Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 322 News from the Yuan Dynasty and the Orphanage

"puff!"

"This pen...this wine is poisoned!"

The seasoned veteran Shi Nai'an could tell something was wrong with the taste of the wine after just one sip.

This stuff contains sleeping pills!

He immediately stopped everyone from drinking and then instructed his attendants.

"Call someone!"

At this moment, the female shopkeeper led her assistant out, carrying platters of meat buns. "Ladies and gentlemen, these are freshly steamed buns!"

Shi Nai'an pursed his lips, picked up a steaming bun, and tore it open.

The white flesh inside was exposed.

He sneered repeatedly, "Shopkeeper, your signboard is wrong."

The female shopkeeper was puzzled and was about to ask some questions when she heard a 'bang! whoosh~~~' sound coming from outside the shop.

She took two steps back warily. "What's wrong?"

"Your shop sign."

With one hand on his waist and the other gripping the wine bowl, Shi Nai'an raised the bowl and said, "It should be hung in black!"

The wine bowl was smashed heavily on the ground.

"Your place is a rip-off!"

The wine bowl was smashed on the ground and shattered into pieces.

The crowd drew their weapons and began fighting with the shopkeeper.

The literati at the end of the Yuan Dynasty were not like those of the Song Dynasty before them, or the Ming and Qing Dynasties after them, who were weak and incapable of lifting heavy objects.

Constant warfare and the suppression of social status led many scholars to possess a certain level of martial prowess.

The best among them, such as Shi Nai'an, already possessed the style and flair of Han and Tang dynasty literati.

Just like that moment, he grabbed a wine jar from the table and smashed it at one of the waiters.

While the man was dodging, he rushed forward and slit his throat with a single stroke, ending the man's life.

The entourage rushed forward and began to fight, plunging the tavern into chaos.

Without a doubt, the Red Turban Army had a clear advantage.

Shi Nai'an brought them here to clarify the number of fields in various places.

As we all know, in the agricultural era, land was the most important means of production.

In order to pay as little tax as possible, everyone from large landowners to self-cultivating farmers tried every means to cultivate new land while concealing the amount of land they owned.

The fewer acres of land registered, the less tax needs to be paid.

Going to investigate the amount of land that someone is hiding is undoubtedly a very dangerous job.

This is why almost everyone in Shi Nai'an's entourage was a skilled fighter.

By the time the Red Turban Army, who were not far away, saw the signal from the Sky Piercing Monkey and rushed over, the battle had already been over and they had finished.

"Sima!"

Someone shouted, "There's a cellar in the backyard storeroom!"

When Shi Nai'an, Liu Bowen, and others arrived at the cellar, they were immediately taken aback.

Inside the dimly lit cellar, hooks hung, a chopping board was set up, and there were many basins on the ground.

Arms and legs hung on hooks, a body lay on a cutting board, and a basin contained various offal and thick blood clots.

The air was filled with a pungent odor that made one want to vomit.
"Ugh~~~"

Liu Bowen immediately burst out laughing.

"Hell on earth, hell on earth!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Nai'an shook his head, "I've seen even worse."

Following the pungent stench, the group found freshly turned soil in the vegetable garden outside the tavern's backyard.

After digging it open, the inside was filled with white bones, and it was unknown how many people had died tragically in this black shop.

"Bring that woman here!"

The female shopkeeper was stabbed and both her legs were broken. When she was dragged to the vegetable garden, she was already on the verge of death.

Shi Nai'an found a sharp knife, bowed his head and asked, "Before you die, is there anything you want to say?"

"This lowly concubine, née Sun, requests a tombstone."

"Bah!" Liu Bowen, his face extremely ugly, roared angrily, "You utterly wicked villain, you want a grave? Your final resting place is to be left to rot in the wilderness!"

He had been so frightened that he vomited, and felt ashamed, but now he was furious.

Shi Nai'an didn't waste any words.

Without hesitation, he bit the knife into his mouth.

He stepped forward and ripped open Sun's clothes, then slashed open her chest with a knife, causing blood to gush out.

Then he grabbed his ribs with both hands and forcefully pried open his chest, exposing his lungs.

He removed Sun's internal organs to offer as a sacrifice to the wronged souls in the vegetable garden pit.

His movements were extremely skillful, clearly indicating that he did this often.

Even ignoring what others were saying, Liu Bowen, standing to the side, was already as white as a sheet of paper and was on the verge of vomiting.

He truly hadn't expected that it would be so difficult to gain merit by following in the footsteps of the emperor.

In his vision, the wise king should burn incense and set up an altar, presenting a sword and seal to the military advisor, just like the wise strategist Zhuge Liang.

He himself sat in the central command tent, strategizing and planning from afar.

But reality slapped him in the face; he ended up dealing with a shady shop!

After finishing his work, Shi Nai'an rinsed his hands with water from the kettle and exclaimed, "Truly, bad people come from poor and remote places; they are utterly wicked!"

"Bowen, go and get all the firewood out of the woodshed, and burn this shady inn down!"

"You...you're going to burn the shop down too?"

"By leaving this vile place unburned, are we just waiting for the next villain to come and continue committing evil?"

"As the wise king said, evil must be eradicated completely!"

"When eliminating evildoers, we must also eradicate their roots."

"Not only should we burn down this shady shop, but we should also find the roots of these evil people, go to their villages, and dig up their roots too!"

Liu Bowen was utterly speechless.

Everything I experienced was different from what was written in the book!
At this time, Ming Wang Lindao, who advocated eradicating evil completely, was receiving guests from afar.

"It's been a while since you last visited."

Sitting in the chair, Lin Dao chuckled and said, "What's wrong? You can't spend the money I gave you, so you don't want it anymore?"

