Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 121 Iron Man

Beside Pearl Bridge, a dilapidated temple.

A beggar with tangled hair like a bird's nest leaned against a dilapidated wall, idly rubbing the mud off his body.

He would occasionally look up at the sky and say, "Where did this bird come from? Its buzzing is so annoying. Let's shoot it down and roast it."

'boom! '

A muffled thud came from not far away.

The beggar heard no sound.

Because his skull had been smashed into a shattered watermelon, and red and white matter covered the wall behind him.

A massive figure strode over with heavy steps.

It was indeed heavy; the person who came was wearing a full set of heavy armor, completely encased in steel from head to toe.

The armor was exquisitely crafted, with ornate cloud patterns and a color as deep as ink.

Glancing at the beggar whose head was shattered, the armored man slung his spear behind his back.

He took the Uzi in his hand and stepped into the dilapidated temple.

'Puff puff puff puff~~~'

The beggars who ran out upon hearing the commotion had no idea what was going on before they collapsed to the ground, blood splattering all over their bodies.

The armored man changed his magazine according to standard procedure and continued his march.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the entire dilapidated temple fell completely silent.

Besides the armored man, there was only one beggar wearing patchwork clothes left.

The armored man stepped forward, looking down at the beggar who was slumped on the ground, trembling, and spoke his first words.

"Where is the child?"

"Like, like, like behind, in the cellar~"

The beggar had no intention of resisting, even though he knew he still had a sharp dagger on him.

But the person in front of me was covered in heavy armor from head to toe, a complete lump of iron.

What use is a sharp dagger if it can't break through a defense?
The armored man asked again, "Where is your beggar's head?"

"On Liren Street, the third shop on the left after Richang Grain Shop, the owner's surname is Jing~~~"

"Don't kill me! I'm just a little beggar, it's none of my business!"

In the beggar's eyes, a dark, menacing musket was pointed at his head.

'boom! '

The armored man took the ram's horn hammer from his waist and surveyed the dilapidated temple.

They gave all the beggars a few more taps with the Sleeping Hammer.

Back inside the temple, I turned on my flashlight, walked around the statue to the back, and opened the lid of the cellar.

The beam of the flashlight swept across the cellar, revealing the terrified little faces.

Both boys and girls were present, ranging in age from five or six to around ten years old.

Most of the children had their hands and feet broken, or their eyes gouged out and ears cut off; their condition was extremely tragic.

Harvesting and mutilating!

Children are deliberately disabled to gain sympathy and beg.

Nothing in the world is more wicked than this.

Calming himself down, the armored man gently instructed the trembling, fearful children, "Stay here and don't move."

Having said that, he turned and left the dilapidated temple.

Before taking action, someone had already been sent to Yingtian Prefecture to inform them, and the constables should be arriving soon.

After waiting outside for a while, the armored man would occasionally raise his gauntlet-covered wrist to check the time.

Only after seeing a group of constables run into the dilapidated temple did they turn around and head towards Liren Street.

The Richang Grain Shop had already closed by then, and the streets, devoid of nightlife, were deserted.

The listless watchman banged his clapper and shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's the third watch of the night, the weather is dry, be careful with fire."

As the watchman walked, he suddenly noticed a dark figure approaching from the street corner.

By the moonlight, I subconsciously looked over, and suddenly my legs went weak.

The newcomer was fully covered in iron armor, much of which was dark-colored.

It was covered by a hideous mask, which was extremely frightening.

The footsteps were heavy and thunderous, each step feeling as if they were pounding on his heart.

The terrified watchman huddled against the wall, trembling as if he wanted to merge into it.

Fortunately, the tall, armored man ignored him and walked right past him.

As the armored man passed by, the watchman, who had his eyes closed, was startled and felt a strong smell of blood hit him.

The night watchman could no longer hold on; his body slid down the wall and collapsed to the ground, his legs wet.

He dared not do anything; his limbs were too weak, and he could only breathe heavily.

Their gazes, however, involuntarily followed the figure of the armored man.

He saw the armored man and walked to the door of Jing Dashan's house.

Immediately, he kicked open the courtyard gate and strode inside.

Before long, screams, shouts, and muffled 'thump thump thump' and 'bang bang bang' sounds could be heard coming from inside the courtyard.

Suddenly finding strength within him, the night watchman desperately crawled toward the street corner.

It twisted and turned all the way, like a snake.

"Help! Help! Help!"

The following morning, the head constable of Yingtian Prefecture arrived at the Jing family's residence.

“Last night was the birthday of the virtuous man Jing.”

One of the constables explained, "The sons' families, their married daughters and sons-in-law, are all at home, not one is missing."

"This birthday has directly become a death anniversary."

The constable, with a dark expression, walked around the Jing family's residence, inside and out.

Upon entering the courtyard, I sniffed the air and smelled gunpowder.

"What did the coroner say?"

"They were all killed by muskets, and they were all hit with hammers afterward."

The constable lowered his voice, "This isn't some notorious bandit."

"We can't handle this."

"Nonsense!" the constable snapped. "With so many people and so many muskets, what kind of notorious bandit could possibly have such skill?"

"This is such a hot potato, quickly throw it to the Central Military Command."

Unlike weapons such as swords and spears, muskets were definitely military equipment.

Those who could use muskets in large numbers must have been military personnel.

