Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 62 No matter how much a small fry struggles, it's still a small fry! [Seeking monthly votes]

"If Heaven hadn't given birth to Brother Biao, the Ming Dynasty would have remained in eternal darkness!"

"Give me back my brother Biao! Give me back my pig's head!"

"Settle the back wages! Release Brother Biao! Otherwise, you'll die here—!"

The resounding slogans echoed continuously in Fengtian Hall Square, attracting the attention of countless people.

However, Shen Lang felt it wasn't tragic enough, nor was it eye-catching enough.

Because Zhang Biao had taught him that true 'deathbed remonstrance' requires extreme contrast and a sense of absurdity.

So, he struggled to stick half his body out of the body bag and said to Sun Gui, who was shivering from the cold beside him:

"Brother Sun! Where's the stuff?! Show it to me!!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Gui shuddered and hesitantly pulled an object from his pocket.

The moment that thing was brought out, the atmosphere of the entire square instantly shifted from tragic and absurd to shocking and outrageous.

"My goodness! It's a chamber pot!"

Someone couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Sun Gui, a Beijing official who usually valued his reputation, now wore a look on his face that was a mixture of sorrow, shame, and a desperate resolve.

With trembling hands, he pulled a small candle stub from his pocket and lit it with a shaky hand.

then.

Under the astonished gaze of everyone.

He carefully inserted the burning candle stub into the spout of the chamber pot.

Then, he held the chamber pot lamp high in the air.

Like the Statue of Liberty.

The faint candlelight flickered at the mouth of the filthy chamber pot, illuminating Sun Gui's resolute face and the mottled stains on the pot's walls.

An indescribable, tragic atmosphere, a mixture of the smells of urine and wax, instantly filled the air.

"Bros!"

Sun Gui's voice was choked with sobs, yet unusually loud: "Brother Biao is our light! Without Brother Biao! We would be living in this dark, sunless chamber pot!"

"Light it up! Light up for Brother Biao!!"

"Let the Emperor see! The hearts of us lowly officials are like the candle flame in this chamber pot! Though faint, though the taste is not very good!"

But it's still lit! It hasn't gone out yet—!

"puff--!"

Some eunuchs and low-ranking guards who were secretly watching from a distance couldn't help but burst out laughing, and then quickly covered their mouths tightly.

This scene is so captivating!

That's absolutely stunning! It's indescribable!
With Sun Gui's brilliant example set before them, the others also pulled out their own light sources.

There's a place where someone puts a lamp wick in a broken bowl!
Some people even turn the sole of a worn-out shoe upside down to light a candle!

The most ingenious one was editor Li Mo. He struggled to sit up, took off his worn-out shoe with his toe sticking out, stuck a candle in the hole in his toe, and held it high.

"Light!"

We need light!

"Light up this dark world!"

His teeth were chattering from the cold, yet he continued to roar, quoting scriptures and allusions.

Thus, the most bizarre, tragic, and also most poignant scene since the founding of the Ming Dynasty unfolded in the Fengtian Hall Square:
Dozens of officials, some wearing tattered robes and others not, lay or sat, holding up various kinds of light sources that emitted strange smells.

There are chamber pot lamps, broken bowl lamps, and broken shoe lamps.
In the cold wind, before the solemn Fengtian Hall, they once again roared out those shocking slogans in unison:

"If Heaven hadn't given birth to Brother Biao, the Ming Dynasty would have remained in eternal darkness!"

"Give me back my brother Biao! Give me back my pig's head!"

"Settle the back wages! Release Brother Biao! Otherwise, you'll die here—!"

at the same time.

Inside the duty room next door.

The stove was burning brightly, and the fine silver charcoal emitted the fresh scent of pine, creating a stark contrast with the mournful sounds coming from outside—a chasm between hell and heaven.

The six ministers and vice ministers, along with several veteran nobles who had just finished court, were gathered here. "Ha!"

Minister of War Ru Chang sneered:

"Listen to that noise! ​​It's those damned bastards making a racket again!"

"They just spat all over us in the imperial court, and now they're lying in front of the Fengtian Hall pretending to be dead? They never stop for a moment!"

"Playing dead?"

