Rise From Eight Hundred

January 6, 1938!

Because the Japanese troops in the north and south were ready to move, the Northeast Army, Northwest Army, Yunnan Army, Sichuan Army, Guangxi Army, and Central Army dispatched by the Ministry of Military Affairs, hundreds of thousands of troops are gathering around Xuzhou. In Xuzhou City, the core of the long-planned battle, the troops ordered to guard the city have begun to deploy defenses. A large number of trenches have been dug outside the city to deploy barbed wire. Machine gun fire points and various anti-artillery fortifications have also begun to be built in various important defense areas in the city. Soldiers can be seen everywhere standing guard, which is like a large military camp.

In addition to the infantry army originally stationed in the city, many infantry army headquarters have set up liaison offices in Xuzhou City to facilitate the collection of supplies from the Fifth War Zone Command.

Therefore, in addition to some residents who did not leave the city, the soldiers who kept walking in the streets accounted for one-third.

However, standing on the street and looking up, more are refugees curled up in the streets and alleys in ragged clothes waiting for a bowl of porridge to be distributed every day to survive.

Most of them were people who had fled from Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the Battle of Shanghai. Ordinary people whose homes were destroyed by the war fled all the way south to Nanjing, but they did not expect the Japanese army to follow them, and they had to start the journey of fleeing again.

Unexpectedly, leaving their homes was just the beginning of the disaster for these ordinary people. Because of the outbreak of the war, domestic inflation grew at an alarming rate. Before the war, one silver dollar could buy 16 kilograms of refined rice in a big city like Shanghai, and 20 kilograms in a smaller city like Xuzhou, enough for an adult man to eat for a month.

But with the outbreak of the war, prices began to soar. In just half a year, prices more than doubled.

That also means that one silver dollar can only buy 8 to 10 kilograms of rice at most. For millions of refugees, what made matters worse was that before the war, many ordinary people responded to the government and exchanged silver dollars for government-issued legal tender at a one-to-one ratio. Before fleeing, they naturally chose to bring more convenient paper money.

Originally, the purchasing power of legal tender was equal to that of silver dollars, but some unscrupulous merchants actually reduced the purchasing power of legal tender without authorization. Although the government has laws prohibiting and cracking down on it, in times of chaos, merchants who dare to do so must have sufficient background support.

The refugees' only wealth was harvested bit by bit along the way. After escaping more than a thousand miles, many people could only become penniless.

They curled up on the streets of this city that was about to become a battlefield. It was not that they did not want to escape, but that they really could not escape.

At least here, the war zone would distribute a bowl of porridge every day. Even if the rice porridge was as clear as boiled water and the soaked rice grains could be counted with the naked eye, it could only allow themselves and their families to barely survive. Leaving this city would only end up being starved to death...

Mingxin's eyes were filled with anger!

He stared fiercely at the black-hearted grain shop owner in front of him.

This was the third day since he entered Xuzhou City.

Since he said goodbye to his senior brother and went down the mountain that day, he had been sleeping in the open all the way to the southeast.

Although Mingxin had no experience in the martial arts world, he was a smart child since he was young. Otherwise, he would not have been called the only disciple who could bring honor to the family by his master, nor would he have become the strongest person in the Taoist temple at the age of twenty.

He knew that if he wanted to kill demons and eliminate evil, he had to go to the place closest to the battlefield, so he entered Xuzhou City three days ago.

The gate of Xuzhou City was strictly checked. Fortunately, he had a special certificate for Taoist disciples. When he went down the mountain, he specially asked the local village chief to issue an identity certificate. The three-foot green sword on his back also well explained his identity as a Taoist priest.

When asked about the reason, it was heard that the young Taoist priest wanted to go to the battlefield to kill demons and eliminate evil because he was joining the army. It happened that the old mother of the captain who was guarding the city gate was also a Taoist believer, so he let him enter Xuzhou City.

Originally, Mingxin planned to inquire carefully in Xuzhou City, which unit was the most elite, and then he would join that army to enter the battlefield to kill the enemy.

Mingxin had strong confidence in his three-foot green sword, even though it was now the era of bullets and shells.

But before he heard the news, Mingxin witnessed with his own eyes the miserable situation of refugees huddled together everywhere in Xuzhou City.

Mingxin may never forget the scene that happened three days ago. Because of the overcrowding, a thin man who was staggering with hunger accidentally knocked over the bowl of porridge he was holding carefully.

Without caring about anything else, the panicked man licked the spilled porridge on the mud, not caring about the mud in his mouth. Then, he carefully put the mud with rice grains and porridge into the bowl, not even leaving a grain of rice.

He staggered for two hundred meters and arrived under a roof that was no more than one foot wide. He lifted a blanket full of holes and smelly, took out a child who was only a few years old, and tremblingly dipped his fingers in the rice grains with mud and put them on the child's mouth.

