Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"A duel? Alright, Commander Yang, you should recuperate first!"

Li Hanxiao also knew that Yang Zhi, this "Blue-Faced Beast," carried the pride of being a descendant of the Yang family generals. Now that he had completely shattered that pride, it was normal for him to be dissatisfied.

As for whether he could defeat Yang Zhi, Li Hanxiao was still a little unsure. Although this guy was the vanguard of the Eight Tiger Generals in the original novel "Water Margin", his martial arts skills were in no way inferior to those of the Five Tiger Generals. He had fought against "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, "Double Whip" Huyan Zhuo, and "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen. His fighting ability on horseback and on foot was also quite good.

However, even if Yang Zhi recovers from his injuries, it will be at least a month before he can be back to normal. If Li Hanxiao practices diligently during this month, he might be able to defeat Yang Zhi.

"By the way, Instructor Lin, when I left Liangshan, you asked me to visit your home, but unfortunately I didn't get to go before I killed Niu Er in a fight..."

At this moment, Yang Zhi remembered Lin Chong's instructions and said apologetically.

"It's alright, Commander Yang. My family is also on Liangshan. My wife is an excellent soup maker, and I'll make some nourishing soups for you in the future!"

"How did you get here, sister-in-law?"

Yang Zhi asked in surprise.

At this point, Lin Chong looked at Li Hanxiao with deep gratitude, "It's all thanks to the stronghold's leader, Bo Yuntian. He heard about my situation, and although we've never met, he risked his life to enter the capital to bring my family out. He even kidnapped that scoundrel Gao Yanei and handed him over to me to deal with. Even if I, Lin Chong, am torn to pieces, I can never repay his kindness!"

"Oh, Chief Li is truly a chivalrous and righteous man, no less so than Guan Yu!"

After hearing about Lin Chong's story, Yang Zhi's opinion of Li Hanxiao improved even further.

While rescuing Zhang Jiaotou's family from Tokyo was not exactly easy, it was still achievable. However, kidnapping and killing the adopted son of the current Grand Commandant Gao was far too difficult!

Putting aside the difficulty, the risks involved are so great that even wiping out Li Hanxiao's entire clan wouldn't be enough to resolve them!

Yang Zhi couldn't help but think about it. Such a loyal and righteous person, it wouldn't be a bad choice for Yang Zhi to serve.

Five days have passed since the robbery of the birthday gifts. Although Li Hanxiao and his men buried the bodies, with so many corpses and the henchmen who escaped that day, the truth could not be kept secret.

After someone discovered the corpses and traces, they reported it to the authorities. It was determined that this was a battle between bandits and a caravan transporting birthday gifts. When the bodies were counted, Yang Zhi's was found to be missing.

When the report was sent to Liang Zhongshu, Yang Zhi naturally became the first suspect. As a result, a warrant for his arrest was issued, and Yang Zhi is now a wanted criminal.

However, Liang Zhongshu still hasn't figured out who took the birthday gifts.

Over a thousand people died on Huangni Ridge. Most of them could not be identified, and it was only known that they were bandits. It would take a lot of effort to find out which bandits they came from.

After Li Hanxiao obtained the birthday tribute, he divided the 100,000 strings of gold and silver jewelry in two. He used one half for the mountain's use and took out the other half to do something for the people.

Li Hanxiao considered that it was a chaotic time, and the world was not at peace. If he directly distributed wealth to the people or exchanged it for food, it would probably be robbed before it even got a chance to enjoy it.

We can't exactly let them stay and eat at Liangshanbo, can we?

Therefore, Li Hanxiao wondered if he could use the work-for-relief method to create an organization similar to a charity to attract displaced people and give them the means to become self-reliant.

Li Hanxiao's inspiration came from the Fan Family Charitable Estate established by Fan Zhongyan, the Duke of Fan Wenzheng, during the Northern Song Dynasty.

The Fan Family Charitable Estate was established by Fan Zhongyan in the second year of the Huangyou era, after he was demoted for the third time. He donated more than 1000 mu of land in his hometown of Wu County, Suzhou.

He used the rent from the charitable estate to support poor members of his clan, and he established regulations for the charitable estate to govern the lives of his clan members.

After his death, his second son, Chancellor Fan Chunren, and his third son, Right Vice Minister Fan Chunli, added further regulations to ensure the continued operation of the charitable estate.

Judging from its purpose, the beneficiaries of the charitable estate were members of the Fan clan. For over eight hundred years, any member of the clan residing in the area could benefit from it. Although the scope of relief provided by the charitable estate was limited by the clan, the number of beneficiaries was still quite broad. It was able to provide relief to the poor, practice charity, and help those in distress, making it arguably the earliest large-scale and systematic charitable institution in ancient times.

