Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 144

"The Yellow River bandits and heroes are all here! Golden Dog, prepare to die!"

Not only that, the three Ruan's mermaid squad also launched an attack. Ruan Xiaoqi was the first to roar and leap out of the water, jumping onto a Jin soldier's transport ship. With six arms, she wielded six different weapons and went on a killing spree. Her spear pierced the eye socket of a tiger, her silver moon blade severed the arm of a giant wolf, and her oars whistled as they swung down. Her monstrous strength even sent a giant demon flying into the Yellow River!

His regenerative ability became the most terrifying curse at this moment. The icy Yellow River water constantly suffocated and damaged his respiratory system, while his regenerative instinct kept bringing him back to life from the brink of drowning!

"Kill them all! Show no mercy! Take no prisoners!"

At this moment, Li Jun's second naval force, along with all the small boats, were also brought over. The Liangshan's small warships moved with the agility of fish, closely following the Jin army's massive, cumbersome ferries. The strongmen pressed down the sledgehammers, and heavy boulders or iron hammers, accompanied by a whistling sound, slammed into the enemy ships' decks and sides, sending splinters flying and screams filling the air. Some Jin ships were even smashed with gaping holes, allowing river water to rush in; sinking was only a matter of time.

More Liangshan heroes leaped over the gunwale like wolves and tigers, plunging into the Jin army's ranks. Liu Tang wielded his axe, hacking and slashing as if chopping wood; Li Jun and Zhang Shun, like dragons in the water, moved steadily on the swaying deck, their blades flashing and spraying blood. The Jin army was completely stunned. Their formation was impossible to deploy on the river, and their bows and crossbows were useless in such close-quarters combat. Often, before they could even draw their bows, Liangshan swords were already upon them!

On the verge of chaos and collapse, an elderly Jin soldier stood at the bow of a warship that had not yet sunk. It was Wanyan Loushi, with three heads perched on his two shoulders! His white hair danced wildly in the wind. His face was as solemn as iron, and his six blue eyes burned with an inhuman coldness.

He took out an ancient shamanic bronze drum painted with mysterious beast patterns and began to chant in a desolate and eerie tone, his voice even drowning out the howling wind and roaring waves!

Suddenly, darkness fell, and the temperature plummeted. The first to change were the ships that were sinking or already capsizing. A series of piercing cracking sounds rang out, not from broken timbers, but from the river water freezing rapidly at a visible speed! The water rushing into the cabins instantly solidified, sealing the breaches and stopping the sinking. This caused the Jin soldiers to shout "Long live the Emperor!" in wild celebration.

The capsized ships were frozen in their overturned positions, like insects in amber. All the Jin soldiers who fell into the water from the sinking ships had not yet drowned, but were firmly locked in the terrible ice, remaining in a struggling posture, becoming part of the glacier, and were then quickly chiseled open from the ice and pulled out by others.

The freezing trend didn't stop; instead, it spread rapidly! The vast, surging surface of the Yellow River began to lose its fluidity. The rolling waves froze the moment they crashed, retaining their roaring form. The entire river resembled a gigantic, liquid behemoth, being completely frozen by the terrifying chill of the white dragon! From a raging, yellow dragon, it transformed into a desolate, uneven, lifeless ice field!

"My God!"

Standing atop the warship, Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, commanding the naval forces, was utterly dumbfounded. He knew that Wanyan Zongwang's Frost Spell could cover an entire artillery position, but he never expected that Wanyan Loushi's White Dragon Chill could actually freeze the Yellow River!

The merfolk were even more terrified. The Yellow River wasn't just frozen on the surface! That damned White Dragon Ice was spreading to the riverbed at a visible speed! Some of their brothers and sisters couldn't dodge in time and were frozen directly in the ice. The rest had no choice but to abandon their mission and quickly swim to deeper waters to escape.

Wanyan Loushi snorted coldly, and an even more terrifying scene unfolded. Manipulating the shape of the ice with his own will, the icy chill, like a tangible shockwave, swept across the river towards Liangshan's fleet. Sails, ropes, even the armor and eyebrows of the warriors instantly froze into thick white frost. The river water rapidly froze around the ships, attempting to lock their warships firmly to the icy plain!

