Chapter 3: This vendetta will not be avenged, I swear not to be human

  （0003）

  Yang Yinghua's home was similarly dilapidated, with weeds and mud piled up haphazardly, a lot of the mud had already dried up and fallen off, and some places still had traces of newly applied mud. Because there were many people in the Yang family, the thatched hut was very large. Since the thatched hut was big, there were more places where water leaked through.

  On the muddy ground in the middle of the house, you can clearly see many depressions, all caused by water seeping through during rainy days. If you want to find a place in the thatched hut where it doesn't leak, it's really quite difficult; even the kang used for sleeping is often visited by rainwater. On rainy days, it's basically impossible to sleep. In recent years, due to prolonged drought and little rain, things have been slightly better.

  The kitchen was on the east side of the thatched cottage, although it was dilapidated and had only a few decent cooking utensils, but it was very clean. This was due to the fact that there were three women in the Yang family. Yang Yinghua, her mother Huang, and her sister Yang Lingshu, were all diligent women.

  "Uncle Yang."

  Zhang bowed respectfully and greeted Yang Kai-de.

  Yang Kaidi's left hand and leg were broken, and he could only sit on the kang temporarily. If he wanted to get down, he had to be supported by others. His injuries were much more severe than Zhang Zhun's. His left hand still had a chance of recovery, but his left leg was a comminuted fracture and would never recover. In other words, his left leg was basically paralyzed. As a result, his complexion looked very haggard and extremely angry.

  This time, not only was everyone beaten, but they were all seriously injured. Except for Yang Kaidi, the other military households in Yangjiatun also had their hands and feet broken and are now lying on the kang. However, compared to the three fellow villagers who were beaten to death, they are already lucky. Wang Shixin also spread the word that if anyone dares to make trouble again, he will kill them all and throw them into the sea. The crowd cannot defeat his ruthless and cruel housemen and henchmen, and they dare not speak out in anger.

  Three fellow villagers were beaten to death, their bodies still not buried, placed in each of their homes. Faintly, the mournful cries can still be heard. The Lantern Festival was supposed to be a day of universal celebration, but instead such a tragic event occurred, and the entire Yangjiatun is shrouded in grief. At the same time, beneath this deep sorrow, deep-seated hatred and raging anger are hidden.

  "Yu Lin, Xiaohua said you can remember our names now?" Yang Kaidi forced a smile and said, temporarily escaping from sadness and anger as he saw Zhang Zhun arrive.

  He seems to have really taken Zhang Zhun as his own child.

  This made Zhang Zhun feel very warm.

  In fact, due to the influence of his past life, Zhang Zhun felt a strong sense of familiarity with this old man in front of him. Yang Kaidi was lame in one leg and looked almost identical to his elderly father. Having arrived in this strange world and encountering a "familiar" person, Zhang Zhun naturally felt delighted.

  "Yes." Zhang Zhun's affirmative reply.

  "Do you remember your father's name?" Yang Kai De hastily asked.

  "Zhang Old Four." Zhang replied quickly.

  "Alright, alright, alright, sit down." Yang Kaidi nodded in satisfaction.

  Zhang Zhun sat down beside the bed and reached out to examine Yang Kaidi's left leg injury.

  Yang Yinghua had already applied a thick layer of herbal medicine to her father's wound, so the color of the injury couldn't be seen. However, judging from the degree of stretching of the surrounding muscles, Yang Kaitai's wound would definitely continue to swell and redden for several more days. A comminuted fracture is difficult to heal even in later generations, let alone during the Ming dynasty. This leg of his was completely crippled.

  According to Hào Zǐ's account, the one who physically beat Yáng Kǎi Dé was Yáng Kūn, a trusted henchman of Wáng Shì Xīn. It was also Yáng Kūn who hit Zhāng Zhuǒ on the head. He wielded an arm-thick wooden club and viciously struck Yáng Kǎi Dé's left leg with a loud "crack". Yáng Kǎi Dé's left leg shattered instantly, causing him to nearly faint from pain. Meanwhile, Yáng Kūn stood there, laughing loudly and cursing obscenities.

