Shi Jin had a good impression of this hero. After a glass of wine, he asked his name.
The young man spoke accurately and said confidently: "My surname is Zhang Mingheng, and I am called Chuan Huo'er in the world. I am already twenty-six this year."
Shi Jin nodded frequently, and without waiting for Zhang Shun to ask questions, he announced his name and said: "I am a businessman from another place. I used to be a gun and stick instructor. The war prevented me, so I live here."
"It turns out you're a coach, I'm disrespectful," Zhang Heng said, standing up and saluting again.
Shi Jin quickly asked him to sit down and persuaded him to drink a glass of wine.
"Zhang Zhuangzi sacrificed himself to save others. He has noble moral character and great strength. I have never seen the second person. I am very grateful that the strong man can honor and accept the invitation. I would like to ask you, strong man, how you developed such magical power."
"I don't deserve the compliment from the master," Zhang Heng put down his cup and chopsticks and replied respectfully, "I was born into a family in Fangpai. My father has been in the industry all his life. Because of his righteous nature, the family did not lose any savings. When I was a child, My father once hired a gentleman to teach me how to read and write, but I couldn't make progress. What I loved was horse racing, archery, and using guns and clubs. My father thought that he would have to hire martial arts bodyguards all year round, so he might as well let me and my brothers do it. I gave up literature and turned to martial arts, so I invited martial arts masters from the north and south to teach us martial arts. Under the guidance of the masters, my two brothers made some progress. At the age of eighteen, I started to travel with my father in the world. There are many robber heroes. The year before last, my father was framed by the government, his house was ransacked and his head was executed. My two brothers took revenge and fled here."
"You have a brother," Shi Jin became more and more curious, presumably that brother was also a good man.
Zhang Heng said: "My mother gave birth to two biological brothers. The eldest is the younger brother. I also have a younger brother, which is even more amazing: he is as white as snow and as white as meat. He can fly across the water for fifty miles and crouch under the water. For seven days and seven nights, he walked in the water like a white stripe, and he was good at martial arts. Therefore, his brothers on the road gave him a nickname, called Zhang Shun, a white stripe in the waves."
Shi Jin nodded and said, "I wonder what business Zhang Zhuangshi and his two brothers are doing now."
Zhang Heng saw that Shi Jin's weapon was majestic and not something that belongs in the pond. Somehow, he never thought of hiding anything from the bottom of his heart and said it exactly: "Although my two brothers are capable, they are neither willing to sell it to others". The official family had no capital to start a business, so they had to drive a boat and cross the river at a quiet place for private ferrying. There were some guests who didn't care about a hundred dollars and wanted to cross the river quickly, so they came to me and my two brothers. When the boat was full, I taught Zhang Shun first, pretending to be a single guest, carrying a big bag on his back, and got on the boat. I swung the boat halfway into the river, took a rest, and dropped the anchor. , inserted a knife into the cabin and came to ask for the ship's money. It was supposed to be five hundred yuan per person, so I insisted on asking him for three times, but I had to ask for it from my brother first. He pretended to refuse to give it to me. , the two of us fought twice, then I tied him up, grabbed his head, lifted up his waist and crotch, and threw him into the river. In this way, the other people were all shocked, obediently Take out the money, and after everyone has paid it, I will send them ashore in a quiet place. My brother has walked across the other side under the water, and then went to the next business. Later, when he ran into trouble, he changed The fishing business, who would have thought, my brother became more and more prosperous and became the boss of the boat in this area. I occasionally helped out, but I never found a serious business, which made the master laugh."
While listening to Zhang Shun's speech, Shi Jin looked at him carefully and saw that his eyes were black and shiny, which was exactly what the photo book said: "Those who are as black as paint and gleaming with light have the appearance of wealth and wealth." A large black mole corresponds to what the photo book says: "The person will be wealthy after middle age." This Zhang Shun in front of him, Shi Jin felt that with this ability, the two brothers must have a bright future, but it is a pity that they are buried among all living beings. , If he doesn't get a chance to get ahead, he should be given some guidance. Shi Jin waited for Zhang Shun to finish and asked: "Now that the war has begun, the strong men have family feuds and are unwilling to defect to the court, and what the Green Forest Army is looking for is talents like the strong men. I wonder if a strong man would give up his life of idleness to join the army?"
Zhang Shun replied: "My father has told my two brothers since they were young: if you learn literature and martial arts, you will be able to live in the imperial family. I have often thought that if this ability can be appreciated by those in power, I will never seek an official position in the future." It’s my job, but I want to do it with great success, so that it can comfort my father’s spirit in heaven.”
"Okay, you are ambitious," Shi Jin said happily: "I happen to have an acquaintance with the leader of the Green Forest Army. I will write a letter of recommendation for you. If you are willing to join Wu Xiaolong, the Green Forest Army,"
"This..." Zhang Shun hesitated when he heard the name.
Shi Jin saw this, leaned slightly towards Zhang Shun, and asked, "Why, you are not willing to defect to the Green Forest Army?"
"Master, you misunderstood. It's not like that. A few days ago, I heard that the Green Forest Army was recruiting a navy army. My brother also discussed with me about joining the navy army. However, I just heard that Wu Xiaolong became the leader of the navy army, so I don’t want to suffer at his hands,”
"Could it be some kind of festival?"
