Chapter 191: The Good Friends of the Golden People

Green fields like a carpet, the long ancient road; Bianliang's beauty like poetry in motion.

But at this moment, Bianliang City in Lin Dao's eyes was deathly still.

The trees on the Imperial Road had withered down to mere branches, their leaves and fruit long fallen.

The Imperial Ditch was piled with all sorts of debris and garbage, stinking to high heaven.

Once bustling and lively streets were now empty, not a soul in sight.

Shops everywhere had doors and windows tightly shut, silent and deserted.

"This road is built pretty wide."

His gaze sweeping over the wide and long Imperial Road, the first thought that arose in Lin Dao's mind was.

"One machine gun could blockade the road surface."

Holding Li Shishi, he got down from the driver's cab.

Lin Dao looked around and called out, "Anyone alive?"

The shout echoed, but no one responded.

Letting go of Li Shishi, Lin Dao first sent the Dong heavy truck to Yonghe Spacetime.

The vehicle body and tires were covered with too much flesh and blood debris, dirty and needing a wash.

On the Yonghe Spacetime side, there were dedicated personnel responsible for washing Lin Dao's car.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford the car wash fees in the Modern World; he simply worried they might call the police.

Walking along Cai He, Lin Dao admired the surrounding scenery, "Is this the city depicted in Along the River During the Qingming Festival?"

"You know of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, Benefactor?"

Wearing body armor and a helmet, Li Shishi asked curiously, "Master Zhang's work seems not to have circulated outside."

Master Zhang, Zhang Zeduan.

A court painter of the Northern Song Hanlin Academy of Painting.

His most famous work in his lifetime was Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

Lin Dao casually replied, "Immortals, of course, know everything."

"Benefactor~" Li Shishi wanted to ask about her own fate, but was interrupted by Lin Dao's question.

"I'm hungry."

Lin Dao stopped, "Any restaurants nearby? Get something to eat."

As his physical quality gradually improved, his appetite also kept increasing.

Li Shishi was a native of Bianliang City; looking around, she pointed to a street not far away, "That way is the former residence of Empress Ming Jie, and beside it is Zhang Jia You Bing Pu, very delicious."

All the way to a shop with boards nailed up.

Lin Dao stepped forward and knocked on the door; the force of his hand made the door panel creak with a 'gala zi' sound.

No movement from inside.

"If you don't open the door, I'll tear the door panel down!"

Lin Dao roared, and finally there was movement inside the house.

The door panel was removed, and an old man with white hair trembled as he revealed his aged face.

Seeing the iron-armored man outside, he was so frightened he slumped to the ground.

"Customers have come."

Lin Dao walked in, "I've heard your shop's you bing are good, came specially to try them."

The old man shook as he stood up, bowing with a salute, "This hero, my little shop isn't doing business today."

Looking around at the dim house, Lin Dao found a chair and sat down.

"There's the smell of food from the back."

"Is it not doing business, or not wanting to do business with me?"

The old man's face stiffened, and he bowed repeatedly, "This old man is muddled, hero, please forgive."

He walked toward the back courtyard, "This old man will go get it now."

"I'll come along," Lin Dao simply stood up and followed, "to see your shop's you bing."

The shop front was unremarkable, but the back courtyard was very large.

At a glance, there were dozens of large pancake furnaces, all busily making them.

The people busy at work, seeing Lin Dao come over, all showed expressions of fear.

Under the current circumstances, Lin Dao in full armor was far more attractive than Li Shishi.

Lin Dao said nothing, merely watching the you bing making process.

The you bing here is fried yin xiang xiang.

Depending on the filling, there are ordinary you bing, sugar-added you bing, meat-added you bing, etc.

Made mainly from flour, salt, alkali, and oil, with brown sugar, eggs, honey, meat filling, etc.

Lin Dao didn't beat around the bush, directly asking, "Jin troops blockading the city, where do these food ingredients come from?"

The you bing shop people didn't know Lin Dao's identity.

But cowed by his terrifying aura, they dared not not respond.

