Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 274 Go to Haozhou!
"You~~~"

Upon entering the Yingzhou government office, Liu Futong and his entourage trembled at the sight of Du Zundao standing below the Ming King.

My calf cramped up, and my first instinct was to turn around and run away.

One of the core members appeared on the other side.

Everyone knows what this means.

"Everyone~"

With a beaming smile, Du Zundao stepped forward and gestured, "I shall join the ranks."

Liu Futong's high blood pressure has spiked again.

I never expected that the key member who was conspiring with me last night would now be standing on the opposite side.

In other words, their thoughts have been completely exposed, yet they remain at the mercy of the onlookers in the freezing cold.

Want to run.

But at this moment, I dare not run.

They stood in rows, trembling, their hearts pounding.

They glanced around furtively, afraid that axemen would rush in and chop them into mincemeat.

My feelings at that moment were truly a rollercoaster of emotions.
"Yingzhou City has been captured."

Lin Dao, sitting in the main seat, spoke calmly, "I have summoned you all here today to discuss the direction of our future development."

At this point, he looked at Liu Futong and the others, his tone teasing, "Advisor, Holy Son, why do you look so pale? Did you not sleep well last night?"

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

It's like being caught cheating; what can you say at that point?

Just wait to get beaten up.

The wise king already knows everything he needs to know; all that's left is to pierce that thin layer of skin.

Lin Dao didn't retaliate, but instead asked Liu Futong, "Advisor Liu, what do you think the Red Turban Army should do next?"

Liu Futong, who had spent the entire night thinking about his words, looked down at his toes.

His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Listen...listen to the King's orders..."

He knew that at this moment he was like a fish on a chopping board.

If you jump around less, you'll suffer less pain from being stabbed in the back.

The only way out right now is to patiently wait for fate to decide.

It's like getting caught cheating and still trying to cause trouble; you'll only get beaten even worse.

Lin Dao remained silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Han Shantong. "What is the Holy Son thinking?"

"What does Your Majesty think?" Han Shantong bowed in return. "That's exactly what I think."

His voice was low and his eyes were bloodshot; he was clearly dejected.

Without a doubt, this is a mutual admission of defeat and acceptance of whatever punishment is given.

There's really no other way.

The government office and its surroundings were filled with Zheng Chenggong's eight hundred personal guards.

Forget eight hundred, eighty would be enough to chop them all into fish heads with chopped chili peppers.

"I mean?"

Lin Dao felt no pleasure in showing off in front of these people.

The only real pleasure comes from showing off one's power in front of the Mongols and Semu people.

"I have only one thing on my mind."

Lin Dao lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Destroy the Yuan!"

"Nothing is impossible if it can destroy the Yuan Dynasty!"

"Anyone willing to dedicate themselves to the cause of destroying the Yuan Dynasty is a partner."

"Let bygones be bygones. Now let me talk about the future of the Red Turban Army."

The core of this world is the anti-element.

Under this overarching premise, there may be some internal strife, personal ambitions, and ideals.

The forest road can be put on hold for now.

There will be plenty of time later to sort things out gradually.

The victor becomes king and the loser becomes a bandit; after the Yuan dynasty was destroyed, everything became easier to discuss.

"If we want to destroy the Yuan Dynasty, we can't do it alone. We need to mobilize all the people in the world to join us."

"We must spread the spark that will destroy the Yuan dynasty throughout the world."

"What I mean is that I will personally go to the Jianghuai region to mobilize the local anti-Yuan forces."

"As for you."

Upon hearing this, Han Shantong, Liu Futong, and the others all looked up, their eyes filled with astonishment.

"You," Lin Dao smiled slightly, "you stay here and send troops out to expand into the surrounding areas."

Undoubtedly, this statement was completely different from what Liu Futong and others had thought.

I thought this day next year would be the anniversary of my death.

"Why, don't you want to?"

"Yes, yes!" Everyone quickly bowed and said, "We obey the King's command!"

I thought it was a dead end.

Unexpectedly, a new path opened up before us.

Not only did they successfully separate their families, but they also received a formal decree from the King of Heaven.

With the support of the wise ruler, future developments will undoubtedly proceed much more smoothly.

Lin Dao's gaze turned towards Shi Nai'an.

Shi Nai'an bowed and stepped forward to distribute the books.

"Advisor Liu."

"Son."

The two books were handed over separately: "This is the military register, and this is the inventory list."

This is the crucial moment for dividing the family property.

The two hurriedly flipped through the pages, and their expressions turned rather unpleasant after reading them.

Liu Futong was assigned three thousand men, mainly his own clansmen and relatives, as well as his family's tenants and guards.

As for Han Shantong, he had more soldiers, numbering nearly five thousand.

However, they were also mainly followers of the White Lotus sect, and most of them were elderly people who had followed him for many years.

In their view, the number of soldiers allocated was too small.

These are real soldiers, capable of marching, wielding troops, wearing armor, and going into battle.

Not counting those cannon fodder who can only cheer and shout.

Such troops are as numerous as you can get; no one would complain about having too many, except perhaps the turban-wearing soldiers of the Song and Ming dynasties.

After all, in the eyes of the big-turbaned men, their words alone were enough to outwit a million-strong army. When Liu Futong and Han Shantong saw the military supplies register, smiles returned to their faces.

Lin Dao was very generous with military supplies.

Both men received enough money and provisions to support their troops for about two months.

It's not a lot, but it's enough as start-up capital.

In addition, Lin Dao also donated a batch of cut rebar and seamless steel pipes with gun heads installed.

