Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"Wait a minute, Chief Li... I... I have two more questions I'd like to ask Instructor Lin and Commander Lu, if that's alright..."

Li Ying suddenly called out to Li Hanxiao, who had just stood up. He wanted to know why figures like Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen were willing to join Liangshan.

In his view, Lin Chong had once served as the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in Tokyo, and Lu Zhishen was also a prominent figure in the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world). It seemed abnormal to him that they could join Liangshan.

"Haha, Master Li, haven't you heard about Lin Chong's plight? It was all because my wife caught the eye of Gao Qiu's adopted son, Gao Yanei, that I was exiled to Cangzhou. I almost lost my life in the Wild Boar Forest, but luckily my senior brother Lu Da saved me, otherwise I would have been dead long ago. Later, they set fire to the army's hay storage, trying to burn me to death, but I killed them all. I was forced to come to Liangshan on a snowy night!"

Lin Chong was still very emotional when he talked about his tragic past experiences.

"Originally, it was Wang Lun on Liangshan who was jealous of talent and couldn't tolerate me. I was just looking for a place to settle down. But do you know, Master Li? When Chief Li heard about my plight, he risked his life in Dongjing City to rescue my family and bring Gao Yanei out of the city. He even kidnapped Gao Yanei and asked me to deal with him. Such deep kindness and righteousness are something I, Lin Chong, can never repay. Therefore, this blood of mine belongs to Chief Li. Whenever he wants to take it, Lin Chong will not hesitate!"

Lin Chong's words were truly heart-wrenching, leaving Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," deeply moved. He hadn't known much about Li Hanxiao before, but hearing Lin Chong's praise of Li Hanxiao's loyalty and righteousness, he couldn't help but look at him with new respect and came to regard Li Hanxiao as a hero of the world.

"Instructor Lin did it to repay a debt of gratitude, but what about Commander Lu? As a monk, why are you fighting among outlaws?"

Li Ying was relatively understanding of Lin Chong; after all, a woman adorns herself for her confidant, and a scholar dies for his confidant. However, he couldn't understand Lu Zhishen's choice at all.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhishen burst into laughter, tugged at his black robe and waved it in front of Master Li, asking, "Master, can this dyed cloth still be washed clean?"

Li Ying didn't mean to criticize Lu Zhishen, and subconsciously replied, "Of course it can't be washed clean."

Lu Zhishen nodded and said, "This world is like the robe that was dyed on this old man's body; it's already stained and can't be washed clean. Back when I was on Mount Wutai, I often thought about how I stood up for the weak and only ended up shaving my head to become a monk and even changing my name. Later, when I got drunk, I banged on the mountain gate and broke two clay statues of Vajra Heavenly Kings. I found that they ate offerings from the world, but they were just hollow clay figures, heartless and soulless. Those monks, because of two clay figures, forgot their past cultivation and their constant chanting of Amitabha, and came to beat my flesh and blood, a living person. Isn't that strange?"

Lu Zhishen's words seemed incoherent, but Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," vaguely understood some of the logic in them, so he didn't ask any questions and instead listened quietly to Lu Zhishen continue.

"Later I understood what it meant to want to put on a monk's robe and leave behind worldly affairs, but who knew that wearing a monk's robe would bring even more trouble? Whether you're a layperson or a monk, aren't you still in that dark and gloomy world? Even if you chant sutras and send off Buddha thousands of times, you'll never see a better world created. But I know that for every injustice I see in this world, every injustice I intervene in will be reduced. The more heads I can cut off with my monk's staff and dagger, the fewer people will suffer. This is what is meant by punishing evil and promoting good, eliminating evil and doing good."

"Therefore, in this life, whenever I see injustice, I will draw my sword to help. Even if I end up being smashed to pieces, I will remain calm and composed, and die a worthy death. In this life, I only wish that my monk's staff can open dangerous paths and my monk's sword can kill all the injustices. Before I joined Liangshan, I also heard in the Jianghu that Chief Li had proclaimed the four words 'acting on behalf of Heaven,' meaning he would only kill corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry, and would not harm the common people. I know that we are on the same side."

Li Ying was already quite shocked when Lu Zhishen got to this point. Lu Zhishen's words, though seemingly rough, actually contained great wisdom!

"The master's heart is set on benefiting the world!"

Li Ying couldn't help but sigh.

"I don't have such lofty ambitions; I only ask to have a clear conscience."

Lu Zhishen said.

“Chief Li, I’ve thought about it. If my Li family village doesn’t join Liangshan, we will suffer a great calamity. But if I join Liangshan, my entire family’s fortune will belong to Liangshan. What kind of position can I get in return?”

