Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 62 I'll Lead the Way
It was like being poured over the head with a basin of cold water, his whole body was tingling with coldness. Shuanzhu immediately realized that it was the Qihuo Army coming to kill him.

No matter whether they were government troops or the rebel army, stepping on them to death was like crushing an ant.

"Run!"

Shuanzhu ran towards the garrison, with Xialu following behind him crying and howling, and the others could not help but whimper and growl in fear of death.

Shuanzhu couldn't help but sigh that his life was so miserable. He finally picked up a beautiful bottle that could be exchanged for food, but he was going to die outside.

He is not willing to give in.

Damn centurions, damn government troops, damn bandits!
Shuanzhu cursed in his heart, why did this group of people have to fight and kill, making it impossible for everyone to survive!

He ran desperately holding the bottle, a fishy and sweet taste rising in his dry throat, and from time to time he heard the screams of his companions falling to the ground.

He squinted his eyes to resist the reactionary airflow caused by running, and sighed in his heart: No wonder Shuanzhu didn't save me when I was dying. Shuanzhu didn't dare to stop either...

"Hey! Hello brother, would you like to buy a cheat?"

Suddenly a sound came from the side. Shuanzhu turned his head and was shocked to see that several bandits were racing side by side with him.

The three men were carrying bows and crossbows, swords and guns, as well as a round-headed club.

Ah! The thief is coming!

When one of them met his eyes, he tilted his head and smiled, as if trying to show his harmless friendliness and kindness.

As a result, because his expression was stiff and fake, it gave off the terrifying effect of a horror movie, which frightened Shuanzhu greatly.

"Ahhh!" Shuanzhu screamed and ran faster.

"Hey, this little Karami wants to have a running race with us. Can he win?"

"A real man is never afraid of a challenge!"

The stimulated player then sped up and appeared around the tie-post again in a flash.

"Hello, we meet again."

"what!"

Shuanzhu stumbled and fell to the ground, sliding several steps. The bottle on his chest fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

It was over. Shuanzhu's heart sank. All his hard work today had gone to waste. He was going to be caught and beheaded.

"Oh yeah, I'm the first in this race!"

"Pa-pa-pa. You're awesome."

"Congratulations to 'Liu Guan Zhang' for taking first place in the provisional sprint!"

There was a strange cheering sound from above his head. When Shuanzhu calmed down and looked up, he saw five people with concerned expressions forming a circle.

"Young man, why did you run when you saw us? I wanted to ask you a few questions."

Five big men squatted in front of the tie pillar, and the fierce murderous aura emanating from them was like butchers in a slaughterhouse.

Shuanzhu's heart was pounding, his mind was blank and the only thing he could think of was he going to die.

"Great, great, great king, please spare me! All the shopkeepers, please spare me!" Shuanzhu knelt on the ground, his cheeks pressed against the dust, his face covered with tears and snot.

Mustering up the courage to beg for mercy was already the limit of his courage. He knelt quietly on the ground, trembling all over.

"Keep your head up!"

A beggar soldier shouted loudly, frightening the pillar so much that it trembled reflexively.

After thinking it over again and again, he finally followed the other party's order and slowly raised his head, but he didn't dare to raise his eyes too high. He just looked up slightly at the faces of several muscular men.

As soon as he raised his head, he suddenly felt something forcefully intruding into his mouth, filling it up.

It’s steamed corn bread!

He didn't have time to think about it and let his appetite run wild. He inhaled the dry steamed bread like a storm. Even if some crumbs fell on his clothes, he would pick them up and stuff them into his mouth.

A steamed bun was like a panacea. It relieved his body-wide soreness and weakness in just a moment, but the relief only lasted for a short while before he felt hungry again.

It’s not enough to eat.

"What's your name?" asked the other one who took off his bow and arrow.

"Little man, tie the pillar."

"Do you have an acquaintance called Blind Deer?"

"How did you know, Master Bing?"

“Ha, it really is.”

After eating the steamed buns, Shuanzhu felt much better.

He turned his head and glanced at his companions behind him. Surprisingly, they were all alive, talking to the beggar soldiers, holding steamed buns or steamed bread in their hands, and they all had something to eat. Since these soldiers gave them food and spoke kindly, they should not want to kill him.

Even if he had to sleep with her, Shuanzhu gritted his teeth and accepted it. These days, having enough food to eat is the most important thing.

"Are you a local?"

"Yes, I am a garrison officer under the Xinyang Guard. I was very hungry today, so I followed my friends out to look for food."

