"Gentlemen, let's talk this out. Why make such a fuss?" Supervisor Qu said coldly.
He gestured to the people around him to inform them.
However, he was surrounded by villagers on all sides, with no chance of escape.
“Chief Qu, when you led your men to collect grain, we begged you, we even knelt down before you, but you didn’t say anything nice.”
The burly man at the head of the group was named Wang Hu. He laughed heartily, but there was a sinister aura about him.
“Yes, I’ve kowtowed until my head is bleeding, but you haven’t reduced the amount you’ve collected. Your hearts are made of iron and stone. Since you’re so heartless, don’t blame us, the suffering people, for uniting to reclaim what is rightfully ours.”
A man of similar height but thinner stature stood beside Wang Hu, who seemed to be his right-hand man.
He wasn't lying; a glance revealed a bruise on his forehead.
"Give us back our grain!" someone shouted.
"Return all our grain and all our silver, or we will not rest until we have done so."
"We will not rest until the grain and money are returned."
"We will not rest until the grain and money are returned."
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation and raised their hands. Their voices were powerful and resounded in the air, even shaking the withered leaves off the trees.
"If you don't return the grain and the money, don't even think about leaving here today."
"Give it back now, right now."
Supervisor Qu's brow remained furrowed. How was he supposed to repay this? The money and provisions had already been transported to the advance troops and were on their way north.
An immense pressure pressed down on him, as if heavy stones were looming from all sides, getting closer and closer, squeezing his body and heart.
"Everyone, calm down." He had an idea and raised his hand.
"This matter is negotiable. You register your names, and we will return the money and grain to you within three days."
Wang Hu was not someone to be easily fooled. He threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Brothers, he's going to register our names. That'll be a list of people to be beheaded. When the time comes, they'll find us one by one, take care of us one by one, and then return the money and grain. You wish!"
"They say they're easy to talk to, but they're actually harboring such malicious intentions. Instead of having unrealistic fantasies about them, we might as well just kill them and take the grain. That way, we can get even more."
"Yes, they've already asked us to hand over the list of those to be beheaded. There's no room for negotiation. We outnumber them now, they're no match for us. Why should we be afraid of them? They've pushed us to this point. Anyone who backs down is a coward."
The villagers had initially wanted to discuss the matter, but now that they saw through Supervisor Qu's intentions, they all raised their wood-chopping knives and stone axes.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Seeing the rebellious villagers in such a formidable formation, and still filled with anger after their taxes and provisions had just been levied, the villagers of Qiaotou Village immediately added dozens more people to the group.
The villagers' faces were filled with righteous indignation, and given this atmosphere, they were no longer inclined to think things through.
The head eunuch and the clerk only brought a few dozen men, no match for so many villagers. Knowing they were going to die here today, the head eunuch turned pale and showed a rare look of fear, while the clerk trembled even more.
Their men were so weak they could barely hold their swords; they were trembling and about to fall to the ground.
But the villagers had never killed anyone. Although they were all filled with anger and shouted slogans loudly, no one dared to lay a hand on anyone.
The thought of ending a living, breathing life was too much for them, who were used to being honest and law-abiding.
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