Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 341: Reconnecting Mr. Bai's Leg

"Kill all these bastards!"

The players howled in anger and drew their swords from their waists to chop at the air. For a moment, the muffled sound of breaking through the air could be heard one after another.

When the captain was killed, the players laughed and took revenge, and even felt like performing a sad drama in front of the "corpse".

But if the supporting characters in the plot suffer injustice, they will definitely empathize deeply with the supporting characters and wish they could just turn on the cheating and kill all the parasites in the world.

"Looks like there's another side quest coming up, investigating the shocking case of the evil dog gentry!"

"Let's just issue an extermination order. All the powerful and evil gentry with land and capital exceeding a certain amount will be immediately exterminated. It's better to kill ten thousand innocent people than to let a single family go. We have plenty of time anyway. We can cleanse the country one province at a time. In seven or eight years, the whole country will be completely clean."

"There's no need to kill them all. We can just use them as hard labor for the rest of their lives. They'll be perfect for mining and road construction, saving a lot of manpower."

"Catching them mining requires monitoring and feeding them, which is a waste of manpower and resources. It would be better to integrate them into the power grid for electricity generation, which is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly."

Of course, no matter how extreme it is, it is just the players' talk. If it is really put into practice, I am afraid the game will be harmonized first.

Everyone was talking at once, and only Lu Zhisen noticed that Zhang Rong was still kneeling on the ground. He quickly stepped forward to help him up and comforted him not to be afraid.

Players were sharing the genocide methods they had "self-taught" from various games, but in the ears of the servants, they were replaced with harmonious phrases such as "fair, fair, and it's damn fair", "fuck that traitor", "don't wrongly accuse a good person, and don't let any bad person go".

Putting aside the conversation between the superiors, the guards recalled the injustice they had encountered before joining the Beiwei Army. They were bullied and had no way to appeal.

If the Beiwei Army had not led them out of the sea of ​​suffering, they would have been displaced for several years like this beggar, and could only swallow their hatred and endure the pain until they died miserably.

The beggars of today are the same as they were in the past.

The attendants were deeply aware that without the Beiwei Army and the Red Turban Army, they would not have the comfortable life they have today.

The veins on their foreheads were throbbing, and their eyes were red with tears of indignation. Although the servants were extremely anxious, they had to look at Shangguan and wait for his instructions.

Their lives were given by Shangguan. Even if Shangguan asked them to compromise with the Bai family, they would drink the broken nails without hesitation, just waiting for the day when the evildoers would receive their retribution.

Players are already the "incarnation of justice" who are almost demigods in their minds. Who would treat these oppressed "strangers" like their friends and family?
Only the Beiwei Army and the Red Turban Army treated them like their parents and their own children!
They firmly believe that whatever their "superiors" decide to do or not do, and whoever they ask to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, must have a legitimate reason to do so.

"Where is the Bai family?"

"It seems to be a wealthy family in Laizhou Prefecture. I'll go offline and ask."

As he was speaking, one of the guards suddenly collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Zhang Rong was frightened by the noise. He thought that his deeds had made the Red Turban Army general faint. He was afraid that his unjust case would be shelved, so he knelt down again to beg for mercy.

Fortunately, Lu Zhisen was quick-witted and grabbed the other person's arm to stabilize it, preventing the misunderstanding from developing further.

Fortunately, the fainted man quickly woke up. "The Bai family's rural village is at the border of Pingdu Prefecture and Gaomi County... It's at least two hundred miles from Qingzhou."

"Then let's deploy the brothers from Gaomi for close range?"

"No, other counties and prefectures are short of manpower. It's good to have a few dozen players stationed in one place. The rest are all retainers, surrendered soldiers, new recruits, and police. It's better to send them directly from Qingzhou. The main force is stationed here, and there are a lot of players. What if some of the surrendered soldiers and clerks collude with the Bai family..."

"Well, you have a point. For a major case like this involving so many people, police should be dispatched from other places."

"Wait a minute." Someone suddenly spoke up, throwing a bucket of cold water on everyone. "What if this is a false accusation made by the victim, exaggerating the injustice? Are you planning to use this opportunity to wipe out the Bai family?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the players and servants were all stunned. Even Zhang Rong was stunned on the spot. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word, as if there was a fishbone stuck in his throat.

If they were to become officials, the players would definitely criticize the speaker and accuse him of having his brain stuck in the door.

But after experiencing the baptism of the "sea of ​​lawsuits", everyone gradually realized that lawsuits are not an absolute opposition between black and white, but a large number of economic disputes, plus trivial matters, and even a number of false accusations.

