Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother! We've captured He Tao, the commander of the Jeju army, alive! And there's also a scholar."

Before Song Jiang could finish dealing with his own affairs, Bian Xiang also arrived.

He Tao, the leader of the Jeju army, and Wang Lun were both tied up tightly and thrown to the ground with a thud.

“Brother! We captured that long-bearded constable of Yuncheng alive. He seemed to be quite skilled in martial arts and a loyal man, so we tied him up as well.”

Before Song Jiang and the others could recover from the shock of He Tao's arrest, they discovered that Zhu Tong had also been arrested.

Zhu Tong didn't say much this time, since it wasn't the first time he'd been captured by Liangshan.

Practice makes perfect. Anyway, last time, it was you Liangshan who captured me.

"Oh, besides the main and deputy generals of the Qingzhou reinforcements, the main and deputy generals of the other two places are all here."

Ren Yuan said this on purpose, because he had previously reminded Qin Ming to keep quiet and stay in the back.

As for Huang Xin, well... he's still unconscious.

"Chief Ren! Chief Ren! I am He Tao, the arresting officer of the Three Capitals of Jizhou! You can't kill me!"

As soon as Ren Yuan finished speaking, He Tao screamed like a pig being slaughtered!

"Oh ho? Brothers, did you hear that? The Three Capitals Arresting Envoy, a high-ranking official! Lord He, why aren't you enjoying your life in Jizhou? Why did you have to come to Liangshan? What are you after?"

Ren Yuan and the others found it particularly laughable to see He Tao kneeling and begging for mercy.

This is the chief thief catcher of a prefecture? That's it?

If this happens everywhere, the Song Dynasty is doomed!

"Chief Ren! I've been blinded by greed and deceived!"

He Tao banged his head on the ground, looked around, and then, as if he had an idea, burst into tears!

"That guy, the military commander of Qingzhou! Qin Ming! Yes! It's him! He's the one who ordered me to send troops!"

"This Qin Ming is a lackey of Prefect Murong of Qingzhou! They in Qingzhou want credit, so they forced us to send troops! Chief Ren, think about it, my Jizhou only mobilized a thousand men, while Qingzhou mobilized fifteen hundred! It's obvious they are the main force! Although I am the chief of bandit suppression in a prefecture, Qin Ming is the military commander of a major prefecture! His position is higher than mine! I dare not disobey his orders!"

"Chief Ren! You are so wise and powerful, you must not be deceived by villains!"

Upon hearing He Tao's words, Ren Yuan and the others couldn't help but smile awkwardly.

These words sound so familiar. Did someone just say that?

And another thing... why is it Qin Ming's fault again? Are you taking advantage of the fact that he's not tied up and thrown on the ground with you?

Several heroes who were particularly close to Qin Ming secretly glanced at his expression out of the corner of their eyes.

Um... that's roughly it:

ヽ(≧Д≦)ノ

Fortunately, Qin Ming managed to control his temper this time and didn't reveal his true colors.

"Qin Ming, right? Does anyone know where he went?"

Ren Yuan glanced around at the heroes behind him and asked this question on purpose.

"Chief, Qin Ming fought to the death and refused to surrender; he has been killed."

Tang Bin understood Ren Yuan's meaning and immediately continued.

He Tao and the others were overjoyed when they heard the news of Qin Ming's death!

Great! Good riddance!

Since you're dead, you're definitely the one to take the blame!

"Good riddance! Chief Ren, that Qin Ming was ungrateful and offended you, good riddance! Don't worry, Chief, when we get back, we'll definitely say that this defeat was Qin Ming's fault! We, Jizhou and Yuncheng, will never oppose Liangshan again! Don't you agree, Clerk Song?"

He Tao continued, while giving Song Jiang a glare.

"Ah, right, right! It's all Qin Ming's fault. He was greedy for credit and acted rashly, which led to our defeat in this battle. He should take all the blame. It's definitely not because Liangshan was too strong!"

