Liver in Water Margin, outlaw madman

In front of the warehouse of the Wang Family Compound, the Liangshan brothers were busy moving and transferring goods.

Chests of gold and silver were loaded onto carriages, and sacks of grain were carried onto boats; everyone was full of energy.

Gold, silver, and grain are the most urgent needs of Liangshan right now; neither can be lacking.

As for why they didn't follow the example of other time-traveling predecessors, seize land from the wealthy, distribute gold and silver, and win over the surrounding people.

Zhang Shan wasn't unwilling, but he had his own considerations.

Such a move is too conspicuous. Liangshan is still very weak and can barely protect itself. It cannot withstand the encirclement and suppression by the government's army.

If they were to distribute wealth and land indiscriminately, it would inevitably alarm the Jizhou Prefecture and even the imperial court, at which point Liangshan would be doomed.

Besides, he has already raised the purchase price of fish, which is a huge benefit for fishermen in the surrounding area.

Having weathered many years of life's ups and downs, Zhang Shan has witnessed the coldness and warmth of human relationships and discovered a sad truth.

That is, most people are always afraid of authority but not of morality.

No matter how good you are to him, if you don't have enough power to deter him, he will only take advantage of you.

But if you are tough enough, even if you occasionally show him kindness, he will be grateful.

When Zhang Shan finally realized this, he was filled with frustration.

Is the essence of human nature simply baseness?

Just then, Ruan Xiaoqi came running over excitedly, pulling several people along with him, his voice trembling with emotion: "Brother, some of our brothers want to join our Liangshan!"

Zhang Shan looked up and saw that the people being pulled by Ruan Xiaoqi were all dark-skinned, muscular men.

Their clothes were worn and their hands were calloused, but their eyes shone brightly, revealing an indomitable spirit.

"Okay!" Zhang Shan nodded slightly, his tone solemn. "However, you all know about our plan to raise the purchase price for fish, right?"

He had already planned ahead: to build an elite army, because only an elite army could stand firm in the future wars.

"Don't worry, brother, they all know!" Ruan Xiaoqi patted her chest excitedly. "Before, that scoundrel Wang Heng only paid four or five coins a pound for fish, but now we get at least ten coins a pound, more than double what we used to pay!"

The men nodded, their faces showing gratitude. With such benefits, they felt at ease following Liangshan.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ruan Xiaowu came running over, panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat, and he leaned on his knees, taking a few deep breaths.

"Brother, I have an idea. We don't need to buy the fish ourselves."

"Let the fishermen sell directly to the fishmongers. We'll set the price, with a fluctuation of one or two cents up or down. This way, it's transparent and the fishermen can understand the terms."

Zhang Shan was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he burst out laughing: "Great! This is a great method!"

"This way, we can save manpower, without having to specially arrange for our brothers to handle things, and the fishermen can also know clearly how much they can earn, which makes them feel more at ease."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ruan Xiaowu nodded hurriedly. He had just thought of it in a flash of inspiration, but he was unsure of himself, so he rushed over to ask for advice.

"As long as we firmly control the big and rare fish and do not allow them to be traded privately, we can maintain the initiative."

Overjoyed to have gained Zhang Shan's approval, Ruan Xiaowu's fatigue vanished instantly.

In this way, fishermen's income can increase by about two or three times, and their lives will be much better.

Liangshan, on the other hand, could also make a fortune by controlling the trading of large fish, achieving two goals at once.

The only ones who would suffer are the wealthy families who need large, expensive fish—exactly what Zhang Shan wanted.

In business, it's about robbing the rich to help the poor.

Robbery never comes in only one form!

Ruan Xiaowu dared not delay and hurriedly returned to the fish market to take charge of the affairs.

This was the first time he had ever managed such a big event on his own, so he was inevitably a little flustered. Fortunately, the fish market was full of experienced fishermen who had been dealing with him for years, and they were very cooperative, so nothing went wrong.

Seeing that Ruan Xiaowu had left, Ruan Xiaoqi quickly pulled over a young man beside her and said to Zhang Shan, "Brother, look, this is my good brother, He Cheng. He's also a skilled swimmer. He helped us during the attack on the Wang family compound!"

"He Cheng?" Zhang Shan was slightly taken aback, his gaze falling on the young man in front of him.

The young man looked quite young, with a somewhat immature face, a few years younger than Ruan Xiaoqi, but he was very sturdy.

"Yes! My name is He Cheng!" He Cheng immediately puffed out his chest, his voice booming and his eyes resolute. "The heroes of Liangshan dared to fight that tyrant Wang Heng, avenging us. I also want to be a hero and follow you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shan couldn't help but laugh, and stepped forward to pat him on the shoulder: "Being a hero isn't an easy thing."

"Not only must we be fearless and dare to fight, but we must also practice martial arts diligently to become highly skilled so as not to hold our brothers back."

"I'm not afraid to die!" He Cheng clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "Even if you didn't come, I was prepared to find an opportunity to kill that bastard Wang Heng!"

"My father was killed by him back then. I was too young to do anything about it, but now that I'm grown up, I'm determined to avenge him!"

Seeing the hatred and determination in his eyes, Zhang Shan immediately nodded, his tone solemn: "Good! You have guts!"

"A true man settles scores and avenges wrongs! You'll stay with Xiao Qi."

"Thank you, Chief!" He Cheng was so excited that his whole body trembled slightly, and he bowed deeply to Zhang Shan.

Zhang Shan laughed heartily and patted him on the back: "We're all brothers, no need to be so polite in private, just call me brother!"

"Oh! Brother!" He Cheng was so excited that his mouth trembled and his eyes reddened slightly. He had never been valued like this before.

Looking at him like this, Zhang Shan laughed again. This was youthful passion, pure and fiery, and the spirit that Liangshan needed most.

Just then, Ruan Xiaoer rushed over, looking flustered and staggering.

"Brother! Something terrible has happened!" he shouted as he ran. "A villager from Wangjia Village just told me secretly that Wang Heng has already sent someone to Yuncheng County to get reinforcements, saying he's going to report it to the authorities!"

After saying that, Ruan Xiaoer looked annoyed and slapped his thigh hard: "Brother, it's all my fault! It's all my fault for being too impatient!"

"If I had waited for you, Chieftain, to have men block the village entrance before launching an attack from the water, Wang Heng's men wouldn't have escaped to report the attack!"

Zhang Shan frowned slightly; this was a crucial time for transporting grain.

Gold and silver are light and easy to transport, but grain is heavy. Three thousand shi of grain, one shi is about 120 jin, and a small fishing boat can carry a maximum of ten shi.

To transport the entire shipment in one go, at least three hundred boats would be needed, and each round trip would take half a day. It would be impossible for the Liangshan brothers to complete the task in a short time.

More importantly, as darkness fell, transportation became even more inconvenient.

Zhang Shan remained calm and immediately assigned tasks: "Erlang, Qilang, you two, quickly mobilize the fishermen in the surrounding area and ask them to help transport the grain."

"Tell them that we will reward them for helping transport the grain."

Ruan Xiao'er and Ruan Xiaoqi nodded quickly, "Don't worry, brother, we'll take care of it right away!"

Zhang Shan continued, "Lu Zhishen and I will lead a group of brothers to block the nearby road."

He paused, then specifically instructed, "By the way, when transporting the grain up the mountain, remember to send someone to tell Instructor Lin to be on high alert and to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on the mountain stronghold."

"Understood!" the Nguyen brothers replied in unison.

Without further delay, Zhang Shan turned and strode towards the courtyard, calling out as he went, "Brother, we have work to do!"