Chapter 773: The Wicked Padi Tu
Luo Xi's words sparked an idea in Li Daoxuan's mind.
Tianzhu Mountain wasn't far from here.
The Luo family held significant estates there.
After a few days of interaction, Li Daoxuan found Luo Xi to be quite astute, and seemingly keen to align himself with their cause. It seemed worth utilizing the Luo family's territory for a small-scale expansion.
Li Daoxuan approached Luo Xi and Zheng Gouzi.
At that moment, Zheng Gouzi wore a troubled expression. "Brother Luo, we can't let you take these people for mining. We need to escort them back to the Labor Reform camp on Huanglong Mountain."
Luo Xi, utterly clueless about what a "Labor Reform camp" truly was, mentally pictured it as a horrific, evil institution that worked captives to death. So, he didn't press for details, merely lowered his voice. "There are over ten thousand captives, after all. Since you have so many, just give me a few. I don't need many; a hundred would be enough, I couldn't feed more. My family's mine has been abandoned for years."
"Absolutely not..." Zheng Gouzi insisted.
"Actually, it's not entirely out of the question," Li Daoxuan interjected abruptly.
Luo Xi, recognizing Li Daoxuan as the true authority, immediately put on a smiling face. "Patron Li, could you really spare some people for me?"
"Of course!" Li Daoxuan chuckled. "In fact, let's take all ten thousand-plus to Tianzhu Mountain."
"Huh?" Luo Xi jumped, startled. "I can't feed them all! I can only manage a hundred."
Li Daoxuan laughed. "You won't be feeding them; we will. We're just going to establish a Labor Reform camp here on Tianzhu Mountain."
Luo Xi looked utterly bewildered. "What?"
Li Daoxuan grinned slyly, a mysterious, peculiar smile playing on his lips. "Didn't you say that every three to five years, people would take to banditry on Tianzhu Mountain? I've decided to 'walk the path of the bandits' so that 'bandits have nowhere left to walk.' So, we'll establish a presence on Tianzhu Mountain first."
Luo Xi stared, dumbfounded.
"Padi Tu!" Li Daoxuan called out loudly.
Padi Tu flashed into existence with a swish. "The Rabbit is here!"
Li Daoxuan smiled. "I've decided: we'll establish another Labor Reform camp on Tianzhu Mountain, modeled after the successful experience of the Huanglong Mountain Labor Reform camp. This massive new camp will be under your charge, Padi Tu."
"What? You want me to handle administrative duties again?" Padi Tu wailed. "Heavenly Lord, please, no! Revoke this command! Let this Rabbit charge into battle, slay enemies, dispense justice, or provide gruel to the populace. Just don't make this Rabbit into a wicked prison warden!"
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "If Zhong Gaoliang heard you describing a prison warden as 'wicked,' do you think he'd order a hundred thousand Labor Reform prisoners to storm your home, drag you to Huanglong Mountain, and hold a struggle session?"
Padi Tu flinched, startled. "Oh, I certainly wouldn't dare provoke Zhong Gaoliang."
Li Daoxuan's expression suddenly grew serious. "These ten thousand surrendered Henan rebels are, in essence, impoverished common folk, no different from the other Labor Reform prisoners we've captured. Their lives have been filled with suffering: drought followed by floods, and then more drought, forcing them to join the bandit armies. Are such people not precisely those a true hero should strive to save?"
"Huh? Oh, yes!" Padi Tu exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "This Rabbit performs heroic deeds! I should absolutely be saving the common people!"
"Then go," Li Daoxuan urged.
"Hahaha, the Rabbit departs!" Padi Tu declared.
The Gao Family Village Militia divided its forces. Half remained to guard the damaged Shangnan County town, while the other half, led by Padi Tu, escorted the ten thousand surrendered rebels towards Tianzhu Mountain.
Luo Xi, still unclear about their true intentions, followed them back to his ancestral home with a mix of apprehension and curiosity.
The journey from Shangnan County to Tianzhu Mountain was only about a hundred li.
Scarcely had they set off when they encountered a pressing issue: food.
The Gao Family Village Militia had departed with a logistics team, but even they carried only enough rations for two thousand people for one month. This food couldn't possibly be given entirely to the surrendered rebels; at least ten days' worth had to be reserved for the militia soldiers.
The remaining twenty days' worth was then distributed among the surrendered rebels.
They couldn't give out too much at once, as it had to last until the next supply delivery from the logistics team.
Padi Tu knew that the Heavenly Lord had surely used divine magic—perhaps telepathic communication or an ethereal projection—to return to Gao Family Village and arrange for more provisions. But until that next shipment arrived, they would have to economize.
Consequently, each surrendered rebel received only a single bowl of thin, watery gruel, so insubstantial that chopsticks wouldn't stand upright in it.
The rebels, cradling their bowls of gruel, thought: *Captured by government troops, this truly bodes ill. This food is even worse than what Yi Dou Gu and Wa Guanzi used to provide.*
*To eat such meager fare and still be forced into hard labor for the government... the days ahead will surely be difficult.*
The young rebel soldier, who had been captured while protecting his mother, offered his bowl of gruel to her. "Mother, please, drink this bowl of mine as well."
His elderly mother, however, wouldn't hear of it. Instead, she pushed her own bowl towards him. "My son, you drink my bowl."
Within the captive camp, the mother and son enacted a deeply moving scene of filial devotion.
The surrounding surrendered rebels watched, secretly thinking: *No, we can't simply obey the government's whims like this. We must find an opportunity to escape.*
As they quietly mustered their resolve, they heard Padi Tu's loud shout. "Rest assured, this humble Rabbit has performed heroic deeds for over twenty years, robbing the rich to aid the poor, and never harming good people. The current difficulties are merely temporary. Once this Rabbit's logistics arrive, I promise you'll all be feasting on delicious food and potent drinks!"
The surrendered rebels rolled their eyes at Padi Tu. Not a single one believed his outlandish claims.
The rebels couldn't be blamed, for Padi Tu naturally exuded an aura of unreliability. Anyone meeting him for the first time would immediately sense that the fellow was full of hot air.
The rebels, having pitifully consumed their watery gruel, struggled to their feet and began their march towards Tianzhu Mountain.
The journey spanned over a hundred li, mostly along rugged, uneven mountain paths. This proved agonizing for the Henan natives, unaccustomed to mountainous terrain. However, with a thousand militia soldiers, all armed with flintlock rifles, guarding them, the surrendered rebels dared not resist and could only meekly obey.
Day after day, underfed and forced to trek along mountain roads, many collapsed from exhaustion.
All the surrendered rebels harbored immense hatred for Padi Tu, their "wicked government general" escorting them, wishing they could beat the man to death with their bare fists.
That evening...
The surrendered rebels finally arrived at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain. Ahead lay the Luo family's estate, surrounded by vast stretches of fertile land. To the west of the hillside, a small, abandoned mine shaft was visible.
The surrendered rebels thought to themselves: *So, this is where we'll be forced into back-breaking labor from now on? Eating less than a rabbit, working harder than an ox.*
Just as these thoughts crossed their minds, Padi Tu's hearty laugh rang out. "Look, everyone! Our logistics team has arrived! Hahaha, finally, the logistics team is here!"
The grain transport team, dispatched from Gao Family Village, had sped by train to Xi'an, then switched to horse-drawn carriages for the final dash. They arrived at the base of Tianzhu Mountain simultaneously with the surrendered rebels.
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