Chapter 113 Secret Weapon (7k)

As Song Jiang clasped his fists in response, he caught a glimpse of Hu Sanniang's expression.

The woman's simple emotions are like the spring scenery in the garden that cannot be contained, and her eyes are full of gratitude towards Chao Gai.

Although Song Taigong adopted Hu Sanniang as his adopted daughter, he had no brotherly love with Song Jiang at all, and even had resentment that he had arranged a marriage for Song Jiang.

Since he couldn't win over Yang Chang head-on, he secretly helped him find Yang De's family. Now he's using his power to please Hu Sanniang. He's planning to take a roundabout approach, right?
Chao Gai's means of winning people's hearts are no different from when he was a village security guard.

It's nothing more than frequent drinking parties, giving them small favors and appropriate rights, and then corrupting their families to do work.
These crude methods are practical in the village and work well against those with simple minds and poor abilities, but they do not work against smart people, who often have complicated thoughts.

Song Jiang still doesn't understand Yang Chang, and doesn't understand his desires and weaknesses.

If he was obsessed with power and status, he would not have given up his status as an official and joined the Liangshan bandits. He did not complain when he was ignored and treated coldly after joining the Liangshan bandits, and he did not show any joy when he became the commander of a thousand men.

If he is like ordinary people who like wealth, this guy has been cleaning up the battlefield since Zhujiazhuang, and has not taken any property for personal use for so long;
He is most likely lustful. The fact that he dared to snatch Hu Sanniang's bride openly before shows that he is very bold.

However, beautiful women have always been the cause of trouble. Song Jiang would not give a woman to Yang Chang even if he wanted to, as he was afraid of causing another rift between the brothers. The death of Wang Aihu was a lesson for them.

What other weaknesses does this guy have?
The last time he chatted with Wu Song, he lied that he wanted to transfer Yang Chang to the big stronghold on the top of the mountain so that it would be more convenient for Wu Song and his brother to visit each other. However, Wu Song said that Yang Chang liked a quiet life and suggested that it would be more appropriate for him to stay in the back mountain.

Recently, he learned that Yang De was reclaiming wasteland in the back mountain, and Yang Chang even took time out to help with the farm work.

Could it be that this guy values ​​family ties the most? Has Chao Gai really bet on his treasure?

After going back to say goodbye to Song Taigong, Song Jiang kept thinking about countermeasures, and finally decided to start with Yang De.

That afternoon, a dozen leaders and seven thousand elite soldiers made some preparations and went down the mountain one after another.

After several hours of noise, the entire Liangshan Mountain became like the seven thousand soldiers who had stopped fighting on the road, and slowly returned to tranquility.

Tao Zongwang's "Liangshan Construction" was busy with one project after another in Wanzi City on the top of the mountain, and had no time to help build houses in other camps.

Most of the new recruits who joined Liangshan in the past six months live in simple tents, and the demand for houses in each village is quite great.

None of the 7,000 elite soldiers came from the back mountain. Yang Chang took advantage of the time when other camps were out fighting to complete the expansion of the military camp in the back mountain.

The day after Song Jiang went down the mountain, Yang Chang summoned Cao Zheng and Zhou Tong and issued orders, requiring the two to assign personnel to cut wood, quarry stones, clear obstacles, etc. He wanted to build a new camp on the left and right of the original camp.

The simple tents are cold in winter and hot in summer. The newly incorporated minions are very enthusiastic about building houses for themselves, and the work in the back mountain is in full swing for a while.

After Yang De selected the land to be reclaimed, he immediately took his wife and children to work. The three of them worked from sunrise to sunset, as hardworking as when they had just arrived in Jingnan Township.

After finishing his work in the camp, Yang Chang went to his uncle's family's land for reclamation. He took the hoe from Yang Jian and wanted to help, but was quickly stopped by Yang De.

Yang De grabbed the hoe and said solemnly, "Since ancient times, people have been responsible for their own work. It is natural for us farmers to dig for food in the fields. Sanlang is now in charge of a village with more than a thousand soldiers. He should not waste his energy here. Go back and do your own thing."

"I'm done with my work today, so I'm thinking"

Yang Chang had just said half of his words when he saw Yang De frowning and shaking his head, determination written on his sweaty face. He knew it was useless to persuade him any further.

