Chapter 38

Yue Zixuan clearly remembered that three years ago, when his father was on his deathbed, the two words he muttered were "go home"! Captured by the Tartars for twenty years, he did the hardest work every day, ate the worst food, and watched his companions die one by one. That tough man endured and struggled, all for the chance to see his hometown again!

Yue Zixuan's eyes blurred, and he stared intently at Zhang Ke, perhaps their last hope!

"Sir, please be honest, can we still go home? Is this still our home?"

Zhang Ke did not rush to answer. His gaze swept over everyone present, and all the men, women, and children looked at him, the weight on his shoulders heavier than anything else.

Finally, Zhang Ke faced Yue Zixuan frankly and sighed, "To be honest, I'm not very confident either. The key still lies with you all!"

Hearing Zhang Ke's words, many people lowered their heads, but Yue Zixuan suddenly burst into laughter, gritting his teeth, "Good, at least you're honest. If you had promised everything and spouted empty words, I would have killed you and become a bandit!"

Zhang Ke raised an eyebrow and said proudly, "Even my worst plan is better than being a bandit! Stuck between the Ming and the Mongols, or even the Jurchens, do you think you have the skills to dance on the edge of a blade? If you really become outlaws, more than seventy percent of you won't survive the winter, freezing and starving to death!"

Faced with this harsh reality, Yue Zixuan finally lowered his head, his face twisted in pain. He suddenly knelt down on one knee.

"Please, sir, show us a way to live. As long as our fellow villagers have a chance to survive, Yue Zixuan is willing to accept any punishment, with no complaints!"

This tough man, who had never bowed to the Tartar hunters, now knelt and pleaded, and everyone, with tears in their eyes, silently knelt down.

Zhang Ke walked to Yue Zixuan and suddenly knelt down as well.

"To be honest, I'm just a half-educated scholar and a half-businessman, not an official of the Ming. I don't have the ability to give you a way out, but I can fight and struggle with you all! From the moment we leave the city, we are all in the same boat. Do you all trust me?"

"We do!" Yue Zixuan almost blurted out, but he held back and said, "If you have a good plan, we will follow it!"

Zhang Ke nodded and said, "Good, since that's the case, I'll share my thoughts. This time you returned to the Ming, but to be honest, the court is not prepared to settle you. Even if they wanted to, the current court is powerless. All the grain and provisions are used to fight the Jurchens. To settle you, the officials of Dacheng Fort had to requisition the houses and fields of the common people. Losing their homes during the New Year, everyone is full of resentment! The people in the city are hostile towards you, so please understand and be more tolerant."

Yue Zixuan's face turned helpless, and he couldn't help but say, "The Ming is not short of gold and silver, how can it not settle a few thousand people? Is this still the great empire?"

"Ha ha ha, the Ming does have money, but it's in the wrong places," Zhang Ke said with a bitter smile. "Even if the court remembers, you all might starve to death by then. For now, we can only save ourselves."

Ma Rufeng hurriedly asked, "Please, sir, speak clearly!"

"Right, I've told you about the situation in the city. If we continue to forcibly requisition houses and fields from the common people, the people in the city will only become more agitated. Even if you temporarily get houses and land, you might not live well."

Yue Zixuan said, "I understand that. The first person who welcomed us, Wan Baihu, told us that the land is lent to us, and we will all become his tenants. It's clear he sees us as slaves!"

"As the saying goes, if you can't fight, you can run. My idea is for you all to temporarily leave Dacheng Fort and find an empty place to settle. Without conflict, the people will gradually accept you."

Yue Zixuan thought Zhang Ke would have a good plan, but hearing this, he frowned, "Sir, in the middle of winter, where can we go? Without food or shelter, won't we still freeze to death?"

Zhang Ke smiled, "You don't know, but recently, the surrounding villages and towns of Dacheng Fort have been contracting. To facilitate defense, people have been moved back to Dacheng Fort, leaving many villages empty. I just asked, and there is a village called Heyuan Village, eighteen miles from Dacheng Fort, by the Xixi River. It originally had over two hundred households, but most of the population fled, leaving fewer than two hundred people, who have just moved back to Dacheng Fort. They left their houses intact, without burning them. If you all can move to Heyuan Village, you will have a temporary place to stay."

This...

Yue Zixuan and Ma Rufeng looked at each other and spoke to a few elders in the crowd. Yue Zixuan, somewhat hesitant, looked at Zhang Ke and asked, "Sir, you're throwing us into an abandoned village. Even if we have houses, we have no food, and the Tartars and bandits might come to plunder. How can we survive? Are you trying to let us fend for ourselves?"

Ma Rufeng also said, "I knew officials had no good intentions. No matter how well they speak, they just want to trick us into dying."

"Ha ha ha ha, I'll go with you, and if we die, we'll die together!"

Yue Zixuan was shocked, his mouth wide open, and he asked, "Sir, will you really go with us?"

