I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 526 Digging a hole is too tiring
On an autumn afternoon, the setting sun was half hidden in the clouds, and the sky looked like beaten egg yolk, without any warmth at all.

The arrival of several yamen runners made the originally peaceful Taohua Village a scene of chaos. All families with adults aged between 16 and 60 cried and wailed, because the yamen runners came to arrest people for forced labor, which was to pull the boats for the tribute ships.

The villagers had just heard the day before that there would be a lot of fun with the red-haired foreigners at the port, but they didn't expect that they would get into trouble so soon.

Pulling the boat is not an easy job, it is pure hard work, and many boatmen die of exhaustion every year. Especially now is the dry season, the little water in the river is not enough for sailing.

More importantly, the government forced them to pull the boats, and the pay they received was very little, not even enough for their own food. Pulling the boats on an empty stomach would cost them half their lives. It was considered lucky to be able to come back with half of their lives. The only thing they feared was that they would never come back and die of exhaustion by the river.

If a wealthy family encountered this kind of violent and arduous task of collecting taxes on a household basis, they would hire someone to do it for them. But the poor people without money could only do it themselves in misery.

When the soldiers were coming towards Taohua Village from afar, some smart people saw it in advance, and they took their families and hid in the mountains with them. But those who were accompanied by the elderly, the weak, women and children had no choice but to stay in the village to deal with the officials.

"Hurry up! Bring your food and follow us! Why are you crying so sadly? I'm telling you, if you know what's best for you, follow us. If you don't, come and taste the whip fried meat first!"

"Sir, Sir! Please be kind. The child's father is so sick that he has no strength. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything all day!"

"Sir, it's not that I don't want to go, but you see my sick body, I really can't pull the oars anymore!" A ragged and sickly man, together with his wife, pleaded with the servants in the yard.

It was the off-season for farming. He had been working as a porter at the dock a few days ago, carrying heavy objects. He had sweated and caught a cold, so he got sick. He was reluctant to spend his hard-earned money on medicine, so his illness had not improved. He had just been dragged out of bed.

"Crack~"

An official whipped the couple and said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense! If you can't do it, pay up. If you don't have money, get out of here! Can you bear the responsibility for delaying the important work of the adults?"

It is impossible for these officials to have any extra sympathy. They can only find rare self-respect in people who are more humble than themselves. If they don't make things more difficult for others, they will be considered kind-hearted.

What's more, if they fail to complete the tasks assigned by their superiors, they will be the ones who will be beaten and punished.

"Wa wah wah wah!" The child, frightened by the ferocious official, hugged the woman's legs and cried loudly. The woman hugged her man helplessly and fought with the official who came forward to grab people. The yard became even more chaotic in an instant.

One kilometer away, in the weeds on the roadside somewhere, Wen Renyi was lying on the ground wearing a hat made of weeds. His eyes gradually became cold, and as he listened to the cries that came from the air from time to time, his murderous intent became even stronger.

"Boss..."

Wen Renyi made a gesture to continue hiding, interrupting his younger brother who was waiting anxiously to ask questions.

"Da da da."

Finally, the sound of messy footsteps was heard, and there were faint screams of people being whipped in the air.

After the people came in, Wenren Yi's younger brother could see clearly that they were four servants, waving whips to drive away a dozen skinny old, weak and sick people.

I asked everyone why so many people did not resist. This is also easy to understand. The layer of skin on the official body represents the government, which naturally has a blood-suppressing effect on ordinary people.

If they could defeat four officials today, the government might send forty or four hundred soldiers to clear the village tomorrow. No one dared to challenge the official authority easily.

Wen Renyi narrowed his eyes slightly and lay dormant without moving. His subordinates followed his orders, and if he didn't move, they wouldn't move either.

For a moment, the area was so quiet that even the birds dared not chirp. The villagers of Taohua Village, who were being driven like sheep, walked away crying. Four lazy officials stood behind them, waving their whips from time to time in a proud manner.

"on!"

At the moment when all four people were surrounded, Wen Renyi shouted loudly and leaped out from the bushes. The unsharpened Tiandi sword stabbed straight at the neck of the first official. The speed was so fast that ordinary people could not react at all.

"puff!"

A dull sound of flesh piercing was heard, and Wen Renyi drew out his sword without changing his expression, and stabbed at another official beside him whose eyes were as big as copper bells.

The official tightly grasped his neck, which was constantly bleeding, and uttered a "ho ho" sound with horror, and finally fell straight down. Blood splattered everywhere, and the remaining two officials and the villagers of Taohua Village were all frightened and ran away in panic.

In just a few seconds, Wen Renyi killed two officials. His subordinates only hit them once with sticks and could no longer find their target.

"Please spare our lives, sir! Please spare our lives, sir! We surrender! We surrender!" An official who had sneaked into the crowd saw the ferocious King of Hell rushing in. He was so frightened that his legs went limp and he didn't dare to run away. He immediately threw away the whip in his hand and the knife at his waist and raised his hands in surrender.

When the other companion saw this, he quickly followed suit, dropping his weapons and surrendering.

It doesn’t matter whether the mission is completed or not, your life is the most important thing right now.

Wen Renyi put the sword on his neck but did not kill him again because he suddenly remembered that the stronghold was undergoing major construction works and was in need of labor.

The official in front of him looked much stronger than the skinny peasant and seemed to have a lot of strength. Rather than killing him and then going through the trouble of digging a grave to bury him, it would be better to keep him to work.

The village is full of our own people, mostly young and strong, so we don't have to worry about what the other side can do.

Another official who was kneeling in the crowd was also pulled over by Wen Ren Yi's younger brother, and the two of them were made to kneel together in front of Wen Ren Yi.

"Boss, kill them! Otherwise they will give away the secrets!"

The younger brother looked eager to do something, and could hardly hold back the stick in his hand.

"No, no, no! Please spare us, sir! Please spare us, sir! We won't inform the enemy! Absolutely not!" The two officials kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Wen Renyi put away his sword and said coldly, "Get up and dig a hole nearby."

Even if he decided to kill them in the end, they would have to dig the pit themselves, and Wen Renyi didn't want to waste the effort.

"Yes, yes, yes!" The two men responded hurriedly, and climbed up in panic, covering their necks, fearing that the living devil with great martial arts skills in front of them would suddenly hit them with a sword.

Among the villagers of Taohua Village who had fled in all directions and were hiding by trees, grass, and rocks, someone finally came to his senses and recognized Wen Renyi. Just as he was about to speak, his cousin next to him covered his mouth tightly.

Wen Renyi's sharp eyes shot over immediately, "Do you recognize me?"

It is his subordinates who usually deal with the villagers, and Wen Renyi himself rarely goes down the mountain.