Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"what else?"

Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," had been in business all his life, so he naturally understood that doing business was all about having what others didn't, being better at what others had, and offering a unique advantage. Having a unique source of goods was a privilege bestowed by heaven, and that was basically half the battle won in a business transaction!

He was also very eager to try it, after all, he could tell from the strong liquor in front of him that Liangshan was able to make a fortune every day.

When Li Ying, nicknamed "Soaring Eagle," was young, he was a merchant who went to the Liao Kingdom. The further north you went in the Liao Kingdom, the colder the weather became. If you didn't take proper precautions to keep warm, it was common for people to lose their ears and noses. The Khitan people of the Liao Kingdom were extremely fond of alcohol and drank excessively to keep warm. However, their brewing technology was backward, and most of their wine was made with mare's milk.

If such strong liquor were to be sold to the Liao Kingdom, it would surely be snapped up. It would be an extremely profitable commodity. The Liao Kingdom is a great power. Although it is a nomadic people, it has a vast territory. Despite its declining power, it still possesses the strength of a great nation. There are so many things that can be gained from them!

Especially warhorses. The Liao Kingdom occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the original horse-breeding base of the Central Plains, and had a nomadic culture, so there were a lot of warhorses. If Li Yinglai were to manipulate the trade, he could exchange strong liquor for horses to equip his army.

This kind of strong liquor alone is already a rare commodity, and now Li Hanxiao actually says there are many other good things. It's no wonder Li Ying is itching to get his hands on it.

"There are a few other things that are not yet in mass production, but they will be available by next year at the latest. There are probably three types. One type is a new type of fabric. Although it is not as smooth as silk, it is superior in terms of warmth. It is also lighter and thinner than fur, and the cost is lower."

Li Hanxiao was referring to cotton cloth woven from cotton. After listening, Li Ying thought for a moment and said, "It's a rare commodity. Although it can't be used directly as clothing material, it can be wrapped in silk as an inner lining. It's both lightweight and easy to move in, and extremely beautiful!"

As expected of "Tianfuxing" (Heavenly Wealth Star), his mind is indeed quick enough to draw inferences from one instance to another. Isn't this the same method used in later generations to make cotton-padded clothes?

"Furthermore, there is pure white sugar, as white as frost. Although the South produces cane sugar, most of it is dark in color and contains very little white frost. Liangshan, on the other hand, has the ability to produce sugar that is as white as frost."

Upon hearing Li Hanxiao's words, Li Ying asked with some doubt, "That's unlikely. As far as I know, sugarcane cannot be grown in the north. So where does your sugar come from? Maple syrup? Or honey? You can't possibly buy cane sugar from the south, can you? That would be a losing proposition."

Li Han laughed and said, "Master Li, there are countless herbs in this world with wonderful uses. How do you know there isn't another herb that can be grown in the north and used to make sugar?"

"If such plants really exist, they could be incredibly profitable!"

How could Li Ying not know that in ancient times, when seasonings were scarce, the price of a single grain of salt or sugar could be equivalent to that of precious metals?

Salt was of strategic importance, but sugar was purely a luxury for the aristocracy. They weren't afraid of sugar being expensive; they were afraid of not having it. Good sugar was not only produced in low quantities but also had a market that was priceless. No matter how expensive you sold it, there would be buyers.

Especially the snow-white sugar—just thinking about it excited Li Ying. If this could be mass-produced, it would be buckets of gold dust…

"There is another thing that you, Master Li, may have seen before, which is glass. But have you ever seen pure, transparent glass?"

Li Hanxiao brought up the glass again.

"Purely transparent glass...how is that any different from crystal?"

Li Ying couldn't help but sigh.

"Liangshanbo can also produce transparent glass, and it can be made into various shapes. I am currently looking for several skilled glass artisans, and I expect it will be ready to be produced soon."

"What a coincidence! Several of my servants have been to the Western Regions and know how to make glass!"

As fate would have it, this "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying also liked glassware, so he took in a few farmhands who knew how to make glass and occasionally made a few glass bottles for them to play with.

"Excellent! Liangshan Marsh is exactly lacking such talent!"

Li Han smiled as he observed Li Ying's demeanor, feeling that he had already grasped this "sky-high eagle" in terms of business planning and prospects. As an experienced businessman, he couldn't believe that Li Ying wouldn't be tempted by such good products.

"I never thought that joining Liangshan would be the right decision for me! It's a blessing to be able to handle so many good things. Chief Li, when will you return to Liangshan? I, Li Ying, can prepare in advance."

Although Li Ying was preparing to join Liangshan, he had to plan ahead. Firstly, he had a lot of property, and moving it would be quite difficult, so he had to plan ahead.

