Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Meanwhile, Lei Heng, nicknamed "Winged Tiger," faced off against Si Xingfang, the man who brought him back to his original position in the original story.

In the original novel, Si Xingfang killed Lei Heng in thirty rounds, making him Lei Heng's nemesis.

However, Li Hanxiao had given prior instructions not to harm either of them, so Lei Heng was definitely not going to die, but he was sure to get a beating.

"Good marksmanship!"

Zhu Tong and Wang Yin had already exchanged three or four blows. Wang Yin's tiger-head steel spear clashed with Zhu Tong's broadsword, sparks flying everywhere.

Zhu Tong tested him with three moves: "Li Guang Shoots the Tiger", "Black Dragon Ascends to the Clouds", and "Old Dragon Sunbathes its Scales".

He made these three moves intentionally, to test the extent of Wang Yin's martial arts skills.

The first move, "Li Guang Shoots the Tiger," was a long-range attack, with the blade aimed at Wang Yin's throat, but he easily dodged it with a flick of his spear. The second move, "Black Dragon Ascends to the Clouds," was an upward strike, a powerful move that required preparation, but Wang Yin countered it effortlessly.

As for the third move, "Old Dragon Sunbathing Scales," it was a tactic to lure the enemy deep into the territory, aiming to drag the sword in and slash from behind. However, Wang Yin did not fall for it, clearly seeing through Zhu Tong's intentions!

Zhu Tong knew that the man in front of him was incredibly skilled with a spear, and the spear in his hand was at least two or three feet longer than the broadsword in his hand. Due to the limited distance, he couldn't hurt the man at all without getting close!

"drink!"

So Zhu Tong crouched down, did a "rolling dragon" and rolled forward, trying to approach Wang Yin from below.

Wang Yin knew what Zhu Tong was trying to do, so he immediately slammed his tiger-head steel spear down in an attempt to stop Zhu Tong from getting any closer.

Zhu Tong had anticipated this, and as he rolled, he raised the broadsword in his hand, causing the spear shaft to slam into the back of the blade with a loud thud, sparks flying everywhere!

This block gave Zhu Tong a buffer to advance. He had already reached Wang Yin and delivered a foot-splitting strike, aiming directly at Wang Yin's lower body.

Wang Yin used the shaft of his spear to brace himself up, dodging Zhu Tong's blade, and then swung his spear down at Zhu Tong's back.

Logically speaking, Zhu Tong was also at the level of one of the Eight Tiger Generals of Liangshan, and he should have been evenly matched with Wang Yin for at least several dozen rounds.

Unfortunately, Zhu Tong was caught off guard this time, and the broadsword in his hand was much shorter than Wang Yin's spear. As the saying goes, "an inch longer is an inch stronger, an inch shorter is an inch more dangerous." Faced with the disadvantage of his weapon, Zhu Tong had no choice but to take a risky move!

Unfortunately, Zhu Tong's move did not achieve the desired effect. Instead, he was struck in the back by Wang Yin's spear shaft. Wang Yin's tiger-head steel spear was made of pure iron, and when it struck a person, it was like being hit by an iron rod. Zhu Tong groaned, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

He was severely injured and captured alive!

If Zhu Tong had used a longer weapon, he could have fought Wang Yin for dozens of rounds, but unfortunately, his broadsword was too short, and he was caught in the crossfire.

Meanwhile, the fierce battle between "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng and Si Xingfang was even more intense.

Lei Heng was originally skilled in foot combat, but in the original novel, he died on horseback in the battle at the hands of Si Xingfang.

Therefore, many people later believed that Lei Heng died at Si Xingfang's hands because he was not good at horse combat, which hampered his fighting ability.

At this moment, Lei Heng was fighting on foot against Si Xingfang on horseback. Both sides were in their preferred positions, so it would be interesting to see who was stronger!

However, judging from Lei Heng's condition, Si Xingfang is probably stronger!

At this moment, Lei Heng, the "Winged Tiger," was raising his broadsword above his head, blocking Si Xingfang's three-ringed embroidered broadsword.

Lei Heng was now forced to kneel on one knee, his already purplish-brown face now resembling a purple eggplant.

He had already been drinking, which had impaired his balance and strength. Now, facing such a formidable opponent as Si Xingfang, he was finding it difficult to hold on.

"Is this the end?"

Upon hearing Si Xingfang's mocking voice, "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng felt a surge of anger. Even a clay figure has some spirit; he couldn't let this person look down on him, could he?

Then, the "Winged Tiger" suddenly pushed away the three-ringed embroidered broadsword that was pressing down on him, leaped up in one stride, and used his superb jumping ability to pounce on Si Xingfang.

