Me and countless me.

Chapter 325: Struggle forcing Yang Zhi and the useless Liang Zhongshu

However, just like the precious armor and spear before, the moment Li Ke finished speaking, the light on the Zhaoye Jade Lion receded, and there was no longer the kind of flash that could blind people's eyes.

Duan Jingzhu, who originally felt a little reluctant, now no longer felt the slightest bit of reluctance.

What kind of horse recognizes its master? Considering the value of the horse for even a second at this moment would be disrespectful to this scene and to Duan Jingzhu's intelligence!
"Please accept this horse, brother!"

Duan Jingzhu bowed his head again, and Li Ke had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it."

Li Ke shook his head and looked at his spear. Someone brought a cloth to wipe the spear in his hand, while Li Ke looked at Duan Jingzhu curiously.

"Brother, you are a horse dealer. Why are you here?"

When Duan Jingzhu heard this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"It's because the government forced us to do that."

After saying that, he started to complain to Li Ke. Originally, his horse smuggling was doing well, with the support of a big boss, but when people below said that the horses were inferior, everyone turned a blind eye and let it go.

After all, the horses that Duan Jingzhu bought were not something that ordinary people could afford. A good BMW was more than enough to buy an ordinary person's house. It could be said that 99 percent of the people of the Song Dynasty were not as valuable as a good BMW.

So it goes without saying who Duan Jingzhu's clients are.

To offend Duan Jingzhu is basically equivalent to offending the powerful, but the imperial court suddenly issued a policy to buy horses, saying that it was for the purpose of fighting against the Liao soldiers, but officials from all over the country found free sources of horses.

People from wealthy families naturally don’t care whether the BMW under their crotch is given by their subordinates or bought by themselves. In short, they just want to have a good BMW.

So Duan Jingzhu was in bad luck. He could not take the usual route at all. He could only take this remote path and try the water route. That's why he passed by Jingyang Ridge and wanted to go through Yanggu County.

"In the past, I had a golden retriever and one or two horse farms. Even if I didn't do this smuggling business, I could still be content with a small fortune. But now..."

Duan Jingzhu let out a long sigh. Naturally, his horse farm was forcibly requisitioned by the government. After all, his family had been either horse appraisers or horse merchants for generations, and most of their connections were in the military. He was not a family of scholars, so naturally no one would protect him.

So naturally he could only keep running around and smuggling horses to maintain and supplement his family income.

"The world is indeed becoming increasingly difficult, with so many corrupt officials..."

Li Ke stopped here. He didn't plan to talk more about this with Duan Jingzhu, as they were new friends. After all, Duan Jingzhu was a middle-class man who "really had a cow".

He had connections, influence and a stable position in Song Dynasty society. He would only think of rebelling when one day he could no longer make a living by selling horses.

So Li Ke just exchanged a few words with Duan Jingzu, and the other party was willing to make friends, so he left his contact information with Li Ke and left in a hurry.

It's not that Duan Jingzhu didn't want to chat more with Li Ke, but because he had already delayed time. If he didn't get to the dock of Yanggu County quickly, he would have to owe favors and pay more money.

Therefore, Duan Jingzhu had to leave quickly.

Li Ke did not try to persuade him to stay, but rode his white horse towards Beijing Daming Mansion to seek refuge with Liang Zhongshu.

It has to be said that this white horse is extremely handsome and rides as fast as lightning. Riding this white horse, Li Ke arrived at Beijing Daming Prefecture in just one week and came to the residence of his comrade. He was then introduced by the other party and took up an official position as a deputy commander in Beijing Daming Prefecture.

However, there was no war at that time, and there was really not much money to be made as a lieutenant commander. But Li Ke disdained to take advantage of the soldiers' blood. Although he would always withhold the wages of his soldiers, he opened a canteen by himself. Whenever the families of his soldiers went there to eat, they could get one or two steamed buns for free every day.

This matter naturally alarmed his superiors, and Li Ke was also called over by Liang Zhongshu for a talk, but Li Ke also had something to say.

"This is called living in harmony with the world. Lord Zhongshu, if he doesn't take it and I don't take it, how can we take it? My colleagues won't look good. Besides, my restaurant is not without profit."

Liang Zhongshu was very happy when Li Ke said this. Although he was Cai Jing's son-in-law, he did not look down on those who withheld money from their soldiers, so he immediately felt that Li Ke was amiable.

"This is a taboo after all, but it's only about one or two hundred people, so it's not a big problem. It's just..."

When Liang Zhongshu said this, he suddenly remembered something and waved his hand.

"By the way, do you know Yang Zhi?"

Li Ke was stunned, then nodded.

He knew Yang Zhi, of course. Yang Zhi had been here much earlier than him, but Li Ke and his comrades didn't think highly of Yang Zhi, because this guy...

He had never been to the battlefield. Although he had good martial arts skills, he was not like them, who crawled out from a pile of corpses. Moreover, the two of them fought to the death, but in the end, neither of them was given a lieutenant. It was Liang Zhongshu who gave each of them a lieutenant in order to have some manpower in the army.

This is because Liang Zhongshu knew the result of their bravery and fighting skills.

