Chapter 125

  Haizhou Stockade, Gathering Righteousness Hall.

  The leader of the more than 50 mountain strongholds in Qingniu Mountain, each one accounted for, all arrived today. The gathering hall of Ha Ma Zhai was never as lively as it is today. These people, some were familiar to Cheng Da Lei, some just passed by, and some were only vaguely recognizable.

  "Cheng Dangjia's righteousness is as vast as the sky, we all see it with our own eyes. From now on, this life of mine belongs to Cheng Dangjia."

  "When Master Cheng tells me to go west, I'll go west. When Master Cheng tells me to go east, I'll go east. Whoever disobeys Master Cheng is disobeying me."

  "Cheng Dangjia, don't decline anymore, everyone will follow you from now on."

  A chaotic crowd, all saying the same thing. All the strongholds in Qingniu Mountain are willing to merge with Hamao Stronghold, only Cheng Daren is hesitant.

  However, in the midst of such a noisy crowd, today's rightful protagonist Cheng Da Lei remained eerily quiet, sitting on a taishi chair like a clay statue in a temple.

  Cheng Dali actually understands everyone's feelings. In this era, everyone is living for a mouthful of food, and following Cheng Dali will obviously be able to eat a full meal.

  However, Cheng Dairen still had some doubts.

  The total number of bandits on Qingniu Mountain is about 5,000 people. Among them, more than half are old, weak, women and children, and only about 2,000 can fight. Due to this drought, some people left, leaving even fewer able-bodied men.

  It's not easy to support these 5,000 people. Don't look at the fact that Cheng Dairen brought back 400,000 catties of rice this time, but if they really eat it, it won't last for several months.

  For example, if 5,000 people each give you one yuan per day, then your annual income is an astronomical figure. But similarly, if every day you have to provide one kilogram of food for these 5,000 people, this is also an astronomical figure.

  Moreover, these five thousand people are not all good people, and it's a compliment to describe them as a motley crew. Now there are only about 100 or so people in the stronghold, and Fang Daren has confidence in fully controlling them. But when the population of the stronghold expands to five thousand people, Fang Daren no longer has this confidence.

  Of course, Cheng Dairen thought of all the disadvantages, but with many people, there are also advantages that come with it.

  It's like a startup company, relying on one project to strike it rich, so it's either small and safe, guarding its own territory, or expanding projects, which may lose money, but also has the possibility of gaining more profits.

  How to choose...

  The noise around him was still loud, but Cheng Dalai didn't bother to pay attention to them for the time being. This time, he had completed his task of transporting grain, and earlier, he had been interrupted, so he hadn't had a chance to see what reward he would get yet.

  Dude, righteous youth, congratulations on completing the task, reward... third-level shanzhai construction blueprint.

  This is the second blueprint obtained by Cheng Dairen. Last time it was just a defensive blueprint, but this time it's a complete construction blueprint.

  Cheng Dairen's mind appeared a blueprint, upgrading to third-tier required buildings he hadn't had time to look at, only noticing one:

  Required population: one thousand.

  The hall was still in an uproar, Cheng Dairen sat at the highest point, for the first time seriously sizing them up.

  Should I move forward further?

  "Alright!"

  Cheng Darui suddenly stood up, and it's strange to say that the noisy crowd was instantly silent after Cheng Darui uttered these two words. Everyone's eyes were on Cheng Darui.

  Cheng Dalai stood up tall and shouted: "I've understood what everyone has said. Drifting in the world, what's most important..."

  Cheng Da Lei's eyes scanned the crowd, and before anyone could react, he said firmly: "Brotherhood!"

  "And I, for one, care most about loyalty. Now that everyone has taken a liking to me, Cheng, from now on we are like brothers of the same family; as long as I have food to eat, no one will go hungry."

  "Good!"

  A burst of cheers, everyone fell into a kind of inexplicable excitement. Cheng Dalai rubbed his numb face and sat down silently.

  ……

  The grand banquet will come to an end, no matter how lively it was at the beginning.

  Three or four days after the incident, Cheng Dalai was checking the drawings of the third-rate mountain stronghold in his house.

  After Shan Zhai was upgraded from primary to secondary, Cheng Dali also gave birth to a first-level one. If there were no accidents, when Shan Zhai was upgraded to the third level, his own combat power could also be upgraded by one level.

  After what happened with Hu Erle, Cheng Darui realized that his current strength was not enough. Holding an axe to scare people was still possible, but if it came to a real fight, head-on collision would be almost the same as seeking death.

  Cheng Darui had learned from Qin Man, Zhao Zilong and Xiao Baolang that the way of battlefield killing was divided into two parts: one was internal energy and the other was moves. Both required diligent study and bitter practice day and night.

  It would take ten or twenty years of practice, but Cheng Da Lei didn't have the perseverance for it, nor did he have the time.

  As for whether this world has internal force qinggong and flying sword asking immortal things... anyway, they have all heard many legends, but none of them have ever seen it.

  It is said that Cheng Dairen also knows the Five Thunder Method.

  So, upgrading one's level by enhancing their mountain stronghold became the only way out.

  "Is the master of the house in?"

  Gao Feihu came in from outside the house, currently all the mountain strongholds are merging, and all the mountain strongholds have been incorporated into the Ha Ma stronghold. Of course, there is only one master of the house, Cheng Dairen. More than 50 mountain strongholds merged into one family, originally people's hearts were not united, and then they came up with two masters, three masters, four masters, etc., aren't they waiting for a small mountain to erupt in the stronghold?

  "What's going on?"

  "Big boss, I've been thinking lately, with so many of our mountain stronghold gathered together, it's a big deal after all. Shouldn't we invite some friends from the jianghu to bear witness for us?"

  "It doesn't show, but you're actually a person with a strong sense of ritual. What nonsense are you talking about? Let's just close the door and live our own lives." Cheng Dalai vetoed his proposal and asked: "Just now you mentioned friends from the rivers and lakes, what heroic outlaws are there outside Qingniu Mountain?"

  In a chaotic world, evil bandits emerge. The bandits in this land are not just the Cheng Dairen family; it's just that Cheng Dairen is not very clear about the situation around him.

  "Originally, the closest one to Qingniu Mountain was Du Lao Da from Luoye City, but didn't he disappear later..."

  Du Lao Da was still holding the hand of Cheng Da Lei, who had personally taken it, but now no one knew whether he was alive or dead.

  "What about others?"

  "There are many others, such as the two brothers Zhou Gou and Zhou Shu who travel alone, the swift and agile Yanzi who flies solo, and the Ma family father and son who do business on the water... But if I had to say the greatest, it would be Hei Xuanfeng of Fodu Mountain."

  "Black Whirlwind... Li Kui?"

  "His surname is Sun." Gao Feihu was perplexed.

  "Alright, alright, everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door and doesn't care about the frost on others' roofs." Cheng Dalai said: "They don't need to be invited. You came just in time, I have something else to discuss with you."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I'm preparing to choose a place to rebuild a new stronghold."