Moreover, a glacial mountain range also formed within Dragon's Might.

The three Ruan brothers swam eastward, only to suddenly discover that their path back to the Yellow River was blocked by a thick wall of ice!

These ice walls beneath the water reach straight to the riverbed, incredibly thick, their surfaces covered with sharp ice spikes and twisted patterns, like a barrier forged by a giant god from ice, or a glacial mountain range that rose instantly, completely blocking the Yellow River channel! Cutting off the mermaids' way home.

Ruan Xiaowu looked up in horror and saw that the ice above her was also spreading downwards rapidly. Wanyan Loushi was coming for them! First, kill the mobile merman army that can swim freely in the water!

"Damn it! Master Gongsun isn't here. Don't fight him head-on, you guys retreat first!"

As Chao Gai witnessed the Great Wall of Ice rising from the ground, the Liangshan warships caught in a dilemma, and the three Ruan sisters trapped by the Jin army, his anger surged like molten lava, reaching the top of his head. His eyes widened, his long hair stood on end, and he suddenly let out a thunderous roar.

"You damned scoundrel! How can your sorcery stop the heroes of Liangshan!"

With a single swing of her arms, she ripped off the icy steel armor she was wearing, revealing her bronze-colored, muscular upper body. Her muscles were bulging like the roots of an old tree, and her proud breasts resembled towering peaks, radiating an astonishing heat that contrasted sharply with the biting cold around her.

Chao Gai drew his Thirteen-Section Demon-Suppressing Pagoda Whip with a backhand motion, and with a powerful push off the ship's deck, the entire warship sank! His magnificent body leaped into the air like an eagle, carrying an indomitable and fierce momentum, heading straight for the ice surface! He swung the Thirteen-Section Pagoda Whip in a wide arc, creating a gust of wind that seemed to tear the air apart, smashing the ice surface with the purest and most terrifying power!

"boom!!!"

The massive ice wall, initially struck at a single point, developed countless spiderweb-like cracks that instantly spread wildly across the entire section! The next moment, the enormous ice wall shattered as if struck by lightning! It didn't merely crack; it completely exploded into billions of flying ice crystal fragments!

Huge blocks of ice, sharp icicles, and powdery ice shards erupted like a long-suppressed primordial force, shooting out in all directions! In the dim light of the day, these ice fragments refracted a chilling glint, like a sudden diamond storm. She smashed half of the frozen Yellow River surface with pure brute force, freeing the Liangshan boats.

She landed on a floating ice floe, her body steaming with heat. Her bare-chested body, amidst the flying ice shards, resembled a war god. With a sudden dive, she plunged into the water and slammed her whip into the ice wall at the bottom. The sound of the sky collapsing and the earth shaking were deafening. The ice wall that had imprisoned the three Ruan naval forces was smashed apart by Chao Gai's whip! The mermaids praised the Heavenly King's divine power and then quickly returned to their ranks, fleeing from Wanyan Loushi as far away as possible, as if avoiding ghosts and gods.

Chapter 420: Wanyan Zongbi's Hasty Southward Retreat

Wanyan Loushi stood in the Yellow River, his three faces deathly pale, his clothes soaked with sweat, and an unnatural white chill emanating from his body. His arms trembled slightly, and the runes on the shamanic drum had dimmed to the point of a flickering candle. To wield the power of heaven and earth with a mortal body—what a heavy price to pay! He certainly possessed the divine courage to freeze the Yellow River and reverse the course of battle, but ultimately he was not a god, and human strength had its limits.

He poured all his overwhelming cold energy into the Yellow River, freezing it into walls and reefs, but he only managed to protect one-third of the main Jin army and their precious provisions as they crossed the river. He was completely drained of his energy and could no longer spare any attention to look south.

