Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 179 This is my last ripple
As evening approached, Zhang Tian Temple found a piece of wood as usual and taught the refugees to read by the light of the campfire.

Those who knew him spread the word about his kindness. Those who didn't know him would recognize him after seeing him busy all day long helping many refugees who were not even related to him, using the "yellow talisman" and grain pills to save many people.

The refugees gathered around unconsciously, some squatting and some sitting.

Some people just lay on the ground and fell asleep while listening to the teaching. They slept in a daze until dawn and did not feel hungry all night.

Zhang Tiansi erased the Chinese characters from the previous round, and then used chalk to write a beautiful character "人".

He tapped the blackboard with chalk. "What is a human being? It's you and me standing upright on the earth. We are human beings..."

"The officials and gentry are the real people, right? They usually stand, and we can only kneel when we see them." A strong man said.

"Then what are we?"

"We are just cattle and horses. We are all cattle and horses in the homes of officials and gentry. We endure hardship and hunger, and the days just pass by slowly..."

"So you want to be slaves forever?" Zhang Tiansi asked.

"Of course I don't. Who doesn't want to live a good life? But in this world, the officials and gentry are the masters of the world. We have to go wherever they want us to go. If we slow down, they will whip us."

"I don't want anything else, I just want to have a full meal..." Another young man clutched his stomach, "We're not even as good as the landlord's cattle and horses now. At least their cattle and horses can fill their stomachs, but we can only eat firewood..."

"I heard that the Beggar Army is upholding justice and standing up for the poor. Do you want to join them?" Zhang Tiansi's face was illuminated by the bonfire, half bright and half dark.

"I thought about it, but there's nothing I can do. The government troops have set up checkpoints in southern Henan. If you dare to escape there, they'll beat you half to death and then force you to work as a 'donkey' for the government troops. You'll be exhausted after just a few days of work. If you run into a bad-tempered government soldier, they'll kill your entire family with just two swords and make you the head of a bandit..."

"Do you hate it?"

"I hate him, but I don't hate him either... Even if the official was right in front of me, I wouldn't dare touch him."

"Without food and no strength, I can't defeat the master's servants even if I fight."

"The government troops still have weapons. We only have a wooden stick. If we sharpen it, we might be able to poke a bloody hole, but it's useless. One government soldier can beat 20 or 30 of us."

"I heard that the elite soldiers of the beggar army are all strong and muscular, and one man can fight ten government troops! If the beggar army attacks us, we will dare to fight the government troops!"

"Um……"

Zhang Tiansi seemed to have opened the refugees' chatterboxes, and they kept talking one after another, extending the topic from their fear of the imperial court officials to their desire for the beggar army to come and save them.

Zhang Tiansi knew that the refugees had resentment and hatred in their hearts, and even a little anger, but they did not dare to rebel after all.

They were hungry and had no strength, no weapons, no armor, and no military training. Even though their combined numbers were more than ten times that of the government troops, they had no confidence in defeating them.

Why don’t they dare to resist? Because if they resist, they will most likely die, and many people will die.

The refugees had no ability to change the status quo, and they didn't want to be beheaded, so they could only endure it like animals.

When faced with exorbitant taxes, they resist; when faced with oppression, they endure; when faced with humiliation, they console themselves by saying that it was just bad luck and they will be reborn into a good family and enjoy happiness in their next life...

However, the main force of the Qihuo Army was still preparing logistical supplies. By the time the main force arrived in central Henan, most of the people here would have starved to death.

If you resist you will die, and if you endure humbly you will starve to death. You will die anyway, so why not fight to the death and earn a way to survive for yourself and your family?
Zhang Tiansi wanted to save these starving people who were about to die of starvation, just like the strong compassion of a doctor that broke out when he saw the drowning people that day.

Zhang Tiansi knew very well that the refugees needed an opportunity, a spark to ignite the powder keg.

When it was late at night and the refugees had fallen asleep, Zhang Tiansi pretended to be asleep, but in fact he went offline and opened social software to send messages to several hidden groups operating in Henan, as well as a large group of beggars.

He needs a little support.

From that day on, every morning, several carts of food would appear outside the refugee camp, and Zhang Tiansi would stand among the food.

