Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 358 Plagiarism of Commandant Huo Qubing

The young Captain Yao galloped across the grasslands on horseback.

His slightly immature face bore the marks of hardship and anger.

"They won't let me fight, but they'll make me take the lead in all sorts of messy, trivial matters."

The galloping captain, Yao, kept babbling about his uncle, expressing his strong dissatisfaction.

He came to the battlefield to make a name for himself, not to do some messy things.

After crossing hills and mountains, and traversing rivers and grasslands, we finally arrived at a small earthen mound.

Standing on the hillside, Captain Yao stared in astonishment at the bustling scene at the foot of a winding stream a hundred meters away.

Many laborers and Han soldiers gathered here, shouting and making a ruckus.

The Han soldiers, leading cattle, sheep, and horses, and carrying various items such as fur, horns, and bone products, were doing business with a guy dressed in strange clothes.

"Is this the person?"

After a careful look, Captain Yao led his men down the earthen slope on horseback.

'puff! '

A cow was led to the riverbank by a laborer, who stabbed it to death with a sharp knife and bled it out.

Then a group of people stepped forward and skillfully dissected it.

Cowhide, horn, tendon, bone, etc., are all important strategic materials.

As for the meat, it shouldn't be wasted. After bleeding, cutting, and washing it evenly, it should be coated with a lot of salt to make dried meat.

The valiant captain, who was riding across the stream, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"you!"

He pointed his whip at a laborer who was stealing salt and shouted, "Come here!"

The laborer was so frightened that his hands trembled, and he spilled the pinch of salt he had stolen on the ground.

He hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

"What are you doing?"

The laborers bowed their heads and whispered, "We are here to assist the general on his orders."

The Lieutenant General is Gongsun Ao, the General's savior, who is in charge of all military logistics.

The laborers were basically all under his management.

Lin Dao was used to being in a superior position, so he took out a glass bead and thought he could get Captain Yao to come see him.

They really underestimated the imperial relatives and nobles.

The glass bead eventually ended up in Gongsun Ao's hands.

This person is honest; he gives something in return for what he takes.

Not only did they send a group of laborers to help, but they also allowed Lin Dao to purchase spoils of war from the army and issued him identification documents.

As early as the Warring States period, commerce in China was already very developed.

Military caravans were present for every battle, specializing in acquiring various spoils of war.

In fact, merchants have always been very active in ancient times.

For example, during the Mayi Plot, they used a commercial market to lure the Xiongnu army into an ambush.

After Confucianism came to power, it severely suppressed commerce, resulting in the fact that the deeds of most merchants did not appear in historical records.

After all, Confucian scholars control the pen, and can write about whomever they want, and smear whomever they want.

Captain Yao frowned and said, "Lead the way."

The laborers stepped forward and called out, and the crowd dispersed.

They arrived in front of Lin Dao, who was sitting on a stool, and Captain Yao dismounted.

He solemnly took a sword from his horse, held it in his hand, and gestured to Lin Dao, "This sword, did you send it to me?"

Lin Dao, holding a thermos in both hands, looked up with a friendly smile.

"Well, it's me."

The young Captain Yao looked puzzled. "Why did you give me such a precious gift?"

This sword is made of high-strength alloy and is extremely sturdy.

Precision machining and tempering have sharpened the blade, making it so sharp that it can cut hair in an instant.

CNC lathe laser engraving of cloud patterns, extremely beautiful.

This sword cost a fortune, and in this era, it would be considered a divine weapon.

Lin Daoming instructed that the sword be given to Captain Piao Yao, which is how this man was attracted.

"This is a gift for you."

Looking at the face before him, which was slightly young and immature yet bore the marks of time, even Lin Dao, who was used to seeing famous figures in history books, breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's because I admire you."

Huo Qubing, also known as Commandant Yao.

Even a thousand years later, the passionate men of the Central Plains still admire this man and regard him as an idol.

Huo Qubing proved just how glorious and brilliant the moments of youth can be.

His fall before reaching the pinnacle added a tragic element to his legendary life.

all in all.

Apart from those who "eat peaches," there is practically no man in the Central Plains who doesn't admire Huo Qubing.

Meeting Lin Dao's gaze, Huo Qubing found it hard to understand.

He is now just an ordinary noble boy.

Because of his young age and, most importantly, his lack of military achievements, he was looked down upon in the army.

What's the purpose of this strangely dressed guy offering such a precious treasure right off the bat?
"If possible."

Lin Dao knew that there was no love or hate without a reason in the world, unless one was born a villain.

He joked, "I want to go into battle with the captain and sell all the spoils of war to me."

Without a doubt, this is a lucrative position.

Of course, the level of danger is also extremely high; you could be killed at any time on the battlefield.

Reaching out to touch the sword given to him by Lin Dao, Huo Qubing nodded slightly.

"can."

He mounted his horse and led his men back the way they came.

I came here today to find out why this person specifically requested to give me the treasure.

As the saying goes, there is no reward for no merit.

He won't accept it without a good reason.

Lin Dao shrugged, instructing the laborers who had come to help to continue collecting the spoils of war, while he himself returned to the large tent to transport away a batch of cow and sheep hides, as well as gold, silver, and gemstones.

For him now, this income is nothing.

But the habit has already been formed, and even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

After these items are sold, they can be exchanged for a batch of steel bars and cement. The industrial output of the Central Plains is terrifying, and the last thing it lacks is steel bars and cement.

