Chapter 149: with translation of chapter title

Yang Qing had no martial virtue, no scruples, his vicious, ruthless tactics frightened the others who were beating someone; seeing him approach, they dropped their victim and tried to run.

The Jiedao youths, having been beaten for a while and already fuming, grabbed him and wouldn't let him escape.

As Yang Qing ran, he kicked off that person with a jump, sending him flying five or six meters away, where he lay unable to get up for a moment.

Yang Qing pulled up the companion on the ground.

"Hurry up, it's your turn to beat him."

The companions howled as they rushed forward, their cries of pain unceasing……

On the other side, He Yuzhu had already knocked down two people, and including the one who knocked out his teeth, he had taken out three.

Plus the three taken out by Yang Qing.

Two remained, and those two were being besieged by three companions.

Yang Qing and He Yuzhu quickly joined in, and this scuffle ended.

Liang San, howling from the beating, kept shouting.

"You're done, my father is the village head, my little brother's father is the party secretary; you're done, I'll have my father beat you to death."

Yang Qing stepped forward and kicked, knocking out two more teeth.

"If your father doesn't come, fine; if he dares come, I'll kill him—someone who could raise a beast like you is no good at all."

Upon hearing that, Yang Qing realized they had provoked someone with background, and his mind raced.

He then gathered several people and spent half a day discussing countermeasures.

Only then did he return to his post.

"Elders and folks, the tyrants who bullied you have been knocked down by us."

"We're still following what we just said: the elderly and weak first, then women, then the able-bodied."

"Everyone gets a share, no need to rush—we'll make sure you're fed."

First we need to win people's hearts.

This group is large; they haven't had a proper meal in ages, since when the flood destroyed the village it was still raining, and they barely had time to take anything.

Now they're starving.

The elderly and children lying on the ground, hearing that, struggled to stand and began lining up to receive food.

With the earlier shock, things went much more smoothly afterward.

After eating, they felt grateful to Yang Qing's group, tears of thanks flowing, repeatedly thanking them, since they had beaten Liang San—a person they dared not provoke—for them.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Thank you so much, daughter, come quickly and kowtow to our benefactor."

"What a good person!... "

Even when it was the able-bodied's turn to eat, a group appeared in the distance.

The two leaders, flanked by attendants, exuded an extraordinary aura, forming a stark contrast with this famished, exhausted crowd.

Yang Qing took one look and knew they meant trouble; it was showtime.

He went over and collected all the cleavers; Sha Zhu took one, he took one, and the other three were given to the relatively fierce fighters from earlier.

The remaining two, lacking knives, could only hold two wrist‑thick sticks and stood behind Yang Qing and company.

Yang Qing spoke softly.

"It seems we can't avoid this; if they really dare to attack, we'll just go forward, fighting for our lives."

"You two with the sticks, guard our left and right."

"Sha Zhu, you and I will charge together; you three hold the rear, no retreat, only advance."

"If we retreat, we're done—understand?"

Everyone felt tense, but seeing Yang Qing and Sha Zhu at the front also stirred their blood.

"Brother Qing, Brother Zhu, just charge; we'll handle the rear."

Yang Qing nodded; this was the worst‑case plan.

Liang Shengli, hearing his son had been beaten, abandoned the rescue efforts and rushed over with his people in a panic.

Han Zhengping, Liang Shengli's brother, also followed, only learning midway that his own son had been beaten too.

When they arrived and saw their sons and those companions beaten half to death,

they glared viciously at Yang Qing and company and demanded.

"Did you beat them?"

Yang Qing didn't bother to look at him with disdain; he immediately started putting hats on them and slinging mud, seeking to sway public opinion.

"Just looking at you, you're no good; the masses are starving half to death, while you're all hale and hearty, even stuffed with fat in your brains."

"Impressive—right under Jingcheng's feet, a few big tigers have appeared, and nobody knew."

Yang Qing delivered his lines with feeling, performed perfectly, and immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

Liang Shengli and company, hearing this, were startled—how did these people know what they'd done?

Although they acted covertly, they simply couldn't withstand investigation; their livelihoods didn't match their income at all.

The communal pot of rice offered many opportunities for manipulation.

They had direct ties to the black market, using village‑extorted goods each year, and who knows how much money they made.

For example, when handing over the grain they'd collected, they'd mix in water, pebbles, dirt, etc. —a common practice for delivering public grain, widespread and hard to eradicate—and the surplus went into their pockets.

The village accounts were in their hands; they could write them however they liked, and skimming a few work points from each person amounted to a large income.

Deceiving superiors and subordinates, moving goods through the black market, unbeknownst to gods or ghosts, leaving no way to investigate.

Han Zhengping felt guilty and immediately threatened.

"Nonsense, I advise you not to meddle in others' affairs."

The young and strong people in line heard this and burst into an uproar—could there really be cat grease in here?

Liang Shengli shouted angrily: "Shut up, don't be fooled by this brat."

Afterwards, he said to Yang Qing and the others.

"Don't pour dirty water on us; you harmed our villagers, and no matter what you say today, we won't let you leave."

"Otherwise, you'd think our Xiliang Village has no one."

Yang Qing gathered some information from Han Zhengping's earlier words and the crowd's reaction, feeling much more reassured; this time, they're safe.

He snorted in contempt, continuing to press the hat.

"You've harmed the masses, embezzled village property, acted lawlessly, and even now you still dream that the villagers will be deceived by you?"

"You're overthinking it."

"Do you think they'll still believe you?"

Yang Qing looked at the starving villagers and began to incite them.

"Just now this bunch of beasts beat whose adult, kicked whose child—you all saw it. Now, how many years since the founding of the country, how many people are masters of their own homes—do you still want to continue being manipulated by this bunch?"

"You also heard what those people just said; they have guilty consciences—if you don't believe us, just have someone investigate and you'll know."

"We were sent from the capital; we can make decisions for you (pulling the tiger's skin), and we will truthfully report what happened here."

"Some people, their rabbit's tail won't grow."

"What are you afraid of? Afraid of a bunch of troublemakers?"

"You have nothing now; the state provides food in emergencies—what else is there to fear?"

Yang Qing's impassioned speech indeed stirred up the crowd's emotions.

Nowadays society, after all, is not the old society; the masses can be deceived, but they must absolutely not be oppressed.

Before, this group was arrogant and overbearing because they colluded in evil, controlling the villagers' livelihoods; now the flood has destroyed everything, they have nothing left, and consequently they are not as fearful.

After all, it's Yang Qing and his group who are feeding them now.

In an instant, the villagers shouted and dispersed, distancing themselves from Liang Shengli and the others.

Liang Shengli never expected that Yang Qing's few words would turn these villagers against him; it can only be said that these people are utterly lacking in popular support.

"What do you want to do? Are you still people of Xiliang Village, or are you going to help outsiders bully your own?"

"And you lot—you're creating chaos, sabotaging the major disaster relief effort. Know that we are currently carrying out a search-and-rescue mission."

Again Han Zhengping, and he handed us a good knife.

Yang Qing became even more delighted, he asked with a smile.

"In other words, for the sake of your children, you've abandoned this important search-and-rescue mission, just to come and avenge your sons?"

"Impressive, impressive—what a fine scene of a virtuous father and filial son."

"We will also truthfully report this situation."

Liang Shengli didn't expect things to turn out like this; he originally thought he'd just come to scare people, then give them a beating, and that would be it.

Who would have thought, as soon as they came up, the other side pressed the hat—most of the hats are actually real.

Even more unexpected, they managed to lure away the villagers.

Now I'm a bit embarrassed—how to continue?

If we continue, they'll be very passive.