Li Hanxiao's idea was to use Chao Gai's manor in Dongxi Village as the main location, inject the 50,000 strings of cash as start-up capital, buy houses and land, and treat it like a plantation to grow the necessary cash crops and hire refugees, thereby solving the livelihood problem of the refugees in the long term.

The world is too vast, and there are too many people suffering. Li Hanxiao's current abilities are insufficient to solve the livelihood problems of all the refugees, so he can only do what he can.

This approach can generate profits for the mountain stronghold and provide a livelihood for displaced people, which is a good thing.

When Li Hanxiao told "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai about this idea and proposed that he be stationed at his manor in Dongxi Village to take charge of the matter, Chao Gai was overjoyed.

For Chao Gai, this matter could indeed help more working people, and he also had some experience in managing the manor. Moreover, he was the head of Dongxi Village, which made things much easier for him as a middleman.

As for what to plant, that was related to the group of foreign merchants that Li Hanxiao discovered after returning from retrieving the birthday tribute.

On his way back to the mountain after seizing the birthday gifts, Li Hanxiao encountered a group of Persian merchants.

Li Hanxiao looked at the things the Persian merchants were carrying; they were all Western specialties. However, one bag of seeds in particular surprised him.

What is it? It's cotton seeds!

Cotton-padded clothing, which provides excellent protection against the cold, is no longer available in China.

The main clothing materials were still leather and hemp. Until the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, when Huang Daopo lived, cotton was already widely cultivated in the Yangtze River basin. Huang Daopo brought the advanced cotton textile technology she learned from the Li women in Hainan to the Songjiang area, and creatively improved the traditional single-spindle hemp spinning wheel in Songjiang into a three-spindle cotton spinning wheel. Her improvements and inventions laid the foundation for the cotton textile industry advantage of the Yangtze River Delta to this day.

The origin of upland cotton is generally believed to be in the Mexican highlands and Caribbean region, Guatemala, and the Andes Mountains in northwestern South America. Its center of origin is in Mexico in central America. China does not have cotton native to China; it was mainly transmitted from the Western Regions.

The introduction of cotton into China is documented in detail throughout history. Records of cotton exist from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, but it was not widely cultivated at that time. Large-scale introduction and popularization of cotton in China occurred at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, when records of cotton cultivation began to appear in historical documents. It wasn't until the early Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang promoted cotton cultivation through policies that forced farmers to plant it, that the spread and cultivation of cotton in China accelerated.

There may be cotton in China now, but no one grows it, and even less so does anyone use it for clothing.

Li Hanxiao bought all their cotton seeds and even hired a Hu man who knew how to grow cotton as an advisor, intending to plant cotton extensively with Chao Gai to supply Liangshan.

The warmth retention of cotton-padded clothing is unmatched by any other clothing material today. After all, besides heating measures in their dwellings, wearing thick clothing was the best way for ancient people to keep warm.

Cotton-padded clothes are lighter and much cheaper to manufacture than heavy fur robes.

In the future, if Li Hanxiao wants to penetrate deep into the northern border to eliminate the powerful northern enemies, destroy the Liao and Jin dynasties, and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, he will need the help of cotton-padded clothing. Otherwise, the freezing weather there will cause huge losses to the troops.

Moreover, this is also an economic crop that can be spun into cotton cloth. Compared to other fabrics, it is relatively easier to keep warm, soft and comfortable against the skin, with excellent moisture absorption and breathability. It is also easier to dye, and you can make a considerable profit by selling it!

So in the past few days, after Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," returned to Dongxi Village, he purchased a lot of farmland and unclaimed wasteland around the village and began to cultivate it. At the same time, he also began to build houses and make preliminary preparations.

When the villagers asked Chao Gai why he suddenly bought so much land, he simply said that he wanted to farm to earn some money and revitalize his family business. No one doubted him anymore, and they all thought that Chao Gai wanted to get married and have children. He wanted to earn more while he was still able to work so that he could pass it on to his sons and descendants.

As for the whereabouts of Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," Li Hanxiao also inquired about it. After slipping away from Huangni Ridge that day, he did not return to the Dongxi Village School. Now, his whereabouts are unknown.

Li Hanxiao knew very well that Wu Yi, this "wise strategist," must hate him this time, and the day of revenge was probably still to come. It was a pity that he hadn't caught him back then.

