Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 175 The day was finally clear!
"This book is good."

Lin Dao raised his hand and pointed to a book on the table called "Donglin Generals' Record".

He gestured to Wu Sangui, "I have already dealt with a number of the people above."

"Take this book and deal with the remaining followers who are in the capital but whose homes are in various parts of Beizhili."

"The practice of extorting money started with these Donglin Party members."

Wu Sangui stepped forward, picked up the "Donglin Generals' List," and replied, "This humble general will do his utmost."

"be quick."

Lin Dao instructed, "There's not much time to waste on them."

"You don't need to worry too much about the techniques; use whatever you can."

"These people may be cunning and cruel, but that's how they treat others. When it comes to themselves, they are nothing but despicable."

"I have some experience and insights in this regard."

"You can arrange for the jailers and yamen runners from Shuntian Prefecture to do the work; they are very experienced in this area."

He then added a patch: "It was agreed before that half of the stolen pay would go to the Guan Ning Army."

"I'm a man of my word, and I'll never shortchange you."

"However, this only applies to silver."

Wu Sangui bowed respectfully and said, "Thunder and rain are all the great general's bestowal."

"The commander-in-chief gave the Guan Ning Army a chance, and the entire Guan Ning Army was extremely grateful."

Lin Dao nodded. "Bring all the families of the Guan Ning Army here. I will arrange for them to live in various places in Jiangnan."

Wu Sangui was taken aback for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Commander!"

A mixture of joy and anger.

What's infuriating is that these people will become hostages later.

The good news is that the commander-in-chief has given them, Guan Ning Army, some initial recognition, proving that they are still useful.

Otherwise, there would be no need for such trouble; we could just deal with everything.

"General," Wu Sangui bowed again, "a sinful subject has come to find me, saying that he has important news to report to you."

"Criminal subject?"

"Which one?"

"Zu Dashu."

"Hey~ it's him."

"This is your humble servant, Zu Dashou." Zu Dashou, dressed in a monk's robe and sporting a large bald head, entered and immediately bowed, saying, "Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!"

He was once a prominent figure in the Guan Ning Army, but after being defeated, he surrendered to the Tartars, and his whole family did too.

Lin Dao looked at his bald head, which was completely bald, and the long, thin rat tail on the back of his head was gone, so it must have been shaved off.

He asked gently, "Tell me, what's the situation on the Tartar side right now?"

Lin Dao was always very polite when he needed something.

Zu Dashou kept his head down on the ground, not raising it.

It seems that the Tartars have already honed their kowtowing skills to perfection.

"After the defeated soldiers returned to Liaodong one after another, Dorgon and Daišan competed for the throne, and Dorgon won."

"And the Daishan lineage was purged."

Lin Dao stood up and took a few steps forward. "He's really lucky. He actually managed to escape back."

"Dorgon, did he stay in Shenyang, or did he flee back to Hetu Ala?"

Zu Dashou kowtowed again, saying, "I am still in Shenyang."

"Before I left, I heard that the Tartars were arguing incessantly."

“Ao Bai and others strongly advocated Huang Taiji’s dying wish, believing that they should return to Hetu Ala.”

“The younger generation, led by Dorgon, all refused.”

Of course not.

The younger generation, who grew up in comfortable environments, have long been accustomed to the comfortable life of bustling activity.

Sending them back to the desolate, cold, and impoverished Hetu Ala is no different from sending them back to their county from a first-tier city.

If Daishan were in power, he might be able to maintain his authority.

Ködorgon~~~
The most important reason why he was able to oust Daišan and successfully take the throne was that these young Tartars supported him.

Given this, he couldn't possibly abandon the bustling city of Shenyang and flee to Hetu Ala; otherwise, his supporters would have overthrown him first.

"I've heard that Dorgon has already sent a delegation."

Zu Dashou, whose bald head was becoming increasingly shiny, continued to report, "Hong Chengchou has come as an envoy to discuss peace talks with the commander-in-chief."