Then he looked at the frail Yang Jian and continued, "Brother Jian is still young, so don't let him do heavy work that would hurt his body. Why don't you just arrange for him to go to the camp and follow the soldiers to do some work within his ability?"

"What kind of work can he do in the camp? Under your protection, can't he just idle away all day? Instead of wasting time in the camp, he might as well learn farming from us. I will also teach him hunting during the slack season. Uncle Wu appreciates Sanlang's kindness, but he is really not cut out for the military."

"Ok."

Seeing Yang De was so persistent, Yang Chang had no choice but to return in disappointment.

He strode back to the big tent and was shocked to find Song Qing waiting inside, drinking tea leisurely.

"Fourth brother?"

"I haven't been to the back mountain for a long time. I didn't expect it to be so lively now."

"What is Fourth Brother doing today?"

"hehe."

Song Qing waved his hand to signal Yang Chang to sit down, then stroked his mustache and explained his purpose.

"My father heard that your uncle had come to Liangshan, so he asked me to invite them to the mountain for a chat."

"this."

Seeing Yang Chang showing an awkward look, Song Qing hurriedly asked in surprise: "Is it inconvenient?"

"To be honest, my fifth uncle is the most restless. He is currently reclaiming wasteland nearby. He needs to plant seeds in the spring, so he has no time to visit Grandpa recently."

"I see."

Song Qing suddenly realized, and then asked again: "Before my brother went down the mountain, he specifically told me to come to the back mountain more often. I was afraid that you were too shy to ask. Brothers should help each other. I see that you are in full swing in the construction here, and the food expenses should have increased. Do you need my fourth brother to help you coordinate the ingredients?"

"Ingredients?"

Yang Chang's heart was moved when he heard this.

Song Qing was in charge of supervising the Liangshan banquet, so he naturally had food resources at hand. He thought that Song Jiang was much more capable than Chao Gai and knew how to help others in their time of need.

"The expansion of the camp in the back mountain requires hard work. If Fourth Brother is ready, you can allocate some meat and salt."

"If Sanlang asks, how can it be inconvenient? I will arrange it when I get up the mountain."

In order to seek welfare for his brothers and as Yang Chang had always had a good relationship with Song Qing, he took the opportunity to ask for some supplies, and Song Qing naturally agreed.

Song Qing chatted with Yang Chang for a while, and then prepared to go back to the top of the mountain to prepare supplies, but before leaving, he suddenly turned around and stopped, frowned and added:

"It will take more than a month to expand the camp in the back mountain. Improving the food only once is probably not enough. Why don't you send someone to report the amount of food every few days, and I will prepare it in advance as needed? How do you think?"

"That's great." Yang Changzhi nodded.

He was just about to go out and call for a personal soldier, but Song Qing reached out and grabbed his sleeve, whispering, "Don't ask ordinary minions for this kind of thing. I heard that your uncle has a son who is about ten years old and has nothing to do. It's just right to ask him to run errands."

"Uh okay."

At this moment, Yang Chang finally realized the real purpose of Song Qing's coming here.

Song Jiang's silent way of winning over people was not what Chao Gai had expected.

The key point was that Yang Chang didn't want to refuse this proposal. Instead of watching Yang Jian and his parents hoeing the fields, it would be better to help run errands.

At dusk, Yang Chang and Hu Sanniang went to Yang De's house for dinner and mentioned Song Qing's suggestion.

This time, Yang De did not refuse.

I'll just help pass messages and handle logistics, and I won't do anything harmful.

After Yang Jian passed the message twice, Song Qing said that the boy was smart and clever, and wanted to keep him on the mountain to help.

Song Qing was a man who knew how to behave. Yang Chang thought that Yang Jian could learn a lot from him, so he immediately made the decision on behalf of Yang De.

When Yang De heard the news, he was not angry. Instead, he asked Yang Chang to take him and Lu to the mountain to pay a visit to Song Taigong and Song Qing to express his gratitude.

The news soon reached Chao Gai's ears, making him feel like he had eaten a dead fly, as if he had made a wedding dress for others.

During this period, Chao Gai frequently contacted Sun Li, Mu Hong, Zhang Heng, Deng Fei, Ou Peng, Yang Lin and others, intending to win over the neutral generals on the mountain, as well as the small mountain leaders, tyrants and individual people who were not valued by Song Jiang.

