Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 616 The Zhu family has a tradition of being easily soluble in water~
"Greetings, Leader!"

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society bowed to Lin Dao.

"it is good."

Stepping forward, Lin Dao helped them up, saying, "From now on, we are all brothers fighting against the Qing Dynasty. We will share life and death!"

Luo Dagang and the others all showed gratitude and shouted anti-Qing slogans.

Don't talk about agreements; when faced with huge profits, no agreement is reliable.

The reason why the members of the Heaven and Earth Society were so convinced and sincerely "persuaded" their leader to join them was for only one reason.

Lin Dao demonstrated formidable strength.

The Heaven and Earth Society besieged Wuzhou City for months without making any progress, but Lin Daoyi took it down in half a day.

The difference between them is as great as the name of the Heaven and Earth Society.

People risked their lives to rebel, all for the sake of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and restoring the Ming dynasty, and for the sake of a better life.

It wasn't because he accomplished nothing that he was ultimately beheaded by the imperial court.

Following those who are truly capable is an inevitable choice for everyone.

"Chief Lin."

With an indescribable expression, Chief Chen took a breath and said, "I am willing to accept defeat."

"From this day forward, all members of the Heaven and Earth Society in Wuzhou will respect Leader Lin as their master."

"I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he got up to leave.

Originally the leader, if he were to join someone else's faction, he could never become the third-in-command; he would only become a target to be feared and eliminated.

We're all in this together, we understand that.

As expected, Lin Dao called out to him.

However, what Lin Dao said next was not a feigned attempt to persuade him to stay, but rather, "Do you still remember your enemy?"

Chief Chen stamped his foot, his gaze full of doubt. "I have many enemies. Which one are you referring to?"

"Big-headed sheep, and big carp."

Big Head Sheep, real name Zhang Zhao.

The big carp's real name is Tian Fang.

They were originally one of the leaders of the submarine force, and several years ago they were active on the water, cutting off the water transportation lines between Guangdong and Guangxi.

Two years ago, when Lei Zaihao and Li Yuan's Heaven and Earth Society uprising was suppressed, they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

This time, Chen Yagui's Heaven and Earth Society rebelled against the Qing Dynasty again, and Zhang Tian and his accomplice had an ambiguous attitude, repeatedly switching between the imperial court and the rebel army.

They even killed the messenger sent by Chen Yagui to persuade them.

When the Guilin reinforcements arrived, they rushed into Wuzhou City with the reinforcements, only to be trapped inside and wiped out.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society all wore angry expressions and their breathing became heavy.

"Chief Lin!"

Chief Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Where are these two traitors? I will avenge my brother!"

The messenger he sent to persuade the two to turn against him was his younger brother.

As a result, the two men tied him up and handed him over to the Qing army that came to his aid, where he was beheaded as a sacrifice to the flag.

"You can handle the person."

Lin Dao gestured for everyone to find stools and sit down, then pointed at Chen Yagui and said, "You, Chief Chen, must join me in the fight against the Qing."

Chen Yagui had a great reputation, and letting him work independently outside would inevitably affect the concentration of anti-Qing forces.

Moreover, this person can be used as a benchmark to recruit anti-Qing organizations such as the Heaven and Earth Society from various places during the Northern Expedition.

All eyes turned to that direction.

Now the problem has been handed to Chen Yagui, who must submit to others and follow Lin Daogan to avenge his brother.

He was determined to leave and rebuild his team from scratch.

In fact, here in the forest, Chief Chen only has one choice.

It's either live or die.

It is absolutely impossible to give him the opportunity to disperse the anti-Qing forces after leaving.

"Chief Lin."

After a moment's thought, Chen Yagui looked at Lin Dao and asked, "Do you know the slogan of our Heaven and Earth Society: Overthrow the Qing and Restore the Ming?"

"I know," Lin Dao laughed. "Everyone knows it, everyone knows it."

"Then," Chen Yagui asked again in a deep voice, "if the rebellion against the Qing succeeds, are you willing to return the world to the Ming Dynasty?"

"Have you been drinking?" Lin Dao asked calmly and composedly. "How could you ask such a brainless question?"

"I led my brothers through countless life-and-death battles to conquer this world, and in the end, it was given to a complete stranger?"

"Even if I were brain-dead and willing, would the brothers who fought alongside me be willing?"

"This isn't a female-oriented novel!"

People in this era don't really have that high level of awareness.

Today, most people oppose the Qing dynasty simply to survive.

A few ambitious ones are also acting in the name of their own and their family's future.

Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming?

The empire they fought so hard to build was handed over to a descendant of the Zhu family, who had been found out of nowhere.
Honestly, this kind of thing is absolutely impossible outside of female-oriented content.

In fact, for most members of the Heaven and Earth Society, this slogan was just like "Long live the Emperor"—purely a habitual chant.

Chen Yagui naturally understood these things, but he chose to remain silent.

Lin Dao glanced at the group of Heaven and Earth Society members and said again, "I don't know if any of you have read history books."

"Several hundred years ago, before establishing the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang also drowned the Little Ming King."

"Even if I'm brain-dead, I still want to return the world to the descendants of the Zhu family, not some Zhu Third Prince."

"Yes~"

"Are you sure they'll survive?"

"After all, the Zhu family has a tradition of being easily soluble in water."

That's already quite blunt.

Chen Yagui's expression changed several times, finally turning into a sigh.

There's nothing we can do. The Ming Dynasty has been gone for two hundred years, and the Zhu family never returned the empire to the Zhao family back then.
"So be it."

