Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

The group walked along the path for a long time before finally arriving at a relatively safe place. As darkness fell, they decided to find a place to rest for the night.

Zhao Tianming found a relatively flat open space and had everyone sit down. Exhausted, everyone leaned against the tree trunks to rest.

Looking at the night sky, Pang Wanchun said worriedly, "Although we have temporarily escaped the government troops, they certainly won't give up easily. What should we do next?"

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Yong said, "We must find a way to contact other like-minded brothers and strengthen our forces so that we can contend with the government troops."

Shi Xiu chimed in, "Brother Wu is right, but now that we're keeping our whereabouts secret, how to pass on messages is a problem."

Yang Xiong said, "Why don't we send someone to make contact?"

Zhao Tianming shook his head: "It's too dangerous. If the government troops find out, not only will the messenger be in danger, but our location will also be exposed."

Just when everyone was at a loss, Pang Qiuxia suddenly said, "I have a solution."

Everyone looked at her, and Pang Qiuxia continued, "I know a special code that can be left in certain places, and only our people can understand it."

Everyone's eyes lit up; they thought this was a feasible solution.

The next morning, following Pang Qiuxia's plan, the group left coded messages at several key locations. They then continued their journey, searching for a place to temporarily settle down.

After several days of travel, they arrived at a remote village. The village appeared peaceful and serene, but no one dared to let their guard down.

Zhao Tianming and Wu Yong decided to go to the village to find out what was going on. When they entered the village, they found that the villagers looked at them with fear and closed their doors and windows.

Zhao Tianming found it strange and stopped an old man, asking, "Grandpa, why are you all so afraid of us?"

The old man said tremblingly, "You strangers, we don't know where you come from, we're afraid you'll bring disaster to the village."

Wu Yong quickly explained, "Old man, we are not bad people. We were just being chased by government troops and had no choice but to flee here."

The old man sighed, "Alas, these days, there is war everywhere, and we are suffering terribly."

Zhao Tianming said, "Old man, could you please take us in for a few days? We promise we won't cause any trouble for the village."

The old man hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

The group settled down temporarily in the village, but remained vigilant at all times.

However, a few days later, a group of strangers suddenly arrived in the village. Zhao Tianming and the others sensed something was wrong and secretly observed them.

It turned out that these strangers were spies from the government troops, and they had discovered the whereabouts of Zhao Tianming and his group.

Zhao Tianming made a decisive decision: "We can't let them go back and report to us. We must deal with them."

A fierce battle unfolded in the village. Zhao Tianming and his men, relying on their superior martial arts skills, quickly subdued the spies.

But they also knew they couldn't stay in the village any longer, as government troops would soon launch a large-scale search.

The group left the village and continued their escape.

After some investigation, Xiao Lie learned that a child had tipped off Zhao Tianming and his men, so he led a group of people to Qingping Village in a menacing manner. They searched the village thoroughly, frightening the villagers into a panic.

Xiao Lie grabbed a villager and asked fiercely, "Where does that child who tipped off the rebels live?" The villager trembled with fear and pointed to Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu's residence.

Xiao Lie led his men to Xiao Hu's house and kicked the door open. Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu stared in horror at the menacing group that had stormed into their home.

"Old man, your grandson informed the rebels, what is his punishment?!" Xiao Lie roared.

Uncle Lin protected Xiao Hu and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, the child is ignorant. He is just kind-hearted and was deceived by those people."

Xiao Lie sneered, "Enough nonsense, tell me where they went, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Little Tiger stubbornly shouted, "I won't tell, they are good people!"

Enraged, Xiao Lie drew his sword and held it to Lin Bo's neck: "If you don't talk, I'll kill him!"

Little Tiger cried out in desperation, "Don't hurt my grandpa!"

Xiao Lie's subordinate Zhang Yong said to Xiao Lie, "General Xiao, take this old man and the child back with us. As the saying goes, you can run away from the monk but you can't hide from the temple. With this old man and the child in our hands, we won't be afraid that Zhao Tianming and Pang Wanchun, these rebels, won't take the bait. They all consider themselves heroes and will definitely not disregard the life or death of this old man and the child."

Xiao Lie patted Zhang Yong on the shoulder and said, "You're a pretty smart kid, let's do it this way."

Lin Bo and Xiao Hu were filled with fear upon hearing their conversation. Lin Bo hugged Xiao Hu tightly and said, "Sir, please let us go. The child really doesn't know anything."

Xiao Lie snorted coldly: "Enough talk, take him away!"

The soldiers stepped forward and roughly dragged Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu up. Xiao Hu struggled and shouted, "Let go of me and Grandpa!"

Zhang Yong said menacingly, "Behave yourselves, or you'll regret it!"

Xiao Lie and his group left Qingping Village with Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu, returning to their camp.

In the camp, Xiao Lie had Lin Bo and Xiao Hu imprisoned in a simple tent.

Xiao Lie said to Zhang Yong, "Send someone to spread the word in the vicinity that the old man and the child are in our hands, and that if Zhao Tianming and his men have the guts, they should come and rescue them."

