Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 72 Taking your money and food ≠ helping you to take revenge

However, the gentry are not the "superiors" of this army. Whether they are players or militiamen who are deeply indebted to Lijiazhai, they only obey the orders of Li Mu.

Faced with the noisy screams of the gentry and wealthy families, they only turned their eyes to Li Mu on horseback.

The citizens and vendors hiding behind the door also quietly poked their heads out to see what decision the legendary "generous" Mr. Li would make.

The Beggars are good people, and Master Li is also a good person. Why would good people fight against good people, and instead let the local tyrants and evil gentry and other bad guys benefit?

"Quick! Li Xiaoyou! Kill this bandit! I'm going to hang his head on the city gate for a year!"

The wealthy people circled around Li Mu's warhorse, jumping and screaming, without any of the dignity and reserve of scholars.

"Let them go." Li Mu raised his whip and pointed at the Qihuo Army.

"Hmm. Hmm? Ah!"

The gentry were all shocked when they heard this, wondering if Li Xiaoyou had made a mistake in saying a word, saying "kill" instead of "release".

The players had no reaction, but the Li family militia felt a little confused.

The militiamen did not want to kill the notorious Beggar Army. After all, they were really doing justice for the people, and many of the militiamen's families had benefited from the Beggar Army.

Mr. Li was also very good to them. He gave them enough monthly allowance and food rations. Recently, he even organized a "literacy class" to teach their children how to read and write. It was truly a blessing.

Both sides are benefactors, which puts them in a dilemma.

Moreover, they knew that if Master Li released the beggars, he would inevitably be suspected of collaborating with the enemy...

"Hey, Mr. Li, maybe he is wrong? Shouldn't we kill all these people to serve as a warning to others?" Several wealthy people were looking forward to it.

"Are you telling me what to do?" Li Mu glared at the gentry and then shouted at the soldiers behind him, "Tell them who you belong to!"

"Mr. Li's men from Lijiazhai!" Thousands of soldiers roared in unison.

"Okay, okay. Then don't you have ears? I say it again, untie them and let them go!"

Li Mu's military order was like a thunderclap, and the militiamen finally realized that Mr. Li was indeed on the side of the people.

After receiving permission to release the prisoners, the militiamen immediately smiled happily, and the upward curve of their mouths was harder to suppress than a cannon.

The militiamen were more enthusiastic about releasing the people than the players. They quickly walked behind the beggar players and auxiliary soldiers and untied the ropes that bound them.

"Stop!" Several wealthy gentry ran to the pile of prisoners and tried their best to stop the militia from untying them, but were slapped away by the militia.

"Absolutely not! The bandits are wreaking havoc in an area dozens of miles around. If we let them go, Shangcheng County will be plagued by banditry overnight, and who knows how many innocent people will die!"

"Yes, absolutely not! If these bandits escape and report the news, and tens of thousands of bandits attack, how will the mall protect itself?"

"Little friend Li released the bandits without permission. Could it be that he is colluding with them?"

Li Mu whipped the "desecrating" wealthy man hard, leaving a bloody mark on his cheek.

"You're confused! Killing the bandits will only bring retaliation. I'm showing goodwill by letting them leave safely. If fighting breaks out in Shangcheng again and the farming season is delayed, the people of the entire county will suffer. I'm thinking about the livelihoods of the people of the entire county. With such a big plan, you only know how to collude with the bandits? You're really old and your head is full of mush. How confused!"

"You!" The old man was scolded by Li Mu and was so angry that he couldn't breathe and almost died.

"Let's not discuss whether to kill the remaining soldiers of the bandits for now, and let's talk about how to settle the revenge for the genocide and land division of Shangcheng County. Master Li is not in a position to take action, so why not leave them to us for disposal? There should be no worries, right?" Another middle-aged gentleman stepped forward to argue.

"Who are you?" Li Mu asked for no reason.

The middle-aged man who was questioned was slightly startled and thought to himself that he was a gentleman from Gwangju and had introduced himself when he visited Lijiazhai that day.

"I am Gwangju grain..."

The middle-aged man continued to add, but was interrupted by Li Mu before he finished speaking.

"You hold no official position, nor are you a resident of Shangcheng County. You have no kinship or friendship with the impoverished families of Shangcheng. What business is it of yours to divide up whose land? How can you be qualified to carry out lynchings on behalf of the officials?" "But you can't just sit back and watch as the wicked divide up the land of the gentry and do nothing?"

