Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Seeing his expression, Yang Zhi became even more convinced that the bandits in the dense forest must be from Liangshan.

He hurriedly bowed and said, "Instructor Lin, the Yang family of Tianbo Mansion has fallen into decline and lost its prestige since it came to my family. I have vowed since childhood to restore the glory of my ancestors!"

"Unfortunately, I've had a run of bad luck these past two years, with everything going wrong! This birthday tribute is my last hope. If I lose it, I'll offend Liang Zhongshu and Cai Xiangguo again. How will I be able to stand in the court after that!"

"Please, Instructor Lin, you must help me out!"

Seeing that the descendants of the Yang family of Tianbo Mansion were so humble and subservient in order to extort money from corrupt officials,

The leaders, all of whom were born out of humble origins, showed disdain on their faces.

Only Lin Chong and Xu Ning, both born into families of imperial guard officers, were truly exceptional.

Only then can one understand and appreciate Yang Zhide's pain and helplessness.

"Alright then, Commander Yang, you should get up and come with me to see someone. You'll understand everything then."

Lin Chong helped Yang Zhi up, and together with Xu Ning,

The three walked for a while in the military camp and came to a tent in a corner.

As soon as I reached the door, I heard a woman's angry shouts coming from inside.

"You bandits of Liangshan, who claim to act on behalf of Heaven and uphold justice for the people, have now committed such despicable acts as abducting women. Do you even deserve to be called heroes of the greenwood..."

"Instructor Lin, what's going on?"

Yang Zhi asked, somewhat taken aback.

He had assumed Lin Chong was bringing him to see the leader of Liangshan.

Unexpectedly, the woman they were about to meet was a woman who had been abducted by Liangshan.

“When Governor Yang went in and took a look, he understood.”

Lin Chong smiled, raised his right hand, and gestured for Yang Zhi to go first.

Yang Zhi, puzzled, lifted the curtain of the tent.

Inside the tent, there was no bed, only a long bench, on which was tied a beautiful woman with disheveled hair.

After seeing the woman's face clearly,

········Requesting flowers·· 0

Yang Zhi's eyes immediately turned red!

"It's you! You're that scholar from Huangni Ridge, the one who was with the date sellers!"

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Zhi was about to rush forward.

Judging from his ferocious expression, he probably wished he could devour this woman alive!

Upon seeing Yang Zhi, the woman's angry shouts abruptly ceased.

"You...you are that blue-faced beast..."

This woman was Princess Tianshou, who had only recently awakened after being brought back by Liangshan.

Since no leader came to see her, Princess Tianshou assumed that the other party was unaware of her identity, so she decided to pretend to be a commoner and deceive them.

Unexpectedly, they found the victims they had deceived in this very camp!

. .... 0

Seeing Yang Zhi charging towards them in a frenzied manner...

Princess Tianshou was naturally terrified.

Fortunately, Lin Chong and Xu Ning were nearby.

The two pulled and hugged each other, which prevented Yang Zhi from tearing the Liao noblewoman apart.

"Instructor Lin, Teacher Xu, it was this man who disguised himself as a scholar and robbed the birthday tribute that I was escorting, along with his date-selling companion!"

Yang Zhi struggled and angrily said, "Why are you two stopping me from taking revenge?"

"Commander Yang, do you know who this woman is?"

Lin Chong shouted, "This woman's name is Dalibo, and she is Princess Tianshou of the Liao Kingdom!"

"what?"

Yang Zhi was completely stunned: "She... how could she possibly be..."

Seeing that Liangshan already knew his identity, Nadaribo...

So he stopped hiding it and said arrogantly,

"Hmph, what this person says is correct. I am indeed the daughter of the King of Wei of the Great Liao Kingdom, and the Princess Tianshou, bestowed the title by the Emperor of the Great Liao Kingdom!"

"Commander Yang, the birthday gifts you are escorting are not on Liangshan, but rather..."

Lin Chong recounted how Chao Gai and his men plotted against Yang Zhi and his group at Huangni Ridge, using sleeping pills to incapacitate them, but then an internal conflict ensued.

“Commander Yang, the birthday tribute you were escorting has probably already been taken out of Shandong by those two Liao people and headed to Liaodong.”

Xu Ning pointed at Princess Tianshou and said, "If Commander Yang doesn't believe me, you can ask her. However, this woman is of noble status, and my brother has not yet returned. We don't know how he will deal with her! Please, Commander Yang, restrain your anger and do not harm her!"

Chapter 231 Incredible Survival Rate

Three days later,

When Zhao Yuan and his men returned to their camp on the north bank of the marsh,

While helping to unload the boxes from the carriage, Lin Chong and the others reported on all the major and minor events that had occurred on Liangshan during Zhao Yuan's absence.

"Brother, the quarantine of the disaster victims in Hebei has been completed, and approximately 14,213 people have not been infected with the disease,"

Du Qian replied, "I have already sent a boat to pick up these people and bring them to Jinshatan Beach. They will stay in the camp there for about ten days to ensure everything is safe before letting them pass through the checkpoint and go up the mountain."

