Chapter 10: Seduction, Incitement, Instigation, and Rioting

  （0010）

  Zhang Zhun swept his eyes over the three of them and said sternly, "In my eyes, there are no miscellaneous households or non-miscellaneous households! Everyone is from Yangjia Village! Everyone is poor! Since I've taken you in, I'll treat you all equally! Whatever they have, you won't be any less!"

  The three of them were overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

  What they gained from Zhang Zhun was not only substantial benefits, but also psychological respect. In Yangjiatun, Zhang Zhun was still the first person who did not discriminate against these miscellaneous households. This point, even Yang Kaide could not achieve.

  "Master, can we catch any fish today?" someone asked, bringing up the most pressing concern.

  "Impossible." Zhang Quan directly shattered their illusions.

  "When can we then?" someone asked reluctantly.

  "At least half a month." Zhang Zhun replied coldly.

  This answer obviously shattered their dreams.

  Zhang Zhun and the others were disappointed to the extreme, only then did he say indifferently: "In these half months, I'll take care of your food, each person will get two fish every day."

  The eight people were overjoyed, their eyes almost popping out of their heads.

  Two fish per person per day!

  They knew the weight of those fish, at least 20 pounds for two fish, enough for a family to eat for a day.

  Having fish to eat every day is such a happy thing!

  However, before they could get excited, Zhang Zhun poured another basin of cold water, "But you must study hard! Half a month later, if you can't even catch one fish, don't blame me for being impolite! Not even one fish!"

  Eight people rushed to guarantee that they would definitely practice with all their might.

  Yang Zhiyuan, nicknamed Tiger Head, was the most excited. He had already tasted the flavor of fish last night and was still savoring it. Hearing that there would be two more fish today, he was truly overjoyed. His younger siblings were also eagerly waiting to eat fish. He repeatedly said: "Master, we must practice day and night! We absolutely cannot be lazy! If after half a month, I still can't catch even one fish, don't need you to drive me away, I myself will have no face to see you!"

  The other seven also expressed similar determination.

  Two fish per person per day, the temptation is just too great.

  Zhang nodded and began to teach.

  "You want to know why I can hit the mark while you can't?"

  "What you need to practice is the coordination of heart, eyes and hands."

  "Actually, what you really need to grasp are just three words: Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!"

  "In order to accurately spear a fish within half a month, you must train repeatedly! Train until even if a fly flies in front of your eyes, your eyes won't blink! Train until thousands of ants crawl on your body, and your movements won't have the slightest mistake! Train until someone places a red-hot iron on your chest, and you won't feel any pain!"

  "The task I give you is to thrust three thousand times a day! One thousand in the morning, one thousand in the afternoon, and one thousand at night! Each time, the continuous thrusts must not be less than fifty times! Whoever feels that they cannot bear this hardship can quit halfway, and I will not force them!"

  Zou Ming shouted in a loud voice: "What? Three thousand down?"

  Zhang's expressionless face said: "What? Can't do it?"

  Zou Mingjia was at a loss.

  Zhang Zhun said coldly, "Do you think that without hard practice, you can hit the fish? Do you think I'm a genius? You think I'm really a warrior from the Wuqu Star descended to earth? Wrong! In this world, no one is a genius! The Wuqu Star is a mythical figure! No one can eat meat every day unless your dad is Li Gang!"

  "We are all poor people, we are all the dirt under others' feet, no one looks up to us! Our lives can be taken away by others at any time! Even if we are beaten to death, we can only swallow our anger and humiliation, without even having the chance for revenge! If we want to stand out, we have to rely on our own unrelenting efforts! The sky won't drop pies, it will only drop bricks!"

  However, being poor doesn't mean one is useless! Poor people also have the opportunity to change their own destiny! How did Taizu make his fortune? You all know, don't you? He was originally just a monk, who also suffered from having no food for the next meal, whose stomach would ache with hunger in the middle of the night and had to get up to drink uncooked water! But what were his achievements? He built such a big country!

  "What kind of person was Liu Bang originally? He was just a lazy vagabond, also poorly clothed and hungry. But he later became an emperor! The country he established was so powerful that even the Xiongnu people had to retreat! We are called Han people because of the Han Dynasty he established!"

  "A monk and a rogue can both become emperors; what else is impossible?"

  "Are you willing to be a soldier for the rest of your life? Are you willing to spend the rest of your days in hunger and poverty, with dim eyes and a hazy mind? Are you willing that when you die, there won't even be a coffin for you, but just a torn mat to wrap around you for burial? Do you think any woman would want to marry into such a life? Don't you want to eat meat every day? Don't you want to get married? Don't you want your own land?"

