Chaos of Ming 1628

The mudflats west of the river.

Located in a no-man's-land area where water and land meet, the riverbanks are lined with low earthen shacks, almost entirely inhabited by canal porters, haulers, and displaced people...

The constant flow of grain transport boats spawned smugglers of salt and idle scoundrels, creating a chaotic mix of good and bad.

When trouble breaks out here, no one cares. This area belongs to both Jiahe and Nanpi counties, and it's a blind spot in their jurisdiction. The inspectors of the two counties pass the buck, refusing to handle cases, while imperial guards and constables frequently come to extort money from them.

In short, this place is the poorest and most chaotic.

Today, everyone in Jiahe County knows that Young Master Sun stood up for the people and finally managed to resettle the refugees under the city wall.

Although the people were in dire straits, they did not want to cause trouble for Young Master Sun, and they thought that Young Master Sun would surely find a way to help them.

Therefore, everyone spontaneously went there under the organization of a teenager.

When Sun Qing arrived at this point, he almost couldn't breathe.

Everyone laments the current air pollution and poor environment, and misses the unpolluted places of ancient times. But those were merely uninhabited places; wherever there are people, there is a stench.

Just like here.

Leaving aside the urine and feces, corpses were everywhere. The stench was unbearable, and the streets were in complete chaos.

The shouts, cries, and yells made my head buzz.

Just as Sun Qing turned a corner, two men wearing patched clothes blocked his way from both sides.

People were still coming and going on the road, but no one stopped to take a second look.

Instead, someone spat and said, "Dressed so well and rich, who are you looking down on?"

The two men, each holding a rusty woodcutter's knife, their faces contorted in rage, said, "If you don't want to suffer, hand over your money."

"Yes, and your clothes and shoes too."

It was already autumn, and the two robbers were covered in patches, wearing tattered wooden clogs with their toes sticking out.

"My two heroes," Sun Qing cupped his hands in greeting, "I have come here only to find someone, specifically those refugees."

Sun Qing explained his purpose.

To their surprise, the two men looked disgusted and spat, "They're from the government again!"

"Hmph, trying to plunder again. Too bad you've run into us."

"Then we'll have to rob you even more, because only by robbing you can we get food."

Sun Qing had a lot of reasoning to offer, but what good is reasoning in this kind of situation? These two probably wouldn't even understand what he was saying.

Moreover, at this moment, both of them had bloodshot eyes, gripped their knives tightly, and their eyes were full of ruthlessness.

If a fight breaks out, it's hard to say how easy it will be to deal with. But if the knife touches the skin, how can we guarantee that we won't get tetanus in such a poor medical environment?

Sun Qing had many concerns, so he took out the purse he always carried with him. It seemed that this outfit was provided by Su Jiuda, and this purse had been hanging there without any money inside.

With his purse empty, he only wanted to make a feint and capture the two of them when they were off guard.

"Take it!"

Sun Qing tossed the purse out.

Just as the other person was about to reach out and grab him, Sun Qing darted forward. His thought wasn't how to take the man down, but how to escape.

You only realize how little you know when you need it, and when danger strikes, you can only lament that you didn't study physical education well enough.

Although the two were emaciated, they lived a life of extreme hardship. Realizing what was happening instantly, they turned and gave chase.

He ran into the crowd, pounced on Sun Qing, and pinned him to the ground.

The two men pinned Sun Qing down, grimacing with anger: "You still dare to play tricks on Grandpa."

"Even if you're the King of Heaven, I'm going to make you people who live off the government taste the grassy smell of my poop today."

The other person didn't say much and immediately started searching them.

The area was clearly crowded with people, but seeing that it was just the two of them, they were used to it and simply stepped back a few paces to make room.

Sun Qing felt annoyed; he should have listened to Su Jiuda's advice and brought more people.

"Release that young master!" came a loud shout.

A tall figure rushed over, grabbed one person by the collar, and swung him outwards. The person tumbled in mid-air and crashed to the ground.

The other person had just looked up when his wrist was grabbed and he was pulled to the ground.

