Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 373 The Ten Generals of the Great Zhou Imperial Guard ~ Lin Dao
Fights in the military are commonplace.

Even modern military personnel are not immune to this.

After all, with so many energetic men gathered together, what else could they do but fight and cause trouble?
The soldiers who were preparing to rest all gathered around, shouting and watching the excitement.

The disheveled ten generals scrambled to their feet, spat, and roared as they charged forward.

If we can't take down this newcomer today, we'll never be able to hold our heads up in the capital again.

Lin Dao reacted quickly, his long arm outstretched, catching the fist that Shi Jiang was throwing at him, and with a half-turn, he slammed it to the ground with a back throw.

Instead of retreating, they advanced and charged straight at their teammates.

There were no fancy moves to speak of; it was just punching and kicking.

A punch landed on his face, twisting and deforming his teeth, which fell out, and blood splattered everywhere.

One kick and the bones and internal organs are displaced, leaving the victim sprawled out.

In other words, Lin Dao controlled the force; otherwise, they definitely wouldn't have been able to get up.

He turned around and went to the ten generals who were struggling to get up, and kicked them down.

He increased the pressure with his foot, causing the ten generals to howl in pain, "Is this all you've got?"

The ground was constantly being crushed by his feet, and Shi Jiang tilted his head back and rolled his eyes.

Lin Daojiu had served in the military for a long time and knew all too well about these things in the army.

For a newcomer like him, if he were to show even the slightest leniency, he would immediately face ten times the oppression.

They only have a chance to escape when the oppressor dies or is maimed, or when a new person comes to take their place.

The surrounding soldiers cheered loudly, praising Lin Dao's fighting prowess.

They merely expressed admiration, without any excessive excitement.

After all, there are quite a few tough guys in the military who can take on ten or even dozens of opponents at once.

"okay."

The soldiers came out to end the fighting and ordered, "Return to your respective camps!"

Everyone returned to their tents, and Lin Dao kicked Shi Jiang once, saying, "Get up and set up the tents."

The ten generals, panting heavily, glared at him hatefully.

After a moment, he struggled to his feet and called to several cavalrymen who had also been beaten and were groaning, to rebuild the tent.

While working, the ten generals would occasionally cast venomous glances toward Lin Dao.

"idiot."

Lin Dao only had this one comment on it.

Even if you want revenge, don't show it in public.

At this point, the best option would be to apologize to their face with a smile, while secretly looking for an opportunity to take revenge.

To put your mind directly on your face is simply foolish.

He wouldn't pay attention to such insignificant people, but he would treat them seriously.

"Get out of here, all of you."

After Lin Dao slapped him a few times, the ten generals could only grit their teeth and watch him crawl into the tent.

A fellow villager asked in a low voice, "What should we do?"

The ten generals' eyes flashed, and they retreated a distance with everyone. He looked up at the bright moonlight and said, "Wait until the second watch of the night."

The second watch of the night is the time when people sleep most soundly and deeply, and even those who stay up late are at their lowest energy level.

This is the best time to act.

"If you don't want to help."

The ten generals whispered to the others, "Then scatter around and guard the tent, don't let him escape."

They didn't sleep, just yawned and endured the cold around the tent.

They endured until the second watch of the night, when the ten generals, filled with rage, kicked one of their fellow villagers.

The two men stealthily got up, drew their sharp blades, and quietly slipped into the tent.

The others watched nervously.

After a while, the two came out, but there was no blood on their weapons.

"What the hell? Where is everyone?"

The ten generals whispered angrily, "Did you slack off and let him escape?"

The people outside waved their hands repeatedly, swearing that they hadn't slept and hadn't seen anyone come out.

"Keep your voice down."

The ten generals shouted again, "You want to call the patrol team?"

To prevent riots in the military, making noise at night was strictly prohibited.

Once discovered, it will be dealt with immediately without mercy.

"Forget it." The ten generals beckoned everyone into the tent. "That kid deserted. Next time we see him, we'll chop him up."

Exhausted, the group quickly fell asleep in their tents.

At the fourth watch of the night, a faint light flickered inside the tent, and Lin Dao's figure appeared inside.

He was fully armed and holding a flashlight.

Although he was far away, he heard the arrangements made by the ten generals very clearly.

I simply went to Yonghe Time and Space to sleep, and set an alarm to come back at this time.

He stepped forward, put away the dim light, and grabbed the necks of the ten generals and his fellow villagers with both hands.

The two woke up in a daze and saw Lin Dao's face.

Just as they instinctively tried to struggle, the two figures suddenly vanished.

Lin Dao appeared in Yonghe Time and Space.

He casually tossed the two corpses to the ground, and soldiers immediately stepped forward to drag them away.

With ample food supplies at Yonghe Time and Space, the number of yellow-eared caterpillars guarding each household also increased.

Lin Dao also specially raised a batch of yellow fungus to clean up garbage.

Stepping to the row of cabinets, Lin Dao raised his hand and took out two silver ingots, then disappeared again.

The disappearance of two soldiers greatly angered the military commander.

It's just a fight; what day doesn't happen in the military?
Why make such a big deal out of this!

There's no need to investigate anything; everyone knows it was the new guy who did it.

“When we were hunting before.”

Facing the angry soldier, Lin Dao handed over two silver ingots.

"I have found some silver mushrooms. Please, Military Commissioner, appraise them."

Before the massive influx of silver into China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the value of silver was very stable.

Especially at this time of turmoil, purchasing power is very high.

The military commander accepted it, and even weighed its heavy weight in his hand.

His anger dissipated, replaced by a smile. "Those two must have deserted; they might even have run off to the puppet Han regime."

