Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

Zhang Shuye led his troops into the city. Not long after entering, he looked at the situation in the county town, frowned, and turned to ask, "Shi Wenbin."

“Magistrate Shi, I instructed in my letter to have Yuncheng prepare for battle, but why is there no sense of preparation at all in the entire county?”

"Lord Zhang, I think that as a county magistrate, isn't it more important to ensure that the people live a good life?"

Shi Wenbin walked alongside Zhang Shuye, responding with a smile.

“Your idea is correct, but now the Liangshan bandits are coming here to talk with us. If we can capture them now, it will be a great achievement! It will also get rid of a major threat to the imperial court!”

“Magistrate Shi, at this moment, you need to be clear about what is more important.”

“Lord Zhang, you have been in Haizhou for a long time and then in Jiangnan suppressing the rebellion, so you may not be very familiar with the situation in Yuncheng.”

"Shi Wenbin" said with a smile.

“Our Yuncheng is very close to Liangshan, and Liangshan has a great influence in Yuncheng.”

"Although I am the county magistrate, in Yuncheng, my words sometimes carry less weight than those of Liangshan."

"Ok?"

Zhang Shuye reined in his horse, his brows furrowing even deeper.

“Magistrate Shi, what do you mean by that? You are a magistrate appointed by the imperial court, and you are the rightful lord of Yuncheng. How can you allow a bunch of bandits to have more prestige in Yuncheng than you?”

Zhang Shuye found this utterly unbelievable!

"My lord, the people have a scale in their hearts. They will be good to those who treat them well."

Shi Wenbin shrugged, his face full of sincerity.

"Sometimes we have to admit that what Liangshan did was better than what the imperial court did."

"Magistrate Shi, what are you saying?"

Zhang Shuye could hardly believe it.

"Do you know what you just said? You are an official of the imperial court! What you just said is treason!"

"Lord Zhang, I'm not making this up. The Liangshan uprising has been going on for several years, but whether it was during my tenure or that of the previous magistrate, Liangshan never harmed Yuncheng in the slightest, and even continued to help the people of Yuncheng..."

"Those are all tricks of those bandits, just to deceive people's hearts!"

"Is that so? But not long ago, Tong Guan, the Grand Councilor, led a large army to attack Liangshan, but he also plundered the people's property in my Yuncheng. My lord, Liangshan did not target the people of Yuncheng, but the imperial court did. What do you say about this, my lord?"

“These are all isolated cases! Our Song Dynasty has many capable ministers, but Tong Guan is special.”

After thinking it over, Zhang Shuye decided to try and salvage Tong Guan's image.

"Oh, before that, Grand Commandant Gao Qiu also led troops to attack Liangshan and also plundered my Yuncheng."

"Lord Zhang, more than three years have passed since the Liangshan uprising, and the imperial court has twice plundered the people of Yuncheng. Why is that?"

Zhang Shuye fell silent.

He didn't know how to answer that question.

This Shi Wenbin, his current situation, could it be...?

"Magistrate Shi, have you already defected to Liangshan?"

Zhang Shuye looked at "Shi Wenbin".

"How could you be so foolish! After all these years of studying hard, you actually believed in Liangshan? Why don't you trust the imperial court?"

Shi Wenbin smiled slightly.

"Lord Zhang, it's not that I don't trust the imperial court, but that the imperial court is no longer worthy of our trust!"

"Shut up! Deng Chun, seize him! He's already defected to Liangshan!"

Zhang Shuye was very loyal to the Song Dynasty. Upon hearing what Shi Wenbin said, he immediately ordered Deng Chun to arrest the man!

"excuse me!"

Deng Chun immediately jumped off his horse, raised one hand, and his palm turned into a claw as he grabbed at "Shi Wenbin"!

"Grappling technique?"

When Shi Wenbin saw Deng Chun's gesture, he smiled. Just as Deng Chun was about to catch him, he tapped his toes, kept his body still, and retreated more than ten feet!

"You! Something's wrong! Fourth brother, protect the master!"

Deng Chun's pupils shrank instantly. He didn't give chase, but instead shouted at his men.

The twenty or thirty men who followed Zhang Shuye into the city immediately drew their weapons and protected him!

"You're not Shi Wenbin! Who are you?!"

Zhang Shuye had witnessed Deng Chun's fight with "Shi Wenbin," and the incredible agility of the man sent chills down Zhang Shuye's spine.

Shi Wenbin was just an ordinary county magistrate, how could he possibly have martial arts skills?

"Lord Zhang, are you only realizing now that my identity is problematic?"

Shi Wenbin smiled, then lightly leaped onto the surrounding rooftops.

"Liangshan Shiqian greets Lord Zhang Shuye."

"Liangshan Shi Qian?"

Deng Chun stared at Shi Qian and nodded.

"I've long heard that Liangshan's Drum-Beating Flea is the number one thief in the world, with unparalleled lightness skills. Seeing him today, I can confirm his reputation!"

"General, you flatter me. Your grappling skills are quite impressive, it's just a pity..."

Shi Qian didn't finish his sentence; he wouldn't tell Deng Chun that his older brother's grappling skills were even better than his.

"You're from Liangshan? No wonder you've been saying good things about Liangshan. What did you do to Magistrate Shi Wenbin?"

Looking at Shi Qian, Zhang Shuye was first worried about Shi Wenbin's safety.

“My brother said that Lord Zhang is a good person and would definitely ask about Magistrate Shi’s safety first, and he did. My brother doesn’t need to worry, Magistrate Shi is a good person. He even lent me these clothes.”

"Please come with me to the county government office, my brother, Magistrate Shi, and your two sons are all here."

"Is Ren Yuan planning to take me down?"

Zhang Shuye looked at Shi Qian.

“My Zhang family has always been favored by the emperor. We have only ever died standing up, never been born kneeling down.”

"Moreover, before I left, I had already instructed the army that if I did not return this time, the 100,000 troops in Jiangnan should immediately turn north and attack Liangshan Marsh!"

"Hey, hey, Lord Zhang, calm down, calm down."

Seeing Zhang Shuye getting angry, Shi Qian quickly gestured for him to calm down.

“My brother respects adults, so he has no intention of harming them.”

"Otherwise, sir, you would have become a prisoner the moment you entered Yuncheng."

"What does Ren Yuan want with me?"

Zhang Shuye was actually just trying to scare Shi Qian, since the current situation was not favorable for him.

"My brother said he wants to do business with you."

"Do business with me? I'm not a merchant. Ren Yuan has come to the wrong person."

"Besides, I'm an official, and you're bandits. Officials and bandits have never been on the same side since ancient times!"

Zhang Shuye frowned. What tricks was Ren Yuan up to?

"Lord Zhang, you can't say that. What do you think of Cai Jing, Lord Zhang?"

Shi Qian sat on the eaves and asked Zhang Shuye with a grin.

"Cai Jing...a treacherous minister, a powerful official."

Zhang Shuye thought for a moment.

"What does Lord Zhang think of Fang La?"

"Fang La? A charlatan, a traitor."

This time, Zhang Shuye blurted it out.

"Excellent! It's obvious that the master is very dissatisfied with these two; they're practically enemies, aren't they?"

"So what?"

Zhang Shuye countered with a question.

"My brother believes that the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"There's no need to say more about Fang La. Cai Jing, that treacherous minister, has harmed countless loyal officials and common people. Since Lord Zhang and these two are enemies, they are friends with Liangshan."

"My brother said that among friends, if it's business, we should never resort to violence!"

……