Golden Branch

Yi River, river camp.

It is already August, the Mid-Autumn Festival. Although the autumn heat will still be raging at noon, it is still relatively cold in the morning and evening.

Especially by the river, it is already damp and cold.

When the cool autumn wind blew, the river workers in the water and on the shore couldn't help but chatter their teeth and feel cold all over.

"Last year, when the prince was still alive, we were already drinking hot ginger sugar water!"

"Yeah, it's sweet and spicy. After drinking a bowl, I was sweating all over. It's nothing like now, where the cold and humidity are seeping right into my bones."

"Ginger syrup? What are you dreaming of? I can't even eat enough right now, and you still want to drink ginger syrup?"

"...Ginger is fine, it's just a common thing found in the fields. But sugar is a good thing, it's not sold outside, only the prince can get it!"

"Alas, why did the prince leave? I haven't eaten meat for half a year!"

"Old man Wang, you're so bold! Eating meat? Just having a white flour pancake is considered a New Year's celebration!"

"It's all the fault of that dog official surnamed Lou. He was the one who wanted to steal the credit and squeezed out the prince."

"That's right! He even embezzled the money for river repairs and withheld our rations!"

"Oh, don't call someone surnamed Lou. Young Master Lou also has the surname Lou. Young Master Lou is a good man. The prince is kind and gentle, and he is also very kind."

"Yes! Young Master Lou is a good person, and the black-hearted official is Lou Rang!"

"Isn't he Mr. Lou's uncle? That bastard official said so himself when he first took office!"

"Bah! Bullshit uncle! His mother is the young master's step-grandmother! Is there anything good about a stepmother? How can the grandson of the original wife and the son of the second wife be uncle and nephew? It's good enough that they are not enemies!"

"...Oh, who cares if Lou Rang and Lou Yu are enemies? The problem now is that we're almost dying!"

"Brother Feng, who shared a bunk with me, fell ill. I ran to tell the steward, but they just carried him out and threw him into a shabby straw shed. They were just leaving Brother Feng to die!"

"If the prince were still alive, he would have invited the palace physician and brought a lot of expensive medicine!"

"...Why did the prince leave?"

"Even if I leave, I can come back later! If that bastard official makes trouble, the court will probably replace him!"

Many rough men covered in mud gathered in groups of three or five, working intermittently while talking enthusiastically.

After enduring for more than two months, they really couldn't take it anymore.

During the past few years of river construction, they could not say that they came to enjoy themselves, but they were able to eat well and take some copper coins home.

But this time, not to mention meat, even coarse grains like bean cakes and wheat cakes were not enough to fill me up.

Every day, supervisors and managers patrol around with whips.

If you slack off even a little, you will be whipped.

Although he would not be beaten to death or disabled, the bloody marks on his body were very painful.

If not handled properly, it may cause inflammation and high fever... The "Brother Feng" mentioned by a civilian just now had a high fever at night because he was beaten.

I fell ill and felt a little confused due to fever, but the person in charge didn't care at all.

They just carried the person out without giving him medical treatment or medicine...it's clear that they don't treat him as a human being.

Well, actually, before Yang Rui, the conscripted laborers also received the same treatment.

However, it could not withstand Yang Rui's "benevolent rule".

It would be fine if you had never encountered heaven, but after experiencing heaven and then being thrown into hell, it is hard not to be bothered by the gap.

The fact that the river workers were able to tolerate it for more than two months and just slacked off and complained showed that the people were cowardly and tolerant enough.

They are all ordinary people. They will not resist unless they are forced to do so and can no longer survive.

As long as there is a bite to eat, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, they will endure, endure, and endure.

"I can't stand it anymore!"

"Damn it! Everyone in Old Feng's tent has been locked up. They say Old Feng isn't suffering from a common cold, but an epidemic?"

"What? A plague? Then, can it be transmitted to humans?"

"It's because he was so sick that he arrested everyone who lived with Old Feng."

"...What about us? Yesterday, yesterday we were working on the same stretch of river."

"It's an epidemic! It's an epidemic! If you get infected, you'll die. If you're not infected but come into contact with them, you'll be thrown in with them and left to die!"

"Damn it, there's no way out!"

"Fuck you! Get out! We can't be locked up here and die!"

"Kill the dog, call a doctor... I, I don't want to die!"

What spreads faster than the "epidemic" is the fear of death.

Even if the so-called "epidemic" was just a rumor transmitted from person to person and had not been confirmed, the river workers who were caught up in this panic atmosphere did not care.

In fact, not only them, but also the managers and supervisors sent by the government were frightened and at a loss when they heard the news.

"Or, let's run too!"

"Right! Run! Damn it, it's an epidemic, and a lot of people will die if we run away!"

"What do you mean by a large area? The noble man will not die!"

"Damn it, this bullshit nobleman, a noble son from a prominent family, is even greedier than lowly servants like us."

"'The Young Master Who Confiscated Property'? Humph, he's almost driving the wealthy merchants and powerful families in Hedong to death!"

"...Even if we don't run away, the Cui and Lou families probably won't last long. I heard that several families have been secretly discussing to make a move during the Mid-Autumn Festival—"

"Hush! Shut up! We have no right to interfere in the affairs of those nobles."

