Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Chapter 101 Guan Sheng Chops Down the Li Family Village

Guan Sheng was always cautious, and considering that he had not yet made any contributions since joining Liangshan, he needed to be even more careful in his first battle with Du Xing.

He stood with his sword drawn, saying, "Bring it on!"

Du Xing spurred his horse's flanks, let out a loud shout, and charged forward wielding his iron spear.

Guan Sheng narrowed his eyes, aimed at Du Xing's move, and slashed down with his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, striking Du Xing's spear with a "clang".

This strike was incredibly powerful, causing Du Xing's hands to go numb, and he secretly realized something was wrong.

Before they could react, Guan Sheng had already launched his second slash, even more ferocious.

Du Xing was immediately alarmed and hurriedly raised his spear to block.

Guan Sheng's Green Dragon Crescent Blade slashed down along the iron spear, sparks flying everywhere. With a "thud," it sliced ​​down from Du Xing's shoulder, striking the horse's neck and severing its head to the ground.

Du Xing also fell down immediately, his limbs trembling with fear.

Seeing that Guan Sheng had succeeded, Hao Siwen behind him ordered his men to seize Du Xing.

Li Ying, standing on high ground, saw everything clearly and was also taken aback. He hadn't expected Guan Sheng to knock Du Xing off his horse with just two strikes. He immediately shouted, "General Guan, please show mercy!"

Guan Sheng looked up at Li Ying and smiled, "The chieftain once said that Li Ying of Li Family Village is a good person, an honest and kind man, and ordered me not to kill anyone easily."

Li Ying breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Chief Wang, and General Guan."

Guan Sheng said, "Then please ask Master Li to take stock of the money, grain, and men in the manor, burn the manor down, and come with me to see the chieftain."

Li Ying had no choice but to nod and say, "I dare not disobey General Guan's orders. Please wait a moment, General. I will withdraw the guards and lead you into the manor."

The Li family manor only had a few hundred guards, and only Li Ying and Du Xing were skilled in martial arts. How could he dare to say no to the two thousand soldiers of Liangshan? Especially after seeing Guan Sheng's martial arts skills, Li Ying knew he was no match and had no choice but to surrender.

He personally opened the gate of the manor, ordered the guards to lay down their weapons, and bowed to Guan Sheng, saying, "General, your martial arts are superb. I, Li, will need your help in the future."

Guan Sheng dismounted and helped Li Ying up, saying, "Master Li, there's no need to be so modest. The chieftain already said that Master Li's martial arts are also superb, especially his throwing knife skills, which require me to be on my guard and deal with him carefully."

Li Ying was immediately embarrassed, realizing that Wang Lun had already known about him all along.

He said nothing more, invited Guan Sheng and the others into the manor, treated them to good wine and meat, and instructed the manor servants and villagers to move all the valuables and grains. He then had Du Xing count them and personally handed the list to Guan Sheng.

Guan Sheng didn't look closely and said, "Once we get to Liangshan, we'll all have a good life. The chief is very tolerant of the people, and life will be no worse than it is now."

Seeing that Li Ying had burned down the manor, he then led his men away, heading back towards Jizhou.

From the time they captured Lijiazhuang to the time they tallied up their valuables and left, it took only two hours.

They hurried toward Jeju Island, and before long, a group of Liangshan warriors arrived ahead. They were all armored cavalrymen, and they looked even more imposing.

Li Ying was taken aback. With such troops, what did Zhu Hu Li Sanzhuang amount to?

The three who arrived were Lin Chong, Lü Fang, and Guo Sheng. They were overjoyed to see that Guan Sheng had already brought all the people and property of the Li family village.

When Li Ying heard about the fierce battle at Zhujiazhuang, he was also terrified. Fortunately, he was pragmatic, otherwise Lijiazhuang would have suffered the same fate as Zhujiazhuang.

The two armies joined forces and headed towards Jeju Island. There were no hidden dangers along the way, so there's no need to mention them.

Meanwhile, Wang Lun led his men to Hu Family Village, where Yang Zhi and his group had already arrived. The betrothal gifts filled the main hall of Hu Family Village, and the village was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers.

When Hu Taigong heard that Hu Cheng had been detained by the Zhu Family Village, he was already anxious. Now that he saw that Hu Cheng had returned safely, he was extremely grateful to Wang Lun.

Wang Lun then explained his purpose: to propose marriage on behalf of Wu Song.