Seeing this, Si Xingfang knew that he was fighting to the death. Instead of retaliating, he hid under the horse's belly, causing "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng to miss his target and fall to the ground.

"Haha, you've spun your own cocoon!"

Si Xingfang laughed heartily. Lei Heng got up, ignoring his bruised and swollen face, and swung his broadsword to slash. Si Xingfang raised his sword to meet him, but Lei Heng was already drunk, and the fall had disrupted his balance. His swordsmanship was now completely unorthodox, swaying and unsteady, and he couldn't hit the mark at all.

After exchanging six or seven more blows, Si Xingfang released "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng, allowing him to rush to his side. Si Xingfang used the back of his blade to deflect the broadsword, and then swept the hilt of his sword across the back of Lei Heng's head. Lei Heng's body trembled, and he was knocked unconscious and collapsed to the ground.

Si Xingfang looked at Lei Heng, the "Winged Tiger," lying on the ground and couldn't help but laugh.

Where is Gou An?

Li Han asked with a smile, and the soldiers there picked up Gou An as if he were a chick.

"Hero, hero, good man, good man, spare my life! I have money, my family has plenty of money..."

Gou An kowtowed repeatedly, begging for his life.

“That’s right, of course we know you’re rich. By now, the brothers who went to your house to take your money should be back…”

The cold smile on Li Hanxiao's face and the words he spoke made Gou An's heart pound with fear, and he understood what Li Hanxiao meant.

"You...you went to my house..."

"That's right, all that wealth you've accumulated is now mine, Liangshanbo!"

"what?!"

Gou An was already timid as a mouse, and having drunk alcohol and been frightened before, he was terrified when he heard that his house had been ransacked and he was left penniless.

"Ahhh!"

Gou An let out a loud shout and lay flat on the ground, motionless.

"what happened to him?"

Li Hanxiao directed two soldiers to go forward and check on the guy, only to find that he was terrified!

"Even Heaven won't keep him; let's go back to the mountain!"

"Wait a minute, are you all heroes of Liangshan?"

Li Hanxiao turned around and saw a group of people wearing new military uniforms and uniforms, who were obviously newly conscripted laborers.

"What are you doing?"

Li Han asked with a smile.

“We have no other desires, but we are always bullied by the government wherever we go. Today, seeing the hero kill the corrupt officials has truly given us a sense of justice. I wonder if we can come up the mountain with you?”

Li Hanxiao was caught off guard by this situation, but since they were willing to come up the mountain, he naturally accepted them all. After counting, he found that more than 300 people were willing to follow him to Liangshan!

Li Hanxiao's side caused chaos in the military camp outside Jizhou City, but the troops in Jizhou City did not dare to go out of the city to meet the gang leader, because there was no one left in the city who could lead troops into battle.

At this moment, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," saw the situation below from the city wall. He felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, and almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Alas! Scholar!"

Song Jiang, who was standing nearby, quickly helped Wu Yong up. Wu Yong was already pale and his eyes were slightly open. He said to Song Jiang, "Since Heaven gave birth to Zhou Yu, why did it also give birth to Zhuge Liang..."

Song Jiang didn't understand what this meant, so he pressed for an answer, "Sir, what do you mean by that?"

Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," was already furious as he watched his schemes being thwarted by Li Hanxiao time and time again. Upon hearing Song Jiang's words, he fainted from anger.

When Li Hanxiao returned to the edge of the marsh, he happened to arrive just as "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang and "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi's two groups had already retrieved the ill-gotten gains from the two families. Li Hanxiao made a rough estimate and found that the two families had a lot of money, with the Gou family having the most, enough to buy at least two thousand acres of land!

"Congratulations, my lord, on your resounding victory!"

Wen Huanzhang had already led his men to wait by the water's edge, and Li Hanxiao suddenly remembered something else.

Zhu Tong, the "Beautiful Beard," is a bachelor with no relatives, but Lei Heng, the "Winged Tiger," has an old mother in Yuncheng County. Lei Heng is also a filial son, so if you want to persuade Lei Heng to surrender, you have to bring his mother over as well.

If Lei Heng were to join the Liangshan bandits, his mother would be in deep trouble. Li Hanxiao was well aware of the cautionary tale of Xu Shu and Xu Yuanzhi during the Three Kingdoms period.

Therefore, we still need to send someone to bring Lei Heng's mother, the "Winged Tiger," up the mountain.

As soon as Li Hanxiao mentioned his idea to Wen Huanzhang, Wen Huanzhang burst into laughter. It turned out that he had long anticipated that Li Hanxiao intended to subdue the two constables of Yuncheng County. So, after Li Hanxiao and his men went down the mountain, he sent "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen and "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao to secretly bring Lei Heng's mother to Liangshan in Yuncheng County.

