Chapter 131 - 129: Drought and Uprising
"A worthy opponent." Song Changming glanced at the man, acknowledging the man’s displayed level of skill.
Being able to spar with him for so long was already rare among martial artists.
At the same level, this man rarely suffers defeat.
Unfortunately, today he fell into Song Changming’s hands, making him understand what it means to have mountains beyond mountains.
Seeing the opponent still struggle, Song Changming was not polite, simply lifted his foot and broke the man’s limbs, bringing him back to the inner courtyard.
The door of the inner courtyard had been destroyed, and Liu Ziwen returned with his brothers, capturing and killing the remaining night raiders.
Liu Dingsheng, who was quite elderly, did not intervene tonight, thus this vendetta was resolved.
Song Changming threw the man down in the courtyard and looked at Liu Dingsheng.
"Don’t worry, in half a month, the promised mountain ginseng will be sent to you by Ziwen, its age of two hundred years, no less." Liu Dingsheng understood Song Changming’s meaning and guaranteed.
A mere two hundred-year-old mountain ginseng, he could afford to give, no need for a man of his age to break his word with a younger generation.
"Senior is magnanimous." Song Changming immediately replied, considering tonight a profitable venture since he didn’t leave early.
Not only did he exercise and test his skills in a real battle, but he also earned a valuable two hundred-year-old mountain ginseng.
Importantly, there was no risk for him in this battle.
His opponent was not strong, and Liu Dingsheng was backing him up.
"Let me see who this is." Liu Dingsheng now focused on the enemy who had lost the ability to resist, gesturing for Liu Ziwen to pull off the man’s mask.
Beneath the mask was the face of a middle-aged man.
Bushy eyebrows and big eyes, his looks weren’t particularly handsome, but he was decent-looking.
Except for some scars on his face and neck, giving him a slightly fierce aura.
Liu Dingsheng examined him for a moment but couldn’t recall who he was, though the hatred in the man’s eyes was unmistakable.
"What grudge do you have against me, let’s hear it?" Liu Dingsheng straightforwardly asked the man.
"Thirty years ago, Ge Manor, you killed my foster parents and my brother..." the man gritted through his teeth.
"Thirty years ago, it’s not that long ago..." Liu Dingsheng rubbed his brow, seemingly in thought.
"Ge Manor, I do have some impression, but I only remember exterminating a local bandit gang. Could it be your foster parents were members of that gang?"
"You dare to disgrace my parents! Even as a ghost, I will not let you go!" Ge Tai was furious, powerless with broken limbs, unable to move despite being held at knife-point.
"Alright then, if they weren’t those bandits, perhaps you found the wrong person." Liu Dingsheng shook his head.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! My father was the local county magistrate, many people witnessed you kill him, how dare you deny it!" Ge Tai shouted angrily.
"County Magistrate?" Liu Dingsheng’s expression turned odd.
Having accompanied Liu Dingsheng for years, Liu Ziwen couldn’t help but interject upon hearing about the county magistrate, "I was there, the county magistrate at Ge Manor was killed by that gang, how can you blame it on my lord!
I remember clearly, when we entered the County Magistrate’s Mansion, the county magistrate’s family had already been murdered at night, only after my lord learned of this did he angrily annihilate that gang!"
Song Changming’s first reaction upon hearing this was surprise that Liu Ziwen, who looked not much older, was involved in events thirty years ago?!
He had always thought Liu Ziwen wasn’t much older than him.
Ge Tai was first stunned upon hearing this, momentarily struck dumb, then instinctively denied it.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"What is will be, there’s no need for this old man to argue with you now about what was done back then." Liu Dingsheng scoffed.
Ge Tai, upon hearing this, felt deeply uncertain.
The opponent could kill him with a mere flick of the knife, truly no need to argue pointless things with someone at death’s door.
"If you don’t believe, I’ll let you go to investigate. If what I said is true, you must clear my name locally." Liu Dingsheng continued.
Liu Ziwen quickly cautioned, "Lord, you can’t, this man came to assassinate tonight, you can’t just let it go."
Liu Dingsheng simply shook his head, gazing at Ge Tai without changing his mind.
"Fine!" Ge Tai hadn’t expected a chance to live, and after some silence, he agreed.
"I will investigate thoroughly, if you truly avenged me, then you will be my benefactor, and I will return to atone, whatever punishment you desire!"
In the end, Liu Dingsheng with few words released this vengeful pursuer.
Admittedly, this move was truly impulsive and unreserved.
Song Changming, standing aside, admitted he couldn’t be so broad-minded, for if someone wishes to kill him, regardless of the reason, he wouldn’t let it slide easily, even if it’s a misunderstanding.
