Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Li Shusheng from Caozhou is from a wealthy family. There are several acres of farmland behind his house, which has been abandoned. One day, an old man came to rent a house and offered a hundred taels of gold. Li Shusheng refused because there was no vacancy.The old man said: "Please accept the rent, don't worry about it."

Li Shusheng didn't understand what he meant, so he just accepted the gold and saw what kind of mystery the old man was playing.After a day, the villagers saw the constant stream of family members in carriages, and drove into Li's mansion one after another. Someone asked Li Shusheng, "Your house is not very big, why are there so many people here all of a sudden?"

Li Shusheng shook his head and said, "I don't know either." He hurried home to check, but there was no sound around him.

After a few days, the old man came to visit and said: "I moved to your house for a few days, and there are many chores. I have to start the stove and set up the stove. I haven't had time to pay a visit to the master. To express my gratitude, the little old man has already prepared a stove at home. After the banquet, please be sure to show me your face."

Li Shusheng nodded, and followed the old man to the garden. He saw a brand-new tall building standing on the flat ground. When he entered the hall, he saw luxurious furnishings, fine wine was boiling in the red clay stove in the corridor, and tea smoke was curling up in the kitchen.

Served at Er'er banquet, delicacies from mountains and seas are extremely extravagant.The teenagers in the court kept coming and going, the children whispered and laughed loudly, and the family servants numbered in the hundreds.

Li Shusheng was clear in his heart: this family must be fox demons.Secretly became murderous.

Since then, Li Shusheng often went to the streets to buy sulfur and saltpeter, accumulating hundreds of catties.It spread all over the garden and set fire to it. For a while, the flames were raging, thick smoke rose to the sky, the house was scorched and smelly, and there were screams one after another. After the fire was extinguished for a long time, Li Shusheng entered the house to inspect, dead foxes were everywhere, and countless people were dying .

While looking at it, the old man rushed in, his face was full of grief, and he reprimanded: "I have never had any enmity with the young master, why did you want to destroy my family? If you don't avenge this enmity, you swear not to be a demon." He left angrily.

Li Shusheng was worried about the old man's revenge, and he was always on guard, but for several years, it was calm and peaceful.In the blink of an eye, in the early years of Shunzhi, there were frequent bandits in the mountains, and there were more than 1 people. The government sent troops to search and arrest them.

Because Li Shusheng has a large family, he is worried about robbers and looting, and Riri is troubled.On this day, an old fortune-teller came to the village. He called himself "Nanshan Old Man".

Li Shusheng invited Nanshan Weng to come to his home to tell his fortune.The old man was respectful, and said: "Young Master, you have a noble destiny, and you are the real dragon emperor."

Li Shusheng was horrified when he heard the words, and said with a smile: "The old man is joking. He has no name in his family, so how can he become an emperor?"

The old man said seriously: "Otherwise, since ancient times, most of the emperors have started from ordinary people, and there are countless people who have made a fortune from nothing. Is there anyone who is born to be the emperor? It depends on human effort."

Li Shusheng was silent, and asked after a long while: "How can we achieve supremacy, please advise me, old man."

The old man said: "You can spread the family wealth, buy thousands of armors, thousands of bows and crossbows, and then recruit people and hire wise men as military advisors."

Li Shusheng smiled and said: "The old man is very talented. If you don't dislike him, you are my Crouching Dragon. It's just a matter of recruiting people, but it took a lot of hesitation."

The old man said: "Now a group of bandits are rushing up, screaming and gathering deep in the mountains. The old minister asks: I am willing to go to the mountains and forests for the king to recruit the bandits. I only need to spread the news, claiming that the king is the true son of heaven, and the soldiers in the mountains will definitely respond."

Li Shusheng was overjoyed, and immediately sent the old man into the mountain to take down the bandits, build armor and accumulate strength.

A few days later the old man returned and said: "By taking advantage of the majesty's prestige and the veteran's slick tongue, this trip is fortunate to not disgrace the fate. All the generals on the hills agreed to join the majesty's command and obey orders."

Within half a month, there were no less than thousands of soldiers who came to surrender. Li Shusheng appointed the old man as a military adviser, built a large banner, set up colorful flags, and set up a stronghold on the mountain.The county magistrate heard the news and sent troops to conquer the bandits. The old man commanded his subordinates to attack and won a big victory.

The county magistrate was defeated, fearful and apprehensive, and urgently asked the magistrate for help. The magistrate led the army to travel a long distance to seek the thieves, but was defeated by the old man again, and suffered heavy losses.

All of a sudden, the bandits became famous, and Li Shusheng's army was strong, no less than ten thousand, so he was proud of himself, and he proclaimed himself the "King of Nine Mountains", and named the old man "General of the National Guard".Drinking and singing happily every day, arrogant and conceited, thinking that adding a yellow robe to his body is just around the corner.

The old man made another plan and robbed a large number of soldiers and horses. When the news reached the ears of the magistrate, the magistrate was furious and once again gathered thousands of elite soldiers and divided them into six groups to encircle and suppress the bandits.When Li Shusheng received the information, he paled in shock, and hurriedly called the old man to discuss it. He urged him several times, but the old man was nowhere to be seen.

The King of Nine Mountains was helpless, looked up the mountain, and sighed: "The court soldiers are powerful, and I am no match for them. The old man harmed me." Soon the cottage was destroyed, Li Shusheng was captured, and all the family members were killed. Before he died, he finally woke up. : The old man is a fox demon, who came here for revenge.