Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 96 The Rise of the Miners

Zhou Ye was unaware that on the canal gang's boat, someone had already mistaken him for "Senior Ming Jin".

Zhou Ye was unaware that there were indeed several bandits on board preparing to pull off a heist. However, the sudden appearance of this "Senior Ming Jin" frightened everyone into not daring to make a move. In the end, no fight broke out...

After disembarking, Zhou Ye discovered that the streets and alleys were filled with groups of refugees, and the outside world was in complete chaos.

However, most of the refugees, seeing Zhou Ye's attire, knew he was not to be trifled with, and thus kept their distance. But a few, blinded by greed, took advantage of their numbers and the fact that Zhou Ye was alone, and actually went to rob him…

Several flashes of cold light appeared, and four corpses lay on the ground. The surrounding refugees were so frightened that they quickly moved away.

Sheathing his knife, Zhou Ye sneered inwardly. Among these people, there wasn't even a single martial artist at the entry level. Who gave them the courage to rob him?

Completely disregarding the fearful stares of the other refugees, Zhou Ye calmly touched the corpses, discovering that they had practically no money on them. He then picked up their weapons, placed them alongside the large bundles he had looted, tied them to a found wooden stick, and carried everything away.

To be honest, these poor folks can't really snag anything good with their zero-dollar purchases. The main reason they take these things is for disguise, to make themselves look no different from other homeless people doing zero-dollar purchases.

However, given the current chaotic situation, leaving the county town would be too conspicuous. What if we attract the attention of some powerful figure?

So Zhou Ye quickly made his way through several streets and alleys, and finally silently climbed over the wall and returned to his home in the outer city...

My home in the outer city is much safer. No one would target it for robbery. Those three thieves last time were an accident; I can't keep having this bad luck forever.

However, upon opening the packages, Zhou Ye couldn't help but chuckle. What kind of junk was this? It didn't even seem worth a few taels of silver. Were the refugees so desperate that they were even robbing things like this?

And so, for the next few days, Zhou Ye remained hidden in this cozy nest. Since every household had enough food, drink, fuel, and other necessities, hiding there for a month or two was no problem at all.

However, unlike the last rebellion, things outside seem to be getting more and more chaotic, with large-scale battles breaking out everywhere, including the inner city, the outer city, and the area outside the city here.

As the fighting continued, a number of true and false messages also emerged.

Speaking of the differences between these two rebellions.

Last time, it was high-ranking military officers and a group of powerful families who contacted the Black Iron Gang and ultimately launched the attack together. In other words, last time it was a unified command from top to bottom.

This time, however, was largely accidental. It was mainly the lower-ranking soldiers and miners who drew their swords and went to war. They first killed the junior officers, then the new prefect, and finally, they took the guerrilla general hostage and stormed into the prefectural city.

Therefore, this time it became a bottom-up process. In reality, there was also considerable chaos within the military.

This included the Black Iron Gang. During the last rebellion, almost all of the Black Iron Gang's high-ranking members reaped substantial benefits. Some became officials, some made fortunes, some acquired beautiful wives, and even the worst off gained more territory.

For the higher-ups of the Black Iron Gang, even if they launched another rebellion, they wouldn't gain any further benefits. So, they figured enough was enough. They then began to actively suppress the lower-ranking members.

However, the lower-ranking members of the Black Iron Gang were mainly miners. Miners are generally well-known as a highly organized and extremely formidable fighting force.

Therefore, after being suppressed, these miners couldn't stand it anymore. Why should they?

Before the rebellion, we were poor miners; after the rebellion, we're still poor miners? Did you high-ranking members of the Black Iron Gang pocket all the benefits? Then what was the point of my rebellion?

Basically, it's all about fighting if you disagree, and drawing your sword to start a battle.

In an instant, it was like a volcanic eruption. The lower-ranking members believed that the gang's leaders were all traitors. They were the most hateful people. So they began a city-wide extermination, determined to completely eliminate the Black Iron Gang's top brass.

Good heavens! In just a few days, the top brass of the Black Iron Gang has been almost completely wiped out, including their entire families and all their wealth.

However, once the fire is started, it won't be so easy to extinguish.

So the miners targeted several powerful families who owned mines. You can imagine how these families had previously exploited the miners; their lives were incredibly miserable. Now that they had knives in their hands, why not go and fight them?

Of course, powerful families all possessed their own military forces. Some suffered considerable losses, while others managed to hold their ground...

Taking advantage of the chaos, many small gangs in the county town began settling scores. Numerous thugs and hooligans also took advantage of the situation to loot. Even the homeless in the shantytowns were buying things for free everywhere…

As for the army in the county town?

To be honest, most of those low-ranking soldiers sympathized with the miners. Many even took off their uniforms, disguised themselves as miners, and rampaged through the county town together.

The high-ranking officers and officials, including the guerrilla general, were genuinely terrified and dared not intervene. They were afraid of getting themselves into trouble, or their soldiers might rebel.

Therefore, the entire county town has completely lost its order. It has long since degenerated into a gladiatorial arena...

Alright! You guys can fight outside! I'll stay home and practice martial arts in peace.

At this moment, Zhou Ye finally realized some of the advantages of being a nobody. At least no one would notice him, and he wouldn't encounter any danger.

That day, Zhou Ye finished practicing the Lesser Wind and Thunder Stance. He found that his experience points had increased again, and another acupoint in his head had been broken through. He was very satisfied. He was one step closer to breaking through to the Ming Jin stage.

However, at that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

"Brothers, today is the day our Haoyi Brotherhood will make its name known. Black Six of the Flower Snake Gang has bullied us too much, taking the last copper coin from your pockets and forcing many families to sell their children and houses? We..."

Zhou Ye opened the courtyard gate a crack and found it was the group of teenagers from the Haoyi Brotherhood. Led by Da Jin, they numbered more than 30.

However, the Flower Snake Gang has recently gone too far, like a final act of madness, starting to plunder everywhere. Sometimes they don't even bother to come up with reasons, and it has long since devolved into outright robbery.

Especially those guys from Black Six, they've already injured and maimed several neighbors, and even ransacked their homes, taking everything they owned...