The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Pan Yun pursed her lips, walked around to the front, stood in the courtyard, and asked, "Excuse me, is Da Chun here?"

The boy came out of the house. He was a little too hungry. He leaned slightly against the door. He couldn't see the person standing in the sunlight clearly, only a silhouette. But he was expressionless and tried his best not to let anyone notice anything unusual about him. He said, "Brother Dachun went to the garrison. Who are you? What do you want with Brother Dachun?"

Seeing that his face was pale, his lips were bloodless, and his eyes were unfocused, Pan Yun hurriedly went up to him and asked, "A friend of his asked me to pass on a message to him. Are you feeling dizzy?"

She took out a purse and pulled out a handful of candy, which Miaohe had bought and kept a lot of.

Pan Yun unwrapped the candy and shoved it into his mouth: "This is candy, have some. Do you have any white or brown sugar at home? Drinking some sugar water will help you recover faster..."

The boy didn't answer her, but his tongue pressed down on the candy in his mouth, and the sweet candy spread, allowing him to slowly see the person standing in front of him.

She was a girl not much older than him, dressed in a Taoist robe, yet she felt as close and dear to him as his mother. He hadn't dreamed of his mother in a long time.

Upon seeing Pan Yun, his eyes reddened, and he murmured, "Mother..."

The sound was very low, almost inaudible, but Pan Jun, with her sharp ears, still heard it.

She sighed and peeled another candy, stuffing it into his mouth: "Eat more, it'll help you recover faster."

The boy subconsciously put the candy in his mouth, and only after the dizziness completely subsided and he regained his balance did he feel deeply embarrassed.

He blushed and stammered, "I, well, Brother Dachun went to the garrison to join the army, and the whole family moved away from here."

“It’s okay, his friend said it doesn’t matter if the message doesn’t get through,” Pan Yun looked past him toward the kitchen and asked, “Are you home alone?”

The boy quickly stepped aside to let her in: "Yes, my father and older brother have been conscripted to work in the Big Bear Mountain area. They won't be back until after dark, so I'm all alone at home."

The boy looked at the food in the pot and felt embarrassed. His face turned even redder, and he asked Pan Yun shyly, "Miss, are you hungry? Shall I cook you some food?"

Pan Yun smiled and said, "I ate breakfast before leaving home, and it's still early before dinner. I'd like to borrow a bowl of water."

Upon hearing this, the boy immediately took a bowl, scooped a bowl of water from the water vat, and presented it to her.

Pan Yun took the bowl with both hands, drank half of it in big gulps, and then put it down.

The boy secretly breathed a sigh of relief; his body was no longer so stiff.

Pan Yun asked with a smile, "My name is Pan Yun. What's your name?"

The boy said, "My name is Shen Shukang."

Pan Yun: "Are you able to go to school now?"

“Yes,” the young man paused before continuing, “there are schools in the army, and all children of military households can attend for free, but…”

Pan Yun asked him with a smile, "But what? Could it be that you don't have books, so you didn't go to school?"

“No, no,” the boy said, blushing. “There are books. My older brother went to school, and I can use the books he left behind. I can also borrow books from the neighbors. It’s just that the school doesn’t provide meals now. I can only attend classes for an hour in the afternoon. The rest of the time I have to find something to eat.”

Pan Yun: "How can you practice martial arts or military formations when you can't even get enough to eat?"

The boy lowered his eyes and said, "My father used to learn these when he was young, but by the time my older brother went to school, he no longer had them."

"What about military training? This is the off-season for farming. According to regulations, shouldn't your father and brothers be training the troops?"

"It was changed a long time ago. At this time, everyone should be working for Commander Feng."

What work is available at this time?

"There's so much to do: leveling the land, repairing irrigation systems and roads, chopping firewood and making charcoal, repairing all of Feng Qianhu's houses, and unclogging all the sewers. In short, everyone will be busy until the twelfth lunar month."

Pan Yun laughed in exasperation and asked, "You have absolutely no complaints?"

Shen Shukang lowered his eyes and said, "Who dares to complain? Last year, the Japanese pirates were rampant at sea. Those who complained went out to sea to intercept the pirates. Ten people went, and one returned. Since then, no one has complained."

Pan Yun pursed her lips, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Do you know the locations of the military garrisons and military posts in Chaozhou? And what other private lands and properties belong to Feng Hongde?"

Shen Shukang looked at her with surprise and a hint of expectation: "You, who are you?"

From the moment Pan Yun began asking questions, he had a hidden expectation, and now it seemed like a dream come true, making his eyes sparkle as he looked at her.

Pan Yun said in a low voice, "I was sent by the imperial court and I can control Feng Hongde, but we lack evidence."

