Chapter 181

"It's actually the Liang Shan bandits; they are simply seeking their own death!"

Zhu Long and Zhu Hu, who had arrived on the city wall, looked at the Liang Shan flag fluttering in the army below,

their words full of contempt and anger.

It was one thing for this Liang Shan to bully those mud-legged people in the water park,

but when did they dare to move earth on the head of the Tai Sui that was their Zhu Family Manor?

In the water park, their Zhu Family Manor had no way to deal with these Liang Shan bandits,

but since these guys dared to come ashore without knowing life or death,

their Zhu Family Manor would definitely teach them a big lesson!

"How can this Liang Shan army be so elite?"

On the city wall, Luan Tingyu, who had arrived with Zhu Long and Zhu Hu, looked at the army that was as motionless as a mountain below, his eyes full of shock.

Unlike Zhu Hu and the others who hadn't rolled in the army, he was truly from a military background,

and knew that for an army, organizational degree and obedience to orders were combat power!

The six verses of the military strategist: as fast as the wind, as slow as the forest, as invasive as fire,

as motionless as a mountain, as difficult to know as the shadows, as moving as a thunderbolt.

Just by looking at the Liang Shan bandits below being as motionless as a mountain while besieging,

he knew that the difficulty of this army far exceeded his expectations.

"Instructor Luan, this Liang Shan is not even a match for you?"

Although Zhu Long was angry, he was not overwhelmed by anger,

and immediately heard Luan Tingyu's words full of dread, recovering some calmness.

"Instructor Luan, you are a master who has fought all over the vicinity without an opponent!"

Zhu Hu, who was amazed by Luan Tingyu's actions over the years, couldn't believe it.

"The fact is just so; there are experts in this Liang Shan!"

Luan Tingyu said with a bitter smile, feeling inferior to the person who trained these Liang Shan soldiers.

"Then let's see if we can talk!"

At this time, Zhu Biao also arrived, supporting an old man wearing silk clothes and a brocade hat,

who was old and frail; this sentence came from the mouth of this old man.

"Old Master!"

On the city wall, from Luan Tingyu down to the various manor guards, all greeted the old man respectfully.

"Father, why have you come, old man?"

Zhu Long and Zhu Hu hurriedly walked to the old gentleman's side,

and took the old gentleman's hand, which was full of age spots, from Zhu Biao's hand.

"It concerns the life and death of my Zhu Family Manor, can I not come?"

The old gentleman pounded the dragon-headed cane in his hand, saying as if he had plenty of breath.

However, anyone with a little knowledge of the human body could see his external strength and internal weakness.

Obviously, this old gentleman, who looked like he was dying from afar,

but actually didn't have long to live, was the father of the three Zhu brothers,

Old Master Zhu, who had obtained the official position of Chaofeng conferred by the Great Song.

And after Old Master Zhu arrived, the strongmen who had been panicked by the orderly Liang Shan army quickly calmed down.

As the person who had single-handedly developed the Zhu family to its current state,

Old Master Zhu had high prestige in the Zhu Family Manor.

If Zhu Long, Zhu Hu, Luan Tingyu, and others were the hands and feet of this giant that was the Zhu Family Manor;

then, Old Master Zhu was undoubtedly the brain, or even the soul, of this giant!

"Long'er, you go out and talk to these people."

Old Master Zhu ordered Zhu Long.

"Yes, Father."

Zhu Long received the order, took a loudspeaker from a manor guard, walked to the edge of the city wall, and shouted:

"Why have you Liang Shan heroes come here?

Whatever you seek, please state it, do not easily move swords and soldiers,

lest you hurt the harmony between our two families!"

Zhang Jie couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing Zhu Long's words:

He came here for the whole of the Zhu Family Manor, how could he not hurt the harmony?

Or were they, the Zhu Family Manor, willing to hand over all their grain, wealth, and horses?

However, the Zhu Family Manor's walls were high and the moat was deep, making it difficult to break through without siege equipment,

and he was happy to talk nonsense with them to buy some time.

"Leader Song, you go and contain the Zhu Family Manor."

Zhang Jie instructed Song Wan.

He didn't have the idea of showing his face right now:

Liang Shan was currently too weak and needed time to develop.

And a scholar robbing and rebelling was still too sensational.

"Order received!"

Song Wan, having received the order, spurred his horse out of the formation.

"Young Master Zhu, our Liang Shan has been a bit short on money and grain recently, so we've come to borrow some.

