Chapter 194

Zhang Jie did not yet know that Hu Sanniang's attitude toward him was so complex;

he was currently thinking about how to transform Li Family Manor and Hu Family Manor:

'First, most of the supplies and such must be transported away, so they don't have the capital to secede.

The second point is to recruit soldiers from the three manors and incorporate most of the manor servants into the Liang Shan ranks,

which will both weaken the power of Li Ying and the others and replenish the strength of my Liang Shan.

Third, dispatch great generals to be stationed in the three manors, build artillery platforms, reinforce the city walls,

and drive a nail here to form a mutually supportive relationship with the Liang Shan headquarters...'

Zhang Jie wielded his brush, not avoiding Hu Sanniang, who had arrived with a spy's mission, as he wrote down one method after another.

He didn't care if Hu Sanniang saw them and told Hu Tai Gong and Li Ying,

as everything he was doing was an open conspiracy that Li Ying and the others could not oppose.

However, judging by the speed at which Hu Tai Gong and the others had knelt, the possibility of them choosing to resist was not high.

'However, exploitation alone is not enough.'

Zhang Jie stopped his pen.

If he exploited them blindly without giving any benefits, Li Ying and the others would certainly harbor resentment.

Even with the suppression of a powerful military force, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be trouble in the backyard during a future major war.

Leaving Hu Tai Gong aside for now, this Li Ying was a figure praised as "the leader of the birds of prey,

the eagle is the most cunning. It does not pounce on the sky, but the fox is in the grass," so he had to be guarded against.

'Got it.'

A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Jie: after Li Ying joined Liang Shan, he was ranked as the eleventh hero of Liang Shan Marsh,

and together with Chai Jin, he managed money, grain, and property; since that was the case, he could just continue to manage money and grain.

This would give him a lucrative position while preventing him from holding military power and acting independently,

becoming an independent little faction under Liang Shan's command.

'As for Hu Family Manor.'

Zhang Jie immediately grasped the fatal weakness of Hu Family Manor:

The only male descendant of the next generation of the Hu family was Hu Sanniang's brother, Hu Cheng; by controlling Hu Cheng,

he controlled the lifeline of Hu Family Manor, ensuring that Hu Tai Gong would not dare to act rashly.

Zhang Jie decided in his heart to invite Hu Cheng to serve under his command tomorrow and then take him back to Liang Shan together.

Hu Sanniang's eyes shone with even more brilliance as she looked at Zhang Jie's silver-hooked, iron-drawn, and dragon-flying-phoenix-dancing handwriting.

Unknowingly, the moon in the sky had moved to the west, and the night was already very deep.

"Ah!"

"It is time to rest."

Zhang Jie straightened his body, letting his stiff back and wrists, tired from long hours at the desk, loosen up.

"Miss Hu, you should go and rest too."

Seeing that Hu Sanniang's eyes were also red from staying up and she was yawning repeatedly, Zhang Jie instructed.

He had martial arts, so it didn't matter if he didn't sleep for several days and nights, but Hu Sanniang couldn't.

"Chieftain, since I have already entered under the Liang Shan banner,

you don't have to call me Miss Hu anymore; call, call me Sanniang."

After she finished speaking, a slight blush climbed onto Hu Sanniang's jade-like face:

This was a name that only her father, Hu Tai Gong, and her brother, Hu Cheng, could call her.

"Very well."

Zhang Jie also felt it was strange to keep calling his own people "Miss."

Of course, it was more likely that he himself had been polluted by various internet slang terms from the 21st century.

In the Great Song, "Miss" was still a respectful term for the daughter of a wealthy family,

and not a term for a special female worker.

Just as "chrysanthemum" was still a flower, and not an organ for excreting waste;

"Tan Hua" was still the name for the third-place successful candidate in the imperial examination,

and not some lecherous person who sought flowers and asked for chats, or even secretly filmed for money;

"Wolong and Fengchu" were still a pair of complimentary terms, and not a pair of derogatory ones.

In those years, Chengdu was just the name of the largest city in the Shu region...

In those years, countless words were ruined or had their meanings changed.

