Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"Instructor Lin, General Si, I'm willing to go and challenge them!"

The speaker was Deng Fei, nicknamed "Fire-Eyed Lion." He had been recuperating from a leg injury and had missed all combat operations. Now that his leg injury had healed, he was eager to try his skills.

"That's right, I'd love to take the credit too!"

"Golden Wings Soaring Through the Clouds" Ou Peng also brandished his large staff and shouted.

"Alright, my two brothers, please be careful not to hurt them. Brother Li said that these two will also be our brothers in the future, so we must try to win them over!"

Seeing this, Si Xingfang agreed to their request.

"kill!"

"Fire-Eyed Lion" Deng Fei brandished his iron chains, while "Cloud-Piercing Golden-Winged" Ou Peng wielded his broadsword, and together they charged out of the formation.

"You two burly men, come and face your death!"

"Fiery-Eyed Lion" Deng Fei angrily challenged him. "Cloud-Piercing Vajra" Song Wan and "Touching the Sky" Du Qian exchanged a glance and spurred their horses forward. "Cloud-Piercing Vajra" Song Wan faced off against "Fiery-Eyed Lion" Deng Fei, while "Cloud-Piercing Golden-Winged" Ou Peng dealt with "Touching the Sky" Du Qian.

Although these four are all Earthly Fiends, Du Qian and Song Wan are ranked much lower than Ou Peng and Deng Fei. Although both of them are over two meters tall, they are just tall and their skills are mediocre, far inferior to Ou Peng and Deng Fei.

Song Wan, nicknamed "Cloud Vajra," came to fight Deng Fei, nicknamed "Fire-Eyed Lion," wielding a fancy spear. As a burly man resembling Vajra, shouldn't he have used a heavy weapon befitting his image? Instead, he took a light fancy spear, which truly demonstrated his lack of strength. He couldn't use a heavy weapon; it was all show and no substance.

"Oh!"

Deng Fei swung the iron chain in a wide arc towards Song Wan. Song Wan blocked it with his spear. Although he managed to block the chain, the chain was a soft weapon, and when it was blocked, it snapped back and struck Song Wan squarely in the chest.

"Woo!"

Fortunately, Song Wan's physique was somewhat tolerable, given his large stature and the fact that the iron chain was a blunt weapon. He only felt a tightness in his chest and his vision went black, but it wasn't fatal.

As soon as they clashed, Song Wan suffered a loss. Du Qian saw this and knew that these guys were not simple. He wielded his octagonal staff and engaged in a fierce battle with "Golden Wings of the Clouds" Ou Peng's large staff and saber.

Du Qian and Song Wan were about the same height, but Du Qian's weapon was not as good as Song Wan's. Du Qian only knew some staff techniques and fist and foot techniques. If he were to learn from Xiong Kuohai, the "Purple-Faced Heavenly King" of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and get a large metal staff, he would be quite powerful.

Unfortunately, like Song Wan, he lacked strength, and the octagonal staff in his hand was just made of sandalwood with copper hoops on both sides. How powerful could it be?

Ou Peng, being a son of a military officer, knew from his encounter with Du Qian that Du Qian's martial arts skills were far inferior. He wielded his large saber and slashed repeatedly, forcing Du Qian to retreat steadily.

"Look at the knife!"

Ou Peng could tell that Du Qian's weapon was not sturdy, so he had already decided to cut his stick in half. He slashed the octagonal stick heavily several times.

Although Du Qian could still defend against "touching the sky," Ou Peng had already cut many wounds on the wooden stick. Now, Ou Peng used "power to split Mount Hua" and cleaved the octagonal stick in two with all his strength!

"what!"

Du Qian's weapon snapped in two instantly. Just as he was surprised, Ou Peng's large polearm arrived. With a flick of the tip, it pierced Du Qian's shoulder. Du Qian was wearing chainmail, but his shoulder was unprotected. His skin was torn open, and he was in pain. Ou Peng immediately threw him off his horse, and the henchmen behind him rushed in and captured him alive.

"brother!"

Seeing Du Qian captured alive, Song Wan, nicknamed "King Kong in the Clouds," panicked. His spear techniques became increasingly chaotic. He wanted to save Du Qian but couldn't break free. He wanted to fight while also trying to save Du Qian. He was indecisive, which is a major taboo in battle!

"Fire-eyed Lion" Deng Fei seized the opportunity, and with a "whoosh," the iron chain in his hand struck Song Wan's head with a "white snake spits its tongue."

Song Wanzi was too tall, but his martial arts skills were not up to par, which resulted in him having too many weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

"what!"

Song Wan suffered a splitting headache and collapsed from his horse, quickly following in Du Qian's footsteps.

Seeing that their second and third leaders had been captured alive, the Liangshan bandits were completely demoralized and fled towards the pass, discarding all their weapons, swords and spears, as they considered them cumbersome.

"Stop!"

Lin Chong suddenly thrust his spear forward, making a sound like a tiger's roar, and the spear slammed into the plaque in front of the pass with a "bang".