All the leaders who were relatively skilled in martial arts were being wooed and courted by Chao Gai, in order to pave the way for him to personally lead the troops down the mountain in the future. However, he forgot about Yang Chang alone.

On the night that Yang De visited Song Taigong, Yang Chang and Hu Sanniang were preparing to go to bed together when an uninvited guest came outside the tent.

Yang Chang followed the sound and went out of the tent to check, and found that it was the living devil Ruan Xiaoqi.

"Brother Xiaoqi?"

"King Chao has something important to discuss with you. Brother Yang, please follow me up the mountain immediately."

"Now?"

"Now."

Ruan Xiaoqi spoke briefly and with a stern expression, as if he would not concede rejection.

"Okay, let me talk to Sanniang."

After saying that, Yang Chang turned around and went into the house.

Hu Sanniang, who had sharp ears, had heard it and immediately went over to whisper.

"Why do you want the official to go up the mountain so late at night, and Ruan Xiaoqi is here in person, what's the important matter?"

"I don't know. Everything will become clear when we meet King Chao."

"I always feel like something is wrong. Could it be related to what happened today? Take your uncle's family to meet your adoptive father."

"Shouldn't it be? We've been there before."

Before the couple finished their conversation, Ruan Xiaoqi's urging voice was heard outside the tent.

"Brother Yang, hurry up, my brother is still waiting."

"coming!"

After Yang Chang responded loudly, he patted Hu Sanniang's slender hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry about him. Then he walked away with Ruan Xiaoqi, and soon his back disappeared from the woman's sight.

That night, the moon was as full as a round disk.

The white light shines on the mountain path, so there is no need to light a fire to travel.

Yang Chang asked Ruan Xiaoqi several times what was going on, but Ruan Xiaoqi remained cold and silent, and hurriedly walked up the stone steps to the mountain.

It was early spring in February, and peach blossoms were in full bloom in the mountains. The night breeze brought bursts of floral fragrance as well as a chill from late spring.

Yang Chang, wearing winter clothes, followed Ruan Xiaoqi quickly.

When the two men passed the pass behind the mountain, Yang was already sweating a lot on his back.

Yang Chang suspected that something big might happen tonight, but the original plot did not explain it at all, so he could not find any reference.

Ruan Xiaoqi led him to Chao Gai's room, where his short-lived brother Ruan Xiaowu was also there, which made Yang Chang even more confused.

I was asked to have a "meeting" with two navy leaders. They wouldn't transfer me to work in the water fort, would they? I can only do the doggy paddle, and I'm not even qualified to be an ordinary sailor.

"Brother Heavenly King, why did you call me here in the middle of the night?"

"Don't be so restrained when you are one of us. Sit down first."

"Oh"

Yang Chang followed Chao Gai's finger prompt, picked up a stool and sat down face to face with the three of them.

This situation made him feel like he was being tried by three judges, and an uncomfortable feeling secretly spread.

Chao Gai didn't beat around the bush. He looked at him and got straight to the point, saying, "Brother Yang, you've been up in the mountains for more than a year. I helped you win the beauty and sent people to reunite with your family. I think I've done my best and never treated you unfairly. Do you have any other requests?"

"Ok?"

Yang Chang was startled when he heard this. He immediately stood up, clasped his fists and saluted, and said in a sonorous voice: "Brother, you have done too much. I have little merit and virtue, so I dare not ask for anything more."

"It's okay to have requests. I will try my best to satisfy them."

Chao Gai stroked his long beard with a solemn expression, and then added: "Although Brother Yang was able to join the group because of Brother Song, he is still my brother after he came to Liangshan. Chao wants a definite answer tonight. Between me and Song Gongming, who will you support?"

"what?"

Yang Chang's eyes widened when he heard this. He never expected Chao Gai to be so direct.

When asking questions in front of Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi, it was obvious that he was well prepared.

Is Chao Gai threatening me? If I don't choose him, I can't go back? Are there assassins lying in ambush outside the house?

With Yang Chang's current strength, it would be no problem for him to escape, but wanting to take his family away was nothing but a pipe dream.

What to do? How to answer?

"Hard to answer?"

"Ah? No."

Chao Gai's calm reminder sounded like a death knell to Yang Chang, who quickly waved his hands to deny it and pretended to be indifferent.

