Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

After Wu Yong devised the plan that an arrogant army would surely be defeated, the Liangshan heroes began to act accordingly.

As expected, Hu Sanniang came to challenge them again. Mounted on her horse, she was valiant and spirited, shouting, "You Liangshan bandits, come out and face your death!"

Song Jiang, suppressing his anger, said to Wu Yong, "Strategist, this woman is extremely arrogant."

Wu Yong smiled slightly and said, "Brother, don't be impatient. Let's see how long she can be so arrogant."

Song Jiang ordered the camp gates to be closed and not to go out to fight. Hu Sanniang shouted and cursed outside the camp for a long time. Seeing that the Liangshan people did not react, she became even more smug, thinking that the Liangshan heroes were afraid of her.

For several days in a row, Hu Sanniang came to challenge them, but Liangshan still kept their sign of truce up. Inside the Zhu Family Village, Hu Sanniang said to Zhu Biao, "Those Liangshan bandits must be terrified of me and dare not fight." Zhu Biao echoed, "Sanniang is brave and will surely defeat them in one fell swoop."

As a result, Hu Sanniang and the people of Zhu Family Village became even more complacent about their enemy.

Seeing that the time was right, Wu Yong said to Song Jiang, "Brother, now is the time to go into battle."

Song Jiang mustered his troops and led them out of the camp. Seeing that Liangshan had finally sent out their troops, Hu Sanniang laughed, "You finally dare to come out today! Watch how I deal with you!"

Both sides arrayed themselves for battle, and Hu Sanniang spurred her horse forward, charging straight at Song Jiang. On the Liangshan side, a general met her, fought several rounds with Hu Sanniang, then feigned defeat and retreated. This further convinced Hu Sanniang that no one on Liangshan could rival her.

Then, several more Liangshan generals went into battle, but they all put up a brief resistance before retreating. Hu Sanniang, caught up in the excitement of the battle, pursued them relentlessly.

Unbeknownst to her, Hu Sanniang had already distanced herself from the main force of the Zhu Family Village. At this moment, Wu Yong gave an order, and ambushes suddenly appeared from both sides of Liangshan, surrounding Hu Sanniang completely.

Hu Sanniang then realized she had fallen into a trap, but it was too late. She fought desperately, trying to break through the encirclement, but the Liangshan bandits had already laid a trap.

Lin Chong thrust out with his spear and shouted, "Hu Sanniang, you will not escape today!" Lin Chong's spear skills were superb, and Hu Sanniang gradually found it difficult to defend herself.

At this moment, Lu Zhishen, wielding his monk's staff, attacked from the other side. Caught off guard, Hu Sanniang was struck by Lu Zhishen's staff, which struck her horse. Startled, the horse threw Hu Sanniang off.

The Liangshan heroes swarmed forward and captured Hu Sanniang alive.

Looking at the captured Hu Sanniang, Song Jiang said, "You are a woman with superb martial arts skills, but you underestimated your opponent too much."

Hu Sanniang gritted her teeth and remained silent, filled with remorse.

The Liangshan heroes, accompanied by Hu Sanniang, returned victorious to their camp to prepare for their next plan.

Upon learning that his younger sister, Hu Sanniang, had been captured by Song Jiang, Hu Cheng was extremely anxious and immediately rushed to Zhu Biao's place.

Hu Cheng rushed into Zhu Biao's lobby, his face full of anxiety and urgency.

"Young Master Zhu, my sister has been captured by Song Jiang's band of bandits. I beg you to consider our past relationship and find a way to rescue her." Hu Cheng clasped his hands and bowed, his voice filled with pleading.

Zhu Biao sat in the chair, his brows furrowed, his mind filled with hesitation.

Just as Zhu Biao remained silent, Gao Ke and Gao Yanei exchanged a glance, and Gao Ke stepped forward and said, "Young Master Zhu, we must not agree to Hu Cheng's demands."

Zhu Biao looked at Gao Ke and asked in confusion, "Lord Gao, why is that?"

Gao Ke said in a sinister tone, "Young Master Zhu, Hu Sanniang has now been captured and is a prisoner of Liangshan. If we rashly send troops to rescue her, what if we fall into Liangshan's ambush? Wouldn't that be a loss? Moreover, Hu Sanniang will do anything to save his sister. If we suffer losses because of this, it would be a great loss."

