Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 123 You took it, he took it, everyone took it, so what am I supposed to take?
"Zihou~"

Han Zanzhou stroked the gemstone ring. "His Majesty has sent another decree urging us to hurry up."

"Are you in such a hurry to summon that miracle doctor surnamed A, what's his name again?"

Lin Dao, fiddling with the lid of his teacup, chuckled and replied, "Avatar."

"Correct."

The eunuch in charge looked surprised. "This name is really quite strange."

"That amazing doctor~~~"

"Clang!" Lin Dao put down his teacup, the crisp sound interrupting Han Zanzhou's question.

"Lord Han," he looked over, "you must know what kind of temperament the Emperor has."

Of course I understand.

He was mean and ungrateful, and no matter how great his achievements were, he felt it was all deserved.

If anything goes wrong, the blame is immediately shifted.

It's easy to forget a debt of gratitude, but hard to forget a debt of hatred.

Lin Dao smiled and said, "Lord Han, only when the emperor keeps urging you will he remember your contributions."

Upon hearing this, Han Zanzhou, beaming with smiles, pointed at Lin Dao.

“We’ve told you long ago, what kind of business are you thinking of doing?”

"If you were to enter the imperial court, you would be a man of great talent, like Zhang Jiangling."

Lin Dao smiled but said nothing.

It may seem like a regret, but what I really think is...

'Zhang Jiangling devoted himself wholeheartedly to extending the life of the Zhu family; how did the Zhu family repay him?'

'Dig up the grave and whip the corpse! Let the whole family starve to death!'

"You're saying I'm like Zhang Jiangling?"

"Are you cursing me, you eunuch?"

"By the way," Han Zanzhou began to get down to business, "how's the situation at the Yongwei Battalion?"

"I was just about to report this to Lord Han." Lin Dao immediately poured out his grievances, "Many of those refugees are making trouble. I beg Lord Han to distribute more grain and make the porridge at the soup kitchen thicker so as to shut them up."

"A bunch of ungrateful bastards," Han Zanzhou sneered.

"It's good enough to have a bowl of porridge to drink. So many people in the north have been reduced to white meat."

“Our family is kind-hearted. Giving them the title of Brave Guard Battalion will prevent them from becoming roadside corpses and being devoured by wild dogs.”

"If they don't know how to be grateful, that's fine. Our family doesn't care about these empty titles."

"They're really pushing their luck and want to eat more?"

"Our family is penniless; where would we get so much food to feed them!"

Han Zanzhou is overconfident.

He thought he could control Lin Dao, but he was completely unaware of the true situation within the Yongwei Camp.

They truly believed they had achieved two goals at once: solving the problem of displaced people and having a large sum of military funds to embezzle.

Moreover, if anything goes wrong, the blame can be shifted to Lin Daotou.

When the time comes, Jubaolou, which makes a fortune every day, will have to change owners.

"Lord Han".

Lin Dao looked troubled.

"Even if the refugees don't eat it, I won't take it."

"But you generals need to eat and drink."

Apart from the supervising eunuch Zhang, the positions of officers at all levels in the Jinling Brave Guard Battalion had already been decided long ago.

As for the specific identities of these people, it's obvious without even asking.

They were either born into noble families or into prominent gentry families.

Of course, the core members of the family would never do such a shameful and arduous job.

The people arranged for them were all illegitimate sons, concubines, relatives from other branches of the family, and distant relatives.

In Han Zanzhou's view, he had his own adopted grandson, and so many people were keeping an eye on the Yongwei Battalion.

Even though Lin Dao was as cunning as a devil, he couldn't stir up any trouble.

Since no one has reported any problems, then there must be no problems.

Han Zanzhou could understand what Lin Dao said.

After all, the ones above have eaten all the meat, so the little ones below should at least have some soup.

"That's it."

After thinking it over carefully, Han Zanzhou reluctantly agreed, "Then I'll provide another three thousand shi of grain."

