Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Li Hanxiao gained four more generals, and the three thousand troops sent by Liang Zhongshu from Daming Prefecture were about to arrive in Jizhou Prefecture.

As expected, the general in charge of the three thousand soldiers sent by Liang Zhongshu was none other than the "vanguard" Suo Chao, along with his apprentice Zhou Jin, the rank officer of the Daming Prefecture.

When Liang Zhongshu learned that Liangshan had seized the birthday gifts, he was furious and sent 3,000 troops to attack Liangshan.

The prefect of Jeju also learned of this situation, so he prepared a welcoming party in advance, ready to go out of the city eighty miles to welcome the army of Daming Prefecture, bringing flowers, wine and gifts, cattle and pigs, as well as various gifts that the prefect of Jeju had prepared in advance.

This situation naturally did not escape Li Hanxiao's notice. Having already prepared to ambush the Daming Prefecture army on the way, Li Hanxiao immediately mobilized troops to get to work.

The troops of Daming Prefecture were not comparable to the ordinary local garrison troops of the Song Dynasty, so Li Hanxiao also prepared three thousand soldiers and selected eight experts: "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, Wang Yin, Si Xingfang, Wu Song, "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang, "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen, and "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao.

Because it was mountain warfare, there was a slightly larger need for infantry commanders, while cavalry was only used to charge into enemy formations.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

The troops traveling along the pipeline at this moment were from Daming Prefecture, led by "Vanguard" Suo Chao, and speaking beside him was his good-for-nothing and incompetent apprentice Zhou Jin.

"Master, this campaign against the Liangshan bandits will surely bring us great achievements, and you will be promoted a few ranks!"

"Hmph, those petty bandits from the waterlogged area are nothing to us. They only stole chickens and dogs and obtained the birthday gifts. How could they be a match for our army? We won't even need military tactics this time; we can crush them with sheer strength!"

Suo Chao underestimated Li Hanxiao and his group. Shouldn't he have sent out two scouts to check the situation ahead along the way? But he didn't.

On the contrary, they marched in a grand manner without any precautions. Although they knew there were bandits nearby, they did not take any precautions at all, as if they "regarded the surrounding mountain strongholds as nothing".

"Master, there are two roads ahead, a main road and a side road. The side road is faster, but there may be an ambush. Would you like to take the main road?"

Zhou Jin cautiously inquired of her master, who had a rather bad temper.

"No way! The shortcut is faster. We should make this a quick victory. Even if we take the shortcut, I'm sure they won't dare to ambush us. I'll definitely choose the shortcut!"

Suo Chao said rather willfully, little did he know that he would soon pay the price for his willfulness.

Meanwhile, the "vanguard" Suo Chao had just led his troops to a valley when he saw that the valley was flanked by towering mountains, with only enough space for one team to pass through.

This terrain is the easiest place for an ambush. Although "Vanguard" Suo Chao believed that no one would dare to ambush their organized imperial army, his bad feeling made him order them to pass through the mountain pass quickly.

Just then, a gong sounded, and countless stones and giant logs poured down from above like a meteor shower, instantly throwing the army of Daming Prefecture into a frenzy!

"There's an ambush! Run!"

"Vanguard" Suo Chao gripped his golden axe tightly, lay close to the back of the five-flowered dragon, and led his troops to rush out quickly.

In this terrain, the troops cannot deploy effectively. If they are delayed any longer, the casualties will be too great. The only option is to charge out as quickly as possible.

The small cavalry unit following Suo Chao was fast and could easily break through, while a portion of the infantry following behind could also keep up. However, the majority of the infantry were destined to be left behind.

"kill!"

At the same time, a bunch of ropes were thrown down from the cliffs on both sides. "Two-headed snake" Xie Zhen and "double-tailed scorpion" Xie Bao, each holding a steel fork, led a group of elite henchmen "descending from the sky". Grabbing the ropes, they quickly descended into the enemy army and then started a chaotic killing spree.

Chaos reigned at the rear, and the situation at the front was no better. Just as the "vanguard" Suo Chao led his men out, a squad of infantry rushed up and blocked their path.

On the left is a fat monk holding an iron staff, known as "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen; on the right is a burly man gripping an iron rod, known as Wu Song; together with "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang, they led their infantry in a charge against the troops of Daming Prefecture.

At this moment, the troops of Daming Prefecture had just rushed out, but before they could even deploy, they were hit by another wave of infantry attacks and were thrown into chaos again!

"You son of a bitch! Take this staff!"

Amidst the chaos of battle, Lu Zhishen, nicknamed "Flowery Monk," pinpointed the location of "Vanguard" Suo Chao, swung his iron staff, and struck the obstacle in Suo Chao's path with it.

"who?"

