Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

He now has three main tasks. One is to search for talented people, but under these circumstances, it may not be easy. He and Wen Huanzhang can split up and go to visit his old friends and acquaintances while wearing human skin masks, since he is also familiar with Tokyo.

Li Hanxiao went to persuade another person, "Thunderbolt" Ling Zhen. Even if they couldn't find any other talents in the group, taking him away would be the greatest victory!

The second task was to rescue Madam Lin and Instructor Zhang. This task was much more difficult. According to Zhang San and Li Si, Gao Yanei had been harassing Instructor Zhang's house every day in order to force Madam Lin to submit, and had even sent people to monitor her from outside.

The third and most difficult thing was to kidnap Gao Yanei as well, as the final trump card to make Lin Chong grateful to Li Hanxiao.

The first thing Li Hanxiao could do was to let Wen Huanzhang handle it, while he himself went to persuade Ling Zhen.

The second thing can be done by having Ma Lin disguise himself and lead the group of ruffians to carry it out. After all, Gao Yanei was beaten black and blue by Ma Lin with a carrying pole today, and even lost a few teeth. He will definitely not be able to go to Zhang Jiaotou's house for a few days.

Taking advantage of this lull, we should deal with the people watching us outside and rescue Instructor Zhang and his daughter.

The above two tasks can be handled in three separate ways, but the third task is the most difficult: how to get Gao Yanei out of Tokyo.

Li Hanxiao, adhering to the idea of ​​starting with the easy and then moving on to the difficult, first shared his thoughts with Wen Huanzhang. Upon hearing this, Wen Huanzhang exclaimed in surprise.

"What a coincidence, what a coincidence, my lord! Do you know that among my close friends and acquaintances is 'Thunderclap' Ling Zhen!"

Wen Huanzhang laughed heartily and began to recount his relationship with Ling Zhen. It turned out that when Ling Zhen came to Tokyo City to seek his fortune, he fell ill at the entrance of Anren Village outside the city and was rescued by Wen Huanzhang. He then stayed at Wen Huanzhang's school for more than a month. It was Wen Huanzhang who, upon learning of Ling Zhen's skill in gunpowder, instructed him to try applying for the position of gunner at the armory.

"So it turns out that you saved his life, sir. In that case, I will entrust you with the important task of recruiting him!"

Li Hanxiao was overjoyed by this unexpected turn of events. He couldn't stop smiling. He had been worried that he wouldn't be able to persuade Ling Zhen, but now that he had Wen Huanzhang's connection, it seemed like a sure thing.

This way, he can free up time to personally rescue Lin Niangzi and her family.

It was precisely because of this that Li Hanxiao came up with the third thing: if they rescued Lin Niangzi and her family, Gao Yanei would definitely be restless and would want to turn the entire city of Tokyo upside down to find her.

So Li Hanxiao simply spread a false rumor to lure Gao Yanei to find Lin Niangzi, then arrested him on the way, and immediately left the city through the underground passage of Guifanlou, rejoined the team, and quickly headed to the capital region, ensuring their safety.

So, as instructed, Wen Huanzhang put on a human skin mask, changed his clothes, and disguised himself to go out on the street to find someone.

Li Hanxiao, along with Ma Lin and a group of ruffians, disguised themselves and sent Ma Lin to inquire about Gao Yanei's whereabouts, while Li Hanxiao and the ruffians went to Zhang Jiaotou's house on Panlou Street to scout the location in preparation for rescuing him.

Enough of the pleasantries. That night, after a long meal and some food, the group rested in a nearby courtyard. Around dawn, they got up, washed, rinsed their mouths, and ate some breakfast. Wen Huanzhang put on straw sandals, a human skin mask, and changed into coarse linen clothes. Li Hanxiao and Ma Lin saw him off from the courtyard, and Wen Huanzhang went to Ling Zhen's residence on Zhuque Street.

When Ling Zhen got his job at the armory, he invited Wen Huanzhang to his house for a drink to express his gratitude, so Wen Huanzhang knew the way.

When Wen Huanzhang arrived at Ling Zhen's house in the alley of Zhuque Street, he was about to knock on the door when he heard a loud "bang" in the courtyard, followed by flames and black smoke shooting into the sky.

Wen Huanzhang, realizing the danger, shouted, "It's terrible! There's a fire! Someone come quick!"

The neighbors were awakened from their sleep by Wen Huanzhang's shouts. Surprisingly, they skillfully grabbed basins and buckets of water and went to Ling Zhen's door. They found a key on a brick by the wall, opened the door, and rushed in to put out the fire. This level of skill was clearly not a first time.

Because Ling Zhen often experimented with gunpowder and firearms at home, fires were easily started by carelessness. The neighbors were used to putting out fires, and Ling Zhen even kept a key outside specifically for neighbors to open the door and help put out fires.