  The grievances of the past life, the dissatisfaction of this life, and the determination to change the course of history, all make Zhang Zhun's every word have a strong sense of targeting. Now he is absolutely the number one angry youth in the Ming Dynasty, even more so than Li Zicheng. His every word deeply hits the hearts of these military dependents. Meat, wives, land, all are irresistible temptations for the military dependents.

  Zhang's sharp eyes scanned each person's face, asking word by word: "Why can Wang Shixin eat meat? Why can Wang Shixin have many women? Why can Wang Shixin have a lot of land? Who among you can answer me?"

  Eight people suddenly felt their blood boiling, but they didn't know how to respond.

  They all hated Qianhu Wang Shixin, and they couldn't wait to take over his entire property and divide it equally among themselves. However, Zhang Zhun's question was something they had never thought of before. They only knew that this was the fact, but why this was the case, they were not clear about.

  "He said in a low voice: 'That's because all the meat that belongs to us has been snatched away by him! All the women who belong to us have also been snatched away by him! All the land that belongs to us has also been snatched away by him! We are all starving and dizzy, we have to live in dog dens, we don't have wives, it's all because of him!"

  "I can responsibly tell you that the money and grain allocated by the imperial court to the military households have already been issued, but they were all embezzled by Wang Shixin! He uses our money and grain to eat meat every day, uses our money and grain to play with women, and uses our money and grain to buy land! Our money and grain are being squandered by him!"

  His every word once again deeply struck the hearts of the eight people.

  These noisy things, they all experienced in person. Zhou Mingjia and three others also had family members participating, but not so actively. They used to think that the imperial court did not issue money and grain, but they never thought that the money and grain had been issued and embezzled by Wang Shixin.

  The thought of their family's money and grain being embezzled by Yan Luo Wang was unbearable, and the eight people's anger surged again. Every time they made a fuss about their rations, they didn't dare to make a big deal out of it, fearing the imperial court's retaliation. To go against the imperial court would be considered rebellion, punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the family. The crime of "rebellion" was something that ordinary military households still feared greatly. Even the three military households who had lost loved ones were worried about this crime, which is why they endured in silence.

  However, if the money and grain were embezzled by Wang Shixin, what they would be looking for is trouble with Wang Shixin. They would target Wang Shixin, not the imperial court. In this case, even if Wang Shixin was killed, it's believed that the consequences wouldn't be severe. The military households think about things in a somewhat naive way, and also believe that the imperial court will be equally naive.

  "I'm asking you if you want to eat meat? Answer me!" Seeing the effect of his provocation was quite good, Zhang Quan let out a fierce and stern shout.

  Surrounded by the vast and empty beach, he didn't worry about anyone hearing such inflammatory remarks. The Jin Yi Wei of the Ming Dynasty was formidable, but couldn't be invisible, right? As for the even more mysterious Dong Chang... it was like a more mysterious "relevant department", outsiders couldn't find it, only it could find you.

  "Think!" someone replied, biting their lip.

  "Are you or aren't you? Answer me loudly!" Zhang Zhun's tone became more severe.

  "Think!" This time, the eight people's voices in response were a bit louder.

  "I'm asking you if you want to eat meat! Answer with all your might!" Zhang Quan roared.

  "Charge!" This time, the eight of them completely let go and shouted wildly.

  Zhang Zhun smiled contentedly.

  From the moment they shouted with all their might, a seed of resistance had been planted in their hearts. Yes, if you want to eat meat, you must be prepared to resist. Wang Shixin was the first target of their resistance. Of course, this seed needs careful cultivation and nurturing to take root and sprout.

  "Do you want to marry a wife?"

  "I want!"

  "Do you want land?"

  "I want!"

  "Since you want it, you must work hard! You must torture yourself fiercely! Only when you've tortured yourself to be stronger than others, more resilient than others, and more ferocious than others can you defeat your opponent! Money, status, women, land - who doesn't want them? If you want to get them, you must defeat your opponent!"

  "Now the first opponent you need to defeat is the fish hiding under the water! You must thrust your spear sharply into their bodies, pull them out from the bottom of the water and make them your food! Remember my requirements: fast! accurate! ruthless! Imagine every fish as the person you hate the most! Every time you thrust your spear, it's like stabbing a knife in your enemy!"

  He walked up to Hao Linyong and asked in a low voice: "Hao Linyong, who do you hate the most?"

  Hao Linyong replied without hesitation: "Yang Kun!"

  "Zhang asked sternly: 'Why?'"

  "He's Wang Shengxin's henchman! He bullies men and tyrannizes women, doing all sorts of evil things! My sister-in-law was insulted by him and jumped into a well to kill herself! My brother's arm was also broken by him! I want to kill him, for my sister-in-law, for my brother, to avenge their grievances!"