Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

While Zhao Ji and Zhao Yupan were discussing matters, Emperor Daojun's four favorite ministers were also holding a meeting.

The location was within Gao Qiu's residence.

The four men silenced the servants and closed the doors and windows to ensure that their discussion would not be overheard by a fifth person.

"Grand Commandant Gao, the Guan Sheng you recommended is no good either. Humph, this matter started because of you, so you should handle it." Cai Jing, who was second only to the emperor, spoke first, setting the tone and shirking his own responsibility, thus placing the blame on Gao Qiu.

Gao Qiu could only nod: "What you say is true, sir. Guan Sheng is of no use. Whether he joins Liangshan or not, he will only be exiled."

He exiled a general without even asking why.

The other three seemed to think what he said made sense, and none of them raised any objections.

"Zhang Shuye is, after all, the Vice Minister of Rites, and the Emperor has ordered him to offer amnesty. So, as the Emperor says, just reprimand him and that's it." Cai Jing set the tone for Zhang Shuye once again.

No one else objected to his statement.

"That Wang Lun, who caused a ruckus in the mountains, has actually been chosen by the emperor to be the prefect of Jizhou. This is unacceptable." Tong Guan cleared his throat and began to discuss Wang Lun.

As soon as he opened his mouth in his hoarse voice, the other three began to concentrate on how to deal with Wang Lun.

"But the Emperor has already spoken, is there any room for negotiation now?" Yang Jian frowned. He harbored a deep grudge against Wang Lun, not for any other reason than that Wang Lun and Wu Song had caused a great disturbance in Yanggu County because of Ximen Qing, almost killing Ximen Qing and even convicting him.

The evidence against Ximen Qing was conclusive, and there was originally no room for maneuver.

But since Ximen Qing was Yang Jian's man, Yang Jian used a little trickery to find someone to take the blame, and Ximen Qing was free again. However, Yang Gu and Qing He dared not stay any longer and came to Tokyo to seek refuge with Yang Jian, where they now serve as his followers.

"Accept amnesty?" Cai Jing sneered. "If he accepts amnesty and gains the emperor's favor, he'll start competing with us for food."

"The one who will be granted amnesty is Zhang Shuye, chosen by the Emperor himself, and it can't be changed. If our people were to go and grant amnesty, we could do some underhanded things," Gao Qiu, quick-witted, suggested.

Cai Jing took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Since Guan Sheng is colluding with Liangshan and is to be exiled, how can Zhang Shuye, as the commander-in-chief, be completely innocent?"

The other three people's eyes lit up.

They all chimed in, "As expected of Prime Minister Cai, his words have cleared up our doubts."

"My husband has a good idea."

"Thank goodness it's my husband."

"However, the Emperor seems to value Zhang Shuye quite highly. You need to come up with a safe approach," Cai Jing concluded, intending to end the secret meeting.

After thinking for a moment, everyone looked at Gao Qiu again.

Gao Qiu had no choice but to nod and say, "Then I will take care of this matter."

Shortly after the secret meeting, Gao Qiu dispatched his trusted confidant Li Yuhou with a thousand soldiers to Jizhou.

Meanwhile, Wang Lun in Jeju was extremely busy. He had captured more than 4,000 of Huyan Zhuo's soldiers the previous time, and this time he captured another 5,000.

In total, the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army now has 15,000 soldiers.

He increased the number of troops in the first, second, and third armies to three thousand, and also established a fifth army, with Huyan Zhuo as the vanguard. He transferred Zhu Tong from the first army and Guo Sheng from the third army to Huyan Zhuo's camp, and the army also numbered three thousand.

The remaining two thousand soldiers from these several armies were all those with poor physical condition, and they were all taken back to Liangshan stronghold to participate in military training as a reserve force.

This is what Wang Lun called "using war to sustain war." After fighting two battles with the imperial court, they gained 9,000 soldiers and the general Huyan Zhuo, greatly increasing their strength.

