Grievance Assembly

"Listen up, all of you. You were nothing but stray dogs on the side of the road, starving to death. It was Lord Dongfang Mao who took pity on you, and it was I who brought you back here and gave you food.

But this isn't without conditions. If you are still too stupid to follow such simple instructions, then each and every one of you can crawl back to that fence and rot away on your own!"

Yasuke cursed at them, his voice harsh and biting.

Below him, every single person wore a look of terror.

Just as Yasuke had said, they were indeed starving strays, wandering between hunger and despair, until Yasuke brought them back and gave them a bowl of hot rice.

When the first mouthful of hot rice entered their mouths, the rising steam blurred their vision.

The plump, crystalline grains, coated in the fragrance of rice and carrying a scalding heat, fell into their bellies, filling their empty stomachs and reigniting the nearly extinguished fire of life.

It was a sense of happiness that spread from their throats to their very limbs, more precious than any treasure, allowing them to taste the flavor of life once more.

If they were to be driven back to the cold iron fences at the border of the Land of Fire now, to endure the same hunger and cold as before, they would rather die right here and now!

Suddenly, the recruits tensed up, focusing with every ounce of their spirit, terrified that one careless mistake would get them kicked out of the ranks and sent back to that living hell.

Sure enough, under Yasuke's barrage of insults and threats, the recruits' formation, while still awkward, looked much better than before.

Seeing this, Dongfang Mao nodded, then stepped forward.

Seeing Dongfang Mao return, Yasuke's eyes lit up, and he quickly shouted to the recruits before him.

"Stop, all of you, stop! This is Lord Dongfang Mao. He is the one who gave you food and let you live!"

The recruits immediately turned their gazes toward the approaching Dongfang Mao.

Although he looked very young, perhaps even a child, no one dared to question him.

Expressions of gratitude appeared on their faces, some even tearing up, and they prepared to kneel.

Dongfang Mao accepted this calmly; after all, he had granted these people the gift of life.

However, after a moment, Dongfang Mao raised his hands, gesturing for them to stop, and said to the crowd kneeling before him.

"Get up, all of you. Since you have come here, we are all brothers from now on. There is no need for such grand gestures."

At this moment, one of the recruits crawled forward, weeping with gratitude toward Dongfang Mao.

"Lord Dongfang Mao, your grace in saving our lives is something we can never repay. In the future, we are willing to charge into battle and brave any danger for you!"

With this man taking the lead, the others behind him reacted instantly, shouting in unison.

"We are willing to brave any danger for Lord Dongfang Mao!"

Dongfang Mao looked at the man deeply, then waved his hands repeatedly, his expression heavy as he let out a long sigh.

"In truth, Yasuke, myself, and the brothers currently in the village were once in the exact same position as all of you. Our homes suffered disasters, and the fields yielded nothing.

Yet those noble officials turned a blind eye, or worse, imposed even harsher taxes and levies, forcing us to sell our land for pennies and become refugees, our lives as worthless as grass, hanging by a thread from day to day."

Listening to Dongfang Mao's account, the crowd below wore complex expressions.

They had not expected that Dongfang Mao was not some young master from a wealthy family, as they had guessed.

Instead, he had once been a refugee like them, unable to afford a meal. What moved them even more was that Dongfang Mao's experiences were eight parts similar to their own.

A sense of identification grew in their hearts.

At the same time, subconsciously, they clenched their fists beneath their sleeves.

For the first time, they began to wonder why they had fallen into such a state, while those noble lords could feast every night, wine in hand and beauties in their arms?

As Dongfang Mao spoke, he wiped a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye with his sleeve. Observing the moved expressions of the crowd through the gap, he took a deep breath and continued.

"Fortunately, by some stroke of fate, I gathered with these brothers. We supported one another, and only then did we earn a glimmer of hope.

Now that you have joined us, my hope is that we, people like us, can work together and strive to survive in this cruel world. So, your words just now were a bit too heavy."

"No! They were not too heavy!"

The man who had spoken earlier stood up again, looking quite agitated, his face flushed. He turned to face the crowd behind him.

"Everyone, some of you may recognize me. I am from Ainuma Village, and my name is Tokichiro.

My family has farmed for generations. We didn't gamble or drink, regardless of heat or cold, wind or rain. We worked from dawn till dusk, yet we could barely fill our stomachs. And that landlord, with just a few words, took seventy percent of our annual harvest.

This year, there was a great drought, and my family had no food left. My family of four went to the landlord's gate, kneeling and begging him to spare us some grain!

But he ordered his servants to beat us all away. I don't understand—he lived in such a large estate, owned so much land, and had wine and meat every day, yet he wasn't willing to spare us even a little grain."

As he spoke, Tokichiro's eyes turned red, his voice choking.

"Later, my grandfather, my father, and my mother all starved to death. And I, like everyone else, came to this border, looking for a way to live.

But those lords, those passing merchants, looked at us as if we were animals.

In their eyes, we might not even be worth as much as animals!

Only Lord Dongfang Mao treated our lowly lives as human. If not for Lord Dongfang Mao giving us food, we would still be by that fence, not far from death.

Lord Dongfang Mao's kindness can never be repaid! From this day forward, this lowly life of mine belongs to him!"

Tokichiro's resonant and powerful words struck a chord with many.

They might have only felt gratitude toward Dongfang Mao's actions, but they felt a deep resonance with Tokichiro's words; some even couldn't help but speak up.

"My situation is actually much like Tokichiro's..."

"Me too..."

"I just don't understand, why is it so hard for us to just want to survive..."

The group of new recruits chimed in one after another. Before long, some reached a point of sorrow and couldn't help but sob aloud. Influenced by one another, all thirty-some young men ended up crying together in a heap.

This left Dongfang Mao completely dumbfounded. Isn't this just a grievance-airing session?

This Tokichiro is truly a genius. He had originally harbored the same idea, thinking of finding an opportunity to stage such a scene, but before he could even prepare, Tokichiro had already made it happen for him!

As this group of new recruits wailed, correctly recognizing the suffering they had endured, Dongfang Mao's benevolence began to expand infinitely within their hearts.

In the end, everyone's emotions intertwined, converging into a single shout that rang out across the grounds.

"We are willing to die for Lord Mao! To repay this great kindness!"