The construction of water conservancy facilities, river management, dike building, and road laying in various time periods and spaces consumes a great deal of resources.

As for the payment Lin Dao made here, it was mainly salt, plus cloth.

These things cost him almost nothing.

However, it was a popular and desirable item among the Han soldiers.

The fine salt, as white as snow, and the fine fabric with dense weave were very popular among the Han soldiers.

As its fame spread, more and more Han soldiers were willing to travel even further to come here to sell their spoils.

Their spoils mainly consisted of cattle, sheep, and horses.

In addition, there were a small amount of gold and silver utensils and gemstones looted from the Xiongnu nobles.

Aside from these, Lin Dao didn't care about anything else.

He can't exactly collect cow dung, can he?

This continued for some time, until suddenly no more Han troops came.

Lin Dao, with his extensive experience in battle, instantly realized that this was the prelude to a major battle.

Sure enough, just as Lin Dao finished packing his things and was about to head to the military camp, a fast horse came running.

"I have come to deliver this message on the orders of Colonel Yao."

The cavalryman shouted to Lin Dao, "If you want to follow Captain Yao to collect the spoils of war, head to the military camp now!"

Having said that, the cavalrymen turned their horses around and galloped away.

"Let's go."

Lin Dao stood up and called out, "Let's go to the military camp."

Everything that could be moved has been moved, except for a herd of horses.

The tents were dismantled, rolled up, and hung on the horse's back.

A dozen or so laborers mounted their horses and followed Lin Dao to the military camp.

The military camps stretched for dozens of miles, forming a continuous expanse that seemed to have no end in sight.

Historical records indicate that the Han army deployed over 100,000 troops in this battle.

Add to that the civilian laborers accompanying the army, and the sheer number of them was overwhelming.

The Han army cavalry patrolled the perimeter and blocked Lin Dao's group.

Only after verifying the identity document issued to him by Gongsun Ao were they allowed to approach the military camp.

They were naturally not qualified to enter the main camp.

However, Lin Dao used a can of fruit to buy information and quickly learned Huo Qubing's location.

This eager-to-prove-himself captain was leading his eight hundred cavalrymen, packing their belongings and preparing for battle.

It is said that many famous generals started their careers with only 800 men.

Like Li Erfeng, who waits for you in the Xuanwu Gate through wind and rain, there are eight hundred people.

Zhu Di, who raised his army during the Jingnan Campaign, also had eight hundred men.

Now, Huo Qubing is about to embark on his short but glorious journey, still with eight hundred men.

Eight hundred is a very auspicious number.

Huo Qubing, who was packing his bags, simply nodded when he saw Lin Dao coming over.

"If you can keep up, then come along. The spoils of war will be sold to you first."

"If you can't keep up, then don't come."

"Okay." Lin Dao nodded. "I'll help."

He had a general understanding of the meaning of this time portal.

This helped Huo Qubing achieve even greater glory, resulting in more victories and even the direct annihilation of the Xiongnu.

Instead of having no capable generals after Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, which allowed the Xiongnu to linger until the end of the Han Dynasty and wreak havoc on the Central Plains.

Dealing with these barbarians was a simple matter for Lin Dao.

Hearing the confidence in Lin Dao's words, Huo Qubing nodded in agreement.

On the battlefield, whether you are a soldier, a laborer, or a merchant, the most important thing is courage.

If one doesn't even have the courage to fight, death is inevitable.

The various units of the Han army left their camps in turn and headed to their respective destinations.

Huo Qubing then set off.

Lin Dao looked at the dozen or so laborers and asked, "What do you have to say?"

The laborers had already discussed it and all expressed their willingness to continue working there.

They were sent by General Gongsun Ao.

In theory, as long as Lin Dao is alive and the battle is not over, he can continue to follow.

Moreover, Lin Dao was very generous and paid them a lot of wages, so they were naturally willing to continue following him.

Although it is dangerous, where is not dangerous on the battlefield?
Eight hundred riders—that doesn't sound like much.

What you actually see is a dense, long line of dragons speeding across the vast expanse of land and sky.

They rode two or even three horses, and the sound of their hooves was so dense when they ran that it was like thunder.

"The Han dynasty defeated the Xiongnu by overwhelming national strength."

"Were the Xiongnu cavalry strong?"

"Then the Han army will defeat you where you are strongest!"

"Relying on its strong national power, it built a terrifying cavalry legion, using cavalry against cavalry to defeat the Xiongnu head-on."

"The mighty Han Dynasty is truly formidable!"

Huo Qubing's eight hundred cavalrymen were all dressed in plain clothes and riding horses.

Their weapons, armor, rations, water bags, and other supplies were all placed on packhorses.

As for the warhorses, they ran alongside with bare backs, without any burden.

Moreover, when they stopped to rest, only the warhorses were entitled to eat concentrated feed, which was also heavily salted.

"Your salt is very good."

Huo Qubing followed Lin Dao and gestured to the white salt in the cloth bag, saying, "It has very few impurities and is very popular in the army."

Lin Dao understood what he meant and nodded with a smile.

"How much?"

This question startled Huo Qubing slightly.

He glanced at Ma Sandou, one of Lin Dao's men.

"Three bushels aren't enough," Lin Daoqi waved his hand.

"I'll give you ten bushels!"

(End of this chapter)