"Haha, Mr. Wen, you truly understand me. Find a house for these two captains, treat them well with good food and drink, and treat their injuries. Also, do not neglect Lei Heng's mother."

Li Hanxiao estimated that given their current injuries, it would probably take them two or three days to wake up.

It's estimated that the troops from Daming Prefecture will arrive by then. We can defeat them first, and then try to persuade those two to surrender. They won't be so easy to persuade, so there's no need to rush. Let's lock them up for a few days first. This will also allow them to experience the atmosphere of Liangshan and understand the difference between Liangshan and ordinary bandits.

Inside Jeju Castle.

The prefect of Jizhou wept bitterly on his desk, his face full of sorrow. He had thought that with the help of the troops from Daming Prefecture, he could make a name for himself, but before reinforcements arrived, the bandits from Liangshan Marsh attacked again.

Now, Jeju City has been utterly destroyed, with neither soldiers nor generals left. As the governor of the prefecture, he cannot escape blame!

"Minister En, don't be too sad!"

Song Jiang, the "Righteous Protector," was attending to the prefect. He didn't know what to say. He had just taken the unconscious "Strategist" Wu Yong to the clinic, and now he was back to comfort the prefect. He was so worried.

"How could I not be heartbroken? These bandits have caused such a ruckus here. If the imperial court finds out, how can I possibly escape a good end?"

To be honest, this prefect of Jeju is starting to miss Wang Lun and his gang.

When Wang Lun was at Liangshan Marsh, although he would rob and plunder, he was very restrained. He was afraid that making too much noise would bring trouble upon himself, so he was very careful.

Although he knew there were bandits there, he neither caused trouble nor invited disaster, so he was able to tolerate them.

However, the Liangshan bandits of today are far more aggressive than ever before, many times more ruthless than Wang Lun's group back then.

The prefect of Jizhou was filled with regret. Why had he agreed to Huang An's idea of ​​attacking Liangshan Marsh? He had offended them terribly.

Seeing all this, Song Jiang suddenly had an idea.

"My lord... I have a plan, but I don't know whether to say it... or..."

Song Jiang hesitated and stumbled, while the prefect was very forthcoming, saying, "Speak freely!"

The situation has deteriorated to the point where it can't get any worse. If Liang Zhongshu of Daming Prefecture really sends troops and sees what's going on here, he'll be in deep trouble.

"My suggestion is, since Liangshan is so powerful, why not try to accept amnesty?"

As soon as Song Jiang said this, the prefect of Jizhou widened his eyes and asked Song Jiang with an incredulous expression, "Say that again?"

"The scoundrel said, 'Let them be granted amnesty...'"

"Your brain has been eaten by a dog!"

Before Song Jiang could finish speaking, the prefect of Jizhou slammed his fist on the table, acting as if he were going mad.

"They robbed the birthday tribute and killed thousands of our soldiers and officials in Jizhou Prefecture! Offer them amnesty? Do you have the guts to vouch for them, or do I have the guts to vouch for them? Tell me, tell me!"

Song Jiang knelt on the ground. He didn't think too much about it. He felt that the people of Liangshan were so capable that if they could serve the country, it would be like turning something rotten into something magical!

Sure enough, he couldn't shake his old habit of being single-mindedly devoted to serving the imperial court...

“Well… Your Excellency, there are no troops left in Jeju Prefecture. If the troops from Daming Prefecture come, we will have to find a way to deal with them…”

Song Jiang said.

"Where am I supposed to conjure up soldiers in just a few days... I can only try to appease them with more money..."

The prefect of Jeju was not an honest and upright official either. During his years in office, he also lined his own pockets quite a bit.

He also knew that if he wanted to get by under Liang Zhongshu and his ilk, he would have to rely on money, since these corrupt officials only cared about money.

He had previously thought that even if he took the money out, he would still have a chance to earn it back. After all, he thought that if he could recover Liang Zhongshu's birthday tribute, it would be a great achievement for him in the camp of treacherous officials.

However, it seems that he's lucky he didn't go bankrupt.

He had already spent a lot of money to get Liang Zhongshu to send troops to help fight Liangshan Marsh. Now he has to spend more money. It is likely that all the wealth he has accumulated during his years in office will be gone.

"You, and that Wu Yong, both of you, get out of here!"

The furious prefect kicked Song Jiang and Wu Yong out, because in his opinion, if these two hadn't told him about the birthday tribute, he wouldn't have had to make such a huge mistake.