Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

According to Li Hanxiao's plan, the three Ruan brothers led a group of naval troops down the mountain the next day and lay in ambush in Shijie Lake. They were just waiting for Inspector He Tao to lead a group of officials to Shijie Village so that they could capture them all!

Li Hanxiao's aim was to maintain peace in the villages near Liangshan Marsh and bring them under the protection of Liangshan Marsh.

In this way, the nearby villages and towns will become strong supporters of Li Hanxiao. After all, these officials do nothing good when they come to their area, but Li Hanxiao and his people will help them.

Meanwhile, He Tao, leading more than forty constables, was about to arrive at the entrance of Shijie Village. This constable was riding on horseback, swaying back and forth with the horse, very pleased with himself. His mind was full of thoughts about winning the heart of the beauty he was about to win, and he had long forgotten the miserable state he had been in just two days ago when the state government had his face tattooed and he was almost exiled...

Upon entering Shijie Village, they found it deserted and empty, with no one in sight, which seemed very strange.

"Huh? Sir, this village is deserted. Could it be that these troublemakers have run away?"

One of the constables spoke up.

He Tao snorted and said that was impossible. These troublemakers could run away but not their temple. Their homes were all in Shijie Village. Where could they run to? They must be hiding in the village. He then led his team into the village to search for them.

Meanwhile, the three Ruan brothers, who were lying in ambush by the shore of Shijie Lake, and the naval forces lurking in Shijie Village had already discovered these scourges. "Living Yama" Ruan Xiaoqi couldn't wait any longer and wanted to go up and kill them to his heart's content, but he was stopped by "Standing Tai Sui" Ruan Xiaoer.

"Xiao Qi, they haven't all come in yet, can't you see? Be patient for a moment, so we can catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Ruan Xiaoqi was impatient, but Ruan Xiaoer was not. They shouldn't have run away; none of them could escape.

At this time, Ruan Xiaowu, nicknamed "Short-lived Second Brother," was leading his men to lie in ambush in a pond near the village entrance. As soon as they entered Shijie Village, Ruan Xiaowu would cut off their retreat.

"Inspector He Tao is here! Everyone come out!"

At He Tao's signal, the bailiffs entered the village with great fanfare, but once inside, it remained completely silent and deserted.

He Tao finally realized something was wrong, but it was too late!

"Wow!"

A series of splashes of water rose and fell, and the Liangshan Marsh navy, which had been lying in ambush in Shijie Lake, all rushed ashore.

"Standing Tai Sui" Ruan Xiaoshou gripped his steel knife, while "Living Yama" Ruan Xiaoqi tightened his grip on his harpoon. They roared, "First, behead Inspector He Tao, then kill that bird-like official from the prefecture!"

He Tao was startled and almost fell off his horse. He asked in surprise, "You unruly people, are you planning a rebellion?"

"Grandpa is none other than Ruan Xiaoqi, the 'Living Yama' of Liangshan Marsh, here to send you to your death! Confess!"

Ruan Xiaoqi had no patience to waste any more words with He Tao, and threw the harpoon in her hand at He Tao with lightning speed.

"Mom!"

He Tao was so frightened that he almost lost his mind and fell off his horse. He managed to avoid the harpoon, but instead, he speared one of the officers behind him and knocked him to the ground.

"Inspector, what should we do?"

When the officials saw Ruan Xiaoer and Ruan Xiaoqi charging towards them, they were at a loss. These people were usually scoundrels who used trickery and force to plunder and oppress the villagers. They had no real skills whatsoever.

"Run!"

He Tao only uttered those two words.

Where are you going?

As soon as the group turned around, they saw "Short-lived Second Brother" Ruan Xiaowu, wielding two knives, leading a group of men to block their way.

"what!"

A series of screams rang out one after another. The three Nguyen brothers, wielding sharp blades, began a frenzied slaughter, cutting down these scoundrels who harmed the people for their own enrichment, one by one, until they fell into pools of blood.

The villagers of Shijie Village, who had hidden themselves beforehand, were not afraid when they heard the screams. Instead, they found it all very enjoyable!

The common people wish that these officials who oppress them on a daily basis would never be reincarnated and would never be able to turn their lives around!

"Hero! Spare my life! Spare my life!"

In less than a quarter of an hour, all the officials had been killed, leaving only He Tao, who was being trampled on the head by "Standing Tai Sui" Ruan Xiaoer, lying on the ground, begging for mercy.

"Crack! Crack!"

Ruan Xiaoer slapped He Tao's face with his knife and questioned, "So you're the one who tried to forcibly take my wife's sister? So you're the one who came to our Shijie Village to harm our fellow villagers! Is that right or wrong!"

