xymnovel Chapter 115 Song Jiang's Cunning Schemes
Chapter 115 Song Jiang's Cunning Schemes
After Song Jiang finished speaking, everyone except Li Kui, who was extremely agitated, remained silent.
Everyone knows that Jiangzhou is a large prefecture with a large garrison. Our side has dozens of people, and even if each of them is a master, how can we possibly enter Jiangzhou again?
Seeing that Wang Lun remained silent, and considering that Wang Lun's ranking in Liangshan was higher, Gongsun Sheng said, "Gongming, we already took a risk by infiltrating Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou is now prepared, and their several thousand soldiers are not to be underestimated. How can we put our brothers in danger again?"
Song Jiang's face darkened as he looked at Gongsun Sheng, waiting for him to finish speaking.
"Why don't we go back to Jizhou? Once we have the chance, we can gather a large force, or lead two or three armies, with leaders like Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, and Guan Sheng who are skilled in military formations and combat, to attack Jiangzhou and take revenge at the same time."
After Gongsun Sheng finished speaking, Lu Zhishen and the others nodded.
Song Jiang insisted on his opinion, saying, "Jizhou is far away in Shandong. If we go back, the journey will be too long and we will never be able to come to Jiangzhou again. It will be too difficult to avenge this grudge. We might as well take this opportunity to make our move."
Seeing that Wang Lun remained silent, Hua Rong knew that Wang Lun had objections to Song Jiang's proposal. He was a quick-witted person. Although he had a past relationship with Song Jiang, since he had joined Liangshan, he would naturally obey Wang Lun's orders. In addition, he had been impressed by Wang Lun during this period and admired him.
He thought for a moment and said, "Brother Gongming is absolutely right. A real man should take revenge. But we are short-handed, and we have come from afar. We don't know the terrain here, nor do we know the strength of the enemy. Huang Wenbing is backed by Cai Jiu, who is Cai Jing's son. He is not someone to be trifled with."
Li Kui shouted, "What's so tough about them? We can kill ten Huang Wenbings with just two axes!"
Gongsun Sheng said, "You can kill ten Huang Wenbings, but Huang Wenbing has thousands of soldiers in front of him. How many can you kill?"
Li Kui snorted angrily and said, "Stop being so indecisive! If you want to fight, then fight; if you want to leave, then leave."
Song Jiang said, "Brother Wu Song, have you forgotten your elder brother? Back then at Master Chai's mansion, the two of us drank and talked heart to heart. How pleasant it was!"
Wang Lun was slightly angry. He was clearly the leader of Liangshan, and Song Jiang should have spoken to him about revenge, but instead he went to his own bodyguard, Wu Song.
Just as in the original story, Song Jiang's heart is as he always has. Wu Yong is not the "wise strategist" at all; it is Song Jiang who truly deserves that title.
At this moment, Song Jiang's image was further damaged in Wang Lun's eyes, given his short, dark, and fat appearance.
Wu Song was a clever man, and he understood Song Jiang's meaning perfectly. He looked up at Song Jiang and said, "Brother Gongming has been kind to me, and I, Wu Song, will never forget it."
He paused for a moment, then said, "This matter is of great importance, and the chieftain needs to make the decision. If we are to seek revenge, Wu Song should be at the forefront. If he comes back in the future, Wu Song will not let Huang Wenbing off the hook either."
Wang Lun smiled slightly, showing no sign of the anger he had felt earlier, and said, "We can understand Song Gongming's desire for revenge, but this time there are few brothers here, and Jiangzhou has many soldiers, so revenge will be difficult."
Song Jiang thought he was going to refuse, and his expression changed slightly, but he held back his anger.
"But now that we're here, Song Jiang must be restless if we don't kill this thief."
Upon hearing the second half of Wang Lun's sentence, Song Jiang became pleased and laughed, "That's right, Chieftain understands me."
Wang Lun said, "To deal with Huang Wenbing, we can't fight him head-on; we can only assassinate him. We have Brother Hua Rong's excellent archery skills and Brother Shi Qian's agility, so assassinating Huang Wenbing shouldn't be too difficult."
