novelAbuy Chapter 11 King 2
Chapter 11 King 2
The next morning, everyone in Qingshi Village got up very early.
Master Qin was right. The road becomes increasingly difficult to travel north from Xingzi Ridge. The so-called old road is just a narrow, winding path trodden out by predecessors among the ravines and hills.
In addition, the drought had made the soil soft, making it very difficult for the oxcart to move, and the wheels got stuck several times.
Just like the past two days, Yang Chongwang was sent to scout ahead with a few young men skilled in horseback riding.
Li Chengye provided support in the middle of the group, while Master Qin kept watch at the back to make sure no one was left behind.
"At this speed, we'll reach Laojun Gully, north of Shiguan Town, by noon." Master Qin wiped his sweat and pointed to the mountain pass that was faintly visible ahead. "Once we cross Laojun Gully, we'll be in the Huanglong Mountain area."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Once they were inside Huanglong Mountain, it wouldn't be easy for the government to find them.
Just then, a commotion broke out at the front of the line.
Li Chengye looked over and saw that the axle of an oxcart had broken, and the cart was overturned by the roadside, with grain sacks spilled all over the ground.
This car was the second one in the convoy, and it blocked the cars behind it.
When Li Chengye arrived, he saw that the broken part was the tenon connecting the axle to the wheel; the wood was clearly rotten.
"This car belongs to my seventh brother," Wang Laoqi said, his face turning somewhat pale. "I never expected this to happen."
Several villagers who had worked as carpenters gathered around the axle to discuss the matter.
The final conclusion was that a new tenon had to be made and replaced; a piece of wood could be cut from the carriage railing, but this would take at least an hour or two.
Li Chengye climbed up the mound on the left and looked around. He saw that the area was covered with hills, and there was no one else besides his group.
"Then let's fix it."
Having made the decision, Li Chengye told the rest of the team to take a break for a while.
Yang Chongwang frowned deeply.
"I should have checked everything carefully before I left."
"There's no point in talking about this now, just focus on fixing it."
Just as the axle was about to be repaired, Shi Tou, who was lying on the mound keeping watch, suddenly shouted:
"There are people... the road behind us is full of people!"
Li Chengye's heart tightened, and he scrambled up to a high place to look back the way he came.
At first, it was just a commotion on the horizon, like the swirling, distorted energy of the earth in the summer heat. But soon, that commotion took shape—it was people, countless people, spreading from the direction of Xingzi Ridge.
They were like a flood bursting its banks, overflowing the roads, the fields, and all the slightly flat land, filling every ditch and ravine of the earth.
Ahead of the crowd, dozens of riders galloped ahead, clearing the way. A large coarse cloth banner fluttered in the dust, on which the character "王" (king) could be faintly seen written in thick ink.
"What do we do? What do we do now?" Everyone in the group panicked. The relaxed atmosphere that had just been due to the impending repair of the vehicles was now shattered by the overwhelming scene before them.
"Form ranks! Quickly!" Li Chengye shouted sharply. "Wheels form a circular formation! Grain sacks block the gaps! Men, take weapons and guard the inside!"
As if waking from a dream, everyone hurriedly pulled the oxcarts and horse-drawn carts together, lined up end to end, barely forming a makeshift cart fortress. They filled the gaps with bulging grain sacks.
The men gripped their knives, guns, and clubs tightly, guarding the edge of the wagon formation, while the women and children were protected in the center.
Li Chengye loaded the two muskets he had obtained from Zhao Shouren's house with gunpowder. He handed one of them to Li Chengen, saying, "After I fire one shot, you load it with gunpowder for me, understand?"
Li Chengen was very nervous at this moment, but he still nodded.
They were surrounded when there weren't many people around.
To Li Chengye's surprise, this group was not entirely composed of the starving people they had seen yesterday. Although some looked pale and sickly, the overall order was relatively good, and most of them were able-bodied men. In particular, the leading few dozen riders were dressed in simple cloth armor with long spears hanging from their saddles, clearly not an ordinary rabble.
When they were an arrow's throw from Li Chengye's chariot formation, a knight stepped forward and shouted, "I am the vanguard of Chief Wang of Chengcheng. Who are you?"
The area within the vehicle formation was deathly silent, and everyone's eyes were filled with apprehension.
Chief Wang of Chengcheng? Wang Er!
Master Qin cleared his dry throat and shouted with all his might, "Sir! We are people from Qingshi Village in Baishui County. We suffered a disaster and are passing through this area while fleeing famine!"
The knight surveyed the piles of grain sacks inside and outside the wagon formation, along with the swords and spears in their hands, and sneered, "Famine refugees? Famine refugees carrying so much food, fodder, and weapons? Who are you trying to fool!"
Just as Master Qin was about to answer again, Li Chengye stopped him and said, "We killed the village landlord, divided his grain, and this is what's left. We were afraid of being investigated by the government, so we were planning to flee to Huanglong Mountain to hide from the soldiers."
