Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 156 It wasn't me! I didn't! You're lying! (Bonus chapter for Silver Alliance Leader Warm Sun 1314)

"Father, Commander."

Inside a residential building in Wuchang City.

Li Dingguo, who had returned quietly, was carrying a bowl of steaming corn porridge. "Eat something to fill your stomach."

Zhang Xianzhong took the bowl, and the sweet aroma of corn porridge filled the room.

The sound of drums resounded from the stomachs of the people around them.

"Hahaha~~~"

Zhang Xianzhong, holding a bowl of porridge, burst into laughter.

"I've lost and been defeated in my life, and there have been times when I was chased to the point of having nowhere to go."

"But never before have I lost everything so in such a muddled way!"

He laughed and patted his face, saying, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

Zhang Xianzhong was truly enraged.

They entered Wuchang Prefecture in high spirits.

They acquired countless riches, resources, and people, and were planning to enjoy them to the fullest.

Lin Dao's troops seized the opportunity to attack, not only forcing him to flee in panic, but also trapping him inside the city, unable to move.

After so many years as a rebel, this was Zhang Xianzhong's most crushing defeat.

Sun Kewang immediately spoke up, "Father, Commander."

"It's all because that scoundrel Lin Dao is so unethical."

"We all rose up against the Ming Dynasty, so we should have the same ideals and goals."

“Even if we are not on good terms, we should not have launched a sneak attack while we were fighting the Ming army.”

"This person is a despicable scoundrel!"

"Don't say such things." Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand. "A loss is a loss, and you have to accept it! You have to stand at attention when you're being beaten!"

"We'll get our revenge when the opportunity arises in the future."

Over the years, he had been chased by the imperial army to the point of having nowhere to go but heaven and earth.

Although they were trapped inside Wuchang City, they were not panicked.

He has extensive experience in escaping danger.

Once the defenders are relaxed, they can seize the opportunity to leave the city and once again enjoy the vastness of the sky and fly freely like birds.

Once we raise our troops again, we will definitely have a good fight with that bastard Lin Dao!
"Don't say anything more." Zhang Xianzhong handed the corn porridge in his hand to Sun Kewang. "You can eat it."

Sun Kewang took it with both hands, inhaled the aroma of the corn porridge, and greedily took a sip.

Then it was handed to Li Dingguo.

At this time, the dozens of people around Zhang Xianzhong were his most core members.

Loyal and devoted, the kind who would stand by you through thick and thin.

They didn't stand on ceremony and shared the corn porridge, one bite at a time.

"Tell me," Zhang Xianzhong said, glancing at Liu Wenxiu who was licking his bowl, then looking at Li Dingguo. "What's the situation outside?"

"The people of Lindao are bringing peace to the people."

Li Dingguo, who was once again risking going out to collect porridge, pondered for a moment, "Many places have added porridge stalls, and anyone can go and get a bowl."

“Armored soldiers patrolled the streets, and anyone who violated the law was arrested and killed on the spot.”

“Our soldiers, and the Ming soldiers, who were all found out, were all tied up and sent outside the city.”

"As for the ruffians and beggars, they were chopped up right there in the street."

This has been a tradition in the forest trails.

Wherever he went, he would first clean up the city's shady dealings, rats, beggars, and so on.

These people are of no benefit whatsoever; they are all masters at harming the people.

They cheat, swindle, steal, murder, and rob.

They were utterly wicked.

Lin Dao always dealt a heavy blow to such villains, wiping them out completely.

Only in this way can the people live a peaceful life.

After all, most of the time, ordinary people dared not speak out against bullies.

"correct."

Li Dingguo smiled and said, "When I was getting the porridge, I overheard someone saying that the King of Chu had died."

Zhang Xianzhong stroked his beard and pondered, "Lin Dao is quite ruthless."

"not him."

Li Dingguo shook his head repeatedly, saying, "I heard that Lin Dao handed over the Prince of Chu to the people of Wuchang Prefecture to deal with."