"Lead us. If you lead us into the fort, I'll give you a stone of millet!"

"okay!"

Shuanzhu suddenly became active, completely different from his previous frightened and timid appearance.

"We are rebels. You are willing to lead the way just for a stone of grain. Aren't you afraid of being accused of collaborating with the rebels?"

"The king gives me food and is my second parent. I've wanted that damn Captain Zhang dead for a long time! I wish I could chop him into pieces!"

Shuanzhu rubbed his buttocks as he spoke, as if this part of his body concealed some unknown secret.

Huang Chao noticed this subtle detail and whispered in his brother's ear, "This kid must have been taken in by that captain, which is why he has such a deep hatred for him."

"What kind of shitty world is this? It forces a good guy to sell dick! Sooner or later, I will smash this chaotic old society full of dick trading to pieces!"

"Liu, Guan, and Zhang" was not spoken out loud, giving the boy enough face.

However, he felt that the young soldier was very pitiful, so he opened his ration bag, took out a hard steamed bun, and handed it to Shuanzhu, his eyes full of pity and sympathy.

Shuanzhu didn't care what was going on in the minds of the Qihuo Army, he was only focused on filling his stomach.

Several beggars asked him several questions in succession:

How many garrisons are there in the garrison? How many troops are left in the garrison? Has there been any news of troop movements from the northern capital? What are the living conditions of the local military households? Will they hold on to the garrison?

Shuan Zhu thought to himself that he was just a poor soldier and had no idea about any confidential military information.

So he quickly stuffed the steamed bun into his throat and spoke out what he knew.

All the military households knew that the government troops had suffered a defeat.

The treatment of the military households by the centurions was slightly more lenient than in the previous days, and the military households were required to have their training time extended.

The military households in the garrison were not so much the reserve force of the official army as they were poor, miserable, skinny farming slaves. Even if they wanted to defend the city, they did not have much strength.

"It's true that the Ming army is underpaid. Fully paid is invincible. Where can we find fully paid? Huang Taiji of Liaodong."

"No, the times have changed. We should be looking for a beggar army in southern Henan."

"It's not just the Beggars' Army. I heard the leader organized a guerrilla force of about a hundred people and crossed the Dabie Mountains to fight guerrilla warfare in Huguang."

"So it seems that the so-called Zhu Ming and Manchu Qing dynasties, though seemingly militarily powerful, were actually just for show. As long as they could organize all the 'dry firewood' on the ground, they would be more than capable of overthrowing the entire world."

"That's exactly what we're doing now. A single spark can start a prairie fire."

"I don't understand what you're talking about. Just let me kill the corrupt officials, the evil gentry, the princes, and the Tartars. Even if I do it ten thousand times, I won't get tired of it!"

The beggars muttered a few words that Shuanzhu could not understand. One of them walked a few steps, picked up a pair of straw sandals and placed them next to Shuanzhu.

"You lost your shoes. Luckily I noticed."

Eh?
Not only did the soldiers of the Beggar Army not beat or humiliate him, but they also gave him precious dry food twice and even picked up his broken straw sandals with their own hands.

Shuanzhu was stunned. He racked his brains but couldn't understand why this soldier did this.

In the past, when the government troops passed by, they would humiliate and bully these poor military families. Several of his neighbors' wives were raped by the government troops, and the women were hanged from the beams of their houses the next day...

Ordinary rebel armies are not much better. They claim to be doing justice for the people, but in fact they just want to be the new masters, demanding their food and labor.

But this beggar army is not ordinary.

The other party was not related to him in any way, and it was just a pair of worn straw sandals, so he could just pick it up himself.

But the soldier took a few steps and handed the cheap straw sandals to him, as if it was something they should do, a simple task that was engraved into their daily habits.

And those high-ranking officials such as centurions and thousand-household officials never care about the thoughts of these lower-class people.

Just like when humans walk on the road, they don’t notice how many ant corpses are stuck on the soles of their feet.

Shuanzhu doesn't understand what the modern politeness that is ingrained in people's bones is, and he doesn't know what it means to do things out of interest and that money can't buy happiness.

He only knew that the soldier's unintentional act made him feel very happy, as if a warm current filled his chest, making him feel the warm care of his loved ones in this sultry summer.

Shuanzhu thought to himself that this was not the "rebel" that the government troops despised, but a real righteous army!

Shuanzhu stood up from the dust again, put on his straw sandals, brushed off the dust on his legs and feet, and couldn't help but run to the front of the beggar army.

"I'll lead the way!"

(End of this chapter)