Chapter 252 Seeking Revenge and Rebellion

Two days later.

The county government of Ting County has already conscripted 800 able-bodied men, the youngest being only thirteen years old and the oldest nearly sixty.

It even included about two hundred robust women in their thirties.

This is equivalent to capturing all able-bodied laborers in the county town and surrounding villages.

The county magistrate knew that many of the able-bodied men were of the wrong age or gender, but he pretended not to know. After all, he wasn't the one who arrested them, and this bandit suppression was an urgent order from the prefect, so he was just cooperating with the mission.

"My lord, with eight hundred able-bodied men and two hundred soldiers, we have plenty of manpower," the clerk said while looking at the booklet. "It's all thanks to your intelligence that you immediately began conscripting able-bodied men and collecting taxes on bandits after receiving the prefect's order. Now that we have enough manpower and money, we will surely be able to wipe out the river bandits. You will definitely be rewarded and honored by the prefect."

The magistrate was overjoyed by the praise and stroked his mustache, saying, "Then hurry up and tell them to set off!"

The advisor laughed and said, "Sir, there's no need to be in such a hurry. Even if we're just using those strong men to wear down the bandits' fighting strength, we need to train and train them first. Also, we need to raise more supplies for the bandit suppression."

The magistrate asked, "According to you, how long will it take before we can set off?"

After a moment's thought, the clerk replied, "I've asked the officers and soldiers' instructors; it will take at least ten days."

"Ten days?" The magistrate frowned. "If we set off in ten days, it will take another four or five days to reach Blackwater Bay. All in all, it will take at least twenty days?"

The advisor nodded, "That's about right, this is already the fastest speed."

The magistrate said, "Alright, alright. Go tell those soldiers that as long as they can get things done for me, it doesn't matter how many able-bodied men die, and I will reward them handsomely."

"Yes, sir!"

——

The magistrate's attitude was quickly conveyed.

The officers and soldiers became even more enthusiastic and ordered their men to intensify their training of able-bodied men.

So, under the intimidation and threats of the soldiers, about 800 people from Ting County took their farming tools, wore tattered straw sandals and ragged clothes, and underwent training day and night in the wilderness outside the county town.

Anyone who showed the slightest sign of non-cooperation was severely beaten by the officers and soldiers.

The officers and soldiers also implemented a system of group responsibility among the able-bodied men; if one person misbehaved, the entire group would be punished.

In this way, even if these able-bodied men have no fighting skills, they can become obedient enough.

When the time comes, take them to Blackwater Bay and tell them to charge, and they'll have to.

Using their lives to weaken the Blackwater bandits' fighting strength would be perfect, allowing the government troops to easily wipe out all the bandits.

As the brutal training continued, under immense pressure, the recruits' mental state visibly became numb.

This is exactly the effect the officers and soldiers wanted.

at the same time.

Li He and Fang Hui were also training a dozen or so teenagers.

The two men didn't know any training methods; they relied entirely on their past experiences of wandering around and fighting to teach their underlings.

Moreover, Lihe's principle is: if you can gang up, don't fight one-on-one; if you can ambush, you don't need to fight openly; if you can win, fight; if you can't win, run away.

Therefore, great importance is attached to the cooperation between the dozen or so people and their physical condition.

Just then, Ning Jinli sent him a lot of food, including plenty of staple food, meat, eggs, and dairy products.

If you get injured during training, there are also effective medications available for treatment.

The group of teenagers were already filled with resentment and desire for revenge, so they trained extra hard every day, never stopping until they were so exhausted that they could no longer lift their fingers.

With such high-intensity physical exertion, they also receive ample nutritional replenishment, and they are at a stage of rapid physical growth and development.

The once frail scholars, who only knew how to wield a pen, watched as their skin grew rougher and darker day by day, their bodies became more agile and robust, and their eyes became sharper and more piercing.

In just five days, the boys were almost unrecognizable.

Li He was quite satisfied with his training results and increasingly felt that he was cut out to be a leader.

Of all the people, Fang Hui underwent the most dramatic change.

This kid was originally as thin as a bamboo pole, especially when he was seriously ill before, he was practically skin and bones.

Now, his physique has swelled to the size of an adult male.

Although he was younger than Li He, he looked several years older than Li He when he stood next to her, and his body was as strong as a half-grown tiger.