The group went inside and quickly extinguished the fire. They all went back to sleep. Ling Zhen, however, was covered in soot, his hair was sticking out like tangled straw, and his clothes were burned and riddled with holes. Only his eyes and teeth were white. He was bowing and thanking them profusely.

"Brother Ling Zhen, what are you doing?"

Wen Huanzhang stepped forward, and Ling Zhen was overjoyed to see that it was Wen Huanzhang. "Mr. Wen, it's been so long! Oh dear, I'm so sorry to have to look like this!"

As Ling Zhen spoke, he washed his dark face in the water vat until it was white, tied up his hair, and moved a chair over to invite Wen Huanzhang to sit in the courtyard. The fire inside the house had just been extinguished, and the smoke had not yet dissipated, so they could not go in.

"What? You're researching gunpowder, and instead of going to the armory, you're at home setting the house on fire?"

Wen Huanzhang inquired.

"Alas, I lost my job as a gunner in the armory. To make a living, I thought I would make some fireworks at home to sell, but I accidentally set the house on fire and now I have to compensate the homeowner for the damage."

Ling Zhen's eyes and mouth turned down, giving him a look of utter misfortune.

"How did you lose your job?"

Ling Zhen sighed and said, "It's all because of the change of superiors. I used to work as a gunner in the armory, and I was always using the gunpowder stored in the armory to research new gunpowder formulas and artillery. My old superiors knew my abilities and didn't pursue it. But the new superiors think that I was wasting gunpowder on new formulas and that I was neglecting my duties, so they used this as an excuse to kick me out."

"If it weren't for the fact that I always make free firecrackers for my children during holidays and festivals, and that fires break out every few days, I'm afraid my neighbors would have driven me away."

Ling Zhen is currently in a very poor state. Wen Huanzhang knows that his ancestors were gunpowder craftsmen who followed Cao Bin into Shu. They invented the "poison smoke ball" firearm and made great contributions on the battlefield. Later generations of ancestors carried on the legacy and carried it forward. By the time of Ling Zhen, his Golden Wheel Cannon, Mother-and-Child Cannon, Wind and Fire Cannon and other firearms were unparalleled in power and range.

Unfortunately, the court does not value firearms, believing that they are too limited, time-consuming and laborious to manufacture, and completely useless. As a result, Ling Zhen is also frustrated and works as a gunner in the armory. He is mainly a minor official who fires cannons to clear the way when the emperor travels. This is completely contrary to his desire to promote firearms. He is also frustrated and unfulfilled.

Seeing Ling Zhen's disheveled state and his pent-up resentment, Wen Huanzhang thought to himself that he had a 70% chance of persuading Ling Zhen.

"Oh, right, I forgot to ask, Mr. Wen came to see me, is there something you need?"

Ling Zhen understood that Wen Huanzhang must have come to the temple without a reason, hence his question.

"I've come to advise you to leave Tokyo and find another way out. Don't speak yet, I have something to show you."

Wen Huanzhang stopped Ling Zhen from asking questions and took out a drawing from his pocket, handing it to Ling Zhen.

"This is... a three-eyed gun..."

Ling Zhen took the blueprints. Being skilled in firearms manufacturing, he looked at the blueprints once and almost understood that it was a firearm.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Incredibly wonderful! This firearm is transformed from large to small, from single to three. Although its power is naturally much less than my cannons, it is light and agile, with minimal energy consumption. It can be used not only on foot but also on horseback. Its power surpasses that of bows and crossbows. Moreover, it requires very little material to make. The amount of copper and iron used to make one cannon is enough to make dozens of these..."

Ling Zhen was an expert in firearms and immediately recognized the advantages of this device: it was lightweight, agile, and easy to manufacture, with virtually no complicated processes. Unlike cannons, which require hundreds of kilograms of copper and iron to produce and are extremely heavy, requiring four horses to pull them, this device could be carried by a single soldier, with one for each person.

"Mr. Wen, whose masterpiece is this? This idea is simply divine! How come I, Ling Zhen, never thought of this? Please introduce me to him; I want to become his apprentice!"

As a firearms enthusiast, Ling Zhen has dedicated his life to this craft. To be honest, if he had a place where he could freely develop and research this technology, he really wouldn't care who the boss was.

It was precisely because Li Hanxiao could not only produce the blueprints for the three-barreled gun, but he could also improve the gunpowder, make his own explosives, and there was still a lot of room for improvement in firearms, which could meet Ling Zhen's requirements.

"Haha, my good brother, don't be impatient. Listen to me. This man is my lord. Now we are planning to do something rebellious. I came to find you today to see if you have the courage to go with me."

Although Wen Huanzhang spoke simply, he had seen that Ling Zhen's mind was already set on something, which is why he said it.

"Go! Why wouldn't I go! The officials in the court look down on my cannons, so let them look down on me. When the time comes, I'll take my firearms and attack the capital, and see if they still dare to underestimate me!"