Lin Dao waved his hand and said, "Bring the person up."

Zhang Zhao and Tian Fang, the two leaders of the submarine force, were dragged over directly.

The submarine force was not a tightly structured organization; it was actually a collection of various water heroes.

The various groups were independent of each other and each had its own leader. Chen Yagui, Luo Dagang, Ren Wenbing, and even Zhang Zhao and Tian Fang, among others, were all leaders of their own powerful groups, some large and some small.

However, some people chose to firmly oppose the Qing Dynasty, such as Chen Yagui and Luo Dagang.

Zhang Zhao and Tian Fang are typical negative examples.

They were just unlucky.

Historically, the two of them successfully held Wuzhou, outlasting Chen Yagui to attack Guilin.

They even became involved with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

But now~
Both men had bruises and swelling on their faces, with numerous wounds on their bodies, clearly having been severely punished.

"Dog thief!"

Upon seeing the two, Chief Chen flew into a rage and began punching and kicking them.

The dull thuds of punches landing on flesh, mixed with screams, echoed across the training ground.

With bloodshot eyes, Chief Chen turned around and drew his knife.

"stop!"

Lin Dao roared, stopping Chief Chen's slashing motion.

Everyone looked over in astonishment, not understanding what he meant.

At the critical moment of life and death, Zhang and Tian repeatedly kowtowed and begged in the direction of Lin Dao.

He indicated that he and his men were willing to be Lin Dao's dogs, and so on.

Logically speaking, this is a very common thing.

However, Lin Dao had no reason to want these opportunists.

He sat on a small stool, raised his hand and waved it in front of his nose to dispel the unpleasant smell of DDT.

"It's too easy to kill such traitors and scum with a single blow."

"Do you want to help them get rid of this burden?"

Chief Chen was clearly stunned.

Fortunately, he quickly realized what was happening and nodded vigorously, "The leader is right, we can't let them get away with this!"

“They were also members of the Heaven and Earth Society before,” Lin Dao said again. “Let’s do it your way, three cuts and six holes, self-help and self-killing, and so on.”

The anger subsided noticeably.

Ren Wenbing said with a smile, "Chief, three cuts and six holes are punishments for minor offenses, and self-inflicted suicide is also a rule of the gang."

"Traitors like them, who even harmed their own brothers, should all be burned alive!"

"That's right!"

"Light the sky lantern!"

"They can't be let off so easily!"

Lin Dao stretched out his hand, signaling to Chief Chen to take action.

Chief Chen first bowed to Lin Dao to express his gratitude.

Then his gaze fell upon the blazing fire on the training ground.

Those were the bedding, worn-out shoes, uniforms, and other items belonging to the officers and soldiers in this former Green Standard Army camp.

Lighting sky lanterns at this time of year involves rituals and such, which can be quite troublesome.

Without saying a word, he reached out and dragged Zhang Tian and the other man, who were crying and pleading, towards the fire.

Amidst the raging flames, the traitors' screams were shrill and piercing.

Lin Dao, standing in the distance, watched this scene with a faint smile on his face.

cruel?

Do they even know how cruel these traitors were to their former comrades?

How tragically those who died because of them suffered!

There are never any good people working for the Mite-Cleansing colonists.

No matter how well a film or television drama packages a character, a lecherous scholar is still just a dog, not even as good as a servant!
What nonsense about traveling incognito to uphold justice for the people! Bah!

These are the worst people in this era!
Lin Dao, who was sitting on a stool, raised his hand and waved.

Yang Xiuqing and the others quickly gathered around.

"The families of officials, merchants, and gentry within the city must be thoroughly investigated and dealt with."

"Arrest them first, hold a public trial tomorrow, expose their crimes in public, and then convict them."

"After that~"

At this point, Lin Dao lowered his voice and said, "Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots!"

He certainly wouldn't commit the kind of massacre that indiscriminately leaves only women and craftsmen alive.

Even if it's murder, only kill those who deserve it.

In this era, officials, merchants, and the various scoundrels they controlled were all born with original sin.

Its darkness was the greatest in all dynasties.

We want to find someone innocent in this situation.
hey~
How can someone who has fallen into a dye vat possibly remain innocent?

The public trial proceeded smoothly.

The people inside and outside the city, tempted by the chicken and threatened by force, arrived at the government office with trepidation.

When the public trial began, the pre-arranged introductory speaker went on stage to make accusations, and the people in the audience could no longer contain their emotions.

There's no way around it; no ordinary person is immune to humiliation and exploitation.

Once a large-scale emotional outburst occurs, the rest becomes simple.

One by one, those convicted were put on hats and placards, and fell to the hands of the angry crowd.

Lin Dao observed the entire process and then began working on the compilation.

The God Worshipping Society, the Heaven and Earth Society, and all other various societies and organizations, even those that came from scattered groups, all had to be reorganized.

After that, Lin Dao will formally raise the banner and establish a true sense of righteousness.

In addition, the property confiscated from the homes of officials, merchants, and gentry must be tallied, categorized, and converted into cash.

Copper coins and silver are easy to deal with; they can be kept as military pay.

Food and cloth were also military supplies.

Lin Dao would bring back items like gold jewelry and handicrafts, silk furniture, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and precious medicinal herbs to sell in the modern world.

Although the eggs he buys are cheap, the large quantity makes it a significant expense.

While Wuzhou was undergoing a large-scale reorganization, news of its fall finally reached Guilin.

This time, no one talked nonsense.

The urgent military report, delivered over four hundred li, sped towards the capital.

(End of this chapter)