Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

However, he was exploited by officials and could not keep his inn running, so he went to Liangshan to seek refuge.

These three men had no great ambitions and only wanted a peaceful life, so they naturally had no interest in the so-called amnesty.

As for Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen

1.9

One was nearly killed and his family was destroyed, while the other became a monk and gained a clearer understanding of the world. Neither of them wanted to be recruited by the government.

And there were also Qiongying and Sun An standing to the side.

The former even had the title of princess, and his rebellious intentions were common knowledge.

The latter had previously intended to join Tian Hu and carry out a rebellion.

Naturally, they wouldn't consider joining the imperial court.

Seeing that everyone was of one mind,

Zhao Yuan laughed heartily, then instructed, "I am aware of your good intentions, brothers, but please remember not to reveal my identity!"

"Liangshan is still too weak now. If my identity is exposed now, Zhao Ji will surely raise a large army to attack, and Liangshan will definitely collapse! Even if we manage to escape, we will lose our place to stay!"

"Don't worry, brother, we understand!"

Everyone responded in unison!

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Strengthening the Army and Training Troops

Liangshan is not an isolated peak.

Previously, one could see the rolling hills from beside the lake.

Only when you actually walk through it do you realize how vast it is.

The entire Liangshan mountain range consists of four main peaks: Liangshan, Qinglongshan, Fenghuangshan, and Guishan, as well as seven branch peaks including Hutoufeng, Xueshanfeng, Haoshanfeng, and Xiaohuangshan.

It covers tens of thousands of hectares in total, enough to accommodate not just one or two thousand people, but hundreds of thousands.

Accompanied by Du Qian and Song Wande, Zhao Yuan followed the mountain path.

While looking around at the scenery,

He listened as the two men recounted the current situation of the mountain stronghold.

"These three passes were built by Wang Lun at our behest,"

Du Qian explained, "Even if the government troops reach Jinshatan, it will not be easy to break through these passes."

"Building this pass wouldn't be a problem, but..."

Song Wan hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"But the expenses have been too high, and the village doesn't have much money left?"

Zhao Qian asked with a smile.

"Brother is right,"

Song Wan said helplessly, "The village originally had seventy or eighty thousand strings of cash, most of which were tied up in these three passes. Now, there are only three thousand strings of cash left. The remaining jewelry, silk, and miscellaneous goods, although totaling five or six thousand strings, are not easy to sell in the short term as the year is approaching."

"What about the grain in the village?" Zhao Yuan asked.

"The grain reserves are somewhat better; we have a little over a thousand shi left, which is barely enough for the mountain stronghold to eat for three or four months," Du Qian replied.

"What about the population of the mountain stronghold?"

"There were four or five hundred strong and capable henchmen, as well as two or three hundred elderly, weak, and their relatives and family members."

"Isn't there a precise number?" Zhao Yuan asked, frowning.

Seeing that he was somewhat displeased, Song Wan quickly explained,

“Brother, the people in the mountain stronghold are a mixed bunch and change frequently, so we have never had a detailed count.”

"Alright, it's not your fault, there's no need to blame yourselves."

Zhao Yuan patted the two men on the shoulders.

"By the way, I still have two or three thousand strings of cash. I got it from Sun Erniang's shady inn when I passed Shizipo. You take your men and turn all this money into public funds!"

Du Qian asked in surprise, "Brother, how can this be? Those are all your private property..."

"It's alright. The village always needs money. Besides, I've just taken over Liangshan, so I should make the brothers happy."

Zhao Yuan smiled and instructed, "After depositing the twenty or thirty thousand strings of cash into the public treasury, take out another five thousand strings, distribute three thousand strings to the brothers on the mountain, and distribute two thousand strings to the various leaders. Sister Qiongying and Brother Sun An will receive the same treatment as the leaders!"

"Yes!"

Du Qian and Song Wan quickly responded.

"correct,"

Zhao Yuan then remembered something else,

"These next two days, slaughter more chickens and ducks, and prepare some beef and mutton so that all the brothers can eat their fill and have a good meal!"

Song Wan reminded him, "Brother, there aren't many chickens, ducks, cattle, or sheep left in the village. If we finish them in the next two days, the New Year will be approaching..."

"Don't worry, I certainly won't just sit around doing nothing. Before the New Year, I'll have the brothers go down the mountain and get some good stuff for the holiday!"

