Chapter 28: The Great Calamity

  At the foot of the southern mountain range of Panshan, a state river winds its way through not far away. In between, there is a village that relies on the mountain and accompanies the water. As the saying goes, relying on the mountain to eat the mountain, relying on the water to eat the water. This village takes care of both, so although disasters are frequent, life can still be made a living.

  It was almost noon, and in a house at the foot of the mountain village, two women, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were sitting in the courtyard. The daughter-in-law, who looked to be twenty-five or six years old, wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had an air of simplicity and capability about her. She was chatting with her mother-in-law, who was sunning herself, while her hands moved deftly as she sewed and mended the clothes of the mischievous little devil at home. A child of five or six years old was sitting in the courtyard playing with mud, completely carefree despite the cold weather.

  The old lady was basking in the warm sunshine on a winter's day, feeling very comfortable. She shifted her body slightly and said to her daughter-in-law: "I'm getting old, my body is sick, I don't know how many more days like this I can spend."

  "My mother-in-law, look at what you're saying! The child's father is skilled in everything: he can go hunting in the mountains, fishing in the water, and farming. Even when he has nothing to do, he can still go to Sanhe City to do some temporary work. We don't have to worry about food and drink."

  She bit off the thread with her teeth, then pulled a few stitches and looked at the dense needlework, feeling quite satisfied. She put it aside and picked up another garment that needed mending. Looking at the house in the corner of the yard, she said: "And to think that young uncle passed the imperial examination at such a young age, his future is boundless! He's much more capable than his father, this family may have to rely on him in the future."

  The old lady didn't respond immediately, tilting her head to listen carefully, as if wanting to hear the sound of her grandson reading. The distance was a bit far, and she couldn't hear it, but she wasn't concerned either, revealing a satisfied smile and saying: "Can't praise him to his face, praising too much will make him arrogant, affecting his future."

  "This is just boasting in front of you, isn't it? Honestly, the other day when those court officials and soldiers passed by, they were just like bandits. If my younger brother hadn't been a scholar, I'm afraid we wouldn't have lost just a few chickens."

  The old woman sighed when she heard this: "I'm worried that this day will not be easy to pass. You remember the other day, when the court officials and soldiers passed by, didn't they make a big fuss in the village, causing trouble and taking advantage of the situation before leaving?"

  "Mother, don't worry, just wait until your younger brother-in-law becomes the top scholar and see who will be lying at the gate! Saying this, looking up at the sky, he continued: "It's almost time for lunch, why hasn't your father come back yet? Doggy, go to the door and take a look if your father is back."

  The puppy on the ground is playing with all its might and ignoring its mother's words.

  The daughter-in-law smiled at her mother-in-law and was about to get up to scold her son when suddenly the door was kicked open with a "peng" sound. A burly man in his thirties burst in.

  Several people in the yard were startled, and when they saw it was the child's father, this door was kicked broken and had to be repaired. They were just about to complain a couple of sentences when the burly man directly rushed towards the house where the little uncle had spoken earlier, saying: "Hurry up, the Tartars are coming."

  He rushed to the door of that room and kicked it open with one foot. The door creaked open, startling the little uncle inside: "Second brother, hurry up, the Tartars are coming."

  After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for his brother to react, and suddenly turned around, ran to his mother's side, and carried her on his back. He said to his wife, "Quickly, follow me."

  "I'll go get our luggage." The wife said hastily.

  "Grab whatever you can and hurry up! Carry the puppy and follow me!" The burly man shouted impatiently.

  Bo Xing Da Han was called Gu Man Cang, a name that carried the hopes of a peasant family for a better life. After all, he had seen his fair share of the world and knew that the Tartars killed people without batting an eye. As soon as he returned to the village, he saw from afar that the Tartars were coming this way. He immediately made up his mind, dropped everything in his hands, and ran towards home.

  Gu Yun carried his mother on his back, with his daughter-in-law holding their son in her arms, and rushed out of the door towards the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, they lived at the corner of the village near the mountain, which was still relatively close to the mountain.

  Ran to the foot of the mountain in one breath, and finally stood still, panting. Turned around and waited for the family members who were falling behind. Didn't look back at first, but when I did, I was startled to see that only my son and daughter-in-law had followed me, while my younger brother hadn't caught up.

  The old man on his back also cried out in urgency, the second son was his own flesh and blood, the one he loved most!

  Gu Man Cang knew his mother's thoughts, gazing at the dust raised by the distant horse hooves, which were getting closer. Without hesitation, he gently put his mother on the ground and said to his wife who had just rushed over: "You quickly take mom and Gou Wa Zi to the cave where I often hide while hunting, if I don't come back, no matter what, don't come out. If, if I don't come back, mom and Gou Wa Zi will rely on you."

  After finishing, Gu Man Cang didn't dare to stay and ran back with a "whoosh" amidst his wife's heart-wrenching cries. The dog also seemed to sense something and started barking out "dad".

  The door of the house was open, and Gu Man Chong rushed in while shouting: "Second Brother, Second Brother, where are you?"