The only hidden danger was that Wang Lun abolished the tax system in Jeju. Although he had Shi Wenbin adjudicate some wrongful cases and confiscated the property of some wealthy merchants in Jeju, obtaining a lot of money and grain, other wealthy merchants also took the initiative to "pay tribute" to Wang Lun with some silver.

But as the saying goes, "sitting idle will deplete a mountain of resources," and with more and more people eating, even the most abundant food will eventually run out.

Wang Lun then surveyed the idle land in the surrounding area and distributed it to people who had no land or little land. For those who did not have seeds, Liangshan distributed seeds to the farmers.

More land was used by soldiers to grow crops, and with so many soldiers, the land reclamation was extremely efficient.

Shi Wenbin was in charge of this matter, and he handled it to Wang Lun's satisfaction. This made Wang Lun realize Shi Wenbin's importance even more, as only Shi Wenbin could do a good job in the land reclamation project.

Following Wang Lun's instructions, Lin Chong frequently went out to spar with Guan Sheng these days, and the two became increasingly close.

During this period, neither side engaged in battle; they were busy with their own training and patrols. Zhang Shuye and the others saw that Wang Lun had sent soldiers to cultivate the land, but they did not pay any attention to it and simply watched from a distance.

On this day, Wang Lun was sparring with Wu Song in the courtyard when Zhao Si came to report: "Two people have arrived, one named Yang Xiong and the other named Shi Xiu, saying they want to join Liangshan."

Wang Lun was overjoyed, for "Sick Guan Suo" Yang Xiong and "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu had arrived.

Then at this moment, it must be that "Drum-Bearing Flea" Shi Qian has been captured by the Zhu Family Village.

He had no reason to attack the Zhu Family Village, so since Yang Xiong and his companion had come up the mountain, he could just follow the original script.

He immediately met with Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu, two men whose martial arts skills were not top-notch, but who were still extremely important figures.

He wouldn't accept all 108 heroes of Liangshan as in the original story; he would naturally reject some scoundrels.

He had always felt ashamed of the three people he had killed earlier—Wang Ying, Yan Shun, and Zheng Tianshou—for their practice of digging out people's hearts and livers when he was still a student.

"I have long heard of the name of the master of Liangshan Marsh, and today I finally get to meet him."

Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu exchanged pleasantries with Wang Lun. The "Jianghu Daily" was now widely circulated in the Jianghu, and they had indeed known about Wang Lun's deeds for a long time.

Upon entering Jeju City, they were even more astonished. This was no ordinary bandit leader; he was clearly a powerful city lord.

With such elite troops and fierce generals, what mountain stronghold could compare?

The two became increasingly convinced that they had found the right person; now, only Wang Lun could save Shi Qian.

After Yang Xiong explained his purpose, Wang Lun nodded and said, "Brothers, don't worry. I've heard of Shi Qian, the Flea on the Drum. Although he often steals, he's not a bad person and has some skills. I will definitely save him."

Yang Xiong and his companion were overjoyed and quickly bowed to Wang Lun again.

Wang Lun reached out to help the two men up and said with a smile, "However, the imperial court sent troops to attack Liangshan, and they haven't withdrawn yet. I don't have time to send troops to rescue them right now. Although I don't have much contact with the Zhu Family Village, I have already formed an alliance with the Hu Family Village. I will write a letter now and ask Old Master Hu to intervene and save Shi Qian's life first."

The government troops were stationed on the border of Yunzhou, which Yang Xiong and his companion naturally knew. They hadn't expected Wang Lun to send troops to rescue Shi Qian immediately, but they were already very happy to hear that he had allied with the Hu family and was willing to write a letter to Hu Taigong.

After writing a lengthy letter, Wang Lun instructed Zhao Si to send someone to deliver it. He then arranged for Yang Xiong and the other man to stay with the army and asked Zhao Si to take them to rest.

After the two men left, Wang Lun suddenly grabbed Wu Song and solemnly asked, "Brother Song, do you want a wife?"