Chapter 23: Zhang Dog's Letter of Surrender

  Xiao Mo's eyes lit up instantly and he said loudly: "Young master is absolutely right! Killing him with one knife would be too cheap for this scoundrel..."

  When Yang Bo finished speaking, Niu Zi's eyes became even more urgent and expectant, while Zhang Gou Er's face turned pale.

  "Ah!" The man let out a loud cry, the rope in his mouth digging deep into his flesh. He felt a sharp pain in his crotch, followed by an empty and hollow feeling of loss.

  Xiao Mo was so resentful and hateful towards this person, that with one slash of the knife, he directly cut off his "that thing" along with its roots. The beggar was in extreme pain, and could only bang his head against the tree trunk behind him, "Bang... Bang... Bang".

  Looking at the blood constantly gathering on the ground and seeping into the dry soil, Yang Bo suppressed the discomfort in his heart and said: "He must be regretting the evil things he did, Mo Xiu..."

  Xiao Mo Xiang was staring at the man with a fierce gaze, and upon hearing Yang Bo's words, he couldn't help but exclaim: "Young Master, are you just going to let him off like that?"

  Yang Bo looked at the still struggling body with disgust: "When did I say I would let him go? Since he already knows his mistake, you can send him on his way early! Zhang Gou'er, go help hold him down..."

  Zhang Doger was shocked by the words, and with a thud, he fell to the ground. He was timid and cowardly, and the bloody scene earlier had already reached his heart's limit of endurance. Unexpectedly, Yang Bo actually asked him to go up and help kill someone?

  "Master, the dog is timid, let's still use the calf..." Xiao Mo Chou hastily stepped forward to explain.

  "Shut up! Don't worry, remember, there won't be a next time!" Yang Bo looked down at Zhang Dogzi with an icy gaze. "I won't force you, Dogzi... Kill him, and we'll be fugitives on the same boat!"

  "Alright, alright, young master... I'm fine." Zhang Dogzi quickly scrambled to his feet. "I just felt a bit dizzy earlier."

  Yang Bo stood with his hands behind him, gazing out at the distant blood-red sky. Just then, a hoarse cry of despair echoed from within the forest...

  Soon, the continuous and mournful cries gradually disappeared, and several people crawled out of the forest. Zhang Dog's face was pale, his two legs trembling like sieves, if it weren't for Niu Zi supporting him, he might have collapsed to the ground and become a puddle of mud.

  Yang Bo's face was calm as he looked them up and down, nodding "Let's go..."

  Entrance of Yanshan County Town

  The ox cart swayed slowly southward, and the old man driving it occasionally swung a loud whip over his head, but it had already lost its force when it hit the cow. The ox cart shook due to the rugged ground, and the axle made a creaking cry every time it shook, probably because it was not lubricated.

  The sky gradually darkened, Yang Bo propped up his chin in thought, while Tie Niu beside him had long been fast asleep, his head like a chicken pecking at rice, with drool all over the floor. Yang Bo turned to look at Tie Niu, a faint smile appearing on his face, he moved forward and gently shifted Tie Niu's body to lie down, then found a bundle to prop up behind his head.

  Before the county town closed its gates, they left the city smoothly. Two ox carts had been waiting outside for a long time. Calculating the time, they should be able to arrive in Xuzhou by tomorrow evening. Yang Bo arranged all of Xiao Moqiu and others on the back ox cart, he needed some space of his own.

  From struggling at the edge of death a few days ago to barely being warm and full now, everything seems like a dream. Even earlier, he personally planned a murder, and when he heard that Xiaomo had stabbed a beggar in the heart with a sharp knife and stirred it several times, he didn't feel any discomfort. When did he become so cold-blooded?

  Yang Bo sank into thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled to himself, opened the small window on the train car and began to appreciate the scenery outside. The time left for him was really not much, but he didn't even know how to make good use of it.

  Xiao Mao's siblings and the young ox, they also gathered on their own accord. But what did they gather for? To teach them to read books and recognize characters? To spread new ideas? I'm afraid before they even finish reading, the Tartars will arrive, there's no joke better than this one.

  But anyway, I still need to collect some books, annotate them and then pass them on to them, as for how far they can go, that's another story.