The knight was somewhat shocked upon hearing this, and immediately spurred his horse back to his own lines.
About a quarter of an hour later, the knight galloped back to Li Chengye's chariot formation, this time much closer than before, and said, "Since you say so, then someone should come out and explain things to our leader, Brother Wang Er, face to face."
The circle was silent.
Wang Er was infamous. Although they too had killed people and fled, their actions paled in comparison to Wang Er's storming of the county government office and the execution of officials in court. Facing such a figure, one couldn't help but feel fear.
"Damn it!" Li Chengye's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear. He took a deep breath and felt everyone's eyes on him from the car formation.
Master Qin tugged at his sleeve and said to him, "Chengye, this is too dangerous. It's probably a trap!" Yang Chongwang, who was standing to the side, swallowed hard and gripped the hilt of his knife tightly.
Looking at the panicked faces inside the wagon formation, he said to Master Qin and Yang Chongwang, "Master Qin, I'm leaving this to you; Brother Yang, you hold the line. If things turn bad, don't worry about the money and supplies, just make sure everyone is safe."
"Brother Chengye..." Li Chengen's hand, gripping the musket, trembled uncontrollably.
Li Chengye patted him on the shoulder, took the goose-feather saber from his waist and handed it to him, "Hold this for me, wait for me to come back." He then found a wooden stick, climbed over and out of the car pile.
The knight was surprised to see that he had come alone, and then turned his horse around.
The knight moved slowly ahead, and he followed behind, passing through the dozen or so cavalrymen, heading towards the large banner bearing the character "王" (king) behind them. The closer they got, the denser the crowd became.
After passing the group of young people who seemed to be in good spirits, many people appeared who looked like the refugees we had seen before.
Some of them squatted by the roadside with broken bowls in their arms, some leaned against withered trees with vacant eyes, and many more moved with the crowd like headless flies, but everyone subconsciously avoided the armed strongmen and the men on horseback.
Finally, after passing through the crowd, Li Chengye reached the foot of a slightly higher earthen slope and met Wang Er.
This man was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. He wasn't particularly burly, but he had a large frame and looked like half an iron tower when he stood there.
He wore an old prison uniform underneath a badly worn leather armor, his hair was hastily tied back with strips of cloth, and his face was tanned dark from the wind and sun. The most striking feature of his body was his eyes, which were not large but piercingly bright.
When Li Chengye arrived, Wang Er was talking to a scholar-looking man, surrounded by seven or eight equally fierce-looking leaders. Li Chengye's arrival clearly interrupted their conversation.
The knight who led the way stepped forward and reported, "Second brother, the person has been brought."
Wang Er's gaze instantly fell on Li Chengye, sizing him up before asking, "I heard you're from Baishui. Which village in Baishui are you from?"
"Qingshi Village".
"Qingshi Village?" Wang Er hesitated for a moment. "Is that big willow tree at the entrance of your village still there?"
"There are no willow trees at the entrance of our village, only a big elm tree that is over a hundred years old, but it probably won't make it this year. The bark has been stripped off."
Wang Er nodded, then asked, "I heard you killed the landlord, what happened?"
Li Chengye steadied himself and briefly explained how he and the villagers had conspired to kill Zhao Shouren, divide the grain, and flee.
Wang Er listened, his face expressionless, his fingers unconsciously tapping the hilt of his sword. After Li Chengye finished speaking, he smirked, "You're quite the man. I'd never heard of anyone like you in Qing Shi Village before. I heard you're going to Huanglong Mountain?"
"There are many bandits in Huanglong Mountain. Your group, carrying food, is like throwing meat buns to a dog; you'll never come back."
"You lot have killed landlords and distributed grain; you've done the same things as me. In this day and age, anyone who dares to do this is one of us."
He waved his hand and pointed to the vast crowd around him, "See? How many of these people are farmers who can't make a living? How many have been driven to ruin and death? If you want to go to Huanglong Mountain to seek a better life, that's a dead end. Only by sticking together and following us will you really have a way to survive."
The surrounding leaders looked excited, clearly agreeing with Wang Er's words. The scholar-looking man nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Li Chengye with a hint of scrutiny.
"You will follow me. You can manage your own food and use your own carts and horses, but there is only one condition: you must obey orders and fight together in any situation."
Wang Er stared at Li Chengye: "Think it over carefully, whether you want to take the old, weak, women and children to Huanglong Mountain to try your luck, or follow me and forge a path to survival in this chaotic world."
"I cannot make this decision alone," Li Chengye said slowly, his throat a little dry. "I need to go back and discuss it with everyone."
Wang Er nodded knowingly: "I'll give you fifteen minutes. When the time is up, you can choose whether you're friends or enemies."
He then waved his hand, signaling the knight who had just arrived to take Li Chengye back.
