The northern part of Ming Dynasty was cold and harsh, but the southern Dongyi Island was as peaceful as spring.
In order to guard against pirate attacks, simple wooden walls were built in the small town of Bengang. The dirt roads that ran through the town extended in all directions. Pedestrians came and went on the roads. Recently, many Fujian aborigines had flooded into Bengang. Some came to do business, some had their hometown plundered by bandits and became penniless, and some simply brought their families to Bengang to open up wasteland and start a family business.
Immigrants who had just arrived could only sleep on the streets unless they had relatives and friends to support them. The sounds of cows, horses, and hinnies echoed in the streets. Merchants and peddlers peddled along the streets. Hungry children cried and sobbed as they were reprimanded by adults.
Wu Erlang hummed a relaxing tune as he walked on the dirt road. He carried dry firewood on his back and walked on his homemade low-quality straw sandals. He planned to go to Stupid Harbor to exchange firewood for money to buy some food and dried fish. However, the reality was always not as he wished. Charcoal merchants often lowered the price of firewood. Originally, they could exchange firewood for 20 to 30 copper coins, but in the end, they could only get half the price. However, he was not without complaints about this.
Although Ziran was poor and had no friends or relatives to support him, Wu Erlang still felt that life in Stupid Port was more comfortable.
As a free development area, there was neither exploitation by government officials nor the constraints of feudal clans. Other than paying protection fees to the local " underworld " of the stupid port, there were no other taxes. The Pingpu aborigines around the stupid port had long been accustomed to the existence of Han people, and the cases of random attacks on passers-by were about to disappear.
This place was ten times more comfortable than his hometown!
He had already taken root in a small village dozens of miles away from Dumb Harbor and built a straw hut for himself.
Although his house was bare and his house was small, he felt that all the hard work was especially worth it. Every time he cut wood and worked hard, the money he earned would almost fall into his pocket. He could earn ten to twenty copper coins a day, and if rounded up, it would be four to five hundred copper coins a month.
Wu Erlang had already made a plan. With a few more months of savings, he would be able to buy farming tools and improved seeds to reclaim a few acres of wasteland to grow some food and vegetables.
With a house and a field, what a peaceful and beautiful life it would be. The more Wu Erlang thought about it, the more hopeful he felt about the future.
However, he was only halfway through his dream of farming when a few blurry figures appeared in his field of vision.
Wu Erlang was slightly stunned and stood rooted to the ground. He saw dust flying in the south, and a myriad of flags gradually approaching from afar. Countless soldiers came from afar.
After a while, he saw countless flags raised in the group of people. The colorful flags fluttered in the wind.
Wu Erlang, who had been in private school for a few years, immediately recognized the Chinese characters on the flag. The most eye-catching flag had five big characters written on it: " Roman Guards ", all in vulgar characters. Is it the Kun thief?
As if he had been hit in the head by a stick, Wu Erlang's head exploded, and he saw stars. He immediately realized that it was the Kun Thief!
A wise man would not fight when the odds were against him. Wu Erlang took off his heels and ran toward the stupid port. On the way, he did not forget to remove the firewood on his body to reduce the burden.
The Kun Thief was here. His days were over.
Wu Erlang couldn't help but feel that his life was really bitter. It wasn't easy to save up a comfortable situation, but he didn't expect it to be destroyed again.
Damn Kun thief! Wu Erlang cursed in his heart. Why didn't these damned bandits stay in the south of the island? Why did they have to send troops to rob other people's homes?!
"Hey! Hello."
Suddenly, a voice came from beside him. Wu Erlang turned his head and could not help but be shocked. A few short-haired bandits were running alongside him. Three of them had knives slung on their backs and were on his sides.
The Kun Thief is charging at us!
One of them even tilted his head and smiled when he looked into his eyes, as if he wanted to show the kindness and joy of meeting again after a long time.
Not only did the smile of the Kun thief create a friendly impression, but it also gave Wu Erlang a huge shock. He staggered and fell to the ground, sliding a few steps. When he looked up, he saw three confused expressions.
"Hey, brother, why are you running? We're not man-eating monsters.”
The three shaved bandits squatted in front of Wu Erlang. The fierce killing intent they emitted was like the three brothers in Journey to the West in their original forms.
Wu Erlang's heart shook violently. His mind was blank, and only his life was left. "Great King, spare me! Shopkeeper Zhu, please spare my life!" Wu Erlang was kneeling on the ground, his face covered in dust and tears. Begging for mercy was already the limit of his courage. He knelt on the ground quietly, his entire body trembling.
"Raise your head!"
One of the bandits shouted,
Wu Erlang was so frightened that he was stunned. He thought about it again and again, but in the end, he still slowly raised his head according to the other party's order. However, he did not dare to raise his gaze too high, only slightly looking up at the appearance of the few shaved thieves.
"What's your name?" Another bandit who had taken off his bow and arrow asked.
"A small test of Erlang." Bean-sized sweat flowed down his forehead and dripped into the dust. Wu Erlang stammered.
"Are you from Fujian?"
"Yes, I was originally... The army of Qianhu in Tongshan had no choice but to leave their hometown and come here to cultivate.”
"Forget it, don't waste time with passersby.”The fourth bandit came from afar.
He was wearing a pair of military boots with hard soles and a pointed round iron helmet. The shining armor on his body was even more eye-catching. The man was holding a long-handled broadsword in one hand and seemed to be at ease. The style of the long-handled broadsword was quite similar to the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Wu Erlang only took a glance at the bandit's armor and knew that the armor and weapons on the bandit's body cost more than ten taels of silver. Wu Erlang said,
It would take him three or four years without eating or drinking to save up a set of clothes for the Kun thief.
There were more than two sets of such expensive iron armor. There were more than two hundred iron armored soldiers passing by Wu Erlang. Some were wearing bright armor, some were wearing chain armor, and some were wearing iron plates. They did not feel slow when they moved.
The bandits asked him a few more questions, such as how many local soldiers were there in the port, whether Zheng Zhilong had sent troops to attack Li Kuiqi, how many soldiers and ships did Zheng Zhilong have under his command, whether the " pot-bellied tribe " in the north was looking for trouble in the south, and so on.
Wu Erlang thought to himself, I'm not a spy. How would I know this secret information?
He only lowered his head and pretended to be an ostrich. He answered the questions he knew and shook his head desperately when he didn't know. Then, he shouted,"Shopkeeper, please spare my life. My family has only one heir for three generations, so I'm counting on myself to carry on the family line."
Wu Erlang did not know what he had heard that made the bandit lose his interest. He lowered his head and heard the bandit's footsteps gradually fade away. Then, he heard an even more chaotic and hurried sound of footsteps coming from nearby.
Wu Erlang had thought that the Kun bandits had sent a small group of men to the south of the port, preparing to attack the town at night to steal some food and money. However, the sound of footsteps that lasted for a long time denied his guess. The number of Kun bandits was obviously beyond his imagination.
He mustered up his courage and raised his head slightly. He saw an amazing scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。