Di Ming

Chapter 111 The Light Camp

Zhu Yin extended a finely crafted little boot, stepped on the green-headed monk's head, and said:

"You're under my feet, with my head being stepped on, and you're acting all high and mighty, huh? Let me see what you're made of."

Green-headed monk let out a defiant roar, his green eyes glaring at Zhu Yin like a wild beast, his eyes bloodshot with rage!
But he couldn't stand up; all he felt was impotent rage.

He had been running rampant for over a decade, and the government couldn't do anything about him. Who would have thought that he would fall into the hands of a mere child?

How can this be?

Hatred!

At this time, the more than thirty bandits who remained behind were also killed by Ding Hongying, Meihe and eight others.

Ding Hongying and her group came prepared, wearing padded armor underneath their clothes. Their average combat strength was also much stronger than that of the bandits. Caught off guard, the bandits suffered only minor injuries to three out of the eight.

This outcome was also within Zhu Yin's expectations.

"Clang—Clang—"

Suddenly, from the direction of Qixia Mountain, the distant sound of a midnight bell drifted from Nanjing.

At the same time, as if summoned by the tolling of a bell, a ray of red light tore through the clouds and shone obliquely on the mountain peaks from the eastern belly of the mountain.

In an instant, the rising sun bathed the mountains, dispelling the darkness and creating a magnificent display of light.

Zhu Yin stood atop the peak, bathed in the dazzling morning light, against the backdrop of the dark blue night sky, looking like a celestial child in the glow of the sunset.

Looking at the young figure bathed in the rosy light, Green-Headed Monk suddenly felt that everything before him was unreal, as if it were just a nightmare.

His eyes were almost blinded by the rosy light of dawn; he had never been so afraid of daylight!

As dawn broke, Zhu Yin could finally make out the surrounding scenery. The mountaintop was actually a small basin, with towering peaks and a depression in the middle, forming a small plain-like depression where mountain springs gathered.

In the dim morning light, Zhu Yin saw that there were indeed farmlands in that depression.

At the summit of the high mountain, there was actually a depression and a small plain. No wonder the Green-Headed Monk had been running rampant for many years, and the government was helpless against him.

This low-lying plain can be cultivated into 2,000 acres of fertile land.

In terms of food, Green-headed Mongols are completely self-sufficient and have nothing to fear from blockades.

Baohua Mountain covers an area of ​​twenty li and has more than a dozen peaks of varying sizes. It is a large mountain, but the area at the top of the mountain is only about three li in diameter.

However, the mountaintop is steep on both the north and south sides, and near the summit is a large area of ​​rock, making it impossible to climb.

Only the east and west slopes are relatively gentle, but there is only one steep and narrow mountain road leading up to them, with steep slopes on both sides.

If a defensive fortification is built at a strategic point on one of the two narrow mountain paths, east or west, only a hundred elite soldiers are needed to defend it, and even a thousand troops cannot break through.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yin couldn't help but feel a little tempted.

This place is large enough to support a thousand people; it's practically a natural military outpost.

There are many small basins in the Jinggang Mountains, and this place is like one of them.

If a small elite force were trained here, it would be a sharp knife, capable of striking Nanjing at a critical moment!

If Green-Headed Monk could stay here for more than ten years, why can't I?
Li Jiayi is both brave and resourceful; he is fully capable of replacing me, replacing Green-Headed Monk, and stationing himself here, becoming my trump card.

You can have your own little secluded paradise in the mountains.

At the highest point of the northern slope of the low-lying plain, there is a cluster of buildings, centered around the Hall of Righteous Gathering, which is where the mountain bandits lived.

Zhu Yin entered Green-Headed Monk's magnanimous "Hall of Gathering Righteousness," and then found Green-Headed Monk's room, where he discovered a female corpse with wide-open eyes and a horrifying bloody hole in her chest.

On the plate on the table lay a bloody heart.

The green-headed monk, who was dragged in by Lancha, suddenly felt a sense of fear when he saw the female corpse torn out by him.

He had never felt this kind of fear before!
Ning Caiwei and the others stared at the Green-Headed Monk with murderous intent as they looked at the corpse whose heart had been ripped out.

This foreign bastard is truly venomous.

