Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Because of the group of people that Wu Yong and Chao Gai had brought, Li Hanxiao felt that most of them could be persuaded to surrender and be used by him. Therefore, he instructed everyone in advance to show mercy, that injuries were acceptable, but not to kill.

"Me, oh my!"

On Chao Gai's side, "General Shi" Shi Yong was at the forefront. In terms of strength, there was basically no room for him to decline, and he was not at a disadvantage in terms of momentum.

"Oh!"

Facing Shi Yong was Wang Yin. In the original story, Wang Yin defeated "General Shi" Shi Yong in one move. Now the scene was being recreated. Wang Yin swung his tiger-head steel spear down from the air in a "Great Sage Chopping and Hanging" style. Shi Yong raised his spear to block, but he was not strong enough and was knocked to the ground unconscious by Wang Yin's spear strike.

You really have to admit, the difference in strength is that great.

The fact that Shi Yong was dealt with in an instant shocked Chao Gai and the others. Many people's attention was immediately drawn to Wang Yin, who was considered to be very dangerous.

"Mountain Demon" Han Bolong immediately raised his ghost-head saber to slash at Wang Yin. He quickly approached Wang Yin, trying to rush to the middle of the spear, avoid the most powerful spear tip, and launch an attack on Wang Yin.

Wang Yin didn't even glance at him, and with a sudden "spear slam" to the left, Han Bolong felt a sharp slam into his waist from Wang Yin's spear shaft. His body was then jolted backward to the left, his lower back and abdomen burning with pain.

Before Han Bolong could even get his footing, Si Xingfang's three-ringed embroidered broadsword came flying. Han Bolong raised his ghost-head saber to block it, but he couldn't stop it. The ghost-head saber was knocked away by the three-ringed embroidered broadsword and directly cut off the head of one of Chao Gai's servants.

Han Bolong was knocked unconscious by Si Xingfang hitting him on the head with the back of his knife.

For masters like Wang Yin and Si Xingfang, dealing with opponents of such vastly different strengths usually only requires one move, without much effort.

At this moment, "Faceless" Jiao Ting was using joint locks to firmly restrain "Mountain-Splitting Warrior" Nie Gong. After fighting for a long time, Jiao Ting saw that he could not win, so he threw away his knife and locked Nie Gong in a joint lock.

However, by doing so, he also gave up his weapon. Nie Gong was also very strong, and Jiao Ting could not kill him quickly with just his fists, feet and joint locks. At this moment, Jiao Ting, who was unarmed, seemed to have controlled Nie Gong, but in fact, he was also controlled by Nie Gong.

If someone were to attack Jiao Ting at this moment, how would he defend himself? On the battlefield, fist and foot skills are the least useful. If fists were useful, why would Lu Zhishen need an iron staff on the battlefield? With his superhuman strength that killed Zhen Guanxi with three punches, he could just swing his fists and become "One-Punch Man".

This is precisely why, in the original story, Jiao Ting was able to easily defeat Li Kui, but his battle record was far inferior to Li Kui's.

Sure enough, at this moment, Tang Bin, the "Mountain-Pulling Warrior", Wen Zhongrong, the "Mountain-Shaking Warrior", and Cui Ye, the "Mountain-Moving Warrior", rushed forward. Although these three were not top-level strongmen like Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, they were only slightly below them. They used their six hands to forcefully press Jiao Ting to the ground and beat him with punches and kicks.

No matter how skilled Jiao Ting was in sumo wrestling, it was useless at this moment, and he was knocked unconscious.

"Brother, give that Li Hanxiao a fork!"

Seeing that his side was clearly at a disadvantage, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," ran to Fu Xiang, the "scarred leopard," and directed him to launch a sneak attack on Li Hanxiao.

"it is good!"

Upon hearing this, "Scarface Leopard" Fu Xiang picked up a throwing fork, aimed it at Li Hanxiao, and threw it.

"Roar!"

Logically speaking, Li Hanxiao was not on guard at all, and there was a high probability that the throwing fork would succeed. However, just as the throwing fork was halfway there, a hunting dog pounced and bit it in one bite.

It was Li Hanxiao's hunting dog that saved its master.

"oops!"

Wu Yong was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet. He could have hit the target, but a dog suddenly jumped out.

"You scoundrel! You plotted against me!"

Li Hanxiao also heard the commotion and realized what was happening. He picked up his golden bow and silver bullets and fired at the two men.

"what!"

Because Li Hanxiao was furious and didn't hold back, the "Scarface Leopard" Fu Xiang, who had launched the sneak attack, had his eyeball pierced by a silver bullet and was already dead.

Seeing that he had killed one, Li Hanxiao felt a little regretful, so he fired another silver bullet at Wu Yong, but this time he was a little less forceful, as he didn't want to kill Wu Yong in one go.

