Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 179 The King of Rebellion, I'll go first!
Burn everything you can't take with you!

"Set the city on fire! We can't let the Lin traitor get away with this!"

"Throw all the corpses into the well!"

“Slaughter all those who cannot walk.”

Li Zicheng, who fled all the way back to Xi'an, burned down palaces and cities and massacred civilians in preparation for his retreat.

"The Rebel King~"

Niu Jinxing, feeling resentful, suggested, "There's no need to kill all those who can't walk."

“They’re all useless. Shaanxi has been suffering from famine for years and has no food. Just throw them to the bandits.”

"If we keep Lin the bandit, we'll have to consume his military rations."

"If Lin is killed, his reputation will be ruined."

Li Zicheng, his face unfriendly, snorted and tightened his grip on the horsewhip.

"can."

The Shun army suffered a crushing defeat at Tongguan, and its morale was severely damaged.

Amidst widespread panic, the military discipline that had once been enforced became worthless.

Throughout the entire city of Xi'an, there were chaotic soldiers everywhere.

With bloodshot eyes, they broke down doors and seized property, robbing women and humiliating them.

The once vigorous Shun army, after losing its confidence due to defeat, quickly transformed into a ruthless and atrocious beast army.

The previous bandits were originally a beast army.

It was only when the establishment of a regime gave people something to look forward to that military discipline gradually came into being.

Now that everything is about to collapse and vanish, these bandits immediately reveal their true nature.

Flames soared into the sky inside and outside Xi'an, thick smoke blotted out the sun, and cries of agony and pleas for mercy echoed across the land.

They turned Xi'an into a deserted city and left it to Lindao as a burden.

Li Zicheng felt a little relieved.

He carried his baggage and family, and under the protection of the old camp, he left Lantiankou and headed towards Shangzhou.

"Don't worry, King Chuang."

Li Guo rode forward to comfort them, saying, "As long as the old camp is still here, our capital is still here, and we will eventually rise again."

"I know." Li Zicheng, riding his horse, calmly replied, "Back then, when we were chased by the government troops, only eighteen riders were left to escape into the mountains. We survived those difficult days."

"It's just starting over, it's no big deal."

Yuan Zongdi, Gao Yigong, and others standing nearby echoed his sentiments.

For the bandits, losing battles was commonplace.

As long as we can escape, that's all that matters.

When they lacked supplies, they would rob; when they lacked people, they would plunder.

It won't be long before they regain their strength.

"The Rebel King".

Hao Yaoqi stepped forward with a grin and said, "If Lin the traitor goes to Shaanxi, we'll cut off his retreat to Henan."

"Then we'll head south to Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and go straight down to Jiangnan to raid Lin's lair!"

The crowd around them started teasing, "I've heard that all the women in Jiangnan are incredibly fair-skinned. When I get to Jiangnan, I'm going to find ten of them!"

"Hahahaha~~~"

Amidst laughter and cheers, the low morale gradually rebounded.

A fast horse galloped from the front, and the crowd gradually fell silent.

Hurry up and report to the King: "The rebel king has lost Shangzhou City!"

In an instant, Li Zicheng's smile froze, his heart turning to ice.

The following day, Lin Daoqin led his vanguard troops to the outskirts of Xi'an.

"Put out the fire first."

Lin Dao took a breath and said, "Search for survivors and treat the wounded."

"A leopard can't change its spots; bandits are still bandits!"

Massacres and looting were commonplace for bandits.

Their hearts have long been wild, they run rampant and lack the most basic respect for life.

There's only one way to deal with scum like this.

Complete physical annihilation.

The disaster relief work went smoothly because after the forest road reached the outskirts of the city, it started to rain, which gradually extinguished the fire.

This was originally a natural phenomenon, but among the common people and the army, it was rumored that the commander-in-chief was the true Son of Heaven, and that even the heavens were helping him.

Intangible prestige rose rapidly.

Once the fire is out, things become simple.

Use military rations to set up soup kitchens to provide relief to disaster victims, and then focus on post-disaster reconstruction.

