Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

The troops from Jeju Prefecture fled in disarray, so Li Hanxiao accepted all the gifts intended to reward the troops.

You could say that Li Hanxiao took this thing and that was that, but Li Hanxiao also went so far as to have his men shout in unison towards the direction of Jeju City, "Thank you for the gift, sir."

Upon hearing this, the prefect of Jeju was so angry that he nearly collapsed and fainted.

After the defeat, Suo Chao, the "vanguard," returned to Daming Prefecture with his remaining troops. He was demoted three ranks by the enraged Liang Zhongshu, but was allowed to remain in service despite his crimes.

As Li Hanxiao had predicted, Liang Zhongshu agreed with Suo Chao's assessment that his defeat was due to underestimating his opponent. He believed that Suo Chao's underestimation of his opponent was what caused him to lose face.

Liang Zhongshu certainly still wanted to get back the birthday tribute, but now the Liao Kingdom was pressing in with heavy troops, so he had to mainly deal with Liao affairs.

But he was still very unhappy about letting the Liangshan bandits go.

His subordinate, Li Cheng, known as "Li Tianwang," gave him a suggestion: to write to Grand Tutor Cai and replace the prefect of Jizhou with a more capable one.

The saying goes, "A bad soldier is a bad soldier, but a bad general makes a bad army." Liang Zhongshu also thought this was a good idea. The fact that the Jizhou government couldn't defeat the bandits was because the Jizhou prefect was too incompetent.

So, Liang Zhongshu handed a letter to his father-in-law, Grand Tutor Cai, and the original prefect of Jizhou was unlucky enough to be exiled three thousand miles away to Lingnan.

The trusted prefect of Jizhou whom Liang Zhongshu had chosen was Zhang Shuye, the current prefect of Haizhou.

This person was a great and capable man who would be remembered in history!

As for Zhang Shuye, Cai Jing was very familiar with him. In the third year of the Daguan era, Zhang Shuye's younger cousin, Zhang Kegong, impeached the prime minister, Cai Jing. Cai Jing then took his anger out on Zhang Shuye, found some minor faults in Zhang Shuye, and demoted him to the position of supervisor of the Xi'an grassland.

Several years later, Zhang Shuye was summoned back to the capital to serve as the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat. He was later promoted to Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat and then to Attendant-in-Ordinary. He was later promoted to Vice Minister of Rites. However, Zhang Shuye was resented by Cai Jing and was sent to Haizhou as the Prefect with the title of Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Imperial Academy.

These two should have been irreconcilable enemies, but Cai Jing considered that this man was both literate and martial, and had real talent and skills. If he were to suppress bandits, he would really need him. Cai Jing also hoped to give him some benefits so that he could win his heart.

Moreover, Cai Jing knew that Zhang Shuye liked to talk about military strategy when he was young. After growing up, he was appointed as the military advisor of Lanzhou due to his father's influence. Lanzhou was located on the border of the Song Dynasty and relied on the Yellow River as a natural barrier to defend itself. Every year when the Yellow River froze, it had to be on high alert to prevent the Qiang people from invading. The soldiers did not leave their weapons for several months.

Later, it was Zhang Shuye who offered a plan. After surveying the terrain, he devised a strategy to capture a strategic location and built a fortified city called Xi'an Prefecture. From then on, Lanzhou was free from the threat of the Qiang people. In terms of military strength, it was far superior to those who held positions without doing their jobs.

Moreover, Zhang Shuye had served as an envoy to the Liao Dynasty in his early years. During a banquet and archery competition, Zhang Shuye competed with a group of Liao princes and nobles in archery and was the first to hit the target. He was both literate and martial, truly a talented individual.

Therefore, the old scoundrel Cai Jing agreed to appoint Zhang Shuye as the prefect of Jizhou and send him to take up his post.

However, this matter still needs to be resolved, and Zhang Shuye will not be able to take office for another month. For the time being, Liangshan Marsh will not have to face this major enemy.

However, just as Liangshan Marsh was flourishing, great turmoil occurred in the three villages of Dulonggang near Liangshan Marsh.

As mentioned before, Hu Sanniang, nicknamed "One-Zhang-Qing," hired Yuan Lang and Mi Sheng to assassinate Zhu Biao, the third son of the Zhu family. However, they failed because they did not know the way to Zhu Family Village.

The two of them were not captured by the Zhu Family Village, so there was no need to verify their identities. However, the problem was that before they took action, they had eaten and drunk some food at the Zhu Family Inn, and when they paid the bill, they used the silver that Hu Sanniang had given them.

The silver ingots from the Hu family village bear the Hu family village's exclusive mark. An investigation within the Zhu family village revealed that this matter was related to the Hu family village.

Meanwhile, Zhu Biao quietly devised a wicked plan with his brothers.

That is, to pretend that they do not know about this matter, under the pretext of searching for the assassin, lead people to search Hu Family Village, and then suddenly launch an attack, capture Hu Taigong and Hu siblings alive, and force them to submit.

