Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 379 First up
"hu~hu~"

Lin Dao, wearing a mask, exhaled a heavy breath.

The breath he exhaled still carried the smell of the tofu pudding he had for breakfast.

The wooden planks beneath my feet kept swaying. I was in a partitioned space, surrounded by metal cans clad in iron armor.

The figures of the crowd swayed as the thick wooden planks continued to shake.

This is a Linbo car, named by Lin Dao and built under his supervision.

The prototype was Lü Gongche, which was then adapted to become Lin Boche.

Lin Bo's carriage was over ten meters tall, with its top level with the city wall.

It is over 20 meters long and has several levels, each with a ladder for going up and down.

From a distance, it looks like a multi-story large bus.

Dozens of armored oxen and hundreds of laborers struggled to push Linbo's cart to the city wall.

Hundreds of armored soldiers climbed up the inner ladders.

Reaching the top floor, stepping onto the thick iron-plated planks, we rushed out and headed straight into the city wall.

After several fierce battles, the city's garrison had almost completely exhausted its defensive equipment.

Faced with such a colossal creature, ordinary arrows and rolling logs were ineffective, and even pouring foul-smelling molten gold onto its hide would have little effect.

They could only tough it out and fight the armored soldiers who charged at them.

A large number of Zhou soldiers, their eyes red with rage, jumped onto the city wall and fought fiercely.

But what awaited them was a dense forest of long weapons, short weapons with axes and hammers, and a barrage of crossbow bolts.

Under normal circumstances, the soldiers could only hold out for three seconds.

The term "first to ascend" does not mean that you are the first to stand on the city wall.

A true pioneer is someone who survives until the end of the battle, even after everyone else who got to the city wall before you has died.

After hundreds of armored soldiers jumped onto the city wall and fell one after another, he came to the top level of the forest path, stopped and nodded to the armored soldiers behind him.

The two men stepped forward, holding huge shields to protect the left and right sides from the arrows.

The other two handed the large glass bottles they were holding to Lin Dao.

These men were all cavalrymen who had fought alongside Lin Dao against Liu Chong, and they were his trusted confidants.

‘Click! ’

The windproof lighter emitted a flame, igniting the gasoline-soaked burlap strip at the mouth of the glass bottle.

Flames erupted, and Lin Dao raised his hand and threw the gasoline bottle onto the city wall.

He possessed tremendous strength, and in succession, he hurled several large Molotov cocktails at the archers on both sides of the city wall.

The flaming Molotov cocktail spun around and smashed into the crossbowmen.

The Molotov cocktail struck the soft armor, shattered on the ground, and then burst into flames.

An archer instinctively drew his sword and swung it, shattering the glass bottle.

The next moment, flames swept over them, pouring down on the archers.

Large bursts of flame erupted, instantly turning the archers into torches.

They danced wildly, shouting and jumping around.

Lin Dao's hands didn't stop moving as he quickly threw bottles at the Shatuo soldiers blocking the crossing.

These Shatuo soldiers were all armored warriors; large Molotov cocktails shattered instantly when they hit their iron armor.

The city wall was engulfed in flames, and the heart-wrenching screams sent chills down one's spine.

The blocked road has been cleared.

After catching his breath, Lin Dao took his long-handled heavy hammer, roared like a tiger, and leaped onto the city wall.

He swung his long-handled hammer, sweeping away more than a dozen Shatuo soldiers whose bodies were engulfed in flames.

The incendiary bottles used this time only contained gasoline; there were no additives such as rubber granules, sugar, or magnesium powder.

The purpose is simply to create an opening; there's no need to worry about the flames spreading to oneself and becoming unextinguishable.

The long-handled hammer swept back and forth, knocking down and knocking down the Shatuo soldiers along the way.

On Lin Bo's chariot, more Zhou soldiers, shouting, stepped over the ramps and rushed onto the city wall.

As more and more Zhou soldiers rushed onto the city walls, the defending Shatuo soldiers launched a frenzied counterattack.

They were so numerous that they densely filled the city walls.

Lin Dao lost his temper, gripped a heavy hammer with a handle nearly four meters long horizontally with both hands, and strode forward, directly ramming into the Shatuo soldiers who had come to provide support.

He roared and exerted all his strength, gathering the power of nine oxen and two tigers in his body, and forcefully pushed the clump of Shatuo soldiers backward.

The Shatuo soldiers in front of them gritted their teeth and swung their weapons at Lin Dao, who was pushing a long pole, but all they heard was a loud thud.

The next moment, over a hundred Shatuo soldiers were pushed off the city wall by Lin Dao and fell to the ground.

Everyone who witnessed this scene was shocked.

This strength...it's divine power!
Large forest buses are difficult to manufacture, and there were only two in the entire battlefield.

Lin Dao cleared a passage through the city wall and headed straight for another platform in the distance, scattering the Shatuo soldiers blocking the crossing and allowing a large number of Zhou troops to climb onto the city wall.

As more and more Zhou soldiers climbed the city walls, the defenders' counterattacks became increasingly frantic.

They knew very well that if they couldn't kill these people and destroy the two giant siege machines, Jinyang City would definitely not be able to be defended.

Lin Dao blocked a horse path, knocking down all the Shatuo soldiers on the upper city wall.

He didn't care at all about the arrows being shot from below the city, and single-handedly blocked the horse path.

As for why they didn't open the city gates...
The kind of scenes in movies and TV dramas where an army can enter a city simply by opening the city gates isn't entirely unheard of, but it mainly happens during surprise attacks when the defending troops are caught off guard.

In ancient siege warfare, the defending army would usually block all the city gates with stones and other debris.