"Commander."

A guard entered the tent to report, "The rebel forces attempted to return to Lantiankou, but were repelled by our army."

While eating, Lin Dao picked up a steamed bun, tore it open, and poured in some Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. "It's too late to run now."

"Knowing you are bandits, how could we possibly give you the opportunity to flee and harm people in various places?"

"Instead of going to Hanzhong to enter Sichuan, he wants to run to Henan instead. He's courting death."

Besides Tongguan, another route from Shaanxi into Henan is the Shangzhou Road.

Shangzhou Road is the ancient Wuguan Road.

It was mainly created by connecting the Ba River Valley on the north side of the Qinling Mountains and the Dan River Valley on the south side of the Qinling Mountains.

Although it wasn't as difficult as some of the routes into Sichuan, it was still not easy to travel.

Li Zicheng thought that Lin Dao was attacking from two sides, but in reality it was three routes, with the southernmost route going to blockade Shangzhou Road.

The best option for this rebel leader was actually to go through Hanzhong into Sichuan and rely on the terrain of Sichuan to resist the enemy layer by layer.

Song Xianze's strategies were all well-founded.

But the rebel leader wouldn't listen~~~
After eating the steamed bun, I picked up my water glass and took a couple of sips.

Lin Dao reached out and picked up another steamed bun. "Order both sides to squeeze towards the middle."

"Inform all soldiers that the reward I offered to Li Zicheng and his men will not be less than a single penny."

"This postman is too fast; we must take him down in one battle."

The personal guards took the order and left.

Lin Dao ate and drank by himself, very quickly.

Having spent so long in the military, I naturally developed the eating habits typical of the military.

Not picky about food, eats quickly.

"If you like exploring mountain gullies so much, then you might as well die in the mountains."

Inside Shangzhou Road, Li Zicheng's face was ashen.

His movements were completely controlled by Lin Daoka, putting him at a significant disadvantage.

"The Rebel King~~~"

Niu Jinxing stepped forward, about to speak, but Li Zicheng raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Don't speak!"

The way everyone around Niu Jinxing looked at him changed instantly. He was about to fall out of favor.
He offered advice repeatedly, but every time he did it wrong.

Li Zicheng showed him no mercy, saying, "Looking back now, Song Xianze was right all along."

He clenched his fist and slammed it against his side. "I regret it."

Having been humiliated in public, Niu Jinxing's face turned ashen.

He awkwardly raised his hand, rolled up his sleeves, covered his face, and walked away.

Li Guo stepped forward to offer some advice, saying that treating Niu Jinxing this way was not a good idea.

"Don't say anything."

With a grave expression, Li Zicheng shook his head. "My heart is pounding. This time, things might really be going to get bad."

His hunch was right.

Faced with the rebel army pressing in from both sides of Shangzhou Road, the Shun army, which was blocked, suffered a series of crushing defeats once again.

In particular, during the battle on the banks of the Ba River valley, the Shun army, determined to fight to the death, mobilized its veteran troops to launch a desperate charge and break through the encirclement.

The result, unsurprisingly, was another crushing defeat.

In the midst of the rout, many people were even pushed into the Ba River, where countless drowned.

The equipment gap between the two sides is too large.

Especially the rebel army, which had been tempered by numerous fierce battles, gradually reached the pinnacle in combat skills and battlefield experience.

Under these circumstances, Li Zicheng's Shun army had no hope of winning.

With the entire army collapsing, Li Zicheng is repeating the scene from several years ago.

They massacred the women and children in the old camp, burned all kinds of military supplies, and escaped into the mountains with only a hundred or so people.

I thought I could rest and recuperate like the eighteen riders who entered the mountains a few years ago, waiting for the right time to rise again.

After slaughtering the village and resting for two days, the pursuers caught up and surrounded them.

Looking at Niu Jinxing, who was among the rebel army and pointing in their direction, Li Zicheng gritted his teeth.

"traitor!"

