Invincible Iron Army 1: The Diseased Flag Bearer

  "The plague ghost is here!" A group of children shouted. A thin figure appeared at the village entrance, his name was Wang An, originally a literate person in the village, due to the few literates in the village, whenever there were lawsuits or official documents to be handled, they would ask him for help. In the past, he was also the most respected elder in the village, and people treated Wang An with great respect.

  Nearby, Hu Yinyin also had a crush on him, and their parents even arranged an engagement for them. Their engagement made the people around them envious. Hu Yinyin was a renowned beauty, with skin as white as jade, lips red and teeth white, and a slender figure, looking as if she didn't eat the smoke and fire of the mortal world, like a celestial being.

  But all this changed yesterday, Wang An contracted an illness, coughing up blood nonstop. The village doctor diagnosed it immediately and said: "This is consumption." The news spread quickly throughout the village, and soon everyone knew about it. From then on, seeing Wang An was like seeing a plague god.

  Consumption was tuberculosis of the lungs, an incurable disease in ancient times, and this disease had a strong infectiousness, people immediately rejected Wang An.

  The children surrounding Wang An shouted, "Run quickly!" The group of children scattered in all directions. A family was startled by the noise and opened their door to see what had happened. A woman in her thirties with a somewhat elegant appearance walked out of the doorway. Seeing Wang An, she immediately looked shocked and then loudly said, "What are you doing here? You're sick and running around everywhere, aren't you afraid of infecting others? You're really heartless!" Wang An looked at her without saying a word, thinking to himself, "This family was once extorted by the yamen and had a false case of treason pinned on them. It was a capital offense that would have led to the entire family being executed and their clan exterminated. I stood up for them and argued with the county magistrate, which is how they escaped disaster. Now this family is also kicking me while I'm down." Wang An's anger was indescribable, and his whole body began to shake. The woman saw Wang An's current state and immediately became frightened, loudly shouting, "Quickly, someone come! This leper wants to hit people!" The neighbors on both sides immediately came out with hoes, iron shovels, and other weapons.

  "Beat the plague demon to death, and the village will be rid of one more scourge."

  "Having dragged others down, they still dare to show off, is this reasonable?"

  Wang An hastily retreated back home. His father was brewing medicine for him and upon seeing his appearance immediately said: "Child, you're not feeling well, don't go out carelessly." Wang An's father had been subjected to many cold stares and mocking gazes over the past few days. He knew that Wang An must have been discriminated against and humiliated by others. However, for the sake of Wang An's self-esteem, his father never brought it up, lest he hurt his child's pride.

  Wang An immediately felt the great paternal love from his father. His father was taciturn and had taken on all household responsibilities since his mother's passing, silently shouldering everything without complaint.

  Wang An said to his father, "Father, I'm sorry, I've brought you trouble." His father smiled and said, "Child, don't be so polite, this is what a father should do." Wang An said, "Father, from now on we need to keep our distance, in case I infect you with my illness." His father laughed and said, "Consumption? I'm not afraid of it at all." Wang An knew that his father had been afraid of this disease before, because everyone was afraid of this incurable disease. But since Wang An contracted the disease, his father immediately became brave and no longer feared it, disregarding his own safety to take care of his son. In his heart, he thought, "Now you've come down with the plague, I'll take care of you without hesitation, because you're my son."

  Wang An's heart was deeply moved, and tears almost fell. At this time, he smelled a fragrance of medicine and immediately asked: "Father, you bought medicine again, our family is not rich, don't spend more money on me, my illness can't be cured." Wang's father forced out a smile and said: "We have to try anyway, if we can't cure this disease, I won't be at peace in my heart."

  At this time, a well-dressed man walked in. He was called Hu Zhong and was the head servant of the Hu family. Hu Yinyin's father, Hu Ke, was a wealthy man and one of the richest in the area.

  This man Ding had been to the Wang's house before, he was sent by Hu Yinyin, and had delivered many goods to the Wang's house. Every time he came, he was very respectful to Wang An and his family. He knew in his heart that although Wang An is poor now, he will eventually become the son-in-law of the Hu family. For now, he should cultivate a good relationship with him, and in the future, he will definitely be taken care of by Wang An. At that time, his position in the Hu family will rise rapidly.

  The king's father saw him coming and was extremely enthusiastic. He felt that when he needed help the most, the Hu family did not abandon him, and his heart was filled with gratitude. Hu Zhong said: "Mr. Wang, our official knows you need money now, we plan to buy your land for 5 taels of silver, what do you think?" The king's father was taken aback for a moment, then immediately replied calmly, while Wang An became indignant and said: "My father-in-law is confused, the land is not intended to be sold now, even if it is sold, at least 25 taels of silver must be sold, how can there be a reason to sell for 5 taels of silver?" Hu Zhong said: "Don't call me father-in-law anymore, I formally notify you that our marriage contract between the Hu and Wang families is officially annulled."