"Peace talks?"

Lin Dao couldn't help but chuckle. "Me, negotiate with him?"

"What is their identity, what is their status, what is their strength?"

“You deserve it!”

A group of crippled bandits wanted to negotiate with him; it was truly laughable.

Lin Dao waved his hand and said, "Get up and talk."

Zu Dashou was overjoyed, but his face remained impassive. He slowly stood up, still keeping his head down.

Lin Dao scrutinized him carefully.

Perhaps after surrendering, he was able to live a life of comfort and ease under house arrest and supervision in Shenyang.

Zu Dashou has a face full of fat and a big head and ears, which is quite comical.

A comical, fat-headed, cannibalistic monster!
"Zu Dashu."

Lin Dao laughed, revealing his white teeth. "Would you be willing to do something for me?"

Zu Dashou suddenly fell to the ground and kowtowed heavily, saying, "I am willing to die for the Marshal!"

The following day, troops heading to Xuanda, Shanxi, and other places set out in succession.

Lin Dao saw off the army outside the city.

Along with the rebel army, Zu Dashou and 5,000 Guan Ning infantrymen also set out.

"Fuyu".

With a kind expression, Lin Dao smiled and instructed Zu Dashou, "Once we get there, I'll entrust all the Shanxi merchants on the list to you."

"Rest assured, Commander!"

Having survived the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zu Dashou, who had somehow managed to rise to prominence in the new dynasty, excitedly declared, "I will not let a single one of those unscrupulous merchants who make money off others go unpunished!"

“We will dig out every last penny of the dirty money they made!”

After seeing Zu Dashou off, Lin Dao summoned Liu Sandao, who had led the troops this time.

Compared to his previous smiling face, Lin Dao's expression turned somber at this moment.

"Have all the personnel been arranged?"

"Don't worry, General. The Zu family has sent people with them. We'll make our move when they cross the river."

With his head slightly lowered, Lin Dao said in a low voice, "Once you've finished dealing with Zu Dashou, arrange for someone to cook him."

"I obey!" In the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, when defending Dalinghe Fort, Zu Dashou survived by eating people.

In the fifteenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, while defending Jinzhou City, Zu Dashou once again devoured all the people in the city.

But every time, he would devour the people, kill all those who resolutely resisted, and then run off to surrender to the Tartars.

How can such a cannibal be tolerated!
Grain prices in the capital have finally come down.

Moreover, the price drop was drastic, falling from nearly ten taels of silver per dou (a unit of dry measure) to less than one hundred wen per dou.

The city's residents flocked out to various grain stores to buy grain.

Purchases are still subject to limits; each household can buy a maximum of one bushel per day.

At the entrance of each grain store, many smiling people were queuing up to buy grain.

In stark contrast to the smiles on their faces were the rows of wooden cages hanging from wooden poles on both sides of the street outside the grain shop.

Inside the wooden cage were rows of hideous severed heads.

"Dad~"

The young man tugged at his father's sleeve and pointed to a wooden cage not far away. "That looks like the young master of Gao Shengchang?"

The father and son were lowly entertainers. They had met this young master, who often spent lavishly, at his workplace.

Their family had powerful connections and made countless ill-gotten gains by selling rice at exorbitant prices.

The father shook his head, signaling his son to be quiet.

After buying the grain, the father carried the grain sack on his back and led his son home.

As you walk along the road, you can see rows of wooden poles and bamboo poles from time to time.

Wooden cages were hanging above them, mostly containing tanned heads.

The father and son recognized many of them.

The text describes various groups of people, including ruthless thugs, extortionate and wicked scoundrels, and beggars who kidnap women.

"what?"

The young man exclaimed in surprise, "Father, it's Flower Mother!"

The father saw the head of the madam, the very place where he worked.

"Hua Niang is a very nice person."