Zhang Heng sighed and said without any concealment: "My two brothers have always made a living by sailing private rafts. One day, my two brothers continued to send people to extort money, but they didn't want to encounter a hard problem. He was beaten and thrown into the river. Who would have thought that this guy was very good at swimming. The next day, he brought five or six people to look for trouble for the two brothers. They were beaten again by the two of them on the bow of the boat on the water. The gang couldn't escape, but who would have thought that in the middle of the night, the guy actually set fire to the boat dock of my two brothers and burned it all. We were so angry that we looked for him by the riverside in the city the next day and beat them up. After a long meal, he finally lost his temper, so my two brothers cut off a thumb on his left hand and a thumb on his right foot respectively. The man later fled to Yongning, and my brother and I started to make a living again. Well, recently, my two brothers were discussing joining the Green Forest Army to make a career. When I inquired about it, I found out that the person in charge was none other than this guy, Wu Xiaolong."
After Zhang Heng said this, he suddenly remembered that Wu Xiaolong was indeed missing a thumb. It turned out to be cut off by Zhang Heng. Shi Jin pondered for a moment and said: "He is not the only one in the Green Forest Army. I will give you some." With a letter, you can go to him,"
"Who," Zhang Shun asked.
"Wu Yong, the military advisor of the Green Forest Army, is currently in charge of the navy,"
"Yes," Zhang Shun stood up and replied readily.
Kui Er borrowed paper and pen from the bartender, Shi Jin wrote a few words, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to Zhang Shun. Zhang Shun solemnly took the letter, hid it in his pocket, and then bowed to Shi Jin. "My noble sir, I would like to accept Zhang Heng's bow. If I ever get ahead in this life, I will definitely not forget your great kindness and virtue. I will go home and cook some food. I will call my brother and he will be here within a day or two." Go and join the Green Forest Army." After saying that, he went downstairs with his head held high. Shi Jin immediately ordered Kui Er to meet the bartender and then left Yueyang Tower.
Shi Jin returned to Zhongyi Hall, and as soon as he sat down, he saw Tan Ma coming to report: "Gao Qiu has recently recruited a naval force. A supervisor named Ye Chun has built hundreds of loach boats, large and small, and Tokyo has sent two new ones." The imperial commanders all came to help in the battle. One was named Qiu, and the other was named Ang, and the two generals were brave. Many more troops were assigned from various directions to help the battle. "
Shi Jin nodded after hearing this and discussed with Wu Yong: "How can you break a big ship like this flying on the water?"
Wu Yong said with a smile: "Don't be afraid. If you have thunderous artillery, you can set it up and fight. However, the water war cannot last forever. We still need a few navy leaders."
Shi Jin turned to Wu Yong and said: "Today I met a strong man in Linjiang Tower. He is very good at water and has great abilities. He just has some issues with Wu Xiaolong. I have invited him to come to you. If he is willing to come, I will also It’s just a matter of a day or two,”
Wu Yong picked up the feather fan, twirled his beard with one hand, and said: "Great, there will be more leaders of the navy. When Henan Prefecture is captured, the navy can be vigorously developed. At that time, the water army will go along the river and hit the Yangtze River. , going down the river, and fighting on the dry road, there will be strong generals to respond to the enemy. When the time comes, the force will be overwhelming." Wu Yong said here, shook his feather fan, and then returned to the topic and said: "What are the officers and soldiers doing in Henan Province now? Warships, it is expected that such big ships will have to be built within a month, and there are still twenty or thirty days to build. You can first teach one or two brothers to go to the shipyard, toss and toss, and draw them by the way. Lay out the terrain, and then slowly compete with him,"
Shi Jindao: "This is the best. It can teach Shi Qian and Kui'er two people a try."
Wu Yongdao: "Then call him Jie Zhen or Jie Bao, pretend to be a farmer pulling trees, mix in the crowd, go to the shipyard, call Aunt Gu, Erniang Hu, pretend to be a food delivery woman, and mix in with other women, When the time comes, call Shi Qian and Kui Er to help, and then send Xie Qianqiu to lead troops outside to lead the army to support them, and then everything will be safe."
Shi Jin nodded in agreement and called all these people to the hall one after another. Everyone listened to the order. Everyone was extremely happy and went out of the city separately to do their own thing.
However, it is said that Taiwei Gao urged at dawn and night, supervised the construction of ships, and captured civilians for service day and night. There were shipyards along Henan Fudong Road, building hundreds of loach boats, and thousands of people were working as slaves. They were fighting and complaining among the people. , as the saying goes, "Where there is oppression, there is resistance." This arrest of strong men also aroused public anger. Some resisted, and the officers and soldiers who were accustomed to barbarism even set fire to kill people. Under such a tough policy, there are people who When new civilian workers entered the shipyard, there were also strong men who had died from work injuries and were carried out. In the shipyard, the officers and soldiers walked around, often pulling out knives to scare the civilian workers, shouting "Starry Night", rushing to catch up before the construction deadline. Complete, the chief engineer Ye Chun hired many craftsmen to supervise the work. While meeting the construction deadline, he also strictly controlled the quality and looked at every detail. He saw that many small loach boats were almost completed and launched. , and the keels of those large loach ships were also built, and they began to build the cabins and watchtowers on them. Ye Chun reported the progress and situation to Captain Gao. Lieutenant Gao was overjoyed when he heard it, and he improvised many times. reward.