Chapter 29 Wang Er from Baishui is Here Again
The house was there, but the prefabricated dwelling was utterly bare, devoid of any furniture.
The Village Chief carried a large bundle of dry straw into the dwelling, creating a makeshift bed for Li Da, and even offered him an old quilt.
Gao Yiye then brought him a generous bowl of chicken and cabbage served over rice, ensuring Li Da enjoyed a truly satisfying meal.
As they busied themselves with Li Da, San Shier reported the day's events in Chengcheng County to Li Daoxuan.
Wang Er from Baishui’s rebellion didn't entirely surprise Li Daoxuan; he merely hadn't expected it to erupt so swiftly. After hearing the full report, he had little to add, only sighing for the innocent lives lost in Chengcheng County during the uprising.
Night had fully fallen. Li Daoxuan took another sheet of iron and temporarily sealed the half-finished gate opening, while the villagers, one by one, returned to their homes to rest.
The Diorama Box transitioned into "non-static mode."
There was nothing left to observe.
Li Daoxuan lifted his gaze from the box, glancing out his own window. In Shuangqing City, darkness had also descended, but the urban landscape was ablaze with lights, its vibrant nightlife just beginning.
Cai Xinzhi replied, “Far from done. We’re still setting up the framework; how could it be that quick? Ask me again in a month.”
Li Daoxuan was silent.
Alright, that Hakka Walled House model was indeed a complex undertaking and couldn’t be rushed.
He then opened his usual history and military forum and anonymously posted a new question: “If you traveled back to the late Ming Dynasty, after securing a strong castle, firearms, and armor, and solving your basic safety issues, what would be the second thing you would do?”
Reply 1: Get plenty of women. Don’t disappoint the good ones, don’t waste the bad ones—arrange them all in eighteen different poses.
Reply 2: Moderator, please ban that moron from the first reply. I’ve tolerated him for too long.
Reply 3: Kill ‘em all! First, wipe out the Eunuch Party, then the Donglin Party, then all of Li Zicheng’s bandits, all the Manchus in the northeast, everyone who disobeys me, everyone who offends me. Then, with a group of obedient subordinates, establish a new country and conquer Europe and America.
Reply 4: If you have no grand ambitions, then follow Reply 1’s advice. If you have grand ambitions but your head is full of crap, then follow Reply 3’s advice. But if you truly have the heart to resist the Qing and save the nation, and wish for the Chinese people to sweep across the globe, then you must humble yourself and desperately recruit all kinds of talented individuals. You must employ useful people from the Eunuch Party, useful people from the Donglin Party, useful talents from the rebels, and even useful individuals from the Manchus... The more capable people you have, the greater your achievements can be.
Reply 5: Reply 4 is full of crap. Why would I need to use that trash? I’ll cultivate my own loyal team from scratch.
Reply 6: Cultivate them from childhood? How many years would it take for them to grow up and be able to help you? The Ming Dynasty is set to fall in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen. By then, would you still be hiding in some mountain gully acting as a private tutor?
Reply 7: So, forget cultivating any team. Let’s just cultivate lolis instead; they’ll be ‘ready’ in just a few years.
Li Daoxuan: You goddamn idiot, you moron, are you back again?
The discussion ended abruptly. The thread was locked by the moderator; if the conversation continued this way, Li Daoxuan feared he’d be ‘invited for tea’ by the authorities.
Li Daoxuan carefully reread the replies in the preceding few posts, and after much deliberation, he concluded that Reply 4 made the most sense.
Putting aside grander visions and focusing on the immediate future, his small village of a few dozen people desperately needed manpower. They didn’t even require skilled talent; any able-bodied person would do. Men could chop trees, fell timber, and repair the city gates; women could cook, wash clothes, and perform various chores. Truly, people were needed everywhere.
Just as he was pondering this, a faint murmur of voices rose from the Diorama Box. It sounded like many people talking at once, a clamorous din. Li Daoxuan turned to look, and indeed, a lively scene was unfolding. Hundreds of people were gathered, pushing carts large and small, carrying torches, and making their way along the dirt road to the outskirts of Gao Family Village.
Their original intention must have been to enter Gao Family Village, but now the settlement was encircled by a "giant wall" constructed from Lego bricks. In the pitch-black night, relying only on moonlight and the flickering glow of their torches, their visibility was extremely limited—they couldn't even find the city gate.
These hundreds of people were utterly bewildered. They began whispering to each other, and the murmurs Li Daoxuan had heard moments before were their confused discussions.
Intrigued, he leaned closer to the Diorama Box. He immediately spotted a tall, robust man standing at the forefront of the group, who was none other than Wang Er from Baishui.
It seemed that after his rebellion that morning, during which he killed Magistrate Zhang Yaocai, opened the granaries, and seized government grain—now loaded onto the carts behind them—he had then escaped the city and traveled over thirty li, arriving at Gao Family Village.
Wang Er was now anxious!
He knew that pursuers could arrive at any moment, so he was eager to quickly fulfill his "debt of gratitude to Gao Family Village." But this strange Gao Family Village, in just the blink of an eye, had inexplicably sprouted a massive city wall, leaving him unable to find an entrance.
Wang Er first quieted the people around him. Then he strained his throat and shouted loudly towards Gao Family Village: “People of Gao Family Village, can you hear me? I am Wang Er from the neighboring Wangjia Village, Wang Er from Baishui! I once stole your water, but you bore no grudges and instead gave me much flour. Today, we’ve come to repay that kindness. I have grain now; I’ve brought you two carts of it... People of Gao Family Village? Can you hear me?”
Li Daoxuan chuckled to himself. This Wang Er from Baishui was a decent fellow. After seizing government grain, he immediately rushed over, eager to repay his debt of gratitude. No wonder this man could become one of the leaders of the peasant uprising; anyone who could inspire a large group of people to shed their blood and sacrifice their lives for him must possess a significant degree of charisma.
“People of Gao Family Village...” Wang Er from Baishui shouted twice more. A dark figure appeared on the city wall; Gao Chuwu had arrived.
With a simple, guileless expression, he called out to the outside of the wall: “Oh? So you’re the thief who stole our water.”
Wang Er felt a little awkward. Fortunately, the night was deep, and with only moonlight and torchlight, no one noticed his slight blush. “Yes, I stole it, but ah, now isn’t the time to talk about that. Please open the city gate; I have two carts of grain for you, and then I must leave immediately.”
Gao Chuwu had a simple mind, the kind of person who wouldn't know what to do without direct orders. For a moment, he was at a loss.
Li Daoxuan spent half a second in thought. These two carts of grain, of course, couldn’t be accepted. Nor could Wang Er’s group be allowed into Gao Family Village. It was still the early stage of the peasant uprising; the situation across the land was relatively stable, and the imperial court’s control remained strong. If Gao Family Village were to get involved with Wang Er’s group at this time, it would attract immense trouble.
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