Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 200: Begging for a living, there is a clear sky
Wang Chengqi held tightly the spear sent by the volunteers and looked into the distance.

The momentum of tens of thousands of rebel soldiers and civilians entering the city was so huge, like thousands of fish swimming upstream through a narrow waterway.

The front row of soldiers and civilians walked across the narrow suspension bridge, passed through the city wall, and rushed into Xiangyang through the west gate of the city.

Red flags fluttered overhead, and Wang Chengqi saw countless poor people in coarse linen clothes, full of high spirits, shouting "Charge and kill!"

Even some of his familiar fellow townsmen changed from their previous cowardice and honesty, their worried brows relaxed, and they became confident and brave.

The Beggar Army is very strange. They are just a group of simple strangers, but their every move gives people a deep yearning.

They understand the suffering of the poor and can always accurately soothe their painful scars, just like those natural leaders, "charming" thousands of heroes who can't help but follow them.

Before Wang Chengqi could give any order in his mind, his feet had already subconsciously moved to follow.

The corridor of the city gate is heavy and solemn, exuding a sense of majesty between superiors and subordinates, and deeply separating the noble and the humble inside and outside the city walls.

The light at the end of the corridor gradually came in, and the moment Wang Chengqi walked out of the city gate, his vision suddenly became clear.

Compared with the small county of Gucheng, the big city of Xiangyang is an important town with countless prosperous streets and exquisite buildings, just like a magnificent palace.

Any of the big houses is a luxury home that he cannot afford even if he sells his entire family.

The city is home to officials, wealthy merchants, and even princes and nobles. They are powerful and wealthy, and their annual income is far more than what a poor person could earn in their lifetime of hard work.

These high-ranking officials and nobles are the "superiors" that Wang Chengqi will never meet in his lifetime.

Wang Chengqi looked down at his own attire: patched old clothes, loose straw sandals, and half his body covered in splattered mud.

A sad feeling of inferiority came over me, but it only lasted for a moment.

He saw those richly dressed people being escorted out of their houses by the militia, and some officials and defeated soldiers being ordered to kneel in the street.

Sharp spears and swords hung above their heads, forcing the superiors to not dare to look up.

"It's him! It's him! He killed people. He went to the countryside to collect grain and killed my brother. He also stole the grain that my family needed to survive the famine!"

At this time, a civilian rushed out roaring. Wang Chengqi heard the familiar voice and turned his head to see that it was Lao Xu from the next village.

Old Xu's face was filled with grief and anger, tears welled up in his eyes, and he pointed at the dog thief's nose and complained about the injustice.

He claimed that he went to the county magistrate to file a complaint, but the officials protected each other. One moment they said that the matter was under the jurisdiction of Xiangyang, and the next moment they accused Lao Xu of slandering him. Not only did they not give him justice, but they informed the soldiers about the complaint.

That soldier gathered a group of helpers and beat him up. Later, when the soldiers went to the countryside, they kept an eye on Xu's family and even humiliated his wife in front of him...

At this point, Lao Xu's sorrow and grief surged back into his heart. Tears welled in his eyes, his voice cracked, and the surge of grief and sorrow was too overwhelming, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Wang Chengqi thought of the experience of his own food being stolen and he had to endure humiliation, and he also shed tears.

"Are you sure it's him?"

A black shadow suddenly enveloped Lao Xu. He turned around and found that the tall "Wang Tutu" was approaching him like a mountain cliff, and the polished iron plates of the armor were like reflective mirrors.

"It's him! I'd recognize him even if he turned into ashes!"

"it is good!"

Wang Tutu reached out and grabbed the defeated soldier by the scruff of the neck, like an eagle's sharp claws clamping a weak chicken, and dragged the defeated soldier staggering forward.

The latter struggled hard and found that the rebel was incredibly strong, and he felt that something bad was going to happen.

"Spare my life!"

The defeated soldier reached out to pry off Wang Tutu's iron gloves while wailing and begging for mercy, claiming that the accusations of murder and rape were slanders made by the treacherous people. He had always obeyed orders to collect grain and was forced to do so by his superiors. He did not want to harm the common people.

"Shut up!" Wang Tutu raised his hand and slapped him. The right palm of the armored iron glove was like a sledgehammer hitting the face, knocking out several bloody teeth of the defeated soldier.

Wang Chengqi and the militia and civilians followed behind, watching the defeated soldiers with blood at their mouths being carried to a makeshift wooden platform.

Several high-hanging guillotines were placed on a temporary wooden platform.

The elite soldiers of the Qihuo Army stood proudly on the stage with swords in hand. Although the militia and civilians were allowed to watch the execution, they were not allowed to step within five steps of the wooden stage.

Nearly a hundred captives, bound hand and foot, knelt on the stage. Though their hair was disheveled and their bodies were covered in mud, their elegant clothing beneath the filth betrayed their noble status. Some were nobles, some were officials, and some were gentry...

Especially a certain white-haired old man in a bright red robe, he must be a high-ranking official.

"If you pass by, take a look! If you have grievances, seek justice. If you have sufferings, complain. The Beggar Army will redress your grievances and avenge you!"

"The Zhu Ming vassal kings have brought chaos to the world, and the powerful and wealthy have been wantonly annexing the country. Today, the beggar army will cleanse the world of its filth and restore peace and prosperity to you."

"The beggars are here, and they won't leave! The beggars are here, and we have justice!"

Players beat drums and gongs and blew suona along the streets, as if what was about to begin was not a bloody execution, but a festive celebration for all people to enjoy.

As order was restored in Xiangyang City, the people in the city heard the shouting and propaganda and bravely came to the execution site.

The nearby inns and restaurants were all packed with people, and some people even climbed onto the roofs to watch the fun, carrying dry food and snacks in their hands.

