Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

When it comes to vying for the emperor's favor in the imperial harem, it's a complex art. It's not enough to just be affectionate; you have to use your body and mind as well.

If a woman relies on her beauty to please men, then one day her beauty will fade and her favor will be gone. To understand how a woman can maintain her favor, one must understand men.

Li Shishi learned various ways to deal with men from a young age in brothels, using her beauty to please men; with her looks, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

However, she also knew that Li Hanxiao was no ordinary man, as he could remain unmoved by her beauty. If she wanted to win his heart, she couldn't rely solely on her looks and talent.

She had also read several history books and knew very well what kind of woman a man like Li Hanxiao, who was destined for great things, needed by his side. The more a woman could help him, the more she could keep him from getting distracted or causing trouble, and the more she could silently support him from behind, the more likely she was to win Li Hanxiao's heart.

Just like now, she is helping Li Hanxiao win people's hearts, and she also knows that if you want to win a man's heart, you have to win his stomach.

Li Hanxiao was eating heartily the white fungus and lotus seed soup cooked by Li Shishi. Li Shishi had studied cooking. When she was at Yuxianglou, she was taught by a retired imperial chef from the palace. She was very intelligent and quick to learn, and her cooking skills were no less than those of the imperial chefs in the palace. She could even make a pickled vegetable taste unique.

Li Hanxiao was a soldier and considered himself someone who could swallow anything, but when faced with delicious food, human nature wouldn't allow him to eat a few more bites.

"That was great! Absolutely fantastic!"

After eating three bowls of lotus seed soup, Li Hanxiao suddenly put down his bowl. Li Shishi asked, "Why don't you eat some more, young master? There's still soup left."

"You can't eat anymore. If you spoil your palate, you won't be able to eat the communal meals when you're on the front lines. Do you expect me to take you to the front lines to cook for me?"

Li Hanxiao was in a great mood today and joked with Li Shishi for the first time.

Li Shishi was secretly delighted to hear this joke, because this was the first time Li Hanxiao had joked during their time together. This meant that their relationship had taken a step closer and that Li Hanxiao had accepted them.

To some extent, this also indicates that Li Shishi's efforts were in the right direction, and she can now strike while the iron is hot...

"Shishi could also follow in Mulan's footsteps and join the army, but she would only cook for her husband while he was away on the battlefield..."

As Li Shishi finished speaking, she began to act coquettishly towards Li Hanxiao. Li Hanxiao, who had been a bachelor for half his life, had never seen anything like this before, and in this second life, he was experiencing some of a woman's tenderness.

"Young master, please take a look."

Li Shishi suddenly took out several letters and handed them to Li Hanxiao.

"what is this?"

Li Hanxiao took the letter, but didn't know what Li Shishi meant by it.

“I am a descendant of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Qing, who rebelled back then, was also my ancestor. After he was defeated, some of the former officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty have been living in seclusion ever since. My father had a past relationship with them, so Shishi wrote several letters to them. You can send someone to try to invite them. If they are willing to come and help, you will have more helpers.”

Li Hanxiao had heard about the matter Li Shishi mentioned before. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, there was a man named Li Qing who claimed that his ancestor was Li Yu. He spent five or six years gathering many skilled warriors and remnants of the Southern Tang Dynasty to secretly assist him in his plan to raise an army to revive the Tang Dynasty, destroy the Song Dynasty, and rebel.

Because of their thorough preparations, the Song army was caught off guard and captured nine cities, including Shouzhou, Huainan, Huoqiu, Fuyang, Bozhou, Lu'an, Mengcheng, Huaiyuan, and Jieshou, in just three months. Li Qing renamed Shouzhou in Anhui to Shouchun Prefecture, and the Little Southern Tang Kingdom was established. Later, it was the Taiping King Yang Huaiyu of the Yang family generals and the great hero Di Qing who destroyed them.

Li Hanxiao glanced at the letters. They were addressed to Luo Yanzhi, a descendant of Luo Fang, Duke of Yue in Chaling Prefecture; Cheng Da, a descendant of Cheng Feihu, Duke of Lu in Laizhou Prefecture; Qin Zhi, a descendant of Qin Feng, Duke of Huguo in Dengzhou Prefecture; Xue Wannian, a descendant of Xue Lü, Prince of Pingliao in Guangxin Army; Guo Taiping, a descendant of Guo Zaihui, Prince of Fenyang in Daizhou Prefecture; and Ma Ji, a descendant of Ma Santie, Prince of Beiping in Wu'an Prefecture.

"These are all descendants of the loyal ministers who supported Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Will they really come to my Liangshan?"

Li Han smiled at Li Shishi, and said with some disbelief.

