Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

That night, Li Hanxiao and Wen Huanzhang stayed at the home of the three Ruan brothers. The next morning, they harnessed two horses to a carriage and headed towards Niutou Mountain.

On the way, Ruan Xiaoqi asked in confusion, "Why did Brother Li put the jewelry in the mountains?"

"Haha, Seventh Brother, as the saying goes, secrets will leak if they are not kept. In towns, there are many people and eyes, so it is hard to guarantee that secrets will not be leaked. If that happens, it will attract bandits, and how can we stop them? Just like Liang Zhongshu's grand escort of the birthday tribute for his father-in-law Cai Jing every year, isn't that just waiting for someone to rob it? How can it not be lost? It is better to do it in secret."

After Li Hanxiao explained, the three Ruan brothers understood and praised Li Hanxiao for his intelligence.

Niutou Mountain is not far from Liangshan Marsh. In the original novel, there was a man named Wang Jiang and Dong Hai who impersonated "Timely Rain" Song Jiang and "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin to forcibly abduct women. Their place of refuge was Niutou Mountain.

In less than an hour, the car arrived at the foot of Niutou Mountain. Li Hanxiao and Wen Huanzhang led the three Ruan brothers up the mountain, but after walking for a long time, they still could not find any trace of the jewels.

Ruan Xiaoqi, growing impatient, asked, "Brother Li, could it be that you've hidden your jewels on the mountaintop?"

"Haha, almost there, the baby is right here!"

As Li Hanxiao spoke, he took a few quick steps forward, leaped onto a large rock, and whistled. But as soon as the whistle stopped, countless voices rose from the surrounding woods, a frightening "heh heh heh" sound.

Before the three Nguyen brothers could understand what was happening, they saw countless burly henchmen emerge from the surrounding forest, quickly surrounding the center in layers.

The three Nguyen brothers were so frightened that they stood back to back, holding hands. All they could see was a great commotion of voices and shouts. On one side, banners were billowing and flags were flying. On the other side, spears and halberds were gleaming, helmets were shining, and armor was gleaming, like silver chimes striking the sky or icebergs pressing down on the earth.

On the left, a large scimitar cuts through gold and jade; on the right, a white spear pierces the clouds and breaks the sun; eighteen-foot spears and hook-and-sickle spears are arrayed like a forest of hemp; to keep guests company, iron maces are arranged in dense formations among the trees.

The three Nguyen brothers each drew their personal short knives, but they were also afraid that the bows, crossbows, and arrows, as well as the iron rods and steel whips, would take their lives!

Li Hanxiao was already sitting on a large rock, with his henchmen placing a chair on it and handing him weapons and clothing.

"Damn it, the three of us brothers have been ambushed! Where are Li Hanxiao and Wen Huanzhang?!"

Ruan Xiaoqi searched for the two in the crowd and saw Li Han standing on the stone, wearing a three-peaked phoenix hat and a light yellow robe. He was handsome and dignified, strong and healthy with bright eyes. He had a crescent-shaped slingshot at his waist and a three-pointed double-edged knife in his hand. Beside him, his henchmen rode hawks and led dogs, with crossbows and bows drawn, looking very imposing.

"Haha, my three brothers, I am here. Do you remember what you talked about yesterday?"

Li Han smiled and said.

"What did you say? What did you say? I didn't hear you say you wanted to harm us!"

Ruan Xiaoqi cursed angrily.

"Seventh Brother, don't panic. Everyone around you is a good brother. No one wants to harm you three. Remember when I asked you, if I really had the intention to rebel and had hundreds of men, would you be willing to follow me? You swore an oath back then."

Li Han smiled throughout his speech, presenting a warm and welcoming feeling. However, with so many henchmen around, this feeling was indeed diminished by the presence of these soldiers.

"Could it be... that these people are all your soldiers?"

Ruan Xiaoer realized what was happening and immediately widened his eyes to ask.

