Chapter 168 Setting Up Shop in Lake Yang

Under Sheng Rong's declaration, the seven or eight hundred-strong band of water bandits pledged allegiance to Zhou Jing.

The lackeys didn't care who they followed, as long as the leader was decent. Besides, this Chen Feng was so fierce, and looked more capable than Sheng Rong.

Relying on his reputation and skills in the greenwoods, Zhou Jing easily subdued this small gang. He immediately ordered everyone to take stock of the water stronghold, and the results were in less than half an hour.

This band of Xiaofeng Lake pirates numbered exactly eight hundred and seventy-two people, of which about four hundred and thirty were capable of fighting. All of them had some swimming skills. Although they were malnourished and in average physical condition, they were considered quite sturdy due to years of poverty.

The water stronghold was small, with limited supplies. There were only three hundred-odd daggers and sharp knives, as well as a number of kitchen knives and pitchforks. There was no armor, and the grain reserves were very low. However, everyone usually made a living by fishing, so they wouldn't starve to death.

The most crucial resource was boats, and there were quite a few, as many as a hundred, all small boats that were fast, but quite old, covered in cuts, and had many signs of repair.

After roughly understanding the situation, Zhou Jing summoned everyone and spoke his mind:

"We're gathering here to make a name for ourselves in the greenwoods. Sheng Rong has defected to me, so we'll most likely be up against Fan Zong. So, we'll deal with this person first, take more of his territory, provoke him to make a move, and then subdue him, so that our brothers can gain a foothold in Lake Yang."

He was new here, without a foundation. Annexing an existing big bandit was naturally the fastest way to develop.

His current strategic intention was very simple. Since he had poached "Golden Scale King" Fan Zong's people, there was no way to settle it peacefully, so he might as well keep using Fan Zong as a stepping stone.

First, he would use his reputation and martial arts to poach more water bandit gangs from Fan Zong, forcing this guy to make a move, and then solve Fan Zong in one battle and swallow his power.

The three Flood Dragons of Lake Yang were in competition with each other, and he would only deal with one of them, and not provoke the other two for the time being.

In this way, the other two would either sit on the sidelines, or beat a drowning dog together. The probability of helping Fan Zong deal with him was very low.

Once he replaced Fan Zong with thunderous means, the reaction of the other two would either be to realize the threat and work together to fight him, or plan to borrow a knife to kill someone and cross the river to tear down the bridge. In short, he would act according to the circumstances.

Hearing Zhou Jing's plan, everyone was quite excited, especially Sheng Rong, who had just joined.

Good fellow, he was indeed a hero of the greenwoods. Right from the start, he had set the tone of directly confronting one of the local bosses. He was truly a dragon crossing the river!

Zhou Jing paused, and then said: "Our gang is still small, so we won't rank the seats for the time being. The old brothers will first take the names of the leaders, but will not be assigned actual positions. In addition, Lake Yang has many rivers and lakes. Currently, only Brother Sheng Rong is good at naval warfare and understands the terrain, so he will temporarily train the navy, while the other brothers will first follow him to practice swimming."

"We understand."

Guo Haishen, Fang Zhen, and the others nodded.

Zhou Jing looked at Sheng Rong again and said:

"Although you brothers and your men have just pledged allegiance to me, we will treat you equally. The secret manuals we plundered in Jiangchun will not only be spread among the people, but also be open to you brothers. Everyone can practice whatever kung fu they want. If you don't understand anything, go and ask the leaders."

Sheng Rong was stunned for a moment, and then was overjoyed: "Thank you, brothers!"

He could learn profound kung fu as soon as he joined, and also get guidance from a group of greenwood experts. This was a big benefit. As bandits who licked blood from their knives, martial arts were the means to protect their lives and make a living, and no one didn't want to improve their skills.

Zhou Jing waved his hand and continued:

"We are currently using Xiaofeng Lake as our base, which is just a temporary measure. We will eventually settle in Yueshan Lake, but now is not the time to move in. Brother Sheng Rong, you understand the nearby situation, so you need to explain the distribution of the territories of the twenty-two water generals under Fan Zong's command. Let's first take down the nearby water bandits and expand our territory."

"Understood."

Sheng Rong said solemnly.

At this time, Fang Zhen thought for a while and suddenly asked: "Second Brother, since Fan Zong doesn't know we're coming, why don't we let Brother Sheng Rong go to see Fan Zong, and we pretend to be his followers? When we get close to Fan Zong, we can directly take him down, capture the leader first, just like we did in Tiger Head Mountain. Wouldn't that be faster?"