Hu Sanniang bit her red lips lightly and said softly:

"Chieftain, do you want me to serve you in bed?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhang Jie, who was drinking tea to moisten his throat, choked heavily on this question from Hu Sanniang.

He admitted that he "had an illness, he liked beauty," and had the indescribable thoughts that any normal man would have for the fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged,

and heroic Hu Sanniang,

but was it really this direct?

Zhang Jie felt that there should still be a little buildup!

Physical pleasure was certainly good, but mood, mood was also very important!

"Sanniang, let's talk about this another day, another day..."

Zhang Jie gave a few casual instructions and fled the study as if escaping.

'The Liang Shan Chieftain is actually quite interesting!'

Looking at Zhang Jie's inexplicably somewhat disheveled back,

Hu Sanniang covered her mouth and chuckled, emitting a silver-bell-like laugh.

"Miss Hu, the Chieftain asked me to bring you to the bedroom."

A short while later, a maid walked in and said to Hu Sanniang.

'The Chieftain didn't forget to arrange a room for me after all?'

Hu Sanniang's eyes shimmered.

This man didn't seem to be entirely the ruthless person who would exterminate all the adult males of the Zhu family.

"Please lead the way."

She smiled gently at the maid.

'Hmm.'

'It is time to rest.'

On Zhang Jie's side, he also arrived at a side room in Zhu Family Manor, preparing to rest.

He was the only one in his room.

He did not bring Pan Jinlian and Yan Poxi with him.

He was out leading troops to fight a war, not out for an excursion or sightseeing.

His brothers were bleeding and risking their lives on the front lines,

and for him, the boss, to be eating, drinking, and having fun with women—was this appropriate?

This was clearly inappropriate.

'However, Hu Sanniang entering my household seems quite nice.'

Zhang Jie touched his chin and thought silently.

After all, according to the original work, Hu Sanniang was supposed to marry the Short-Statured Tiger Wang Ying.

To be honest, he really couldn't accept this arrangement!

Hu Sanniang was known as the Ten-Foot Green, a heroine who did not yield to men,

was skilled in both literature and martial arts, had courage and insight, and was exceptionally beautiful.

He didn't know what kind of thinking Song Jiang had

to stick Hu Sanniang, this flower, into this pile of cow dung that was Wang Ying!

Wang the Short-Statured Tiger was just a robber; robbing houses and snatching women to the mountain was a common thing for him,

a person who couldn't control himself after catching a glimpse of someone else's wife.

He even wanted to fight his own brothers when this shameless woman was killed;

yet Song Jiang gave Hu Sanniang to this person, calling it recognizing her as a foster sister and finding her a good home!

There were so many Liang Shan heroes without wives, so why did he have to find the shortest one!

Zhang Jie thought about it carefully; Song Jiang probably wanted to increase his personal base in Liang Shan,

win over the circle of people around Wang Ying for his own use, and sacrificed Hu Sanniang's personal happiness.

Hu Sanniang was just a pitiful woman, a sacrifice in a power game.

As for why he didn't find someone else?

It might be because other people didn't believe that Wang Ying was as lustful as life itself, making him easy to win over.

Among the other heroes, Wu Song first experienced his sister-in-law Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing conspiring to murder his brother Wu Dalang,

and later was deceived by Yu Lian in the mansion of Zhang Zhang Du Jian, so he had a natural vigilance against women.

Lin Chong had a wife in Bianliang; although he chose to divorce her so as not to drag her down,

he should still be pining for his original wife and had no thoughts of remarrying.

However, it was regrettable that after Lin Chong was exiled to Cangzhou, Lady Zhang

could not bear the insults of the playboys like Gao Yanei and hanged herself to protect her purity.

And Lu Zhishen was a monk who had entered the empty gate.

Although he beat up the Zhen Guanxi, committed arson, and led troops in battle, he was still a good monk.

Zhang Jie withdrew his wandering thoughts, sat cross-legged on the soft couch, circulated his Qi, and studied diligently without stopping.

Although he already had numerous subordinates, he never forgot his foundation.