Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

“Nephew, people like Jing Zhong are actually very well-connected in officialdom.”

Hearing Zhang Yang's youthful and impetuous words, Mei Zhan smiled gently.

"In fact, this guy is more influential in the court than your uncle and I are."

"Old Mei, what are you saying? That Jing Zhong is just sucking up to Cai Jing! That old dog has the final say in the court now, of course he can promote someone like Jing Zhong."

Zhang Kai never gave Jing Zhong a friendly look.

"You should say less of these kinds of things in front of the children."

Mei Zhan said to Zhang Kai.

"With your fiery temper, don't you dare corrupt my nephew."

"What's wrong with me? I'm just telling the truth. You can make Jing Zhong stand in front of me, and you'll see if I hit him or not."

Zhang Kai's skills are among the top three in the Ten Commands, but his overall ranking in the Ten Commands is only in the middle.

“If you hit Jing Zhong, you’re slapping Cai Jing in the face. He’s Cai Jing’s dog. You have to consider the owner before you hit a dog. Even if Cai Jing can’t deal with you and me, Yang’er still has to work for the court.”

Mei Zhan herself has no children, but she treats Zhang Yang as her own son.

"If we can't make it here, then we won't! I was a bandit back in the day! Who in the martial world doesn't know my name? Do you really think we can't survive without this damned government?"

Zhang Kai didn't take it seriously: "How many of Cai Jing's kind did we kill back in the day when we were outlaws? If it weren't for the late emperor's kindness to us, to be honest, I would have given up my position as military governor a long time ago."

"If it weren't for the fact that this brat still hasn't found a job, I would have resigned long ago!"

"Uncle, don't drag me into this. I'm fine with joining the bandits."

Zhang Yang knew that his uncle didn't really feel any sense of belonging to the court, so he spoke bluntly.

"A bandit? You?"

Zhang Kai slapped Zhang Yang on the head.

"Don't think that just because someone calls you Sai Wenyuan, you're really that great. They're just giving me face."

"Go easy on him, or he'll be mentally impaired."

Mei Zhan stopped Zhang Kai from doing so and said to Zhang Yang earnestly:

"Yang'er, times have changed. It's not so easy to be a bandit anymore."

"Back then, your uncle and I were able to make our way in the martial world by sheer chance. But now, the Song Dynasty's outlaws are divided into four factions, and none of those four are spineless. If you wanted to join the outlaws now, who do you think you could replace?"

"I... um... Tian Hu should be able to do it, right?"

Zhang Yang wanted to refute it, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that what his Uncle Mei said made sense. Indeed, the four major bandits of the Song Dynasty were very powerful.

The only one who might be a little lacking is Tian Hu.

"Tian Hu? Don't underestimate him. This time, Tong Guan personally led the team, with ten military commanders and two imperial generals, a total of 100,000 men. How long have they been fighting? Almost two months, and they still haven't taken it!"

"Yang'er, if I replaced you with Tian Hu, are you confident you could do it?"

Mei Zhan's words were reasonable and logical, and after thinking about it, Zhang Yang could only nod in agreement.

"So, kid, don't be arrogant. With your skill level, even if I sent you to the outlaws right now, it would be a question whether you could even become a leader under one of the Four Great Bandits."

Zhang Kai also took the opportunity to give his nephew a lecture.

"Uncle, I'm not that bad..."

Zhang Yang smiled wryly. He wasn't bad either. After all, he had practiced martial arts diligently since childhood and was well-versed in military strategy. He was capable, wasn't he?

"I won't mention anything else. Ren Yuan from Shandong has Lin Chong, the former instructor of the Imperial Guards, Lu Da, the commander of the Western Army, Wu Song, the tiger slayer, and Lu Junyi, the unparalleled spear and staff master from Hebei. Come on, tell me, which of these can you beat?"

Zhang Yang fell silent. Indeed, although they were government troops, they were also aware of the legendary heroes in the martial arts world.

Therefore, Zhang Yang wisely chose to change the subject.

"Uncle, Uncle Mei, then tell me, why did the Emperor send us all here this time? Is it to fight these bandit families?"

"Tian Hu has declared himself king, Tong Guan is busy preparing, Wang Qing is said to have auspicious omens and has even dealt with Cai Jing's son-in-law, the old dog. Liangshan has broken through Daming Prefecture, and only Fang La has not yet made any major moves."

Mei Zhan analyzed:

"I estimate that this time, our Tenth Division will have to choose one of the other three to fight."

"Go ahead and fight! They're all our juniors, why should we be afraid?"

With a flick of his long spear, countless spear flowers bloomed in the air.

"Yang'er, perform well in this battle, and the court will appoint you as a militia commander or a supervisor."

"Uncle, Uncle Mei, which of these three families do you think is the easiest to fight?"

"Wang Qing, Ren Yuan, and Fang La are about the same, but Tian Hu is the worst."

Zhang Kai thought for a moment and then said.

"This time I agree with your uncle."

Mei Zhan also agreed.

"Alright, let the soldiers get up. Let's finish the last bit of the journey."

Zhang Yang nodded, then went down to direct the two teams to resume their journey.

……

A few days later, the nine military governors arrived in the capital.

In addition to Wang Huan, Wang Wende, Mei Zhan, Zhang Kai, Yang Wen, and Han Cunbao, three more people arrived one after another.

Which three?

One was Xu Jing, the military governor of Taiyuan in Shangdang. He was also a seasoned veteran, a little younger than Wang Huan. He ranked second among the ten military governors. In his youth, he was tenacious in battle and repeatedly escaped death when he was in danger, hence the nickname "Four-Legged Snake" in the martial arts world. In his old age, he gained a new nickname, "Old Ape Xu," because of his extremely agile skills.

Another was Xu Jing's good friend, Li Congji, the military governor of Hanyang in Longxi. He was a low-key and kind man who never competed for anything. He and Xu Jing had known each other for many years and were like old brothers.

The last one is Xiang Yuanzhen, the military governor of Langya Pengcheng. He was once a famous "divine archery general" and was also a recognized archery master among the bandits of the previous Song Dynasty!

"I'm saying, all nine of us have arrived, so we can go see the Emperor now, right, brother? What do you think?"

Zhang Kai asked Wang Huan.

"Jing Zhong hasn't arrived yet, so don't be impatient. His Majesty wanted to see our ten military governors, but only nine of them showed up. What does that mean?"

"What does Jing Zhong have? It doesn't matter whether he comes or not. Does he even deserve to be a tenth-rank military commander? Stop embarrassing yourself."

Zhang Kai felt annoyed whenever he heard Jing Zhong's name.

“Jing Zhong has been robbing all the way here, and we’ve been getting letters criticizing him every day. I wonder if His Majesty will finally take action this time.”

Han Cunbao looked down on Jing Zhong, after all, he was the descendant of an official.

"Manage? How can you manage that? That's Cai Jing's dog! Don't you respect the owner when you beat a dog?"

After listening, Wang Wende first glanced at Han Cunbao, then continued in a nonchalant tone:

"Of course, you can deal with the Han family brat. You are the grandson of the Prince, unlike us. Your family doesn't need to be afraid of that old dog Cai."

"General Wang, I haven't done anything to you, have I? Why are you targeting me?"

Seeing Wang Wende's expression, Han Cunbao also felt somewhat uncomfortable.

You old Wang, don't act like you're old and domineering!

"Alright, what's all the fuss about? You're making a fool of yourself!"

Wang Huan's words immediately silenced the entire room! No one dared to challenge him.

"We're not waiting for Jing Zhong anymore. Let him come whenever he wants!"

"Everyone else, prepare your horses, and follow me to the palace!"