The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 306: Ten years of accumulation and ten years of lessons?
The sun shines through the dense treetops, pouring onto the moist soil. The thick layer of fallen leaves underfoot makes a rustling sound, and every step seems to leave one's own footprint in this boundless green world.

The air was filled with the fragrance of soil and rotten leaves, and occasionally one could catch the calls of animals in the distance or the gurgling of a stream in the distance. Surrounding me were towering trees with thick and powerful trunks and thick moss covering their barks. The branches intertwined to form natural tree holes for birds to roost in. The sunlight danced among the leaves, forming mottled light and shadows, adding a bit of vitality to this quiet forest.

Since walking in such a forest two days ago, the whole team has involuntarily slowed down their pace. Every time they look around, they can see different life forms quietly going about their lives. Small animals shuttle between the trees, occasionally poking their heads out to look at the outsiders curiously.

With every step deeper into the forest, one can feel time slowing down, as if one is far away from the hustle and bustle, far away from the flames of war, and far away from civilization, leaving only the tranquility and...fear of a dialogue with nature.

In the dense forest, humans no longer seem to be the masters, but rather a part of the harmony of nature that needs to be respected and integrated.

Suddenly, a big snake as thick as a bowl lay across the grass, its red tongue moving in and out, making a series of "hissing" sounds.

"Ah...snake!"

Yin Shihou was so frightened that he stepped back repeatedly, shouting loudly.

"Swish!" A sharp wooden spear flew from behind and accurately hit the middle of the snake, nailing it to the ground.

The big snake twisted its long body in pain, and its tail quickly wrapped around the wooden spear, trying to tightly wrap up the "enemy" to avoid causing more damage to itself.

Two or three natives holding wooden spears walked slowly forward, confronting the giant snake that had raised its head from a distance.

"ah!……"

One of the natives swung his spear and hit the snake hard, causing it to curl up. The other natives took the opportunity to stab the snake with their wooden spears, making several transparent holes in its body.

The surrounding natives immediately cheered and gathered around, ready to kill the giant snake and turn it into their food.

"#￥%#@&……?"

While everyone was paying attention to the giant snake, Yin Shihou looked around and quietly retreated, trying to take the opportunity to hide in the forest and escape from the control of the natives.

Unexpectedly, before he could take a few steps back, he heard a stern warning from the side.

Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a native on his right side holding a dagger, staring at him fiercely. His cold and vicious eyes made him shudder.

"I..., I need to... pee..." Yin Shihou was so scared that his whole body shuddered and he quickly pulled the waistband of his pants, pretending to pee.

"#@&..." The native took a few steps forward, approached him, pointed at the ground with his knife, and indicated that he should urinate here.

Yin Shihou had no choice but to take out the thing from between his legs and urinate on the spot under the gaze of the natives.

But the dense forest blocked out the sun, and it was hot and humid. In addition, the continuous march had already excreted excess water from the body through sweat. At this point, there was no urine left. After working hard for a long time, only a few drops were squeezed out.

"You...you stand there, I can't pee..." Yin Shihou said anxiously and fearfully, then turned his back and continued trying.

A month ago, Yin Shihou was a clerk in an abaca plantation in Shanting Township, helping his employer with some "noble matters" such as paperwork and accounting, and was paid 13 yuan a month. His salary was second only to the plantation's steward and the leader of the armed guards, and he lived a prosperous and satisfying life.

His employer even promised him that if he was willing to continue working for him after his three-year service, he would be offered a more generous salary and would also guarantee him to the local government to help him obtain naturalization so that he could become a formal citizen of Qi.

Yes, Yin Shihou was a new immigrant from Qin State. Due to his limited qualifications, he failed to pass the examination after studying for more than ten years, and his family was penniless and extremely destitute. He had no choice but to grit his teeth, borrow a large sum of money, and then came to the Luzon Governorate of Qi State through the relationship of a broker, trying to change his fate and seek wealth.

The original plan was well-planned. He would save fifty or sixty dollars a year, and nearly two hundred dollars in three years. By then, he would not only be able to pay off all the debts owed to Qin Guola, but also be able to bring all his family members to Luzon to enjoy a better life with him.

Who would have thought that the damn natives would not be willing to be oppressed and would actually revolt? At night, when I was sleeping in the house, I was dragged out of my bed by a group of natives and pressed to the ground like a dead dog.

After being tortured by the natives, the guards and supervisors were brutally killed. Then, the owner of the plantation, the chief steward, and the driver were also killed by the natives. They held up the severed heads and shouted excitedly, as if venting the anger and suffering accumulated over the years.

The worst suffered were the host's wife and daughter, who were brutally tortured for a day and a night by more than a hundred natives, and finally died in an extremely humiliating and painful way.

