Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Amidst the smoke and fire came the crisp sound of porcelain shattering. Under such concentrated fire, even a true immortal would likely perish...

Not to mention cheap!

Amidst the smoke and fire, Gao Lian's left leg turned into a bloody mist from the knee down, and the three lead bullets that his armor had blocked exploded with a bowl-sized hole in his chest.

As his mutilated body plummeted into the lake, his right hand was still tightly clenched into a hand seal, seemingly unwilling to give up until Li Hanxiao personally lit the mortar and unleashed the final blow.

This shell was a high-explosive shell, containing countless amounts of sulfur and cinnabar.

The cannonball, mixed with sulfur and cinnabar, disintegrated in mid-air, instantly exploding into an extremely choking cloud of smoke. The seven hundred iron caltrops hidden within completely sliced ​​off Gao Lian's right half of his body. These iron caltrops were like shotguns, each soaked in black dog blood and rooster blood, specifically designed to ward off evil spirits.

Gao Lian's already mutilated body burned in the air, then turned to ashes and was completely annihilated.

"Get out of here!"

Meanwhile, the three generals from Gaotang Prefecture—Yu Zhi, Xue Yuanhui, and Wen Wenbao—who had been dispatched by Gao Lian to cross the lake earlier, were already ashen-faced and wished they could fly back to shore as well.

Without Gao Lian's sorcery, how could they possibly be a match for Liangshan Marsh?

Just after Gao Lian's mangled body was burned to ashes, his three hundred flying soldiers on the shore suddenly froze in place.

Their skin began to show dark red lines, as if something huge had happened, as if thousands of centipedes were swimming in their blood vessels under their skin.

The nearest government troops were far away. The commander was raising his command flag to order the troops to retreat when he suddenly noticed that what was flowing from the eyes of the flying divine soldiers was not blood—but burning cinnabar.

Before long, the chest cavities of the three divine soldiers in the front row had exploded into fireballs.

The bone fragments coated in corpse oil, like poisoned arrows, instantly pierced the chests of two soldiers within thirty paces, and half of the burning jawbone had shaved off the commander's entire face.

A series of explosions followed one after another. Each time a divine weapon shattered, seven plumes of black smoke burst forth, within which rolled the refined souls.

On the watchtower of the Liangshan stronghold, the lookout watched in awe as the black smoke swept across the area.

These three hundred people, one by one, self-destructed!

When the last divine weapon exploded where they had stood, a rain of foul-smelling minced flesh fell within a radius of a hundred feet.

The screams of the government troops standing nearby abruptly ceased—their throats had already been scalded and rendered mute by the corpse poison released from the explosion before the flying bone fragments slit their throats.

Amidst the scattered debris, honeycomb-like holes could be seen corroded in the iron armor, and half a battle flag curled into ash in the blood and foam. The immense power generated by these things after their self-destruction directly affected them, resulting in heavy casualties.

The firelight illuminated the eight hundred miles of water, making the fish scales dance wildly. The three Ruan brothers' assault boats were the first to break through the floating corpses. The barbs hidden on the iron-clad rams at the bow of the boats snapped up three inches with a "click." Once these things grabbed the enemy's boat, it wouldn't be easy for them to escape.

"Brothers, our navy has the chance to avenge our fallen brothers!"

"Standing Tai Sui!" Ruan Xiaoer shouted, and the water army immediately launched a full-scale attack.

Since joining Liangshan Marsh, the three Ruan brothers have never had the opportunity to demonstrate their prowess in naval warfare. Now, they finally have such a good opportunity!

"kill!"

"Living Yama" Ruan Xiaoqi stood atop the mast of the third ship, Wave Drill, and the fishing net wrapped around his spear suddenly unfurled—it was actually a river-diving net covered with barbs!

"Go!"

"Living Yama" Ruan Xiaoqi's spear tip flicked out a bowl-sized spear flower, directly throwing the net out.

The iron netting covered Yu Zhi's head as he was about to turn the boat around.

Although both sides used boats, the boats of the Gaotang Prefecture troops were far inferior to those of the Liangshan Marsh.

The boats of Liangshan Marsh were larger and more professional, rowed by ten people, and equipped with sails, making them much faster.

Ruan Xiaoqi's boat was incredibly fast, moving at a speed comparable to an arrow released from a bow.

"what!"

At this moment, Yu Zhi was like a fish caught in a net, his body covered in countless cuts after being trapped.

"Help me break this thing!"

Yu Zhi roared.

The adjutant beside him shouted, "Yes!" But before the adjutant could bring down his goose-feather saber, a sickening scraping sound suddenly came from the bottom of the boat—twelve hook-and-sickle spears emerged from the water, their poisoned barbs already hooked onto the keel of the official boat.

This is the "water ghost" tactic that Liangshan Marsh was most adept at in the original novel. Of course, it cannot be abandoned at this moment; on the contrary, it should be carried forward and developed.

