bullyxtreme Chapter 51 Mutual Harm at the Bottom
Chapter 51 Mutual Harm at the Bottom
After saying that, he put down the bowl, stood up, and patted off non-existent dust from his clothes.
"Alright, it's getting late. I have to go back to Tingyi. You guys keep busy here in Xiangyangli, make sure the village militia's training doesn't fall behind."
He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Wu.
"Brother Zhang Wu, I'll leave the matter I asked you to handle to you."
Zhang Wu stood there, stunned, his lips moving slightly, his face contorted like a crumpled cloth.
He finally managed to speak.
"Li...Li Tingzhang..."
"Um?"
Li Sheng turned around, looked at him, and spoke in a calm tone.
"Chieftain... what you just mentioned... about the guards..."
Zhang Wu swallowed.
"You mean...we want the people from Xiangyang Village...to serve as your guards?"
Li Sheng smiled.
"How can you say you're going to work under me? Serving as a village soldier is serving the country and protecting the village. Village soldiers are provided by the village and are exempt from taxes and corvée labor, which is a good thing for everyone. I'm also trying to find a way out for everyone."
He paused, looking into Zhang Wu's eyes.
"Of course, those who want to come can come, and those who don't want to come won't be forced. Xiangyang Village is still your own decision-making body. I'm just a village head, in charge of the security of the surrounding area, not the village head of Xiangyang Village."
After Li Sheng finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the oxcart.
He took two steps and then suddenly stopped.
As if remembering something, he turned around, his gaze passing over Zhang Wu and landing on Wang Fu, who had been standing in the corner.
"Wang Fu".
Wang Fu was taken aback, then quickly stepped forward and bent down.
"My benefactor, I am here."
Li Sheng looked at him, his tone gentler than when he spoke to Zhang Wu earlier.
"Back then, when someone needed to stand up and expose Wang Mao, you were the first to do so. At that time, no one in the entire courtyard dared to move, but you did."
He paused.
"I remember that courage."
Wang Fu's eyes suddenly reddened, his lips trembled a few times, he wanted to say something, but he choked up and couldn't speak.
Li Sheng walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Wang Fu, I have a question for you."
"Please speak, my benefactor! Please speak freely, my benefactor!"
Wang Fu's voice trembled, tinged with urgency.
"Would you like to come to the pavilion and serve as a guard?"
The courtyard was quiet again.
Wang Fu suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide, as if he hadn't heard clearly.
"The pavilion... a pavilion soldier?"
"Yes. The pavilion was occupied."
Li Sheng nodded.
"You're a courageous man; it's a waste for you to stay in the countryside. Come to Tingli and work for me; you'll have a much brighter future there than if you stayed in Xiangyang."
Wang Fu's tears finally fell.
He knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times, his forehead hitting the muddy ground with a dull thud.
"I'm willing! I'm willing! My benefactor... no, village head! From this day forward, Wang Fu's life belongs to you, village head!"
Li Sheng reached out and helped him up, patting the dirt off his knees.
"Get up. A real man kneels only to heaven, earth, and his parents. Don't kneel so easily."
Wang Fu stood up, wiping away his tears, and nodded repeatedly.
Li Sheng turned around and looked at Zhang Wu.
"Brother Zhang Wu, what position does Wang Fu hold in the Xiangyangli village militia?"
Zhang Wu looked troubled, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"This... Wang Fu never held any official position; he was just an ordinary village militiaman."
Li Sheng raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with surprise.
"Wang Fu was the first to step forward and lead the way for me that day. That kind of courage is unparalleled in Xiangyang. Why don't you give him a more important position?"
Zhang Wu opened his mouth, but no words came out.
At that moment, a young man behind him muttered something in a low voice.
"Wang Fu... he's from a tenant farmer family, how could he possibly lead a group of people..."
Another person chimed in, their voice tinged with disdain.
"That's right, he's a relative of that bully Wang Mao. Even though we're not related by blood, who knows what he's up to? We won't accept him as captain."
Wang Fu lowered his head even further.
He didn't argue, but just clenched his sleeves so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Several local militiamen whispered among themselves in the courtyard; some nodded, while others grimaced.
Those gazes were like needles piercing Wang Fu.
Li Sheng glanced at Wang Fu, surprised by his background; no wonder he had looked that way earlier.
It seems he hasn't been doing well in Xiangyangli lately.
Wang Fu lowered his head, his face showing no anger, only an indescribable sense of desolation.
His surname was Wang, and he was related to Wang Mao from the same clan. Although they were distant relatives beyond the fifth degree of kinship, and although his family had never received a single benefit from Wang Mao, on the contrary, they were the ones who were exploited the most.
However, after Wang Mao fell from power, some of the villagers in Xiangyang Village were not friendly to Wang Mao's relatives. Even some reasonable villagers could only watch from afar in tacit agreement.
It seems that having the surname Wang is a cardinal sin.
Li Sheng looked away and patted Wang Fu on the shoulder again.
"A real man, born between heaven and earth, how can he not accomplish something? Come to the pavilion and work hard with me."
Wang Fu's tears welled up again. He nodded vigorously, his throat choked with emotion, unable to utter a single word.
Li Sheng turned to look at Zhang Wu, his tone indifferent.
"Brother Zhang Wu, I'm taking Wang Fu with me. From today onwards, he's mine, Li Sheng's man."
Zhang Wu nodded quickly.
"Yes, yes, the head of the village has the final say."
Li Sheng nodded, then looked at Wang Fu.
"By the way, Wang Fu."
"exist!"
Wang Fu wiped his face and straightened his back.
"You know the people in Xiangyangli better than I do. If you know anyone suitable to be a guard, please recommend them to me. The village is short-handed right now, and I'll take anyone who is capable and willing to work."
Wang Fu paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"Don't worry, Pavilion Chief, Wang Fu has remembered!"
Zhang Wu's smile faltered.
He could tell.
Li Sheng not only wanted to take Wang Fu away, but also wanted Wang Fu to recruit people from Xiangyangli.
Wang Fu was a nobody in Xiangyang Village, and he kept a low profile, so they looked down on him.
But now, Wang Fucheng has become a lowly soldier, and he has the power to "recommend".
What do those local militia who originally followed Zhang Wu think?
Following Zhang Wu means developing within the village.
By following Wang Fu to become a garrison soldier, one could be exempt from taxes and corvée labor, receive government rations, and even have the opportunity to work alongside that chivalrous hero who slays bandits.
Zhang Wu clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
But he didn't say anything.
Wang Fu wiped away his tears and stood behind Li Sheng.
He stood up straight.
Since meeting his benefactor, he has helped him up time and time again.
He glanced furtively at Li Sheng's retreating figure, then looked at the villagers around him who had once looked down on him.
Something inside me has quietly changed.
Li Sheng didn't say anything more, turned around and jumped onto the carriage shaft.
Wang Fu hesitated for a moment and looked at Li Sheng.
"Chief, when...when can I go to the pavilion?"
Li Sheng looked down at him.
"Take care of things at home first. Then come to Tingyi to report for duty tomorrow."
"yes!"