Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 424 Song Jiang: The one surnamed Cai is here? [3rd update, please vote with monthly tickets and recommendations]

The State of Jin, Weisheng Prefecture.

"King Qi, Cai Fu?"

Prince Tian Ding of Jin stroked the few slightly dark and coarse hairs on his chin and said with envy and jealousy:
"He's become a king too? He starts with nine prefectures?"

Grand Commandant Fang Xuedu sighed and said, "This man was originally just an executioner in Daming Prefecture!"

"In just over a year, he seized nine prefectures and declared himself king!"
"In the future struggle for the world, this person will surely be the greatest rival of my Jin state!"

"That's not how it works..."

Grand Chancellor and Grand Tutor Bian Xiang disagreed with his statement:

"The world today is in a time of great contention, with heroes rising up everywhere!"

"If the four rebel kings could join forces and divide the Song Dynasty among themselves, it wouldn't be impossible!"

Fang Xuedu shook his head:
"It's impossible for us to join forces. It would be good enough if we could just keep to ourselves!"

"Grand Tutor, have you perhaps forgotten?"
"Song Jiang, a general under the King of Qi, has now seized Gaizhou, our country!"

"Strictly speaking, the King of Qi has more than nine prefectures under his control; including Gaizhou, it should actually be ten!"

"Oh!"

Bian Xiang slapped his forehead: "I've forgotten! That scoundrel Song Jiang is in cahoots with Prince Qi!"

Tian Ding was frustrated: "It's already difficult to deal with Song Jiang alone..."

"The King of Qi is very powerful, how should we deal with him?"

Fang Xuedu sighed: "If it weren't for the two traitors, Tian Bao and Tian Biao, it wouldn't have been difficult to take back Gaizhou."

"With two traitors, Tian Bao and Tian Biao, by our side, if we attack Gaizhou, we will inevitably be attacked from both sides!"

"It's difficult..."

Bian Xiang shook his head with a wry smile:

The State of Jin originally had only five prefectures.

Tian Bao and Tian Biao each occupied one seat, and Song Jiang occupied another.

Now, the State of Jin only has two prefectures: Weisheng Prefecture and Zhaode Prefecture.

To put it bluntly, we're struggling to even defend ourselves, let alone attack Gaizhou...

……

Chu State, Nanfeng Prefecture.

"King Qi, Cai Fu?"

King Qing of Chu was taken aback when he received the news:
Where is Song Jiang?

"Isn't Song Jiang the one in charge of Liangshan Marsh?"

Military Advisor and Prime Minister Li Zhu offered a helpless explanation:

"Your Majesty, that happened a year ago..."

He originally thought Wang Qing was someone who could achieve great things, but he never expected that Wang Qing was a lecherous glutton!
If it weren't for Duan Sanniang, nicknamed "The Great Insect Nest" and also known as "The Heavenly Demon of Huaixi," keeping Wang Qing in check, he probably would have already died on a woman's belly...

General Duan Erha, the commander of the National Protection Army, laughed heartily:
"Your Majesty need not worry about him. That King Qi is nothing but a lustful devil; he will amount to nothing!"

Wang Qing frowned: "What do you mean?"

Duan Er was Duan San Niang's brother, Wang Qing's brother-in-law, and a great contributor to Wang Qing's founding of the country.

He was not only the commander-in-chief of the national army, but also ordered to guard the Shannan army, making him extremely powerful in the Chu state.

Therefore, Duan Er spoke very casually to Wang Qing.

Duan Er was visiting relatives in Nanfeng Prefecture when he happened to witness this event, and couldn't resist showing off his limited knowledge:
"Among the nine prefectures of the King of Qi, there is Runzhou, which was actually the dowry of the Southern Empress!"

"There is also Mozhou, which was also part of the dowry of a Liao princess!"
"Although we don't know how the other prefectures came to be, we can glean some insight from them, and we can guess that they are all related to women!"

"Your Majesty, tell me, what kind of future can a pretty boy like him, who made his fortune by relying on women, possibly achieve?"

Wang Qing: (ー`ー)
Even though Duan Er was Wang Qing's brother-in-law, Wang Qing suspected that Duan Er was subtly criticizing him.

So what if he's a gigolo who made his fortune off women?
Did that pretty boy eat your rice?

