After returning to Wangjiazhuang and having a fun time, Wang Yan directly called the old housekeeper to come to the study to talk.
"Master, according to your plan, our Zhuangzi has already spread out in various places, and the number of soldiers ranges from 200 to 500. Among them, there are dozens of soldiers who came back from Liaodong, and the rest are all these The idle men or retired soldiers recruited in the year, the standard soldiers and armors from various places are enough to arm those brave soldiers and there is still a surplus. We have soldiers near Wangjiazhuang, and there are also soldiers scattered throughout Shandong and Hebei, which can be gathered to about 10,000 people.
With our help, Wu Song has taken over the command of the entire Beijing-East and West Forbidden Army. It has been reorganized according to our training standards for soldiers. There are also many people we sent there. Wu Song wrote last month that he had 27,000 soldiers there. As well as the more than 10,000 garrison troops on Jingdong East Road, we have already infiltrated them. That commander didn't know what was going on. We were under the control of those commanders below. Once there is a change, they will immediately kill the commander.
The deployment of the Northern Army is not easy to change. At the end of the day, within a month, we can mobilize 50,000 troops in Hebei and Shandong. In another month to assemble, we will mobilize countless troops across the country. Around two hundred thousand... In addition, grain, grass, weapons and other supplies have been stored in various places, enough to supply people along the way. There are support personnel in the inner and outer cities of Bianjing and even the palace city, who are available day and night.
My boss and my old servant think that our preparations are very comprehensive. It just so happens that Bianjing is empty at this time, so we can start taking action. "
At first, the old boy's voice was relatively low when he spoke, but later on he became nervous and excited. Regardless of success or failure, his old Wang family will be remembered in history, not to mention that the chance of success seems to be very high now. Climbing to the highest level is a huge temptation for anyone. As the chief steward of Lao Wang's family, he has taken care of many important things from beginning to end. He is about to be promoted to an official position, so how can he not be excited.
The old housekeeper was talking about domestic strength. Lu Zhishen had nearly 300,000 troops outside. After all, I still owe it to Zhao Ji.
There are many factors that prevent generals from rebelling. The biggest one is the lack of food and supplies in the army. The lifeblood of the army lies in the hands of the court. No matter how hard we fight, it will be in vain if we don’t have food and supplies, and we won’t even have enough to eat.
Just like the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji brought out the Jiedushi and gave the local Jiedushi financial power. They could collect taxes to raise troops and were the de facto emperors of the land. It would be strange to wait until the troops and horses are strong and there is no chaos.
The Song Dynasty abolished its martial arts. Of course, it absorbed such experience and lessons, and it was very strict about financial power. This was a tacit understanding between the emperor and those civil servants. They are constantly suppressing military generals, which has led to the low status of soldiers, who have to be criticized as thieves and join the army.
But it's different when it comes to Wang Yan. He is a businessman, and he can still do business such as salt and iron, which are prohibited by the people. There are grain and oil merchants, brocade and cotton shops, and various other related shops. At the same time, his main business is to make money, and he has enough financial resources to sell bulk commodities. Such mobilization of goods across the country requires some manipulation to avoid being discovered by the people sent by Zhao Ji, thus secretly building up one's own power. Let him have the resources to support an army and train dedicated men.
Looking at the excited old housekeeper, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "It's almost the same, but let's forget about this year. It's already the second half of the year, and there are only a few months until the New Year. Let's make some preparations and have a good New Year first."
"It's been ten years, boss, how long do we have to wait? The kids down there are all howling and looking forward to it."
"I didn't look at them, but you, you are in your fifties, why are you so irritable?"
"What a big deal this is. The old servant hates that he is old. Otherwise, he would have to carry a knife with the young master to kill people."
"You, just be down-to-earth. You have been waiting for ten years, and you are still short of this moment?" Wang Yan waved his hand, gave some instructions, and wrote a few letters to him. He looked unsure of the old man who didn't want to leave. The housekeeper laughed and said, "It won't take more than a year at the latest. Let's do the work."
"Hey." After getting the right words, Wang Fusheng turned around and left, full of energy. He felt that he could live another ten or twenty years.
After knowing the specific situation and having an idea in his mind, Wang Yan left the mansion and went out for a walk after a long absence.
