Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother, do you know this person?"

Shi Qian also saw the drunkard and frowned.

Clearly, he thought this drunkard was no good.

“I don’t know him, but my senior brother Wang once told me that he knew someone who worked in the Tokyo Kojōko (a type of armory), and that he was quite skilled. Just now, I heard the hotel manager cursing about the Kojōko, and that reminded me of this.”

Ren Yuan shifted the blame to Wang Jin, since Wang Jin knew so many people in the army back then, right?

"He's an acquaintance of Instructor Wang, so we have to help him."

After hearing the reasons, Shi Qian no longer objected to the matter.

That Coach Wang is no ordinary person; anyone who catches his attention must be exceptionally skilled.

"Brother, do you know what's wrong with this military household?"

Ren Yuan grabbed a man watching the commotion, put two taels of silver into his hand, and then asked.

"The guest is asking about this person? He is a deputy gunner in the armory. It is said that he could have been promoted to the position of chief envoy last year, but it seems that he was implicated because of his benefactor, and in the end he had to stay on. Moreover, it seems that he was also ostracized."

"Big brother knows quite a lot."

Ren Yuan suddenly realized that the entertainment life of the people in the capital was really quite good.

"No problem, no problem. I run a small restaurant myself, so naturally I know some things."

The man chuckled and casually pointed to a small tavern nearby. Ren Yuan looked up and saw, wow, "Shennong Tavern." What a grand sign!

"Brother, this brand is impressive. But brother, could you tell me more about the military households? It's my first time in Tokyo, and I'm really interested in hearing about this kind of thing."

Without making a sound, Ren Yuan took out another two taels of silver and stuffed it into the hand of this elder brother.

Feeling the weight of the silver in his hand, the man squinted his eyes with delight.

This guy's got it!

"Sure thing, brother, you can come sit in my tavern later. I, Tian Zhi, love people like you the most!" (Thanks to fan Shen...Nong... for his cameo as the tavern owner)

"Thank you, brother. I'll definitely come to your shop for a drink next time, but for now..."

Ren Yuan declined the invitation to drink; he just wanted to know if this person was the one he was thinking of.

"This military household member's surname is Ling, given name Zhen. His ancestors were from Yanling. This guy is good at making cannons. It is said that the cannons he made can shoot fourteen or fifteen miles away! So he entered the armory in Tokyo in his early years and has been in charge of the cannons ever since. He did a great job and even got a nickname, Thunderclap. He was in charge of the fireworks for the New Year every year. He was supposed to be promoted to the head of the armory a long time ago, but he ran into trouble last year."

"Oh? What is it? I'd like to hear the details."

Ren Yuan listened and felt that the abilities of the Bianjing masses in this life were no less than those of the Chaoyang masses in his previous life.

"Last year, when Grand Commandant Gao arrived, all the armories and officers in Tokyo had to pay their respects to the new Grand Commandant. Well, his previous benefactor was Chief Instructor Wang of the Imperial Guards. Chief Instructor Wang offended Grand Commandant Gao and was forced to abandon his post and flee. This guy was implicated as a result and disliked by Grand Commandant Gao. Not only was he not promoted to a commanding officer, but he also had a lot of real power and salary deducted."

"Now, he's a joke in the armory. Although he's still the deputy envoy, nobody takes him seriously. If it weren't for the fact that the emperor still needs him to set off fireworks during festivals, he would have been gone long ago."

Tian Zhi spoke eloquently, revealing everything he knew, leaving Ren Yuan and Shi Qian completely stunned.

"So, he's now completely ignored by everyone, spending his days drowning his sorrows in the nearby taverns. The armory doesn't care about him either; as long as they don't kill him, they'll keep him alive so they can continue making fireworks and firecrackers."

"Thank you for your explanation, Brother Tian. I have some things to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. I hope to have a drink at your tavern again sometime in the future."

Ren Yuan took out two taels of silver and stuffed it into Tian Zhi's hand. Then he and Shi Qian quickly left, carrying Ling Zhen, who was still lying dead on the ground, away.

Tian Zhi looked at the silver in his hand, and then at Ren Yuan and the others taking Ling Zhen away, and was somewhat surprised.

However, he didn't make a fuss. Combining all of this, he understood the meaning of the last two taels of silver.

That is, I've never been here, and you've never seen me.

As for what they took Ling Zhen to do, that's not something a small tavern owner like him can control.

"Well, after all, I only said a few words and earned six taels of silver, so that's fine."