At this moment, the remaining third of the Jin army on the south bank was truly in dire straits. Originally the rear guard, their morale was already in disarray upon witnessing the Liangshan navy's surprise attack. The approaching cavalry only added to their terror. To make matters worse, Wanyan Loushi had frozen the entire Yellow River, intending to rescue the rear guard and force them to cross on foot, but this had an unexpected and disastrous effect.

If he hadn't frozen the Yellow River, the third of the Jin army on the south bank, seeing their commander's valiant fighting, would have been greatly encouraged and would have formed ranks to fight the Liangshan cavalry to the death on the south bank. As long as Wanyan Loushi protected the third of the main force across the river, he could fly back to rescue them. The Liangshan cavalry might not have been able to defeat the 30,000-strong Jin main force in such a short time.

But now, the Yellow River is frozen over. After seeing a way out, a third of the Jin army on the south bank lost their will to fight and drove their horses across the ice. No one had the mind to engage Zhang Qing's cavalry! They all wanted to return north! For a time, the entire Jin army on the south bank was in chaos!

Zhang Qing took the lead, his face ashen, his eyes filled with chilling killing intent. He did not immediately unleash his flying stone technique, but instead raised his spear forward, and thousands of elite cavalry behind him accelerated simultaneously, crashing into the scattered ranks of the Jin army like a burst dam!

There was no formation, no tactics; it was a pure crushing and slaughter!

Iron hooves shattered ice and trampled over flesh and blood. Lances, propelled by the sheer force of the charge, easily pierced leather armor and tore through cotton robes. Warhorses neighed, blades flashed, and each strike sent up a spray of blood. The Liangshan cavalry, like hot knives cutting through butter, effortlessly tore through, pierced, and trampled the chaotic Jin soldiers.

After breaking through the enemy lines, Zhang Qing reined in his horse, turned around, took out the brocade bag, and launched the world-famous iron ball in a golden, spinning motion! It was aimed at the low-ranking officers and brave soldiers in the Jin army who were trying to rally their troops, each ball hitting their face and throat. Those hit immediately fell from their horses, and the Jin army's chance of regrouping was completely shattered.

The south bank was completely transformed into a battlefield. Without command and with their retreat cut off, the Jin soldiers were either trampled into mud by the iron cavalry, or knelt down to beg for surrender, or desperately tried to escape to the frozen river, only to be shot down by the ensuing rain of arrows, or slipped and fell on the slippery ground mixed with ice and blood, only to be mercilessly trampled by the hooves of the following horses.

Jin Wuzhu, who was in charge of managing the rear army, felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. This Liangshan was really annoying! He had fought against the Jin four times in the Bohai Bay, Baimadu, and the Yellow River Estuary. Every time it was a surprise attack, and every time they did not play by the rules. The entire Jin army was stunned, which made him extremely frustrated.

The battle situation took a sharp turn for the worse. The collapse of the troops on the south bank and the unstoppable charge of the Liangshan cavalry seemed poised to completely crush Jin Wuzhu's main force. The chilling killing intent was suffocating, and the Jin soldiers wore expressions of despair as their formation teetered on the brink of collapse.

At this critical moment, Jin Wuzhu's wolf-like eyes swept over the heavy crates in his own ranks, which were full of loot from the Bianjing Imperial Palace, the treasury, and even the homes of ordinary people. In an instant, an extremely ruthless and insightful plan formed in his mind!

"Everyone! Split open the supply crates!!!"

With a roar, he suddenly grabbed a long-handled giant axe that he had seized from the Song Dynasty's imperial guards. Instead of charging at the enemy, he turned and rushed toward the nearest supply wagon, and with all his might, he brought the axe down with a mighty blow!

"Crack!"

The sturdy wooden crate shattered with a crash! The next moment, a breathtaking burst of light erupted—not weapons, but wealth! It was a dazzling torrent that could drive sages mad and make heroes bow down. Thousands upon thousands of snow-white silver ingots, gleaming gold ingots, perfectly round and dazzling pearls, gemstones gleaming with a deep blue luster, and brand-new copper coins strung together with hemp rope that snapped and scattered like raindrops, poured down like a dam breaking!

