The Heart's Concern

"Waa... waa..."

The moment Zhang Xianzhong announced the dismissal, Ai Nengqi leaped three feet into the air on the spot. Dancing with excitement, he hurriedly told his squad members, "Wait here for me!"

"I need to go fetch my big red horse, grab my spirit weapon saber and bow, then take you all out for a stroll!"

With the temperament of a young boy, he had finally gotten the chance to show off. How could he possibly hold himself back?

He spun around in a hurry and shot toward the nearby stables like a wisp of smoke!

Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier reacted much the same way. After each saying something to their squad members, they turned and ran after Ai Nengqi toward the stables.

"Boss."

Of the fifteen squad members gazing eagerly at Li Dingguo, a lanky boy of thirteen or fourteen spoke up. "Are you going to ride your Big Black Horse too, and bring your spear and bow before heading out?"

His name was Tang Guangqiang, one of the two talented youths in Li Dingguo's squad.

His cultivation had now reached the Martial Dao First Level Early Stage Peak. He was just one step away from breaking through to the Martial Dao First Level Middle Stage.

He was also the best archer in the squad aside from Li Dingguo. Piercing a willow leaf from a hundred paces away was as easy as lifting a hand for him.

"No need to make such a fuss!"

Li Dingguo waved calmly. "We're only going out for a look around. Why be so flashy?"

"Hehe!"

Pointing at the several large carriages that had just been driven into the courtyard entrance by more than a dozen cooks, he looked rather speechlessly at the backs of Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier, then chuckled. "Look at those guys. They got so excited that they forgot they haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

"We're not in a hurry. Let's all line up and eat breakfast first. After resting for a quarter of an hour, we can head out and stroll through the streets."

Having lived two lives, he was no ignorant young boy who forgot himself and bounced about wildly whenever something good happened.

"Hahaha..."

The fifteen members of the squad looked at the carriages that had just delivered breakfast, then at the martial artist youths from the other squads staring at one another in dismay. Unable to hold it in any longer, they burst into laughter!

Their own boss was far more impressive. The other squad leaders had gotten so happy they were all muddleheaded, forgetting that they had not even eaten breakfast!

Their own boss was much calmer. That was the difference.

A while later, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier rode their Spirit Beast Warhorses back into the courtyard, carrying spirit weapons. When they saw that all sixty-one martial artist youths here were happily eating breakfast, they were instantly dumbfounded!

Well, they were embarrassed only briefly before not taking it to heart at all.

One after another, they jumped down from their warhorses, soothed their mounts for a while, then went over to the cooks to collect their own portions of Spirit Rice Meal and Vitality and Blood Soup. Squatting on the ground, they began wolfing everything down.

Eight Great Kings had thought things through carefully. Knowing that these little fellows did not have even a single copper coin in hand, he had specially arranged for two trusted subordinates to bring over two large baskets of copper coins in a large carriage.

The coins were strung in sets of one hundred, with each string counting as one thousand coins.

After the orphan youths had eaten and drunk their fill, they lined up to receive one string of coins each. Then, led by their respective squad leaders, they hurried toward the courtyard gate.

Li Dingguo could not be bothered to look at those three fellows so eager to show off on the streets. Taking the fifteen people in his squad, he left the courtyard and arrived on the street outside.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had left the grand residence behind him since crossing over and being reborn.

Although he possessed the original owner's simple memories and was not unfamiliar with this county town, the strongest memories in that child's mind were of never having enough to eat, never having enough to wear, and worrying every day about filling his stomach.

For Li Dingguo, who came from the twenty-first century in his previous life, this wondrous great world held far too many things that stirred his curiosity.

This small frontier city alone covered a radius of more than ten li. Compared with some ancient prefectural cities in Earth's history, it was not small at all.

Dingbian City had no fewer than a hundred thousand residents, more than the urban populations of most county towns in his previous life.

That was because Demons and Monsters threatened the wilderness everywhere, making it difficult for ordinary people to survive outside.

Within the Great Ming Dynasty, in order to ensure the safe planting and harvesting of crops, many fields had been opened up inside every town and city.