Li Ying had also weighed the pros and cons and realized that the current situation was indeed as Lu Zhishen had described. Without a lawless place to rely on, he and Li Family Village would basically lose everything they deserved.

Li Ying had to give up everything and contribute to Liangshan, so he deserved a reward. After all, he was a shrewd businessman, a man of his word, and he was good at bargaining.

In reality, he wanted to use his wealth to try and get a better position.

This is also human nature.

After all, in every respect, although Li Ying has no merit, he is by no means inferior to any of the current leaders of Liangshan.

In terms of martial arts prowess, Li Ying was highly skilled. When fighting Zhu Biao of the Zhu Family Village, he easily defeated him in just over ten rounds, only to be hit by a stray arrow.

The three Zhu brothers were all very skilled in martial arts. Zhu Long fought Lin Chong for more than thirty rounds without a clear winner, and Zhu Hu also fought Mu Hong, the "Unobstructed," for more than thirty rounds without a clear winner.

Although these two are suspected of feigning defeat and throwing the game, it would be obvious if they were truly no match for each other.

Zhu Biao's martial arts skills are even stronger than his two older brothers, and Li Ying is able to defeat him.

It is evident that Li Ying's martial arts skills were quite high, at least on par with Lin Chong, Qin Ming, and Huyan Zhuo, making him a near-Five Tiger Generals.

In the original novel, Li Ying made many military achievements at Liangshan: Guan Sheng led his army to attack Liangshan in order to relieve the siege of Beijing. Upon hearing the news, Song Jiang hurriedly withdrew his troops to reinforce the city and captured Guan Sheng by a ruse. Li Ying stormed into the government army's camp, rescuing Zhang Heng, Ruan Xiaoqi, and others who had been captured, and seizing all the grain, fodder, and horses. During the capture of Daming Prefecture, Li Ying disguised himself as a guest and infiltrated Beijing as an inside agent, joining Shi Jin in capturing the East Gate. During the campaign against the Liao Kingdom, Li Ying followed Guan Sheng in breaking through the Saturn Formation in the Taiyi Hun Tian Xiang Formation. During the campaign against Tian Hu, Li Ying followed Lu Junyi in breaking through Yumen Pass and assassinated Mu Hui, the garrison commander of Datong Pass who had fled there after his defeat. During the campaign against Wang Qing, Li Ying cooperated with Chai Jin to kill Mi Sheng, a general of Huaixi, with cannons. During the campaign against Fang La, Li Ying killed the garrison commander Wu Yingxing with a flying knife. He fought many battles, and in the original novel, he was good at both mounted and foot combat. When "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi joined Liangshan, Song Jiang even regarded him as a first-class infantryman of Liangshan and used a broadsword to fight Lu Junyi on foot.

This is actually how the author views Li Ying's strength. Don't be fooled by his infrequent attacks; he is an absolute master, otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen to fight "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi.

In terms of status in the martial arts world, the Li Family Manor used to be on par with the Zhu Family Manor, and Li Ying was the head of the manor, which shows his high status in the martial arts world. In addition, Li Ying was also very famous in the martial arts world. Almost everyone knew him. "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying was highly skilled in martial arts and was well-known in the martial arts world. In the original work, Yang Xiong was a prison warden and could not be considered a martial arts person, but he had heard of him. It is highly likely that Li Ying had ventured out in his youth and made a considerable name for himself. He was equivalent to a high-end version of Shi Jin. Moreover, he had built a solid family business, which made him much better than Shi Jin.

Li Ying became sworn brothers with Zhu Chaofeng, the father of the three Zhu brothers, and even scolded Zhu Biao for being a greenhorn. Zhu Biao must have been at least eighteen or nineteen or twenty years old, so Li Ying must have been quite old, probably in his thirties or forties, or even older. He was certainly experienced enough in the underworld, so he would definitely refuse to take a low-ranking position on the mountain.

Most importantly, his family property. In the original work, the Hu family's property was confiscated and filled with forty or fifty loads of horse-drawn carts. As the only "survivor" of the three-family alliance, Li Ying must have had a lot of wealth. Moreover, the book mentions that Liangshanbo brought more than two hundred soldiers to Li Ying's house to confiscate his property, and it took them a long time to finish moving it all. His family wealth was truly substantial.

"Since you, Master Li, are willing to come up the mountain, I, Li Hanxiao, should also show my sincerity. How about you become the fourth-ranking official on the mountain from now on? From now on, you don't need to worry about battles while you're at Liangshan Marsh. Just manage the money and supplies and the business."

