I'm a pirate at the end of Ming Dynasty

Liaodong, Ludao.

To the north of Shanhaiguan, because there is no obstruction from the Yanshan Mountains, the cold wind coming from the north and south is particularly severe. Although it is only the beginning of winter, people have occasionally been frozen to death, so unless you have to go out, you will have to go out. Most of the time people have cats at home.

A group of men with loose shawls, three tiers inside and three tiers out, surrounded a huge brazier. Some were wearing mink or dog skins. There were also a few wearing thick cotton-padded jackets. They were squatting on the ground chatting.

"Xiao Liu, the knot in the corner of Lao Zhangtou's camp has a hole as big as the mouth of a bowl. When he goes to bed at night, the northeast wind blows and pours snow into the house. What kind of work does your engineering team do? Little brat, tell me the truth, are you cutting corners?"

"Brother, if you don't talk nonsense like this, how much money did you give me? I'll just embezzle. The house built by those three melons can survive until now. It's all thanks to the craftsmanship of the brothers. If my mother-in-law doesn't do it anymore, If you put money in your own pocket, the brothers will have to live in thatched houses."

A person next to him punched Xiao Liu unhappily: "Why are you talking to eldest brother? Be respectful, okay?"

"Is this a matter of respect? We only have a few materials and a little money. Whoever can do it can do it. I can't control this engineering team."

After saying that, Xiao Liu put his hands into his sleeves angrily, sticking his buttocks out and hunched his neck to warm himself up.

The leader sighed and said: "Okay, don't be so petty after all this nonsense. What I just said about you cutting corners is just a moment of anger. Why do you take it seriously? I know you have difficulties, but if you have difficulties again, this house must be repaired." .”

"I know. I'll find some brothers in a while, dig some yellow mud from the river, mix it with grass and paste it on them first. But it won't last long. If we don't want people to freeze to death, the island will have to re-fire the brick kiln."

The leader nodded and said: "I know, and I also know that the brothers are having a hard time now, but this is only temporary. As long as we endure it, it will pass, and it will be better in the future, I promise. "

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he was a little embarrassed for a moment, because he had made this kind of promise too many times, and no one took it seriously anymore.

"I'm telling the truth this time. Believe me, these days will be over soon."

Everyone still responded indifferently, obviously not believing it. Only a few smart people frowned slightly when they heard this. One of them, who was senior and bold, even asked directly.

"Brother, have you already been in contact with Huang Taiji?"

The leader was suffocated when he heard the words, but he just lowered his head and lit the fire. He didn't say anything, but he had already acquiesced.

But I saw a man in his 40s, Dahan, kicked the brazier away and cursed: "Shang Kexi! Do you dare to pay me?"

It turns out that this person is the famous Shang Kexi, one of the strongest bosses in the post-Mao Wenlong era, and the famous Pingnan King of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in history.

Faced with his brother's responsibilities, Shang Kexi just shrank his body slightly, then re-arranged the brazier with his own hands, used an iron hook to pick up the burning charcoal one by one, and said: "It's just a shame. , Huang Taiji promised... to give me six thousand stones of white face next month, I just hope that we don't take the opportunity to rob him of his escape, Lao Lu, don't your brothers need to eat? "

"Shang, don't think I don't know what you think. Today you will collect food from the Qing Dynasty, and you will dare to collect their money tomorrow. What about the day after tomorrow? Are you going to help them massacre my Han family compatriots?"

A sidekick came to the rescue and said: "Old Lu! What are you doing? Do you think that my eldest brother feels good? Do you think that you are the only one here who feels bad? Which of us brothers does not have a blood feud with the Tatars? Let's talk about my eldest brother. , how did the eldest brother's father die? Who among us doesn't know? You, Lao Lu, have the backbone and are not afraid of starving to death. Are your brothers, Lao Lu, also have the same backbone as you, and would rather starve to death than eat the food of the Jinren? Big brother has big brother's difficulties, can't we understand each other?"

Old Lu stopped talking and squatted down again to sulk with resentment.

Xiao Liu, who had just been scolded, said: "Boss Lu has intestines made of copper and a stomach made of iron. He doesn't need to eat food at all, right?"

"Baby, when will it be your turn to compete with me?"

"Brother Lu, you are one year older than my father in terms of age. I should respect you, but can we be a little more realistic? The coal and charcoal in my hand are barely enough for our island. Burn for another three or four months, and then what? Burn for what, burning your anger against the Tatars? Come on, come on, help me warm up."

Seeing that Lao Lu remained silent, Xiao Liu pressed forward and said: "I will say two harsh words of justice today. Surrendering to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties is our only way out. Today is different from the past. Ever since the Manchu Qing replaced Huang Taiji, they have treated us badly." Compared to his father's time, the Han people in Liaodong are much better off. The villagers can more or less have a way to survive. As for the unprovoked killings, they have not been heard of for several years. On the contrary, it is us, since Mao Shuai left. After that, our reputation on the shore deteriorated day by day. The common people were afraid of us, far more than the Tatars. Haha, you want to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but does the Ming Dynasty still recognize you? Let me take a step back and tell you, as far as I know You know, the people in the Ming Dynasty couldn't afford to eat, but the people under the control of the Manchus in Liaodong lived a better life."

Lao Lu lowered his head and said nothing, but took his hand out of his sleeve and slowly placed it on the handle of the knife. Seeing this, Shang Ke quickly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, and shouted sternly: "Lao Lu! What are you doing? ? We are discussing something! Do you want to kill your brother?"

"Brother, please get out of the way. I, Lao Lu, have no brothers of my own who are traitors. If brother insists and thinks he is right, or if you think so too, then don't blame me, Lao Lu, for ignoring the brotherly love that has existed for many years."

"Are you going against me?"

"If you want to be a traitor, I will turn against you."

The two of them looked at each other, both of them unyielding and ready to take action.

The sidekick on the side said again: "Oh, Lao Lu, as for you, they are all brothers who crawled out of the dead together. After all, Xiao Liu is young and has never experienced the era when the Tatars harmed us. Sometimes he can't understand. Is it understandable that we old guys are full of hatred? But Xiao Liu, I’m not telling you, don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand. Do you know how Nurhachi treated us Han people back then? Have you experienced the massacre of the city for no reason? Have you ever experienced the despair of having your whole family killed for no reason, and only you surviving in humiliation? You don’t understand anything, you’ve never seen anything, why are you talking so brazenly about letting go of hatred? Why don’t you give it up quickly? Lao Lu apologizes!"

"I…………"

At this moment, a boy suddenly barged in from outside without even reporting. He grinned to the back of his head and said with a silly smile: "Report~ Report to brother, all the heads, Li... Li Gang is back, he... He also brought many, many, many big ships, and many, many, many, many silver and money!"