The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 780 Shen Le: Why am I being lazy? Why don't I use a boosting mode!

Light and shadow swirled, carrying Shen Le's mind forward. Piercing through the barrier of darkness, piercing through the bizarre and fantastical waves.

The scene before my eyes kept changing, as if decades, hundreds, or thousands of years were being fast-forwarded by a mouse, distorted on the screen into light and shadow that were difficult to see with the naked eye.

When the light and shadow finally stopped, a storm was raging, with sounds filling the air.

Shen Le subconsciously wanted to get up and go close the window, but as soon as she moved, she realized that she couldn't affect the world in front of her at all:
Good news, this time he won't have to use a substitute player, and he won't have to act as a babysitter for that family every day, as he muttered to himself.

The bad news is, he can't do anything but watch. Perhaps the pottery maker heard his complaints and decided not to trouble him with any work...

The wind and rain were fierce and dark, the sky gloomy, and naturally, the chickens in the coop all huddled obediently in their nests, not uttering a sound. Under the dim light of the small lamp, only the soft rustling of people discussing something could be heard.
"What should we do? Should we hand over the grain or not?"

"The Five Pecks of Rice sect demands grain payments, and the government also demands grain payments. It's all just a bucket of water; how many scoops can it hold? And they're still fighting each other—"

"If we don't hand over the grain, the Five Pecks of Rice sect will break down our gates tomorrow; if we hand over the grain, the government will attack us the next day and label us rebels, which would be a catastrophe that destroys our families!"

Shen Le frowned deeply. The Five Pecks of Rice sect? The Five Pecks of Rice sect rebelled? When did this happen...?

He tried to recall, and soon remembered. The Five Pecks of Rice sect's rebellion, in the Jiangnan region, further south of Hangzhou and closer to the sea, was most famously led by Sun En and Lu Xun:
This was the largest and longest-lasting peasant uprising during the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties period. It lasted for twelve years and raged across a vast area in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Uh, I don't even know what time it is now. If it were the early stages, it would be okay, I could barely put up a fight. But in the late stages, once the army starts rolling around...

It seems the only option is to avoid their sharp edge and wait for Liu Laozhi's army to advance...

Then, he heard a voice coming from inside the room:
"We might as well just surrender! Anyway, my ancestor from the Shen family was also from the Yellow Turban Army, we're all family!"

Shen Le suddenly felt a little dizzy. Family? What family? How could they possibly be related?
Even if there is some semblance of a lineage between Zhang Jiao and the Five Pecks of Rice sect, it's been two hundred years! Two hundred years! That's seven or eight, even ten generations gone!

Who would recognize you anymore!
"To join the Five Pecks of Rice sect? That won't do! Absolutely not!" Sure enough, someone immediately slammed their fist on the table in rebuttal:
"My Shen family has been distinguished for generations. How could we stoop to the level of thieves and associate with those bumpkins? That would be a matter of destroying our family and wiping out our clan!"

"Besides, look at what they've done! These past few days, how many fortified villages have been breached, how many noble families looted, men beheaded, women plundered? Is this how one accomplishes great things?!"

"Does obeying the government guarantee the safety of your family and clan?" another person immediately shouted back, so enraged that he even forgot to control his voice.

“We would like to listen to the government, but that prefect himself believes in the Five Pecks of Rice sect! It’s one thing to believe, but he doesn’t organize troops or repair city defenses!”
He said he had prayed to the gods, who promised to send ghost soldiers to help, and the bandits would collapse without a fight! Can you trust this kind of government? Can you trust them?!

Shen Le silently rubbed his forehead. He had already remembered who this prefect was: Wang Ningzhi, the younger brother of Wang Xizhi, the husband of Xie Daoyun, and the prefect of Kuaiji.

Well, all I can say is that the ridiculous thing Emperor Qinzong of Song did—relying on Taoist priests to perform shamanistic rituals to defend the city—wasn't unique to him; other fools had done the same thing before…

You're the prefect! Even if you're not the emperor, you're at least a prefect! How dare you act so recklessly...?

Alas, Wang Ningzhi, who is worthy of the title "Under the heavens and earth, there is no one like him," is truly unworthy of the talented Xie Daoyun!
In this battle, even if Shen Le had to choose a side, he wouldn't side with Wang Ningzhi. Unsurprisingly, Wang Ningzhi suffered a crushing defeat, a devastating loss. The city fell, and he and his four sons were all killed.

His wife, Xie Daoyun, a daughter of the Xie family and the daughter-in-law of the Wang family, was a top-tier noblewoman at the time. Forced to leave the city with her maid and grandson, she personally killed several people.