"Haha, brothers, tell the three Nguyen brothers, who am I?"

Li Han smiled and waved his hand, and everyone shouted in unison, "It's our elder brother! It's our lord!"

What does it mean when hundreds of people shout together? It's like the earth shaking! It can make the leaves on the treetops tremble. The sheer scale of it is enough to terrify the three Nguyen brothers.

"So... Brother Li really is..."

Before Ruan Xiaowu could finish speaking, Ruan Xiaoqi understood. Pointing at Li Han, he laughed, "You cunning Second Brother Li, you've been deceiving the three of us brothers from the beginning, all you wanted was for us to join you! What a scheme!"

Ruan Xiaoer said, "We three brothers made it clear that day that if there were someone who would help and support us, we would follow him through thick and thin. If you, Brother Li, meant well, you should have just said it. Why give us brothers this fright?"

The three Nguyen brothers were undoubtedly formidable heroes, but they were also frightened when they were suddenly surrounded by hundreds of fully armed men.

After all, this is on land, not in the water. In the water, they are not afraid of these hundreds of people at all, and can even fight back, but they can't do that on land.

Li Han smiled, raised his arms upwards and outwards in a lifting motion, and said to the three Ruan brothers, "Isn't seeing is believing? Now you can see that I have a group of brothers who are also preparing to raise the flag of rebellion. Are you willing to follow me?"

"Right on this hilltop, but this hilltop isn't very big. What's Brother Li planning? Is he going to sell jewelry again?"

Although Ruan Xiaoer and the other two were a little angry when the incident happened suddenly, they have calmed down now and started joking around.

"Haha, my lord would never do great things in such a small place. What my lord wants is the water of Shijie Lake!"

Wen Huanzhang spoke at the opportune moment, and the three Ruan brothers immediately realized what was happening and exclaimed in unison, "It's Liangshan Marsh!"

"It is indeed Liangshan Marsh. Liangshan Marsh is an 800-li marshland, which can be attacked or defended. It is a place that can be used as a base. However, if we want to break Liangshan Marsh, we must have a sufficiently powerful naval commander. Without three, it is really impossible!"

As Li Hanxiao walked towards the three Ruan brothers, he introduced them, “Gentlemen, Mr. Wen, you have already met. Let me introduce our Dong brothers. This is Brother Wang Yin, a descendant of Wang Yanzhang, the Iron Spear of Daliang. His spear is unpredictable. This is Brother Si Xingfang, who once served as a Wuyi Lang in Tokyo. He is highly skilled in martial arts. This is Brother Ma Bian, a descendant of Ma Dai and a successor of the Chushou Sword Technique. We are the Four Heroes of Huangmen Mountain: ‘Golden Wings on Clouds’ Ou Peng, ‘Divine Calculator’ Jiang Jing, ‘Iron Flute Immortal’ Ma Lin, ‘Nine-Tailed Turtle’ Tao Zongwang, and also ‘Surpassing Ren Gui’ Guo Sheng, ‘Fire-Eyed Lion’ Deng Fei, ‘Thunderbolt’ Ling Zhen, and ‘Brocade Leopard’ Yang Lin.”

The three Ruan brothers looked at each other in dismay. These were all renowned heroes in the martial arts world. If they were to seize Liangshan Marsh, how could Wang Lun possibly resist? It seemed that even Lin Chong would be of no use this time!

"Well, my three brothers, do you still want me to go to Shijie Village and invite you three times?"

Li Hanxiao stepped down and faced the three Ruan brothers. The three Ruan brothers exchanged glances, then pushed aside the gold mountain and overturned the jade pillar, bowing down before Li Hanxiao.

"Thank you for not abandoning me, Brother Li. I am willing to follow you to accomplish great things, even if it means going through fire and water!"

"Good, good! Please rise! From now on, we are brothers in life and death!"

Now that the matter of the three Nguyen brothers was settled, the brothers around them cheered and jumped for joy, and the scene was joyful.