The changes are of course huge. There are more people, it's more lively, the smiles on people's faces are bigger, and the children are playing more carefree. But in fact, nothing has changed. It's just that the industry has expanded a bit and the number of employees has increased. These are all brought about by this.
The current Yanggu County, excluding Wangjiazhuang, is almost equivalent to the newly prosperous towns. If you include the world's top industrial group like Wangjiazhuang, it should be an economic center city similar to Shanghai.
But really speaking, the price of goods in this economic center city can be regarded as the lowest in the country, even if it is not as good as the capital Bian Kyoto. This is because the bulk commodity distribution center we built earlier almost concentrates most of the resources in Shandong and Hebei, and goods from the south also have to be transited here. With this convenience, basically everything here is Not very expensive.
Although Yanggu County's labor wages are not the highest, they are still high because Wang Yan set the minimum standards and the county government resolutely implemented them. Even if it is the lowest, these people's wages, combined with their moderate consumption, can make everyone live a very comfortable life. The old are well supported, the young are educated, and everyone in between has work to do. A good person can have a meal of meat in three to five days, and even a bad person can eat in ten and a half months. No one bullied me, no officials exploited me, it was a magical life.
Wang Yan wandered around Wangjiazhuang and Yanggu County for a few days with nothing to do. Out of boredom, he suddenly remembered the incident of Shuibo Liangshan. After all, the people in Liangshan are gone. Isn’t Liangshan ownerless now? I just happen to have some free time, so why not go there and have a look, just treat it as a tourist trip.
I did it as soon as I thought of it, immediately told my family, took a few long followers and rode directly to Yuncheng.
After resting one night at the Yuncheng Inn, we went to Shijie Village to inquire about things the next day.
The wealth and honor of Wang Daguan's people cannot be concealed, and it is quite embarrassing. Although he was just wearing a simple green shirt and the boots he wore didn't look very good, the jade pendant around his waist and the tall, fat horse he was riding on made him look more graceful and elegant. He also brought four strong men behind him. The horses they rode looked like military war horses. They were all dressed in the same neat and powerful clothes. There were scimitars hanging from their waists. The glint in their eyes from time to time showed a fierce murderous intent. , it’s not easy to mess with at first glance. With such a configuration, it would be strange if you couldn’t tell that you are a rich person.
Under the curious and wary eyes of everyone in Shijie Village, Wang Yan jumped off the horse briskly, stroked the horse's big head, and waved his hand to find an old man.
The noble man called him, and although he was scared inside, he did not dare to hide. The old man walked tremblingly in front of Wang Yan, bowed his hands and said, "Young man, I have seen the high official. I wonder why the high official came to our Shijie Village? "
"I want to take a look at Liangshan Mountain. You Shijie villagers make a living by fishing and can sail boats. I want you to send someone to take us to Liangshan Mountain. Then we can find someone on the shore to take care of our horses. This ingot of silver will be enough for us." It’s a reward, please help me arrange it.”
As he spoke, the senior official waved his hand, and the chief behind him casually took out a small ingot or five taels of silver from the money bag at his waist. One tael of silver is a lot of money, and a tael of silver is what an ordinary person earns from a month's labor. These five taels of silver are not small money anymore. They are just for taking care of the horses. You can easily get it by taking people around Liangshan. There is no way, who calls him the richest man in the Song Dynasty? He has to be generous.
He is not taking advantage of others, he is just doing good deeds. After all, this is a lot of money. What an adult can earn in half a year can solve some problems at home. It would be good to buy something new, buy some medicine, and even if it's not enough, just eat a few hearty meals. Besides, this little money is not even a hair on Jiu Niu’s body, so it doesn’t matter.
"The official has found the right person. There are many people in my village who are the leaders of Song Jiang. Now they have returned home to live a good life and are familiar with Liangshan." After taking the money and weighing it, the old man smiled with a big toothy mouth. Happy: "But the one I am most familiar with is Xiao Qi of the Ruan family, who also has the nickname of Living Yama. He was originally the leader of the navy, but because he was confused and wore the emperor's dragon robe, he did not If you can get an official position, that's the black and ugly man. I'll go find him and take the big officials with me."
Wang Yan was stunned for a moment and looked in the direction of the old man's finger. A man in the crowd came into view. His eyes were protruding, his face was covered with jaundice, and he had a yellow beard on his cheeks. His shirtless bronze body had some spots, but his muscles were smooth and he looked very strong. To sum it up, he is a muscular man with a rough appearance.
