Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 393 Assassination
"Bianjing City is becoming more and more prosperous."

The official road was bustling with carriages and pedestrians.

On the Bian River, sails and masts gathered in abundance, and the river surface was covered with boats coming and going.

In Lin Dao's view, it already already had some of the charm of the world's most prosperous city in the future.

"It's so lively here!"

Lady Huarui, inside the carriage, lifted the curtain and peered out. "So many people!"

Chengdu is also a bustling metropolis, the most vibrant place in Southwest China.

However, it still paled in comparison to Bianliang City at that time.

"This is the capital city." On horseback, Lin Dao, dressed in a brocade robe, sat upright and replied solemnly, "It has gathered the most warriors in the world."

In times of chaos, the economy is exhausted, and ordinary people lack the necessary purchasing power; in short, they have no money.

Without money, there is no way to consume; without consumption, the economy naturally becomes weak and sluggish.

This is the natural outcome; any other attempts to change the subject are just nonsense.

"In times of chaos, the only people who truly have the ability to spend are those in the imperial court and military men."

"As the capital, it naturally has the most people from the imperial court."

"As the capital city, it naturally attracts the most warriors."

Lin Dao reined in his horse and looked at the large group of civil and military officials who came to greet him. "No matter how bad the economy is, the money of the court officials must never be reduced."

“If we don’t give them money, the imperial court’s rule will collapse.”

He dismounted and went to greet the crowd. "The warriors have amassed a vast amount of wealth, and their families are the most powerful consumers."

"Merchants from all over the country who want to make money have to come to Bianliang City."

"That is why Bianjing City has its current abnormal prosperity."

The current prosperity of Bianliang City is an exception in a chaotic world.

An economic model based on plunder, consisting of powerful officials and military men who control the armed forces.

Most economic activities revolve around these people.

Almost everyone except them became a tool to support Bianliang City.

This kind of abnormal prosperity is inherently unsustainable.

"The Duke of Qin~"

Led by Feng Dao and Fu Yanqing, a group of civil and military officials warmly welcomed Lin Dao's return.

The conversation and laughter were quite lively.

Afterwards, the troops went to their respective camps, while Lin Dao and his generals went into the city to attend the banquet.

More than a month ago, Chai Rong had already sent his troops south to attack the Southern Tang.

At this time, Feng Dao and Fu Yanqing were in charge of all civil and military affairs in the city.

They treated Lin Dao with great hospitality mainly because they were worried that Lin Dao might cause trouble while the emperor was away.

Fortunately, all the troops returned to their camps, and Lin Dao and his generals also entered the city.

As a result, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that the world is gradually stabilizing, the chaos will end once the Jiangnan region is pacified.

Many people who want a peaceful life are afraid that powerful military men might cause trouble again.

"I'm not stupid."

"Even Zhao Da knows that he has to be forced to wear the imperial robe."

"Would I be so foolish as to lead an army in rebellion?"

"Do you really think I'm a brainless brute?"

Lin Dao warmly hosted a banquet for everyone and even offered to transfer control of the 30,000 Shu troops to Fu Yanqing as soon as possible.

The worst fears of everyone did not come true, and the ensuing banquet was naturally lively and extraordinary.

After the banquet ended and everyone dispersed, the forest road where the carriages were boarded instantly returned to its clear state.

"It's just the destruction of the Shu Kingdom."

"Why are you so wary of me?"

"Fine, there will be a time when you'll beg me for help."

As Lin Dao sat in the carriage on his way back to his residence, a sudden sense of vigilance flashed through his mind as he closed his eyes to rest.

Large numbers of men in black rushed out from both sides of the street and fought with Lin Dao's soldiers.

The carriage stopped, and the guards surrounded it to protect it.

At the same time, rows of men in black appeared on the walls of the courtyards on both sides of the street.

They were armed with crossbows and fired wildly at the carriage!

The soldiers raised their shields to block most of the crossbow bolts, but a few still managed to slip through and hit the vehicle.

The soldiers around them were immediately terrified.

After calling out urgently several times without receiving a response, a soldier hurriedly got into the car, opened the door, and went to check.

"How is the Duke?"

The guards fighting all around were paying close attention, but the guards who boarded the carriage did not respond.

“This, this, this~”

The soldier, half-squatting outside the carriage door, stared in astonishment at the empty carriage before him.

There was no sign of the Duke of Qin inside, only a few scattered crossbow bolts.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked again, but still nothing.
The soldier suddenly turned around and shouted to his companions, "The Duke! The Duke... he..."

"Shut up!"

Lin Dao's muffled thud came from the carriage behind him.

The soldier instinctively turned around, only to be astonished to see a metal can emerging from the previously empty carriage!

He instinctively raised his knife, but was reprimanded.

"Idiot, it's me!"

"Guo~ Duke?!"

"Get out of the way!" Lin Dao shoved the soldiers aside and jumped off the creaking wooden planks of the carriage, fully armed.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered something like this. With experience, dealing with it was naturally much easier.

He ran away as soon as the carriage stopped.

They went to Yonghe Time and Space's own armory.

With the assistance of the soldiers who were preparing in shifts, they returned fully dressed to seek revenge.

His scandium alloy armor could even withstand crossbow bolts, unless he encountered a ballista.

Lin Dao didn't believe that anyone could mobilize ballistae within Bianjing City to ambush him.

Unless it's Chai Rong.

