Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 69 Xie Daoyun, Meets the Grand Commander~
"Pull hard, get up~~~"

Several strong men worked together to lift the wheel that was stuck in the mud.

The driver waved his whip to drive the horses.

With the joint efforts of both men and horses, they finally dragged the carriage out.

The guests around him looked around vigilantly, their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Inside the carriage, Xie Yi, who had regained his seat, complained repeatedly, "The stone bandits are despicable. They indulge in extravagant hunting but don't know how to build roads."

"Aye."

Xie Daoyun looked out with curiosity. "How could the north be so desolate? I haven't seen a single village in dozens of miles?"

"There are no villages outside the city."

Xie Yi closed his eyes and rested, "The land is filled with the smell of mutton. No matter if you are a wealthy family or a commoner, you will find that life is worse than death."

"Wei Wu's saying, 'Bone bones exposed in the wild, no rooster crows for a thousand miles,' is very appropriate for the present moment."

Retracting his gaze, Xie Daoyun curiously asked, "Father, what kind of person is that Grand Commander Lin?"

"This~~~"

Xie Yi twirled his beard and said, "Commander Lin, you are very energetic!"

"Vigorous?" Xie Daoyun was very curious. "What do you mean?"

"You've met many children from wealthy families in Jiangzuo." Xie Yi said with a smile, "What do you think of their spirit?"

"Hmm~" Xie Daoyun held her chin with one hand, trying to recall "unruly, slightly frivolous, with dull eyes~"

"Commander Lin." Xie Yi nodded. "Looking at him, he is full of vigor and vitality, and full of confidence."

"That's the kind of self-confidence that makes me feel like I'm the best in the world."

"Aye." Xie Daoyun asked curiously, "Is he drunk again?"

"What you are saying is clearly the aura of the Son of Heaven."

Xie Yi just smiled and said, "You'll know when you see it."

Yecheng, Xianyang Palace.

The sound of stringed instruments lingers in the air, and the aroma of wine is everywhere.

Shi Hu, who was trying to hold back his emotions, picked up the wine jar and said, "Everyone, drink~~~"

The civil and military officials withdrew their gaze from the dancing girl and raised the wine jar, "Heavenly King, please~~~"

After a round of drinking, Shi Hu signaled everyone to enjoy as they pleased.

Roasted lamb legs, steamed camel humps, boiled deer antlers, and roasted beef.

Although the price of grain in Yecheng was as high as two gold cakes for a bushel of millet, people still starved to death every day.

But for these powerful people in the Later Zhao Dynasty, the shortage of supplies was not their problem.

Drink wine, eat meat, enjoy music, and watch the graceful dancers.

The powerful people in the palace seemed to have forgotten the increasing number of beggars outside the city and indulged themselves in pleasure.

Everyone is smiling, but what is behind the smile is known only to each person.

Feeling that the time was almost up, Shi Hu waved his hand.

The music stopped and the dancer left the stage.

Shi Hu picked up a packet of Wu Shi San, poured it into the wine jar, and drank it all in one gulp.

His legs hurt so much that he had to use Wu Shi San to suppress the pain.

Shaking his head vigorously, Shi Hu forced a smile and said, "Everyone, I have found a way to defeat the enemy."

No matter what they thought, everyone looked over and listened to the king continue speaking.

"I have resolved to leave the city again in three days to fight the beggar bandits."

"If the beggar thief's strange car dares to come out, we will make sure he never returns!"

Shi Hu did not announce the specific response measures publicly.

He doesn't believe that everyone is loyal.

If it is leaked in advance, the Qihuo Army will be prepared.

He changed the subject and said, "Reward the troops for three days."

"There's plenty of food and wine, Meiji, please help yourself."

"The generals gave bounties, the lieutenants gave silver, and the soldiers gave money."

"Go out to fight in three days. Whoever captures the beggar commander alive will be rewarded with a thousand gold and be made a marquis of ten thousand households!"

Shi Hu knew that it was impossible to defend the city.

The morale of the defending troops was unstable. If any of them colluded with the enemy, the seemingly solid Ye City would be destroyed.

The only way to resolve this crisis is to leave the city and defeat the Qihuo Army head-on.

