The Thief Prince

Li Zheng stood up, glanced at the trembling clerks in the corner of the hall, and turned to ask Liang He:

"The officials and clerks in this county government office still need to be replaced. I'm unsure which ones are reliable. Please advise me, sir."

Liang He was taken aback by Li Zheng's words, but for a moment he did not understand what Li Zheng meant.

Li Zheng whispered, "My lord, if this matter reaches the imperial court, you will be accused of colluding with bandits, a treasonous act!"

"You don't want to die a gruesome death, bearing the name of a bandit and bringing shame upon your ancestors, do you?"

Liang's mouth twitched, and his beard trembled.

A demon! This man is a demon!

Li Zheng paused, then continued in a devilish whisper, "We're on the same side now. Those unreliable people need to be purged from our county office. As they say, things are accomplished in secrecy. What do you think, my lord?"

Liang He felt a chill run down his spine; this was a complete extermination.

But they knew that things had come to this point and there was no other choice.

With trembling hands, amidst the painful pleas of the officials, he pointed out a few of his trusted confidants.

Li Zheng nodded. These people were now tied to Liang He, so they could be kept and observed.

As for the others...

The remaining officials and yamen runners looked over in alarm, only to see Li Zheng wave his hand and several henchmen grab their knives and step forward.

He quickly cut them down, leaving them lying in pools of blood, unmoved by their cries of agony.

Li Zheng, smelling the blood in the hall, nodded in satisfaction: "This is much better; the county government office is much cleaner than before."

He glanced down at Liang He, who was still sobbing, and patted him on the shoulder:

"Don't cry, my lord. Go back and get some sleep. Tomorrow, you will still be the magistrate of Yuncheng."

Having said that, he waved his hand and said, "Someone, escort the magistrate home to rest, and make sure nothing happens to him."

Several henchmen bowed in agreement and helped Liang and others onto the carriage outside the door.

After Liang He left, Li Zheng played with the luminous pearl in his hand. Cao Su, who was standing beside him, asked:

"Brother, do I really want to stay and work as a clerk?"

No matter what Cao Su was like, he was once the military commander of a prefecture, but now he has to be a clerk without even a rank.

How come his official position kept getting lower and lower after he became a thief?

Then wouldn't my rebellion have been for nothing?

Li Zheng said helplessly, "Brother Cao Su, among my men, besides Brother Wu Anqing, you are the only one who can read. Now that the stronghold is in trouble, you have to step up."

"Liang He is terrified today, but if he harbors resentment, he will definitely not behave himself in the long run. You have to keep an eye on him for me."

Although Cao Su was somewhat reluctant, after Li Zheng's manipulative tactics, he felt he had no choice but to agree and immediately gave in.

Tang Meng, standing to the side, asked in confusion, "Brother, if you want Yuncheng County, just take it directly. Why resort to such tricks?"

Li Zheng glared at him: "What kind of trick is this? I'm offering you the position of county constable, in charge of over a hundred people, and you're not willing? If you don't want it, I'll find someone else!"

Tang Meng immediately chuckled and said, "That won't be necessary, I can do it too."

The Black Wind Stronghold only had a hundred or so people, and Tang Meng was just the second-in-command.

Now that he's with Li Zheng, although his status has declined, he can command nearly two hundred people, which greatly increases his power.

Looking at the county government office in front of him, Li Zheng felt a mix of emotions.

Taking Yuncheng County is easy; the real challenge is taking it without alerting the imperial army.

Yuncheng County has unique geographical conditions, being too close to Liangshan Marsh.

In the future, whether I send troops or buy and sell goods, I will not be able to escape the control of Yuncheng.

If you don't keep it under control, it's like having a nail stuck in your abdomen.

Now that I have control of the county magistrate and have replaced the county government staff with my own people, given the rigidity of the Great Zhou bureaucracy, there shouldn't be any problems for a year or two.

By the time the imperial court reacted, Liangshan would also be prepared to resist the large army.

Li Zheng got up and walked out of the county government office, instructing Cao Su, "You will be on duty at the county government office tomorrow. Select a few reliable brothers to work with you."

Cao Su nodded in agreement: "Yes."

"If Liang He doesn't behave, we'll give him a warning and intimidation the first time, and kill one of his sons the second time!"

"I remember he had three sons," Li Zheng sneered. "Then he has three chances."

Cao Su felt a chill in his heart; his brother was truly ruthless in his treatment of others.

Fortunately, he was pragmatic and surrendered to him early on, otherwise his family would have been in serious trouble.

Li Zheng then looked at the two captains: "Why don't you two become leaders in the stronghold for now, so you can reunite with your families?"

Du and Luo were not particularly talented individuals, and Li Zheng disliked their character as well.

This kind of person doesn't deserve to sit in a high position. Li Zheng's Liangshan doesn't need a leader who is just filling a position. Keeping him as a minor leader is already giving Han Zhu face.

Having witnessed Li Zheng's methods, the two constables, Du and Luo, dared not resist and bowed together, saying, "We'll leave it all to you, brother!"

. . . . . .

Back in Liangshan, Li Zheng sat at the entrance of the nearly completed Dazhai village, gazing at the setting sun on the horizon.

With Yuncheng County now stable and supplies plentiful, it's time to expand the strength of the mountain stronghold.

Intrigue and trickery are ultimately minor tactics. This kind of intimidation and extortion may work on a county magistrate, but it won't work on the imperial army.

Hard power is the foundation for survival.

If we want to expand our strength, the first thing to do is to increase our troops.

Li Zheng has selected more than 300 people from among the refugees these days. They may not be considered combat soldiers, but with a little training, they can serve as auxiliary troops.

If they want to expand their army, they either need to continue recruiting refugees or merge with other mountain strongholds.

Now that I have a good reputation and enough gold and silver, neither of these things is difficult to do.

Thinking of this, Li Zheng waved to Yan Yun beside him.

"Brother?"

"Go and invite Prefect Zhang here."

But they forgot that their greatest wealth was not gold and silver, but the prefect who held many secrets.

Before long, Yan Yun brought Zhang Pin over.

Zhang Pin had been hiding and fleeing with the Black Wind Bandits, and these days he had been living in the mountains, enduring wind and rain, and he had visibly lost a lot of weight.

Now, he seems to have gained a touch of the refined and austere air of a scholar.

Zhang Pin was forced to kneel before Li Zheng by Yan Yun, his eyes blankly staring at the young bandit leader before him.

Li Zheng looked at him and said, "Prefect Zhang, we haven't had a formal discussion yet?"

Zhang Pin lowered his head: "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Those batches of treasures," Li Zheng grinned, "are the warhorses, grains, and weapons traded to the Liao people."

A cold glint flashed in Li Zheng's eyes: "Prefect Zhang, it's said that we share what we have. I've fed and clothed you for so many days, you can't be so stingy."