you mean, is that they were ordered by the Jurchens to deliberately destroy the salt fields in Dajin?"

Li Hongji said hesitantly: "I can't say for sure, but regardless of their origins, messing up Da Jin is consistent with our goal. As long as they don't offend us, we don't need to pay attention to them. We can just be careful in secret. Let's go back. Well, if we stay here for a long time, Kang Dayong may become jealous."

(End of this chapter)