knife

Chapter 326 Tools
There are quite a few troops in Sichuan now.

More than 20,000 troops were stationed at Dajianmen and Xiaojianmen to prevent foreign enemies from invading Shuzhong along the Jinniu Road. These were the main elite troops of Shuzhong.

In addition, there were over 20,000 troops stationed in various places to maintain local security, but the combat effectiveness of this force is questionable.

These nearly 50,000 troops were supplied by the Shu Commandery's finances and were part of a regular, organized army.

Of course, even regular armies are divided into different ranks.
Those stationed at the Great and Small Sword Gates naturally received top-tier treatment. Those maintaining local order, if they wanted a life of luxury, had to find their own way; the government's pay was barely enough to keep them from starving.

Aside from these, they are simply the private soldiers of wealthy and powerful families.

These private armies cannot be made public, but they are an open secret.

Prince Ji, Li Shen, was nominally only allowed to have five hundred guards, but in reality he had a well-equipped guard of three thousand. The Tang family, the largest and most powerful family in Shu, had more than five thousand private soldiers. These soldiers were usually stationed in various mansions and estates of the Tang family, and could be assembled into an army at a very fast speed in case of trouble.

Some families can't afford to support too many people, but a hundred or even several hundred people are still necessary.

It may not seem like much, but if you consider the entire Sichuan region, the number is astonishing.

Of course, these armed forces, whether overt or covert, legal or illegal, are all operating through legitimate channels.

The equipment of those involved in organized crime is not as sophisticated as that of these people, and their organization is not as tightly organized, but their combat power should not be underestimated because there are enough of them, and with the involvement of some people over the years, these forces have become an important part of Sichuan.

After returning to Sichuan, Zhang Songlin secretly contacted the small and medium-sized clans and underworld forces.

Because these forces in Shu have always been the targets of suppression and exploitation.

Just like this forced donation drive, the Tang family claimed to have donated the most, with their family receiving 500,000 taels of silver. But everyone knew that it was just a transfer from one hand to the other; the real money was still coming from small figures like them.

As for collecting taxes again, it was just routine. This time, Prince Ji added a border protection tax of one hundred coins per person, citing the possibility that the rebel army of the Wei clan might attack Shu.

Over the years, there have been countless inexplicable taxes and fees like these.

To outsiders, King Ji was greedy and arrogant, disregarding the lives of the people and amassing wealth for his own pleasure. But to those with discerning eyes, what they saw through the surface was the true nature of King Ji and the Tang family: they harbored great ambitions, stockpiling grain, armor, and money, training soldiers, and recruiting talented individuals, all in order to one day contend for the throne.

"How many of our men have entered the city?" Zhang Songlin asked.

"Nearly five hundred people have already entered the city!" the man said. "They've all been settled and can be assembled as quickly as possible when needed."

"Arrange for the brothers on the mountain to infiltrate among the refugees. The government will definitely be recruiting soldiers on a large scale soon, so try to bring in as many of our men as possible. Most of these men will be incorporated into the local garrison army, and they will be very useful if the enemy comes to the city!"

"It's hard to imagine how they managed to break through so quickly!" The newcomer was not as optimistic as Zhang Songlin. "The Great and Small Jianmen Passes are truly impregnable, and Prince Ji has been playing dumb all along. The Shu soldiers are not weak at all. With such a small force, their morale probably isn't very high either. How can we win this battle?"

Zhang Songlin glanced at the other party and said, "This is not something we need to worry about. We just need to do our job according to the agreement. Since the other party said that they will definitely be at the gates of Chengdu in early October, then let's prepare accordingly."

The visitor nodded: "Minister Zhang, there is another piece of news that I need you to verify."

"what news?"

"There are rumors that Prince Ji went to Mount Qingcheng and invited Master Liaoran, the leader of the Longmen Sect, to come down the mountain to help him in the battle. Master Liaoran is a master of innate level and is highly respected. He is very popular in Sichuan. If he really goes to Jianmen Pass, we need to make our people be careful!"

"This news is indeed very important. When innate masters cooperate with the army, their power is more than just multiplied!" Zhang Songlin nodded. "However, we don't need to worry too much, because we also have innate masters in the army!"

Zhang Songlin hadn't returned to Sichuan for many years, and someone like him couldn't just go back casually. His family members who remained in Sichuan also lacked political sensitivity, mainly because their understanding was limited by their past social class.

Someone like Zhang Songlin quickly noticed something amiss after returning.

As time goes by, more and more clues become apparent, and one gradually understands what the other person is thinking.

After the deaths of the emperor and the crown prince, Li Shen also considered winning over Zhang Songlin. His envoy spoke very cryptically, but a clever person would understand after a little prompting.

But Zhang Songlin became increasingly angry.

Because he was from Shu (Sichuan).