  "Brother, I'm in the house, I've received the books that Teacher sent me." A voice came from the neighboring house.

  Before the words were finished, Gu Man Cang rushed in and directly knocked over the books in Er Di's hands. He then pulled Er Di away, saying "Are you trying to get yourself killed? The Tartars kill people without batting an eye, Liaodong is filled with corpses everywhere, don't you know?"

  Second brother, named Gǔ Dàzhuàng, because he was thin and weak when he was young, so he got this name. Originally didn't want to part with those books, still wanted to struggle free from his older brother's hands, but after hearing Gǔ Mǎncāng's words, he obediently followed his older brother and ran away.

  Just as they arrived at the entrance, the sound of horseshoes echoed from the village entrance. Gu Man Cang had excellent hearing and knew that there was no chance to escape the village with his two legs, which couldn't outrun four hooves.

  Guk Mǎncāng didn't hesitate, immediately turned around and brought his younger brother to the corner of the yard, pulled open some wooden boards, and it was a septic tank, square and not very big, just enough for one person. The other day, they had just used some as fertilizer, so there wasn't much rice inside, Guk Mǎncāng gestured for his younger brother to jump in.

  Gu Dazhuang hesitated for a moment, but there was no time to lose. Gu Man Cang directly kicked his younger brother down with one foot. After thinking for a moment, he took off his clothes and let his brother cover his nose and mouth. Then he said: "Mom and your sister-in-law, nephew are all in the cave where I hide when I go hunting. If anything happens to me, they will rely on you."

  Outside, the sound of horseshoes has already started to echo, accompanied by the villagers' mournful cries and the frightened barking of dogs and chickens, and the sound is getting closer and closer.

  Gu Mancang took a deep look at his brother, then covered the wooden boards again, leaving some gaps. He turned around and brought out a chamber pot from home, poured it onto the wooden boards, and then pulled some debris to cover it up. Then he ran out of the house.

  Gu Da Zhuang listened to his brother's footsteps fading away, and the increasingly loud sound of horseshoes, two lines of silent tears flowed down, a voice in his heart shouted: "Brother, take care!"

  Soon, several bandits burst into his home, and the few chickens left in the yard were the first to suffer. Chattering away, they rummaged through trunks and cabinets, and after a while, they left, setting fire as they departed. This seemed to be the custom of robbers, who had to burn everything to reveal their true nature.

  After a long, long time, no sound of human or animal could be heard, only the howling of the north wind. Gu Dazhuang couldn't bear it anymore and crawled out.

  What entered his eyes were several rooms that were almost burnt down by the fire. At this time, he couldn't care about the stench on him and his precious books, and rushed to the door.

  As soon as he reached the door, Gu Dazhuang let out a loud "wow" and vomited. Right in front of his house, Li Er Ma Zi's wife from next door was lying on her back, disembowelled with her intestines spilling out, her head only half attached to her body, the other half not far away.

  Never had such an experience, in the past, under my brother's care, I didn't hear anything outside, and only read the books of sages. Now, seeing this, I naturally couldn't help but vomit.

  There were only a few good houses in the village. He walked around and looked at the people lying dead on the ground, all of whom he knew and who had now gone forever.

  Gu Dazhuang vomited several times in front, and later became numb, unable to vomit anymore. After searching almost the entire village, he still couldn't find Gu Man Cang's body. He involuntarily shouted towards the sky: "Brother, where are you?"

  The north wind was still blowing with a whooshing sound. The whole village was quiet, with only its lingering echoes resonating.

  A village, just like that, was gone.

  Why just this one village? Wherever the Tartars went, they burned, killed and looted; this village is only a small reflection of that.

  The next day, the dense horseshoes sounded again in this village, only this time, they did not enter the village, but went around it. There was no longer a trace of human presence in the village.

  "Director, the people of the Ming Dynasty have been harmed by the Tartars and their homes have been destroyed. Look, another village is gone. We can't just follow the Tartars like this, should we chase them and fight with the Tartars? At worst, we'll die together, but we can't just watch them wreak havoc!" He Kegang said to Yuan Chonghuan with grief and indignation.

  Yuan Chonghuan didn't say a word, just gazing into the distance, without even glancing at this dilapidated village. His body swayed with the galloping warhorse, swaying back and forth.

  "Stop!" He Kexin couldn't help it, urging his horse to run to the front of Yuan Chonghuan's horse and blocking its path.

  Yuan Chonghuan looked at He Kegang's face, which was completely red in the eyes, and said lightly: "The Tartars will eventually be punished." Then, he urged his horse to bypass He Kegang and continued walking forward.

  He Keqiang put down the reins and wanted to chase after him again.

  At this time, Zu Dashou passed by and said to He Kenuo: "The governor-general takes the national affairs as heavy, protects the living forces of Guanning Army, and seeks opportunities to defeat the Tartars. This is a deep strategy, don't be emotional."

  "The people of the great Ming are all children of the Emperor, we have deeply received the kindness of our lord, but to repay our country with our lives, the people suffered such a disaster, do we still regret this life?"

  "How childish!" Zu Dashou curled his lip and ignored him, walking away.