"The people hated the King of Chu to the extreme, and I heard he died a terrible death."

"King of Chu~" Zhang Xianzhong grinned, about to say something, when he heard a roar coming from the street outside.

It's the lookouts outside giving the warning!

Everyone instinctively looked at Li Dingguo.

Only Zhang Xianzhong suddenly stood up from the straw mat and shouted, "Let's go!"

The wall between this courtyard and the adjacent building had long been broken down.

Zhang Xianzhong was the first to rush through the gap and reach the neighboring courtyard.

Before he could make a further move, the courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open.

A large number of armored soldiers surged in like a tide.

Looking at the thick iron armor on the soldiers, a look of despair flashed in Zhang Xianzhong's eyes.

Their armor was cumbersome, so they had long since discarded it.

At this time, they mostly wore leather armor made of deerskin, with at most a chainmail underneath.

Compared to these armored soldiers who are like lumps of iron from head to toe, there's no comparison.

"rush out!"

Zhang Xianzhong was extremely brave and charged forward with his sword.

His adopted son and the old thief from the camp also stepped forward.

Swords flashed, spears clashed, and hammers struck.

In a brief but intense clash, more than a dozen of Zhang Xianzhong's men fell.

On the armored soldiers' side, the few who fell were at most injured.

This is one of the key reasons why Zhang Xianzhong's army was so easily defeated in the battle a few days ago.

At that time, in addition to the fact that the troops were scattered and caught off guard by the sudden attack,

Lin Dao's troops were almost all armored soldiers, and all of them were in iron armor, so they were simply no match for him.

The overwhelming advantage in equipment cannot be compensated for by martial prowess.

Zhang Xianzhong and his men were forced into their houses.

Sun Kewang took out a tinderbox and blew hard, and flames rose up.

He took out a three-barreled gun about a foot long, lit it with a tinderbox, and pointed it out the window.

After the three sprays, several armored soldiers outside fell down.

The distance was too close; a well-made musket would be enough to take down an armored soldier.

Shouts rang out, and the armored soldiers in the courtyard quickly retreated, dragging their wounded comrades.

"If each of us had a musket," Zhang Xianzhong joked, "we wouldn't have lost to these tin cans."

This sounds simple, but in reality, even the Ming army, which was only partially equipped with firearms, couldn't do it.

During the Ming Dynasty, artisans were practically slaves, living in extreme misery and having no inclination to create exquisite works.

The success rate for high-quality items is extremely low; you might not find a usable high-quality item among hundreds of samples. The probability of getting a high-quality item is roughly the same as the probability of winning a lottery.

The three-barreled gun in Sun Kewang's hand was the best among the many captured firearms.

Footsteps sounded again outside the courtyard.

The armored soldiers who rushed in this time all had thick riot shields raised in the front row.

They huddled together, forming a shield wall, and advanced to a position seven or eight steps away from the house.

The shield landed.

The next moment, Zhang Xianzhong and the others inside the room all paused in their breathing.

Behind the shields were several rows of armored soldiers holding muskets!
Such a close distance, such a narrow house.

After several rounds of musket fire, it was estimated that there was no one left standing in the room.

If the armored soldiers with shields rush in to sweep again, everyone will die!
"It's gone down~~~"

Zhang Xianzhong suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am Zhang Xianzhong, I surrender!"

The group threw their weapons out of the doors and windows.

Then, one by one, they walked out of the house with their hands raised.

The armored soldiers stepped forward, knocked the man down with their shields, then took out ropes, tied him up securely, and dragged him out of the courtyard.

Zhang Xianzhong, who was dragged out bound hand and foot, looked at the densely packed armored soldiers standing in the streets outside and could only manage a bitter smile.

With such a ferocity, how could anyone possibly escape?

Li Dingguo, who followed him out, saw this scene and exclaimed in a trembling voice, "It wasn't me!"

"Child."

Zhang Xianzhong smiled at him and said, "I believe you."

The group was brought before Lin Dao.

