Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

However, they miscalculated in two places.

Firstly, the area around Liangshan Marsh is mudflats, mudflats, reed marshes, and swamps. It wasn't easy for their large army to get in when they marched to the lakeside, so it's even more difficult for them to get out quickly now.

Whether you're a person or a horse, you won't be able to run fast on this kind of terrain.

Secondly, the northwest wind has now picked up, which is favorable for the Liangshan Marsh navy to advance. Many Liangshan Marsh warships have raised their sails and are using the wind to reach the opposite bank, which is incredibly easy and convenient.

The second echelon of cavalry prepared by Liangshan Marsh quickly boarded the boats and charged toward the opposite bank, truly "coming on a fierce front".

"General, although the rear guard has retreated, most of them are stuck in the mud and can't get out!"

After Zhang Zhongxiong gave the order to retreat, the messenger came from the rear, his legs sinking deep into the mud.

"The rear guard should retreat immediately, and the vanguard should prepare to engage the enemy!"

Zhang Zhongxiong reluctantly drew his long sword from his horse. He hadn't wanted to fight on the mudflats in the first place, but Gao Lian insisted on finding such a place, saying that the yin energy was heavy and it would be convenient for him to cast spells.

Now look what's happened! Gao Lian has vanished into thin air, but they've been terribly harmed!

The setting sun dyed the lake surface crimson gold. The three Nguyen brothers' Red Dragon assault boats cleaved through the blood-red waves with their rams. The three crossbows mounted on the bows were already strung with taut strings, and various ranged weapons were firing at the enemy troops who had no way to retreat from the shore.

The bare mudflats next to the reeds were truly a place to hide and take cover; you could only be a target!

Meanwhile, the Liangshan naval forces had already approached the shore, and the cavalrymen who were on the boats ready to disembark also disembarked. After all, once they reached a place where the water was not deep enough to drown their horses, they could go into the water and advance.

Beneath the iron helmet of "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi, two eyes, like those of a wild beast, gleamed with lightning speed, and the ancestral Yang family sword in his hand gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light in the twilight.

The blade has nine hidden blood grooves filled with mercury, which can increase or decrease weight along the direction of the blade when swung. At this moment, it is also very eager to drink blood.

Before the boat even reached the shore, the man spurred his warhorse and leaped ten feet into the air. His mount crossed the lake and charged forward, eager to make the first contribution.

"The vanguard must not retreat, or they will die!"

Zhang Zhongxiong shouted, stabilizing the already wavering army; otherwise, they would have truly collapsed at the slightest touch!

As Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," wielded his blade, three shield-bearing spearmen from Jizhou were severed into six pieces, their entrails and iron fragments falling into the water, creating a towering wave of blood.

Zhang Zhongxiong's chestnut horse reared up in alarm at the splashing fragments of human internal organs on the beach. The young man was still preparing his long sword inlaid with gold and silver when a streak of green light shot straight toward his face.

In the instant Zhang Zhongxiong hastily parried with his sword, he finally saw who it was—it was none other than the "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi.

The idea of ​​"capturing the king first" was correct, and "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi's thinking was sound. Moreover, if Zhang Shuye's son were captured alive, "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi did not believe that this prefect would really have the courage to put righteousness before family and dare to disregard the life and death of his own son.

At least they were able to successfully bring back "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai.

Therefore, Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," also used his true skills!

The clang of metal against metal sent pebbles flying across the beach. Zhang Zhongxiong’s long sword, scabbard made of rosewood, snapped in two, the blade spinning as it sliced ​​off half the head of the flag bearer behind him.

"Even the young master from Jeju Prefecture has come to the battlefield to show off! Does he recognize the Yang family's treasured sword?"

Yang Zhi grinned maliciously as he sheathed his sword and swept it back. The wind from the blade swept across the horse's neck, bringing with it a stream of blood. Zhang Zhongxiong had never seen such a fast sword technique before, and it also slit the throat of his warhorse!

The moment Zhang Zhongxiong tumbled off his horse, the jade belt around his waist was flung off, and the twelve jade pendants turned into a sky full of green stars. This was a birthday gift left to him by his grandfather.

But he couldn't care less about anything else. He fell into the mud and got his pants soaked. Now, this son of an official didn't care about his wet crotch. He grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi, and scrambled into the fleeing army. The hem of his battle robe, embroidered with gold thread, was already stained brown and gray. Unfortunately, he hadn't run two steps when "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi, on horseback, took out his family's heirloom copper hammer and struck Zhang Zhongxiong in the back.

"trick!"

Zhang Zhongxiong collapsed to the ground, falling straight into the muddy water, unconscious.

Zhang Zhongxiong's fall was not the last for the Song army; it was only the beginning.

Lin Chong, nicknamed "Leopard Head," rode his black horse Wuzhui across the waves, its iron hooves, as big as bowls, trampling two Jizhou naval soldiers who were swimming across into the mud.