Countless gold and silver treasures poured out of the broken cart, tumbling, leaping, and colliding with the terrain, producing the most alluring yet ear-piercing clanging sounds in the world. In an instant, they spread out an incomparably vast, glittering sea of ​​wealth on the cold earth, almost blinding!

"What are you all standing there for?!"

Jin Wuzhu's voice was like a thunderclap, startling his subordinates who were stunned by the sudden sight.

"Smash! Smash all the boxes open! Throw all these things out! Leave nothing behind! Now!"

His elite personal guards, though also pained, obeyed orders without question and immediately began hacking and slashing like madmen! More wagons were destroyed, more crates overturned. More luxurious and precious brocades, silks, antiques, jade artifacts, and even imperial gold and silver utensils were scattered like trash, mixing with gold, silver, and copper coins, covering an even larger area of ​​the battlefield. Sunlight occasionally pierced through the smoke, illuminating this "sea" and reflecting countless dazzling, mesmerizing halos, as if carpeting the land of death with a dreamlike yet deadly layer.

"Discard all valuables! Travel light! The entire army retreats north! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!" Jin Wuzhu's voice rang out again, issuing the final order.

At the same time, he took a deep breath, a strange red light flashing in his eyes, as he mobilized the almost demonic, seductive power within him, a power inherited from his shamanic lineage. He didn't roar, but instead chanted in a low, hoarse, yet incredibly penetrating voice, as if it could burrow directly into the darkest corners of the human heart. The voice wasn't human; it was more like countless greedy demons hissing in one's ear, amplifying and stirring up the most primal possessiveness and thirst for wealth within the human heart.

This demonic sound resonated terrifyingly with the vast, readily available spectacle of wealth before them!

The Liangshan cavalry, charging forward with overwhelming momentum, almost simultaneously tightened their reins. Their horses neighed and reared up. The leading cavalrymen, including some of their leaders, were instantly captivated by the boundless gold and silver treasures laid out before them!

Their breathing became heavy and labored, like bellows. Their eyes quickly became bloodshot and turned crimson. The murderous roar that had been stuck in their throats was replaced by a hissing sound that was a mixture of shock, ecstasy, and an uncontrollable greed.

The momentum of the charge suddenly slowed, then came to a complete halt. Many people instinctively bent down, reaching out to grab the wealth that was within reach. Some even pushed and shoved each other, hurling insults at each other over a gold ingot that had rolled under a horse's hoof.

Military discipline, orders, and the target of pursuit all become incredibly fragile in the face of this dazzling, alluring temptation that could change anyone's life.

"Gold! It's all gold!"

"Grab it quickly!"

"That'smine!"

Chaotic shouts spread among the Liangshan cavalry. Human greed, amplified infinitely by Jin Wuzhu's demonic whispers, brought the Liangshan pursuit to a halt. Only a few resolute generals continued the chase, but it was a small-scale operation.

Seeing that most of Liangshan's cavalry had fallen victim to the attack, Jin Wuzhu patted his chest, sweating profusely. Without looking back, he turned and fled with his men, abandoning the enormous supplies he had extorted from Kaifeng, worth as much as 70 million taels of silver, to Liangshan in exchange for his own life.

Chapter 421: Liangshan Marsh Establishes Its Own Kingdom

When the war ended, the Jin army eventually fled back to the north bank. Fewer than ten thousand Jin soldiers died on both sides of the Yellow River, no more, no less. However, the supplies captured by Chao Gai and Zhang Qing were terrifying. Various supplies worth a total of seventy million taels of silver! It seems the Jin dynasty extorted even the emperor's private treasury. This amount is almost equivalent to the entire annual tax revenue of the Song dynasty. It would take the entire Song bureaucracy not receiving salaries, not eating or drinking, and doing nothing for a year to accumulate such an extravagant treasure.