"Oh dear... sir, if I had known this would happen, I would never have dared to offend the Grand Duke Jupiter..."

He Tao was terrified at this point, and his voice was trembling with fear.

"Grandpa won't kill you yet. You'll still be useful. Go!"

Ruan Xiaoer lifted He Tao up, and together with the others, they traveled by water back to Liangshan Marsh. The people of Shijie Village were extremely grateful and spoke highly of the benefits of Liangshan Marsh.

He Tao's small force had been wiped out, and He Tao ordered them to be captured and brought back to Liangshan Marsh. Li Hanxiao, on the other hand, specifically asked He Tao about the situation of the military camp outside Jizhou City.

He Tao was a coward, and in order to save his life, he spilled the beans, telling the whole story in detail.

There were 500 soldiers from Jeju Prefecture and more than 1,000 newly conscripted laborers in the military camp. "The Bearded Gentleman" Zhu Tong and "The Winged Tiger" Lei Heng were also there, but they were not the commanders, since their ranks were too low.

The commander of the troops was Gou An, the deputy military commissioner of Jizhou. According to He Tao, this man was not very capable. His family was a wealthy household in Jizhou, and he got the position by buying his way in. He really had no ability whatsoever.

He became an official only to benefit his family. After obtaining the official position, his family began to act tyrannically in the area, causing deep resentment among the people.

After listening, Li Hanxiao nodded, pleasantly surprised to find another major household that was the subject of widespread public discontent.

"Drag He Tao out and kill him!"

Li Hanxiao waved his hand, signaling for his men to drag him out.

"okay!"

Upon hearing this, Bao Xu, the "Death God" standing nearby, was the first to rush forward, ready to drag He Tao away and chop him up.

"Ah! Sir! I've already told you, you should spare my life!"

He Tao was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he begged for mercy repeatedly.

"No matter what you say, it won't save your dog's life. Do you think I don't know what you, He Tao, do? You're always oppressing good people, extorting and humiliating them. When you go to the countryside, you not only rob the villagers of everything, but you also frequently use your official position to rape women. They have nowhere to turn for justice, and you've driven so many to their deaths. Someone like you, with so many blood debts, still thinks you can survive under the blades of Liangshan? You're delusional. Drag him away and feed him to the fish!"

After saying that, He Tao was dragged to the edge of the pond by the "jinx" Bao Xu and thrown into the pond to feed the fish.

"According to He Tao, the Gou family is a local tyrant in Xixi Village. Tonight, the Liu Tang brothers were supposed to lead their men to plunder He Tao's house, but now who from the Gou family is willing to go?"

Li Han smiled and asked the crowd.

"I am willing to go and retrieve it!"

The first to step forward was Qin Zhi, the "Golden-Faced Buddha." He had just arrived on the mountain, and this was his first time participating in "business."

"Alright, since the Gou family is a prominent household, they'll need plenty of guards, martial arts instructors, and farmhands. Brother, take fifty henchmen with you. Remember, only punish the ringleaders, don't kill anyone indiscriminately!"

"Qin Zhi will keep this in mind!"

Both the He Tao family and the Gou family have already arranged for people to seize their ill-gotten gains, while Li Hanxiao is preparing to personally lead a team to attack the Jizhou Prefecture military camp. Both operations will take place after dark.

Li Han smiled and mustered five hundred soldiers. He led the team himself, along with two experts, Wang Yin and Si Xingfang. Under the cover of night, the three groups of men descended the mountain together and split into three groups to go to their respective targets.

Meanwhile, in the military camp outside Jeju City, Gou An was drinking with "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong and "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng.

The reason is simple: Gou An is very self-aware. He knows he has no real skills and if he were to actually go into battle, he would probably be less useful than a common soldier. So he wants to get on good terms with Zhu Tong and Lei Heng in advance so they can help him later.

He was from Xixi Village, which was also under the jurisdiction of Yuncheng County. He had long heard of the famous names of the two constables of Yuncheng County, "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong and "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng, so he paid for a table of food and wine out of his own pocket and tried to get on their good side at the last minute.

Faced with the free food and wine, "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong was clearly not in high spirits. He was thinking that in two days they would be going to attack Liangshan Marsh, and the new recruits had not yet received any training. They should speed up their training.

Gou An clearly knew nothing about military affairs and had not trained his soldiers at all, so he was very dissatisfied with this man.

Lei Heng, nicknamed "Winged Tiger," was a rough man who loved to take advantage of any opportunity. He would eat any free food he could get and drank to his heart's content, already quite tipsy.

"Chief Zhu, why have you stopped drinking?"

Gou An looked at Zhu Tong, who didn't drink at all, and asked him a question.

