Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 278 Guo Zixing and Li Shanchang

"Guo Zixing, Dharma Protector of the Haozhou Branch of the Incense Sect, pays respects to the Bright King~"

Guo Zixing kowtowed solemnly and then shouted again.

"The Jade Emperor will be replaced in Heaven, and the King of Hell will be replaced on Earth. With a pure lotus in my heart, I will protect my good home!"

I bowed my head and prostrated myself in reverence.

"When the wise king descends to earth, all people will be liberated."

Guo Zixing was also a follower of the White Lotus sect and had been in contact with Han Shantong since his early years.

"Ah."

"With your help, we were able to capture Dingyuan County successfully before," Lin Dao said slowly. "I remember your contribution."

"You flatter me, Your Majesty."

Guo Zixing bowed and said, "These are things that believers should do."

There was nothing he could do.

They were called wealthy households, but in reality they were powerful landlords in Dingyuan County.

It was foreseen long ago that the Great Yuan Dynasty wouldn't last many more years.

He actively joined the White Lotus Sect and secretly raised a force with his own money and supplies, even infiltrating Dingyuan County.

There have been countless people like this throughout history.

When the world is at peace and the dynasty is strong, everyone is very honest and obedient.

They worked hard to cultivate their children to pass the imperial examinations and to build connections with the government in their hometown to accumulate wealth and influence.

Once the world is in turmoil, quickly tear off the disguise.

Or they might start their own rebellion and vie for supremacy.

Or they could become angel investors, leading their families to rise to prominence.

Guo Zixing is the first type.

If Lin Dao hadn't come to Haozhou, he would have seized the opportunity to raise an army and rebel at most six months later.

Unfortunately, Lin Dao's arrival drained most of Haozhou's potential.

"Get up and talk."

Lin Dao invited him to sit down, saying, "The Mongol Yuan dynasty is ruthless, treating the people like straw dogs."

"We are speaking out for the people and resisting the tyrannical Yuan dynasty, and we should work together with one heart and one mind."

"Yes."

Guo Zixing, who was sitting on one side of the chair, respectfully replied, "The believers think so too."

"I have summoned you here today because I have something to discuss with you."

"After the army has rested and reorganized, I will send troops to Gaoyou Prefecture."

"I'm leaving Haozhou to you."

Upon hearing this, Guo Zixing was stunned.

The respectful posture they had maintained was now showing signs of weakness.

He had assumed that he would be forcibly conscripted and that his family, including their people, food, and wealth, would be seized.

To everyone's surprise, the Ming King would actually hand over Haozhou to him!

"Now that Haozhou has been recovered, it must not fall into the hands of the Mongol Yuan dynasty again and be ravaged by them."

"I intend to go east, and this place also needs someone to guard it."

Lin Daowen instructed, "After I leave, you must treat the people well, repair the city, train the troops, and stockpile grain to deal with the Yuan court's counterattack."

Recovering from his immense surprise, Guo Zixing could not hide his excitement.

He rose and bowed again, saying, "I will never forget the teachings of the wise king!"

"I will leave you a batch of military supplies and provisions."

Lin Dao stepped forward and placed his hand on his shoulder. "No matter what, always remember that the Anti-Yuan is above all else."

For him, people in this world, as long as they are not wicked and cruel and enjoy harming the people, and as long as they are willing to raise the banner of anti-Yuan, can be temporarily accepted.

First, we'll take down the Yuan Dynasty, then we can fight for the world behind closed doors!

"You should know this."

"Since the king manifested his divine power, righteous armies have sprung up everywhere."

"Liu Futong and Han Shantong are attacking Bianliang from Yingzhou."

"Peng Yingyu, the monk, and Xu Shouhui started in Qihuang and conquered Huguang and Jiangxi provinces."

“Bu Wangsan, Meng Haima and others rose up in the Jingxiang region.”

“Xuzhou Sesame Li and others rose to prominence in Fengpei.”

"Now that the anti-Yuan wave is rising all over the world, we cannot fall behind."

