Chapter 182

The mountains are beautiful, the Zhujiang winds.

Beneath the bright sunlight, the Lingnan pearl where flowers bloom in all four seasons is a riot of blossoms.

Gazing at the prosperous Huadu before him, Lin Dao raised his horse whip and said with a smile to the young man beside him, "Do you know, if it weren't for me, this city would meet with a catastrophe of annihilation."

Zheng Damu, wearing a Confucian robe, had a slightly pale complexion.

"I do not know."

He truly did not know.

The historically recorded brutal massacre of the city occurred several years later.

Lin Dao struck down the Tartars and protected the seven hundred thousand people here!

The Huadu massacre recorded in history books saw more than seven hundred thousand people tragically die under the Tartars' butcher knives.

"Then do you know."

Lin Dao was in high spirits, "Why is it that I am so busy every day, yet always in good spirits and working hard?"

Zheng Damu was silent for a moment, then shook his head again.

"I do not know."

"That is because I have saved countless wronged souls!"

"If there is merit power in the world, my merit is enough to rank among the Immortal Ranks."

In this time and space, if Lin Dao had not arrived, billions of common people would have tragically died under butcher knives.

His hard work saved countless lives.

Although in this world, apart from Lin Dao himself, no one knows how cruel and vicious the Tartars are.

Even more, no one knows that Lin Dao saved countless lives, prevented the nation's destruction and the people's extinction, and Shen Zhou from sinking.

Only he himself knows.

The common people streaming in and out of the city gates before his eyes, the countless large and small boats on the Zhujiang.

They have escaped their cruel fate and can continue their lives.

For Lin Dao, this is his affirmation of himself.

The things done are meaningful.

"Go."

Lin Dao spurred his horse and raised his whip, "Enter the city."

Zheng Damu, following along, pursed his lips, his throat moved, and a look of bewilderment flashed in his eyes.

He admitted that Marshal Lin indeed has great personal charisma.

That indescribable confidence, that high-spirited and lofty bearing, that decisive style of handling affairs, all made Zheng Damu greatly admire him.

But~~~

This Marshal always intermittently speaks nonsense.

The first meeting he called himself Grand Duke Grand Master, then later told him to pay attention to raising his son, not to raise a hooligan and so on.

Heavens have mercy, his eldest son Zheng Jing has just turned one year old, how could he become a hooligan.

Along the way, passing through many cities.

Marshal Lin always spoke mysteriously, saying how many commoners he saved here and there.

Truly difficult to understand.

Inside Guangzhou city, shops stand in rows, carriages and horses flow like water.

Countless pedestrians stream continuously, clamor unceasing, extremely lively.

"This place did not only start prospering a few hundred years later."

Lin Dao riding his horse looked left and right, "It has been a prosperous place since very early on."

"Hai Gang Cheng cannot compare with this place, that is just a fishing village."

Arriving at the Bureau of Administration Yamen, Lin Dao entered work mode.

"City management is actually very simple."

"Grasp two things: one is the law, one is tax revenue."

Lin Dao, proficiently handling official duties, took the opportunity to instruct Zheng Damu who was assisting by grinding ink on the side.

"The law is just; arrest those who should be arrested, punish those who should be punished, and the people's hearts will naturally be at peace."

"Tax revenue is the foundation; without money nothing can be done, so no matter who it is, as long as they are within the jurisdiction, they must pay taxes according to regulations."

"Handle these two things well, and it's basically about done."

"When you go overseas later, just do as I say."

Personal guards came in, carrying boxes.

Opening the boxes, inside were letters packed full.

"Marshal, the report box is full again."

Lin Dao signaled to Zheng Damu, "You take a look."

"Yes." Zheng Damu stepped forward and picked up a letter.

It is called a letter, but it doesn't even have an envelope, nor is it written on letter paper; it's just a crumpled, folded piece of paper.

After opening it, Zheng Damu was dumbfounded.

On the paper there were still a few withered, hard-to-recognize characters, and even more were all kinds of weird drawings.

Seeing his dazed appearance, Lin Dao also smiled.

He signaled the personal guard on the side, "Go interpret it for him."

The personal guard stepped forward, took the paper, read it twice, then read it out: "Xiawei Village commoner Chen Youtian, beseeches the Blue Sky Great Lord to decide. Village tyrant He Qiao, seized my family's one mu seven fen of land, beat and injured the commoner's son, beseeches the Blue Sky Great Lord to chop off his head."

Zheng Damu, watching from the side, suddenly realized.

"One grass radical plus a small person makes 'grassroots citizen' — turns out he can write his own name."

"Draw two clouds, and underneath draw someone sitting in a sedan chair, and that's a 'blue-sky great lord.'"

"A knife at the neck means beheading?"

Zheng Damu nodded repeatedly, expressing that he had learned new knowledge.

The bodyguards at the side laughed and said, "At the start we didn't understand either; we just saw it a lot, and gradually we understood."

The Grand Marshal treated Zheng Damu with excellent attitude, so these bodyguards naturally gave him smiles.

If it were someone like Wu Sangui, the bodyguards would all have their noses in the air and wouldn't pay him any mind at all.

"These letters."

Lin Dao reached out and pointed at the many letters in the box. "These are the people's hearts."

"Handle these matters properly, and the locality will naturally be peaceful."

"Those corrupt officials of the remnant Ming, city foxes and temple rats, landlords and tyrants, gentry and powerful families — they are the best consumables."

"No need to fear these evil men."

"Pull their teeth, strip their claws, and they are nothing at all!"

"Grand Marshal." A bodyguard entered, delivering a military report.

"The Western Route Army has already recovered the various prefectures and counties of Yunnan; the remnant Ming's Duke of Qian escorted the false emperor and retreated into Myanmar."

