Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 343 Stop the killing with killing! Confiscate property and exterminate the clan! (Part 5)

Lianzhou, Cailong.

While the Guangzhou area looked like a major battle was about to break out, places like Cailong in Hepu remained quite peaceful.

The Red Army uprising captured this place with almost no decent resistance. Liu Chang relied heavily on eunuchs to control the army, which had long caused the army to become disloyal and many soldiers directly defected and surrendered on the spot.

In the distant mountains and forests, the figures of Bao Le'an's family of four staggered out. His wife was ill and unable to walk, so he carried her on his back. His eldest son carried his youngest daughter on his back. The two of them carried some luggage, but it was all tattered and broken stuff.

They had only recently heard some news from the villagers, which is why they hurriedly returned from the deep mountains and forests.

That's right, they were a group of runaways.

After Liu Chang came to power, the Southern Han imposed numerous exorbitant taxes and levies, causing many ordinary people to flee into the deep mountains and forests, eventually turning into local bandits.

But as soon as they heard that the rebels were distributing land and providing relief grain, and that the government was lending them seeds and tools, these fleeing households immediately became restless. Even if assisting the rebellion meant certain death, they were determined to try their best.

Because we simply couldn't go on living like this.

Bao Le'an and his family of four waited by the muddy road for a while. Soon after, several other families appeared. They were all his fellow villagers, but when they fled, there were thirty-six of them. Today, only twenty-one remained.

Some people died from poisonous insect bites, some from miasma, and some from eating fungi out of hunger. There were casualties in every household, and Bao Le'an's mother also died of illness three months ago.

These days, not many people can survive in the wilderness, let alone with a family.

These people gathered together, elected Bao Le'an as their leader, and then these refugees nervously headed towards Cailong County.

Before long, they encountered a group of yamen runners, followed by a man dressed as an official who rode up on horseback. He was fair-skinned and beardless, and looked somewhat like a eunuch, but they dared not ask any questions.

"master!"

“We were originally villagers here…” Bao Le’an was very nervous and immediately knelt down on the ground.

The official-looking man glanced at them and said in a gentle tone, "Someone come here."

“Take them to the soup kitchen in the south of the city.”

"Go and collect some relief food first."

After saying this, the official rode his horse to a city gate and said to an old man wearing a square turban and with a long, flowing beard, "Old Song, these are the refugees who have just been settled."

The old man was dressed like a doctor, with a needle case on his back. He glanced at Bao Le'an and the others, and gave a few instructions to the disciples beside him.

It didn't take long.

Bao Le'an and his group were then led to the soup kitchen. When the steaming hot soup was served, his children swallowed hard, and even his seriously ill wife opened her weak eyes, moved her lips, and uttered the word "hungry".

To save food rations, his elderly wife left the grain for her children and dug up wild vegetables to eat herself. As a result, her abdomen became bloated and she suffered from gas and bloating. She had not eaten for a long time and could not even walk.

Bao Le'an looked at the official in front of him, knelt down and kowtowed again, and then respectfully and gratefully accepted the bowl of porridge with tears in his eyes.

He fed his wife first, then ate a bowl himself. As he ate, the farmer in his forties suddenly burst into tears and kowtowed to the officials distributing relief grain, his forehead bruised from the kowtow.

"Get up."

"Are you full? If not, have two more bowls." Someone helped Bao Le'an up.

Upon hearing this, his face flushed red, his lips trembled slightly, but he still picked up the broken bowl in his hand. A bowl of thick porridge was far from enough to feed a big man.

The starving people were all stuffed with food, as if the rain had come after a long drought. They hadn't had a decent meal in ages.

A few quarters of an hour later.

Several more people appeared. Some of them were dressed like soldiers, but they were quite old, around fifty years old, with calloused hands. Others were dressed as wandering knights, carrying long swords. They were looking the group up and down when one of them walked up to a man and asked, "Have you ever practiced martial arts?"

The man, holding a stick and with calloused hands, nodded hurriedly and said, "I know some farm tricks."

The young man felt the other man's bones and muscles and said with satisfaction, "He has some potential. He can stay."

"Would you be willing to join the army?"

"If you are willing to enlist and serve in the army, your whole family can be allocated fertile land, and you will also receive money and military pay every month."

Without saying a word, the man immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"Get up."

"No need for grand salutes if you're not in the military."

"Come with me."

The young man took out a piece of silver and tossed it to his family, saying, "This is a resettlement allowance; keep it to buy some food."

"You don't need to. The army has its own supplies."

Bao Le'an looked on with envy. The man was called Zhou Cheng. He had learned some martial arts in his early years. This young man only selected three men from the refugees. They were all strong men with a good foundation. As for the others, he didn't even look at them.

Before leaving, Bao Le'an heard the young man say to the old man beside him, "Old Liu."

"This body is sturdy and has a good foundation, so he can practice the Huanhou Spear technique."

"Give the other two to the military."

These people left quickly.

Another hour passed, and a minor official distributed relief grain to them. At the same time, everyone was gathered in front of a shack. The old man with the long beard whom they had seen before was sitting at a long table, with officials-looking people following him around.

