Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 280 Gaoyou Salted Duck Eggs

"Arrange for people to go and find Zhu Chongba's relatives."

"If there are any nephews or nieces still alive, arrange for them to be adopted to carry on the family line."

“His relatives are still alive, and they can be arranged to farm here at the temple to make a living.”

"Since you've become a monk, then you should eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures properly, and never leave the Buddhist monastery again."

After giving some instructions, Lin Dao, who was riding his horse, looked back at the mountain gate once more.

In the tides of time, everyone is carried along, and those who successfully reach the other side are the best in terms of ability and destiny.

The portal brought Lin Daolai before Zhu Chongba left Huangjue Temple, not after.

This is the arrangement of the tides of time.

"No need to fight in fear, no need to scheme and guard against subordinates day and night, and no need to worry about future generations."

"Just relax behind these mountain gates and courtyards, where you can enjoy the finest food and drink."

"Who knows, he might even become a high-ranking monk in the future."

"The family has passed down this position from generation to generation."

Turning his gaze away, Lin Dao looked at the vast expanse of land and sky before him.

"I will take on the task of restoring order to the world, and I will definitely do it even better!"

With Guo Zixing seeing him off, Lin Dao personally led his army away from Haozhou and continued eastward.

To the east of Haozhou lies Sizhou.

Most of the Yuan army stationed here had already been wiped out by Chelibuhua in Haozhou.

There was virtually no resistance in Sizhou.

Lin Dao swiftly conquered various locations, capturing Mongols and Semu people, and purging local landlords and powerful figures.

Like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves, it swept across the land, leaving this place to Guo Zixing.

The army's movement was not fast, mainly due to the slowdown caused by the old camp.

Those soldiers with families were all gathered in the old camp.

There were also many orphans taken in along the way.

These men could not keep up with the regular soldiers.

Fortunately, news traveled slowly in this era, and the Yuan court's control gradually weakened.

Lin Dao had ample time to march.

After passing Sizhou, you'll reach the famous Gaoyou Lake.

"King Ming."

In high spirits, Shi Nai'an rode forward to pay his respects, saying, "I have good friends such as Lu Yuan, Liu Liang, and Chen Ji, all of whom are great talents."

“There is another disciple, Luo Ben, who harbors ambitions to rebel against the Yuan dynasty. I will write to him now and invite him to come and serve the Ming king.”

"Robben?"

Lin Dao's heart tightened. "Is he bald, and good at Cuju (ancient Chinese football)?"

"what?"

Shi Nai'an looked puzzled. "Guan Zhongnian is only about twenty years old. How could he be withered in the middle of his life?"

"As for whether they are good at Cuju (ancient Chinese football), I have never heard of that."

"Oh, so your name is Luo Guanzhong." Lin Dao nodded in agreement. "As long as you are committed to opposing the Yuan dynasty, you are welcome here."

“Go and write to them and call them here.”

Gaoyou Prefecture governed three counties and was under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Circuit.

Its capital was located in Gaoyou County, on the shore of Gaoyou Lake.

The forest road army bypassed Gaoyou Lake and approached Gaoyou County.

"These ducks here," Lin Dao pointed to the flock of ducks in the lake, "don't they look like giant sparrows?"

"This is a Gaoyou duck."

In high spirits, Shi Nai'an explained with a smile, "The 'Essential Techniques for the Common People' records that Gaoyou salted duck eggs are famous throughout the world, and even Su Dongpo praised them after tasting them."

"Hahahaha~~~"

Lin Dao laughed, “The famous gourmet Su Dongpo said everything he ate was good.”

"Except for West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce."

"After eating this fish, he was forced to make Dongpo pork himself."

"Since duck eggs are famous," Lin Dao instructed Li Shanchang, "go to the villages and towns along the way to purchase them, sign agreements for long-term purchase, and distribute them to the soldiers to supplement their nutrition."

Military camp outside Gaoyou County.

The guards tidied themselves up and came out of the tent.

They carried their toiletries and fetched water to wash up.

