Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother, there's a gate to the imperial city just ahead."

"They're still locked up, aren't they?"

Ren Yuan reined in his horse and looked at a large gate not far away; it was indeed tightly closed.

"So, all those powerful figures who wanted to seize the throne of regent are still inside?"

"boom!"

Just as everyone was talking, a huge commotion came from inside the imperial city, one after another, so loud that even the ground trembled.

As the earth trembled, the outermost gate of the imperial city also shook incessantly, and screams, cries for help, and curses could be heard from within.

"Interesting. It seems that Cai Jing has used up most of the gunpowder reserves in Tokyo."

Based on Shi Qian's intelligence, Ren Yuan could make a reasonable deduction about the situation in the capital. The current situation must be that Cai Jing's men had lit gunpowder to blow up those bandits here.

“That old dog is naturally the most ruthless. But brother, there are people on the city wall, we should…”

Hua Rong saw soldiers on the city wall. Although they were not looking in his direction, if his troops continued to advance, his forces would be exposed sooner or later.

"The men on the city wall are there specifically to snipe the strongmen inside. Right now, all I can hear is the constant shouting and fighting inside. They're too busy to deal with us!"

Ren Yuan's words made some sense, because the soldiers on the city wall were indeed looking at the people inside the imperial city, and almost no one noticed that a group of people had unknowingly broken through the outer city and stormed in!

In addition, both the Dayi Army and the Zhe Family Army were well-equipped troops. If you didn't look closely from the Imperial City, you might mistake them for a group of Imperial Guards coming to provide support.

"Break the door!"

Since it hasn't been discovered, there's nothing more to say.

Ren Yuan immediately gave the order, and Zhe Kecun, upon hearing it, immediately ordered the Zhe family army to advance first!

"Zhe Kecun, what are you doing?"

Ren Yuan was somewhat surprised. Wasn't this kid afraid of beating up all his own people?

"Your Highness, I brought my men to Tokyo for this very moment. Please, let me fight!"

Zhe Kecun said that he had wanted to attack Tokyo for a long time! He wasn't satisfied with just capturing one outer city gate!

"Watch out for your unit's losses, Hua Rong, provide cover for Zhe Jiajun."

"Brother, don't worry. With the Divine Arrow Army and the Zhe Family Army here, even if the people on the city wall react, it won't matter!"

Hua Rong's words were full of confidence in his army, and that demeanor made Zhe Kecun think to himself:

"Is this pretty boy telling the truth? What if he misses and ends up shooting all over my Zhe family army?"

"General Zhe, do you not believe what I, Hua, have said?"

After all, he was a young man, and he couldn't hide his feelings on his face. When Hua Rong turned his head and saw Zhe Kecun's expression, he understood what he was thinking.

"No, I just feel that even though it's the inner city, we should still be cautious."

Zhe Kecun, of course, wouldn't admit it, so he just laughed it off and tried to get away with it.

"Then please watch, General Zhe!"

Hua Rong didn't say much; sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

"Lu Fang, did we bring Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire?"

Hearing the continuous explosions of gunpowder coming from inside the city, Ren Yuan suddenly asked Lü Fang.

“Brother, we brought it. Brother Ling Zhen specifically told me to bring it, and it’s his improved version of the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire. He wants those people in Tokyo to know how powerful his Heavenly Thunder is.”

Lu Fang responded.

"Alright, now take some men to retrieve the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire, and then use it to blast this door open."

Ren Yuan no longer engages in life-or-death siege battles. When faced with thick city walls, he simply uses the Shenji Army's firearms to blast them first.

"Yes!"

Lu Fang enthusiastically led his men to blow up the gate, while at the same time the Zhe family army began to attack the city, with Hua Rong's Divine Arrow Army providing cover.

"General! Something terrible has happened! The Zhe family army is attacking the city walls!"

"What did you say?! Who?"

Zhu Mian was basking in the joy of reaping the lives of those ambitious people in the city. Because the commotion in the city was so great, he didn't hear anyone coming to attack the city. He even thought it was the sound made by their own people.

"Zhe Kecun! I recognize the Zhe family army's flag!"

"Damn it, this kid thinks he can be the one to pounce on the cicada? He doesn't even deserve it!"

Zhu Mian was immediately displeased. What a Zhe family! What a Zhe Kecun! No wonder they refused the imperial edict before; so this was what they were planning!

"Go, go back and defend the Zhe family army with all your might. Maintain the crossbow fire suppression here, just don't let them have an easy time!"

Zhu Mian decisively led his men to move to the other side of the city wall. In his opinion, those trapped inside were definitely not going to escape, and there was no point in fighting them anymore. Turning around and dealing with the Zhe family army would give him a greater sense of accomplishment!

Under Zhu Mian's command, the soldiers on the city wall began to shift their focus to the other side, facing the Zhe family army commanded by Zhe Kecun. This was a great pressure for them, because the Zhe family army was particularly experienced in siege warfare, and because of the support of the Divine Arrow Army behind them, anyone on the city wall who dared to recklessly show their face would surely be sent to their death by the Divine Arrow Army.

"Their arrows are so accurate!"

Zhe Kecun felt it most clearly. When they were with the Western Army, it wasn't that they didn't have archers to support them in attacking the city, but the accuracy of the Western Army archers was actually half a level, no, maybe even a level below, the Dayi Army behind them!

At the very least, the Western Army archers couldn't suppress all the enemies on a single city wall to the point that they couldn't even raise their heads!

Well, of course, it's also possible that the Western Xia people were stronger than the Lai Kingdom's Imperial Guards currently defending the city.

