Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 88 Breaking the embankment, beggar your neighbor

When a man is about to die, his words are also good!

On the last day of his life, Wang Liansheng expressed many of his views on the White Lotus Sect.

Although, it is mostly subjective guesswork.

Li Yu still accepted his favor and let him become a dead ghost.

Let the kitchen make fried fish, squirrel mandarin fish, and rice wine, which are his daily favorites.

"Are you full?"

"full."

"Then let's go."

Li Yu stood up and left the cellar.

Two men carried Wang Liansheng and dragged him to the ground.

"Master Li, spare my life. I promise to serve you. I can help you deal with the White Lotus Sect, and I can also help you control the Xujiang Pier."

However, it doesn't work.

Li Yu didn't even bother to look back, he just made a cutting gesture.

Inside the fort, many people were watching.

The executioner could only be heard loudly announcing Wang Liansheng’s crime:

"This person is a member of the Jianghu, but he took refuge in the government and betrayed his brothers. I, Lijiabao, will execute justice on behalf of heaven."

Click.

The blood soared three feet high.

Later, it was washed clean by the rain.

All sins will end up on earth.

……

The only way through the ages is to die.

Li Yu sighed, in fact, Wang Liansheng still has value.

However, he must execute the man.

Not only because of my sister-in-law’s entrustment.

More importantly, kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!
If he was spared, the people in the fort might be lucky.

Today, the traitor’s head is used as a warning to everyone.

The road to rebellion has no retreat and no forks in the road.

Cut off all illusions and follow your own path.

These months,

He is good at dancing and has been trying his best to cover up the signs of rebellion.

Lijiabao's military strength has always been weak.

Mainly by relying on making friends with official figures and being ruthless, he used his strength to gain a foothold in Suzhou Prefecture.

If this continues for a long time, there are hidden dangers.

How to conduct military training in a low-key manner without being noticed by the government.

If you are in the west, just find a valley or desert.

But Jiangnan is densely populated.

Li Yu walked to the eaves upset.

It was raining heavily outside, and the rain was running down the eaves.

"There is."

……

"Liu Wu."

"Here, what is the master's order?"

"Before it gets dark, let's build a rain shelter on top of the fort wall."

"what?"

"Listen clearly, we need to be able to let the musketeers shoot under the shed without getting wet in the rain."

"Yes."

Liu Wu went there wearing a raincoat and carrying a gong.

After a while, the labor team braved the rain and climbed up the fort wall.

Not only that, but people also placed targets 100 meters and 50 meters outside the fort.

"Military advisor, I heard that you are going to organize musket shooting training?"

"Correct."

Lin Huaisheng and Fan Jing didn't react for a moment.

Li Yu smiled and said:

"Normally I wouldn't dare. The sound of gunfire can be heard two miles away. With the heavy rain today, it can't be heard far at all."

"What a great opportunity, lining up under the awning."

"I originally wanted to start again tomorrow morning, but I have changed my mind now. Let's start after dinner."

"Lin Huaisheng, please take command."

……

under night.

Bright lights appeared on several targets outside the fort.

This was the rain cover that Li Yu had specially made. It made Feng Deng angry.

"You all heard clearly. The target is between the two bright lights."

"Start loading."

Lin Huaisheng held the stick and watched the loading action.

If anyone is in a hurry or looking askance at others, just tap them.

Correct gradually to achieve proficiency.

In front, there is a brazier.

It is convenient for everyone to light the match.

"Get ready, let go."

A row of gunfire tore through the rain curtain.

No one in the fort can sleep tonight.

Li Yu stood on the city wall, still worried.

Two gangsters were found:
"You two, paddle out, listen for the noise, and come back and tell me."

"Be careful and avoid the direction of shooting."

After a cup of tea, the two of them were back.

Tell Li Yu that he can't hear clearly within 1 mile.

Even if it is heard, it is like thunder.

Moreover, the muzzle flash could not be seen.

"Good rain." Li Yu couldn't help but praise.

This rain,
Zhoujia Village in the west has different opinions.

A tenant of the Zhou family's mansion rushed in in embarrassment and shouted in horror:
"The dikes are almost unstoppable."

Mr. Zhou trembled and raised two fingers:
"Guard the dam, sir. I will reward each person with 200 coins."

"Master, the water level is getting higher and higher, and it's as high as the dike. Get on the roof quickly, the dike will collapse soon, and it will be too late to escape."

……

Click, a lightning bolt.