The henchmen who had been trying to escape immediately stopped in their tracks. They knew that if they ran any further, the gun would probably be stuck in their bodies!

Lin Chong spurred his horse forward, glared, and roared, "Let's see which of you dares to act recklessly in my hands! You know my abilities. If any of you dare to run again, I'll draw my sword!"

"Instructor Lin, spare my life!"

The henchmen were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, crying and begging Lin Chong to spare their lives.

"It's not difficult to spare you, just leave Wang Lun and come with us, and I'll guarantee you'll be safe!"

"We are willing to follow Coach Lin!"

These lackeys are all people who understand the situation. Besides, they didn't have that deep relationship with Wang Lun. Most of them were just starving farmers who came up the mountain to make a living. As long as they could survive, it didn't matter who they followed.

"Wrong, it's not following me, it's following Li Hanxiao, Chief Li!"

Lin Chong said.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. Meanwhile, Lin Chong led his men to break through the first pass, while Li Hanxiao took the mountain path to break through the second pass. The people at the second pass were unaware that the first pass had been breached. Du Qian and Song Wan had gone to the first pass to meet the enemy, and there was no leader at the second pass, nor were there many soldiers guarding it.

Li Hanxiao and the others had already reached the side mountain of the Second Pass via that path. Li Hanxiao patted Ling Zhen and said, "Brother Ling Zhen, try out your cannon!"

"Order!"

"Thunderbolt" Ling Zhenxing was overjoyed and called to Ma Lin and Guo Sheng to help him place the two tiger crouching cannons on the ground, preparing to bombard the two passes from a high vantage point.

The henchmen on the second pass were still standing guard in a very lax manner when they heard two cannon shots from the mountain to the left. Immediately afterwards, countless iron bullets, stones, and lead blocks with flashes of light poured down from above like rain, instantly covering the walls of the second pass.

In an instant, more than a dozen henchmen were injured or killed to varying degrees. The most serious injury was that half of his skull was knocked off by a stone, while the least serious injury was that his face was covered in pockmarks from iron shot.

"Blow up the suspension bridge!"

Li Hanxiao directed Ling Zhen to fire a shot. The Tiger Crouching Cannon fired a barrage of various rounds of ammunition at the suspension bridge. The ropes suspending the bridge were snapped amidst the flying ammunition, and the bridge crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

"rush!"

Seeing that the suspension bridge had been blown down, Li Hanxiao grabbed his three-pointed double-edged sword, roared, and his eagles and pack of dogs rushed out of the nearby forest in an instant, heading straight for the Second Pass.

Guo Sheng, nicknamed "Sai Rengui," Yang Lin, nicknamed "Jin Baozi," and Ma Lin, nicknamed "Tie Di Xian," led dozens of henchmen to charge towards the second pass. Li Hanxiao and Wen Huanzhang brought up the rear, while only Ling Zhen led twenty henchmen to continue firing cannons from the high ground on the mountain to cover the charge.

Although those henchmen weren't very combat-minded, they knew that leaving the drawbridge there was tantamount to opening a door wide for the enemy; once the enemy rushed in, they would be dead.

So some of the bolder ones tried to pull up the suspension bridge, but before they could cross, falcons swooped down from the sky and attacked them with their sharp claws.

The pack of dogs moved much faster than humans. Led by Li Hanxiao's hunting dogs, they quickly rushed across the suspension bridge, biting anyone they saw with ferocity. These dogs, which had eaten corpses, were no joke when they bit people. One bite would take away at least two ounces of flesh, and two bites would take away half a pound. They directly bit the surrounding henchmen, sending them scattering and fleeing.

With Ling Zhen's two crouching cannons providing suppressive fire from above, the Liangshan bandits could barely form an effective defense. Li Hanxiao's heroes rushed across the drawbridge, and "Sai Rengui" Guo Sheng and "Jin Baozi" Yang Lin, with a halberd and a spear, felled seven or eight bandits. They then shouted, "Surrender and you'll be spared!"

Most of the henchmen begged for mercy, since the second pass had already been breached and they had no reason to put up a further fight.

As for the few who were still willing to block the road, they were all cut down by "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin wielding his twin swords. Li Hanxiao and Ma Lin led three or five people straight to the Hall of Gathering and Distribution of Loot where Wang Lun was located, preparing to capture the kingpin and the thief.

Wang Lun had just heard the cannons firing from the second pass, followed by a series of shouts of battle approaching from afar, and he immediately realized something was wrong.

"It's over..."

He realized that he probably couldn't save his Liangshan. He went to get the sword hanging on the wall, intending to commit suicide. After all, as a scholar, suicide could preserve his integrity.

As a result, his sword had rusted because it hadn't been drawn for so long, and he couldn't pull it out.

He didn't have much courage left to commit suicide to begin with, and when he realized he couldn't draw his sword, he lost all his integrity.

"Thirty-six strategies, walking is the best strategy!"