It's not that he didn't remember it, but that he subconsciously ignored it. After all, he was a small character. As the old man said, Ruan Xiaoqi was stripped of his official position and demoted to a commoner because he wore Fangla's dragon robe and was supposed to be in charge of the Heavenly Army's capital. He is now honoring his old mother at home.
"Okay, just him. My father-in-law will arrange for someone to take care of our horses. It may take two days before we come back."
"It's easy to talk." The old man nodded repeatedly, then turned around and called Ruan Xiaoqi to come aside to talk.
After dithering for a while, Ruan Xiaoqi found two more people, walked over to Wang Yan and cupped his hands and said, "Sir, my boat is at the dock. Are we going to Liangshan now?"
"Let's go."
"Hey, those guys are coming with me." Ruan Xiaoqi walked ahead and took Wang Yan and others to the dock. After getting on the boat, they swayed towards Liangshan.
"I heard that old soldier said that you were originally the leader of the navy in Liangshan?"
Ruan Xiaoqi, who was controlling the direction on the bow of the boat, turned around when he heard the sound, glanced at the senior official sitting on the boat with a smile, turned back and said in a buzzing voice, "It's all in the past."
"Song Jiang is dead, do you know?" Looking at Ruan Xiaoqi who turned around, Wang Yan continued with a smile: "Not only Song Jiang, but also that Li Kui is dead. Wu Yong and Hua Rong were in front of Song Jiang's grave. He hanged himself from a tree in Liao'erwa outside the south gate of Chuzhou. Song Jiang chose it because he said it was similar to Liangshan."
He could tell that Ruan Xiaoqi knew that Song Jiang was dead. It's normal to think about it. After all, Song Jiang has been dead for half a year. Ruan Xiaoqi is a retired bandit after all. Although he doesn't ask about Jianghu affairs, he can always get some information because he is in that circle.
"Who is the official? What are you talking about to me?"
Wang Yan shook his head and said, "It's nothing. I just heard about this and you happen to be a well-known leader in Liangshan. I just talked to you out of boredom. From the look of you, you don't care much about Song Jiang's death?"
Ruan Xiaoqi didn't reply and rowed the boat silently. He just earns money to lead the way, but he doesn't have the money to chat and relieve boredom with him. He didn't like to talk about the old things either. His two brothers were gone, and the more he talked about it, the more uncomfortable he became.
Hehehe smiled, Wang Yan didn't care, his body rose and fell with the boat, and he looked at the scenery with interest.
In fact, there was not much scenery, because they were now in a patch of reeds, which were so high that they could not see anything. After leaving the river and leaving the reeds, we finally saw the true face of the water park.
The water surface is sparkling, and in the distance are the mountains of Liangshan, which can be regarded as an island in the lake. There are many mountains on the mountain, and there are groups of green trees, which are growing luxuriantly and look pretty good.
Just like that, we rowed in silence for more than half an hour before we arrived at the somewhat dilapidated Liangshan Pier from Shijie Village.
It is normal for Liangshan to be dilapidated, because since Liangshan was recruited, no one here has occupied the mountain as king anymore. In fact, in the past two years, the entire Shandong Province has been swept by the Forbidden Army to severely crack down on the grass bandits who dominate the mountains. Drawing on the advanced experience of Yanggu County, all criminals were sentenced to lenient sentences, but they were forced to serve hard labor in the local area until they died. Therefore, naturally no latecomer would dare to occupy this good place like Liangshan.
Now only some people who fish nearby will take a rest here. There are also some people who open a few acres of land on this mountain and make a living by farming. Liangshan is gone, everyone is very happy.
Walking up the stone steps towards the mountain, we arrived at a scene in Liangshan, Broken Golden Pavilion. This pavilion is located on the edge of a cliff, surrounded by deep valleys and streams on three sides. Twelve stone pillars support a rolling shed-style roof with four upturned eaves, and the ridged beasts are lifelike, as if they are about to fly in the sky. Looking out from the pavilion, you can have a panoramic view of the vast water pool at the foot of the mountain and the endless mountains in the distance, giving you a sudden sense of heroism.
The official put his hands behind his back and looked at the scenery on the horizon.
Is Chao Gai looking into the distance here, contented with drinking wine from a large bowl, eating large chunks of meat, and dividing gold and silver on a large scale? Is Song Jiang also looking far away from here, looking in the direction of Bianjing, studying how to kill Chao Gai and seize power, and how to recruit people to seek wealth...