The almost motionless child magically opened his mouth and swallowed the extremely dirty rice grains bit by bit. Over and over again, the child ate up the small bowl of rice porridge mixed with mud.

The child looked at the man with his large and lifeless eyes, and the man with a haggard face grinned and smiled.

Yes, he smiled, because the child ate the small bowl of rice porridge, even if most of it was mud, but what did it matter, it meant that the child who was about to starve to death could live a little longer.

As a father, how could he not be happy?

At that moment, Mingxin, who was watching all this from afar, felt that his nose was sour and bitter. If it weren't for his amazing concentration since childhood, he would have cried loudly.

This place has not yet become a battlefield, but the people are already suffering so much. So what should the Chinese people in the battlefield be like?

The little Taoist priest with amazing concentration suppressed the sadness in his heart, but he didn't know that his cheeks were already cold.

She watched quietly as the smiling man licked the bowl in his hand. After a while, Mingxin walked over and bowed with one hand, "Xiao Dao Mingxin, I have learned medical skills from my teacher since I was a child. Just now I saw that the child had difficulty moving. Can I check the condition and get medication based on the symptoms?”

The man raised his head feebly and looked at Mingxin, who had a solemn look on his face, with a sad face. He wanted to say something, but in the end he only uttered two words: "Hungry disease!"

Ming Xin was stunned and looked around, all of them were refugees lying down and curling up after drinking porridge.

He finally understood that the reason why those refugees were huddled under the eaves during this daylight hour was not that they did not want to move, but that they did not dare to move.

Activities meant consumption, consuming the bowl of rice porridge they had just scooped up after frantically snatching at a soup kitchen. Then they would not be able to survive another day and night until the next soup kitchen, a long and cold winter night. Use up the only calories brought by the porridge water.

If you want to save them, you don't need any medicine, just food.

But, how can he save them? Touching the only piece of silver in the lining of his chest, Ming knew that even if he used this piece of silver to buy a few kilograms of food, it would not be enough to feed the nearly 100 refugees here.

But other than that, he only has a green Taoist robe, and the only valuable thing is the Qingfeng sword passed down by his ancestor on his back, but that is his sharp weapon for slaying demons in the future, and he must not lose it easily.

But maybe, there is another way.

"Do you want to have food to eat?" Mingxin asked the man and the refugees huddled around him.

Although no one spoke, the longing in their eyes revealed their thoughts.

"Okay, I'll hire you and others at half a catty of rice per person per day. I don't need you to do anything for me. You just need to help me gain popularity. Just give me a few shouts at the critical moment." Ming Xin offered the conditions and took the He took out his only piece of silver and threw it to the man. "This is the deposit. Go buy ten kilograms of rice and cook a pot of porridge so that everyone can keep up."

Not to mention half a catty of rice per person per day as payment, just because they can cook porridge to satisfy their hunger now, hundreds of refugees are not flocking here.

As a Taoist priest, he paid his dues and found a shop to borrow a few gongs, and Mingxin Xiaodao had an idea and the performing arts venue was born.

Yes, what Ming Xin thought of was his excellent martial arts skills.

Although our ancestors have taught us: Do not use force to break the ban, and do not show off your martial arts! But now he is here to save the common people, not to show off himself, so the Grandmaster will be lenient to him!

Xuzhou is a large city with a radius of hundreds of kilometers. According to the census in the 25th year of the Republic of China, it has a permanent population of more than 160,000. Although many people fled the war and went further south, there are still an unknown number of people. Due to the floating population and the presence of the army, the population is only much larger than before.

The Chinese are also a very peculiar existence. Regardless of the era, even at this moment of night, there is never a shortage of people watching the excitement.

Hundreds of refugees gathered in a circle. There was no need to beat the gong. They stood on several floors inside and outside. There were soldiers and civilians. Standing in the middle of the field was a little Taoist priest with an immortal spirit, which undoubtedly increased people's curiosity. .

However, the little Taoist priest didn't have any props, he was just standing there alone, which made him even more mysterious.

After waiting for a long time, someone finally got impatient and shouted in the crowd: "Little Taoist priest, what do you want to do? If you have any work, show it to the men!"

"Yeah! If you don't have a job, don't come out and embarrass yourself!"

"Don't tell me, this looks pretty good. If you put on makeup in a theater, you can probably sing Tsing Yi."

Naturally, those who made sarcastic remarks and rude jokes outside the field could only be those soldiers who were allowed to go shopping on leave. They were under great pressure due to the coming war. They finally came out to relax but did not see what they wanted to see. Most of them were from peasant backgrounds. It's strange that the tone is good.

"This poor Taoist performs for no other reason than to raise funds for the victims of the disaster on the street, and please ask the fellow villagers to donate generously!" Mingxin was unmoved, and made a Taoist salute with one hand, and said sincerely.