The Zhu Family Manor has always been wealthy, I'm sure you won't let us return empty-handed, right?"

Song Wan raised his voice and roared with high spirits.

Speaking of which, he truly felt a sense of relief:

In the past, local tyrants like the Zhu Family Manor looked down on their Liang Shan the most.

In the past, when they couldn't make ends meet and couldn't live, they sent people to borrow grain.

That time was different from this time; it was a real request to borrow grain, but the Zhu Family Manor not only refused to lend it,

but also beat the messenger out with sticks and humiliated them thoroughly.

That time had caused their Liang Shan to lose a lot of face,

and they became a laughingstock among the greenwood forces within hundreds of miles,

and couldn't lift their heads in the greenwood circle for a long time.

But times are different now, he, Song Wan, had made it,

and he was determined to vent his anger!

"Haha!"

"Haha!"

The Liang Shan soldiers burst into laughter.

"This bastard!"

Hearing Song Wan say "borrowing grain" so lightly when it was robbery,

Zhu Long was so angry that his face turned blue and white, as if a paint shop had opened on his face.

"Ask him, how much!"

Old Master Zhu, who had been closing his eyes to rest, suddenly opened his eyes.

He had seen these troops and knew that this was definitely not a bandit force to be trifled with.

Since that was the case, let's lose a little wealth, consider it losing wealth to avoid disaster.

The only thing that made him feel at ease was that he didn't find siege equipment in the army formation,

which meant that these Liang Shan bandits might really be here to "borrow grain."

"Yes, Father."

With his old father speaking, no matter how dissatisfied Zhu Long was in his heart, he could only obey.

'Sigh!'

'Still too impatient.'

Looking at his eldest son, who was trying to suppress his anger but was still full of rage,

Old Master Zhu sighed with disappointment.

With the strength of their Zhu Family Manor, it was no longer possible to expand aggressively,

if they continued to expand, the first one to not tolerate them would be the imperial court!

At this time, one couldn't just think about shouting and killing,

one had to do it slowly in secret, and the most important thing was to stay calm!

'But fortunately, there is still Biao'er.'

Looking again at Zhu Biao, who remained calm no matter how the Liang Shan bandits provoked them,

Old Master Zhu felt comforted in his heart.

With Zhu Biao there, after he passed away, his Zhu Family Manor shouldn't fall.

If Zhu Biao could seize the opportunity and swallow the Hu family as well,

his Zhu family would be the true supreme ruler within these tens of miles!

Only then would it not be in vain that he had early on arranged a marriage contract between Zhu Biao and Hu Sanniang of the Hu Family Manor.

Zhu Long, who didn't know he had been abandoned by his old father, walked to the edge of the city wall,

suppressed his anger, and shouted: "I don't know how much grain you Liang Shan heroes want to borrow?"

At this time, Old Master Zhu made a gesture to Zhu Long.

Zhu Long, understanding, continued: "Although our Zhu Family Manor is small and poor, we are still hospitable!

We are willing to provide one thousand shi of grain and one thousand guan of copper coins to reward you Liang Shan brothers!"

'This is fooling a ghost!'

Hearing this number, Song Wan was dissatisfied in his heart.

According to the intelligence Zhang Jie gave them, the grain stored in the Zhu Family Manor's granary alone was tens of thousands of shi,

and the other gold, silver, wealth, horses, and livestock added up to tens of thousands, or even one hundred thousand guan.

Wasn't this one thousand shi of grain and one thousand guan of copper coins fooling a poor ghost?

Thinking of dragging out time, he directly reported a number:

"Our Liang Shan wants 50,000 shi of grain and 50,000 guan of copper coins!"

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"

Hearing this lion's opening number, Zhu Long kept calling it impossible.

Even Old Master Zhu, who had always had a normal expression, couldn't help but increase the force with which he gripped his cane.

His Zhu Family Manor could take out this grain and money,

but once taken out, his Zhu Family Manor would also be directly emptied!

This Liang Shan wasn't just a lion's opening, it was clearly trying to swallow their Zhu Family Manor in one gulp!

"Talk to him again!"

Old Master Zhu said in a deep voice. In less than a last resort,

he was still unwilling to go to war with these Liang Shan bandits who had nothing to lose.

"Two thousand shi of grain, two thousand guan of copper coins, no more!"

Under Old Master Zhu's gesture, Zhu Long increased the stakes and directly doubled it.