Wang Lun didn't care about integrity anymore; staying alive was the most important thing. Before the enemy attacked, he quickly grabbed some gold and silver, took off his robe, and ran towards the back mountain.

He hadn't run far when he saw more than ten people blocking his way. The leader was Wen Huanzhang, and Ling Zhen, the "Thunderbolt" who had fired the cannon earlier.

"Ah! You are..."

Wang Lun was terrified. Wen Huanzhang stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Chief Wang, I am Wen Huanzhang, and I am also a scholar. You are behaving in a way that is unbecoming of a scholar."

"Brother, since we are both scholars, why not let me off the hook? Here, I'll give you all of this..."

Wang Lun took out all his gold, silver, and valuables and knelt on the ground.

Wen Huanzhang looked at this spineless fellow with disdain and said, "No need, no need. My lord did not intend to kill you. He promised Zhu Gui that he would treat you well and keep you on the mountain. He will definitely not kill you."

"Ah? This..."

Wang Lun's mind was a little slow to process what was happening, but then he thought, as long as he wasn't killed, even if he had to give up his position as the chieftain, it wouldn't matter. As long as he was alive!

“However, although our lord says so, we, as his subjects, must consider his best interests. Wang Lun, do you know the story of Zhai Rang and Li Mi of Wagang Village at the end of the Sui Dynasty?”

As Wen Huanzhang finished speaking, his eyes suddenly sharpened.

"you……"

Wang Lun roughly understood Wen Huanzhang's meaning. In "The Rise of the Tang Dynasty", Zhai Rang first occupied Wagang Village, Cheng Yaojin defeated Zhai Rang, and the heroes went to Wagang. Cheng Yaojin became the Demon King, and Wagang established the Great Demon Kingdom.

Later, Li Mi came along, and Cheng Yaojin gave the throne to Li Mi. Li Mi changed the name of the state to Western Wei, and Wagang became the Western Wei state.

Historically, Cheng Yaojin never became emperor; it was Zhai Rang who ceded the throne to Li Mi.

After Zhai Rang ceded his position to Li Mi, he seemed to regret it. He felt his status was increasingly inferior to Li Mi's, and he began to consider taking the position back. But he had already given it up; how could he get it back? The only way was to find fault with Li Mi.

So Zhai Rang would find fault with Li Mi at every turn, which made Li Mi constantly worried that one day Zhai Rang would find a major weakness in him and take back his position.

After much deliberation, Li Mi decided it was best to strike first and eliminate Zhai Rang. He made preparations beforehand, then invited Zhai Rang for drinks. During the meal, he presented Zhai Rang with a bow and asked him to test it on the spot. Just as Zhai Rang drew the bow, Li Mi's trusted confidant, Cai Jian, rushed up from behind. Cai Jian, wielding a steel knife, slashed down on Zhai Rang's shoulder and back, shouting, "Zhai Rang harbors ill intentions!" Caught off guard, Zhai Rang was killed instantly by Cai Jian's blade.

Wang Lun understood that Wen Huanzhang was afraid that Wang Lun's existence would affect Li Hanxiao's rule in the future. So, although Li Hanxiao promised to spare Wang Lun's life, Wen Huanzhang wanted to kill him!

"Brother, brother, no! No! I, Wang Lun, have no such heart, I would never..."

Wang Lun was almost in tears, repeatedly kowtowing to Wen Huanzhang, begging him to spare his life.

"Haha, who can predict what will happen in the future? Brother Wang Lun, don't blame me for being ruthless. My lord has been kind to me, and I should remove all threats and obstacles for him. Although my lord wants you to live, I have to consider his wishes. In the past, Sima Zhao had to have Cheng Ji do the killing of Cao Mao. Today, I can only do it for you. Don't worry, I will find a good place to bury you after you die. Go in peace!"

Wen Huanzhang came to deal with Wang Lun on his own initiative. He and Ling Zhen traveled dozens of miles of mountain roads just for this purpose, so as not to leave any threat to Li Hanxiao. Li Hanxiao could not do this, so he did it.

As a leader, Li Hanxiao can only govern the masses with "Dao" (the Way), which is open, upright, and honorable. However, the path of "Dao" is too open and upright to play its full role in chaotic times, so it needs the cooperation of "Shu" (techniques).

However, this "technique" contains too many shady aspects, so it's impossible for Li Hanxiao to do it; instead, Wen Huanzhang will take over.

"You! You! You! You viper! You overstep your bounds and presume to do things your way. Aren't you afraid that one day you'll end up like this too?!"

Wang Lun was dragged to the edge of a cliff by two henchmen. Although Wang Lun wished he could bury his feet in the ground, he could not stop them and could only shout.

"Haha, you don't need to worry about that. If he wants me to kill someone, I'll be all smiles; if he wants to kill me, I won't even flinch."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Lun fell off the cliff like a kite with a broken string.

"Reporting to my lord, Wang Lun saw that the mountain gate had been breached and fled towards the back mountain, but he lost his footing and fell to his death. His body will soon be transported back."