Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 530 Accident
After the ransom was agreed upon, Zhao Zhen asked, "Captain, how did you convince Gao Lian to be the middleman?"

Lai Yonger laughed when he heard this: "Master, don't you know that among these officials in the court, which one doesn't covet gold and silver?"

Zhao Zhen heard this and said without thinking too much, "That's right. Now is the perfect time for you. After the surrender, do you want to go to Huaixi or Jiangnan?"

Lai Yonger heard this without hesitation, and said, "Of course it is Huaixi. There is a lot of water in the south of the Yangtze River, and we northerners are always inferior."

As the two were talking, they heard a burst of cannon fire outside the village, followed by cheers.

Yu Baosi left the tent and returned soon after, reporting: "Sir, the artillery battalion fired artillery with great force, knocking down half of the tower, and the soldiers cheered for this."

In the big tent, Lai Yonger hurriedly asked, "Master, maybe the bombardment has stopped?"

Zhao Zhen nodded and sent someone to pass on the order for Ling Zhen and Gao Gao, who were firing the cannon, to withdraw their troops and return to the camp.

"Don't worry, sir. I will go back and prepare the gold and pearls and treasures to send to you. It will be ready by the day after tomorrow at the latest." Lai Yong'er said.

After seeing off Lai Yong'er, Zhao Zhen said to Liu Hui Niang, "Hui Niang, how long can the food and grass in the camp last?"

Liu Hui Niang said: "The food and grass in the camp are enough for two months, and there is also a large amount of food and grass in the neighboring Linqu City."

Zhao Zhen said: "Song Jiang and his gang are planning to surrender, but they dare not leave the city. I have no intention of attacking the city. I plan to release the conscripted civilians."

Liu Hui Niang nodded after hearing this and said, "In a few days, it will be the wheat harvest season. The officials are sympathetic to the people and have rotated the laborers twice. Now that the farming season is busy, there is enough food and grass in the camp. Now releasing the people will win their hearts."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "In the next two days, let the civilians build another camp five miles away. When Yong'er brings the ransom, we can release the civilians and move the army to the new camp, so that Song Jiang and his gang can feel at ease."

Liu Hui Niang nodded and went to arrange military affairs.

Zhao Zhen looked at the Tiangang Disha Order in his hand, thinking about what Yu Yulin said, that Tian Hu was restricted everywhere and many fake officials were dispersed, so he launched the Tiangang Disha Order.

In May, Shan Shiqi was defeated in the battle and had nowhere to go. Hearing about the reputation of Zhao Zhen in Liangshan, he came to join him.

As expected, the people summoned were Tian Hu's generals.

Among the Earthly Fiends, except for the five people who died, namely Di Weixing [Dwarf Tiger] Wang Ying, Di Kuangxing [Lone Mars] Kong Liang, Di Nuxing [Death Judge] Li Li, Di Xingxing [Vegetable Gardener] Zhang Qing and Di Zhuangxing [Female Yaksha] Sun Erniang, only Di Changxing, Di Junxing and Di Zhenxing have not appeared yet.

As for the Tiangang, there are as many as six missing: the second-ranked Tiangang star, the tenth-ranked Tiangui star, the nineteenth-ranked Tiankong star, the twenty-fourth-ranked Tianjiuxing star, the twenty-sixth-ranked Tianshou star, and the thirty-sixth-ranked Tianqiao star.

In Zhao Zhen's opinion, since his fate was entangled with the Tiangang and Disha, these people must be around him, but he didn't know who they were.

As he was guessing, the Tiangang Disha Order in his hand vibrated repeatedly. Zhao Zhen looked and saw the words "【Uncensored】Mu Hong" flashed quickly behind the blurry area behind the Tianjiu star in the Tiangang, and then dimmed and turned blank.

As soon as Zhao Zhen saw it, he knew that Mu Hong was dead.

Looking further, it turned out to be the same for Di Jun Star and Di Zhen Star. The two people who corresponded to the Di Sha fate were Song Qing, the "Iron Fan", and Mu Chun, the "Little Blocker", from Dengzhou.

Zhao Zhen frowned. A few days ago, he sent someone to Dengzhou to deliver a letter to capture three people alive. It seems that something has happened. Mu Hong and Mu Chun are not a big deal, but Song Qing is Song Jiang's brother.

