Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 644 Consort Lan Offers Advice

"You're such a boring person."

He pointed to the mules and horses dragging ropes, the red-hot branding irons, and the stones tied with ropes.

Lin Daozheng said seriously, "These are all too conservative. You need to be innovative."

"What does the leader say we should do?" Zuo Zongtang, his eyes red, frowned repeatedly.

"This is a hot air balloon." Lin Dao gestured to the hot air balloon that was being heated and inflated. "It should be able to fly a few thousand meters without any problem."

"You can tie people to a hot air balloon with a rope and fly them thousands of meters into the air."

"Wait until the fuel runs out, then fall from the sky, experiencing the oppression and pain of death from beginning to end."

"Ah?" Having seen so many of Lin Dao's amazing objects, Zuo Zongtang only glanced at the hot air balloon a few times before nodding repeatedly, "That's excellent."

"When I was in Guangxi before," Lin Dao frankly admitted, "I had heard stories about the Miao people raising Gu poison."

"You can get a large vat, find some of the five poisonous creatures, and stuff them into it along with your enemy."

"besides."

"You saw that road roller when we were building the road before, do you remember?"

"You can break their legs and then slowly chase after them with a road roller."

"Force them to cry and crawl all the way, chasing them until they're exhausted and speeding past!"

"Also, I remember there are alligators here~"

"After crippling them, we can throw them into a duel with the alligator."

"And~"

Zuo Zongtang was stunned and speechless, his gaze shifting with complex emotions.

The ideas that came up at the meeting were quite interesting.
However, he still prefers traditional skills.

For example~
Cut into pieces by a thousand cuts!

Zuo Zongtang personally took charge, and together with the Taiping Army from Xiangyin, they set up an altar to burn incense and pay tribute to their fellow villagers who had perished.

Then more than a hundred Green Standard Army soldiers and local militiamen who had been to Xiangyin were dragged up.

Holding a sharp butcher's knife, they disemboweled pigs, ripped out their hearts and livers, and offered them as sacrifices to the people of Xiangyin.

As for He Chun, Jiang Zhongyuan, and the others, they were not so lucky. They were all stripped naked, tied to pillars, and had hemp seeds stuffed in their mouths.

They knew what fate awaited them and struggled desperately.

Unfortunately, at times like these, struggling is futile; it's better to pray for divine assistance.

Lin Dao sat on a small stool, quietly observing everything before him.

Revenge has always been one of the main themes in the long river of human civilization.

If you did the first day of the month, then we should do the fifteenth; it is only natural.

"At this point, stop struggling."

Lin Dao, acting entirely out of good intentions, offered words of comfort: "You yourselves know best what you have done."

“You have killed so many people, so it is only right that you retaliate now.”

"Just accept it. It's only three thousand dollars at most. Just hang in there and it will pass."

He Chun and the others stared wide-eyed, shaking their heads and twisting their bodies as if they wanted to utter words, but the numbness in their mouths prevented them from speaking.

Lin Dao only glanced at it before ignoring it.

He turned around and looked at the execution ground not far away.

This is the place where Zuo Zongtang and others sought revenge, while the execution ground is not so troublesome.

Teams of Green Standard Army soldiers and militia members were dragged in and forced to kneel on the ground.

Rows of Taiping soldiers stepped forward and grabbed their filthy braids.

With a strong tug, the neck was exposed as the head was pulled.

The axemen stepped forward and, at the command, swung their weapons, blood splattering everywhere.

The auxiliary soldiers quickly stepped forward, dragged it away, and threw it onto a large cart for disposal.

Then the second batch was pulled up.

surrender?

If surrendering could absolve one of past sins, then there would be no more heroes in the world; after committing evil, one would simply surrender.

"Meeting Head~"

"Almost all the civil and military officials in the city have been killed or captured."

"Some of those who were blasted to smithereens were also identified through their belongings."

"The only one confirmed to have escaped is Xiang Rong, the Qing Dynasty's Guangxi Provincial Commander."

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao raised his eyelids slightly.

"Find out where he is."

"When I have time, I'll go and take him down myself!"

Lin Dao was getting increasingly frustrated after Xiang Rong repeatedly managed to escape.

He originally intended to crush the Manqing with overwhelming force, disdaining to use assassinations or surprise attacks.

But Xiang Rong was as annoying as an unkillable cockroach, which really angered him.

Xiang Rong, who was staggering, was finally pulled out by the fishermen and brought to the shore of Yalanji Town.

After jumping into the river, he swam all the way into the Yangtze River, clinging to a piece of wood and floating on the water.

If it weren't for the fishermen who rescued him, he would have been swallowed by the river while exhausted.

Fortunately, he was wearing official robes; otherwise, the fishermen might have earned some extra money.

Once ashore, they found the government offices and identified themselves.

They demanded some silver from the fishermen as a reward.

They stole a horse from the post station and, barely managing to stay upright, rode all the way to Wuchang Prefecture.

The various armies dispatched by the imperial court to Hunan have basically been wiped out.

Another imperial envoy has been lost. Such devastating news of the loss of troops and territory must be sent to the capital as soon as possible.

The urgent dispatch from Wuchang Prefecture reached the Yuanmingyuan in just a few days.

In the dead of night, Emperor Xianfeng, who was indulging in the company of his concubines, was startled awake by the piercing sound of a military report.

He hurriedly dressed and got up, took the military report and glanced at it, then suddenly felt dizzy and his vision went black as he collapsed.

