When Du Mu told Zhang Rui about the plan, Zhang Rui subconsciously thought that Du Mu was lying to him. This wretched man doesn't look like a trustworthy person. How can he still have such great good things left for him in the world?
Zhang Rui felt that this was just Du Mu doing something random to save his life. Maybe if you go there and wait for others, you will be caught in a trap, and the bandits will come and catch them all.
When Zhang Rui was about to kill Du Mu, Du Mu expressed his inner unwillingness.
Du Mu's sudden change of identity puzzled many people, but no one present at the time dared to ask. It was not until later that the whole thing was slowly discovered by interested people. Maybe it was all because of a story, about Du Mu.
It turns out that Du Mu was not the wretched man he is now. He was originally from Qingyuan, Guangdong. I have a wife and a happy and wonderful family.
But on that day, after a group of Manchu brothers arrived, everything changed.
At that time, these young men made a bet to play a game of shooting "human targets". So, he ordered the slaves around him, Aha, to go to the villages to catch some powerless "mud-legged people" and frame them as bandits as prey.
This inhumane game is officially prohibited, but many Manchu princes and princes play it privately. Even if the government knows that they are afraid of their power, they will turn a blind eye. No official is willing to do thankless things.
The vast majority of these "human targets" come from powerless Han tenant farmers or refugees. Because the minority residents are relatively united, they are rarely captured and used as "prey."
When the families of these "prey" went to the officials to question them, they were blocked with evidence that they were falsely accused of being bandits or rebelling.
At that time, it was common to kill good people and take credit for their merits, not to mention secretly killing a few untouchables who were ignored.
With such great power, the government is too lazy to do anything. Although the family members of the murdered people are full of resentment, they can only swallow it bitterly and continue to live indifferently.
The upper echelons of the Qing Dynasty were secretly happy when they found out. After all, how could the Manchus of the Qing Dynasty be unfamiliar with horseback riding and archery? It was rare for them to be proficient in it. As for those animals that can only talk and can practice arrows for their masters, that is their blessing.
Anyone who dares to be verbose has to doubt his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. I, Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, can see the rebellious intention of that damn guy in the poem "The breeze is illiterate, why is it that I am flipping through the book randomly." host.
As the saying goes, a tiger father has no dog sons, but I, the Qing Emperor Qianlong, can still turn the world upside down for those of you who want to rebel.
………
The "prey" that was caught were all "deathless". However, where do you know these prey? Even if he was deceived and captured, he would just go with him. After all, he had a knife. And these prey include Du Mu's wife and brother.
When Du Mu's wife, who was just a few months pregnant, found out, she quickly chased her to the "hunting ground". But her only brother still died, and she was not spared.
When Du Mu found her, he discovered that she had been humiliated to death. The child in the belly was also dug out and thrown aside.
It's funny, that day was when he had just passed the Tongsheng examination, and he was in high spirits. According to what his teacher told him, as long as he continued to work hard and passed the Jinshi examination in the future, there would be nothing wrong with him becoming an official serving the Qing Dynasty.
Du Mu was very angry. The scholar was so angry that he wanted to make the decision through the government. But he found that everything was due to his naivety. I wanted to find all my classmates and teachers to sign the above-mentioned book, but I found that they were either looking for reasons to ignore me, or secretly telling me that a man can bend and stretch, so why worry about not having a wife?
The "prey" who were killed in the whole incident were suppressed by the government on charges of being bandits, and the matter ended like this.
After many inquiries, Du Mu learned that the people who killed his wife and children were from Zhengbai Banner in Manchuria. Their family was related to the Manchu minister at that time, and they often stayed with Prince Beile. Originally, there were no Manchus in Guangzhou all these years, but I don’t know why Manchus only appeared recently.
Du Mu was angry but helpless. In the end, he wanted to file a lawsuit after becoming an official. However, his teacher told him privately that after this incident, he would be blacklisted by the government and it would be impossible to pass the exam again. He was told to go home and find another way out.
…
In this way, when Li Ba was robbing someone, Du Mu followed Li Ba up Zhilian Mountain. Because Du Mu could read, write, and keep accounts, he quickly gained Li Ba's trust and often took him with him.
Du Mu also quickly changed from a rigid scholar to a smooth and wretched person.
During this period, Du Mu repeatedly tried to guide Li Ba to kill officials and rebel, so that he could invade Manchu City to avenge his wife and children.
But Li Ba didn't have such courage, so he just avoided it time and time again. In this regard, Du Mu had no choice but to follow Li Ba step by step.
………
While talking, Zhang Rui and others arrived not far from the foot of Zhilian Mountain.
Zhang Rui looked at the stone mountain, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack. The mountains were connected and had steep slopes on both sides. Except for the more trees on the top of the mountain, most of the areas around the road up the mountain are bare. It is indeed not easy to ambush and hide people.
And the mountain is so big that without tens of thousands of people encircling and suppressing it, it would probably be in vain.
After Du Mu and other bandits pointed them out one by one, Zhang Rui soon discovered that there were sentry posts often on the mountain, but there were no hidden sentries in the entire Zhilian Mountain Village.
Zhang Ruizai sighed: "It can only be said that bandits only have the knowledge of bandits." As everyone knows, in this era, there are very few secret whistles.
The bandits returned home thanks to the huge profits promised by Zhang Rui. You must know not to look at the superficial beauty of these bandits, but to make money. In fact, the only ones who really make money are the bosses and the old gangsters. Newcomers like them won't have much money if they don't survive for three to five years, so they just drink, eat, and play with women.
I would be happy if I could get one or two taels of silver from a robbery, and sometimes I could just drink and eat meat to satisfy my appetite, and just take advantage of the crowd to play with a woman.
Zhang Rui promised them that as long as they could quickly capture Mount Zhilian this time. They count the first merit, regardless of the past, and each person can receive at least thirty taels of silver reward. When the time comes, they will be rewarded according to their merit. After receiving the reward, it is up to them whether they want to stay or go.
After listening to Zhang Rui's words, the thirty taels of silver reward alone made their eyes gleam. If they save a little money, it will last a long time. They have seen Zhang Liu's credibility with their own eyes and have no reason not to believe it.
As a result, the bandits who were so "reborn after the disaster" quickly took on the role. Everyone is rushing to sell their previous copycat, fearing that others will take away the credit if they are slow.
That's all money.
Zhang Rui asked Li Sigou and a group of brothers to stay at the foot of the mountain to wait for the signal. He took Liu Shitou, Li Mugen, Chen Deyun, Chen Decai, Hong Hu and Cheng Long with him.
Although others also had objections to taking them, Zhang Rui could see that they were the only ones who were more courageous and dared to see blood. Therefore, Zhang Rui suppressed his objections and led them to follow Du Mu and the fifteen bandits.
The risks are there, but the rewards are huge.
