New Trickster

  Lü Shi and Zhao Dahan stood outside the gate for a long time, getting impatient, when suddenly they heard a commotion inside the gate, followed by the sound of the gate opening with a loud bang. A group of people rushed out in a hurry, led by a man wearing a white arrow robe (with tight sleeves) and a wide leather belt around his waist, who was wearing fast boots and laughing as he approached them with a bow: "I don't know what good wind brought our benefactor here, but to make our benefactor wait outside for so long is truly remiss, a great offense indeed."

  Zhao Dahi hastened a few steps forward, laughing loudly: "Have you just crawled out of your wife's belly? How come it took so long, leaving me to eat the wind here?"

  "Ha! Isn't this a wonderful coincidence? You've just received news, and yet you rushed here in such haste to welcome me. I wouldn't dare leave you outside to brave the wind and rain. Come on, hurry into the camp - I have fine wine and meat waiting for you."

  After finishing speaking, he wanted to pull Zhao Dahan's hand into the village. Zhao Dahan laughed and pushed away Tianxing's hand, saying: "Wait a minute, I have another good brother with me today, let me introduce him to you."

  It wasn't until later that Guo Tianxing noticed a young man standing behind Zhao Dahan, who had been quietly and steadily standing there while he was playing with Zhao Dahan, with a hint of a genuine smile on his face, giving off a warm and friendly feeling at first glance.

  He hastily stepped forward and bowed his hands, saying: "This is the brother of my benefactor, he is my brother. I was slow to welcome him here, please forgive me for my discourtesy." Then he made a bow and went down, showing great respect.

  Lü Shì hastily stepped forward to return the courtesy, smiling and saying: "Along the way, I heard Brother Zhao praise the great master of Tiān Xīng as a rare talent in heaven and earth. Now that I've seen him, he's indeed a heroic figure with a strong sense of responsibility. Lü Shì pays his respects here."

  Liu Shi praised him, and although the passing star was humble, his face was filled with joy, which brought the two closer together and even more intimate.

  "Beyond the heavenly stars, this brother of mine is different from others. He's a scholar who can recognize characters and interpret texts. If it weren't for the difficulties of the world, he would be a distinguished scholar or even a government official."

  In this era, the cultural level of the entire Ming Dynasty was relatively low. If a village had one or two literate people, it would be an honor for the village. People naturally revered scholars, and even if a young student met ordinary people on the road, regardless of whether they were old or young, they would step aside to show respect and courtesy.

  Wen T'ing heard that Lü Shih was a scholar and hastily went forward again to pay his respects, addressing him as "Sir".

  Lv Shi smiled and said: "Don't listen to Zhao's brother nonsense, I just recognize a few words, no reason to make a distinction between you and me brothers' feelings, we are still good as brothers."

  At that time, Guo Xing passed by and laughed loudly. Being able to call a scholar brother or younger brother immediately brought honor to his face.

  After some polite exchanges, the three of them held hands and walked into the village in big strides.

  Lü Shi entered the mountain stronghold, and upon looking inside, it was even more chaotic. In a large square, many thatched cottages and grass sheds were built around the perimeter. Young people sat or stood in front of and behind the houses, some holding knives and guns, but mostly carrying wooden clubs with sharpened tips. They were scattered about in groups, either sunbathing or fighting, without any semblance of disciplined soldiers.

  The thatched cottages around the square were even more crowded with women, children and old people coming in and out. Seeing this, Lü Shicai realized that it would be more accurate to say that this mountain stronghold was a refugee shelter rather than a den of robbers.

  This is also a true portrayal of the Ming Yi Army. Even later, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's large armies were also accompanied by their families when they marched thousands of miles, with old camps set up within the army. Can't this be said to be a massive migration of refugees? The whole nation is an army, but also every soldier is a citizen; in victory, they rush forward together, and in defeat, they scatter for thousands of miles - this is also a major characteristic of the peasant uprising armies at the end of the Ming dynasty.

  This is why the government and military are now busy dealing with the Mongols, unable to completely eliminate them. If one day the government has a free hand, will they still be able to defeat such a motley crew in one battle? Alas, peasants are just peasants, indeed lacking organization and foresight, only able to hole up in one place as local bandits, unable to accomplish great things.

  Through the noisy square, came to the end of the campus, the only high hall in the entire mountain stronghold. The hall had two levels of steps, and the large gate was open. Inside, on the huge earthen wall, the words "Yi Qi Qian Qiu" (Righteousness for a thousand autumns) were written in a twisted and distorted manner. In this bandit's lair, such a phrase seemed out of place. This must be what they called the Hall of Gathering Righteousness and Dividing Spoils.

  Everyone came in, and the host asked Zhao Dahi to take a seat of honor. Zhao Dahi firmly declined, and after another round of noisy politeness, they finally sat down in their proper seats.

  "It seems that our benefactor has arrived in the middle of the night, surely there is a big matter at hand. We are all bound by a deep friendship, so let's not beat around the bush. Whatever it is, let's get straight to the point." Tian Xing was straightforward and directly got to the main topic.

  "Alright, let's just be straightforward brothers." Zhao Dahai patted the armrest of his chair and praised, then said: "From now on, don't mention that word '恩人' again. You and I will just address each other as brothers, this way it won't feel awkward."

  That's also a pleasant surprise. He smiled and said: "Let's just follow the brothers, we'll call each other brothers. By the way, brother, you haven't told me your purpose yet?"

  Zhao Dahai didn't beat around the bush either, and said directly: "Brother, you know I'm a man of my word. This time I've come to ask for your help with something, but it's not an easy matter to bring up."

  "We are all brothers, and even the most important things in life are nothing but trivial matters. Brother, please speak your mind." As soon as these words were spoken, they revealed the heroic and chivalrous nature of the Overlord Star.

