Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Chief! Chief!"

As the Xixi Baozheng family was brought to justice, a man who appeared to be a leader directed four henchmen to carry a huge iron box and run over excitedly, shouting "Ren Yuan!" as they ran.

"Old Jin, what's the matter?"

Ren Yuan had an impression of this leader; he was introduced by Du Qian and assisted Du Qian in managing the gold and silver in the village.

"Chief, we've struck it rich!"

Old Jin's interns placed the metal box on the ground and then opened it all at once.

The box seemed to shimmer with golden light the moment it was opened!

"Chief, look, here are 50 gold ingots. I weighed them in my hand, and they're all pure gold, each ingot weighing 10 taels. That's 500 taels of gold!"

500 taels of gold! That's quite a lot! (Although there was inflation in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the purchasing power of gold and silver was still there. One tael of gold could be exchanged for more than ten taels of silver. For ease of calculation, the exchange rate between gold and silver in this book is 1:10, that is, one tael of gold equals ten taels of silver.)

500 taels of gold is equivalent to 5000 taels of silver, or 10,000 strings of cash! (At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, due to inflation, 1 tael of silver was equal to 2 strings of cash, as mentioned earlier. 1 string of cash was still equal to 1000 copper coins.)

"Ten thousand strings of cash!"

Yuan Lang and Song Wan also realized that the village head was so rich?

"That's not all! This is just the gold ingots in this box. He also has over 2000 taels of silver in cash, over 40,000 strings of copper coins, and that doesn't even include the antiques, paintings, calligraphy, and jewelry! I estimate it must add up to at least 60,000 or 70,000 strings of cash! This is a huge profit!"

No wonder Lao Jin was so excited; he had never seen so much money when he was with Wang Lun!

The former chieftain Wang Lun's shrewd and stingy manner had long been deeply ingrained in people's minds, and besides, his abilities were just so-so, he simply couldn't possibly acquire so much money all at once!

"Where's the food?"

Money was available, but provisions were also crucial, especially since Song Wan was in charge of Liangshan's provisions, making this even more important to him.

"There's too much grain. We haven't finished checking yet. Several granaries are full of grain, but I estimate there are at least 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of it! But I heard that the magistrate also has an underground granary with at least 10,000 shi of grain inside, so I estimate there are at least 20,000 shi of grain."

"Moreover, this baozheng family owns 2,300 mu of superior land, 1,200 mu of medium land, and 1,000 mu of inferior land, totaling 4,500 mu of land. These are all land deeds, usury mortgage documents, and so on."

Ren Yuan took the document and quickly flipped through it. This guarantor was truly heartless. His family owned nearly four thousand acres of land; how many people's blood and flesh must be buried in that land!

Moreover, his family's grain reserves amounted to at least 20,000 shi (a unit of dry measure)! That's twenty times the current grain reserves of Liangshan! With this grain and money, Liangshan can recruit people without hesitation!

"Twenty thousand shi (a unit of dry measure)—that's the blood and sweat of so many people! This scoundrel has plagued Xixi Village for so many years, drinking the blood of so many Xixi villagers!"

"At the current grain price, one shi of grain costs two guan, this guy is definitely planning to sell the grain and make a fortune!"

Yuan Lang cursed under his breath, wishing he could bring that scoundrel back to life and kill him again.

Ren Yuan looked at the group of ragged, emaciated people in front of him, and suddenly he had an idea.

"Brothers, I have an idea, but I don't know if you agree?"

“Brother, please speak freely.” Yuan Lang and Song Wan clasped their hands in a fist salute, and did whatever Ren Yuan said.

"The people of Xixi have suffered under this magistrate for too long. Today we have confiscated his entire family's property, and the money and grain should be distributed to the people. I have decided to distribute the money and grain to the people. What do you think?"

Ren Yuan's actions were essentially a land grab from the rich and a redistribution of land, but since he wasn't going down the mountain alone, he still needed to consult with the others.

"My brother is exceptionally kind and righteous! I have no objection!"

Yuan Lang is increasingly admiring Ren Yuan. Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, but he also cares deeply about the people. Yuan Lang feels that his brother's ambitions go beyond simply being a mountain bandit.

If I follow him, my future might take a different path!

"I have no objection either, brother, you can decide." Song Wan had no objection either; he would do whatever his brother said.

"Alright, thanks everyone!"

Ren Yuan had the support of the crowd, so he didn't waste any more words and turned to shout at the group of people:

"Fellow villagers! I am Ren Yuan from Liangshan! The wicked village head who has been harming you has been defeated by us from Liangshan!"

"Your good days are coming! Listen to me, firstly, I have the land deed and usurious loan receipts in my possession. Anyone whose land has been forcibly seized by the village head can come to me to get their land deed back! The usurious loan will be torn up and denied!"