The more miserable someone plays, and the more indignant they sound, the greater the likelihood of a false accusation. Some say they can tell lies without blushing or feeling guilty, and can play the victim better than the real victims.

Some of the "victims" were simply "pawns" arranged by the masterminds behind the scenes, in order to take advantage of the Red Turban Army's sympathy for the common people and eliminate dissidents.

The Red Turban Army recently cracked a false accusation case—

A group of ruffians, instructed by a wealthy man, falsely accused another wealthy man of abusing his people and secretly intended to seize the rich man's shops and inns.

This group of hooligans usually tell lies all the time and can easily play the role of the bullied poor. They almost tricked the players into falling for them with tears and snot.

If the investigation process was not laid out here, I'm afraid these thugs would have succeeded.

The result was naturally that all the false accusers were executed, and even the wealthy family who instigated the thugs had their property confiscated and their clan exterminated.

On the contrary, there are very few people who dare to appeal unjust, false and wrong cases - the victims either have their entire family killed, or hide away under an assumed name and dare not trust officials anymore, just like being hit by static electricity too much in winter makes the body instinctively afraid of metal objects.

Even in Zhang Rong's case, he mustered up the courage and was prepared to die before he dared to report to the authorities.

He didn't even dare to go to the government office to file a complaint directly, but instead stopped the officials and appealed for justice on the street in full view of the public.

After all, Zhang Rong was the real victim. When he heard that he was "suspected of false accusation", he immediately threw away his last bit of dignity, cried and begged for mercy: If what he said was even a lie, he would be willing to be struck by lightning, and then be cut into pieces and abandoned in the wilderness!

"Don't be afraid, my brother is just being cautious. I don't suspect you of being manipulated or making false accusations. You've suffered a lot over the years.

You trust me, the Red Turban Army, and you risk being killed to clear your family's name. I, the Red Turban Army, will never let you down.

As long as the Bai family's crimes are proven, I guarantee that everyone in the Bai family will be killed.

If you're still worried, afraid that someone might abuse their power for personal gain, then I can give you some peace of mind!"

As Lu Zhisen spoke, he pulled out the short knife from his waist and shaved off a strand of hair, cutting off even more of his already short hair.

As the saying goes, our hair and body are given by our parents. Whether it is shaving the hair or trimming the beard, it has extremely important significance. It is by no means just shaving it and that’s it. To put it seriously, it can be considered an act of filial piety.

In history, the Qing Dynasty issued an order to shave the hair, which almost triggered a nationwide uprising. This shows how serious the shaving of hair was.

And the acting county magistrate before him was willing to harm part of himself just to bring stability to these poor people.

So this is how the "acting county magistrate" got his short hair. Time and again, he calmed the panic of the common people, just like a parent comforting a crying baby in swaddling clothes...

What does it mean to be sincere to each other?!

Zhang Rong was stunned when he heard this. The bronze bell hanging in his heart fell with a clanging sound, and tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes.

For the first time in nine years, he felt comfort that went straight to the depths of his soul. There was no bullshit preaching, only warm care.

He had a really hard time in these nine years.

The sadness that had been dormant for nine years turned into a rushing river and burst out at this moment. He cried like a young man who had stopped moving forward nine years ago, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

For Zhang Rong's safety, Lu Zhisen placed him in the barracks where players were stationed.

"Brothers, let's head south to Baijiazhuang!"

Lu Zhisen immediately gathered a group of players and then met up with the stationed players along the way. A total of two hundred people headed to the target location together.

Bringing the parties involved to Qingzhou for public trial was a demonstration of fairness and justice, and a way to tell everyone that the Red Turban Army was not afraid of power, would not collude with officials and gentry, and would not protect each other.

Secondly, it will encourage more victims to stand up bravely and expose the true faces of those evildoers.

Zhang Rongtiao's public complaints were very effective and encouraged many people who had suffered injustice.

At the same time, the spies of the big investors are also watching all this.

In the evening half a day after Lu Zhisen gathered his men and left the city, a short man caught a white pigeon, stuffed a secret letter into it, and then threw it into the sky.

The white dove flew southeast under the cover of the dark sky.

……

In the dim morning light, Bai Jiawen stood in the center of the courtyard.

He slowly stretched out his arms, his fingertips brushing past a cloud of dust.

He knew the Five Animal Play moves by heart, but today's "Monkey Picking Fruit" was still not working for him. The news of the Qian family's genocide was still lingering in his mind. He was the one who spread the evidence of the Qian family's crimes.

His original intention was to eliminate the surrenderists, intimidate the fence-sitters, and at the same time distract the Red Turban Army from investigating the case.

