Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 365 Admonition and Punishment
"Xingye, take the people and move all these New Year goods in and put them in place.

Changliang, come on, take me to the mountain to have a look."

Qu Shaoyang has been busy and has not had time to come to the mountain to take a look. Now that he is here, he might as well go into the mountain to take a look.

Li Changliang couldn't refuse, so he led Qu Shaoyang into the forest.

As they walked, Li Changliang explained that in order to save trouble, the mountain farm did not rebuild the house this year, but only renovated last year's house to make do with it.

However, the nearby forests had been almost completely logged last year, so this year's logging area was a little further away.

Qu Shaoyang didn't say anything. These were all normal in the Mu Gang.

Larger mountain sites all have fixed working areas and will not move easily.

This year the mountain field was divided into two logging areas. All the captured bearded men were concentrated in the same mountain field, led by Dazhuzi, Lao Cui and some old woodcutters to work.

At the same time, there were twenty or thirty guards with guns guarding the area around the mountain.

The prisoners could take off the chains on their hands while working during the day, but the chains on their feet remained.

After work, they put on iron chains one by one and went back to their residence to eat and rest.

At first, the captives refused to give up and tried to escape several times, but they were discovered by their fellow prisoners and guards and were captured again.

Gradually, most people gave up.

Anyway, the mountain farm provides food and accommodation, and the food is not bad, even better than when I was a bandit.

It just means that the work is tiring, but it’s better than losing your life.

Of course, there are also some who refuse to give up and always try to find a chance to escape, but the guards here are very strict and they never find a chance.

Qu Shaoyang followed Li Changliang for about three quarters of an hour and finally arrived at a large work area.

Before I even got close, I heard someone shouting in the distance, "It's falling down the mountain."

Then there was the loud noise of trees falling.

When you get closer, you can hear the sounds of large saws cutting down trees and large axes chopping down trees.

In the ice and snow, the woodcutters waded through the snow, exhaling white air from their mouths, working busily.

"Everyone, take a break, Master Qu is here to see us.

They also brought us seven or eight sleds of New Year's goods, including several big fat pigs." Li Changliang ran over and shouted loudly.

Over there, Dabaotou and Dazhuzi heard it and ran over immediately. Everyone else also put down their work and looked over here.

Qu Shaoyang chatted with Dazhuzi and others for a few words, and according to Dazhuzi's instructions, he came in front of the group of captives.

Qu Shaoyang looked at the people in front of him who were wearing tattered leather coats, dog-skin hats, and had dirty faces, and his eyes swept across their faces.

These bearded men who once gathered in the mountains and killed people like crazy have now become caged birds and prisoners.

Life has its ups and downs, and no one knows where it will end.

At this time, these bearded men stood upright, most of them had no expression on their faces, and their eyes were numb and empty.

Of course, there are some people whose eyes still have a fierce look.

Especially when they saw Qu Shaoyang, several people were so excited that they wanted to rush up and tear Qu Shaoyang to pieces.

Qu Shaoyang walked past these people without missing the expressions on anyone's face.

"I know that many of you hate me.

You hate me for destroying your stronghold, wiping out your gang, and killing your brothers.

But have you ever thought that those people who have been harmed by you also have families, brothers and sisters, parents and relatives?

You may have had your own reasons for going up the mountain to become bandits, but what did you do after you became bandits?
"Among all these gangs, how many of you are really honest and kind? How many of you are really chivalrous and righteous, fighting against violence and protecting the good?" Qu Shaoyang stood in front of these people and asked in a deep voice.

“From the day you went up the mountain to be bandits, you should have known that there would be retribution sooner or later.

You have committed many evil deeds and killed innocent people. You deserve this fate.

I will not kill you, but spare your lives and send you to the mountain field to work, because I want you to reflect on yourselves.

Think back on what you have done over the years, what innocent people you have killed, and repent for your crimes.

As a result, some people still refuse to give up and keep thinking about escaping.

Okay, if you have the ability, then run away and see if you can get out of this forest?

Do you see those guards? I've given them orders to shoot anyone who tries to escape.

You can try and see which is faster, your legs or the bullets in their guns."

It was not known whether Qu Shaoyang's accusation had worked or his threat had been taken seriously, but the expressions on the faces of the captives opposite had changed.

Especially those with fierce eyes lowered their heads involuntarily at this moment, not daring to look at Qu Shaoyang again.

They have not forgotten that this person is like the King of Hell, who can kill people if they disagree with him.

Now they are prisoners, their lives are in the hands of others. Killing them is as easy as crushing an ant.

In this world, most people are afraid of death.

It is better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. As long as there is a chance to survive, who would be willing to die?
Qu Shaoyang looked at the people opposite him and sighed.

"If you can work honestly here, reflect on yourself and behave well, there are still ways out.

Do you know Lao Fang? He is busy running a school now.

After the Chinese New Year, the school began to recruit students, and he served as a teacher, teaching the children how to read, write, and do arithmetic.

Lao Fang is the one who led the Zhandongshan gang, Fang Xingwen.

This old guy is actually quite capable. Not only is he well-read, he is also proficient in mathematics.

At first, he had to go to Guandong because of some changes in his family. Later, he was recruited by Zhan Dongshan and worked as a rioter in the mountain.

After Qu Shaoyang brought Lao Fang back to Maoer Mountain, he had been thinking about what kind of job would be best for Lao Fang.

The Qu family's businesses all have fixed managers and stewards, so it would not be appropriate to suddenly assign someone there.

It just so happened that one time Lin Ruolan was saying that Shuanzhu and the others were growing up and they should be taught to read earlier.

Qu Shaoyang suddenly had an idea. He planned to let Lao Fang teach.

Qu Shaoyang had said a long time ago that he planned to set up a school and send the children of the family's farmhands and servants to study.

Now that there are more and more children in the family, it’s time to fulfill my promise.

Anyway, there are plenty of houses at home, so just freeing up a few of them will be enough.

We don't expect all children to take the imperial examinations, the main thing is to let them read, know etiquette, and be able to write and calculate.

If there are really good talents, they can be trained and sent to Fengtian School to study.

If they are more promising, we can even support them to study abroad.

The Qu family's business is growing bigger and bigger, and they need more talents to support it.

If they are trained from a young age, these children will become the right-hand men of Gensuo and Shuanzhu when they grow up.

(End of this chapter)