Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Chapter 131 Song Jiang, the Colonization Commissioner

"What?!"

Li Kui flew into a rage and roared, "You scoundrel, you actually want my brother Gongming to go and farm?"

He roared and strode forward, wanting to speak again, but saw Wu Song and Shi Xiu stand out on either side of him, blocking Wang Lun's way and glaring at him angrily.

Behind him, Lin Chong and other generals were all staring intently at Li Kui, ready to be beheaded at the slightest sign of trouble.

Li Kui was also taken aback and became somewhat intimidated. He looked around and retreated.

Song Jiang was both shocked and anxious, and quickly knelt down: "Chief, please calm down. Tie Niu is mute and offended you. Please forgive him."

Li Kui remained standing there, still fuming, and Song Jiang hurriedly tugged at his sleeve.

Li Kui had no choice but to bow down as well.

Wang Lun gestured for Wu Song and Shi Xiu to step aside, exposing his view, and wouldn't let Song Jiang and Li Kui get up. He laughed and said, "Iron Ox, let me ask you, can you go a day without sleeping, can you go a day without eating?"

Li Kui said in a deep voice, "Not eating for one day is nothing, but not three to five days will not be enough."

Wang Lun said, "Yes, our Liangshan Flying Tiger Army has tens of thousands of soldiers and dozens of generals. Without food, what will they eat? Even if I have money, can they live off money?"

Li Kui shook his head and said, "Of course not."

"Now we no longer engage in robbery or plunder the people. The taxes paid by the people of Jeju are extremely low, and these taxes are not enough to support our large army. The best course of action now is to cultivate the land. If the land is cultivated well, the army will have no worries about its rear, and you, Li Kui, will have food to eat."

Wang Lun stared at Li Kui and said, "Tell me, is land reclamation important?"

Li Kui said, "Reclamation of land is certainly important, but..."

Wang Lun interrupted, "Reclamation naturally requires someone extremely meticulous, highly capable, and able to command respect. Tell me, if you were to become the Reclamation Commissioner, could you manage all the fields in Jizhou? Could you effectively manage so many soldiers and civilians involved in the reclamation?"

Li Kui was taken aback, shook his enormous head, and said, "Of course not."

Thinking about what Wang Lun had said, and looking at Song Jiang, he felt that Song Jiang was indeed very suitable.

Wang Lun laughed and said, "Then tell me, since your brother Gongming is the Commissioner of Agricultural Settlements, and I'm entrusting the entire army's livelihood to him, am I mistreating him?"

At this moment, Li Kui felt that Wang Lun had not mistreated Song Jiang. On the contrary, this assignment was indeed very important, but he still felt dissatisfied.

Wang Lun said in a deep voice, "Would you be happy if I handed over the position of chieftain to him?"

Song Jiang quickly kowtowed and said, "I dare not, I dare not. Song Jiang is willing to serve as the military agricultural commissioner."

Li Kui then fell silent.

The leaders present had different expressions. Some of them had already met Song Jiang and had a past relationship with him. However, under Wang Lun's leadership, Liangshan was thriving in all aspects, while Song Jiang had made no contribution to Liangshan. Although he was famous, there was really no suitable place for him in Liangshan.

Everyone fell silent.

Wang Lun said, "Gongming, I'll trouble you to be the Commissioner of Agricultural Settlements for now, and Li Kui will be your deputy. If you do a good job, you'll still have a lot of merit. However, the Flying Tiger Army is about to set off on various campaigns, so there will naturally be a shortage of manpower for agricultural settlements. In addition to the new recruits who can help you with the settlements, you can recruit from the common people and pay them wages. For all expenses, just go to Du Qian."

Song Jiang clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes."

Wang Lun glanced around and saw the thin Shi Qian at the very end of the crowd. He smiled slightly. Shi Qian had made great contributions on this trip south. Although he had many bad habits, his skills were also very important.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, since each army has its own mission, go and prepare. We will depart in three days. I will see you off at the city gate. When you set off, you must make a great show of force. It would be best if you could frighten all the prefectures into opening their gates and surrendering as soon as you leave the city."