Master Zhou's face was pale and his whole body was as cold as death.

You know, if the dam collapses, the family fortune of three generations of his family will be gone.

When the flood recedes,
In addition to those fields, farming can continue.

Houses, shops, gold and silver, all gone.

He took two steps back and forth in the room, and suddenly a fierce look appeared on his face:

"Go to the ancestral hall and ring the bell."

In Zhoujia Village, one-third of the people have the surname Zhou.

The rest have minor surnames from various families, and they are all respected by Mr. Zhou.

Many people are tenants and long-term workers of the Zhou family.

Speaking of which, Master Zhou is not a bad master.

Of course, it has nothing to do with kindness.

He is a well-behaved country squire who will not raise the rent more in good years.

In disaster years, interest rates on loan sharks will not rise.

And just like that,

People in Zhoujiacun privately have a good reputation for him.

The common people are the easiest to be satisfied, compared with other squires who have no limits on what they can do.

Mr. Zhou is quite good.

This is a bad era.

You don't need to be too good, just a little bit better than others.

……

Zhou's Ancestral Hall.

3. The tile-roofed house in the house is repaired every year and has special personnel to guard it.

Hearing the bell, everyone came.

The last time I heard the bell ringing, it was Taihu water bandits who came ashore in large numbers.

Zhoujiacun spent eight lives and 500 taels of silver to repel (persuad) the bandits.

I dare not ring the bell in the ancestral hall easily.

Old people all say that when the bell rings, the King of Hell will come to collect people.

Rainwater flows down people's faces.

The expressions were all fearful and serious.

Master Zhou pushed open the servant's umbrella.

He walked to the patio and shouted loudly:

"The ancestors can no longer protect our Zhoujia Village. The rain is too heavy, and the earth embankment behind the village will collapse soon."

wow.

Everyone was in panic, some knelt down and cried, and some shouted and ran for their lives.

"Don't mess around, listen to me."

Mr. Zhou snatched the gong from someone's hand and banged it hard.

"The terrain of Zhoujia Village is low, but there are people in the north who are even shorter than us."

"As long as the embankment in Wenjia Village collapses, the water will not be able to flood us."

Boast, a thunder.

Everyone trembled in shock.

Mr. Zhou was the same, his hands were shaking.

He didn't know if God was also warning him.

Dig down the embankment of Wenjia Village and save the people of Zhoujia Village.

What an unscrupulous thing!

In the past, he wouldn't have dared to think about it.

……

Everyone looked at him quietly.

In his eyes, there was fear, expectation, strangeness, and confusion.

An old man shed tears:

"Mr. Zhou, he is also doing it for our village."

"There was also a flood 40 years ago. All the houses in the village collapsed and all the livestock died. All three of Xiao Laoer's sons are dead, and the grave is still empty now."

Mr. Zhou also came to his senses and shouted sternly:

"All men in this village, above 16 and below 60, come to draw lots of life and death."

"Ten draws were drawn, and the person caught went to dig up the embankment of Wenjia Village."

"Your father, mother, wife and children will be raised by me and the people in Zhoujia Village."

"I swear on the souls of my ancestors. If I violate my oath, the entire Zhou family will suffer a terrible death and their ancestral graves will be dug up."

This kind of poisonous oath is convincing enough.

After all, this was in the Qing Dynasty, not modern times.

No one dares to joke about family and ancestral graves.

The old housekeeper of the Zhou family held a big jar and stood under the ancestor's memorial tablet, with tears streaming down his face.

Familiar faces silently took out lots from the jar.

Unfolded, it's mostly white paper.

Those with calligraphy in calligraphy are the dead lot.

The face of the man who caught the dead lot darkened, and he resolutely stood on Master Zhou's side.

……

Ten people!
There were young and old, shivering, standing in a row.

Master Zhou brought them strong drinks:

"Folks, go with peace of mind."

"Your parents are the parents of the whole village, and your children are the children of the whole village."

He then said to one of the tenants with a foreign surname:
"Your son is 4 years old this year, right? He is about the same age as the daughter of my third concubine. In a few years, I will let them get married, and if they have a child, they will take your surname."

"Master." The tenant choked and drank the bowl of strong wine in one gulp.

Another domestic slave ran in, rolling and crawling.

“The water level is high again and water is starting to pour in.

"There's no time, you can go in peace of mind."

In the heavy rain, the dark crowd knelt in silence in front of the ancestral hall.

Send these ten "heroes" off.Mr. Zhou knelt at the front.