Before "Vanguard" Suo Chao could react, his arms went slightly numb from the shock of Lu Zhishen's staff. He couldn't help but marvel at the great strength of this monk!

Suo Chao received Lu Zhishen's attack and immediately returned the favor, sweeping his axe at Lu Zhishen with a "severing the jade belt at the waist" move. Despite the difference between a mounted fighter and a foot fighter, Lu Zhishen was not at a disadvantage at all. He used his iron staff to deflect the golden axe and fought back and forth with the "vanguard" Suo Chao.

On the other side, Wu Song wielded his iron cudgel, sweeping across the army and defeating countless government troops. Meanwhile, Zhou Jin, the apprentice of "Vanguard" Suo Chao, was also charging out amidst the chaos of battle when he encountered "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang.

"Look at the gun!"

Zhou Jin thrust his spear at Liu Tang from horseback, but Liu Tang didn't even look. He dodged, and the spearhead grazed past his body.

Meanwhile, Liu Tang's broadsword had already landed on the neck of Zhou Jin's warhorse. With just one strike, blood gushed out, and Zhou Jin was knocked off his horse and fell to the ground.

"Come at me!"

Seeing that his entire army would be wiped out if he didn't escape soon, "Vanguard" Suo Chao used all his strength to push away Liang Luzhishen's monk's staff, spurred his horse, brandished his axe, and fought his way out, leading his troops down the mountain pass.

This was exactly what Li Hanxiao wanted. As soon as they rushed out of the mountain pass, Li Hanxiao's cavalry, which had been lying in ambush on both sides, attacked from both flanks and cut off their troops.

"what?!"

"Vanguard" Suo Chao, holding a golden-tipped axe, began to curse angrily.

In fact, although Li Hanxiao had laid an ambush, if he had been more careful, he wouldn't have been so badly beaten by Li Hanxiao's series of attacks.

However, as a regular army officer under Liang Zhongshu, he looked down on Liangshan Marsh. He never expected that Liangshan Marsh's troops would dare to ambush them so far from their stronghold.

He never expected that these bandits would be so powerful. He originally thought that even if he was caught off guard, as long as he could rush out and deploy his troops, he could directly fight back against these bandits.

But the truth is that the Liangshan army was well-organized and had many skilled fighters. Anyone with eyes could see that this was not a rabble!

Their formations can be large or small, flexible and changeable. They can be small with three people as the basic combat unit, or large with eleven or twelve people as a formation. They can fight individually or break into smaller groups. When they gather, they are a ball of fire; when they scatter, they are a sky full of stars. Their combat power is extremely high.

The crucial problem is that Suo Chao, the "vanguard" of this formation, doesn't recognize a single one of them!

It would be strange if he could recognize it. This three-person combat tactic was modified by Li Hanxiao based on the "three-three system" of later generations. This tactic requires soldiers to form a combat team of three, and three teams to form a squad.

In a combat team, three soldiers are responsible for attack, cover, and support, respectively. The soldiers are in front and the team leader is behind, forming a triangle for attack and defense. Three teams form a combat group, cooperating with each other and with a clear division of labor.

As for the large formation of eleven or twelve people, it is another ancient formation composed of three-person combat teams, called the "Mandarin Duck Formation".

Liangshan Marsh currently lacks sufficient troops and its soldiers are not elite enough. What they need most is a strategy of using weaker opponents to defeat stronger ones. The Mandarin Duck Formation, a legendary anti-Japanese weapon that has left a strong mark in history, relies on the coordination of multiple troop types to achieve victory against overwhelming odds and the weak against strong forces. It is the most suitable choice.

The Mandarin Duck Formation's combat method revolves around "using the many to control the few, and using the whole to control the scattered." Its characteristic is that it mixes soldiers with strong combat capabilities with those with weak combat capabilities to form an organic whole.

The key points of the Mandarin Duck Formation's combat tactics are: long-range fire suppression, close-quarters encirclement and annihilation, clear responsibilities and positions, flexible maneuverability, and all-round fire strikes.

Li Hanxiao studied the "Mandarin Duck Formation" in later generations. Many special operations formations in later generations were derived from the Mandarin Duck Formation. The tactics of the Mandarin Duck Formation are very strict. The tactical actions of each soldier are strictly regulated. The basic combat principle is "the shield advances, the spear saves the shield, the long spear saves the spear, and the short weapon saves the long spear." With the coordination between formations, absolute local superiority is achieved.

Although firearms have not yet been equipped on the Mandarin Duck Formation, today's live-fire exercise has indeed proven that, given the current laxity in the Song Dynasty's military preparedness, the flexible and well-defined Mandarin Duck Formation can still be invincible against the Song army!

Even the border troops of Daming Prefecture found it difficult to remain calm in the chaos, running around like headless flies. But the dozen or so people in the Mandarin Duck Formation were a cohesive unit, and even when fighting individually, they were not afraid at all!