At this moment, Wu Yong also pulled out two copper chains to protect himself; he certainly didn't want to die!

What Li Hanxiao couldn't understand was that he originally thought Wu Yong's skills should be very poor, but Wu Yong was able to easily hit the silver bullet he fired with a copper chain and break it apart!

Li Hanxiao suddenly remembered that in the original novel, when "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang and "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng were fighting with broadswords, it was this seemingly weak "wise man" Wu Yong who used two copper chains to separate their broadswords in one move.

This wasn't just casually stopping some little Karami from fighting; it was two Heavenly Stars risking their lives. It seems Wu Yong is actually hiding his true abilities!

Seeing that he had deflected the silver bullet, Wu Yong turned around and ran towards a crowded place, a place where the fighting was intense, in an attempt to distract Li Hanxiao.

Sure enough, Li Hanxiao was unable to find him.

With Wu Yong gone, Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," was not so lucky. At that moment, he was engaged in a fierce battle with Ou Peng, the "Golden-Winged Cloud-Piercing General."

"Brother Ou Peng, I'll have a go at him!"

Li Hanxiao stopped Ou Peng and prepared to fight Chao Gai himself.

"I have long admired the prowess of Chief Li of Liangshan. Today, Chao Gai seeks your guidance and has a favor to ask!"

Chao Gai said.

"What's the matter?"

Li Hanxiao also respected Chao Gai as a true man, otherwise he certainly wouldn't have listened to a single word of his nonsense.

"Our grudges are all on Chao Gai's shoulders. Please stop making things difficult for our brothers. Chao Gai is willing to fight you to the death. If he dies by your blade, please spare my brothers' lives!"

Judging from Chao Gai's words, he wanted to deliberately die under Li Hanxiao's blade to give the rest of the people a way to survive.

No wonder people say that "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai only values ​​"righteousness" in his life. Although these people are just a makeshift team he has put together in the last few days, he truly treats everyone here as a brother.

They were even willing to give their own lives to save theirs.

How magnificent!

By this time, Chao Gai's men had been almost wiped out, with only one "Yin Yang Hand" Lu Hui still putting up a fight on the leader's side, and less than fifty henchmen remaining.

As for the "wise strategist" Wu Yong, he's nowhere to be seen. He's probably long gone!

“Chao Tianwang, we have no old grudges. It was Wu Yong who bewitched people and tricked you. Can you still see his shadow now? He used you and ran away when things went wrong. Why do you still resist stubbornly?”

Li Han smiled and advised.

Upon hearing this, Chao Gai looked around and, sure enough, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," was nowhere to be found.

"Hahaha!"

Chao Gai let out a desolate and tragic laugh. It was unclear whether he was laughing at himself or at something else. Although it was laughter, it sent chills down one's spine.

"Quick! Follow me!"

Just then, another group of people attacked from the woods. The leader was a fat monk, followed by two bandits, who led five or six hundred henchmen with spears.

"Chief Li, I've brought the men to you. This is 'Tiger Slayer' Li Zhong, and this is 'Little Tyrant' Zhou Tong!"

The visitor was none other than Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk" of Peach Blossom Mountain, who had persuaded the entire mountain community a few days earlier. He had returned successfully and had persuaded everyone on Peach Blossom Mountain.

"Li Zhong and Zhou Tong greet Chief Li!"

When Li Zhong and Zhou Tong first met Li Hanxiao, they both bowed down.

"Please rise. When you arrived, you didn't see a single scholar-like person."

Li Hanxiao asked about Wu Yong's whereabouts.

"There was one who claimed to be a scholar on his way to take the imperial examination. He saw bandits fighting on Huangni Ridge and was terrified. My brother was afraid he would reveal the truth, so he was going to kill him. But Brother Lu Da said that Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life and let him go!"

"The Tiger-Slaying General" Li Zhong replied.

Li Hanxiao was both amused and exasperated. "Master Lu is kind and benevolent, which I admire. However... the instigator has been let go!"

Upon hearing this, Chao Gai turned ashen-faced. He had initially refused to believe that Wu Yong, his most trusted brother, had betrayed him, but now he had no choice but to believe it.

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to uphold righteousness, how can Chao Gai still have the face to live on in this world!"

Chao Gai's spirit was severely damaged at this moment. He didn't want to do these things in the first place, but Wu Yong's various brainwashings finally led him to do them. As a result, this situation has arisen, and Wu Yong has even betrayed him. He can't take it anymore.

Chao Gai raised his broadsword to slash at his own neck. The only person closest to him was Li Hanxiao. Without thinking, Li Hanxiao leaped forward, grabbed the blade, and stopped Chao Gai's suicide attempt.