They're already in such dire straits, to follow the government and help them fight Sun En and Lu Xun's army would be utterly incompetent!

Sure enough, the moment this news was announced, the entire room fell silent. After a long while, someone finally let out a long sigh and said helplessly:

"What can we do? Even the wealthy and powerful have no choice but to go with the flow, let alone ordinary families like ours? — Sigh, if only our ancestor could appear in our dreams again and guide us..."

Ah... this really isn't available. Neither the pottery house nor the copper plate has a proxy mode this time; only spectator access has been granted.

You can't always expect a miracle worker to appear out of nowhere. When you encounter difficulties, you have to think about how to get through them on your own!

Shen Le paced back and forth in the dimly lit room, observing the group of middle-aged men, their faces filled with sorrow, exchanging silent glances. He waved a candle flame, then tugged at the paper window, then pushed aside the tea on the table…

It's useless, completely useless; it has absolutely no effect on reality. He can't even "manifest" his power through smoke, water, or other means to give these people a hint!

Fortunately, the descendants of the Shen family weren't entirely incompetent. Or rather, although their skills were mediocre, after being led through several waves of trouble, they had at least developed a certain mindset:

"We should still give them the first batch to appease the situation. As for the government, drag it out, give them less, or none at all! At least not to the current prefect!"

The person sitting in the middle, presumably the clan leader, finally made his decision. Shen Le nodded secretly, but before he could finish, he heard the person to his left ask:
"and then?"

"Then……"

The room fell silent again. The government couldn't be relied upon, and neither could the rebels of the Five Pecks of Rice sect—

The power of a family is something that can be maintained if it can be held onto, but the problem is that it is impossible to maintain.

With only this many clansmen, this many hired laborers, and this many tenants, even if the Shen family usually treats its hired laborers and tenants fairly well, you can't expect them to be truly dedicated to your cause.

Thieves pass by like combs, soldiers pass by like fine brushes; after several waves of turmoil, do the Shen family still want their fortune?!

"We have to invest in at least one company..."

Which company should we apply to?

A long silence followed. Finally, the youngest elder, sitting at the very end on the right, gritted his teeth and said:

"We're not voting for anyone! Let's go!"

"Walk?"

“Sometimes, no one can win! No one!” The speaker, barely in his early twenties and the youngest among them, spoke with eyes burning with determination:

"Just like when our ancestor led his family south, which of the Yellow Turbans, the Han Dynasty, and the various warlords could they safely survive to the end? None of them could!"

—Later, we moved to Songjiang, caught between the Sun Wu and the local powerful families. Which side should we side with to ensure our safety? Neither would work, so our ancestor made a decisive decision and led the family here! Now… Now, between the government and the Five Pecks of Rice rebels, which side should we side with to protect our family?

Clearly, there is no correct answer, or rather, neither of them is correct...

Shen Le was already nodding in agreement. The Sun En-Lu Xun uprising lasted twelve years, marked by numerous back-and-forth battles.
Sun En alone fought four rounds of tug-of-war, eliminating Wang Ningzhi's group, but was repelled by Xie Yan and Liu Laozhi and fled to an island;

Another wave came the following year, killing Xie Yan, but was then driven back;

He came again in the third year and was defeated by Liu Yu. It must be said that this man was quite lucky, as he had the honor of encountering several of the most famous generals in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty.

In the fourth year, he was completely wiped out, defeated and drowned himself in the sea. His brother-in-law, Lu Xun, took over command and fought for several more years...

With wave after wave of this back and forth, the small and medium-sized aristocratic families and ordinary people caught in the middle suffered terribly, with the destruction of their families and the extermination of their clans looming before their very eyes.

No matter how strong your family's foundation is, or how accurate your judgment is, you can withstand one wave, but not four, five, six, or seven waves!
"Well……"

The elders all lowered their heads in deep thought. Shen Le wished he could jump over and pry their heads open one by one until they nodded.

This decision was correct!
Run!

Run!

While the Sun En uprising army and the government army are still locked in battle, or even advancing triumphantly, they should quickly pack up and flee with their entire clan!
If you save people but lose land, you can save both; if you save land but lose people, you can lose both! Don't hesitate, run!
"That makes sense..."

"That's right... Our ancestor also said that..."

"Our family has been investing heavily in shipbuilding for so many years, just so that we can retreat quickly if things become unfavorable one day!"

"Kuaiji is no longer a paradise, but Fujian is still a place to stay temporarily..."

"go!"

It must be said that, with Shen Le's repeated arrivals and substitutions, the Shen family has developed a certain pioneering and enterprising spirit.

