Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

“Luan Tingyu and I are from the same school. In terms of martial arts, we started with the same skills. However, later, Master Zhou Tong taught him staff techniques and flying hammer techniques, which I do not know. Similarly, he does not know my spear techniques or whip techniques.”

Sun Li, nicknamed "Sickly Yuchi," talked about his and Luan Tingyu's martial arts styles.

In the book, Luan Tingyu, nicknamed "Iron Rod," is handpicked by the author to possess "unmatched bravery," seemingly destined to play a leading role like Shi Wengong of Zengtou City. However, in the entire "Three Battles," he is only described to have made a move once: injuring "Golden Wings of the Clouds" Ou Peng with his flying hammer, and feigning defeat after twenty rounds of fighting with "Thunderbolt" Qin Ming, before using a trap to capture Qin Ming and Deng Fei alive.

According to Sun Li, Luan Tingyu's martial arts skills are actually quite similar to Sun Li's. If Luan Tingyu were to use a flying hammer, he might be slightly more powerful than Sun Li.

"Flying Hammer..."

Luan Tingyu's flying hammer was not easy to deal with. Li Hanxiao remembered that during the three attacks on Zhu Family Village, Luan Tingyu injured "Moyun Golden Wing" Ou Peng with his flying hammer. "Moyun Golden Wing" Ou Peng was able to catch arrows with his bare hands when he fought against "Little Yang Youji" Pang Wanchun during the campaign against Fang La. Logically speaking, blocking a flying hammer that was many times larger than an arrow should have been relatively easy, but he failed to stop it.

Thus, it is evident that Luan Tingyu's "Iron Rod" throwing hammer is a top-notch hidden weapon skill, just like Zhang Qing's "Featherless Arrow" throwing stone skill, only its power is far superior to Zhang Qing's throwing stone.

"However, I am familiar with him, and I know the weaknesses of his staff techniques and flying hammer. It won't be difficult to break through them."

"tell me the story."

Li Han listened intently to Sun Li's explanation. According to Sun Li, Luan Tingyu's staff technique was taught by Zhou Tong and was the Tianshui Four Gates Staff Technique. The four gates refer to the four directions. This staff technique follows the gates and strikes in all four directions, hence the name Four Gates Staff. The method of use is to step on the four gates and strike in all eight directions with the staff. The coordination is perfect, and the body, weapon, and footwork are integrated into one. Some techniques are to strike east and strike west, to surprise the opponent from above and strike from below. Other techniques are to take advantage of the situation and advance with the momentum. One or even several strikes are launched in succession, with unstoppable momentum. Combined with the iron staff in his hand, it is even more unstoppable.

However, this staff technique has a flaw: the attack range and direction are only in one direction at a time, or it is a deceptive technique that attacks east when it is west, or south when it is north, with the important moves being the follow-up moves.

If the enemy is using a single weapon, you will naturally be invincible. However, if the enemy is using two-handed weapons, such as two guns, two swords, or two whips, he will be unable to defend himself and will eventually exhaust his strength.

With such a fatal weakness, it wouldn't be difficult to break Luan Tingyu's "iron rod"!

"As for his flying hammer, it is said that the old teacher Zhou Tong improved upon his own unique skill, the White Silk Purple Gold Hammer. He takes a hammerhead weighing sixteen pounds, hangs a chain on the back, and throws the hammer out of his hand when he uses it. The speed is extremely fast and impossible to defend against. It is a free-hand hammer technique and its path is hard to predict."

"Faced with such a hammer technique, it is not advisable to stay away from him, otherwise you will give him the opportunity to strike. You must stay close to him and entangle him, otherwise once he strikes, the speed and force of the hammer are too fast, and even a shield may not be able to block it!"

Sun Li, nicknamed "Sickly Yuchi," had no good way to counter Sun Li's flying hammer attack; he could only take preventative measures.

"I understand now. So what military tactics does Luan Tingyu usually prefer to use?"

Li Han smiled to himself, saying that no matter how powerful Luan Tingyu, nicknamed "Iron Rod," was, he was still just one person with limited influence. However, he was indeed skilled in warfare. The three sons of the Zhu family were his disciples, whom he had personally trained. As the first local powerful force attacked by Liangshan Marsh, the Zhu Family Manor caused Song Jiang a great deal of trouble.

Before the first battle, "Jinbaozi" Yang Lin and "Zhensanshan" Huang Xin were captured. In the first battle, "Tiebang" Luan Tingyu of Zhujiazhuang captured "Thunderbolt" Qin Ming and "Fire-eyed Lion" Deng Fei, while "Zhangqing" Hu Sanniang captured "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying.

