The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 89 A master secretly helps

Wu Jialiang was listening with great interest, especially the three words "magic water", which piqued his interest. He couldn't help but ask, "Old man, are you preparing fertilizer? What is magic water?"

The old farmer pointed to the basin of water his son was stirring and said, "This is the magic water."

Wu Jialiang: "If you mix this little ball with water, will it turn out to be magic water?"

The old farmer laughed cheerfully, "Yes, this is something that the Immortal Liao brought down from heaven. If I mix it with water and water it on the fields, this year's harvest will double."

Double? Wu Jialiang's first reaction was "You lied to me", but his second reaction was "The old farmer doesn't look like he's lying, he really believes this thing can double the yield."

The old farmer pointed to the weeds on the hillside next to him and said, "Look at the grass over there."

Wu Jialiang: "What's wrong with the grass? Oh! This patch of grass is growing exceptionally lush."

The old farmer chuckled and said, "That's the grass that has been watered with the magic water."

Wu Jialiang: “!”

What's wrong with you, fertilizing weeds?
The old farmer said, "When Old Immortal Liao first came here, no one knew the benefits of the magic water. So he watered the weeds with it, and day by day, the weeds grew like this. Now, every new apprentice from another village is taken to see that patch of grass."

Wu Jialiang now understood that if this magic water could make weeds grow wildly, it would naturally make crops grow wildly too. The old Taoist priest used weeds as an example to show the villagers that it would work, and the villagers naturally believed it without a doubt.

Wu Jialiang felt a little itchy and wanted to take some of the magic water back with him. His eyes turned involuntarily to the bag full of small balls at the old farmer's feet.

The old farmer immediately protected the bag and said, "I can't give it to you. This is what my son Dalang got when he was a soldier for King Gong."

Wu Jialiang suddenly woke up: "If I serve as a soldier for King Gong, can I get the magic water?"

The old farmer said, "Yes! Being a soldier has many benefits. There's good food and drink in the barracks, and you can get magic water and food sent home. Whatever benefits the palace king has, he will give them to the soldiers first."

Wu Jialiang thought: There are naturally many benefits to joining a gang, and the rules are the same no matter which village you join.

Old farmer: "If you don't want to be a soldier, then be a craftsman. Carpenter, blacksmith, leatherworker, cooper... any kind of craftsman is fine, and you can get it."

Wu Jialiang thought to himself: This den of thieves by King Gong is really well managed, with all kinds of rules clearly established. These are not the methods used by ordinary thieves, so there must be a master secretly helping them.

Keep walking forward and you will see Wangjiazhuang Fort.

Wu Jialiang spotted the "master" at first sight. Qi Jiguang, clad in a gleaming suit of golden armor, was training his troops. Over five hundred soldiers were practicing formations under his command...

These more than 500 soldiers were divided into several phalanxes according to the order in which they joined the army.

The first group that joined are on holiday today and are playing Cuju. They are not practicing here, so they are not among these 500 people.

Those who are lined up here now are those who joined later.

The group of people brought by Zheng Hao and Zhang Jiaozi have already mastered the Mandarin Duck Formation and are conducting combat training nearby.

The fresh newcomers who joined after them were still practicing formations. They had just learned to distinguish left from right and could do movements like "march in step" and "turn left".

Wu Jialiang glanced at the group of fresh-faced newcomers doing drill training and lost interest in looking at them.

Turning to the side where the "Yuanyang Formation Combat Training" was in progress, his expression immediately became serious.

He had seen this formation before...

When he first arrived in Jimo County to take up his post, he witnessed Gong Dawang's men using this formation to kill the Black-Footed Tiger outside the Chengyang Coal Mine. The rebel army at the time only had three such formations, but it left a deep impression on him.

And now, there are more than a dozen such formations in front of him!

It was really exciting to watch them attack and defend each other.

Wu Jialiang thought to himself: There are already more than a dozen such small formations. Those soldiers who are currently undergoing drill training will definitely practice this kind of small formation in the future. By the time they have all practiced it, King Gong will have forty or fifty such small formations under his command... Ordinary bandits are no match for King Gong at all.

His eyes could not help but turn to Qi Jiguang...

This person doesn't look like an ordinary bandit!
Could this be the expert who is secretly helping King Gong?
Judging from his figure and demeanor, he is incompatible with the rebel army. He must be a general of the imperial court. How could such a person come to help the rebel army train?
A slew of random thoughts flashed through Wu Jialiang's mind. For example, the instructor of the 180,000-strong Imperial Guards was framed by a certain official, and had to go into the mountains to become a bandit... Or a general of the Imperial Guards, who had to go into the mountains to become a bandit because he failed to escort the birthday gift... Or a general of the imperial court, who was falsely accused of writing anti-government poems at home, and had to go into the mountains to become a bandit...

He was just thinking about something when Madam Gong Er and Qian Zhuoqun came out to greet him.

Wu Jialiang couldn't bear to stare at Qi Jiguang any longer, so he quickly clasped his fists towards Madam Gong Er and said, "Prince Gong, I just came back from Laiyang."

Madam Gong Er hurriedly ushered him into the manor: "There are too many people here, please come inside to talk."

The group quickly entered the village...

When you enter the village, the first thing you see is the blacksmith's workshop.

It turns out that Madam Gong Er had arranged the blacksmith workshop directly in the courtyards on both sides of the entrance to the manor...

The yard on the left is where cold weapons are made, and is managed by a "fairy craftsman" who leads a large number of apprentices.

The yard on the right is used to make firearms. Currently, there are only sparsely populated people there, with only twenty immortal craftsmen who look exactly the same, and five real people who were transferred from the cold weapon department to learn how to make firearms.

The two courtyards have only one thing in common: they are both singing.

As the blacksmiths worked, they sang songs about being destined to be alone.

Wu Jialiang just passed by the gate and couldn't see what was happening inside the yard, but when he heard the "terrible" singing coming from the yards on both sides, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat: Living in such an environment, are all the people here destined to be alone?

After entering the hall, the host and guest sat down.

Wu Jialiang then spoke, "I have an agreement with the Laiyang Ma family. We will dispatch troops to deal with the bandits. The Laiyang Ma family will have the surrounding villages prepared so they don't get in our way. They will also guard the villages and prevent the defeated bandits from entering and causing chaos."

Madam Gong Er: "That's great! Now that we've reached an agreement, we should prepare to send troops. County Magistrate Wu, would you like to come with us?"

Wu Jialiang nodded. "Of course I'm going. I plan to use the pseudonym 'Wu Yong' and pretend to be one of King Gong's men. I'll take these six brothers with me and go to Laiyang with you. I'll help out in any way I can."

Madam Gong Er: "Only these six? Why don't you transfer your archers to join the fight?"

Wu Jialiang shook his head: "Most of the archers are from good families. If I transfer them to work with you, I'm afraid they will report my affair with Prince Gong... ahem..."

Madam Gong Er nodded to show her understanding.

The term "righteous army" was, after all, just a self-proclaimed title. In the eyes of most town residents, they were still bandits. If Wu Jialiang, the county lieutenant, was accused of "collaborating with bandits," he would lose his official hat.

He is willing to take huge risks to participate, which makes him a rare good official.

(End of this chapter)