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

Chapter 64 Surrender to the Thieves
"father!"

Li Liyuan staggered towards the box bed, his voice hoarse.

Meanwhile, several jailers stood aside, grinning as they divided the silver. As expected of the Li family, they could even scrape together some silver from the smallest corners.

Li Liyuan reached out with trembling hands, trying to pull his father's body out of the mortuary:
"Father, I'll take you out of here right now!"

But just then, the jailer who had just accepted the money stepped forward, reached out and stopped Li Liyuan, his tone icy:
"Hey, Young Master Li, this is against the rules!"

"If you want to take the body away, you'll have to pay another twenty taels for the body collection fee."

"what?!"

Li Liyuan was shocked, his eyes widened, and he could hardly believe his ears.

These people just ripped him off, and now they're demanding a body fee?! Absolutely shameless!
His anger burned fiercely, and he could no longer contain himself. He grabbed a wooden stick from the corner of the cell and charged at the jailer in front of him with a roar.

However, how could a scholar who was powerless against these jailers be a match for him?
Before the stick could even be swung down, the jailer kicked him to the ground, knocking him dizzy and disoriented.

Immediately afterwards, a rough boot stomped hard on his face, filling his mouth with mud and the earthy smell assaulting his nostrils.

"You piece of trash, have you lost your mind? You dare to resist?"

The jailer leaned down, his tone full of contempt.
"Let me tell you, if you had even scratched a hair on my head, I would have shoved you into that bedpan right now and shown you how your father died!"

"Get lost! Don't even think about taking your father's body back until you've scraped together the money!"

Li Liyuan was roughly thrown out of the prison and slammed onto the cold ground.

He struggled to lift his head, his gaze fixed on the departing figures of the prison guards, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Seeing the unfriendly look in his eyes, the jailer sneered and kicked him twice more, mockingly saying:
"What, you piece of trash, trying to break me out of prison? I'd give you two lives, would you dare?"

Li Liyuan gritted his teeth and struggled to get up, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

He didn't reply, but silently vowed to himself:

"I dare not, but I know there are people outside the city who dare!"

He dragged his battered body, limping towards the City God Temple. He found a beggar, took off his boots, handed them to the beggar, and whispered:
"Take me out of the city."

Under the cover of night, the beggar led him through a dog hole under the city wall and out of Yan'an.

Standing outside the city, Li Liyuan looked back at the dark Yan'an Prefecture, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and he gritted his teeth:

"Just wait for me!"

"Once I join the rebel army and capture Yan'an, I will tear you all to pieces!"

However, the path to revenge was far more complicated than Li Liyuan had imagined.

He arrived at Jiang Han's military camp, travel-worn, but before he even reached the gate, he was stopped at the outside by the soldiers on duty.

"Where did this beggar come from? Get lost!"

Li Liyuan wiped the mud off his face and quickly explained:
"I'm not a beggar! I have important information, and I need to see your general!"

He straightened his back, trying to appear confident.

"There's a weak spot in the city wall of Yan'an Prefecture, and I can point it out to your general!"

The guard looked him up and down, his face full of suspicion.

This guy was dressed in tattered clothes and covered in mud; he didn't look like a decent person at all.

But he spoke with such conviction that the guards dared not be careless, so they sent someone to fetch the night watchman.

The team leader was a burly man with thick eyebrows. He stared at Li Liyuan for a long time, and seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he then found his superior, Shao Yong.

As soon as Li Liyuan saw Shao Yong, he couldn't wait to speak:
"General, I wish to join the righteous army. Please, General, take me in!"

"My family was once in charge of repairing a section of the city wall in Yan'an, so we know where the weak points are!"

Shao Yong didn't say anything, but ordered his men to search Li Liyuan's body. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, he took him to Jiang Han's tent.

Inside the tent, Jiang Han sat upright in the main seat, sizing up Li Liyuan.

Jiang Han tapped lightly on the table, his tone calm yet scrutinizing:

"Tell me, what's your name? And why did you come to seek refuge with us?"

Looking at the aloof Jiang Han, Li Liyuan felt a surge of fear and stammered in response:

"General, I am Zhang Shuhan. I have heard that you have many soldiers and generals under your command, so I have come to join you!"

