It was the beginning of autumn in the eighth month of the ninth year of the Wu dynasty, in Hangzhou, Jiangnan.
The lake shimmered, and the mountains and rivers were calm.
Half a month had passed since Fang La's army took over Hangzhou, an important city in the southeast. Looking from afar, the city walls that had collapsed during the earthquake and the war were being rebuilt. The buildings, courtyards, streets, and alleys in the city also looked like they were waiting to be rebuilt.
The war disaster half a month ago had caused the entire Hangzhou City to be filled with blood and chaos that caused one to be afraid of it. However, this place had gradually become lively during this recent period of time. Other than the soldiers under Fang La's command who had been scattered in different places, there were also travelers who looked like farmers or peddlers. Some of them were dressed in rags, and some of them had families with them. It had become the most common sight on the road to Hangzhou during this period of time.
Of course, the well-dressed peddlers, officials, high-spirited young masters, and scholars who used to be on the roads leading to Hangzhou were nowhere to be seen now. Most of the people gathered on these roads were farmers who had brought their families with them because the Sage Duke was about to become emperor. Some of them had family members in the army. Among them were the peddlers in rags, the strange-looking men, the large and small groups of theatrical troupes, and the peddlers. They were somewhat different from what they had seen in the past.
Some of these people looked disdainful and arrogant, while others looked wretched and low-key. But many of them carried all kinds of weapons, including metal, wood, iron, and stone. During the journey, some ordinary people noticed that some of these people would greet each other, cup their hands, and say some strange things to each other after they met. Those who were truly knowledgeable would know that when these people gathered together, they were called Jianghu. These people were what most people called "Jianghu people".
Speaking of which, in the past two years, since the Sage Duke's uprising, there had been many people in the Jiangnan Lulin who had joined in the uprising. Some of them had intended to do so from the beginning and actively contacted the Sage Duke. Some of them saw an opportunity after the Sage Duke's army arrived, so they followed him.
Of course, the Jianghu and the Lulin were not necessarily the same thing. Most of the heroes of the Lulin were originally bandits and thieves. Since someone was rebelling, they would naturally follow along. Most of the Jianghu people were martial artists who hid in the mountains or in the streets. Some of them had some strange skills. They were from all walks of life and did not break the law. They ran small businesses and lived a simple life. Perhaps they did not live a good life. However, since he had a career in the arts, it wasn't as if he didn't have any dealings with the people of the underworld.
Fang La relied on the influence of the Manichaeism when he started the rebellion, so he had a good reputation among the Jianghu people who lived in the gray area. However, he would be beheaded if he rebelled. Even if he tried his best to recruit people, there was a limit to the number of people who would take the initiative to join him. But this time, under the plan of Fang Qisfo, the Sage Duke's army took Hangzhou. Then, Shi Sheng, Lu Xinger, Lu Shibo, and other people who had a good reputation came to support him, which shocked the Southeast. When the news that Fang La wanted to proclaim himself emperor and recruit talents from all over the world spread, many people who had been waiting and watching finally had the idea.
These Jianghu people usually did not have a good life. Although it was a little late this time, Fang La wanted to proclaim himself emperor, so he naturally needed a lot of talents to fight against the imperial court. Once he succeeded, they would have the reputation of founding ministers. Therefore, this time, in addition to the many refugees who relied on the shelter army to make a fortune, most of the people who gathered in Hangzhou were all kinds of strange people. Around the time Fang La was about to establish a country, the whole of Hangzhou seemed to have a trace of the Martial Arts Conference that had only been seen in books.
The situation was complicated and chaotic, with good and bad people mixed together. After the city was breached and Hangzhou was cleansed, it could be said that most of the land and property in Hangzhou had become ownerless due to the chaos of the war. Although there had been some negotiations about how to distribute the benefits after the city was breached, the people's hearts were infinite. Hangzhou after the earthquake was actually not big enough. Taking a step back, a new order was formed in 10 days to half a month, which was really too short.
The gold and silver that had been eaten could be taken out again. The land that had fallen into the hands of some people could naturally be taken back to the hands of others. At this time, when it came to the order of Hangzhou, it was still a competition of whose fist was bigger. Leaving aside the fact that the superiors ate their subordinates, after Hangzhou was breached, according to Fang La's "Revolutionary Army", there were still some surviving residents in Hangzhou who could legally keep their few properties.
