I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 567 Purgatory on Earth

Chapter 567 Hell on Earth

Azig asked in confusion, "How did you get in?"

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into tears.

Azig frowned and looked at Brukan, asking sternly, "Brukan, why are you crying? How did you get in here?"

Brukan, 28 years old, is the deputy captain of Ajige's guard. He is tall and strong. On the battlefield, he once split a horse in two with a single stroke. Yet, this man is now crying like a child.

Brukan kept sobbing, and Azige, unable to contain his anger, kicked Brukan despite the pain from his wound, cursing, "Cry, cry, cry! How old are you? Still crying! Tell me, what happened?"

Brukan recounted his tragic experiences with a sob in his voice.

The story begins after Brukan parted ways with Ajige, and he headed straight for Hanshan City with two men.

Brukan's experience was similar to Ajige's. He was subjected to various checks and extortions. When he entered Hanshan City, he lost his weapons, horses, and other belongings.

Not long after Brucan entered the city, someone approached him and asked if he needed a hotel, praising his small inn as both cheap and comfortable.

Upon hearing this, Brukan, having no other choice but to stay anyway, followed the man to the inn.

The room was indeed very cheap, only two coins per night. When Brukan entered the room, he found it to be quite luxurious; the bed was soft, though he wasn't sure what material it was made of.

Just as Brukan was about to rest, someone knocked on the door.

When Brukan opened the door, he saw a beautiful girl wearing a cheongsam.

The girl asked in a sweet voice: Sir, would you like any special services?

Brukan didn't know what "special services" meant, but with such a beautiful girl right in front of his door, he simply couldn't resist. It wasn't entirely Brukan's fault; he'd been robbing with his father and brothers since childhood, and whenever they saw a pretty girl, they'd snatch her and sleep with her. Especially girls from Han Chinese families; even commoners from the Qing Dynasty, if Brukan saw them on the street, he'd take them home and sleep with them, and no one dared to cause him trouble.

Brukan threw the girl onto the bed with his arms still in his arms. Before he could even take his pants off, a group of people rushed into the room with sticks in hand.

The leader said the girl was his wife and asked Brukan how to resolve the matter.

In Brukan's view, what's wrong with your wife? It's a sign that your grandfather thinks highly of you that he slept with a Han Chinese woman. In the Qing Dynasty, if your grandfather slept with a Han Chinese woman, the Han Chinese would have to kowtow and thank you with great joy.

So Brukan got angry and greeted them with his fists.

Brukan won a great victory in this battle, driving all the men out. But just as he took off his pants, a large group of fully armed constables rushed into the room.

Brukan lost the fight. He was not only beaten badly, but also had all his silver stolen. In the end, he was taken here.

After Brukan finished speaking, Ajige nodded. Hanshan was indeed a living hell!

Ajige then asked the others how they had entered. After listening to their accounts, Ajige repeatedly sighed, even though he was a Manchu, he prayed for the people of Hanshan who were living in dire straits. The lives of the people of Hanshan were truly miserable.

It wasn't that Ajige was kind-hearted; the key issue was that everyone's experiences were just too bizarre.

For example, there were three clever guards who noticed that the yamen runners at the gate were confiscating horses, yet some people were still riding into the city. So the three of them put their heads together, took out some silver, and exchanged their horses for horses with those people.

Horses with horse tags were indeed allowed into the city. The three rode their horses happily into the city, but not long after, someone shouted for them to stop.

The three of them turned around and saw a girl dressed in strange black clothes, holding a small notebook, angrily scolding: Why are you going the wrong way?

Going against traffic? The three were completely dumbfounded. Damn it, these old men were riding horses on the road and hadn't hit anyone. How dare you, you little bitch, cause trouble for us? You're asking for it!

The three men dismounted, intending to drag this little bitch to a secluded spot and seduce her!

Unexpectedly, this little bitch shouted "Assaulting a police officer" and then blew the whistle hanging around her neck.

In the blink of an eye, the people on the roadside rushed over.

The three men were also veterans who had fought alongside the army for many years. They were in the army when Beijing was captured last time. Based on their understanding of the Han people, they knew that if they shouted, the Han people would be scared out of their wits.