In a hurry, he pretended to be stupid and answered: "You and Brother Gongming are both the leaders of Liangshan Village, so I will naturally obey the orders of both of you."

"There is no two suns in the sky, no two rulers in a country, how can there be two leaders in Liangshan? Where do you put Chao Tianwang?"

Ruan Xiaowu teased in a sarcastic tone, and Yang Chang looked embarrassed when he heard it. He then explained, "The chief and deputy chiefs I'm talking about have always been like this."

"Then who is the chief? Who is the deputy?"

"Brother Natural King is the leader, and Brother Gongming is the deputy."

"If you were asked to choose between the two, would you choose Chao Tianwang or Song Gongming?"

"I"

Ruan Xiaowu's words were as sharp as swords, so sharp that Yang Changji was not used to it. He really felt like he was being interrogated.

Just when he was planning to pretend to be nice and appease the three people and then wait for an opportunity to escape with them, Chao Gai stopped Ruan Xiaowu from questioning him in time.

"Xiaowu, don't be rude!" "Brother Yang is very smart. It's not difficult to see that Chao is in a dilemma. Although I am the leader of Liangshan, I can't command the brothers below. I have no choice but to ask you to express your position today."

"Little brother. This."

Yang Chang hesitated, but Chao Gai did not get angry. Instead, he added in a gentle tone: "I know you are a man of great loyalty and have an old friendship with Song Gongming, so I don't want you to break up with him. Chao just wants a promise."

"promise?"

"Song Gongming has come down the mountain many times to expand the mountain stronghold with manpower, money and food. I can't hide in the rear forever. Chao hopes that next time when I select generals, you can take the initiative to stand up and set an example. Is that okay?"

"Hmm." Seeing Yang Chang hesitated and didn't answer, Chao Gai continued to tease him, saying, "I think Brother Yang has his own ideas, and he doesn't just follow Brother Song's orders. The previous robbery of the bride is proof of this, so I'll help Brother this time, okay?"

"Ok."

Chao Gai spoke so frankly and openly that Yang Chang could not help but disagree.

"Don't feel embarrassed. What King Chao did for you is more than just that. Wang Aihu still remembers it, right? It was Brother Tianwang who instructed me to kill him myself!"

"what?"

Yang Chang had guessed that it was related to Chao Gai, but he did not expect Ruan Xiaowu to take the initiative to say it, and immediately showed a look of surprise.

"You don't have to thank us. That dwarf was so active that he affected the unity among the brothers. Chao had been displeased with him for a long time. Now he is buried in the water and fed to the fish. I don't know how many people are secretly happy about it. You are just one of them."

"Uh yes."

"It's late, go back quickly."

Although Chao Gai was openly talking about Wang Ying, he was also implicitly expressing his dissatisfaction with Song Jiang. How could Yang Chang not hear it?

Seeing that the goal of tonight had been achieved, Chao Gai waved his hand to signal Yang Chang to go home, but called him back before leaving.

"A real man should keep his word."

"Brother, don't worry."

Director Yang responded with a serious face, clasped his fists and greeted the three people again, then pushed the door and left.

It was obviously cold in Chao Gai's room at night, but Yang Chang's whole body was soaked with sweat. On his way home, he thought about the conversation just now and kept a serious expression all the way to the back mountain.

Chao Gai's true intentions have been revealed tonight, and it is obvious that he does not want to endure it any longer. He wants to go down the mountain to prove his strength and hopes that others will stand up and support him. Is this to attract other neutral parties?
This Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King is ready to fight to the death.

That’s right, the Zengtou City plot is coming soon.

Chao Gai instructed Ruan Xiaowu to tell the secret, which seemed like a reverse surrender, as if knowing the secret meant being an accomplice.

But Yang Chang could not inform Song Jiang, as that would mean he would be completely on the opposite side of Chao Gai, and Yang De's family would most likely be in trouble, so Ruan Xiaowu was so calm.

Well, just express your position.

In fact, even without Chao Gai's "forcing", Yang Chang would have volunteered to join the expedition to Zengtou City. He had gained a lot of benefits in Zhujiazhuang, and Zengtou City would probably not be bad either.

Lu Zhishen, Lin Chong, Gongsun Sheng
There are too many people that Yang Chang wants to surpass, so he has to continue picking up corpses to improve himself. When he becomes invincible in the future, he won’t have to care about the faces of anyone.

