Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 95 Jiankang City

"Secretary Lang."

Lin Dao leaned forward, his eyes locked on Xi Tan. "What are you doing here?"

Subconsciously looking away, Xi Tan was cowardly, "I am bored in the city, so I come to the garden to rest for a while."

Sitting up straight, Lin Dao looked around.

In the corner, a group of dancers draped in gauze huddled together and shivered.

At the door, the musicians lay on the ground with their heads in their hands, trembling.

Looking down, I saw a sumptuous array of dishes on the table.

There are lamb legs, beef, fine wines and delicacies, and even a full set of glassware.

Reaching out and picking up a bottle of red wine, Lin Dao also smiled happily, "My goods are quite popular."

He stood up and walked to the door, looking out of the courtyard.

Before entering the manor, I met those serfs.

They were all dressed in rags or even without clothes, and were left dangling from the hanging objects.

He was skinny, dirty, and his eyes were lifeless.

The death and despair lingering around those serfs seemed tangible.

"It's true, the rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets."

"Serfs? Hey!"

Lin Dao withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly to Liu Hu, and then walked out.

Liu Hu took off the hammer hanging on his waist and walked straight towards Xi Tan.

It seemed as if it sensed the approaching danger.

Xi Tanchan was trembling all over, there was a wetness between her legs, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I am a descendant of the Gaoping Xi family~ I am from the Gaoping Xi family~"

There was a muffled sound and the screaming stopped abruptly.

The soldiers acted quickly and dealt with all the servants and guests in the manor.

The next morning, Lin Dao was not in a hurry to leave.

He came to the outside of the manor and walked onto the makeshift wooden platform.

Looking at the serfs who were gathered together and shivering.

Raising the megaphone in hand, "We are the beggar army!"

"I'm the beggar handsome, Lin Dao!"

"I'm telling you something today. From now on, you are no longer serfs!"

The gathered serfs were slightly agitated.

However, the vast majority of people remain lifeless and unmoved.

"You cultivated the fields here, you sowed the crops, and you harvested the harvest!"

Lin Dao's next words really moved the serfs.

"From now on, the fields here belong to you!"

He took a deep breath and said, "Divide the land!"

Most of the soldiers in the Beggar Army had attended night school and could write at least a few hundred words.

Xi Tan had beautiful handwriting and liked to practice calligraphy. There were many high-quality pens, inks, paper and inkstones in the manor.

Qihuojun used his fortress manor to write the land deed overnight, and Lin Dao signed it with his seal.

The serfs were allocated 30 mu of land and 2 mu of mulberry forest per person.

If there is not enough to share, you can open up new land on your own and do not have to pay taxes for three years.

In ancient times, there were numerous mountains and forests, and rivers crisscrossed.

Logically speaking, we should be able to obtain a lot of food and cultivate a lot of land.

But the problem is that mountains, rivers and streams all have owners.

They were either from the imperial court, or from wealthy and powerful families, or from local tyrants.

If you want to fish, hunt, or open up new fields, you must get permission, otherwise you will be beaten to death.

And this is a typical man-made disaster.

It was not until they heard about the land distribution that the numb serfs were finally moved.

For an agricultural nation, nothing can be more touching than dividing the land.

Looking at the land deeds being distributed one after another, someone finally couldn't help but shout.

"The imperial court will send soldiers to kill us all~~~"

"The imperial court?" Lin Dao sneered. "In a few days, there will be no imperial court."

The serfs were arranged to elect their own headmen and redivide the village boundaries.

The food, weapons and other supplies seized from the manor were distributed to them for self-protection.

As for whether they are willing to use swords and guns to protect their fields, it depends on them.

The estate was sealed.

In the future, this place will become a government office.

After finishing these, Lin Dao led the soldiers of the Qihuo Army, loaded the dancers and their wives into the carts, and headed along the river all the way to Jiankang City.

It is less than two hundred miles from here to Jiankang City.

That afternoon, the vanguard troops captured a manor belonging to the Yu family in Yingchuan.

Just like before, Gaoping Xi’s operational arrangements.

What needed to be disposed of was disposed of, and the supplies and land were distributed to the serfs.

The manor was sealed, waiting to be used as a government office in the future.

The next morning, after having breakfast, the beggar army set out again and headed straight for Jiankang City.

There are many villages, towns, cities, military forts and manors along the way.

The beggar army did not stop at all, but just went around and moved forward.

In ancient times, detours were rarely used in battles because of the logistical transportation routes.

If the enemy cities and forts on the transportation line are not destroyed, the logistics line will be blocked.

Without logistics, even the most powerful army will collapse.

But this beggar army doesn't need it because Lin Dao is here.

Where Marshal Lin is is the logistics supply center.

Without a supply line, there is naturally no need to worry about being cut off.

The defenders in various places did not dare to intervene. After all, the number of beggars was too large and the defenders were afraid. The only thing they could do was to send fast horses to warn Jiankang City.

Outside Jiankang City, many horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts were parked on the official road.

The tribesmen and retainers hid under the trees in groups of three or four to avoid the scorching sun.

The maids and servants were carrying all kinds of things, waiting to be summoned at any time.

The sons of wealthy families gathered on the grass, drinking, playing the piano and singing.

They wore loose robes and open-crotch trousers, with their chests exposed and legs apart, laughing freely.

