Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 478, "The Art of War by Taigong"? I have a hardcover printed edition.

Xiapi, on the banks of the Yi River.

"Brother Zihou."

Zhang Liang, puzzled, asked, "Why are we here instead of seeking out the First Emperor?"

He was eager to get close to the First Emperor and devise a plan to assassinate him in one fell swoop.

Lin Daoming clearly said he was going to find the First Emperor, but he ended up in Xiapi instead.

This is completely the opposite of what you'd expect.

“We have been here for several days,” Zhang Liang complained. “We have done nothing but wander around the shore all day.”

Life is short, and people in this era have a much shorter lifespan than those in the modern world.

When you're determined to do something, you really race against time.

But Lin Dao wandered around the river for several days, which Zhang Liang found utterly meaningless.

"No need to complain."

Lin Dao raised his hand and pointed to the bridge not far away. "I've come here this time for your opportunity."

Zhang Liang followed the finger's direction and saw an old man in a coarse cloth robe walking across the bridge.

He was puzzled, but at Lin Dao's prompting, he stepped forward.

Just as they were about to exchange greetings, they saw the old man lift his leg, take off one of his shoes, and throw it onto the shore.

"Hey kid, go get my shoes."

This scene greatly angered Zhang Liang.

Fortunately, he was patient and tolerant, and after catching his breath, he set off to find the shoes.

A large hand landed on his shoulder.

Lin Dao walked over and said, "There's no need for all that trouble."

He looked at the old man and said with a smile, "Master Huang, judging from your complexion, I'm afraid your days are numbered."

"Since we've decided to take him on as a disciple, we should just give it to him directly. There's no need to test his character anymore."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang was greatly alarmed.

The old man before them was none other than the renowned hermit Huang Gong, also known as Huang Shigong.

The old man sitting on the ground stared at Lin Dao with his slightly cloudy eyes.

After a moment, he finally spoke, "You are more outstanding. Are you interested in following in my footsteps?"

"I don't need to study military strategy."

Lin Dao simply shook his head and patted Zhang Liang on the shoulder again. "He needs it."

"Zhang Liang from Xinzheng." Zhang Liang immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, sir!"

In any era, knowledge is something that can change one's destiny.

This is especially true in an era where knowledge is monopolized.

Zhang Liang was extremely respectful when given the opportunity to learn new knowledge.

"It's not right, it's not right."

Huang Shigong waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "If you want to inherit my mantle, you must accept the test, otherwise..."

"I have something good here."

Lin Dao reached into his robes, pulled out a book, and tossed it to Huang Shigong, saying, "Read it before you speak."

"If that doesn't work, then we'll leave immediately."

Huang Shigong took the book, squeezed the pages with his hands, and was immediately shocked.

"This is neither silk nor sheepskin, what is it?"

"This is paper." Lin Dao waved his hand. "Don't worry about that. Look at the contents before you speak."

In fact, the most primitive form of paper had already appeared in this era, but it was far from being able to be used for writing.

Just like the difference between foxtail grass, the precursor to corn, and corn.

It wasn't until the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, or even earlier, that a truly usable prototype of paper appeared.

As for Cai Lun, he improved the technology to a point where it could be used directly while reducing costs, rather than inventing it.

Huang Shigong, looking puzzled, first looked at the cover.

The words "Six Secret Teachings" were written in Qin Dynasty clerical script on it!
I subconsciously flipped through the pages, and the more I looked, the more alarmed I became. My hands trembled, and my eyes widened in shock.

“This, this, this~~~”

The Six Secret Teachings is the same as the Art of War by Taigong.

Taigong was Jiang Wang, also known as Jiang Shang. His surname was Jiang, his clan name was Lü, and his courtesy name was Ziya.

This set of military treatises is divided into six volumes: civil and military, dragon, tiger, leopard, and dog, containing dozens of chapters.

The content includes principles of governing a country and strengthening it, strategies for defeating powerful enemies and seizing the world, military management, military action deployment and comprehensive support, weapons and equipment and tactics, tactical implementation in various battlefield environments, and the coordinated combat capabilities of chariots, cavalry and infantry, etc.

It can be said to be the most comprehensive book on military strategy in the pre-Qin period.

"How could you have this?" Huang Shigong looked at Lin Dao in disbelief. "This is impossible!"

The reason for asking this is that the original version is in his possession.

Because he felt his time was coming to an end, he was eager to find an outstanding successor to pass on this military strategy.

But Lin Dao's move immediately enraged him.

“I not only have the Art of War by Taigong, but I also have all seven military classics.”

"Moreover, it's a deluxe, proofread edition. If you spend a little more money, you can arrange the font, layout, printing, and other requirements."

"If you want, I can get you hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of sets."

These words resonated deeply with Lin Dao himself.

Thanks to the era of information explosion.

Knowledge such as the Seven Military Classics, which was enough to make a family rise to power in ancient times, can be easily obtained in the modern world.

Knowledge that was enough to make people risk their lives in ancient times is now commonplace in the information age.

If one unfortunately lives under the rule of barbarians, one will not even know the written language, the medium of knowledge.

Lacking knowledge and information.

Even if you time-travel, it's completely useless.

They're either cannon fodder, tools, or nourishment for the earth.

Regaining his composure, Lin Dao looked at the completely dumbfounded Huang Shigong and asked, "So, do you still want to put me through the test?"

Huang Shigong was dumbfounded.

How could something here be more important than life itself?
Lin Dao kicked Zhang Liang.