"50,000 shi of grain, 50,000 guan of copper coins, not a single grain or a single copper coin less!"

Song Wan was happy to engage in a war of words with Zhu Long, not giving an inch.

"Five thousand shi of grain, five thousand guan of copper coins, this is our bottom line!"

Zhu Long gave the maximum concession number with his facial features distorted.

"Report."

"Stronghold Master, the cannons have been transported here."

At this time, a Liang Shan messenger came to report to Zhang Jie.

A smile appeared on Zhang Jie's face: because the cannons were too heavy and transportation was inconvenient,

he specifically brought five hundred people to go first and block the Zhu Family Manor's troops,

so they wouldn't run away with the money or do other irrational things.

However, he was waiting for the cannons, but what were the people of the Zhu Family Manor waiting for?

Song Wan also saw the team stretching out from behind, and his tone became increasingly arrogant:

"50,000 shi of grain, 50,000 guan of copper coins; not a single grain or a single copper coin less!"

"Damn it!"

"These Liang Shan bandits have no sincerity for peace talks at all!"

Zhu Long threw the loudspeaker in his hand heavily to the ground, and the loudspeaker was instantly shattered to pieces.

"Prepare for battle."

Old Master Zhu ordered in a deep voice.

They say to ask for a sky-high price and pay on the spot, but these Liang Shan people didn't give an inch,

this was coming with bad intentions, and they had decided to eat their Zhu Family Manor!

Since that was the case, don't blame them for fighting to the death!

"Understood!"

The manor guards and instructors who received the order gripped their swords and spears tightly, and bows and arrows began to be drawn,

as long as the Liang Shan troops started to attack, they could be fired, giving them a fierce lesson.

"Biao'er, have the people sent to seek help from the Li and Hu families been sent out?"

After arranging the personnel for defense, Old Master Zhu asked his most proud son, Zhu Biao.

"Father, as soon as the bandits invaded, I had already sent

our Zhu Family Manor's most elite manor guards to seek help from the Li and Hu families.

To prevent accidents, I also specifically sent several waves of troops from different directions."

Zhu Biao reported to Old Master Zhu with full confidence.

"Good!"

Old Master Zhu stroked his already sparse beard with satisfaction.

Their Zhu, Li, and Hu manors were all located on this Dulong Ridge.

Their Zhu Family Manor was in the middle, bordering the Li Family Manor to the east and the Hu Family Manor to the west, forming a three-manor joint defense pattern.

The three manors had made a life-and-death oath in the past, agreeing to support each other in times of danger.

The Li and Hu families, in terms of strength, were not as good as their Zhu family, but the two families combined were far superior.

Now that they were here dragging out the main force of the Liang Shan bandits,

plus the Li and Hu families attacking and flanking from the outside,

if the Liang Shan bandits didn't want to be completely wiped out, they would have to retreat,

and by then, the siege of his Zhu Family Manor would naturally be lifted.

Moreover, by then, whether to advance or retreat would not be up to these Liang Shan bandits!

A cold light flashed in Old Master Zhu's turbid eyes, like a sick tiger.

His Zhu Family Manor had been hiding its claws for many years,

it seemed to have made these strong people forget the terror of their Zhu family!

Under the city wall, dozens of Liang Shan soldiers were stripped to the waist,

sweating profusely, serving three behemoths. These three guys had slender bodies,

reflecting the cold light unique to metal under the sunlight.

If people from the 21st century were here, they would definitely exclaim:

"Red-Clad Great General Cannon!"

These three behemoths were exactly the cannons Zhang Jie had built by imitating the Red-Clad Great General cannons of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

It wasn't that Zhang Jie didn't want to build more advanced cannons,

but the level of technological development and materials science didn't allow it,

so he could only make this kind of "old guy" to transition first.

Creak, creak!

With the efforts of dozens of Liang Shan soldiers, the three cannons were all aimed at the gate of the Zhu Family Manor.

The city wall of the Zhu Family Manor was several meters thick and difficult to break through in a short time, but the gate was much weaker.

"Stronghold Master, the cannons have been calibrated, we can fire at any time!"

Du Qian, who had transferred to become an artilleryman, came to report to Zhang Jie.

Since the moment he saw the power of the cannons, he had fallen hopelessly in love with this big guy.

Compared to the cannons, the martial arts, swords, spears, and armor he used to be proud of had all become stinky dog shit!