The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 543 Bull Festival

Every time he came to Ningguta on business, Yang Tong would go to the parade ground in the north of the city to watch the fights between men and bulls.

Usually, his schedule in Ningguta would be very full. He would meet with people from different yamen every day and repeatedly verify the identities of the prisoners, whether they had any illnesses, and their property status with the officials.

Deputy General Qian and Prefect Shi were quite hospitable and insisted on giving Yang Tong gifts every time, and he was overwhelmed with all kinds of social engagements.

Yang Tong did not dare to get too close to the two of them. The retired emperor strictly forbade the pacification soldiers to interfere in the affairs of Ningguta. Although Yang Tong never cared whether Ningguta was right or wrong, his intuition told the pacification soldier leader that the situation in the northern border of the empire had become very serious.

Watching the bull fight became an excuse for the pacification chief to avoid worldly affairs.

Gladiator fights usually took place in large arenas, and anyone could watch them for a fee. Tickets ranged from one to one hundred taels, with varying prices and seating arrangements. It was said that a ticket worth one hundred taels would secure a front-row seat, allowing for a "close encounter" with the raging bull.

Yang Tong was not interested in close contact with the Bulls. He didn't have enough money to watch the whole game, let alone a prime seat.

Everything has been going up in price lately, including ticket prices.

The Ningguta system is completely different from other places in Liaodong. It is neither capitalist nor totalitarian. It is a paradise for slave owners.

Freemen, or ordinary people, could execute condemned prisoners brought from the interior of the country at will without being punished, or they could buy slaves from the government. After buying them, these slaves became their private property.

In short, under the influence of Qian Sanruo, who came from a business background, everything here ended up becoming a business. It is unknown how much money this profiteer made.

Every prisoner is part of the business. After arriving in Ningguta, Master Qian will conduct a simple screening of them, keeping some as retainers, sending some to mine, and some (female relatives) directly to brothels.

In order to attract more people to watch, fierce condemned prisoners were used to fight the bulls in the arena, and the scene was bloody and cruel.

Yang Tong once mentioned the various chaos in Ningguta to the retired emperor, but he did not receive any clear response, as if the retired emperor turned a blind eye to such acts of disregard for human life.

Perhaps Emperor Wuding became like that businessman, with only money in his eyes.

The large parade ground, originally used for military training, is now filled with wooden stands, extending from the bottom of the city wall to the banks of the Hailang River.

The Hailang River is in the ice flood season, and there are only a dozen sand ships transporting timber moored on the riverside. The masts on the ships look like sparse broad-leaved forests. Looking at them, one can seem to see through the secrets of this place at once.

Yang Tong and his guards quickly found a good seat. This was not because Officer Yang arrived earlier than others or spent more money to buy a seat. The answer was obvious, because the iron hook on his left arm, like the latest infantry gun shipped from Shenyang, easily opened a path in the crowd.

"You idiot! You have no eyes, what are you looking at! You..."

An old friend from Liaodong who was standing in front and looking back angrily at Yang Tong and others felt someone touching his butt. He drew his sword while cursing (in Ningguta, people were allowed to carry weapons).

But when Lao Tie noticed that the iron hook on the other party's arm was shining coldly, it felt as if the muzzle of a gun was aimed at his face.

Lao Tie immediately backed off.

The guard pushed the man away, but Yang Tong did not bother to argue with him. He had killed at least a thousand bondservants Aha with his own hands in Hunhe and Hetuala.

His nickname of "Living Yama" was well-deserved. Whether towards the dead or the living, he could always maintain the utmost restraint.

"Brother Yang, Deputy General Qian's servant came again last night, bringing a box of Dongzhu..."

Yang Tong was holding up his beloved telescope and gazing at the entrance of the parade ground, hoping that the violent bull would appear soon. Suddenly, when he heard the guard say this, he was as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly, and his face immediately showed an extremely disgusted expression.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't accept it?"

"But they come every day, it's so annoying."

A circle of flagpoles were erected around the large parade ground. The small flags on the top of the flagpoles and the black pennants that covered the flagpoles from top to bottom fluttered in the breeze. A wooden door was built at the entrance of the bullfighting pen, painted to look like white marble, and the doorposts were painted similarly to the white marble lions in front of the Guangji Gate in Shenyang, which looked quite majestic.

The base of the main flagpole is composed of four huge statues, painted in various colors, including gold. The flag is made of tinplate, and both sides are engraved with golden portraits of Emperor Wu Ding. One of the paintings reads "Emperor Wu Ding fought a bloody battle in Hunhe and defeated the Eight Banners of Jiannu."