But at this moment, Yang Zhi had killed someone, broke the law, and was exiled here, but he was still able to be a deputy commander. Even so, Yang Zhi still felt that he was wronged, and his relationship with them was quite bad. Even when Li Ke wanted to make friends with them, he was looked down upon by the other party. They even thought that they must not have been diligent enough in killing bandits on the border, which was why their salary had not increased for so many years and they had not succeeded in getting promoted.

If it was Yang Zhi who went to the border army, he would surely be able to win the battle and recover Yanyun.

So Li Ke and his comrade would naturally not go to such a cold butt.

It was only after Li Ke met Yang Zhi that he realized that the story of Water Margin had actually begun. He was curious why he had not seen Wu Dalang in Yanggu County. After all, according to the original novel, Wu Dalang had arrived in Yanggu County very early!

But after thinking about it, it wasn't long since Wu Erlang killed someone, so Li Ke stopped dwelling on it and started thinking about other things.

But at this moment, when Liang Zhongshu mentioned Yang Zhi, Li Ke immediately realized that the real beginning of the story of the Liangshan heroes was probably about to come!

So he cupped his hands before speaking.

"We all know Yang Tixia. He is a son of a general and is naturally extraordinary. I wonder why the Secretary mentioned him?"

Liang Zhongshu nodded. After Li Ke came here, he was indeed quite capable and a good person. Although he had violated a taboo this time, he did not intend to kill him directly. Instead, he planned to see whether he wanted to keep a group of followers or something else, so he needed to transfer Li Ke away.

So he thought of an errand.

"It's good that you know Yang Zhi. I need you and him to do something. Please be patient... By the way, can you play chess?"

Liang Zhongshu casually asked the servant beside him to set out the chess pieces and chessboard. It was obvious that he didn't care no matter what Li Ke's answer was.

Li Ke took a look at the vast chess game in his mind, in which he played chess with Buddha, Bodhisattva, all kinds of monsters and demons, and even a real chess game of gods where the next chess piece would be reincarnated. After thinking for a while, he gave a humble answer.

"I understand a little bit, that's all."

"It's okay, it's just for fun." Liang Zhongshu smiled. He didn't think Li Ke could be that strong at chess. However, when the game reached the middle stage, Liang Zhongshu couldn't help but loosen his collar.

"Oh, Li Tixia is a pretty good chess player, but does he have a famous teacher to teach him? This is more than just a passing knowledge."

ten minutes later.

"Well, Go is just a minor subject, why should Mr. Li take it seriously?"

Liang Zhongshu wiped the sweat from his forehead. He didn't know why, but when playing chess with Li Ke, he had a feeling that he was not playing chess, but standing on the battlefield, fighting against two armies!

Every step, every chess piece brings a wonderful experience.

When Li Ke saw that Liang Zhongshu couldn't help wiping his sweat, he naturally knew that this guy's chess skills were just average, so he started to let him win.

However, his chess skills were just that level. Although he was good at the first half, he didn't know how to finish the second half, let alone him, even Tang Seng Li Ke didn't quite understand it.

The reason is also very simple.

Usually when it comes to this step, the game starts. Either the chessboard is smashed, or both sides start to exchange verbal attacks or fight each other.

After all, who’s top-notch chess game is one where victory is determined by the number of chess pieces?
So Li Ke cleverly started to feed Liang Zhongshu chess pieces, letting him find his hidden magic move, but he still accidentally made a tragedy of "How could you not catch it?", which made the whole game dangerous. Liang Zhongshu felt that his chess skills had greatly improved, and he was beaming with joy!

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

But Li Ke was almost going crazy, he really didn't understand why Liang Zhongshu was so weak, he couldn't even catch it even though he was trying to die!
Finally, when Li Ke was about to fall asleep after playing chess for so long, Liang Zhongshu finally saw through the chess game and struck directly at the flaw that Li Ke had deliberately left twenty minutes ago, thus securing his victory!

Li Ke and Liang Zhongshu breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, but Liang Zhongshu sighed with great satisfaction, thinking that this game of chess was the most enjoyable and comfortable feeling in his life!
He was facing an opponent who was equally matched with himself. He racked his brains with him and met him at the top. In the end, he defeated Li Ke with a clever trick and proved his chess skills and abilities!
Li Ke was finally freed from the boring chess game. However, Li Ke also roughly saw Liang Zhongshu's thinking logic and behavior style from his opponent's chess moves.

After all, the essence of playing chess is to attack the opponent with mathematical formulas one by one. This overwhelming attack that requires one's full concentration can reveal a person's behavior style and thinking logic.

It is a roundabout encirclement and a frontal attack, and it is a test and verification of a person's judgment and ability to seize opportunities.

Especially in ancient times when various Go routines were not yet fully formed and more emphasis was placed on personal style, each person's problem-solving ideas could naturally reveal each person's personality and problem-solving methods to a certain extent.

And Liang Zhongshu...

It is difficult to evaluate Li Ke. If I really have to say something, I would say he is mediocre.

I don’t mind using my family’s connections, but I also want to prove myself. I don’t mind clinging to the powerful, but I don’t want to lose face. I don’t have the ability to do big good things, I can only do a little bit of good things.