Zhou Jing stroked his chin and pondered:

"I've also thought about this plan, but the situation in Lake Yang is different from that in Lu River. The water bandits' territories are scattered. Although it's convenient to take down Fan Zong directly, we can't make a name for ourselves. Even if we replace this person, most of the water bandits under his command will not pledge allegiance to us, but will defect to the other two of the three Flood Dragons of Lake Yang. In this way, we will become commanders without troops, and can only subdue Fan Zong's main force, unable to command the water bandits everywhere, and our territory will be surrounded by the other two Flood Dragons. By then, if we want to conquer others, we will definitely attract the other two to attack us from both sides, and we will be restrained, making it difficult to get started."

Duan Yunfeng's eyes flashed and said:

"So that's it. Brother Chen wants to subdue several water bandit gangs first, pretending to be entrenched here, so that Fan Zong will gather his troops to attack. Then, he can defeat the opponent on the battlefield, not only capture Fan Zong, but also capture many of his water generals, thereby accomplishing everything in one battle, subduing a large number of water bandit gangs in one fell swoop, and making a name for himself in one battle?"

"That's about right."

Zhou Jing nodded. This Duan Yunfeng understood his intention.

Even if he subdued a few more water bandit gangs, the number of troops would still be far less than that of Fan Zong, but his group was full of experts, so he had to make use of this advantage if he wanted to win more with less.

It was a pity that Apostle Number Three, Bill, was not here, otherwise, a tornado would blow over during the naval battle, and no matter how many people came, it would be for nothing.

He then talked about some details and asked about the distribution of the surrounding water bandit territories before letting the leaders leave.

The gang was still small, so there was no need for detailed division of labor, but once the scale became larger, an organizational structure would be needed.

Most of the people in his greenwood gang were crude martial artists. If they were to gather in the mountains, they would still need talents in internal affairs management and military training.

He could either cultivate them himself, let people with potential take over, and they would gain experience as they went along, or he could annex other big bandits and incorporate them, or he could raise a flag and wait for heroes from all walks of life to join him.

In short, there were still many talent gaps under his command, so it seemed that he had to inquire more about this type of special talent in the greenwoods, and shock them with his presence.

In addition, although his martial arts were extraordinary, the methods of marching and fighting were still important in large-scale battles.

Zhou Jing himself didn't know much about these things. Even if he looked up information in the main world and applied it rigidly, it would easily become empty talk. Moreover, the training methods of the interstellar era might not be suitable for the environment of cold weapon combat, and he didn't want to reveal too many traces of the main world.

The training methods of this era were in line with the limited conditions of this era, and naturally had their merits. He planned to find some real talents who could train and fight, observe their methods, and then compare them with the knowledge accumulated in the main world to make subtle improvements and summarize a set of practical methods.

Because of limited conditions, Zhou Jing didn't have the intention of pursuing perfection. He didn't ask to train a hundred-battle elite, as long as the quality of his soldiers could reach the upper or middle level of this world, and they wouldn't collapse as soon as they engaged in battle, he would be satisfied.

He only planned to dabble in the art of war and didn't want to study it in depth. Compared to commanding operations, charging into battle could better exert his power. As long as he could find military talents who were not too terrible, and let them issue orders instead when he charged into the formation, he felt that it would be enough.

With the current strategic goals, everyone was mobilized.

Chapter 169 Stirring Up Trouble in Lake Yang

After resting for two days, Zhou Jing led his men to attack everywhere, heading straight for the territories of the water bandits nearby.

During this period, he encountered almost no decent resistance. These water bandit leaders, upon hearing Chen Feng's name and seeing his skills, bowed down and were willing to pledge allegiance to Zhou Jing.

The Talent [King's Aura] was not just for show.

The only one that had some resistance was a water bandit force of about three thousand people, entrenched in a large lake. The leader was a leading water general under Fan Zong's command. Because he felt that they were evenly matched, he was unwilling to directly pledge allegiance to Zhou Jing.

The two sides fought on the lake. Under Zhou Jing's inhuman performance, his side's morale was like a rainbow, and the opponent doubted their lives and had no fighting spirit.

As a result, it was a complete rout. All the water bandits were captured, and the leader was beaten into submission and surrendered the stronghold.

In just a few days, Zhou Jing had poached five territories from Fan Zong, subdued five gangs of water bandits including Sheng Rong, and snowballed to a scale of more than eight thousand people at a rapid pace.

The news that "Troublemaker Devil" Chen Feng had appeared in Lake Yang and established himself here also spread rapidly, alarming the local greenwoods.

...

Bang!

"Damn it! I have no grudge against this Chen Feng, why is he bringing me bad luck? This guy wants to gain a foothold in Lake Yang, so he's using me as a stepping stone. Does he think I'm a pushover!"