With a flick of his spear, nine cold stars flashed, and blood blossomed simultaneously from the throats of seven crossbowmen. The throats, tracheas, and blood vessels of each archer suffered a devastating blow to their throat structure.

"stop!"

Seeing his comrades covered in blood, Zhang Bao swept his iron rod across the horse's legs, but was lightly deflected by the spear shaft of "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, and the heavy iron rod, weighing dozens of kilograms, was smashed into the blue stone on the bank three inches deep.

This was Lin Chong intentionally testing his opponent's skills, deliberately creating an opening to lure him into making a move. Lin Chong's style wasn't that aggressive; he would kill if he could, and if he wasn't confident, he would fight to a draw.

At this moment, he had no intention of killing, but instead began to test the waters.

But Zhang Bao's staff transformed into "Qin King's Whip Stone," the shadow of the staff wrapped in black wind concealing a deadly move, but the tip of the serpent spear lightly touched the head of the staff, turning the deadly move into "Old Monk Sweeping Dust," grazing past it.

"Judging from this, he must have practiced Shaolin martial arts for a few years."

A hint of admiration flashed across Lin Chong's eyes. He was a disciple of Zhou Tong, the Iron-Armed Hero of Shaanxi, and was extremely familiar with Shaolin martial arts.

Lin Chong did not want to kill Zhang Bao, but wanted to capture him alive. So he suddenly reversed his spear and slapped the horse's rump with a flat surface. The black horse reared up in pain, and its large front hoof kicked Zhang Bao in the chest.

"Wow!"

The man flew backward, spitting out blood, and the iron rod in his hand fell to the ground.

Just as "Leopard Head" Lin Chong was about to deliver a finishing blow with his spear, he suddenly saw a faded sachet fall from the man's arms. It was embroidered with a pattern of "Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water." This was a sachet that his wife had embroidered for him.

Lin Chong, nicknamed "Leopard Head," felt a pang of sympathy. He recalled the circumstances of his separation from his wife. If Gao Qiu and his men had succeeded back then, they would have burned him to death in the hay storage area...

His own wife is probably...

"Ugh……"

Lin Chong's heart softened slightly, and his eighteen-foot spear deflected three inches, grazing Zhang Bao's earlobe before piercing the ground, but failing to kill him.

When Zhang Bao opened his eyes again, he couldn't see "Leopard Head" Lin Chong. He didn't know why Lin Chong hadn't killed him, but he had at least escaped with his life, so he had to run!

"Red-faced Tiger" Yuan Lang's Crimson Fire Dragon Steed leaped ashore over floating corpses. When his two tiger claws crossed and slashed down, three shield-wielding swordsmen were torn in two, along with their shields.

"Where are the strong ones? Come and fight Grandpa!"

Yuan Lang, nicknamed "Red-Faced Tiger," was originally dressed with a red face and yellow beard. After seeing blood, he was no different from the tiger he once was, and immediately roared.

"Jinmaohu" Yan Shun's curly-haired yellow horse was driven mad by the smell of blood and the roar of "Chimianhu" Yuan Lang. Although they were both "tigers", in front of "Chimianhu" Yuan Lang, he was at most a sick cat!

In the original novel, Yuan Lang was a highly skilled martial artist. He once fought "Thunderbolt" Qin Ming for 150 rounds without a clear winner. Jin Ding and Huang Yue also died at his hands, eventually being killed by cannonballs. For him, defeating "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun was a piece of cake.

Originally, "Red-faced Tiger" Yuan Lang had not yet noticed "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun, but the neighing of his warhorse attracted Yuan Lang's attention, and he immediately charged towards "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun.

Before the bandit leader could even raise his steel knife, a piercing pain shot through his left arm—the barbs of the tiger claw had torn off at least three ounces of flesh.

"The 'Golden-haired Tiger' transformed into a blood tiger, frantically slashing at the horse's leg with its knife, only to have the blade caught by another claw."

The large sword, forged from fine iron, twisted like a pancake, and the flying fragments carved five bloody furrows on the face of "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun.

Without his weapon, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun naturally had no other ability to resist. "Chimianhu" Yuan Lang grabbed Yan Shun's armor ribbons with his double claws and was about to tear him in two. This was how he had killed Zhu Biao, the third son of the Zhu family, on Dulonggang.

Now that's settled, just as Zhu Biao died, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun should die in the same way.

At the same time, a burning grain cart pulled by warhorses suddenly rushed in from the side, breaking free of "Red-faced Tiger" Yuan Lang's restraints on "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun rolled into the pile of corpses, grabbed a headless corpse and covered himself with it, intending to deceive everyone.

When the tiger claw cleaved open the grain cart, all twenty bags of flour fell to the ground, and "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun had long since disappeared into the white mist.

