Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"Du Xue can actually ride such a huge warhorse..."

Li Han smiled to himself, thinking that if this really was a Shire horse, then an ordinary person really couldn't ride it. Its size was too big, which would make it too tall, and coupled with its great strength, an ordinary person would not be able to control it.

However, Du Xue is nearly ten feet tall and is very skilled. If this horse could be tamed, riding such a behemoth into battle would allow him to charge into any territory as if it were nothing.

Whose horse is this?

Since Li Hanxiao had made up his mind to take it, he had to ask who owned the horse. If it belonged to an evil person, then taking it would be fine; but if it belonged to a good person, then he absolutely could not use any extreme means to seize it.

"This horse was kept by Zhu Ruxian, the son of Zhu Mian, in his garden outside Jiankang Prefecture for pulling carriages!"

"A workaholic," Shi Xiu said.

"Zhu Mian's son, good!"

Li Han smiled to himself, thinking that since the horse belonged to Zhu Mian's son, what harm would it do for him to take it?

If Zhu Mian were recorded in history books, he would be infamous for all time, and there would be no good word about him.

Those familiar with history know that Emperor Huizong of Song was fond of rare flowers and stones. Zhu Mian, in order to please the emperor, searched for rare flowers and stones in Zhejiang and presented them to him, and the number increased year by year.

During the Zhenghe era, the Yingfeng Bureau was established in Suzhou. It squandered government funds and used every means to extort flowers and stones, which were then transported to the capital by boat from the Huai River and Bian River. This was known as the "Flower and Stone Tribute" and was one of the "Six Traitors." This operation continued for years, causing great distress and suffering to the people. Middle-class families were all bankrupted, and some even sold their children to pay for the extortion. This later directly led to the Fang La Rebellion.

Zhu Mian profited from this, lining his own pockets and amassing a fortune. He lived a life of luxury and corruption, building his own gardens in Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Jiankang. The ponds in these gardens were almost as large as those in the imperial palace. Zhu Mian also overstepped his authority by using various clothing and utensils in the gardens, considering himself the emperor of the southeast. He also used the pretext of pulling boats to recruit thousands of soldiers to act as his private army, making him practically a local tyrant in the southeast.

Meanwhile, Zhu Mian's son, Zhu Ruxian, and others, taking advantage of the power of the emperor, summoned local officials and acted arrogantly and recklessly. Zhu Ruxian usually lived in the garden outside Jiankang City. He lived a luxurious life and had skilled craftsmen build an extremely luxurious and huge carriage for his travels.

The "ten-foot black" horse was the one he found to pull his cart.

Normal horses can pull a cart, but his cart is too big; it would take at least six or seven normal horses to pull it.

How big was his carriage? It was comparable to the sedan chair of Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair in the Ming Dynasty was the size of a room, divided into a reception room and a bedroom. It had a toilet for cleaning hemorrhoids and could also be used for working. Two young boys served him inside, and it required thirty-two porters to carry the sedan chair.

Zhu Ruxian's is about the same size, but a little smaller because it doesn't need a bathroom. It's filled with various entertainment facilities for women to enjoy their lust.

However, the number of horses pulling the carriage was strictly controlled by the imperial court. Because no matter what rank an official was, the number of sedan chair bearers and horses he used could not exceed the limit. If someone dared to hire eight horses to pull his carriage, that was called usurpation, and if impeached, it would mean the extermination of nine generations of his family.

Although their family has overstepped their bounds quite a few times, those have all been within the inner estate. This carriage is something that goes out and about and is frequently seen by people, so they cannot openly overstep their bounds.

So Zhu Ruxian took a different approach and found this huge horse, "One-Zhang-Black," to pull his carriage. One horse was equivalent to seven or eight, so it wasn't considered overstepping the bounds.

Li Hanxiao felt no guilt whatsoever about targeting Zhu Mian and his son to steal their horses. In fact, he was even thinking about how to loot Zhu Mian's estate and distribute the money to the people.

Because Zhu Mian was such a despicable person, under the pretext of collecting flowers and stones, if any wood or stone in the homes of ordinary people in Jiangnan was even slightly pleasing to the eye, Zhu Mian would lead his soldiers straight to their homes, affix yellow seals to the gardens and stones as a mark, and consider that another tribute item for the emperor had been collected.