Tears mixed with rain.

On the two boats, ten people wore bamboo hats.

In this kind of heavy rain, having too many clothes will only be a burden.

Suddenly, a young boy named Zhou jumped off the boat like crazy.

Shouting, I don’t want to die.

Over the dike.

Master Zhou was stunned and asked someone to hold this young man down.

He took the knife from the slave's hand, put it against his shoulder, and pulled hard.

"The sinners in Zhoujia Village are not worthy of entering the ancestral graves."

The tenant who had received the promise suddenly stood up:
"Master, give me the knife."

"Dig the embankment in Wenjia Village, maybe it can be used."

……

The two ships disappeared into the rain.

Zhoujia Village and Wenjia Village are not far apart, only a few hundred meters apart.

In the entire Suzhou Prefecture, the terrain is relatively low.

This is also the reason why Fucheng is not afraid of floods, because everything flows to all directions.

Both villages have earthen embankments at the lowest point to block floods.

The water level at this time was already level with the roofs of the village.

The people in Wenjia Village also stayed up all night.

They are frantically reinforcing the embankment and tearing down all the beams.

climate,
When there are rules, there are rules to follow.

When it is irregular, it always catches people off guard.

The ancients said that it was the emperor's virtue that caused the extreme weather.

Modern people say that industrialization has caused extreme climate.

In fact, they are all the same absurdity.

If Earth could speak, she would tell humans contemptuously:
"You think too much."

"The black smoke and sewage of yours will at most injure yourself."

Just like, do you think the ants on the ground are doing something bad? Pour a bottle of boiling water for them.

On the Wenjiacun embankment, the people who were busy reinforcing it were shocked to see a boat crash into the embankment.

The people on the boat began to dig up the embankment without saying a word.

"Someone is here."

"Someone wants to destroy the embankment."

Several men rushed forward and struggled with the people who were digging the embankment.

There was even an old man who found a gong and started banging it like crazy.

He knows how evil the human heart can be.

……

The heroes of Zhoujia Village are the sinners of Wenjia Village.

The tenant who got Master Zhou's promise could just raise his hand and cut him with a knife.

The people in Wenjia Village were frightened when they saw blood.

Taking advantage of this moment, they frantically opened the embankment.

In the distance, the Wen family villagers came with torches and gongs.

There were huge numbers and angry shouts.

However, once the earthen embankment is opened, it will collapse like dominoes.

Overall, collapsed.

Floods rushed straight down from the gap.

The kinetic energy that has been accumulated for a long time is unstoppable along the way.

Houses, people, livestock, all taken away.

The people of Zhoujia Village were surprised to find out.

The water level slowly dropped.

"Down, down."

It seems that God has also joined in the fun.

The rain also became lighter.

People in Zhoujiacun laughed, cried, and knelt in front of the ancestral hall.

the following month,

According to official statistics, only two out of ten people in Wenjia Village exist.

Wen repeatedly beat drums to express his grievances, but was ignored by the Yamen.

Later, they lived scattered and gradually became unknown.

Mr. Zhou suddenly fell down in the ancestral hall during the Qingming Festival in the second year and died.

The villagers held a grand funeral for him.

The eldest son of Zhou was elected as the new clan leader.

People in other villages said that perhaps the ghost of the Wen family came to find him.

……

When Li Yu heard about it, he could only sigh.

Creatures like humans,
Can have both divinity and beast/nature.

The brilliance in human nature is almost comparable to that of gods.

When it comes to evil, not to mention jackals, tigers and leopards, even the little ghosts in hell will be ashamed.

If it were just a group difference, it would be understandable.

But the puzzling thing is that these two may appear in the same person.

Even the most eloquent philosophers don't know how to speak.

People are so contradictory.

……

Li Yu is also very conflicted now. The White Lotus Sect has disappeared from Suzhou Mansion, and he is a little secretly happy.

However, they are expected to make a comeback.

Without their sabotage, my Lijia Fort would become more and more like a lightbulb.

So eye-catching.

I miss Bai Lian and my sister-in-law.

Fucheng has issued gold bars, please come back quickly.

By the way, Lan Yingying!

Li Yu jumped up, startling Fan Jing.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"You said Lan Yingying, could she be the leader of the Suzhou Branch of the White Lotus Sect?"

"what?"

Fan Jing put forward a serious idea:

"If she is real, are you going to kidnap her? Kill her? Or cooperate?"

Li Yu was instantly discouraged:
"I don't want to choose any of them."

