Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 411 The Sick Dragon Terrace

Not just anyone can be a traitor.

"You think just anyone can lead the way?"

"Those who can lead the way must at least have assets and connections in the local area."

"At the very least, they must be thugs like village bullies, building bullies, or street bullies."

"Ordinary people? They're nourishment everywhere!"

"For an ordinary person with no power, no connections, and not even the courage to fight, to want to lead the way as a traitor is no different from a fat, ugly woman saying she'll just marry a rich man at worst."

Pan Mei, his eyes filled with gloom, rode his horse to the front of the main residence of the largest local tycoon, the words of Lin Dao echoing in his ears.

The credit for slaying the general should have been mine.
In the end, it was snatched away by that fool Yang Ye.

He was even granted a title of nobility!
The thought of this made young Pan Mei feel as if her heart was being torn apart.

He even had to force a smile and join his colleagues in congratulating Yang Ye, and even give him money and gifts.

Back in the Imperial Guard, they had to endure the soldiers' silent questioning: "We clearly won, but the credit was taken by the Palace Guard."

Even the mature-beyond-his-years Pan Mei had a distorted expression.

Now, they have finally found an outlet for their emotions.

Looking around, the mansion in front of me was extremely large, located at the foot of green hills and on the bank of a stream, making it a place with excellent feng shui.

The guide who led Xiao Siwen earlier came from this very company.

Most of the guides were killed in the battle, with only two surviving by sheer luck.

One of them used the cover of the rainy night to successfully sneak away and escape.

Another one was a bit foolish; he hid in the trench outside the camp, perhaps terrified by the brutal fighting and just wanted to hide.

Undoubtedly, they were captured during the cleanup of the battlefield.

Without any torture, he revealed everything he knew.

Lin Dao didn't say much about it, but simply arranged for Pan Mei to bring troops over to carry out a small-scale cleanup.

The residence in front of Pan Mei was the ancestral home of a prominent family in the area who had the closest cooperation with the Liao people.

The wealthy family had clearly received the news, likely from the person who had previously escaped returning to report.

The ancestral home, which had clearly been renovated and expanded many times, had its gates tightly closed, and several people holding crossbows were peeking out from behind the courtyard walls.

With such high brick and stone walls and rudimentary defensive facilities, dealing with hundreds of bandits or even thousands of refugees would not be a problem.

This is actually a simplified version of the fortified village that has been popular in the north for thousands of years.

The previously closed door slowly opened.

A group of middle-aged men and old men, leading a group of servants carrying boxes, and many young women came forward to pay their respects.

It's obvious what they're up to.

The people of the North are known for their fierce and unyielding spirit, and the generous men of Yan and Zhao value promises above all else, even at the cost of their lives.

But the wealthy families in the north didn't have this kind of ambition.

When the world is at peace, they are local powerful figures.

When the world is in chaos, they either personally raise an army or fund capable individuals to participate.

When the barbarian tribes invaded, they offered up wealth and women, kneeling to welcome generation after generation of wolf lords—the Chanyu, the Khan, the Great Khan, the King.
The most famous example is the late Southern Song Dynasty, when Han Chinese warlords from the north surrendered to Kublai Khan and helped him establish a vast empire.

These Han warlords were essentially local strongmen who rose to power step by step.

"I am but a humble countryman, unaware of the General's arrival! Please forgive me!"

Pan Mei stared coldly at the white-bearded old man who had stepped forward, without saying a word.

In ancient times, the elderly held power in China.

In other words, it's based on seniority, with the older generation in control of everything.

These lethargic old men can forget about any innovation.

However, those who cling to old ways, practice conservatism, and engage in suppression are masters at it all.

The person before me must be the patriarch of a powerful clan in this area.

"This humble subject has heard that His Majesty the Emperor has personally led the expedition."

"We wish to offer some local products as tribute to the Great Emperor."

"The women of our tribe are quite beautiful and are willing to serve the Emperor as his slaves."

"Another 50,000 strings of cash, 10,000 bolts of silk, and 80,000 shi of grain will be provided for military expenses."

"Several thousand members of the clan and relatives are ready to serve the Great Emperor."

"General, here is a gift to present to you."

In their view, it meant that the enemy was sincere and offered enough wealth, goods, and women, and even sent members of their own clan to help fight the war.

Let alone such a trivial task as being a guide for the Liao army, it might even earn you a reward from the emperor.

This is the difference in understanding.

Although they were local powerful figures, their vision was limited to the county level at most, and at most to the prefecture level.

They have absolutely no idea what the general trend of the world is.

Anyone else would have chosen to make an example of someone in this situation, let alone Lin Dao, who deeply hates traitors.

Although there are many of these things, they are utterly insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

There is no shortage of forest roads.

Besides, even if we destroy them, all these things will still belong to Lin Dao, and we can get even more.

Pan Mei, on horseback, raised his hand and gripped his sword. "Are you finished?"

The old man was stunned and somewhat at a loss.

The general's reaction was quite different from what the elders had discussed.
"Now that you've finished speaking..."

Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, Pan Mei drew his sword.

"Then go to hell!"

The battle outside the courtyard was brief but intense.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of hot tea, all the people who came out were lying in pools of blood.

These people were not qualified to have military merits, and thus they were lucky enough to have their heads preserved.

Next came the attack on the ancestral home.

As for the locations of the other branches of this clan, the various imperial guards were sent to wipe them out.

Lin Dao only gave them one day, and the reward was that they could keep half of the confiscated goods.