"In that case, you will be the tenth general of that team."

The previous ten generals had no background whatsoever, after all, they were just a mere ten generals.

The soldiers tricked him without any psychological pressure.

"You're not bad." The military commander could tell that Lin Dao was no ordinary mountain hunter. "You remembered to clean up the mess afterward, that's good."

As the saying goes, if you neither see the person alive nor their body when they die, then there's nothing more to say.

As for Lin Dao, the military commander had no intention of investigating his secrets; he had already given him the two silver ingots as a reward.

The day after joining the Later Zhou Imperial Guard, Lin Dao was promoted to the rank of Tenth General.

Such trivial matters caused no stir in the military and were quickly forgotten.

Lin Dao gathered several uneasy cavalrymen under his command and gave each of them a string of copper coins.

"Stay with me and I will definitely treat you well."

He has many things to do and many secrets.

The most obvious difference is that I no longer sleep in a stinky tent every night.

If you can't kill all your teammates, bribing them is the best option.

Looking at the gleaming copper coins in their hands, the cavalrymen instantly forgot what had happened and bowed to Lin Dao in unison.

"Greetings to the Ten Generals!"

Over the next few days, cavalry and infantry from the Later Zhou dynasty continued to arrive and gather.

Lin Dao also obtained a lot of intelligence.

This cavalry unit belonged to the cavalry led by Fan Aineng, the commander of the Imperial Guard.

The Later Zhou military system consisted of approximately 2,500 men per army, which was the full strength.

Fan Aineng's cavalry force consisted of only a little over a thousand riders.

Lin Dao consulted his records and learned that this man would flee at the first sign of trouble during the upcoming Battle of Gaoping, and would be beheaded after the battle.

"Don't suffer along with him."

"I need to be quick."

Acting quickly means getting promoted quickly.

In an era dominated by warriors, the key to rapid promotion was not memorizing the Four Books and Five Classics, but rather military achievements on the battlefield.

On March 18, Guo Rong, who had just ascended the throne, personally led a large army into the Zezhou Basin.

On the same day, Emperor Liu Chong of the Northern Han Dynasty personally led the vanguard of his army around Luzhou and entered the Zezhou Basin from the north.

The place he entered was Gaoping.

"Put on your armor!"

"Everyone, put on your armor!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry~"

The military camp was filled with noise, with shouts of men and neighing of horses filling the air.

The Later Zhou troops, who had arrived in Gaoping ahead of time, discovered the approaching vanguard of the pseudo-Han forces and quickly mobilized to engage them in battle.

Lin Dao skillfully and quickly put on his armor.

Of course, it wasn't some rudimentary two-stage armor; he wasn't that stupid.

He was wearing a suit of armor specially ordered from a modern-day machine shop.

It is the Mingguang Armor with a large, round metal breastplate on the front.

The armor is of excellent quality and well-designed, making it very eye-catching when worn.

The cavalrymen around them instinctively looked over.

The military commander, in particular, stared wide-eyed, asking, "Where did this armor come from?"

"My nail polish isn't as good as yours!"

The military commander was also wearing bright armor, but even in appearance, it was inferior.

Moreover, Lin Dao's set was complete, including a neck guard, shoulder cape, leg skirt, greaves, and even iron gauntlets and a face shield.

The envoy felt a pang of sadness. "With your attire, anyone who didn't know you would think you were the commander of the cavalry."

Lin Dao smiled but didn't say anything, and walked towards Jianma.

After taking specially formulated deworming medicine, the previously abandoned warhorse quickly recovered.

Moreover, Lin Dao fed it special warhorse feed, the kind that it could eat freely.

After being cared for for so long, it has become incredibly magnificent.

The military commander looked at Lin Dao's armor, then at the sturdy horse, his eyes filled with desire.

If it weren't for the imminent departure for war, they would have demanded it on the spot.

"After this battle, we'll make him hand it all over!"

"Why not send him to his death during the war?"

Lin Dao glanced at him, turned his horse around, and led his cavalrymen into the ranks.

Fan Aineng, commander of the Later Zhou cavalry, He Hui, commander of the infantry, Bai Chongzan, military governor of Yicheng, and Fu Yanneng, military commissioner of Yaozhou, gathered a massive army to set out on the expedition.

Tens of thousands of soldiers marched out of their respective camps and headed along the river.

In the afternoon, south of Gaoping County, they encountered the vanguard of the Northern Han army, who were also prepared for battle.

The vanguard of the Northern Han army was slightly smaller, numbering only seven or eight thousand men.

They were not afraid and, led by Emperor Liu Chong, lined up to meet the enemy.

This was the vanguard battle in the Battle of Gaoping.

After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, and following decades of fighting, the military systems of various regional military governors underwent significant changes.

The core of their former operations has been drastically reduced to basic tactical units of around 100 people.

The standard tactical unit is a battalion composed of five cities.

An army composed of five battalions can already be considered a combat unit.

An army of several thousand soldiers can launch a campaign in the standard sense.

Above the army is the garrison.

A "xiang" is a strategic unit, typically consisting of ten armies, with tens of thousands of troops sufficient to launch strategic offensives and defenses.

At this point, the troop deployments of both sides can be roughly considered as temporarily assembled units.

The infantry on both sides, organized into battalions, formed battle formations and slowly approached amidst the sound of drums and shouts from officers of all ranks.

Lin Dao's cavalry was waiting in the rear.

His gaze was fixed on the Northern Han army formation in the distance.

"The Emperor of Northern Han?"

I'll kill you if I get the chance!

(End of this chapter)