Chao Gai sensed that his broadsword was being blocked. He opened his eyes and saw that Li Hanxiao had grabbed the broadsword with his hand, which was dripping blood.

"Chief Li, you..."

"Chao Tianwang, it is true that a true man should act with integrity and uprightness. Although you did these things, it was not your own intention. It was Wu Yong who instigated you. Instead of using your life to make amends for your mistakes, you committed suicide. What a coward!"

"I, Li Hanxiao, don't want you to die, I just want you to live! If you're willing, bring your brothers to our Liangshan Marsh, and together we'll build a great career, a truly great career for the country and the people, how about that?"

Li Han smiled and spoke sincerely, which deeply moved Chao Gai. He suddenly loosened his grip on the broadsword, and the broadsword fell to the ground.

"You, you really are so magnanimous, not holding a grudge against someone who was so petty..."

“When Yuchi Gong served Liu Wuzhou, he seized three passes by day and captured eight strongholds by night when fighting the Tang army. He could leap over city walls on horseback. However, after surrendering to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Taizong treated him like a brother. His portrait is displayed in the Lingyan Pavilion. This is a story from the past. The key is to know people and make good use of them. I, Li Hanxiao, am not talented, but I think so too.”

After Li Hanxiao finished speaking, Chao Gai burst into tears and knelt down directly in front of Li Hanxiao, saying, "This was not what I wanted, not what I wanted..."

Chao Gai said that this was not the outcome he wanted, he regretted it, and he also agreed with Li Hanxiao's suggestion...

"Lu Hui, what about you?"

Li Hanxiao turned his gaze to Lu Hui, the "Yin Yang Hand." Lu Hui had just been fighting Wu Song, but Wu Song had broken the shaft of his double-headed snake spear. Although he wasn't actually defeated, he had already lost in terms of technique.

"Brother, come with me to join Chief Li. He's a man of great ambition, courage, and ability!"

When Chao Gai said these words, it meant he was completely convinced by Li Hanxiao. After Li Hanxiao took him on the mountain, Chao Gai would wholeheartedly assist Li Hanxiao and would not have any disloyal intentions.

The saying goes, "A scholar will die for one who understands him," and Chao Gai was that kind of person—very simple.

Lu Hui glanced at Chao Gai, then at Li Hanxiao, threw away the broken spear, and nodded. "Lu Hui has fought in the border army and seen heroes, but has never seen anyone like Chief Li. Now that I can accompany you, I am greatly gratified. Even if I die for you, I will do it willingly!"

At this point, Lu Hui bowed and greeted Li Hanxiao, and the battle came to an end.

"Please rise, everyone. Now let's quickly collect the birthday gifts, clean up the battlefield, take the prisoners away, bury the corpses, and leave no trace!"

Now that we've reached the cleanup phase, Li Hanxiao first checked on "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi. He had passed out, but none of his injuries were fatal; he had simply collapsed from exhaustion.

He couldn't have survived without collapsing from exhaustion; Yang Zhi had single-handedly killed over a hundred henchmen! Historically, there are only a handful of people who could kill a hundred men; Yang Zhi had risked his life!

As for Zhu Jing, nicknamed "Sky-Piercing Spear," he was hit on the back of the head by Li Hanxiao with a silver bullet and fell unconscious, and has not woken up since.

Li Hanxiao ordered his men to tie him up and take him back to Liangshan. If he could be persuaded to pledge allegiance to Li Hanxiao, he could return to Zijin Mountain and bring his remaining followers and provisions to Liangshan, saving Li Hanxiao the trouble of fighting again.

It is estimated that Zhu Jing is very likely to surrender. His two brothers, "Iron Mantis" Shi Ding and "Copper Iron Head" Zhong Liang, have already died in this battle, and he has become a "commander without troops" on Zijin Mountain.

Moreover, in this battle, they lost at least half of their henchmen, suffering heavy losses and their strength was far less than before. It would be virtually impossible for them to recover their strength in a short period of time.

If they don't quickly find a powerful patron, they'll easily be taken advantage of by other strongholds, either swallowed up or wiped out, or wiped out by the government. There are no other possibilities.

As for the other mountain strongholds, the situation was the same. Not all of their leaders died in this battle, but some of their followers also perished, and the strength of the mountain strongholds was greatly weakened.

When the time comes, Li Hanxiao will conquer them one by one, and he is not afraid that they will not surrender.

“From now on, I, Chao Gai, will follow Chief Li and serve him faithfully. As for the farmland and land in Dongxi Village, I will also give it to Liangshan for military use. I wonder what Chief Li thinks?”

Chao Gai walked up to Li Hanxiao, seemingly to demonstrate his sincerity in surrendering.

Shi Yong, Jiao Ting, and Han Bolong, who had been captured earlier, followed suit and pledged their allegiance after seeing that Chao Gai had already surrendered.