"You did this?" Zhu Yin pointed to the heart on the plate. "You've done this many times before, haven't you? Your subordinates said that the Great Bodhisattva likes to eat men's livers and women's hearts."

"Is it delicious? Will you get eaten too?"

Green-headed Monk glared at Zhu Yin with hatred, "If you're a hero, then kill me with one blow! I'll be a hero again in eighteen years!"

Zhu Yin laughed and suddenly said to Lancha in Jurchen, "Gag his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide."

Lancha ripped off Green-Headed Monk's headscarf and stuffed it into Green-Headed Monk's mouth.

"Ugh..." Green-headed monk glared angrily, feeling that the little thing in front of him was extremely insidious, even taking away his chance to bite his tongue and commit suicide.

Seeing that the green-headed monk had no chance to commit suicide, Zhu Yin then sat down leisurely with his legs crossed, tapping his folding fan in his palm, and said solemnly:

"I'm no hero, I'm just a nine-year-old boy. I won't kill you with one blow."

"There are many ways you can die. If you want a quick death, that depends on your performance."

"Skinning and stuffing with straw, being sliced ​​into a thousand pieces, being boiled in oil, being forced to laugh, being tortured by scorpions, being burned alive, being flown like a kite, being roasted to death, being tortured like dogs, being tortured with sandalwood, being bound with a tight headband, having bamboo skewers driven into fingernails, having pig bristles inserted into the urethra..."

"There are many other ways, but even if you had another brain, you wouldn't be able to think of them. I'm known as Little Tiger, and even though I'm small, I still eat people."

His folding fan snapped open, revealing the four large characters 'Boundless Autumn', his tone wistful:

"To be honest, even the tortures in the Imperial Guard's prison are nothing compared to my methods. Do you understand what I mean?"

He nodded to Emperor Kangxi as he finished speaking.

Kangxi immediately pulled out several sheets of white paper, along with pen and ink.

There was a series of questions on the blank sheet of paper, all of which Zhu Yin had written down and carefully designed beforehand. The questions were interconnected and contained traps.

It's like an exam paper.

This is a special method of interrogation used by secret agents.

Zhu Yin placed the "exam paper" and paper and pen in front of Green-Headed Monk. "I know you studied Buddhist scriptures in the temple, you can read and write."

Whether you are subjected to inhuman torture, whether you suffer a fate worse than death or a quick and painless end, is entirely in your own hands and depends on your sincerity.

Zhu Yin squatted down, his little face beaming with childlike innocence. He looked earnestly at the green-headed monk and said gently:

"I've given you your chance, so do well on the exam. Just a friendly reminder: the reason you've fallen into my hands this time is because more than one person outside the mountains betrayed you."

"There are people outside the mountains, more than one, who want you dead. They deliberately leaked the news that you made the move to me."

"Kong Jiulang was sent by them; this is a trap. They're using me to kill you. But what's wrong with me being the one to do it?"

Green-headed Monk was already suspicious, and upon hearing this, his face became even more ferocious, his green pupils like those of a ferocious beast.

Someone betrayed me?!
No wonder I, a hero for half my life, fell into the hands of a child. I was betrayed!

That makes sense.

That's the correct answer!
Otherwise, how could I possibly lose to a mere child? Absolutely not!

Zhu Yin continued, "Furthermore, your subordinates have already confessed to many things. They revealed a lot in exchange for a quick death."

"So you'd better tell me something that interests me. What needs to be told, what needs to be told, who needs to be told… you can write it all down!"

Zhu Yin tapped the Green-Headed Monk's forehead with his folding fan. "Remember, this is your last chance. This is your first exam. You can't leave any question blank."

"You can cover for some people, but among those you ultimately protect, there might be someone who betrays you! Do you understand?"

Green-headed Monk looked at Zhu Yin in disbelief, unable to comprehend how a child of at most ten years old could be so ruthless and cunning.

After saying this, Zhu Yin left Lan Cha to guard Green-Headed Monk, and then led everyone out of the "Hall of Gathering Righteousness".

Not urgent.

In exams, candidates should be given enough time to complete all the questions.

Zhu Yin went to the concentration camp-like slave quarters immediately.

That's right, the bandits called the place where they imprisoned female and male slaves a slave circle.