"Money is easy to come by. Little Taoist, you must have the ability to make men happy. If you can only show off your skills, don't blame the men for destroying your place." A soldier's rough voice sounded.

Ming Xin Dao was determined and naturally he would not get angry because of these words. He smiled slightly and said, "I have been practicing martial arts with my master since I was a child for fifteen years, but I don't look down on such tricks."

"The little Taoist priest is quite crazy. Then show it to me. If you perform well, I will donate this piece of gold." The soldier who spoke before squeezed out of the crowd, took out a piece of silver from his pocket and put it in the palm of his hand. Flying up and down.

"Okay, with the words of the military master, Xiaodao's mind is determined." Mingxin was full of confidence in her first performance in her life, and she glanced around. "Get the props!"

Several refugees immediately stood up and stood up a few wooden sticks as thick as goose eggs that were placed under their feet.

On the top of the 3-meter-high wooden sticks, a wooden board no wider than a finger is nailed. Each wooden board has a copper bell on the top. The four wooden sticks are arranged in a semi-arc shape in front of Mingxin. With Mingxin as the center, the radius is about seven meters. About eight meters.

"What is this going on?" The soldier with the rank of sergeant was slightly startled.

Mingxin moved his hand slightly, and a small willow leaf dart slipped out of the special bag in his sleeve and fell into his palm. This was the sword in his sleeve that he had practiced for more than ten years. Because the dart was released secretly, it was difficult to guard against. Its essence was the method of taking the dart and the accuracy of the shot. It was one of the unique skills in the temple.

But I didn't expect that it would become a game for the people to watch today. I just hope that the ancestor will not blame me. Mingxin muttered in his heart. When the sergeant was still staring at the willow leaf dart in his palm, he suddenly swung his arm.

"Grab!" A crisp sound.

The vibrated copper bell also made a clear sound.

A flying knife that was no more than ten centimeters long actually hit the wooden sign six or seven meters away accurately.

And the wooden sign was only one meter away from the sergeant.

The people squatting or standing around realized that this person was actually playing a flying knife skill.

This dart was a blind cat meeting a dead mouse, but what about the next dart? What if it flew away? Everyone's face changed drastically and they scattered.

"Sir, you are so brave, I admire you!" Mingxin bowed with one hand.

"Good! This knife is worth this dollar!" The sergeant looked at the wooden sign not far from him, and was stunned at first, and then laughed at the panicked people around the wooden stick.

He should be the person closest to the wooden sign, but he didn't move. After the Taoist priest said this, did it prove his courage as a soldier?

For this sentence, he had to throw away this dollar.

Perhaps only he knew that he cursed this ignorant Taoist priest in his heart. Teliang's knife was really scary. If he failed, his life would be over.

If he died on the battlefield, he could get a pension, but if he died here, where could he go to seek justice? It's not worth it to kill the Taoist priest ten times!

This place must be taken back no matter what.

"Come on, come on, little Taoist priest, show your ability to the fullest, I still have two dollars waiting for you." The army sergeant calmed down and wanted to see how accurate Mingxin could be.

Two dollars again! Mingxin, why not work hard? With a slight movement of his palm, another willow leaf dart slipped through his fingers, and his arm raised his fingers. In just three seconds, he made three more knives, each of which hit the wooden sign.

The sergeant was stunned.

Hitting with one knife may be called luck, but the speed is so fast, and three consecutive knives hit, that can only be strength.

"Good!"

"Wonderful!"

The refugees immediately shouted, and the people followed, but it attracted more people to watch.

But for this sergeant, one dollar was already painful, and two more would cost him half his life.

"Your knife is accurate, but it is only worth that dollar, not worth these two dollars, unless you have a better skill than this one." The sergeant shook his head.

"Then, sir, take this stick!" Mingxin was calm. "You can shake it up and down or left and right!"

The sergeant's face was a little pale!

He regretted it a lot in his heart. He was asking for death! Shaking it up and down, do you think I'm stupid!

But the courage of a soldier would not allow him to retreat. He bit his back teeth and raised the stick, shaking it left and right with a heroic temperament, "Is this okay?"

The copper bell rang crisply!

The people around collectively retreated, leaving a large open space.

"No! I have to earn two silver dollars from you anyway!" Mingxin smiled slightly.

Then he took out a piece of white cloth from his Taoist robe, folded it, wrapped it around his eyes, and tied it behind his head: "Sir, you can move your steps and body!"

The sergeant's legs trembled involuntarily. Only then did he know what the copper bell on the top of the wooden board was used for.

He didn't dare to move, but if he didn't move, it wouldn't work.

The little Taoist priest who can't see anything relies entirely on the sound of the copper bell to identify the direction...

ps: Today is still two chapters in one. My daughter was not injured in yesterday's incident, but it was extremely troublesome to go to the traffic police team to get a certificate. I ran around all morning to finish it, and I had a social event in the evening, so I started writing when I came back at noon and finished it now, so I updated it early.