It seems that things will still not end well in the future. It is estimated that when Yong'er comes to deliver the gold beads the day after tomorrow, he will talk about the movements of the two Qingzhou thieves, Song Qing and Ma Yuan. Zhao Zhen was considering how to respond when he saw the Tiangang Disha Order begin to vibrate again.

Behind the Dichang Star, the name of [Maotou Star] Kong Ming flashed by and then became blank.

How could Kong Ming also die? Zhao Zhen could not wait for the news from Weizhou and Dengzhou, so he immediately called the soldiers to report and gave them a few instructions, asking them to go to Weizhou, Dengzhou, Linzi and Qiancheng in the north to find out the news.

Liu Hui Niang, who had returned to the tent, saw that Zhao Zhen looked unhappy and asked, "Sir, what's wrong with you?"

Zhao Zhenqiang smiled and said, "Hui Niang, what do you think would happen if Song Jiang's brother died in our hands?"

After hearing what Zhao Zhen said, Liu Huiniang frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Sir, although Song Jiang will bear a grudge against us, he will not break the current situation."

"Why?"

"Sir, Song Jiang seems to be generous and righteous, helping the weak and the poor, but in fact he is smooth and sophisticated, and he is not lacking in utilitarianism. Now he is controlled by you in every way, and he has also hooked up with General Gao. For the sake of his future, he will endure it and not mention it. But you have to be careful, because when Song Jiang gains power in the future, he will definitely take revenge."

After hearing what Liu Hui Niang said, Zhao Zhen felt relieved.

The next day, Zhao Zhen also stopped the artillery battalion from attacking the city, and the cavalry only patrolled outside the south gate. When Song Jiang and others in the city saw this, they also hurried to collect their gold and pearls.

In Zhao Zhen's tent, Li Gun stood dejectedly at the bottom of the stairs, with a tattered corpse beside him.

"Sir, I failed to keep a close watch on Kong Ming, causing him to escape. I and my soldiers searched for him for a long time before we found him in front of a cliff. When I saw him about to escape over the cliff, I was furious and shot him to death with a javelin. Please punish him, sir."

Zhao Zhen said, "I wanted to use this guy to trade with the Qingzhou bandits, but now he died in your hands, so he has no value. Since you didn't supervise him properly, you must punish him. Hui Niang, do you have any ideas?"

Liu Hui Niang said, "Sir, tomorrow Yong'er will come. We must tell you about this. Fortunately, there will be others to replace him in the future. As for General Li Gun killing Kong Ming, in my opinion, it is not a big deal. Kong Ming's brother Kong Liang died under the city of Xintai. This guy also had a grudge against you, so it's good that he died now."

"However, this is General Li Gun's fault after all. It would be better to remove General Li Gun from his post as Changyi Tuanlianshi and let him stay in the army to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence."

"Li Gun, are you convinced?"

"My lord, I am convinced." As he said this, he started to laugh.

Zhao Zhen pointed at Li Gun and said, "Your wish has come true."

"Sir, I am a rough man who only knows how to fight. How can I govern a place? I have been stationed in Changyi these days, and I am afraid that I will do something wrong. I am trembling with fear every day. Being a county commander of militia is not as fun as fighting in front of the battlefield. It would be best if I could get brother Xiang Chong to help me." Li Gun said.

On the second day, Lai Yong'er indeed escorted the gold and pearls to deliver. After the transaction was completed, Zhao Zhen said to Lai Yong'er: "Leader, to show our sincerity, from today on, my army will retreat five miles."

Lai Yonger was overjoyed when he heard this, and said, "Master, you are truly a trustworthy person."

"Brother Gongming is in the city, but he has an unwelcome request. Please help me, sir."

"What's the matter? Please tell me, leader. For the sake of serving in the same court in the future, I am willing to cooperate as long as it is not excessive." Zhao Zhen said.

Lai Yonger took out two letters and handed them over, saying, "Sir, please send a group of soldiers led by Song Qing, Mu Hong, and Mu Chun from Dengzhou back to Qingzhou. As for the places in the north such as Linzi, except for Linzi City, we can send the rest to you. Here are two letters from Brother Gongming, please send someone to deliver them to Song Qing and Ma Yuan."

Yu Baosi, who was standing by, took the letter and handed it to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen said: "That's good. There are many troops in these two places. Song Gongming can use them in the future to conquer Wang Qing. However, there is a bad news that I need to report to Chief Song Gongming."

(End of this chapter)