xymnovel Chapter 23 Yang Zhi
Chapter 23 Yang Zhi
Upon hearing Wang Lun's question, Yang Zhi's already ashen face turned even more ashen.
Chao Gai and Wu Yong's expressions also changed.
Only Lu Zhishen kept giving Wang Lun meaningful glances.
Wang Lun pretended not to notice, holding his wine glass, and said, "Hey, everyone, keep drinking. What's going on?"
Yang Zhi snorted coldly and said, "I offended Liang Zhongshu by losing the birthday gifts, so I went to Erlong Mountain to become an outlaw, and was fortunate enough to be taken in by Lu Da. But I didn't know that Chao Tianwang was also an outlaw on Liang Mountain?"
Wang Lun exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, it's because of the birthday gifts?"
He glanced at Chao Gai, Wu Yong, and the others, then at Yang Zhi, stamped his foot, and said, "It's all my fault. Of all things to bring up, I had to bring this up. I, Wang, will punish myself with a cup of wine."
Wang Lun drank a cup of wine and said, "The birthday gifts were a gift from Liang Zhongshu to Cai Jing. After they were robbed, Brother Yang must have suffered a lot. Fortunately, after many twists and turns, he finally arrived at Liangshan Marsh. Now that we're here, we're brothers. Let's wipe the slate clean of past grievances. What do you say?"
Everyone fell silent.
Lu Zhishen snorted coldly and said, "Brother, in my opinion, it would be best to just wipe the slate clean, but Yang Zhi suffered so much in this calamity, wouldn't all his hardships have been for nothing? If he had no other choice, who would want to become an outlaw?"
Wang Lun nodded and said, "Yes, Zhishen is absolutely right. But... what should we do?"
He looked around curiously and asked, "Why isn't Gongsun here to drink?"
He was about to rub salt into the wounds of Chao Gai and the others.
Gongsun Sheng didn't come to drink simply because he felt guilty towards Yang Zhi.
However, this created a rift between Gongsun Sheng and Chao Gai and others.
The masterminds are Wu Yong and Chao Gai, and they have nothing to be ashamed of. What guilt do you, Gongsun Sheng, have to feel?
Ruan Xiaoer slammed his fist on the table: "Yang Zhi, do you dare to fight me? The winner lives, the loser dies, and this matter will be resolved."
Yang Zhi kicked the wooden table and stood tall: "If you are no match for me, then all of you come at me together. What do I have to fear?"
Wang Lun's eyes lit up. Yang Zhi's words actually had the heroic spirit of Xiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect. He was about to applaud, but then he remembered that he was now the leader of the stronghold and couldn't exaggerate too much.
Lin Chong had no choice but to stand up and advise, "Everyone, please calm down. Liang Zhongshu and Cai Jing are both extremely corrupt officials. The birthday tribute is all the people's hard-earned money; it deserves to be robbed. Brother Yang Zhi, don't you agree?"
Knowing the relationship between Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen, Yang Zhi calmed his anger slightly upon hearing him speak and muttered, "Yes."
"Since that's the case, King Chao and the others didn't expect it to be you when they robbed the birthday gifts, which is why this misunderstanding occurred. Since that's the case, it's understandable that we have hatred between us, but now that we're sitting together in the Hall of Righteousness, we can't fight each other to the death anymore."
Lin Chong couldn't come up with a solution, said a few words, and then looked at Wang Lun again.
Wang Lun smiled faintly and said, "Instructor Lin makes a good point. In that case, let me offer an idea."
Everyone then looked at him.
"When Yang Zhi and his brother first arrived at Liangshan, according to the old rules, they needed to submit a pledge of allegiance."
Wang Lun looked at Chao Gai and the others and said, "Why don't we ask Chao Tianwang and the others to make a trip and rob some corrupt officials and wealthy merchants? All the gold and silver obtained can be attributed to Brother Yang Zhi. Consider it his pledge of loyalty and his performance record. When he receives his salary, we can give him an extra bonus. What do you think?"
Chao Gai had no choice but to agree. How could he refuse? If he didn't, would he really have to fight Yang Zhi?
Yang Zhi alone is not a problem, but Yang Zhi is backed by the leaders of Erlong Mountain, especially Lu Zhishen, who is very difficult to deal with.