Gao Yanei chimed in, "Indeed, Brother Zhu. Hu Cheng usually relies on the power of his Hu Family Village and may not be truly loyal to the Zhu Family Village. Now that his sister has been captured, he might be hoping to use our strength to rescue her and then take the opportunity to strengthen his Hu Family Village."

As Zhu Biao listened to their conversation, his face grew increasingly gloomy, and the scales in his heart began to tip.

Upon hearing this, Hu Cheng hurriedly said, "Young Master Zhu, I, Hu Cheng, am utterly loyal to the Zhu Family Village and have no other intentions. My sister only became an enemy of Liangshan for the sake of the Zhu Family Village. Now that she is in danger, I hope that Young Master Zhu will remember our past friendship and lend a helping hand."

Gao Ke sneered, "Hu Cheng, you make it sound nice. But who will bear this risk? What if we can't save Hu Sanniang and instead plunge the Zhu Family Village into crisis? Can you take responsibility?"

Hu Cheng glared at Gao Ke and said, "Lord Gao, you're refusing to help someone in distress!"

Gao Yanei said sarcastically, "Hmph, it's not that we don't want to save him, it's that we can't. Hu Cheng, you should go back and think about it carefully."

Zhu Biao finally spoke up: "Hu Cheng, I need to consider this matter further. You should go back first."

Hu Cheng looked at Zhu Biao in despair, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger: "Zhu Biao, if you don't save my sister, I, Hu Cheng, will sever all ties with your Zhu Family Village!" After saying that, he turned and left.

Zhu Biao watched Hu Cheng's departing figure, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Gao Ke and Gao Yanei, on the other hand, were secretly pleased with themselves, feeling that they had successfully prevented Zhu Biao from making a risky decision.

Seeing that Zhu Biao and the others refused to help, Hu Cheng was so angry that he trembled all over. After returning to Hu Family Village, he paced back and forth in his study, his anger burning ever brighter.

"These heartless and ungrateful people! My sister fought to the death for them, and now that she's in trouble, they refuse to help her!" Hu Cheng muttered to himself through gritted teeth.

After a moment of contemplation, a resolute glint flashed in Hu Cheng's eyes, and he summoned his trusted confidant, Hu Yong. As soon as Hu Yong entered the room, he sensed the heavy atmosphere.

"Young master, you wanted to see me?" Hu Yong asked cautiously.

Hu Cheng stopped and looked at Hu Yong with a firm gaze, saying, "Hu Yong, I have an extremely important matter to entrust to you."

Hu Yong cupped his hands and said, "Please speak, young master. I will gladly die for you."

Hu Cheng walked to his desk, picked up a pen, and quickly wrote a secret letter. He then handed the letter to Hu Yong and solemnly said, "Take this secret letter and quietly go to Song Jiang's camp to deliver it to him. Remember, you must be extremely careful and not let anyone discover this."

Hu Yong took the letter, carefully tucked it into his pocket, and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, young master, I understand."

Hu Cheng then instructed, "When you see Song Jiang, tell him that I am willing to work with them from the inside to help them capture Zhu Biao and Gao Yanei's gang. But they must promise to release my sister Hu Sanniang after the deed is done."

Hu Yong replied, "Yes, young master."

Then, under the cover of night, Hu Yong changed into inconspicuous clothes and quietly left Hu Family Village. Along the way, he avoided crowds, choosing only small paths and remaining constantly vigilant about his surroundings.

Halfway there, he suddenly heard footsteps and quickly hid in the bushes beside him. He saw several patrolling villagers walk by, and only after they had gone far away did Hu Yong continue on his way.

Finally arriving near the Liangshan camp, Hu Yong cautiously observed his surroundings, looking for an opportunity to enter. Taking advantage of a shift change, he quickly slipped into the camp.

The Liangshan soldiers spotted him and immediately surrounded him, drawing their swords. Hu Yong quickly explained his purpose: "Heroes, I am a trusted confidant of Young Master Hu Cheng, and I have important matters to discuss with Leader Song Jiang."

The soldiers dared not delay and brought him before Song Jiang.

Upon seeing Song Jiang, Hu Yong hurriedly took out a secret letter from his pocket and handed it over: "Chief Song, this is what my young master asked me to give you."

Song Jiang opened the letter, read it, and smiled. He said to Hu Yong, "Go back and tell your young master that I, Song Jiang, have agreed to his conditions."