Seeing the brutal methods of the natives, Yin Shihou was frightened to the point of defecating and urinating all over the place, and he knelt on the ground and kowtowed and begged for mercy.

He really didn't want to die. Besides the fear in his heart, he was also thinking about his wife and children who were still in Daqin. They all hoped that he could make a name for himself. Even if he couldn't make it, at least he could help his impoverished family to some extent.

He couldn't imagine what kind of miserable life his family in the Qin Dynasty would face if he died at the hands of the natives. Would they choose to sell their children to pay off their debts, or even become slaves to their creditors?

In order to save his life, he not only knelt down and begged for mercy humbly, but also expressed his willingness to contribute his efforts and efforts to the uprising of the natives.

When Murga, the leader of the rebellious natives, heard that he was willing to work for him, he immediately put away his knife and asked him what he would do next.

Yin Shihou responded tremblingly that after looting the plantation, they needed to hide in the mountains to avoid the encirclement and suppression of the Qi army.

But Murga was not satisfied with this suggestion and put a knife to his neck, asking him to give another suggestion.

Yin Shihou immediately felt that this native leader seemed to have great ambitions and wanted to do something "big". He could speak simple Chinese and could persuade and organize the plantation workers to revolt collectively. After looting the entire plantation, he did not just run away with his people, but asked what to do next.

Either he had harbored rebellious intentions long ago and was enduring humiliation on the plantation, waiting for an opportunity to act, or he was a descendant of the nobles of the former native kingdom and wanted to use this opportunity to plan a shocking event.

So, after a little thought, Yin Shihou quickly reviewed the examples of rebellion in history and suggested to Murga that while the surrounding plantations and the local government of Shanting Township had not yet reacted, he should lead the more than 100 native laborers who had revolted to quickly attack other plantations and liberate more native laborers, so as to develop and expand their own strength in the shortest time.

If possible, it would be best to contact the native tribes in the mountains, invite some "nobles of the previous dynasty" or people with social prestige who can gather people's hearts, gather the scattered native laborers as much as possible, and then attack the surrounding cities and villages to accumulate strength.

After your power has been established, you may use force to resist Qi's military collection. As long as you defeat Qi's army several times, you can then take the initiative to ask for "amnesty and submission", establish your own territory, develop slowly, and finally achieve imperial hegemony.

After hearing this, Murga immediately adopted his suggestion and took the rebellious native laborers with him to attack the surrounding plantations. In the following days, he captured Shanting Town with the help of the natives. At this point, Yin Shihou had been completely dragged down by the natives and could only follow them to massacre the Han people.

He knew that his act of selling himself to the enemy would not be tolerated by the State of Qi, let alone the Han people. He would be like Xing Shuo of the Xiongnu or Zhang Yuan of the Western Xia. If he fell into the hands of the people of Qi, he would have no choice but to die.

But he was really afraid of death. His good days had only lasted a few days and his family had not received any reward from him. How could he be willing to die like this?

Some things, once you have started them, there is only one way to go: to the end.

In the Battle of Shanting, he carefully planned and deployed the natives, and tried hard to recall all the military strategies he had read in the history of war. He finally came up with an excellent military strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, a frontal attack, and a sudden raid from behind. However, he never expected that facing the Qi State's vanguard force of only more than 300 people, he was unable to attack and launch a surprise attack. Instead, he suffered heavy casualties and had to withdraw.

Since we cannot defeat the people of Qi, we should run away as soon as possible before their army gathers. It would be best if we hide deep in the mountains so that the people of Qi cannot find us.

Well, just like decades ago, Li Zicheng, who brought chaos to the Ming Dynasty, was defeated and had only a dozen people left. Finally, he had to flee to Shangluo Mountain and lie dormant for a while.

But what Yin Shihou never expected was that deep in the mountains of Luzon was a sparsely populated primeval forest, which was hot and humid all year round. It was like being in a steamer all the time, and the sweat on his body never stopped. This was not a place for people to stay.

After only two days of walking and just reaching the edge of the dense forest, he could no longer bear it.

In addition to the humid and stuffy environment, there are countless poisonous insects, snakes and ants. Along the way, you will be bitten by various insects all the time. If your trouser legs are not tied tightly, unknown small insects will crawl into your body through the gaps, which is horrifying.

Swamps, undercurrents, deep pools, waterfalls, caves, and the dense shrubs and vines, as well as the difficult-to-prevent mudslides and landslides after rain, can all cost you your life if you are not careful.

enough!
Yin Shihou didn't want to follow the natives deeper into the jungle to avoid the encirclement and suppression launched by the Qi army.

