Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 182 Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever rivers flow, all is Han territory!

The mountains are beautiful, and the Pearl River meanders.

Under the bright sunshine, the Pearl of Lingnan, where flowers bloom in all four seasons, is a riot of color.

Looking at the bustling city before him, Lin Dao raised his whip and smiled at the young man beside him, saying, "Do you know that without me, this city would have faced annihilation?"

Zheng Damu, dressed in a scholar's robe, had a slightly pale face.

"I don't know."

He really didn't know.

The most horrific massacre in history occurred a few years later.

Lin Dao defeated the Tartars and protected the 700,000 people here!
The Huadu Massacre, recorded in historical texts, saw over 700,000 people brutally killed by the Tartars.

"Do you know?"

Lin Dao was very interested: "Why am I so busy every day, yet I always have such good energy and work so hard?"

Zheng Damu remained silent for a moment, then shook his head again.

"I don't know."

"That's because I saved countless innocent souls!"

"If there is such a thing as the power of merit in this world, my merit is enough to qualify me for a place among the immortals."

If Lin Dao had not arrived in this world, hundreds of millions of people would have died tragically under the executioner's blade.

He worked hard and saved countless lives.

Although no one in this world, except Lin Dao himself, knows how cruel and vicious the Tartars are.

Even more unknown to most, Lin Dao saved countless lives and prevented the destruction of the nation and the sinking of the land.

Only he himself knows.

Before my eyes, people flowed in and out of the city gates in an endless stream, and countless boats of all sizes floated on the Pearl River.

They escaped their cruel fate and were able to continue their lives.

For Lin Dao, this was an affirmation of himself.

What I did was meaningful.

"Walk."

Lin Dao spurred his horse and entered the city.

Following Zheng Damu, who was walking ahead, he pursed his lips, his throat moved, and his eyes flickered with confusion.

He admitted that Marshal Lin was indeed very charismatic.

That indescribable confidence, that spirited and high-spirited demeanor, and that decisive way of doing things all earned Zheng Damu's great admiration.

Okay~~~
This general always has intermittent babble incoherently.

The first time they met, he addressed me as "Lord Duke," and afterwards he told me to be careful in raising my son, lest he raise a lecherous scoundrel, and so on.

Heaven have mercy, his eldest son Zheng Jing is only one year old, how did he become such a scoundrel?

Along the way, we passed through many cities.

Commander Lin always talked in a rambling, mysterious way, about how many people he had saved here.

That's really hard to understand.

The city of Guangzhou is lined with shops and bustling with traffic.

Countless pedestrians flowed by, and the noise was deafening, making it a very lively place.

"This place didn't become prosperous until hundreds of years later."

Riding along the forest path, looking left and right, I saw that it had been a prosperous place for a long time.

"Harbour City is nothing compared to this place; it's just a fishing village."

Upon arriving at the Provincial Administration Office, Lin Dao began his work.

"Urban management is actually very simple."

"Focus on two things: the law and taxation."

Lin Dao, who was adept at handling official business, took some time to teach Zheng Damu, who was helping him grind ink.

"If the law is fair, those who should be arrested will be arrested, and those who should be dealt with will be dealt with, then the people's hearts will naturally be at peace."

"Taxation is the foundation. You can't do anything without money, so no matter who you are, as long as you are within the jurisdiction, you have to pay taxes according to the regulations."

"Once these two things are done, that should be about it."

"When you go overseas in the future, just do as I say."

Guards came in, carrying a box.

The box was opened, and it was filled with letters.

"General, the complaint box is full again."

Lin Dao gestured to Zheng Damu, "Take a look."

"Yes." Zheng Damu stepped forward and picked up a letter.

It was supposed to be a letter, but it didn't even have an envelope, and it wasn't on letter paper; it was just a crumpled, folded piece of paper.

After opening it, Zheng Damu was dumbfounded.

There were a few dry, illegible words on the paper, but mostly various strange and bizarre drawings.

Seeing his dazed expression, Lin Dao smiled.

He gestured to the guard beside him, "Go and interpret it for him."

The guard stepped forward, took the paper, and read it twice before reading it aloud: "Chen Youtian, a commoner from Xiawei Village, begs Your Honor to uphold justice. He Qiao, the village bully, seized my 1.7 mu of land and injured my son. I beg Your Honor to cut off his head."

Zheng Damu, who had been watching intently, suddenly understood.

"A blade of grass with a little man on it is a commoner, but he does know how to write his own name."

“Draw two clouds, and below that, draw a person sitting in a sedan chair; that is the upright and just official.”

"A knife to the neck means you're going to be beheaded?"

Zheng Damu nodded repeatedly, indicating that he had learned something new.

The bodyguard standing nearby chuckled and said, "At first we didn't understand either, but as we saw more of it, we gradually came to understand."

The commander treated Zheng Damu with great respect, so his personal guards naturally greeted him with smiles.

If it were someone like Wu Sangui, his guards would be arrogant and wouldn't pay him any attention.

"These letters."

Lin Dao pointed to the numerous letters in the box, saying, "They represent the will of the people."

“Once these things are done properly, the region will naturally be stable.”

“Those corrupt officials, local bullies, landlords, gentry, and powerful figures are the best disposable commodities.” “There is no need to fear these villains.”

"Pull out their teeth, knock out their claws, and they're nothing!"

"General." A guard entered and delivered a military report.

"The western army has recovered all the prefectures and counties in Yunnan, and the remnant Ming Duke of Qian is escorting the false emperor into Burma."