After tidying up their belongings, they lined up and went to the stove to collect their breakfast.

"Today it's noodles, two servings each."

"Four steamed buns and a bag of pickled vegetables."

"One salted duck egg."

"Another salted duck egg?" someone complained. "I have salted duck eggs for every meal."

A sergeant immediately shouted, "No one's forcing you to eat if you don't want to! Give it to me!"

"Be grateful you have eggs to eat, how dare you complain?"

“When disaster struck before, and my family starved to death, we couldn’t even get duck droppings to eat!”

Lin Dao purchased all the salted duck eggs along the route to Gaoyou Lake, and most of them were supplied to the Imperial Guards.

The imperial guards ate at every meal, while ordinary soldiers only received one salted duck egg a day.

Differentiated treatment motivates people to work harder.

For most people in this era, eating three salted duck eggs a day is a delicious treat that brings tears to their eyes.

The food was just too good, too much.

It's inevitable that some people will be picky.

There's no need to waste words with this kind of person; they can eat anything if they go hungry for a few meals.

Chang Yuchun, carrying a lunchbox, looked up at the distant Gaoyou County town shrouded in morning mist.

"What?" Xu Da walked over. "Thinking of making a name for yourself?"

"Ah."

Chang Yuchun, with a solemn expression, nodded vigorously, his eyes full of determination. "I failed to kill Cheli Buhua before, and I didn't get a chance to fight Sizhou either."

"Today, in the attack on Gaoyou, I must seize the credit for being the first to scale the walls, no matter what!"

"Excellent!" Xu Da praised, "Brother Chang is truly courageous!"

"I am willing to climb the city wall with Brother Chang."

"Eat your food, a full stomach is good for fighting!"

Full of fighting spirit, Chang Yuchun cracked open a salted duck egg and threw it into his lunchbox.

They ate the big steamed bun in three bites, slurping it all down, soup and all.

After eating and drinking to your heart's content, go to the outhouse.

The guards, clad in armor and armed with weapons, lined up. All of them were filled with fighting spirit, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

The wise king is generous.

The rewards are generous, plentiful, and given quickly!
They were naturally willing to die for the enlightened king.

As they lined up to wait to leave the camp, cheers gradually rose from afar.

The cheers grew louder and louder, eventually reaching the Imperial Guards.

"We won!"

"Gaoyou City has surrendered and been handed over to the authorities!"

The imperial guards looked at each other, wondering if they had surrendered.
With a joyful expression, Zheng Chenggong came over and told everyone, "There's no need to attack the city anymore."

“The righteous people in the city captured the prefect, seized the city, and have already opened the city gates to present them to the Ming King.”

"You all prepare yourselves and follow the King into the city!"

The initial murderous aura quickly dissipated.

Everyone put down their weapons, stretched their arms and legs, and chatted and laughed.

Chang Yuchun, his face dark with anger, stomped his feet in frustration.

He was confident in his martial arts skills and was eager to make a name for himself.

However, after several major battles, he failed to achieve any significant military merits, and his anger was surging so fiercely that he was on the verge of madness.

Xu Da, who was standing nearby, offered some words of comfort.

"Brother Chang, there's no need for that. You will have your chance to make a name for yourself in the future."

Chang Yuchun glared at him and said, "I'm very angry right now. Let's have a spar."

Xu Da rolled his eyes and tapped his armor.

To fight privately while wearing armor and carrying weapons?
Chang Yuchun, you're truly fearless!
Holding his breath, Chang Yuchun paced back and forth, stamping his feet repeatedly.

If it weren't for military regulations, he would be heading to the old camp right now to teach his brother-in-law a lesson.

"This humble subject, Qin Guanbao, pays his respects to the Wise King~~~"

Inside the Gaoyou Prefectural Government Office, Lin Dao received the righteous people who had surrendered the city.

"You have saved the people of the city from the flames of war." Lin Dao stepped forward and helped Qin Guanbao and the others up. "You have done a great service in saving the lives of the people in the city."