Zhu Tong quickly replied, "I am already too drunk to drink anymore!"

"Oh, brother, Shangguan's kindness is too much for us to refuse. Come, come, let me have a bowl with Shangguan!"

Lei Heng was already a little drunk, and he was having a great time drinking with Gou An.

Seeing the situation, Zhu Tong shook his head, then used the excuse of needing to urinate to leave the barracks and go outside to catch his breath.

"Sigh... what a boss..."

Zhu Tong couldn't help but sigh. It wasn't that he was bad at interpersonal relationships or didn't know how to advance or retreat; it was simply that he knew how that banquet came about!

Gou An claimed to be hosting the banquet himself, but in reality, he didn't pay out of his own pocket. He directly sent soldiers to nearby villages and towns to forcibly bring back pigs and sheep, and the wine was also obtained by trickery and coercion from merchants under the guise of investigating smuggled wine.

Zhu Tong, known as "the handsome bearded man," also resembled Guan Yu in appearance. How could he possibly accept something obtained through dishonest means?

He was also deeply worried. If the Song Dynasty was filled with officials like this from top to bottom, it would probably be doomed sooner or later...

Just as Zhu Tong was still sighing, he heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar.

Zhu Tong panicked upon hearing this, for there were troops approaching them, and quite a few of them!

Although it was dark, Zhu Tong had no idea which troops were coming, but he was sure they were not his own, because they were not displaying government army flags, and they could not possibly be troops from Daming Prefecture.

Based on this, it is highly likely that it was an enemy attack!

Zhu Tong considered this possibility and immediately returned to his tent, saying anxiously, "My lord, something terrible has happened! Unidentified troops are approaching! We must prepare for battle immediately!"

At this point, Gou An, who was nearly drunk, was no longer capable of thinking. He laughed and said, "Commander Zhu, you haven't even had a drink, how come you're drunk? Soldiers? Where did these soldiers come from?"

Lei Heng, nicknamed "Winged Tiger," chimed in, "Brother, we're not far from Jeju City. Who would dare ambush us here..."

Before Lei Heng could even utter the word "ma," a loud "bang" was heard. Li Hanxiao had used the Tiger Crouching Cannon to blow up the gate and led his men straight in.

"what?"

Hearing the loud noise, "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng broke out in a cold sweat and became much more sober. "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong quickly pulled him up, "Hurry up and come with me to meet the enemy!"

"Oh oh oh!"

The two men, wielding broadswords, rushed out of the camp. By this time, the camp was already in a mess. There weren't many well-organized and combat-ready troops to begin with, and the sudden attack left them completely unprepared.

Li Hanxiao continued shouting, "We are heroes of Liangshan. We have heard that some of you were forcibly conscripted into the army against your will. We will not kill you. Leave quickly and go home. Those who do not leave will not be spared. Retreat quickly!"

Upon hearing Li Hanxiao's words, the conscripted laborers turned tail and ran, and in an instant, seven out of ten left.

With the civilians gone, Li Hanxiao felt no more burdened by dealing with the remaining government troops. He dispatched his henchmen and his men, and together they routed the government troops.

"This person...how come they look so much like..."

Zhu Tong, known as "The Bearded Gentleman," scrutinized Li Hanxiao. Li Hanxiao held a three-pointed, double-edged sword, and he looked remarkably like the bandit he had fought with near Dongxi Village that night...

"No, it's one person!"

Zhu Tong suddenly realized that the person from that day was probably Li Hanxiao!

"Brother, I recognize him! This is the man who led his men to injure you that day. Let's hurry forward and capture him alive!"

Faced with such a defeated army, Zhu Tong had no better options than to come up with the idea of ​​capturing the leader first.

That day, he was no match for Li Hanxiao by himself. Now, with the addition of "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng, he should be able to deal with Li Hanxiao, right?

"Take your life!"

The two men brandished their broadswords and charged straight at Li Hanxiao. Li Hanxiao saw this but made no move, leaving it to others to deal with them.

"Stop being so arrogant!"

But then Wang Yin and Si Xingfang, one with a spear and the other with a knife, blocked the path of "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong and "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng.

"I'll meet you!"

Wang Yin's spearhead struck with force, deflecting Zhu Tong's broadsword. He then thrust his spear downwards from his horse, aiming fiercely at Zhu Tong. Seeing the overwhelming power of Wang Yin's spear technique, Zhu Tong dared not underestimate him, and Wang Yin immediately engaged in combat.

Zhu Tong fought on foot, while Wang Yin was on horseback. Logically, Zhu Tong should not have the advantage, but Wang Yin did not intend to take advantage of him either. Instead, he somersaulted off his horse and flew around the mountain, thus engaging in foot combat as well.