Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Liu Tang dodged and weaved through the dense forest, gradually devising a plan to escape Shi Wengong, relying on his familiarity with the terrain and his own wit.

He deliberately made some messy footprints on the ground, extending in different directions, trying to confuse Shi Wengong. Then, he broke off some tree branches and threw them in the opposite direction, creating the illusion that he had fled in that direction.

As expected, Shi Wengong was distracted by these traces and hesitated slightly. Taking advantage of this, Liu Tang quietly climbed a large tree, hiding among the dense foliage, holding his breath, and daring not to make a sound.

Shi Wengong followed the false clues, getting further and further away. Liu Tang was sure that Shi Wengong was far away before he climbed down from the tree, enduring the sharp pain in his shoulder, and carefully made his way to Zhao Tianming's restaurant.

When Liu Tang finally arrived at the restaurant, Zhao Tianming, Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, Wu Yong, and other heroes were all shocked to see him covered in blood and dressed in rags.

Zhao Tianming quickly stepped forward to help Liu Tang up, and asked anxiously, "Brother Liu Tang, what happened to you?"

Liu Tang, panting heavily, gritted his teeth and said, "I fell into Shi Wengong's trap and fought him fiercely. Fortunately, I, Liu Tang, was lucky and he didn't succeed."

Lin Chong saw the spear wound on Liu Tang's body and said, "Shi Wengong's spear skills are really amazing. It is truly remarkable that Brother Liu Tang was able to escape back."

Song Jiang frowned and said, "Sit down quickly and let us see your injuries."

Liu Tang waved his hand and said, "It's nothing serious, just some superficial injuries."

Lu Junyi said, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

Liu Tang composed himself and recounted the whole story in detail.

Wu Yong gently waved his feather fan, pondered for a moment, and then said, "It seems there must be a conspiracy behind this."

Liu Tang said angrily, "That Shi Wengong keeps saying that Bai Sheng sent him to kill me. He must be talking nonsense and trying to sow discord between us brothers."

Song Jiang said, "Brother Liu Tang, don't be anxious. This matter needs to be discussed carefully."

A resolute glint flashed in Liu Tang's eyes as he said, "I, Liu Tang, am not so easily fooled. I deliberately created a false impression in the woods, causing Shi Wengong to chase in the wrong direction, which allowed me to escape."

Everyone was full of praise for Liu Tang's wit.

Lin Chong continued, "However, Brother Liu Tang is also brave, managing to deal with such a formidable enemy in such a way. But Shi Wengong is indeed a formidable character, with superb spear skills. If we encounter him again in the future, we must be extremely careful."

Liu Tang said, "Hmph, they think they can deal with us so easily!"

Zhao Tianming said, "Treat the wound first, then make plans."

Liu Tang said, "What's this little injury? Once I've recovered, I'll definitely settle accounts with Shi Wengong and the person who orchestrated this. None of them will escape!"

Shi Wengong returned to Wang Zhiqiang's shop with a gloomy expression. At that moment, Wang Zhiqiang, Lu Qian, Gao Yanei, and Yin Tianxi were sitting together drinking and having a lively time.

When Gao Yanei saw Shi Wengong return, he smiled and said, "General Shi, how did it go? Did you kill Liu Tang?"

Shi Wengong snorted coldly, sat down in his chair, picked up a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp, saying angrily, "That Liu Tang is very cunning, he got away!"

Wang Zhiqiang put down his wine glass, frowned, and asked, "What happened? With General Shi's skills, how could he have escaped?"

Shi Wengong's face grew increasingly grim as he said, "That fellow used some tricks in the woods to deliberately disrupt my tracking. I wasn't paying attention and he managed to slip through my fingers."

Lu Qian said sarcastically from the side, "Could it be that General Shi intentionally let us win?"

Shi Wengong slammed his fist on the table, glaring angrily: "What did you say? I, Shi Wengong, am wholeheartedly serving you, sir. How could I possibly go easy on you!"

Seeing this, Yin Tianxi quickly tried to smooth things over: "Stop arguing, so what if they ran away? Let's discuss this further."

Gao Yanei, however, persisted: "Hmph, I thought I could get rid of one, but now I've left another troublemaker."

Shi Wengong gritted his teeth and said, "It's all my fault for not doing things well, but if you give me another chance, I will definitely be able to kill Liu Tang."

Wang Zhiqiang pondered for a moment and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. Now that Liu Tang has escaped, he will probably go back and reunite with the others. We must be on high alert and not let them ruin our important plans."

Lu Qian nodded: "That's right, we need to come up with a new plan."

Gao Yanei said impatiently, "This is such a hassle. I should have sent more people."

Yin Tianxi said, "It's no use talking about this now. Let's think about how to deal with it next."

A silence fell over everyone, and the atmosphere in the shop became unusually heavy. After a while, Wang Zhiqiang broke the silence: "General Shi, please tell us the details again so we can analyze it, find the flaws, and succeed next time."

After listening to Shi Wengong's account, Wang Zhiqiang frowned and said worriedly, "When Liu Tang goes back, he will definitely tell everyone what happened today, and then it will be even more difficult to deal with him."

At this moment, Gao Yanei slowly drank a cup of wine, then smiled and said, "I think it would be better to hand this matter over to Zengtou City."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhiqiang eagerly asked, "Brother Gao, what brilliant plan do you have?"

Gao Yanei put down his wine cup, wiped his mouth with his hand, and a sly glint flashed in his eyes: "The power of Zengtou City is not weak. They already have some grudges with the Liangshan heroes. If we can instigate them to deal with Liu Tang and the others, wouldn't we be able to reap the benefits without lifting a finger?"

