Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother Xu, what's going on with you guys?"

Xiang Yuanzhen looked at his two old brothers, who were almost unharmed and whose clothes were only slightly dirty, with a bewildered expression.

Why is everyone else injured, but you two are fine?

"Well, the people we encountered showed mercy."

Xu Jing coughed lightly and glared at Li Congji. "Yes, it's you! Who told you to be so relaxed? Why don't you try to act tough too!"

"Come on, Brother Xu, did you and Li Congji reach some kind of agreement with Liangshan?"

Wang Wende supported Wang Huan, who seemed to be in a semi-comatose state.

"Yes, yes."

Xiang Yuanzhen said, "You say you're not up to any tricks? Who would believe that!"

"Well, not entirely... By the way, Han family boy, you haven't told me yet, what happened to you? Why do you look so injured?"

Xu Jing changed the subject, drawing everyone's attention to Han Cunbao.

"Brother Xu, isn't it a bit too abrupt to suddenly shift the topic to me?"

Han Cunbao also looked helpless.

"Oh, wait a minute, did you guys notice? Zhang Kai isn't here. Where is he?"

After Xu Jing said "oh," he changed the subject again.

However, the shift in topic was a little awkward.

The main problem is that not many people are willing to take the bait.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you the truth. Before the battle started, didn't I tell you that Liangshan did have designs on us old guys?"

Xu Jing thought, "Well, no one's saying anything. Fine, then I'll tell you everything."

"So, Lao Xu, you joined Liangshan before?"

Wang Huan, who was probably still in a semi-comatose state, suddenly opened his eyes!

"You scared me, Brother Wang!"

Xu Jing was startled by Wang Huan's sudden words, then waved his hand and said.

"I'm the same as you; I didn't join Liangshan before the fight."

"But the difference is, when I went back from Liangshan last time, Ren Yuan told me a lot of things, and I thought what he said made a lot of sense, so I chatted with him for a while. I found that this kid isn't what we thought. He doesn't just want to be a bandit king; he wants to..."

Xu Jing shared his personal journey with his brothers.

"...So, this kid has taken a different path from everyone else. I found it interesting after hearing about it, so I agreed to tell you about it when I get back. If possible, you can also hear what this kid has to say."

"But before this battle, you all acted like seniors and didn't listen to me at all. What could I say? You're all old brothers, I can't just abandon you!"

"Only Old Li was willing to trust me, so I told him the secret code left by Liangshan, and that's why he was alright."

At this moment, Li Congji also promptly revealed a somewhat embarrassed smile:

"Well, brothers, as you know, I'm good friends with Lao Xu, so I'm just supporting him, that's all."

"Confused!"

Wang Huan struggled to his feet and looked at Xu Jing.

"Have you forgotten your own identity? We were all recruited from the bandits by the late emperor. Are you planning to go back to the bandits now? That's like taking off your pants to fart, completely unnecessary!"

The others dared not speak, because Wang Huan and Xu Jing were the two oldest among the ten commanders, and in terms of overall ranking, they were first and second respectively.

The two of them are arguing, and it's not appropriate for others to get involved.

“The late emperor, brother, as you know, it was the late emperor who took us away back then.”

Xu Jing wasn't angry. He looked at Wang Huan and said slowly.

"How do you think the person sitting in that position now compares to the late emperor?"

"..."

Wang Huan moved his lips, but did not speak.

"Not as good, is it? Far from it!"

Xu Jing said what Wang Huan hadn't said: "I, Xu Jing, am not an ungrateful person. The late emperor treated me as a national hero, so of course I will repay him as a national hero."

"But what about this guy? I haven't even returned from Liangshan yet, and he's already sending people to attack Liangshan? He even gave my men to that bastard Jing Zhong! Did he even consider my life or death?"

"Or does he believe that if the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die?"

"Well, Brother Xu, actually, Brother Wang was indignant on your behalf back then, but the officials..."

Wang Wende stepped forward and spoke up for Wang Huan.

"This current emperor is ambitious but incompetent, yet he insists on learning some unreliable things. Putting aside everything else, Emperor Taizu's 'releasing military power over a cup of wine' was a testament to his ability. But this emperor is doing it differently: releasing military power to suppress bandits? At least we should have finished suppressing the bandits first. Before the bandits are even eliminated, he's already detaining 30% of our troops. What is he trying to do? What is he trying to do?"

Xu Jing had long harbored resentment towards Zhao Ji.

"I was able to roam the outlaw world back then, but I came to the court out of gratitude to the late emperor. Now that the late emperor is gone and the court is so corrupt, I don't want to stay anymore. Is that not allowed?"

"Then you can resign from your post; this constitutes treason."

Wang Huan rolled his eyes at Xu Jing.

"My elder brother, if I really were to betray the enemy, Zhou Ang would drown that very day! By the way, Qiu Yue, where is Zhou Ang?"

"I don't know, I guess he ran away with Gao Qiu."

Mei Zhan, the kind-hearted man, quickly changed the subject; he had been worried that the two old buddies would start fighting!

"They can't possibly escape! Do you even know that Liangshan has several experts in their Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation that haven't shown up yet? Guess where they went?"

Xu Jing sneered. He had specifically looked at the flags during the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation and knew that at least three or four powerful generals from Liangshan were not in this formation.

"Does Brother Xu mean they've gone to ambush Gao Qiu?"

Wang Wende realized what was happening:

"Are there really so many powerful people in Liangshan?"

Do you know who those people are?

Xu Jing continued, "I won't mention Lin Chong, Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Huyan Zhuo. Do you remember Wang Jin and Xu Ning? They were also on Liangshan!"

"Xiao Wang is here too?"

Upon hearing Wang Jin's name, Wang Huan also became unsettled.

"That's right. There are quite a few people on Liangshan who have some connection with Gao Qiu. I think Gao Qiu might have already joined Liangshan. Do you know how many capable and brave leaders he has sent to Liangshan? He's afraid that Liangshan will lack soldiers and generals, so he keeps sending them up the mountain!"

"With so many people on Liangshan now, how can Gao Qiu possibly escape?"

There was complete silence; none of the eight military governors present spoke.

"If Liangshan kills Gao Qiu, then they will have a really big grudge against the government."

Han Cunbao endured the pain on his face and spoke silently.

"Young man from the Han family, what are you worried about? We are responsible for this crushing defeat, but you, you will not have any problems."

Xu Jing looked at Han Cunbao and smiled slightly.

"After all, you're the only son of the Han family. We have to give the Han family face. Oh, and you, Yang family boy, you may not have the same good outcome as the Han family boy, but staying alive isn't a problem."

"As for the others, think about it yourselves. If you are defeated this time and return to the court, given this official's character, what will happen to you?"

Xu Jing's words were harsh, but they were true.

"Um, brother, I have a question. If we go to Ren Yuan now and tell him we're willing to go back to being outlaws, would he accept it?"

Xiang Yuanzhen raised his uninjured hand to indicate this.

"Why didn't you think of this earlier? Now you're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

Xu Jing spread his hands, indicating that he was powerless to help.

This puzzled Xiang Yuanzhen somewhat:

"No, what's wrong? There are different levels of surrender now?"