These people had no one to rely on. Over the past 20 days, they naturally became delicious steamed buns that anyone could step on. And everyone wanted to eat delicious steamed buns. Once someone from one army came to bully them, someone from another army would come to "protect" them. It was just that the price was high. When there was a conflict of interests between the two sides, these days, it was not uncommon for the leaders of the Revolutionary Army in Hangzhou to drag their troops to the streets or challenge them outside the city.
Hangzhou was a place where he wanted to be the emperor, so it could not be too chaotic. This was the tone that was set from the beginning. Therefore, Fang La gave the order, and groups of law enforcement teams in the city began to work. The leader was a disciple of Fang Qifo. His name was Chen Fan. He was very good at battle, but he was too young. He caught a few groups of people and did not interrogate them. He took the leaders of both sides and punched them a few times on the street. Most of them were beaten to death. Among them were the nephew of General Zhang Wei and the cousin of Guo Shiguang. It was said that this group of people went to the "palace" and made a scene in front of Fang La. Then, they started to fight each other. Fang La also had a headache. Recently, he had been worried about the war in Jiaxing in the north and was also busy with the matter of being the emperor. He wished he could shout, "Why are you so noisy? Can't you see that I am busy being the emperor?" Then, he would draw his sword and chop all the people to death. He dealt with it perfunctorily and then left it unsettled.
The aftermath of the war had not yet subsided. A large number of aunts entered the city, and then groups of strange people entered the city. Seeing that there were benefits, they all wanted a share. If there was no place to live, they would rob it. They had made great contributions to the Sheng Gong, but now there was no place for their families to live. They had to sleep on the street … and so on. Chen Fan continued to lead the law enforcement team to beat people on the street. Whenever they caught an eyesore, they would kill that person. In the city of Hangzhou, there were finally some shops that opened under such circumstances. All kinds of water transportation and land transportation that were more critical to the city also began to operate with difficulty under such circumstances. They maintained the basic operation of the city and began to prepare for the autumn harvest.
The city was like an extremely broken carriage. It had no roof, rotten beams, rotten frames, and missing rivets. With the last group of thin horses carrying it, it began to move forward with difficulty. It was waiting for someone to come in time and slowly repair everything before it completely collapsed.
Of course, where there were people, order would always be formed again …
*****
"Speaking of that bloody butcher Ning Liheng, he was eight feet tall, and his waist was also eight feet …"
Generally speaking, this kind of beginning that described someone as suspected of being a cylinder meant that the rest of the story was mostly false. But even so, every time someone spoke loudly, there were still many people around who were willing to listen. Right now, in a relatively intact teahouse in the city of Hangzhou, a person was speaking in a low voice to the people around him about what had happened not long ago.
"… That day at the Shiqiao Ferry in Huzhou, this person organized a group of tired soldiers and fought back from the brink of death. Using the strategy of the Hegemon of Western Chu, he first killed thousands of his own people, and then … he went back and forth near the Shiqiao Ferry twice and broke through the encirclement of Lu Qiao, Yao Yi, and Xue Dounan. If not for the Black Feather Guards of An Xi and Fu An, I'm afraid that Mi Quan and Shen Zhucheng would not have been so lucky … Damn, this person is simply a monster …"
At this time, in a teahouse in Hangzhou, it was naturally somewhat disgraceful to proclaim how powerful the people of the imperial court were. But at this time in Hangzhou, there were no regulations in this area, and those who dared to speak of such things in the open had more or less some background. Just now, a group of people had actually mentioned the battle in Jiaxing, and then talked about the defeat in the Huzhou area. This person was probably a relative of a general in the army, and at this time, he was pretending to be mysterious. Of course, most people still did not believe him. What bloody butcher Ning Liheng? In the martial arts world of Jiangnan, they had never heard of such a stupid name. For a moment, some people laughed, some people retorted, and some people took out their opium pipes, chuckled a few times, and began to count the almanac.