The news that these grains were "transformed" by Mr. Zhang spread like wildfire.

Mr. Zhang's prestige among the refugee community is growing. Many people regard him as a living god and worship him respectfully every morning when they wake up and every night when they go to bed.

Although this food was a drop in the bucket for the refugees, it helped many young men recover some of their strength.

The refugees did not notice that there were nearly a hundred strong "refugees" in the camp.

The "food miracle" continued like this for several days, until one night -

Suddenly, a beam of flame shot out from a woods near the refugee camp with a whoosh sound. The slowly descending "light and fire" was ten times brighter than a burning arrow, illuminating the area for miles as if it were daytime.

The refugees exclaimed that this was a "sign of natural disaster" given by God!
When the light was completely extinguished, the refugees heard shrill cries coming from the nearby woods.

Dozens of brave young men formed a group and went into the woods with torches.

All I could hear was a rustling sound deep in the woods, like a baby crying, or a fox demon sobbing against a tree trunk.

The young men waved torches in search of the source of the sound, but they could not find the direction. They only felt that the ethereal whisper was like a whisper in their ears.

Suddenly, a snow-white creature jumped out from in front of them. The young men were frightened and took several steps back, causing the light of the torch to fail to illuminate the entire "monster".

The monster was stunned for a moment, staring coldly at the strong men, with a terrifying sneer emitting from the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, it moved back and forth five steps around the young man like a cat playing with a mouse, muttering something, "Beggar...live...happy..."

The snow-white monster was whispering something vague, which was not very clear. The strong men did not dare to get close. They only heard the monster repeating strange words several times like chanting a scripture, and finally suddenly let out a few shrill screams, as if someone had stabbed it in the thigh with a spear.

"Begging for life! King Xinghan!"

"Begging for life! King Xinghan!"

"Begging for life! King Xinghan!"

Then the monster disappeared, and the young men tried to look for it but could not find even its footprints.

Only a ten-foot-long stone tablet was found at the place where the monster had just stayed, with a few large characters written on it: "Break the prefectures and counties to welcome beggars, and when the beggars come, the land and grain will be distributed equally."

The "white light" and "fox demon" that night quickly spread throughout the refugee camp, and even the nearby county town was telling this strange story.

After several exaggerations, it has become a fox fairy who has come to the world to bestow a miraculous method to save the refugees from suffering.

Then even stranger things happened. Someone found a silver cake weighing seven coins in their porridge. The literate refugees could see at a glance that there were a few large characters written on the silver cake: "Begging for Life." Not long after, a second cake appeared, with the words "King of Xinghan" written on it.

Then when they were killing a fish, they found an extremely precious piece of paper in the fish's belly. On the paper was written, "Don't say that the stone man has only one eye, he is inciting rebellion in Henan and the whole world."

An atmosphere of mysticism suddenly enveloped the entire refugee camp.

The elderly refugees spent the whole day muttering over and over again a few "prophecies" that had been circulating recently, whispering about the revelations given by God.

The atmosphere of superstition continued to ferment, especially these rumors also contained traces of the Red Turban Rebellion in the late Yuan Dynasty. The Taizu of this dynasty rose up with the Red Turban Rebellion, and the intention of inciting the people to rebel was obvious.

The local county magistrate naturally would not allow the rebels to repeat their "success" of that year.

So a garrison officer was sent here with 500 soldiers and 700 local militiamen, under the pretext of "arresting fugitives" and "ensuring logistics for the official army" to disperse the refugees and forcibly conscript able-bodied men.

As long as the labor force is forcibly conscripted, the remaining elderly, weak, women and children will naturally not be able to make any waves.

However, the official's arrogant mentality made him subconsciously ignore the feelings of the grassroots people.

Countless refugees are families with old and young, but they are not the ants that he thinks should consciously bear the pressure of the dynasty.

The brutal and tyrannical government troops didn't care about your background. As long as they were poor people from the lower class, they would be forcibly conscripted and tied into a long string with ropes.

Working as a laborer transporting grain for the government army was considered a form of labor, and in theory it would provide two meals a day.

But the bad thing is that all the policies in the final period have become empty words. Even if you go to serve labor, it will be your bad luck if you die of exhaustion.