Lin Dao helped Guo Zixing sit down in a chair. "You can take Haozhou, Luzhou to the south, and Suzhou to the north."

The Red Turban Army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was extremely fierce.

Their fierce northern expedition left the Yuan court completely bewildered.

They even fought their way all the way to Liaodong and the land of Goryeo!
The fighting power displayed by the Red Turban Army was truly formidable.

This was also related to the corruption of the Yuan court and the low combat effectiveness of the army.

By the time the Yuan court came to its senses, and with the incompetent generals who had risen to power solely through their family backgrounds being defeated, the situation was under control.

Only after truly capable generals such as Chaghan Temur (Li Chaghan), Boluo Temur, and Kökö Temur (Wang Baobao) emerged did the situation gradually turn around.

Lin Dao knew all this.

For this reason, he supported as many Red Turban Army soldiers as possible, allowing them to occupy more territory and further weaken the Yuan Dynasty's power.

"I have already investigated all the powerful landlords and local tyrants in Haozhou."

Lin Dao continued to instruct, "When you go to different places, you must make sure to clean them up thoroughly."

His instructions were not simply out of disdain for landlords and powerful families.

Rather, he knew very well that Wang Baobao and his group did not rely on the Yuan army to rise to power.

Just like Kublai Khan decades earlier, he relied on the armed forces of Han landlords to rise up and defeat the Red Turban Army.

Eliminating local landlords and powerful clans would cut off the Yuan dynasty's chance to rise again.

"The faithful will obey the command of the Wise King!"

Lin Dao personally escorted Guo Zixing to the outside of the government office.

Guo Zixing bowed again and left.

"Judging from his expression, he seemed somewhat dismissive." On the way back to the main hall, Lin Dao said to Shi Nai'an, "I'm afraid he'll suffer for it later."

"Everyone has their own destiny."

Shi Nai'an said earnestly, "Everything was my own choice."

At the entrance of the lobby, Lin Dao stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping over the proud and upright Chang Yuchun. "What a magnificent man! What's your name?"

"Chang Yuchun!"

"Oh." Lin Dao nodded slightly. "Judging from your bravery, if you encounter the Yuan army one day, would you dare to go into battle?" Chang Yuchun hesitated for a moment. "I am willing to serve the wise king, slaying generals and capturing flags!"

"A true hero."

Lin Dao entered the main hall, while Xu Da looked at Chang Yuchun with eyes full of envy.

To be able to speak with the King of Light and even receive his praise is truly enviable.

An hour later, guards came to relieve the guard.

As Chang Yuchun and his group were leaving, they saw that someone else had come to visit the government office.

"I am Li Shanchang, paying my respects to the Ming King."

"Please take a seat."

Lin Dao sized up the famous prime minister before him and asked with a smile, "Why have you come to serve me?"

"The world today~"

"The Yuan Dynasty is doomed!"

"Many heroes rise up!"

"The Wise King is the chosen one of Heaven."

After a passionate speech, Li Shanchang bowed.

"A wise king shall rule the world!"

Staring at Li Shanchang in front of him, Lin Dao smiled without saying a word.

This man was a capable minister, but he overreached and lived too long.

Many people say that the Hu Weiyong case was Zhu Yuanzhang's way of eliminating meritorious officials, but they don't know that Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang behind him had overreached their influence.

They not only had their cronies spread throughout the court officials, but they even extended their influence into the military.

Such a massive group, spanning both civil and military affairs, would not be tolerated by anyone, let alone Zhu Yuanzhang.

As for whether or not Lin Dao should use it~
"In that case, you shall follow Du Zundao in handling affairs."

"If you have any talented people to recommend, please send them over."

Lin Dao was not afraid of these gangs.

He will recruit a large number of talented people from all over the country in the future, just like Shi Nai'an's apprentices and colleagues.

Unlike the early Ming Dynasty, when a group called the Huaixi Group emerged.

Furthermore, as a time traveler, I possess unprecedented knowledge and have access to resources from several worlds.

If you can't even control the natives of this timeline, you might as well go back to being a rich man and enjoy life.

