Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 637 Luncheon Meat Cans and Flintlock Guns

"Wherever you are, if you encounter local militia or bandits, kill them."

Faced with the ruthless methods of the returning villagers, Lin Dao is determined to retaliate with an even more brutal counterattack.

"No prisoners, just dispose of them if you see them."

"The militia forces in various villages and towns are also being organized at an accelerated pace."

"They will become qualified reserves."

The best way to deal with the returning militia is to mobilize and arm the local people, so that the people, who have an absolute advantage, can have weapons to resist.

After Da'an Township, Lin Dao changed his previous habits and arrangements.

The transport team and the work team worked together to clean up the area and immediately began to set up local control agencies and militia.

As for western Hunan, large armies couldn't get in there because the terrain was too harsh.

"Since they can't get in, then they can't get out."

"Block all exit routes and prevent all supplies, including salt, cloth, and ironware, from entering."

"Once we take Sichuan, we'll completely blockade it."

"Tell the people inside that if they want the blockade lifted, they can hand over the notorious bandits of western Hunan, dead or alive!"

Xiangxi is famous for its many bandits, but not everyone in that area is a bandit.

The local people, as well as the Miao villages, etc.

Lin Dao was willing to expand the scope of his crackdown in order to solve the bandit problem in western Hunan. His original intention was to force the locals who were familiar with the terrain to take action to suppress the bandits.

In return, the bandits handed over could be exchanged for various supplies.

After arranging things, Lin Dao transported a batch of supplies back to the modern world.

Carved canopy beds, solid wood furniture, ancient books and paintings, medicinal herbs and wood, wild pearls, fur, tiger bone, rhinoceros horn, ivory products, and so on.

These items, if they appeared in the modern world in the past, would have attracted fierce competition, and the prices would have been very attractive.

But now, with the Lindao people dumping their goods on a large scale into the modern world from different places and times—a dumping of these resources in terms of their rarity.

The result was a price collapse.

Things are valued for their scarcity; when there's an abundance of something, it naturally becomes less expensive.

Especially antique furniture, Lin Dao was able to collect large quantities of it in almost every time and space, which directly disrupted the entire market environment.

There's no way around it, they're all genuine, a huge quantity of genuine products.

Later, good friends stepped in and took over all of these business deals.

Once a fixed price is agreed upon, leave everything to them and don't worry about anything else.

In short, it cannot be directly put into the market.

Lin Dao sent a lot of supplies to the people and also had to prepare for the later water conservancy facilities and fertilizers, which greatly increased his expenses.

When sweeping away landlords and gentry, all the silver, money and grain were reserved for military use.

He packed up the rest and sent them to the modern world to offset part of the payment for the goods.

After all, the unit price of cement, steel, fertilizer, chemical fiber, and cloth is not high, but the volume is too large.

Hunan's population far exceeds that of Guangxi, with some statistics suggesting it exceeds 20 million.

The vast majority of these are people in dire need of help and rescue, and providing them with any supplies would cost at least tens of millions of yuan.

The expenses for forest roads are really high.

After finishing all that, he finally turned his attention to Changsha Prefecture in the north.

"Jiang Zhongyuan, Xiang Rong~"

“Especially Jiang Zhongyuan.”

During the military council, Lin Dao pointed to a photograph taken by an intelligence agent in Changsha Prefecture using a miniature camera and declared, "This scoundrel is the culprit behind the gradual decline of the Hunan Army and the Chu Army."

"It was this scoundrel who strongly advocated for and promoted the return-to-hometown groups, which led to the mass killing of the work team and local people."

The Taiping army intensified its crackdown on the returning militia.

But they are local strongmen after all, familiar with the terrain, and have an extremely complex network of relationships, enabling them to obtain a lot of support in the area.

They did not engage in direct combat with the Taiping Army, but instead launched surprise attacks, poisoned the Taiping Army, and carried out sabotage everywhere.

While causing losses to the local people and the Taiping army, it also delayed many important tasks, including spring plowing.

"Head."

Yang Xiuqing suggested, "Should we send someone to Changsha Prefecture to search for this scoundrel?"

"We are genuinely here to restore China." Lin Dao waved his hand. "Assassination is only used against traitors who are trying to escape."

The Taiping army was extremely large, far exceeding the hundreds of thousands claimed in the memorials submitted to Emperor Xianfeng by Mu Zhang'a and others.

In theory, local militia organizations and their families all fall under the category of the Taiping Army—according to the Qing Dynasty's system of guilt by association.

With such a large number of people, and the rapid expansion that absorbed all sorts of individuals, it was only natural that traitors would emerge.

There were landlords and gentry who had infiltrated the group, local ruffians and scoundrels, members of the Heaven and Earth Society, and ordinary people who couldn't resist the temptation of wealth, etc.
The defection of these people not only took away a lot of supplies, but also advanced flintlock weapons.

More importantly, they informed the Qing court of detailed intelligence about the Taiping Army.

It was only at this point that the Qing court finally figured out the organizational structure of the Taiping Army and learned the name of their leader, Lin Dao!
For these defectors, the elite squad personally trained by Lin Dao was responsible for punishing them.

Let's get back to the point.

"Xiang Rong from Changsha Prefecture".

Lin Dao's hand landed on Xiang Rong's photo. Judging from the background, the photo should be taken near a military camp.

"They're our old rivals."

