The Thief Prince

Upon hearing Li Zheng's words, Zhu Chun was immediately speechless.

Li Zheng, who had been all smiles and laughter just moments before, suddenly turned ruthless, leaving Li Zheng somewhat bewildered.

For Li Zheng, this is a bottom-line issue.

This group of refugees was a source of wealth and was crucial to the early development of Liangshan.

Putting that aside, Li Zheng just caused a major incident in Nanjing, and it's likely that half of the Zhou Dynasty knows about it now.

If these refugees were to spread the news of his presence in Liangshan, it could very well attract the imperial army, or even that mad dog Zhao Qianshan. Li Zheng would not take such a risk.

Seeing his expression, Li Zheng softened his tone slightly: "Make it clear to everyone that if you follow me, at least your life will be safe."

"Those who are willing to join the mountain stronghold and fight against the government troops can receive a reward."

"As for those who are unwilling to fight, I will not force them. They can simply farm and build houses on the mountain without having to perform hard labor."

Zhu Chun breathed a slight sigh of relief and cupped his hands, saying, "I am willing to persuade them on behalf of Your Majesty."

Li Zheng nodded: "Do a good job. If you do a good job, those refugees who don't want to fight will be under your command."

Zhu Chun was taken aback, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.

Power is the best aphrodisiac for men.

Even he, a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man fleeing from war, couldn't help but be tempted at this moment.

After settling the refugees, Li Zheng gathered the leaders together for a meal.

The refugees were so poor they were practically destitute; they certainly didn't have tables or chairs.

The group could only sit on the ground, take out some cooked meat, salted fish, and flatbread, and eat them with the clear spring water from the mountains.

Tang Meng asked while chewing on a biscuit, "Brother, what are your plans for the next step?"

Li Zheng replied, "Let's set up the stronghold first, so the brothers have a place to stay."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhang below instinctively pricked up his ears.

Among the newly joined leaders of the Black Wind Bandits, he was the only one who had not accomplished anything.

Han Zhu has been following Li Zheng around these past few days, and the Zheng siblings have also brought in a large number of fishing boats, which can be considered as them investing with their own capital.

Shen Zhang also held a prominent position, but his presence was extremely low, and he was harboring a strong desire for revenge.

Sure enough, Li Zheng looked at him the next second: "Brother Shen Zhang, how about I leave the construction of the stronghold to you?"

Shen Zhang quickly stood up, his face resolute: "Shen Zhang will never fail my brother's trust!"

Li Zheng smiled and waved his hand, "We're all brothers, no need to be so nervous, sit down and talk."

Shen Zhang realized he had overreacted and awkwardly sat back down.

But then Li Zheng said, "I don't have many craftsmen on hand. I only brought a few from Black Wind Stronghold. You'll need to select some more usable ones from the refugees."

Shen Zhang nodded and said, "Brother, don't worry, I have a few apprentices among my servants who can be of use."

Li Zheng said happily, "That's good, thank you for your trouble, brother."

Carpenters are highly sought-after craftsmen everywhere. Li Zheng's fondness for them even surpasses that for warhorses, armor, and crossbows, ranking them only after leaders like Tang Meng.

Shen Zhang then asked, "Where does my brother plan to build the fortress?"

Li Zheng pointed to the ceiling, recalling that the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness was built at the very top: "This place won't do, we need to go higher."

Shen Zhang looked in the direction Li Zheng pointed, somewhat troubled: "Building a stockade on the mountaintop would be quite difficult."

Li Zheng laughed and said, "Brother, don't be impatient. I don't just want one village; I plan to make use of the entire mountain."

Li Zheng stood up and slowly outlined his vision:

"First, establish one dry fortress in each of the four directions: east, south, west, and north. Then, establish one water fortress in each of the four directions: northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest."

"There are passes along the four routes up the mountain, and a mountain city needs to be built on the mountaintop above the four passes."

"In this way, the entire mountain becomes a unified whole, as solid as a rock. Even if the imperial court sends an army of 100,000 to suppress it, they will be utterly defeated and forced to drink our foot-washing water!"

The other leaders, who couldn't understand, burst into laughter, while Shen Zhang gasped in shock.

"Brother, such a large project will probably take three to five years to complete."

Li Zheng nodded and said, "We're going to be living on this mountain for more than three or five years."

Liangshan is a treasure trove, and Li Zheng has already prepared to make it his stronghold.

As long as we are not wiped out by the imperial court, we must take root here, accumulate strength, stockpile grain, and delay declaring ourselves king.

As he just said, the terrain advantage of Liangshan Marsh ensures that even a hundred thousand troops from the imperial court cannot conquer it.

What if the imperial court advances by both land and sea, sending out 200,000 or 300,000 troops?

Then they can only wait to die, or flee again.

However, Li Zheng did not believe that the Great Zhou would withstand the pressure from the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms and mobilize two or three hundred thousand people to attack a mountain stronghold.

If they really did that, the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be far from its demise.

Shen Zhang gritted his teeth and clasped his hands tightly in a fist salute: "Brother, don't worry, even if it costs me my life, I will rebuild the village for the brothers!"

Li Zheng laughed and said, "Brother, you're truly loyal! Come, I'll toast you with water instead of wine!"

Shen Zhang was flattered and grateful to Li Zheng even more after drinking the spring water.

Li Zheng put down the bowl of water and said, "After you've tallied up these refugees, go and pick out the people. Take all the ones you can use."

"These days we need to set up the stockade on the mountaintop first, so that the brothers have a place to stay."

Shen Zhang nodded in agreement.

Li Zheng then turned to the crowd: "We can't help with building the village, so we'll do something else."

"Right now, Liangshan has more mouths than grain, so our most urgent task is to get some food."

Han Zhu spoke first: "Brother, I am familiar with Yuncheng County, I can go and buy some rice and grain."

Not to be outdone, the Zheng sisters stood up and said, "We siblings can lead people to fish in Liangshan Marsh. There are plenty of big fish there, enough to keep the army fed."

Zhang Yin also said, "There are traces of wild animals in the mountains. I can lead men into the mountains to hunt."

Several people expressed their opinions, and others followed suit.

Tang Meng got up, intending to lead his troops into the county town and carry out another large-scale search, but was pulled back by Wu Anqing who was standing next to him.

Even Li Bao said that he could eat less each day to save on food rations.

Li Zheng felt a surge of warmth as he watched everyone display their talents.

The passion and vengeance of the martial world—I was young once in my past life, and I longed for those things when I first entered the industry.

But they're from different eras; that kind of thing has long since disappeared in modern times.

But now, this journey through time has allowed him to experience the true world of martial arts.

He stood up, raised his water bowl, and exclaimed, "With all brothers united, what worries do we have about the success of our Liangshan cause? Gentlemen, please drink!"

The leaders all stood up: "Respect, Brother!"

Li Zheng tilted his head back and drank the water in the bowl in one gulp, then turned the bowl upside down: "Let's drink together!"

Everyone responded in unison and toasted.

The spring water had no alcohol content, yet everyone felt burning hot all over, as if they had drunk a large jar of strong liquor.