For the Zhu family, they could have slowly eroded the Hu family village, but now that this incident has occurred, it is an opportunity to swallow the Hu family village in one fell swoop.

Afterwards, they could even take the money to the authorities and accuse the Hu family of hiring someone to kill and murder for money, and they would win every time.

Therefore, the three sons of the Zhu family and the teacher "Iron Rod" Luan Tingyu all set out, leading thirty capable farmhands, carrying weapons, and headed straight for the Hu family village.

"It's the three Zhu brothers and Teacher Luan. May I ask what brings you here today?"

When the three sons of the Zhu family and Luan Tingyu arrived at Hu Family Village, "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng saw them coming and thought to himself that something was wrong, but he did not show any signs on the surface.

Hu Cheng and his grandfather already knew about Hu Sanniang's hiring of a hitman to commit murder. Now that the three sons of the Zhu family had come to their door, it was definitely not a good thing. But he figured they probably didn't have any evidence. Hu Cheng was clinging to a sliver of hope and wanted to delay until the matter was forgotten.

"Brother Hu Cheng, assassins came to our manor to kill people a couple of days ago, and their whereabouts are still unknown. I wonder if we could enter your manor today to search for them?"

Zhu Biao said with ill intent.

Hu Cheng smiled slightly, "Brother, you're joking. Our two families are related by marriage, how could I possibly harm your village like this?"

"Yes, I don't think Brother Hu Cheng would harm us. It's just that we need to investigate the Li Family Village, and Li Yingfei said that we have to investigate the Hu Family Village first before we can go to his place. There aren't many of us here, so we'll just go through the motions!"

Hearing Zhu Biao say this, Hu Cheng believed it, because Li Ying had indeed been at odds with the Zhu Family Village for a long time. If the Zhu Family Village really came to Li Ying's door to ask for a search, Li Ying would definitely say the same thing.

Moreover, the three sons of the Zhu family only brought a few dozen people, which did not pose any threat to their Hu family village.

"In that case, I'll open the gates. How about you all come in and have some wine and drinks?"

Hu Cheng still wanted to get through this, so he ordered the door to be opened.

"Best! Best! Let's do it!"

As soon as Zhu Biao saw the gate of Hujiazhuang slowly open, he roared and his two older brothers, Zhu Long and Zhu Hu, along with their teacher "Iron Rod" Luan Tingyu, rushed into Hujiazhuang.

"kill!"

Zhu Long, wielding a steel spear, stabbed a servant near the gate to death, seized the gate, and Zhu Hu led a group of Zhu Family Manor servants straight into the manor.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng was caught off guard by Zhu Biao's attack and quickly jumped off the city wall to stop him.

"Go!"

Unexpectedly, Luan Tingyu, nicknamed "Iron Rod," swept "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng to the ground with a single blow.

"Zhu Biao, our two families are related by marriage, what are you doing!"

Hu Cheng struggled and shouted.

Zhu Biao, with a sinister sneer, grabbed Hu Cheng and swung him around, slapping him twice across the face.

"In-laws? Are there in-laws who would murder their own brother-in-law?"

Upon hearing Zhu Biao's words, Hu Cheng turned ashen-faced and stammered, "You, you, how did you know?"

"Hmph! If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place!"

Zhu Biao pushed Hu Cheng aside, and then heard a sharp shout.

"Zhu Biao! Let go of my brother! What are you going to do about it!"

Following the sound, they saw the beautiful and youthful "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang, wielding the Sun and Moon Twin Blades and glaring angrily at Zhu Biao.

"Haha, my dear sister, today I've come to marry you!"

Upon seeing Hu Sanniang's beauty, Zhu Biao changed to a lewd expression and spoke with a grin.

Hu Cheng shouted, "Sister, run! This is no good! The Zhu family has ill intentions, you must leave!"

"Oh!"

"Wow!"

Before Hu Cheng could finish speaking, Luan Tingyu kicked him in the stomach, almost knocking him unconscious.

"Go to Lijiazhuang!"

This was the last thing Hu Cheng said before he fell into a coma.

"drive!"

Hu Sanniang, nicknamed "One-Zhang-Qing," knew that this was probably because the truth had been revealed, which had attracted the Zhu family. Zhu Hu had already taken Hu Taigong outside, while Zhu Long was about to capture her with his spear. If she didn't run away now, she would surely fall into their hands!

So, Hu Sanniang jumped onto her rouge horse, brandished her twin swords, and cut a path through the crowd. The servants of the Zhu Family Manor all knew that this woman was the future wife of the third young master, so they dared not approach her with swords or spears and all gave way.

This gave Hu Sanniang a convenient opportunity. She spurred her warhorse, and Rouge Horse leaped onto the city wall. Then, with a leap, it jumped over the wall and headed straight for Li Family Village to the east.

"Chase after them!"

Seeing that the swan meat he had almost gotten away had escaped, Zhu Biao was furious and led his men to chase after it himself.

"Giddy up! Giddy up!"

