Chapter 678: Chapter 2: One Plum
"The Cyan Dragon Guard isn’t all that significant."
Chen Tang smiled faintly.
The Qian Country’s structure is on the verge of collapsing, ready to break apart at any moment.
By then, various heroes will rise, and the Daqian will no longer exist, so what does a Cyan Dragon Guard count for?
"You child..."
Old Sun was taken aback by Chen Tang’s arrogance and instinctively wanted to refute.
After all, such high-ranking officials like the Cyan Dragon Guard were, in their eyes, high and mighty, unreachable, and terrifyingly mysterious, filled with skilled experts, holding life-and-death power.
The Cyan Dragon Guard didn’t even regard court officials, let alone common folk like them.
But Chen Tang’s indifferent tone carried an inexplicable power, as if the Cyan Dragon Guard was truly insignificant.
Old Sun couldn’t continue after starting to speak.
Chen Tang didn’t dwell on this matter and changed the subject, asking, "Have you seen that Chief Meng from Changze County since?"
"Xiao Meng?"
Old Sun nodded and said, "He actually came once. I later heard he joined ’One Plum.’"
Chen Tang asked, "What is ’One Plum’?"
"It’s a newly risen rebel army from a couple of years ago. In the eyes of the authorities, they are seen as bandit robbers."
Talking about this, Old Sun became spirited, saying, "Chen Tang, you won’t guess who leads this ’One Plum.’"
Chen Tang thought for a moment and asked, "Mei Yingxue?"
"Ah!"
Old Sun was stunned, full of surprise, saying, "How did you know?"
"Just a wild guess, please continue about this ’One Plum.’"
Chen Tang smiled without explanation.
Seeing Old Sun’s reaction, combined with the news of Meng Liangyu’s arrival, he guessed that the former acquaintance from Changze County must be Mei Yingxue.
After all, years ago they had celebrated New Year together in joy and warmth, even living under the same roof in Wu’an County, fighting side by side.
Old Sun said, "Since His Holiness ascended the throne, the previously abolished heavy taxes have returned, making life unbearable and difficult. Many couldn’t survive and fled to the mountains to become bandits, robbing houses."
Chen Tang asked, "The Government Office does nothing about it?"
"What can they do?"
Old Sun sighed and said, "Bandits are like wooden combs, soldiers are like bamboo combs. These officials only use the excuse of suppressing bandits to amass taxes and food. But the more they suppress, the more bandits there are."
In his previous life, Chen Tang had heard the saying that bandits pass like combs, soldiers pass like bamboo combs.
In chaotic times, bandits come like a wooden comb combing through.
If soldiers come, their plundering, burning, and looting are even more severe, like a bamboo comb scraping through.
Killing innocents and claiming merit for it was also a common occurrence.
Old Sun said, "Can you believe this Mei Family Miss, seemingly a fragile young lady, dared to go up the mountain alone to confront so many burly bandits and robbers, and killed the Village Chief of Beifeng Village!"
"Oh?"
Chen Tang was somewhat surprised and asked, "What about Hall Master Mei?"
"He died two years ago."
Old Sun said, "After being injured by people from the Black Wind Gang, he didn’t last long before passing away. His brother drowned in alcohol every day, and was killed by bandits, leaving just her alone."
"At the time, people in the county thought this Miss Mei was doomed, with no family, alone and helpless. No one expected, truly no one expected..."
Chen Tang fell silent.
In those days, the Plum Blossom Martial Arts Hall in Changze County could be considered a local powerhouse, respected by both the underworld and the respectable society.
Yet, amidst the great upheaval of the Pingzhou rebellion, it vanished without a trace, unable to resist in the slightest.
Old Sun said, "I’ve heard that Miss Mei is courageous and resourceful. Knowing brute force wouldn’t work, she used a scheme to get close to the Village Chief of Beifeng Village and took him by surprise at night, killing him."
"It is said that that night, this Miss Mei killed many people, with blood flowing like a river. Later, she took over Beifeng Village and turned it into ’One Plum.’"
Chen Tang nodded.
If the bandits in Beifeng Village were mostly composed of local refugees, their combat power would not be high.
After all, Mei Yingxue had trained in martial arts for years and had gone through life-and-death trials in the battle of Wu’an County.
If she was at the Entry Level, killing the bandit leader, she would have had a chance to stabilize the situation.
Old Sun said, "Even though One Plum and Beifeng Village are seen as bandit robbers by the Court, the two do not engage in the same kind of activities."
"Think about it, those who became bandits were originally law-abiding citizens driven to desperation. Now Miss Mei has taken over such a big place, she needs to feed and care for people too."
"But Miss Mei didn’t bully us common folk. Instead, she specifically targeted the Government Office’s food and silver."
"Before, when Beifeng Village didn’t touch the officials, they didn’t really do bandit suppression, just went through the motions. But now that she’s robbed from them, they felt the pain, and many counties have organized armies to besiege One Plum."
"Initially, Miss Mei led One Plum through the mountains, wandering and evading the authorities for two or three months. But later, they were surrounded and couldn’t escape."
After all, they were just refugees turned bandits, and couldn’t compare with the Court’s regular army.
If the Court genuinely decided to act, Mei Yingxue would be unable to resist.
Calculating the time, Meng Liangyu’s departure from Liangzhou must be related to this matter.
However, with his strength alone, he likely couldn’t provide much help.
"Later, I heard that several martial experts showed up and fought with ’One Plum’ to break through the encirclement and escaped."
By this point, a hint of confusion appeared in Old Sun’s eyes as he said, "There were all sorts of rumors at that time, one of which claimed those experts used to be Cyan Dragon Guards."
"I don’t quite believe it. The Cyan Dragon Guard, valued by the Court, how could they possibly turn against the Court to help One Plum."
Chen Tang’s mind stirred, recalling several individuals in his thoughts.
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