Song Jiang's performance was also quite disappointing. He mobilized nineteen brothers, including experts like Lin Chong, Qin Ming, and Hua Rong, and more than 6000 henchmen, yet they couldn't defeat the mere Zhu Family Village. If it weren't for his counter-espionage plot that allowed him to breach the Zhu Family Village from within, they might not have been able to take it at all.

This also indirectly shows that Luan Tingyu's military strength is not bad.

"Both Luan Tingyu and I learned our military strategies on the battlefield. However, I am good at attacking, while he is good at defending. This is because when we attacked the Hehuang region, I often fought alongside the army. I learned the tactics of attacking by fighting so many battles. He, on the other hand, always stayed behind to guard the camp, organize the camp's defenses, and prevent enemy attacks. Therefore, he is good at defending."

"His defensive tactics focus on using the terrain to defend the city, preferably by using traps and mechanisms to lure the enemy into a trap. So no matter if there is a flat plain in front of him, there may be barbed wire and bitter bamboo sticks hidden underneath. We must be on high alert and be very careful!"

When Sun Li said this, Li Hanxiao felt that it was too similar to the defense of Zhu Family Village. In the original novel, Zhu Family Village was located on Dulong Ridge, which was full of winding roads. Outsiders did not know the rule of turning when they saw a poplar tree, so they could only walk into dead ends. And those dead ends were buried with bamboo sticks and iron caltrops. If you went the wrong way, you would step on flying sticks and die. When fighting, red lights were used as signals, so you could fight desperately but you would not be able to find anyone to fight.

"The best way to deal with his trick is to first set fire to his traps, then send people to carefully investigate the pitfalls, and finally eliminate these hidden dangers before launching a full-scale attack to ensure safety."

Sun Li's suggestion was perfect for attacking the Zhu Family Village. The village was surrounded by woods, which made it easy to ambush the enemy. The woods were full of traps, and if they were burned down, all the winding paths and traps would be gone, leaving a flat plain that would be completely exposed and easy to fight.

"Attack on the Zhu Family Village requires careful consideration and meticulous planning. I think we should return to the stronghold first, train the troops for a month, and then go after we have achieved some results."

Li Hanxiao calculated that after recovering the remaining troops from several mountain strongholds, Liangshan's army would have about two thousand more soldiers. Including the original troops, Liangshan's army now had at least six thousand soldiers.

However, among these 6,000 people, there must be many old, weak, sick and disabled. After all, the soldiers of other mountain strongholds are basically no different from bandits, with no conscription standards and little training.

Therefore, what Li Hanxiao needed to do was to eliminate the old and weak, train the troops, reorganize the forces, and transform the usable young and strong into combatants through short-term training.

As for training troops, although Li Hanxiao has a lot of experience in leading troops, the combat methods of the era of firearms are fundamentally different from those of the era of cold weapons. It is not that you can use your tactics simply because they are more advanced.

For example, special operations involve small squads, while cold weapon warfare involves large-scale, coordinated operations, which are fundamentally different.

Therefore, Li Hanxiao still entrusted the main task of training troops to Lin Chong, nicknamed "Leopard Head," who had once been an instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, and Si Xingfang, who had a military background.

These talents are better suited to training soldiers, while Li Hanxiao can improve the soldiers' physical training programs, since physical training is universal regardless of the era.

For example, tactical training such as rock climbing, swimming, and concealment are individual skills that individuals need to gradually improve in addition to combat training.

Sometimes, taking too big a step isn't necessarily a good thing.

After a fruitful haul, Li Hanxiao and his group returned to Liangshan Marsh. They first sent someone to treat the wounds of "Unicorn Dragon" Zou Run, and then made arrangements for the new leaders who had joined the mountain.

Liangshan Marsh is developing rapidly. When Li Hanxiao returned to Liangshan Marsh, he saw that "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen and "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang had brought back the troops from Erlong Mountain and Umbrella Mountain. Only "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing's troops from Zijin Mountain had not yet returned, but Wang Yin, who had gone with him, had returned.

Li Hanxiao asked what had happened and learned that they had been on their way back when they were robbed. However, their opponents were weaker than them, and their leader was captured. So they tried to persuade the people from that mountain to surrender, but their leader refused. Wang Yin returned to report that "Drilling Spear" Zhu Jing was leading the people from both mountains back, but because of the delay, they had not yet arrived.

Li Hanxiao was very curious to know which comrade dared to offend the gods. As a result, Wang Yin told him that they had encountered a man named "Death God" Bao Xu when they passed through a place called Kushu Mountain.

"Haha, it's him!"

Li Han couldn't help but laugh; he hadn't expected that they would encounter one of the 108 heroes.