Faced with this outcome of the war, Liu Hong did not complain. In this battle of attacking while the enemy was crossing the river, the Liangshan's top combatants were being watched by the imperial court and could not go out. It was already quite good that they were able to achieve the result of annihilating 10,000 enemies and plundering a huge fortune of 70 million strings of cash. With the Song and Jin dynasties negotiating peace and the siege of Kaifeng being lifted, Liu Hong packed up and took the money back to Shandong to operate!

As for the explanation given to the Jurchens? What's there to say? Prince Liu Hong of Qi, his general Lu Junyi, and the Five Tiger Generals were all in their camp and hadn't come out. The armored cavalry and other imperial guards hadn't moved an inch. The ones who attacked you that day were Yellow River pirates and Henan bandits. You brought too much money from Kaifeng, so the thieves had their eyes on you. It's nothing special; Cai Jing's birthday gifts were robbed every year too.

What? You don't believe me? Do you have any proof?

After dealing with the Jin dynasty, Liu Hong ignored the Wanyan family, who were so angry they vomited blood, and immediately returned home with his vast treasure.

The atmosphere in front of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness at Liangshan Marsh was electric. The mountains of chests were opened one by one, revealing their astonishing contents: gleaming silver ingots, dazzling gold, mountains of golden copper coins, a river of colorful silks, and exquisite jewels, jade artifacts, antiques, and calligraphy shimmering with opulent light. These were all the "tribute" and treasures of Bianjing (Kaifeng) that the Liangshan leaders and their brothers had fought desperately to reclaim from the Jin soldiers—tribute that was originally destined for the north.

The brothers cheered wildly, their morale soaring. This was not only a military victory, but also a magnificent feat of washing away national humiliation! They had reclaimed not only immense wealth, but also the lost dignity of the Song Dynasty!

Liu Hong acted decisively, immediately allocating one-third of the silver to his brothers as welfare, distributing over 20 million taels of silver directly to them, which greatly boosted the morale of the entire army! They couldn't wait to go out and fight another battle to win such a huge fortune.

Liu Hong planned to use the remaining money to develop his own Shandong and Qi states. Now he was just waiting for the official investiture. In an instant, the entire Liangshan was united in their determination to make their mark in Shandong.

However, this sense of pride did not last long. Several fast horses, carrying envoys from Tokyo, arrived outside the marshland, kicking up dust. The envoys were not imperial messengers to reward the troops, but rather several officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Privy Council, dressed in purple robes and with composed expressions.

The envoy was led to the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, where he faced a hall full of heroes from humble backgrounds, whose eyes held an undisguised arrogance and aloofness. Leading the group was an old official with a goatee. He cleared his throat, unfurled a scroll of yellow silk, and began with a bureaucratic speech, vaguely praising the "loyalty and bravery" of the Liangshan heroes. Then, he abruptly shifted the topic, his tone becoming as matter-of-fact as if demanding a debt:

"However, all the gold, silk, utensils, and antiquities you have obtained are the wealth of the state and the property of the government. In the past, in order to relieve the crisis in Bianjing, we temporarily granted them to the Jurchens. This was a policy of the court and an expedient measure. Now that they have been intercepted by you brave men, they should all be returned to the national treasury to replenish the national treasury. This is a matter of course."

He spoke eloquently, as if stating a natural truth as the sun rising in the east, completely ignoring the fact that this wealth was obtained by the Liangshan heroes with their blood and lives.

His logic was cold and shameless: these things originally belonged to the emperor, and now that they've been taken back, they naturally still belong to the emperor, and have nothing to do with the efforts you made.

The Liangshan brothers and sisters were somewhat astonished. How dare the imperial court? You couldn't defeat the Jurchens, so you gave them a terrifying amount of supplies worth 70 million taels of silver.

But we even defeated the Jurchens! How dare you, officials of Kaifeng, who couldn't even defeat the Jurchens, ask us for money?

Seeing the anger on the faces of the Liangshan leaders, some of whom had even gripped their sword hilts, another official immediately stepped forward, his tone slightly softened, yet subtly barbed:

"My esteemed heroes are wise and understand the greater good. They know that all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people within the realm are his subjects. Such wealth is nothing more than amusement for those in Shandong, but for the court, it is urgently needed to appease the people and reorganize the military. I hope you will prioritize the affairs of the nation and understand the court's predicament."

