Just when Wei Chen was most helpless, a man found him. This man was an old acquaintance of the salt field. He was thin and short. Because he used to work under the steward of the salt field, he was not well received by the salt workers. Since then, the salt field
After the chaos, the saltmen occupied the salt field. Although those who worked under the saltmen's stewards were not kicked out, their lives were not easy.
Wei Chen was worried. When he saw the man approaching, he frowned and said angrily: "Ding Mao, what are you doing here? Uncle Quan didn't tell you that it's best not to run around if you have nothing to do?"
Ding Mao didn't seem to hear Wei Chen's words, and didn't care how dirty he was next to him. He sat down against the wooden railing. Looking at the scenery in the distance, the clouds rolled and relaxed, the heaven and earth exuded the breath of spring, and everything was full of vitality. But
In this salt field, there seemed to be a dark cloud lurking, making people look sad. After a while, Ding Mao sighed and whispered: "Da Chenzi, how long has it been since we had a good chat?"
Wei Chen didn't expect Ding Mao to ask such a question. He was stunned for a while and said with a sarcastic smile: "It's been eleven years. Since the day you went to work with Fatty Gu, our friendship has been broken."
Fatty Gu, whose name is Gu Xiucheng, is the direct manager of this salt farm. He is domineering and brings trouble to Yan Ding on weekdays. This man is a womanizer, and many women in the salt farm have been murdered in recent years, so Yan Ding
They hated Fatty Gu so much that after the uprising, the first person they killed was Fatty Gu. Fatty Gu did many evil things, so the Saltmen naturally didn’t have a good impression of those under him. If it weren’t for Ding Mao and others
People are also old friends and have killed these people long ago.
Wei Chen looked down on Ding Mao, because in Wei Chen's opinion, how could a bloody man work with someone like Fatty Gu? Similarly, he was also very sad. Wei Chen had known Ding Mao since he was a child. It can be said that the two of them wore crotchless pants together.
Growing up, I have deep feelings. But this feeling completely changed on that day eleven years ago. Ding Mao is not an emotionless person. He can clearly feel the disdain of the people around him. For this childhood sweetheart
Playmate, the deepest feeling.
"Dachenzi, I know you look down on me. You looked down upon me when I surrendered to Fatty Gu. But, over the years, have I done anything to hurt everyone?" Ding Mao's face was solemn and he looked a little unhappy. Wei Chen
He curled his lips and said calmly: "It's a good thing you haven't done too many things that are harmful to the world. Otherwise, everyone would have beaten you to death when the incident started."
"Really? You are superior, you are a good person, but after so many years, have you ever thought about why I wanted to take refuge with Fatty Gu?" Ding Mao looked sad, and he was lost in memories.
"Do you still remember Manager Shen of the Saltworks? At that time, the two most important managers in our Yanguan Town were Mazi Shen, besides Fatty Gu. At that time, Mazi Shen was very powerful and had connections with the inspection department. There were very few people there.
Dare to mess with him. One day, Mazi Shen led a patrol and fell in love with Duo'er. Who is Mazi Shen? He is worse than Fatty Gu in doing things. If Duo'er follows her, he will probably be raped within two years.
Throw it away, how will Duoer survive? Tell me, can I watch Duoer go into trouble? Shen Mazi led people to make trouble, and although he was blocked, if he did nothing, he would not be able to stop him.
Mazi Shen’s.”
"We don't have the ability to touch Mazi Shen, but Fatty Gu can. Fatty Gu has always wanted to monopolize Yanguan Town and has always regarded Mazi Shen as a thorn in his side, but Fatty Gu is not very courageous. So one day, , I worked hard and found Fatty Gu. Finally, Fatty Gu was tempted, and he led his men to join me. When Shen Mazi was leaving Yanguan Town, he quietly intercepted and killed her on the way."
"Later, people said that Mazi Shen was missing. In fact, he was not. His body was buried on Heifeng Ridge. Mazi Shen was solved, but I couldn't look back. I could only continue to work under Fatty Gu. I also I thought about leaving, but who are we? We have lived here for generations. Going out is a dead end. But as long as I stay in Yanguan Town, I have to listen to Fatty Gu, otherwise, Fatty Gu will treat Mazi Shen. He put the blame on me and made me a scapegoat. In order to protect myself, I can only listen to him... But at least, we have harmed everyone in these years..."