He was eager to leave the jungle and get away from this dangerous and terrible environment.

For two days, he was tortured to the point that he barely had a full night's sleep. Every time he took a nap, he would be suddenly awakened by a mosquito or some small insect bite. Even if he covered his entire head and exposed limbs, he could not stop the mosquitoes from attacking him.

Even yesterday, when he was resting under a tree, a slender spotted snake swam across his shoulder, scaring him so much that he dared not make any sound for fear of being bitten by it.

Yes, he had seen with his own eyes a native who was bitten by a snake. In less than a quarter of an hour, the native fell to the ground with a black face and died.

As for whether he would be captured and liquidated by the people of Qi after escaping, he still held on to a lucky mentality.

He would say that he was a hostage captured by the natives and that he would be taken back to be used as a slave to be treated like a beast of burden.

I believe that these words will surely impress the people of Qi and they will take him to a safe place and properly settle him.

Those Han compatriots who learned that they had surrendered to the natives were brutally killed by the natives. They should be dead without any evidence and no one should know about their actions.

Unexpectedly, the leader of the native rebels, Murga, actually sent two natives to be by his side, saying that they would protect his "safety" at all times and take care of his food and daily life.

This made him quite depressed and he could not find a chance to escape.

"Sir, we have been deep in the jungle for two days. Although we are still at the edge of the jungle, it is extremely dangerous for a person to withdraw and try to leave the jungle." Murga looked at Yin Shihou coldly and said threateningly: "You can't tell the direction in the jungle, let alone deal with the poisonous insects everywhere. The most insignificant injury may turn you into a cold corpse in less than half an hour, and then turn you into a dry skeleton in less than two hours, blending into the soil and grass."

"Your Majesty, I didn't...I didn't think of running away." Yin Shihou defended weakly.

"That's the best." Murga said in a deep voice: "You are one with us now. Even if you escape to the Qi people, they will not bypass you."

"..." Yin Shihou smiled bitterly and wiped the sweat from his face to hide his embarrassment.

“We want to gain a foothold deep in the mountains, what should we do?”

"Your Majesty..." Yin Shihou said in embarrassment, "Your Majesty, I have never lived in the depths of the jungle. I really don't know what to do."

"I'm not asking how to survive in the jungle." Murga glared at him and said unhappily, "I'm asking you, since we have already hidden in the jungle, how can we grow stronger in the future, how can we fight against the Qi people, and how can we establish... a kingdom?"

"…Ten years of accumulation, ten years of training. Sleeping on firewood and tasting gall, three thousand Yue troops can conquer Wu."

"Um?……"

"Your Majesty, what I mean is that we should choose a place where we can make a living, cultivate good fields, raise livestock, promote agriculture and sericulture, encourage childbirth, and slowly accumulate strength." Yin Shihou said carefully: "Once we have some military strength, we can launch a harassment strategy against Qi, send a large number of brave soldiers to attack towns and villages, capture Qi's people and wealth, and strengthen our strength."

"Um, any more?"

"In the past, the Manchu Tartars of our Shenzhou continent once said, 'If you want to cut down a big tree, how can you cut it suddenly? You must use an axe to cut it, gradually until it is thin and fine, and then you can cut it.' What does it mean? It means that if you want to cut down a big tree, you can't cut it down with one axe. You must use an axe to cut it one by one, from the outer bark to the core, from thick to thin, and then you can cut it down. Well, we can compare Qi to a towering tree. Its strength is a hundred or a thousand times greater than mine. It is impossible to defeat it in one go, let alone drive it off the island in one go."

"Then we must take it step by step. Today we will capture a village, tomorrow we will seize a plantation, and the day after that we will seize a town. We will work piecemeal until Qi, this towering tree, is cut down to its core. Finally, it will be overwhelmed and unable to support itself, and will be cut down by the axe in one fell swoop."

"Very good!" Murga was inexplicably excited after hearing this.

"However, Your Majesty, you must know that Qi is stronger than we imagined and we cannot defeat it. We use the mountains and forests as our base and send brave warriors to raid Qi's border towns and villages. Our goal is not to completely defeat Qi, but to make it unable to bear the harassment and force it to agree to our appeasement and recognize our strength and status, thus creating opportunities for us to establish our base and career."

"Well, sir, you are so talented. With your advice, we will eventually be able to drive out the Qi people and establish a kingdom of our own. When the time comes, sir, you will be our prime minister and help us manage the entire kingdom."

"Thank you, Your Majesty... for your appreciation. I will do my best to serve you until my death!"

Yin Shihou spoke passionately, but his heart was growing colder.

It’s over. Are we going to be tied to this group of natives forever?
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(End of this chapter)