This shows how vicious they are.

According to the prisoners' confessions, there were more than 700 people imprisoned in the mountain stronghold's slave quarters.

Among them, more than 300 female slaves, in addition to doing chores such as spinning, cooking, washing, sewing, and cleaning, were also camp prostitutes for the mountain bandits.

Not only were they in extremely miserable condition, suffering all kinds of humiliation, but they were also constantly at risk of being killed by brutal and cruel bandits.

There are also more than 300 able-bodied men who are the laborers in the mountain village, mainly engaged in farming and building the village.

Male and female slaves kept dying. When too many died, they would go down the mountain to capture more. Anyway, there were densely populated rural areas around Nanjing, so abducting people was very easy.

As for the government's patrol officers and constables, they were no match for these desperate criminals.

Green-headed Monk was extremely cunning. To prevent the slaves from organizing, he even recruited spies among them to secretly monitor them.

The slaves staged several uprisings, all of which failed due to betrayal by spies. Each time they failed, the rebels were brutally executed.

What's worse, apart from the bandits, the slaves didn't know who the spies were.

As a result, no one dared to organize a rebellion anymore. The slaves lost their ability to organize and had no weapons, so they could only obediently serve as beasts of burden.

Over a hundred bandits ruled over seven hundred slaves, and everyone lived like masters.

The slaves worked during the day and lived in "slave pens" at night, where they were strictly guarded.

The slave quarters were divided into men's and women's, but both were quite crowded. More than seven hundred people lived in a dozen large thatched huts, which were then surrounded by fences.

In Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei's view, this was a concentration camp.

At this moment, the slaves all woke up; they had already heard the sounds of fighting and screams outside.

But they couldn't get out, and could only huddle together haphazardly by the locked fence, their expressions tense and excited.

Could it be that government troops have stormed the mountain? But they had long been disillusioned with the incompetent government and could hardly believe that those cowardly officials had come to their rescue.

They knew very well how difficult it was to attack the bandits' stronghold.

Suddenly, they saw a very proud boy leading a group of people to the fence.

The boy stood on the high place and shouted, "I have wiped out the bandits. From now on, you are free!"

What? This boy led the men and wiped out the bandits? We're saved?

The slaves looked at each other in disbelief, thinking they were dreaming.

But they discovered that, although it was not yet dawn, this was not a dream.

It really was this boy who led the attack on the thieves' den; the thieves might really have been killed!
Immediately, they showed expressions of extreme surprise and delight.

"Young master, my benefactor, is this true? We can really get out of here?"

A man in his twenties asked in a trembling voice.

Zhu Yin felt great sympathy for these people who had been enslaved by mountain bandits and said:

“We’ve killed all the bandits, so you’re indeed saved. But before we release you, we need to eliminate the spies among you.”

"It's these few spies who prevented you from joining forces to fight against the bandits." Upon hearing the word "spies," everyone's faces turned angry.

Damn spy!
Spies are even more despicable than bandits!

Over the years, they secretly plotted several uprisings, but each time they were suppressed by bandits before they could even take action. Wasn't it all the work of spies?

With spies present, the more than three hundred men could no longer unite to rebel against the mountain bandits. They became a disorganized mess and even began to distrust one another.

The bandits' move was truly vicious.

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "If you're going to save someone, go all the way. Now that I've saved you, let's just find out all the spies who deceived you!"

"The bandits promised these spies that as long as they were loyal, they would recruit them into their gang and make them new bandits."

Zhu Yin then called out by name: "Chen Sizhu! Qi Kuifa! Zhang Jiagui! Wang Fusheng! Quan Jinlian! Fan Haizhu! Zheng Siyuan!"

Zhu Yin called out seven names in one go, four men and three women.

Every time he pronounced a name, Li Jiayi beside him would loudly repeat it.

Those whose names were called all changed drastically, their faces turning ashen.

Zhu Yin shouted, "The names I read out are the spies confessed by the bandits! All seven are now yours to deal with as you see fit."

The group searched the crowd together and quickly identified seven people each.

Both the male and female slave communities were shrouded in a strange and oppressive atmosphere.

The four men and three women were terrified when they saw the hateful stares directed at them, and their legs went weak.