Another point is that Li Ying owns several thousand acres of land. He is a large landowner. When a person dies, they can take their wealth with them, but they can't take their land with them. He is also a shrewd person, so he has to find a way to sell all these lands first, at least to avoid losses.

"The army will set off in three days. We cannot stay here for too long, otherwise we may attract the imperial army! In addition, I need to go to Jiankang Prefecture in person."

Li Hanxiao's words aroused the curiosity of "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying, who couldn't help but ask him what Li Hanxiao was doing in Jiankang Prefecture.

Li Hanxiao's thought process was something that Li Ying, the "Soaring Eagle," couldn't understand at all. It was quite unconventional and his essence was hard for ordinary people to grasp.

"The remaining poison in Master Li's body is still harmful to his health. I imagine that ordinary doctors cannot cure him. I have heard that there is a 'miracle doctor' named An Daoquan in Jiankang Prefecture. His medical skills are so great that he can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded. I will personally invite him to Liangshan to treat Master Li."

Li Hanxiao's words, a combination of kindness and severity, moved Li Ying somewhat. "I never imagined that the chieftain would actually... would actually think of me..."

After all, this was the first time he and Li Hanxiao had met, but Li Hanxiao was genuinely looking out for him. This kind of honesty made Li Ying feel truly grateful!

Li Hanxiao's actions were certainly intended to detoxify "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying, but they were also preparations for the future.

In war, there will be casualties. You can't do without a good doctor. Sometimes, a skilled healer is more useful than a skilled killer.

Throughout the original novel of "Water Margin", there is basically no doctor more skilled than the "divine physician" An Daoquan. An Daoquan was a man of real ability, and his medical skills were quite superb. He was a famous doctor in Jiankang Prefecture. As soon as he arrived at Liangshan, he cured Song Jiang's illness with ease.

Later, when Emperor Huizong of Song fell ill, he specially transferred An Daoquan from the front line of the campaign against Fang La back to Tokyo to treat him. An Daoquan also took this opportunity to completely break away from the Liangshan system, which proved that even Emperor Huizong recognized his medical skills.

Moreover, his medical skills included some groundbreaking techniques, such as "plastic surgery." An Daoquan also had the ability to remove the gold marks on the faces of criminals. However, this plastic surgery technique seemed to be of little use in Water Margin. Among the many brothers on Liangshan with gold marks on their faces, only Song Jiang underwent the surgery.

Characters like Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, and Wu Song, including Zhu Tong who later became the military governor of the Taiping Army, did not undergo this surgery, indirectly demonstrating Song Jiang's ambition for officialdom.

He also had surgical skills. During the campaign against Liao, Zhang Qing, known as "Featherless Arrow," was ambushed by Tian Shan warriors and a crossbow bolt pierced his throat. In ancient times, this would have been considered an incurable condition. However, the "miracle doctor" An Daoquan performed surgery on the spot and pulled Zhang Qing back from the brink of death.

This medical skill is simply unbelievable, basically reaching the level of a "conceptual god". Li Hanxiao has reason to suspect that he can revive anyone who doesn't die directly in front of him.

An Daoquan, one of the luckiest among the 108 Liangshan heroes, originally ran a small clinic in his hometown. However, after going to Liangshan to gain experience, he ended up in the Imperial Medical Academy and became the private physician of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. It was a meteoric rise. Later, during the Southern Song Dynasty, he lived in seclusion on Niutou Mountain. When Prince Kang fled south to Niutou Mountain, An Daoquan even treated Prince Kang's sister, Wanyan Jiu Mei.

Li Hanxiao wanted to bring him up the mountain as well, but he didn't plan to use the method of framing and murder like Zhang Shun did in the original novel. Instead, he planned to use modern medical theory to subdue him.

A person who can be called a "miracle doctor" must have reached the pinnacle of medical research and be highly skilled in this field, and may even be extremely passionate about it.

So, if Li Hanxiao were to tell him some groundbreaking medical knowledge from later generations and use these things to entice him, would he be captivated?

This may be incomprehensible to ordinary people, but those who truly love a certain technology will understand that feeling is truly agonizing, making you lose your appetite and sleep.

It's like the pain of a fisherman who can't fish.

If we could lure An Daoquan to Liangshan using this method, and have him serve as a military doctor, researching medical technology while also training more military doctors for Li Hanxiao, that would be a wonderful thing!

“Master Li, since you have decided to join Liangshan, we are brothers in life and death. We both have the surname Li, and we were one family five hundred years ago. It is only right that we should think of each other. Such words are too formal. I, Li Hanxiao, have always believed in trusting those I trust and being loyal to them. If you can do your best for the stronghold in the future, Master Li, then my good intentions will not have been in vain!”