"Yes! Yes! We don't know anything, all we have to do is run for our lives!"

People on the river were in panic, some began to flee, and some began to gather.

In addition to the river workers, the wealthy businessmen and powerful families who were exploited by Cui Zai one after another finally couldn't bear it anymore and began to secretly add fuel to the fire.

When they heard the rumors on the river, they began to place people in positions, bribe officials, and use various methods to deceive and mislead people.

Finally, on the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, it broke out.

The fuse was still Lou Rang and Cui Zai.

They treated the river workers harshly, but they themselves lived a life of luxury.

On the Yi River, the tall, imposing, exquisite and luxurious pleasure boats are brightly lit and filled with singing and dancing.

By the same river, there are laborers working in the cold wind, soaking in cold water, being sick and hungry.

The laborers could even hear the sounds of drums and zithers, and the sounds of laughter coming from the air.

The nobles drank, chatted, admired the moon and had fun.

The laborers suffered from hunger and fatigue, toiling day and night.

"Damn it! Yay! Kill those blood-drinking bastard officials!"

"Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for families to reunite. They can be together, but we have to toil here alone!"

"Reverse! Reverse!"

"Brothers, if they don't treat us as human beings and won't leave us any chance to survive, we will drag them down with us!"

They all grew up by the Yi River and served several years of hard labor on the river. The laborers are all good at swimming.

Some people in the crowd instigated others, and some even took the lead and jumped into the river.

thump!

With someone taking the lead, several followers followed suit.

Of course, not everyone dares to "resist".

After all, it is not so easy to kill a corrupt official. Not to mention plotting to murder an official appointed by the court, even if a citizen sues an official, he will be beaten first.

rebellion?

It's a life-threatening situation. If things go wrong, it could implicate the entire family and clan!

Some people hesitated and only dared to watch by the river, not daring to take that step easily.

Others took the opportunity to escape.

And those who jumped into the river and rushed onto the pleasure boat were indeed failed.

They were just common people who acted rebelliously out of momentary anger and impulse. After they got on the pleasure boat, their passion cooled a little.

On the pleasure boat were Lou Rang's personal guards and the officers from the Hedong County Government. They were holding weapons and they didn't even need to unsheathe their swords to scare the civilians into trembling and retreating.

"Damn you untouchables! How dare you plot treason!"

"They deserve to be killed! They all deserve to be killed!"

Lou Rang was furious.

He had a twisted mind to begin with, and after arriving in Yizhou, things went wrong for him everywhere.

It would be bad enough if the job wasn't going well, but he was constantly being compared to that brat Lou Yu.

Who is Lou Yu?

A naughty bastard!

Now he knows how to pretend, but deep down he is still so hateful and despicable.

However, the people around him seemed to be blind and could not see Lou Yu’s hypocrisy and badness, but still regarded him as a gentle gentleman and a refined young man!

Nonsence!

How could he, a bastard born of a lowly maid, be worthy of this?

It would be bad enough if he just came from a humble background, but he also had bad character and no respect for his elders.

Lou Rang still remembered the grudge of having his leg broken. If he had not always wanted to "retaliate" and make Lou Yu fall off his horse as well, he would have taken action long ago.

It's not that he didn't have the opportunity to commit murder, but that his means of committing murder were limited.

He must make Lou Yu fall off his horse, break his legs, and become a disabled person despised by everyone.

Poisoning, assassination, etc. may be faster and more successful, but Lou Rang insisted on doing so with paranoia.

Lou Yu: ...Haha, my good uncle, as long as you are happy!

YY? Whatever!

There is no way that Lou Rang can succeed.

Lou Rang: ...Who said that? I will definitely succeed!

If it is really impossible to make Lou Yu fall off the horse, Lou Rang will settle for the next best thing: just kill Lou Yu, no matter how he dies!

He has already laid a hidden chess piece. Tsk, does Lou Yu really think he is so powerful that he built the Lou family fortress as strong as an iron barrel?

He is still young and has no idea how destructive human greed, jealousy, etc. are.

The topic has gone too far. Without mentioning Lou Rang's conspiracy against Lou Yu, let's just say that on the pleasure boat, when Lou Rang saw the captured river workers, his eyes turned red and murderous intent boiled in his heart.

It was Cui Zai who knew the importance of labor.

There are not many river workers, and killing one is one less.

Lou Rang always wanted to catch up with Yang Rui, but he was unwilling to give money or food... If he lost another part, the river affairs would be further delayed.

"...My dear, the matter of the canal is the most important."

"Let's keep these rioters alive for now and let them make amends for their crimes!"

As the first henchman around Lou Rang, Cui Zai provided Lou Rang with a lot of money and food, so Lou Rang still valued him very much.

The point is, what Choi Zai said makes a lot of sense.

Killing them was very simple. He gave an order, and the guards drew their swords and slashed, and all these damn rioters died.

and then?

Who will do the work of repairing the river?

It would be a relief for them if they died!

Lou Rang wanted these people to continue working by the river in shackles and chains... to scare everyone!