This included the farms, Spirit Fields, and Spirit Beast Gardens of wealthy gentry and Lineages. Only when they were protected by tall walls on all sides could basic personal safety be ensured.

Even the manor-forts built outside the city by nearby wealthy gentry and Lineages had sturdy walls erected around them, protecting their fields, orchards, and other important facilities within.

The human settlements, whether great or small, were mostly protected by walls. Many fields had been opened within them, and relatively complete basic irrigation works had been constructed to increase crop yields as much as possible and ensure the city's grain supply.

That was the greatest difference between this world and the Earth of Li Dingguo's previous life.

The reason needed no further explanation: this great world was simply too vast. The territory occupied by humanity was only a small portion, while most regions remained in their primordial state and were occupied by the tribes of Demons and Monsters.

As long as one had the ability, one could claim land in the wilderness and grow grain.

As for whether one had the ability to hold that land, or whether one would be killed and eaten by Demons and Monsters, that depended on one's own ability and luck.

The vast majority of ordinary commoners did not possess such capabilities.

Only powerful officials and gentry, aristocratic clans and wealthy families, rich merchant powers, and the government had the ability to reclaim wilderness land.

After the founding emperors of every dynasty established their realms, they would distribute land to the common people. After the Great Ming Dynasty was founded and the cards were reshuffled, it was naturally no exception.

Because officials and gentry did not need to pay taxes, they used every manner of cunning seizure, forceful plunder, and purchase. Through the accumulated efforts of generation after generation, they annexed vast amounts of land, leaving countless commoners landless and forced to become their tenant farmers.

By now, natural disasters and man-made calamities had only grown more intense. The court's taxes and levies were raised again and again, yet all of them fell upon the ordinary people who still retained their own land, crushing them under unbearable burdens.

Over the past few years, more and more commoners had been unable to survive. When someone raised the standard and called out from on high, countless Rebel Armies naturally rose in response.

"Boss, where are we going?"

"Yeah! I have no idea where to go have fun."

"I say we just wander around the city and take a look, then find a big restaurant and have a huge meal."...

Once they left the Wang Family Courtyard and arrived on the street, the orphan youths who had been brimming with excitement all became somewhat dumbfounded.

They no longer had homes. Before being taken in by the Great King, they had all been wandering little beggars who never knew where their next meal would come from and could barely survive from day to day.

Now that they were properly going out to have fun for the first time, they naturally did not know where to go first. Almost simultaneously, everyone turned their eyes toward Li Dingguo.

Truthfully, although these orphans had now become martial artists, too little time had passed since their change in status. They had not adapted yet and had not realized that they were no longer what they once were.

"Boss, why don't we go to the Land God Temple in the east of the city, where we used to shelter? We can visit some of the brothers who were eliminated during the earlier selection, as well as the sisters."

At that moment, Cao Yongxiang, another talented youth standing beside Wang Qiang, suddenly looked somewhat downcast and made the suggestion to Li Dingguo.

The little beggar group Li Dingguo had belonged to did not consist only of boys. There had also been quite a few girls.

They too had become beggars and wandered everywhere because of their own miserable backgrounds and experiences.

Unlike the other beggar groups in the city, there was not a single troublemaker in Li Dingguo's former small group, which had huddled together for warmth. They were all little beggars of kind nature.

There were not only more than forty boys among them, but also more than twenty girls.

The oldest was no more than twelve, while the youngest was only six.

Just how bitter had their former lives as wandering beggars been?

Among all people, they had the most right to speak of it.

"Alright!"

"I want to see Little Bean Sprout too. I wonder how she's doing now."

The moment Cao Yongxiang finished speaking, a small figure flashed through Li Dingguo's mind. All kinds of memories from the original owner surged up at once, carrying deep sorrow and concern. He nodded and spoke to everyone.

After hearing Cao Yongxiang's words, everyone's expressions turned rather grim, and none of them had any mind left to roam around the streets for fun.

Following Li Dingguo, they hurried along the main street toward the Land God Temple in the eastern part of the city.