"How many of them are young adults? How many are women, the elderly, and children?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Du Qian took out a booklet containing population data, turned to the page about the Hebei famine victims, and read aloud.

"Among these disaster victims, there are 7,621 able-bodied young people, 5,352 women, 963 children, and 140,277 elderly people."

This population ratio is clearly abnormal, and the reason for this is all because of this plague. The elderly and children are most susceptible to infection and most prone to deterioration.

The situation for young adults and women is much better.

Zhao Yuan recalled that when they brought the disaster victims from Xucheng to the north bank of the marsh, there should have been more than 43,000 people.

"Have the remaining 30,000-plus people all been infected with the plague?"

"There aren't that many people left, brother,"

Du Qian said in a heavy voice, "In the past month or so, more than 6,000 people have been infected with the plague and died due to the worsening of their condition. Most of them were elderly people and children."

"Of the remaining 24,000 people, only about 2,000 have worsened conditions; the rest are mostly mild cases."

In other words, of those 24,000-plus people, at least 22,000 should survive.

The 43,000 refugees who were initially brought in from Xucheng

In the end, about eight thousand people died from the disease, nearly one-fifth of the population.

If this death rate were in later generations, it would certainly be condemned as a callous disregard for human life.

But at this time, the death rate was ridiculously low.

Because at this time, plagues usually occur.

The government's approach is to isolate the infected individuals, then treat those who can be treated, and otherwise let them fend for themselves.

In many cases, villages and counties where plagues occurred,

Those who die from disease, let alone half, sometimes even as high as 80 or 90%.

Each time a plague occurs, it often leaves nine out of ten houses empty.

The nearly four-fifths survival rate of the plague in Liangshan...

In this era, that's an absolutely incredible existence!

......

“Brother, ever since Commander Yang learned about the birthday tribute three days ago, he has been sitting by the water in a daze.”

Lin Chong suggested, "We've said everything we need to say, but he won't listen to anything. Why don't you give it a try, brother?"

Zhao Yuan felt mostly sympathy for this proud and arrogant descendant of a military family.

To the average person, the Yang family of Tianbo Mansion is renowned for its military exploits and its loyalty and righteousness that have been celebrated throughout the ages.

But for Yang Zhi, all these ancestral glories were nothing but a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Thinking of Yang Zhi,

In order to restore the reputation of the fallen Yang family,

In order to secure a high position for his wife and children and bring glory to his family.

Even if it meant serving under a treacherous official, they would be willing.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky and messed up his official duties under Gao Qiu, losing the tribute of rare stones and flowers.

He intended to bribe officials to regain his position, but because of his ancestral treasured sword, Gao Qiu's adopted son, Gao Kan, sent him to prison.

He finally met Liang Zhongshu, who appreciated him.

As a result, they messed up the job again and lost the birthday gifts.

Yang Zhi was determined to rely on his own abilities to gain the court's recognition and restore his ancestors' glory.

Both of their escort missions ended in failure, and they dared not report back, ending up adrift in the world.

If he truly wanted to continue down a dark path in the Song Dynasty's officialdom...

Perhaps joining forces with Tong Guan, who has long held military power and frequently waged war, would be a good option.

Unfortunately, fate ultimately did not give him that opportunity.

Although Yang Zhi served under powerful and treacherous officials,

But he is a man of principle, even if it's just some basic moral principles. In this murky world, that's quite commendable.

Unfortunately, such character traits were not a good thing for him.

If he wanted to make a name for himself under the thumb of treacherous officials, these very qualities of his would ironically become stumbling blocks to his advancement.

From the very beginning, fate had ordained that Yang Zhi would have principles.

They will not become trusted confidants of treacherous officials; at best, they will only be pathetic pawns in their hands.

They cannot escape the tragic fate of being squeezed dry of their remaining value, bit by bit.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuan sighed softly.

"Have you told him about the birthday gifts?"

"not yet,"

Lin Chong shook his head: "We only told him about Chao Gai and the others. As for the birthday gifts being switched by you, brother, we haven't told him yet."

Zhao Yuan thought for a moment and then instructed Jiao Ting, "Find a few guards, carry the real birthday gifts up, and come with me to see Yang Zhi."

Lin Chong asked, "Brother, then what about us...?"

Zhao Yuan smiled and waved his hand: "Brother, you don't need to go over there. I'll talk to him alone. It's not good if there are too many people."

......

Yang Zhi has been sitting blankly on the bank of the lake for three days now.

Three days ago, after hearing that the birthday tribute had been taken away by the Liao people and might be offered to the Jin people,

Yang Zhi was filled with endless regret.

Looking at his reflection in the lake, he wished he could stab this good-for-nothing who brought shame to the Yang family to death.

During these three days, Yang Zhi did consider jumping into the pool and ending it all.

But every time such a thought arises in my mind...

He quickly shook his head, putting it out of his mind.

This is not to say that Yang Zhi was afraid of death.