The threat in his words was self-evident: you are "subjects," and the things belong to the "king." If you do not return them, you will be disloyal and unjust, and defy the court!

The official thought for a moment and then drew up a vague and unrealistic promise.

"Your merits have been recorded by the court, and you will surely be rewarded in the future. Now, hand over these valuables clearly to demonstrate your loyalty to the emperor and your patriotism."

"Bullshit! You can't even hold onto this wealth! It's the incompetence of the court that led to the Jurchens looting our Great Song's silk! Giving this money to you will only make it serve as tribute and reparations! Giving it to Liangshan will allow us to appease the people and rebuild our military!"

Guan Sheng jumped up and pointed at the envoy's nose, cursing him. She had never felt so good before. Anyway, if the sky fell, Prince Qi would take care of it. She would never suffer any more injustice from the court.

Li Kui was furious. He was about to jump up and hold an axe to the neck of a court official, cursing him.

"You damned bastards! Where were you when we brothers risked our lives to snatch these things back from the Jin dogs? Now you have the nerve to ask for them back! These are our spoils of war! We earned them with our lives!!!"

Liu Hong's expression was also unpleasant. He immediately changed the subject.

"Where is the land of Qi that the Emperor Zhao promised me? I led my men in three battles against the Jin army on the Yellow River, shedding blood and sacrificing our lives. Many Shandong men died on the battlefield, their blood staining the battlefield! I saved Kaifeng, but where is the land of Qi that the steward promised me?"

As soon as Liu Hong spoke, the Five Tigers and Ten Generals stood up in unison. Guan Sheng brandished his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and Lin Chong brandished his Eighteen-Foot Serpent Spear, standing on either side of Liu Hong.

Hu Yanzhuo, wielding his double whips, blocked their retreat; Dong Ping, armed with double spears, thrust out his double spears to block them on the right; Qin Ming, carrying a wolf-tooth club, stood to the left; and the remaining ten generals surrounded the envoys, who trembled with fear and broke out in a cold sweat. They hurriedly presented a map, transforming the five prefectures east of Mount Tai—Dengzhou, Laizhou, Weizhou, Qingzhou, and Zizhou—into the State of Qi and giving it to Liu Hong before finally escaping from the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.

Liu Hong looked at the five states of Shandong on the map with satisfaction, searched for a location to establish the capital, and finally chose Yidu, the capital of Qingzhou, as the best choice for the capital. With a wave of his hand, he led his brothers and sisters to take up their posts in Yidu!

Chapter 422: The Wise Strategist Cleverly Levels the Qi Land

When Liu Hong actually became the King of Qi, entered Yidu, and took control of Shandong, Wu Yong frowned deeply. She realized that the Song Dynasty's military strength was just as weak as its political infighting was terrifying. This position as King of Qi was full of obstacles.

First, Jizhou, where Liangshanbo was located, was not under the jurisdiction of the State of Qi at all. This forced everyone to go to Shandong, leaving Liangshanbo, a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, vacant.

This is easy to solve. Liu Hong ordered Chao Gai to lead the three Ruan brothers and the Liangshan Marsh's inland waterway navy to remain stationed here. They could use the Ji River and the Yellow River channels to quickly deploy the Liangshan inland waterway navy to any battlefield on either side of the Yellow River or the Ji River.

Secondly, the State of Qi was in a precarious position. Located on the Shandong Peninsula, a naturally fortified region, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was surrounded by the sea on three sides—north, south, and east—and further protected by the Yellow River and the Ji River to the north. To the west lay Mount Tai, creating a landscape encircled by mountains, sea, and rivers. However, Mount Tai had two small openings at its north and south. Throughout history, regimes established in Shandong needed to block these two vital transportation routes to secure their rule.

These two ports were Qizhou and Mizhou, respectively. The Song Dynasty did not assign these two states to the State of Qi.