If the common people had the slightest complaint, they would be accused of "great disrespect" and used as an opportunity to extort money from them. Ordinary families were often forced to sell their children, go bankrupt, and even die. Zhu Mian, on the other hand, made a fortune. Every plant, tree, brick, and tile in his estates was made from the blood and sweat of the people.

If Li Hanxiao could kill Zhu Mian in front of the people of Jiangnan, it's no exaggeration to say that they might immediately drape the yellow robe over Li Hanxiao and shout "Long live the Emperor!"

However, after careful consideration, this plan was still not very feasible. First of all, the Jiangnan region was Zhu Mian's territory. He was a powerful and influential figure in Jiangnan, and there must be many guards and servants in his manor.

After all, this old guy has offended far too many people. It's estimated that the people of Jiangnan all want to eat his flesh, sleep on his skin, cut him into a thousand pieces, and devour him alive. With enemies practically everywhere, Zhu Mian will definitely do a good job of security.

With just Li Hanxiao and his two companions, it would probably be difficult for them to deal with so many enemies.

Stealing just one horse would be easy enough to escape, but to loot Zhu Mian's estate would require dealing with hundreds or even thousands of enemies.

That's way too difficult!

It's more practical to just get the horse in the first place.

"Zhu Mian is that scoundrel who organized the Flower and Stone Tribute? It's his horse, so taking it is no problem. If I could run into him, even better. I'd smash his head in with one mace and vent the anger of the people of Jiangnan!"

"Golden-faced Buddha," Qin Zhi said viciously.

"No need for that now. Once we get to Jiankang Prefecture, come with me to find someone and we'll talk then!"

After crossing the Yeyun Ferry, they had entered the Huai River Basin and were not far from Jiankang Prefecture. It would only take another two or three days to reach it. Li Hanxiao planned to first go to the Yangtze River to find the "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu and recruit him to join their gang. They needed a helper to steal horses from Zhu Mian's manor.

After traveling for two more days, Li Hanxiao and his group arrived at the Yangtze River. Li Hanxiao, along with "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi and "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, walked along the river to inquire about the whereabouts of "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu's tavern. The local fishermen pointed out the way to them, and the three of them found the small shop where the Wang family father and son sold village wine in a small village.

At this moment, an old man who was resting under the tree outside the door was sleeping soundly, drooling. Judging from his age, he should be the father of "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu.

"Old man, a customer has arrived!"

Li Hanxiao gently woke him up.

"Hmm? Ah, it's three distinguished guests. Please come in! May I ask what you three would like to eat?"

The old man invited the three of them into the tavern. The father and son were indeed running a rural tavern, with very simple conditions, and they probably didn't have any good wine or food.

"Serve four rounds of wine, and bring out the best dishes. By the way, old man, don't you have a son named Wang Dingliu?"

The old man paused for a moment, then asked, "Yes, do you know my sixth son?"

"I need to speak with him about something!"

Li Han smiled and said.

"Liu Zi, come out and greet the guest!"

The old man didn't ask any more questions and immediately started shouting at the top of his lungs.

Before long, a tall, thin, fair-skinned young man with sleepy eyes came down from the second-floor cubicle. It was probably Wang Dingliu, the "lively old hag".

"Who are the three of you...?"

Wang Dingliu, the "lively flashy old woman," rubbed his sleepy eyes and questioned the three strangers. But when his gaze fell on Li Hanxiao and Qin Zhi's weapons, his eyes suddenly became much clearer, and he even seemed a little excited.

Given the previous incident where the Grand Canal Gang stole horses, Li Hanxiao was wary of Wang Dingliu's current state. He wondered if the Grand Canal Gang had stolen horses before, and now this kid was probably trying to steal their weapons...

In fact, Wang Dingliu, nicknamed "Living Flash," reacted this way because he was skilled with spears and sticks, but despite seeking instruction from many masters in the martial arts world, he never received any proper instruction and never learned any good skills.

Therefore, whenever he encounters a martial arts master, he always thinks about learning a few moves from them. Now, seeing that the three people in front of him are all carrying weapons and obviously know martial arts, he once again had the idea of ​​learning a few moves, which is why he is so excited.

"Are you 'Living Flashy Granny' Wang Dingliu? I am Li Hanxiao, the leader of Liangshan Marsh. I have come to find you today because I need your help with something!"

Li Hanxiao didn't waste any words and directly revealed his true identity.

"What? Chief Li of Liangshan! Did I hear that right?"

Wang Dingliu, nicknamed "Living Flashy Woman," clearly doubted his own eyes and ears, first rubbing his eyes and then his ears.