"queue!"

"Come up one by one." A minor official was shouting with a fire-and-water stick. Anyone who dared to move would be struck with the stick. The laws here were very strict, and those who broke the rules would be beaten on the spot and then severely punished.

Before long, it was Bao Le'an's turn.

After entering the shack, the old man, whom the official addressed as Old Man Song, glanced at them and nodded, saying, "Help her sit down."

Bao Le'an respectfully helped his elderly wife up.

The old man took the pulse for a moment, frowned, then looked up and said gently, "There's nothing seriously wrong. It's just that you accidentally ate something that caused abdominal distension. Just induce vomiting, and take another dose of medicine when you get home."

After saying this, the disciple next to the old man got up to fetch the medicine and instructed Bao Le'an on how to find someone to brew it. He was to take the medicine for three days and rest for a while, after which he would be fine.

The old man glanced at the sky, gestured for Bao Le'an's children to come forward, looked them over, and then surprisingly took out some maltose and handed it to his dirty daughter.

Finally, it was Bao Le'an's turn. The old man frowned slightly, took out his needle box, and inserted thirty-six needles into him. Then, a strange color appeared on his face. He circulated his true energy, and a wisp of white smoke rose from the top of his head. After clearing Bao Le'an's meridians, the old man looked up and said, "Your wife is fine, but you have fallen ill from overwork."

"I will administer acupuncture to improve your blood circulation. Rest well for a few days, and you should be fine."

"I will send someone to deliver some food to you tomorrow."

"Replenish your qi and blood, and in a few days, someone will arrange for you to go to the countryside to work."

We need to eat, and we need to do work.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. There are too many fields lying fallow in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and we have to concentrate our labor force to reclaim them.

Everything else can be put aside for now, but farming cannot tolerate the slightest carelessness.

These days, people can starve to death at any time.

The old man treated about a hundred people before leaving when it was already dark.

These refugees all suffered from some hidden ailments, and many received a free dose of herbal medicine. As the old man left, they all knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude. At first glance, the ground was covered with a dense mass of kneeling people. Beside the old man, a young disciple looked on with pride, a sense of honor he had never felt before.

He couldn't help but turn back and look a few more times, then said to the old man, "Master."

They call you an old immortal.

The old man stroked his beard and smiled faintly. He was a disciple of Medicine King Valley, a member of the Needle Box Sect. Ever since the medical community decided to emerge and save the world, they had been preparing for this day for a long time. Baoxuan Cave Heaven might not have much else, but it had an abundance of herbs. In addition, with the herbs they gathered themselves, it was enough to heal many people.

These people don't have any serious illnesses, but their lives are filled with hardship, which has left them with hidden ailments.

Those who were seriously ill have basically all died.

The old man smiled and said, "Miss Sun is the true immortal of this world."

"I'm still a long way from being your master."

For ordinary medical practitioners, a master who has broken through to the Dao realm can already be called a medical immortal; he has only cultivated a body of medical true energy.

When the physician emerged, about two or three hundred people responded and dispersed throughout Guangxi.

His group would stay in Cailong for several days before heading to Hepu and other places to continue treating the sick and saving lives. If they were able-bodied men, they could support a family if they were treated; otherwise, their families would soon be destroyed and their people would die.

Spring plowing is just around the corner.

The masters of the Farmers' School are already arranging for people to distribute Champa rice and teach the methods of breeding. The Farmers' School has made a solemn pledge to His Majesty that within a year at most, the common people in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions must have some surplus grain.

The decree exempting Guangdong and Guangxi from taxes for half a year has been issued, and the army's funds and provisions will come from other sources.

Anyway, a lot of people are bound to die.

Compared to the solemn pledges made by farmers, these medical descendants were merely tasked with treating the sick and saving lives, and arranging for people to collect medicinal herbs. The world had suffered for too long; by providing assistance, many people could be kept alive and get through this difficult period.

Old Song's martial arts skills are not high, and the front line does not need their help.

Most physicians are not good at fighting; the internal energy they cultivate is also balanced and peaceful, and they mostly use it to save people and cure diseases.

There are plenty of people who would do the job of killing.

As Bao Le'an watched the old man's departing figure, he couldn't help but kowtow three more times. His lips trembled slightly, and he didn't know what to say for a moment. Everything that had happened today still felt like a dream to him.

For every person to be born, someone must die.

The butcher's knife fell.

The entire Guangdong and Guangxi region was thoroughly cleaned up. As long as enough people die, those who are still alive will learn to be in awe.

A sharp knife is best for cutting through tangled messes.

Bao Le'an was, after all, just a farmer from the countryside. He didn't know how to express his gratitude. He only felt that if his life was of any use, they should take it.

In just a few months.

The number of registered residents in Guangxi has increased rather than decreased, and some people have even risked their lives to flee to areas occupied by the Red Army.

Before long, Duncan had a group of skilled craftsmen under his command.