Seeing that more and more people were coming, and that the beggars were clearly going to kill his entire family, the white-haired old man immediately started cursing, "According to the ancestral system, the princes of the Ming Dynasty never leave their fiefdoms. How could we harm the people?"

"The vassal kings are not allowed to leave, but your servants can bring disaster to the surrounding areas! If you don't have the blood and sweat of the people, do the money and grain in your palace's treasury just fall from the sky?"

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei clapped their hands, and a group of attendants opened the wooden boxes stacked on the stage one by one. Two of them lifted a box and showed it to the crowd. He grabbed a piece of glittering gold and said, "Look at all this gold, silver, and jewelry! How much food can we exchange for it? And this is just a fraction of the money and food that the princes and the wealthy have! Why are you so poor and destitute? You sell your land, your children, and still can't eat enough. Look at where all the money and food in the world is hidden!"

Wang Chengqi was dumbfounded.

This white-haired old man is actually the honorable Prince Xiang, a relative of the emperor!

Not to mention the gold, he had never seen an equivalent amount of silver in his life.

The gold seized by the volunteers alone was enough for his family to live in luxury until death, and even have some left over.

If we give him the whole box, his three generations will be able to have enough food and clothing, right?

But with so much wealth concentrated in the hands of princes and gentry, they were unwilling to even give a little to help the people. Instead, they annexed land, exploited the people's power, and forced the poor into a desperate situation!

When he thought about his old mother still lying in bed and his wife and children still having to live frugally due to the spring famine, while these bastards were sleeping soundly on the mountains of grain and silver, he felt furious.

Why should he and his family be born to suffer!

"The victors are the kings and the losers are the bandits. I have fallen into the hands of the thieves today and I know I am doomed. But what crime have my children committed? They are young and ignorant, how could they harm anyone? In the past, the northern barbarians fought against each other and did not kill children who were not as strong as the wheels of a wheel. Are you even worse than the barbarians?"

"If you want misfortune to not affect your family, first deny them good fortune!" The player grabbed a woman's clothes and dragged her in front of the old prince. "Open your eyes and see how much this dress cost! Look at the people around you, every one of them is wearing coarse linen.

And which one of you princes and royal family members doesn’t have dozens or even hundreds of sets of clothes? The cost of any one of your robes is enough for these poor people to buy clothes for most of their lives!

What do your royal family, women, and children eat and wear every day? Where does it come from? It's all taken from the people!"

"The land and rice stipends are all inherited from the Taizu. How can I decide the wealth and status of the royal family?"

"Then your Zhu Ming dynasty will perish!"

"Liu Guanzhang" nodded to the others, and the servants dragged the struggling old prince into the wooden shackle.

Even as death approached, the old prince continued to roar, "You speak better than you sing. If you seize the country, you will ride roughshod over the people and abuse your power! The powerful and wealthy have always been treacherous. How long can you keep your grand words today?"

"Whether it's thirty years or ten, it will give the poor people a chance to breathe! If one day we or our descendants begin to oppress the people, annex land, seize property by force, protect officials, and pervert the law, we will deserve the same fate as you, with our entire clan exterminated!"

"Alright! When I go to the underworld, I'll keep my eyes open and watch you beggars and thieves until you die!"

"Kill!" Liu, Guan and Zhang waved their hands.

The attendant activated the mechanism, and the sharp guillotine fell rapidly.

The knife fell and the old prince's head fell off. The head rolled to the ground and happened to be stable on the edge of the wooden platform.

Those eyes were wide open, as if they really wanted to stare at the beggar thieves forever, to witness the day when their true faces were exposed.

The guillotine continued to work, and royal family members, bad gentry and soldiers were pushed up one after another, and their heads fell to the ground with a snap of the knife.

"Oh oh oh oh oh——" Every time a head was chopped off, it would arouse enthusiastic cheers from the onlookers.

The soldier who oppressed the people was also beheaded by the guillotine. Old Xu, who had avenged his great hatred, could not help but roar, sometimes wailing and sometimes shrieking and laughing, and seemed a little crazy.

Fellow villagers nearby were afraid that he would be too emotional and his mind would be damaged, so they quickly dragged him out of the crowd and gave him water and rest.

The cheers in his ears were loud and enthusiastic, but Wang Chengqi seemed to hear no sound.

It was quiet all around, with only the deafening cries of begging for mercy from the wooden platform.

When faced with death, these powerful people still cried for mercy, behaved in an ugly manner, and even pissed and shit.

They have no more heads than the poor, and when the guillotine falls, they will die too.

He looked around and saw countless people raising their arms and shouting, the shouts rising one after another were like raging waves.

The scene of tens of thousands of people gathered together without any chaos really shocked him.

These poor people and peasants, who were regarded as a mob by the powerful, are now brought together, just like gathering sand to form a tower, and they have unleashed amazing power.

Even the important city of Xiangyang was captured.

Wang Chengqi looked down at his right hand holding the spear, wondering if he really had the power?

He looked up at the pairs of dead eyes and the "nobles" who were put into wooden shackles.

There is no inferiority complex, nor fear of the powerful. Instead, there is a sense of relief as if the shackles of the soul have been cut off.

He let out a long sigh, as if exhaling the dark clouds that had accumulated in his chest and abdomen for many years.

"The sky has changed."

……

The entire family of King Xiang and those evil gentry and soldiers who harmed the people were executed. All their heads were pickled with lime and piled up outside the city to form a Jingguan. A "Monument to Evil People" was erected next to it, recording the crimes of these people in detail.

After venting their anger, the people felt the sky was clear and their mood was good.

And better things are yet to come. The Qihuo Army announced that all the people who participated in the siege should come and receive their rewards.

(End of this chapter)