……

Meanwhile, Ren Yuan and Shi Qian first took Ling Zhen to a side alley, stripped him of his outermost armor and armor, and then Shi Qian went to a nearby clothing store, grabbed a ready-made garment (which he had paid for), and helped him change.

Then they took the still half-drunk Ling Zhen to their lodgings.

"Brother, why did you bring back a drunkard?"

Zhang San and Li Si are studying the routes; they are very efficient and already have four routes planned.

"Thank you for your hard work, brothers. However, the plans have changed tonight. We'll board the pleasure boat and travel out by water."

Ren Yuan briefly explained the retreat route for tonight, then pointed at Ling Zhen and said to Lu Zhishen:

"This is Ling Zhen, the second gunner of the Tokyo Kojo-goku. Master, please sober him up first. I have something to say to him."

"The armory staff are interesting."

Although Lu Zhishen didn't know what Ren Yuan was planning to do, since he had brought back a soldier, he was indeed willing to do the job of sobering him up.

Lu Zhishen lifted Ling Zhen directly above his head, then walked to the water vat, grabbed Ling Zhen's legs, and stuffed him upside down into the vat.

"Cough cough cough cough!"

Ling Zhen, who was still in a daze, was instantly sobered up by this shock. He was about to say something when he choked on a mouthful of water.

"Hahaha! Kid, wake up!"

When Lu Zhishen heard Ling Zhen cough, he immediately pulled him up and placed him steadily on the ground. Ling Zhen felt a dizzying sensation and then found himself back on land from the water.

"Gentlemen, are you perhaps thugs from the tavern? It's alright, just put the cost of the drinks under the name of the armory, they'll pay for it."

Having just regained consciousness, Ling Zhen wiped the water droplets from his face, his words still somewhat slurred.

"Stop wiping, Thunderclap. I didn't come to you for money for drinks."

Ren Yuan tossed him a clean cloth, gesturing for him to wipe himself.

"Thunderbolt? What thunderbolt am I? At most, I'm just setting off fireworks for the government. That's all I'll ever be."

Ling Zhen chuckled self-deprecatingly. Ever since his benefactor, Instructor Wang, was retaliated against by Gao Qiu, his life had become worse day by day. With no hope in sight, he could only spend his days drinking.

Are you content with living like this forever?

Ren Yuan crossed his arms and looked at the nearly ruined Thunderclap, feeling a pang of sadness.

The Song Dynasty had cannons, but they were all used for setting off fireworks!

If only we had paid a little more attention to artillery, we would have taken back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun!

Zhao Ji, I really want to give you a big shovel!

"Then what can I do? Resign from my official post and become a江湖 (jianghu) outlaw like you all? Although I don't know which faction you belong to, it's obvious that you're not government officials. You guys have too much of a jianghu vibe, hiccup."

Ling Zhen plopped down on the ground, leaning against the water vat, his eyes lifeless, and he even let out a burp.

"In this situation, you were still able to tell that we were powerful figures in the martial arts world. Ling Zhen, you clearly have the ability, so why didn't you persist?"

Shi Qian admired Ling Zhen's sharp eyes; he could recognize their true identities as soon as he sobered up.

Clearly, this person is capable.

"You're disheartened because of what happened to your benefactor, Instructor Wang, aren't you?"

Ren Yuan began by asking a question.

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't? As long as Grand Commandant Gao is alive, my benefactor can never be pardoned. I am but a nobody, and I can't clear my benefactor's name. What's the point of living?"

"I didn't expect you to be such a loyal and righteous man. I misunderstood you earlier."

Upon hearing Ling Zhen's words, Lu Zhishen's impression of him immediately changed; he realized that Ling Zhen wasn't just a drunkard after all.

“If there’s nothing else, Your Excellencies, I’ll take my leave now. Don’t worry, I know the rules of the martial world.” Ling Zhen struggled to get up. “I haven’t been here today, nor have I seen anyone.”

"Hey, Thunderclap, do you dare come with me?"

Ren Yuan spoke up and asked him a question.

"Me? You want me to go up the mountain? What good will that do? Does this king's mountain stronghold also want to watch some fireworks?"

Ling Zhen chuckled to himself and turned to leave.

"What if I said, 'Come with me, and I can let you see your benefactor'?"

"thump."

Ling Zhen, who was still moving forward, suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.

Then he turned to look at Ren Yuan, extended his trembling hand, and spoke with great emotion:

"This, this brother, what, what did you just say?"