Song Jiang originally intended to lead his men to attack Huang Wenbing's Wuwu Army in order to establish his prestige among this group, so he found an excuse to seek revenge.
To his surprise, Wang Lun saw through his plan and agreed to go and take revenge, but instead sent assassins. Although they managed to kill the enemy, it was far from Song Jiang's original plan.
But since Wang Lun had already said that, what could he say? He could only smile and say, "The chieftain is right."
After resting at the White Dragon Temple for a long time, they saw Shi Qian arrive as if flying.
Upon seeing him, Wang Lun asked, "Didn't I tell you to come to the West Gate and meet us as soon as possible? Why are you late? I thought you had been captured."
Shi Qian bowed down, wiped his sweat, and said, "Cai Jiu's mansion is too big, and he has too many treasures. I don't know what to steal."
Everyone burst into laughter. As Cai Jing's son and the prefect of Jiangzhou, Cai Jiu was naturally very wealthy.
He carried a package on his back, which he untied and opened on the spot. Inside was a sandalwood box, exquisitely crafted; just from the box itself, one could tell it was no ordinary object.
Shi Qian chuckled, opened the box, and the room was instantly filled with dazzling colors and vibrant brilliance.
Seven pearls, each a different color, exquisite and of superior quality, lay quietly inside the box.
None of the people had ever seen such a treasure before, so they all came to watch.
Liu Tang reached out to touch it, but Shi Qian immediately slapped Liu Tang's hand and shouted, "Don't touch it, or you'll break it!"
Liu Tang withdrew his hand and stared at him with envy.
Shi Qian said, "I searched Cai Jiu's bedroom and study thoroughly. There were too many treasures for me to take. But this box of pearls, even just one of them would be priceless. And there are seven pearls of different colors, which are even more precious. So I took it."
He carefully closed the box, held it with both hands, and handed it to Wang Lun, saying, "This treasure is presented to the chieftain."
Wang Lun was startled and said, "This item is far too valuable. Brother Shi Qian, since you obtained it, it is yours."
Shi Qian shook his head and said, "When I was trapped in Zhu Family Village, it was the chief who led people to rescue me. If it weren't for the chief, I would not be alive. My life was given to me by the chief. I can never repay him. This box of pearls is just an external thing. It is appropriate to give it to the chief."
Hearing this, Song Jiang's face darkened. He stared at Shi Qian, thinking that Shi Qian was deliberately saying this to hurt him.
Shi Qian was saved by Wang Lun, and so was Song Jiang. Shi Qian remembered this deeply and even gifted him such a treasure. Yet Song Jiang disregarded this kindness and plotted to use Wang Lun for revenge.
The more Song Jiang thought about it, the more convinced he was that Shi Qian and Wang Lun were in cahoots. His face darkened, and he remained silent.
Gongsun Sheng advised, "Brother, please accept it. It's a token of Shi Qian's goodwill. Besides, you won't have a presentable gift to offer when you ask the princess for her hand in marriage."
Upon hearing this, Wang Lun was tempted. He took the box and said, "Alright, thank you, Brother Shi Qian. I'll accept this."
He handed it over to Zhao Si, instructing Zhao Si to keep a close watch on it.
Shi Qian was followed by a man who was slower than him. He arrived just in time, looked him up and down, and said happily, "Brother Gongming, I've finally found you!"
Upon seeing this, Song Jiang was overjoyed and stepped forward to help the man up, saying with a smile, "Brother Xue."
Wang Lun's heart skipped a beat; this was Xue Yong, the "Sick Tiger".
Xue Yong said, "I heard that my brother was in trouble and wanted to help him, but I was outnumbered and desperate. When I heard that my brother was about to be beheaded, I thought of going to fight him. Even if I couldn't save him, I would die with him."
Wang Lun nodded secretly; this person's martial arts skills were not good, but his character was excellent.
"Who knew that when I arrived I would see the people in chaos. I was separated from them by the crowd. Later I met this brother Shi Qian, who helped me escape from Jiangzhou. He was really good at it."