After all, it had been less than a hundred years from the Yongjia migration to the Sun En and Luxun uprising. After Shen Le's own consciousness withdrew, the body he descended into continued to build ships, adhering to his principles.

Build flat-bottomed sand barges suitable for northward navigation and cargo transport; build pointed-bottomed "green-browed" warships suitable for the southern seas; build sturdy and robust Ming warships of 400 tons suitable for escorting and attacking enemy ships...

By the time of Sun En and Lu Xun's uprising, the Shen family's fleet had amassed thirty to forty ships of various sizes. At full capacity, a single round trip could transport a thousand people…

"Go! Go now, as quickly as possible! Take as many people as you can with you..."

"Shen Jiong, you are in charge of arranging the family population. Go and talk to each family one by one, deciding who goes first and who goes last."
Shen Ran, you are in charge of sorting out the tenants. Be careful and try to select loyal and reliable ones. Don't let them leak information.

Shen Yan, you're in charge of arranging the family business. Aside from the essentials, sell what you can, and mortgage what you can…

The vast family business, like a chariot that had been running at low power for a long time, began to rumble and roar. In less than half a month, the first fleet had set sail, heading towards the Fujian region—

"Should we be able to move out smoothly?" Shen Le stood at the bow of the ship, facing the somewhat chilly sea breeze, full of anticipation.

The timing of the Shen family's southward migration was quite good. They set off at the end of September or the beginning of October, avoiding the typhoon and catching the peak of the northeast monsoon.

Even better, Sun En's rebel army was riding high on its success and advancing in force. At this time, they were busy killing high-ranking officials and nobles, looting money and seizing territory, and neglecting to guard their rear.

A small to medium-sized aristocratic family has a group of people who want to go into business? Let them be!

Taking advantage of this opportune moment, the Shen family relocated their first batch of personnel to Jin'an County in just seven days. Then came the second, the third…

When Liu Laozhi led his army to attack, Sun En's troops suffered a great defeat and had to lead 200,000 men and women to retreat to the island, the core members of the Shen family had already evacuated, and even half of the tenant farmers had left!

From beginning to end, Shen Le, a silent bystander, accompanied the fleet south, watching them land in Jin'an County and using the wealth they carried to bribe officials.

Watching them overcome obstacles and rebuild their manor on unfamiliar land, leading the tenants to cultivate the fields, the head of the household also worked hard, personally tilling the land...

The first few years were exceptionally difficult. Fujian truly lived up to its reputation of being "seven parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland," with extremely scarce resources for survival.

The migrants from the north clashed constantly with the local landowners and natives over water, land, and forests.

The Shen family managed to maintain its foothold thanks to its tight organization and remaining military strength, but its vitality was constantly being depleted.

Shen Le could only watch from the sidelines, seeing the young clan leader Shen Jiong's temples already streaked with white, and witnessing the casualties among his clan members in the fighting. He was filled with anxiety, yet powerless to do anything about it.
why?
Why did he become lazy at that time?
If he had chosen the arrival mode, if he had chosen to play as a substitute, he could have guided the Shen family in building the earthen buildings, manufacturing weapons, and training soldiers. The losses shouldn't have been so great!
Keep pushing... keep pushing... hang in there a little longer. The local natives aren't some monstrous monsters. As long as the balance of power is achieved, and we can get through this, the future will be bright!
One year, two years, three years passed, and the friction between the two sides finally subsided, even leading to tentative attempts at a marriage alliance. Shen Le breathed a sigh of relief—

He relaxed too soon. In the fourth year, Lu Xun's forces rose again after Sun En's defeat and death, leading a massive fleet south along the coast, conquering cities and territories along the way!
From Kuaiji Commandery to Jin'an Commandery, and even further to Guangzhou, Hepu, and Jiaozhou, the land was engulfed in war.

Like locusts swarming across the land, the Shen family's hard-earned legacy, built over many years, crumbled instantly before Lu Xun's army, like waves crashing against the shore.

The manor was burned down, the granaries were looted, and clansmen and tenants were killed, injured, or fled, with only three or four out of ten surviving.

Chieftain Shen Jiong fought desperately, ultimately sustaining serious injuries, before finally managing to lead the remaining thousand or so clansmen on the last batch of ships that had been prepared, fleeing in panic from this land that had once again become scorched earth.

This time, their destination was Yizhou.

Those were overseas islands that our ancestors had explored with Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi of the Wu Kingdom, and the records were on the family's nautical charts that had long since turned yellow.

Shen Le had visited several times before, and he never stopped retracing this route: this place could become the Shen family's last refuge!

(End of this chapter)