Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Xiao Liuzi!"

The lead guard said to the younger guard.

"Brother Wu, I'm here."

"You and I will go into the city together and pretend to be brothers who have come to Daming Prefecture to find a way to make a living. The other brothers will stay here with the master and wait for him."

The man known as Brother Wu was the leader of the guards.

"Don't be anxious, sir. Wait for our news. You must not act rashly before the situation becomes clear."

Brother Wu said to Lu Junyi.

"Sigh... Alright, then I'll wait for news from Brother Wu."

How could Lu Junyi not be anxious? He wished he could grow wings and fly home immediately!

But given the current situation, there's no doubt that Brother Wu's approach is correct.

"Everyone else, protect the master. Xiao Liu, come with me."

Ren Yuan's personal guards were all top-notch fighters, selected through at least three rounds of training under Wang Jin before becoming his personal guards.

In terms of individual soldier quality, they were all at the level of what later generations would call "kings of soldiers".

Brother Wu and Xiao Liuzi simply changed their clothes and became two commoners looking for a way to make a living. Because they had a clean background and were very attentive in giving money to the gate guards, the two entered Daming Prefecture without any trouble.

After entering Daming Prefecture, the two pretended to take a walk, casually inquiring about the Lu family's affairs from the street stalls as they went.

"The Lu Mansion, sigh, there's no Lu Mansion anymore. It's said that Master Lu suddenly decided to become a thief for some reason!"

"Yes, yes, I heard that it was his most trusted steward, Li Gu, who reported it to the authorities. The authorities said that he had done a good job in reporting it, so they gave the entire Lu family to Li Gu."

"That's right, Li Gu has risen to prominence overnight. From now on, there is no more Master Lu in Daming Prefecture, only Master Li!"

……

After traveling around, they actually found out that what Yan Qing said was true!

"Brother Wu, this is troublesome."

Seeing this situation, Xiao Liuzi also felt a little uncertain.

"What should we do? Should we go back and tell Master Lu directly?"

"Telling is necessary, but how to tell is the problem."

Brother Wu sighed deeply. His brother had told them to follow Lu Junyi because he was afraid this kind of thing would happen.

Now that's great, what's there to be afraid of? It's exactly what's coming!

"Don't you understand Master Lu's temperament after spending these past few days with him?"

"If we just tell him directly, he'll probably just barge in himself! With his martial arts skills, who can stop him?"

"What should we do? The chieftain said we must protect him."

Xiao Liu was at his wit's end; in his heart, he was actually complaining about Lu Junyi.

"What are you thinking, kid?"

Brother Wu, as expected of the leader, immediately saw that Xiao Liu was secretly cursing someone.

"Master Lu is the chief's senior brother, just like Instructor Lin, do you understand?"

"No, Brother Wu, Instructor Lin's actions are always reasonable and well-founded, and we brothers all respect him. But this Master Lu, he clearly doesn't know how to judge people!"

Xiao Liuzi expressed that he felt very wronged.

"Look, that brother Yan Qing risked his life to deliver the message to him, and the look on his face just now showed that he didn't believe him at all. He even thought about hitting brother Yan Qing. I really feel sorry for brother Yan Qing!"

"How can they be the same? Master Lu has been a rich kid since childhood, and his life has always been smooth sailing. Instructor Lin was harmed by Gao Qiu and went through a lot. How can their mentality be the same?"

"Moreover, this is a case of Lu Yuanwai's wife colluding with his most trusted steward. No one, let alone Lu Yuanwai, could accept such a thing immediately."

Brother Wu said earnestly to Xiao Liuzi, "Actually, Brother Wu knows that Lu Junyi's vision and mentality are not particularly good right now. It's probably because he's been so focused on practicing martial arts that he doesn't care about other things."

"I understand, Brother Wu. I was wrong."

After hearing what Brother Wu said, Xiao Liuzi suddenly understood and admired Brother Wu even more.

"Let's go, let's sneak over to the Lu residence and see what's going on."

Brother Wu led Xiao Liuzi through Daming Prefecture, and soon the two arrived at Lu Junyi's residence.

But they discovered that someone was already taking down the "Lu Mansion" plaque and preparing to replace it with "Li Mansion"!

"Good heavens, the Lu family, no, the Li family, this Li Gu, is so impatient!"

Xiao Liuzi despised it.

"It's basically confirmed. Let's go back. We mustn't let the master act impulsively!"

The two turned and walked out, but halfway there they suddenly saw that the city gate was particularly lively, with many people gathered there!

Wu Ge suddenly sensed something was wrong and quickly pulled Xiao Liuzi to the side. Then they saw hundreds of guards from Daming Prefecture binding Lu Junyi, Yan Qing, and their other brothers with iron chains, pulling and tugging at them as they rushed towards the prefectural government office!

"Brother Wu! That..."

Xiao Liuzi panicked when he saw this; how could all his brothers have been arrested!

"Shut up."

Brother Wu gestured for Xiao Liu to be quiet, then, with a broad smile, he approached an old man watching the commotion and asked:

"Sir, what's going on here? Are those people criminals?"

"Young man, are you from the countryside? Is this your first day in Daming Prefecture?"

The old man watching the commotion turned his head, looked at Brother Wu's attire, and said with a smile.

"Well, to tell you the truth, this is the first thing my brother and I saw when we came to Daming Prefecture to look for work. Sir, who is that man? What did he do?"

"Alas, it's a tragedy. That man is the famous Master Lu of Daming Prefecture, the richest man in Daming Prefecture. But a few days ago, his family went to the yamen to file a complaint, saying that he colluded with Liangshan and voluntarily went up the mountain to become a bandit. As a result, the prefect believed him and ordered him to be arrested."

"That Yan Qing is his favorite servant. The prefect has been keeping an eye on him. So, he waited until Lu Junyi was caught, and they arrested him together."

The old man stroked his beard and spoke slowly.

"Huh? Sir, how come whatever his steward says is accepted without question? Doesn't the authorities verify anything?"

Brother Wu asked again.

"You young man, you don't understand. Master Lu is the richest man in Daming Prefecture. How much wealth does he have? The Prefect has long been envious!"

"Look at this time, not only can they put him in jail openly, but they're also said to get a third of his assets. Why bother investigating? Who would turn down money?"

"Moreover, that steward Li Gu is said to have been having an affair with Madam Jia, the wife of Master Lu. Now that this has been done, the two of them can be open about it. Isn't this a perfect match?"

"Sir, you know so much! I admire you!"

Brother Wu gave the old man a simple, honest smile and a thumbs-up!

"It's nothing. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice!"

……

"Little Liu, make preparations later. After you leave the city, hurry back to Liangshan and find the chieftain."

After receiving the intelligence, Brother Wu immediately sent Xiao Liuzi back to report.

"Okay, Brother Wu, what about you?"

"I'll stay behind as an inside man and tell the chieftain that Daming Prefecture is well-armed and fortified. If we can take it by strategy, we shouldn't attack it head-on!"