Chapter 221: Yang Zhi Wants Amnesty

"Guest, since that's the case, why not go to Liang Shan and try your luck?

I heard that the Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu is extremely open-minded, and in the Liang Shan Assembly Hall, he has issued hero invitations,

inviting the heroes of our Qingzhou to gather together!"

The waiter suggested after listening.

"Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu, gather together, is this Liang Shan a greenwood force?"

Yang Zhi was a bit confused.

Having been struggling in the imperial court of the Great Song, his understanding of greenwood forces

was limited to avoiding large strongholds like Mount Erlong and Mount Taohua when planning the escort of the Birthday Gift.

If it weren't for this, he, who should have been working in Bianliang, wouldn't even understand greenwood slang like "hero invitation"

or "gather together."

"It is indeed a greenwood force.

I heard that the Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu is going to be the overall leader of our Qingzhou greenwood this time!"

The waiter felt blood boiling when he mentioned this.

He ran this wine shop and saw many people traveling north and south,

and many greenwood heroes went to join Liang Shan, so he knew quite a bit about Liang Shan,

and he was extremely yearning for that Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu who was said to be clear in rewards and punishments, fair and wise.

If it weren't for his old mother at home who needed to be supported,

he would really want to resign from this wine shop job with lots of work and little pay and go join Liang Shan.

"How could I, Yang Zhi..."

Yang Zhi, who prided himself on his military clan background, was unwilling to associate with bandits.

That Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu might sound like a greenwood hero,

but to put it bluntly, he was still a mountain bandit and water pirate who robbed and looted.

However, he thought again that he, a fugitive destined to be wanted by the imperial court, seemed to be no different from a mountain bandit or water pirate,

so he swallowed the words of disdain that were about to come out.

Yang Zhi felt extremely sad: having become a stray dog, he didn't even have the qualification to look down on bandits.

The waiter, seeing what Yang Zhi wanted to say, said earnestly:

"Guest, this Liang Shan is different from other greenwood forces;

it is said that not only do they not rob and loot, but they even give porridge to the poor!

Some time ago, there was a severe drought in Henan, and a group of refugees came to our Qingzhou,

and it was Liang Shan that extended a helping hand and provided relief to the disaster victims. If it weren't for this, who knows how many people would have died!

In my opinion, that Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu must be a great hero!"

Yang Zhi, who had been a government official for many years, subconsciously frowned:

"Providing relief to disaster victims is the responsibility of the government; how dare Liang Shan do this?

Aren't they afraid that the government will send a large army to attack them?"

Disaster victims aren't something you can just provide relief to if you want to, right?

Since ancient times, there have been countless examples of people using the name of providing relief to incite refugees to rebel,

and the imperial court has always maintained a strong crackdown on this;

illegal relief can be treated as treason and is punishable by the extermination of nine generations!

Generally, if you want to provide relief to disaster victims, you donate money and goods to the county government,

and then the county government provides relief in the name of the imperial court.

At most, you write your name on the list of donors and get the title of a great philanthropist.

And this Liang Shan didn't sound like the kind that would donate money and grain to the government.

"Hey! Guest, you don't know about this, do you?"

A smile of sharing gossip appeared on the waiter's face:

"Although I haven't been to Liang Shan, I heard that Liang Shan can even break through county cities!

The magistrate of that county has already reached a tacit understanding with Liang Shan;

as long as Liang Shan doesn't attack the county city, he just lets them be."

"The strength of Liang Shan has reached such a level?"

Yang Zhi gasped.

Breaking through a county city meant that Liang Shan had the ability to devastate a prefecture, which was why the county and

prefecture governments turned a blind eye to it; they were afraid, like a pole hitting a wolf, both sides were afraid.

As for the county government taking the initiative to send troops to clear out potential security threats for our Great Song imperial court?

Although Yang Zhi had only been a small official before, he had been mixing in the system for many years;

how could he not know the nature of those masters?

For them, rather than doing more and making more mistakes, it was better to do nothing and make no mistakes.

Regarding problems like Liang Shan, as long as the fire hadn't burned their eyebrows,

they would definitely choose to "trust in the wisdom of later generations."

After all, success is good, but what about failure?

Having rebels in one's jurisdiction was a crime that could lead to losing one's official hat at best, or the whole family being sent on the road at worst!

"However, if Liang Shan has this kind of strength, can we talk them into accepting amnesty?"

Yang Zhi couldn't help but think of a plan to save the country through a curve.

He currently had no normal way to revitalize his Yang military clan.

In his current down-and-out state, even if he wanted to bribe his superiors, he had no money.

Since that was the case, he could only take some secret paths; for example, if you want to be an official, kill and set fire and accept amnesty!

Although this path looked very difficult, Yang Zhi, who took the revitalization of his Yang military clan as his own responsibility, still wanted to try.

And that Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu, who had always maintained restraint, might also have such thoughts.

Because in the current land of the Great Song, no greenwood force could make a climate,

and the Great Song was undoubtedly the strongest force.

As long as that Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu didn't want to die and have his clan exterminated, he should want to find a way out, right?

This kind of matchmaking, he, Yang Zhi, wasn't incapable of doing.

Revitalizing his Yang military clan, it's not shameful!

With this thought in mind, after bidding farewell to the waiter, Yang Zhi set off in a hurry,

taking advantage of the fact that the wanted notice from Great Ming Prefecture hadn't been issued to all places, and hurried to Liang Shan.

Otherwise, once the wanted notice came down, he wouldn't be able to move an inch.

Ten days later, in the guest hall of Liang Shan, Yang Zhi held the ancestral treasure sword that he had specially decorated,

which looked much brighter and more beautiful:

"Old friend, I, Yang Zhi, am going to let you down!"

As a newcomer, he wanted to gain the favor of the master of Liang Shan, so he had to offer a heavy gift.

And the only thing he had that was relatively valuable was this ancestral treasure sword.

For the sake of the future, Yang Zhi painfully let go of his attachment.

preparing to offer the ancestral treasure sword in his bosom as a "letter of intent" to the Liang Shan Zhang Zhaizhu.

"The Zhang Zhaizhu is here!"

While Yang Zhi was either anxious, reluctant, or thinking about what to say when they met,

following an announcement, Zhang Zhang Jie walked into the hall with Wang Lun and the others.

"This, this..."

Yang Zhi looked at Zhang Zhang Jie, who walked in with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, and was instantly dumbfounded, unable to speak.

"Commander Yang, we meet again as old friends, why don't you speak?"

Seeing Yang Zhi's shocked appearance, Zhang Zhang Jie was the first to speak with a smile.

"Benefactor, why, why is it you?"

Yang Zhi took a long time to come back to his senses.

Zhang Zhang Jie was none other than the person who, when he was in Bianliang, testified for him,

causing the Kaifeng Prefect to deal with him leniently, waiving the one hundred heavy beatings,

and personally paying out of his own pocket to give silver to the bailiffs escorting him to Great Ming Prefecture,

allowing him to suffer much less hardship—his benefactor.

Zhang Zhang Jie sat in the main seat, took a sip of hot tea first, and then spoke leisurely:

"Why, are you surprised that I have become a bandit, or surprised that I am the master of Liang Shan?"

"Both."

Yang Zhi answered honestly: "Benefactor, you were the top scholar of Qingzhou,

and a person who could talk happily with Prefect Teng Teng Ziming of Kaifeng,

you are a dragon and phoenix in the sky, why have you fallen to the point of becoming a bandit?" ===== CHAPTER 222 =====