A Little Perk First

A Little Perk First

"Eight Great Kings is kind-hearted and has decided to give you poor wretches a way to live!"

"Remember this! From now on, everything you eat, wear, and use is bestowed upon you little ones by the Great King..."

"Moreover, if you are obedient and your Innate Bone Structure and Talent are outstanding, you may even be granted Divine Techniques and Marvelous Methods, allowing you to become true people above people in the future!"

"Of course, you little ones must first pass a round of trials and selection!"

"In short, Eight Great Kings does not raise trash!"...

Seeing that the orphan beggars lined up beneath the platform had finally quieted down, the rebel leader standing atop the platform swept his gaze around and began his spit-flying address, following the orders of the rebel commander, Zhang Xianzhong.

He was telling the truth.

In these times, when natural disasters and human calamities arose one after another, food was so precious. Not to mention the Divine Techniques and Marvelous Methods personally bestowed by Zhang Xianzhong—how could they possibly be wasted so cheaply?

By his estimate, out of the several hundred orphan beggars here, only a few dozen would ultimately pass the selection.

Perhaps even fewer.

Although the rebels currently lacked any rare treasure capable of testing one's bone structure and blood vitality on the spot.

They would need to spend some time raising these orphan beggars before they could pick out the talented youths among them.

The orphan beggars gathered here were all boys between the ages of eight and fifteen.

If luck was on their side, they might even discover several geniuses with exceptional bone structure among them.

Honestly, given Eight Great Kings's remarkable luck, that was not impossible.

Legend had it that many years ago, Eight Great Kings had accidentally received a mysterious inheritance from a fortuitous encounter, awakened his own Star Destiny, and in one stroke become a Fourth Layer of Martial Dao expert within Yansui Town.

It was precisely because he possessed such confidence that he had resolved to persuade the impoverished masses of the Eighteen Villages around Dingbian City and boldly raise the banner of rebellion!

"Eat the Great King's food! Wear the Great King's clothes! Repay the Great King!"...

Every one of these orphan beggars was a poor soul. Stirred by the words of the rebel leader on the platform, these young boys shouted weakly and unevenly.

Though Li Dingguo was dismissive in his heart, he did not dare stand out from the crowd and invite unnecessary trouble, so he shouted along with them.

Once the speech ended, under the guidance of several soldiers, the orphan beggars of each group lined up and headed toward one side of the square.

That area was piled with steamed buns and pickled vegetables that more than a dozen cooks had just carried over, their fragrance wafting through the air.

At the end of the day, for these several hundred orphan beggars, no matter how loudly they shouted their slogans, nothing could compare to a full meal.

If they wanted these boys to risk their lives, they first had to feed them well. Only then would their words carry enough weight to convince others.

"Wow! They're all white-flour buns!"

"Gulp..."

"Is this fine grain really for us?"

"The Great King is too benevolent!"

"Thank you, Great King! As long as I can eat my fill every meal, I'll do anything!"...

The destitute boys stared at the steaming white-flour buns before them, drool pouring from their mouths!

If not for the squad of fierce-looking soldiers nearby maintaining order, a mad scramble would inevitably have broken out!

Since there were plenty of people handing out food, the boys gathered in by the rebel soldiers soon received their white-flour buns, pickled vegetables, and hot soup. One after another, they went nearby, squatted on the ground, and began eating and drinking ravenously!

As for washing hands before eating, of course there was no such thing.

In this era, unless one came from a wealthy family, no one bothered with such niceties.

Li Dingguo was the same. Starving half to death, he took his allotted meal and quickly walked to a relatively secluded corner. After merely wiping his hands on his filthy, ragged clothes, he grabbed a white-flour bun in one hand and, washing it down with vegetable soup, began wolfing it down!

Food of this quality had never appeared in the scant memories of Li Dingguo's original body.

Only because Eight Great Kings had now captured a county seat and, after letting his troops loot it wantonly, obtained vast resources, money, and grain, could he afford to be so lavish.

Naturally, only the rebel soldiers were entitled to enjoy such treatment.

The others were these orphan beggar boys whom he had ordered gathered up, intending to raise them with all his strength after another round of selection.

The reason every one of these several hundred boys received a share now was mainly so they could first recover their health. Only then would an initial selection meet the necessary conditions.

At present, these orphan beggar boys were all so starved that they barely had the strength to breathe. Naturally, they could not display the potential of their bone structure and blood vitality.

A considerable number of those beyond saving would soon be screened out and eliminated.

Such selections would be carried out repeatedly until the truly worthy talents rose above the rest.

Only then would they conduct the ceremony of adopting righteous sons, binding the selected talents tightly to Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong, so that these adopted sons would serve him unto death in the future and allow him to achieve complete control over the rebel officers and soldiers under his command.

The food being distributed now consisted of two white-flour buns, a little pickled vegetable, and a bowl of vegetable soup for each orphan boy. There was nothing more.

That was inevitable.

If food were supplied without limit and these starving boys were allowed to gorge themselves recklessly, quite a few would undoubtedly bloat to death on the spot.

That would not serve Eight Great Kings's painstaking intentions and would not suit the needs of the plan.

As for other benefits, they certainly would not be handed out now. That would have to wait until after the first round of selection.

And the Divine Techniques and Marvelous Methods that Eight Great Kings had promised to pass down would definitely take some time before they could be fulfilled. Moreover, only the very few talented boys who stood out in the future could receive such instruction.

"Huff, huff!"...

"Smack, smack!"...

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, all the food the boys had received had been eaten clean.

They burped contentedly, their faces full of lingering dissatisfaction.

"Alright!"

About a quarter of an hour later, the rebel leader personally tasked by the Great King with this special mission shouted at the orphan beggar boys, who had rested briefly and then, under the direction of more than a dozen soldiers, lined up once more before the platform. "For the next three days, you will receive two free meals of fine grain a day."

"During these few days, you will stay here in this grand residence and recuperate properly! No one is allowed to cause trouble!"

"Whoever dares act up can have a taste of my blade and see whether it is sharp enough!"

"Three days from now, I'll come back. When that time comes, you little brats will simply await orders!"

With that, he leaped down from the platform, gave a few instructions to the dozen or so soldiers left behind to guard the place, then hurriedly turned and strode away.

He had to immediately report back to Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong, and inform him how this mission had been completed.

The rebel army had just captured a county seat, and there were enormous benefits to divide. As one of the Great King's confidants, he did not want to be left out.

This rebel force founded by Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong, had only just raised the banner of rebellion. Everything was a chaotic mess, and there was no such thing as proper discipline.

If you did not fight to seize your share, would that not mean suffering a huge loss?

No one would be willing to do that.