56: Chapter 56 Li Jiao: The World Shouldn't Be So Dark

Li Jiao had already been transmigrated for three months, having ended up in the body of a young man named Li Erdan from a certain village.

In the Pi Kingdom, within Kaoshan Village, Li Erdan had starved to death after emptying his family's savings to pay taxes.

This world was truly messed up; there were few natural disasters and no wars, yet everyone lived in misery despite what should have been a comfortable life.

Poll taxes, land taxes, military taxes, corvée taxes, residency taxes, water taxes...

The government always found various excuses to collect taxes—small ones every three days and large ones every ten. If you couldn't pay, you were hauled off for corvée labor until you worked yourself to death!

The immense pressure left the common people unable to catch their breath!

Because of these layers of taxation, Li Erdan sold his house, his belongings, and his land. Finally, with nothing left to sell, he starved to death on the street.

Situations like Li Erdan's were all too common in the Pi Kingdom; the phenomenon of people selling their wives, children, and even themselves was seen everywhere.

After Li Jiao arrived, he spent less than a day observing the county town, where he saw men from three families being dragged away for corvée labor and daughters from ten families being sold into the estates of officials and the wealthy...

Li Jiao was certain that the Pi Kingdom's fate was sealed!

Even though the people of the Pi Kingdom were being driven to death, no one rebelled. Just like Li Erdan, who had nothing—no parents, no attachments, no weaknesses—yet didn't even dare to resist.

Perhaps his mission in transmigrating here was to lead the resistance and wake up the oppressed people of the Pi Kingdom.

He would bury this rotten country and slaughter these beasts who treated human life like grass and squeezed the people dry!

Li Jiao knew well that he had nothing and no gold finger, so he didn't lead the people in rebellion immediately.

He gradually spread his ideas to the villagers of Kaoshan Village, planting seeds of hope. With the help of a fierce tiger and the wealth accumulated from Ginseng and precious medicines in the mountains, he developed in silence, waiting for his chance.

He had planned well but underestimated the black hearts of the officials; when collecting taxes, they even included his predecessor's parents, who had been dead for three years!

For three years of unpaid taxes, the fine was increased tenfold!

Now, if he didn't resist, he would be taken away for corvée labor.

Having lost his time to develop, Li Jiao was frustrated, but his conviction to bury the Pi Kingdom never wavered.

He had intended to stay hidden in the mountains for a few years to accumulate money and grain, but he hadn't expected to receive help from a noble 'person'!

The military strength of a county town wasn't great, which Li Jiao had long since figured out. His current strength was enough to sweep through. Taking the two tigers with him, Li Jiao headed straight down the mountain.

"Li Jiao, why are you back? Leave quickly!"

"Those lackeys are still in the village! Old Man Wu was taken for corvée labor, and his two daughters were sold by those beasts. Erdan, you should go back to the mountains to hide for a while!"

"These damn corrupt officials, this damn world... Tetler, you don't need to worry about us, just leave!!"

...

The villagers of Kaoshan Village urged Li Jiao to leave one after another, so anxious that they even ignored the two tigers behind him.

Once they realized, though terrified, they instinctively moved to protect Li Jiao.

"I'm fine, everyone, don't be afraid. They are here to help us."

Seeing the people curse the dog officials one after another, Li Jiao smiled; his efforts over the past three months had not been in vain.

"Listen to me, fellow villagers!"

Once more villagers had gathered, Li Jiao unconsciously raised his hand.

"The world should not be this dark, and our lives should not be this miserable. It is those officials who have ruined us, squeezed us, and exploited us. Those officials are our enemies! They are..."

"..."

Li Jiao's voice was loud and clear, and the surrounding people's eyes turned red as they recalled the misery of their lives.

"The Heavenly Way has enlightened me, granting me the methods for national prosperity and peace, and bestowing upon me the Divine Tiger as my protector.

"Now, I, Li Hitler, declare: we rebel!

"Are you willing to follow me, under the guidance of the Heavenly Way, to establish a world where we can eat our fill, wear warm clothes, be prosperous and strong, and where our descendants can be happy and worry-free?"

"We rebel! Li Jiao, I'm willing!"

"I'm willing too!"

"Execute the corrupt officials, kill the evil merchants, for the sake of our descendants!"

"For our descendants!"

...

The villagers shouted one by one, picking up sticks from the roadside and grabbing hoes from their homes. Under Li Jiao's leadership, they marched toward the county town in a grand procession. Whenever they saw government soldiers on the road, they roared and swarmed them.

"Roar!"

Tiger Brother watched this scene excitedly. With a roar, he ran ahead of Li Jiao to clear the way. He swiped at any soldiers he saw and smashed through the city gates with a single collision. His immense power boosted the morale of the followers, and the rebel army grew larger and larger.

Lu Hu didn't take action, just watched from behind. Li Jiao had overestimated the government's strength; they were used to living in luxury and were scared witless by such a scene.

They successfully stormed the yamen, captured the county magistrate, publicly announced his crimes before executing him, and then opened the storehouses to distribute grain.

The morale of the rebel army soared!

Lu Hu also saw the golden rice; it was the size of a peanut, as clear as crystal and shining with golden light, perfectly fitting the name 'golden crystal rice'.

Although Lu Hu hadn't acted throughout the journey and just watched the excitement, Li Jiao still gave all the golden rice to Lu Hu. There wasn't much, only two hundred catties.

Lu Hu was satisfied and told Li Jiao:

"Roar~" (This world is not as simple as you think. For the next three days, I will stay here to help you succeed.)

Just as Lu Hu expected, early the next morning, more than a dozen martial artists arrived, pointing their swords at Li Jiao. The golden rice was the medicine they used to aid their martial arts training.

The appearance of the martial artists caught Li Jiao off guard and dampened the spirits of the rebel army.

Lu Hu took action and killed the dozen or so martial artists in an instant.

"Martial artists."

Li Jiao's face was grim; this was the reason the common people didn't dare to rebel.

"I am not afraid."

Li Jiao said that no matter how difficult it was, he would change this world.

"Roar~" (I like your spirit. This King will give you some gifts.)

Lu Hu had had enough of being human in his past life; now he only wanted to be a beast. Dealing with a few people was fine, but he found large crowds annoying.

However, what Li Jiao wanted to do was quite interesting, so Lu Hu gave him the martial arts manuals and some medical prescriptions left by the Medical Immortal to give him a helping hand.