But this time it was completely unexpected for the three of them. This group of Hanshan people were definitely not Han people. They must be bandits and robbers. What ordinary people would go out on the street with knives and guns?

These people were not only armed, but also very skilled. The three men were not only beaten up, but also arrested. Later, they were sent here.

Ajige was very puzzled. Wang Wenzhou, that mad dog, had turned Hanshan into a den of bandits, yet the Ming Dynasty court and Emperor Chongzhen did nothing about it.

Azig fell asleep amidst his confusion and pain.

The next day, before dawn, Ajige and the others were awakened by being splashed with cold water.

Several constables, holding water hoses, sprayed water indiscriminately at the people in the prison cell.

"Get up quickly, line up properly, Lord Shen will be coming to give you a lecture later," the yamen runners said as they sprayed him with insults.

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Ajige could only endure the pain and the cold water hitting his face, and obediently stand still.

A moment later, Shen He, leading Dog Master Ru Ru, strode over.

Doggy Ruru is no longer a little puppy; she has the appearance of a big dog, majestic and awe-inspiring, with every move she makes exuding the aura of a king.

Shen He's status has risen because of his dog, Ru Ru; he's now in charge here. Meanwhile, Shen He's close friend, Cui Zhe, is now the captain of the combat dog brigade.

The War Dog Brigade was a combat unit newly formed by Wang Wenzhou after he returned to Hanshan. Because his mother, the heroic "Huang Taiji," had risked her life to save him that day, Wang Wenzhou felt that the fighting power of dogs should not be underestimated, and thus he formed the War Dog Brigade. As a newly formed department, the War Dog Brigade shared its facilities with the labor camp reserve team.

Shen He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the prisoners in the cell, and said loudly, "From today onwards, you will undergo labor reform to atone for the mistakes you have made. Once you have reformed, you can enter the labor camp to study and live."

There was a reason why Ajige and the others all came here. Although the living conditions in Hanshan were good, people from all the surrounding counties and prefectures who could get to Hanshan had already done so. Now, most of the outsiders coming to Hanshan were merchants, and there were very few ordinary people.

As a result, labor camps were no longer as desirable as before, and the number of trainees decreased. In addition, with the Expeditionary Force recruiting, many outsiders who came to Hanshan gave priority to joining the Expeditionary Force. After all, the Expeditionary Force offered high salaries, while labor camps not only required hard labor but also paid less.

Illiterate people are just cannon fodder even if they join the army. Wang Wenzhou wanted to train elite soldiers, but he couldn't stipulate that illiterate people couldn't join the army.

So Wang Wenzhou came up with a despicable method and launched another crackdown in Hanshan. Any outsider without a good citizen certificate or any money would be sent to a labor camp reserve team by the yamen runners if they committed even the smallest offense.

Shen He ordered, "Take them to dinner."

"Yes!"

The constables obeyed the order and escorted Ajige and the others to the restaurant.

There were originally over a hundred dogs, lined up neatly with their heads down eating, when they saw the strangers suddenly enter. The dogs started barking "woof woof woof..."

Shen He said irritably, "Cui Zhe, you need to manage your subordinates properly, they're outrageous."

Cui Zhe rolled his eyes at Shen He, thinking, "That old man is taking advantage of me again."

Cui Zhe led Gouye and Xiaolanlan to Shen He's side and said with a smile, "Old Shen, I want to discuss something with you."

"What?" Shen He asked.

Cui Zhe pointed to the prisoners behind Shen He and whispered, "These criminals don't need to eat so well. They're here to mine coal anyway, so they just need to be full."

"What do you mean?" Shen He asked.

Cui Zhe said with a smile, "We can just give these leftovers from our police dog unit to them. That way, we can save on their food expenses, and you and I will also benefit."

"Okay, let's do it this way!" Shen He smiled slightly upon hearing this. As expected of a good man from South Korea, he was indeed clever.

After the dogs finished eating, the trainer led them away.

Shen He pointed to the dogs' leftover food plates and commanded, "These are your breakfasts. Eat up, you still have work to do after you're full."

Eat dog food? Or dog food leftovers? Upon hearing this, Ajige flew into a rage and shouted, "Brothers, let's fight them!"