This is the most common daily life of the children of wealthy families in Jiangzuo.

Eating, drinking and having fun are their main jobs.

"I heard that a large group of bandits emerged from near Jiankang City, and they seem to be intending to attack Jiankang City."

"Brother Wang, we haven't even taken the Five Stones Powder yet, and we've only had a few cups of Ramada wine, and you're already talking drunken nonsense?"

"What kind of bandits dare to come to Jiankang City and die?"

"Brother Huan is right. The world is peaceful now. The northern barbarians have been driven back to the grasslands. There are no large groups of bandits left."

"Everyone, everyone~ We are gathered today to discuss music and calligraphy. Please do not mention these groundless rumors."

"It's a pity that Wang Youjun is far away in Kuaiji. If he were here today, it would be a grand event."

"Xie believes that his calligraphy is not inferior to others, he is Wang Youjun~~~"

"Have I had too much to drink? The ground seems to be moving."

Everyone gradually fell silent, with puzzled expressions on their faces.

Some people were even surprised, wondering if it was a dragon turning over.

In confusion, I saw the guards from each family rushing over like crazy, carrying the young masters of each family and running away.

Everyone was shocked and hurried to ask what was going on.

"A large group of people is approaching!"

"The earth trembles with such numbers."

Jiankang, known as Moling in the Han Dynasty.

Since Sun Quan built the Stone City more than a hundred years ago, it has been a famous fortified city.

Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor and changed the name of the city to Jianye.

After the Yongjia period, Jianye was renamed Jiankang to avoid the taboo of Emperor Min Sima Ye.

The city of Jiankang is very large, with an area of ​​forty miles in each direction.

It is surrounded by Qinhuai River in the south, backed by Houhu Lake in the north, and faces the Yangtze River in the west.

It is surrounded by many satellite cities such as Shitou City, Xizhou City, Dongfu City, Baixia City, and Nanlangye County City, forming a protective posture.

When Lin Dao arrived here with the Beggar Army, he encountered real resistance.

The Stone City, built on the river bank with its back to Jiankang City, blocked the road with arrows and stones to prevent the Qihuo Army from approaching Jiankang City.

Lin Dao didn't waste any time and drove the crane out directly.

The tracks made a continuous creaking sound as they crushed the ground. Under the horrified gaze of the defenders, they braved the rain of arrows and stones and drove all the way to the city wall.

The bucket fell and hit the city wall heavily.

The solid city wall was torn apart by the huge force.

Fragments fell and dust rose.

Faced with such a huge creature, the defenders were terrified.

The soldiers of the Qihuo Army rushed into the city and quickly drove the defenders out of the Stone City. They fled in panic to the Ximing Gate and other gates of Jiankang City.

At this time, the city gate was closed, and no matter how the defeated soldiers cried and begged, the gate would not be opened.

In desperation, the defeated soldiers either fled in all directions or surrendered on the spot.

Amid the roar of the engine, the tracks of the crane rolled over the ground, moving slowly but steadily towards us.

Ignoring the counterattacks of various defensive equipment on the city walls.

Lin Dao manually operated many joysticks and used a bucket to dig soil and rocks to fill the moat.

The moat of Jiankang City is directly connected to the Qinhuai River. It has abundant water resources and is dug deep and wide.

Under normal circumstances, when attacking a city, you must first block the source of the water.

Then they mobilized tens of thousands of civilians and cannon fodder to fill a section of the moat at a terrible cost.

The work of filling the moat usually took several days and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties.

But Lin Dao was driving a super crane, and with one shovel he could move dozens of tons of earth and rocks.

He didn't even cut off the source of the living water. He filled up a section of the moat that was more than a hundred meters long, shovel by shovel.

Amid the teeth-grinding sound of tracks, the crane continued to move forward and arrived at the edge of the city wall.

He ignored all of Ding Ding Dang's attacks and began to demolish the city with his shovel.

With one shovelful of force, the city wall collapsed and earth and rocks flew everywhere.

With another shovelful, a large dent was made on the city wall.

In just three or five moves, a gap several feet wide was created.

The defenders were under unprecedented psychological pressure.

The terrifying giant is invulnerable to swords and guns, and has immense strength.

The proud Jiankang city wall was torn open with a huge gap hundreds of feet wide in just half an hour.

This kind of siege speed is something I have never seen or even heard of!
Lin Dao operated the crane and waved his long arms to sweep the city walls.

Whether it was the defenders or all kinds of city defense equipment, they were all wiped out.

The soldiers of the Qihuo Army, in units of buildings, surged up the slope formed by rubble and earth like a tide, and poured into the city holding explosion-proof shields.

At this time, the important officials of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's small court had just arrived at the palace and began to discuss matters.

These important officials were also confused.

Even at this time, it was still unknown who was attacking the city.

Everyone speculated that there was a military rebellion.

But a rebellion of this scale must have the support of powerful families.

Nowadays, the heads of the most prominent families in Jiangzuo are basically in the palace.

They really couldn't figure out who it was!

Lin Dao drove the crane along the slope into the city and stopped the car.

Looking at the palace at the end of the central axis, Lin Dao picked up the walkie-talkie.

"When confiscating a family's property, first copy the family tree and deal with it according to the family tree!"

(End of this chapter)