Song Jiang realized what was happening and quickly chimed in.

More than 3500 men went out to fight, and now almost the entire army has been wiped out. If no one takes the blame for this level of loss, then the main generals involved will definitely be held accountable!

Now that Qin Ming is gone, they can shift the blame and at least give an explanation to Jizhou and Yuncheng.

As for Qingzhou... even if Qingzhou is a large prefecture, the main responsibility this time lies with you. If you, Murong Yanda, dare to take the blame, then you should.

But based on everyone's understanding of him, Murong Yanda probably won't take the blame. Instead, he'll say that Qin Ming is a traitor within Liangshan, which led to this failure. In short, he'll put all the blame on Qin Ming.

The death of Qin Ming ensures everyone's safety; this deal seems like a bargain no matter how you look at it!

"Is it really okay for you to shift the blame onto a dead person like this?"

Ren Yuan shook his head. Sure enough, military men really had no status in the Song Dynasty.

The two reached an agreement: they would let Qin Ming go back, and once he returned, he would have to take the blame and be killed.

"Chief Ren, this is actually good for all of us. No one will come to Liangshan to bother you for a while, and we can also save our lives and future. It's killing two birds with one stone!"

He Tao truly used all his skills to continue begging for mercy.

"I'd like to ask, was this how you were when you suffered defeats in the past?"

"There wasn't anyone as capable as Chief Ren before."

He Tao did not give a direct answer, but everyone understood the meaning behind his words.

"Damn it! No wonder life is getting harder and harder for martial artists, it's all because of people like you!"

Lu Zhishen grew angrier the more he listened, wishing he could punch He Tao and send him to his death.

"That's right! Why should we martial artists be responsible for these messy debts!"

Tang Bin was also gritting his teeth. Back in Pudong, he had no choice but to flee because his superior wanted him to take the blame.

As for Lin Chong... oh, he just went over there to clean up the mess and gather the surrendered soldiers. He hasn't returned yet. Otherwise, if he heard this, he would probably be even angrier.

"This is the Song Dynasty, Chief Ren. Isn't this how it's always been for martial artists?"

Song Jiang said cautiously.

"He Tao".

Ren Yuan called out slowly.

"Yes, sir. Do as you command, Chief."

He Tao was extremely excited; he knew that the moment that would determine his fate had arrived.

"Do you really want to live?"

"Yes! Chief Ren, you say it! I'll agree to any condition!"

"I just took a look. How come your Jeju army has so much armor?"

Ren Yuan had just taken a close look and noticed that every soldier on the Jeju army's side was wearing armor.

Moreover, most of the armor was leather, with a small portion actually being paper armor. (Here's some background information: during the Song Dynasty, paper armor was actually more popular, especially among the navy. The *Collected Works of Zhen Wenzhong* records, "All the weapons of this stronghold are somewhat sufficient, but the navy needs paper armor. This stronghold currently has one hundred sets of iron armor; we should keep half of them and exchange fifty sets for paper armor from our troops." In short, they were willing to trade iron armor for paper armor.)

This is a bit strange. How could every ordinary soldier in a prefecture wear armor? This is somewhat unusual.

"This one……"

He Tao hesitated.

"Say!"

Ren Yuan shouted!

"Yes, it is because I have a distant relative who works as the warehouse manager at the armory in Daming Prefecture. Daming Prefecture doesn't manage things very strictly, so he will occasionally take some out for me, and I will then report to the prefecture to buy more. That's why our Jizhou is able to have armor."

Oh... so it was smuggling.

The armory of Daming Prefecture, Liang Zhongshu! No wonder, considering the birthday tribute had been lost several times in a row. (The original text mentions that it had also been lost several times before Yang Zhi delivered it.)

"You can smuggle... cough cough, how many can you sell?"

This is what Ren Yuan really wanted to ask.

"Chief... wants armor?"

He Tao realized it immediately!

In that case, would my life be saved?

"Chieftain...how many do you want?"