Feeling guilty, she was so frightened she almost fainted.

"You bastard Chen Sizhu! You thick-browed, big-eyed, seemingly respectable beast! I treated you like a brother! You're a traitor!"

A man pointed at Chen Sizhu, whose face was deathly pale, and cursed him.

"I'll beat you to death!" The man, enraged, lunged forward and swung his fist at him.

"Kill the traitor! You bastard!"

The crowd swarmed forward, instantly overwhelming the seven spies.

Even the three female spies were grabbed by the hair and beaten to death by the enraged female slaves.

In recent years, due to betrayal by spies, many who dared to organize resistance have been brutally murdered by bandits. Some were skinned alive, some were disemboweled, and some were subjected to slow slicing—the scenes were too gruesome to bear.

Killing these spies is not only to vent our anger, but also to avenge those who died tragically.

Soon, the seven traitors who aided and abetted the evildoer were beaten to death.

They were once victims who were abducted to the mountains, but under the temptation, they willingly became spies for the bandits, betraying their own people and becoming accomplices of the bandits.

Li Jiayi shouted, "My young master has wiped out the bandits and rescued you! You can come out now!"

Everyone knelt down in unison and said:
"Thank you, my little benefactor, for saving my life..."

"A living Buddha for all families..."

May your descendants be nobles and marquises for generations to come!

"Your kindness is like a second life!"

The more they were oppressed by the bandits, the more grateful they became to Zhu Yin.

This is a life-saving grace! What would have happened to them if this little benefactor hadn't come?
They will die a miserable death, just like the first people who were captured.

Li Jiayi said loudly, "My young master said he will not leave his name. You don't need to bow, please get up."

The reason he became the spokesperson is because Zhu Yin is a child and his voice is relatively soft, so many people might not be able to hear him.

"The young master said he understands the feelings of many women and knows they don't want to go home. If they don't want to go home, they can stay here."

"And to all the brothers who were rescued, if you wish to leave, you may go down the mountain and go home immediately. If you wish to stay..."

Following Zhu Yin's instructions, Li Jiayi deliberately paused the conversation, creating suspense and building up interest before continuing:

"The young master says that men and women who wish to stay can marry! The young master will act as matchmaker and officiate at your wedding!"

"All two thousand acres of farmland and houses in these mountains will be allocated to you!"

"We can all become a camp, unite, grow grain, weave cloth, train soldiers, and protect ourselves! The young master has even given it a name! From now on, this mountain peak will be called Bright Peak, and the camp will be called Bright Camp!"

"You won't become bandits, you won't burn, kill, or plunder, and you won't have to pay taxes anymore. Just live as mountain dwellers!"

After Li Jiayi finished speaking, everyone became excited.

Bright Camp! Just hearing that name is inspiring.

Women who were particularly reluctant to go home wept with joy.

They can never go back.

They were all young women who were abducted by bandits and taken up the mountain. Some were unmarried, and some had been married for a short time.

No matter what the circumstances, they can never go back.

Having spent so long in the den of thieves and been repeatedly humiliated by robbers, there is only one outcome for the woman if she returns: death.

Even if they live shamelessly, their lives are ruined. Even their relatives will be disgraced and unable to hold their heads high.

I'd rather stay here than go home.

The bandits have already been wiped out by our little benefactor. If these men who were also rescued don't look down on them, and they can get married in the mountains, with fields and land here, it's much better than going home.

"I'm not going back!" a man shouted excitedly. "I've been kidnapped and taken to the mountains for years! My parents were killed by bandits, and their fields have surely been taken!"

"What can I do if I go back? I can only be a tenant farmer for a wealthy family!"

"There's land and fields here, and I don't have to deal with government officials or have to put up with the whims of the lords. I'll stay here!"

"Which girl would be willing to marry me, Wu Wei? We're in the same boat, and I, Wu Wei, would never look down on them! They're being bullied, not being cheap!"

Another man said, "My benefactor! I, Xu Yuanlang, will stay too! As long as we hold the stronghold, this place will remain a paradise!"

"Any girl who's willing to marry me, I'll treat her with the utmost respect! I'll never mistreat her!"

With Wu Wei and Xu Yuanlang taking the lead, almost everyone wanted to stay.

