Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Report! Chieftain! The Tokyo Infantry Command has dispatched over 10,000 troops to Lingzhou! Their intentions are unclear! They may be planning an attack on Liangshan!"

The day after Ren Yuan and Le He finished their conversation, new news came from Tianmu!

"More than 10,000 troops deployed? Who is leading them?"

Ren Yuan was somewhat surprised. More than ten thousand people—was it a military governor who had arrived?

"The leader seems to be called something like Guan Sheng with a big sword, and there's also some kind of prince consort."

"Ah, Guan Sheng, the Great Saber, I understand. Tianmu, listen up! Keep a close eye on this group's movements! Report back immediately if you get any news!"

"Yes!"

After the junior officer left, Ren Yuan thought for a moment and then instructed someone to invite Tang Bin over.

"Brother, did you need something from me?"

As the commander of the Liangshan cavalry's Wind Tiger Legion, Tang Bin is usually quite busy with his duties.

"Old Tang's here. Sit down. I want to ask you something. Do you know Guan Sheng?"

Ren Yuan asked directly.

"Guan Sheng, that's my sworn brother!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Bin was immediately delighted. How could he not know Guan Sheng!

Back in Pudong, the two of them were good friends and brothers, and they practiced their skills against each other almost every day.

Back then, many people in Pudong referred to these two as the "Twin Heroes of Pudong"! (After reviewing some materials, I found that the term "Twin Heroes of Pudong" is more common than "Three Heroes of Pudong," especially in illustrated versions of Water Margin, which only feature the Twin Heroes, not the Three Heroes.)

"The news from the Sky Curtain Camp is that Guan Sheng, along with Hao Siwen, Xuan Zan, and more than 10,000 others, set off from Tokyo for Lingzhou, and they are very likely heading towards us."

"Guan Sheng is here?"

Tang Bin was stunned. He was initially at a loss, then he kept muttering to himself:

"That shouldn't be the case. He's just an inspector; how could he possibly be assigned to patrol?"

"And why is Hao Siwen here too? He's just a nobody, what's he doing getting involved!"

"Old Tang, tell everyone what these two are up to."

Ren Yuan glanced at the strategists around him and decided to leave the matter to Tang Bin.

“Brother, strategists, Guan Sheng is an old friend of mine. He is a descendant of the famous Lord Guan. His appearance, clothing and personality are very similar to his ancestor. Moreover, he is highly skilled in martial arts and can also arrange troops. He is a very powerful military commander!”

"And Hao Siwen was also our good brother back then. This brother had a peculiar background. His mother dreamed that Jingmu Han was reincarnated, and then he was born. He learned all eighteen martial arts and was also quite knowledgeable in strategy."

"If both of them are leading the army, then we really need to be careful."

"Guan Sheng, Hao Siwen, and Xuan Zan, the chieftain, I've heard of an ugly prince consort in Tokyo. Could this be him?"

Wen Huanzhang stroked his beard and then asked Ren Yuan.

"It should be him. All three of them are capable of commanding troops, and they have brought more than 10,000 men with them. Obviously, they are taking this matter very seriously."

Ren Yuan nodded. He wasn't surprised, since these three were the same group in the original story.

"But judging from the news from Tianmu, the imperial court seems to be unaware of the large number of people mobilized this time, and there has been no announcement. Could they have launched a private attack? Impossible. Not to mention that three officials are too low-ranking to do it, even if they could, no one would do it."

Zhu Wu looked at the intelligence report and pondered the matter.

"No need to think about it, it must have been Gao Qiu who did it."

Xiao Jiahui waved his feather fan and said confidently, "Besides the imperial court, the Grand Commandant can also mobilize troops. Gao Qiu is currently doing the job of the Grand Commandant. This time, he probably did it for Gao Lian, so he didn't notify the imperial court and sent people in private. Therefore, he couldn't possibly have asked someone with a high position to do it."

"No wonder. I was wondering how Guan Sheng, a mere patrol inspector, could lead more than ten thousand men. This makes sense now."

Wang Yin said he had learned something new.

Now that Wang Yin is working with Wen Huanzhang, he's becoming more and more capable, and it's hard to tell that he used to be a simple-minded stonemason.

Ren Yuan also officially changed his position from military advisor to military strategist.

Of course, the others still stayed by Wen Huanzhang's side.

"And don't forget Lingzhou. The fact that these 10,000-plus people didn't come directly to Liangshan but went to Lingzhou first means that their forces are not yet complete. There must be more troops in Lingzhou."

Qiao Daoqing also shared his views.

“I know there are two militia leaders in Lingzhou. One is called Shan Tinggui, nicknamed the Holy Water General, who is skilled in water-based warfare. The other is called Wei Dingguo, nicknamed the Divine Fire General, who is skilled in fire-based warfare. I think Guan Sheng and his men are planning to go to Lingzhou first to meet up with these two, and then attack together.”

Gongsun Sheng spoke slowly and deliberately.

See, this is the advantage of having a strategist group. Everyone chimes in, and they've already pieced together the truth of the matter pretty accurately.

"In other words, five people came this time, and the troop strength is probably between 15,000 and 20,000."

Ren Yuan also offered his own guess.

"Five people, nearly 20,000 men! Good heavens, brother, is this the first time so many people have come to attack our Liangshan?"

Xiao Jiahui rubbed his hands together, eager for the fight: "If Guan Zhong comes back and finds out he missed such a battle, he'll probably regret it, hahaha."

"Brother, we must not underestimate him. Guan Da Dao is such a renowned figure; his reputation is well-deserved. He is definitely not simple."

Wen Huanzhang reminded Ren Yuan that they should not be careless.

“What you say is true, sir. In that case, we should take precautions in advance.”

Ren Yuan thought about it for a moment. He realized that passively responding was not his forte, so he decided to strike first.

"Chuan Huarong, Shi Bao, Huyan Zhuo, Mi Sheng, Sun An, Bian Xiang, Lu Zhishen."

"Brother, what about me? What about me?"

Tang Bin became anxious when he heard Ren Yuan name seven people, but not himself!

How can this be without me? Brother, don't you trust me?

“Old Tang, you two are brothers in Pudong, so it’s not right for you to fight each other on the battlefield. That would be too unfair to your brotherhood.”

Ren Yuan had his own considerations. Tang Bin was such a loyal and righteous man; it would be unfair to send him to face off against his old friends Guan Sheng and Hao Siwen.

"But..." Tang Bin wanted to say something more.

"Don't worry, although the Wind Tiger Legion won't be on the front lines, they can provide support. Besides, our goal this time is only one: to capture their five generals alive. So you don't need to worry about their safety."

Ren Yuan seemed to have seen through what Tang Bin wanted to say, so he revealed his plan in advance.

"Brother, what if Guan Sheng doesn't surrender?"

After a moment of silence, Tang Bin took the initiative to ask.

“Capture him alive, knock him unconscious, throw him into a labor camp first, then send him to Jeju Island. If he ever mentions loyalty to the emperor and serving the country, then take him to see Master Chai.”

Ren Yuan said without hesitation.

Guan Sheng is a good guy, but he's not irreplaceable. So if he doesn't surrender, let him go to Jeju Island to calm down.

"Younger brother, on behalf of Guan Sheng, thank you, elder brother!"

Tang Bin was deeply moved after hearing this. He was about to bow down to Ren Yuan, but Ren Yuan stopped him.

"Old Tang, stop bowing. If Guan Sheng gets caught by us, you'd better keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't try to commit suicide like Liangshan..."