Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

Nie Shan, courtesy name Benyuan, was a native of Linchuan, Fuzhou.

However, when this person was remembered by posterity, he was called Nie Chang, a name given to him by Zhao Huan.

When Cai Jing launched the Bianjing Rebellion, many ministers were caught off guard and imprisoned in the city. Cai Jing and his cronies then began a campaign to persuade them to surrender, since there were too many people in Bianjing to kill them all.

Many people initially refused Cai Jing's offer of recruitment. They were all scholars and wanted to save face. They couldn't be the only ones to surrender, could they? That would make them seem spineless.

However, after Zhao Ji abandoned Bianjing and went to the Western Army to establish the Western Song Dynasty, without any intention of providing aid, some people's opinions changed.

I am loyal to the Song Dynasty, but the Song emperor wants to abandon me. Am I still loyal?

Furthermore, Cai Jing adopted a policy of appeasement in Bianjing (Kaifeng), and the conditions he offered were quite tempting, which made many people secretly interested.

Cai Jing's strategy was particularly suited to the psychology of those people. He did not allow them to directly express whether they were willing to submit or not, but instead told them that if they were willing to submit, they should come to the morning court.

This made many civil officials feel that it was acceptable immediately. As long as they were not allowed to publicly announce their surrender, they would go to the morning court session as usual.

So many people would get up early and head to the palace with their faces covered, not wanting to be seen. But when they gathered in front of the palace, they were "unexpectedly" surprised to find one familiar figure after another.

"Hey, isn't this Old Zhang? Didn't you say you'd rather die than surrender?"

"Old Li, you're here too. Yeah, but I'm not dead."

"Old Qian, you're here too? Didn't you claim you'd never bow down to Cai Jing?"

……

Scenes like this would play out every few days, and people gradually got used to it. Anyway, more and more old colleagues were going to the palace. The palace was still the same palace, and the colleagues were still the same colleagues. If you didn't say anything and I didn't say anything, who could tell that we were now serving a different court?

Therefore, Cai Jing is now very comfortable. After winning over these officials, his rule over the Great Lai Kingdom is becoming more and more stable. Cai Jing decided to choose an auspicious day to formally go through the process of becoming emperor.

Putting everything else aside, at the very least, they should be wearing the imperial yellow robe! Otherwise, it would be a disservice to themselves! What's the point of rebelling if they don't go through the proper procedures?

Of course, Cai Jing was also aware that there were still some people in Bianjing who were going against him. They were unwilling to submit and spent their days writing articles to disgust people. The memorials they wrote criticizing Cai Jing would probably be as tall as Cai Jing himself if they were piled up.

Although Cai Jing didn't say much about these people for the time being, he had already mentally labeled them as doomed.

Those who do not cooperate will, after he has completed the formal process of becoming emperor, be killed by a startled carriage on some random day, choke on their food, or drown after accidentally falling into the water while drunk... In short, these people will not have a good life.

To paraphrase Cai Jing, I gave you the opportunity, but you couldn't seize it!

Nie Shan was such a person. He consistently refused to submit to Cai Jing's court, and no matter how many people were sent to persuade him, he was driven out of his residence.

However, he was a capable person, and one of the few talented individuals in the current court who was skilled in both literature and martial arts. This made Cai Jing appreciate his talent and treat him with more leniency, hoping to win him over.

Moreover, Nie Shan was only in his thirties, considered a young man. Cai Jing wanted to find some future pillars for his Great Lai Kingdom, and Nie Shan happened to be the person Cai Jing had his eye on.

Those old ministers who would rather die than surrender also keenly noticed this situation. They came up with some ideas and sent Nie Shan a letter. The letter suggested that Nie Shan pretend to surrender to gain Cai Jing's trust and then find an opportunity to kill Cai Jing!

This letter reignited Nie Shan's passion. He had originally been prepared to die rather than surrender, but if he could kill Cai Jing and bring back the Emperor, he would not want to die now!

Everyone must die, but one should die in a way that is worthwhile!

So he accepted the mission and decided to emulate Jing Ke, who attempted to assassinate the King of Qin, risking his life for a chance to kill Cai Jing!

After all, his surname is Nie, the "Nie" from Nie Zheng!

Although he didn't know whether his ancestors were related to Nie Zheng by blood, Nie Shan was determined to become a modern-day Nie Zheng!

He has already agreed to surrender and promised to attend court three days from now. Given Cai Jing's current methods of recruiting people, he will definitely meet with him. That will be the best opportunity for him to make his move!

After paying respects to his ancestors, Nie Shan began to make some adjustments to his long-winged hat. He sharpened two long needles and coated them with a layer of "family heirloom" poison, which had a very poetic name: Slanting Wind and Drizzle.

A gentle breeze and drizzling rain—no need to return home. As long as this thing can draw blood from Cai Jing, then success is guaranteed!

Nie Shan had already planned it all out. When he went to court, he would make sure to act as if he had realized his mistakes and repented, so that Cai Jing would lower his guard.

He then took off his long-winged hat and threw it on the ground to express his determination, hoping that Cai Jing would come to his side and interact with him.

Finally, once Cai Jing gets close, seize the opportunity and use all your strength to stab the long needle from the winged hat into Cai Jing's head. That way, Cai Jing will be doomed!

The plan wasn't particularly difficult; as long as Cai Jing was willing to get close, the process would basically proceed as planned. Nie Shan had even mentally rehearsed the assassination many times, and recently he had been constantly training his strength for the stab.

What he wanted was a fatal blow!

"Ben Yuan, you're going to die. Won't you regret it?"

When those loyal followers of the Song Dynasty learned of Nie Shan's actions, they were filled with admiration. However, they were also worried about whether Nie Shan could face death with equanimity, so they sent him a letter of inquiry.

Faced with these inquiries, Nie Shan did not hesitate at all and immediately picked up his pen to reply:

"Rest assured, seniors, I, Nie Shan, am a citizen of the Song Dynasty, and I will die a Song Dynasty soul! I will kill that old dog Cai Jing, and you seniors must also welcome His Majesty back! As long as His Majesty returns to Bianjing, our Song Dynasty can start anew!"

With this thought in mind, Nie Shan has been staying in his house for the past few days, using a whetstone dipped in water to sharpen his long needle. Every now and then, he would pick it up and measure it with his eyes level. The sharper the needle is now, the easier it will be to kill Cai Jing!

Soon, more than two days passed, and Nie Shan finally managed to perfectly conceal his polished Long Needle King inside his long-winged hat!

From the outside, the hat looks perfectly fine, but I wonder if it will be effective when I go to court.

So Nie Shan also prepared another plan, which was to prepare a sealed tube, fill it with some letters, and hide a sharpened dagger inside the sealed tube.

If Cai Jing doesn't come to my side, then I'll use the excuse of top-secret information to take this sealed envelope to Cai Jing!

If he's willing to read the messages, he can empty the sealed container, pick up the dagger, and deliver a fatal blow to Cai Jing!

See you at the picture?

Then the true intentions will be revealed!