Since these people were able to be captured by bandits and not ransomed, it means they all came from poor backgrounds.

Otherwise, if the family had any money, or if someone were willing to redeem them, they would have been redeemed long ago.

Only those who cannot be redeemed end up as slaves on the mountain.

They have been kidnapped for a long time, but no one has offered to ransom them.

It's not an exaggeration to say that they are the ones who have been abandoned.

Once back, the authorities will definitely interrogate them in every way, and it might even become a "merit" for the soldiers, who will then claim them as accomplices of the bandits and claim credit for their capture.

You've been on the mountain for years, what else could it be but joining the group?
You're in!
Can you explain it clearly?

They would likely end up in prison, exiled, or reduced to government slavery. They might even become scapegoats and a fig leaf, killed as bandits.

They had already considered these principles.

Their previous rebellion against the bandits was so that after killing the bandits, they could occupy the mountain stronghold, farm, spin yarn, and become self-sufficient.

As long as they guard the east and west checkpoints like bandits, they will not be bullied.

At this moment, upon hearing the men shouting that they wouldn't go back, the women, though too embarrassed to shout back, were clearly delighted by the smiles that involuntarily appeared on their faces.

Li Jiayi shouted, "I'll give everyone half a day to think it over. Those who don't want to go back, come here and register your names! We'll allocate the land!"

"From this day forward, I am the commander of the Bright Peak Camp. My young master has ordered me to lead everyone in guarding Bright Peak and preventing it from being taken over by other bandits!"

He wasn't talking about guarding against the government, but rather against other mountain bandits. In other words, he meant neither fighting against the government nor becoming a mountain bandit.

Hearing this, everyone felt even more confident.

With Xiao Engong assigning capable subordinates to lead them, everyone had a backbone and more confidence to defend the stronghold.

A snake can't function without a head.

Moreover, they have already stated that they will not be enemies of the government or become bandits.

Where else can you find such a good deal?
"Thank you, my little benefactor!"

Everyone couldn't help but bow to Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin said, "I see that everyone looks haggard and emaciated, probably because you usually eat only coarse food. Today, I've opened the bandits' warehouse and will give each of you some grain, wine, and meat so you can recover!"

"Give everyone some of the cloth from the bandits' storehouse, so they can at least make some clothes."

These words elicited another wave of gratitude from the crowd.

Ding Hongying and the others were all unconvinced upon seeing this.

With just a few methods, he has won over the hearts of the people in such a short time.

Zhu Yin nodded to Li Jiayi and the others, handed them over to them, and then returned to Green-Headed Monk's house.

At this moment, Green-Headed Monk had finished the "exam" and lay on the ground looking ashen.

Upon seeing Zhu Yin enter, he immediately adopted a pleading expression.

He answered the exam questions carefully, hoping it would save his life.

Even at this point, he still wanted to live.

He killed many people, most of whom were tortured to death by him. He originally thought that he had long been able to disregard death.

But now he suddenly realizes that he hasn't lived enough, and he doesn't want to die!
Zhu Yin looked down at the green-headed monk and said in a cold tone:

"Don't worry, you can die, but Green-Headed Monk won't die for now. Green-Headed Monk's fearsome reputation will last for another year or two, or even longer."

Green-headed Monk understood. This demonic boy actually wanted to use his name to fight against his enemies!

After Zhu Yin finished speaking, he picked up the "exam paper," glanced at it, and then laughed:

"Caiwei, look, your money has arrived! Are you satisfied with this amount?"

Ning Caiwei took it and looked at it. Her big eyes couldn't help but curve slightly, and a pair of shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

“That’s quite a lot.” The woman smiled brightly. “The bandits live a life of debauchery and indulgence, yet they still have so much gold and silver.”

Do you know how much gold and silver the Green-Headed Monk possessed?

He had only written half a page. Although his handwriting was terrible, the numbers on it were quite moving.

It read: ...

P.S.: Sorry everyone, I was too busy today and the update is late. Someone guessed the plot correctly, amazing! Sigh, historical fiction plots are still so easy to predict. Goodnight! I wonder if I'll be pushed out of the top 500 on the monthly ticket ranking this month.

(End of this chapter)