"None of these scholars are any good!"

The rebel army breached the stronghold without any doubt.

After killing off their families, those who remained by Li Zicheng's side were his most loyal veteran soldiers.

None of them surrendered; they all fought to the death.

"King Chuang!" Li Guo pulled Li Zicheng towards the courtyard inside the stronghold. "Let's go quickly!"

"Where else can I go?"

Li Zicheng smiled bitterly, "I'm stuck here, with nowhere else to go."

"That's all."

Upon arriving in the courtyard, he waved his hand and said, "I was originally a post station worker. Due to the abolition of the post stations, I lost my livelihood and had no choice but to rebel."

"After so many years of dominating the world, I've enjoyed all the pleasures that come my way."

"It's not a loss!"

Li Guo's eyes reddened. "King Chuang!"

Li Zicheng shook his head and stepped into the house alone.

The sounds of fighting outside gradually subsided, replaced by the continuous sound of rapid footsteps.

Li Guo roared, "King Chuang, I'll go first!"

He raised his knife and charged out.

Moments later, a large number of armored soldiers poured into the courtyard and rushed straight into the house.

Upon seeing Li Zicheng sitting upright in his chair, his eyes blazing, he loudly proclaimed, "I am the Great Shun King!"

He held the knife to his neck and pulled hard.

Blood splattered three feet.

"Suicide? He's so quick to forgive."

"Give the reward money to Niu Jinxing and tell him to take the road with many bandits back to his hometown."

"If there are no bandits, then we should think of a way."

When Lin Dao received the news, he was in Hanzhong Prefecture.

The troops that entered Shaanxi split into two. Liu Sandao led one part northward, heading straight for Yansui, Ningxia, Guyuan, and various towns in Gansu, before entering the Western Regions.

Lin Dao led his troops south, passing through Hanzhong Prefecture and entering Sichuan.

"Li Chuang's forces have been destroyed."

He got up and activated the time travel feature, returning to the modern world.

Without lingering, he activated his time-travel ability again.

There were still two green doors in front of them; no third one appeared.

"It's neither the Ming Dynasty nor Li Zicheng."

Returning to the Chongzhen era, Lin Dao had already gained a clear understanding.

"As expected, this time and space still belongs to the Tartars."

He wasn't sure if there would be a third door.

If such a thing were to happen, the prerequisite would likely be the annihilation of the Tartars.

After opening the portal to the Chongzhen era, his physical abilities gradually improved.

Now, Lin Dao only hopes that if there is a third portal, he can regain his ability to reap what he sows.

This is purely a practical necessity; it's truly unacceptable to have no heir.

Entering Sichuan via the forest road was much easier than Deng Ai's journey along the Yinping Ancient Road.

It's not that there was no resistance in the operation.

In reality, both the government and local gentry and powerful forces in Sichuan were doing their utmost to resist Lin Dao.

They all knew very well that Lin Dao was going to start afresh and give the old guard no chance whatsoever.

Under such circumstances, fighting to the death becomes inevitable.

However, the gap in strength was too great, especially since Lin Dao came up and immediately announced that he would distribute land and farm tools and seeds to the people.

The people of Sichuan all stood by his side.

The remaining forces of the Ming Dynasty and the local militia fought desperately.

But they were still cleared out one by one by Lin Dao.

Even the Prince of Shu in Chengdu Prefecture, this incredibly wealthy prince, was wiped out by Lin Dao before he could even be enthroned.

Whenever he occupied a prefecture, Lin Dao would recruit soldiers to form a garrison.

Give the soldiers what they want to protect, and assign them to garrison the local area to resist attacks and eliminate bandits.

Arm the people so that they have the ability to protect themselves.

In this way, the remnants of the Ming army and the local militias quickly disappeared into the vast sea of ​​people.

The forest road swept across Sichuan and eventually arrived at Shizhu.

He sent a messenger to Qin Liangyu to arrange a meeting.

Qin Liangyu did not refuse and went to the agreed place to meet.

(End of this chapter)