In late February, Song Jiang returned to Liangshan.

This trip to Huazhou in the west not only rescued Lu Zhishen and Shi Jin, but also recruited hundreds of troops from Shaohua Mountain, and also met the Grand Marshal Su Yuanjing.

Regardless of whether it was a good reputation or a bad one, Song Jiang's name was finally brought back to the court by Su Yuanjing, laying the groundwork for his subsequent recruitment.

As usual, Chao Gai brought the leaders of Liushan to Jinshatan to host a banquet in celebration, and then went to the Juyi Hall for a banquet.

Shi Jin came from a wealthy family and was generous. He was the first person to become sworn brothers with Lu Zhishen, as they shared the same ideals. Although he eventually became a bandit in Shaohua Mountain, he was respected as the leader of the stronghold by Zhu Wu, Chen Da and Yang Chun.

After the Liangshan welcoming banquet that day, Shi Jin used the money he brought with him to host a banquet the next day to thank Chao, Song and everyone else. His distinct personality was different from that of the other bandits.

Shaohua Mountain has nearly seven hundred followers, and the four leaders are all very capable. Its overall strength is second only to Erlong Mountain.

After they joined Liangshan, they were not quickly divided and disintegrated like other gangs. Instead, they existed independently and were established as the ninth camp of Liangshan.

It’s not that Chao Gai and Song Jiang don’t want to use the same old trick again, but Liangshan has expanded too fast in the past six months.

Thousands of bandits and their families from the three mountains were absorbed in the first month of the year. Now the houses in each village have not been repaired yet. If the people from Shaohua Mountain are divided again, the construction pressure on each village will continue to increase, so they are stationed on the right side of the Qianshan Cavalry Village, which is called the Qianshan Infantry Dry Village.

After a few days, Zhu Gui went up the mountain to report to Chao Gai and Song Jiang, saying that there was a group of strong men in Mangdang Mountain, Pei County, Xuzhou, who were announcing that they wanted to annex Liangshan Marsh.

Song Jiang was furious when he heard this. He slammed the table and stood up, muttering to himself, "This scoundrel is so arrogant. I will go down the mountain again!"

"Fan Rui only has 3,000 men. How dare he challenge Liangshan?"

Chao Gai was now confident and felt that 3,000 men were too few, but he still thought that even a small number was worth a lot, so he said, "Since this guy is seeking his own death, I will immediately summon the leaders of each camp and let him see how powerful Liangshan is."

Song Jiang was stunned when he heard this, and asked hurriedly: "Xiao Ke can just pick a few leaders at random, there is no need to mobilize the army, right?"

"need."

Chao Gai walked up to Song Jiang, pushed him back to sit on the chair, then stroked his long beard and said solemnly, "My dear brother, just wait patiently. I will give the order right away."

"Oh"

Song Jiang looked at Chao Gai's back with a surprised expression, thinking to himself, what are you up to?

Could it be that he wants to compete with me for the position of leader of the mountain? How can he only remember to eat and not to fight?

Most of Chao Gai's actions in the mountains during this period were known to Song Jiang. Afterwards, he complained that Chao Gai had wasted his efforts. He couldn't even win over the man, so why did he think he could do it? He didn't know that Yang Chang had been "conquered".

As the war was about to begin, the other camps were all carrying messages from the minions, but the one who went to the back mountain was the veteran Bai Sheng.

When Yang Chang saw this Day Rat, he guessed that Chao Gai should be preparing to take action.

Could it be that the plot in Zengtou City was triggered? He immediately took Hu Sanniang to the Juyi Hall.

As for his deputy generals Cao Zheng and Zhou Tong, they were not in the eyes of Chao Gai or Song Jiang at all, and had no chance to appear in small battles, so Yang Chang simply did not notify them.

But when he arrived at the Juyi Hall, he realized that they were going to conquer Mangdang Mountain and deal with the devil Fan Rui.

Gongsun Sheng and Fan Rui are the only two magicians in Liangshan. Yang Chang already knows that the former is at the fifth level of Qi Refining Realm. Even if the latter cannot reach this level, he is definitely not a mortal.

Chao Gai, Chao Gai, are you sure you want to use my promise on Fan Rui? Gongsun Sheng is the right person for the job.