Hu Yong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Chief Song. I will go back and report now."

After saying this, Hu Yong hurriedly left the Liangshan camp and returned to Hu Family Village.

Somehow, an inconspicuous farmhand learned of Hu Cheng's secret meeting with Song Jiang. This farmhand was Zhu Biao's informant, and upon receiving the news, he hurriedly ran to report it to Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao was drinking alone in his room, feeling extremely annoyed by Hu Sanniang's capture. Upon hearing the servant's report, he slammed his wine cup to the ground with a loud crash, his eyes wide with rage, and roared, "That Hu Cheng! How dare he collude with the Liangshan bandits! I'll kill him!" With that, he drew his sword and charged out.

At this moment, Gao Lian patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder and said, "Brother Zhu, calm down."

Zhu Biao glared angrily at Gao Lian and roared, "How can I tolerate this? Hu Cheng betrayed me, and killing him is the only way to quell my hatred!"

Gao Lian smiled slightly, a sly glint in his eyes: "Brother Zhu, your impulsiveness has fallen right into their trap."

Zhu Biao frowned and asked in confusion, "Lord Gao, what do you mean by that?"

Gao Lian stroked his beard and said slowly, "In my opinion, Hu Cheng is colluding with Liangshan and must have a grand scheme. If we kill him now, we will not only alert them but also put ourselves in a passive position. It would be better to play the long game, see what they are up to, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop."

Zhu Biao's anger subsided slightly after hearing this, but he was still furious: "Then, in Lord Gao's opinion, what should we do?"

Gao Lian leaned closer to Zhu Biao and lowered his voice, saying, "Let's remain calm and secretly send people to monitor Hu Cheng's every move. When they make any moves with Liangshan, we'll launch a surprise attack and deliver a fatal blow. This way, we can both eliminate the traitor Hu Cheng and thwart Liangshan's conspiracy. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment, and finding Gao Lian's words reasonable, nodded: "What Lord Gao said is very true, then we will proceed according to your plan."

Gao Lian smiled smugly: "Brother Zhu, rest assured, with me here, I will definitely not let Hu Cheng and Liangshan succeed."

Therefore, Zhu Biao ordered his trusted subordinates to closely monitor Hu Cheng's movements, waiting for the opportune moment to wipe them all out. Meanwhile, Hu Cheng was completely unaware of the danger he had exposed and was still secretly preparing a plan to coordinate with Liangshan from within and without.

A cool night breeze blew by. Zhu Biao, leading a group of farmhands, had just finished a patrol and his face showed signs of exhaustion.

Hu Cheng stepped forward, looked at Zhu Biao's tired face, and said with concern, "Brother Zhu, you've been working too hard these past few nights patrolling. Let me take over for you tonight, so you can get some rest."

Zhu Biao raised his head, looked at Hu Cheng, a hint of gratitude flashing in his eyes, smiled, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Hu Cheng. These past few days, to guard against the Liangshan bandits, none of us have had a good night's sleep."

Hu Cheng quickly waved his hand and said sincerely, "Brother Zhu, what are you saying? Protecting the manor is our shared responsibility. You can rest assured and rest. I will definitely patrol carefully and not let any clue slip by."

Zhu Biao patted Hu Cheng on the shoulder, his tone tinged with relief: "With Brother Hu Cheng's words, I am naturally at ease. However, the Liangshan bandits are cunning and treacherous, so you must be careful, brother."

Hu Cheng nodded heavily and replied, "Brother Zhu, rest assured, I understand. You should go and rest to make sure you're well-rested, as there are many matters that will require your attention tomorrow."

Zhu Biao smiled again, turned around, and led the villagers away. Watching Zhu Biao's departing figure, a complex emotion flashed in Hu Cheng's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

He thought to himself, "Zhu Biao, you are heartless and ungrateful, refusing to save my sister. Now, for the sake of Third Sister, I can no longer care about our past relationship."

Meanwhile, on his way back, Zhu Biao couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Hu Cheng's initiative today is somewhat unexpected. I hope he is truly thinking of the estate."

With a hint of doubt, Zhu Biao returned to his room, but tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

The night grew deeper. Hu Cheng led his men on patrol, his mind not on guarding against Liangshan, but on plotting how to coordinate with Liangshan from within and without to achieve his own plan.