  Yang Kun's henchman rushed to Yang Kaidi's left hand and hit it with a stick, breaking his left hand as well. Fortunately, others nearby were quick to react and pulled Yang Kaidi back, otherwise there might have been a third blow. If the third blow had landed, Yang Kaidi might have lost his life.

  "Yang Kun, I remember."

  Zhang Zhun said to himself in his heart.

  I'd rather crack open my own skull than let this grudge go unavenged; I swear I'll never be a human being if I don't!

  Apart from Yang Kun, there were other henchmen raised by Wang Shixin who participated in the suppression of the military dependents' riot. Among them was a gang leader named Hei Bao (Black Leopard). This man was even more cruel than Yang Kun, and two of the three villagers killed in Yangjiatun were beaten to death by him. The two men vied with each other to show off their achievements in front of Wang Shixin, one being more brutal than the other.

  "That Yang Kun is not even human!"

  The Huang family's eyes were filled with tears, and they said angrily.

  Yang Kun himself was a native of Yangjia Village, but he was so cruel to his own people that the military households hated him the most.

  Hao Zi explained that Yang Kun was the son of hereditary hundred households Yang Guan Lei, and Yang Guan Lei's ancestors were the founders of Yangjia Village, responsible for managing Yangjia Village. Yang Kun has been a bully since childhood, relying on his family background and physical strength to do evil things, and his father being a hundred households made him even more arrogant. Every poor child in Yangjia Village had been bullied by Yang Kun. The military households all hated him to the bone, but there was nothing they could do about it.

  Because of the poor living conditions in Yangjiatun, during the Tianqi period, Yang Guanglei's whole family moved to Fushan City, and Yang Kun also followed. However, this tyrant would occasionally return to Yangjiatun to show off his power. When Yang Kaidi led a group to cause trouble, Yang Kun was the first to come up and block them. Yang Yinghua's older brother Yang Ruijing was injured by Yang Kun. He even wanted to kill Yang Ruijing, but was stopped by others.

  "It seems that Wang Shixin still has many tricks up his sleeve."

  Zhang Zu thought silently and quietly made up his mind.

  To eliminate these bullies, physically taking care of them is the most effective way.

  Yang Yingwa took the medicine soup.

  There were three people: Yang Kaidi, Yang Rui Feng and Zhang Zhun.

  Zhang Zhun took the medicine soup, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, handed the bowl back to Yang Yinghua, and said with a smile: "Thank you!"

  Yang Yinghua's face turned slightly red, and she said in a low voice: "No need."

  Yang Kaid looked at Yang Yinghua, then at Zhang Zhun. His thin face seemed to have a few more comforting smiles. He held the bowl with one hand and drank the medicine slowly. Zhang Zhun wanted to help him, but was refused. The old man still had a strong backbone, after all, he had been to the Liaodong front line and was still alive.

  Zhang Zhun finally understood, it turned out that Old Yang had taken a liking to him and was very likely thinking of making him his son-in-law. No wonder Yang Yinghua's reaction was a bit strange, looking very shy, but seeing Zhang Zhun return to normal, she looked extremely happy. After all, any normal woman wouldn't want to spend her life with an idiot, would she?

  In this era, due to the closure of information and limited contact, it was common for acquaintances, neighbors, relatives, and friends to intermarry. Young people had little freedom to love, how could they have free love? They hadn't even seen many people, let alone freely choose their partners. It's possible that Yang Yingwa and I were betrothed as children. This kind of thing was indeed too common in ancient times, not to mention the military households? Military households, due to their low status, could not change their household registration, and civilian households would never marry into a military household. The marriages of military households could only be resolved within the military household itself.

  Taking a closer look at Yang Yinghua, he found that she was slender and tall, with a round face, regular features, a slim and beautiful waist, a prominent and plump chest, and a large and slightly raised buttocks, which fully conformed to the aesthetic standards of oriental people. If he could marry such a wife, it would indeed be his good fortune.