While Yang Chang was thinking with his head down, Song Jiang had already finished explaining the whole story. He was about to offer his services but was intercepted by Shi Jin, which also surprised Chao Gai, who was planning to strike back.

Shi Jin came out of the class, clasped his fists, and said seriously: "The four of us are new here, and we have not achieved anything yet. This time, we would like to lead our troops to capture this group of strong men. Please help us, brothers."

"Brother, look."

Shi Jin was like a student trying to show off his abilities, and he volunteered out of pure enthusiasm. Seeing this, Song Jiang hesitated and looked at Chao Gai.

Chao Gai saw someone trying to steal Song Jiang's job, and this person had a close relationship with Master Lu, and seemed to have not been controlled by Song Sanlang yet, so how could he dampen his enthusiasm? He immediately nodded to Shi Jin to show his support.

"Brother Shi is very courageous, how can I not agree? I wish you a successful return!"

"I will not disgrace my life!"

Shi Jin happily accepted the order, and immediately thanked Chao Gai and Song Jiang. He then went down the mountain to meet Zhu Wu, Chen Da, and Yang Chun, and gathered the men in the camp to cross the river and go to the battle.

Yang Changkong was overjoyed, and on his way back to the back mountain he went to see Yang Jian. Song Qing praised the boy for his lively eyes, saying that he was deeply loved by his subordinates.

After nightfall, Ruan Xiaoqi came to the door again unexpectedly.

"Brother Xiaoqi, today is the day again."

"I'm going back to the water village from the back mountain. I have something to tell Brother Yang. He thinks this opportunity is not good, so he wants you to cooperate next time."

"No problem, though."

"But what?"

Ruan Xiaoqi was about to leave, but was aroused by Yang Chang.

Yang Chang accidentally let the cat out of the bag just now, and when he was questioned, he had to answer: "The Devil King can call the wind and rain, so Brother Tianwang thinks that Shaohua Mountain alone can win?"

"So there are still some variables in this matter?"

"Thinking back to Gaotangzhou, I think the only person in Liangshan who can deal with this man is Mr. Yiqing."

"That makes sense, goodbye!"

Ruan Xiaoqi understood immediately, and after saying goodbye to Yang Chang, he disappeared into the night. However, he did not go down the beach along the mountain path, but returned to the mountain along the same route.

With the advice of Yang Chang, Chao Gai became close to Gongsun Sheng for several days.

On the other hand, Song Jiang was worried that Shi Jin might be in trouble, so he ordered Dai Zong to follow him and gather intelligence, and sure enough, he got the news that they had been defeated.

Song Jiang hurriedly went with Wu Yong to invite Gongsun Sheng, but saw Chao Gai accompanying him and listening to him talk.

Wu Yong got the order and explained his purpose. Chao Gai stroked his long beard and waved his hand, saying in a sonorous voice: "I remembered that Gao Lian knew magic, so I expected that Fan Rui would be difficult to deal with. I have been asking Mr. Yiqing for advice these days, and now I have a plan to defeat the enemy."

"Ok?"

Song Jiang and Wu Yong were both stunned, thinking that Chao Tianwang actually knew that the enemy was ahead? Who would dare to believe it?

"I will go down the mountain with Wu Xuejiu and Mr. Yiqing, and lead several thousand men to help Jiuwenlong defeat the enemy. I'll trouble you, my dear brother, to guard the mountain stronghold for me."

"Brother is the leader of the stronghold, so don't move rashly. I am willing to do it for you."

"I can't let you do it for me every time. Let's just say this."

Chao Gai showed his domineering attitude today and caught Song Jiang off guard. Song Jiang had no choice but to wink at Wu Yong for help.

Wu Yong blinked in understanding, then cupped his hands and advised Chao Gai, "Brother, Shi Jin and Zhu Wu need quick support. Brother Gongming has experience in deploying troops, so why not let him do it?"

"Eh"

Chao Gai frowned and interrupted Wu Yong, saying sternly: "With the help of the military advisor and Mr. Yiqing, it is enough to recapture three to five thousand soldiers and horses from Mangdang Mountain. I can just pick a few leaders at random, and there is no need to summon the leaders of each camp. Don't you have confidence in me?"

"No."

Wu Yong was unable to withstand Chao Gai's dominance and could only quietly shake his head to Song Jiang, as if to say let it go this time.