Yuan Lang wiped the blood off his face and smashed the two fleeing Jeju soldiers into a bloody pulp. As a result, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun escaped death and was not killed by "Chimianhu" Yuan Lang.

The battle had become one-sided; almost all the troops from Gaotang Prefecture had been wiped out by the Liangshan army.

The Jeju troops fled in disarray, half of them getting stuck in the mud, unable to extricate themselves, while the other half ran away, flattening the muddy ground.

This seemed to be opening up a path to their survival, but in reality, it also opened up a much easier path for the Liangshan army to pursue them...

Guan Sheng's Green Dragon Blade stirred up a bloody wind, and the "Green Dragon Devouring the Moon" pattern hidden on the blade seemed to have turned into a real green dragon. The wind from the blade was like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger. The barricades in front of the Jeju army were shredded into wood chips by the blade light, and twenty heavily armored infantrymen fell like wheat being harvested.

As the blade flashed, a trail of blood mist rose into the air. Several soldiers behind him tried to ambush "Big Sword" Guan Sheng, but Guan Sheng, who was on horseback, heard the sound of the wind and, without even turning around, slashed backward with his big sword, using the "Dragging Blade Slash" technique passed down through the Guan family.

Three lieutenants charged on horseback, but were sliced ​​into several pieces along with their horses by the whirling blade. Before their severed limbs even hit the ground, Red Hare, carrying the red-faced general, broke through their formation and charged forward.

While the cavalry fought fiercely in front, the naval warships had already reached the shore. After the naval forces also went ashore, they helped the cavalry to clean up the mess and attack the remaining enemy.

Ruan Xiaoqi, known as "Living Yama," used his reed-leaf spear to drive away the lone soldiers of Jeju City, and the fleet had completely taken control of the beachhead.

The Liangshan water ghosts used their flying tiger claws to seize the fleeing army's supply wagons, plundering their supplies. Thirty crossbow carts then turned and unleashed a barrage of poisoned arrows at the main camp in Jeju.

Some soldiers who still had the will to resist formed a battle array with their large shields, only to see a rain of arrows mixed with pottery jars—Ling Zhen's specially made thunderbolt fireballs exploded in the shield array, and iron pieces mixed with oil rained down deadly rain within a radius of ten feet.

Now, Zhang Shuye's side in Jeju Prefecture has suffered a complete defeat in this battle!

But Li Hanxiao was also thinking about something else: although killing Gao Lian was a way of avenging his brothers, he also thought that killing Gao Lian was a way of avenging his brothers.

However, a problem still arose, because Gao Lian was Gao Qiu's uncle and cousin. Killing Gao Lian would inevitably bring Gao Qiu's revenge.

In the original novel, the Liangshan Marsh first encountered a large-scale military campaign directly from the imperial court, which occurred after the major defeat of Gaotang Prefecture and the killing of Gao Lian.

In order to avenge Gao Lian, Gao Qiu petitioned the Emperor to launch a campaign against Liangshan Marsh. The Emperor then dispatched "Double Whip" Huyan Zhuo as the Grand General, along with "Hundred Victories General" Han Tao and "Heavenly Eye General" Peng Qi, to lead an army to conquer Liangshan Marsh. They then used their "Iron-Armored Linked Horses" to give Liangshan Marsh a sound beating.

Perhaps, after this battle, Li Hanxiao will have to prepare for the arrival of the imperial army to launch a punitive expedition...

As dusk deepened, the remnants of the Jeju army retreated into government territory, only to be ambushed and killed.

"Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu's broadsword slashed through the forest, leaving a hundred streaks of blood. "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen and "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao's steel forks targeted the horses' bellies, and they ambushed and slaughtered these defeated soldiers for a while. If Zhang Bofen hadn't led his troops to come and provide support, these soldiers would probably have all perished here.

When the moon was high in the sky, the eight hundred miles of marshland returned to silence. After counting the prisoners, Zhang Zhongxiong had become a prisoner of Liangshan Marsh.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Li Hanxiao immediately ordered all units to reorganize, and the previous requirements should still be carried out.

In order to face the imminent fierce counterattack from the old villain Gao Qiu, the Liangshan army must meet the enemy with a new spirit.

"Chief, it seems there are no troops left in Jizhou City. We could go and take Jizhou City now, but..."

Before Wen Huanzhang could finish speaking, Li Hanxiao interrupted him, "But Gao Qiu's retaliation will come soon. If we occupy Jizhou Prefecture, it will definitely make his attack even more intense. Only after defeating their arriving troops will we be able to deal with Jizhou City, because after defeating the imperial army, the imperial court will not send a large force again for at least three months..."

Li Hanxiao was well aware of these things. Provoking the Gao family too early and being discovered was not a good thing...

"If anyone records this operation in the future, let's call it the Harbor Reorganization!"

Li Han smiled and said.