For thirty years, Prince Li Shen of Ji had been in Shu, but he never thought of properly developing and benefiting the land. Instead, he only used Shu as a tool to achieve his ambitions. For decades, he relentlessly exploited the land, making it so that even a full meal became a luxury for the people of this land of abundance.

Money rotted in the vault, and grain was only offered as a token relief when it became moldy. Weapons, armor, bows, and crossbows, however, were plentiful and had nowhere to be stored. If Prince Ji truly considered Shu his domain, diligently cultivating it in hopes of one day using it as a base to conquer the world, then Zhang Songlin might be tempted and follow him.

After all, Li Shen was a pure-blooded descendant of the dragon and the phoenix.

However, Li Shen never cared about the Shu region, and the Tang clan and other powerful families aided and abetted the evildoers, harming the local people, all for the sake of realizing their dream of becoming the most prestigious family like the Wei clan.

Such a ruthless and cunning man is clearly inferior to Li Dachui from beyond the Great Wall.

Li Dachui also harbored ambitions to conquer the world, and he made it clear to Zhang Songlin that he wanted to conquer the world. However, the prerequisite for Li Dachui to conquer the world was to first destroy the Northern Yuan. Li Dachui also transformed the bitter and cold land in everyone's mind into a paradise step by step.

Such a person is worthy of my following. Moreover, it seems that Li Dachui truly has the foundation to achieve great things; at the very least, he can return to the borderlands and become the king there.

If you win, you will possess the world; if you lose, you can still remain virtuous. If you had to choose someone to follow, who would you choose? Isn't it obvious?

Meizhou, Pengzu Mountain.

Huang Biao carried a huge wooden bucket on his shoulder as he walked up the mountain path. The bucket was full of water, and a tung tree leaf floated on the water.

The mountain path was rugged, but the water bucket on Huang Biao's shoulder remained perfectly still. This bucket of water must have weighed at least three or four hundred pounds, yet Huang Biao carried it with ease, demonstrating his exceptional martial arts skills.

Several paddy fields appeared before him, the rice seedlings growing lush and green, but the fields were dry. It was the time when the rice seedlings were filling out, and if they didn't get water, a year's hard work would be wasted.

So Huang Biao led a group of strong men to the foot of the mountain to fetch water to irrigate the fields.

This group of people is quite well-known in Sichuan.

The Meishan bandits repeatedly routed the local Meizhou forces in their campaigns, leaving them routed and utterly defeated. Whenever the government deployed its elite troops, the Meishan bandits would immediately disperse and vanish without a trace. Then, during government attacks, they would precisely target the soldiers' weaknesses, inflicting heavy losses and leaving the government troops in a sorry state.

The fact that they could do this clearly shows that the Meishan bandits had connections outside the area.

With no gains to be made in the campaign and the possibility of losses, the Shu army immediately abandoned any thoughts of merit. In any case, there were many bandits in Shu, so their presence or absence made little difference. As long as they did not attack cities and plunder territories, but only occasionally went down the mountain to collect food and engage in some kidnapping and extortion, it was not a big deal, so they were left to their own devices.

The bandits of Meishan survived peacefully in this strange environment for many years.

Huang Biao has been in charge of the bandits in Meishan for five years now.

His true identity, however, is that of a spy for the Black Ice Guard.

The Meishan bandits were just one of several groups controlled by the Black Ice Guard in Sichuan.

Like them, there were also some bandits in Shu who were controlled by Prince Ji, Li Shen, and some powerful families.

These bandits would take care of anything that noble families and government officials couldn't do.

Over the years, without some background and connections, becoming a bandit has become an impossible task!

Walking to the edge of the paddy field, he reached one hand under the bucket and held the rim with the other, easily pouring water into the field. Watching the cracks in the paddy field slowly heal, and seeing loaches or eels poking their heads out of the mud, with bubbles rising to the surface, Huang Biao couldn't help but laugh.

From being completely unfamiliar with farming at the beginning to now being able to handle all kinds of work in the fields with ease, it has only taken a few years.

Of course, along with his farming skills, his martial arts cultivation also improved.

Once on the mountain, besides farming, one cultivates oneself and engages in battles of wits and courage with government soldiers and fellow travelers. One's martial arts skills and cunning also improve rapidly.

The thieves of Meishan were not only bandits, but also farmers.

Huang Biao has actually grown to like this kind of life, but it seems that this kind of life is about to come to an end.

Watching his subordinates behind him carry buckets and basins of water step by step into the fields, Huang Biao only hoped that he would have another chance to return to Meishan to harvest this season's rice.

We're about to descend the mountain, but this time it won't be a small-scale operation. We'll be cooperating with the imperial army to take Chengdu Prefecture, which means we'll be going head-to-head with our opponents.

Leaving aside the elite officers and soldiers, even those colleagues who worked for Prince Ji and the Tang family were highly skilled, and it was really uncertain whether they could come back alive.

(End of this chapter)