Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 321 I'm Back

The Red Turban Army launched a major eastward advance.

Like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves, it swept across Zhenjiang, Guzhou, Suzhou and other places.

It wasn't that the Yuan army didn't resist; the Mongols and Semu people also knew that the Red Turban Army didn't take prisoners, so they resisted very resolutely.

Unfortunately, the main force of the Yuan army in Jiangzhe Province had been transferred to Jiqing City, where they were all wiped out.

The defenses in other areas were extremely weak and could not withstand the Red Turban Army's attacks at all.

All the regions were defeated in a single battle.

Especially in Gunzhou, while Lin Dao was having lunch, Gu Cheng, a centurion from Yangzhou, led his troops to conquer Gunzhou.

After Lin Dao finishes his meal, he can go straight into the city.

The Red Turban Army swept through the Jiangnan province with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, eventually reaching the outskirts of Hangzhou.

"Hangzhou City".

Looking at the city before him, Lin Dao smiled.

"I am back again."

When I left Hangzhou last time, although I left gracefully, I was ultimately forced to leave.

He brought tens of thousands of troops this time, wanting to see if those guys in the city still had the ability!

Hangzhou is, after all, a famous city; a hundred years ago, it was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Lin Dao ordered all units to prepare for the attack on the city.

Then~
"Myo-wang, the city gates are open!"

"Your Majesty, Hangzhou has surrendered!"

A large number of civil and military officials from the city, carrying the heads of many Mongols and Semu people, went out of the city to surrender it to Lin Dao.

This scene was like a replay of what happened a century ago.

At that time, Hangzhou had surrendered to the Yuan army.

Now, Hangzhou has surrendered to the Red Turban Army.

The only thing they had in common was that Hangzhou had surrendered.

"Recruit more soldiers."

Lin Dao sighed, "Let's take the men of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to war and awaken their passion."

"Don't spend all your time just reciting classical Chinese texts and composing poems."

"Yes, don't recruit soldiers in the city."

Tang He led his troops into the city first and took control of the entire city before Lin Dao led his army and generals into the city.

Those civil and military officials who surrendered the city knelt there stupidly from beginning to end, their knees aching from the friction.

Lin Dao, riding past, only glanced at them before paying them no further attention.

Previously, whenever the Red Turban Army captured a city, they would purge the existing imperial forces in that city.

The government offices were completely emptied, and new government offices at all levels were built by retired soldiers and scholars recruited by the shogunate.

With the surrender of Hangzhou, the Mongol and Semu people in the government offices were all purged.

The Han officials who have surrendered are now in a bit of trouble.

After setting up his headquarters at the Hangzhou Prefectural Government Office, Lin Dao's first question to Li Shanchang was, "What should be done with those who surrendered to the city?"

"King Ming."

Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled, "This matter is easy."

"By simply arranging for letters from Dadu, we can frame these people for treason and round them all up."

"If you want to save trouble, you can just fabricate a story."

Lin Dao was amused by these words.

"You're really clever, aren't you? It's baseless."

Li Shanchang was so enthusiastic because he had recruited many clerks.

These people need places to be placed.

If the Yuan court cannot deal with these surrendered officials, where will it find a place to settle them?

The competition in this area is actually quite fierce.

People who graduated from military night schools occupy the majority of the positions.

The few remaining positions will have to be competed for with the people recruited by Shi Nai'an and others.

Li Shanchang could only try his best to show himself.

After laughing, Lin Dao only said one sentence.

"After all, it surrendered the city."

Surrendering a city only to be killed is not a good thing.

Once the news arrives, no matter where the fighting takes place, it will be a fight to the death.

Lin Dao himself didn't care.

But he was unwilling, seeing the Red Turban Army suffer too many losses.

Li Shanchang quickly understood what the Ming King meant.

He thought about it carefully and offered another suggestion.

“Your Majesty, your subordinates may host a banquet to entertain these people.”

"During the banquet, my subordinates hinted that they should take the initiative and not put the Prince in a difficult position."

Lin Dao squinted. "Hmm?"

Li Shanchang immediately changed his tune, saying, "Don't make things difficult for your subordinates."

Li Shanchang's abilities were indeed outstanding, and he did a very good job in handling government affairs.

They handled tasks such as reorganizing household registration, clarifying trade routes, regulating the market, and even confiscating and redistributing land with ease.

Moreover, he's intelligent and often offers advice.

In fact, many of Liu Bowen's achievements were attributed to Li Shanchang by later generations.

"A wise person would resign voluntarily."

"It would be even better if the wise king could allow them to retain their property."

Lin Dao simply closed his eyes and asked, "Hmm?"

Li Shanchang further advised, "Of course, your subordinates will also hint that they must hand over at least half of their family property to assist the army, especially their land."

Lin Dao tapped his fingers. "Is it possible? What if they're unwilling?"

“I can do it!” Li Shanchang confidently agreed. “If anyone is unwilling, we can arrange for them to serve in areas bordering the enemy.”

“These people are all cowards who are afraid of death. They would give up Hangzhou to save their own lives, so naturally they would not dare to take any risks to save their own lives.”

"Hmm~"

Lin Dao opened his eyes. "I'll leave this matter to you."

"I obey your orders~~~"

After Li Shanchang left, Lin Dao summoned Luo Guanzhong.

"Following the old precedent, clean up all the city foxes and rats inside and outside the city."

“We must not overlook any county towns.”