"General Zhe, don't worry about it!"

Hua Rong personally took charge of Zhe Kecun's safety. With him as the strongest support, Zhe Kecun didn't have to worry about being attacked from the shadows. This allowed him to perform at his best. As the attacker, he was incredibly brave, leading his troops in a fierce charge and relentlessly attacking Zhu Mian! Not long after, some of Zhe's army members were already close to reaching the city walls!

"What the hell! How did Zhe Kecun get this ability?!"

Zhu Mian was filled with doubt and surprise. He knew Zhe Kecun was powerful, but he had never heard of Zhe Kecun being this powerful!

"General! Why don't you turn the crossbow bolts around too?"

The crossbow bolts on the city wall were meant to suppress those trapped inside the city, but I never expected that I would be unable to hold out!

"Turn half of it around! Continue suppressing the other half!"

Zhu Mian gave the order decisively, and his soldiers hurriedly moved the crossbow bolts.

But what they didn't expect was that before they could move their crossbows over, a deafening roar suddenly came from one of the city gates below the city wall!

"boom!!!"

With this loud bang, the entire city wall seemed to tremble, and many people lost their footing and fell to the ground! Smoke rose from the city gate, and the pungent smell permeated the city wall.

"This is... gunpowder? No, where would the Zhe family army get gunpowder!"

Zhu Mian was very familiar with this smell, because it had been filling the air above the city square.

But now the smell he detected was even stronger!

"Brother, a huge hole has been blasted open!"

On Lü Fang's side, he was reporting the battle results to Ren Yuan. This improved Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire was really fierce. It blew a hole in the gate of the Tokyo Imperial City, and it blew a hole that was more than a person tall!

"go!"

Ren Yuan gestured for his guards to step forward and clear away some debris at the entrance of the cave. Then, they entered through the cave, removed the latch from the doorway, and opened the door.

After the door opened, what blocked their way was a massive, heavy gate!

"Brother, should we blow up the sluice gate too? It seems a bit difficult."

Lu Fang tapped on the heavy gate, sensing it was not a good time to blow it up.

"Brother Lü Fang, why are you blowing it up? It's just a broken gate, what's the point?"

Before Ren Yuan could speak, Lu Zhishen arrived. He dismounted, handed the Dragon-Tiger Demon-Subduing Staff to the guards behind him, and then untied his outermost robe, revealing two thick, chiseled arms and a rock-like chest.

"Brother, after talking about this heavy gate, I now have only one thought in my mind, which is to lift this thing up. I hope you will allow me to do so."

“If the master wants to play around, that’s fine. A few of you from the Vajra Army, bring the bolt. Once the master lifts it up, immediately use the bolt to hold the door shut so you don’t hurt him.”

When his trusted subordinate wanted to try his hand at something, Ren Yuan naturally had no objection. However, safety came first, so he dismounted himself, rolled up his sleeves, and was ready to lend a hand to Lu Zhishen at any time.

"Hahaha, brother, don't worry. I've eaten my fill today. These arms of mine have the strength of at least ten thousand jin. What's a mere thousand-jin gate?"

When Lu Zhishen saw Ren Yuan's actions, he naturally understood his meaning. He felt a warmth in his heart, but this also further fueled his heroic spirit!

At this moment, a voice seemed to be constantly telling him in his heart:

Raise when you encounter the gate! Raise when you encounter the gate!

Lu Zhishen walked to the heavy gate, bent down, and supported the bottom of the gate with both hands, finding the most comfortable position for himself. Then he suddenly roared, and all the muscles in his body tensed up instantly! He gripped the gate tightly with both hands and lifted it off the ground!

"Gah, gah, gah..."

At first, the gate didn't rise too fast, but it was rising at a visible speed. When it reached knee level, Lu Zhishen roared again and stomped his foot, using the force from the ground to lift it up to shoulder level in one go!

But that's not all!

"Hahaha! That's exhilarating! That's exhilarating! The Buddhist sect has Vajra warriors, and today I'll be a Vajra warrior in the human world too!"

Lu Zhishen laughed heartily, showing no sign of effort. With a strong push of his arm, he lifted the entire heavy gate above his head! And he did it steadily!

"Look! That heavy gate is open... no! It's... someone lifted it up!"

"Good heavens! Is that even human?!"

"One person lifted a thousand-pound gate... This must be a god descending to earth!"

Those ambitious individuals who were searching for a way out of the imperial city naturally noticed the sudden lifting of the heavy gate. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered that it wasn't the soldiers above that had pulled up the gate, but rather a person who had lifted it by force. Those who were about to run in this direction couldn't help but stop in their tracks.

Many people even knelt down after running and seeing clearly!

Good heavens! That's a thousand-pound gate! Several thousand pounds! Didn't you see that even the people on Prince Duan's side are barely able to support about half a person's height?

You, you lifted it up so easily all by yourself, and you're still laughing non-stop, are you even human!

"Hahaha, a mere few thousand catties! What can you do to me?"

After Lu Zhishen lifted the thousand-pound gate, he did marvel at its extraordinary weight, but that was all; it was no match for him at all.

Instead, he bent his arm and strained, preparing to push the heavy brake back!

As for those who ran over, well, sorry, Lu Zhishen lifted that heavy gate just because he wanted to, he didn't specifically intend to save anyone...

P.S.: I'm sure some people will say this is unreasonable, but it's okay. Everyone's done the math; uprooting a willow tree would require at least five tons of force, making this even more absurd. I like Lu Zhishen; I think if the master could lift a thousand-pound gate, then he could too!