"What bloody butcher … If we talk about the martial arts world, I, Yan Qi, know the most. In Jiangnan, the Saint Duke is the leader. After him, there is Liu Dabiaozi of the Tyrant's Saber Manor, Mochou Sword Bai Moyan, who has always been a loner, and General Wang Yin Wang's Soul Locking Spear is also unpredictable. Buddha Marshal can use all kinds of weapons, but he is mainly good at fist techniques. His disciple, Chen Fan, is said to be able to uproot a weeping willow! In addition, there are Deng Yuanjue, Deng Rulai, Madman Shi Bao, Li Tianrun, Si Xingfang, and the others. All of them are experts, and now most of them are under the Saint Duke's command. In terms of stratagem, besides Buddha Marshal, An Xifu is also a master. I heard that there is a man called Wu Yong, the Resourceful Star, in the northern Liangshan. As for the bloody butcher, he said that he is a scholar in his early twenties. You, young man, are really talking nonsense … "
It was noisy in the teahouse, and there was a foul atmosphere. Compared to the prosperity of Hangzhou before the arrival of Fang La's army and the leisurely atmosphere in the teahouse, at this time in the teahouse, even if the people who came to the teahouse talked about how influential they were, they only showed the atmosphere of a marketplace. At this time, a man dressed like a nobleman stood up from one side of the teahouse, said in a low voice, "A bunch of nonsense." Then he walked outside.
This nobleman's voice was not loud, but many people in the hall had heard him. Most of them were people of Jianghu. When they were in a place, they had the ability to observe and listen in all directions. Although this nobleman was sitting in a corner, he was still very conspicuous. Some people frowned and were about to lose their temper. But when they looked again, as the nobleman stood up, several people around the tables also stood up. It seemed that they were all martial artists. They guarded the nobleman by his side and went out together. This nobleman must have a high status, so they restrained themselves.
After the young master left, someone on the other side of the hall casually mentioned his identity. "This guy is called Lou Shuheng. Heh, he's from the original Lou family in Hangzhou. After he submitted to the Holy Duke, he's been doing very well. He has the Buddha Marshal backing him up, and many people depend on the Lou family. A few days ago, he was trembling with fear, but these days, he has learned to act like a tyrant. I heard that he even stole a few women … Don't provoke him … "
The person who went out of the teahouse was Lou Shuheng. After the fall of Hangzhou, in order to continue to maintain the operation of the city, the Lou family had now become one of the families that Fang Qifo and the others relied on the most. However, in the past 20 days, they had shouldered a heavier and heavier burden, and at the same time, had more and more power. It was actually very easy to deal with these rebels. At least when Fang Qifo was not around, they only needed to not collapse. You could reap benefits without restraint, but you didn't need to be perfect. They could only rely on you and give you all kinds of power. This feeling, almost from the beginning, Lou Shuheng had already realized.
Whether it was forced or voluntary, at this time, the Lou family actually did not have much of a way out. It was impossible to say no. They could no longer separate themselves from Fang La. If Fang La lost, the Lou family would probably only have a dead end. Lou Shuheng was a very smart person. In the beginning, when he saw the soldiers in the city killing people, dragging out officials and rich businessmen, burying them alive, and cutting open their stomachs, he was scared out of his wits. However, the same thing did not happen to them. Then, under the instructions of Fang Qifo, some people began to rely on them, protect them, and help them do things.
In those days, he had seen those scenes of murder, and he was protected so that he could walk around. More than ten days ago, he saw a group of soldiers raping a woman in her twenties. He was just passing by, and a few soldiers cursed at him. After that, they were beaten to a pulp by the guards beside him. The woman knelt on the ground, half-naked, and thanked him profusely. He had been thinking about this for a few days. A few days later, he secretly went to the streets with his guards and kidnapped a woman back home …
At first, he told himself that it was to test how many privileges Fang Qifo had given to his family. However, this kind of thing was really exciting. He locked the woman up, and a few days later, the woman was accidentally killed by him … The first time was always not very skillful … However, people were like this. Once something was opened, it could never be closed again. In the Wu dynasty, he could not experience such a naked pleasure of power. Although his family was also powerful at that time, this feeling was really too different … A few days later, he specially went to find the woman who was almost raped … and finished what the soldiers could not finish …
It was nothing more than this …
He was immersed in this feeling. The current Hangzhou was really too interesting. However, when he came out today, he suddenly heard the name that he did not like to hear. It really made him unhappy. This matter made him feel a kind of gap. When he was doing these things in Hangzhou, that guy actually beat several generals under Fang La's command in Huzhou like dogs.
Then what was the thing that he had mastered now?
The distance between them was instantly widened.
If that guy was still in Hangzhou, he must kill him! Just like those officials and rich businessmen who were killed in the hell of Hangzhou 20 days ago, they died miserably …
This was what he thought as he walked through the decadent streets of Hangzhou with a few guards.
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