Under such circumstances, Yu Zhi had no chance of escaping by boat! He could only spin around on the water.

"Kill!"

"Living Yama" swallowed the pill and leaped up barefoot along the side of the boat, thrusting his spear straight at the enemy. With the force of Ruan Xiaoqi's leap, he pinned Ruan Xiaoqi and his armor to the armored crew.

"puff!"

Yu Zhi coughed up blood and died on the spot. One by one, the Liangshan brothers jumped onto Yu Zhi's boat and engaged in a "boarding action". The result was obvious: they cut them all down and threw them into the water, leaving no one alive!

"Quick, let's go! Our boat is the biggest; it won't be easy for them to get on!"

Wen Wenbao's ship was the only large ship allocated by Jeju Prefecture, belonging to the Mengchong warship category.

Just then, the wind picked up, and as he was directing the warship to raise its sails, he suddenly saw a dozen or so floating corpses drifting towards the northwest corner.

"Where did these corpses come from...?"

When Wen Wenbao looked at the corpses, they were all naked, and he couldn't tell whether they were people from the imperial court or bandits from Liangshan...

But then those "floating corpses" suddenly turned over and revealed their water-splitting spikes—it turned out that the Liangshan water ghosts had been lying in ambush underwater with reed pipes in their mouths, using this method specifically to lure the enemy close.

Twenty steel sickles burst from the water, heading straight for the sails of the warship. The sail ropes snapped instantly, burying several soldiers on the deck beneath them.

At the same time, these water ghosts threw about twenty ceramic jars onto the ship from below. After a series of "cracking" sounds, the jars shattered on the deck and splattered a bunch of oil, which was Li Hanxiao's specially made incendiary bomb.

Petroleum was actually used quite a bit by the ancients. The earliest record is in the "Geography" section of the Book of Han: "Dingyang, Gaonu, has the Wei River, which is flammable." Gaonu is located northeast of present-day Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province. Yan Shigu's annotation states: "The ancient character for 'fire' means to ignite."

During the Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo first proposed the concept of "petroleum" in his book *Dream Pool Essays*: "There is petroleum in the areas of Fu and Yan; the old saying 'Gaonu County produces oily water' refers to this."

He discovered that local oil was found near water, mixed with sand and spring water, flowing slowly. People would use pheasant tails to collect the oil into earthenware jars. Faced with the near-infinite oil reserves and the shrinking forest resources, Shen Kuo predicted that "this substance will surely become widely used in the world" and could replace charcoal as a new energy source.

Li Hanxiao, on the other hand, saw the flammable and explosive properties of petroleum, which can burn even on water, and thus took advantage of them.

As soon as a rocket landed on the oil-soaked sail, a huge fire instantly burst into flames. Oil is flammable, and the canvas is oilcloth, making it even more flammable. In an instant, the fire covered the entire deck!

"Cut the cable immediately!"

Xue Yuanhui roared and swung his twin swords; he didn't want to be burned to death!

But then three centipede-shaped fast boats appeared, flanking them in a triangular formation. Instead of crossbows, they mounted half a meter long "fierce fire oil tanks" on their bows.

Ruan Xiaowu, the "short-lived second son," slashed down with his command flag, but instead of flames, the nozzle spewed out fish oil mist that would ignite anything it touched.

Thirty archers fired their rockets in unison, piercing through the oil mist and instantly turning the entire body of water into a sea of ​​fire. The soldiers who had jumped into the water were pierced through the heart by water ghosts that were lying in ambush underwater as soon as they surfaced.

Suddenly, a series of rapid clapper sounds arose amidst the waves, and twelve turtle-backed ships burst in through the gap in the sea of ​​fire. These ships were only about ten feet long, but their iron hulls were engraved with armor to evade swords and spears, making them veritable tanks of naval warfare.

Inside the cabin, a burly man pedaled a waterwheel, throwing not a grappling hook, but a chain of barbed caltrops.

Wen Wenbao's personal guards raised their shields to meet them, but the chain ball exploded upon contact with the shields. This was a new type of grenade developed by Ling Zhen, known as "Thunderbolt," and modified from the design of a meteor hammer.

Wen Wenbao's flagship suddenly tilted violently—seven holes the size of bowls had been drilled into the bottom of the ship at some unknown time. Combined with the fire and the impact of the grenade explosion, the ship was blown to pieces.

Twenty Liangshan water ghosts emerged from the water, each wielding a spiral drill. Blood was still dripping from the blades of their steel knives, indicating that they had killed many.

"what!"

After Wen Wenbao fell into the water while on a boat, he was brutally dismembered by the water ghosts of Liangshan Marsh!

As for Xue Yuanhui, just as the commander was about to leap onto the auxiliary ship, a net was suddenly cast from the top of the ship's deck.

The copper bells tied to the net jingled, and each bell tongue concealed a blade. Not to mention humans, even animals caught in the net would be severely injured if they struggled.

"what!"