This problem isn't hard to solve. At worst, we can just use the old method: go to Qizhou and Mizhou, kill the local tyrants, divide the land, and win the hearts of the people. If you won't give me the cities, I'll take the countryside and the people's hearts first. When the world changes, Qizhou and Mizhou will still be mine.

Third, this problem is difficult to solve. Liangshan is not lacking in elite troops and generals. Lu Junyi's combat power is virtually invincible, and the Five Tiger Generals and Ten Tiger Generals are also top-notch experts. Liangshan is not lacking in military talent at all, but it is severely lacking in civil officials! With five prefectures and thirty-seven counties, there are hundreds or even thousands of official positions. To fill the vacancies in the administrative positions, the position of county magistrate alone would have to be assigned to thirty-seven different places.

However, the civil officials of Liangshan, such as Wu Yong, Gongsun Sheng, Zhu Wu, and Fan Rui, were primarily military strategists. Song Jiang was skilled at being an official, but he was only one person. Even the highly skilled scholars like Xiao Rang and Jin Dajian could at most manage the leadership of a county.

The Song Dynasty seemed to have seen through Liangshan's weakness. If I can't infiltrate your army, then I will infiltrate your Qi state. When Liangshan took control of Shandong, they also made a round of adjustments to the county magistrates and officials of the five prefectures, and sent some people to become local prefects and county magistrates.

The minor officials were usually the sons of local landlords and powerful families. For example, the Song family was a prominent family in Jizhou, which is why Song Jiang became a minor official in Jizhou. These people had irreconcilable conflicts with Liangshan, which advocated acting on behalf of Heaven and helping the weak and punishing the strong.

The strategist Wu Yong scratched his head, his brows furrowed. Faced with the immense responsibility of governing five prefectures, he felt a lack of wisdom for the first time. The reason why Jizhou was able to operate stably was because Liangshan took five years to annex it, proceeding slowly.

Right now, they've taken five states in a single day, but they don't have enough time, manpower, or anything else.

Wu Yong excelled at devising ingenious strategies and making decisive decisions on the spot, but she was somewhat inept at ensuring the smooth operation of a massive administrative machine. Before her lay a long list of clerical positions urgently needed in various prefectures and counties: clerks knowledgeable in finance and criminal law, registrars in charge of household registration and taxes, judges proficient in legal codes and regulations, and even ordinary clerks who could write and calculate…

"elder brother."

Wu Yong's voice carried a rare hint of weariness and helplessness.

“We brothers and sisters are all skilled at charging into battle, slaying generals and capturing flags. But pacifying the local people, collecting taxes, adjudicating cases, repairing water conservancy... these are not our strengths. When we were ‘acting on behalf of Heaven,’ we were fighting against these local tyrants, evil gentry, and corrupt officials who oppressed the good. The path we are taking to ‘equalize the rich and the poor and equalize the noble and the lowly’ is completely different from the fundamental interests of these people, and there is absolutely no possibility of reconciliation.”

Wu Yong paused, then tapped his slender fingers heavily on the list, his tone growing increasingly somber.

"However, the reality is that without these former officials, let alone in a short period of time, even in five or ten years, we would probably find it difficult to gather such a number of scholars who are familiar with government affairs and can immediately handle complicated official duties. If we were to execute them all, the operation of the government in the five prefectures of Shandong would immediately come to a standstill! Government orders would not be able to leave the prefectures, taxes would not be able to be collected, wrongful convictions would pile up like mountains, and in the end, it would be the common people who would suffer."

The political ideals of Liangshan clashed violently and almost irreconcilably with the practical needs of governance.

Liu Hong frowned, thought carefully, and made two decisions.

"Build five academies in the five prefecture capitals, select some impoverished scholars or children willing to study to come and learn, without charging tuition fees, and all the money for the private school teachers will be paid by Prince Qi. However, it is essential to ensure that all the private school teachers are people we can trust, and at the same time, instill the Liangshan ideology in all the students, so that this new batch of students who can read and write will have the same beliefs and habits as us Liangshan. Wu Yong, you are in charge of this matter, and the selection of teachers must be done well."