Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 313 Li Shanchang's Contest

"Oh~"

Lin Dao raised an eyebrow and said, "You're also from Haozhou, and you've already been back to your hometown, Dingyuan."

"His hometown was massacred, so what if Chang Yuchun went back to fight? Is that something to make a fuss about?"

"King Ming."

With a face full of indignation, Li Shanchang immediately declared, "I wish I could tear the Mongols apart alive to avenge the loss of my hometown elders!"

"General Chang slaughters the barbarians, and his subordinates are filled with joy."

“But the surrendered people he killed were not Mongols.”

He was a smart man and had long seen through the Ming king's attitude towards the barbarians—it was either him or them.

Moreover, their attitude was extremely firm.

Therefore, Li Shanchang was always a staunch opponent of the Hu people, and he would often call for war and slaughter of the Hu people.

Li Shanchang then revised his wording, referring to "Ming King".

"When General Chang attacked Chuzhou, the officials and officers in the city sent a letter to General Chang, agreeing to surrender the city."

"But after they captured the Darughachi and the Mongol people in the city, General Chang actually killed them all after they surrendered the city!"

When Li Shanchang spoke of killing those who surrendered, he meant those who surrendered by offering up their cities.

Lin Dao rubbed his chin, staring intently at Li Shanchang.

He understood Chang Yuchun.

His hometown was massacred by the Mongols, and countless relatives, friends, and fellow villagers were killed or injured. Naturally, he was filled with boundless rage.

To be honest, killing only the Mongol-Muslims and slaughtering the Han military officer Tu Guang was already considered restraint.

At least he didn't massacre the city.

Li Shanchang was so agitated because...
Lin Dao remained calm and said, "Tell me what you mean."

"King Ming!"

Li Shanchang bowed respectfully and said, "The world is in chaos now, and heroes are rising up everywhere."

"Both the Yuan court and the various warlords were actively recruiting talent."

"If word gets out that General Chang killed surrendered soldiers, talented people everywhere will surely be terrified and dare not serve the Ming King any longer."

It was said in a somewhat veiled way, but Lin Dao already understood.

"You mean those Han officials in the Yuan court, and wealthy scholars in the local areas."

Li Shanchang nodded repeatedly, "That's right."

"Throughout history, every dynasty has inherited the orthodox legacy of the previous dynasty in order to achieve peace and stability in the world."

The real origin of this matter lies in Lin Dao's arrangements for Haozhou.

All the government offices in Haozhou were established by drawing personnel from the army.

All of them were discharged due to injuries or transferred to local positions based on their military merits.

None of the scholars that Li Shanchang had painstakingly recruited and cultivated had found a place to be of use.

This one thing alone was enough to instantly awaken Li Shanchang.

King Ming is following the path of military and national rule that existed during the Qin Dynasty!
Everything revolves around the military!

If that's the case, what will happen to these scholars?
Ten years of hard study, was it all just for bookkeeping, military merits, and teaching literacy and arithmetic?
And they were even teaching simplified Chinese characters!
How incredibly vulgar!
It was precisely because they saw the enormous crisis that Li Shanchang made this attempt to test them.

It really was just a test.

Li Shanchang didn't really care whether Chang Yuchun killed any surrendered soldiers, who he killed, or how many he killed.

In chaotic times, human life is as worthless as grass; kill whoever you want.

What he cared about was the future of himself and the talents he had recruited.

With Wang Meng's repeated guidance, Lin Dao gradually adapted to the various political strategies of ancient times.

He could tell that Chang Yuchun's killing of surrendered soldiers was just a prelude; Li Shanchang's true intention was to test the waters.

The target of the test was himself.

As for what exactly they were testing...
"I am aware of this matter." Lin Dao gestured, "You can go and get back to your work."

He had a general understanding of Li Shanchang's meaning and was now going to seek advice from a wise man.

Yonghe Time and Space.

Prime Minister Wang Meng, who was busy with his work, was summoned and immediately rode into the palace.

After dismounting, we continued on our way and finally arrived at the forest road.

Let's have a meal together.

Lin Dao picked up a bowl of millet porridge and said with a smile, "Let's talk business after we finish eating."

Wang Meng was extremely busy, and he fully took on the responsibilities of the prime minister.

The difference between him and Zhuge Liang lies in the fact that Lin Dao had complete control over the army.

In other words, Yonghe Time and Space is in a period of population recovery. The population is not that large, so things can still be managed.

If it were the Chongzhen era, with its population of tens of millions and countless daily tasks, Wang Meng alone would be exhausted.

After the meal, Lin Dao recounted Li Shanchang's story.

Upon hearing this, Wang Meng quickly understood.

"This is a power struggle."

In Yonghe Time and Space, people are a family of both scholars and warriors, or rather, they are both literate and skilled in martial arts. There is no clear distinction between scholars and warriors as we see in later times.

His meaning was clear: those who wield the pen are unwilling to let power fall into the hands of those who wield the knife.

"Now we are testing His Majesty's mind."

“If His Majesty has made up his mind, they will try every means to seize power.”

After hearing this, Lin Dao raised his hand to rub his forehead, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"If that's the case, then I'll..."

“Your Majesty,” Wang Meng continued, saving the lives of Li Shanchang and the others, “what I mean by the struggle for power is not a contest of power and intrigue.”

What they really want to fight for is credit.

Lin Dao's gaze gradually cleared. "Competing for credit?"

"Exactly."

Wang Meng stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Since military merit is everything, then what we should be fighting for is naturally military merit."

Lin Dao asked curiously, "How do they compete for military merit? They don't know how to fight!"

Wang Meng was also scratching his head.