"Hey, Fang Hui, I never noticed before, but now I think you have the air of a great general." Li He patted Fang Hui's chest with a smile.

Fang scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly, "Big brother, please stop teasing me."

“I’m not joking!” Li He said seriously, “I’ve met people who have become generals, and I guarantee that you will be no less capable than them in the future.”

Fang straightened his back and said, "Even if I become a great general in the future, I will still follow you, brother. You will always be my brother Lihe."

“Not bad, not bad,” Li He shook his head, “He’s really a promising student… hahahaha.”

"Brother Lihe!" Several teenagers ran over excitedly, carrying knives.

Li He asked, "What is it?"

The boys said:

"Shouldn't we go get our revenge now?"

"That's right, we even killed two wild boars together yesterday. Those three officers shouldn't be any stronger than wild boars, right?"

"Besides, with so many of us, if we follow what Big Brother taught us, we can ambush them, then gang up on them and tear them to pieces!"

"..."

Seeing the expectant looks in their eyes, Li He plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, his expression solemn as he said, "Have you thought about what will happen after we avenge our master by killing those three officials?"

The group paused for a moment, then looked at each other.

They hadn't really thought about that.

Fang Hui said, "Brother, are you worried that the county government will find out? But as long as we dispose of the body properly, we should be able to..."

Li He shook his head and explained in detail:

“Officials are not ordinary people. In the eyes of officials, we ordinary people are nothing. If we die, we die, and they won’t investigate further. But if someone working in the county government suddenly disappears, they will investigate thoroughly no matter what, let alone three of them at once.”

"No matter how clean we dispose of the body, if it remains a mystery, the authorities will not give up. Sooner or later, they will find some clues."

"That's why I initially planned to take revenge alone. If I were to be found out, it wouldn't implicate you."

Upon hearing these words, Fang Hui fell silent.

The other teenagers looked determined and said they were not afraid of the authorities investigating. They said that if the authorities found any clues and the clues pointed to someone, that person would take the blame for the murder on behalf of everyone.

This was something they and their companions had already discussed privately, and they were just waiting to tell Brother Lihe when they proposed to launch a revenge operation.

Li He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You've certainly thought things through, but I don't want any of us to take all the blame and lose our lives."

The boys got anxious.

"Brother Lihe, does that mean we shouldn't go and take revenge?"

"Haven't all our hard training these past few days been for nothing?"

"Big brother, you're not still thinking of handling everything yourself, are you? No way! Absolutely not! If we're going to fight, we'll all do it together!"

Listening to the chatter of the group.

Li He was deeply moved, but then a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "No, actually I have an even bolder plan, but once this plan is launched, there's no turning back, and... if it fails, the consequences will be even more severe."

Fang asked, "What plan?"

Li He uttered two words, "Rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Fang Hui and the other teenagers were initially taken aback, but then all showed expressions of excitement.

rebel?

This is so exciting!

Seeing the reactions of the others, Li He had a general idea of ​​what was going on, so he said, "Call the rest of you over, and let's discuss it together."

"Okay, brother!"

The group took off running to gather their remaining companions.

Before long, everyone gathered at the dilapidated temple.

Li He said, "Our county has long been plagued by corrupt officials, making life unbearable for the people. The people's lives are becoming increasingly difficult. Adding to this, the recent extortion of grain and property and the conscription of men have left everyone with virtually no hope of survival. That's why I conceived the idea of ​​rebellion. Since we're going to kill the officials to avenge our teacher anyway, we might as well kill a few more. And since we've already killed a few more, why not overthrow the county government? But this is a path we can only take to the end… Think carefully about whether you want to do this."

"I agree!" Fang Hui was the first to express his agreement. "I'm the only one left in my family. I don't care about risking everything. Although my family was killed by the one-eyed man, it's also related to the corrupt officials' disregard for the people!"

Then several more teenagers agreed.

They were all orphans, and only with the help of their teachers did they avoid ending up begging on the streets.

Finally, five or six teenagers remained silent.

Li He said to them, "You still have families, and your situations are different, so—"

“I agree to rebel.” Another of the remaining boys spoke up. “My father was conscripted into the army, leaving only my mother and grandmother at home. The officials have also taken all our food and valuables. Just as Brother Lihe said… After the county government launched a campaign to suppress bandits, everyone is basically doomed. I might as well take a chance and destroy the corrupt county government. Maybe we can steal some food from them and distribute it to the people, which could help us get through this winter.”

