The so-called Tiger King was a lean man with an inverted triangle face and a goatee. His eyes seemed unfocused, constantly darting around the hall. Zhang Jinnan thought it wouldn't be a big deal if he called himself the Goat King. Even calling himself a Goat Spirit would be fine. He'd never imagined he'd actually call himself the Tiger King. It was clear, then, that the more one lacks something, the more they want it. Master, I'm not kidding.
Tiger King pondered for a moment and then asked, "I agree that Qinghe County wants to suppress the bandits, but Boss Cao just said it very clearly. This time, Qinghe County is coming out in full force, most likely targeting your Qitian Village, or simply wanting to take back the iron mine. We are called mountain kings, but everyone knows that we go down the mountain to grab some refugees and then have to provide them with food. It's a losing business. In the final analysis, we are just a group of poor people who farm and make their own living in the mountains."
After hearing what the Tiger King said, Zhang Jinnan even wanted to laugh.
Yes, there were many refugees who farmed and raised their own crops in the Shiwan Mountains, but after hearing the news that the war was over and Qinghe County was recruiting refugees, these refugees all went down the mountain. Especially after the first few batches of refugees who came down the mountain spoke out, the refugees who had been hiding in various places even formed one or two small peaks when they went down the mountain. Otherwise, Qinghe County would not be able to accommodate so many people, and would have to build towns and villages outside the city.
As for villages like Hulangzhai, they had sent people up the mountain to try to pacify them. Although the Tiger King was quite polite at the time and did not make things difficult when he heard that the people who came were government officials, he was unwilling to come down the mountain no matter what. He even proposed that as long as Qinghe County gave him food and wages, he could nominally belong to Qinghe County, change Hulangzhai into Hulang Town, and he would be the mayor of Hulang Town. However, he did not even dare to agree to the request to go to the county town to pay a visit to the county lieutenant.
In Lin Hai's words, "The chaos back then gave them too much power. They were the kings of their own little circle, with the power of life and death, and they were used to enjoying themselves. Now that we're returning to normal life, we won't give them the opportunity to oppress others, so they will resist in every possible way. Ultimately, it's because we have the righteousness of the government and are strong enough that they can show such shameless faces and lie on the ground and act like cheaters. If we were weaker, or they were stronger, they would just rush into Qinghe County and rob again. That's why I've always said that such appeasement is meaningless. Even if it succeeds, are you really willing to work with these bandits?"
Zhang Jinnan saluted the Tiger King and raised his head, saying, "Tiger King, please understand. Although our Qitian Village has occupied this iron mine, it has also blocked the offensive of Qinghe County. You, the great leaders, may not know this, but the reason Qinghe County dared to build a city in such a remote place is because the soldiers who came to cultivate the land there were all veterans of Liang State, highly skilled in martial arts and savage on the battlefield. Although there were only less than a hundred of them, they were extremely brave. Our Qitian Village paid a heavy price to keep them in the county. However, I heard that due to ineffective suppression of the bandits, their county lieutenant has gone to Jinguan City to be questioned by the superiors. I am sure that when the county lieutenant returns, they will not only suppress our Qitian Village, otherwise they will not be able to explain themselves to the superiors."
At this point, Zhang Jinnan smiled slightly and continued, "Besides, they know the strength of our Qitian Village. If things really don't work out, we can just give up the iron mine and retreat to the village. They will definitely not be able to break in. Then, to fulfill their superior's instructions, they will attack one mountain after another. Who among you can stop the Qinghe County troops?"
At this point, the entire hall exploded. The various leaders who had been listening to the argument like old monks in meditation suddenly opened their eyes and began to discuss fiercely.
"Are you, Qitian Village, willing to give up the iron mine?" The speaker was the bandit leader known as the King of Pingtian.
"So what if we give up temporarily? Once the Qinghe army has gone out to attack you, we can take it back. It's not impossible to even invade the empty Qinghe County."
"You, Qitian Village, want to take advantage of your neighbors?"
"You want us to be your scapegoat? Believe it or not, I will kill you right now!"
"If you, the leaders, kill me now, will Qinghe County withdraw its troops? Or if you can't defeat Qinghe County, you can defeat my Qitian Village?"
"You, the leaders, are all intelligent men. There's no need to beat around the bush. You've been discussing this for two full days. There must be an answer. Why not just come straight to the point?" Truth be told, Zhang Jinnan was growing annoyed. Ten days had already passed since he'd summoned these mountain kings under the name of King Zhentian, and they'd been conferring at Tiger and Wolf Stronghold for two full days. Seventeen mountain kings, each accompanied by dozens or even a dozen subordinates, drank relentlessly and ate meat daily, yet when it came to resisting the enemy, they began to prevaricate. Zhang Jinnan even felt they were out to decimate Tiger and Wolf Stronghold. Though Tiger and Wolf Stronghold was second only to Qitian Stronghold in size, it couldn't withstand their devastation. Looking at the emaciated Tiger King, Zhang Jinnan felt that if they persisted in this discussion for another fortnight, Tiger and Wolf Stronghold would surrender on their own, starved of food, without a single soldier needed.
As expected, these useless people can do nothing except eating and drinking.
Hearing Zhang Jinnan's impatience, everyone in the room glanced at each other and nodded to Tiger King. Tiger King then said, "We are all lacking ambition, and we don't have the ability of your King Zhentian. We have worked hard to build this family business, but we just want to enjoy it. We already know that King Zhentian owns iron mines and has Cambodia as his backer, so there is no need to hide it, Brother Zhang. Therefore, the seventeen clans here are willing to respect King Zhentian as the leader of the Western Sichuan Green Forest. I wonder if King Zhentian is willing to condescend to him?"
"Oh?" Zhang Jinnan said with a forced smile, "Then I wonder what my king needs to do to become the leader of the Western Sichuan Green Forest?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com