Chapter 252: Both Revenge and Rebellion

Two days later.

Ding County County Office has already rounded up eight hundred strong youths, the youngest only thirteen, the oldest nearly sixty.

Among them are even about two hundred robust women in their thirties.

It amounts to capturing all the able‑bodied labor from the county town and surrounding villages.

The County Lord knows many of these strong youths have mismatched ages or genders, yet pretends ignorance; after all, he didn't arrest them himself, and the anti‑bandit campaign is an urgent order from the superior Prefect, so he merely cooperates with the task.

"Sir, eight hundred strong youths plus two hundred soldiers make the manpower ample," the Senior Clerk said while leafing through the ledger, "and it takes your wisdom—once you received the Commandery Governor's order, you immediately began conscripting the youths for the anti‑bandit levy. Now we have enough men and ample funds; we can surely eradicate the water bandits, and you will be richly rewarded by the Commandery Governor."

The County Magistrate, flattered beyond joy, stroked his goatee and said, "Then have them set out at once!"

The Senior Clerk laughed, "Sir, there's no need to be so hasty; even if we only use those youths to wear down the water bandits' combat power, they must first be trained, and additionally we need to gather more supplies for the anti‑bandit campaign."

The County Magistrate asked, "By your account, how long until we can set out?"

The Senior Clerk thought briefly and replied, "I asked the training officer; it will take at least ten days."

"Ten days?" the County Magistrate frowned, "Depart after ten days, then another four or five to reach Black Water Bay; all together that's about twenty days, isn't it?"

The Senior Clerk nodded, "Roughly, that's the fastest possible speed."

The County Magistrate said, "Fine, fine, go tell the soldiers that as long as they get the job done for me, the number of youths that die doesn't matter, and I will grant the soldiers generous rewards."

"Yes, sir!"

——

The County Magistrate's attitude quickly spread down the chain.

【7】 The training officer became even more vigorous, ordering his soldiers to intensify the youths' training.

The military drill instructor became even more vigorous, ordering his subordinates to intensify training of the militia.

Thus, about eight hundred Ding County civilians, under the soldiers' intimidation, wielding their own farming tools, wearing tattered straw sandals and ragged clothes, trained day and night in the wilderness outside the county town.

Anyone who showed even a hint of non‑cooperation was brutally beaten by the soldiers.

The soldiers also imposed group responsibility: if one was dishonest, the whole squad was punished.

In this way, even if the youths couldn't fight at all, they would become obedient enough.

When they are taken to Black Water Bay, they will be ordered to charge, and they must charge.

Using their lives to sap the combat power of the Black Water Stronghold bandits is perfect; the soldiers can then easily eradicate all the water bandits.

As the brutal training progressed under high pressure, the youths' mental state visibly grew numb.

This is exactly the effect the soldiers desire.

Meanwhile.

Li He and Fang Hui were also training a dozen or so youths.

The two knew no formal training methods, relying solely on the experience they had scraped together from wandering and fighting, which they passed on to the juniors.

Moreover, Li He's principle is: if you can beat them in a group, don't duel; if you can ambush, no need for open combat; if you can win, fight; if not, run.

Therefore, he places great importance on the mutual coordination of the dozen youths and their physical condition.

Fortunately, Ning Jingli sent him plenty of food; not only staple grain was sufficient, but meat, eggs, and milk were also abundant.

If injuries occur during training, there are effective medicines for treatment.

A group of youths, all harboring vengeful fury, trained with extraordinary diligence each day, refusing to rest until their fingers were too sore to lift.

Under such intense physical drain, they receive ample nutrition, and they are at the stage of bodily growth.

The once‑fragile scholars who only knew how to wield a pen now see their skin grow rougher and darker each day, their bodies becoming more agile and sturdy, and their gazes sharper day by day.

In just five short days, the youths have almost become unrecognizable from their former selves.

Li He is quite satisfied with his training results, increasingly feeling he has what it takes to be the leading elder brother.

Among everyone, the most dramatic change is Fang Hui.

The kid was originally as thin as a bamboo pole, especially when he was seriously ill before, looking almost like a skin‑and‑bone sack.

Now his physique has swollen to rival that of an adult man.

Though younger than Li He, when he stands beside Li He he looks several years more seasoned, his frame as massive as a tiger half the size of a head.