If the place of deployment is far from home, then this trip means separation from family forever...

"General, please be merciful. I have old parents and young children to take care of. I can't leave. Please have mercy on me!" A young man knelt in front of the garrison officer and kowtowed humbly for mercy.

"Transporting food to support the army is a major step in the imperial court's plan to suppress bandits! How dare you disobey and disrespect us?"

The military officer bowed in the direction of the capital, then spat viciously at the common people on the ground. The personal soldiers beside him immediately rushed forward and beat and kicked the young man.

The refugees watched the beaten refugees in a daze, without saying a word. Even though their numbers were dozens of times greater than those of the officers and soldiers, no one dared to stand up and shout "Stop!"

The garrison officer fiercely kicked the young man, revealing his bruised and bloodied face to everyone. "Who dares to make such a noise?!"

"what!"

Suddenly, a scream was heard from the crowded crowd, like a stone falling into a calm lake, causing ripples.

The refugees near the sound immediately began to whisper to each other. Word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. In a short while, most of the refugee camp began to whisper to each other, and then cast cold glances at the government troops.

But there was a hint of indifference and hostility in that look.

"Get out of my way!" The garrison officer brought dozens of personal soldiers, waved his sword and drove away the refugees, creating a passage for himself to the center of the topic.

It turned out that the refugees were whispering around a broken stone that had just been dug out.

But when the garrison officer got closer, he found that it was not a stone, but a one-eyed stone man. Suddenly, a saying that had been circulating in Xiangcheng recently came to his mind:

Don't say that the stone man has only one eye, he is inciting the whole world in Henan to rebel.

The garrison officer subconsciously took a half step back, and when he looked back suddenly, he saw that the refugees gathered around him suddenly seemed to have changed their faces, with strength replacing cowardice, anger replacing humility, and hostility replacing fear.

The refugees stared coldly at the government troops, like a pack of hungry wolves with glowing eyes surrounding a sheepfold at night.

"Back off! Everyone, back off!" The garrison officer waved his sword, trying to force back the refugees who were surrounding them.

However, although the refugees were afraid of the sharpness of the swords, they were no longer afraid of the majesty of the imperial military officers behind the garrison commanders.

"Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers all born with different races?" Someone in the crowd raised his arms and shouted.

"Who is it!" The garrison officer felt that half of his body was soaked with sweat on his back, and his whole body was still emitting an unbearable heat.

"This year's drought has wiped out the crops, yet the government, instead of providing relief, is forcing us to pay taxes. Three additional levies have already been imposed! The government won't give us a way to survive, so we're rebelling!"

"Rebellion is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the clan!" The garrison officer tried to cheer himself up.

"Everyone, please be patient and let me reason with him..."

Zhang Tiansi's voice pierced through the anxious crowd, and he walked straight through the crowd who consciously made way and came in front of the garrison officer.

However, he seemed to be pushed by someone, or he stepped on a stone, and he accidentally took a step forward and almost fell on the garrison officer.

The garrison officer subconsciously reached out and pushed him away.

Zhang Tiansi retreated, his steps were small and slow, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.

He looked up in surprise, his eyes reflecting the garrison commander's terrified expression.

He fell down weakly with his head tilted back, and a strong and sturdy man came forward to support his body.

The latter looked at Zhang Tiansi's chest in disbelief, and a trace of crimson gradually spread out, staining a large area of ​​his clothes on his chest.

Zhang Tiansi raised his bloodstained hand tremblingly, and with a weak breath, he squeezed out each word, "Don't add to the killing. This world cannot have any more resentment and anger..."

He used up his last bit of strength to raise his hands high and clenched them hard towards the sun that was shining through the clouds in the distance.

Mr. Zhang's defeated arm dropped down and he was completely silent.

Mr. Zhang died, and the "harmony and peace" he talked about before his death turned out to be the opposite of what he meant. All the refugees glared at the garrison officer.

The strong man who felt sorry for Mr. Zhang stretched his arms straight, and his thick index finger pointed forward like a knife.

The garrison officer who was pointed out felt as if he had been shot by an arrow. He was trembling all over and sweating profusely.

"He killed Mr. Zhang!"

(End of this chapter)