When the princes and ministers of the Grand Council gathered around, Emperor Xianfeng, who had been urgently revived by the imperial physicians, lay weakly on the bed, his face extremely pale.

"Take a look at them all~"

Pointing to the military report, Emperor Xianfeng sighed, "The troops are gone, Hunan is gone, and the imperial envoy is gone too."

Before they arrived, everyone already knew the general situation, and each of them had a solemn expression.

They lost two provinces, suffered the loss of over 100,000 troops, and even lost two imperial envoys. Such a crushing defeat is perhaps only comparable to the Revolt of the Three Feudatories.

After reading the military report, the imperial relatives and ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, but no one spoke.

No one dared to say a word.

In today's environment, once you come up with an idea, you have to take responsibility for it!

Even if you succeed, the amount of merit you receive may not be significant, since everyone has their own ceiling.

But if they were to lose, not to mention the punishment from the court, the very fact that two imperial envoys died one after another would be enough to deter people from taking the job.

Who knows if I'll be the third!

The ministers remained silent, only repeatedly apologizing.

The chief Grand Councilor who had to speak was none other than Mu Zhang'a, who was already dead according to the battle report.

Despite having the courage to speak out and make decisions, Guizi Liu never had the chance to participate in core meetings due to Emperor Xianfeng's suspicion.

The furious Emperor Xianfeng wanted to roar and berate these useless people.

However, he was physically weak, and all he could do was cough.

Left with no other choice, we had to get rid of them all.

Looking at the faces of these useless people, Emperor Xianfeng felt he could be driven to his death by anger.

"Go away~"

"Get out of here, all of you!"

Finally, it quieted down.

Emperor Xianfeng lay on his bed, his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face.

How did the land left by our ancestors become so ruined in my hands?

What's even more hateful is that these useless people who draw salaries from the imperial court can't even come up with a single idea.

Corpse meal!

"Your Majesty~"

A gentle female voice sounded in my ear.

Emperor Xianfeng opened his eyes and saw that it was Consort Lan, who had come to serve him that night.

The incident happened so suddenly that she hasn't been sent back yet.

"It is a blessing for the nation that His Majesty is concerned about the affairs of state."

"But you should still take care of your health."

These are all common-sense statements, the kind that go in one ear and out the other, the kind you hear and then forget.

Emperor Xianfeng breathed a sigh of relief and was about to send Consort Lan back.

Consort Kelan, however, spoke up directly, "Your Majesty, the Taiping Rebellion is powerful; perhaps we could try to appease them first?"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xianfeng was immediately displeased.

You, a woman of virtue...
"The Taiping Rebellion is nothing more than a covetous act for wealth, titles, and women."

"If we first appease them under the guise of granting them amnesty, and then secretly lure the generals in command with wealth, titles, and women, we can disintegrate the rebel army and incite internal strife among them."

Emperor Xianfeng narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

The bold Consort Lan, seeing that the emperor did not speak to stop her, simply continued to speak.

“Those long-haired rebels are all Han Chinese. Since the founding emperor of our dynasty, the most common tactic used against Han Chinese has been to use Han Chinese to control Han Chinese.”

Without a doubt, these words resonated with Emperor Xianfeng.

Yes, using Han methods against Han methods is an ancestral skill!
"Then tell me."

His voice was hoarse, but carried a hint of urgency: "How can we use Han methods to control Han?"

"emperor."

Consort Lan's speech became increasingly fluent: "This servant believes that there are quite a few ministers in the court who come from the south."

“We can give them a righteous cause and provide them with money and provisions, and arrange for them to return to their hometowns to form local militias and fight the Taiping Army to the death.”

"The more brutal the killing, the better."

"Anyway, they are all Han Chinese who are dying. If they are all dead, not only can the Taiping Rebellion be quelled, but the subsequent uncontrollable situation can also be eliminated."

"What the imperial court gave up was nothing more than titles and stipends."

"Excellent!" Emperor Xianfeng was overjoyed.

The princes and court officials are all useless.

They couldn't even come up with any ideas.

Even a concubine, or rather, a noblewoman, by his side could speak eloquently and offer practical solutions.

These useless bastards who hold positions without doing any work are even worse than women!

"Cough cough~"

With a rosy glow rising to his face, Emperor Xianfeng sat up with the help of Consort Lan.

Looking at the woman before him with satisfaction, he said, "Lan'er, you are very good, even better than my ministers."

"I wish to reward you, so I will promote you to the rank of Consort Yi."

Women in the palace also had their own set of promotion paths.

Upgrading is like a pyramid; the higher you climb, the fewer spaces there are.

Being one step ahead naturally leads to staying ahead.

Consort Lan bowed, but Emperor Xianfeng was lost in thought.

"We also need to send a large army to supervise those Han officials and force them to fight the Taiping rebels to the death."

"The Manchu bannermen closest to the Taiping Rebellion right now are..."

"The General of Jingzhou?"

Everyone believed that the main force of the Taiping Army would then sail down the river and head straight for Wuchang Prefecture.

After all, it is a crossroads of nine provinces and a vital strategic location.

If we capture Wuchang Prefecture, we can threaten the Central Plains if we head north, and seize Jiangxi if we head south.

If they advance eastward, they could directly threaten Jiangnan, the heart of the nation's tax revenue.

But Lin Dao's choice was unexpected.

Instead of heading straight for Wuchang Prefecture, he went north along the river and stormed into Jingzhou Prefecture.

As for the reason, there is only one.

We're heading straight for Mancheng in Jingzhou!

(End of this chapter)