  Before Zhao Dahi could speak, Lü Shijun smiled and said: "I and Brother Zhao have come to bring a great fortune, but I don't know if the master of the Tianxing Mansion is willing to accept it?"

  Zhao Dahai said that it was from the affection and righteousness, while Lü Shizhong's words were from the benefit and interest, this is the art of negotiating a betrayal.

  Lü Shì said that, and the two masters of the heavenly stars immediately became interested, stretching their necks to wait for Lü Shì's next words.

  Lü Shiyun said lightly: "The great wealth and nobility you mentioned are not that great, just a few tens of thousands of stones of grain and a few tens of thousands of taels of silver."

  As soon as the words came out, Guo Tianxing was so careless that he almost sat on the ground. He hastily stood firm and asked urgently: "Sir, are you joking with us? Where is the grain?" Guo Tianxing was worried about the broken stove, and when he heard that there were tens of thousands of stones of grain, his eyes turned red. If there really were tens of thousands of stones of grain, it would not be a problem for the old and young in the mountain stronghold to spend the winter.

  "We are all brothers, why bother to make fun of you?" Lü Shi saw that the bandit leader only asked about food and not silver or money, so he figured out that this person was generous and concerned about the mountain villagers, and decided that this person was reliable.

  "It's not just a joke." He also felt out of place, and Tian Xing hurriedly smiled and explained, but immediately asked urgently: "Sir, where is the grain?" His eyes were full of urgency.

  Lv Shi didn't answer the question, but just smiled and said: "I think the master of the house knows that this year's drought in Shaanxi is severe, and grain storage is limited everywhere. However, there is a place near where the troops are stationed, with the help of my younger brother's windmill, which has achieved an unexpectedly good harvest, with each mu of land yielding more than last year."

  "I knew about this, my scouts also went there and saw the windmills along the river, irrigating the land and making it rich and abundant. But I didn't think it was your doing, good, really good." He said here, his old face blushing: "Brother, don't worry, I know that the garrison mountain is your territory, I wouldn't dare to plunder, I just sent scouts to investigate and then prepared some silver to buy some winter supplies."

  Everyone burst out laughing at this, but after Zhao Dahai finished laughing, his face turned gloomy. He cleared his throat and said, "Actually, it would have been better if you had taken the initiative to rob him earlier, rather than now."

  "But why?" asked Tian Xing in confusion.

  "It was just this extra collection of three to five dou that brought the attention of the government and local tyrants, which in turn brought disaster to the old masters of Zhai Village, whose suffering was even more severe than in previous years."

  Under the questioning of Guo Tianxing, he told the situation of Zhu Bing Mountain. This matter is already making everyone indignant and furious without adding any exaggeration. Guo Tianxing was so angry that his teeth were chattering, and when he heard the indignant part, he punched the table with a loud bang. Because of the excessive force, his hand was bleeding, but he didn't feel it.

  "Zhao family's brother, I understand your intention, which is to ask me to send troops to capture Zhangjiabao and rescue our fellow villagers."

  "It's just that, in order to save my relatives, I had to harm your brothers. As an older brother, I really can't bear the thought of it." Zhao Dahai said frankly.

  "Brother, a family doesn't speak two different languages. Your relatives are my relatives too. I, Tian Xing, am someone who knows how to repay kindness and that's why I've become friends with you, a man of great righteousness. If I were to watch the Zhang family, old and young, turn into corpses while you remain unmoved, then I would truly look down on you."

  Lv Shidaxiao said: "Guo Tianxing, a real man, I admire you."

  "Sir Yang's praise is undeserved, the ancient teachings of righteousness come first, but it's a pity that my brothers have to fight me to the death, and they also have families to support, which fills my heart with sorrow."

  The second master stepped forward and said, "The master is being overly cautious. Since we have come to this point of taking up arms, everyone has already thought through the consequences of filling in the trenches. Rather than living in fear, it's better to die a heroic death for the sake of our fellow villagers. What difference does it make whether we die early or late? But if you give the order, brother, we will follow you into battle and neither the leaders nor the followers will blame you."

  As soon as the words were spoken, he lowered his head and raised his eyes to find himself with tears streaming down his face. In a low voice, he said: "If you want to blame someone, blame the heavens for playing tricks on us, abandoning us in this chaotic world plagued by natural disasters and human calamities. Whether we are reborn as pigs or dogs, I only hope that in the next five thousand years, we will not be reborn in this world again."

  Lü Shiyu was speechless, and his eyes were also filled with tears. It is better to be a peaceful dog than a chaotic person. How bitter is life for ordinary people?

  "After we finish this breakfast, shall we go die together?" said the second master generously.

  "It's precisely this principle, in the chaos of life, one must have this realization. Don't forget kindness and justice, with sword in hand and on horseback, it's to fight for a way out for the people, even if one dies, it will be a glorious death." Overturning Star stamped his foot and said resolutely: "Someone, bring me my treasured fine wine, today I'll get drunk and then set out with enthusiasm."

  The people inside the house were discussing, and outside, some of the little rascals already knew about the situation. In a short while, they told the old and young in the village, so the whole village was stirred up and shouting together. Everyone knew that attacking a stronghold, especially one like Zhang's that had been fortified for hundreds of years, would require many lives to be lost. So in the village, there were those who wailed, those who were depressed, those who were numb, and of course, there were also those who were excited, but such people were after all in the minority.

  But whatever expression it is, there is a tragic atmosphere in the village.

  Knowing they would die, yet still for kindness and righteousness, for their fellow countrymen generously sacrificing their lives, this is a kind of simple justice.

  Lü Shi was deeply moved by this simple justice.

  Reached 60,000 standard, go apply for signing contract, in order to get recommendation, thank you everyone's support.