Lin Dao didn't have time to clean up the clutter.

More and more siege ladders and other siege weapons were brought up to the city walls, and hundreds and thousands of Zhou soldiers went up the city.

Below the city, an even larger number of Zhou soldiers lined up, waiting to advance.

Jinyang City cannot be defended.

"Bai Chongzan."

Chai Rong, who personally climbed to the top of the city wall, pointed into Jinyang City and repeatedly issued orders: "These two streets on the left are yours."

"Xiang Xun".

"See that warehouse? Those two streets next to it are yours."

"Liu Ci".

"Those three streets to the right of the palace are yours."

"Zhao Kuangyin."

"See that temple? The three streets near it are yours." "Lin Dao."

"The three streets to the left of the palace are yours!"

This is not Chai Rong wanting to switch to the real estate business and allocating land to his subordinates.

In reality, this was a massacre of the city.

A massacre does not mean that everyone rushes in, kills anyone they see, and loots anything they can find.

Those were bandits.

The real massacre of a city was carried out by dividing up the areas of each department in advance according to their merits, sealing them off, and then having each department carry out its own cleanup.

It was an organized and planned action.

Moreover, they don't usually start by smashing down doors and breaking into houses.

The plan was to first appease them, and then take away a group of people, such as the families of officials and soldiers, wealthy families, or ordinary people.

After that, they were taken away in batches and disposed of separately.

Those who are left behind often have an ostrich mentality, thinking that if others die, they won't have to die, and therefore dare not resist.

When it's your turn, you won't have the chance to resist.

Therefore, massacring a city is not as simple as it seems; it cannot be done by simply swinging a knife.

After all, any human being, even one wielding a wooden stick, can be lethal.

Once everyone is in despair, a desperate resistance will cause many unnecessary losses.

The situation in Jinyang City this time is different.

Under the rule of the Shatuo people for many years, the Han Chinese in the city either died or were moved away, either voluntarily or forcibly.

The main inhabitants of the city were Shatuo people.

The Shatuo people knew they were mortal enemies with Chai Rong, so it was almost impossible to deceive them.

Then the only option left is to use force.

The blocked city gates were opened, and a large number of soldiers poured into the city.

On the city wall, the soldiers who didn't get a chance watched with envy as their comrades went off to make a fortune.

Fortunately, they also received rewards. There was plenty of wine and meat, and rewards of money and goods were distributed when it came time to assess merits.

After all, in this era where martial artists hold sway, their treatment is absolutely essential; otherwise, they might stage a coup at any moment.

Lin Dao also entered the city.

He led his cavalrymen along the street toward the Northern Han imperial palace.

Three hundred years ago, Li Yuan raised an army in Jinyang and established the Tang Dynasty.

Afterwards, Jinyang's status in the Tang Dynasty was almost equivalent to that of a secondary capital.

The city was extremely large, with numerous warehouses, government offices, artisans' quarters, and residences.

Unfortunately, since Li Keyong, the Shatuo people have been waging war year after year, which has already depleted the reserves of Jinyang City. They have even resorted to exploiting the city to the point of exhaustion, turning this vast city of Jinyang into a ghost town.

"This is no different from the Manchus' city."

At this time, Jinyang City had almost become the stronghold of the Shatuo people.

Along the forest road, one can see architectural decorations of the Shatuo people everywhere.

"How come we can't kill all these shepherds?"

"What were all those emperors busy with? Every year they would send large armies out to sweep across the borders. Couldn't they even do something as simple as this?"

Passing by a makeshift camp, amidst overturned tents and various debris, were numerous skeletons.

The shapes of those skeletons were immediately recognizable.

Having witnessed countless chaotic worlds, Lin Dao has seen it all.

He dismounted and strode into the camp.

Several large iron pots were still steaming.

He picked up a ladle from the side and dipped it into the pot to stir.

Several pieces of white meat were rolling around in the blood.

'Bang! '

Lin Dao tapped the iron pot, picked up the ladle in his hand, and walked towards the skeleton with a blank expression.

A pile of heads was stacked together.

Men, women, young and old, all had contorted faces, retaining the despair and pain of their impending death.

Judging from their hairstyles and facial features, one can easily tell who they are.

"This is what happens when you become a subject of the Shatuo people."

He turned his head and instructed, "Light a fire and burn it all."

He mounted his horse, picked up his ladle, and continued on his way.

Along the way, Zhou soldiers searched every house, and the sounds of fighting and crying could be heard from time to time.

This wasn't his area, so Lin Dao only glanced at it before ignoring it.

Arriving at the left side of the palace, the surrounding streets were lined with the residences of high-ranking officials, nobles, and imperial relatives of the Northern Han Dynasty.

Lin Dao ordered all the streets and intersections to be sealed off and to allocate houses by the city.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

Before long, a cavalryman came to report that "a man claiming to be Zhao Hua, the prime minister of the false Han dynasty, has come to surrender."

"Zhao Hua?"

Lin Dao, on horseback, raised his eyelids slightly and said, "Bring him here."

Zhao Hua, about forty years old, was wearing the official robes of the Northern Han Dynasty. He was dragged and pushed down in front of the forest road by cavalrymen.

He straightened his clothes, stood up, and bowed to Lin Dao.

"I am the Prime Minister of the Great Han Dynasty!"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Dao had already hurled the ladle at him.

"Boom!"

With a muffled thud, Zhao Hua was struck hard on the head and sent flying.

"You deserve to die for being a dog of the Shatuo people!"

Taking a breath, Lin Dao shook the deformed ladle he had smashed. "Let's start with his house!"

"Leave no one alive who can still breathe!"

(End of this chapter)