"Hey, Fang Hui, I never noticed before, but now I think you have the bearing of a great general," Li He said with a smile, patting Fang Hui's chest.

Fang Hui scratched his head and chuckled, "Big brother, stop teasing me."

"It's no teasing!" Li He said seriously, "I've seen people who became generals; I guarantee you will never be inferior to them."

Fang Hui straightened his back, "Even if I truly become a great general later, I'll still stay with you, big brother; you'll always be my Li He big brother."

"Not bad, not bad," Li He shook his head and swayed, "Truly a youth worth teaching… Hahaha."

"Li He big brother!" several youths shouted, brandishing knives, running over with vigor.

Li He asked, "What's the matter?"

The youths said:

"Can we now go take revenge?"

"Yeah, we together killed two wild boars yesterday; those three officials shouldn't be tougher than the boars, right?"

"And with so many of us, following big brother's teachings—ambush, hide, then group‑beat—we'll definitely tear those three apart!"

…

Looking at their hopeful eyes, Li He plucked a weed, put it in his mouth, and said gravely, "Have you ever thought what will happen after you avenge me by killing those three officials?"

The few stared blankly, looking at each other.

Regarding this, they truly hadn't considered it.

Fang Hui said, "Big brother, are you worried the county office will find out? But as long as we dispose of the bodies properly, it should…"

Li He shook his head and explained in detail:

"Officials aren't ordinary civilians; to the magistrate, we common folk count for nothing—if we die, that's that, they won't investigate. But if officials serving in the county office suddenly vanish, they will investigate thoroughly no matter what, especially when three disappear at once."

"Even if we clean the bodies so thoroughly that no one sees the living nor the dead, the county office will still not give up. So sooner or later they will find traces."

This is also the reason why I initially planned to take revenge alone. If I were truly found out, it wouldn't implicate you.

Hearing these words, Fang Hui fell into silence.

Several other youths looked determined, indicating they weren't afraid of government investigation; if someday the County Office personnel discovered clues, whoever the clues pointed to would take the murder blame for everyone.

This was something they and their remaining companions had already discussed in private, waiting for the moment to propose launching the revenge operation to tell Elder Brother Li He.

Li He blinked slightly, smiled, and said: "You've thought this through quite thoroughly, but I don't want anyone among us to bear all the blame and lose their life."

The youths became anxious.

"Elder Brother Li He, if that's your meaning, does it mean we aren't going to take revenge?"

"All our hard training these past days... has it all been for nothing?"

"Elder Brother, you wouldn't still be thinking of handling everything yourself, would you? That's absolutely not allowed! Absolutely not! If we're going to act, we do it together!"

Hearing the several people speaking all at once.

Li He felt deeply moved, then a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he lowered his voice: "No, actually I have a bolder plan, but once this plan is set in motion there's no turning back, and... if it fails, the consequences will be even more severe."

Fang Hui asked: "What plan?"

Li He spat out two words: "Rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Fang Hui and these few youths were first startled, then all showed excited expressions.

Rebellion?

This is too exciting!

Seeing their reactions, Li He had a rough idea and said: "Call the rest over; let's discuss together."

"All right, Elder Brother!"

Several people dashed off to gather the remaining companions.

Not long after, everyone gathered at the ruined temple.

Li He said: "Our Ying County has long been tormented by the Dog Officials to the point that the people can't survive; the common folk's lives are getting harder and harder. Added to this, the recent plundering of the people's grain and wealth and the conscription of able-bodied men have left everyone without a livelihood, which is why I've conceived the idea of rebellion. Since we're already going to kill the bailiffs to avenge our teacher, we might as well kill a few more; and since we're killing more, we might as well overturn the County Office. But this path is a one-way road to darkness... Think carefully about whether you want to do this."

"I agree!" Fang Hui was the first to voice support: "I'm the only one left in my family; I have nothing to lose. Although my family was killed by Du Yanlong, they also have an inseparable connection to the Dog Officials' neglect of the people."

Afterwards, several more youths agreed.

They were also orphans, relying entirely on the teacher's help to avoid ending up homeless and begging.

Finally, five or six youths remained undecided.

Li He said to them: "You still have families; your situations differ, so——"

"I agree to rebel." Among the remaining youths, someone spoke up: "My father was seized to serve as a conscript, leaving only my mother and grandmother at home; our family's grain and property were swept clean by the bailiffs, just as Elder Brother Li He said... after the County Office carries out an anti-bandit campaign, everyone basically has no livelihood. I might as well give it my all—if we destroy the Dog County Office, we might be able to seize grain from within and distribute it to the people, perhaps letting everyone survive this winter."

