Sweep Yuan

Chapter 59 The Choice of the Heroes of Hong County
East of Hongxian County, Qing Shi Fang.

The fog obscured the starlight, the dark clouds of battle silenced the children's night cries, and as the torches of the patrolling archers gradually disappeared into the distance, the streets and alleys also vanished into darkness.

The shadow, which had been curled up against the wall, suddenly stretched out and, carrying a damp, fishy smell, darted quickly to the dark door and carefully knocked on it.

Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-

After two rounds of knocking, the door hinges creaked open only halfway, and a dark figure slid into the courtyard like a fish.

Immediately, a head peeked out from inside the gate, and after confirming that no one had noticed, it withdrew and gently closed the gate.

When the rebel army approached the city, a curfew was imposed in accordance with the order of Lord Darughachi. Except for the archers patrolling the streets and the night watchmen, everyone was strictly prohibited from going out to prevent villains from taking the opportunity to cause trouble and join the rebel army outside the city.

However, all rules are made by people and ultimately need to be implemented by people.

After the curfew is imposed, ordinary people naturally dare not go out, and those who dare to visit each other are certainly not ordinary people.

Deng Shunxing, the current head of the Deng family, is no ordinary person.

From the time Deng Shunxing's great-grandfather settled there, to his two sons Deng Youlong and Deng Youde, the Deng family has successfully multiplied for five generations in Hong County.

The Yuan Dynasty was plagued by a series of sharp social contradictions. Even the extremely wealthy Liu Futong could not bear the exploitation by the government and rebelled. The poor at the bottom of society strictly adhered to the ironclad social rule that "poverty (life) cannot last more than three generations".

Compared to lowly names like Shi San, Chen Dayan, Tong Si'er, Li Wu, and Wu Liujin, the entire family had proper names and courtesy names, so the Deng family was certainly not an ordinary family.

The Deng family owned shops in the city, estates in the countryside, and servants at home, making them a prominent local family.

However, even at its most glorious, the family never ranked among the top five prominent families in Hong County. Although they had some wealth, they were not able to control major events in the county and were often suppressed by powerful families.

Under normal circumstances, if the Deng family cannot produce any scholars who become officials and elevate their family's status within these two generations, the family will inevitably decline.

Unfortunately, although Deng Shunxing and his two sons were quite talented, neither of them were good at studying.

Deng Shunxing had studied for a few years in his early years, but he couldn't even get into the right school and failed to get into the county school. From then on, he practiced martial arts and spent a lot of money to make friends in the underworld.

As a result, Deng Dalang of Hong County became known for his generosity and chivalry, and his reputation spread throughout Hong County and even Sizhou.

If such a person were born in a peaceful era, he would most likely be a disgraceful son who associates with bad friends and ruins the family's reputation.

Indeed, after his father's death, the Deng family's wealth dwindled year by year due to Deng Shunxing's extravagant spending, and it was no longer as prosperous as it once was. Most of the servants in the family were also dismissed.

However, when the world is in chaos, those who used to exchange material possessions for prestige are more likely to use their prestige to gain various benefits.

Tonight will be the time for Deng Shunxing to live up to his reputation.

Seeing that his three trusted old brothers had arrived, Deng Shunxing left his eldest son, Deng Youlong, to serve tea and water, and instructed his fourteen-year-old second son, Deng Youde, to stay outside and carefully observe the movements outside the door.

"We were all on the city walls during the day, and you all saw what was happening outside. Tell me, can Hong County be defended?"

The four brothers have known each other for many years and are used to their respective roles. After the eldest brother, Deng Shunxing, spoke, the second brother, Zheng Zhongliang, and the third brother, Han Tieyi, expressed their pessimism about the future of Hongxian County.

"I don't think we can hold out. The corrupt official might run away tonight. We need to prepare early."

"Hmm, judging from the bandit army's posture, they probably really dare to attack the city. Even if the Darughachi doesn't run away, there are no government troops in the city, and the archers they temporarily recruited probably won't be able to hold it."

The fourth brother, Meng Ping, was nearly thirty, but far less composed than his three older brothers. He brought up the topic directly:
“Our roots are in Hong County. Now we only have two options – either join the rebel army or fight to the death to defend the city. We can’t wait until the city falls before fleeing to another place to suffer. Brother, just tell me directly, what should we do?”

Deng Xingshun was in no hurry to answer his fourth brother's question. He raised his hand and gestured for his eldest son to refill the tea for his three uncles.

"Third brother, tell fourth brother what we should do?"

