noffsinger Chapter 191 The Idea King takes action!
Chapter 191 The Idea King takes action!
"Brother Gou, do you think this will work?" Lai Fu's voice trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of panic.
Things have come to this point, and when they are about to take action, Lai Fu's heart is pounding. He feels more and more that his idea may be too absurd, and is simply a pipe dream.
Ergou looked at him firmly and said calmly, "Fu, this was the idea you first proposed."
"Now that you have made up your mind, you should not hesitate any longer."
“If you are always hesitant and timid when doing things, you will never achieve anything great in your life.”
“Even if I fail, it’s better than not daring to do anything.”
Lai Fu clenched his teeth, took a deep breath, and nodded vigorously.
In the past few days, the two of them have been traveling non-stop, in the wind and rain, and have visited almost every village in the surrounding area. They recruited strong young men from those villages with extremely tempting conditions - a high reward of 500 coins a day.
At this time, the busy autumn harvest has long passed, and farmers have ushered in a rare leisure time.
When everyone heard about such a considerable income, although they had doubts in their hearts, worried that it might be a scam, they were tempted by the high reward and Ergou's good reputation, and rushed from all directions to the place designated by Ergou and Lai Fu.
After all, five hundred coins a day was an unimaginable amount of money for them.
After ten days, they could earn five strings of cash, which was almost equivalent to the total income of their family from a year's hard work.
With just ten days of hard work, the whole family can have a prosperous and happy New Year. What an exciting prospect!
Everyone thought to themselves that even if they found out they had been cheated, the worst that could happen was that they could just dust themselves off and leave, and there would be no loss.
Coincidentally, fate seemed to have created a rare opportunity for them.
In the land of Jiangnan Road, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their lives were relatively affluent. No one had any thoughts of rebellion.
At this critical juncture, all the local officials were executed by His Majesty for crimes such as corruption, collusion with noble families and oppression of the people.
For a time, this coastal area fell into a state of legal management vacuum.
This special situation is the reason why Ergou is willing to take the risk and give it a try with Lai Fu's plan.
In his opinion, this was a big gamble. If he won, he would be able to rise to fame overnight, bring honor to his family, and bring prosperity to his family.
If you lose the bet, your life is worthless and insignificant. Even if you lose your life, there is nothing to regret.
As the crowd gathered like a tide, the number of people increased and filled up the open space.
Ergou raised his arms and swung them vigorously in the air, then strode quickly to a small mound not far away.
He glanced at the bustling crowd below the stage and shouted loudly: "Brothers!"
After a pause, he raised his voice and asked, "Do you recognize me?"
Those standing at the front of the crowd were all fellow villagers from the same county as Ergou, or farmers from nearby villages.
They were all familiar with Er Gou's character and reputation. He was known for his generosity and righteousness, and was highly respected in his area, earning him the awe-inspiring nickname "Little Dragon of the Sea."
Because of this, when they heard Ergou gathering everyone, even though they had doubts about the high reward, even though they knew Ergou might not have enough money to fulfill his promise, they still rushed over without hesitation.
Ergou's reputation was their strongest guarantee. His nickname, "Little Sea Dragon," attracted many who were initially skeptical, eager to come and take a look and join in the fun.
Suddenly, a rough voice shouted from the crowd, "Ergou! Just say whatever you want to say! But if you want us to follow you in rebellion, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately aroused a chorus of agreement.
"Yes! I've heard that there are rebellions in many parts of the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty is busy and exhausted every day trying to put down the rebellions!"
"Isn't it? I really don't know what those people's intentions are behind the rebellion."
"Your Majesty has always been kind and compassionate to us common people."
"Take this year for example. When the government came to collect taxes, I didn't even think about hiding it. I just handed it over honestly."
"We didn't pay much in taxes. Your Majesty has been very considerate of us."
"Yes! Those rebels are truly heartless. Your Majesty has treated us so well, yet they still want to stir up trouble."
"Even without government supervision, we must not cause trouble for His Majesty! If we do something that offends His Majesty, would we still be considered human beings?"
"Anthracite has brought so many conveniences to our lives. Is it all fake? Your Majesty has done so much good for us, the people. We should be grateful."
Everyone was talking at once, the voices rising and falling, and the scene was noisy.
Ergou quickly waved his hands in the air, signaling everyone to be quiet. He had a sincere smile on his face and kept saying soothing words.
It took a lot of effort and a while before the noisy discussions gradually died down.
Ergou cleared his throat, his expression serious and solemn, and said loudly: "Brothers! Which of us hasn't been able to live a peaceful life thanks to the grace of Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty's grace is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea."
"If you ask my brothers to do something so outrageous as to rebel, I, Ergou, will be the first one to disagree!"
After saying that, he changed the subject, staring intently at the audience, and asked, "Does everyone know about the situation in Japan?"
When they heard the word "Japan", most of the people in the audience looked confused and frowned, as if they knew very little about it.
In their impression, the Japanese were short, strange-looking, and rude in manners, and were extremely lowly.
On weekdays, these Japanese often landed here, but the people of the Tang Dynasty always looked down on them. When they saw them, they were like seeing the plague god, and they would stay away from them, for fear of being contaminated by bad luck.
At this moment, a few people in the crowd who knew something about this could no longer contain themselves and shouted loudly in the crowd: "I know, I know!"
"I heard that the Japanese were so ignorant that they dared to openly provoke Your Majesty and even insulted You to your face. Their crimes are truly heinous!"
"Your Majesty was furious! But at the time, our Tang Dynasty was at war with another country and could not spare troops to attack Japan."
"So His Majesty made a solemn promise to those vassal states, saying that whoever could first conquer Japan would be granted a fifth-rank official position!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present couldn't help but gasp, their faces full of surprise.