Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

The Zhe family is in a difficult position, but so are the Zhong family and Liu Fa.

They could easily guess that Zhao Ji would definitely clamor to convict Ren Yuan, since having Yan Yun taken back by a bandit made the Zhao royal family look incompetent.

From the soldiers' perspective, they admired Ren Yuan and were grateful to him for helping the Han people avenge their humiliation.

But from the perspective of the officials, they also knew that a strongman like Ren Yuan certainly did not take the court seriously.

Sigh, what kind of situation is this? Why can't Ren Yuan be both a loyal and upright official of the court and someone who can establish such immortal achievements?

"Brother, is Lu Da, the former military commander you knew, among those people on Liangshan?"

The current leader of the Zhong family army is Zhong Shidao, whose original name was Zhong Jianzhong. He later changed his name to Zhong Shiji to avoid the taboo of Emperor Huizong's title "Jianzhong Jingguo". Later, Emperor Huizong probably felt a little guilty and bestowed upon him the name Zhong Shidao.

As the head of the Zhong family, Zhong Shidao's military skills were undoubtedly top-notch. With his strategic vision, when he learned that Ren Yuan had already captured the three capitals of Liao, Zhong Shidao greatly admired this young man he had never met before!

If only this kid were someone in the imperial court!

"Brother, are you talking about Lu Da? He is indeed here, and he is said to be the leader of the infantry."

The one who replied was Zhong Shizhong, also known as "Little Zhong," the number two figure in the Zhong family army, who was also a person with extremely high military talent.

When Lu Zhishen got into trouble, if he had just reported it to Xiao Zhong, Xiao Zhong would definitely have stepped in. Given Xiao Zhong's status and position, it wouldn't have been a big deal for Lu Zhishen to kill Zheng Tu one by one.

However, Lu Zhishen's personality prevented him from doing so, and he also did not want to cause trouble for Xiao Zhong, so he chose to run away.

When Xiao Zhong learned the news, Lu Zhishen had already run away. Xiao Zhong was helpless and could only instruct his men to turn a blind eye to the matter and just pretend to be indifferent. Otherwise, with Lu Zhishen's carefree personality, someone who would dare to go and join in the fun even if he saw a bounty, he would have been caught long ago. How could he have become a monk at Mount Wutai?

"Lu Da was indeed capable back then, but Ren Yuan's judgment in having him become the leader of the Liangshan infantry is quite good."

Zhong Shidao said that all the soldiers from his Western Army were good men.

“Brother, although Lu Da has a long-standing relationship with us, given the current situation, Liangshan has already established its own state, and I'm afraid Lu Da will not return to the Western Army.”

Zhong Shizhong still had feelings for this former head of the guard.

"Why would he come back? His current status is no worse than the two of us. Do you really want him to come back as the head of the personal guard?"

Zhong Shidao gave his younger brother a blank look.

"Brother, you mean..."

Zhong Shizhong was stunned for a moment. "Brother, are you thinking about what I'm thinking?"

"Everyone knows that His Majesty is not cut out to be a wise ruler, but this time it is General Liu who is leading the charge. As long as he is still alive, the Western Army will remain the Western Army."

"However, it's not a bad idea to leave yourself a way out. Isn't that what Zhe Kecun from the Zhe family did? He secretly made some kind of alliance with Liangshan. Did he really think I didn't know?"

Zhong Shidao had a clear understanding of the current situation. The Western Song Dynasty actually had the Western Army as its military support, but it was still difficult to gain the upper hand in the struggle against Cai Jing, let alone recover the territory it had at its peak.

Moreover, Zhao Ji's children are still in the Bianjing palace. If something were to happen to Zhao Ji and Cai Jing were to wipe out the entire royal family, then the Song Dynasty would truly exist in name only.

"Understood. I will send my trusted confidant to contact Lu Da and see what Liangshan's attitude is towards our Zhong family."

Zhong Shizhong was also happy to do this job, after all, he also thought that Zhao Ji was really a scoundrel. What kind of emperor would abandon his soldiers and run away halfway through a campaign? Otherwise, considering the reputation of the Zhong family, or if it weren't for giving face to Liu Fa, he wouldn't have bothered with Zhao Ji at all!