But he doesn't want to do anything too big or too small. He is a person who just wants to get by, but at the same time wants to climb up.

He does have talent, and it's very good, but he doesn't seem to be a particularly important talent. He can be said to have ambition, but not too much. He is a rather mediocre person.

For such people, it is already a lucky thing to be able to protect themselves in troubled times, but it is different for people like Li Ke who want to make trouble.

This is a very suitable enemy... No, it's the boss!

But before Liang Zhongshu could be happy for long, the servant reported that Yang Zhi had arrived, so Liang Zhongshu had to stop discussing Go with Li Ke, summoned Yang Zhi in, and started talking about business.

The important business he was talking about was the same important business that Li Ke knew about, which was delivering the birthday gift to Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Originally this is just a small matter, and sending fifty or sixty people would be enough, but these years there are bandits everywhere, and the last time we sent a convoy, it fell into the hands of the bandits. You guys are highly skilled in martial arts, and you just happen to be on official business... Are you two willing to take a few hundred soldiers and horses with you?"

Although Liang Zhongshu was optimistic about Li Ke's chess skills, he still wanted to investigate Li Ke, so he looked at Li Ke and Yang Zhi. Just from the way he looked at Yang Zhi, you could tell that he trusted Yang Zhi more in this regard.

Yang Zhi spoke up as well. He was worried about the opportunity to go back to Tokyo to find a way out, so how could he give up such an opportunity? So he no longer regarded Li Ke as a colleague, but as a competitor.

Li Ke couldn't help but sigh inwardly when he saw the birthmark on the other person's face and his impatient look.

"It turns out that there are only wrong names, but no wrong nicknames. You are so eager and merciless..."

Li Ke didn't say anything, so Yang Zhi naturally told him his plan.

"Please rest assured, Master Zhongshu. The caravans were robbed before because they were too conspicuous and the carriages traveled too slowly. The bandits often found out about it a month in advance and waited for the opportunity. In addition, the officers and soldiers had not been in battle for a long time and their training was not very good, so they could naturally defeat them in one blow. But we just need to take the small roads and travel light, with only a dozen soldiers carrying loads. We will be less conspicuous, take the small roads, and only travel during the day. Naturally, the bandits will not notice us."

Liang Zhongshu couldn't help but nod after hearing this, but Li Ke couldn't help but roll his eyes.

What Liang Zhongshu sent was gold, silver and jewelry worth one hundred thousand strings of cash. Although it did not weigh one hundred thousand kilograms, it weighed at least several hundred kilograms in total. For more than a dozen soldiers, carrying these gold, silver and jewelry on the journey was a big problem, let alone escorting them. If any of them got injured or sick on the way, the confidentiality of Yang Zhi's plan would be ruined, and it would be almost impossible to move forward.

Moreover, Yang Zhi had no idea what level of combat effectiveness the Xiang Army had. The Xiang Army was basically composed of civilian laborers and craftsmen. If these people followed the caravan and the special guards, they would still have some combat effectiveness and their enthusiasm would be greatly increased: after all, if there was a caravan, it meant that there would be some post stations where they could rest, with free rooms and drinks, and they could even use the carriages to bring some local specialties out to sell, and when they came back, they could suggest to their superiors what to buy and then bring them back to sell.

Although the superiors, such as the lieutenants, ate the lion's share, the soldiers were still able to eat some leftovers and broth. Although it delayed their work and farmland at home, they were still able to earn some money and at least their families would not starve.

But following Yang Zhi through the small roads, let alone smuggling some local specialties and earning back the money from the delayed work, the gold, silver and jewelry alone would be enough to make these soldiers seriously ill later. Let alone the combat effectiveness, the only reason they didn't run away was because they were afraid of implicating their families.

Moreover, they had to rely on their own strength to deliver the birthday gift before Cai Jing's birthday, so they basically didn't have to think about resting for the whole day, and they could only rest at night. Not to mention resting in the post station and gathering information around, they just relied on luck to move forward.

So even if Yang Zhi didn't get into trouble with Chao Gai, he would have gotten into trouble somewhere else.

As for being robbed with hundreds of people?
If you and several hundred people can be robbed within the territory of the Song Dynasty, then the one who should be anxious should not be Yang Zhi, but the local officials.

But Yang Zhi himself rejected this matter, which really left Li Ke speechless.

Thinking of this, Li Ke fell silent and started thinking about how to avoid this task.

But at this moment, Li Ke heard Liang Zhongshu turn his head and look at him.

"Mr. Li, what do you think? After all..."

Liang Zhongshu had an expression that said 'Yang Zhi is right' and looked at Li Ke and spoke excitedly.

"...I think Yang Tixia's suggestion is very insightful."

Li Ke: “…………”

Looking at Liang Zhongshu's firm belief in Yang Zhi, Li Ke was speechless for a while, because he completely realized one thing.

Yang Zhi is stupid.

But the Liang Zhongshu in front of him was not mediocre at all. He was also a classic specialty of the Song Dynasty - a useless piece of shit!

(End of this chapter)