Fan Zong slapped the table hard, enraged.

He was a slender and strong middle-aged man with a long mustache on his lips. At first glance, he looked like a catfish, and he also liked to wear yellow clothes all year round, so he had the nickname "Golden Scale King".

Not long ago, he received a message from his lackeys that five of his water generals had defected to Chen Feng, and he was both shocked and angry.

Originally, the situation in Lake Yang was a three-legged stalemate, with mutual checks and balances for many years. Now, a dragon crossing the river had suddenly come, breaking the balance all at once.

As the local snake targeted by the dragon crossing the river, Fan Zong was naturally annoyed. He was not only angry at the provocation, but also secretly hated Chen Feng for creating opportunities for the other two old opponents.

The mountain stronghold's military advisor stroked his beard and pondered: "This Chen Feng eliminates evil and is not tolerated by the righteous path, so he has no choice but to become a bandit. And this person has a high reputation in the greenwoods and great ambition. He is probably not a guy who is willing to be under others. I think he has the intention of replacing the stronghold lord."

"Hmph! Don't even think about it!" Fan Zong snorted angrily: "Although I respect this person as a good man, since he has targeted me, I can't spare him!"

With that, Fan Zong suddenly stood up, summoned the messengers, and shouted:

"Summon the water generals to come. I want to send troops to attack this Chen Feng and let him know that Lake Yang is not a place where he can run wild. If he's a dragon, he has to coil up for me. If he's a tiger, he has to lie down for me. If he wants to establish a mountain here, he has to ask me if I agree first!"

Fan Zong didn't dare to sit back and watch Zhou Jing devour his territory. If he didn't stop it immediately, he would probably really become a commander without troops.

Moreover, if he was attacked and didn't fight back, he wouldn't be able to maintain his current position. The other water bandits would think that he couldn't provide protection for their respective territories, and they would also consider defecting to others.

Therefore, he was now in a dilemma.

Just when Fan Zong had no choice but to fight back, the other two of the three Flood Dragons of Lake Yang also received the news. In addition to being surprised, they also felt Schadenfreude.

After discussing with their leaders, the two made the same response.

First, they would stand still and watch the tigers fight.

If there was an opportunity, they would take the opportunity to devour Fan Zong's territory, beat a drowning dog, and even eliminate this old opponent once and for all, staging a snipe and clam fight where the fisherman benefited.

As for Chen Feng, if he lost in the war, they wouldn't mind kicking him when he was down and driving this powerful competitor out of Lake Yang.

...

Yunxia Mountain, Nanhua Sect.

"What? That Chen Feng has come to Lake Yang? And he has established a mountain here and plans to stay here for a long time?"

Sect Leader Luo Zhen was taken aback and hurriedly asked the disciple who sent the message if it was true.

After receiving a positive answer, Luo Zhen couldn't sit still.

"This person harmed the various sects in Jiangchun. Maybe he has tasted the sweetness and wants to repeat his old tricks. And my Nanhua Sect, as the leading sect in the Lake Yang martial world, will definitely bear the brunt! The martial arts conference can't be delayed any longer!"

Luo Zhen's expression was uncertain.

Because of the distance, there were still many sects that were far away that hadn't responded.

But he couldn't wait any longer, for fear that Chen Feng would think that the journey was very short, so he would directly go to the Nanhua Sect to seize the secret manuals. Even if he could get them back later, the loss would be difficult to recover.

With this in mind, Luo Zhen made a decision and said in a deep voice:

"Spread the news in the martial world that the major sects will hold a martial arts conference to compete with Chen Feng. I will write a letter of invitation and you will send it to Chen Feng, agreeing to meet in the spring of next year."

In his opinion, agreeing on the time of the competition should stabilize this Chen Feng and prevent this guy from harming the Lake Yang martial world in the short term, which would give them enough time to contact other sects and invite experts from all over the world to jointly discuss the demon.

...

"This Chen Feng actually came to Lake Yang and plans to stay here?"

In the Fanzhou Prefecture of Lake Yang, the prefect heard about this from the yamen runner and raised his eyebrows.

The lesson of Jiangchun was still fresh in his mind. As a prefect of a place, he was also very wary of Chen Feng.

The Fanzhou prefect thought for a while and made a decision. He smiled coldly and muttered:

"This guy is a thorn in the side of the imperial court, so how can we let him grow bigger? If he's wandering around, it's indeed difficult to deal with him, but since he wants to establish a mountain, then it will be easy. This official will report this to the imperial court and ask the imperial court to send elite soldiers and famous generals to wipe out the Lake Yang bandits along the way, so that the world will be at peace!"