"To carry a grudge for thirty years and find out the revenge sought was mistaken, truly like a trivial jest..." Song Changming watched Ge Tai depart, finding it absurd.
"Hahaha, that’s Jianghu for you, strange events occur daily, observing this man though reckless, he seems deeply loyal and honorable.
"Believe it or not, I’ll get a good ally in the future." Liu Dingsheng burst into laughter at Song Changming’s words.
"Uh, this..." Song Changming looked at the bodies scattered in the courtyard. Honestly, he couldn’t quite believe that the person bent on revenge would eventually choose to pledge loyalty to his former enemy.
If it were him, even if the other swore allegiance to the death, he wouldn’t dare accept someone who had wanted him dead for thirty years.
It was unclear whether he was being overly cautious or if Liu Dingsheng’s ability to judge people was just that precise.
"Senior, now that the matter is settled and it’s getting late, I should be heading back." Song Changming stated.
"Hey, we must finish this game..." Liu Dingsheng hadn’t forgotten the unfinished chess game on the table and pulled Song Changming to keep him from leaving.
Even today, when the enemy came knocking at his door, it didn’t disrupt his interest in playing chess.
In the end, Liu Dingsheng’s chess skills proved superior, and Song Changming once again left in defeat.
...
The days continued to pass.
With the weather growing increasingly hot and many days without rain, signs of a major drought emerged this year.
Moreover, due to the Fifth Prince’s frequent requisitioning of grain for ongoing battles, including Donglai Prefecture, the surrounding counties found themselves urgently short on food supplies.
Consequently, not a single grain could be found on the market, and increasingly more hungry people appeared inside and outside the city, dying of starvation.
The chaos also became increasingly uncontrollable.
When people can’t fill their stomachs, they often resort to more extreme measures.
The drought rapidly swept across a large part of the Da Han Dynasty.
Various states and counties petitioned the Imperial Court, hoping for grain relief, sending one memorial after another, like snowflakes, into the Imperial Capital Yunling City.
But ultimately, they sank without a trace, without any response.
Currently, the New Emperor was preoccupied with confronting those four rulers, and the national treasury was already insufficiently equipped to aid the people during this time.
As a result of the court’s inaction, it became the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Rebellion arose among the populace.
A group named the Martial Alliance led the uprising in the North, aiming to overthrow the new emperor.
Soon afterward, another group of insurgents emerged from the South, calling themselves Utopia, with a momentum even greater than that of the Northern Martial Alliance.
The Martial Alliance was primarily composed of ambitious martial artists from the Jianghu, formed through various clandestine forces’ amalgamation into a united community.
As for the Southern Utopia, it was a grassroots uprising by the common people, with a multitude of participants, large in number.
This was the reason why the Southern uprising army rose to power with such a grand force.
Moreover, they were tantamount to armed insurgency, having privately forged a significant batch of equipment, not only having armor but also crossbows as rebellion tools! Not to be underestimated!
The simultaneous emergence of the two insurgent forces caused the court to lose complete control over the Da Han Dynasty.
The internal strife was so severe that outwardly, the court seemed to be just the largest party amidst competing forces.
Fewer and fewer places followed the court’s orders; Imperial Authority waned, and the court grew increasingly weak!
One must admit, this drought came at a very inconvenient time.
Originally, many people still held confidence in the current court, expecting the New Emperor to swiftly quell the internal turmoil, consolidate the nation, and restore a prosperous era.
But now, fewer people hold such thoughts.
Donglai County City, Song Residence.
Early in the morning, Song Ping’an returned to the courtyard, brandishing a stick to chase away several thieves.
"Brother Song, now the city is overrun with grain thieves, coming around every few days. It’s really aggravating." Song Ping’an grumbled.
In the courtyard, Song Changming rested after training, shaking his head, "That’s how the world is; if you want to blame, blame the current world for leaving these people no way to live."
Song Ping’an scratched his head, not being well-educated, and unable to comprehend many truths, only saying, "Fortunately, Brother Song stored a lot of grain at home early on.
Otherwise, even our meals would be an issue. Now, the city’s grain prices are outrageous, with a pound of coarse rice selling for hundreds of copper coins, and refined rice being sold for silver coins!"
"In the future, don’t disclose the fact that there’s grain at home, understood?" Song Changming reminded.
"I know, Brother Song." Song Ping’an smiled.
Song Changming estimated that the stored grain at home was enough for them to eat for three years without any problem.
The only considerable inconvenience was replenishing his daily need for meat regularly.
The meat prices in the city were equally high, to the point of being unaffordable even for him.
Fortunately, he had access to meat through channels he had accumulated during his time as a Patrol Guard, without facing meat shortages.