Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

During this winter, large-scale personnel turmoil occurred among the various noble families of the Western Army.

Almost every family in the Western Army had some members who severed ties with their family members during this winter and scattered to various parts of the world.

Among them, the Zhe family made the biggest commotion. Zhe Kecun, one of the nine generations of leaders of the Zhe family, led his Zhe family army, his own people, and people who had defected from other forces in the Western Army, totaling about 20,000 to 30,000 people. On the fifth day after the New Year, they set off directly, braving the wind and snow, leaving the Zhe family and heading east!

Moreover, the further east this army went, the stronger it became. Along the way, people from other forces joined their ranks. By the time they left the territory of the Western Song Dynasty and entered the territory of the Lai Kingdom, their army had grown to a size of thirty to forty thousand people!

A military movement of this scale would naturally attract attention, but no one would be so reckless as to want to deal with them. The Zhe family army was known for its iron will and bloodthirstiness; who would dare to provoke them?

However, Zhao Ji did indeed harbor murderous intent towards this group, and even planned to directly order his men to intercept and kill them at the border, and then frame Cai Jing for the crime.

But Yang Jian said to him, "Your Majesty, we only have about 20,000 to 30,000 men. Even if we send them all, we may not be able to save all of Zhe Kecun. If we lose all our resources, it will be even more troublesome."

After thinking about it, Zhao Ji felt it made sense, so he decided to order Zhe Keqiu and Yao Pingzhong to lead troops to quell Zhe Kecun.

Yang Jian couldn't stop this order, but how could the Zhe and Yao families possibly obey it? Zhe Keqiu directly said that because of Zhe Kecun's actions, he was so heartbroken that he fell ill from worry and was now bedridden, unable to get up and unable to send troops.

As for Yao Pingzhong, he was even more outrageous. He did accept the order, but the next day it was reported that when Yao Pingzhong was mustering troops, he accidentally fell off his horse, injured his foot, and was unable to go to war.

When these two pieces of news reached Zhao Ji's ears, he was so angry that he cursed!

"They're all treacherous officials! Yao Pingzhong, a man skilled in archery and horsemanship, actually claims he accidentally fell off his horse? What is he doing? This is deceiving the emperor!"

"There's still room for negotiation, and he's seriously ill? With someone who could rival him for the position of family head gone, who wouldn't be happy? And he even says he's ill from worry—is he just making fun of me?"

"Neither the Zhe family nor the Yao family is willing to contribute, is that it? Go find the Zhong family. The two ministers of the Zhong family are reasonable people!"

After a period of anger, Emperor Huizong found himself unable to do anything about the Zhe and Yao families, so he had no choice but to target the Zhong family.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the two elders of the Zhong family are indeed reasonable, but they are... too reasonable."

After hearing Zhao Ji's order, Yang Jian said to Zhao Ji with great helplessness.

"Too sensible? What do you mean by that?"

Emperor Huizong was somewhat surprised. Too sensible? Isn't that a good thing?

"It was because of this incident in the Western Army this year that morale was low, and General Liu was seriously ill, so the two lords of the Zhong family personally led troops to inspect the border before the New Year was over. Now the two lords should be on the front line of the Western Xia battle."

"They went to the Western Xia border? The two Zhong ministers are indeed loyal to the country. The Zhong family has had a tough time. Let's let it go this time. Send a message to Cai Jing. If Cai Jing is willing to help us deal with these traitors, I can consider it an act of redemption."

"Yes."

Hearing Zhao Ji's words, Yang felt particularly helpless, but he had no other choice but to send a message.

Speaking of which, didn't Cai Jing say he was seriously ill? Is he still capable of anything?

After the Zhe family army entered the territory of Lai Kingdom, their advance slowed down considerably.

Zhe Kecun personally led the army at the very front, pushing the troops forward. He wanted to see if any fool in Lai Kingdom would dare to cause trouble here.

However, it seemed that no one in Lai Kingdom paid attention to the Zhe family army; the counties and prefectures they passed through were all busy with other things.

This made Zhe Kecun somewhat uncomfortable. What were they busy with that was more important than his army passing through the area?

To satisfy his curiosity, Zhe Kecun, while passing through a county, actually went to the county government office, pointed his spear at the local officials, and interrogated them about what had happened.

However, not all officials in the prefectures and counties knew what had happened in the imperial court, so at first Zhe Kecun didn't ask anything. He was not discouraged. If he couldn't find out from one county government office, he would ask from several other offices. The final conclusion was that Cai Jing was critically ill. The following period was the most turbulent but also the most important time for the political situation in Lai State.

This news gave Zhe Kecun a new idea.

If the political situation in Lai Kingdom is unstable, then Tokyo must be in a precarious state. If he were to lead his tens of thousands of men to attack Tokyo at this time... hiss!

Zhe Kecun suddenly felt that a tremendous achievement was about to appear before him. If he seized the opportunity, wouldn't he become famous overnight?

After having this idea, Zhe Kecun immediately consulted with his colleagues.

"Our original plan was to head east to Yi Kingdom's territory and join up with the Liangshan forces, but now Tokyo is in turmoil, and Cai Jing seems to be on the verge of death. If we go now, we might be able to take Tokyo directly!"

"Gentlemen, are you interested in Tokyo?"

Many of Zhe Kecun's group were young people from other aristocratic families. Young people are naturally combative and easily provoked, and when Zhe Kecun said this, they all responded!

"Brother Cun! Hit! You tell me where to hit, and I'll hit there!"

“That’s right! Brother Cun! We’ll listen to you! If you say we’re going to Yiguo, we’ll go to Yiguo; if you say Tokyo, we’ll go to Tokyo!”

"Brother Cun! We're all real men! So what if it's Tokyo? Let's go!"

……

"Okay! Then let's change our route and go to Tokyo!"

Seeing that most people agreed to go to Tokyo, Zhe Kecun also made up his mind. However, after seeing those who remained silent, he also said to them:

"Brothers who don't want to go to Tokyo can continue eastward. I've already spoken with the people in Yiguo, and they'll be waiting for us at the border."

“Brother Cun, it’s not that we don’t want to go, it’s just that many of our team members have families to take care of.”

"Understood, there are no problems. You can settle your families well, and that will put our minds at ease."

Zhe Kecun said, "It's a good thing that you're able to settle your families. Once your families are settled, they can take Tokyo and maybe even bring your families to Tokyo!"

After everyone finished discussing, the group split into two teams within the territory of Lai Kingdom. One team, consisting of about 20,000 people, continued eastward, while the other team, also consisting of 20,000 elite soldiers, headed straight for Tokyo under the leadership of Zhe Keqiu!

At this time, Zhe Kecun's team was not the only one heading towards Tokyo; many others were also rushing towards Tokyo!

Everyone knows that Cai Jing is seriously ill and the situation in Lai is uncertain. Now, all the ambitious people want a piece of the pie in Tokyo!

Whoever controls Tokyo has the potential to take over the Kingdom of Lai! Whoever controls it has the potential to become one of the world's greatest powers!