There was a cry of surprise from afar. The belligerent bull was about to appear. The stands and roofs were crowded with enthusiastic Ningguta people.

More than one hundred auxiliary soldiers dressed in Mongolian, Korean and Jurchen costumes, with the flag of the 11th Corps embroidered on their armor, holding long spears and long swords, circled around the parade ground in a show of force.

The people who were eager to see the bulls appear were already getting impatient. They waved the small wooden signs in their hands - this was their ticket to watch the game - Yang Tong knew that soon there would be blood, shit and urine everywhere, and more blood would be shed.

He lost his left arm and could no longer aim and shoot as calmly as before, nor could he experience the thrill of killing on the battlefield. However, when watching the duel between humans and bulls at close range, he could often feel the long-lost excitement.

Amid the enthusiastic calls of the people of Ningguta, a gate on the north side of the parade ground was opened and the first bull came out.

The bull suddenly rushed into the parade ground and charged directly at the nearest prisoner, who was not wearing any armor and had only a blunt spear as his weapon. The whole parade ground seemed to have been bathed in blood, and the rich men and women laughed, shouted, and applauded continuously.

Bulls died one after another, and the bodies of several prisoners were found on the ground. Dead people were even lower than dead bulls, and no one cared about them.

Yang Tong stared at a fallen bull. The bull had its head drooping, its mouth open, and its thick tongue sticking out. It could no longer eat the grass in the wilderness. Perhaps it could only eat grass on the illusory grassland in the bull's other world. He wondered whether it was in hell or heaven.

~~~~~~~
"Have you finished drawing? If you have, I'll stand up."

At the east gate of the Colosseum, a pacification soldier in a red uniform was half-lying on the ground, with dates and raisins scattered around him. A peddler looked at the pacification soldier who had fallen to the ground in front of him with horror, not even bothering to pick up the dried fruits, his face pale with fear.

"I...I didn't touch you just now. You fell down on your own."

The peddler pushed his wheelbarrow and was about to escape. Just as he took a step, the pacification soldier who had been lying on the ground stood up instantly and waved to his companion who was sketching. The pacification soldier immediately stepped forward, and the two of them, one in front and one behind, blocked the peddler in the center.

"Two officers, I dare not do this any longer. I will leave now and will not set up a stall here to sell goods in the future."

"Want to leave? Do you think this is a wet market where you can come and go as you please? Don't you know that private sales are not allowed in the Colosseum? And you dare to resist arrest violently!"

"Is it okay if I don't sell it? Let me go!"

"No! You thief, you bastard! Even coughing in front of me is a sin! This is Ningguta. If you fall into my hands, I will beat the shit out of you with a hundred killing sticks!"

The pacification soldier roared like a wolf and swung his wooden stick at the soldier's head.

"I'll teach you not to be blind! I'll teach you not to be blind!"

At this moment, a dull voice suddenly came from behind:

"Why are you here instead of patrolling the city? Are you itching again?"

When he turned around, it was the living devil Yang Tong.

"Director Yang, I'm blind and didn't see you. I just ran into a guy selling fake dates and was questioning him..."

"Fake dates?"

Yang Tong looked the date vendor up and down, his facial expression changing constantly, probably because he was thinking of the date vendor he had dealt with when he was in Kaiyuan.

"Where did it come from?"

"My lord," the date vendor was about to kneel down, but was helped up by Yang Tong.

"The younger one is from Sanyuan, Shaanxi. His hometown suffered a disaster two years ago. He heard that there was enough food to eat in Liaodong, so he came here."

Hearing that this person and Wu Xiao were from the same hometown, Yang Tong's heart moved slightly.

~·····~~~~~~
"Captain Yang, my master said that Ningguta is in such chaos that if you return to the capital, you will be implicated."

"Why don't we do something big together?"

What's the big deal? Yang Tong was full of vigilance.

Qian Sanruo's head servant stepped forward and said with a smile on his face:
"Those bastards from Shenyang want to completely destroy Ningguta. Captain Yang, if you don't take action, I'm afraid the thousand or so brothers defending the city will mutiny."

Yang Tong remained silent. The two Qian family servants were about to speak again when Yang Tong raised his left iron hook.
"roll!"

~~~~~
"Release the arrows and shoot them to death!"

"Who dares?" Wu Xiao roared.

"The army will arrive soon. Anyone who assassinates an imperial official will be exterminated!"

Shi Yousan said angrily, "He's here to rob us of our silver. Don't listen to his lies. Kill him and you'll get a reward of 1,000 taels of silver. The Emperor will have other rewards!"

At this moment, Yang Tong and his men stood at the entrance of the alley and shouted to everyone:

"Put down your weapons and don't move!"

(End of this chapter)