The visitor bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, prices in the capital and other places are soaring, and paper money is like worthless paper."

"The precious paper money given by the Ming King is truly difficult to use."

Hasansha, the Semu person whom Lin Dao had bribed, sent someone to deliver intelligence to him. However, the first thing he did was complain, stating that he could no longer accept paper money, as it was truly unusable and could only be used as toilet paper.

The Red Turban Army in the north launched a three-pronged northern expedition, severing the connection with the wealthy lands in the south once again.

The pleasures of the Mughal nobles did not decrease; on the contrary, they became even more extravagant.

A single Buddhist ritual performed by esoteric monks can cost tens of thousands of strings of cash.

Most critically, in order to deal with rebellions in various places, the Yuan court's military expenditures skyrocketed.

The Yuan Dynasty, facing financial collapse, had no choice but to print paper money at an alarming rate.

After all, this thing has almost no cost, making it very convenient for economic plunder.

As a result, the paper money rapidly depreciated to the point that everyone refused to accept it.

"What a pity~"

Lin Dao shook his head slightly, feeling a sense of regret.

For him, the paper money also had virtually no cost.

He could even print more than the Yuan Dynasty!

Unfortunately, the Yuan court's questionable actions rendered his printed boxes of banknotes worthless.

"The Yuan Dynasty is truly despicable!"

The messenger delivered a sealed letter to Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Chenggong carefully examined the seal after removing the clay, and after confirming that there were no problems, he handed it over to Lin Dao.

The intelligence delivered this time is quite substantial.

First, there's the matter concerning the Yuan Dynasty's royal family.

The conflict between Emperor Yuan and the Crown Prince intensified, and Empress Qi even secretly contacted military generals, fearing that something untoward might happen.

Next up is the imperial court.

After Toqto'a's death, his brother Esen Temur inherited his political legacy.

Yesen Timur's abilities and character were far inferior to even one percent of his brother's.

Under the attacks of political enemies such as Hama, the army had already suffered a complete defeat.

If it weren't for the reputation of Toqto'a dying in battle, he wouldn't have been exiled but killed outright.

Now, the Yuan Dynasty has entered the era of Hama.

Finally, there is the crucial military aspect.

The Red Turban Army, which launched three northern expeditions, suffered heavy losses and was completely routed by Richard Khan and his son Wang Baobao.

The father and son received the support of Emperor Yuan and Hama, and gained the righteous right to command and control the army of the world.

They also gained the support of the landlords and powerful clans of various ethnic groups in the north, and received replenishment of manpower, provisions, and military supplies.

With the support of the Koreans, they defeated the Red Turban Army's Northern Expedition, resulting in heavy casualties.

In Hassan's letter, it was mentioned that the father and son already commanded hundreds of thousands of troops and were extremely powerful.

"Goryeo?"

"Made."

"I'll settle the score with you all when I launch my northern expedition!"

Lin Dao calmed himself down and told Zheng Chenggong to fetch the valuables.

Since they couldn't use paper money anymore, Lin Dao gave them some gold and silver, as well as more military scrip.

I thought it would take a lot of persuasion to convince the messenger to accept the military scrip.

Unexpectedly, the messenger readily accepted it.

"Military scrip also circulates within Dadu (Beijing)."

The messenger explained, "If it's discounted by half, many people will want it."

Paper money, simply put, is a loan agreement backed by the credit of the state.

A good reputation naturally makes you valuable.

If you lack credibility, you're worthless.

Reputation, in essence, is strength and influence.

The strength and influence of the Red Turban Army were sufficient to support the value of military currency.

If the three-pronged northern expedition hadn't failed, the price could have been discounted by 60% or 70% or more.

Although it is currently the Red Turban Army's military currency, once they seize the world, it will become the precious currency of the new dynasty.

Many people have already begun to make preparations in advance.

After the messenger left, Lin Dao gently tapped the table.

"Wang Baobao, a remarkable man of the world?"

"I wonder if you really have a sister named Zhao Min!"

The residence of the Darughachi, originally located within the city of Hangzhou.

Ma Xiuying, along with Lan and others, are teaching and supervising the children in the orphanage.

The old camp remained in Nanjing, but there were still quite a few military dependents accompanying the army as medical teams and other similar entities.

Lan could have chosen not to come, but her husband and brother went to war with the Ming King, and even her best friend went with the army.

Having nothing to do while alone in Jinling City, she signed up for the rescue team and came along.

The orphans in the orphanage were all children who had lost their homes and relatives and had been taken in by the Red Turban Army.

Especially during his second return to Haozhou, almost all the children who had managed to escape the massacre by the Yuan army were taken in.

Furthermore, the orphans of the Red Turban Army soldiers who died in battle were also taken in into the orphanage.

When they grow up, they will directly join the Red Turban Army and become a vital force.

"Li Wenzhong, if you cause any more trouble, you'll be punished by having to clean the outhouses!"

Li Wenzhong, originally named Li Bao'er, was Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew.

He fled famine with his father, Li Zhen, to Haozhou to seek refuge with relatives, only to encounter the massacre of the city by Tuotuo.

It wasn't just the massacre of one city; the Yuan army looted and slaughtered people in every county, village, and town in Haozhou.

His father, Li Zhen, was killed, but he managed to escape and became a homeless child.

After many hardships, they finally found Zhu Yuanzhang in the temple.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was practically the second-in-command in the temple, originally intended for Li Wenzhong to become a monk and succeed him, but Li Wenzhong was determined to avenge his father.

Old Zhu personally escorted him to Lin Dao.

Upon learning his identity, Lin Dao renamed him Wenzhong.

"And you!"

Ma Xiuying reached out and pinched the ear of an eight or nine-year-old child. "Muying, if you cause trouble again, you won't get any dinner tonight!"

(End of this chapter)