As for the most important armor, including the ones captured in Yingzhou City this time, several hundred sets were given as gifts.

"We can hire people."

"Excessive taxes and levies, coupled with floods, droughts, and locust plagues, have made it impossible for many people to survive."

"We can find our own money and supplies."

"The property of the Mongols and Semu people is all money and grain, as are the local powerful landlords."

Lin Dao spoke eloquently, "There's no need to be polite with these people; just take what you need and use it."

Han Shantong and the others bowed and said, "We accept the order!"

Shi Nai'an led them away from the government office to distribute their troops and supplies.

Du Zundao finally asked the question he had been holding back for a long time: "King Ming, aren't you giving them too much?"

Everything else is fine, but so much armor!
That's hundreds of sets of armor, and many of them are iron armor!
The Mongol Yuan dynasty knew that it was enslaving Han Chinese people, so it forbade Han Chinese to have iron tools and took very strict precautions.

Even the kitchen knife used for cooking was shared by ten households.

Under such strict defense, iron armor was an extremely rare and precious treasure.

The Ming King's generosity in giving away so much money was heartbreaking for Du Zundao, who was appointed as the military commander in charge of supplies management.

"It doesn't matter."

For Lindao, which possesses resources from several worlds, these things are really nothing.

Giving it to Liu Futong and the others was also to enable them to better resist the Yuan dynasty.

As for the future~
"Once I leave Yingzhou, I will replenish the military supplies myself."

When Shi Nai'an returned, Lin Dao summoned his confidants and began a real military council.

"King Ming."

Shi Nai'an took the initiative to say, "The shortest route to Xinghua is to start from Yingzhou, take Anfeng Road, then Yangzhou Road, and finally Gaoyou Prefecture. It will take at most twenty days to reach Xinghua."

Du Zundao immediately retorted.

"I cannot agree with what Brother Zhaorui said."

Shi Nai'an immediately bowed and said, "Please enlighten me."

“Taking this route is convenient, as there is an official road available.”

“But south of Yangzhou Road, across the river is Jiqing (Nanjing), and to the north are places like Lusi, where large numbers of Yuan troops are stationed.”

"Furthermore, the network of rivers and canals in Yangzhou is not conducive to the movement of a large army."

"If we are tied down by the Yuan army, there may be unforeseen circumstances."

"This..." Shi Nai'an pondered for a moment, "What insightful opinion do you have, brother?"

"King Ming~"

Du Zundao bowed to Lin Dao and said, "I think we should go through Guide Prefecture, then Xuzhou, then south to Huai'an Road, and then into Gaoyou Prefecture."

"In this way, we can not only bypass Gaoyou Lake, but also pass through the river management area and recruit river workers."

“But this detour is too far.” Shi Nai’an objected, “The journey is too long, and we fear that our supplies will run out and many unforeseen events may occur.”

Zheng Chenggong, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, why is it so important to go to Gaoyou Prefecture?"

He was a bachelor, but he was, after all, a native of Yingzhou.

Why not rebel in Yingzhou instead of traveling all the way to Gaoyou Prefecture?

"Do you know why the Yuan Dynasty wanted to control the waters and repair the rivers?" Lin Dao asked, looking at him.

Zheng Chenggong was taken aback by the question, "This...is it for flood control?"

"Hahahaha~~~"

Shi Nai'an and Du Zundao both laughed.

They helped explain that "the Mongols plundered the world for decades, during which time the Yellow River breached its banks many times, causing floods every year."

"Why didn't you repair it before? Now that the economy is collapsing and the finances are in trouble, why are you finally going to repair it?"

"That's because they need the money and grain from Jiangnan to keep things running and to support their continued luxurious lifestyle."

“In the past, goods and materials from Jiangnan were transported by sea.”

"But now that maritime transport has been abandoned, the only option left is canal transport."

"Gaoyou Prefecture is situated right on the Grand Canal."

"By taking Gaoyou Prefecture, we will cut off the Yuan court's lifeline, preventing them from siphoning blood from us to suppress us."

Du Zundao added, "Moreover, Gaoyou Prefecture is very close to Jiangnan."

"The Jiangnan region is a land of wealth and abundant grain production, and is a famous land of fish and rice."

"Once we capture Gaoyou Prefecture, we can march south with our army at any time, cross the river, and seize Jiangnan."

"With Jiangnan, we have the resources to contend for supremacy."

"As for staying in Yingzhou to develop..."

"It's not that it's impossible, it's just that the area here is poor."

"Without sufficient funds, provisions, and military supplies, it is impossible to support a large army."

After years of development, especially the more than 100 years of development during the Southern Song Dynasty, Jiangnan has become the most prosperous place in the entire country.

Money, grain, cloth, salt, iron, and all kinds of supplies were abundant.

Add human resources, and that's the foundation.

The purpose of going to Gaoyou Prefecture was twofold: first, to strike at the Yuan court and cut off their channels for plundering wealth and resources.

Secondly, it was to prepare for the future, specifically for the capture of Jiangnan.

After all, heading south from Gaoyou Prefecture, once you pass Yangzhou, you'll reach the Jiangnan region.

Yingzhou is too far away.

The topic quickly returned to the marching route.

After a heated debate, neither side could convince the other, and they all eventually looked to Lin Dao for answers.

"Please, Your Majesty, make the decision~~~"

Lin Dao lowered his head and stared at the map.

His gaze traveled eastward from Yingzhou and landed on Anfeng Road next door.

He raised his hand, his fingers pressing down on the ground.

"Let's go here first."

Everyone looked over curiously and saw that the place the Ming King had pointed to was called Haozhou!

(End of this chapter)