Chapter 152 Luokou Warehouse

Zhai Rang knelt and trembled from beginning to end, not daring to speak, let alone to dissuade others, while Xu Shiji gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, but was afraid to draw the sword.

Li Jiancheng bent down and patted Zhai Rang: "This is a small lesson for you, get up."

Zhai Rang kowtowed three times before he got up, but his waist seemed to be broken in half. Xu Shiji also guessed that he would not die, so he let go of the hilt of the sword, feeling a little at a loss.

"Mao Gong, I am very pleased that you can persuade Zhai Rang to come."

Xu Shiji was horrified when he heard this. He would only come of age next year, and everyone thought he didn't have a name yet. But in fact, his father had already chosen a name for him when he was fifteen, and only his closest family members knew about this.

Moreover, he even knew that it was he who persuaded Zhai Rang to come. Those people were all Zhai Rang's confidants, and they were all dead at this time.

Xu Shiji was horrified. No wonder Zhai Rang was so afraid to come and see him. So that's why.

"How is Wagangzhai?"

Zhai Rang replied cautiously: "My lord, there are more than ten thousand soldiers and more than a thousand horses in the camp."

Li Jiancheng nodded: "It's a little less, but it's okay. If I recruit a lot of soldiers, the court will definitely order me to lead the troops to quell it, which will be difficult to deal with."

Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongxin wiped the long swords in their hands and walked over, standing silently behind Li Jiancheng. Zhai Rang and Xu Shiji were afraid to look directly at them.

Those hundred or so men would be strong no matter where they are. Zhai Rang relied on them to secure his position as the leader of Wagang. It was unexpected that he was like a lamb to be slaughtered in front of these two people.

Li Jiancheng smiled and introduced them to Xu Shiji: "These are my two trusted and beloved generals, Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao."

Xu Shiji calmed down and bowed, saying, "I have heard of General Shan's reputation since I was young, and even went to your house to pay a visit, but my brother went to Chang'an, so we had no chance to meet and get to know each other."

Shan Xiongxin was a little surprised, but since his husband had specially introduced him, and this person was from the same place, he bowed and returned the greeting.

"I have just heard of General Qin's great name. I am Xu Shiji from Jiyin, and I am here to meet you."

Qin Shubao nodded in a simple and honest manner, without any of the fierce and domineering look he had just shown.

Both of them are still excited. They had heard of the reputation of Wagangzhai when they were under Zhang Xutuo. They didn't expect that it was arranged by Langjun in his early years.

Which noble relative would deliberately support someone to occupy a strategic location in the mountains and rivers for no reason? He must have far-reaching ambitions.

Li Jiancheng invited Zhai Rang and Xu Shiji to sit on the boat. Li Jiancheng's tea suited his taste, but not quite the taste of modern people. However, the two of them drank it all in one gulp, regardless of the burning taste and bitterness.

It was as if he wanted to use this way of hurting himself to prove how much he respected Li Jiancheng.

Li Jiancheng washes the tea smoothly and pours it into the cup. In this world, we must always find some fun to relieve boredom.

Although they did not understand, they could feel that it was very pleasing to the eye, and thus were even more awed. They could be considered local heroes with considerable assets at home, but compared with the noble families of three dynasties, they certainly lacked confidence.

Li Jiancheng only made himself a cup; these two people were not worthy of him personally making tea for them.

"Did Yang Xuangan send anyone to contact you?"

"Yes, even the imperial decree to confer the title of Zhennan General has been passed on, but without your permission, I dare not take the initiative, let alone vote for someone else."

Li Jiancheng praised: "Okay, I knew that Brother Zhai is someone I can trust." Since the punishment had already been given, there was no need to delve into those matters, and Zhai Rang's tense body finally relaxed.

In fact, he still didn't quite understand why Li Jiancheng suddenly wanted to kill him. He originally thought that he could get away with it by being humble and offering generous gifts.

But it doesn’t matter anymore. Without those confidants, he can only sit firmly on the position of the leader of Wagang Village with the continued support of Li Langjun.

And now he only hated one thing, that is why Xu Shiji was not killed as well!
How could he know that Li Jiancheng had no intention of killing anyone, and that Zhai Rang was just a person who was content with a small fortune. If Li Jiancheng regained his power, he would behave himself if he was given a little warning.

It was all his fault for being too smart and insisting on bringing so many gifts, which resulted in so many escort personnel. Li Jiancheng had not yet thought of raising the flag of rebellion, so how could he allow so many people to witness his meeting with Zhai Rang?

Many things, if not witnessed with one's own eyes, cannot shake Li Jiancheng's position based on rumors alone, but so many people in the martial arts world are outspoken and will inevitably make the news known to the world.

Once the emperor decided to investigate, he would always catch a few people, and the situation would become difficult to handle, so he had to kill them.

After briefly explaining the current situation of Wagang, Li Jiancheng gave them a task: to continue hiding and not to show off. There were so many people claiming to be emperors and kings in the world, and the court had to pick those who were famous first to quell the rebellion.

Then he began to plot against Xingyang, where he recruited personnel and won over local powerful people.

The purpose of plotting to seize Xingyang was naturally for the Luokou Granary. With grain, they would have the confidence to recruit soldiers and expand in a short period of time.

However, this place is currently under the control of Yang Xuangan, and he is still able to recruit soldiers and horses until today. This warehouse has played an important role.

After all, it was built specially by the emperor. There are a total of 3,000 cellars, each of which can store 8,000 shi of grain. A large part of the rice transported from the southeast was stored here.

From here, grain can be transported westwards to Luoyang and Chang'an. When troops are sent to Liaodong, grain can also be transported across the Yellow River and then to the front line via the Yongji Canal.

He left Xu Shiji a way to contact him, and then ordered the two of them to go back. Li Jiancheng also accepted Zhai Rang's three ships as a generous gift, which finally made Zhai Rang feel a little relieved.

After everyone left, Li Jiancheng looked at it with interest. It could indeed be called a generous gift. Zhai Rang had not robbed wealthy merchants and gentry in the Bian River all these years in vain.

Li Jiancheng kept two boats for himself and gave the other boat to the second general and his accompanying family soldiers. Everyone knelt down to thank him.

Even Qin Shubao couldn't help rubbing his hands with joy. Even a capable man will always have times when he is short of money, and there will always be old and young in the family who need money to make ends meet.

On the way back, Shan Xiongxin suddenly thought of something and said to Qin Shubao, "Luo Yi must know about our trip. Should we give him some of the gold and silver treasures on this ship?"

Qin Shubao shook his head and said, "It's not appropriate. All rewards come from above. I know you want to help my husband win over Luo Yi, but it's not good for us to do this.

Besides, these are not just for the two of us. These family generals are all surnamed Li. Although we don’t have to be in awe of them, it’s not good to divide the money without permission and offend them.”

Shan Xiongxin nodded quickly and said, "I am also overly happy. My husband is thoughtful and will definitely reward Luo Yi.

After saying that, he bumped into Qin Shubao and said, "Well, you listened to me, didn't you? My dear, you have great ambitions. We will be rich and powerful one day if we follow you!"

Qin Shubao bowed to Shan Xiongxin, and everything was said without words.

...............

(End of this chapter)