Finally, several others also agreed.

Li He's expression turned stern: "Since you all are willing to follow me in rebellion, I also promise you that if we succeed, I will absolutely not let you down."

After speaking, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed toward the youths.

The youths' eyes reddened, and they hurriedly knelt as well.

"Elder Brother, we said we'd follow you; in this life we will absolutely not let you down."

"Willing to sacrifice my liver and brains on the ground for Elder Brother Li He!"

……

Li He also couldn't help but redden his eyes, standing up and saying: "Good, having you brothers makes my life worthwhile. Brothers, let's continue training for a while; don't rush for success—the moment will come soon, and then we can avenge our teacher and launch the rebellion."

Everyone clasped their fists: "Yes! Elder Brother!"

——

Meanwhile, in Black Water Bay.

These days, Ning Jinli had the Black Water Stronghold halt the harvesting of Moth Wing Grass, but food supplies were still distributed as usual.

At the same time, the Black Water Stronghold's main combat personnel were equipped with armor and weapons, and their boats were replaced with modern diesel-engine propeller-driven civilian fishing boats.

Since they were easy to use, the people who had long lived in river and lake marshes picked them up immediately.

Adding to their past raiding experience, they could also use these fishing boats to quickly form ever-changing battle formations, and the Black Water Stronghold's combat power surged in a short time.

It was estimated that only over a hundred people would be enough to crush the two hundred government troops sent by Ying County.

Considering that they not only had to fight the government troops but also needed to look after the Ying County civilians forced to join the anti-bandit campaign, Ning Jinli had the two leaders of the Black Water Stronghold specially organize a rescue team.

The rescue team numbered over five hundred, not participating in direct combat but doing their utmost during the clashes to capture civilians and send them to the Black Water Stronghold.

During this period they would certainly face resistance, so the rescue team's numbers had to be sufficient, and they also needed special training.

In short, first capture the ordinary civilians participating in the anti-bandit drive and bring them into the Black Water Stronghold; we can explain things to the people later.

Ning Jinli's goal wasn't just to wipe out the government troops and protect the civilians; she also wanted to ensure that not a single person in the Black Water Stronghold would be lost, so even with powerful equipment, she couldn't afford to be careless.

As for the members of the Special Operations Team she brought along, unless absolutely necessary, she would not let them participate in this battle, given that the Special Operations Team had its own important mission.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Ying County also entered the deep winter of the south.

The temperature dropped to freezing point.

Although the snowfall wasn't heavy, for this region it was still relatively uncommon.

The sky was overcast, and the bitterly cold damp wind seemed like silver needles drilling into people's pores.

The muddy ground froze solid, and in the marshlands, large and small lakes and ponds, as well as the crisscrossing rivers, all froze over with a layer of ice two fingers thick, while the dense reeds turned into sparkling ice sticks.

On the county seat side, the large force setting out to suppress the Black Water Stronghold departed.

The troop stretched long and winding.

About ten cavalrymen wearing thick clothes and a layer of leather soft armor led the way.

Hundreds of conscripts, clad only in thin hemp clothing, shouldering the hoes and sickles they once used to farm, along with a little dry food, trudged tremblingly in the cold wind.

At intervals, mounted government troops patrolled and supervised; whenever they saw a civilian walking slowly, they would shout a warning.

At the rear of the troop were the provisions pulled by carts, also transported by laborers and guarded by soldiers.

Such a bandit‑suppressing force, amidst the ice and snow, marched toward Black Water Bay.

After the troop had vanished in the wind and snow, a boy hiding by the city gate to watch turned and left, rushing back to the ruined temple at top speed to inform Li He of the situation.

Now the county seat is nine‑tenths empty; the county officials hardly have any work to do, the constables need not patrol the streets, and the city gates are naturally unguarded, which instead gives Li He and his fellow youths an excellent opportunity.

Inside the ruined temple, everyone was already fully prepared and ready to depart.

Li He took out the strawberry‑flavored milk Ning Jinli had sent, handed a bottle to each person, then raised the milk and said, "Brothers, let's bolster our courage with milk! After finishing this bottle, follow me out!"