Fu Youwen, the Vice Minister of Revenue, scoffed:
"They're putting on a monkey show for the Emperor! Lying on gold bricks? Holding up a chamber pot? Lighting a broken shoe lamp? Tsk tsk, how could they come up with such ideas! The smell is unbearable even from this far away!"

He exaggeratedly covered his nose with his sleeve, as if he could really smell the foul odor of the chamber pot:
"They've lost all sense of shame for that paltry salary! A bunch of scoundrels! They've disgraced the official profession!"

"Scoundrel?"

Marquis Guo Ying of Wuding let out a trembling groan.

He was an old brother who fought alongside Zhu De to establish the empire. He had seen countless corpses and seas of blood, and now, in his murky old eyes, he only showed indifference to ants.

"A small fry is a small fry!"

"Back then on Poyang Lake, Chen Youliang's massive warships blotted out the sky, but so what?"

"Wasn't it all because the higher-ups took us old brothers and burned everything to the ground!"

"A few boneless, rotten fish and shrimp dare to act wildly in front of the Fengtian Hall? That brat Jiang Huan is still too slow!"

"Lord Guo is right!"

Another nobleman, Li Jinglong, was in his prime, his handsome face filled with arrogance and impatience.

"What a damn bad luck! Disrupting the court assembly wasn't enough, now they've pulled this stunt! That chamber pot lamp is disgusting!"

He made a disgusted face, which drew a burst of laughter from the young noblemen next to him.

"And that slogan? 'If Heaven hadn't given birth to Brother Biao, the Ming Dynasty would have remained in eternal darkness?' Bah!"

"A reckless madman who doesn't know his place dares to compare himself to a saint? Does he even deserve to be called light? He's more like a troublemaker!"

He grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, slamming the gold cup he was holding heavily onto the small rosewood table:
"Give me back my pig's head? Listen to this! Listen to this! This is their so-called righteousness?! A bunch of filthy scum who only deserve to covet lowly food!"

"Their lives are not even worth as much as one of my hunting dogs!"

"Lord Li, please calm down. Don't let the filth of those lowly people taint your fine wine."

Another nobleman laughed and echoed:
"Look at the state of them, some lying down, some holding chamber pots, some pointing at their tattered shoes."

"Especially that guy named Shen Lang, he's wrapped up like a beggar's funeral shroud!"

"And that Li Mo, frozen like a quail, still writing a book of blood and tears? His face is covered in snot and tears, the ink must have frozen solid, right? Hahaha!"

"It's even more entertaining than the monkey shows performed under the overpass! It's truly made the officials of our Great Ming Dynasty lose all face!"

He slapped his thigh exaggeratedly and laughed, which drew another round of laughter from those around him.

"Wonderful? Absolutely wonderful!"

Fu Youwen picked up the conversation, a sharp glint in his shrewd eyes:

"A bunch of desperate, starving, and destitute people, after being given a few doses of that 'bewitching potion' by Zhang Biao, actually think they're loyal and righteous heroes speaking up for the people? Shouldn't they take a good look at themselves in the mirror?!"

He shook his head with a cold laugh, as if mocking a group of fools indulging in delusions:

"Who is the Emperor? He's a true dragon who has emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood! Zhang Biao is barely able to protect himself right now, how could he possibly care about these small fry?"

He paused, then slowly sipped his tea, as if savoring some cruel truth:
"No matter how much the small fish struggle and how big the splashes they make, they're still small fish! They're destined to be caught in nets, dried, and used as bait!"

"Minister Fu's insight is brilliant!"

Another nobleman chimed in with a grin:
"Believe it or not, even if we kill them, there will be a bunch of poor wretches who can't even afford to eat cheering! Poor wretches will never pity poor wretches!"

"If you ask me, Commander Jiang should have just rushed in and trampled all those lying 'corpses' like bedbugs!"

"Yes! That's the way to do it!"

A fierce glint flashed in Ru Chang's eyes, clearly pleased with the suggestion: "A bunch of reckless fools! Do they really think they can succeed by imitating that madman Zhang Biao?"

"Zhang Biao is a madman, a madman, but at least he has some madness in him!"

"Them? Hmph, a poor imitation! They tried to draw a tiger but ended up with a dog! They don't even qualify as madmen!"

Just as they were discussing the lower classes with the airs of the superiors, a notification suddenly came from outside.

"The Emperor has arrived—!!"

(End of this chapter)