Li Shishi smiled slightly and said, "When Li Qing rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, there were only two branches of Li Houzhu's lineage that could be defeated in the world. One was his, and after the city fell, his entire family was executed. The other was my family. When I was a child, I saw these people come to Tokyo to find my father, wanting to make him king and revive the Tang Dynasty. My father only wanted to live a peaceful life and refused them, but he often corresponded with them. These people swore that as long as my father and his descendants were willing to come out and restore the Tang Dynasty, even if they died, their descendants would come to support them..."

"Wait a minute! Although I am going to start a rebellion, I am going to overthrow the Song Dynasty, bring peace to the world, and rebuild the universe, not restore the Southern Tang Dynasty of your ancestors!"

Li Han thought to himself, "If Li Shishi were to use the rhetoric of 'restoring the Southern Tang' to lure them to Liangshan, and they found out it wasn't what they expected, that would be quite a sight!"

Li Shishi smiled slightly, "What you are worried about, young master, I have already thought of. In my letter, I mentioned... our relationship. If we have a child in the future, half of it will be my blood. If you, young master, can ascend the throne and make him the crown prince, then the future emperor will also have half of the Li Tang bloodline..."

Upon hearing Li Shishi's words, Li Hanxiao understood. In other words, for these people, if Li Shishi and one of their future children could become the crown prince and sit on the dragon throne, then they would be considered emperors with half of the Li Tang bloodline, and their wishes would be fulfilled.

Indeed, Li Shishi was a woman, and Li Houzhu had no other bloodline to carry on. Even if they did their best to support her, Li Shishi could not become emperor unless another Wu Zetian appeared. However, after the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian's path to success was basically blocked, and it was under strict control. Moreover, the people of the world could not tolerate the emergence of a second female emperor.

From this perspective, for these former officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty, this was indeed the best method...

"Shishi, I never imagined your considerations were so profound..."

Li Hanxiao couldn't help but sigh. It was such a pity that Li Shishi was a courtesan in history. With her intelligence, she definitely had the potential to be a female politician...

"Since Shishi has married, she must obey her husband and do her best for him. If he never abandons her, Shishi will surely be with him through life and death..."

As Li Shishi finished speaking, she nestled into Li Hanxiao's arms.

Li Han smiled to himself, thinking that although his relationship with Li Shishi was formed by a series of coincidences, it was still quite good. He also gained several descendants of military families. Since their fathers had come to Li Shishi's father to support his rebellion, these people must have kept up their family martial arts traditions. Their children and grandchildren are also sons of military families, so they are probably not too bad.

It's like he's taken a wife and brought a dowry with him. In the early stages of Liangshan, there was a lack of talent. If these people could really come to Liangshan, it would be a great help to Li Hanxiao.

The next day, Li Hanxiao had the plaque of Juyi Hall changed to "Upright and Honorable," and sent someone with Li Shishi's handwritten letter to find those former officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

The situation was peaceful until, before the plaques were even changed, Zhu Gui and Ruan Xiaoqi rushed up the mountain like lightning.

"Chief! Chief! The government troops are attacking the mountain!"

"Um?!"

Li Hanxiao was startled when he heard Zhu Gui's shout. He thought to himself that he hadn't made any big moves since he killed Wang Lun in Jizhou Prefecture, so how come the government troops arrived so quickly?

This is wrong!

"Brother Zhu Gui, how many people have come?"

Although the situation was very abnormal, Li Hanxiao remained calm. After all, although Liangshan Marsh had only been developing for a short time, its current leaders were quite strong. If the imperial court had not sent a large army, dealing with the government troops of Jizhou Prefecture should have been no problem.

"I have learned that the government troops of Jizhou Prefecture, led by the militia commander Huang An, are coming to conquer Liangshan. Huang An has already stationed his troops outside the city, numbering one or two thousand."

Zhu Gui was running so fast that he was panting heavily.

Is there a reason?

"I've heard that the people in Jizhou City know about the change of leadership at Liangshan, the death of Wang Lun, and the fact that the new leader has only recently taken control of Liangshan. They're worried about the instability within Liangshan and believe that our internal fighting will severely weaken us, so they want to take this opportunity to launch a campaign against us..."

Zhu Gui seemed to have something else to say, but looking at Li Hanxiao, he didn't say it in the end, looking like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

"What else? Tell me all at once!"

Urged on by Li Hanxiao, Zhu Gui finally finished his sentence, “Chief, I heard from Huang An’s soldiers that Huang An inquired about your background and learned that you had passed four trials in a brothel in Tokyo. He concluded that you were just someone with some miscellaneous skills… no, just a patron of prostitutes, a vanguard in a brothel… he figured you weren’t very capable… what could a patron of prostitutes possibly do? He’d surely be defeated in one strike…”

"A client?!"

Li Hanxiao was both amused and exasperated. What version of the story about him breaking through four levels at Yuxiang Tower had become circulating in the martial arts world? How did he end up being called a customer of prostitutes?

