Chapter 95: Zhang Shagen Becomes a Soldier

The houses within Luolong County are all owned by someone; after investigating, Meng Yifan discovered a shocking truth.

Through decades of development, the Three Great Gangs have used extortion, usury, and other shady means to get two-thirds of the houses in Luolong County under their names.

The property truly owned by the city's residents accounts for only one-sixth of Luolong County.

The remaining property belonged to officials like Lv Dazhi; now that Meng Yifan has finished off Lv Dazhi and his cohorts, the property under their names naturally falls under Meng Yifan's control.

The Three Great Gangs have transformed from their original black-market roots into real estate moguls and capitalists; their pillar industries are no longer the black-market vices of gambling, prostitution, and drugs, but real estate and grain.

They don't have to do anything at all; they just rent the houses to the common people and make a fortune simply by collecting rent.

Controlling a massive amount of grain allows the Three Great Gangs to hold the power of life and death over the common people, which is also the source of their confidence in challenging the government.

After Meng Yifan investigated the strength of the Three Great Gangs, he was secretly shocked; if he wants to manage Luolong County well and build it into his base, then conflict with the Three Great Gangs is inevitable.

Meng Yifan feels immense pressure; the Three Great Gangs are entrenched within the city, Demon Beasts are running wild outside the city, and he has finished off the County Magistrate Lv Dazhi—this news cannot be hidden, and Dongchuan Prefecture will sooner or later send troops to encircle and suppress him.

Looking around, the whole world is full of enemies; this makes Meng Yifan feel immense pressure and also feel that he is very weak, so he must become strong as quickly as possible.

"The path of rebellion is indeed not easy to walk, but since the first step has been taken, then I must bite the bullet and keep walking," Meng Yifan muttered.

"Start by forming an army." Meng Yifan entered the city with one thousand soldiers; accompanying them were the soldiers' families, and a total of over three thousand refugees left the Refugee Camp and entered the city.

Meng Yifan captured seventy or eighty constables and yamen runners; Meng Yifan arranged for people to shackle their feet with iron chains and put them to work as labor reform.

These constables and yamen runners are all First Grade Martial Artists, their strength far exceeding that of ordinary people; they don't need tools to lift three or four hundred kilograms of wood—they can just pick it up with their bare hands.

Meng Yifan arranged for some able-bodied men to push Elm Cannons to supervise them as they worked; if anyone dared to resist, they would be blown to pieces by a cannon shot.

These constables and yamen runners had already been terrified out of their wits by the "Jingguan" (monument of heads) at the yamen entrance, so they all worked honestly; following Meng Yifan's requirements, they built many wooden houses in the northern area of the city, which were houses allocated to the soldiers.

Zhang Shagen became a soldier; he brought his father, mother, wife, and son—a family of five—into the city.

The house Meng Yifan allocated to him was only twelve square meters; the four walls were built of Blue Stone, the roof was covered with wooden boards, and inside, apart from one bed and three small stools, there were no other decorations.

This kind of house looked very crude, but Zhang Shagen's family was already very satisfied; winter was about to arrive, the temperature was dropping day by day, and if they stayed in the Refugee Camp outside the city, they would all freeze to death.

Although this house is not big, it can shelter his family from the wind and rain, and the family can survive.

At noon, Zhang Shagen brought back a large basin of steaming hot rice from the military camp; on top, it was actually covered with a layer of green vegetables, and on the very top, there were even five slices of meat, half fat and half lean.

"Dad, there's rice, and there's meat." Zhang Shagen's son, Zhang Mancang, shouted excitedly; he hadn't eaten meat for several years, so how could he not be excited when smelling the fragrance of the meat now?

"Haha, there's meat; today our whole family can have a full meal," Zhang Shagen said with a smile. As the head of the family, being able to let his family eat their fill is his greatest responsibility.

Zhang Shagen first gave his father and mother one slice of meat each and said, "Dad, Mom, eat quickly while it's hot."

Zhang Shagen's father and mother didn't eat it and said, "Let Mancang eat it; he is still growing. Look at him, he's so thin he's nothing but bones; he needs to eat more meat to build himself up. We'll just eat some rice."

"Dad, Mom, you both eat. Today Lord Meng already said that as long as we train well, we will be able to be allocated three basins of food like this every day in the future; we will all be able to eat our fill," Zhang Shagen laughed.

Zhang Shagen's father, Zhang Tiezhu, said, "Lord Meng is a good man; he is our benefactor. You must train well, don't be lazy or shirk your duties, and you must obey Lord Meng's orders. Otherwise, if he kicks you out, our whole family will have to return to the Refugee Camp to wait for death."

"Dad, don't worry, I will definitely train well," Zhang Shagen said. "Eat quickly; today we each have a piece of meat, everyone eat. Our good days have finally come."

"Good, everyone eat meat." Zhang Shagen's family each picked up a piece of meat.

"Fragrant, it's really fragrant." Zhang Mancang put the meat slice in his mouth, his mouth glistening with oil as he ate.

Zhang Tiezhu and his wife only ate a tiny bit, tasted the fragrance of the meat, and then put the rest of the meat into their grandson's bowl, saying that they were old people and it wouldn't digest well if they ate too much.

This made Zhang Shagen feel a bit bitter; each piece of meat was no more than an inch wide and long—just that little bit, how could it not digest? The old couple was just feeling sorry for their grandson.

"Husband, you are a soldier and training is hard; you eat more meat." Zhang Shagen's wife also picked up the meat and put it into Zhang Shagen's bowl.

Zhang Shagen picked up the meat and, without a word, stuffed it directly into his wife's mouth, saying, "Xiuzhi, you've suffered with me."

This very ordinary sentence, filled with Zhang Shagen's love for his wife, made Wang Xiuzhi's eyes turn red.

"Dad, if only we could have meat to eat every day," Zhang Mancang said full of expectation.

Zhang Shagen patted Zhang Mancang's head and said, "We will. In the future, we will eat our fill every day and have meat to eat."

Zhang Shagen's gaze was firm, and he said in his heart, "Lord Meng, as long as you can let my family eat their fill, I will sell this lowly life of mine to you."

After the family finished eating, Zhang Shagen rested for twenty minutes, then took his rice basin and returned to the military camp to begin the afternoon training.

In the military camp in the middle of Luolong County, Zhang Shagen and his other companions all stood in a square formation. An old gentleman with graying hair and wearing a Confucian robe stood on a high platform and shouted in a voice like a booming bell, "Who gave you the houses you live in?"

Zhang Shagen and the other soldiers shouted in unison, "Lord Meng."

The old gentleman asked again, "Who gave you the food you eat?"

Zhang Shagen and the other soldiers answered again, "Lord Meng."

The old gentleman said again, "Do you want to have houses to live in and eat your fill every day in the future?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Zhang Shagen and the others roared in unison, deafeningly. They were all refugees who had experienced suffering; their demands were not high—if they could have food to eat, a house to live in, and their families could survive, they would be content.

"Train your skills to kill the enemy well, and swear to be loyal to Lord Meng until death," the old gentleman roared.

"Train your skills to kill the enemy well, and swear to be loyal to Lord Meng until death."

"Train your skills to kill the enemy well, and swear to be loyal to Lord Meng until death."

"Train your skills to kill the enemy well, and swear to be loyal to Lord Meng until death."

Zhang Shagen and the soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs in unison, causing the sound of "Train your skills to kill the enemy well, and swear to be loyal to Lord Meng until death" to echo throughout the entire Luolong County.