Perhaps this is fate. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, while a villain takes revenge from morning till night. Wu Yong's methods are far from those of a gentleman. We really need to be wary of him in the future, otherwise, who can guarantee that Wu Yong won't pull a fast one on Li Hanxiao at a crucial moment?

In addition, Li Hanxiao also persuaded Zhu Jing, the chieftain of Zijin Mountain, known as "Drilling Spear," to surrender.

Zhu Jing, nicknamed "Drilling Spear," was initially unconvinced. He believed that Li Hanxiao's scheme of reaping the benefits without lifting a finger was not honorable at all, so he looked down on Li Hanxiao.

When he arrived at Liangshan Marsh, he was convinced that, although both were mountain strongholds, Li Hanxiao's Liangshan Marsh was far superior to his Zijin Mountain.

Moreover, he knew that Zijin Mountain was now in a state of near collapse, with half of its henchmen and two other leaders dead. Even if he went back, he would be unable to hold the mountain together alone.

It would be better to learn from Li Zhong, the "Tiger Slayer" of Peach Blossom Mountain, and Zhou Tong, the "Little Tyrant," and find a powerful backer.

As for the issue of Yang Zhi killing his two brothers, Li Hanxiao explained it to him clearly. At that time, everyone was serving their own master, and one could not expect Yang Zhi to show mercy to those who wanted to kill him. Zhu Jing also agreed, saying that he would not pursue the matter any further and was willing to join Liangshan Marsh.

Li Hanxiao then had Si Xingfang accompany him to Zijin Mountain to bring back the remaining bandits and provisions to Liangshan Marsh.

If Zhu Jing had any ulterior motives, Si Xingfang's skills would be more than enough to deal with him, Zhu Jing, the "Sky-Piercing Spear." Although Zhu Jing's martial arts were not bad, he was still far from being a match for Si Xingfang.

Of the remaining hilltops, the only leader of Erlong Mountain, "Golden-Eyed Tiger" Deng Long, is dead, leaving the group leaderless. Sun Yuan, "Sea Yaksha" of Sangai Mountain, is also dead, leaving the group leaderless as well. If troops are sent to these two territories, they will probably surrender immediately.

Li Hanxiao also dispatched two groups of people. One group, led by "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, was to subdue Erlong Mountain, while the other group, led by "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang, was to subdue Umbrella Mountain.

As for Qingfeng Mountain, the situation is different. They only lost most of their henchmen, but their leader did not die. "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying was hit by a flying fork and was taken back by "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun. They are currently all on Qingfeng Mountain.

They probably won't surrender easily, since the three leaders are still around, and a battle is likely to break out.

After careful consideration, Li Hanxiao decided to personally lead his troops to attack Qingfeng Mountain. If these three guys put up a stubborn resistance, he would kill them on the spot.

To be honest, Li Hanxiao didn't have a good impression of these three guys. Not only did they dig out people's hearts and livers to drink as a hangover soup, but Wang Ying, nicknamed "Dwarf Tiger," was also quite lecherous. He was always looking for something better than what he had. Even with a beautiful wife like Hu Sanniang, nicknamed "One-Zhang-Qing," he still fell for Qiu Qiongying, nicknamed "Qiong Arrowhead," in the original story. He wasn't even a good man.

Just as Li Hanxiao returned, Wu Song brought up the matter of tricking his brother Wu Dalang into joining Liangshan Mountain again, urging Li Hanxiao to hurry up and help with it.

Li Hanxiao dictated a letter and asked Wu Song to write it down. Wu Song said that Wu Dalang recognized his handwriting.

Then send it to Wu Dalang in Qinghe County. As for who to send it, that requires someone clever enough not to let Wu Dalang see through the deception.

After much deliberation, Li Hanxiao sent Cao Zheng, nicknamed "The Butcher," to the task. Despite the name "The Butcher" suggesting a simple butcher who slaughters pigs and cuts bones, Cao Zheng was actually quite shrewd.

In the original story, it was this guy who came up with the idea for "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen and "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi to cleverly seize Erlong Mountain and settle down. He wasn't stupid and had some wisdom.

In terms of martial arts, he wouldn't be in danger. Although he didn't have many achievements among the Earthly Fiends, he did fight Yang Zhi to a draw after twenty rounds in the original novel "Water Margin." His martial arts skills were quite good among the Earthly Fiends, which would ensure his safety along the way.

However, Li Hanxiao still has no clue how to solve Pan Jinlian's problem. To make Pan Jinlian devoted to Wu Dalang, it is impossible unless Wu Dalang's appearance is changed.

Or, we could improve Wu Dalang's abilities...