The Mo Sect finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Judging from the current situation, if the Southern Han cannot withstand the next wave of attacks, it will be destroyed in a few months at most.

Duncan's uprising focuses on two things: farming and war. Everything else is secondary. He has experts under his command, including the Five Demons of the Ming Cult, the Five Wanderers, and the Five Elements Flags. Any disturbances can be easily suppressed.

When a person is starving to death, they don't need anything but a mouthful of food to save their life.

Liu Chang has been establishing the capital of Meichuan for years, plundering the people's wealth. As long as he can destroy the Southern Han, Duncan can sustain the war through war. He never believed that the world must be governed by scholar-officials. When he was emperor in the West, there were no cultured people when barbarians invaded, and everyone still lived the same life.

Kill off a batch, and naturally, talented people will emerge.

Duncan wouldn't be able to feed so many mouths without ransacking the entire Southern Han court.

Kill someone.

He could feed ten thousand people; he would gladly take on such a task.

Chaos is a time for reshuffling; the past is but smoke and clouds. Under the sword of the Great Free Heavenly Demon Lord, all beings are equal.

Guizhou.

Surrounded by a dense crowd of people, a fair-skinned, beardless young man led his soldiers to open the gates of Guo Chongyue's residence. Guo Chongyue had once been a close attendant of Liu Chang. After being transferred to Guizhou as a military supervisor, he plundered the land, causing widespread resentment throughout Guizhou.

His mansion was extremely luxurious. After settling in Guizhou, the rare treasures he amassed were often split between Liu Chang and himself, and he even embezzled more money than he had offered to the emperor.

The refined-looking man in charge of confiscating the property was filled with hatred. He had the arrogance of a scholar and wore a sachet, as if to cover up some kind of smell. Long-term physical torment had made him no longer as dashing as he used to be. After the Red Army uprising occupied Guizhou, he immediately moved his whole family to join them and was soon appointed as the governor of Guizhou, similar to the prefect in the Song Dynasty.

This man was named Li Fengji, and he was the third-ranked scholar in the first imperial examination after Liu Chang ascended the throne.

After Liu Chang ascended the throne, he issued an edict that shocked the world: all those who passed the imperial examinations must be castrated before they could be granted official positions; those who already held official positions and wished to be promoted also had to castrate themselves.

The top scholar in the imperial examination that year was beaten to death in court by Liu Chang for refusing to be castrated.

In the end, only a dozen or so people in the department underwent castration surgery, and Li Fengji was one of them. He was not even married at the time, and he lost his daughter Ji'er because of an absurd imperial examination.

He and Liu Chang had a deep-seated, bitter feud.

After Duncan's uprising, Li Fengji played an indispensable role in enabling Duncan to take over Guizhou so quickly and manage everything there. Li Fengji even knew exactly which officials should be killed and who were truly capable, and he compiled a list and gave it to Duncan.

The hatred between Cheji and his enemies is irreconcilable!
Liu Chang indulged in debauchery in the palace day and night, even bringing in local ruffians and scoundrels to have sex with palace maids in public, which he then watched and enjoyed with his concubines.

Poor Li Fengji could only sigh and lament while looking at his lower body in the dead of night. The deep hatred in his heart almost tormented him to the point of being unrecognizable. He even cultivated the Sunflower Technique to the fifth level, making him a half-step Xiantian realm expert.

The vast majority of the successful candidates in that year's imperial examination sided with Duncan, and they played a significant role in pacifying Guangxi.

Caravans pulled boxes and boxes of gold and silver jewelry out of the mansion.

After arranging for his trusted men to search Li Fengji's home, he immediately rushed to the execution ground, where another group of people were to be beheaded.

A large crowd of people gathered at the execution ground, many of them celebrating and waiting for the executioner's head to fall.

At the very front of the execution ground stood an elderly man in his fifties, covered in filth and with a terrified expression. This man was named Dou Zhen, and his story was considered a tale of extraordinary events in the Southern Han Dynasty. After Liu Chang issued the "Cut-Auspicious-Child Law," Dou Zhen was terrified. He felt sorry for Ji'er and also wanted to become an official, so he had his son cut off Ji'er in his place.

As for himself, he secretly took three more concubines.

When Liu Chang learned of this, he laughed and instead of punishing the man, he promoted him and bestowed upon him some rewards.

Some things are so unbelievable that even novels wouldn't dare to write them, because novels need to be logical, while reality doesn't.

This man was also a corrupt official and a very lecherous man, who was quite favored by Liu Chang.

The auspicious time has arrived.

As Li Fengji took his seat at the head of the table, the executioner beside him raised his broadsword. Amid cheers from the onlookers, blood gushed out, and bloody heads were chopped off one after another. Some even rushed forward to devour the flesh, as if only in this way could they vent their boundless hatred.

One day, he will cut off Liu Chang's head.

Li Fengji rose expressionlessly, looking at the rolling heads, as if to mourn his daughter Ji'er, whose life had been cut off during his early years of taking the imperial examinations. His hatred for Liu Chang would not cease until his death.

………………

(End of this chapter)