Lin Chong was behind Lu Zhishen.
Lin Chong also became friends with Wang Lun.
Chao Gai felt a headache coming on, wondering when Wang Lun's power had grown so great.
When Mingming first joined Liangshan, he only had three insignificant confidants: Zhu Gui, Du Qian, and Song Wan.
"Who are we going to rob? Do you have a candidate for chieftain?" Wu Yong asked first.
Wang Lun pondered for a moment and said, "I burned down the house of Master Du in Jizhou, and you robbed his saltpeter mine. But a mine and a house are not his entire fortune..."
Master Du of Jeju Prefecture has connections everywhere; if he were robbed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Wu Yong was hesitating when Chao Gai slammed his hand on the table: "Then it's settled. I'll lead my men down the mountain tomorrow and return within three days. The gold and silver we obtain will surely satisfy Brother Yang Zhi."
Wang Lun then looked at Yang Zhi.
Yang Zhi thought for a moment, and seeing Lu Zhishen wink at him, he nodded in agreement.
When the wine was half-finished, Chao Gai and the others left first.
Only Wang Lun, Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, Yang Zhi, Cao Zheng, Tang Long, Zhu Gui, Du Qian, and Song Wan remained in the hall. Wang Lun glanced at them and considered them "his own people."
He paused, then said, "Brother Yang Zhi, I know you're not convinced."
Yang Zhi clasped his hands in a fist and said in a deep voice, "I wouldn't dare."
Wang Lun laughed and said, "But now that we're in Liangshan, Chao Gai and the others are also our leaders. We all eat from the same pot, so if there's anything to complain about, we should prioritize the overall situation."
Yang Zhi clasped his hands in a fist salute again: "Yes."
Lu Zhishen also laughed and said, "Brother is right. Since we have all gathered at Liangshan, let's put aside our past grievances for now. If you hadn't lost the birthday gifts, you wouldn't even recognize us."
Yang Zhi then smiled; he still greatly admired Lu Zhishen.
Wang Lun smiled and said, "If Brother Yang Zhi insists on getting revenge, I have two plans."
Everyone looked at him.
"Firstly, tomorrow when they go to rob Master Du of Jizhou, they will inevitably come into contact with the hundreds of servants of the Du family and the soldiers of Jizhou. If Brother Yang wants revenge, he should lead your troops from Erlong Mountain to cut off Chao Gai's rear. Once he and the soldiers are tired of fighting, you can go directly to take revenge."
Everyone was taken aback by these words, but Yang Zhi was delighted. It sounded like it was indeed feasible.
Lu Zhishen shook his head and said, "This is not the behavior of a true man."
Wang Lun smiled and said, "Yes. So there is a second plan. On the surface, the leaders of Liangshan are all in harmony, but in reality, everyone knows that the people brought by Chao Gai and Wu Yong are not on the same page as us for the time being."
Everyone nodded in agreement; Chao Gai and the others had indeed not fully integrated into Liangshan yet.
"Brother Yang Zhi, why don't you suppress your desire for revenge and wait? As our power grows, what can Chao Gai do? You'll have plenty of opportunities to take revenge then."
Wang Lun felt he was being a bit cunning, wondering why he was always thinking about starting a fight.
Yang Zhi pondered for a moment and nodded: "I'll do as you say, brother. I'll endure this for now, but if I have the chance to take revenge in the future, Chao Gai and Wu Yong will surely die by my blade."
Wang Lun nodded. Yang Zhi was still mindful of the bigger picture. As long as they tolerated it for now, they could deal with the rest later.
He increasingly admired the heroes before him, praising them in his heart. Lin Chong was a master of martial arts, Lu Zhishen was rough but meticulous and incredibly strong, Yang Zhi was also highly skilled in martial arts and, most importantly, could endure. Although the others were not as outstanding as these, they were all experts in their respective fields.
With such heroic figures assisting them, how could Liangshan not grow and prosper?
However, that's not enough. There are only sixteen leaders in total, which is far from the required 108.
Of course, not all 108 heroes in the original story need to be gathered together. For example, the brothers Song Jiang and Song Qing were useless in Wang Lun's eyes.
Now we should focus on Wu Song.
Wang Lun cried out in his heart, "Wu Erlang, where are you? How far have you progressed in your main quest?"