The old saying is true; three men can make a tiger, and many voices can melt metal. Huang An is trying to take advantage of Li Hanxiao.

After all, the only major mountain in the territory under the jurisdiction of Jizhou Prefecture is Liangshan Marsh. If it is wiped out, the prefecture will be at peace, which is also a political achievement. How could Huang An not be interested?

He had simply gone to the local temple to worship Guanyin—he had mistaken the door for the right one and taken Li Hanxiao for an easy target.

"Since Huang An is going to make a move, we can't just passively defend. He doesn't know how powerful I am, so I'll take the initiative and catch him off guard. How long until Huang An reaches the water's edge?"

Zhu Gui quickly replied, "I will arrive tomorrow night."

"Chief, we brothers are in the marshland, let them all die!"

Ruan Xiaoqi made a bold statement.

"No, defeating Huang An at the marshland would be a disadvantage, as it would not showcase my abilities. Zhu Gui, have Mr. Wen gather the leaders. I will select a hundred elite cavalry to descend the mountain and ambush nearby. In ancient times, Gan Ning and Gan Xingba led a hundred cavalry to raid Cao Cao's camp. Tomorrow night, when Huang An arrives at the marshland, he will naturally not cross the lake at night. Once he sets up camp, I will lead the hundred cavalry to attack his camp!"

"Excellent, let them see what a john can do!"

Ruan Xiaoqi made jokes without any restraint.

"Xiao Qi, you're asking for it!"

As Li Hanxiao finished speaking, Wen Huanzhang had already summoned all the leaders who were currently out of work and put them under his command.

"Chief, having heard that the government troops are approaching, Si Xingfang is willing to serve as the vanguard!"

"Wang Yin is also willing to engage in close combat!"

"Brother, brother, we are also willing to go!"

This is Li Hanxiao's first battle since taking command of Liangshan Marsh, and also the first battle to demonstrate the strength of the new Liangshan Marsh to the Jizhou government. This battle must be fought with great force, so that the Jizhou government troops will not dare to underestimate Liangshan Marsh, and so that they will not dare to invade for at least three years!

"Gentlemen, the government troops are attacking. We cannot let them underestimate us. What should we do?"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Good, you are all fine men. Listen to my command: Wang Yin, Si Xingfang, Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, Ou Peng, and Deng Fei, follow me to lead a hundred cavalry in a night raid on the enemy!"

"Yes!"

"The three Nguyen brothers prepared boats by the water's edge to provide support."

"Yes!"

"The rest of you, each perform your duties and guard the mountain with Mr. Wen and Instructor Lin. Get ready to go quickly!"

After Li Hanxiao finished his inspection, the leaders went to make their own preparations and dispersed. Only then did Li Hanxiao realize that Wu Song had also arrived at the scene sometime earlier.

"Brother Wu Song, what brings you here? Go back and rest quickly!"

Li Hanxiao went up and tried to pull Wu Song away, but Wu Song broke free.

"Brother Li, I've heard that government troops are coming to attack the mountain. Is that true?"

Wu Song looked at Li Hanxiao with a serious expression.

"Indeed, government troops have come, but it's nothing to worry about. They're just chickens and dogs; I can easily defeat them!"

Li Hanxiao said with a relaxed expression, "Huang An is not considered to have any special skills. In the original story, he was captured alive by Chao Gai's group without any effort and eventually died of illness at Liangshan. He is not a powerful figure."

"Wu Er is also willing to help Brother Li Er go and fight the enemy!"

Wu Song really wanted to repay Li Hanxiao for her kindness. This morning, Jin'er brought him the medicinal meal that Li Shishi had made for him. Wu Song ate it without any appetite, feeling that he owed Li Hanxiao too much and would feel uneasy if he didn't repay her.

Before long, he heard that government troops were coming to attack the mountain, so Wu Song thought he should also go and fight to repay Li Hanxiao for his kindness.

“Brother, no! You only have one crime on your record. If the king grants a general amnesty, you can go down the mountain and become a good citizen again. You still have your brother there. But if you kill the government troops, your life will be over!”

Before Li Han could even open his mouth with a smile, "Leopard Head" Lin Chong spoke first.

“That’s right, Brother Wu Song. You weren’t originally from Liangshan. I’ve already said I don’t need you to repay any favors. We’re brothers, this is our battle, not yours! You just need to recover your health on Liangshan, and when you come down the mountain, be a man of integrity!”

As Li Han smiled, he patted Wu Song on the shoulder with a meaningful expression.

Wu Song felt that this hand was neither too hard nor too soft. The calluses on the outside of the hand were somewhat hard, while the flesh inside was soft, giving it a feeling of being tough on the outside but gentle on the inside.

However, whether it was soft or hard, his hand felt very comfortable to hold...