"Pretty fast moves." Lin Dao revealed a smile. "Tell them to keep chasing."

"No such thing as Pegu, Bagan, Myanmar — the great army advances, recover the old lands of Han and Tang!"

Compared to the various prefectures and counties on the march route, Lin Dao obviously attached greater importance to Guangzhou City.

Here, he demobilized over three thousand Regular Soldiers.

The Guard Camp at his side dispatched over a hundred men, leading the demobilized Regular Soldiers, and rebuilt layer upon layer of yamen.

All kinds of institutions were fully established.

The overt supervisory institutions and the covert surveillance institutions were all properly arranged.

Guangzhou Prefecture's Garrison Camp was also established accordingly.

These soldiers who had received their own fields, though severely lacking in training, had extremely high morale and will.

They received fields that could be passed down for generations, and moreover did not have to pay taxes.

To protect everything they had gained, in combat they would not hesitate to stake their lives.

Half a month later, in front of the Bureau of Administration yamen, an execution platform was erected.

Past the third quarter of noon, a specially selected loud-voiced soldier, holding a trumpet in one hand and raising a name list in the other, read aloud in a loud voice.

"Panyu County Chief Clerk Sun Yiyang, monopolized lawsuits, framed and planted evidence, openly harbored criminals, embezzled granaries — sentenced to beheading!"

"Nanhai County Instructor Wang Chun, embezzled school fields, extorted students, coerced students' female relatives into improper acts — sentenced to beheading!"

"Qingyuan County powerful family Mei Huaren, issued private loans, forced people into ruin — sentenced to beheading!"

"Hua County village tyrant He Qiao, forcibly seized people's fields, beat to death and beat to injury villagers and commoners — sentenced to beheading!"

"Guangzhou Prefecture Profit-seeking Firm Lu Youdu, hired killers, directed the Beggar Gang to abduct women, defrauded merchants — sentenced to beheading!"

"Guangzhou Prefecture Brothel Manager Dong Dalong —"

"Xinhui County local tyrant Wu Sanxing —"

"Guangzhou Prefecture human trafficker Luo Cunhou —"

"."

Rows of criminals were dragged onto the execution platform and dealt with.

Tens of thousands of spectating commoners cheered and applauded.

The Great Ming's commoners were truly too bitter.

Anyone with a bit of power in hand, even city foxes and temple rats, village tyrants and rascals who dared to fight and kill, could bully the commoners.

In the past, when no one stood up for them, they lived like walking corpses.

Now someone finally came to stand up for them; emotions suppressed for many years were released, and they all seemed to have entered a frenzied state.

Zheng Sen, watching this scene from afar, was greatly shocked.

The commoners who were usually as docile as oxen and horses, when they erupted in anger, were actually this terrifying.

"This kind of scene, once you've seen it a lot you get used to it."

Lin Dao at the side, leisurely drinking tea, comforted him: "No need to sympathize with these sinners; when they did evil, how cruel they were, you cannot even imagine."

"But —" Young Zheng Sen frowned tightly. "This is killing too many."

Lin Dao, holding the tea bowl, smiled, reached out and pointed at a bodyguard. "Xu Heng, last time you were wounded, when your wound festered, how did you treat it?"

Xu Heng immediately replied, "Cut away the corrupt flesh, then apply medicine and bandage."

"Same principle."

Finishing the tea, Lin Dao stood up. "These people are all corrupt flesh and pus; only by cutting them away will this world get better."

"Let's go, to Qiongzhou Prefecture."

Ten-odd days later, Lin Dao disembarked and stepped onto Ya Prefecture's beach.

"Land of exile."

"No wonder a few hundred years later it's such a pit."

Walking on the beach, Lin Dao gazed into the distance at the sea.

Hundreds of huge fleets were gradually disappearing from his field of vision.

The Zheng Family Group's fleets sailed north and south, transporting large numbers of righteous troops to Japan, Luzon, Borneo and other places.

These places were originally Great Ming territories, opened up by Zheng He.

Later they were gradually eroded and seized by barbarians, and Lin Dao now intends to recover all of them.

The Great Ming has so many common people; they need to expand outward to secure living space.

This is only the beginning; later they must go to even more distant places.

"Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever rivers reach, all is Han soil!"

"What the Great Ming failed to do, I will do!"

In the distant Northern Regions, Hetu Ala.

"Daiyu'er." Dorgon entered carrying a deer leg, slamming the bloody deer leg onto the table. "Luck's not bad today; bagged a deer. You and Fulin eat first."

Bumbutai immediately picked up a dagger and stepped forward, cutting the venison with practiced skill.

As for Fulin at the side, he was already swallowing saliva in craving.

Finding a spot to sit down, Dorgon fished out half a stalk of vanilla.

He gave a self-mocking smile. "Only this half stalk left. This Great Khan of mine is a poor ghost too."

Before, he insisted on holding Shenyang, and the result was the Han Army Banner and Mongol Tribes rebelling, while Koreans took the chance to launch a sneak attack.

By the time Wu Sangui led the Guan Ning Army to kill their way over, they could hold out no longer.

The surviving men and horses broke out of the encirclement with difficulty and fled to Hetu Ala.

Picking up a burning dry stick from the firepit, Dorgon lit the half stalk of vanilla, squatting by the fire puffing smoke. "Wu Sangui's gone off to fight Koreans; he won't be able to reach us for at least half a year."

"Let's clean up, rest and recuperate, build up strength, and head north to the White Mountains and Black Waters."

"Wu Sangui can at most fight his way to Hetu Ala; he absolutely cannot continue pursuing further."

In the not-large room, the aroma of roasted meat gradually permeated the air.

Dorgon squatted there chattering on, yet never noticed the flash of fierce light in Bumbutai's eyes behind him!

(End of Chapter)