He couldn't help but remind them, "These days, even a bushel of miscellaneous grains costs two taels of silver."

It means that we've given you six thousand taels this time, so behave yourselves and don't ask for more.

You took it, he took it, everyone took it, so what am I supposed to take?
Lin Dao remained calm and said, "Thank you, Lord Han."

'You stingy, penniless wretch!'

'Everyone says eunuchs are greedy and stingy, and they're absolutely right!'

He will definitely resell these grains.

The silver they received would also be distributed among the commanders, captains, and lieutenants.

What Han Zanzhou didn't know was that these generals had never even been to the military camp!

During this period, they lived in brothels and taverns.

They lived a life of debauchery and carefree pleasure.

These people are not from the direct line of descent, and they haven't really enjoyed that many resources.

Now that we have the opportunity to enjoy ourselves, we're already so happy we don't even want to go back home.

Who would be crazy enough to leave their comfortable life and run to the military camp in the wasteland outside the city to see what the situation was like there?

All their expenses were paid for by Young Master Lin!
Lin Dao had already taken control of Han Zanzhou's eyes and tentacles sent to the Yongwei Camp.

All the information he knows now was given to him by Lin Dao.

As for the true situation inside the Yongwei Camp, we can only find out when the main army enters the city.

Standing outside the gate of the Imperial Palace in Jinling City.

Lin Dao gazed at the magnificent, colossal palace complex.

Built by filling in Yanque Lake, its inherent flaws, after more than two hundred years of accumulation, have inevitably surfaced.

The palace gradually sank, revealing countless cracks and fissures everywhere.

Just like the Ming Dynasty, it still looked quite glorious on the surface.

But internally, it was already on the verge of collapse.

"I don't know."

Lin Dao mounted his horse, turned it around, and gradually moved away from the palace. "Is it that Tian Deman's curse, which has lasted for more than two hundred years, is about to come true?"

Legend has it that when Zhu Yuanzhang built the imperial palace, he filled in Yanque Lake.

Hundreds of thousands of laborers were mobilized, but the land could not be filled.

Some suggested offering sacrifices to the lake god.

A laborer named Tian Deman became the sacrifice. There really wasn't much sunlight in ancient times.

More than anything, it's a cruel and appalling darkness.

Lin Dao was not assimilated by the times, not because he possessed an iron will.

Rather, it lies in his ability to return to the modern world at any time.

This is the only reason why he didn't lose his original nature and gradually became assimilated into a pervert.

"It's time for Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty to come to an end."

Upon returning to the mansion, Lin Dao went to the east courtyard.

"Instructor~~~"

The dozen or so teenagers who were reading inside the room all stood up and bowed to Lin Dao.

These were all selected by Lin Dao from the youth camp, and he planned to train them as bodyguards.

Among the refugees, all males aged twelve to sixteen were sent to the youth camp.

During the day, they practiced martial arts, military formations, and learned to identify military flags and bugles, as well as military knowledge such as scouting and patrolling.

After dinner, we would go to night school to learn literacy and arithmetic.

Those with outstanding performance may be selected for the Royal Guard.

He was selected for the Royal Guard and received very generous treatment.

Not only could they receive generous salaries, but they could also eat and dress well and become the instructor's confidants.

To the refugees, these were just servants.

On the other side, the bandits would call them adopted sons.

It is precisely because of this kind of encouragement that these teenagers are working harder than the rest of them.

Their diligence and hard work in studying are comparable to those of a modern exam preparation class.

"How's the food here?"

They were fed rice, flour, and animal feed together, and were also given stir-fried cabbage with oil as a side dish.

One can of meat every day, and fatty pork every three days.

It was the time when they were growing, and they ate plenty of oily and salty food.

"Is your accommodation alright?"

It's hot now, and everyone has a thin military blanket, so it's manageable to squeeze onto the large communal sleeping area.

Are you studying diligently?

He studied and practiced diligently every day, never giving up.