Zhang Yong nodded and replied, "Don't worry, General, I'll make the arrangements right away."

The news quickly spread throughout the martial arts world, and Zhao Tianming and others also learned that Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu had been captured.

Zhao Tianming said angrily, "Xiao Lie is such a despicable scoundrel, he actually used such methods."

Upon hearing the news that Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu had been arrested, Pang Wanchun, Pang Qiuxia, Shi Xiu, and Yang Xiong were all filled with righteous indignation and wished they could rush to their rescue immediately.

Wu Yong raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down. He said with a solemn expression, "Brothers, don't be impatient. Xiao Lie's words are clearly a trap to lure us into a pit. We still don't know if Xiao Hu and Uncle Lin are in the tent. If we rush in, we will not only fail to rescue them, but we will also get ourselves into trouble."

Although everyone was anxious, they also felt that Wu Yong's words made sense.

Shi Xiu stamped his feet anxiously: "What should we do? Are we just going to stand by and watch Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu be in danger?"

At this moment, Yan Qing, who had been silent until now, stepped forward: "Mr. Wu is right, we cannot act rashly. I am willing to go with Brother Pang to scout the vicinity of the camp. If we can sneak into the camp, that would be best. Remember, we must not alert them."

Pang Wanchun nodded and agreed, "Alright, we'll do as Brother Yanqing says."

So Yan Qing and Pang Wanchun disguised themselves and quietly made their way towards Xiao Lie's camp.

Along the way, they carefully avoided patrolling government troops, trying their best not to attract anyone's attention.

Finally approaching the camp, they saw that the camp was heavily guarded, with soldiers patrolling back and forth, and the defense was very tight.

After observing for a while, Yan Qing whispered to Pang Wanchun, "Brother Pang, it seems that it won't be easy to sneak in. Let's check the outside first."

Pang Wanchun replied, "Alright, I'll listen to Brother Yanqing."

They moved stealthily around the tents, trying to find a weakness.

Suddenly, Yan Qing noticed that the defenses behind one of the tents were relatively weak, and perhaps he could sneak in from there.

"Brother Pang, look over there." Yan Qing pointed in that direction.

Pang Wanchun looked at it and said, "Let's go take a look."

The two quietly approached the place and, taking advantage of the change of patrol soldiers, quickly slipped behind the tent.

Upon entering the tent, they found several soldiers drinking and chatting inside.

Yan Qing and Pang Wanchun hid in the shadows, listening to their conversation.

"I heard they captured the old man and the child, and are just waiting for Zhao Tianming and his men to walk right into their trap," a soldier said.

"Hmph, they definitely won't be able to escape this time," another soldier chimed in.

Yan Qing and Pang Wanchun exchanged a glance, realizing that Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu were indeed imprisoned here.

They continued to carefully search for the place where Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu were being held.

Finally, in a corner, they heard Little Tiger crying.

Yan Qing and Pang Wanchun quietly approached and saw that Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu were locked in a simple cage.

"Grandpa, I'm scared," Little Tiger sobbed.

Uncle Lin comforted him, "Don't be afraid, child, Zhao Tianming and the others will definitely come to save us."

Yan Qing and Pang Wanchun were relieved to see that they were safe and sound.

Pang Wanchun said in a low voice, "Brother Yanqing, let's go back and discuss countermeasures with everyone."

Yan Qing nodded, and the two carefully left the tent.

Back at their hiding place, Yan Qing and Pang Wanchun gave everyone a detailed account of what they had found out.

After listening, Wu Yong pondered for a moment and said, "Now that we know their location, we need to plan how to rescue them."

Yang Xiong said, "Let's charge straight in and catch them off guard."

Wu Yong shook his head: "No, that would be too risky, and it could easily hurt Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu."

Pang Qiuxia said, "Why don't we make our move tonight when they're off guard?"

Wu Yong said, "That's one way, but we still need to figure out their nighttime patrol patterns and troop deployment."

Everyone nodded and began to discuss the specific action plan.

After some discussion, they decided that Yan Qing would lead a group of people to create chaos outside the camp to attract the attention of the government troops, while Wu Yong would lead the others to sneak in during the chaos and rescue Lin Bo and Xiao Hu.

As night falls, the action begins.

Yan Qing and his men lit torches outside the camp and shouted loudly, causing a commotion among the government troops.

Xiao Lie stepped out of the tent and shouted, "Don't panic! Hold the line!"

Meanwhile, Wu Yong and his men took the opportunity to sneak into the camp.

Following the pre-planned route, they quickly located the place where Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu were being held.

"Uncle Lin, Little Tiger, we've come to rescue you," Wu Yong said softly.

Uncle Lin and Xiao Hu were both surprised and delighted.

Wu Yong opened the cage and led them outside.

Just as Wu Yong was leading Xiao Hu out, Xiao Hu suddenly pulled a gleaming short knife from his sleeve and stabbed at Wu Yong. This unexpected turn of events stunned everyone. Wu Yong reacted quickly, dodging to the side, but his arm was still slashed.

"Little Tiger, why are you doing this?" Wu Yong shouted in surprise and anger.