"This person is extremely decisive and has an extraordinary sense of battlefield awareness, and has successfully retreated before danger arrives on several occasions."

"This person is exceptionally capable; he led a group of defeated soldiers and managed to escape our pursuit."

"This man was extremely brave and once fought his way out of an encirclement while enduring a hail of bullets."

"This man is bold yet meticulous, daring to disobey orders and retreat, thus escaping our attack."

"Without a doubt, he is Yue Zhongqi of the Qing Dynasty!" Lin Dao's gaze swept over the generals. "In this attack on Changsha, we must make this man our primary target."

"As for that so-called chief Grand Councilor, imperial envoy or whatever, he's just a figurehead and a useless piece of trash, no need to pay him any attention."

All the generals bowed in unison.

"I will obey the leader's orders!"

Lin Dao has consistently refused numerous urgings to declare himself king, and continues to consider himself the leader of the association.

On the one hand, they were unwilling to enfeoff a large number of kings as in the original history.

There are so many kings and kings, dozens or even hundreds of them, which has greatly devalued their status.

Furthermore, by not seeking advancement himself, he suppressed the ambitions of those below him.

At least on the surface, it can be suppressed.

If everyone is just a general, then the internal strife won't be as brutal as it was in the original history.

Focus your energy on defeating the Qing demons, instead of starting infighting and vying for power before the enemy has even fallen.

"Each unit departs in turn."

Lin Dao issued a mobilization order to "surround Changsha Prefecture from the east and west."

"The reinforcements mobilized by the Qing court from various places have basically been concentrated near Changsha Prefecture."

He slammed his fist on the table. "Eat them!"

Hengshan Mountain, Furen Temple.

"Why are so many people coming to burn incense?"

In the temple's backyard, several figures gathered at the gate, watching as numerous men and women continuously entered and exited the main hall.

The air was filled with the fragrance of incense and the sounds of chanting, creating a lively atmosphere.

"The Taiping rebels distributed land to these peasants, exempted them from all taxes except land tax, and provided them with money, food, supplies, and farm tools."

Some people explained, "It's ridiculous that these peasants don't thank the Taiping Army, but instead come to the temple to burn incense and thank the Bodhisattva for blessing them so that they can turn their lives around."

Those around them sneered, "They're just ignorant fools who don't even know where to offer incense."

"Walk."

The group returned to their meditation room in the backyard to rest.

They took out several cans, opened them, and used daggers to pick out the meat to eat.

A burly man with a full beard raised his hand and touched the back of his bald head.

"Ah~"

He was a Manchu, a third-class Blue-feathered Imperial Guard.

This time, in order to get things done, I had to cut off the queue left by my ancestors, and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

"These long-haired rebels are truly traitors to their master and ancestors; they even cut off their braids!"

The symbol of anti-Qing sentiment was cutting off one's queue (braid).

From the very beginning, Lin Dao strictly enforced the policy of cutting off queues.

From last year to now, the hair of the Taiping soldiers has gradually grown back.

The Qing court simply referred to them as "long-haired people".

Besides cutting off braids, there was also a revolution in clothing.

The disgusting combination of long robes, mandarin jackets, and melon-shaped hats has been completely abandoned, replaced by a minimalist style.

These spies, who were carrying out secret missions, had to shave their heads and change their clothes for their work.

"These long-haired rebels." While eating canned meat that had leaked from the Taiping Army, the spies were still complaining, "This jar of meat tastes really good, much better than braised pork."

"You're quite the smooth talker," a companion joked. "The sacrificial meat at Kunning Palace is just boiled meat in plain water. This jar of meat is full of oil and spices, so of course the taste can't compare."

Lin Dao distributed canned luncheon meat and canned fruit to his soldiers as military supplies.

The funds are distributed regularly and in fixed amounts, and how they are handled is not a concern, as long as they are not wasted.

At first, the soldiers cherished it very much, either sending it home or carefully storing it, reluctant to eat it.

However, it was indeed distributed on time and in the correct quantity, and there was never a shortage.

Even if there were shortages, they would definitely be replenished, and the soldiers gradually began to eat to their heart's content.

Naturally, I got tired of it.

Most of them were sent home, but when merchants offered to buy them, some soldiers, after receiving permission, chose to sell them for money.

Lin Dao cracked down on landlords and gentry, but had no intention of destroying the merchants.

As long as they are not appendages of the Manchu gentry or traitors like the Eight Great Imperial Merchants, ordinary merchants can do business as long as they pay taxes.

Lin Dao also planned to use merchants as the vanguard when expanding outwards after he had dealt with the mite-clearing product.

As a result, supplies including luncheon meat, Nestlé coffee, Lipton tea, chocolate beans, White Rabbit candy, and Dongpeng beverages gradually spread.

Because of its convenience and practicality, even the mite-eliminating agents on missions now eat luncheon meat.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the scouts glanced at the time. "Has the person not arrived yet?"

"We agreed to meet at noon, we should be arriving soon."

"What kind of ridiculous time did you choose? Noon, that's...!"

"Shut up!"

"unlucky!"

"Wait, then."

These spies came here to make contact with the Taiping rebels they had bribed.

Their target was the flintlock musket that the traitor had stolen from the military camp!
This was not only what the Qing court wanted, but also what the foreigners actively requested.

At the same time, the Taiping Army's elite special forces, disguised as ordinary people offering incense, were closing in from all directions!

(End of this chapter)