Chapter 439: Recruitment

The snow blocked the door, covered the green mountains, covered the land, and everything was white. It was another midwinter.

Smoke was curling in the increasingly large Wangjiazhuang. The restless children were playing with cats and dogs, chasing and playing in thick warm cotton clothes. Their faces were red from the cold, and their hands were playing with the snow, which made them even redder. The snot on the tip of their noses was getting longer and longer. Just when they thought it was going to fall, they took a long sniff and took it back. Some children didn't care and wiped it with their sleeves. They would definitely be scolded when they got home.

The cotton was brought from the Western Regions. Although some coastal areas in the southeast also planted some cotton at this time, it was not a big deal. It was not as good as the one in the Western Xinjiang, and there was not as much as there.

The caravan had a cotton rough processing factory there, and made clothes and quilts after bringing it back. However, due to the distance and crossing other countries, the cost of bringing it back was much higher. So now it is only the residents of Wangjiazhuang and the troops in Liaodong who are keeping warm. Fighting is still about logistics, the comprehensive indicators of the degree of advancement, quantity and transportation capacity. In this regard, in this world, no one can beat him, Wang.

The weather is really cold. Except for the children who have enough food and clothing, they are willing to run around outside. Most of the adults go to work, and the old people squint their eyes comfortably, sitting on the warm kang, looking at the whiteness outside the window through the double-layer glass, recalling the bitterness and sweetness.

In such weather, a group of people disregarded the severe cold, wearing bamboo hats and fur coats, and dismounted outside Wangjiazhuang. Looking at the village without walls, reluctant to block the free entry and exit, and the rows of red bricks, green tiles and glass windows, they stood there.

They have robbed and killed many rich families in recent years. They are certainly not unfamiliar with red bricks and glass windows, and have seen them all. Even on Liangshan, the original Juyi Hall and the current Zhongyi Hall all use large glass. They robbed the floor-to-ceiling windows of the rich families and carefully brought them back to the village to install them.

They knew that Yanggu County was rich and safe, and they had seen many houses like this along the way. But they didn't expect that they would open their eyes only when they arrived at Wangjiazhuang, the richest village in the world. They also saw those little kids chasing and playing, and they looked warm.

Many people on Liangshan Mountain had deep resentment towards Wang Yan. When they mentioned him, they said that he was a traitor in the court, rich and unkind, killing innocent people indiscriminately, and harming the country and the people. There was not a single good word. Influenced by this, Li Kui, a brainless man, clamored all day long, and wanted to rush to Yanggu County as soon as he took action, chop off the bird general's head, get money, and go back to the mountain to be happy. This is normal. There are many brainless people on Liangshan Mountain. The wealth of Wangjiazhuang in Yanggu County is well-known in the world. The bandits who are not afraid of heaven or earth have power in their hands and brothers around them. What can they do to seek wealth?

But those who understand know that, let alone whether they can lead the troops into Yanggu County or kill Wang Yan, even if they can do it, the furious Song emperor and his ministers will kill everyone on Liangshan Mountain right after Wang Yan is killed. The supply of millions of guan of money a year, the endless supply of fresh things, and the most important thing is to control the three forces of Liao, Jin and Lu Zhishen, grasp the balance, and use the foreign money for their own use.

If such an important person has a mistake, even the court officials who have nothing to do with it can't do it, let alone Zhao Ji who is happy about the garden repair.

The group looked around and led the horses into the village. The Wang family mansion is certainly not difficult to find, after all, it is built on the hillside and can be seen at a glance. Not to mention that the expansion of Wangjiazhuang did not go up the hillside, and the mansion became more conspicuous in such a wealthy and densely populated village.

They had a clear goal and went straight to the Wang family mansion with the door wide open on the hillside. There are no rules for the rich and powerful. The gate is always open and anyone can go in.

The concierge sat comfortably in the warm little room, drinking tea by the small stove, frowning and thinking hard with a book in his hand. This is a place specially prepared for them, to shelter from the rain in summer and keep warm in winter. It is also because he is too busy, and there are many people coming every day, so he has to set up this special welcoming and sending at the door.

Looking at the group of people coming with horses through the glass window with water droplets sliding down, he turned the book and put it on the table beside him, got up, opened the door and walked out, standing three steps outside the gate waiting for those people to come forward with horses, and bowed: "I have never seen you, I don’t know why you are here?"