The young people knew how precious the opportunity was.

They were selected as instructors and bodyguards, and their families walked with their heads held high in the military dependents' village.

Lin expressed his concern and urged him to take care of his health and seek medical attention promptly if he fell ill.

As evening approached, Lin Dao went to the flower hall for dinner.

He is now having dinner, and there are now three people serving him.

The dishes were still cooked by Dong Xiaowan, and the work of serving the rice and dishes was still done by Chen Yuanyuan.

She was somewhat reluctant at first.

But after Li Xiangjun arrived, she immediately became very proactive, afraid that her job would be taken away.

As for Li Xiangjun, she wanted to pour wine, but Lin Dao said that he didn't drink while eating.

She wanted to play the zither and dance to entertain them, but Lin Dao had developed a habit in the Beggars' Army that he didn't use these things at all.

The result was that I stood there helplessly, not knowing what to do.

What alarmed her even more was that every night, apart from the occasional opportunity that Dong Xiaowan had, she and Chen Yuanyuan had absolutely no chance at all.

This made Li Xiangjun's sense of crisis even more intense.

In wealthy families, the fate of a disgraced courtesan is often tragic.

If it's given away as a commodity, that's considered good.

Even being forced to marry servants or maids is considered a kind of ending.

What's worse is being used as a tool for entertaining guests, which is even worse than being in the building before.

Their predecessors had seen too many examples of this.

As for why she didn't find a chance to escape, it was because her indenture had been given to Lin Dao by Ruan Dacheng.

Some people even asked, why not steal the indenture before running away?
The status of a slave is not just a piece of paper, but more importantly, it is recorded in the official archives.

A mere contract of indenture is of little use; only by truly freeing oneself from slavery can one be considered a human being.

Seeing Lin Dao return to his room after dinner, Dong Xiaowan followed him in, swaying slightly.

Li Xiangjun hurriedly went to Chen Yuanyuan, who was tidying up the table, and said, "Sister Yuanyuan, we can't go on like this."

Chen Yuanyuan seemed a little absent-minded. "What do you want to say?"

"Oops~"

Li Xiangjun, who appears as serene as a chrysanthemum on the outside, is actually an impatient person.

"Sister Yuanyuan, have you forgotten Sister Jinhua, Sister Xianglan, Sister Yujin, and Fu Niang?"

Chen Yuanyuan, who was tidying up the table, paused.

These are all predecessors who once enjoyed great success.

However, after they married into wealthy families, their fates became increasingly tragic.

Being driven out and left to fend for oneself when one is old and faded is considered a good outcome.

Many people died without a trace, their bodies simply rolled up in tattered mats and thrown into mass graves.

“If we continue to be so disliked,” Li Xiangjun grabbed her hand, “do you really want to be a maid for the rest of your life?”

The usual fate of maids was to be taken away and married off to servants.

"Where did you hear all this from?" Chen Yuanyuan found it somewhat amusing. "Don't scare yourself."

"Of course, it was said by the people in the building."

Li Xiangjun proudly raised her granary, saying, "Although there aren't many good people in this building, they rarely gossip wrongly."

"Then what do you want to do?" Chen Yuanyuan simply sat down and looked up at her.

With her view somewhat obstructed, Chen Yuanyuan frowned and stepped back.

"Sister Yuanyuan, I don't believe that the master can really ignore the two of us beauties."

Li Xiangjun was certain that Master Lin did not like eating peaches separately.

Although he was fair-skinned and beardless, he wasn't like the eunuchs, lacking a core.

On occasional nights, Dong Xiaowan's singing voice was melodious and graceful, her singing lingering in the air.

If that's the case, then it's absolutely impossible to truly ignore her and Chen Yuanyuan.

She leaned forward and grasped Chen Yuanyuan's hand, her pretty face full of sincerity.

"Let's attack together!"

Chen Yuanyuan, leaning back, exclaimed, "Ah~"

"what?!"

(End of this chapter)