But if Chai Rong were to make a move, there would be absolutely no need for an ambush.

Even if he were to encounter a ballista, Lin Dao would immediately flee to another dimension.

When he returns, he will no longer be armed with cold weapons, but will be driving tanks and armored vehicles!
We'll just lay our cards on the table then, no more pretense!
Since you won't give me the chance to follow the procedures of this era, then I'll let you experience what Zenith technology is all about!

With a shield in one hand and a claw hammer in the other, Lin Dao charged into the group of assassins like a tiger descending a mountain.

It's hard to imagine that someone dressed in full heavy armor could be more agile than assassins dressed in plain clothes.

The arm holding the shield swung, sending the assassin flying.

The hammer in his hand fell, smashing the assassins' brains, breaking their bones and deforming their bodies.

Lin Dao ignored them completely, showing no intention of leaving any survivors.

Like a raging bull, it charged forward, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

Such a ferocious display shocked both the assassins and the soldiers.

That's really, really brutal!
Despite being dressed in full armor, Lin Dao managed to scale the wall beside the street with a running start and climb over it, eventually reaching the inside of the wall.

The assassins, still busy reloading their crossbows, were completely bewildered when they saw the tin can in front of them in the bright moonlight.

This courtyard wall is at least ten feet high. How did this guy get over here?
The answer they received was the hammer that Lin Dao held high in his hand!

One blow after another, the assassin was sent flying and crashed into the wall as the shield was swung.

After everything was over, the patrol troops finally arrived late.

Upon learning that the one attacked was none other than the Duke of Qin, the captain in charge of the group lamented his misfortune.

'I should have taken the day off tonight and gone out for drinks and entertainment~'

Lin Dao ignored the obsequious patrolmen and simply instructed his soldiers to "strip these assassins naked and check them; they should all be military personnel."

As Lin Dao said, after the examination, it was found that the dead assassins all had military characteristics on their bodies.

The most noticeable features are the calluses on the webs between the thumb and index finger of both hands and on the inner thighs.

They even found the identity badges of the Imperial Guards on the assassins from western Zhejiang.

"Not an ordinary military unit."

Lin Daoding concluded, "They are elite guards."

"Those ivory tablets are meant to sow discord between me and the emperor."

"In this way, the target range is narrowed down."

The military leaders from various military towns in the Imperial Guard are the most suspicious.

While Chai Rong was away on campaign, Lin Dao, who commanded a large army, returned to Bianjing.

If the assassination succeeds, the Later Zhou dynasty will inevitably be thrown into chaos, and the morale of the army will be unstable.

Even if the assassination fails, it could still anger Lin Dao, a martial artist, and lead him to rebel, which would also be a fatal blow to the Later Zhou Dynasty.

As for the tooth token used to frame someone, the method was too crude.

They returned to the mansion.

Upon learning of Lin Dao's assassination attempt, Fu Erniang, who was currently training Madam Huarui and Li Yanniang, hurriedly went out to greet him.

"nothing."

Lin Dao waved his hand. "Everyone rest and be on high alert."

"We can talk about it tomorrow."

After daybreak, Feng Dao, Fu Yanqing, and others came to visit.

They were worried that Lin Dao would misunderstand because of this.

While the emperor was away fighting a war, a general who commanded a large army was assassinated, and the assassin was suspected to be a member of the emperor's personal guard.

If this misunderstanding leads to Lin Dao's rebellion, it would be a devastating blow to the Later Zhou Dynasty.

"I'm not stupid." Lin Dao hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking, "Such shallow tricks can't fool me."

"What I'm worried about now is that the mastermind behind this might be detrimental to His Majesty."

Feng Dao nodded repeatedly, "What the Duke of Qin said is very true."

"I have already sent a messenger on horseback to Huaixi to report this matter."

"There are bad people around His Majesty."

"We must also strengthen our vigilance in Bianzhou City." Lin Daofu then looked at Zhao Kuangyin, who had been silent. "Duke of Song, the Konghe Army has returned from a fierce battle. We need to comfort and reassure the soldiers in the army. I have a batch of goods and supplies captured from Chengdu. I will arrange for someone to deliver them to the soldiers of the Konghe Army later."

Zhao Kuangyin was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what Lin Dao meant.

He replied with a grim expression, "That's exactly right."

This suggests that the assassin is suspected to be from the Crane Control Army, and someone needs to be sent to investigate.

Zhao Kuangyin kept a close watch on the Crane Control Army, regarding it as his foundation and strength.

However, most of these soldiers were recruited by Lin Dao, so they naturally had a favorable impression of Lin Dao.

Moreover, Lin Dao was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guard, and nominally the superior of the Crane Control Army.

Originally, Zhao Kuangyin had gone to great lengths to eliminate Lin Dao's influence in the Konghe Army.

However, his urging of troops to launch a fierce attack on Qin and Feng prefectures yielded little result and the distribution of spoils was meager, while causing considerable casualties.

When news of Lin Dao's Iron Cavalry's victory in the Battle of Chengdu and the subsequent destruction of the Shu Kingdom spread, the Crane Control Army was filled with resentment.

Even the soldiers complained to Zhao Kuangyin's face.

This made him extremely disappointed.

Fu Yanqing quickly smoothed things over, saying, "This is a good thing. The soldiers have returned from their hard-fought campaign and deserve a reward."

"Let's go together~ Let's go together~~"

(End of this chapter)