Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother Zhou... I... I came here on a royal mission."

Xu Jing looked at Zhou Tong, his tone no longer as confident as it had been at the beginning.

"Brother, you, you just said he, he's your apprentice?"

Xu Jing was truly surprised; this Ren Yuan was actually Zhou Tong's apprentice!

You should know that when they were just starting out in the bandit world, Zhou Tong had already made a name for himself in both the legitimate and underworld circles of the Song Dynasty! He was the disciple of Jin Tai, the King of Boxing, and served as a top-level instructor at the Imperial Guard Boxing Hall. No one could replace him!

In front of Zhou Tong, Xu Jing was just a subordinate.

"Yes, this is my apprentice, old monkey. Tell me, what brings you here on orders?"

Zhou Tong asked Xu Jing directly.

"Brother Zhou, if I had known you were here, I would never have come."

Xu Jing could only smile wryly; he had truly shot himself in the foot.

"Xu Jiedushi, are you here to offer amnesty?"

Ren Yuan looked at Xu Jing's somewhat embarrassed expression and seemed to have guessed something.

"You, how do you know?"

Xu Jing was somewhat surprised. This Ren Yuan looked tall and strong, but he didn't expect him to be so smart.

“You just told my patrolling officer that you are angels. I don’t think Zhao Ji has much affection for our Liangshan. So his sudden sending of people must have a purpose.”

"What does Liangshan have that he'd be interested in? It must be our elite fighting force. After all, we're capable of breaking through Daming Prefecture. Zhao Ji hasn't even taken down Tian Hu yet, so he must want to recruit a group of people to deal with Tian Hu. Am I right, Commander Xu?"

"That's right, I did come here to offer amnesty."

Xu Jing was surprised by Ren Yuan's way of thinking, but he had to nod and admit that what Ren Yuan said was true.

"Hehe, this is interesting, old monkey. You actually want to offer amnesty to the imperial court? Do you think this one is comparable to the late emperor?"

Zhou Tong sneered and looked at Xu Jing:

"The reason you little brats were able to be granted amnesty back then was because the emperor on the throne was the late emperor. His magnanimity, tolerance, and ability were among the best in all the dynasties of the Song Dynasty, which is why he was willing to go against the majority of the opposition to grant amnesty."

"But the one on the dragon throne now, at first he still had some interest in politics, but he's gotten worse day by day, and his demeanor is nowhere near that of the late emperor. Do you think someone like that would be granted amnesty? Old monkey, are you just making fun of me?"

"How dare you, you old man, speak so arrogantly!"

Xu Jing's henchman, seeing an old man pointing his finger at his general and cursing him, while his general didn't dare to retaliate, felt his desire to protect his master resurface.

"You young man, you are indeed loyal, but you are a bit stupid. Your general? Ask him, in front of me, would he dare to call himself a general?"

Zhou Tong looked at the follower who was speaking to Xu Jing and said with some amusement.

"All of you, please be quiet. This is the legendary Zhou Tong from the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty. It's no problem if he says a few words to me."

Xu Jing said to his men, and he wasn't lying. With Zhou Tong's status in the Song Dynasty's martial arts world, he could basically say the same thing to everyone.

"Xu Jiedushi, Zhao Ji wants to offer me amnesty. What conditions did he offer?"

Ren Yuan looked at Xu Jing and asked.

"You're so smart, what conditions do you think the Emperor will offer you?"

Xu Jing did not answer directly, but instead asked a question in return.

"Well, if you can't even give a direct answer, then it means that Zhao Ji's offer is really bad!"

Ren Yuan was well aware of who Zhao Ji was. Consider the Liangshan heroes in the original novel: after accepting the imperial pardon, they fought countless battles, resulting in many deaths and injuries among the 108 heroes. In the end, Song Jiang, as the leader, was only granted the title of Wude Dafu (武德大夫), Chuzhou Anfu Shi (楚州安抚使), and concurrently Bingma Duzongguan (兵马都总管). (The last two are errors by Shi Nai'an, as the position of Anfu Shi could not be appointed by prefecture, but only by circuit.)

The title of Wude Dafu was merely a seventh-rank official! (In the second year of the Zhenghe era, Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, redefined the ranks of military officials, establishing fifty-three ranks for military officers. The twenty-eighth rank, Wude Dafu, replaced the former officials of the Palace Garden, Left and Right Steeds, and Inner Treasury.)

"His Majesty's intention is to appoint you as a fifth-rank envoy. What do you think?"

Xu Jing said, forcing himself to speak.

"Hahaha, a fifth-rank official? Who does he think he is?"

Ren Yuan burst into laughter, his tone filled with contempt for Zhao Ji.

"He's not as straightforward as Tian Hu! Really, Governor Xu, you don't know, Tian Hu's pseudo-court was willing to grant me a kingship, while Zhao Ji only gave me a fifth-rank official position. Just looking at it this way, Zhao Ji isn't as good at treating people with respect as Tian Hu. Do you think I would accept his offer of amnesty?"

"Recruit amnesty? What amnesty? Who wants to be recruited?"

Mi Sheng and Shan Shiqi, who were enjoying their drinks, followed Ren Yuan and Zhou Tong after they came out. After passing through many wine bowls, they happened to hear Ren Yuan's last words.

Then, those two loudmouths started yelling again.

In an instant, the entire side hall fell silent.

"Brother, why the sudden offer to surrender?"

Hsiao Chia-hui and Hsu Kuan-chung rushed over, wanting to see what had happened.

"Brothers, nobody wants to be offered amnesty! It's just that guy Zhao Ji who sent people over to try and recruit us!"

Ren Yuan raised his voice to the maximum, and to prevent his brothers from mishearing, he repeated it three times!

"I see! I misheard!"

"I knew it! How could my brother possibly accept the imperial pardon!"

"Exactly! Exactly! By the way, who is this Zhao Ji again? Why should he ask us to surrender?"

"Old Hei, I've told you to read more books, but you just won't listen. Zhao Ji, he's the current emperor!"

"What the hell? What kind of official is he? My brother, Ren Yuan, that's the real official!"

……

After hearing Ren Yuan's words, the atmosphere in the side hall became lively again, because the overall atmosphere in Liangshan was now to rebuild the world, and there was not a single person in the whole mountain who wanted to be granted amnesty!

Only the independence faction and the radical faction that believes the independence faction is not independent enough!

"Wait, wait a minute, which bastard did the imperial court send to offer amnesty? Bring me my wolf-tooth club!"

Qin Ming took this opportunity to withdraw from Lu Zhishen's side. He couldn't possibly outdrink this big monk!

"Yes, yes! Bring me, bring me my axe!"

Suo Chao was also one of the main forces in Ma Jun's drinking contest this time, and he also stood up unsteadily.

"Commander Xu, you've heard it too. My brothers from Liangshan have no interest in being granted amnesty!"

Ren Yuan looked at Xu Jing, his expression conveying an imposing authority without anger.

"So... are you still going to represent Emperor Huizong of Song to offer us amnesty?"

"Hahahaha!"

But to Ren Yuan's utter surprise, after hearing his words, Xu Jing laughed loudly, then patted his own shoulder, his old face as round as a blooming chrysanthemum.

"What offer of amnesty? I know nothing about it! My dear nephew! Your master and I are old acquaintances! I'm just here as a guest today!"

"What imperial governor? There are no imperial governors here today, only lizards from the Jianghu!"

"I'm here today to attend a wedding!"