"I hereby appoint you as the patrol inspector of Gaoyou, to apprehend thieves, maintain public order, and protect the safety of the local people."

Qin Guan bowed gratefully, saying, "This humble subject will certainly do his utmost!"

He was certainly not an ordinary commoner, but a wealthy man in the city.

Otherwise, how could they win over the hearts of the people and persuade the garrison?

Lin Dao arranged for him to be a patrol inspector as a reward for his service.

Any more, and that's it.

After all, Lin Dao had always treated the landlords' armed forces the same way, eliminating them all without exception.

Even if Qin Guanbao was dissatisfied, he wouldn't show it at this time.

After all, the influx of so many armored warriors into the city from the forest had indeed frightened them.

Iron armor had the most direct deterrent effect in ancient times.

"The people of the city gathered in front of the government office."

Lin Dao instructed Qin Guanbao to "execute the false Yuan prefect Li Qi in front of everyone, and then distribute his head to various places. Let everyone know that those who serve the Mongol Yuan as lackeys will not have a good end!"

"As for the Mongol Darughachi, send him to the city wall, gut him, and fly him like a kite."

"Leader!"

Gaoyou Prefecture had little defensive strength, and the local Han garrison had long been owed money and provisions, so naturally they had little will to resist.

As for the local landlords and powerful families inside and outside the city, Lin Dao directly sent his armored soldiers to sweep them away.

Gaoyou Prefecture, which comprised only three counties, was quickly brought under complete control.

On this day, Lin Dao led his personal guards to Baijuchang, which is near the sea.

Baijuchang was a salt field used to produce sea salt, and there were many salt workers who made and transported salt there.

The Yuan Dynasty's finances collapsed, and in order to raise money, it used all sorts of means.

The exorbitant profits from salt and iron production naturally make them a key target of attention.

The Yuan court issued salt permits indiscriminately, constantly raising salt prices and exploiting the people.

Not a single penny of the wealth earned through salt trading would reach the hands of these impoverished salt workers.

Their lives remained miserable.

They spend their days boiling sea salt and maneuvering boats for transport, never taking a break.

Even so, the family was still so poor that they couldn't even afford to cook.

When Lin Dao's army arrived, the salt workers, having heard the news, flocked to join him, creating a massive crowd.

Looking at the group of people bound in the distance, Lin Dao asked, "Who are those people?"

"Replying to Your Majesty~~~"

Salt workers stepped forward to greet him, saying, "You are all salt police officers from the salt field."

“They supervise us salt workers to work every day, deduct our wages daily, and also demand protection money from us.”

"If you don't hand it over, you'll either be beaten or verbally abused!"

"They are all utterly wicked!"

Lin Dao raised an eyebrow and pointed his riding whip at another group of people. "Are these people dressed in fine silks and satins also salt police?"

"Your Majesty~~~"

The salt merchant bowed again, saying, "Those are all wealthy locals, but they are actually smugglers of salt."

“They are utterly depraved; they hired us to sell smuggled salt, but they didn’t pay us any wages.”

"If we don't allow them to sell smuggled salt, they'll report us to the authorities—that's truly despicable!"

"Ah."

Lin Dao nodded. "They are indeed all heinous criminals."

He turned to Fu Youde and instructed him, "Lend weapons to the salt workers and let them go and chop up those salt police and smugglers."

"Leader!"

One by one, human heads were chopped off and hung high on wooden poles.

The surrounding salt workers cheered and jumped for joy, as if it were New Year's Day.

The most pleasant thing in life is seeing your enemy suffer!

This feeling is even more refreshing than chewing ice on a sweltering summer day.

"Your Majesty~~~"

The salt workers who had spoken up earlier bowed again and said, "We know where these scoundrels hide their money and salt, and we are willing to retrieve them for Your Majesty."

Lin Dao, on horseback, smiled and spurred his horse to look him over and ask questions.

"May I have your name."

The salt worker kowtowed and bowed, saying, "My name is Zhang Shicheng."

(End of this chapter)