Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Zhao Tianming and his men decided to take a risk and, according to their plan, set up an ambush on the route that Gao Qiu would take to escort Pang Wanchun to the capital.

Wu Yong carefully arranged his men: "Brother Shi Jin, you lead a team to ambush on the left hillside. When Gao Qiu's troops pass by, charge out on my command. Brother Shi Xiu, you lead your men to hide in the woods on the right and prepare to cut off their retreat. Brother Zhao Tianming, you and I will provide support from the center."

Everyone nodded in agreement and took their places.

Meanwhile, Liu Neng, believing his plan to be flawless, smugly assured Gao Qiu, "Rest assured, my lord, this time we will ensure those rebels never return."

Gao Qiu sat in the carriage and sneered, "Hmph, if you fail again, you'll come back with your head."

The escort team set off, and Pang Wanchun was imprisoned in a prison van, looking tired but with a determined look in his eyes.

Zhao Tianming and the others waited nervously, their palms sweating.

Finally, Gao Qiu's troops entered the ambush. Wu Yong seized the opportunity and gave the order: "Kill!"

Shi Jin led his men down the hillside like tigers descending a mountain, shouting, "You old scoundrel Gao Qiu, prepare to die!"

Gao Qiu's troops were thrown into chaos, and the soldiers were in a panic.

Shi Xiu and his men emerged from the woods on the right, cutting off their retreat.

Zhao Tianming and Wu Yong led the main force straight towards the prison cart, hoping to rescue Pang Wanchun.

Seeing this, Liu Neng shouted, "Don't panic! Hold the line!"

Gao Qiu leaned out of the carriage and roared, "Kill them all! Don't let a single traitor escape!"

The two sides engaged in fierce combat. Zhao Tianming and his men were incredibly brave, but Gao Qiu's troops were well-trained, and for a time, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Just then, an unexpected event occurred. The situation, which was thought to be under control, suddenly reversed. A group of elite archers suddenly appeared in Gao Qiu's ranks, took up high ground, and started shooting arrows at Zhao Tianming and his men.

"Watch out!" Wu Yong shouted.

In an instant, many of our brothers were hit by arrows and injured.

Zhao Tianming's eyes widened in anger: "That old scoundrel Gao Qiu, how could he be so insidious!"

But there was no way out at this point; they had no choice but to fight to the death.

Shi Jin brandished his club, knocking down a group of enemies, and shouted, "Brothers, charge!"

Shi Xiu was not to be outdone. With his agile movements, he dodged the rain of arrows and killed the enemy.

While directing the battle, Wu Yong observed the situation and anxiously considered countermeasures.

Just at this critical moment, Yan Qing arrived with a team of reinforcements.

"Brothers, I'm here to help you!" Yan Qing shouted.

The reinforcements brought by Yan Qing injected new strength into Zhao Tianming and his men, and the situation began to gradually turn around.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Gao Qiu secretly thought to himself that something was wrong.

Liu Neng said in a panic, "My lord, I'm afraid we can't hold them off."

Gao Qiu gritted his teeth: "Withdraw!"

Following Gao Qiu's orders, his troops began to rout and retreat.

Following Gao Qiu's orders, his troops began to rout and retreat.

Zhao Tianming and others successfully rescued Pang Wanchun.

"Thank you all for saving me, brothers," Pang Wanchun said gratefully.

Zhao Tianming patted him on the shoulder: "We're brothers, no need to be so polite."

However, before everyone could celebrate, Wu Yong said with a solemn expression, "Although Gao Qiu has been defeated this time, he will not give up easily. We must come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible."

After Zhao Tianming and the others successfully rescued Pang Wanchun, before they could even catch their breath, Wu Yong anxiously asked, "Brother Pang Wanchun, where is your sister Pang Qiuxia now?"

Pang Wanchun's eyes flickered for a moment before he quickly said, "My sister has been imprisoned by Gao Qiu in an abandoned manor outside the city."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately prepared to set off to rescue them.

Along the way, Pang Wanchun led the way, walking briskly. Wu Yong didn't notice anything unusual at first, but as the journey progressed, a sense of unease gradually arose in his heart.

The direction they were leading was becoming increasingly remote, with no one around and not even a decent road. Wu Yong frowned and called out to Pang Wanchun, who was walking ahead, "Wait, Brother Pang, are you sure this is the right way?"

Pang Wanchun nodded without hesitation: "That's right, this is the way."

Wu Yong stopped and looked at Pang Wanchun with a scrutinizing gaze: "But this place is so desolate, why would Gao Qiu imprison someone here?"

Pang Wanchun replied, "That old scoundrel Gao Qiu is cunning; perhaps he thinks this place is not easy to be discovered."

Wu Yong remained silent for a moment, then continued forward, but his doubts grew stronger.

After walking for a while, the group came to a valley. Pang Wanchun pointed to the depths of the valley and said, "If we go through this valley, we'll be there soon."

Wu Yong stared at the narrow valley passage, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. He pulled Zhao Tianming aside and whispered, "Brother Tianming, I feel something is amiss. Pang Wanchun's behavior is far too eager, and this route is highly suspicious."

Zhao Tianming also became alert: "Brother Wu Yong, what should we do?"

After thinking for a moment, Wu Yong said, "Don't alert them yet. Continue to follow them, but everyone must be extra careful."

The group cautiously entered the valley. The surrounding silence was unsettling.

Suddenly, Wu Yong noticed that Pang Wanchun quickened his pace, as if he was deliberately leading them deeper into the valley.

"Oh no, this might be a trap!" Wu Yong shouted.

But at that moment, shouts of battle suddenly rang out from both sides of the valley, and countless arrows rained down upon them.

"Get cover!" Zhao Tianming shouted.