Ding Mao finally finished speaking. Wei Chen frowned and said nothing for a long time. He didn't know whether Ding Mao was telling the truth or a lie, and he didn't know what Ding Mao's purpose was for saying these words today. "Fatty Gu is dead." , how come it’s not up to you to say it? And, if that’s the case, why didn’t you say it before? Duo’er’s matter is not your alone.”
Duo'er is an orphan from the salt farm. No one knows her last name. She has been called Duo'er since she was a child. But now, Duo'er has married Wei Chen and gave birth to two children to Wei Chen. Therefore, when Ding Mao mentioned Duo'er, How can we not make people think too much?
"Believe it or not, why didn't you tell me before? Isn't it simple? I can't look back. If you are also involved in this matter, then who will take care of Duo'er? You also know that I will take care of Duo'er since I was a child. I treat Duo'er as my biological sister, and I don't want her to be helpless in the future. If you are one more person, one more person will be implicated in Mazi Shen's matter. Do you think it's easy to kill someone? Even if you kill that beast Mazi Shen. ..... Dachenzi, don’t you understand the world? It is a serious crime for us to kill Mazi Shen, but Mazi Shen can kill us without any worries..."
"You say you don't believe it, but you have never had any problems smuggling salt out of the town before. Haven't you ever thought about it? Is it you, Wei Chen, who is lucky, or are everyone else blind? What happened in the yellow forest the year before last, Have you forgotten?"
Wei Chen was shocked. The year before last, he had led people into Huangshulin to transport two bags of illegal salt. Not long after entering Huangshulin, someone suddenly shouted that officers and soldiers were coming. Because of this reminder, Wei Chen and others left their private belongings behind. Yan fled in all directions. Later, Wei Chen realized how dangerous it was. The soldiers and horses of the Yan Transportation Department were ambush in the yellow forest. If they hadn't run fast, everyone would have been in the woods at that time. But Wei Chen couldn't figure it out. The thing is, no one around me shouted that sentence.
Until today, Wei Chen didn't know who made the loud warning and saved everyone's lives. Gradually, Wei Chen began to believe it, because few people knew about Huang Shulin. In an instant, his eyes became much warmer. But his voice was still a little cold, "Why are you telling me now? When Fatty Gu dies, you can tell me. After Fatty Gu dies, who can still blackmail you?"
"If I had said that at that time, what would you have thought of me? Would you have thought that I was talking nonsense in order to survive? You would have thought that I was a person who would do anything to survive, right? You...I still
Don’t you understand?”
Wei Chen suddenly became speechless, because Ding Mao was telling the truth, "Maybe you are right, but what's the use of saying this now? You know, right now, officers and soldiers are surrounding the passes. Even if I want to let you go, you can't go.
.”
Ding Mao smiled casually and looked up at the wooden board above, "If I were greedy for life and afraid of death, would I still come to you? Dachenzi, do you think we have a future like this? We don't have much food, and it won't be long before we
How many people are willing to listen to you?"
Wei Chen's whole body was filled with a strong sense of powerlessness. He was not afraid of death and could fight to the death, but he didn't know how to get food in this prison. "Of course I didn't want to. I didn't start the rebellion for myself, but for myself."
In order to make everyone live a better life, but who would have thought...the bandits escaped so quickly, and the officers and soldiers had no control, trapping us here..."
"Dachenzi, if there is still a way for us to go, are you willing to give it a try?" Ding Mao's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Wei Chen's heart hard. He sat up straight suddenly, his eyes straight.
He looked at Ding Mao slyly, "Of course, do you have any idea?"
Ding Mao smiled bitterly and shook his head, "You think too highly of me, what can I do? However, when I was working under Fatty Gu, I had a brother who was very well-connected and could contact the outside world. He told me
, someone wants to ask you for help. That person said that as long as we can help him capture the salt field, the past things can be forgotten, and the rebellion can also be written off. Even if the people in the general command department are looking for trouble, he can stop them.
"
Wei Chen was very moved. He knew the current situation very well. The bandits had already left Zhejiang, and there was no future for them to rely on the salt men under their control to cause trouble. It sounded good to forget about everything, but why were others so kind? There was silence for a while.
, Wei Chen smiled bitterly and said: "Who is he? What does he want me to do?"
"That person is Tie Mo, the governor of the three provinces. What he asked us to do is very simple. Launch a fierce attack on the officers and soldiers in the west of Yanguan Town and beat them back. To this end, the Tie Governor can even secretly support us with some of our weapons.
!”
