Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

Three weeks have passed since that assassination attempt.

Liu Er and his group changed into ordinary clothes, disguised themselves as merchants on the road, and went to a village.

The village in front of us was very dilapidated.

The walls of several houses had collapsed, and charred wood was scattered on the ground, indicating that the area had been looted not long ago.

The commotion caused by the group on horseback naturally drew the attention of the entire village, who rushed over and peeked from behind walls.

Upon noticing that Liu Er and his group were dressed as merchants, the village chief breathed a sigh of relief, and the white-haired old village chief immediately came out to greet them.

He approached, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Are you merchants?"

Liu Er nodded: "That's right. We're just passing through and wanted to find a place to rest and see if there's anything else we can buy in the village."

The village chief shook his head and sighed, "You gentlemen have come at the wrong time. There's nothing good left in our village these days."

Liu Er feigned confusion: "Why is that?"

The village chief smiled bitterly, "What else can we do? The Jurchens came a few days ago. They didn't kill anyone, but they ransacked the house."

"Our village is lucky. In the past, the men would kill, the women would rob, and the houses would be burned down."

"But this time it's different," the village chief said with great relief. "Those Jurchens—I don't know if they've changed their nature, or if their consciences, which had been eaten by dogs, have returned. After they finished looting, they didn't kill anyone."

"Before they left, they even left us some food."

Liu Er chimed in, "They're still giving us rations?"

Perhaps because he had survived a disaster, the village chief was eager to confide in someone, so when Liu Er spoke up, he continued talking.

"Yes, enough for us to eat for two or three days. Although they still managed to steal quite a bit of our food, being alive is the most important thing."

A bold and talkative woman, looking terrified, said, "My husband said we've finally met some good soldiers; they didn't push us to our deaths."

Liu Er got the information he wanted and had a clear idea of ​​what was going on.

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer."

He left most of his food rations: "Here, take this as payment for your information."

"How...how can this be?"

The village chief said this, but quickly took it with his hand.

The village had just suffered a disaster, and food was more precious than anything else; every extra bite meant one more day of survival.

"Come here, everyone! What are you all standing around for? The officials have brought us provisions!"

The villagers gathered around.

The village chief, holding a sack of grain, led everyone to kneel down and kowtow.

They were stopped in advance by Liu Er and others.

"Alright, folks, just keep the grain for yourselves. We still have a long way to go, and we can't afford any more bumps and bruises," said Dang Shousu.

When no one was looking, he secretly slipped two bags of sugar into the grain sack.

The village chief, stopped, had no choice but to give in, repeatedly bowing and saying, "Then thank you very much, esteemed guests. May your journey as merchants be smooth sailing, your wealth abundant, your business prosperous, and your success swift, finding good business wherever you go!"

Liu Er smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."

After riding their horses for a while, the village disappeared from sight behind them.

One of the Nirvana soldiers glanced back and muttered, "The Jurchens stole our stuff, and in the end we have to thank them for not killing us."

"What's there to thank me for? If we hadn't assassinated that guy, what was his name again?"

He frowned and thought for a long time.

Another person chimed in, "Abatai?"

"Yes, that prince. If we hadn't killed him, would those Jurchens have been so obedient?"

During those three weeks, they used invisibility potions to infiltrate the Jurchen camps again and learned the identity of the man they had assassinated from the Chinese-speaking bondservants.

Good heavens, he's actually a prince. No wonder the camp was so well guarded, and the Jurchens were so obedient afterwards, like mice caught by the tail by a cat.

"Isn't this the result we want?" Dang Shousu said solemnly, "As long as those Jurchens stop killing and massacring villages, and the people can survive, that's enough."

"As for who they think saved them, let them think what they want."

The soldier nodded thoughtfully, glanced at the village that had disappeared behind him, and then looked at Dang Shousu with reverence.

"Oh no!" Dang Shousu suddenly cried out in despair.

The soldier was startled and quickly asked, "What's wrong, Lord Dang?"

Dang Shousu lowered his head, counting the remaining bags on his chest, his face gradually crumbling.

"My candy! There are only a few bags left. If I had known this would happen, I would have given them one less bag earlier. I'll have to eat it sparingly from now on."

Dang Shousu carefully calculated: "I'll bring more next time I go out; both of my feet will be completely covered in them."

"Hmm, and these two hands can't be idle either."

As he spoke, he poured a pinch of white sugar into his mouth, looking completely satisfied.

Nirvana Army soldiers: "..."

"There's a sound! Be on guard!" Liu Er stopped and shouted.

Behind him, the Nirvana soldiers reined in their guns, took out their muskets, and aimed them at the source of the sound.

More than ten riders came from a distance; they were all dressed in Ming army uniforms and had swords at their waists.

When the leader saw Liu Er and his men pointing their muskets at them, he quickly reined in his horse and signaled to the men behind him not to make any rash moves.

He rode alone and slowly approached, stopping a few meters away: "Please do not misunderstand, we have no ill intentions."

"I have come here on the orders of General Wu of Yansui Garrison."

"General Wu of Yansui Garrison," Dang Shousu squinted and asked, "Wu Zimian?"

"Exactly."

The man spoke very politely: "The General heard that you are still fighting the enemy outside, so he specifically ordered us to come and find you."

"As long as you are willing to come back, your previous desertion will be forgiven."

Dang Shousu understood. Clearly, these people genuinely regarded them as soldiers of Li Chengshan's troops and wanted to pull them back.

"Go back?" Dang Shousu sneered. "We dare not go back. They withhold military rations, embezzle military pay, and even openly sell off warhorses."

"A dignified garrison commander, who could even anger Governor Zhang to death, what's the point of us going back?"

The man's smile faded.

He couldn't refute these words.

That's the truth; otherwise, so many Yansui soldiers wouldn't have deserted halfway.

"I wouldn't dare say what you've all said is false, but have you ever considered that it's precisely because of this that you should come back?"

Dang Shousu frowned.

The man continued, "You are all doing good deeds by killing Jurchens and saving the people outside."

"But ultimately, you all have now relinquished your official positions!"

"Killing the Jurchens and saving the people, no one will report it for you and record your merits. If something really goes wrong one day, others will just think you are deserters and rebel soldiers."

"But once you return to the Yansui Army, things will be different. You were originally soldiers under Commander Li. As long as you rejoin the unit, the previous matters will be forgiven."

"From now on, when we encounter the Jurchens again, you will be honorable government troops. Killing a Jurchen will earn you a military merit, and saving a village will also be a great achievement!"

"Even if all you want is to lead men to hunt down the Jurchens, you can still have the government army's name to back you up."

The man then said quietly, "You all don't want to risk your lives and do so much only to end up with nothing, do you?"

"We soldiers live our lives on the line, risking our lives, so we have to earn something for ourselves."

"Military merits, provisions, and official rank are all better than nothing."

He felt he had made himself clear enough, so he didn't say anything more and just waited for Liu Er and the others to reply.