Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 247 You fight the Turks, I'll cover the expenses.
Some people love so much they forget themselves, only to end up utterly defeated.

Some people are always dreaming, yet they're always just one step away.

On the vast Pacific Ocean, a pristine white motorboat cuts through the waves.

Pleasant music wafted from the speakers, mingling with the enticing aroma of meat sizzling on the grill.

Sitting in a chair, Lin Dao leisurely brushed oil and sprinkled chili powder on the grilled fish.

Although there is no satellite navigation, powerful computers can still be used.

By analyzing data such as course, speed, and pre-entered nautical chart coordinates, and relying on inertial navigation and celestial navigation, Lin Dao was able to complete the feat of crossing the Pacific Ocean back and forth.

The journey was smooth, and there was no need to worry about collisions.

Moreover, it follows the northern route, which doesn't involve many islands.

It was as if he were the only person in the endless world, and he could do whatever he wanted.

As for the troubles and hassles of solo rafting, they don't exist here in the forest.

He simply crosses the ocean during the day and travels to other times and spaces to rest at night.

Just treat it as a sea voyage.

Listening to music while fishing, eating barbecue while enjoying the sea breeze—it's truly delightful.

"Li Jiancheng".

"You are no match for Li Erfeng, which is understandable."

"But you can't possibly be unable to defeat the natives of the Yin Shang continent, can you?"

“Those natives don’t even have cattle or horses.”

On the continent of Yin Shang, there were few large livestock left, as they had long been eaten.

This time, the ship brought hundreds of cattle, sheep and horses, enough for the tribe to multiply and grow stronger.

With the technology of the Tang Dynasty and the support provided by Lin Dao, Li Jiancheng should have no problem crushing those natives who were still living in tents, as long as he wasn't stupid enough to fall into the sewers.

With several thousand men and women as its core foundation, it gradually grew stronger by intimidating and subjugating the surrounding small tribes.

After that, they opened up farmland, built cities, constructed roads, raised livestock, and so on.

Following the instructions in the forestry notebook, head east along the map to the Great Lakes.

That area has abundant coal and iron ore resources. If we move the capital there and usher in the Iron Age, then great things can be accomplished.

No extraordinary talent is needed; following the established procedures will be enough to conquer the Yin-Shang continent within a century.

As for what happened after that, Lin Dao didn't care anymore.

As long as the whole world belongs to the people of the Central Plains by then, that's fine.

After a journey through the forest, which was essentially a vacation, we finally returned to the Tang Dynasty.

After landing, they learned that the new emperor had changed the reign title, and it was now the first year of the Zhenguan era.

Xiao Xian of the Southern Liang Dynasty, Du Fuwei and Li Zitong of Wu and Chu, and Liang Shidu of the Hetao region.

Local forces, including Xu Yuanlang and Fu Gongshi, were successively wiped out by the Li Tang army.

Thus, the various warlords who rose up at the end of the Sui Dynasty were all wiped out by Li Erfeng in a very short time, and the world gradually became stable.

Its speed in restoring stability to the empire was the fastest among all dynasties at the end of their reigns.

Lin Dao traveled all the way to Chang'an City, and all he saw along the way was a bustling scene, similar to post-war reconstruction.

Although the places were in ruins, people's faces were full of hope.

Repairing houses and roads, redeveloping farmland, and building water conservancy facilities, etc.

The number of pedestrians and caravans on the road is also increasing.

Local soldiers, in their spare time, were also busy suppressing bandits and outlaws, and the security situation improved as a result.

After entering Guanzhong, the news I heard gradually included more and more about the Turks.

The Tang dynasty reunified the country so quickly that the Turks didn't even have time to provide support or suppress them.

The rulers of the Central Plains and the overlords of the grasslands share the same mentality: they both desire the other to fall apart in chaos.

The rapid unification under the Tang dynasty made the Turks restless.

When Lin Dao entered Chang'an, Li Erfeng, having received the news, led a group of officials to greet him.

"Brother Zihou~"

Wearing a dragon robe, Li Erfeng warmly greeted them, saying, "You're finally back."

It had been a long time since I'd seen Li Erfeng, and he looked much more mature, with a thicker beard on his face.

Everyone stepped forward to greet them.

Regardless of what you really think.

Having witnessed Lin Dao's terrifying strength firsthand, they were able to remain rational and know what to do and say until they had a truly effective countermeasure.

"I heard."

Lin Dao didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "Are the Turks coming to attack the Tang Dynasty?"

Although both the indigenous people of the Shang Dynasty and the grassland tribes lived in tents.

However, the combat strength of the two sides is worlds apart.

The Turks had horses, iron weapons, and were capable of mobilizing armies of hundreds of thousands.

Meanwhile, the scattered indigenous people of the Yin-Shang dynasty were still using stones.

The difference in combat power is enormous.

Of course, the indigenous people of Yin Shang were facing Li Jiancheng, who was of mediocre ability.

Unlike the Turks, they faced the strongest carbon-based life form on Earth in the seventh century.

"It's true."

Li Erfeng knew that Lin Daoyi had always been indifferent to the barbarians, so she immediately stated, "The Turks are extremely rude and lie that the Tang Dynasty is their vassal."

"They demanded wealth, people, and the submission of the Tang Dynasty through marriage alliances."

These conditions all crossed the line of Lin Dao's red line, which is what he disliked the most.

Lin Dao remained calm and asked, "How do you plan to respond?"

"Of course not!"

With a solemn expression, Li Erfeng immediately responded loudly, "I will absolutely not accept such humiliation. I would rather fight the Turks to the death!"

Even after becoming emperor, Li Erfeng still understood that Lin Dao's strength transcended worldly limitations.