But who would have thought that the Red Turban Army, faced with this "false and wrongful case", would be like a chicken with its blood pumped up. They quickly figured out the cause and effect, and decisively gathered troops to break into the village and wipe out the entire Qian family.

In the past, when the Ming government encountered such "wrongful cases", it would often take half a year to deal with them. However, the Red Turban Army had no regard for "gentry dignity". They would just verify the evidence and then quickly dispatch troops to punish the person, or even exterminate the entire family.

The speed of the suppression, where the criminals were sentenced and the entire family was wiped out, was beyond his imagination.

He seemed to see a terrifying new dynasty about to be born.

It was a powerful empire that no one could resist. It quietly extended its tentacles to all places, monitoring the people's every move, and its punishment was faster and more severe than that of dynasties in thousands of years.

No matter whether one is a commoner or a wealthy and powerful person, as long as one's words or actions "offend" the empire, he will be brought into disaster.

Bai Jiawen hated being controlled and believed that the government should not interfere too much in local affairs. He was even more afraid of the tyrannical new dynasty, which was even more cruel than the tyrannical Qin Dynasty.

"Master, the bath is ready." The old servant Bai Fu stood in the corridor with his hands hanging down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his master stagger half a step when he finished.

Ever since the Red Turban bandits occupied Qingzhou, the master's panting during morning exercises has become heavier day by day.

After bathing and changing clothes, the young maids helped him change clothes and comb his hair.

The lady also added some clothes for her rebellious son's recently taken concubine, and the faint bruises on the woman's shoulders suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Bai Jiawen closed his eyes, feeling a bitter taste in his throat. Ever since he had "wiped the butt" for his rebellious son, this trouble had never stopped.

What a loving mother is, she often spoils her child!
As the head of the Bai family, he had to respect his wife. The latter was from a wealthy family like him, and they were a good match. She had even been of great help to his Bai family.

In contrast, although his youngest son was born to his aunt, he was smart and clever, and was born to be a scholar.

Although he has picked up some of the bad habits of a young master beating and scolding servants, his merits outweigh his flaws. He will surely be on the list in the future and restore the prestige of the Bai family.

After breakfast, he usually stayed in his study to check business accounts or read the court newspaper to learn about the political trends in the court.

The study window cut the morning light into diamond-shaped grids, falling on the light yellow booklet on the desk.

There was a pungent smell of pine smoke between the pages, obviously it was printed in a hurry.

Bai Jiawen opened the title page and his pupils suddenly contracted - under the four big words "Freedom of Marriage and Love", there was a picture of a spirited young man and woman, with the sunlight shining brightly behind them.

"Ridiculous!" He slammed the table, causing ripples to form in the tea cup.

Throughout the dynasties, which family did not have a marriage arranged by parents and matchmakers?

Look again at the portrait of the woman with bound feet, there is a bloody cross drawn on it with a red brush.

Bai Jiawen thought that ordinary people had no intention of binding their feet, and women had to provide labor. Only wealthy families had the need to bind their feet, as they felt that this was respectable.

Of course, even if it is wrapped, it will be wrapped smaller, rather than wrapped to the point of breaking the leg.

The following regulations with pictures and texts are even more shocking.

The clan leader strictly forbade lynching of clan members... heavy taxes were imposed on those who took too many concubines... wealthy men were forbidden from abusing their slaves and maids... girls were also required to attend school...

The rebels are constantly attacking the gentry, clearly intending to undermine the very foundations of propriety and law!
It seems that the traitors never took these "pillars of the country" seriously from the very beginning.

This feeling of being excluded from the core and relegated to a lowly position made Bai Jiawen feel imprisoned and restrained.

When will the Ming army come to destroy the rebels and restore order?
At lunchtime, Bai Jiawen suddenly received a report from his butler. The "carrier pigeon" stationed in Qingzhou sent back an urgent message:

The trouble caused by Young Master Bai back then has now come to light, and the rebels are bringing a group of quick men to the village to arrest people.

"what!"

The tea lid in Bai Jiawen's hand hit the rim of the cup with a clang.

He quickly recalled the many ugly things he had experienced in the past, but for a moment he couldn't decide which one it was!
Damn it, didn’t he try his best to whitewash his affairs? Why are there still living victims complaining today?
When Bai Jiawen thought about the Qian family being traced and exterminated because of their "evidence of guilt", he couldn't help but feel a sense of self-destruction.

His Bai family has also been targeted by the rebels!

The word "genocide" was like a bolt of lightning that struck from the sky. Bai Jiawen felt a jolt in his chest, as if something almost jumped out of his throat. His limbs felt as if they were filled with lead liquid, and a strong feeling of stagnation and numbness spread throughout his body.