He immediately informed the three Ruan brothers about the matter. The three Ruan brothers went home to settle their families first, and brought their mother and Ruan Xiao'er's wife up the mountain. No matter what, there would be no shortage of fish, meat, strong liquor and meat on the mountain for the time being. They were afraid that it would be troublesome to leave them in Shijie Village.

With these brothers, the agenda of taking Liangshan Marsh can be moved forward another step. With a highly skilled naval commander, crossing the marsh will no longer be a problem.

The main task now is to divide and conquer the five people currently in Liangshan.

First, there's "Leopard Head" Lin Chong. Dividing him up is the easiest part, since his family, Li Hanxiao, has already been rescued and brought to Liangshan. Moreover, Lin Chong was disliked by Wang Lun at every turn, which laid a good foundation for his rebellion.

However, if Lin Chong doesn't go down the mountain, Li Hanxiao won't be able to contact him. This means they need to win over another key figure they can win over, "Dryland Crocodile" Zhu Gui.

Zhu Gui was from Yishui County, Yizhou, and was Zhu Fu's older brother. He was originally one of the four leaders of Liangshan and one of the founding elders of the stronghold. After Lin Chong arrived, he became the fifth leader and was still considered part of the management team. However, in the later part of the original novel, during the reigns of Chao Gai and Song Jiang, his status continued to decline.

During the grand assembly of Liangshan, he ranked ninety-second, corresponding to the Earthly Prisoner Star. He ran the Liangshan Inn with Du Xing, still doing his old job of gathering information. He died of illness in Hangzhou during the campaign against Fang La. He was posthumously awarded the title of Righteous and Chaste Gentleman. Despite being a veteran, his end was not good.

His current task, arranged by Wang Lun, is to operate an inn at Lijia Pass near Liangshan Marsh, under the guise of a business, to gather intelligence on passing merchants. If any merchant possesses wealth, he is to inform the mountain stronghold and then rob them.

Any lone traveler who comes here without money is let through. Those with money are either drugged and rendered unconscious, or killed instantly. Their lean meat is sliced ​​into pieces, and their fat is fried in oil to light lamps, while they gather information at the same time.

Judging from his actions, he certainly deserves the nickname "Dryland Crocodile," but we can't criticize him too much, since it was Wang Lun's order.

In reality, Zhu Gui, despite his ferocious animal persona, was quite kind-hearted.

When Lin Chong first joined Liangshan, Wang Lun refused to accept him, citing excuses such as "food shortage," "inadequate housing," "limited manpower," and "delaying his future."

Among those present, Zhu Gui was the first to stand up and raise his questions. He responded to Wang Lun's four baseless excuses: "food shortage," "untidy buildings," "insufficient manpower," and "delay in his future," leaving Wang Lun speechless.

Du Qian and Song Wan, having seen Zhu Gui's insightful words, were unwilling to be the bad guys. They also said a few good things about Lin Chong, which further reinforced the effect of Zhu Gui's words.

Furthermore, in the subsequent explanation of the term "blood oath," it was Zhu Gui who corrected Lin Chong's preconceived notions.

It can be said that without Zhu Gui's enthusiastic help, Lin Chong's path to advancement would have been quite difficult. Although Lin Chong's journey to join Liangshan was already fraught with hardship, Zhu Gui was the only person who helped him.

Li Hanxiao could also see from this that, apart from Wang Lun, the other three leaders were also usable.

First are Du Qian, nicknamed "Touching the Sky," and Song Wan, nicknamed "King Kong in the Clouds." Although these two are only average in martial arts and have no outstanding talents, they are decent people and willing to help others.

Of course, this was only within their capabilities; in terms of enthusiasm, they were far less enthusiastic than Zhu Gui.

Du and Song were closer to Wang Lun than Zhu Gui, so they were ranked higher than Zhu Gui. They also stayed in the main stronghold. Zhu Gui was obviously less close to Wang Lun, so he ran an inn at Lijia Pass on the outermost edge of Liangshan Marsh.

