Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Why are bandits bandits? Ultimately, it's because they have no plan for the future.

Fang Hanshan and Shi Xiushuang were originally farmers in the village, but last year their hometown was flooded and their farmland was submerged, resulting in a complete loss of harvest.

However, the imperial court not only did not reduce their taxes by a single penny, but instead imposed an additional "inquiry tax".

Unable to survive, Shi and Fang rallied the villagers, who were also without a way to make a living, to kill the officials who came to collect taxes and raise the banner of rebellion.

Initially, the two only had a few hundred men with them, and they thought they would just find a mountain to become outlaws.

Unexpectedly, the Wu Kingdom's anthropomorphic disaster relief methods made the two men increasingly powerful, and many people who could not survive joined their ranks after learning of their "heroic deeds".

In just one month, tens of thousands of starving people gathered around Shi and Fang.

The expansion of their power instilled a sense of responsibility in them, as they knew that it was impossible for so many people to support them by simply occupying the mountains as bandits.

So, at Fang Hanshan's suggestion, they launched an offensive against the nearby county towns.

Fortunately, the local military system of Wu had long since collapsed. In just three days, the bandit army captured the county town, killed the magistrate, and smashed open the granary to give everyone a full meal.

This heroic act inspired even more starving people with nowhere else to go to join Fang and Shi's cause, and the number quickly expanded to 100,000.

At this point, Shi and Fang only wanted everyone to have enough to eat; they didn't have much ambition.

However, after successfully capturing one county town after another, the nature of this army changed.

Fang and Shi discovered that the wealthy households had more grain hidden away than they could have grown in a lifetime, and the gold and silver they possessed were things they could never have dreamed of in several lifetimes.

After witnessing the enormous disparity brought about by class differences, the two began to change their mindset.

The idea that "it's better to rob than to build" quickly spread among the bandit army. In addition, as the number of rebels increased, the ranks became more mixed, accepting all sorts of people, including gangsters and thugs.

This led to extreme chaos in military discipline. After each city was captured, the people inside, whether from wealthy families or ordinary citizens, were all brutally murdered, and were coerced into joining the rebel army.

Gradually, the number of rebels grew to a staggering one million.

To support so many rebels, Fang Hanshan and Shi Xiushuang had only one idea: to rob.

It was from this point on that the nature of the rebel army completely changed into that of a band of outlaws.

After conquering a city, they would commit rape, plunder, and all sorts of atrocities until the entire city was wiped out, before moving on to the next city.

This method of using war to sustain war did indeed allow the power of the bandits to grow exponentially, like a snowball rolling downhill.

Fang Hanshan and Shi Xiushuang also felt that there was nothing wrong with this approach.

In the end, they successfully captured the capital and moved into the imperial city they had always dreamed of.

After the imperial city was breached, not a single one of the 20,000 noble families living in the capital resisted. Upon learning that the bandits had entered the city, they all knelt in the palace to pledge their loyalty.

Fang, Shi, and the bandits in the army harbored a natural hatred for these aristocratic classes.

In less than a month, the young masters of the city suffered terribly.

The men were forced to dig manure and do hard labor, while the women were humiliated and abused by bandits.

Moreover, if anything went wrong, the bandits would kill them under various pretexts and seize their family property.

In just half a month, more than 16,000 of the 20,000 scions of noble families were killed, and countless young ladies became playthings of bandits, some even being tortured to death.

As the situation gradually spiraled out of control, the bandits began to extend their reach to ordinary people in the capital, and the entire city was filled with evil.

At this moment, Fang Hanshan and Shi Xiushuang sat elegantly in the Golden Palace, holding a grand banquet for their meritorious officials.

Inside the hall, the leaders of all ranks ate and drank heartily, behaving like a bunch of bandits and hooligans, showing none of the imposing manner that government troops should have.

"Come on, everyone, eat and drink well!"

Fang Hanshan, with his arm around a poorly clothed young lady from a wealthy family, his face trembling with menacing features, held up a leg of lamb to greet everyone.

The girl in his arms resisted strongly, but she had no choice but to adopt a coy and welcoming posture to please Fang Hanshan.

"Hahaha--"

Fang Hanshan took a big bite of mutton, looked at the girl, and said, "Do you want some?"

The girl shook her head.

But the next moment, Fang Hanshan shoved the lamb leg directly into her face.

"Eat, eat! Stop pretending! Do you still think you're some rich young lady?"

"Damn it, I rebelled because of you guys, and now you're all at my mercy! Hahahaha!"

The girl exclaimed repeatedly, her face covered in grease from the lamb leg.

The more she struggled, the more excited Fang Hanshan became.

After playing with it for a while, Fang Hanshan simply flung the precious girl in his arms into the arms of one of the bandit guards beside him.

"Thank you."

"Thanks, leader! Hehehe!"

The bandit's guards were overjoyed. They picked up the girl and, ignoring her resistance and cries, carried her to their residence amidst laughter in the hall to commit their bestial acts.

Shi Xiushuang, who was standing to the side, put down the chicken bone she had just finished gnawing on, sucked on her greasy fingers, and said to Fang Hanshan, "Brother, now that the capital has fallen, what should we do next?"

Fang Hanshan said, "The next step, of course, is to become emperor. The ruler of Wu has been riding on our heads for over a thousand years. It's our turn to be emperor."

"Hahaha--"

Fang Hanshan's words instantly resonated with the bandits inside the hall.

Shi Xiushuang immediately picked up his wine bowl: "Good, Brother Fang, from this day forward, you are the emperor. May I ask what name you would like to establish for your country?"

"The name of the country?"

Fang Hanshan scratched his head. He barely knew any characters, so how would he know what the country's name was?

"Report!"

Suddenly, a bandit came to report.

"Reporting to the leader, a large number of government troops have been spotted fifty miles outside the city, and they appear to be flying the flag of Chu!"

"Hmm, the State of Chu?"

Everyone was bewildered upon hearing this.

Fang Hanshan: "Then why is the State of Chu getting involved?"

Shi Xiushuang thought for a moment and said, "Brother, as far as I know, the Chu and Wu states were originally friendly nations."

"It must be that the emperor of Wu fled to Chu territory and requested Chu to send troops to retake the capital."

"Rough~"

Upon hearing this, Fang Hanshan blurted out the phrase "national essence" and kicked over the table.

"Since I've managed to occupy this capital, how could I possibly be scared away by a bunch of Chu soldiers? My Hanshan is a force to be reckoned with, traversing the north and south..."

In just ten months, we stormed the capital, and even Hu Ruzhen was whipped on the corpse. What can a mere Chu army do to me!

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiushuang immediately volunteered: "Brother, let me lead the men to meet the Chu army and let them know how powerful our righteous army is."

"it is good!"

Fang Hanshan patted him on the shoulder.

"Good brother, I will allocate you 200,000 troops and transfer the most elite veterans in the army to you. You must crush the Chu army's morale."

Shi Xiushuang said with absolute confidence: "Please rest assured, elder brother, I will definitely let the Chu army see the power of my righteous army."

After speaking, he cupped his hands in greeting to the people inside the hall: "Are there any brothers willing to serve as my deputy generals and go together to meet that Chu army?"

"I!"

"And I!"

"My greatsword is already itching for a fight!"

Dozens of leaders quickly responded.

Seeing the rousing morale of the soldiers in the hall, Fang Hanshan nodded in satisfaction.

Shi Xiushuang waved his hand and said, "Alright, brothers, follow me to kill the Chu traitor!"