Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 152 Here we are, as stable as Mount Tai!
The river surged and roared, its waves crashing like thunder.

After millions of years, the mighty river still surges and rushes into the sea.

Hundreds of boats, large and small, struggled upstream on the river.

On the deck, Lin Dao was taking a selfie with his phone.

Looking at his own imposing image on the phone screen, Lin Dao burst out laughing, "The more I look at it, the more it seems to be glowing."

"What else can I say? I can only say that my moral standards are too high."

They travel back and forth busily, all so that the people who suffer endless hardships in this era can live a better life.

If he lacked morality, he could easily thrive and live a carefree life by relying on his wealth, technology, and special abilities to build a team and plunder all directions, or by infiltrating the Ming Dynasty system.

Get your hands on some good stuff and sell it in the modern world. Become a yacht stunner and a happy, wealthy woman who travels the world.

In the other world, he lives a comfortable life as a lord, enjoying the happiness and comfort of being a superior person.

This kind of lifestyle is almost the same as practicing evil cultivation.

Putting away his phone, Lin Dao was still laughing. "You're always traveling back and forth between different worlds. You're driving me crazy."

A voice inside him kept comforting him.

Why work so hard? What does it matter to you whether others are doing well or poorly?

'Wouldn't it be better to have the ability to travel through time and live a comfortable life?'

Even if I don't become a heretical cultivator, being a wealthy man is quite good.

A life with countless servants, surrounded by beautiful women, indulging in delicacies, and living in luxury cars and mansions is the common goal pursued by everyone.

'Why should you do so much for others? Wouldn't it be better to use that time and energy to do more pile driving?'

Lin Dao, standing on the deck, glanced towards the shore.

Groups of men and women, dragging long ropes, struggled to pull the boat forward.

An old man brought a bucket of water, and a child brought dry food.

Men, women, and children all pitched in, using their own shoulders to pull the Lindao fleet forward in this time of adversity.

This was not a forced labor service; it was the people along the river who, upon hearing the news, spontaneously came to tow the boat.

In the words of the old man who came aboard to offer local specialties.

"The General's kindness is like that of a second parent."

"We have no way to repay you, but we can do our part."

"The commander-in-chief is going to rescue the suffering people of Huguang. We can only do what we can."

He stepped forward and came to the side of the ship.

Looking at the countless people on the shore not far away, Lin Dao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Perhaps, it is for the sake of these people who bear suffering yet remain simple and honest, so that they can live a better life."

A disturbance gradually arose along the riverbank.

"It's the Commander-in-Chief!"

"The commander-in-chief is watching us~~"

"General, may you be victorious!"

Countless people bowed in the direction of the forest road, thanking the commander for giving them a new life.

For thousands of years, I have never seen such kindness towards the people.

The cheers, rising and falling from the heart, were exhilarating.

The soldiers on the ship also stood tall and straight, their breathing quickening.

I wish I could fly to the battlefield right now and wipe out all the enemies for the commander-in-chief.

The people's hearts, the army's hearts.

After receiving much help from the forest, they reciprocated in the most simple and honest way.

"That's it."

Lin Dao took a breath and said, "Then let's continue!"

Jiujiang Prefecture is located at the throat of the Yangtze River.

It guards the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake.

Heading west, one can reach Wuchang directly; heading east, one can reach Anqing and Nanjing.

Heading south into Poyang Lake would allow control of Jiangxi Province, making it a true strategic location.

Zuo Liangyu, who suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Li Zicheng at Zhuxian Town, stationed his army of 200,000 here.

He ignored the emperor's repeated imperial edicts urging him to pay his dues and only demanded more food and supplies.

After the Battle of Zhuxian Town, Zuo Liangyu finally understood the ways of the world.

Everything else is fake, only the soldiers, horses, money, and provisions are real.

As long as you have troops and supplies, what does an imperial edict matter?

It's just a piece of paper!

His plan was to wait for Zhang Xianzhong and the Wuchang garrison to fight each other to the death, and then he would take advantage of the situation.

Unexpectedly, the bandits from the east took the initiative to attack.

"Lan Valley".

Upon seeing his deputy general Ma Shixiu return, Zuo Liangyu hurriedly asked, "How did it go? Is Lin Dao willing to withdraw his troops?"

Having fought so many wars over the years, Zuo Liangyu knew the trick of nurturing enemies to enhance his own prestige.

Unwilling to engage in a direct confrontation with Lin Dao, he dispatched his trusted general, Ma Shixiu, to negotiate with Lin Dao.

The condition was that after he recaptured Wuchang Prefecture, he could give Jiujiang Prefecture and even the entire Jiangxi Province to Lin Dao.

"Commander Zuo."

Ma Shixiu angrily exclaimed, "Lin the traitor is despicable!"

"Not only did they disagree with the withdrawal, they also called our army a bandit army that harmed the people and should be executed."

The surrounding generals were immediately in an uproar.

Everyone was shouting that they wanted to go and kill that Lin thief.

Only Zuo Liangyu remained silent.

When the noise subsided, Zuo Liangyu finally spoke, "This Lin thief is not simple."

"In a short period of time, they swept across the Jiangnan region and even marched north to annihilate the Jurchen army."

"You know how difficult it is to defeat the Jurchens."

Zuo Liangyu came from Ningyuan Guard and had fought against the Jurchens many years ago.

He understood perfectly well how difficult it was to defeat the Jurchens.

If Lin Zexu could defeat the Jurchens, wouldn't he be even more powerful than them?

Faced with a formidable enemy, Zuo Liangyu instinctively felt some fear.

In the early days, they were afraid of the Jurchens; after Zhuxian Town, they were afraid of Li Zicheng; and now they are worried about Lindao.

How come this great Ming Dynasty produces so many heroic figures!