He dared not reveal that he was a member of the Li family, after all, the Li family had a past grudge against Jiang Han and was considered Jiang Han's enemy.

Although he had no ulterior motives at the moment, he figured it was better to avoid trouble, so he reluctantly made up a name to try and get away with it. But Jiang Han didn't believe his nonsense. "Many soldiers and many generals?"

He was just a rebel leader; how could his army possibly outnumber the Ming Dynasty?
He sneered and retorted:
"Your family once oversaw the repair of the city wall, so you must be quite wealthy, right?"

"You're coming to seek refuge just because of this?"

Cold sweat beaded on Li Liyuan's forehead as he stammered:
"My lord, it is like this: it is precisely because my family is quite wealthy that we have caught the eye of Prefect Zhang Nian."

“He demanded that my family contribute funds to support the army and conscript militia. My father refused, so he was imprisoned and beaten to death.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han frowned deeply:
"Shouldn't the troop mobilization and conscription of militia involve gathering all the local gentry? Why is Zhang Nian targeting your family alone?"

"As far as I know, the Ma and Li families in Yan'an Prefecture are considered prominent families. Why didn't Zhang Nian approach them?"

Jiang Han's speech became faster and faster, and his tone became increasingly sharp.

"In terms of popular support, can your family compare to the Ma family? Why didn't Zhang Nian recruit militia from the Ma family?"

"In terms of wealth, can your family compare to the Li family? Why doesn't Zhang Nian ask the Li family to fund the troops' expenses?"

"As far as I know, there aren't any well-known Zhang families in Yan'an Prefecture!"

A barrage of questions came at Li Liyuan like a machine gun, leaving him dizzy and his face flushed.

He thought he could get away with a lie, but he didn't expect Jiang Han to be so vigilant.

He was speechless for a moment, his mind went blank, and he didn't know how to answer.

Seeing this, Jiang Han slammed his hand on the table and roared:
"You're a complete liar! I think you're a spy sent by Zhang Nian, a traitor!"

"Guards! Drag him out and behead him!"

At his command, Shao Yong was about to personally drag Li Liyuan out and behead him as a warning to the public.

"General, spare your life!"

Li Liyuan was so frightened that he almost jumped out of his skin and shouted immediately.

"I'll talk! I'll tell the truth! To be honest, my name is Li Liyuan, and I'm from the Li family!"

Upon hearing that it was someone from the Li family, Shao Yong flew into a rage:
"We'd rather not cause trouble for your Li family than come looking for us here?"

"court death!"

After saying that, they were about to drag him out and behead him.

Li Liyuan scrambled to Jiang Han's feet, kowtowing repeatedly.
"General, my Li family has been destroyed by Zhang Nian. I only want revenge!"

“In the first year of Chongzhen’s reign, my family was responsible for repairing a section of the city wall. My second brother was in charge of it, and I knew that he cut corners without telling his superiors.”

"If the general wants to attack the city, this will definitely come in handy!"

Jiang Han didn't believe him at all, and remained unmoved no matter how eloquently he spoke.

Seeing this, Li Liyuan had no choice but to tell the whole story: including the fact that his second brother was beaten to death, the Li family's property was confiscated, and his father was tortured.

Jiang Han laughed after hearing this:

"So, your Li family was ruined and destroyed, and now you want me to avenge you?"

"Have you forgotten that I am the greatest enemy of your Li family!"

"You've come here to seek revenge on your enemy? Are you out of your mind?"

Li Liyuan fell silent. He knew how absurd this sounded, but he was truly desperate.

Jiang Han, too lazy to listen anymore, waved his hand dismissively:
"Get lost. Whether it's true or not, this story is quite interesting."

"Seeing how miserable you are, I'll spare your life. I imagine living is more painful than dying, isn't it?"

Li Liyuan was still unwilling to give up and wanted to say something more, but Shao Yong dragged him out of the tent and drove him out of the military camp.

Li Liyuan was in despair. He stood outside the camp, gazing at the vast night, his heart ashen.

He never expected that even his attempt to join the thieves would be rejected. Where else could he go?

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(End of this chapter)