Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

(Since the previous two chapters discussed Huarong Road, let me first give you all a brief introduction to the history of Huarong Road, without taking up any word count.)

The well-known story of Cao Cao's three laughs at Huarong Road, which led to the deaths of Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu, comes from the novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, written during the Ming Dynasty. Today, I want to tell you a fact you might not believe: in actual history, not so many events occurred at Huarong Road.

In 208 AD, during the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao was defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei and retreated towards Jiangling, advancing on foot through places like Huarong Road. At that time, the roads in the Huarong Road area were muddy and impassable. Cao Cao ordered his old and weak soldiers to carry grass to pave the way so that his cavalry could pass. However, those soldiers who carried the grass became trapped in the mud and were trampled by men and horses, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. After escaping, Cao Cao lamented the treacherous terrain of Huarong Road, fearing the unimaginable consequences if he had been ambushed. But when Liu Bei's army arrived at Huarong Road, the remaining Cao Cao troops had already left.

Therefore, there was no ambush at Huarong Road in history, and Cao Cao did not laugh three times. It wasn't until the early Yuan Dynasty, in the zaju play "Liu Bei's Drunken Walk at Yellow Crane Tower" and the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," that Guan Yu appeared at Huarong Road and talked with Cao Cao. Finally, in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the famous scene that everyone is familiar with appeared.

Therefore, in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the setting of this book, the story of Cao Cao's three laughs at Huarong Pass did not actually occur. Applying this trope is also acceptable; aside from Ren Yuan, the time traveler, no one in the book would know that Gao Qiu was imitating Cao Cao, including Gao Qiu himself.

This passage from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a classic example of being humiliated and ridiculed, so I quoted it. Of course, this absolutely does not mean I think Gao Qiu and Cao Cao are the same. Some readers may not accept this, so I apologize in advance.

Okay, that's all for today's little science lesson. Now let's move on to the main text. Thank you all for your support, Yanzu and Yifei fans!

Gao Qiu stared at the wooden stick not far in front of him, his whole body trembling.

"Pick up the stick! Pick up the stick!"

Wang Jin looked at Gao Qiu and shouted at him!

"You're quite the capable one, aren't you, Grand Commandant Gao? You're second only to the Emperor in the court!"

"If anyone makes you unhappy or makes you feel like you've lost face, you should exile that person!"

"Not only exiled, but also murdered to silence them?"

"Grand Commandant Gao, is your pride really that important?"

Wang Jin's repeated shouts and curses filled Gao Qiu with dread.

“Wang, Wang Jin, actually, I can explain.”

Gao Qiu knelt down before Wang Jin with a thud, then kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"An explanation? How do you intend to explain it?"

Wang Jin looked at Gao Qiu, his expression neither sad nor happy.

"Back then, it was all an accident! I had just taken office and had to find someone to establish my authority. You know, a new broom sweeps clean, and you just happened to not follow the rules. This was just an official matter, so don't blame me."

Gao Qiu began to plead not guilty.

"I didn't follow the rules? I should have told you I had a medical condition, and there was a record of it, but you didn't believe me? Your first order was to come to my house and arrest me, have you forgotten?"

Wang Jin looked at Gao Qiu and showed him no respect whatsoever.

"You asked for leave from the previous Grand Commandant, right? I didn't know that! Besides, as everyone knows, a new emperor brings a new court. I took over as Grand Commandant, and my subordinates didn't tell me about it in time, which is why there was a misunderstanding."

Gao Qiu quickly distanced himself from the problem and shifted the blame to his subordinates.

"But as you know, I'm a new official, and I definitely need to do some things to solidify my position. Your mistake isn't a big deal, but it's definitely not in accordance with the rules, so I can only follow the rules!"

"Rules? Whose rules? The imperial court's? Or yours, Gao Qiu's?"

Wang Jin was amused.

"Fine, even if that's the rule, what happened after that? You went around hunting me down and even sent Black-Clad Guards to kill me? That was a whole hundred martial arts masters!"

“One hundred! You know what? You almost killed me.”

Wang Jin still grits his teeth when he recalls that fierce battle from back then!

If Ren Yuan and others hadn't arrived in time, Wang Jin would not only have died, but his mother might have been implicated as well!

"Then, you're not dead! Please let me go! Wang Jin, please let me go! I swear to God, I'll never bother you again, or may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"

Gao Qiu kowtowed to Wang Jin repeatedly and then swore an oath to heaven!

"Boom!"

Interestingly, just after he made the oath, a loud clap of thunder suddenly came from the dark clouds in the sky that had not yet completely dissipated!

"Oh?"

Wang Jin looked up at the sky, then at Gao Qiu, who was also in a daze.

"Gao Qiu, even Heaven can't stand it anymore, what else do you have to say?"

"No, no, this is impossible, this is impossible!"