"Yes, if that's the case, then why are we provoking her? People from the White Lotus Sect are very vengeful."

At this time, Li Yu began to miss someone again.

Liu Qian!

Perhaps hearing his call, he came back two days later.

Dusty and dusty, he appeared outside the castle in a very embarrassed state.

Li Yu was so surprised that he would think he was dead if he didn't come back.

Liu Qian also understood what was more important, so he took a sip of water and began to report:
"Wei Jun accepted the certificate and went up the mountain. The group in Huizhou Prefecture is not simple, not like Lu Lin."

After chatting for a long time, Liu Qian recounted everything he saw and heard.

Wei Jun was easily accepted with the three matchlock guns he gave him, on the grounds that he was offered a reward by the government.

And Liu Qian, claiming to be his friend, escorted him all the way out of loyalty.

We stayed in the cottage for 3 days.

There are more than 100 people in this group, including deserters from the Green Camp, deserters from the Jinchuan tribe, and a few local mountain people.

There are men, women and children.

The leader is Mr. Qian from Green Camp in Guizhou.

Because the food transportation was delayed, he would be beheaded by military law when he returned, so he simply led his men as deserters.

The Jinchuan frontline general ordered a reward for his capture.

The second leader is a Jinchuan woman.

Ben was a prisoner of the Qing army and was escorted down the mountain with a group of tribal mountain people.

As a result, on the way to be escorted.

The officers and soldiers encountered the fleeing General Qian and a group of people and fought hard.

Casualties were not small on both sides.

As a result, they came together because of a common enemy.

Just like in many cheesy movies.

On the way to escape, the two developed feelings.

After all, this friendship of fighting side by side goes beyond ordinary love.

……

When they came together, the group was completely integrated.

Soldiers and thieves have eliminated the barriers at this time.

However, the road back to Guizhou was blocked by officers and soldiers.

We had no choice but to turn around and head north, eventually wandering to Huizhou.

Mountains are the environment they are familiar with.

There is no sense of security in the plains.

Li Yu nodded, understanding this very well.

This pair of desperate mandarin ducks made a wise choice.

Moreover, Anhui Green Camp has the smallest number of troops and the weakest strength, with only 1 people.

This has to do with location.

There is not a single Eight Banner garrison in the entire province.

In fashionable terms, they chose to go to the areas where the enemy was weakest.

Moreover, it is also the most suitable mountainous area for the weak to survive.

"It's a talent."

Li Yu secretly made a definition in his heart.

To escape from western Sichuan to Huizhou, one has to travel through mountains and rivers and pass through prefectures and counties.

This is no fluke;

But have calm judgment and accurate goals.

The Huizhou government's two siege campaigns failed and were not unjust.

This group of bandits is the elite of the rest of the battlefield.

Li Yu even speculated that if it were not for the sake of low-key survival.

They can easily take over the surrounding counties.

The soldiers who have experienced the brutal war in Jinchuan cannot be underestimated.

……

"Thank you for your hard work. Go wash up and eat something good."

Liu Qian left.

Through the window, Li Yu saw a warm scene.

The tall wife took the burden from his hand.

In the castle, some people were already jealous.

Chewing a mouthful of dog food and chatting about what they are going to do for a while.

In a few days, Li Yu will give him an important task.

Let’s explore Lan Yingying’s background.

If it's just Thousand Gate Swallows, set up a net to catch them and share half of the money.

It is impossible for Yanzi to stay in Pan Mansion for a long time. Once he wins the trust of the third young master of Pan Mansion, he will make money and fly high.

If it is really the leader of the White Lotus Church,
Just keep a respectful distance and never provoke him again.

No matter what the situation is, Pingjiang Pan Mansion will be in trouble.

Mr. Pan and he were considered acquaintances, so he seemed to be able to give a hint.

How to make the Pan family appreciate it is a difficult problem.

Li Yu is very covetous of Pan Mansion's financial resources. If he can become a collaborator, Li Jiabao's strength will definitely increase dramatically.

Money is never enough.

Today's coal cake business looks lively.

In fact, there is only cash flow and not much profit.

Others may not believe it,

But Li Yu knew full well that he had already lowered the price to a very low level.

Because he needs to open up the market.

We can only adopt this method of harming others and not benefiting ourselves, crazily squeezing the market.

In the first month, costs and expenses are taken into account, as well as various management measures.

The net profit was only a pitiful thousand taels of silver.

Say it, who will believe it?
(End of this chapter)