Looking at the closed gate not far away, Pan Mei sneered, "Charge in!" Crossbowmen stepped forward to suppress the resistance on the wall.

More than ten armored soldiers rushed out, each carrying a log, and slammed it against the gate.

The heavy door shook violently.

After several attempts, the door was finally forced open.

As expected, wave after wave of arrows rained down.

Pan Meiyi remained unfazed and shouted, "Charge in!"

Fully armored soldiers, holding iron shields, lined up and charged in through a hail of arrows.

A large number of imperial guards followed and surged in like a tide.

Soon, sounds of fighting, crying, and shouting came from inside the courtyard.

Fires and thick smoke rose in many places.

Pan Mei waited quietly on horseback.

Before long, a cavalryman rode up to report, "General, all those who escaped through the side gate have been killed!"

Escape was inevitable, as was the deployment of troops to patrol and obstruct them.

As the sounds of fighting in the courtyard gradually subsided, Pan Mei rode his horse inside.

Corpses were everywhere, and the doors and windows of houses were smashed.

Fires were lit in the woodshed, study, and other places.

There were imperial guards supervising the surrendered servants as they put out the fire.

Soon, batches of various supplies, along with the people who had been captured, were delivered to the front yard.

The clerks, carrying paper and pen, meticulously registered and cataloged each case.

As for those arrested, they were identified on the spot.

The male members of the clan were dragged away and beheaded.

The women were tied up and sent away.

Maids, servants, tenants, and guards were also treated differently.

Those like guards were also dealt with directly.

Tenants were registered and their records were then submitted to the local government for review.

If they haven't committed any serious crimes, they will be released and returned home. They can also participate in the subsequent land distribution and the lottery for migration.

Maids and the like were mostly assigned to meritorious officials, while servants were sent to various mines to work in the mines.

The inventory of goods was taken, loaded onto large carts, and transported back to camp.

Merchants accompanying the army would come forward to purchase all kinds of supplies.

Once all payments were settled, the Imperial Guards who participated in the operation received half of the money, as Lin Dao had previously promised.

This made the other departments extremely envious.

After a brief rest at Lindao and confirming that there would be no more continuous heavy rain in the near future, they resumed their advance.

His victory in annihilating the Liao Kingdom's Southern Army and killing the garrison commander of Nanjing (Yanjing) began to take effect.

When Yang Ye's vanguard troops arrived at Qianning Army, the local governor immediately surrendered the entire city.

Two days later, the vanguard army arrived at Duliukou (Jinghai), where the garrison surrendered again.

The garrison at Yijin Pass (Baxian County) surrendered again the following day.

Subsequently, the various Northern Expeditionary armies advanced by land and water, capturing Waqiao Pass, Yukou Pass, and places like Mozhou and Yingzhou, almost all of which surrendered without bloodshed.

The reason why the garrison troops in these places surrendered so easily.

On one hand, Xiao Siwen, the commander-in-chief of the Nanjing garrison, was defeated, which made the defending troops and generals realize that the tide of the war was turning.

Another aspect is that these garrison commanders were all Han Chinese.

It has only been twenty years since Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

The local people still remembered the might of the Tang Dynasty and were very dissatisfied with their submission to the barbarians.

In addition, the Khitans' excessive exploitation of the people aroused widespread resentment.

When the army from the Central Plains arrived, they were warmly welcomed, and those who could surrender were encouraged to do so.

If time goes on and all these people die, and the newborn children all consider themselves Liao people, the difficulty of reclaiming the territory will increase dramatically.

Just like when the Song Dynasty envoys came to Yanjing, they saw that many of the local Han people had already changed into the hairstyles and clothes of the Khitans.

If the Northern Expedition had been launched in the early Ming Dynasty, it would have been five hundred years later.
Five hundred years! The Great Sage has already served his sentence and been released.

The Han people in the north and the Han people in the south had almost become two different races, and had to be forcibly integrated by relocating the capital.

Therefore, now is the perfect time for Lin Dao to launch a northern expedition.

The troops advanced in unison, successively capturing Gu'an, Yizhou and other places, with their advance pointing directly at Yanjing City.

At this time, the Liao emperor Yelü Shulü had just gathered the troops from various tribes and advanced to the vicinity of Yanjing.

Without a doubt, a decisive battle that will determine the fate of two nations is about to erupt in Yanjing.

Waqiao Pass, Lindao Camp.

There was a high platform nearby. Lin Dao rode his horse up to it and looked around.

The land here is flat and open, with fields, rivers and villages as far as the eye can see.

"Zhang Fei's hometown."

Lin Dao chuckled and said, "I just wonder if the butchers here still have the skills of Zhang Fei."

Butchers were actually a good source of soldiers in ancient times.

They had been slaughtering livestock for many years, and their calm and composed nature made them unafraid of the harsh environment of the battlefield.

At the same time, he has been wielding a knife for many years to bind and restrain livestock, and he is also strong, with a good physique and knife skills.

With these prerequisites in place, their performance on the battlefield was naturally superior to those from farming backgrounds.

All the generals laughed, adding humorous comments to create a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Everyone believed that victory was assured, so morale was high and laughter filled the air.

Soon, a palace guard came to report, "Elders from nearby villages and towns have brought oxen and wine to offer as tribute!"

Lin Dao's eyes flickered slightly as he summoned the local elders.

The first thing they said upon meeting was, "What is the name of this place?"

The elders replied, "This place is called Binglongtai (Sick Dragon Terrace)."

(End of this chapter)