"You acted quickly." Lin Dao smiled. "Tell them to keep chasing."

"There's no such thing as Pyu, Bagan, or Burma. Our army will march in and reclaim the former territories of the Han and Tang dynasties!"

Compared to the various prefectures and counties along the march route, Lin Dao clearly placed greater emphasis on Guangzhou City.

He retired more than three thousand regular soldiers here.

More than a hundred men from the personal guard battalion were transferred to lead retired soldiers in rebuilding the layers of government offices.

All kinds of institutions were established.

Both overt and covert oversight bodies were properly set up.

The garrison of Guangzhou Prefecture was subsequently established.

These soldiers, who had been allocated their own land, were severely lacking in training, yet their morale and will were extremely strong.

They were allocated land that could be passed down through generations, and they didn't have to pay taxes.

To protect everything they have gained, they will spare no effort in risking their lives in battle.

Half a month later, an execution platform was erected in front of the Provincial Administration Office.

It was past noon when a specially selected soldier with a loud voice, holding a megaphone in one hand and a list in the other, read it aloud.

"Sun Yiyang, the magistrate of Panyu County, has been accused of monopolizing lawsuits, framing criminals, openly protecting criminals, and embezzling funds—he shall be beheaded!"

"Wang Chun, the instructor of Nanhai County, embezzled school land, extorted money from students, and coerced their children and relatives into committing immoral acts—he shall be beheaded!"

"Mei Huaren, a powerful figure in Qingyuan County, lent money at exorbitant interest rates, driving people to ruin and death—he shall be beheaded!"

"He Qiao, the village bully of Huaxian County, forcibly seized farmland and beat and injured villagers to death—he shall be beheaded!"

"Lu Youdu of Xingli Bureau in Guangzhou has been convicted of hiring assassins, instigating beggars to kidnap women, and committing fraud in business. He shall be beheaded!"

"Dong Dalong, the Guangzhou government's supervising official~"

"Wu Sanxing, the local tyrant of Xinhui County~"

"Luo Cunhou, a human broker in Guangzhou Prefecture"

"."

Rows of criminals were dragged onto the execution platform for their punishment.

Tens of thousands of onlookers cheered and applauded.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were truly suffering.

Anyone with some power, or even those ruthless and violent local bullies and scoundrels, can oppress the common people.

In the past, when no one stood up for them, they lived like walking corpses.

Finally, someone came to their rescue, and their pent-up emotions were released, causing them to seem to go into a frenzy.

Zheng Sen, who was watching this scene from a distance, was deeply shocked.

The people, who were once as docile as cattle and horses, were terrifying when they erupted in anger.

"You get used to this kind of scene after seeing it so many times."

Lin Dao, who was standing nearby, leisurely sipped his tea and comforted him, "There's no need to sympathize with these sinners. You can't even imagine how cruel they were when they committed evil."

“But…” Young Zheng Sen frowned. “This is killing too many people.”

Lin Dao, holding a teacup, smiled and pointed to one of his guards, "Xu Heng, how did you treat your wound when it became infected last time?"

Xu Heng immediately responded, "Remove the rotten flesh, then apply medicine and bandage."

“Same principle.”

After finishing his tea, Lin Dao stood up and said, "These people are all rotten flesh and pus. Only by digging them out will the world become a better place."

"Let's go, to Qiongzhou Prefecture."

More than ten days later, Lin Dao disembarked and stepped onto the beach of Yazhou.

"Place of exile".

"No wonder it's such a rip-off hundreds of years later."

Walking on the beach, you can see the sea in the distance through the forest path.

The massive fleet of hundreds of ships was gradually disappearing from his sight.

The Zheng family's fleet sailed north and south, carrying large numbers of rebel troops to places like Japan, Luzon, and Borneo.

These areas were originally part of the Ming Dynasty and were developed by Zheng He.

Afterwards, these places were gradually eroded and seized by barbarians, and Lin Dao now wants to take them all back.

With so many people in the Ming Dynasty, there was a need to expand their living space by exporting their population.

This is just the beginning; we will go to even farther places in the future.

"Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever rivers flow, that is Han territory!"

"What the Ming Dynasty couldn't do, I will do!"

Far to the north, Hetu Ala.

"Dayu'er." Dorgon carried in a deer leg and threw the bloody leg on the table. "We were lucky today, we caught a deer. You and Fulin eat first."

Bumbutai immediately picked up a dagger and stepped forward, skillfully cutting the venison.

As for Fulin standing to the side, he was already drooling with envy.

After finding a place to sit down, Dorgon took out half a sprig of herbs.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "There's only half left. I'm a penniless wretch."

He had insisted on staying in Shenyang, which resulted in the Han Banner Army and various Mongol tribes rebelling, and the Koreans took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

When Wu Sangui led the Guan Ning Army to attack, they could no longer hold out.

The remaining troops managed to break through the encirclement and escape to Hetu Ala.

Dorgon picked up a burning piece of firewood from the fire, lit half a sprig of herb, squatted by the fire, and puffed out smoke. "Wu Sangui has gone to fight the Koreans. He won't be here for at least half a year."

"Let's pack up, rest and recuperate, and head north to the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River."

"Wu Sangui could only fight his way to Hetu Ala at most; it was impossible for him to continue pursuing them."

The aroma of roasted meat gradually filled the small room.

Dorgon squatted there, rambling on and on, but he didn't see the fierce glint that flashed in Bumbutai's eyes behind him!
(End of this chapter)