……

Jiangnan, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"What? Ren Yuan? Ren Yuan actually established a state on Liao territory?"

Fang La has been living a life of debauchery lately.

After establishing the Great Ming Dynasty, he entrusted all frontline affairs to Fang Qifo, the former Right Envoy of the Ming Cult, Fang Fei, the Light-Winged Bat King, Duan Sanniang, the Purple Mulberry Dragon King, and the strategist Lü Shinang, among others.

As for himself, Hangzhou is a wonderful place with beautiful mountains, clear waters, and lovely people. Fang La had been in rebellion for so many years, spending every day in Bangyuan Cave with a group of men. Now that he had finally come to Hangzhou, he wanted to enjoy himself!

Living a life of debauchery and neglecting court duties, Fang La lived a comfortable life in a secluded corner of Jiangnan!

However, Ren Yuan was naturally a thorn in his side. When he heard that Ren Yuan had conquered the three capitals of Liao and reclaimed Yan and Yun, that thorn in Fang La's heart was touched again!

"What right does he have! What right does he have!"

Enraged, Fang La stormed into a small hut in his palace, where a tall straw effigy stood with a portrait of Ren Yuan pasted on its face and Ren Yuan's birth date and time written on yellow paper on its body.

Fang La picked up the sword beside him and began hacking wildly at the straw man! He cursed as he slashed!

"Ren Yuan! I'll kill you! Kill you! I am the chosen one! I am the one who can create a great cause!"

Don't underestimate this straw man; it's a heretical method used by the Ming Cult, which they say will harm Ren Yuan's original fortune.

What Fang La couldn't understand was that he had already destroyed several straw figures, so why was Ren Yuan's luck not only not bad, but getting better and better?

Hmm...maybe he was chopping down the original Ren Yuan...

Nanjing City.

"Brother! We have now taken back control of the Yan-Yun region, and the Liao army is retreating towards Xijing! The people of Yan-Yun are of good morale, and it won't be long before we can return to normal life."

Xiao Jiahui has been extremely busy lately, mainly because Dayi's territory is growing larger and larger, and there are simply not enough strategists to go around.

Of the nine strategists of Liangshan, Xu Guanzhong is stationed in Dongjing (Kaifeng), keeping an eye on the Jurchens; Wen Huanzhang and Wang Yin are managing affairs in Goryeo (Korea); Zhu Wu is guarding the Liangshan headquarters; Liu Min is partnering with Du Xue to attack the eastern Hebei region; and Gongsun Sheng and Qiao Daoqing are traveling between Taoist temples throughout the former Zhao Song territory, also trying to win over local forces.

Only Li Zhu was a little free. Besides assisting Zhu Wu, Li Zhu spent most of his time practicing with Zhou Tong.

"Old Xiao, I'll talk to Zhu Wu later and ask Liangshan to hold an imperial examination to select a group of people to help you."

Seeing that Xiao Jiasui was unusually restrained by political affairs and did not detach himself, Ren Yuan understood that it was time to start preparing for the first imperial examination in Dayi.

"Wow? Brother, that's great! Hurry up and have Zhu Wu send someone over. If no one comes soon, I feel like I'm going to go blind."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiahui immediately put down the documents in her hand and began to slack off.

"I hope Boss Du can take over Hebei East Road as soon as possible, then our territories will be connected, and I can go back to the mountains to rest!"

"Yes, the first thing I'll do when I get back is marry Cheng Wan'er and then quickly give me a future prime minister."

"Brother, you can't just focus on me, what about Guanzhong?"

Hsiao Chia-hui asked, "Can we please stop pressuring people to have children?"

“Guanzhong has his mother keeping an eye on him, so I don’t need to worry about him. But you can be lazy sometimes, so I can’t leave you alone.”

Ren Yuan said, "You, Xiao Jiasui, don't even think about slacking off!"

"Fine, who told you to be the older brother? Oh right, brother, Bai Huang's falcon sent a message saying that Zhao Ji heard we've conquered Yanyun and wants to reward us."

"Just him?"

Ren Yuan gave a cold laugh:

"Why would I care about a reward for a stray dog?"

……