Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 266 The world longs for the destruction of the Yuan Dynasty

The turbid river water surged and roared like thousands of yellow dragons.

When the flood season arrives, the Mother River surges and roars, its waters raging as it vents its fury.

Countless laborers walked along the riverbank, pulling and dragging the cables on their shoulders and backs.

The other end of the cable was connected to a series of large ships on the river.

"hurry up!"

"Move quickly!"

The garrison troops from the Eighteen Wings of Luzhou brandished their weapons and loudly ordered the laborers to speed up the transport.

Large stones and bags of gravel were carried by laborers onto large boats.

Zheng Twenty-Seven, who was holding the reins to secure the large ship, looked around and asked, "Brother Lin, what are we doing with so many large ships?"

Lin Dao, who was slacking off, took a sip of his Yibao (a type of soft drink) while surrounded by a group of laborers. "It's for plugging the breach."

The laborers were all astonished.

"With such a large gap and such a rapid current, how could this boat possibly block it?"

“A single ship can’t stop it,” Lin Dao explained. “Then we’ll gather more ships together, secure them with iron chains, and sink them all at once. Count them carefully; each fleet has twenty-seven ships. They’re arranged in three rows of three, forming a triangular shape.”

Although the laborers were illiterate, they could still do simple counting.

After counting, it turned out that each fleet indeed consisted of twenty-seven large ships.

"If so many ships sink together, perhaps the breach can really be plugged."

The laborers' faces were all beaming with joy.

Every time the Mother River rages, it brings endless disasters.

People living on both sides of the strait suffer greatly as a result.

Even calling it "mother" won't help.

After working until the afternoon, the laborers took turns going up the river embankment.

Lin Dao and a large group of laborers went down the riverbank to have a meal.

"They're having thick porridge today?"

When they got their food, the laborers were astonished to find that the pot contained thick porridge.

"In the morning, they gave us biscuits."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion about why the food quality had suddenly improved.

Zheng Twenty-Seven asked Lin Dao curiously, "Brother Lin, how come you're eating well?"

"That's because they're going to close the breach."

Lin Dao understood perfectly: "This is the crucial moment to earn merit."

It doesn't matter if Rick deducts money on ordinary days.

However, the core project to seal the breach is about to begin, which requires the laborers to risk their lives.

Improving the quality of meals is a matter of course.

"Just you wait and see," Lin Dao chuckled. "Once the breach is sealed, the food rations will immediately drop, and they'll be even more drastically reduced than before, to make up for the current losses."

While they were eating porridge, a man of mixed race came over and called out Lin Dao's name.

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Dao stood up and waved to the concerned laborers around him, saying, "It's nothing."

When we arrived at the tent, it was the same group of Semu people as before, still eating roasted meat.

"how."

The older Semu man sprinkled some spices into the baking pan. "Want more?"

Stepping forward, Lin Dao pushed aside the clueless young man of mixed race and simply sat down.

He glanced at the roasted meat on the grill and scoffed, "You can eat this stuff?"

Raising a hand to stop the young man from erupting, the older man with Asian features looked at Lin Dao and asked, "Hasansha, who are you...?"

"Lin Dao."

“Lin Dao?” Hassan frowned. “Never heard of him.”

This Han man's demeanor, courage, and speech were far from ordinary.

But he had never heard of that name before.

After thinking for a moment, Hassansa took a wine glass, poured a glass of wine, and handed it over.

Lin Dao didn't drink it at all; he just smelled it and threw it away.

"Horse urine."

The Semu people were furious.

Hassan frowned slightly. "I don't understand why you are so arrogant."

"But it doesn't matter, as long as you can make us money, we can be as arrogant as we want."

"With money, anything is negotiable."

They were not officials of the Yuan Dynasty, but merchants.

In this era, they were known as Hu merchants or Hui merchants.

The Mongol people had a vast territory and highly developed trade.

The Hu merchants were extremely wealthy, and through their vast fortunes, they profoundly influenced the Yuan court.

For them, there's no business they can't do as long as they can make money.

“I can tell.” Hassansa smiled knowingly. “You are a wealthy person.”

"I don't understand why you came here to work as a laborer."

"That's your secret, and I don't want to pry."

He leaned forward slightly. "What do you want?"

"We can help you as long as the price is right."

To say that the Semu people were extremely loyal to the Mongols is utter nonsense.

It's nothing more than the Mongols being powerful and eating the meat, while the Semu people just drink the soup.

As for the broth, it was made from the exploited meat of the Han people.

Foreign merchants usually just do business and engage in things like tax-paying.

This time, I came here to take over Jialu's business and be responsible for the food supply of all the laborers.

They had already sent the money that was due to Jialu.

As for how they make money afterward, that's their own business.

Given the ecological environment of the Yuan Dynasty at that time, anything could be done as long as it could make money.

Lin Dao looked at him and asked, "Why did you come to me?"

"You have money."

Hassansa stared at him and said, "Very, very rich. My eyes are definitely not mistaken."

"I'll do one thing right now." Lin Dao stood up and walked out of the tent. "Cancel the extra meals for the next few days."

Lin Dao keeps his word.

When he returned to his tent after work that evening, he took out a lot of fried chicken and distributed it to Zheng Ershiqi and others in the same tent, as well as the laborers who had helped dispose of the corpses of the Five Ghosts of the Yellow River the night before.

They ate with great relish, while more and more laborers gathered to watch, all filled with envy, their gazes towards Lin Dao burning with admiration.

