Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

After rescuing Wang Jin and bringing him back to the mountain, Ren Yuan spent a lot of money to have famous doctors from the surrounding area come up the mountain to treat Wang Jin's injuries.

After all, three cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang. Even without An Daoquan, the local renowned doctors could manage.

At the same time, Ren Yuan once again ordered all the people in Liangshan to keep a low profile. Apart from cracking down on local tyrants, doing business with Chai Jin and collecting some tolls, the most important task for the entire Liangshan group at present is still to build fortifications and stabilize development.

As for the surrounding cities, Liangshan's attitude was to maintain peace for the time being.

Not long after returning to the mountain, Sun An, carrying Ren Yuan's letter, went down the mountain to find Qiao Lie and also to visit An Daoquan.

And time flies, several months have passed in the blink of an eye, and the end of the year has quietly arrived.

Snowflakes fell, covering the landscape in silver, and even the eight hundred miles of waterways were frozen solid.

Amidst the vast expanse of white sky and earth, the Liangshan stronghold was bathed in a soft glow of red, bringing warmth to the winter landscape.

"Hang up all the red lanterns! And make sure they're not crooked!"

"Put up the Spring Festival couplets too, don't get the order mixed up, or people will laugh at you."

"Brother Du Qian, can you understand couplets?"

"Damn it! I don't understand this at all, get it fixed right now!"

In the mountain stronghold, Du Qian was directing his henchmen to make preparations while joking and playing around with them.

This year marks the first year since Ren Yuan took over Liangshan, and for Du Qian, it all feels like a dream.

At this time last year, Liangshan was still under Wang Lun's control. At that time, Wang Lun only gave each of his underlings 200 coins (again, one string in this book is one thousand coins, and two strings are one tael of silver). The banquet was just a big meal prepared for him and himself.

As for the ordinary henchmen, last year they only killed one pig, which was then distributed among all the henchmen in the stronghold.

Even Du Qian thought the scene was stingy, and the whole New Year was cold and quiet.

But this year is different. This year, Liangshan is really rich and powerful.

Before the end of the year, Chai Da Guanren delivered a large sum of money to the mountain stronghold on time, according to the agreed-upon share.

That's a whopping two hundred thousand strings of cash! When has this mountain stronghold ever been so rich?

When Du Qian saw this pile of money, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Take it, my head steward. Master Chai earns just as much as we do. Think about it, he knows all sorts of important people. For those wealthy families in Tokyo, this is nothing.”

Ren Yuan comforted Du Qian in this way: there was no other way, after all, Du Qian had followed that stingy guy Wang Lun before, and his horizons were indeed not open enough.

However, Ren Yuan still admired Chai Jin quite a bit. He was right to hire him because he could sell wine so well.

(Just a quick note here, to avoid any complaints about the excessive profits. The wine business in the Northern Song Dynasty was very profitable, then called "que gu." According to historical records, this system generated over 1000 million strings of cash in revenue for the Northern Song court annually by the end of the dynasty, second only to the two taxes and the salt monopoly. Of course, not everyone was qualified to sell wine; official approval was required, and selling wine privately was a serious crime. That's why he's mentioned alongside Chai Jin in this book—because in the original novel, Chai Jin is ostensibly a descendant of Chai Rong, who possesses an iron certificate (a certificate of merit), and the court would still grant him some preferential treatment, as long as he didn't...) If he engaged in reckless behavior, the imperial court wouldn't punish him; instead, they would treat him leniently as a sign of leniency. For example, they might tacitly allow him to harbor criminals or engage in some business. If the Chai family only wanted to make money, the court wouldn't interfere, although some lackeys would be envious. Therefore, Chai Jin's wine business was legal, which is why the book involves doing business with him. Although Chai Jin doesn't seem to have engaged in this business in the original novel, this setting is reasonable. Think about it: Chai Jin, with assets of several million strings of cash and considerable household expenses, should have an annual income of several hundred thousand to nearly a million strings of cash, which is reasonable, isn't it?

"Brother, with such a way to make money, we can reduce the number of times we go down the mountain and focus on developing our business. Our lives will only get better and better!"

Du Qian had never felt so upright before!

Need money to buy horses and prepare a cavalry, need money to build ships and integrate a navy, need money to build fortifications, need money to pay the soldiers in the mountain stronghold... none of these are problems!

I now have 200,000 strings of cash!

Is 100,000 strings of cash enough to distribute?

They're just rich! They're just as extravagant! They're just that wealthy!

Therefore, the year-end preparations for everyone on Liangshan were done very well.

If you're rich, you can do whatever you want!