Even in front of Lin Dao, he still addressed me as "I".

As for why he used such strong language, it was at the suggestion of his advisors.

The tougher the attitude towards the barbarians, the happier Master Lin was, and the more benefits he could gain.

As expected, Lin Dao nodded in satisfaction.

"Indeed, this is the courage a ruler should have."

“If the ruler is timid and cowardly, then the country has no future.”

After offering a few words of praise, Lin Dao took the initiative to suggest, "When it comes to war, it's best to put the battlefield on someone else's home, not your own."

"Otherwise, even if you win, your own home will be smashed to pieces."

A comparison of the war victory rates between the Tang and Song dynasties reveals that the Song dynasty had a slight edge.

However, if we look beyond the data and examine the specific details, we will find that the Song Dynasty's so-called winning rate was based on suppressing more peasant uprisings and fighting wars on its own soil.

The Tang army's battles, regardless of victory or defeat, mostly took place in other people's territories.

This is the real difference in military strength between the Tang and Song dynasties.

"Brother Zihou, do you mean to take the initiative?"

Li Erfeng pondered, "But the Turks live deep in the grasslands, and they come and go like the wind, making them difficult to find."

It's more than just hard to find.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty's iron cavalry was not as formidable as it would become later.

Forcibly venturing deep into the grasslands could easily result in being surrounded and attacked.

Moreover, once inside, it's completely dark, and you can't find anyone's place.

"If you are willing to fight the Turks, I will certainly support you."

Lin Dao then added, "I can give away tens of thousands of bicycles from Datang, as well as corresponding accessories and tools."

"In addition, I can provide intelligence support, providing the Tang army with information on the location of the Turks."

Li Erfeng nodded repeatedly, but did not speak.

It was obvious that he wanted more.

When it comes to fighting the barbarians, whether he fights them himself or supports others in doing so, Lin Dao has always been unambiguous.

After a moment's hesitation, he simply said, "If you are willing to personally lead the army, I will cover all the expenses for this war."

Everyone was immediately shocked.

War is very expensive.

The amount of military supplies that people ate and horses chewed up, and the amount of money they lost, was enormous.

Especially when waging war against a powerful force like the Turks, the costs are countless.

Think back to Yang Guang's three campaigns against Goguryeo, which cost him dearly the wealthier Sui Dynasty.

Lin Dao's ability to take on so many responsibilities is truly astonishing and enviable.

No one doubted his abilities.

Since Master Lin dares to say it, he must be able to do it.

"The Turks are arrogant and unreasonable."

Li Erfeng replied solemnly, "I shall personally lead the campaign against them!"

Historically, Li Erfeng did not participate in many battles after the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Its main efforts were focused on stabilizing the internal affairs of the Tang Dynasty.

He waited until his later years to personally lead an expedition against Goguryeo, but he was still unable to destroy it.

This time is different.

This time, Li Erfeng will not have to bear the guilt of murdering her brothers and imprisoning her father.

The powerful clans within the family were also constantly fragmenting and disintegrating.

Moreover, with Master Lin on her side, Li Erfeng was full of confidence.

Anyone who dares to cause trouble while I'm on campaign will be the first to be punished by Master Lin.

He could even deliberately arrange for those fools to cause trouble, and then hand them over to Master Lin to deal with.

After Lin Dao left, the civil and military officials gathered around him.

The first thing Li Erfeng said was...

"When sending documents to various places, anything related to the barbarians should be eliminated or covered up if possible."

Lin Dao's display of strong hostility towards the Hu people aroused Li Erfeng's vigilance.

We mustn't let the immortal misunderstand.

Fang Xuanling offered a suggestion: "Your Majesty, you can secretly send people to collude with various powerful clans and have them cause trouble when Your Majesty goes on a campaign."

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at him in astonishment.

You, Fang, are from the Fang family of Qinghe. Are you trying to expose your own past?

"Don't you all understand?"

Fang Xuanling smiled bitterly, “In Master Lin’s eyes, aristocratic families are no different from barbarians.”

"Rather than waiting for the immortal to take the initiative, it is better to cut it off first."

“Xuanling is absolutely right.”

Du Ruhui, who came from the Du clan of Jingzhao, nodded repeatedly, "If we take matters into our own hands, eliminate those powerful clans, and then relocate our households, we will still have a way out."

"If we wait until Master Lin makes his move..."

"Who knows, it might be the next Xuanwu Gate."

Master Lin was able to decide the fate of the Tang Dynasty emperor based on his own abilities.

So-called powerful families certainly have strength, but that is relative.

If you anger Master Lin, he might just drive his metal cart down the door and wipe out the family.

If their support forces were to rise again, who could withstand it?

Everyone remained silent.

This Taoist priest, Master Lin, is putting too much pressure on us.

What's even more frightening is that there's no way to deal with it.

Even if it's an ambush, let's not even talk about whether we can win.

There's nothing we can do about it, except that they can just disappear into thin air.

When he returned, driving the same metal cart from Xuanwu Gate, who could stop him?
"Nothing else."

Amidst the silence, Wei Zheng spoke up, "Master Lin still holds goodwill toward the Tang Dynasty."

"They gave us so much, including various technologies; these are things that are hard to come by."

"and."

He looked at Li Erfeng and said, "What Master Lin did did not damage His Majesty's prestige."

It's not just that they didn't harm him; they practically pushed him to the top, and all the benefits fell on his shoulders.

Li Erfeng stood up.

“From now on, Yu Zihou should be treated with sincerity.”

"Unless he does something similar to the Xuanwu Gate incident again, we must not be negligent!"

(End of this chapter)