ATPnovel Chapter 7 Plan Before You Act
Chapter 7 Plan Before You Act
Li Sheng took the rough earthenware bowl; the wheat porridge was still steaming.
He ate slowly, chewing each bite carefully to ensure better absorption, even though the wheat porridge was quite coarse.
Everyone watched him expectantly, waiting for him to finish eating and for him to speak.
Li Sheng swallowed the last mouthful of wheat rice, drank the remaining water in the bowl, and then raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the six faces in the room.
"You just said you wanted to join the uprising?"
"right!"
The man named Li Shi was the first to respond, "Brother Sheng, the brothers in the other counties have all made their move. If we don't act soon..."
"What are you moving?"
Li Sheng's voice wasn't loud, but he cut the question off abruptly, "Where are you going?"
He straightened up a bit, leaning against the earthen wall, and looked at the crowd.
"I'll ask you a few questions. If you can answer them, I'll take you to fight to the death. If you can't, then you'd better listen to me obediently."
Actually, even if Li Sheng didn't say that, they would still listen to him.
After all, they had witnessed Li Sheng's extraordinary performance yesterday and were already impressed and convinced of his abilities.
They even looked at Li Sheng with reverence, after all, the miraculous abilities Li Sheng displayed had special significance for them, the followers of the Way of Peace.
Everyone looked at each other, and Li Feng spoke first: "Brother Sheng, you ask."
"First of all," Li Sheng held up a finger, "what are we going to use to start an uprising? Just seven or eight of us, with seven or eight spears? You yourself said that the county posted a recruitment notice yesterday, looking for local militia to suppress the Taiping Dao. If we jump out now, aren't we just walking right into their clutches?"
He paused, then continued, "Think about it, why is the government recruiting soldiers? Because of our uprising in Taiping Dao, they need to send troops to suppress it. But don't forget, even though they haven't recruited any soldiers yet, there are still hundreds of soldiers from the prefectures and kingdoms in the county. We have seven or eight men, seven or eight broken spears, and hardly any leather armor. How can we possibly fight against hundreds of armored elite soldiers?"
Li Shi opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.
"Secondly," Li Sheng held up another finger, "can any of you tell me who the leader of the Taiping Dao in our Xiapi County is? Can we contact him? Who are we contacting right now? Are we fighting alongside them, or are we fighting our own battles?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
These followers of the Taiping Dao had only entered the Dao through the guidance of local talisman masters, had heard a few sermons, and drunk a few bowls of talismanic water. As for contacting the Grand Master, that was something completely unrelated.
The talisman master who usually preached was just a minor leader, and now no one knows where he has gone.
"Thirdly," Li Sheng held up his third finger, "Do you think the people of Xiapi County will join us in rebellion?"
Li Shi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Those tenant farmers, those poor people bullied by powerful families, they probably would..."
"Should?" Li Sheng looked at him. "You say 'should.' But have you asked them? Do you know what they're thinking? Do you know that the moment you raise the flag, someone goes to the county government to report you?"
He sighed, his tone softening.
"I'm not saying that no one wants to rebel. I myself hate those powerful figures and those corrupt officials. But think about it, if we're going to start an uprising, we at least need to know who to contact, right? We at least need to know how many people are willing to follow us, right? We at least need to know that the government is recruiting soldiers and taking precautions, right? Have you thought about these things?"
The house was so quiet you could hear the birds chirping outside.
Li Feng said in a low voice, "Then... Brother Sheng, what do you mean...?"
"What I mean is," Li Sheng said seriously, "we can't rush things. The situation is still unclear. We need to open our eyes, see clearly what the situation is like around us, and then make a plan."
He glanced at the sky outside the window and said, "Isn't the county recruiting soldiers? I plan to go and take a look. I can gather information and find out the government's true intentions. As for starting an uprising..."
He shook his head: "It's not the right time yet."
After a moment of silence, someone finally whispered, "Brother Sheng is right...we were oversimplifying things."
Li Feng nodded: "Now that you mention it, I understand. I was only thinking that the brothers in other counties had already made their moves, and if we didn't, we would fall behind. I didn't realize that with so few people, we couldn't even contact a Fang Master. If we acted rashly, it would be suicide."
Li Shi scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "Brother Sheng, I was too hasty just now."
"This is it!"
Li Sheng did not retaliate against them.
He looked at them carefully and saw that their faces no longer held the indignant and bewildered expression from before, but instead showed a kind of conviction after careful consideration. Only then did he nod slightly.
The words he just spoke, which he explained in great detail, were not meant to subdue anyone, but rather to genuinely want them to listen.
These people present will be his future team.
Li Sheng knew very well that he came from a humble background and was just a farmer in Xiapi who worked the fields for others. In those days, the sons of noble families would become officials as soon as they entered officialdom, and they would be surrounded by learned scholars and have no commoners among them.
And what about him? Forget about famous scholars, even a down-on-his-luck scholar from a poor family wouldn't give him a second glance. Those people wouldn't come to him for help; the only people he could rely on were his fellow villagers, his poor brothers who were also oppressed by powerful figures and exploited by the government.
Therefore, he is not afraid of wasting his breath.
He had figured out the principles behind something, and he wanted his men to understand it too. It wasn't as simple as him giving orders and them following them. That was master and servant, not brothers, not comrades. What he needed was for each person to be able to stand on their own and make the right judgments in crucial moments. Even if they weren't capable now, he would teach and guide them gradually.
This is the lesson he learned from that person.
"Brother Sheng," Li Feng asked again, "you just said you were going to check on the county's recruitment efforts. When are you planning to go?"
"Tomorrow morning," Li Sheng said, "Rest today and heal your injuries. You all keep an eye on the village and see if the government makes any other moves. We don't want to be discussing this here while the soldiers are already at our doorstep without us even knowing."
"promise!"
They readily agreed, but tacitly refrained from taking any action.
Seeing that they all seemed to have something on their minds, Li Sheng spoke frankly: "If you have anything you want to ask, just say it. You don't need to be like this in front of me."
Sure enough, after a long silence, the man named Li Shi raised his head, opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if he was considering how to speak.
"Brother Sheng," Li Feng finally spoke, his voice lower than usual, "you...you said yesterday that after you died, your soul returned to the Yellow Heaven and you met the God of the Central Yellow Heaven."
As he said this, he looked at Li Sheng, his gaze holding something indescribable.
"Yes." Li Sheng nodded. "I did say that."
"Then..." Li Feng swallowed, his voice lowering even further, "Brother Sheng, what exactly is Huang Tian like? Can you tell us about him? The talisman masters of the Taiping Dao haven't mentioned him..."
As soon as he said that, everyone else's eyes turned to him.