Li Han smiled and patted Li Ying on the shoulder.

"Although Chief Li is young, he has great ambition. I, Li Ying, am convinced. I will follow you in three days and will not linger any longer!"

Li Ying said.

"Okay, it's a deal!"

Li Hanxiao has finally finished dealing with matters in Li Family Village and will set off in three days.

At this moment, Old Master Hu of Hu Family Village suddenly sent someone to invite Li Hanxiao to a banquet at Hu Family Village, saying that he wanted to thank Li Hanxiao.

Li Hanxiao thought to himself that this old man was being too polite. Since he had already decided to join Liangshan, why bother with all this formality? But since the old man had come to invite him, Li Hanxiao should go. After all, he could win over the hearts of the people of Hujiazhuang once again, so why not?

"Chief Li, my son and I were saved by you. We are here today to express our gratitude. Please come and take a seat!"

When Old Master Hu saw Li Hanxiao, he was very enthusiastic. He pulled her from the front, while his son Hu Cheng pushed her from behind, trying to shove Li Hanxiao into the main seat. It seemed that his enthusiasm was a little too much.

"This is inappropriate. As the head of the Hu Family Village, how can I sit in the main seat?"

Just as Li Hanxiao was about to decline, "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng said, "Chief Li, you're too kind. There's no such thing as Hu Family Village anymore. We've already decided to join Liangshan Marsh. From now on, we'll all be under your command. You are the chief, so please, please!"

Li Hanxiao had no choice but to sit down in the main seat after hearing what Hu Cheng said.

"Come, come, chieftain, my father is old and can't hold his liquor. I, Hu Chengxian, will toast you three cups!"

Hu Cheng stood up and challenged Li Han to a drinking contest.

"Yes, please!"

Li Hanxiao drank three cups of wine in a row, and after carefully savoring them, he felt that the taste seemed a little off.

It seemed like there was a medicinal taste in the wine, but Li Hanxiao couldn't quite put his finger on it. However, the wine was definitely strong...

In fact, today's banquet is the result of the "collusion" between Hu Taigong and his son Hu Cheng.

After discussing it for a long time, the father and son finally decided that they would take the initiative to bring Li Hanxiao and Hu Sanniang together.

However, they also know that a normal matchmaking process is unlikely to succeed.

So they devised a plan to "lure him into a trap," first inviting Li Hanxiao to a banquet, and then finding a way to get him drunk...

Then, let him and Hu Sanniang become a family, like dragons and phoenixes, and bring about a happy marriage...

It wasn't that the father and son were selling their daughters or sisters; they were simply terrified of being bullied. Being captured by the Zhu family this time left them with some psychological trauma.

So now they just want to cling tightly to Li Hanxiao's coattails. They don't think a mere subordinate relationship is enough; they need to become like family to make it secure. The lesson from Zhu Family Village was truly terrifying, and they don't want to repeat it. They just want to cling to his coattails and live a peaceful life. Changing sides wouldn't be a big deal...

So, the medicinal wine I just gave Li Hanxiao was aged Sanbian wine, and it had some ingredients added to it...

The actions of the father and son were actually tacitly approved by Hu Sanniang...

Because Hu Sanniang, as a young girl, was in a state of extreme confusion and helplessness, it was Li Hanxiao who helped her, and he did not take advantage of her or ask for anything from her. Moreover, it demonstrated Li Hanxiao's personal charm and military strength, proving that he was indeed a talented young man who was both literate and skilled in martial arts.

At least, among all the men she had met, none were stronger than Li Hanxiao.

This made Hu Sanniang secretly fall in love with Li Hanxiao. After all, what young girl doesn't dream of love? To Hu Sanniang, Li Hanxiao was indeed like a savior.

Therefore, when Old Master Hu told Hu Sanniang that he wanted to matchmake Li Hanxiao and Hu Sanniang, Hu Sanniang was not angry at all. Instead, she shyly agreed with her father's suggestion...

However, what the father and son didn't know was that after Li Hanxiao was fed the Golden Elixir Holy Water by Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun, he underwent a marrow cleansing and bone-refining process, and now he was completely immune to all poisons.

Therefore, despite Hu Cheng's best efforts to get Li Hanxiao drunk, no matter how Li Hanxiao drank, it had no effect on the medicine.

On the contrary, Hu Cheng was already completely drunk and almost crawling under the table. Although he hadn't drunk the spiked liquor, he was close to alcohol poisoning...

Old Master Hu looked at Li Hanxiao, who showed absolutely no reaction, and was extremely puzzled...