Hu Taigong had witnessed Wu Song's skills firsthand and knew he was highly skilled in martial arts. He also saw that Wu Song was in high spirits and had a handsome appearance, and that he and his wife Hu Sanniang were indeed a perfect match.

When the topic of marriage was brought up again, Hu Sanniang, unusually shy, stole a glance at Wu Song.

Hu Taigong knew Hu Sanniang's thoughts perfectly well, and quickly agreed, waiting only for a chosen day to complete the marriage.

The Hu family held a grand banquet to entertain the Liangshan leaders and their troops.

The leaders ate meat and drank wine, and joked around with Wu Song and Hu Sanniang, enjoying themselves immensely.

After drinking for a while, Hu Cheng and Hu Sanniang pulled Hu Taigong aside to discuss things in hushed tones.

Before long, Hu Taigong came in with a wine cup and said to Wang Lun, "I am old and only wish to find a peaceful place to live out my remaining years. The martial world and the struggle for supremacy are no longer relevant to me."

He pointed to his son and daughter behind him and said, "I am very satisfied with my daughter San Niang's marriage to Wu Song, and I am sure Wu Song will treat her well. Only my son Hu Cheng is not very skilled in martial arts, but he is also restless. I would like to ask the chieftain to take him under his command and take care of him for me."

Hu Cheng said, "Please accept this, Chief, so that I may follow my master and make contributions to Liangshan."

Wang Lun was overjoyed and said, "Hu Cheng is a young hero. I am very happy that he can join my Liangshan. In that case, you and your sister can both sit in a chair in my Liangshan. From now on, you will both be my Liangshan brothers."

Hu Cheng and Hu Sanniang then bowed down to Wang Lun.

Yang Zhi stepped forward to help Hu Cheng up, and Wu Song also stepped forward to help Hu Sanniang up.

Overjoyed, Hu Taigong shed tears and said, "I am willing to give up all the wealth of Hu Family Village, disband my followers, and from now on, there will be no more Hu, Zhu, and Li villages in the world."

Wang Lun advised, "The Zhu Family Village brought this upon themselves. Li Ying of the Li Family Village is a hero, and he must have already joined Guan Sheng and the others on Liangshan. Since you, Grandfather Hu, are willing to live a leisurely life, I will have someone build a house for you on Liangshan and also give you a house in Jizhou City. You can stay on Liangshan to escape the summer heat and stay in Jizhou to escape the winter cold. After your third sister gives birth to a child, you can enjoy your grandchildren. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The leaders all burst into laughter, and Hu Sanniang, her cheeks flushed, said, "Who wants to have a child?"

Hu Taigong was also overjoyed and said, "Yes, yes, then thank you very much, Chief."

At this point, Hu Taigong ordered his men to gather the villagers and the common people in the village, explaining that Hu Family Village was to submit to Liangshan. Those who wanted to leave could receive a sum of money and then leave, while those who wanted to stay could join Liangshan.

Surprisingly, most people were willing to join the Liangshan bandits.

Hu Taigong sighed inwardly. In the past year or two, Liangshan had not only grown stronger, but also gained a great reputation, and the surrounding people all longed to join them.

He then took stock of the property and people, made an inventory, and handed it over to Wang Lun.

After the banquet, everyone rested at Hu Family Village for a day, and the next day they returned to Jizhou in a grand procession.

This battle lasted no more than ten days, and the Liangshan army suffered fewer than a hundred casualties before all three villages were captured.

Wang Lun was overjoyed to have gained several leaders, including Luan Tingyu, Li Ying, Hu Cheng, and Hu Sanniang, and ordered the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army to take a three-day break.

Within three days, Lin Chong distributed the villagers he had gathered from the three villages to various armies, and also recruited civilians to participate in training at the left stronghold of Liangshan.

The Liangshan army has increased by about 5,000, bringing the total number of soldiers to 15,000. Now, Liangshan has 20,000 soldiers and dozens of generals, making it a powerful force.

Wang Lun summoned his trusted confidants to discuss the matter in detail. He decided to remove Chao Gai's fourth army and increase the strength of each army by one thousand, bringing the total to four thousand. He also selected one thousand skilled and reliable soldiers to become Wang Lun's personal guard, with Wu Song and Shi Xiu as the guard captains.

A new Sixth Route Army was formed, with Guan Sheng and Hao Siwen as the left and right vanguards, respectively.