These constables are good at scaring innocent people on ordinary days.

Provoking people in the military? They're asking for trouble!
“There aren’t that many people.” The constable shook his head repeatedly. “According to the night watchman, there was only one person.”

"He was dressed in heavy armor, like an iron-clad man, and kicked open the courtyard gate to enter the Jing family's residence."

"one person?"

The constable's expression was as if he had seen a ghost. "Is the night watchman scared out of his wits or drunk?"

"That's what he said."

"Then teach him properly how to speak!"

Lin Dao, who was in the imperial army camp outside the city, was distributing wages.

As the clerks called out the names, one group of soldiers stepped forward to receive their pay from the pay officer, and signed and sealed the document after confirming that everything was correct.

Unlike the silver ingots, silver blocks, and silver coins that were previously issued.

The military pay they are receiving now is in the form of round silver coins.

The silver coin has serrations around its edges to prevent it from being cut open.

The back has the characters "一两二" (one tael two), while the front has a half-length portrait of Lin Dao.

This is mainly for ease of use.

After all, these days, when you use silver, you have to weigh it on a scale.

There are also disagreements about quality, and disputes often arise due to differing values, which is quite troublesome.

Using silver dollars directly now is simple, convenient, and easy.

During the Chongzhen era, a large amount of silver flowed into the country from overseas, including many silver coins.

For the Ming Dynasty, silver coins were not some rare or unheard-of item.

The soldiers who received their pay would bow deeply to Lin Dao, who was sitting in a chair.

"Receive instructor's pay ~ Be an instructor soldier ~ Obey instructor's orders!"

After everyone had received their pay, they lined up and assembled.

Lin Dao stood up, walked onto the command platform, and raised the megaphone.

"You should train hard and not let me down."

"From now on, all military pay will not pass through the hands of the generals, but will be directly distributed by the pay officer."

"If you receive less pay than you deserve, just tell me, and the official in charge of distributing the pay will be executed!"

Under the relentless suppression of the civil officials, the Ming military was having a very difficult time.

Delays and withholding of wages were commonplace.

Even if the military pay was indeed sufficient, it was distributed layer by layer from the general to the commander-in-chief, and then to the captains and lieutenants.

Each time you go through a floor, you will be penalized once.

Of those that ultimately fell into the hands of the military households, less than one in ten survived.

The pay the soldiers received was not enough to support themselves, let alone their families.

How could soldiers who watched their families starve to death be willing to risk their lives for the Ming Dynasty?

Without the protection of the army, the demise of the Ming Dynasty was inevitable and destined.

Lin Dao was well aware of these bad habits in the military.

This is a newly formed army, so they can set their own rules.

He directly deprived military officers at all levels of the opportunity to reach out for their pay, and instead directly distributed military salaries.

No one should try to take a cut of the military pay.

On the day of pay, soldiers were given a day off, and they happily went home to hand over their pay to their families.

Although the design is unique, the silver is genuine.

These former refugees not only received enough rice to feed their families, but now they also receive wages.

Each and every one of them was deeply grateful to Instructor Lin.

They all urged the soldiers to listen to Instructor Lin and serve him well.

The soldiers worked even harder and more diligently in their subsequent training.

As dusk approached, Lin Dao set off to return to the city.

Back at the house he had bought, Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan served him a meal.

"There was quite a commotion in the city today."

While Lin Dao was eating, Dong Xiaowan couldn't help but say, "They say there's been a major case in the city, and there are soldiers patrolling the streets."

"Over there on Liren Street, there lives a philanthropist named Jing."

“In the past, those who repaired bridges and paved roads, and distributed porridge and rice were highly praised by their neighbors.”

"I never imagined that my whole family would be gone on my birthday."

"I heard it was done by the military households; all the military camps inside and outside the city were searched."

"Master," Dong Xiaowan asked cautiously, "Are you aware of this matter while you are in the camp?"

Lin Dao picked up his soup bowl and drank the soup. "The Yongwei Battalion hasn't even distributed many swords and spears, so where would they get muskets?"

Lin Dao took a sip of soup, put down the bowl, and suddenly felt a pang in his heart.

His gaze swept over, and sure enough, Dong Xiaowan was silently staring at him.

She didn't say that the search of the camp was to find muskets.

"Don't talk when you eat, don't talk when you sleep."

Lin Dao frowned. "Don't talk while eating!"

Dong Xiaowan smiled charmingly and replied, "Yes, sir~~~"

After the meal, Dong Xiaowan called over a maid, "Qiu Chan, thank the master properly."

Qiu Chan felt bewildered, but quickly bowed and thanked her.

"Her sister has been found."

"She was lucky to survive; her health wasn't damaged before she was saved."

"This is a star deity from heaven descending to earth to help."

Lin Dao, with his eyes closed, raised his hand to rub his temples. "Alright."

As Qiu Chan tidied the table, Chen Yuanyuan said, "Master, Lord Ruan has sent a visiting card and wishes to pay a visit."

"Which Lord Ruan? From now on, just say his name."

"Yes."

"It is Ruan Dacheng, Ruan Baoqing, Lord Ruan."

Ruan Dacheng once served as the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was in charge of food and drink, so he was also known as the Minister of Abundance.

"Did you say what it was about?"

"No, that means I wish to visit you, sir."

"It's really troublesome!"

(End of this chapter)