Xue Yuanhui fell directly into the water and never resurfaced. After he fell, only a string of bubbles and a great many red waves remained on the surface...

In the midst of the melee, "Living Yama" Ruan Xiaoqi's spear had already knocked away an iron helmet, and the water stains on the spear tip directly blinded Deputy General Yu Zhi.

The moment the boy narrowed his eyes, "Living Yama" Ruan Xiaoqi thrust his spear straight forward. Wherever the cold light passed, blood blossoms flew up with the waves.

Over there, Ruan Xiaoer swept his steel fork across, pinning the flag officer who was drawing his bow to the deck. The three brothers went on a killing spree, which was truly exhilarating.

Ding Yi, the militia commander of Gaotang Prefecture, had his armor burned red-hot by the fire. There was nothing he could do; a pottery jar filled with oil had just hit him.

This thing will catch fire if it gets on a flame!

Just as Ding Yi was about to lay down his armor and escape, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ankle. He saw a lean man leap out of the water, holding a water-splitting Emei dagger with barbs. With a single tug, he tore off a chunk of flesh from Ding Yi's leg. It was none other than Wang Dingliu, the "Living Flash," who had grown up on the banks of the Yangtze River in Jiankang Prefecture and was well-versed in swimming.

In the original novel, he was only good at swimming and using a stick. He was fast and agile, so he was nicknamed "Living Flash Granny". He could be used as a leader in naval battles, since he was a good swimmer. So Li Hanxiao also included him in the naval forces.

As the militiaman staggered, three dark figures swept overhead—Liangshan's mast-climbing naval forces descended from the sky, instantly gouging out his eyes with three sharp knives, causing him to fall into the water.

Even a healthy person would be in serious trouble if they fell into the water without their eyes; they would either be killed or drown. How much more so for someone who is already blind...

Thick black smoke suddenly rose from the water's surface; it was the various wet straws thrown out by Ruan Xiaoer's flagship that had caught fire, specifically designed to set ships ablaze. As the government troops coughed incessantly, a dense series of mechanical clicks came from within the fog—Liangshan's specially made repeating crossbows began to unleash a rain of arrows.

These crossbow bolts have hollow arrowheads filled with a poisonous liquid made from toad venom and Gelsemium elegans. Anyone hit by them will convulse within five steps. This technique was replicated by the strategist Wen Huanzhang from ancient books, and it is most advantageous in naval warfare.

Wen Wenbao's personal guard captain, like a cornered beast, led his last thirty loyal soldiers to board the ship and seize it.

Unexpectedly, the Liangshan navy's ship had a hidden secret: the seemingly wooden planks suddenly flipped open, revealing three rows of fine steel spikes.

Before the government troops who had boarded the ship could even get their footing, twenty Liangshan Marsh naval soldiers inside the ship's gang unleashed their hook-and-sickle spears, each one a fatal blow, killing them all instantly.

This is the "anti-jumping board" device installed at Liangshan Marsh.

As dusk deepened, the lake surface was covered with tattered weapons, shields, and broken banners.

The Liangshan navy's turtle-backed boats were casting nets to salvage their spoils, and the magnets attached to the nets were attracting countless weapons.

"Standing Tai Sui" Ruan Xiaoer was taking stock of the spoils of war when he suddenly saw three Kongming lanterns rising from the reeds to the west as a signal—that was the ambush led by "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, who had cut off the retreat of the Gaotang Prefecture reinforcements and killed them all in the marsh.

In this battle, the Liangshan navy lost not a single ship or soldier, but burned 47 government warships and beheaded more than 300.

Ruan Xiaowu, nicknamed "Short-lived Second Brother," leaped into the water carrying Yu Zhi's banner. When he resurfaced, he was holding a large, golden-scaled carp in his hand—the heroes' victory banquet that night would feature another dish of freshly killed and cooked fish.

Meanwhile, those watching the battle from the shore were Zhang Shuye's second son, Zhang Zhongxiong, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun, and Zhang Bao.

Looking at the Liangshanbo Lake, which was almost dyed red, Zhang Zhongxiong had absolutely no intention of going down to the lake to provide assistance.

He had learned a lot. He now understood why Li Hanxiao dared to use Liangshan Marsh, a vast expanse of water, as his lair. It was because, with the fighting power of their navy, they could absolutely drown any invading enemy in the waters of Liangshan Marsh...

"Jinmaohu" Yan Shun asked untimely, "Should we go rescue them...?"

"Go! Go! Go right now!"

Zhang Zhongxiong had nowhere to vent his anger, and then "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun delivered himself right to his doorstep.

"Are we going down there to our deaths?"

Zhang Bao also rolled his eyes at "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun.

"No, they're attacking! Sound the retreat!"

Zhang Zhongxiong watched as Ruan Xiaoer, the "Standing Tai Sui," although having defeated the government army's navy, showed no sign of stopping, and a large fleet of ships headed directly towards the opposite bank.

He immediately realized something was wrong and led his troops to flee!