Luo Guanzhong had grasped the essence of his master's teachings; he was quite ruthless, making him perfect for this job. Afterwards, a group of military generals were summoned.

"Chang Yuchun".

"The general is here!"

"You will lead all the troops to suppress bandits throughout the Jiangzhe Province."

"Each unit shall be equipped with long-range vision and keen hearing, and shall be tasked with eliminating bandits in all regions."

Lin Dao specifically named "Fang Guozhen, the notorious bandit of eastern Zhejiang, who must be wiped out!"

Chang Yuchun immediately bowed and said, "I accept the order!"

The troubles within the city mainly stemmed from powerful officials, wealthy and influential figures, and the corrupt and ruthless elements who acted as henchmen.

Outside the vast city, the source of trouble was bandits from various places.

There were bandits entrenched in the lake, river bandits who fished and transported people along the river, mountain bandits who robbed and plundered, and local bandits who gathered in the mountains to extort protection money from villages, etc.

From a small individual robbing someone with a pitchfork to a powerful figure like Fang Guozhen who commands tens of thousands of followers.

Even when the dynasty was stable, bandits roamed everywhere.

If it were the end of a dynasty, it would be even more insane, with thieves every three miles and bandits every five miles.

Even in the modern world, highway robbers still occasionally appear.

Sweeping away local government officials was easy, but suppressing bandits required a great deal of effort.

Fortunately, the help of high technology greatly improved the speed of bandit suppression.

"Shi Nai'an".

Lin Dao instructed Shi Nai'an, "You will act alongside Chang Yuchun."

"Clear and register the status of farmland in various places, and redefine the allocation of farmland."

"We will recruit new soldiers from various villages and towns, carefully selecting those with honest and simple character, and not accepting any sons of wealthy families or village elders."

Shi Nai'an also quickly bowed.

"Leader!"

Lin Dao continued, "Zheng Chenggong, you~~~"

As the area under their control expanded, the number of military and government agencies also increased.

Even as a time traveler, one needs many helpers.

After all, if you're determined to run a business, there will be countless things to do.

Even if you work yourself to death, you still can't finish it all by relying on your own energy.

The existence of large civil and military groups is inevitable.

If the emperor is poor at judging people or is lazy in governing, it will naturally lead to the collapse of the entire system from top to bottom.

The vast majority of the work was distributed out.

It's rare to relax here in the forest.

The old camp remained in Jinling City, giving him ample time to retreat into seclusion.

He travels through multiple times and spaces, playing different roles.

Shi Nai'an returned to his assigned temporary residence, packed his belongings, and prepared to set off with the army.

However, someone claimed to be an old friend and took the initiative to visit him.

"Brother Bowen?"

Shi Nai'an was greatly surprised, "Why are you here?"

Liu Bowen smiled bitterly and bowed deeply.

"I was blind to your greatness, and now I regret it too late!"

"I have come here to ask for your help, elder brother."

When Lin Dao came to Hangzhou last time, he tried to recruit Liu Bowen.

However, Liu Bowen at that time looked down on the Red Turban Army, which had not yet broken out, and rejected it.

When Lin Dao drove the armored vehicle out of Hangzhou, Liu Bowen had already begun to regret his actions.

If the Ming King had told him earlier that he had such a divine weapon, he wouldn't have had to refuse to serve and offend people.

Then came the news that Toqto'a's supposedly million-strong army had been defeated.

When Liu Bowen heard the news, he was completely stunned.

He immediately realized that he had misjudged the situation.

It was also expected that, given the power of the Ming King, he would inevitably come to Hangzhou again.

I just didn’t expect it to come so soon!

Now, he's begging Shi Nai'an to lend him a hand, since they're from the same generation, so he can get on the ship as soon as possible.

"This~~~"

Shi Nai'an clearly hesitated.

The last time it happened in Hangzhou, it was quite unpleasant.

If Liu Bowen were recommended to the Ming King at this point, he would likely be reprimanded.

Liu Bowen was also a smart man; he had thought about many things before he came.

He bluntly stated, "Brother Shi, I also learned from the official gazette in Hangzhou that you and Li Shanchang are both Zhongmou under the command of the Ming King."

"I am willing to serve under Brother Shi."

The saying "there is no first place in literature" is just a nice-sounding way of saying it.

The struggles among scholars were no less brutal than those among military generals, and perhaps even more so.

The most direct manifestation of this is factional strife.

Liu Bowen's words were quite clear: I am willing to serve you first and help you deal with Li Shanchang.

"it is good!"

Shi Nai'an immediately nodded, "In that case, Brother Bowen, please come with me."

"Where?"

"Serve the Wise King!"

Shi Nai'an, along with Liu Bowen, followed a Red Turban Army group out of Hangzhou and arrived near Fuyang.

It is said that banditry is rampant here, and a Red Turban Army headquarters was ordered to come here to suppress the bandits.

Shi Nai'an, who was traveling with the army, led Liu Bowen and others on horseback to a small stone bridge.

Seeing a tavern nearby by the bridge, Shi Nai'an called out to the group.

"Now that we've arrived here, let's rest for a while."

Everyone responded and dismounted, leading their horses to the outside of the tavern.

After settling the horses, the group went into the tavern and ordered wine and meat.

Lin Dao provided them with very high pay, so they certainly didn't lack money for drinking and eating meat.

Shi Nai'an, having found a place to sit, inquired of the warm and generous female shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper, where is this place?"

"Gentlemen, this place is called Shizipo (Cross Slope)."

(End of this chapter)