The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

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Under the collective gaze of thousands of villagers, Gu Mu's body was decapitated, his head rolled along the wooden plank to the edge of the platform, and finally fell off the platform with a thud and hit the ground.

Although the sound of the impact was not loud, it struck the hearts of all the villagers like a thunderclap from the heavens, leaving them all stunned in place.

That was the second young master of the Gu family, the second legitimate son of the prestigious Gu family of Wu County, and he died just like that.

So even the high and mighty young master Gu can die; a knife to the neck will still cut off his head. In that sense, he's no different from us lowly commoners.

The villagers were not shocked by Gu Mu's death, but by the fact that the Gu family, who were as high and mighty as gods, could actually be brought down from their pedestal.

What about all the humiliation and hardship we've endured over the years?

Guan Xing saw the change in the villagers' mentality through their expressions, raised the loudspeaker and shouted: "Fellow villagers, you toil in the fields all year round but still can't get enough to eat, while Gu Mu, a rich kid who can't even tell the difference between leeks and wheat seedlings, can live in luxury, enjoy endless wealth and honor, and even wantonly bully your wives and daughters and take everything from you. Have you ever thought about why this is?"

"Because the fruits of your labor have been stolen by this group of people. The fertile land yields only 100 catties of grain per mu, and the Gu family takes more than 70% of it. How can you not go hungry?"

"In other words, these young masters are being fed by the grain you painstakingly grow. They eat your flesh and drink your blood, yet they turn around and say your blood is dirty and call you lowly people. What gives them the right? Is there any justice in this world?"

"We are all human beings, so why are they so high and mighty, able to plunder the fruits of your labor at will, while you have to work hard to support their wealth and endure their discrimination, bullying, insults, and abuse, living a life worse than that of dogs?"

Guan Xing's questioning was like a morning bell, constantly striking the hearts of the villagers, who were as if they were frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time.

After what seemed like an eternity, the quick-thinking villagers finally realized what was happening and eagerly asked, "We didn't want this either, but they have knives, what can we do?"

The villagers snapped out of their daze, but their eyes remained devoid of any expression as they looked at Guan Xing.

Yes, what can they do?

Guan Xing said, "So what if you have knives? Do you have as many people as we do? There are tens of thousands of working people like you, but how many gentry are there?"

"As long as we unite as one and take up arms to actively defend our legitimate rights and interests, the aristocratic families will not dare to be too rampant. After all, they also feel pain and are afraid of death."

"You must remember that compromise and concession will not bring peace. The more you give in, the more the enemy will take advantage of you, sucking your marrow out of your bones until they completely drain you. Since you are going to die either way, why not pick up your weapons and fight them?"

"Down with these bloodsucking gentry, take back the land that belongs to you, and you will truly live a happy life with plenty of food and clothing. Fellow villagers, remember this: all rights belong to the working people, and those who do not work shall not eat."

“Repeat after me: He who does not work shall not eat.”

Although the villagers lacked critical thinking, they still knew how to echo the chants, raising their fists and shouting, "No work, no food! No work, no food!"

Hearing the deafening shouts, Guan Xing smiled with satisfaction.

What the people lack is not the courage to resist, but the awareness to resist. They have become accustomed to being exploited by the aristocratic families, and feel that it is only natural for the aristocracy to exploit them, and that this is how the world should be.

"It should be so"—how terrifying those four words are, and how deeply ingrained the ideas they represent are.

What Guan Xing needs to do is change their servile mentality, ignite the flames of their resistance, and let them know that the world should not be this way, but rather it should be this way.

As long as the people's will to resist is aroused, even if they ultimately fail, there will be successors to take up the banner and continue the fight. On this land of China, full of resistance, no one can act arrogantly or domineeringly.

Guan Xing listened to their shouts for a full quarter of an hour before raising his hand to stop them, and continued shouting: "Now please line up to receive your grain. There are over 100,000 shi of grain in the manor in front of you, and everyone present today will receive a share."

"But please remember, this grain was not given to you by anyone, nor was it a reward from anyone. It was rightfully yours. It is your grain, the result of your hard work and sweat. It was just taken by the Gu family. Today, I am not giving you grain, but returning it to its rightful owner. Do you understand?"

The villagers were once again shocked, muttering to themselves, "That's our grain, the grain that was stolen from us by the gentry, it's..."

Before the villagers could figure out the difference between Guan Xing's distribution of grain and returning the goods to their rightful owners, a voice suddenly shouted from behind the crowd: "Captain, something bad has happened! An army of two or three thousand men is coming towards us. There are two big characters flying on the battle flag at the front of the army, but I can't read."

Xie Chong's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "They are probably private soldiers from other aristocratic families. We are completely unprepared. If they rush over, it will definitely turn into a one-sided massacre. Captain, quickly go into the manor to defend it."

Guan Xing calmly smiled and said, "What are you afraid of with just two thousand men? It's true that if the enemy comes at this time, it could turn into a one-sided massacre, but why do you think we'll be the ones being slaughtered?"

Xie Chong asked in astonishment, "What do you mean?"

Guan Xing did not answer, but instead shouted again through the megaphone: "Fellow villagers, the lackeys of the gentry are here. They want to suppress us and take back our grain. Do you agree to this?"

The villagers, their blood boiling, instinctively roared, "No! No!"

Guan Xing continued to roar, "Then pick up your weapons and come with me! Those who don't have weapons, use your fists to smash, use your teeth to bite! Let's show the enemy with our actions that no one is allowed to steal our food! Those who don't want to be slaves, charge with me!"

After saying this, he slammed the megaphone to the ground, drew his sword, jumped off the platform, and charged through the crowd towards the enemy, with nearby soldiers following suit.

Seeing Guan Xing lead the charge, the villagers no longer hesitated. They decisively stepped forward, dismantled the bamboo poles on the wooden platform, picked up the bamboo poles as weapons, and followed Guan Xing into battle.

At the same time, about ten miles to the northwest, a large army was advancing rapidly, with two words flying on the battle flag at the front of the army: Zhuge.

There is only one official in Jiangdong with the surname Zhuge, namely Zhuge Jin, who has just been appointed by Sun Quan as the governor of Nan Commandery. But Zhuge Jin is far away in Nan Commandery, so who will come?

Upon closer inspection, the leader was a boy who looked five or six parts like Zhuge Jin, but was only seventeen or eighteen years old. It was obvious that he was Zhuge Jin's son, Zhuge Ke.

"Faster, faster, even faster!" Zhuge Ke urged from his horse, ordering the army to speed up again, preparing to head to the Gu family manor to rescue his best friend.

Before they had gone far, they felt the ground tremble ahead. Frowning, they asked, "What's going on up ahead? Where are the scouts?"

As he shouted, he climbed onto his horse to look around, and then he saw a scene that made his scalp tingle.

Nearly ten thousand men were charging forward with all their might. Some of them were wearing armor and carrying weapons, while others were wearing cloth and carrying bamboo poles. Some were even unarmed. Moreover, they had no formation whatsoever as they ran, and were completely disorganized. But there were so many of them.

Although the enemy's formation was chaotic, their numbers outnumbered his several times over, and they were yelling as if they wanted to seek revenge, their morale was incredibly high.

What's even more terrifying is the direction they're heading; these bastards are clearly coming for us.

Startled, Zhuge Ke stumbled and fell off his horse. Ignoring the pain, he quickly scrambled to his feet, mounted his horse, and roared, "Retreat! Retreat quickly..."