Everyone tried to dodge, but many of the brothers were still hit by arrows and injured.

Wu Yong glared at Pang Wanchun: "You traitor!"

Pang Wanchun then revealed a sinister smile: "Haha, you've fallen for their trap!"

It turns out that this Pang Wanchun was someone Gao Qiu had hired to impersonate him, deliberately luring them into this trap.

Zhao Tianming gritted his teeth in anger: "That old scoundrel Gao Qiu, how could he be so despicable!"

While dodging the arrows, Wu Yong observed the surrounding terrain and pondered a way to break through the encirclement.

"Don't panic, everyone! Follow me and rush out!" Wu Yong shouted.

Led by Wu Yong, the group attempted to break out of the valley. However, the enemy forces were numerous and held the exit firmly.

Just when everyone was in dire straits, Yan Qing arrived with a group of reinforcements.

"Brothers, hold on!" Yan Qing shouted.

The arrival of reinforcements eased the situation slightly, but the enemy still held the advantage.

Wu Yong knew that the battle could not last long, so he said to Yan Qing, "Brother Yan Qing, you lead a group of men to launch a feint attack from the flank to draw the enemy's attention, while Brother Zhao Tianming and I take the opportunity to break through from the front."

Yan Qing accepted the order and left.

With everyone's close cooperation, they finally managed to create an opening and successfully break through.

However, this trap resulted in heavy losses for them, with many of their brothers killed or wounded, and it also delayed the rescue of Pang Qiuxia.

"It was all my carelessness that led me to fall into Gao Qiu's treacherous trap," Wu Yong said, blaming himself.

Zhao Tianming comforted him, "Wu Xuejiu, don't blame yourself. We will definitely find a way to rescue Pang Qiuxia and prevent Gao Qiu's conspiracy from succeeding."

After breaking through the valley, the group quickly found a safe place to rest.

Wu Yong's face was gloomy, and he was full of regret: "This time it was my negligence that I failed to see through the treacherous scheme of that fake Pang Wanchun, causing my brothers to suffer such losses."

Zhao Tianming said, "Scholar, don't blame yourself too much. Gao Qiu is cunning and treacherous; who could have predicted that he would resort to such despicable means? The most urgent matter is how to rescue Pang Qiuxia."

Shi Jin chimed in, "Yes, we can't let this go. We must make that scoundrel Gao Qiu pay the price!"

Everyone was filled with righteous indignation and vowed to fight Gao Qiu to the end.

Wu Yong pondered for a moment and said, "Although Gao Qiu's conspiracy did not wipe us out this time, I expect he will not let it go. Perhaps he has already planted spies all around us. We need to be careful and devise a new rescue plan."

Shi Xiu said, "Then, according to the scholar's opinion, what should we do?"

Wu Yong's gaze was firm: "First, we'll send people to secretly investigate Gao Qiu's residence to see if he has moved Pang Qiuxia elsewhere. In addition, we'll try to contact the righteous people in the city who are on good terms with us to see if we can obtain some useful intelligence."

Everyone nodded in agreement and then split up to carry out Wu Yong's plan.

Several days passed, and the spies sent out returned one after another.

“Scholar, Gao Qiu’s mansion is heavily guarded. It’s impossible to tell whether Pang Qiuxia is still there.”

"Even the scholars and righteous men in the city have not been able to find out any definite news."

As Wu Yong listened to these reports, his heart grew heavier.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Yan Qing brought news: "Scholar, I overheard one of Gao Qiu's confidants in the city revealing after drinking that Pang Qiuxia seems to be hidden in one of Gao Qiu's secret villas."

Everyone perked up, and Wu Yong quickly asked, "Do you know where this villa is?"

Yan Qing said, "The confidant did not say it explicitly, but only mentioned that it was in the eastern suburbs outside the city."

After a moment's thought, Wu Yong said, "We should not delay. Let's head to the eastern suburbs to investigate immediately."

The group arrived in the eastern suburbs and searched for anything suspicious. Finally, they discovered a seemingly ordinary but heavily guarded manor.

"This must be Gao Qiu's secret villa," Wu Yong said.

Zhao Tianming said, "Then let's charge straight in."

Wu Yong shook his head: "We must not be rash. Let's observe first."

The group hid nearby, watching as the guards at the entrance of the villa patrolled back and forth, maintaining a tight security.

Wu Yongxin came up with a plan: "We can do it like this..."

Following the plan, Shi Xiu and Shi Jin led a group of brothers in a feigned attack at the main gate of the villa to draw the guards' attention. Meanwhile, Wu Yong, Zhao Tianming, and Yan Qing led the remaining brothers to sneak in from the rear, scaling the wall.

Shi Xiu and his men made a huge noise at the main gate, and the guards rushed towards it. Taking advantage of the situation, Wu Yong and his men scaled the wall and quietly slipped into the villa.

However, the villa is full of traps and mechanisms, and the slightest carelessness could trigger an alarm.

As they cautiously moved forward, Zhao Tianming accidentally touched a hidden rope, and a bell rang loudly.

"Oh no, we've been discovered!" Wu Yong shouted.

Gao Qiu's men quickly surrounded them, and the two sides once again engaged in fierce combat.

This time, however, Zhao Tianming and his men were determined to win and fought bravely, gradually gaining the upper hand.

Finally, they found Pang Qiuxia imprisoned in a room.

"Hey girl, we're here to save you!" Zhao Tianming shouted.

Pang Qiuxia was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Thank you so much, brothers!"

The group successfully broke through the encirclement with Pang Qiuxia and reunited with Shi Xiu and the others.

"You old scoundrel Gao Qiu, we'll settle this score with you sooner or later!" Zhao Tianming said fiercely, gazing in the direction of Gao Qiu's villa.

The group, along with Pang Qiuxia, embarked on their journey home.