In the 16th year of Chongzhen, the world was in chaos.
The drought in the northwest continued year after year, and the common people had to exchange their children for food, suffering greatly. Corrupted officials still wantonly plundered the people. The officials forced the people to rebel, and hundreds of thousands of people became bandits. Among them, Roaming King Li Zicheng was the most powerful.
A nursery rhyme was made up to praise the Roaming King Li Zicheng: "In the morning, I seek to rise, and in the evening, I seek to join. Recently, it has been difficult for the poor to survive. Open the door early and pay respects to King Chuang.”Another said,"Eat his mother, eat his mother's endless king, do not serve, do not pay food!"”
All of a sudden, many of the citizens rose up in revolt. The King of Roaming, Li Zicheng, had taken down many of the Ming Dynasty's strongholds with his thunderous might. His fame was unparalleled, and he seemed to have swept the world.
The civil strife continued, and there were even foreign invasions. After Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong died, Ji Liao no longer had any generals to defend. Huang Taiji was waiting for an opportunity to lead his army south.
The Darming Dynasty that was plagued by internal and external troubles was like a broken house in a storm. It was swaying in the wind and rain, and it would collapse with just one more straw.
……
Shandong, Shijiao Town.
In the largest inn in town, a young man sat alone, sipping wine and eating. There were four dishes and one soup on the table, as well as a pot of high-quality Nu 'er Hong.
White top quality Suzhou brocade, a priceless black light cold iron folding fan, a white jade fan pendant hanging at the end of the fan. If one looked carefully, one would see that the fan pendant was engraved with the word 'Bai' but from his attire, one could see that he was of extraordinary background, either rich or noble. What was even rarer was that he was elegant, refined, and scholarly. He was completely different from the rude men in black and gray.
Anyone who walked into the shop couldn't help but look over. Some were speechless, some wanted to make friends, and many even had evil thoughts when they saw the folding fan.
This elegant young man was none other than Bai Ziyang, who had not stepped into the martial world for more than ten years. It was strange to say that he looked to be in his twenties even though he was already in his forties.
It was rare for people who traveled the martial world to pay so much attention to their manners and always remember to dress so elegantly. In the entire Great Ming Dynasty, the only people who could do that were probably Bai Ziyang and his disciple, Xiao Zhuo, who had been by his side for ten years.
"Have you heard? The Second Young Master had also killed many Tartars a few days ago. It was said that he had killed hundreds of them.”Two young Jianghu rangers in the inn were talking about interesting stories and stories about the martial arts world.
"Well done. In my opinion, in the entire Great Ming Dynasty, only the Second Young Master has this ability. If it were up to me, he should be called the First Young Master.”
"What do you know? The second place was just modesty and courtesy. Who would dare to call themselves first?”
"You're right, haha, it's this little brother's fault.”The conversation between the two also aroused the interest of the people around them. Many passers-by in the Jianghu listened attentively. But at this moment, a loud shout interrupted their conversation.
"Bang! Bullshit! You're so young and ignorant." A slightly older man slammed the table and stood up after hearing their conversation.
"What did you say? Don't think you can scold us just because you're older? What did we do wrong? Or is the second young master in the wrong?" One of the Wanderers had quite a temper as well. He retorted directly and then provoked the burly man. He believed that as long as the burly man spoke ill of the second young master, he would definitely be taught a lesson.
"I didn't say that the second young master was in the wrong.”The burly man gulped down the wine, wiped the corner of his mouth, and sat down.
"Oh? Where did we go wrong?"
"Humph! The second young master's surname is Bai, his name is Zhuo…"
"Let's talk about something new. Everyone knows that the second young master is called Bai Zhuo.”Before the burly man could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the others.
"Do you know why the second young master doesn't want others to call him Master Bai? If you don't understand, then shut up and listen to me slowly.”
The man was embarrassed by the burly man's words and immediately shut his mouth.
After the surroundings quieted down, the burly man took another gulp of wine."Ah…the second young master's surname is Bai, his name is Zhuo, and his courtesy name is Zhong Yu. Zhong is second, Yu is shining."
"Oh? Second Young Master was called Second because of his surname?”
" Of course not." The burly man glared at the kid who interrupted him again and continued,""Maybe that's part of the reason, but…the real reason is that the second young master's master was the number one master in the world fourteen years ago, Master Bai. The second place was naturally because he should have been second. He couldn't be first. He didn't have the ability to be first.”
The inn was silent. At this moment, another slightly older person walked up to the burly man and filled his cup. He toasted him and said,"Let's drink. Master Bai hasn't entered the martial world in these years, so the younger generation doesn't even know what it means to slaughter 3,000 soldiers in the night.”
"Slaughtering 3,000 Manchurian soldiers at night?"
The surrounding guests were shocked. The burly man and the other person did not elaborate and only toasted each other.
Bai Ziyang revealed a faint smile and muttered to himself,""I didn't expect that kid to be so famous.”
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，。The new book is not a eunuch. You can keep it at ease and fatten it before killing it.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。