"Didn't I just say we are in the same boat, not to abandon or give up, to share life and death together?"

After Zhang Ke finished speaking, everyone was silent for five seconds. Ma Rufeng suddenly knelt down, his head hitting the snow.

"Sir, I am ignorant and wicked, please forgive me!"

"Get up quickly!" Zhang Ke pulled him up and said with a smile, "From now on, we are all brothers. Don't keep kneeling. I must say, Zhang Ke doesn't have the ability to turn stones into gold or to charge into battle seven times. We face two problems: being beaten and being hungry. To solve them, we need everyone's wisdom!"

Rumble! Rumble!

Mentioning hunger, stomachs growled one after another. They had already run out of the food they brought two days ago, and everyone was starving.

Zhang Ke quickly said to Qiao Fu, "Go back to the city quickly, bring out the fat sheep, and slaughter them outside the city. Let everyone have a good meal."

"Brother Ke, how many?"

"Bring them all, and while you're at it, buy whatever food you can find in the market."

Qiao Fu agreed and ran off.

Zhang Ke smiled at Yue Zixuan, "Everyone, bear with it a little longer, we'll have mutton soon."

"Mutton? Sir, I doubt the court would give us mutton. Is this coming out of your own pocket?"

Zhang Ke did not deny it. He wanted them to understand from the beginning that they were eating Zhang Ke's food, not the court's.

"I just came back from Guangning. The sheep were traded from the Chao Hua tribe. To make money, I'm not too bad. As long as everyone works together, I promise no one will go hungry!"

"Thank you, sir!" Yue Zixuan couldn't help but laugh, "I started herding sheep for the Chao Hua tribe's Dai An'er at the age of seven. I did it for five years and never tasted mutton. Once, while herding sheep, I drove them into a valley and pushed rocks down to crush one of them. I didn't dare to start a fire, so I cut the skin with a stone and ate the raw meat, getting blood all over me. I not only ate the meat but also bit into the sheep's neck to drink its blood!"

Yue Zixuan looked at Zhang Ke and smiled, "Sir, is it too bloody?"

"Ha ha ha, was it good?" Zhang Ke asked nonchalantly.

"Good, how could it not be good!" Yue Zixuan was surprised and laughed, "At that time, I thought, this is the meat of the Chao Hua, the meat of those damn princes. One day, I will eat their meat and drink their blood, and scatter their bones to the wind!"

Zhang Ke smiled, "Do you hate the Tartars so much?"

Yue Zixuan shook his head, "Sir, what kind of life have we lived these past years, worse than pigs and dogs! The Tartars made us farm and herd for them, treating us like beasts of burden. Women were taken, and young men became their slaves. Over the years, the Mongol nobles have believed in secret religions, and during their rituals, they use human skin and bones as ritual objects. I once saw them kill over a hundred Han captives and build a wall with their skulls!"

As he spoke, Yue Zixuan's fists clenched tightly, "Sir, if the Tartars weren't so cruel, we wouldn't have risked our lives to escape. When we escaped from the Chao Hua tribe, there were nearly two thousand of us. After running over two hundred miles, more than a thousand died! Behind us were many wolf packs, and as soon as someone died, they were torn apart by these beasts, leaving no trace!"

Zhang Ke's eyes burned with fierce anger, and his hatred grew like weeds!

"Everyone, rest assured, one day I will lead you to sweep across the grasslands, crush the evil Tartars, and make them kneel before us, to be dealt with as we see fit!"

"Sir, really?" Yue Zixuan's eyes widened.

"Of course, but... let's eat first!" Zhang Ke got up from the ground.

The city gate creaked open, and Huzi led a group of young people driving the sheep out. Behind them were Qiao Tieshan, Liu the blacksmith, and his sons, all carrying stoves and pots. Qiao Fu drove a cart loaded with five or six bags of rice. At the back of the crowd, Shen Shi, Xiao Xue, and Qiao Dacun also came, carrying bamboo baskets.

The people in the city still didn't trust those outside. As soon as Shen Shi and the others came out, the city gate was closed, and the bolt was re-secured. They watched from the city walls.

Zhang Ke ran to his mother and said urgently, "Mother, why did you come? It's not safe outside the city!"

"Where my son is, I am. I trust you!" Xiao Xue, standing next to Shen Shi, nodded vigorously, her face showing unconditional trust, which warmed Zhang Ke's heart.

Qiao Dacun smiled, "Nephew, don't think we're useless. With so many people outside the city, we can at least help with cooking!"

"How could I think that!"

Zhang Ke smiled and led everyone over to meet Yue Zixuan and the others.

Qiao Tieshan followed behind Zhang Ke and whispered, "Ke, just now, Sir Sun sent me to tell you that he has appointed you as a trial hundred-householder and the head of Heyuan Village. You must take these people away within a day. Otherwise, they will be treated as bandits!"

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