The most important thing for a concierge is to have a good memory and be considerate. With the status of Mr. Wang, there are too many people who ask to see him and flatter him every day, especially during the recent New Year holidays. If it weren’t for the heavy snow today, there would be a lot of people. Moreover, there were also some business people who wanted to find some managers in the factory, or the old housekeeper Wang Fusheng, so the gate was busy all day.

The dark and thin man in the lead bowed: "I am Song Jiang from Liangshan. I have an important matter and I am here to see the general. Please tell me."

"Liangshan?" The gatekeeper frowned, then turned sideways and said: "You have come from afar in the heavy snow and severe cold. I think you are tired and tired. Follow me in to have some tea and warm your body, and feed some cool grass to the horses."

"Thank you."

Song Jiang bowed, took his brothers and followed the gatekeeper into the gate, and went into a large house behind the guard house to rest. The gatekeeper asked someone to serve tea and cakes, said a few polite words, and left to inform the boss.

Too much talk will lead to mistakes, and walls may not be without ears. So Song Jiang and others sat there quietly drinking tea, eating delicious cakes, and patiently waiting for a reply.

After a while, the young gatekeeper opened the door and walked in, followed by an old man with his hands in his sleeves. Seeing this, Song Jiang and others quickly stood up and bowed to greet him.

Wang Fusheng responded with a smile: "I am the housekeeper of the mansion. My boss knows your purpose of coming. My boss asked me to give Mr. Song a few words."

This means that no one can be seen. Although he is disappointed in his heart, Song Jiang's appearance remains humble and he smiles: "Song Jiang is all ears."

"My boss said that although he has rank, he is just a merchant and is incapable of participating in military and state affairs. The matter of recruiting peace in Liangshan has been decided by the emperor and the court officials, so he can't be of much help. Otherwise, others will make irresponsible remarks, so he won't come. I hope you will forgive me for my poor hospitality when I met with the leader of Song Dynasty."

"That being the case, Brother Song Jiang and others will not bother you any more and leave." Song Jiang also simply left with his brothers without resting.

Wang Fusheng, the great butler, personally sent them to the door and watched them leave the village, which was considered a great honor.

After leaving Wangjiazhuang, several people rode horses slowly. Hua Rong said: "Brother, if Wang Yan doesn't help us or even sees him, what should we do?"

Seeing that Song Jiang didn't say anything, Chai Jin, who was riding on the other side, said, "Brother Hua Rong, we had no intention of counting on Wang Yan for help. He despises us as grass bandits and doesn't interact with us, so it doesn't matter. We can't tell him his situation." I also know that even those who make money for me never interact with court officials. This is to protect themselves. If he speaks for us, wouldn't it give Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others an excuse to get angry?"

"Master Chai is right. I had expected this before coming. I was just lucky and came along the way." Song Jiang sighed: "Let's go and meet Li Kui and the others. It's hard to walk in the heavy snow now." , we have to hide our identity all the way, so let’s leave as soon as possible.”

After that, he whipped up his whip and spurred his horse on, and galloped away with the snowflakes rolled in his head...

Wang Yan held the child in his arms and banged it in front of the window. The little one touched the cold window with one chubby hand and put one hand in his mouth to chew on it. He blinked his big eyes and looked at the snow outside the window. The crystal clear innocence His eyes are full of curiosity about the world.

He has not been idle in the past few years, and the two women Jinlian and Sanniang have not been idle either, especially since Sanniang's first child was a girl, so how could they live idle. So not surprisingly, in the past few years, Jin Lian gave birth to two more children, a boy and a girl. Sanniang also gave birth to two children, a boy and a girl. Jin Lian was even more happy. She gave birth to four children, three of whom were boys. Sanniang gave birth to three and only one boy. She was very proud. Sanniang refused to accept it. She was pregnant and wanted to give birth to another child. Jin Lian didn't want to give birth to a baby anymore. Of course, she wouldn't give in to Wang Yan. That was enough for now.

Counting Sanniang's belly, he already has eight children, almost...

Seeing the old housekeeper come in, Wang Yan strolled to the study room in the west room with the child in his arms.

"Boss, they have left."

Seeing that he was about to speak but stopped, Wang said: "Uncle Fu, if you have something to say, it doesn't hurt to say it."

Wang Fusheng took two steps closer and said in a low voice: "As far as the old servant knows, there are now 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and horses in Liangshan. They have been fighting with the officers and soldiers for a long time, and they have some fighting strength. They can be used for reconnaissance. Since Liangshan wants to recruit troops, our boss Why don't you help me talk to Jin Shang? It will be a great help to get Liangshan troops in the future."