"Replying to the hero's words."

"The shop originally had quite a few reserves."

"Grain, flour, and oil shops in the city can still buy some, just at much higher prices."

Lin Dao nodded and asked again, "How long can the city's grain reserves last?"

"This~"

The old man, nearing sixty, was fearful at being questioned.

"This old man doesn't know, this old man doesn't know~"

According to previous information checks, the Jin soldiers had controlled Bianliang City for nearly four months.

With a lack of supplies from outside, among the over one million residents of Bianliang City, who knows how many starved to death in these four months.

It had only just begun; the Jin people had cut off access at the city gates for only a few days, and the difficulties were yet to come.

A knocking sound came from the rear courtyard gate: "Zhao You San of Zhao Zhao Si Jie."

Someone stepped forward to open the door.

A man wearing a thin hemp-cloth jacket in blue-gray entered; upon seeing Lin Dao, he was frightened and turned to run.

"Come back!"

Lin Dao shouted, "I have a few questions for you."

Zhao You San trembled with fear, his expression fearful as he saluted, "This lowly one is just a pancake seller~~~"

"What are you panicking about."

Lin Dao stepped forward, "Do you sell pancakes on Zhao Zhao Si Jie?"

"Yes, yes."

"How are the Lake People living over there lately?"

Zhao Zhao Si Jie was a gathering area for foreign Hu People.

Zhao You San, nearly crying, saluted repeatedly, "This lowly one is just a pancake seller~"

Lin Dao stared at him, "Those Hu People, have they caused trouble?"

"This~" Zhao You San shivered, "Many buy pancakes without paying, and the Yamen doesn't care."

The Yamen was busy helping the Jin people collect materials and arrest women.

How could they have the energy to manage this city?

Lin Dao nodded.

Whenever the Central Plains fell, these foreign Hu People would always take the opportunity to cause chaos.

Although they couldn't make it to the surface under the general trend, the harm they caused to the local people was enormous.

"Now they buy things without paying; before long they will surely plunder the local area."

Lin Dao entered Bianliang City to find teammates.

Facing several hundred thousand Jin soldiers alone, he simply couldn't kill them all.

If he used some unconventional means, he feared harming the innocent.

Recruiting people had become the most urgent task.

Of course, the Great Song Imperial Court was all enemies on his side and had no qualification to be his teammates.

If not forced by the environment, Lin Dao would not be willing to recruit people within the city.

Especially the people inside Bianliang City, this most prosperous city under heaven.

First understand the situation within the city, see what they lack, so as to prescribe the right medicine.

Without a doubt, the most urgent matter was food.

Lin Dao thought for a moment, and under the gazes of the crowd, some watching openly and some peering secretly, he suddenly disappeared.

This display like a miracle truly terrified everyone.

Even someone busy baking pancakes knelt down directly, shouting for the blessings of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and the Daoist Sovereign.

In a short while, Lin Dao's figure appeared again.

Now everyone in the courtyard knelt, calling out "The Immortal is above."

The old man who had opened the door earlier had been thinking of adding some seasoning to Lin Dao's pancakes.

But now he was so shocked he could not speak, terrified to the extreme.

"Hmm."

"The Central Plains suffers calamity, and foreign evils invade."

Lin Dao also played the part of an Immortal, "This seat cannot bear to see the common people suffer the hardship of swords and soldiers, and has specially come to destroy the foreign evils."

At a different time and place, he would surely first mobilize troops and horses.

But this time there was no way; he could only take a different path.

Lin Dao unzipped the travel bag he brought, took out a silver ingot, and threw it to Zhao You San.

Zhao You San, catching it in a flurry, felt it was extremely heavy in his hand; looking closely, he cried out in surprise, "Silver, silver?!"

The main currency used during the Northern Song period was copper coins and silk.

Large-scale use of silver was a matter of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Although gold and silver were rarely used by the common people, their value was known to all.

One tael of silver could be exchanged for more than a string of copper coins.

