ATPnovel Chapter 10 Riot
Chapter 10 Riot
"The Spanish don't lack food, but others do," Juan said with a slight smile, his words carrying a deeper meaning.
Zhang Xiuwu was taken aback, then quickly caught up with him, carrying the wooden bucket: "Captain Hu, are you saying our food supplies have been withheld?"
Juan glanced at him, then looked up at the other houses, scanning the surrounding thirty-odd houses that had been converted into military camps, before shaking his head and saying, "I didn't say that, and don't overthink it."
Chen Feng followed his gaze and counted. If each courtyard had thirty people, wouldn't that mean there were nearly a thousand able-bodied men?
These people were already resentful because of the forced conscription, and on top of that, the food was bad. Sooner or later, something bad will probably happen!
Sure enough, as soon as the three entered the courtyard, the strong men surrounded them. After seeing the thin, watery porridge in the bucket, which was so thin you could see your reflection in it, they immediately erupted in a commotion.
"Is this for human consumption?"
"My dog eats better than this!"
"Damn it, the Spanish don't treat us like human beings!"
......
The crowd surrounded Juan, demanding an explanation. Sun Qinglin, the man with the scar on his chest, was the most vocal, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Brothers, we risked our lives to defend the city, and this is what we eat? Come with me to confront the Spanish!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the broken gun from the corner of the wall and led a few companions to rush out.
Juan simply shrugged, looking helpless: "There's nothing I can do. That's all the grain we were given. I can't just conjure it up out of thin air, can I?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a cacophony of noise erupted outside the courtyard, a chaotic mix of Spanish, indigenous languages, and Mandarin.
Zhang Xiuwu tugged at Chen Feng's arm, then looked at Li Chenghua, Qian Jianeng, and Du Lichun from the same village, and whispered, "Brother Chen, something's not right!"
"Something's definitely not right!"
Chen Feng nodded slightly, his mind racing.
Juan was eccentric from the very beginning.
Now that the able-bodied men are about to rebel, this man is spouting nothing but the same old nonsense.
Sun Qinglin may seem impulsive, but his eyes are constantly darting around, clearly indicating that he is not a simple person.
Unless, they had already planned this all along.
Thinking of this, Chen Feng immediately pulled the others to a corner of the courtyard and whispered, "No matter what happens later, don't show yourselves. Just observe and see what happens."
"Understood!" Zhang Xiuwu nodded emphatically, then looked at his fellow villagers and said in a deep voice, "Li Chenghua, Qian Jianeng, Du Lichun, the three of you listen carefully. Brother Chen is very capable. You can't go wrong following him."
Li Chenghua and the other two were honest farmers, their faces already pale. Upon hearing this, they nodded hurriedly and huddled tightly in the corner, not daring to utter a sound.
The noise outside the courtyard grew louder and louder. Sun Qinglin and his men were already shoving each other with the local sentries at the gate, and foul language was everywhere.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the night sky, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from afar.
Chen Feng pricked up his ears and whispered a warning: "It's probably the Spanish colonial army. They might start shooting. We need to keep our eyes peeled..."
boom!
Suddenly, gunshots rang out, and the commotion instantly ceased.
Most people showed fear on their faces, and some were even so frightened that they squatted on the ground.
A flash of disappointment crossed Juan's eyes, then he raised his voice and shouted, "Brothers, they have rifles and cannons, and we only have these scraps of metal. What are we going to use to reason with them? Let's just shut up and be dogs for the Spanish, rather than lose our lives!"
Be a dog?
Is this persuasion or deliberate provocation?
Even though Chen Feng was usually calm, he couldn't help but feel angry when he heard these words.
Sure enough, no sooner had Juan finished speaking than the men, who had been suppressed to the extreme, erupted in anger.
"Screw being a dog, I'm a human being, not an animal."
"Look at what we're eating, what's the difference between us and pigs and dogs?" Sun Qinglin shouted at the door.
"Get the Spaniards out here and give us an explanation!"
"Damn it, it's one thing that our weapons are no good, but how are we supposed to fight with this stuff?"
"We deserve an explanation!"
......
The anger that had been suppressed by the gunfire erupted completely, and shouts came from other courtyards as well, plunging the entire temporary military camp into chaos.
As Chen Feng listened to the shouts in various languages, his heart sank deeper and deeper.
Tonight, these able-bodied men might get out of control.
What should I do?
Are we going to join the rebellion?
Or should they take the opportunity to escape back to Zhangjia Village?
.......
Colonial military headquarters.
Governor Basilio, having had a busy day, was leisurely sipping coffee.
Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking at the door. He had no choice but to put down his cup and patiently call out, "Come in!"
"Reporting to the Governor, there's been a disturbance at the conscript camp outside the city. Colonel Vinal said it's because of a problem with the food."
Basilio raised an eyebrow and said with dissatisfaction, "We have meat and wine, and you still complain about the food? Tell Colonel Vinal to take care of it immediately and have the ringleaders arrested and shot."
"Yes, sir!"
As the guard closed the door again, Basilio picked up his coffee cup once more and took a small sip.
At this moment, the makeshift military camp was in complete chaos.
Sun Qinglin had already led his men to break through the local sentries' blockade and rush out of the courtyard.
Most people were also swept away, leaving only Juan, Lao Zhou, Lao Cao, and Chen Feng, among others.
"Brother Chen, what should we do next?" Zhang Xiuwu asked anxiously.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Feng lowered his voice and said, "Let's go out and take a look first. If it doesn't work out, we'll run away."
"Escape back?"
Zhang Xiuwu was startled and quickly whispered, "What if the Spanish come back to settle scores later? They can run away, but they can't hide!"
Chen Feng knew the outcome of the Spanish-American War, so he wasn't afraid of being held accountable later.
I just need to figure out where to escape to.
Given the hostility the indigenous people have towards the Chinese, they probably wouldn't have a chance to survive even if they went into the mountains.
To defect to the US military and become a collaborator?
But they are still at sea and cannot possibly trust a Chinese person who suddenly appears.
Should we go and join the independence army?
......
Beep beep beep... Beep beep beep...
The urgent whistling sounded again. Just as Chen Feng came to his senses, he heard someone outside shouting in broken Mandarin, "Everyone, put down your weapons and assemble at the drill ground immediately, or you will be shot."
"The training ground?" Zhang Xiuwu asked in confusion.
Juan remained calm and pointed eastward: "It's over there. Come with me."
Chen Feng followed him out of the courtyard. The street was in a mess, with many people lying on the ground groaning in pain, while Spanish soldiers holding long spears were riding quickly towards them.
They all held braids in their hands, and if anyone was even slightly slow, they would whip them hard.
"Thank goodness no one got killed," Old Zhou muttered.
Old Cao urged, "Hurry up, I don't want to get whipped."
The group walked east for about five minutes and came to a clearing surrounded by barbed wire. At the end of the clearing was a platform about ten meters long, with several torches on it and chairs in the middle, as if someone was sitting on it.
The light was too dim for Chen Feng to see clearly, so he counted the number of Spanish soldiers on the training ground; there were fewer than two hundred.