"It's the real deal, you heard me right."

Li Han smiled and said.

Wang Dingliu, known as "Living Flash Granny," suppressed her excitement and first cautiously scanned Li Hanxiao from head to toe before fixing her gaze on the three-pointed double-edged sword and golden bow in Li Hanxiao's hand.

"A three-pointed double-edged sword, a golden bow and silver bullets... Yes, there's no mistake, there's no mistake, it's Chief Li..."

It seems that this "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu judged whether the person in front of her was Li Hanxiao based on what kind of weapon Li Hanxiao used, which was rumored in the martial arts world. Obviously, it really matched!

"This humble one, Wang Dingliu, greets Chief Li! Haha, hahaha, I've finally met you in person..."

Wang Dingliu bowed down immediately, his demeanor frantic, which startled the four people present, including his father.

"Brother, please get up. Are you alright...?"

Li Hanxiao helped Wang Dingliu up, thinking he might have been traumatized or had some hidden illness.

Wang Dingliu, with a constant smile on his face, said with great joy, "Chief Li, it's nothing, I'm just happy, really happy! I never imagined that you, the dignified leader of Liangshan, a great hero who travels high and low, would actually know me! I admire you the most!"

Li Hanxiao finally understood. It turned out that after all this fuss, this "lively flashy woman" Wang Dingliu was actually his fan!

No wonder he was so excited.

"Brother, please rise. What's this talk of high and low, big and small? We're all just people, there's no difference between them. What, you know about my affairs too?"

Li Hanxiao was a little curious, because it was the first time he had met someone who liked him so much.

"Of course, of course! Chief Li broke through four passes at the Imperial Fragrance Pavilion in Dongjing City, greatly boosting the morale of us men. He also kidnapped that playboy Gao Yanei, and then rescued the family of Lin Chong, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards. Later, he seized Liangshan Marsh, robbed the birthday gifts of ill-gotten gains, and attacked the Zhu Family Village. I know all these heroic deeds!"

Wang Dingliu became increasingly agitated, but Li Hanxiao understood and asked, "Has Daoist Gongsun Yiqing, the 'Dragon Entering the Clouds,' visited your shop recently?"

Li Hanxiao immediately understood. Among his deeds, kidnapping Gao Yanei and robbing the birthday gifts were all done in secret and had not been publicized. However, this "Living Flashy Woman" Wang Dingliu knew about them.

Then there's only one possibility: it was "Entering the Clouds Dragon" Gongsun Sheng who told him, because only "Entering the Clouds Dragon" Gongsun Sheng knew about these things, and they were being circulated in the martial arts world.

Furthermore, this "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu was also one of the 108 heroes, so it was very likely that she had met "Entering the Clouds Dragon" Gongsun Sheng and was told these things by Gongsun Sheng.

“Eh? Chief Li, how do you know? More than ten days ago, Master Gongsun came to my tavern to beg for alms. I respected his reputation and invited him to drink. He talked about Chief Li’s many heroic deeds.”

As Li Hanxiao had predicted, it was indeed "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu who met "Entering the Clouds Dragon" Gongsun Sheng, who told him these things.

"I see. So Mr. Gongsun must have told you to join Liangshan, right?"

Li Hanxiao asked.

"Indeed, Master Gongsun said that if I wanted to find a future, I would have to go to Liangshan Marsh to join their ranks sooner or later. But after Master Gongsun left, I felt that I didn't have any skills, and besides, I didn't have any acquaintances on Liangshan Marsh to introduce me, nor did I have any gifts to offer, so I didn't go... Today, I've met Chief Li, it's a fortunate coincidence. Please accept me as your disciple, Chief Li! I... I'm willing to become your disciple, Chief Li, and ask for your guidance..."

Even now, this "lively and clever old woman" Wang Dingliu hasn't forgotten her desire to find a master and learn a few skills...

"Brother, please rise. We have an important matter to attend to in Jiankang Prefecture. If you help us with this, we'll let you sit in a chair on Liangshan. We're all brothers now, so what's wrong with teaching you a couple of martial arts moves? I'll have 'Leopard Head' Lin Chong teach you a couple of moves!"

Li Hanxiao then made a promise to "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu, who was also very eager to do so. After all, for him, being able to have "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, the former instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards of Tokyo, teach him some martial arts was an incredible opportunity, something he would never have dared to dream of before.