This silver ingot in Zhao You San's hand weighed at least several dozen taels.

"This is your reward money."

Lin Dao spoke, "Watch those Hu People."

"If there is any movement, report to me immediately."

"Yes, yes!" Zhao You San, clutching the silver ingot, smiled foolishly, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth, "Immortal, rest assured, this lowly one will definitely get it done."

"Where should this lowly one go to find the Immortal?"

Lin Dao turned his head and looked at Li Shishi.

"Ma Qian Jie, Jinqian Alley, Fei Jiang Jun Xing Yuan Xiao Lou."

In the past, whenever night fell, countless lights would blaze throughout Bianliang City.

The entire great city shone brilliantly, bright as day, famed as a city that never slept.

Now, standing on Xuan De Lou and gazing into the distance, every part of the city was like a Ghost Domain, pitch black.

Only a very few places had a few lights.

Instead, at the outer city walls and city gates everywhere, lights stretched in sheets like fire dragons.

Standing on the city tower, the Retired Emperor tightened his fox fur coat and sighed long and short.

"Your Majesty~"

Tall and handsome, Qin Gui stepped forward to salute: "The ministers request to discuss matters at Yan He Dian."

"I will go."

The gaunt Zhao Ji smiled with difficulty: "You have worked hard."

Qin Gui respectfully saluted: "Your servant dare not speak of hardship!"

"Let us go."

Zhao Ji descended from Xuan De Lou, surrounded by the crowd as he headed to Yan He Dian.

Though it was already night, the senior ministers of the court were still in the palace discussing important matters.

Seeing the Retired Emperor approach, the ministers wore various expressions.

The era belonging to Zhao Ji had already passed.

His close confidant ministers had almost all perished, and Zhao Huan's faction had won the final victory.

If not for the Jin marching south, this Retired Emperor would surely have died of natural causes before long~~~

After the procedures of false courtesy were finished, the people began to discuss the real matters.

"Your Majesty."

Chancellor He Li, returned from the Jin camp, stepped forward to report.

"The Jin demand ten million ingots of gold, twenty million ingots of silver, ten million bolts of silk~"

"They demand ten thousand mules and horses~"

"They demand fifteen hundred young and beautiful women~"

Upon these words, the hall instantly erupted in an uproar.

Mules, horses, and women can be discussed, but where can gold, silver, and silk be found?

Zhao Huan, with an ugly expression, spoke with difficulty: "All wealth in the treasury has been scraped clean and sent to the Jin."

"Where can such a vast amount of wealth be found again?"

He Li had a calm expression: "The Jin have said that if it is not gathered, they will send troops into the city to take it themselves."

"And~"

Saying this, he looked at Zhao Huan: "The Jin demand Your Majesty enter the Jin camp to negotiate."

Upon these words, Zhao Huan instantly broke into a cold sweat, his heart full of fear.

The last time he went to the Jin camp, he nearly died of fright.

After countless twists and turns, he was finally released.

How could he dare go again now!

"Your Majesty!"

Geng Nan Zhong, serving as Left Chancellor in the capacity of Imperial Preceptor, stepped forward with a serious expression: "At this juncture, only by satisfying the Jin's demands can peace be spoken of."

Li Bang Yan, Li Zhuo, Zhang Bang Chang, Feng Xie, Xiao Qing, Wang Shi Yong, and others all stepped forward to agree.

At a glance, except for Qin Gui and a few others, all the ministers agreed with Geng Nan Zhong's words.

"Since it is so."

Zhao Huan named Mei Zhi Li, Fan Qiong, and others to be responsible for collecting gold, silver, and silk within the city, arresting women, and gathering mules and horses to send to the Jin.

After the discussion ended, He Li spoke again.

"The Jin also said~~~"

Zhao Huan and the others, upon hearing these words, could not help but shudder.

"The Jin say, hand over the iron carts that entered the city and the people who drove them."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Geng Nan Zhong impatiently waved his hand: "Find them quickly, and once caught, send them straight to the Jin camp!"

End of Chapter