Ultimately, the others agreed as well.

Li He's expression was solemn. "Since you are all willing to follow me in this rebellion, I assure you that if we succeed, I will never let you down."

After saying this, he knelt down and kowtowed to the boys.

The teenagers' eyes reddened, and they hurriedly knelt down as well.

"Brother, we said we would follow you, and we will never let you down in this lifetime."

"I'm willing to give my life for Brother Lihe!"

"..."

Li He's eyes reddened as he stood up and said, "Good, with brothers like you, my life has been worthwhile. Brothers, let's continue training for a while longer. Don't rush things. The time will come soon, and then we can avenge our master and launch a rebellion!"

The group clasped their hands in a fist salute, "Yes, Big Brother!"

——

On the other side, in Blackwater Bay.

These days, Ning Jinli ordered Heishui Village to suspend the collection of moth-wing grass, but food and supplies continued to be distributed as usual.

At the same time, the main combat personnel of Heishui Village were equipped with armor and weapons, and even the boats were replaced with modern diesel propeller civilian small fishing boats.

Because it is so easy to use, these people who have lived in river and lake areas for a long time learned how to use it very quickly.

Combined with their past experience in raiding, and the ability to utilize these fishing boats to quickly form ever-changing combat formations, Blackwater Village's combat power skyrocketed in a short period of time.

It is estimated that only about a hundred people are needed to crush the two hundred soldiers sent by the county.

Considering that they not only had to fight against government troops, but also had to take care of the people of Ting County who were forced to come to suppress the bandits, Ning Jinli had the two leaders of Blackwater Village specially form a rescue team.

The rescue team consisted of about 500 people. They did not participate in direct combat, but only did their best to capture civilians and send them to Heishui Village during the fighting between the two sides.

There will definitely be resistance during this process, so the rescue team must be large enough and specially trained.

In short, we should first arrest the ordinary people who participated in the bandit suppression and bring them to Blackwater Village, and then explain to them later.

Ning Jinli's goal is not only to kill the government soldiers and protect the people, but also to ensure that no one in Blackwater Village is lost. Therefore, even with powerful equipment, they cannot be careless.

As for the special operations team members she brought, she would not let them participate in this battle unless absolutely necessary, since the special operations team had its own important mission.

Time flies.

Tingxian County has also entered the deep winter season in the south.

The temperature dropped to freezing point.

Although the snowfall was light, it was still relatively uncommon for this area.

The sky was overcast, and the extremely cold, damp wind felt like silver needles piercing into one's pores.

The muddy ground was frozen solid, and in the swampy area, lakes and puddles of all sizes, as well as the crisscrossing rivers, were all covered with a layer of ice two fingers thick, and the dense reeds looked like shiny icicles.

In the county town, a large contingent set off to suppress bandits at Heishui Village.

The procession stretched long and winding.

A dozen or so soldiers on horseback, dressed in thick clothes and covered in leather armor, led the way.

Hundreds of able-bodied men, dressed only in thin linen clothing, carrying the hoes and sickles they once used for farming, and a small amount of dry rations, shivered and struggled to walk in the cold wind.

At regular intervals, mounted soldiers would patrol and supervise, and if they saw any civilians walking too slowly, they would reprimand or warn them.

At the very back of the procession were horse-drawn carts carrying provisions, also transported by able-bodied men and guarded by government soldiers.

Such a bandit-suppression team set off towards Blackwater Bay in the freezing cold.

Once the group had disappeared into the snowstorm, a boy who had been hiding by the city gate turned and left, returning to the dilapidated temple as quickly as possible to tell Li He what had happened.

Now, nine out of ten houses in the county town are empty. The county government officials and constables hardly need to work anymore, and the constables don't need to patrol the streets. Naturally, the city gates are unguarded, which gives Li He and his group of teenagers an excellent opportunity.

Inside the dilapidated temple, everyone was ready to go.

Li He took out the strawberry-flavored milk that Ning Jinli had given him, handed out a bottle to everyone, and then held up the milk and said, "Brothers, let's use milk to boost our courage! Finish this bottle and then follow me!"