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Assistant Li quickly changed the subject:

"Your Majesty, the King of Qi now wields great power in Shandong, and he is also the son-in-law of the Southern Kingdom. I believe we should be on good terms with him!"

"He is in the north, and our country is in the south; he is in the east, and our country is in the west!"

"This is a perfect opportunity to coordinate our efforts and join forces to destroy the Song Dynasty!"

Duan Er curled his lip: "After we destroy the Song Dynasty, this pretty boy will become our enemy!"

Can't you tell I'm trying to distract you?
Li Zhu was speechless and casually replied:

"We'll talk about what happens after we destroy the Song Dynasty!"

"That's right, then we can each fight for the world based on our own abilities!"

Wang Qing nodded: "As the Prime Minister says! Send someone to the State of Qi!"

Li Zhu: "Your Majesty is wise!"

……

In the South, there is Bangyuan Cave.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Empress Fang Jinzhi was overjoyed upon hearing about Cai Fu's situation:
Who dares to say he is not worthy of me now?

"It's good, but..."

Left Chancellor Lou Minzhong said with concern:

"The King of Qi has already established his own kingdom. How can he become my son-in-law?"

Fang Jinzhi really wanted to say, "Why don't I just marry him?"

But Fang Jinzhi knew that such words couldn't be said lightly, otherwise people's hearts would scatter...

This made Fang Jinzhi depressed again. She was already the empress, so why couldn't she live happily ever after with her beloved?
Not only was Fang Jinzhi frustrated, but the ministers in the court who were on Fang Tianding's side were also frustrated.

If Cai Fu were still only associated with Liangshan Marsh, and the three-year mourning period were over, then he could simply be allowed to marry into the family.

However, Cai Fu already controls the entire country. When Cai Fu wants to marry Fang Jinzhi, how can they refuse?
We can't refuse. If Cai Fu's army marches south, the Southern Kingdom... can't withstand any more turmoil!

……

Gaizhou.

"The one surnamed Cai has declared himself king?"

Song Jiang, who had just been overjoyed for two days because of the capture of Gaizhou, was depressed again:
"Nine more prefectures?"

No, what right does an executioner have to do that?
Song Jiang was filled with deep regret. He wished he hadn't let Chai Jin go in to coerce and bribe Cai Fu in the first place...

Do not!
He didn't even want Lu Junyi anymore; he'd rather have Hua Rong shoot Shi Wengong dead with an arrow!
It just means that the integration of Liangshan Marsh will be a little slower, but at least we won't end up fleeing Shandong like stray dogs...

“So best!”

The strategist Wu Yong confidently waved his goose feather fan:

"Brother, in my opinion, being granted amnesty is just around the corner!"

Song Jiang was taken aback: "Is this really true?"

"really!"

Wu Yong said confidently:

"Brother, have you forgotten that the Mozhou of the Cai family was obtained from the Liao Kingdom?"

"If the imperial court grants amnesty to the Cai family, Mozhou will belong to the imperial court. This would be a great achievement in expanding the territory!"
"The imperial army of 130,000 has been defeated by the Cai family again. If we don't offer amnesty now, when will we?"

"The strategist is right!"

Song Jiang finally felt a little happier:

"We might as well take this opportunity to offer Gaizhou to the imperial court!"

"After all, we are nominally one family with the Cai family, so it's perfectly legitimate for us to accept their amnesty!"

Qin Ming gave a thumbs up: "Brother is right!"

Lin Chong felt much more at ease. If things could be this way, his journey to Gaizhou with Song Jiang would not have been in vain...

Just then, "Young Star" Kongming entered with a worried expression:
"Master, General Hua is back!"

"most!"

Song Jiang was even happier, but upon seeing Kongming's expression:

"General Hua's return is a joyous occasion, so why are you looking so worried?"

Kongming smiled wryly: "Master, General Hua has brought that Cai fellow as well..."

"Who?"

Song Jiang was stunned: "You mean Cai Fu came too?"

Kongming nodded: "Exactly."

Song Jiang subconsciously exchanged a glance with Wu Yong.

Wu Yong pressed further, "How many men did they bring in total?"

Kongming: "Strategist, you are overthinking it. Apart from General Hua, there are only nine people, including the one surnamed Cai!"

Wu Yong breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Song Jiang.

Song Jiang waved his hand: "Please let them in..."

"Alright! Let's go greet him!"

Goodnight, please give me some monthly tickets and recommendations~

(End of this chapter)