Zhao Yuan laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, brother, we'll take care of it."

Du Qian and Song Wan bowed and agreed.

......

With this wave of spending, plus the unlimited food and drink these past two days...

All the brothers on Liangshan Mountain immediately knew that their new chieftain was very generous.

This is completely different from the stingy Wang Lun of the past.

Why did these bandits join Liangshan?

It's all for the sake of having enough to eat and wear, and making some money!

Now that Zhao Yuan has satisfied them, he has naturally gained the support of these lackeys.

After winning over the hearts of the bandits,

Zhao Yuan then discussed it with Lin Chong.

Together, they began to reorganize the bandits of Liangshan.

According to the method of selecting soldiers in "Training Records"

From the four or five hundred strong and capable henchmen of Liangshan

Three hundred and sixty regular soldiers were selected!

The team consists of twelve people, with one team leader.

Ten squads form a "du" (都), with two leaders, a chief and a deputy chief.

Zhao Yuan, Lin Chong, and Lu Zhishen each led a unit of men, and were all captains.

Sun An, Du Qian, and Song Wan served as the three men's deputies, all holding the rank of deputy captain.

The remaining hundred or so henchmen were handed over to the three Ruan brothers.

Practice their swimming skills so that they can be used to build a navy in the future.

Besides primary military positions

Lin Chong was also in charge of the daily training of the soldiers in the three capitals.

Lu Zhishen also served as a military judge.

Du Qian and Song Wan managed the mountain stronghold and received money and grain.

The three Ruan brothers were responsible for scheduling and transporting boats in and out of the mountain village and its waterways.

Qiongying then selected capable women from among the women of the mountain village.

She replenished her female army, and had them patrol the various areas daily.

To protect the women of the mountain stronghold from harassment.

After a series of rectifications,

The appearance of Liangshan was suddenly very different from before.

If the original Liangshan stronghold was still a place of rough and tumble bandits,

Liangshan now undoubtedly has some of the atmosphere of a military camp.

They trained like this for five or six days.

Watching the various teams use the Mandarin Duck Formation,

It can be considered somewhat presentable.

Zhu Gui's side, following Zhao Yuan's instructions,

This also provided the mountain stronghold with its first target for borrowing grain.

Xixi Village!

This village is adjacent to Dongxi Village, which was founded by Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

Even Chao Gai's title, "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," is related to this Xixi Village.

It turned out that Li Baozheng, the head of Xixi Village, was a greedy and tyrannical man.

The entire Xixi Village has nearly 3,000 mu of fertile land.

Most of them fell into the hands of Li Baozheng.

Most of the other villagers were also tenant farmers of Li Baozheng's family.

The tenant farmers in the Northern Song Dynasty were far more miserable than those in other dynasties.

Besides toiling in the fields every day and paying exorbitant rents to landlords,

During the off-season, they also had to work on the landlord's estate.

Their status was akin to that of a slave!

Landlords could force tenants' families to work as laborers, force people who had mortgaged or sold their land and those who were in debt to become tenants, and even interfere with the marriages of tenants' wives and daughters.

Some landlords even had the right to give away tenants along with land, cattle, farm tools, boathouses, and other items as gifts.

Landlords also frequently beat, scolded, and insulted their tenants.

As long as no one dies, the government won't care at all.

Even if the person was dead, given the bureaucracy of the late Northern Song Dynasty,

As long as officials are bribed, any casualty or injury report can be used to cover up the truth.

Even when treated this way, the tenant farmers dared not run away.

According to the Northern Song Dynasty Household Registration Law (987), tenant farmers who do not own their own land will be registered as "rural tenants".

If a tenant leaves without permission, the landlord even has the right to report it to the authorities.

After the government seized the tenants, they were usually handed over to the landlords for disposal.

Later generations often say that the Song Dynasty was wealthy.

However, the wealth of the Song Dynasty belonged to the gentry, officials, and merchants.

But they are definitely not the lowest-level farmers who rely on the land for survival.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, peasant uprisings were continuous.

The source of most uprisings was peasants losing their land and being unwilling to be bullied by landlords!

The Li Baozheng family was a typical Song Dynasty landlord family.

For many years, through cunning and extortion, they have seized most of the land in Xixi Village for their own use.

They treated their tenants extremely harshly, frequently beating and abusing them.

In recent years alone, he has killed or humiliated more than ten tenant women.