Wang Zhiqiang pondered for a moment, still harboring doubts: "But will Zengtou City listen to us so easily?"

Gao Yanei chuckled: "That depends on what we say. The people of Zengtou City have always been arrogant and conceited. As long as we stir things up a little, saying how the Liangshan people look down on them, and that Liu Tang will definitely go back to get reinforcements after escaping this time, and will definitely cause trouble for them in the future, the five tigers of the Zeng family will definitely not be able to swallow this insult."

Lu Qian chimed in, "Brother Gao's plan is brilliant. If it succeeds, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble."

Yin Tianxi nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right, let's do it that way."

Wang Zhiqiang was still somewhat worried: "But this matter needs to be considered carefully. If Zengtou City doesn't fall for our trick and instead reveals our plans to Liangshan, that would be terrible."

Gao Yanei waved his hand: "Brother Wang is too cautious. Fortune favors the bold. As long as we speak nicely and offer some benefits, Zengtou City will definitely be tempted."

Shi Wengong said, "But what benefits can we offer them?"

Gao Yanei's eyes darted around: "Money, weapons, or some scarce resources for them. As long as we can get them hooked, paying some price is worthwhile."

After a moment of silence, Wang Zhiqiang finally made up his mind: "Alright, then let's follow Brother Gao's plan. But we must be careful in our actions and make sure we don't give ourselves away."

Gao Yanei laughed and said, "Don't worry, Brother Wang. We'll go to Zengtou City after we finish eating and make sure this matter is handled properly."

Everyone nodded and continued drinking and eating, secretly plotting how to implement the plan.

Carrying large bags of gifts, Wang Zhiqiang followed closely behind Gao Yanei all the way to Zengtou City. Before even entering, they heard a commotion.

Zeng Tu was riding a tall, powerful black horse, showing off his skills in the training ground. He was dressed in magnificent armor, brandishing a long spear, and shouting loudly, "Behold my unparalleled spear skills, invincible under heaven!" He looked as if he were truly an invincible general on the battlefield.

The henchmen around him clapped and cheered, "Young Master is mighty!" "Young Master is unparalleled!"

Hearing these compliments, Zeng Tu became even more smug. He spurred his horse's flanks and shouted, "Baby, run faster! Let these guys see how powerful you are!"

The horse seemed disobedient, just walking slowly. Zeng Tu got impatient and whipped the horse's rump hard with the butt of his spear.

"You beast, run now!"

The horse, in pain, suddenly lunged forward. Caught off guard, Zeng Tu leaned back, nearly falling off. He frantically grabbed the reins, cursing, "You damned horse, how dare you disobey me!"

Just then, the horse suddenly stopped, and Zeng Tu flew forward, landing face-first in the mud with a thud.

The surrounding henchmen were stunned and fell silent for a moment.

Zeng Tu scrambled to his feet, his face covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled. He pointed at the horse and yelled, "You worthless horse, you're useless when it matters! I'll kill you!"

The horse seemed unconvinced, snorted, and flicked its tail.

Zeng Tu was so angry that he jumped up and down. Suddenly, he saw Gao Yanei and Wang Zhiqiang standing not far away. His face turned red and white in turns.

He casually straightened his armor and said loudly, "Hmph, I was just testing this horse's loyalty. I didn't expect this beast to be so worthless!"

Gao Yanei suppressed a laugh and stepped forward, saying, "Young Master Zeng, how have you been?"

Zeng Tu didn't even glance at Wang Zhiqiang and Gao Yanei, and snorted coldly: "What are they? I don't even care about them."

Wang Zhiqiang's smile froze, and he felt a little annoyed, but he still forced himself to say, "Young Master Zeng, we have come here with the utmost sincerity."

Gao Yanei quickly put on a smile and said, "Yes, Young Master Zeng, please don't refuse so quickly. Let's see what happens."

Zeng Tu remained disdainful, arms crossed: "Hmph, what good things could possibly catch my eye?"

Wang Zhiqiang quickly opened the box he had brought, revealing gold and silver jewelry that glittered brightly.

Zeng Tu glanced sideways, remaining unmoved: "That's all? What treasures doesn't Zengtou City have?"

Gao Yanei hurriedly said, "Young Master Zeng, this is only part of it, there's more." As he spoke, he had someone bring out another box of silk and satin.

Zeng Tu remained unmoved and even turned his head away.

Wang Zhiqiang gritted his teeth, took out a valuable painting and calligraphy, and said, "Young Master Zeng, this is an authentic work by a master from the previous dynasty."

Zeng Tu then turned his head slightly, glanced at it, but still stubbornly said, "It's nothing special."

Gao Yanei cursed Zeng Tu for being greedy in his heart, but his face was still full of smiles: "Young Master Zeng, don't jump to conclusions so quickly, there are better ones."

As he spoke, he led out a rare Akhal-Teke horse.

Zeng Tu's eyes lit up for a moment when he saw the horse, but he quickly regained his coldness: "This horse is not bad, but..."

Wang Zhiqiang quickly said, "Young Master Zeng, as long as you are willing to help us with this, all these things are yours."

Zeng Tu remained silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

Just as Wang Zhiqiang and Gao Yanei were filled with anticipation, Zeng Tu suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, you think you can buy me, Zeng Tu, with this? You're thinking too simply!"

Wang Zhiqiang and Gao Yanei's expressions changed drastically, unsure of what to do.