Li Chengye practically dragged himself back to the wagon stand. He had just climbed over the low wall made of stacked grain sacks when someone grabbed him.
"Brother Chengye, how did it go? They didn't do anything to you, did they?"
"What are they trying to do?" Yang Chongwang, Wang Laoqi, and several other people in charge gathered around.
Li Chengye licked his lips and repeated Wang Er's words verbatim.
When they heard the question, "Should we follow him or try our luck in Huanglong Mountain?" a murmur rippled through the crowd.
"Rebellion? You want us to join in a rebellion?" Wang Laoqi's voice trembled slightly. "That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! If we killed Zhao Shouren, at least we could say we were driven to desperation, and maybe the emperor would grant a general amnesty, and we might have a chance to survive. But if we follow them, we'll be traitors in the making."
"But if we don't go with them, how are we going to get through this?" Yang Chongwang frowned, pointing outside. "Wang Er has the numbers now. With our limited manpower and resources, we can't hold out for more than a couple of seconds against him. Do you think we could stop that cavalry unit from just now?"
"At least Wang Er has some sense of propriety. He said we'd manage our own grain and use our own carts and horses, so it's not the worst outcome. If we disagree with him, do you know what will happen?" Qin Ye's next words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Yes, looking at the current situation, they really don't have a choice.
Wang Laoqi squatted on the ground, holding his head: "If I had known, I shouldn't have come out. If I had stayed in the village, things wouldn't be like this now."
"What's the use of saying all this now?" someone retorted with red eyes. "Staying in the village is the same as dying! Do you think Zhao Shouren's son will let us go? Do you think the government will let us go? We're going to die either way. I think if we follow Wang Er and he has a knife, we might actually be able to find a way to survive."
Several young men chimed in, but their words all sounded hollow.
Li Chengye listened silently, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces. Wang Er had only given him fifteen minutes; he couldn't let this aimless chatter continue.
He looked at Master Qin, and Master Qin was looking at him too.
Li Chengye took a deep breath and raised his voice: "Quiet down, everyone! We've all made our point clear. Following Wang Er might be like jumping into an even bigger fire pit, but if we stick to the original plan to go to Huanglong Mountain, we probably won't be able to get past this hurdle. Wang Er has given us a quarter of an hour. Those who want to follow Wang Er, stand on my right; those who still want to go to Huanglong Mountain as planned, stand on my left."
The crowd quieted down for a moment, leaving only heavy breathing and the sounds of restlessness from the crowd in the distance. Then, some people began to move.
Yang Chongwang was the first to stand to Li Chengye's right, his eyes resolute. Then came the other young men who echoed his sentiments.
Wang Laoqi hesitated for a long time, and seeing that Yang Chongwang and the others had already moved over, he pulled his wife and children and slowly moved over as well.
Finally, everyone stood on the right, and there was no one on the left.
"Alright!" Li Chengye no longer hesitated and turned to Yang Chongwang. "Brother Yang, tell everyone to quickly pack some things, re-hitch the carts, and check all the essentials like food and water. I'll go and inform Wang Er."
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Meanwhile, in Wang Er's own team...
"Chief, why don't we just take all of that group's food? I saw their carts were loaded to the brim."
A tall, middle-aged man wearing a dark blue cloth mask suggested this to Wang Er.
At this moment, a fat man with a dark face next to Wang Er spoke up: "Luo Dai, Brother Wang has his own rules for doing things, you don't need to say anything more."
"I'm doing this for everyone's sake, seed management team."
Wang Er raised his hand to stop the two from arguing, then said, "Luo Da Ge, although there seem to be a lot of grain carts, how many people do we have now?"
Luo Dai thought for a moment and then replied, "Including the five militia teams, we have about 2000 people. If we add the refugees who came with us, the number is probably no less than 10,000."
"Yes, our team alone has 2000 people. If each of them has a bowl of porridge, that's a cartload of grain. Even if we leave them three cartloads of grain, it's only enough for one day's rations, which is insignificant to the overall situation."
Naluo Dai tried to persuade him further: "Chief, in war, an extra day's rations can be the key to victory. Sometimes on the battlefield, someone might give up just because of a single meal, let alone a day's worth of provisions."
At this moment, Wang Er became somewhat serious: "Luo Dai, why did you vote for me in the first place?"
Luo Dai was a little confused by the question, but he still answered, "When I escaped from the border army, I had no food or clothing. I heard that the chief had occupied Chengcheng and was distributing grain in a benevolent manner, so I came to join him."
Wang Er said, "The reason my brothers believed in me and followed me to break through the county town and kill that corrupt official Zhang Douyao was because I'm usually righteous and don't bully the weak. Since that group wants to join me, I can't go too far, especially since they're from my hometown. If I did that, what would become of my reputation?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Dai said no more, but simply cupped his hands in respect.