It's quite strange that a scholar wouldn't know how to fight. These days, which scholar isn't a fierce man who can ride a horse and wield a sword?
He couldn't understand how there could be a scholar who didn't know how to fight.

Could it be that he's like the scions of powerful families, having consumed too much of the Five-Stone Powder, to the point that he doesn't even wear a loincloth anymore, and has become an idiot?

Even if they can't fight, they must still have ways to earn military merit.

Lin Dao then began to talk about other things.

"Take care of the rotation of troops in various places as soon as possible."

"I obey!"

"If you want to expand outwards, roads are the most important thing."

"You also need to oversee the road construction work."

"Yes."

"I need to prepare 400,000 shi of grain."

Wang Meng did not accept the order this time.

"His Majesty."

He simply shrugged and said, "The grain in the national treasury has been allocated to other places, and I cannot prepare more."

In the Yonghe timeline, Lin Dao employs the prime minister system.

Under him, Chancellor Wang Meng was responsible for all political affairs except military matters.

He is the real head housekeeper.

Lin Dao was not worried about a powerful minister seizing the throne, not because he believed Wang Meng was a loyal minister who would not betray him, but because he was well prepared.

On the one hand, it is because they firmly grasp military power, and anyone who dares to reach out to military power will be chopped off.

On the other hand, it stems from his self-confidence.

Lin Dao was confident enough that he could defeat all challengers!
No matter who it is, even if they actually gain military power, so what?
Lin Dao could drive the Shilka River himself, crush it all the way, and directly execute it by artillery!
As for how the heir will act many years later, that will be arranged at that time.

Wang Meng was not lying; the grains and cloth stored in warehouses in various places had detailed uses.

Anyone who dares to misappropriate the funds will be treated as a barbarian.

"Then we'll use grain reserves."

Lin Dao is assigning tasks; he is about to cross the river and restore Jiangnan in the Zhizheng era.

Providing food relief to the local people was essential.

Instead of confronting him directly, Wang Meng began to recount the hardships the people had endured when there was no food.

He didn't know where Lin Dao was going to send the grain, but he knew that once the grain was gone, it would never come back.

Although after the country was at peace, grain production increased.

But during the chaos caused by the various barbarian tribes, they were truly terrified of starvation.

As the head steward, Wang Meng only wanted to stockpile more supplies, have Lin Dao transport more supplies, and take as little out of the company as possible.

After some bargaining, they finally agreed to use 250,000 shi of grain from the reserves.

Afterwards, Lin Dao went to the Chongzhen era and the Jingkang era to check the air conditioning and food.

In the Jingkang era, despite the medical resources provided by Lin Dao and the favorable situation, Zong Ze, who was still alive and kicking, was even more stingy than Wang Meng, and ultimately cut Lin Dao in half.

As for the Chongzhen era, there was no powerful prime minister. Lin Dao arranged a grand cabinet system, which had very little constraint on him.

The millions of bushels of grain mobilized were successfully distributed.

With the addition of supplies purchased from the modern world, preparations for the river-crossing battle are complete.

Before the army crossed the river, Li Shanchang came to discuss matters again.

But this time I'm not here to complain.

"King Ming."

With a joyful expression, Li Shanchang took out a stack of letters and handed them to Zheng Chenggong.

"My subordinates have contacted the other side of the strait, and many people are willing to serve the King."

"They are willing to open the city gates as inside agents to help King Ming stabilize the situation in various places."

"A batch of supplies has also been prepared for military use."

After opening and examining the letter, Lin Dao suddenly realized something.

'This is Li Shanchang's argument.'

Without a doubt, persuading the enemy to surrender is also a military achievement.

Lin Dao did not rush to respond, but silently flipped through the letter, paying particular attention to the signature and monogram at the end.

These letters included those from various civil and military officials in Jiqing Road, all of whom were Han soldiers.

Li Shanchang was no fool. Lin Dao had already expressed his inclination, so it was impossible for him to try to win over the Mongol Semu people anymore.

In addition, there are some wealthy families and scholarly families in the Jiangnan region.

How did you manage to get in touch with them?

Lin Dao tapped the thick letter with great curiosity, saying, "Your abilities are too strong."

He was genuinely puzzled as to how Li Shanchang had gotten involved with those people in Jiangnan.

In this era, there is no mobile wireless network.
Li Shanchang did not hide anything from Lin Dao and told him everything directly.

"It is by taking advantage of the prestige of the Ming King."

"After the Battle of Gaoyou, the Ming King's fame spread throughout the land."

"Jiangdong was shaken, and people's hearts were unsettled."

“I acted as a merchant to deliver messages, and all who accepted them agreed. I also took the initiative to contact more people, intending to serve the wise king.”

The dramatic ripples from the Battle of Gaoyou are spreading rapidly over time.

Many people previously thought that the Red Turban Army was just a flash in the pan.

After the Battle of Gaoyou, even the most die-hard supporters knew that the Yuan Dynasty was doomed.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the main force of a capable field army, were wiped out in one battle!
Prime Minister Toqto'a, the de facto ruler of the Yuan Dynasty, has lost his head!
Although the Yuan Dynasty still has a million-strong army, it's possible that they've already lost most of their forces.

As for the imperial court, it was in complete chaos.

The emperor, Empress Qi, the crown prince, powerful ministers, warlords, and the silver monk all take turns vying for power, creating utter chaos.

After World War I, the future trend gradually became clear.

This is why Li Shanchang's efforts to win him over were so successful.

As for the merchants who helped deliver messages and make contacts~
Not far from the Red Turban Army camp, there was a bustling market!

(End of this chapter)