Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

After hearing the information gathered by Xie Zhen and Xie Bao, Wu Yong had already formulated a preliminary plan. However, they never expected that it was all a trap meticulously designed by the enemy.

The group began to discuss the matter in the tent.

Wu Yong said, "Judging from the news brought back by the Xie brothers, Xie Zhen and Xie Bao, Wang Zhiqiang is closely colluding with the Liao army. We need to find a way to break their alliance and expose their conspiracy."

Song Jiang frowned and said, "But how can we do that?"

Wu Yong gently shook his feather fan, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I have a plan. We can send someone to impersonate Wang Zhiqiang's confidant and deliver false intelligence to the Liao army, so as to create discord among them."

Lu Junyi nodded and said, "This plan is excellent, but who should we send?"

At this moment, Li Kui shouted, "I'll go! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

Song Jiang scolded, "Tie Niu, you are reckless and impulsive; you are not capable of handling such delicate matters."

Ultimately, Wu Yong decided to send Yan Qing to carry out this mission.

After disguising himself, Yan Qing went to the Liao army camp with fabricated intelligence.

However, all of this was within the enemy's calculations. It turned out that Gao Ke had already seen through Wu Yong's scheme. He played along, deliberately showing that he believed the false information, allowing Yan Qing to leave smoothly.

Yan Qing returned to the camp and reported to everyone that the mission was complete. Wu Yong and the others were secretly pleased, believing the plan had succeeded.

But soon they realized something was wrong. Some border merchants who had been in contact with them suddenly disappeared, Zhao Tianming's caravan faced even more severe obstruction, and some soldiers even came to the camp to provoke them.

Wu Yong realized they might have fallen into a trap and said, "This is bad, we've probably been outmaneuvered by the enemy."

Song Jiang said anxiously, "What should we do?"

Just as everyone was anxious, another scout reported that the Liao army was gathering in large numbers and preparing to launch an attack.

Wu Yong's expression turned grave. He said, "It seems the enemy intends to annihilate us in one fell swoop."

Zhao Tianming said, "We can't just sit here and wait to die; we have to find a way to deal with it."

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Yong said, "Our only option now is to feign a retreat and lure the enemy into our pre-prepared ambush."

Everyone nodded and began preparing to retreat.

But during their retreat, they encountered various obstacles. Roads were destroyed, water sources were poisoned, and food supplies were burned.

Jie Zhen said, "This enemy is too cunning; we are at a disadvantage at every turn."

Jie Bao said angrily, "Once I catch them, I'll definitely teach them a lesson."

At this moment, Wu Yong understood that they were facing an extremely complex and dangerous situation.

As they feigned a retreat according to plan, the Liao army pursued them relentlessly. Gao Ke thought victory was assured, unaware that he had fallen into Wu Yong's ambush.

However, at the crucial moment, the reinforcements that were supposed to arrive failed to appear. It turned out that Cai Jing and Gao Qiu had secretly bribed the commander of this force, instructing them to remain inactive.

Wu Yong and his companions found themselves in an extremely dangerous situation.

Song Jiang said, "Are we going to lose our lives here today?"

Zhao Tianming encouraged everyone, saying, "Don't give up, as long as we persevere, there is still hope."

Just as everyone was fighting desperately, shouts of battle suddenly came from afar. It turned out that Li Gang was leading some loyal and righteous men to come and support them.

Li Gang shouted, "Don't be afraid, everyone, I'm coming!"

With Li Gang's support, the situation gradually turned around. In the end, Wu Yong and his men successfully repelled the Liao army, temporarily averting the crisis.

But they also knew that this was only a temporary victory, the enemy's conspiracy had not yet been fully exposed, and the road ahead was still full of challenges.

After the battle, everyone gathered together, and Wu Yong said with emotion, "If it weren't for Lord Li Gang's help, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Li Gang said, "In times of national crisis, we should all work together."

Zhao Tianming said, "But since the enemy's plot failed this time, they will definitely launch another attack. We need to be even more careful."

After suffering a defeat in his battles against Zhao Tianming and the Liangshan army, Gao Ke was filled with resentment and vowed revenge. In his tent, the flickering candlelight illuminated his distorted face.

"How could I, Gao Ke, let this go so easily!" He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

Knowing that a direct assault would be difficult to win, he decided to adopt a more covert and complex strategy to wear down Zhao Tianming and Liangshan's army.

Gao Ke first used his connections in the Liao Kingdom to collude with some unscrupulous merchants and establish a seemingly legitimate chamber of commerce. This chamber ostensibly engaged in normal trade activities, but in reality, it secretly manipulated market prices, especially for the supplies Zhao Tianming relied on. They hoarded large quantities of necessities such as grain and medicine, then inflated prices, causing Zhao Tianming's procurement costs to rise sharply.

Meanwhile, Gao Ke sent spies to infiltrate the villages surrounding the Liangshan army. These spies, disguised as ordinary people, spread various rumors that the Liangshan army was colluding with Zhao Tianming and intending to seize the people's land and property. This caused some uninformed people to develop fear and hostility towards the Liangshan army, and they were no longer willing to provide them with support and assistance.

