Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"stand up!"

Cai Jing kicked his own son.

"You're such a grown-up, why are you still crying and whining? What kind of behavior is that?"

"Father! You have no idea, if I hadn't run fast, I would never have seen you again!"

After being kicked away by his father, Cai Jiu immediately pounced on him again and hugged his father's leg tightly.

"You have no idea, Father! Those people have more than ten thousand soldiers who came to attack my Jiangzhou!"

"What did you say?"

Cai Jing only took the matter seriously after hearing that someone was attacking Jiangzhou.

"Get up, go to the study, and you can speak slowly."

A moment later, in the study.

"...And then this happened, more than ten thousand of them came, Dad, that was terrifying!"

"You mean, first Qingfeng Mountain, then Liangshan? Bandits from both mountains took over your Jiangzhou?"

"Didn't I send you the Divine Arm Crossbow? Even with that thing, you still couldn't defend the city?"

Cai Jing found it hard to believe. Liangshan was alright, they were bandits who had been making quite a stir in the last year or two, but what about Qingfeng Mountain?

Could these two groups of men possibly break through Jiangzhou?

"Huh? A crossbow? I didn't know that, Dad. When did you send it to me?"

Cai Jiu looked completely bewildered, as the main point was something he didn't know.

"You, you..."

Cai Jing shook his head. Well, this Xiao Jiu is probably finished. Oh well, I didn't expect this kid to amount to anything anyway.

"Tomorrow you will come with me to the palace to meet the Emperor. Losing Jiangzhou is a serious matter."

"Father, I don't know if it's lost or not. I ran away as soon as they attacked the city, so maybe it's not lost."

Cai Jiu thought for a moment, then said to his father.

"you!"

After hearing this, Cai Jing felt even more helpless.

How could he have given birth to such a good-for-nothing?

"Then you should rest at home first. I will send someone to gather information. Once we have confirmed the situation in Jiangzhou, we will go to the palace to meet the Emperor."

"Okay, Dad, I won't get my head chopped off, will I?"

Cai Jiu was somewhat worried.

"Now you're scared? As the prefect of a prefecture, when the prefecture was attacked, you were the first to run away. Why weren't you afraid of being beheaded by the officials back then?"

Cai Jing said irritably.

"Father, don't scare me. Aren't all the things that happen in the court arranged by you?"

Cai Jiu said with a grin.

"You'd better have some respect for our officials, otherwise, even I won't be able to save you."

Cai Jing rolled his eyes at his youngest son.

This kid is definitely spoiled.

Ten days later, the men Cai Jing had sent out returned.

"Master, Jiangzhou City has fallen, but Liangshan did not occupy the city. They opened the granaries and looted the Jiangzhou warehouses and armories, then took everything back to Liangshan."

"Ah? What about my belongings? What about the jewelry and paintings? Were they left behind?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Jiu immediately felt sorry for his precious child.

"No, Ninth Young Master, your residence has been ransacked."

"Father! Did you hear that?! Liangshan is going too far! They confiscated so many good things from your mansion, things I prepared for you! Where is justice?!"

Cai Jiu threw a tantrum at his father.

"Father, I don't care! You have to avenge me! Otherwise, I'll never be able to face anyone again!"

"Now you realize how shameful you are? If only you had learned a few more skills when you were young, you wouldn't be like this now!"

Cai Jing looked at his youngest son with some helplessness, but there was nothing he could do; after all, this was the child he loved the most.

"Come with me to the palace to meet the Emperor first thing tomorrow morning."

……

"Grand Tutor, what brings you to the palace today?"

Emperor Huizong did not attend court today, but instead wrote calligraphy in his own imperial garden. He was somewhat surprised when the eunuchs told him that Cai Jing had come.

"Your Majesty, this old minister pays his respects. I have come today for the sake of my unfilial son."

"Your humble servant Cai Dezhang greets Your Majesty."

"Oh? Isn't this Xiao Jiu? What, did you come all the way from Jiangzhou to see your father?"

When Emperor Huizong was still Prince Duan, Cai Jing took a great liking to him and sent his son to associate with him. Cai Jiu was also one of Emperor Huizong's playmates when he was young.

"No, I am guilty and have come to apologize."

"Oh? What crime have you committed?"

Emperor Huizong was somewhat surprised. What had this kid done wrong?

"Your Majesty, it is like this: Not long ago, the bandits from Liangshan and Qingfeng Mountain colluded and gathered more than 30,000 men to attack Jiangzhou, which my son was stationed in. My son fought bravely, but was defeated at the last moment. Jiangzhou fell, and my son escaped with his life to come and report the news. After those bandits looted Jiangzhou, they left triumphantly."

“My son was appointed by the Emperor as the Prefect of Jiangzhou. He failed to defend Jiangzhou and has come here specifically to apologize.”

"Bastard!"

Emperor Huizong was immediately enraged, but not at Cai Jiu, but at Liangshan.

"Grand Tutor, what kind of scum is this Liangshan? How dare they attack my Jiangzhou?"

"Your Majesty, Liangshan has become the most famous mountain stronghold in the Song Dynasty's martial arts world in the last year or two. It has even become one of the four major bandit groups in the Song Dynasty. The people in the martial arts world call Ren Yuan, the leader of Liangshan, the Eastern Overlord. They have great ambitions!"

"This is outrageous! A mere bandit from Liangshan dares to lord it over the world? And even dares to attack Jiangzhou? This Liangshan is going to be even more troublesome than Fang La, Tian Hu, and Wang Qing from before, isn't it?"

"That's not there."

Cai Jing continued.

"Those three have already started attacking the prefectural capital, but Liangshan is a relatively new force and not particularly strong."

"It's just that this time he chose to attack Jiangzhou, which is why I noticed them."

"Hmph, what a rabble! They must have used some kind of trickery. As soon as the Great Song army arrives, they will surely be routed!"

"Little Jiu, I will avenge you!"

As Emperor Huizong spoke, he asked Cai Jing a question.

"Grand Tutor, what are the closest forces to Liangshan?"

"Qingzhou and Dengzhou are both quite close."

Cai Jing thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"Alright, then order Qingzhou and Dengzhou to send troops immediately to attack Liangshan! As for the timing... it's almost New Year's, let's wait until after the New Year! Let the soldiers celebrate the New Year first, and then we'll destroy Liangshan in the spring!"

"Oh right, Qingzhou, isn't that where Murong is? Grand Tutor, I must wait until after the New Year to launch the attack, otherwise the Imperial Concubine will complain to me."

"That's to be expected, after all, he is the Imperial Concubine's brother."

Cai Jing didn't force anything; he had already achieved his goal.

"As for the specifics of how to do it, Grand Tutor, you know what to do. In short, you write the memorial, and I will stamp it!"

Emperor Huizong trusted Cai Jing completely, so he never doubted him at all.

"Your Majesty, this old minister thanks you!"

Cai Jing was very satisfied; the emperor was easy to talk to, which was good.

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Cai Jiu was also very happy because he was essentially exempted from responsibility. The Emperor had said so much, but not a single word was meant to blame him!

Liangshan, you're doomed!