I'm willing to use anyone who can help me get things done and generate profits!
Lin Dao not only dared to use Li Shanchang, but even allowed him to bring Hu Weiyong and others over.

If they really start forming cliques or factions in the future...

If Zhu Yuanzhang could kill him, how could Lin Dao not be able to lift a knife?
Kill those who deserve it, without hesitation.

When Lin Dao stationed his troops in Haozhou, some of the nearby prefectures and counties that heard the news defended their cities, some desperately sent letters to the imperial court for help, and others brought troops to quell the rebellion.

The Yuan general Chelibuhua led three thousand cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry from Sizhou.

They plundered civilians along the way and killed innocent people to claim credit.

Without hesitation, Lin Dao led his troops to meet the enemy, and the two sides encountered each other near Miaoshan in Dingyuan County.

“A head of a Mongol is worth thirty strings of cash, and the same price applies to the heads of other ethnic groups.”

"For every ten strings of cash the Han army accepts, those who surrender will not be killed."

"Labourers don't count."

Lin Dao commanded over ten thousand regular soldiers.

It may not seem like a lot, but they all have proper equipment.

The archers and musketeers wore leather armor, while the rest wore iron armor.

Each group of soldiers wore half-body iron armor, iron helmets, and red turbans.

The imperial guards wore full suits of lamellar armor and formed a spear formation, each wielding a long spear made of stainless steel tubing.

Mongol cavalry launched raids and harassed the enemy, raining down arrows.

This was their strategy for sweeping across the world, a tactic they used to reach as far as the Danube River.

This tactic is most effective against lightly armored or unarmored opponents.

They are most helpless against armored vehicles.

When facing opponents with heavy armor, Mongol cavalry would typically utilize the mobility of their horses to lure and tear at the enemy's formation, disrupting their ranks and wearing them down.

But this time it won't work, because they still have infantry and a large camp.

Lin Dao ignored the cavalrymen running back and forth and went straight to Chelibuhua's camp to attack.

The tens of thousands of Han soldiers brought by Chelibuhua were demoralized and their will to resist was not firm.

They had been owed wages for months, and had no will to fight.

They would flee at the slightest contact.

For Chelibuhua, leaving at this point would have been easy, because Lin Dao lacked cavalry.

He only needed to take three thousand cavalrymen and flee back to Sizhou, and Lin Dao would not be able to catch up.

But he was unwilling to do so.

Besides the humiliation and accountability of defeat, what's more important is that there are still valuables and women he plundered along the way in the camp, which he can't bear to throw away.

Therefore, seeing that Lin Daojun's formation was scattered and disjointed, he simply led his cavalry to charge at the tall general's banner.

At this time, Lin Dao only had fewer than a thousand personal guards by his side.

Lin Dao remained calm, and the guards were also highly motivated to fight.

They quickly formed ranks of one hundred men each, holding long spears made of seamless steel pipes, and faced the Mongol cavalry charge head-on.

'Bang bang bang~~~'

When Chelibuhua, on horseback, saw smoke and fire rising from the Red Turban Army formation ahead, he immediately burst out laughing.

I was just about to say something when they opened fire with muskets from such a distance. They have no common sense at all. They are indeed a rabble.

But before he could even utter his first word, the Mongol cavalrymen charging ahead were already falling off their horses one after another.

Lin Dao has arranged for craftsmen from various time-space locations to create a sufficient number of flintlock muskets.

The Red Turban Army's only problem right now is a lack of sufficient time for training.

The Mongol cavalry were not all light cavalry archers; they also had heavy cavalry used for charging into battle.

However, when they charged forward, they were blocked by the multiple layers of barbed wire in front of the imperial guards, and the momentum of the charge was immediately stopped.

"Kill~~~"

The imperial guards, armed with long spears, launched a counterattack and engaged in close combat with the Mongol cavalry.

The Mongol cavalry at this time were no longer the same as they had been decades earlier.

Faced with the Red Turban Army, whose soldiers were all in full armor, they held out for a while but soon scattered and fled.

The Yuan army's first counterattack against Lindao was easily defeated!

(End of this chapter)