The two men screamed twice, and upon seeing the newcomer, they exclaimed in shock, "Brother Li, why are you helping these lackeys?"

Li Qingshan, disregarding the two of them, grabbed his purse and rushed to Sun Qing's side, carefully helping him up.

The robust man, as strong as a calf, was so nervous he didn't know what to do. He nervously twisted the hem of his clothes and stammered, "Young Master Sun, are you hurt anywhere?"

"Young Master Sun, what brings you here?"

"Young Master Sun, I spotted a familiar figure from afar, but it wasn't until I saw your purse that I realized it was you."

He held the empty purse in both hands, his hands trembling violently.

The character "孙" (Sun) was embroidered on the purse.

Sun Qing breathed a sigh of relief and gave a bitter smile: "Li Qingshan, sigh, it was my carelessness."

"I heard you brought the refugees here, and I came to see how they were being settled."

The two didn't exchange many words, but their identities were still unclear.

An old man asked in a trembling voice, "Qingshan, is he the Young Master Sun you mentioned?"

Li Qingshan nodded emphatically.

As the crowd grew larger, those who had previously joined the commotion in Botou recognized Sun Qing and shouted, "It's Young Master Sun! I saw him being brought back by the Dragon King!"

"Young Master Sun is here! He's come to save us!"

The older people kept bowing with their hands clasped together.

They weren't chanting "Amitabha Buddha." Instead, they were chanting "Young Master Sun, save us from suffering."

The able-bodied men also realized what was happening. Their earlier ignoring of the robbers was now replaced by a furious glare at the two men: "You two bastards, how dare you rob Young Master Sun?"

"Hit him!"

The crowd surged forward, raining down punches and kicks.

When everyone stopped, the two men looked completely different, swollen beyond recognition.

Without uttering a single scream, he scrambled towards Sun Qing.

Just as Sun Qing was about to step back, the two men kowtowed repeatedly.

"Young Master Sun, please kill me! I'd rather starve to death than rob you!"

"Yes, if it weren't for Young Master Sun asking Brother Li to bring medicine to my grandmother, she would have died long ago."

"We who robbed our benefactors are the ones who deserve to be struck by lightning."

Without waiting for Sun Qing to speak, he raised his hand and slapped himself across the face. One slap after another, each one crisp and clear.

Those who had just attacked remained silent. If it weren't for the fact that this group hadn't been so imposing yet deliberately holding back, the two men would have been dead long ago.

"Enough!" Sun Qing said coldly, "I'm fine, you don't need to do this."

The two men wanted to hit themselves, but when they saw Sun Qing's icy gaze, they felt as if their hearts were being torn apart.

Not daring to lay a hand on them, nor to kowtow again, the two men burst into tears, filled with remorse.

Seeing this, Li Qingshan sighed and lowered his head to plead, "Young Master Sun, those two are also unfortunate. They had no other choice but to rob some outsiders."

"I'm afraid I just mistook you for one of those extortionate tax officials."

Sun Qing frowned: "Tax officials are here?"

It appears that there are only a few sparse plots of land here, which are completely unsuitable for cultivation.

Everyone fell silent, and the low sobs all around made Sun Qing feel like she couldn't breathe.

"Young Master Sun, why have you come in person?" Li Qingshan hurriedly asked, "What is it? Just give the order, and I will do my best..."

Li Qingshan suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, "I didn't go to the post station today because I had to settle them in and there were still many urgent cases that required medicine."

He was afraid that Sun Qing was suspicious of him.

Fifty taels of silver may not seem like much, but for people at the very bottom of society, it's an amount they would never dare to dream of in their entire lives.

"I want to change this place, so that everyone has food to eat and clothes to wear. Are you willing?"

Sun Qing interrupted him, staring directly at Li Qingshan: "Right now, I need a lot of manpower, and I need people to make sacrifices. Are you willing to gamble with me?"

Li Qingshan's heart pounded like a drum. He had thought about those words in countless dreams, but he never expected that a boy so much younger than him would actually dare to say them.

He swallowed hard. "I dare!"

"Young Master Sun, I've lived here for many years. Whatever you want to do, I'll take care of it!"