In military matters, Gao Ke deliberately sent small groups of troops to frequently harass the Liangshan army's defenses. These troops did not actually attack, but merely created a tense atmosphere, keeping the Liangshan army constantly on guard, highly stressed, and exhausted.

Zhao Tianming quickly noticed the abnormal fluctuations in the prices of goods, but he couldn't find the root cause for the time being.

"There must be someone manipulating this behind the scenes, but who is it?" He fell into deep thought.

The Liangshan army also noticed the change in the people's attitude. Song Jiang said with great concern, "We must clarify these rumors as soon as possible and restore the people's trust in us."

Wu Yong calmly analyzed, "This series of actions is by no means accidental; it must be Gao Ke's conspiracy. But his purpose is not just these; we must be careful that he has follow-up methods."

Just as Wu Yong had predicted, Gao Ke resorted to another treacherous scheme. He sent men to poison the Liangshan army's water source, causing many soldiers to fall ill. At the same time, he bribed some lower-ranking soldiers in the Liangshan army, inciting them to riot, attempting to undermine the unity of the Liangshan army from within.

The Liangshan army was in an unprecedented predicament. Shortages of supplies, misunderstandings among the people, sick soldiers, and internal instability made their situation extremely precarious.

Zhao Tianming was extremely anxious, and he ran around trying to solve these problems.

“We cannot let Gao Ke’s plot succeed, no matter what,” he said firmly.

Gao Ke, however, was secretly pleased with himself, feeling that his plan was being realized step by step.

However, Zhao Tianming and the Liangshan army did not sit idly by. On the one hand, they strengthened internal management, investigated the rioting soldiers, and exposed the bribed traitors; on the other hand, they sent people to investigate the cause of the water poisoning and to find a new water source.

Meanwhile, Wu Yong devised a counterattack plan. They deliberately spread rumors that the Liangshan army had acquired a large amount of wealth and supplies and was preparing to transfer them to a secret location. Gao Ke, upon receiving this information, believed it to be true and dispatched a large number of troops to intercept them.

But this was actually a trap set by the Liangshan army. When Gao Ke's army arrived at the so-called "secret location," they were ambushed by the Liangshan army. In an instant, shouts of battle rose up, and Gao Ke's army fell into chaos.

Gao Ke was furious when he realized he had fallen into a trap.

"Damn it, they tricked us!"

But he did not give up; instead, he decided to intensify his efforts to carry out his conspiracy.

He once again manipulated the Chamber of Commerce, cutting off all supplies to Zhao Tianming and creating a series of conflicts on the border in an attempt to provoke a war between the two countries and put the Liangshan army in an even more difficult situation.

Zhao Tianming and the Liangshan army faced immense pressure, but they never gave up.

"We must persevere and find a way to break this deadlock," Song Jiang encouraged the group.

After a thorough investigation and analysis, Wu Yong discovered the secret communications between Gao Ke and the Chamber of Commerce. Using this as evidence, they appealed to the imperial court, requesting its intervention.

After learning the truth of the matter, the imperial court decided to punish Gao Ke and sent reinforcements and supplies to support the Liangshan army.

With the support of the imperial court, Zhao Tianming and the Liangshan army gradually turned the tide. They stabilized the supply of materials, restored good relations with the people, and brought the soldiers' illnesses under control.

In his tent, Gao Ke wrote a secret letter to Wang Zhiqiang with a solemn expression, instructing him to contact Cai Jing and Gao Qiu and to find a way to deal with Zhao Tianming.

After receiving the letter, Wang Zhiqiang racked his brains for a solution. He turned his attention to money shops.

Wang Zhiqiang first secretly bribed the managers of several large money shops, instructing them to join forces and tighten lending to Zhao Tianming's businesses. Zhao Tianming's businesses often relied on these money shops for cash flow, and this sudden tightening of loans immediately strained his cash flow.

Next, Wang Zhiqiang instructed these money shops to spread rumors that Zhao Tianming's businesses were suffering huge losses, were on the verge of bankruptcy, and were unable to repay their debts. This caused other money shops to also refuse to do any business with Zhao Tianming, fearing they would be implicated.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhiqiang used his connections to get some wealthy businessmen with close ties to him to withdraw large sums of cash from the money shop, causing a cash crunch. He then forced the money shop manager to use this as an excuse to expedite loan repayments from Zhao Tianming, deliberately imposing harsh repayment conditions.

Zhao Tianming soon felt the pressure as his business ran into trouble due to a shortage of funds.

"What exactly is going on? Why are the money houses suddenly being so harsh on me?" Zhao Tianming was full of doubts.

Wang Zhiqiang did not stop there. He bribed some of the money shop employees to deliberately delay and make things difficult for Zhao Tianming's subordinates when handling business, making the allocation of funds even more difficult.

In addition, Wang Zhiqiang also arranged for some local thugs to pose as debt collectors and cause trouble in front of Zhao Tianming's shops and residence every day, creating psychological and social pressure on Zhao Tianming.

Zhao Tianming realized that this was a premeditated attack, but he couldn't find the mastermind behind it for the time being.