Bao Xu was from Kouzhou. He was an outlaw on Kushu Mountain, robbing and plundering, with five or seven hundred henchmen and two or three hundred warhorses under his command. Because of his fierce appearance, he only knew how to kill people and was known as the "God of Death". In the original work, he was one of the few among the Earthly Fiends who repeatedly made meritorious contributions. He and "Black Whirlwind" Li Kui, "Eight-Armed Nezha" Xiang Chong, and "Flying Great Sage" Li Gun formed a killing quartet that was invincible, killing gods and Buddhas alike.

"Don't worry, once he gets to Liangshan, I'll personally persuade him to surrender!"

Although Bao Xu, nicknamed "Death God," wasn't among the top fighters in the Earthly Fiends, Li Hanxiao really liked this kind of leader. He had strong execution and teamwork skills, and he wasn't afraid to die in battle, making him the best suicide squad leader.

Moreover, Li Hanxiao will eventually bring Li Kui up the mountain, and with the two of them working together, their combat strength will definitely not be low.

Zhu Fu, the "Smiling Tiger" who went to Yishui County to pick up Li Kui's mother, should be back soon. Then we can start dealing with the matter of recruiting Li Kui.

Once all the heroes had arrived, and the troops from various mountains had also arrived, and the training of the troops was almost complete, Li Hanxiao prepared to attack the Zhu Family Village to complete his initial capital accumulation. Afterward, he began to vigorously develop ways to make money within Liangshan.

"Chief, I went there today and persuaded the men of Erlong Mountain to surrender. This reminds me of an acquaintance I have in Huayin County, Shaanxi."

Lu Zhishen also remembered Shi Jin and the others on Shaohua Mountain.

"Oh? Could it be that Commander Lu is referring to the heroes of Shaohua Mountain in Huayin County?"

“Indeed, indeed. The leader, ‘Nine-Tattooed Dragon’ Shi Jin, is an old friend of mine. He has three brothers under him: ‘Divine Strategist’ Zhu Wu, ‘Leaping Tiger’ Chen Da, and ‘White Flower Snake’ Yang Chun. They are all very capable men. I intend to write a letter to invite them to the stronghold to work together.”

Even if Lu Zhishen didn't ask any questions today, Li Hanxiao had already been eyeing Shi Jin's men from Shaohua Mountain for a long time.

Shi Jin, nicknamed "Nine-Tattooed Dragon," possesses the strength of an Eight-Tier Cavalry Vanguard Commander and is a fierce general. As for Zhu Wu, nicknamed "Divine Strategist," he is also a rare talent capable of managing affairs and devising strategies. Currently, there are not many civilian personnel on Liangshan. Wen Huanzhang is in charge of various affairs, and Jiang Jing, nicknamed "Divine Calculator," manages money and grain as well as accounting, which is indeed quite cumbersome. If Zhu Wu were to join the Liangshan ...

As for Chen Da and Yang Chun, their abilities are at least no less than those of Li Zhong and Zhou Tong. If they can't be the main general, can't they at least be the deputy generals?

A sure-profit trade.

“Excellent! I have long heard that Shi Dalang of Shi Family Village is a chivalrous young hero. If he can join Liangshan, our Liangshan Marsh will prosper even more. But wouldn’t a letter make us seem less sincere? Should we send a brother to go in person?”

"No, Brother Shi Jin doesn't care about such formalities."

"Alright, let's do it that way!"

Just as Li Hanxiao finished his conversation with Lu Zhishen, Wu Song rushed over to find Li Hanxiao, looking worried.

"What's wrong, Brother Wu Song? Did Jin'er upset you?"

Wu Song sighed, "Didn't this trick my own brother into coming to Liangshan? He knows we're going to be outlaws on Liangshan Marsh, and he's been insisting on taking me down the mountain. I don't know how many times we've argued these past few days."

Wu Dalang was a timid and cowardly person. In Li Hanxiao's view, it was normal for him to not accept the news that Wu Song had joined the Liangshan bandits.

"This can be done slowly, no rush. Your elder brother is just worried about the fate of you brothers. But has Jin'er met your brother-in-law yet? What does he think of your marriage?"

“My elder brother didn’t say anything about this. Although he didn’t say it, I could tell he was quite satisfied with Jin’er. Even if Brother Wu himself never marries, he’ll still think about helping me settle down and start a family. No matter what he says, he knows what he really thinks…”

Yesterday, Wu Song had secretly seen his elder brother counting all the belongings he had brought from Qinghe County. As his own brother, Wu Song knew very well that Wu Dalang was thinking about the betrothal gifts.

After all, it wouldn't sound good to marry without a dowry; it would make one sound like a live-in son-in-law. Wu Dalang also felt that his brothers were just ordinary people, not on the same level as Lin Chong's family. At least Lin Chong had been a military officer, which was a difference between officials and commoners. If his brothers couldn't afford a dowry, they would be laughed at by everyone in the mountains.