"What were you all whispering about during dinner today?" Lin Dao asked casually. "Brother, haven't you heard?"

"Recently, everyone on the river works website is saying, 'Don't underestimate the stone man just because he has one eye; he's stirring up trouble across the Yellow River!'"

Looking at the laborer's slightly excited face, Lin Dao was taken aback. "This is a rebellious poem, why are you so happy?"

"This world."

The laborer who had been speaking frowned. "Floods, droughts, and locust plagues have come one after another."

“There was also a plague outbreak in my hometown. Everyone who was supposed to die died, and those who didn’t were forced to work and perform corvée labor.”

"I only hope that the world will truly turn against itself."

"It's better than dying such a miserable death!"

These words caused a slight tremor in Lin Dao's heart.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the land.

'People eat people, money buys money—where have you ever seen that?'

"Don't underestimate the stone man's one eye; he can stir up the Yellow River and cause the world to rebel."

'Thieves become officials, officials become thieves; the wise and the foolish are mixed together—how pitiful!'

"The emperor is far away, the people are few, and the officials are many. They are beaten three times a day; how can they not rebel?"

'The white lotus blooms, the Bright King is born, the white lotus is born~'

'The Wise King has been born to save all sentient beings.'

'Maitreya's Descent'

Countless rumors spread throughout the land, expressing the urgent expectations and desires of the people who lacked channels for public communication.

In short, it's called public opinion.

Public opinion wanted the Yuan Dynasty to perish.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang, who traveled far from the temple (rumored to have sold hooks along the way to raise travel expenses), recorded these public opinions.

The political and economic situation of the large group collapsed completely, and it was ravaged by natural disasters and man-made calamities.

People all over the world are hoping for the swift demise of the Yuan Dynasty.

He picked up a box of fried chicken and handed it to the laborer who was giving the explanation, in which the laborer bowed with gratitude in return.

Lin Dao got up and left the shed, walking towards the distant riverbank.

"The rumors about the one-eyed stone man have already spread."

"In other words, Liu Futong and Han Shantong are about to make their move."

"I have to get ahead of them and reap the benefits of the initial uprising first."

Liu Futong and Han Shantong were the first to launch the Red Turban Rebellion.

But don't assume they're good people just because of that.

The real Liu Futong was a powerful and wealthy man in Yingzhou.

His ancestors were actually one of the Han Chinese warlords who followed Kublai Khan northward to conquer Karakorum and southward to destroy the Song Dynasty.

Afterwards, the Mongols gradually took away their military power and political influence, leaving them with only wealth.

Towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty, their wealth was also coveted by the Mongols.

Just like this time when Jia Lu came to repair the river, he demanded a huge amount of wealth from Liu Futong.

When Liu Futong refused, Jia Lu changed the course of the river, directly flooding all of Liu's farmland.

Our ancestors served as dogs for the Mongols and fought their way across the land.

Now that the insatiable owner doesn't have enough to eat, he's started killing dogs and eating their meat.

Unwilling to be slaughtered, Liu Futong followed the path his ancestors had taken.

As for Han Shantong, who was pushed to the forefront, he was the leader of the White Lotus Sect.

He was also given the identity of an eighth-generation descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji.

"Pooh!"

Thinking of this, Lin Dao couldn't help but curse.

"That bastard is good for nothing except his beautiful daughters!"

"Impersonating his descendants?"

"What kind of nonsense is going on in your head?"

Lin Dao walked toward the riverbank he had chosen earlier, intending to bury the one-eyed stone man.

Unexpectedly, even when they were still some distance from the riverbank, they saw many torches flickering at their chosen spot.

He immediately frowned and ran towards a pile of rubble not far away.

"Ok?"

Lin Dao stamped his foot, drew his Glock, and held it in his hand.

He pointed the gun at the pile of rubble and shouted in a low voice.

"Who? Come out!"

I intended to hide and observe the situation in the distance.

Unexpectedly, they ran into a fellow traveler who had hidden someone in the pile of rocks.

"Sir, please do not act rashly, be careful that the pistol does not go off accidentally."

Hand cannons already existed as early as the Yuan Dynasty, though in small numbers.

This person was able to recognize a pistol that resembled a handgun, so he must not be an ordinary person.

A low voice responded from within the pile of rocks.

"I am merely passing through this place and have no ill intentions whatsoever."

Lin Dao, who was crouching down, remained completely unmoved.

"Raise your hands so I can see them!"

Sure enough, a pair of hands reached out from the pile of rocks in no time.

The people inside were also squatting, shuffling over like ducks, taking one step at a time.

While moving, he whispered, "Please don't be impulsive, sir. I am a good man. Don't disturb the people on the riverbank."

"do not move!"

Lin Dao did not fall for the trap, his gaze turning slightly cold as he stared at the newcomer's boots.

At this point, the two sides were only seven steps apart.

If Lin Dao had subconsciously looked towards the riverbank, the person there would have pounced on him, pulled out a dagger from his boot, and stabbed him.

Similarly, if Lin Daoruo hadn't been worried about alerting the people on the riverbank, he would have already shot them dead to eliminate the risk.

The gun was pointed at the boots where the newcomer had concealed a dagger.

"Use one hand to slowly take off the boot."

Lin Dao's other hand reached for the stun gun.

To distract the person, he even asked a question.

"What's your name? What are you doing here so late?"

"I am a native of Xinghua. My surname is Shi, my given name is Er, my courtesy name is Zhaorui, and my pen name is Nai'an."

(End of this chapter)