The young man reminisced, "They used to give me leftovers from guests, they were so delicious~~~"

Having witnessed the dark side of things inside the building, the father twitched the corner of his mouth.

nice guy?

Those women who were tortured to death by the courtesans for resisting to the death must have something to say.

Those women who were trafficked and whose lives were ruined, if they heard what their sons said, would they bite their sons to death?
The father stopped and reached out to press his son's shoulder.

"You've got it."

"These heads in cages."

"They're all beasts!"

"No! Good! People!"

The sound of hurried footsteps approached as a group of soldiers escorted many weeping men and women forward.

The father and son quickly went to the corner of the wall, pressed themselves against the wall and lowered their heads.

"Eh~~~"

The young man peeking out had clearly spotted someone he knew again.

Once the crowd had passed, the young man couldn't wait to exclaim, "Father, it's the great philanthropist Wu!"

"What a load of bull!"

The father's eyes were filled with disdain, clearly indicating that he knew more. "He's a beast!"

"He delighted in abusing innocent families, bribing countless beggars to kidnap and kill them!"

A girl he admired in his youth was ruined by this philanthropist, Wu.

He later heard that she had been tortured to death and her body thrown into a mass grave outside the city. He even risked searching for her among the wild dogs, but he couldn't find her.

On the way home, the father looked up at the sky.

White clouds dot the azure sky.

One of the white clouds seemed to transform into the smiling face of Baozhu when she gave him malt candy in his youth.

"Finally, the sky is clear!"

The lives of ordinary people in the capital are constantly changing, and overall they are getting better and better.

Meanwhile, high-ranking officials and their henchmen are gradually falling into the abyss.

In the beginning, it was the city's corrupt officials and the beggar gang who suffered the most.

Arrested, tortured, interrogated, and beheaded.

Next came the officials of Yingtian Prefecture and its two subordinate counties.

Arrested, tortured, interrogated, and beheaded.

Next, the members of the Donglin Party suffered.

Arrested, tortured, interrogated, and beheaded.

Now it's the turn of the various departments, temples, offices, and supervisors in Beijing.

People from the Dali Temple, the Tongzheng Division, the Imperial Academy, and the Imperial Medical Academy were being arrested every day, and the number of arrests was increasing.

When the city's corrupt officials were being apprehended, some of the Ming Dynasty's civil and military officials scoffed, saying that dealing with these lowlifes was pointless, as they were all unworthy of respectability.

When Yingtian Prefecture and its two subordinate counties were in trouble, the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty comforted each other.

The capital city, the most important place in the country, was bound to be filled with its own people, so it deserved that it was purged.

When the Donglin Party was in trouble, some people cheered and applauded. These bastards deserved to be in trouble long ago!
As the Guan Ning Army expanded its search area, many people lived in constant fear.

Gong Dingzi, who was serving as a censor in the Ministry of War, returned home in a daze.

Xu Shanchi, the concubine, stepped forward with a teacup in hand and asked, "What's wrong, sir?"

Gong Dingzi looked at her with a complicated expression.

"At today's gathering, Brother Duanzhi and I had a conversation."

Holding his teacup, Xu Shanchi asked curiously, "What did Chen Hanlin say?"

"He said, he said~~~"

Gong Dingzi looked troubled, as if he had a thousand words to say but couldn't utter them.

Xu Shanchi frowned slightly. "Master, what is it? Please tell me!"

She was previously hailed as the best in Southern opera, and often played male roles in cross-dressing performances with Dong Xiaowan, exuding a chivalrous spirit.

He is straightforward and generous in his actions and cannot stand such timid and hesitant behavior.

Gong Dingzi sighed and finally spoke.

"Brother Duan said that Commander Lin has already gathered seven of the eight wonders of Qinhuai in the Jiangnan region."

Xu Shanchi understood this time.

Her pretty face turned pale, her hand loosened, and the exquisite teacup fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)