Zhu Gui, due to his straightforward personality, was ranked lower than Du Qian and Song Wan in the eras of Wang Lun, Chao Gai, and Song Jiang, which is somewhat unfair.

During Wang Lun's reign, Zhu Gui was ranked last; even with Lin Chong, Zhu Gui remained last; when Chao Gai arrived, Zhu Gui was still last among the eleven leaders; when Hua Rong and nine others joined Liangshan, Zhu Gui was originally last again, but due to the sudden release of the traitor Bai Sheng from prison, Zhu Gui "gloriously" ranked second to last.

Even at the final gathering of the 108 heroes, Zhu Gui, Du Qian, and Song Wan were all ranked quite low. Li Hanxiao felt that fate was quite unfair to Zhu Gui. Zhu Gui's Dongshan Inn served three purposes: connecting the mountain stronghold, scouting enemy positions, and recruiting talents. Zhu Gui had also provided substantial financial assistance to important leaders such as Lin Chong, Dai Zong, and Li Kui. However, no matter which leader was in charge, the kind-hearted Zhu Gui was always seen as an oddball, and his status was even lower than that of many incompetent individuals.

Therefore, Li Hanxiao felt that they should start from the outermost perimeter and launch a surprise attack on Zhu Gui's Lijiadaokou Hotel to see if they could win Zhu Gui over.

When Lin Chong joined Liangshan, the first Liangshan leader he came into contact with was Zhu Gui, the "Land Crocodile." And under Wang Lun's rule, Lin Chong and Zhu Gui had a relatively good relationship.

Zhu Gui has the ability to launch signal arrows from the water pavilion to call ships to and from Liangshan Marsh. If we can win him over and have him contact Lin Chong, and bring Lin Chong to his Li Family Roadside Tavern to meet Lin Chong's wife and Zhang the Instructor and his daughter, Lin Chong will be successfully won over.

However, Li Hanxiao estimated that forcing Zhu Gui would be useless, since the man was indeed loyal. Therefore, he planned to take two things to Zhu Gui's tavern at the entrance of Lijiadao. If he could successfully persuade him, he could avoid a fight and turn hostility into friendship.

Li Hanxiao then went down Niutou Mountain with Wang Yin, since they would need help if something went wrong.

One rode Beihai Saluzi, and the other rode Zhuanshanfei. Before long, they arrived at Zhu Gui's tavern at the entrance of Lijiadao.

They had just arrived at Zhu Gui's Tavern at the entrance of Lijiadao and entered the shop when the waiter greeted them, "Esteemed guests, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

"We specifically seek out Manager Zhu, the 'Dry Land Crocodile'."

As soon as Li Hanxiao said this, the boy's face darkened, and he immediately responded with a coded message.

"Where in the world do we drink the water from?"

"They moved five mountains of gold, silver, copper, and iron."

After Li Hanxiao finished answering, the waiter knew that they were kindred spirits, so he went back to find Zhu Gui.

When Zhu Gui came to see Li Hanxiao from behind, Li Hanxiao was on the wall, looking at the poem that Lin Chong had once written and reading it aloud.

"Lin Chong is righteous, and most honest and loyal. His reputation in the martial world is renowned, and he is a hero in the capital. His life is tragic, like a drifting weed, and his fame is like a tumbleweed blown by the wind. If he succeeds in the future, he will be a force to be reckoned with in Mount Tai. Zhu Gui, Zhu Gui, even Lin Chong, though in adversity, knew to humble himself and wait for his time to shine. When the time came, he would make a name for himself. But you don't know that..."

At this moment, Zhu Gui had just walked up behind Li Hanxiao and Wang Yin. Upon hearing Li Hanxiao's words, his expression darkened, for there was a hidden meaning in his words.

"Who are you, sir? What brings you here?"