Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

Not far outside Jingnan City, there is a village called Majia Village.

Everyone in this village shares the surname Ma and has lived here for generations.

There was an old man in the east of the village. His wife had died early, leaving behind two sons. The old man never remarried and raised his two sons all by himself, which was truly difficult.

Both children grew up to be physically strong, but they didn't like to study. After the old man tried to scold and beat them several times to no avail, he just let them be.

Expecting them to become civil servants is unrealistic, so let's see if there are any other options.

Coincidentally, during those years, a caravan of merchants passed by, and the old man's two sons went with the caravan, leaving the old man alone at home.

Years later, just when everyone in Majia Village thought the two children had been unfilial and had died outside, they suddenly returned!

Moreover, when he returned, he was carrying a lot of things with him.

The old man asked and learned that the two boys' merchant guild had been robbed by bandits. The two boys looked promising, so they were taken up the mountain and personally taught martial arts by the bandit leader.

Years later, the two brothers had mastered martial arts, but their village had fallen apart. The chief had died, and the others had divided their property. The two brothers had no choice but to return home.

Of course, with their excellent martial arts skills, the two brothers would inevitably take some things from the village when they returned home.

After they returned, they had no other skills besides martial arts. The old man thought about it and decided to let them take the military examination. Although the Song Dynasty did not value military people, it was still an official position.

The two brothers went off in high spirits, boasting that they would be promoted to high office and generals upon their departure.

In the end, the two of them returned dejectedly. When asked why, they said they hadn't passed the exam, but they didn't know.

What could they do? They had to survive. After returning home, the two brothers could only become bandits in the mountains near their home.

Thanks to the combined strength of the brothers, the Ma brothers' stronghold has gained some fame in the Jinghu area.

When Wang Qing came to Jinghu to recruit people, he invited the Ma brothers more than once.

However, the two brothers were proud and arrogant, and they did not accept it.

This is the information Xiao Jiahui has brought to everyone regarding the Ma brothers.

"Old Joe, do you think we'll be rejected if we go to them?"

Ma Ling had only recently joined the team and was closest to Qiao Daoqing.

"According to Strategist Xiao, these two brothers are quite ambitious, and it won't be easy to get them to genuinely come up the mountain."

Qiao Daoqing thought about it for a moment and realized that the two brothers were indeed not easy to deal with.

"But this is also a good thing. Since I came up the mountain, whenever my brother tries to recruit people, he is basically successful every time. If things go too smoothly, water will overflow when it is full, and the moon will wane when it is full. I hope that my brother will have some setbacks now, so that he can have even more success in the future."

Qiao Daoqing was, after all, a proper Taoist practitioner, and he had read the Book of Changes.

"Brother Qiao is right. It's a good thing to have regrets in life."

Xiao Jiahui also agreed with Qiao Daoqing's words. After all, Ren Yuan was going to do great things in the future. It was better to suffer setbacks a few more times now than to encounter setbacks later.

Anyway, it's harmless for now.

After arriving at Majia Village and asking the villagers for directions, the group quickly arrived at Old Man Ma's house.

"You are……"

Old Man Ma was enjoying the cool air in his courtyard when he suddenly found a group of burly men surrounding his door. He was terrified, thinking that his two sons had gotten into trouble with some unpleasant people.

"Don't be afraid, sir. We came from Shandong and passed through Baozhuang. We heard that there are two brothers here who are very skilled, named Ma Qiang and Ma Jin. We came here specifically to pay them a visit. May I ask if the two brothers are at home?"

Ren Yuan stepped forward and said very politely.

"Oh, those two? They've been away from home for a month or so."

Upon hearing that it wasn't someone seeking revenge for his son, the old man relaxed.

However, his two sons were indeed not at home.

"Not here."

Ren Yuan was also somewhat regretful that he hadn't met her; it was indeed a pity.

"See, I told you so."

Qiao Daoqing spread his hands and said, "But this is a good thing. Otherwise, if my brother has had it too easy for too long, he will probably encounter big trouble when he gets into trouble later."

"Old man, when will your son be back?"

"You never know. Those two rascals are always running around outside, sometimes not coming back for ten days or half a month. Sometimes when I want to look for them, I can't find them."

Old Man Ma kept shaking his head. Indeed, his two sons were often away from home, which left him, as their father, feeling helpless.

"Alright, then I'll leave a letter. When your son returns, can you give it to him?"

Ren originally intended to leave a letter for the Ma brothers to show his sincerity.

"Um, sir, my two little rascals can't read..."

"what?"

Ren Yuan was taken aback, but then he understood.

No wonder these two guys failed the martial arts exam; they're illiterate, that's for sure.

"Then, sir, could you please pass on a message? Tell them that there are people on Liangshan Mountain in Shandong who are looking forward to meeting them. Would that be alright?"

Then they could only leave a verbal message, and since Old Man Ma was not young, Ren Yuan did not leave a very long one.

"Alright, guests, why don't you come in and have a seat? Have some water before you leave?"

Old Man Ma saw that Ren Yuan was always very polite and seemed very kind, so he gradually felt at ease.

"No, sir. There are so many of us here. We came in a hurry and didn't bring any gifts. Please accept these for now. You can open them after we leave."

Ren Yuan gestured for the junior officer to bring a box, which he handed to Old Man Ma. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he bid farewell to Old Man Ma.

They had important matters to attend to and could not stay in Majia Village for too long.

Old Man Ma initially declined to accept the box, but Ren Yuan's resolute attitude and strength eventually forced him to take it.

To express his gratitude, he offered to see Ren Yuan and the others out of the village.

When he got home, Old Man Ma opened the box and found two large silver ingots wrapped in red paper lying quietly inside. He weighed them and found that they weighed about 50 taels in total.

This made Old Man Ma feel even more favorably toward this group of people from Shandong.

He wasn't stupid. Wang Qing had also visited his house, but that guy only brought two roast chickens and a jar of wine. The difference between the two was obvious.

"Are you a little unhappy that you haven't seen the Ma brothers?"

Xiao Jiahui teased Ren Yuan.

"Not really. After all, we've already recruited you into our ranks today. One shouldn't be too greedy."

Ren Yuan smiled and shook his head. It wasn't that he was worried about the money. Today, he had left a good impression on Old Man Ma. If there was an opportunity in the future, they might meet again.

"So, brother, where are we going next?"

Everyone asked curiously, "Brother said he's going to go to Jiangnan, so there has to be a certain order to it, right?"

After all, the Jiangnan region is so vast.

"Everyone, our destination is Shezhou. We'll go there first, find a stonemason, then go to Jiangzhou and Longhu Mountain, and then visit Taihu Lake and Qiantang River."

Ren Yuan said with a smile that he actually still has goals in his heart.

Among Fang La's subordinates, there were indeed a few people he particularly favored.

Of course, Pang Wanchun has already gone up the mountain, so he no longer takes up a spot.

"Brother, shall we go to Shezhou to find a stonemason first? Are you planning to carve decorations for the mountain stronghold? There are some near Liangshan."

Mi Sheng was somewhat surprised that her brother was actually going to find a stonemason.

“This stonemason is no ordinary man. You’ll understand once you meet him.”

Ren Yuan kept everyone in suspense. He said it was one thing to miss the Ma brothers, but he couldn't let this talented man slip through his fingers…