Wei Chen frowned and sneered at the corner of his mouth, "Can't you see? That iron governor has no good intentions. He wants us to die. Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, with our ability, fight with those officers and soldiers,
How many people are going to be killed or injured? Even if we kill half of them, we may not be able to repel the troops of the Commander-in-Chief. What on earth does that Iron Supervisor have in mind?"
Seeing Wei Chen's reaction, Ding Mao shook his head helplessly, "Da Chenzi, you haven't changed at all. You always wanted to kill fewer people, but when you decided to start the uprising, you should have done more to kill them.
The people are ready. If you raise an army to rebel against the imperial court, even if you surrender obediently, many people here will follow you to hell. Whether you do some things or not, it doesn't matter."
"I don't know what the Iron Governor is up to, but it shows that he is not the same person as the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang. Now he is not begging us, but we are begging him. No matter what the Iron Governor wants to do, at least
This is an opportunity. If we do nothing, we will have to watch the officers and soldiers rush into various salt fields to wipe out the rebels."
Ding Mao is the same as Wei Chen. If he had other choices, he would never listen to that iron governor. Salt men who live a hard life have lacked trust in officials since they were born. Ding Mao came to be a lobbyist, not
Because the Iron Supervisor can be trusted, but because there is no other choice but to take a gamble.
After a long time, Wei Chen raised his head, but said nothing. In fact, Ding Mao understood that Wei Chen had already agreed, or in other words, Wei Chen had no second choice.
.......
On April 13th, the fourth year of Chongzhen, the town of Yanguan, which had been silent for some time, suddenly became turbulent. More than 30,000 young salt men from two salt fields suddenly gathered. They gathered together and rushed towards the capital command department with various weapons.
The troops from the defense area command department quickly mobilized troops to block the intersection. After the initial panic, the officers and soldiers finally blocked the attack of the salt soldiers.
This riot can be said to be the most serious since the Salt Works Riot. The young men all had red eyes and tried desperately to rush over and repel the officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers of the Capital Command Department also received strict orders to fight back.
The saltmen were trapped in the salt field, and the two sides became violent. People kept falling in a pool of blood. The entire Yanguan Town was affected. The sound of fighting was endless, and the air was filled with a thick smell of blood.
The salt soldiers were outnumbered, but they were still at a disadvantage when facing the regular troops of the imperial court. Seeing that they were being pressed back by the officers and soldiers, Wei Chen roared angrily. Although he did not understand what the iron governor had planned, but
He knew that if he could not repel the officers and soldiers in front of him, the promise made by the Iron Governor would never be fulfilled.
The last glimmer of hope in his heart, how could it be shattered before his eyes? Cutting down an officer and soldier, Wei Chen shouted loudly: "Brothers, hold on, kill them, if we don't fight back these people, we will die of siege and starvation when we go back...
....Kill..."
Wei Chen roared and rushed forward with his men. Under his influence, the young men burst out with a terrible force, blocking the officers and soldiers for a while. On the bell tower in the west of Yanguan Town, the Zhejiang Commander-in-Chief also
Zhijin Guotai slammed the pillar in front of him, "It seems that these salt-legged people also know that staying any longer will lead to death. Let the brothers step back and let the archers shoot for me. Huh, let these salt-legged people
See how powerful the crossbow is..."
Following Jin Guotai's order, arrows rained forward one after another. There was no order, and the disorganized saltmen fell down in droves. Wei Chen was so jealous when he saw it, but there was nothing he could do. These officers and soldiers couldn't fight off the bandits.
, but killing the saltmen was so easy.
Jin Guotai finally breathed a sigh of relief, but just when he thought the salt men would retreat soon, a group of people suddenly rushed over from the north of the town. There were about a thousand people in this group, and they had all kinds of weapons in their hands. These
People suddenly came to kill them, causing the commanding officers and soldiers to fall on their backs. Jin Guotai had to concentrate his troops to kill the salt pods first. But what made Jin Guotai depressed was that the salt pods were very capable of fighting and killed them all.
The troops and horses of the command department were beaten back steadily, so that the archers in the rear could only clean up their affairs and retreat in a hurry.
Without the arrow rain to stop him, and with the help of a new force, Wei Chen, who had regained his breath, certainly would not miss this opportunity. He roared and continued to rush forward with the salt Ding Qingzhuang.
Two hours later, Jin Guotai's face looked like that of his deceased father, and his eyes were blankly looking at Yanguan Town in the distance. Even now, he still doesn't understand why he was kicked out.
What happened to Ding? When did Yan Ding become so capable of fighting? With such fighting power, why didn't Wei Chen send him out before?