Liangshan is a good place. If it were preserved as it is now in modern times, it would definitely be a popular tourist attraction. It seems that due to the invasion of Jin soldiers, the Song Dynasty dug up the Yellow River, causing the Yellow River to change its course, causing the water here to lose its source. It will definitely not happen this time. If there are no major geological changes, after all, he can avoid man-made disasters, but he cannot stop natural disasters.
After seeing Broken Gold Pavilion, under the leadership of Ruan Xiaoqi, we went to another scene in Liangshan, Zhongyi Hall. Wang Yan noticed that Ruan Xiaoqi's eyes were full of ridicule when he looked at the plaque of Zhongyi Hall. It seemed that he knew everything. This place was originally called Juyi Hall...
There is dust everywhere in the large hall. The corners and beams are the fruits of spiders' hard work. There are more than a hundred chairs scattered on the relatively flat ground. The sun shines in through the glass, but there is no warmth in the Zhongyi Hall. , but still a bit eerie. Coupled with the natural trembling of the heart in the quiet and empty environment deep inside, it feels a bit scary. If you happened to hear some horrific stories about what Liangshan people did here, you would definitely be extremely scared.
No wonder there are people living on the land below the mountain, but these things on the mountain are left untouched and they dare not move for fear of offending the ghosts and gods. Of course, the main reason is that I can still make do with it if I don't reach that point, otherwise there won't be many ghosts and gods.
Looking at Wang Yan who shook his head and sighed, Ruan Xiaoqi couldn't hold back and asked again: "Master, who are you? Why are you so interested in Liangshan?"
"It's not that I'm interested, I'm just having fun when I'm bored. As for who I am..." Wang Yan pointed to the wind-dirty glass with a smile: "I made that."
Ruan Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment, then reacted and clasped his fists: "Ruan Xiaoqi has met General Wang."
Seeing him like this, Wang Yan knew that his reputation was working. He couldn't help shaking his head and smiling: "Do you think I'm a sycophant that everyone shouts about?"
"The common people don't dare. The general helped Liangshan, except Gao Qiu. All our brothers will remember it."
"That was Song Jiang playing a trick and trying to get me into the water. If he hadn't been unable to deal with Gao Qiu, based on this alone, you Liangshan should have changed your leadership at that time."
Nice romance
"He always helped us. If it hadn't been for the general's help, we still don't know what kind of harm we would have suffered from Gao Qiu. And brother Lin Chong, he finally got his revenge and he was smiling when he died."
"Regret it?"
Ruan Xiaoqi said nothing, hiding his eyes and looking away.
He didn't insist on saying that he had no regrets. After all the hard work, he got nothing in the end. He was still a commoner who made a living by fishing. Both brothers are dead, and he is the only one left among the three brothers. The old mother cries whenever she has nothing to do, how can she not regret it.
"Come on, take me around again."
Ruan Xiaoqi responded and continued to be an incompetent tour guide without saying a word.
Wang Yan had no intention of paying attention to Ruan Xiaoqi, who was in a bad mood. He was not interested in Ruan Xiaoqi's mental journey. After all, when we were robbing the birthday card, it was not like this. How much fun it was to spend the money. Every day, we just had a good time with wine and meat, and we didn’t worry about not making up the money when we gambled. We could just go for the biggest deal, it was exciting.
He knew that Ruan Xiaoqi had not agreed to the recruitment from beginning to end, but he was forced to accept it later. He had never been of the same mind as Song Jiang, let alone He Cheng, who killed Gao Qiu's subordinate Yuhou after recruiting peace, but his subordinates killed themselves. Song Jiang pretended to wipe his tears, and Chao Gai died there before. . Maybe he didn't know it when Chao Gai first died, but after so long, he should have studied it and understood it.
Although I haven't done many things that are harmful to nature, I chose today. I have enjoyed it and suffered the consequences, so there is nothing to say. He didn't lack people from the navy either. Ruan Xiaoqi, the leader of the navy who was holding a small broken boat and had no education, had nothing to use and was too lazy to take care of him.
In this way, I wandered around Liangshan, looking here and there, and then I took a boat back to Shijie Village at night. Ignoring Ruan Xiaoqi, he led his men on horses, bumping around. Go home with a bang...
