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

Chapter 117 Liangshan Marsh's Night Raid on Wuwu Army

The reason Song Jiang was captured and sentenced to death was because he wrote a rebellious poem at Xunyang Tower while drunk.

He was drunk at the time and had no recollection of what he had done. When he was first arrested, he had not yet recalled writing the poem while drunk.

Isn't this a classic case of "making mistakes while drunk"?

He slammed down his wine cup, wanting to say a few words to Lu Zhishen, but seeing that even after sitting down, Lu Zhishen was still a towering giant, he held back and dared not speak.

Wang Lun had been secretly observing Song Jiang, and he was very curious about the man. Seeing Song Jiang put down his wine cup, Wang Lun smiled almost imperceptibly, picked up his cup, and said, "Brother Gongming, I'd like to offer you a toast."

Song Jiang, who had been angry, immediately smiled upon hearing Wang Lun's words. He raised his wine cup, stood up, and said, "I dare not accept such praise. It is I who should offer you a toast, brother."

Wang Lun didn't stand on ceremony. After drinking the wine, he turned to talk to Mu Taigong.

Feeling awkward, Song Jiang picked up his wine cup and went to drink with Li Jun and the others.

When he asked Li Jun and the others how they had gathered together to rescue him, Tong Wei and Tong Meng recounted their encounter with Wang Lun and praised Wu Song and Lu Zhishen's martial arts skills to the skies.

Song Jiang felt even more displeased. He had originally become sworn brothers with Wu Song at Chai Jin's manor, but now Wu Song only had Wang Lun in his heart and did not even offer Song Jiang a cup of wine.

When you're angry, you're more likely to get drunk.

Although he didn't drink much, Song Jiang got drunk very quickly. Before long, his speech was slurred, and he would hold his head and talk to everyone while holding his wine cup. No one could understand what he was saying.

He paid respects to many people, and finally reached Wu Song. He hugged Wu Song and cried, saying, "Brother, I almost didn't get to see you again."

Wu Song comforted him, "Brother, there's no need to worry. We're out of danger now."

"Do you still have me, your elder brother, in your heart?"

Wu Song quickly replied, "Brother, what are you saying? Upon hearing of your predicament, I immediately followed the chief to Jiangzhou. Although the chief doesn't know you, he didn't hesitate at all and immediately dispatched many leaders to the south to rescue you."

Song Jiang mumbled, "Chief, chief, everything is chief."

Wu Song quickly replied, "Brother is drunk."

Song Jiang waved his hand and said, "I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk. I want to offer your chief a cup of wine. If he drinks it, I'll acknowledge him as a brother. If he doesn't, then I, Song..."

Wu Song pulled Song Jiang over, causing Song Jiang to fall. Wu Song then caught him, and Song Jiang didn't get to say anything more.

Upon seeing that Song Jiang was drunk, Mu Taigong ordered his men to help Song Jiang down to rest.

Wang Lun then said, "We have been traveling south for some time now, and I really can't let go of the tens of thousands of Liangshan brothers in Jizhou. Since Song Jiang wants revenge, we need to hurry up and avenge him so that we can return as soon as possible."

The Liangshan leaders all stood up and clasped their hands in greeting, saying, "We will obey your orders, brother."

Li Jun and the others were taken aback. They hadn't expected that Wang Lun's single sentence would elicit such a coordinated response from the Liangshan leaders, demonstrating Wang Lun's immense prestige, which was unmatched by others.

Seeing this, Li Jun and the others also stood up, but Li Kui, still foolishly drinking from his wine jar, asked, "What are you all doing?"

Wang Lun gestured for everyone to sit down and said, "Huang Wenbing is currently leading troops in Jiangzhou City, so killing him is naturally difficult. But we just happened to run into Xue Yong. His disciple, Hou Jian, works for Huang Wenbing in Wuwei Army. With him as an inside man, we can easily find out where in Huang Wenbing's house is most likely to catch fire. We just need to set a big fire to attract Jiangzhou's attention, and he will definitely come back to help."

Shi Qian laughed and said, "This is something I'm good at."