All the leaders burst into laughter.

"Everyone, you may leave now. Shi Qian, Dai Zong, and Zhu Gui, please stay behind. Instructor Lin and I still have some things to do for you."

Upon hearing Wang Lun's words, Lin Chong also stayed. Although he was the second-in-command, Wang Lun was in charge most of the time.

After everyone had left, only five people remained in the room.

Wang Lun laughed and said, "Brother Dai and Brother Shi Qian, before I introduce them, our Liangshan Flying Tiger Army has established an intelligence bureau. Some brothers don't like the name 'intelligence bureau,' so we can call it the intelligence division. It used to be in charge of Zhu Gui, and he did a very good job. In the great victory at Zhu Family Village, Brother Zhu Gui's intelligence division made an indispensable contribution."

Shi Qian naturally knew about the Zhu Family Village incident and also knew that Zhu Gui's intelligence division had played a significant role. Dai Zong also looked at Zhu Gui with admiration, never expecting that this seemingly ordinary person could receive such praise from Wang Lun.

"It has now been decided to expand the responsibilities of the Intelligence Division. In addition to intelligence matters, the scout teams will also be managed by the Intelligence Division. Zhu Gui is too busy to handle everything alone, so Dai Zong and Shi Qian will go to the Intelligence Division to be under Zhu Gui's command. Dai Zong will be in charge of scout matters, and Shi Qian will cooperate with Zhu Gui and be a good deputy."

The three men clasped their hands in agreement.

"The affairs of the Intelligence Division are very important and are under my direct management. Any major matters must be reported to me immediately. If I am away or unable to leave, you can also report to Instructor Lin."

The fact that Wang Lun was personally in charge of intelligence work was enough to demonstrate its importance, and the three of them were very excited.

"Brothers Zhu Gui and Shi Qian, intelligence work is not only about external matters, but also about internal ones. You must set aside time to monitor our own brothers. Any violations of military discipline, any intention to defect, or any plot to rebel must be thoroughly investigated."

Now that there are more leaders and more factions, Wang Lun naturally cannot manage them all by himself and has to rely on intelligence.

He suddenly thought that when he became stronger, he would change the intelligence bureau to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It would sound better and give him more power.

The big meeting came to an end, and Wang Lun was really tired. When he returned to his room, his maid Qiao'er massaged his back and feet, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

When Wang Lun woke up again, it was already past dusk.

He opened his eyes and saw Zhao Si, Wu Song, and Shi Xiu standing outside the door. He asked in confusion, "What are you three doing standing at the door?"

Zhao Si came in and said, "We really have something important to report, but since the chieftain is sleeping soundly, we didn't want to disturb him."

Wang Lun asked curiously, "What urgent matter is it? If it is, you should have woken me up. If you delay this important matter, I will punish you."

Wu Song and Shi Xiu followed them in, standing smiling beside Zhao Si.

Wu Song said, "Brother, don't be angry. It's not a big deal. But have you forgotten that you said earlier today that you would host a welcome dinner for Li Jun and the other brothers tonight?"

Wang Lun slapped his forehead and said, "Oh dear, it's all my fault. I overslept and forgot all about it. Quick, has anyone arranged for the kitchen?"

Wu Song laughed and said, "There's no need for you to tell me such a small thing. Master Shi has already arranged for the kitchen to prepare the wine and meat. We're just waiting for you to come."

Wang Lun laughed heartily and went there accompanied by Zhao Si, Wu Song, and Shi Xiu.

That night, naturally, they drank wine from large bowls and ate large chunks of meat.

However, with so many leaders, the wine was consumed very quickly. Wang Lun's personal guards kept bringing wine and meat for the leaders to enjoy.

They drank from dusk until midnight. Except for those with a lower alcohol tolerance who had already passed out, Wu Song, Lu Zhishen, and the others were still in high spirits.

As the leader of Liangshan, Wang Lun barely slept a wink all night.