"They will not end well. They have offended too many people. You know how many wealthy people we have got rid of with the help of Liangshan over the years who are involved with officials in the DPRK. In the past, we used troops against Xixia, so Tian Hu , Wang Qing, Fang La and the Liangshan and other grass bandits were left to their own devices. It was different now. From my point of view, the call for the annihilation of Liangshan was very high. An, just let them attack the other three families. When they destroy those three families, that will be the end of Liangshan."

Compared with before, Liangshan offended many people now. And to be honest, it is not a good start to recruit thieves and bandits. What if we gathered a group of people, launched a vigorous rebellion, and then recruited people to serve as officials and have a good death? So no matter what, in terms of emotion and reason, there is no reason for them to live, and they will die sooner or later.

And many of those people have a right to death. According to his standards, everyone has to work hard until death. It's useless to form any kind of good relationship with them. Liangshan's mission of existing in Shandong has been completed. What else is there to do if he doesn't die?

Wang Fusheng nodded, said it was a pity, and then said: "My boss, today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and we are experiencing such heavy snow again. If we wait a few days, the snow will melt and freeze, and the road along the way will be even worse." It’s hard to leave. The old servant thinks it’s better to leave early this year to avoid the unpleasantness of being delayed in Yogyakarta.”

"You are right, I think so too. Let the people accompanying you get ready and set off for Beijing early tomorrow morning."

"Yes, the old servant will give the order right now."

…

The scenery along the way is not much to say, and there are many poor people with sallow faces and thin muscles. Although he has been here for eight years, he has not directly held power. No matter how many resources are mobilized, it is still a drop in the bucket compared to countless people. His property spread throughout the Song Dynasty, and its scope of influence was limited. It would take some time to save the people of the Song Dynasty.

The prosperity of Bianjing remains the same, unchanged. In fact, according to the conduct of the current monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty, it is good for Bianjing to maintain the current situation. It is also the most benevolent in the capital, and it has obtained the most resources. How about other places, Bianjing still does not have much influence.

They rested for the night at the house outside Xihua Gate. The next day, Wang Yan entered the palace from Xihua Gate and was led by the young eunuch to meet Zhao Ji.

"I was still thinking of you yesterday, but I didn't expect you to be here today." Zhao Ji laughed and greeted his money bag warmly.

Wang Yan cupped his hands and said, "It snowed heavily in Shandong. I was afraid that the road would be hard to walk on after the snow melted and ice formed, so I left two days earlier. I didn't expect that the snow was only in that area. Once I got out of there, the wind was gentle and there was no winter chill. That's why I arrived early."

"It's good that you arrived early, so you can stay with me for two more days."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You..." Zhao Ji smiled and pointed at Wang Yan. After talking for a while, he inevitably talked about military and national affairs: "Although we won the horse farm in this battle with Xixia, and made Xixia retreat and pay tribute, we failed to destroy Xixia and the Li clan. It's a pity. The plan you mentioned before didn't destroy Xixia now, but it lost two years. Does this have any impact?"

To be honest, the result of this battle was not bad. In addition to the horse farm, the border between Song Dynasty and Xixia was advanced as a whole, and Xixia was driven outside the Great Wall. If they fought again, the Song army would have pointed directly at Xingqingfu, the capital of Xixia, which would have been a brilliant victory.

However, the established strategic goal was to destroy Xixia. He had said before that it would take six years to destroy Xixia, but now it has only been four years. If he continued to fight hard for another two years, given the current situation of Xixia, he could really destroy the country.

However, the result was not as he wished. He had tried his best to overestimate the emperor and ministers of the Song Dynasty, but who would have thought that he would still underestimate them. Although Tong Guan was under great pressure, he was incompetent and had poor command and combat capabilities, and those who could do it were not good at talking. So throughout the war, Tong Guan's strategy was to take steady steps, advance slowly, remove the passes one by one, and occupy strategic locations.

If the Song Dynasty really had such a strong foundation, this strategy would certainly be fine. Relying on strong logistics and overwhelming others with the general trend is really the best strategy.

But the Song Dynasty did not have it. The Western Army was indeed elite, but the logistics did not keep up. The actual situation is that people died in the war in the front, and the country's potential was destroyed in the back, while making a fortune at the same time. After the war, the people in the country were badly hurt, and the frontline soldiers did not enjoy the resources that the people were exploited. It just fattened some people's pockets, added a lot of land, and married a few concubines.

We can't fight anymore, or the Song Dynasty will collapse...

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