  Involuntarily, he thought of his wife from his previous life. She was equally virtuous, equally beautiful, and equally full of love. He didn't know what would happen to her and their child after he was executed. Would she be able to stay at her father-in-law's house for a long time? In a few years, their daughter would start elementary school... He wondered if by then, she would still remember this dad of hers. Thinking about this, the tall and strong man couldn't help but feel a little heart-wrenching pain again.

  It's a silent suffering.

  This is an inexpressible pain.

  "We must change the course of history!"

  "We must change their fate!"

  Zhang Zhun once again steeled himself in his heart.

  Even if it means sacrificing his own life, he will see this through!

  Yang Yingwan noticed and hastily asked with concern: "Yulin, what's wrong? Is the medicine not working?"

  Zhang said with a bitter smile: "It's not the medicine that's the problem, it's... our lives are really tough."

  This is his greatest feeling.

  The lives of the military dependents are really too bitter.

  Look at where they live, look at what they use, look at what kind of clothes they wear, and look at how they are treated. Just because they want to get back their own money and grain, they were brutally beaten into disability, or even beaten to death. Hmm, shouldn't say "they", because I am also a military household, my own money and grain have been withheld too.

  What kind of world is this?

  Is there still a need for existence in such a world?

  Yang Yinghua's face was slightly gloomy, and she didn't say anything. After her father and brother finished drinking the medicinal soup, she took the black ceramic bowl away.

  His brother Yang Rui Feng rarely spoke, squatting in the corner of the wall silently thinking about something. He was actually only in his early twenties, but his expression looked like he was over fifty years old, all due to the pressure of life!

  Yang Kaid sighed and said helplessly: "Who made us military households?"

  If you want to choose the most miserable group of people in the Ming Dynasty, it is not the common people, nor the craftsmen, nor the fishermen, nor the musicians, but the military households. Even convicts have a chance to be released after serving their sentence, but military households never have a day to turn things around, until death, they can't escape this miserable identity, and their descendants will also suffer from it forever.

  In the past, the military households had their own land, could grow their own food, and were self-sufficient. Later, the land was all occupied by military officers and other officials, and the grain allowance was not issued, so the military households had to scrape by. The court is now at war, and the soldiers being used are all recruits, completely ignoring the military households.

  "Can't it be changed?"

  Yang Kai De said: "Children's thoughts are so naive, how can they be changed?"

  Zhang nodded silently.

  His idea, of course, was to directly use violence to change this miserable situation.

  If you don't give me an explanation, I'll give you one.

  Can't just sit and wait for death?

  Of course not!

  Rebellion!

  It is imperative to rise up in revolt!

  Like Li Zicheng, rise up with a sudden rebellion!

  The most effective way to improve history is to rebel!

  Alright, Zhang Zhun admitted that his thoughts were indeed extremely extreme! As soon as he came to this world, he couldn't wait to rebel! If others knew his true thoughts, they would definitely think he had gone crazy! Rebellion, was it easy to say such words?

  However, thinking of his ancestors' fathers, thinking of his ancestors' wives, and thinking of his ancestors' daughters, Zhang Zhun never thought that his own ideas were absurd. Even if others thought they were extremely absurd, he would not have the slightest hesitation! He was willing to sacrifice his life to bring down the emperor!

  More than 200 years have passed since the dawn, and it is difficult to return. The disease has entered the marrow, and it is impossible to recover. Rather than letting the ignorant and backward Manchu enter the Central Plains, causing technological and cultural regression for hundreds of years, it would be better to rebuild a country on the ruins of the Ming Dynasty. Destruction before construction, I believe this is what many people think, not just Zhang Quan. Besides, Zhang Quan has ulterior motives!

  The fall of the Ming dynasty was inevitable, but the conquest by the Qing dynasty was accidental. As long as there is a slightly stronger variable in between, the Manchu Tartars would not have been able to conquer China. If the Manchu Tartars had not conquered China, the Chinese mainland would not have had to go through three hundred years of decline. The fate of our country would have changed greatly. "Lagging behind means being beaten" is a phrase that should be used to describe others, not China!

  Three updates every day, 9,000 words, and I hope everyone will support me a lot~~~~