"Suo Chao! Dismount and surrender!"

Just then, "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, rode at full speed to fight "Vanguard" Suo Chao. Suo Chao, having nowhere to vent his anger, opened his strange eyes wide, shouted loudly, and raised his golden axe to chop at him.

Lin Chong used a "pushing open the window to let the moon shine" move to deflect the golden axe, and with a "spirited snake emerging from its hole" move, his eighteen-foot spear seemed to conjure thousands of spirited snakes spitting their tongues, all thrusting towards Suo Chao's face.

Suo Chao immediately held his golden axe horizontally in front of him, wielding it with impenetrable force to defend against Lin Chong's dense attacks. He also felt the strain and couldn't help but ask, "Who are you? With such amazing skills, why have you become a thief!"

"I am 'Leopard Head' Lin Chong!"

Lin Chong shouted and repelled Suo Chao with a single spear thrust. Suo Chao was quite surprised, never expecting that the man in front of him was the former instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards!

"Instructor Lin, that's enough, let them go!"

Li Han smiled as he watched as at least half of the three thousand soldiers from Daming Prefecture were killed. He had achieved his goal: to use the soldiers of Daming Prefecture to give the government of the whole country a warning.

If all these people were wiped out, Liang Zhongshu and I would inevitably be locked in a life-or-death struggle, and then the imperial army would arrive.

If these remnants of the army are released now, Liang Zhongshu will not think that Liangshan is too strong; he will only think that "vanguard" Suo Chao is useless, and he will have to take the blame.

Li Hanxiao signaled Lin Chong to feign defeat and clear a path. Suo Chao, covered in sweat from the fighting, was panicked and ran away without thinking. Seeing a way out, he led his men to flee. Li Hanxiao did not chase after them, but instead sent men to loot all the dead soldiers and soldiers in Daming Prefecture.

After all, the armor and weapons worn by these regular imperial troops are all valuable items, so how could they not take them away?

"Sigh! I didn't even get to fight properly!"

Seeing that the soldiers of Daming Prefecture had fled, "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen slammed his staff into the ground, creating a dent.

"Commander Lu, we should know when to stop. If we do, Suo Chao will be punished by Liang Zhongshu for underestimating the enemy and acting rashly. Liang Zhongshu will not think that Liangshan is strong, and he will not send anyone else for a while."

Li Han smiled and said.

His vision was that Liangshanbo was not a place that could be easily provoked by the government, but it was also not a place that could be ignored, even by a military stronghold like Daming Prefecture. It should make a small contribution, but not too much, because making too much of a contribution would also cause problems.

In this way, Liang Zhongshu would only think that they had succeeded in a sneak attack, but in a head-on confrontation, they would definitely be no match for the army of Daming Prefecture.

In reality, Li Hanxiao and his men weren't afraid of a direct confrontation, but the fact that they could wipe out an entire army from Daming Prefecture through an ambush was already quite impressive. Li Hanxiao still needed to hold back a bit.

"Brothers, hurry up and clean up the battlefield! There's another business opportunity waiting for us!"

Li Hanxiao was referring to the army welcoming the troops from Daming Prefecture, which was sent by the prefect of Jizhou eighty miles outside the city. That was a considerable sum of money, so how could they not take it all?

Eighty miles outside Jeju City.

The prefect of Jeju had already set up a shed with reed mats and a banquet there. When the troops from Daming Prefecture arrived, he began to entertain them.

In terms of dedication, this old fellow has put in a lot of effort. This table has everything that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, and swims in the water, along with various fine wines, fruits, and vegetables.

"My lord, they're here! They're here!"

The official next to them pointed, and sure enough, a troop appeared on the horizon, marching toward them.

"Such a mighty and imposing army must be the troops of Daming Prefecture!"

Upon seeing this, the prefect of Jeju immediately straightened his official robes, preparing to greet the army from Daming Prefecture with the utmost enthusiasm.

"No, sir, this banner is..."

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed official nearby shouted.

"What's wrong? Huh?"

The prefect of Jeju was initially quite indifferent, but after taking a closer look at the banners displayed by the group, he was completely terrified!

The team was carrying a large apricot-yellow banner with the four characters: "Acting on behalf of Heaven."

Aren't these the bandits from Liangshan?

"How did they get here?"

The prefect of Jizhou was unable to accept the situation. How could the troops of Daming Prefecture have disappeared, while the Liangshan bandits were running rampant?

"Sir, stop talking! Run! If the thieves come, we're all doomed!"

The constables grabbed the prefect of Jeju and ran, completely ignoring the prefect's cries of pain.

"Things! Take everything back!"

But now we're too busy escaping to even think about those things.

In the end, Li Hanxiao and his team came and took all of these things away!