Unable to contain himself, Li Dingguo blurted out, "How did you find us?"

I don't understand, he won't be able to rest in peace even in death.

Lin Dao laughed.

He joked, "You were the one who volunteered for me and brought me here. Have you forgotten already?"

Li Dingguo's face instantly turned red.

"It wasn't me! I didn't do it! You're lying!"

"Haha~~~"

Lin Dao laughed and said, "Just kidding."

“During the interrogation of the prisoners, we learned that you are still inside the city.”

"We searched for two days but couldn't find them."

"I figured I had to eat no matter what."

"Veterans were stationed at each soup kitchen."

“A person who has been to the battlefield,” Lin Dao pointed to Li Dingguo’s hands, feet, and eyes. “He is different from ordinary people.”

"Although you were very cautious, you went to different soup kitchens for three consecutive days."

"But strangers are already under scrutiny."

"In addition, you have large hands and feet, calluses on your hands and feet, arrow wounds on your cheeks, and a wary and murderous aura."

"Finding it is not difficult."

Li Dingguo breathed a sigh of relief.

He proved his innocence, showing that he hadn't betrayed his godfather.

"General Lin~~~" Zhang Xianzhong said with a beaming smile, "You're amazing, I'm impressed."

"I'll follow you from now on and be your loyal servant."

"I don't want anything, just give me some food, okay?"

His smile was radiant, and his face was full of sincerity.

Lin Dao, who had been laughing earlier, slowly stopped laughing upon hearing this.

Meeting Lin Daowei's slightly cold gaze, Zhang Xianzhong's smile gradually faded.

"Eight Great Kings".

Lin Dao spoke slowly, "Are you looking down on me?"

"Do you think I'm some kind of idiot like Chen Qiyu or Xiong Wencan?"

"It's possible once, it's possible twice, but it's not possible three times."

"You've faked surrender so many times already, are you still going to try this on me?"

In the seventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Zhang Xianzhong was trapped in Chexiang Gorge.

He bribed Chen Qiyu, the governor of five provinces, with gold and silver jewelry, and then feigned surrender to escape.

In the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Zhang Xianzhong accepted the offer of amnesty from the renowned Governor-General Xiong Wencan.

After four years of rest and recuperation in Gucheng, the troops rebelled again.

The Saint Seiya warriors dared not use the same move a second time.

Zhang Xianzhong had already used the feigned surrender tactic twice, and he wanted to use it a third time in Lindao.

Do you really think Lin Dao hasn't read history books?

"That's all."

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head repeatedly, saying, "It's not a disgrace that I fell into your hands."

Sun Kewang shouted from the side, "General Lin!"

"We are all rebels against the Ming Dynasty! Why must we kill each other!"

"Wouldn't this cause pain to loved ones and joy to enemies?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao shook his head, "What you said is not right."

He pointed to himself and said, "I am a rebel."

He then pointed at Zhang Xianzhong and said, "You are thieves."

"The so-called righteous army is one that resists injustice and upholds justice."

"You all," Lin Dao narrowed his eyes, scanning the crowd, "have you already forgotten what you did in the past?"

“Being hostile on the battlefield is understandable.”

Even a feigned surrender can be considered a strategy.

Lin Dao swept his riding whip across the crowd.

"They massacred cities, looted, burned villages and destroyed towns, forcibly abducted people, raped women, and treated human life as worthless."

He took a deep breath, his voice booming.

"Have you forgotten all the crimes you've committed?!"

The surroundings were silent, except for the roars echoing from the forest path.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Xianzhong looked up and stared directly at him, saying, "You are the reincarnation of Buddha, with the heart of a Bodhisattva."

"I am a sinful and wicked ghost, and I deserve to die."

He turned his head to signal to his adopted sons.

"I've had enough of living. Dying at your hands wouldn't be a disgrace to my reputation."

"I just beg you to spare my kids."

Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and others shouted in unison.

"Father!!"

"We are willing to live and die together!"

(End of this chapter)