Song Jiang was groaning inwardly. Chao Gai had the important bargaining chip in his hands, and it was too late for him to snatch it. As long as Gongsun Sheng could break Fan Rui's magic, his three thousand followers would be nothing but chickens and dogs in the hands of Liangshan's random leaders.

Chao Gai immediately issued an order, notifying Liu Tang, Zhu Tong, Lei Heng, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi, Du Qian, and Song Wan to assemble at Jinshatan. He himself transferred 2,000 elite soldiers from the main camp on the top of the mountain and ordered Lin Chong to transfer 1,000 soldiers from the dry camp on the right side of the mountain. A total of 3,000 infantry and cavalry and 11 leaders were to reinforce Shi Jin.

This time, Chao Gai was reluctant to use Yang Chang's secret weapon.

Song Jiang stood on the south city tower of Wanzi City, looking at the leaders and soldiers coming down the mountain one after another, and his heart was suddenly filled with mixed feelings.

Chao Gai inexplicably overtook him in the first place. It would be a lie to say that he was not uncomfortable at this moment. One could tell from his dark face.

Hua Rong, who was following beside him, saw Song Jiang's cold face and immediately comforted him: "Brother, don't be depressed. As the saying goes, a blessing in disguise. It's also good to let King Chao lead the troops. With a commander to compare with, the soldiers will know who has a better future to follow."

"I'm not afraid of King Chao leading the troops, but I don't believe he has such a mind. I always feel that he did something shameful when we went to Huazhou last time."

"It should be just luck, right? In terms of wisdom, who can be better than Mr. Jialiang? Brother, look at the leaders he has chosen, only Master Lin is slightly smarter, but he also went to Huazhou with us last time."

"That's why it's strange. Send someone to investigate secretly to see if there are any omissions. I'll ask Dean Dai to continue investigating. Maybe I'll have to go down the mountain."

"understood."

After Song Jiang gave Hua Rong instructions, he went down the city wall to look for Dai Zong. He had some fantasies in his heart.

A few days later, before Hua Rong could find any clues, Dai Zong returned from the front line and brought the news of Chao Gai's victory.

His fantasy shattered, Song Jiang had to accept reality.

On the one hand, he ordered Dai Zong to investigate further, and on the other hand, he ordered Song Qing to prepare a celebration banquet.

At the end of February, Song Jiang summoned all the leaders at home. He ordered them to meet at Jinshatan first, and then asked Tong Wei and Tong Meng to prepare boats to cross the water. This move surprised everyone.

Seeing everyone whispering, Hua Rong whispered a reminder to Song Jiang.

"Brother, what are you doing? We were all at Golden Beach before."

"King Chao has returned victorious. I decided to make it more grand. Let's go to the other side to welcome him."

"Oh"

Song Jiang spoke loudly on purpose, and the leaders immediately stopped doubting him.

Later, the leaders crossed the river and landed. Song Jiang stood in the front of the crowd and looked out. Unexpectedly, a man jumped out from the reeds.

With dozens of big men around, he was not afraid of assassination. The man glanced at everyone and immediately bowed down to Song Jiang.

Song Jiang hurriedly helped the man up and asked curiously, "What's your name? Why do you show such courtesy to me when we just met?"

"You must be Song Gongming, the timely rain, right? My surname is Duan, my given name is Jingzhu, and people in the underworld call me Golden Retriever."

Before Duan Jingzhu finished speaking, Yang Chang's heart skipped a beat.

In the Zengtou City plot, Chao Gai’s nightmare finally came.

　Here comes another 7000 chapter, the author is dizzy. In addition, let me talk about the recent plot arrangement. The Huazhou plot was not expanded in the last chapter because I felt that the original design was not rigorous. Seven thousand Liangshan bandits crossed the Central Plains back and forth, from Shandong all the way to Shaanxi, but did not encounter a single soldier on the way. This is obviously extremely unreasonable. The expansion is nothing more than writing about the protagonist saving people and showing off, and gaining the favor of Lu Zhishen and Shi Jin. Originally, there was also a Hu Cheng branch line here, but this would take up a lot of space and seriously affect the speed of the main line, so the author deliberately simplified it, and adjusted the Hu Cheng branch line to the middle period. The same is true for simplifying Fan Rui's plot in this chapter. Please be informed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)