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

Chapter 9 I, Lin Chong, am climbing the social ladder.

"Knock knock knock—"

Before the sun had even risen, the sound of drums echoed from Liangshan.

The villagers of Houzhai were awakened in alarm, thinking that government troops had come to suppress them again.

Unexpectedly, there were no government soldiers, but rather Wang Lun, the leader of Liangshan.

He stood on the watchtower in front of the stronghold, dressed in white, holding a feather fan, pointing out the landscape.

Behind him were the leaders of Liangshan.

"How can we strengthen Liangshan? I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep."

Wang Lun's voice was deep, and he lied without batting an eye; in fact, he slept very well last night.

Chao Gai chimed in, "Our chieftain is truly worried and troubled for Liangshan..."

That was the end of the conversation.

Wang Lun glanced at him and smiled, "Chao Tianwang is not one to flatter; there's no need for such empty words."

He glanced at the crowd, smiled faintly, and said, "Mr. Wu, what do you think we should do to strengthen Liangshan?"

Wu Yong originally planned to seize Liangshan, but unexpectedly, Wang Lun outmaneuvered him. He secretly competed with Wang Lun, and when asked a question, he replied, "Of course, we should plunder more, accumulate money and grain, recruit more leaders and people, and then advance step by step to attack Jizhou, occupy the territory and become king."

"Mr. Wu's words are indeed correct and should be so, but I have a more specific idea here, please listen." Wang Lun gently waved his feather fan, imagining himself possessed by Zhuge Liang.

"The most urgent task is to recruit refugees. I intend to expand the rear camp, build more houses, and cultivate wasteland in Liangshan where it is arable, providing land for the people so that they can be self-sufficient. At the same time, they will also have to pay some taxes to us. Of course, the taxes we collect are lower and simpler than those collected by the imperial court."

In this chaotic world, the Jin and Liao dynasties in the north have started countless wars, causing countless people to be displaced. The court is incompetent and corrupt, and most of the displaced people cannot find a way to survive, which has led to uprisings everywhere.

With refugees recruited, the source of soldiers would naturally be secured. The leaders nodded in agreement.

Seeing them nod, Wang Lun said, "Let Song Wan handle this matter. On the one hand, send people to spread the word that Liangshan is willing to accept refugees and distribute land and seeds free of charge. On the other hand, send people to build houses, the more the better."

Song Wan clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

"Secondly, intelligence is crucial. We must proactively understand our opponents, especially the three forces of Liao, Jin, and the imperial court. Of course, we must also grasp the relevant information about the leaders of the local rebel armies. We should try to win over those who can be won over, and plan to annihilate those who cannot."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Intelligence was indeed crucial, and the imperial court had even established the Strategist's Office under the Privy Council to handle intelligence matters.

Wang Lun then instructed, "Leave this matter to Zhu Gui. I plan to establish an intelligence bureau in Liangshan, with Zhu Gui as the director. You should first come up with a plan for intelligence matters, and then discuss it with me. You can choose any clever person on the mountain. As for the funds, after deducting the income from your small shop, I will give you as much as you need."

Zhu Gui readily agreed; how could he not be happy to be entrusted with such an important task?

However, after his initial excitement, he paused for a moment and asked, "Intelligence Bureau... Director... what is that?"

"A bureau is like an organization, something like a department or division of the imperial court. Director Zhu, that sounds very prestigious," Wang Lun explained with a smile.

Zhu Gui read "Director Zhu" aloud a few times, and indeed it sounded very nice, giving off a powerful vibe. He nodded happily.

"Third, I plan to reform the military system. I haven't figured out the specifics yet, but I intend to invite Instructor Lin to serve as the chief instructor of Liangshan, training the soldiers every day, rain or shine."

Lin Chong had occasionally trained his henchmen before, but Wang Lun hadn't taken it seriously. Instead, he felt that Lin Chong had ambitions to seize power, so the matter was gradually shelved.

Hearing Wang Lun say this, Lin Chong was very happy and quickly agreed.

Of the dozen or so leaders present, only Lin Chong is suitable for the position of head coach, and he doesn't need to be modest.

"Fourth, we need to establish a naval force. We don't have enough manpower right now, so we can only allocate one hundred men. I want to entrust this to the three Ruan brothers, and you should do the same. Train them every day, rain or shine. This Liangshan Marsh will be your battlefield. Besides training, you will also be in control of all the ships, big and small, in Liangshan Marsh."

Upon hearing that this was a good thing, the three Ruan brothers quickly agreed.

"Sixthly, more watchtowers need to be built on the mountain. This task will be handled by Du Qian. At the same time, Du Qian will also manage the warehouses and grain supplies in the right village. But remember one thing: any use of funds or grain supplies must be approved by both of us, the two leaders, before any funds or grain supplies can be allocated."

Managing logistics was a lucrative job. Du Qian and Wang Lun were close friends who joined Liangshan together. He and Zhu Gui had previously been in charge of managing the right stronghold. Now that the stronghold had more people and more money, the job was even more lucrative, so he readily agreed.

When Wang Lun saw Chao Gai and the others, he said, "There are still many things to do, but there are two things that are more urgent. First, there is a saltpeter mine in the northwest of Jizhou City, which belongs to Master Du of Jizhou. Please ask King Chao and Mr. Wu to make a trip there. You can bring as many people as you want. Take as much saltpeter as you can."

He made arrangements for everyone, but he deliberately bypassed Chao Gai and his group. Chao Gai was initially upset, as he felt that Wang Lun still didn't fully trust him.

Now, when he assigns a task, they immediately nod in agreement, eager to rush off and seize the saltpeter to complete the task.

Wang Lun looked at Gongsun Sheng and said, "The second thing is that I would like to ask Mr. Gongsun to come with me to Jizhou."

Everyone was startled and quickly said, "No!"

Zhu Gui advised, "Chief, you're listed on the honor roll in Jizhou. What if something happens to you..."

Wang Lun waved his hand: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I will not only visit Jizhou, but also the nearby counties such as Yuncheng. Rest assured, I will only bring Mr. Gongsun and Zhao Si. With a little disguise, no one will recognize us."

Now that we're here, we can't just stay in Liangshan forever; we also need to experience the vibrant world of the Song Dynasty.

If we had descended the mountain any later to explore, the Jurchen cavalry would have swept south, and we wouldn't have been able to go anywhere.

Seeing that they still wanted to dissuade him, Wang Lun thought for a moment and said, "Then let's set a three-day period. In three days, Instructor Lin will lead his troops to meet us outside Jizhou City."

The leaders finally agreed, after all, the small state of Jizhou had already lost more than a thousand men, so it wouldn't be difficult for Liangshan to fight it with all their might.

It was supposed to be Wang Lun who was discussing matters with the leaders, but it turned into a one-man show where he assigned a bunch of tasks.

And most people agree with it.

Lin Chong nodded secretly. He had indeed misjudged Wang Lun before. The Wang Lun in front of him was the real Wang Lun, decisive in killing, and infinitely wise, especially with some inexplicable ideas in his mind.

Although I had never heard of words like "bureau chief" before, he sounded very impressive when he spoke of them.

With foresight and benevolence, if Wang Lun doesn't become the chieftain, who else could?

Lin Chong glanced at Chao Gai and Wu Yong, feeling somewhat displeased. These two scoundrels, especially Wu Yong, were actually encouraging him to annex Wang Lun.

Humph.

Those two bastards deserve to be taught a lesson sooner or later.

Looking at Wang Lun, Lin Chong thought to himself, "I, Lin Chong, am honored to have sworn brotherhood with the chief last night."