Countless images of happy families flooded into his mind, and suddenly his youngest son's nimble and lively figure and childish voice rang in his ears. He walked to the bedroom unknowingly.

He looked at the exhibits in the room and imagined the scene of people living together. The fear and panic in his heart felt like a knife cutting his chest. He closed his eyes and thought hard for a long time, and finally ordered someone to call the young master over.

He ordered the young master to kneel down in front of him and confess what mistakes he had made over the years.

He held a wooden stick in his hand and hit his son whenever he heard any words of concealment.

Faced with the powerful orders from his father and the presence of a butler who knew the inside story, Young Master Bai had no choice but to confess the crimes he had committed.

He plotted to abduct women, bribed clerks to seize several people's shops and land, and colluded with bandits in the mountains to kill some people he hated.

Every time Bai Jiawen heard about a dirty thing that was heinous to both humans and gods from his son, he felt his frail body become three times heavier. There were actually several evil things that he was completely unaware of.

"My son did everything neatly and without leaving any evidence behind..."

"Clean and neat? A victim has already reported your crimes to the rebels' office, and the rebels have already sent people to arrest you!"

"Ah?!" Young Master Bai was a little terrified. "Whoever dares to report me, I will make sure he dies!"

"You traitor!"

Bai Jiawen suddenly felt dizzy from the back of his head. He was surprised that this rebellious son who was spoiled by his loving mother had no remorse at this moment!

Bai Jiawen was very afraid of the catastrophe that this rebellious son would bring to the family, but he was even more angry that as the head of the family, he could not control this "evil dog".

"You unfilial son! You unfilial son!" Bai Jiawen pointed at his son's nose and cursed, "You won't be satisfied until everyone in my Bai family is killed!"

"Father, it's common knowledge that the rebels have fabricated charges to extort money from the gentry and plotted to murder scholars. Now they're forcing their way to our door. Do you think handing me over will quell the situation?" Young Master Bai saw through it all. "The rebels are using this incident to devour our Bai family alive, Father! Why not kill them and rise up in rebellion?"

Bai Siwen paused and continued, "I'm sure father has long had the heart to rise up in rebellion. There are more than a thousand servants and clansmen in the village. If we seize the county town and respond to the government troops, as long as we hold out for a few days and wait for the government troops to attack us, our Bai family will be the heroes of the rebellion! Father, don't hesitate!"

"You still haven't repented even now! I should have put justice before my own family and handed you over to the authorities!"

Bai Jiawen turned around angrily, secretly cursing his rebellious son for ruining his plan.

If the government troops attacked together, he would spread a lot of negative information about the gentry, forcing dozens of gentry to join the rebellion, creating a situation where the rebels were attacked from two sides.

If he took advantage of the situation and launched an uprising to seize the city at that time, there would be no risk, and he could show his face in front of the government army and improve his reputation. It might not be a bad idea for him to be reinstated as a frontier official again.

It’s a pity that such a good plan was ruined by the rebellious son!

The government troops had just relocated to the town, and it was unknown how many days it would take before they could defeat the enemy. If he launched an attack prematurely, what good would that do, other than making the Bai family a target of public criticism?
Bai Jiawen cursed himself inwardly for his careful planning, which was only one step away, but was exposed by the "wrongful case" from many years ago.

such a pity!
Bai Jiawen suddenly turned around and looked his rebellious son up and down. The resentment and disgust in his heart grew stronger, and a thought flashed through his mind quickly.

If this rebellious son suddenly falls ill and dies, and he pays a fine to appease the rebel, wouldn't he be able to successfully overcome the crisis?
Since the traitors want to be treated with dignity, then I will give them this dignity.

He had just called over a few strong and tight-lipped servants when he heard a loud and urgent noise. It turned out that his wife had arrived.

As soon as she arrived, she protected Young Master Bai behind her and scolded Bai Jiawen for only loving the illegitimate son who was "raised by a maid" and treating his legitimate son like a weed. She even beat her son with a stick in front of the lowly servants.

She then began to cry out in self-pity, saying all the time that she and her mother had a miserable life, and cursed Bai Jiawen for favoring his concubine over his wife, violating etiquette and morality!
The quarrel of bringing up old matters almost exploded Bai Jiawen's brain.

Bai Jiawen was hesitating whether to order his men to take his wife away in order to be "dignified" when he suddenly heard a servant come to report.

The rebel detectives held high the red flag and rode their horses to within a few miles of Baijiazhuang.

Bai Jiawen's heart was shocked. It had been less than two days since he received the news about the rebels, and the thieves had already come to his door?

So fast?
(End of this chapter)