Wang Lun laughed and said, "You are still in charge of this matter. It is better to be quick than slow. Go now. Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu, you two should move forward at any time. Go with Xue Yong and Hou Jian and set a big fire, but remember not to harm the civilians."

The three of them quickly clasped their hands in greeting and left excitedly.

Wang Lun then instructed, "Wu Song, Gongsun, you two take Dai Zong, Liu Tang, and Cao Zheng to ambush and provide support at the gate of Wuwei Army. Shi Qian and the others setting fire will surely attract the garrison inside Wuwei Army to surround and kill them. After you rescue them, just head north and go straight back to Liangshan. Leave the matter here to me."

Gongsun Sheng frowned and said, "Brother, we've all left, you..."

Lu Zhishen looked at them and said, "With me and Hua Rong here, nothing will go wrong."

Wu Song also said, "I am the captain of my brother's guards, how can I leave so easily?"

Wang Lun smiled and said, "Everyone, please listen to my entire plan."

Everyone then quieted down.

"There are no boats for a large number of government troops to cross the river now. Huang Wenbing will only bring a small group of men when he returns to reinforce. With Li Jun and others here, why should we be afraid of him? We will just capture Huang Wenbing and let Song Jiang kill him. Then we will split our forces into several routes and head north."

After Wang Lun finished speaking, Wu Song said, "Then let's wait a bit. Master Lu will go and meet Shi Qian. I'll go with my brother."

Wang Lun said, "Listen to me, you and Third Sister have only been husband and wife for a few days, she must miss you. Take your men back as soon as possible and train my guards well. I have other things to do with Zhishen and Hua Rong."

Only then did everyone agree, and Li Jun and the others followed Wang Lun's arrangements.

Fortunately, apart from Song Jiang, the rest of the group were not drunk, and they took advantage of their drunkenness to carry out Wang Lun's instructions.

Meanwhile, Shi Qian, Yang Xiong, and Shi Xiu left Mu Family Village and arrived at Wuwei Army. Although Wuwei Army was a small prefecture, it was even worse than Jizhou. There were not many guards at the city gates, and the city walls were not high.

Shi Qian used his superhuman agility to help Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu climb over the wall, bypass the guards, and enter the city.

They did not know where Huang Wenbing lived, so they found a local and asked him where he lived before continuing their journey.

Upon arriving nearby, Shi Qian sneaked into the mansion and indeed found Xue Yong and Hou Jian.

After discussing it, the group immediately set fire to Huang Wenbing's residence. With the help of the wind at night, the fire quickly spread and became unstoppable.

The group stayed near the fire, and forcibly drove away any servants from Huang Wenbing's household who came to help put out the fire, until the fire was too difficult to extinguish before they left.

The city was already in chaos, and they dared not leave the city openly. They deliberately chose to take the secluded alleys and it took them a long time to reach the city gate.

Many guards had already been stationed near the city gate, shouting that thieves had entered the city and that no one should be allowed to leave.

Upon hearing this, Shi Qian and the others were immediately in a bind. Now the guards were no longer dozing off, and there were more of them, making it extremely difficult to bypass them and escape.

Just when all else failed, Shi Qian, with his exceptional hearing, heard the whistles of partridges outside the city gate. Overjoyed, he listened carefully for a while and said, "Our men are outside the gate. Let us fight our way out, and they will come to our aid."

Yang Xiong, Shi Xiu, Xue Yong, and Hou Jian rushed out together, with the thin Shi Qian following behind them.

As the city gate guards and the group clashed, "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu brandished his long sword and charged toward the city gate with his life on the line, with Shi Qian following closely behind.

Upon reaching the city gate, Shi Xiu fought even more fiercely, and the surrounding soldiers dared not engage in direct combat, retreating in droves.

Shi Qian was as agile as a monkey. He quickly stepped forward and slashed through the door bolt with several strokes. The city gate slowly opened, and Wu Song and his men rushed in, shouting, "The Flying Tiger Army of Liangshan is here!"

Upon hearing the name Liangshan, the soldiers, unaware of the number of people outside, dared not approach.

Wu Song and his men then met up with Shi Qian and the others, and fled north.