The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 39 Lu Tao, the Star of Heavenly Wounds

Seeing this, Li Lihui pressed his advantage, saying:
“Our people mingled with the refugees and went to check out Majia Village. That guy surnamed Jiang probably cultivates about seven or eight hundred acres of land.”

"Brother, this is all our land! That Jiang guy didn't even say a word before he started planting it!"

Li Liyuan rolled his eyes at him. Nonsense, you just offended someone, do you expect them to come and talk to you?
He pondered for a moment, then continued to ask:

"Since Jiang Han is a rebel in Yansui Town, have you found out how many men he has and what his weapons and equipment are like?"

Li Lihui was taken aback by the question, scratched his head, and looked somewhat embarrassed:
"Well... that guy surnamed Jiang has sealed off Baijia Village. The defenses are very tight, and you have to use a secret code to get in and out."

“Our men tried to sneak in and investigate several times, but they were stopped each time. A few unlucky guys were even captured and beheaded.”

After listening, Li Liyuan fell into deep thought.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke, his tone tinged with seriousness:
"In my opinion, Jiang Han may not want to rebel now. He probably wants to take the path of a bandit, occupy a territory first, and then slowly grow stronger."

"This person's control over the situation really surprised me."

Upon hearing this, Li Lihui looked puzzled and stared wide-eyed at his older brother, clearly not following his train of thought.

Li Liyuan glanced at him and patiently explained:
"The current situation in Shaanxi is very delicate. The pacification faction, led by Governor-General Yang, and the suppression faction, led by Councilor Hong Chengchou, have been at odds. They have a great disagreement on how to deal with the bandits, and neither side is willing to concede to the other."

"But after all, the title of Governor-General of the Three Borders is higher, so Councilor Hong could only grit his teeth and bear it, and temporarily retreat."

"At present, almost all of Shaanxi's elite troops have been transferred to Fugu to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the notorious bandits Wang Jiayin and Gao Yingxiang, intending to force these two scourges into Shanxi territory."

"This is a crucial window of opportunity. Almost no one in northern Shaanxi can stop this rebellious border army. How could this uneducated soldier be so accurate?"

"We absolutely cannot let this kind of person get too powerful!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Liyuan stood up abruptly, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes:
"Second brother, immediately send someone to Yangtashan to fetch Lu Tao and tell him it's time to get to work!"

Yangtashan Mountain stands in the northwest of Ansai County, about 60 miles from the county seat. It is a high mountain with dense forests and a strategic location, like a natural barrier.

Lu Tao, the "Heavenly Wounded Star," had his stronghold among them. Relying on the natural defenses, he gathered a group of bandits and became a force that struck fear into the hearts of the local people.

Inside the mountain stronghold, Li's messenger, panting heavily, relayed orders to Lu Tao:
"Chief Lu, my eldest son sent me to deliver a message, requesting that you immediately send troops to harass Ma Family Village and Bai Family Village, and capture Jiang Han alive."

“My eldest son specifically reminded you that Jiang Han’s men are all border troops of the Ming Dynasty, numbering around a thousand. If Your Majesty wants to win, you should bring more men.”

"After the matter is accomplished, my Li family will certainly reward you handsomely."

"Furthermore, Miss Lu has no worries about food and clothing in my Li family, and everything is fine. Chieftain can rest assured."

After listening, Lu Tao frowned, a shadow of gloom flashing in his eyes.

He waved his hand, signaling his men to take the messenger away, and stood alone on the stockade wall, gazing at the distant mountains, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

The Li family actually wants him, a bandit, to go out and cause trouble for the border troops.
But he couldn't refuse. The last sentence, "Miss Lu is doing well," was clearly a threat to his daughter's life, forcing him to give in.

Lu Tao was originally a poor woodcutter in the countryside of Fushi County. He only had a rusty wood-chopping knife and a half-built, dilapidated mud house. He couldn't even afford a full meal.

But he was strong and hardworking, and whenever anyone in the village needed heavy or tiring work, they would ask him to help them out. Although life was tough, Lu Tao did earn some money.

With his own hands and the wood-chopping knife left by his father, Lu Tao gradually saved up his savings. He built a cave dwelling, bought an ox, rented dozens of acres of land from a landlord, and even married a hardworking woman from Ansai County. Life was getting better and better.

His wife was good-looking and fertile; she soon gave him a son and a daughter, making Lu Tao extremely happy.

He gritted his teeth and spent money to have two yin-yang copper locks made, which he hung around his children's necks for peace and good fortune.

That night, he got very drunk and stumbled to his father's grave, crying and sobbing, saying, "Father, at least our Lu family line hasn't died out!"

After saying that, he buried the wood-chopping knife that his father had left behind in the ground.

Just when he thought things would get better, a drought struck, dealing him a heavy blow.

Fields of wheat withered and died of drought, women couldn't sell the cloth they wove, and there was killing and uprising everywhere.

But he was an honest man and dared not participate in such a risky business; he only wanted to stay and live out his small plot of land.

Although the crops died of drought, the imperial tax still had to be paid. He took out his own children's wedding money, but it still wasn't enough, because the imperial court had increased the tax burden.

The couple wept as they sold their ox for silver, finally managing to pay their taxes.

At least his home was still there, and he was still alive. Lu Tao gritted his teeth and thought that as long as the weather was good next year, he would be able to turn things around.

But little did they know, this was just the beginning. Several years of drought followed, like a persistent boil, leaving the land barren.

To pay taxes, the couple sold their land, their belongings, and everything they could sell, even their old house. The family of four became beggars.

To keep her children from starving, his wife sold herself to a landlord as a slave in exchange for half a bushel of grain. She also often stole scraps of food to feed the family.

One day, Lu Tao was in a mass grave outside the city when he saw his wife's body lying naked and covered in wounds in a dumping pit.

With red eyes, he rushed to the landlord's door, wanting to get to the bottom of things, but how could a stinking beggar like him get into that grand mansion?
Later, I heard from other beggars that his wife had been caught stealing two steamed buns by the landlord and had been hung from the roof beam and beaten to death.

Lu Tao was filled with grief and indignation, and wanted to take revenge, but when he saw his two children who were starving and skin and bones, he held back.

To prevent his children from starving to death, he found a human trafficker and planned to sell them all.

However, human traffickers did not accept male children. After much thought, Lu Tao disguised his son as a daughter and, taking advantage of the villagers' rush to sell their children, mingled with them and sold them to the human traffickers.

But later, the enraged human traffickers discovered this and threw Lu Tao's son directly into the river as a warning to everyone not to try anything funny.

Lu Tao, who witnessed everything from afar, went mad. He staggered back to his father's grave, dug out the wood-chopping knife that had been buried for many years, and his eyes were filled with boundless hatred.

Later, the human trafficker had his hands and feet chopped off and was drowned in the latrine. The landlord's family who bought his wife was wiped out; the younger ones were chopped into mincemeat, and the older ones were locked in a room and burned alive.

Following the plot of "Water Margin", Lu Tao gave himself the nickname "Heavenly Wounded Star" and led other starving people who could not survive to become outlaws. They specifically targeted rich people to kill. If someone was targeted by him, their family would be wiped out and no one would be spared.

Later, the Li family sent someone to their door with his daughter's copper lock, telling Lu Tao that his daughter was still alive and had been sold to the Li family by human traffickers years ago.

From then on, Lu Tao became the Li family's weapon, intercepting and killing merchants from all walks of life, monopolizing the market, and escorting goods.

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(End of this chapter)