"Brother Du Qian, we've been looking for you for ages."

Just as Du Qian was lost in his memories, Song Wan arrived.

"what happened?"

"Brother is looking for you. Brother Sun An is back, along with his good brother Qiao Lie and the divine doctor An Daoquan. In his words, they're back just in time for the New Year. So, brother has asked all the leaders to go to the Hall of Righteousness."

"Okay, let's go together then."

Du Qian and Song Wan, one in charge of money and the other in charge of the kitchen, often cooperated with each other, and their relationship was arguably the best.

"You all need to work diligently. Don't slack off during the New Year holiday!"

……

Inside the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, Ren Yuan, along with the other leaders, warmly welcomed Qiao Daoqing and An Daoquan.

Qiao Daoqing wore a purple-gold and jewel-inlaid fish-tail Taoist crown, a black-edged brocade crane cloak with fiery red trim, a multicolored silk velvet belt around his waist, and square red shoes with cloud patterns on his feet. He carried an ancient iron sword on his back and several apricot-yellow ancient talismans. He had eight-character eyebrows, blue eyes, and a full beard, and his voice sounded like a bell from all directions.

"Brother Qiao Lie, I've heard so much about you!"

“Brother, you flatter me. Brother Sun An told me that you often praised my Taoist skills on the mountain, but they were all illusions. I don’t deserve such praise from you.”

Qiao Daoqing was still very humble at this moment, probably because he had come up the mountain early and had not been corrupted by Tian Hu.

"You can wield a spear and staff, possess fantastical Taoist arts, and even arrange troops in formation. Brother Qiao, as far as I know, only that Taoist Master Gongsun, nicknamed 'Dragon Soaring into the Clouds,' can compare to your skill level." (According to the original Water Margin, before Gongsun Sheng returned to the mountain a second time to learn the Five Thunder Technique from Master Luo, he was only on par with Qiao Daoqing. Of course, as we've already mentioned, this book doesn't feature Taoist magic.)

“He is a direct disciple of Master Luo, while I am just a minor Taoist who has never met the master. I cannot compare to him.”

When this matter was mentioned, Qiao Daoqing's expression darkened somewhat, indicating that the failure to become an apprentice back then still cast a shadow on his heart.

"That's not quite right, Brother Qiao Lie. According to you, you haven't received instruction from a famous teacher, yet your skills are almost on par with those of a personally taught disciple. Isn't that enough to prove that you have superior talent? Brother, you should be proud!"

Ren Yuan started to deceive people. Actually, the relationship between Qiao Daoqing and Gongsun Sheng was quite similar to that of another pair in their own sect.

Although his master never mentioned that person's name when he was a student, Ren Yuan still found some clues. Combined with the picture books and storytelling he had read in his previous life, Ren Yuan felt that something must have happened within his sect.

Yes, the story between the second senior brother Lu Junyi and that man.

When we meet, it will definitely be exciting.

"Does brother really think that way?"

Qiao Daoqing had always felt that he lacked talent, which was why he hadn't been chosen as a disciple by Master Luo. However, Ren Yuan's words today gave him a different perspective.

"That's right, think about it carefully, doesn't that make sense? If we don't accept it, we don't accept it. When our abilities surpass theirs in the future, they will be the ones who regret it! They were blind and missed out on such a great talent as Brother Qiao Lie!"

"Brother is right! I was too attached to appearances before!"

Qiao Daoqing's face showed a different look; the thing that had hit him so hard now seemed less serious.

"That's more like it! A new year, a new look! Brother Qiao Lie, from now on, you'll have to help Brother Zhu Wu a lot in the stronghold. You'll also serve as Liangshan's strategist, advising on military matters together!"

Ren Yuan patted Zhu Wu on the shoulder. He knew that Zhu Wu was under a lot of pressure. Although Qiao Daoqing was not a proper strategist, he could fill the role, and he was currently the person who could help Zhu Wu the most.

"Brother, you've finally remembered me."

Zhu Wu also joked with Ren Yuan, and of course he was very happy because Qiao Daoqing could indeed help him.

With his literacy skills, strategic planning abilities, and mastery of both literary and martial arts, Zhu Wu felt he could finally afford to be lazy.

"Brother, I heard that Brother Sun An has returned?"

Du Qian and Song Wan arrived at this time. They greeted Qiao Daoqing first. They were all forthright men, and the distance between them immediately shortened.

At this moment, Ren Yuan walked to another person, bowed, and said respectfully:

"Ren Yuan of Liangshan pays his respects to the Divine Physician. It is an honor for us that the Divine Physician has come to our humble village today! Please accept Ren Yuan's bow!"