Shen Shukang suddenly stood up: "I have evidence!"

He stopped eating his porridge and ran straight into the main room. A moment later, he came out with a cloth bag and opened it in front of Pan Yun.

There was a stack of letters on top. He paused, pressed the letters down without moving them, and pulled out the bottom two sheets of paper. One of them had a drawing: "These are the locations of all the military settlements and his private fields that we know of."

It includes the names of villages and hamlets, as well as approximate directions and distances.

A dense, scattered mass of trees surrounds the city of Chaozhou.

Pan Jun took it, his eyes darkening: "As expected of Feng Bancheng."

Shen Shukang handed her another piece of paper: "This is the approximate area. These places were collected by us and our comrades when we went out to work. Miss Pan, if you can really win over that man surnamed Feng, we, the military households of Chaozhou, will definitely erect a longevity tablet for you. If you are of any use in this life, we will repay you with our lives."

Shen Shukang's eyes involuntarily reddened, and tears streamed down his face: "We really can't go on living like this. The tasks assigned by the Feng family are getting heavier and heavier. My mother, my mother was worked to death back then."

He wiped away his tears with his arm and choked out, "We are military households, but we are military households of the Ming Dynasty. We can be loyal to the country and do our best for the emperor. How dare a guy surnamed Feng treat us like animals?"

Pan Yun tightened her grip on the two sheets of paper slightly and said in a deep voice, "Yes, why should I?"

She grabbed the boy's shoulder and solemnly promised, "Don't worry, if I don't bring him down and restore your rightful rights, I, Pan Yun, will change my name!"

Pan Yun glanced at the envelopes in his cloth bag, but didn't ask what the stack of letters said. She took the two papers and got up to leave: "You must keep my visit a secret. Don't say anything before Feng Hongde is detained. Protecting yourself and your family is the most important thing."

Shen Shukang agreed and stared blankly as she left.

He glanced down at the cloth bag in his hand, gritted his teeth, and chased after her, saying, "Wait!"

Pan Yun turned around.

Shen Shukang stepped forward, clutching the cloth bag tightly. After thinking for a moment, he handed the bag to her, saying, "This is a petition written by each of our military garrisons. Each letter is for one garrison, and it has everyone's fingerprints on it. There are also the last letters of the soldiers who were previously conscripted to fight against the Japanese pirates."

Pan Yun hesitated for a moment before taking the envelopes. Touching the thick stack of envelopes, Pan Yun became even more serious, giving him a firm nod: "Don't worry!"

Pan Yun took the things and left.

Shen Shukang stood there blankly until she walked to the door and disappeared from sight before he came to his senses.

His limbs went weak, his face turned pale, and he felt uneasy. He couldn't help but question himself: "I... I just gave her the thing like that?"

Shen Shukang felt both bold and that his intuition was correct.

Torn between his thoughts, he couldn't even eat his porridge and sat in the courtyard until dark. Only when his father and brother pushed open the door did he move his stiff body and stare blankly at the two people at the door.

Seeing that his youngest son was stunned, Shen An asked, "Were you bullied?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Boxiu asked with a smile, "Did you fight back?"

“I gave the things away.” Shen Shukang said in a hoarse voice. As soon as he said the words, the pressure that had been suffocating him eased up. He raised his head more forcefully to look at his father and brother, his eyes brimming with tears: “I think she is a good person and can be trusted.”

At first, Shen An and his son didn't understand what he meant. But when they met his gaze, their expressions changed drastically. They dropped their sickles and hoes and ran wildly toward the main house.

A moment later, the two rushed out one after the other. Shen An grabbed a big stick and swung it at Shen Shukang, but Shen Boxiu grabbed him from behind, saying, "Dad, Dad, calm down, calm down!"

While holding his father, he roared at his younger brother, who was still sitting on the small stool in a daze, "What are you standing there for? Run!"

Shen Shukang stood up stiffly, without running away, but repeatedly emphasized: "Father, elder brother, believe me, she is a good person. If she says she can help us, she definitely can."

"You're talking nonsense! Who in this Chaozhou city can help us? Those documents are meant to be taken to the capital to appeal to the emperor, and you just gave them away like that, you just gave them away..." Shen An felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. He couldn't help but cry out, "That was all our hard work, the lives of everyone in our Chaozhou military garrison! You brat, you're going to kill everyone—"

"Father!" Shen Boxiu hugged him tightly and comforted him in his ear, "It's too late to say anything now. We need to find the person and get the things back first. Shukang, what's that person's name? How old is he? What are his features? What did he say about his identity? Where did he go?"