As if waking from a dream, Zhang Liang hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

Now Huang Shigong stopped mentioning shoes or tests.

He quickly got up, grabbed Zhang Liang, and left.

Lin Dao wasn't in a hurry. He called out loudly, "Tomorrow, at this time, in this place." After saying that, his figure suddenly disappeared.

Sunrise and sunset, a day passes in the blink of an eye.

When Lin Dao's figure reappeared, Zhang Liang had been waiting at the bridgehead for a long time.

He was reading a book when he saw Lin Dao and hurriedly got up to carry his luggage.

It is indeed carrying luggage.

Huang Shigong gave him a complete set of Taigong's Art of War.

This set of military strategies was written on bamboo slips.

As is well known, bamboo slips contain few characters and are very heavy.

Zhang Liang was carrying a whole basket of bamboo slips on his back.

"Brother Zihou."

As soon as he arrived, he complained, "These bamboo slips are too heavy."

"Moreover, what is written on it is not as detailed and comprehensive as what Brother Zihou wrote on this paper."

"It would be a great blessing if this paper could be made available to the whole world."

"Oh~" Lin Dao raised an eyebrow. "How about you trade these bamboo slips for mine?"

"it is good!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Liang immediately agreed.

He hurriedly took the large basket he was carrying and placed it in front of Lin Dao.

If Huang Shigong had seen this scene, he would probably have died of anger on the spot.

As for Zhang Liang, he would certainly offer a scathing rebuttal.

'Anyway, the content is pretty much the same, but this one is even more detailed and has many useful annotations~'

Lin Dao smiled, picked up the heavy basket, and disappeared.

Without a doubt, Lin Dao made a huge profit by spending some money to print the "Six Secret Teachings" and exchanging it for this original "Taigong's Art of War".

This is a genuine, handwritten original!
I must save this!

As for Zhang Liang, he also felt that he had made a huge profit.

Before I ever saw paper, that basket of Taigong's Art of War was definitely more important than my life.

Having seen the paper provided by Lin Dao, and the more detailed knowledge recorded on it than the original, the bamboo slips immediately lost their appeal.

He carefully put the book into his pocket and followed Lin Dao, who had reappeared.

There's no rush to find the First Emperor now.

If Lin Daoneng can continue to lead him to various adventures, the matter of the First Emperor can be postponed for the time being.

"Brother Zihou~"

Zhang Liang, in high spirits, asked him a question.

"Where are we going now?"

Lin Dao casually replied, "Huaiyin County, Nanchang Pavilion."

The First Emperor abolished the enfeoffment system and implemented the prefecture-county system.

However, counties and prefectures are not the only ones.

The actual administrative divisions were prefectures, counties, townships, pavilions, and villages.

Orders from Xianyang usually reach the prefectures and counties.

The officials in prefectures and counties, on the other hand, were directly appointed by the imperial court and received salaries from the imperial court.

Below the prefecture and county level, the orders of the imperial court and the emperor could not be delivered directly.

This is why imperial power doesn't extend to the countryside.

The prefectures and counties were divided into townships. For example, the place where the Dazexiang Uprising took place was a township with a large swamp and lake.

In the township, local elders were usually responsible for assisting in arranging the work of conveying orders from the county magistrate.

Below the village is the pavilion.

Similar to a town in the modern world, it governs several villages.

The pavilion is headed by a pavilion chief, who is roughly equivalent to the local security chief, civil defense chief, propaganda officer, tax collector, etc.

As for the most basic "li," that is the village.

The village head or village chief is in charge.

Huaiyin was originally the land of the Dongyi and Huaiyi peoples, but later it came under the jurisdiction of the Wu Kingdom.

After the fall of the Wu Kingdom, it came under the control of the Yue Kingdom, and was later seized by the Chu Kingdom.

After Qin conquered the State of Chu, it established the Sishui Commandery in this area, and Huaiyin County was a county under the jurisdiction of the Sishui Commandery.

The distance between Xiapi County and Huaiyin County is not far.

From the perspective of the forest road, several hundred miles is not a long distance at all.

He bought several fine horses, which carried him and Zhang Liang, and galloped all the way to Huaiyin County.

As for the inspections along the way, Lin Dao also used the talismans, badges, and identification tags he ordered from the modern world to deal with them.

The counterfeiting techniques of the modern world have reached their pinnacle.

Even tofu can taste like meat, so these other things are child's play.

With their complete documentation, the two traveled without hindrance, easily crossing counties and prefectures.

Without these things, we'll have to force our way in.
After all, in the Qin Dynasty, how could one run around without identification?
Are you looking for death?
We arrived at Nanchang Pavilion in Huaiyin County.

As we rode into the county town, we saw the streets packed with people watching the spectacle.

Looking around from horseback, Lin Dao saw a tall, sword-wielding youth being blocked by a butcher in the center of the crowd.

All that could be heard was the butcher laughing loudly.

"Although you are tall and like to carry swords, you are actually a coward."

"If you're not afraid of death, then stab me with your sword. If you are afraid of death, then crawl between my legs."

The young man was not very old, only about thirteen or fourteen years old.

However, he was tall and upright, and his clothes were very neatly arranged.

With a sword at his waist, he immediately gives off the feeling that "this kid is not to be trifled with."

Faced with humiliation, faced with hundreds of onlookers.

The young man frowned, staring intently at the smug butcher in front of him.

After a moment of silence, the young man lowered his body.

A loud shout came from outside the crowd.

"Stay on!"

(End of this chapter)