Ling Zhen, as if in a fit of pique, began to pant heavily, clearly harboring resentment towards the court's request for his approval of artillery research. He agreed almost immediately.

"Brother, this is no laughing matter. If you really want to follow us, there's no turning back!"

Wen Huanzhang said.

"If you allow me to meet that master and learn the art of firearms from him, I will swear an oath with you and never betray you!"

As Ling Zhen spoke, he extended his right hand to Wen Huanzhang, who nodded in satisfaction and gave Ling Zhen a high five as a pledge.

"However, Mr. Wen, do you have any money on you? Before I leave, I'll compensate the homeowner for the damage to the house, and I'll pay you back later..."

While Wen Huanzhang persuaded Ling Zhen, Li Hanxiao, along with Wang Yin, Ma Lin, and a group of ruffians, had already arrived at the teahouse across the street from Zhang Jiaotou's house on Panlou Street. They sat down from their elevated position to observe the people that Gao Yanei had planted around them.

“Brother, the people that Gao Yanei planted are all imperial guards from the Grand Commandant’s mansion. There are twenty or thirty of them on Panlou Street, both openly and secretly. If we really have to take action to rescue them, a fierce battle is inevitable.”

Wang Yin pointed out the imperial guards who had been identified by the scoundrels one by one and said to Li Han with a smile.

"Yes, we can't afford to start a major conflict right now, or we'll have a hard time extricating ourselves!"

While Li Hanxiao was racking his brains for a way to rescue Instructor Zhang and his daughter, Zhang San, the "street rat," came over and said, "I do have a plan."

"tell me the story!"

Zhang San then said, "People call me a rat crossing the street, and people call me a grass snake. As the saying goes, snakes and rats are in the same nest. If we can't walk on the ground, can't we walk underground?"

"You mean, dig tunnels?"

Li Hanxiao immediately understood what the kid meant.

"That's right, to be honest, when we had no food, we dug up graves in the mass graves outside the city and did tomb raiding. We would find some valuable items buried with the dead to exchange for food. Digging a tunnel directly to Instructor Zhang's house is nothing. We just brought the father and daughter out of the tunnel without anyone noticing."

They originally followed Lu Zhishen, and when they were short of money, they would steal some vegetables to exchange for cash. Lu Zhishen would turn a blind eye to it and sometimes even give these ruffians a few coins to spend. Later, after Lu Zhishen left, they fell into a situation where they didn't know where their next meal would come from, and they were bullied and humiliated by the strong. In order to survive, digging up graves was a last resort.

"Good lad, you've got some brains. That's a good trick!"

Li Hanxiao had previously surveyed the terrain. Instructor Zhang's house had three courtyards next to it. One was a butcher's house that slaughtered pigs and sold meat, another was a private residence, and the closest one was said to belong to a widow who had gone to live with relatives and friends because she couldn't make a living. That courtyard was now empty.

Therefore, Li Hanxiao decided to dig a tunnel from that courtyard to Instructor Zhang's house, and then transfer the rescued person out of that courtyard.

Without further ado, Li Hanxiao ordered the ruffians to prepare shovels, pickaxes, and other tools, and they all rushed into the family's yard to start digging a tunnel.

These rascals were no novice; they dug very quickly. As for the soil they dug out, there happened to be a dry well in the yard, so they filled it all in.

After digging for about two hours, the group of ruffians had dug the tunnel to the backyard of Instructor Zhang's house.

It is said that ever since his son-in-law Lin Chong was convicted, Instructor Zhang has been harassed by Gao Yanei every day, which has made him exhausted and his daughter is in tears every day. He himself looks like he has aged twenty years.

While I was sitting in the backyard feeling down today, I suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the ground.

Although Instructor Zhang was a bit old, he was a martial artist by training and his hearing was accurate. So he stood up and searched for the source of the sound.

"Could someone have dug a tunnel? It must be that Gao Yanei plotting against my daughter, sending people to dig a tunnel here!"

Instructor Zhang was still seething with anger, so he took a gun from the weapon rack, stood aside, and waited for someone to show their face so he could stab them to the ground!

Before long, a large pit was indeed dug out, and when Instructor Zhang saw it, he plunged his spear into it.

Wang Yin was the first to climb up. He had just poked half his body out when he saw the spearhead coming towards him. He immediately used the "Yuchi Gong Single Whip Snatching Spear Technique" to strike the spear shaft with his left arm, deflecting the spearhead's impact point. He then grabbed the spearhead with his right hand and twisted it in the opposite direction.

Instructor Zhang was old after all, and even in a one-on-one fight, he was no match for Wang Yin. Wang Yin took his gun away in one move, and the weapon fell from his hand.

Wang Yin jumped out with a gun, and Instructor Zhang roared, "Fine, fine! You can't coerce or bribe us, so you've come to my doorstep! I'll fight you to the death!"

Having said that, he went to the weapon rack, picked up a broadsword, and prepared to fight Wang Yin.