  King An was furious and said, "Hu Ju is too selfish, seeing that I am ill, he wants to cancel the engagement. In fact, even if you didn't notify me, I wouldn't marry Miss Hu either, because I love her too much. Precisely because I love her, I won't let her suffer with me." Hu Zhong said, "Don't be so mushy, cancelling the engagement isn't our idea, it's Miss Hu's decision. You think our Miss Hu could look up to you, a toad? She has discerning eyes and has taken a liking to County Magistrate Tian Kun's son, Tian Lingshan. The two families are well-matched, and they will be engaged soon. Now the two of them are deeply in love." King An's heart suddenly felt like it had been hit by a heavy blow, he was in extreme pain, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.

  Hu Zhong saw Wang An faint and was startled, he also feared that someone would die, so he pretended to brandish his gun and said: "You'd better reconsider, otherwise you'll regret it", Wang An's father took care of Wang An on one hand, and with a determined face, told him: "Go back and tell Hu Ju, our family may be poor, but this land was left by our ancestors, we won't sell it". He couldn't help but look at Wang An again, his face showing a gentle expression: "Even if we were to sell, we wouldn't sell it to Hu Ju". Wang An's father thought to himself that in the future, if Wang An needed treatment, he would not hesitate to give up his own life, let alone their ancestors' land. At that time, who knows, they might sell it after all. Hu Zhong hastily shouted: "Fine, fine, fine! Don't regret it later!" and left in a hurry.

  Wang An slowly came to under his father's care, but his spirit was clearly weaker. His heart really hurt. He and Hu Yinyin had been childhood sweethearts since they were young. When they were kids, the other children would always bully Hu Yinyin, and Wang An would always stand up for her, even though he would get beaten until his nose was blue and his face was swollen.

  As she grew older, Hu Yinyin often helped Wang An's family, and Wang An used his talents to help the Hu family out of trouble many times. Although the Hu family was wealthy, they didn't have much social status in that era and were discriminated against by society. Wang An, although poor, was a scholar, and even the county magistrate would prepare a seat for him at the county government office. Hu Yinyin had always admired Wang An's talents and expressed her affection for him many times. Wang An's feelings for Hu Yinyin couldn't be explained in just a few words.

  Wang An's father was very understanding of his son, but he also couldn't solve his child's emotional problems now and could only comfort him.

  Wang An was on the one hand comforting his father, and on the other hand consoling himself that this was Hu Ju's idea, and Hu Yinyin must have been helpless. Thinking of this, his mood improved a bit. At this time, a drum and music sound passed by the door of Wang's house. Wang An supported himself to get up and went to the door to take a look. At this time, someone said: "Look, this is Tian County Magistrate's family coming to Hu's house to receive the bride. Look at this scene, this lineup." Another person said: "Miss Hu not marrying into the Wang family is indeed wise. Look at that consumptive ghost, he will soon be buried in the ground." Wang An did not say a word after hearing this, and returned to his own room, feeling even more painful in his heart.

  Wang An's mood was not good, his illness was getting heavier and heavier, even walking around the bed was very difficult. Wang An often looked up at the sky and thought to himself: "I don't know how long I'll be leaving soon, I don't know what it's like after death, I'm not afraid of death, but after I die, my father will have no one to take care of him, he'll be old and lonely with no one to rely on, it pains me like a knife cut".

  At this time, a group of yamen runners burst into Wang An's residence, grabbed Wang An and tied him up. Wang An's father rushed out and asked, "What happened?" "What are you doing?" "Is there no king's law?" Wang An also shouted loudly: "How can you insult people like this?" The yamen runners were frightened and retreated for a while, but they immediately came forward and tied him up, saying: "You're all going to die, what kind of prestige do you have?" Wang An was taken away by them. Wang An's father hurriedly took the remaining money at home and rushed to the county government office to bail out Wang An, also wanting to know what crime Wang An had committed.

  Wang An's father was ridiculed by the yamen runners at the county government office, "You only have this little money, and you still want to see Wang An? You really are a foolish dreamer." Wang An's father hastily nodded and said to them: "Gentlemen, I also know that my wealth is not much, but please pity me. At this stage, our child is ill, and we've spent quite a bit of money. We really can't take out more money." "Go, go! What do you think this place is? Hurry up and leave!" The yamen runners began to drive Wang An's father away.

  "What are you doing?" A well-dressed man walked out.

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