Gao Qiu seemed to find it hard to accept that thunder had struck right after he made the vow.

"Damn you, God! Why are you playing me like this?!"

In desperation, Gao Qiu pointed at the sky and cursed loudly!

"I am the Grand Commandant of the Great Song Dynasty! A trusted confidant of the Emperor! If you, God, are blind, my Emperor will overthrow you! Do you believe me or not!"

"Boom! Boom!"

The response to Gao Qiu was two loud claps of thunder!

"Brother, should we warn the brothers to be careful? The weather has suddenly become very strange."

Meanwhile, from another direction, Ren Yuan and the others also heard the loud thunder. When they looked up, they were all surprised by the strange weather.

"I think it's probably some guy spouting nonsense who's making an oath. Remember this, making random oaths will get you struck by lightning."

Ren Yuan and his buddies were joking around:

"Stay alert! The battle isn't over yet! Gao Qiu hasn't been captured! Don't let your guard down!"

……

Back to Gao Qiu and Wang Jin, two consecutive claps of thunder finally frightened Gao Qiu. He dared not curse the heavens again and could only turn to look at Wang Jin.

"What are you looking at me for? Gao Qiu, even Heaven can't stand what you've done!"

Wang Jin twirled the stick in his hand like a windmill!

"Quick! Pick up the stick! If you can hit me even once, I'll..."

"You're just going to let me go?"

Gao Qiu's eyes suddenly lit up!

"I'll hit you ten more times!"

Wang Jin had actually wanted to take action for a long time, but he was also angry and couldn't vent his anger without hurling some insults.

Secondly, Wang Jin wasn't the only one on Liangshan who had a deep-seated hatred for Gao Qiu.

Now Gao Qiu can't escape, so Wang Jin wants to wait and see if any other brothers come to deal with him together.

Because he was afraid that if he didn't vent his anger first and then took action, he might kill Gao Qiu!

If that happens, the other brothers won't be able to get revenge!

"Wang Jin! Are you deliberately making fun of me?!"

Gao Qiu was truly enraged after hearing Wang Jin's words!

"I've said so many nice things to you, and you still won't forgive me?"

"You've really gone too far! I'll fight you to the death!"

Gao Qiu looked down on Wang Jin, and his apology just now was merely an attempt to save his life.

However, being "tricked" by Wang Jin time and time again made Gao Qiu feel insulted!

So, he made up his mind! He couldn't take it anymore! He was ready to fight to the death!

With a sudden lunge forward, Gao Qiu picked up the wooden stick, then performed two forward rolls to close the distance. The moment he regained his balance, he flicked his wrist and threw a clump of mud at Wang Jin's eyes!

"That's utterly worthless!"

Wang Jin simply sidestepped Gao Qiu, then with a flick of his wrist, he used his wooden stick to strike Gao Qiu's cheeks with a "snake-finding-the-grass" move!

Although he controlled the force of this move, Gao Qiu's face still quickly became red and swollen!

"Yuan She, a second-year high school student! Weren't you pretty good at wielding a stick back then? Come on!"

Wang Jin struck Gao Qiu on the shoulder with his stick again, then shouted Gao Qiu's nickname from his days in the underworld.

"Shut up! I am Gao Qiu! Gao Qiu!"

Gao Qiu is now particularly reluctant to have his former name mentioned. Wang Jin's words are like publicly reopening his wounds!

"I'll fight! I'll fight!"

If it were the young, rascal Gao Qiu, he might still have some skill with the stick, but after so many years of living a life of luxury, he has long forgotten those skills!

Gao Qiu could only clumsily flail around with the wooden stick in his hand!

Wang Jin, with his superb agility, was able to dodge accurately every time, and then strike Gao Qiu with his staff!

However, he didn't use much force; otherwise, a single blow to the temple would have ended it all.

Soon, Gao Qiu, who had been hit more than a dozen times, could no longer run. He stood in the field, panting, leaning on the wooden stick in his hand!

At this moment, his clothes were tattered, his face was swollen like a pig's head, several teeth had been pulled out, and his nose was broken!

In contrast, Wang Jin looked completely calm, and his clothes weren't even dirty!

"Wang, Wang Jin! A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated! You, you have the guts to kill me! Kill me!"

Gao Qiu shouted at Wang Jin.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I've told you, I'm not the only one who wants to kill you."

Looking at Gao Qiu, Wang Jin suddenly felt that much of his displeasure had dissipated.

Moreover, he could hear the familiar sound of horses' hooves.

On Liangshan Mountain, there lives a little white dragon. When this horse runs, the sound of its hooves is very special!

And this horse was Lin Chong's mount!

(PS: The author is now Level 3! Thanks for all the support along the way!)

P.S.: This chapter has over 2,800 words, but the initial science section is only about 500 words, so I didn't fill in any extras~)