As Ren Yuan spoke, he held the land deed and the usurious loan documents high in the air.

Hearing that they could get their land deeds back and destroy the loan agreements with exorbitant interest rates, many people's eyes lit up!

"Secondly, in our Xixi Village, with over 500 households, almost all of them have been harassed by this village headman. So, each household should come to me later to receive 30 strings of cash and 10 shi of grain! The gifts are not much, but they are compensation for disturbing everyone tonight!"

30 strings of cash! That's 15 taels of silver! That's basically four months' worth of expenses for an average family of three!

Ten bushels of grain! That's basically enough for an average family's food supply for four months!

"Your Majesty is benevolent! Your Majesty is truly benevolent!"

When Ren Yuan said that the land would be returned, the usurious loans would be destroyed, and money and grain would be given back, the people of Xixi felt like they had been given a windfall!

Without saying a word, they all knelt down and kowtowed to Ren Yuan!

With this money, everyone can repair their houses, buy furniture, and make some new clothes.

With these ten bushels of grain, we won't have to worry about food this year! The whole family won't go hungry!

That Liangshan king is really something!

The villagers of Xixi are even considering setting up a longevity tablet for Ren Yuan at their homes.

"Oh dear, brother, you've given away too much at once."

Song Wan felt a pang of heartache. Of the more than 20,000 shi of grain, more than 5,000 shi were given away at once. How could he, as the person in charge of grain, not feel the pain?

"Haha, Song Wan, didn't I tell you to listen to me? Why are you feeling sorry for him?"

Ren Yuan patted Song Wan on the shoulder and comforted him with a smile.

“Brother, it’s not that I disagree with distributing grain, but you’ve given too much. Three to five shi would be enough. Our stronghold is also short of grain. Besides, you’ve already given away more than 15,000 guan.”

Song Wan was naturally distressed, since this time he had given away more than 15,000 strings of cash and 5,000 shi of grain, which greatly reduced the amount of spoils he had captured.

In this way, all they can bring back to the mountain stronghold this time is 50,000 strings of cash and 15,000 shi of grain.

"That's quite a lot, Brother Song Wan."

Although Yuan Lang was also shocked by Ren Yuan's generosity, he quickly figured out the reason behind it.

"Brother, you're going to make Liangshan famous! Besides, giving people one bushel of grain will only make them say you're good, giving them five bushels will make them think you're good in their hearts, and giving them ten bushels will make them dare to risk their lives to fight you! What do you call this, spending a thousand gold pieces to buy a horse's bones!"

"I believe that after tonight, even more people will want to join our Liangshan!"

"I see! Brother, you are truly farsighted!"

Song Wan suddenly realized that he had heard the story of buying a horse's bones for a thousand pieces of gold when he was traveling around the world, and he stopped complaining.

"Haha, Yuan Lang, I don't have the status of King Zhao of Yan."

Ren Yuan smiled as he listened to Yuan Lang's words. For now, Liangshan should focus on low-key development. They could talk about spending a fortune to buy horse bones another time.

But the money and grain must be distributed tonight; this will set a precedent for future grain lending operations!

“Most of us brothers come from poor backgrounds, and we all know the significance of this money and grain to the common people. Moreover, every profession has its rules; what we do is rob the rich to help the poor. That's the responsibility of us outlaws! When word of what our stronghold has done this time spreads throughout the land, everyone will say: The heroes of Liangshan not only stood up for their brothers but also helped the poor and needy. This is what makes them truly worthy heroes of the Jianghu, loyal and righteous!”

"Besides, we're fighting on behalf of Heaven, but is that just a pretext? All of you brothers are my right-hand men, Ren Yuan. We can't go out and be accused of putting on a show!"

Ren Yuan's words made Yuan Lang and Song Wan fall into deep thought, especially Yuan Lang, who realized that he still didn't understand his older brother enough!

My own brother has ambitions far beyond those of ordinary mountain bandits!

"A word from you, brother, is worth more than ten years of study. You can make the decisions on such important matters from now on." Although Song Wan had some reservations, he quickly gave in.

“Brother is right. Our line of work involves too much killing. It’s good for us to do more things like distributing money and food to accumulate merit.”

Yuan Lang had no objections; he was now trying to broaden his perspective.

"Alright, then I'll establish a rule today: from now on, whoever leads the Liangshan forces, after borrowing grain from the mountains, one-third of the money and grain obtained shall be distributed to the local common people, adding more glory to the banner of our stronghold that upholds justice!"

With a wave of his hand, Ren Yuan established the ironclad rules of Liangshan, laying the most solid foundation for his future Liangshan!