Shi Hu regarded the large number of refugees and savages in the Qihuo Army as dry bones in the tombs that had crawled out of their graves.

Shi Hu treated the cavalry in Qihuo's army with contempt and ignored them.

He treated the soldiers of the Qihuo Army with caution, believing that with the help of powerful cavalry, they could be defeated by harassment and division.

What really frightened him was the divine chariot that looked like an ancient behemoth.

Fortunately, there is a way to deal with it.

After the banquet, all the civil and military dignitaries of the Later Zhao Dynasty returned to their mansions with the beauties gifted by the king.

After sending the beauty away, Fu Hong and his son Fu Jian went to the study for a secret meeting.

"Three days later, I will lead the troops to battle. You will take Fu Jian and leave the city for Bingzhou."

Fu Jian was puzzled. "Didn't the Heavenly King say that he already had a way to deal with the divine chariot?"

"Hey~~~"

Fu Hong sneered, "He just found some craftsmen, made some angle iron, and prepared some fire starters, and he thought he could win?"

"No matter how hard angle iron is, can it be as hard as a body of steel?"

"Can kerosene and sulfur melt a giant steel beast?"

"Of course!"

"Three days from now will be the best opportunity to leave the city." Fu Hong said in a low voice, "Father will also look for opportunities on the battlefield and run away if he can."

"This Great Zhao is almost finished."

Build a marquis' mansion.

"I've already found out."

Feng Dun stepped forward to report to Ran Min, "The craftsmen have made angle iron and prepared a lot of kerosene and sulfur."

"Ma Qiu has gathered a lot of laborers. It is said that they are going to dig a deep pit behind the formation."

Ran Min was silent, gently patting the table in front of him.

After a while, he spread out the paper, ground the ink, and started writing.

"Min bows and says to General Lin, your Highness is well~"

'.'

Sign with a seal and seal the letter with wax.

He handed the letter to Feng Dun and said, "Send it to Marshal Lin."

"Tell Marshal Lin that I, Ran Min, will capture Shi Hu alive and present him to you!"

The old camp of the Qihuo Army, the big tent.

Lin Dao is receiving Xie Yi and his family.

"The third son, Xie Quan, is somewhat literate."

"The fourth son, Xie You, has some literary talent."

"The fifth son, Xie Jing, was little known."

"Sixth son Xie Huo has not yet been enlightened."

"Seventh son Xie Xuan." "Xie Xuan?" Lin Dao looked at the child in Xie Yi's arms, who looked only two or three years old. "Is his name Xie Xuan?"

Xie Yi was slightly surprised. "Yes."

Lin Dao stood up and walked forward, looking at the little guy carefully.

Is this Xie Xuan, the man who founded the Northern Army and defeated Fu Jian's million-strong army in the Battle of Feishui?

Speaking of Fu Jian, he is not that old now.

The little guy was a little scared by being stared at and hugged Xie Yi tightly.

"Jing Lue." Lin Dao turned to look at Wang Meng. "I think this kid has a connection with you. Why don't you take him in as your disciple?"

Wang Meng, who was originally eating melons, was stunned at first.

He immediately stood up and said with a smile, "I dreamt yesterday that a child came in with a book. This is where I should be."

The master said that he and this child are destined to be together, so they must be destined to be together.

As for what I dreamed about last night, it doesn’t matter.

Xie Yi was surprised and looked at Wang Meng in confusion.

Who is this? I have never heard of him.

He had not read the history of later generations, so naturally he did not know that Wang Meng was one of the two most powerful men of that era.

Wang Meng and Ran Min, one civil and one military, were the pinnacle of the era.

Since Lin Dao had spoken personally, Xie Yi would not refuse him.

He immediately started greeting Wang Meng.

After chatting for a few sentences, we got to know each other.

After handing Xie Xuan over to his wife Ruan, Xie Yi focused on introducing his eldest daughter seriously.

"Grand Commander, your eldest daughter's name is Daoyun, and her courtesy name is Lingjiang."

Xie Daoyuan had been looking at Lin Dao.

Just as Aye said, Lin Dao possesses a kind of confidence that the children of Jiangzuo aristocratic families do not have.