"Father, Commander."

Zuo Menggeng stepped forward and said, "It's not that we want to fight him, it's that he attacked us first."

"Besides, even if Lin is good on land, he may not be so good on water."

"We have many ships and people, and we are located upstream. We can defeat them in one battle if we sail down the river!" When Zuo Liangyu fled to Wuchang Prefecture, he simply took all the ships in Wuchang Prefecture with him because the King of Chu refused to provide him with provisions.

Upon arriving in Jiujiang Prefecture, they gathered all the boats on the river and Poyang Lake.

At this time, he had hundreds or thousands of boats of various sizes in his possession.

Putting aside other aspects, in terms of the overall size of the Ming Dynasty's navy, only Zheng Zhilong was stronger than him.

"Ah."

Zuo Liangyu felt that his son made sense.

Since you're so great on land, then I'll fight you on the water!
Without a navy, there is no logistics or supplies, so the only option is to retreat.

He got up and went to the map to examine it carefully. After a moment, he slapped the map with his hand.

"Fight right here!"

The place he filmed is called Madang.

Madang, also known as Madang Gorge.

It is located north of the Yangtze River, and its mountain shape resembles a horse, hence the name.

Madang Mountain and the sandy beach in the river face each other across the distance, forming a triangular formation.

A sandbar in the river divides the Yangtze River in two.

The left channel is narrow and has become silted up and impassable.

The right channel flows past Madang Mountain and is the main waterway.

This is the narrowest point in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, less than two hundred zhang wide.

The rapid currents and treacherous terrain have created a formidable natural barrier, making it impregnable for even a single man to hold off ten thousand.

"Commander."

A scout came to report, "Zuo Liangyu's bandit navy has blockaded Madang Gorge, with numerous ships blocking the river."

Zuo Liangyu's navy not only blocked the waterway, but even strung iron chains across the river.

Continuing to move forward under these circumstances would be extremely difficult.

"Is there a garrison on Mount Madang?"

Lin Dao didn't care about this; if he were on the other side, he would have done the same.

Madang Mountain is not high, only a little over 100 meters high.

However, the terrain is extremely treacherous, extending deep into the Yangtze River, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The night scout reported again, "Judging from the flags, there should be a military unit stationed on the mountain."

The Ming army's organization was rather chaotic, with some divisions having three to five hundred men, while others had seven or eight hundred.

Under normal circumstances, a commander of a thousand men leads two divisions, and each division consists of five hundred men.

Lin Dao stood up. "You think you can stop me by relying on the terrain? Do you think you can?"

Two days later, a battalion composed of new recruits from Yiwu, Wenzhou, Taizhou and other places completed its assembly at the foot of Madang Mountain.

The left flank of the enemy on the shore has been defeated, and Madang Mountain has become an isolated island.

"brothers!"

The captain shouted loudly, "We are deeply grateful for the great commander's favor!"

"We have enough to eat, warm clothes, and plenty of food and drink!"

"The commander-in-chief gave us such a large settlement allowance and paid us military salaries that were higher than mountains, and he never missed a payment!"

“Our families can now receive provisions, salt, and cloth to live a good life, with enough to eat and wear, without worrying about being sold for food.”

"Tell me honestly, are you living a good life now?"

Hundreds of soldiers shouted in unison.

“Okay~~~”

The captain continued to shout, "The commander has been supporting my whole family for many days."

"Now the commander-in-chief is stuck here by boat."

"Now is the time for us to repay the General's kindness!"

The soldiers shouted again.

"I'd die for the Commander-in-Chief!"

Pre-war mobilization cannot consist of mere slogans; such pronouncements are too dry.

The practical benefits should not be overlooked.

"The commander-in-chief has given the order!"

The captain shouted again, "Whoever beheads a bandit soldier from the left wing will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and a military merit!"

"If injured to the point of disability, one can leave the military and take up a post in various prefectures and counties."

"If someone dies in battle, and has sons, the sons will inherit their fathers' jobs and receive pensions until they reach the age of sixteen and join the army."

"If there are no children, an adopted child can be adopted to carry on the family line, and the child will be treated the same."

The sergeant drew his sword and raised it high.

"Brothers, now is the time to repay the Commander's kindness!"

Hundreds of soldiers, their eyes red, raised their weapons and shouted.

"kill!"

"kill!!"

"kill!!!"

The sound of killing shook the sky.

Not only the Left Army on Madang Mountain, but also the Left Army in the fleet on the river, were trembling with fear.

Those veterans could tell from the shouts.

This is fighting with the mindset of certain death.

The whole family is treated so well, and they have no worries about the future, plus the rewards are so high.

These soldiers from Yiwu, Taizhou, Wenzhou, and other places all had bloodshot eyes.

It's just a war.

Back in my hometown, there were armed conflicts every year; it was nothing special!

Fight to the death for the commander!
The soldiers guarding Madang Mountain looked terrified.

The soldiers below, charging uphill, were all wearing armor!
And they're all armored!
This must be the adopted sons of the bandit leader's old camp. It's just a small hill, why invest so much?

On a large boat on the river, Ma Shixiu, with a solemn expression, bowed to Zuo Liangyu.

"General Zuo, it seems we cannot hold Madang Mountain."

"If the enemy troops bring cannons up the mountain, it could ruin everything."

Zuo Liangyu laughed heartily upon hearing this, "You've been there too. This Madang Mountain is extremely steep, and it's difficult for even people to walk up it. How can you transport cannons up the mountain?"

"Small cannons like the Tiger Crouching Cannon are useless if they are transported up there."

"If it were real heavy artillery, it wouldn't be able to get up there at all."

"No need to worry~~~"

"Our position here is as stable as Mount Tai!"

(End of this chapter)