"Her name is Pan Yun, and she looks a bit older than me. She didn't say who she was, but she did say that she could handle Feng Hongde. She... she went over there." Shen Shukang emphasized with red eyes, "Father, believe me, she's a really good person. Seeing her is like seeing my mother, so kind and loving. How could someone who's like my mother be a bad person?"

Amidst Shen An's fury, a hint of disbelief arose: "What did you say? Like your mother? He, she is a woman?"

"It's a woman, a little older than me."

Shen An was so angry that he almost fell backward, and he didn't even have the strength to hit anyone. How could he have thought his youngest son was so clever before?

Shen An's body went limp, while Shen Boxiu stood frozen in place, feeling that the name Pan Jun sounded strangely familiar.

He thought back carefully and realized that he couldn't hold onto his father for a moment, letting him slip and fall to the ground.

Shen Shukang rushed to help his father, but Shen An took the opportunity to twist his ear, groped for a wooden stick with his left hand and was about to hit him, but Shen Boxiu grabbed him again just as he raised his hand.

Shen An glared angrily.

Shen Boxiu, however, was filled with excitement, showing no trace of his previous fear and unease: "Father, it's Pan Yun, it's Pan Yun!"

Shen An angrily asked, "Who?"

Shen Boxiu dropped the wooden stick, grabbed his younger brother's shoulder, and asked urgently, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? She said her name is Pan Yun?"

"Yes, her name is Pan Yun."

"Is he wearing a Taoist robe, looks two or three years older than you, and speaks with a Jiangxi accent?"

Shen Shukang swallowed hard and said, "She was wearing a Taoist robe. Oh, and she was carrying a banner, but she put it at the gate when she entered the courtyard and only picked it up when she left. I saw it. It said that she was a divine doctor and could tell fortunes. I couldn't tell what her accent was, but I thought she spoke very nicely, like a mother."

"Bullshit, your mother is from Chaozhou, when did she ever have a Jiangxi accent?" At this moment, Shen An also felt that the name Pan Yun sounded familiar, but couldn't remember who it was, so he looked at his eldest son: "Who is Pan Yun?"

Shen Boxiu suppressed his excitement and said in a low voice, "Father, it's the Imperial Advisor! The Imperial Advisor's name is Pan Yun!"

Shen An's eyes widened instantly: "Wh-what?"

Shen Boxiu paced back and forth excitedly: "Second brother must have met the Imperial Advisor, he must have!"

Shen An slumped to the ground, motionless, and after a long while asked, "What if it's a fake?"

Shen Boxiu's excitement faltered, and he lowered his eyes, saying, "If it's fake, notify the people in each military garrison, and tell them to escape if they can."

Shen An's mouth trembled as he murmured, "Deserters will not only implicate their entire families, but also their neighbors."

“If everyone flees, it won’t matter if it implicates the villagers,” Shen Boxiu said. “How many deserters have there been in our Chaozhou city in recent years?”

"But there wasn't such a large-scale escape."

A murderous aura rose in Shen Boxiu's eyes. He said, "People are about to die, and there's no way out anyway. Why not take a gamble and go out as refugees? It's better than staying here and waiting to die."

Shen An had nothing to say.

Shen Boxiu looked at Shen Shukang and urged, "Go pack your luggage. If anything unusual happens, you should leave first."

"Big brother!"

“Gather all the children in the village who are your age, regardless of gender. Children your age are the least noticeable, so you will go first, and we will bring up the rear.”

Overwhelmed with grief, Shen Shukang cried out, "Brother!"

"Stop crying. Once you get out, you'll have to make your own way. Stay together if you can. You're all still growing up. If you stick together, outsiders won't dare to bully you. But be careful, don't carry everything on your shoulders. If you can't survive together, then break up."

Shen Boxiu patted him on the shoulder and said, "Good brother, once you go out, we brothers may never see each other again in our lives. But no matter what, you have to live, and live well!"

Shen Shukang hugged Shen Boxiu and burst into tears, beginning to regret his impulsive actions.

If he didn't give the things away, at least he could keep them in his own home.

Although this home is dilapidated, it can still provide shelter from the wind and rain. But if I leave, I will truly be wandering the world.

Shen An clutched his head, feeling like he wanted to die whenever he thought about having to notify each family and military garrison later.

People entrusted their things to him because they trusted him, but the result...

Shen Boxiu, being younger and more rational, said, "It might not be fake, Father. Tell the uncles in the village that I'll take some men to Chaozhou City tonight and enter the city to gather information as soon as the gates open tomorrow morning. In short, you all prepare first. If anything unusual happens, I'll immediately send someone to inform you, and then you can let your second brother and the others leave." (End of Chapter)