Hu Sanniang, nicknamed "One-Zhang-Qing," had only run a few steps when she saw Zhu Biao leading more than ten cavalrymen in pursuit. Realizing she was no match for them, she ran towards Li Family Village, seeking the protection of Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle."

"Chase after him! Whoever catches him will be rewarded with ten taels of gold!"

Seeing that "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang was running towards Li Family Village, Zhu Biao became somewhat anxious. Although Zhu Family Village dared to confront Hu Family Village head-on and even dared to use tricks to take over Hu Family Village, he was still quite wary of Li Family Village.

Firstly, "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying is highly skilled in martial arts and not easy to deal with. Secondly, Li Ying is really rich. If they are not well prepared, they may not be able to gain the upper hand if they fight with Li Ying.

"Uncle Li, help me!"

Hu Sanniang, nicknamed "One-Zhang-Qing," immediately shouted for Li Ying to save her. Li Ying had already heard the commotion on the west side and went up to the city wall to see what was happening. He saw Zhu Biao leading his men in pursuit of Hu Sanniang, and they were in a great hurry.

"Master, Hu Family Village is in such a mess. It must be that the Zhu Family Village used a trick to seize Hu Family Village!"

Du Xing, the head steward, noticed the chaotic scene in the direction of Hu Family Village and immediately guessed what was going on.

"Yes!"

Upon seeing this, Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," was secretly amazed. The Zhu Family Village was indeed bold, having already made their move without making a sound.

"Master, should we save 'One-Zhang-Qing' from Hu Family Village?"

"Ghost Face," Du Xing asked.

"Today it's the Hu family village, tomorrow it might be my Li family village's turn! These Zhu family brats are really going too far. If one of us is gone, the other will be too. Open the door and let that Zhu family girl in!"

In a short moment, Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," weighed the pros and cons. If he didn't save Hu Sanniang, nicknamed "One-Zhang-Qing," then she would be captured by the three sons of the Zhu family. At that time, the Zhu family would annex the Hu family and become much stronger. There would be no need for them to maintain a balance with the Li family. Sooner or later, they would come to fight.

However, rescuing "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang would create an unstable factor for the Zhu family. Originally, the people of Hu Family Village would have hope if they knew that Hu Sanniang had not been captured, and they would not wholeheartedly help the Zhu family.

At that time, Li Ying's confrontation with the Zhu Family Village would still offer him a chance to turn the tide.

"Crench!"

The gates of Li Family Village opened, and Hu Sanniang rushed inside like a gust of wind.

When Zhu Biao arrived at the gate, the gate of Li Family Village was slammed shut again.

Zhu Biao was furious when he saw that the Li family had taken in "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang. He grabbed his steel gun and pointed it at Li Ying on the city wall, cursing him angrily.

"Li Ying! You scoundrel! Hu Sanniang is my woman! Open the gate and return her to me right now, or I'll raze your Li Family Village to the ground and go inside to search for her!"

Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," was not a man of good temper. Seeing Zhu Biao's arrogant words, he couldn't help but scold him, "Hey! Zhu family's third son, you ignorant little beast! In terms of seniority, I am of the same generation as your grandfather. How can you, a junior, be so ignorant of manners?"

Zhu Biao also started cursing, "Li Ying, let me tell you the truth, neither your Li Family Village nor their Hu Family Village are in the eyes of our Zhu Family Village. If we respect you, we'll call you Master Li; if we don't, you're nothing!"

Li Ying was so angry that he trembled all over. He had thought that if he mediated, the Zhu family would give him some face out of consideration for him. He never expected that Zhu Biao, who was a junior, would scold him like this. So he simply tore off the mask of politeness.

"You scoundrel, the smell of milk still lingers on your lips, and your baby hair still remains on your head. Your grandfather and I, Hu Taigong, swore a blood oath to protect the village together. If your family ever needed anything, we would release you as soon as possible, and give you whatever you wanted. But today, without any explanation, you drove Hu Sanniang to my village. I took her in, hoping that our two families could reconcile. How could you be so ignorant, babbling on and on, and disgracing my name? What kind of logic is this?"

"Li Ying, stop with the empty words. If you have the guts, come down and have a few rounds with me!"

Zhu Biao was too arrogant, and had even forgotten the huge gap in strength between him and Li Ying.

"You little beast! If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know what it means to provoke someone so powerful!"

Li Ying suddenly drew his throwing knife and, like an eagle soaring through the sky, launched it from above, aiming straight for the face of Zhu Biao, the third son of the Zhu family.

Li Ying's throwing knife was his signature move, hitting the target every time. At such close range, Zhu Biao had no chance of blocking it. Just as he closed his eyes, the teacher "Iron Rod" Luan Tingyu next to him used his flying hammer to deflect the throwing knife, thus saving Zhu Biao's life.

"Li Ying! You wait! I will kill you!"

Seeing that Zhu Biao was about to lose his life, the dozen or so men immediately shielded Zhu Biao behind them and slowly retreated, leaving Luan Tingyu to hold the line.