  Yang Bo couldn't help but compare these few people in his heart. Iron Cow was not worth mentioning, Xiao Mo Xiu was quite satisfied with himself except for being a bit stubborn, while Zhuai Zi let Yang Bo down a bit. After Xiao Mo Xiu cut off the beggar's words, Zhuai Zi intentionally or unintentionally stood up and trampled on them until they were completely destroyed. Yang Bo had been watching coldly from the side, how could Zhuai Zi's small actions escape his eyes? This person was cruel and ruthless, using modern terms, it was that kind of personality that sought revenge against society. Moreover, just now Yang Bo clearly hadn't let him intervene, yet Zhuai Zi seemed to be venting his anger by stabbing the beggar's corpse over a dozen times. This was what Iron Cow told him afterwards, which made Yang Bo very dissatisfied.

  Zhang Gou'er was even more unbearable, he was clever but had a flaw of being timid and suspicious, not the type Yang Bo liked. Xiao Yulan was still just a child, so she could be ignored.

  Thinking of this, Yang Bo was even more worried, and he didn't know how to guide these people in front of him. What's the point of talking about the future? There was also an urgent problem, which was that after adopting these people, he felt an economic crisis. In Dangshan County, they made a small test, and afterwards, he and Tieniu found some time to carefully count their spoils. Apart from expenses, they had earned a full 50 taels!

  Tie Niu was amazed, he didn't think that Yang's deception in just half a day would be equivalent to the results of their family's labor for several years. However, with the addition of Duizi and others, expenses increased, and silver was spent like flowing water. Tie Niu couldn't understand why Yang took in so many beggars - wouldn't it be better to use this money to buy a few strong and capable house guards?

  Yang Bo did not answer Tie Niu's question and was too lazy to say anything.

  Iron Bull didn't know that twelve years later, these people would be in their prime, and under his guidance, they would become the seeds Yang Bo had sown. So Yang Bo needed more money to buy more homeless children, earn more money to feed them, teach them knowledge, and they would become Yang Bo's most loyal supporters in the future. They would be the main force for Yang Bo to change history! Although he was just an ordinary clerk in his past life, if he wanted to make a change, why not start with them?

  Yang Bo took out a pancake from the package, gently tore off a piece and put it in his mouth to chew slowly. His stomach problem was very serious, and he could only rely on eating less and more meals to temporarily adjust. Now that he had figured it out, Yang Bo's next consideration was how to make more money.

  Gambling is undoubtedly the most profitable industry, but the problem is that from ancient times to the present, any lucrative industry cannot be free from government intervention. To make it big, one must let those who can control the situation participate. The small-scale operations in Dangshan County may not matter, but Yang Bo cannot help but think about the future. His plan was simple: every time he arrived at a new place, he would hold several large-scale gambling events, and of course, most of the profits would be distributed to others. Moreover, he had to run away before being taken advantage of by those people!

  The amount of wealth you accumulate in the early stages depends entirely on your own running speed. In the officialdom, it is all intertwined and complicated, this way of making money will soon be known to everyone, and when that time comes, there will be no chance for him to participate in the game.

  Why worry about them having nothing to do? In practice, they can learn the most basic arithmetic. It doesn't matter if they are illiterate, let's start with the simplest symbols first.

  The distant scenery has already begun to blur, and the two-hour journey of later generations now takes a whole day. The car handles still have to take advantage of the cool night to hurry up for a while. Anyway, they are familiar with this road, and Yang Bo is too lazy to ask more questions.

  Many people have always said that history is a bitch.

  Yang Bo thinks that history is actually worse than a prostitute! After all, prostitutes still need to be paid, but history can be manipulated by whoever has the bigger fist.

  If someone were to compare real history with the history in books, they would surely develop schizophrenia. What's the point of deceiving and cheating? What's the use of seeking results without considering the means? In a chaotic world, if one still insists on following those ridiculous rules, their own head will eventually be hung from the horse's head of bandits, rebels, and Tartars.

  Yang Bo finally put down the burden in his heart after sorting out his chaotic thoughts, and with the jolting of the horse carriage, he slowly fell into a dreamland.

  The next day at noon, the ox cart finally arrived at Xuzhou Prefecture...