Han Tieyi, a former accountant, usually dressed as a wise man. After stroking his beard and pondering for a moment, he said:
Last year, rumors spread like wildfire in Jiangbei that "a stone man with one eye will incite rebellion across the Yellow River." We felt something was amiss, and sure enough, in May of this year, Du Zundao and Liu Futong of Yingzhou rebelled.

At first, we thought it was a joke, believing that the imperial court would wipe out this traitor in a month or so at most. But now, not only have the government troops failed to eliminate Liu Futong, but we've also heard that Huainan is in chaos, and Sesame Li has emerged in Xuzhou Road, even managing to capture Suzhou and then advance into Huaian Road.

"I truly don't understand the current state of affairs in this world."

Han Tieyi claimed he couldn't understand the "world situation," but his previous analysis had already revealed his bias.

Deng Shunxing remained expressionless and looked at his second brother, Zheng Zhongliang.

"Second brother, what's your opinion?"

Zheng Zhongliang resembled an old farmer from the countryside, but he was actually the eldest. The four brothers did not rank themselves by age when they swore brotherhood, and Zheng Zhongliang was able to become the second eldest brother because of his steady and reliable handling of affairs over the years.

"Joining the bandits isn't like making a business. If you choose the wrong profession and lose money, you still have a chance to start over. But if we follow the White Lotus Demon and fail, we'll lose our heads."

Deng Shunxing nodded slightly and expressed his opinion.

"I don't know about dynasties that are too far back, but let's take the Tang Dynasty, which was a little smaller than the Yuan Dynasty. What was the situation when An Lushan and Shi Siming started their uprising? Were they more powerful than Liu Futong and Li Zhima today?"
These two guys wreaked havoc on the entire Tang Dynasty, capturing Chang'an and Luoyang. And what was the result?

They have all been dead for over a hundred years, the world has been in turmoil for many years, but the Tang Dynasty, which is barely alive, is still still there!
More than two hundred years later, the Liao and Song dynasties rose to power and pacified the north and south respectively. The two countries fought another battle, signed an alliance, and the world returned to peace.

Then there's the pathetic Song Dynasty, which was first beaten by the Liao people, then repeatedly tormented by the Western Xia, and finally destroyed by the Jin people who had only been established for a few years.

The results of it?
The Liao Dynasty was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty for over a hundred years, and the Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Yuan Dynasty for several decades before the remnant Song Dynasty, which was confined to the south of the Yangtze River, finally perished.

Whether the Yuan Dynasty was stronger or weaker than the Tang and Song Dynasties, I, a humble country bumpkin, have little knowledge and cannot say for sure.

But if I told you that if Liu Futong and Sesame Li caused such a ruckus, the Yuan Dynasty would collapse within a few decades, or even a decade or two, would you believe me?

Meng Ping was somewhat anxious and said:

"Brother, do you mean we still have to fight to the death against the enemy?"

Deng Shunxing laughed and said, "Do you think we can defeat the enemy just by risking our lives to fight them?"

"Uh—it seems like that's not an option either. Does that mean we really have to leave Hong County and start over?"

Having built up his emotions sufficiently, Deng Xingshun turned to look at his eldest son, Deng Youlong.

"Big Brother, what do you think we should do?"

Having listened for so long, Deng Youlong had basically formed his judgment and continued:
"Father, even if the bandits take Hong County, they won't be able to stabilize the situation anytime soon. Eventually, a respected local figure will have to step in to calm the people's hearts. That will be our opportunity."

The eldest son is only seventeen years old this year, and it's already quite remarkable that he has come to this realization. Deng Shunxing nodded with satisfaction and said:

“Dalang is right. Hongxian is ultimately Hongxian’s Hongxian. But we can’t be too passive. The world is about to fall into chaos. No matter how much land we cultivate in the countryside or how much money we hide in our cellars, it’s not as useful as having troops in our hands.”

We don't need to fight the enemy to the death. As long as we can hurt them and let them know that the men of Hong County are not to be trifled with, they will take us seriously.

"If we secretly recruit some people to join us, even if the city falls in the end, we'll have leverage to negotiate with the enemy."

In chaotic times, weapons and provisions are indeed the foundation for survival, but Meng Ping still had doubts.

"But my brother also said that the bandits won't last long. What will we do when the government troops come back?"

Han Tieyi stroked his beard and smiled, explaining to his fourth brother:

"By then, the imperial court will likely have issued an edict to organize local militias, and we will have established a solid foundation. Both the government and the rebel armies will have to win us over. That will be the perfect opportunity to make our mark!"

(End of this chapter)