He is dignified and his eyes are bright.

Every gesture shows his dignity.

Such grace and elegance cannot be seen in Jiangzuo.

What is seen most often in Jiangzuo is the crazy behavior of the children of aristocratic families after taking the Five Stones Powder.

"My name is Xie Daoyun, and I greet the Grand Commander."

The greeting was cheerful and generous, without any sense of awkwardness.

She is indeed a heroine who dares to take up a sword and kill the rebels with her own hands.

Lin Dao was well aware of Xie Daoyuan's name.

He looked at her a few more times and asked everyone to take a seat.

Jinlian and Sun Rong looked at each other and saw panic in each other's eyes.

Noble ladies from high-class families have an overwhelming presence by virtue of their background.

She is young and beautiful, and her appearance is even better than theirs.

How to fight this?
After a brief greeting, Lin Dao simply asked, "What is the reason for the Duke's visit this time?"

It would be fine if he came alone, but he even brought his family with him. What's the reason?

"Xie is deeply ashamed."

Xie Yi looked ashamed and said, "I failed to persuade the Jiangzuo officials to send troops to the Northern Expedition."

"That's nothing." Lin Dao shook his head. "The beggars can do it themselves."

He really came here on his own, and now he has even reached the outskirts of Yecheng.

"Grand Governor."

Xie Yi bowed and said, "I came here this time to convey the imperial decree, commending the Grand Commander for defeating the Stone Bandits."

This is about the Battle of Xiangguo City.

Due to the lag in information dissemination, the news received by Jiangzuo was still about the Battle of Xiangguo City.

Xie Yi took the initiative to take on the task of conveying the imperial edict in order to make it easier for him to take his family north.

"Secondly."

He stood up and saluted Lin Dao, "Xie and his family have come to surrender, and I hope the Grand Commander will take them in~~~"

When talking about the Xie family of Chenjun, the first people that come to mind must be Xie An and Xie Xuan.

But in fact, it was Xie Yi who founded the Chenjun Xie family and made it leap from a medium-sized family to a top family.

As the eldest of the six Xie brothers, Xie Yi established a relationship with Huan Wen with his keen vision.

The rise of the Xie family was essentially achieved by stepping on Huan Wen and the Huan family.

This time, Xie Yi also took a fancy to Lin Dao's potential, which far exceeded Huan Wen's.

He is a decisive man. Once he makes a bet, he will put his entire fortune on it.

Of course, according to the tradition passed down from the Three Kingdoms period, Xie Yi's younger brothers all stayed in Jiangzuo.

Diversify your investments, that’s what the Zhuge family did.

"This"

Lin Dao was stunned.

He really didn't expect that Xie Yi would come to join him with his entire family.

You should know that Xie Yi was the county governor in Jiangzuo and was about to become an important official in the court.

This means he abandoned his official position and came to me for help.

It's comparable to when Chen Gong followed Boss Cao.

He subconsciously looked at Wang Meng.

As expected, Wang Meng nodded.

Wang Meng never thought that Xie Yi would be a threat to him. He had enough confidence in himself.

More importantly, he knew that the master did not trust the wealthy and powerful families.

Xie Yi, you can't get ahead.

"With Xie Gong's help, I am like a tiger with wings~~~"

Amidst the laughter, someone came to report that another messenger had arrived from the city.

The person who came was my old friend Li Nong.

Li Nong was a little surprised to see many unfamiliar faces in the big tent, even women and children.

Fortunately, he was shrewd enough and did not show any abnormal behavior.

"I've met the handsome man."

"Li Sikong, this time I came here..."

Li Nong took out a letter and said, "I am here to issue a declaration of war by order of the Heavenly King!"

"Hey~"

After reading the letter of challenge, Lin Dao frowned, "I think they have prepared a conspiracy."

"Marshal." Li Nong immediately recounted the intelligence inside the city.

He jumped ship at this time to show his worth.

Li Nong still remembered the message Lin Dao asked him to bring last time, asking for Shi Hu's queen.

"Don't worry, Marshal. I will definitely present Empress Liu to you on the couch~"

Lin Dao nodded subconsciously, "Yeah."

Immediately, "Huh?!!!"

(End of this chapter)