"They say officials won't investigate unless the people report it. The victims are long dead, so who will come forward to file a complaint? Besides, those victims weren't good people. They bullied men and women, forced people into buying and selling things, seized people's land, and killed countless people... In my opinion, although the beggar thief is a traitor, he did the good things of 'returning the jade intact to Zhao' and 'punishing evil and promoting good'. The thief must be suppressed, but if the thief does good things, we must acknowledge them. What do you think?"

The surrounding militiamen and the eavesdropping civilians all echoed, "That's right!"

Seeing the loud voices of agreement coming from all around them, the gentry suddenly felt somewhat powerless, as if they were caught in the middle of a surging torrent.

One of the wealthy investors listened for a long time, shaking his head. After careful consideration, he uttered, "Mr. Li is right."

"Why are you leaning your elbows outward?"

"Releasing the bandits is to protect ourselves and stop the war. Not inciting the prison trend is to stabilize local sentiment. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and storing grain and training the army is the right thing to do. Protecting the villagers of one county will protect the people of several counties; otherwise, no county or state can be protected. I think that although Mr. Li is young, what he said today makes some sense."

"Nonsense!"

A gentleman was not convinced and walked up to Li Mu with his neck stiffened, wanting to question him loudly. However, when he saw more and more people boldly gathering around to watch, his momentum faded away.

He came to the side of the horse and whispered, "We gave you tens of thousands of taels of silver, and this is how you answer us!"

"I am taking your money and food, but that doesn't mean I'm going to drive out the people who have been allocated land for you. The silver you gave me is money to send troops to seize the city."

"This, this is different from what we agreed on!"

The gentry were so anxious that they stamped their feet on the spot. They wanted to say that the county town didn't matter. The most important thing was that their land, money and grain had been robbed by the villains. They hoped that Li Mu would send troops to kill the villains and take back their property.

But considering that there were so many onlookers, and such words were explicit and politically incorrect, he swallowed them back.

"What's different? Think back to what I promised you that day," Li Mu added kindly. "I'll gather my troops and horses, prepare food and weapons, and then head north to recapture Shangcheng! Now that I've recaptured Shangcheng, I'll release the bandits and make peace with the beggars to keep Shangcheng safe. When have I broken my promise?"

"But what should I do with those fields? All my fertile land in Gwangju was eaten by bandits!" The gentleman was almost crying in frustration.

"I only take care of the mall. I can't do anything about things outside."

Another local gentry in Shangcheng seized the opportunity. "I'm a local of Shangcheng. My family's granary was emptied by the villains. My tenants have been clamoring lately, saying they can't pay 60% of the rent and only pay 30%. They've all been corrupted by beggars. If Master Li doesn't speak for outsiders, he must teach the villains a lesson for us local gentry!"

"Sixty percent rent is indeed too high. The market has been tough lately, so 30 percent is good enough. Just be content... If you push them too far and they kill your whole family, it will be too late for me to lead the troops there."

"No, how can Master Li be so generous to others? The money and food he spent are all at the expense of my family property."

"Since it's your family business, you still want me to help you solve it? Do you know how much food these soldiers spend every day? Do you know?"

Li Mu debated with the gentry and left them speechless.

No matter how eloquent the gentry were, in the end Li Mu had only one attitude: no refusal, no initiative, no responsibility, and no sending troops.

Taking your money and food does not mean revenge for you.

He wanted to release the bandits. After all, the so-called "bandit soldiers" were all his, Li Mu's men. He wanted to release them to show ordinary people that Li Mu was a good man who would not kill the beggars, nor would he change the "current situation of land distribution."

Then, after making their presence felt, the beggar army players would turn around and change their faces, and they would still be the cadres and guards in the county.

The people would think that this group of people sent by Mr. Li, except for their faces, had the same accents, habits, and work styles as before.

If the royal army arrived in southern Henan in the future, Li Mu, who was "loyal to the Ming Dynasty", would be willing to send troops to assist.

Now, strengthening the city’s defenses and protecting ourselves is the top priority.

Li Mu's shameless attitude made the gentry anxious and angry, as if they were punching cotton, but they had no way to deal with it.

They could only hope for the second option and write a joint letter to Mr. Xiong, the Prime Minister of the six provinces stationed in Xiangyang, hoping that he could urge the government troops to go south to wipe out the beggar army.

By then, there would be no reason for Li Mu to delay sending troops. Even if he delayed further, they could use the power of the government army to go to the countryside together to "eliminate the traitors."

(End of this chapter)