Previously, Wang Yin was fourth and Si Xingfang was fifth. These two were considered Li Hanxiao's protégés. If there were a change, they wouldn't blame Li Hanxiao. In addition, many good brothers have joined Liangshan recently, so the order needs to be rearranged. When we return to the mountain, we should make a unified change.

"The fourth seat... who are the second and third? Could you please tell me...?"

Actually, the fourth seat was a position that Li Ying had envisioned, but he still wanted to find out about the people ahead of him.

There's no doubt that Li Hanxiao is the eldest, but we need to find out who the second and third brothers are.

"The second-in-command is the strategist, Mr. Wen Huanzhang, and the third-in-command is none other than Instructor Lin."

Li Han smiled and said.

"I see, Li Ying is convinced."

Li Ying also understood that the strategist was a shell company, and under normal circumstances, he was usually the second-in-command. A smart brain was very important.

Lin Chong was formerly the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in Tokyo, a man who had led thousands of troops. In terms of status in the martial arts world, he was no less than "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying. It could be said that he could easily suppress the other generals of Liangshan.

Li Hanxiao placed Li Ying in fourth place because he had considered whether Li Ying could win over the masses. In the original work, Li Ying was not only a general who could lead troops into battle, but also in charge of money and provisions. In terms of position, he was the Minister of Logistics and had the important responsibility of managing the money and provisions of Liangshan.

In terms of actual authority, there were two people in Liangshan who were in charge of money and provisions: "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin and "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying. However, Chai Jin seemed to be a rather carefree rich kid who often went down the mountain and wouldn't be diligent in handling these trivial accounts. He was just a figurehead, and the real power should have been in Li Ying's hands.

Li Ying's status and abilities in the martial arts world should be ranked fourth without any problem. Even Wang Yin and Si Xingfang wouldn't dare to say they could definitely beat Li Ying in terms of martial arts. His other abilities are even more obvious. In short, there are many people in Liangshan who can fight, but there are very few like Li Ying who are both literate and martial.

Moreover, Li Hanxiao also planned to put Li Ying in charge of all the businesses, which would be the guarantee for Liangshan's future prosperity. He was essentially in charge of a separate department.

"Alright, since that's the case, Li Ying will also go to Liangshan Marsh to join the righteous cause. But what did Chief Li mean when he said he wanted me to manage the business?"

Li Ying is indeed a seasoned businessman; he immediately sensed a keen business sense. Perhaps this is what is called "business acumen."

"That's right. After you come up the mountain, sir, we have some rare goods on Liangshan that can fetch a good price. We'll definitely need some channels and methods to sell them. After all, we don't rob indiscriminately; we only target corrupt officials, local tyrants, and evil gentry. Our income is limited, and the number of local tyrants, evil gentry, and corrupt officials in the nearby prefectures is also limited. We need to find some ways to make money, right?"

As Li Hanxiao spoke, he reached out to Lin Chong, took the wine gourd Lin Chong handed over, opened it, and handed it to "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying.

"Look, Mr. Li, this is one of them, a strong liquor brewed by Liangshan Marsh, called Heavenly River Jade Brew."

Li Han smiled and said.

Because the lingering poison in his body hadn't been cleared, Li Ying couldn't just go up and take a sip. But just smelling the strong aroma of the alcohol made this old drunkard restrain his strong urge to take a sip.

"This is fine wine, like a rare vintage aged for thirty years. How much of this wine can you make? It can't be mass-produced, can it?"

Li Ying, however, was clear-headed and directly asked the very important question about production volume.

Although this thing can be sold for a good price as soon as it's resold, it's not very useful if the production volume is low.

If it really is a rare treasure that has been stored for thirty years, then we have to wait another thirty years before we can sell a batch? By the time the next batch comes out of the cellar and can be sold, we don't even know if "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying will still be alive.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li. As long as there's enough grain for brewing, you can have as much wine as you want!"

Li Hanxiao said very seriously.

"Is Chief Li playing a trick on me?"

Li Ying had also run a winery and knew the winemaking process well. Good wine had to be aged in cellars, and the taste of freshly brewed wine was completely different from that of aged wine.

"I'm not kidding, to be honest, we at Liangshan Marsh are currently partnering with Master Chai of Cangzhou in Heng Hai County to sell this wine to the Liao Kingdom in the north. It's incredibly profitable..."

Before Li Hanxiao could finish speaking, "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying interrupted him with an incredulous look and asked, "Who? Master Chai? Is he the descendant of the Later Zhou emperor from Cangzhou in Heng Hai County, known in the martial arts world as 'Little Whirlwind' Chai Jin?"

"It was Lord Chai who did this liquor business with us, and our Liangshan has far more rare goods than this."