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

Chapter 127 Luan Tingyu, a Capable Minister in Governing the County

"It's not good if he can't take a beating." Hua Rong jumped down from the wall. "Brother Shi is now a trusted brother of Chief Wang of Liangshan. He ordered us to kill this man. We have now completed our mission and can go back to report."

Pang Wanchun said, "Brother Zhishen, Brother Huarong, do you know whether we cut off his head or his hand? Otherwise, how can we explain ourselves?"

Hua Rong shook his head and said, "No, Brother Shi is right next to Fang La. What if that scoundrel Fang La finds out if we cut off his head and give it to him?"

Lu Zhishen said, "I am a monk and I don't like these beheadings. Let's see if he has any tokens on him and take them."

Pang Wanchun then patted Li Tianrun's body for a while and pulled out an iron plaque shaped like a flame. He said, "This must be their Manichaean token."

After searching for a while longer and confirming that there were no other better tokens, the group quickly left.

Not long after they left, Li Tianrun slowly opened his eyes. He was not dead; he had just pretended to be dead, knowing he was no match for them.

But he heard them clearly and immediately hated Shi Bao with a vengeance. It turned out that Shi Bao had secretly surrendered to Liangshan. One of these people was named "Zhishen," which should be Lu Zhishen, the Flower Monk of Liangshan, and the other was named Hua Rong, which should be Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang."

Li Tianrun couldn't wait to go to Fang La and tell him about Shi Bao's surrender to Liangshan, and then kill Shi Bao to avenge himself.

He struggled to his feet. Although he was not dead, he was seriously injured. He walked slowly, leaning against the wall. After walking for a while, he saw his men chasing after him.

Upon seeing his own people, Li Tianrun finally felt relieved and then fainted.

After he was picked up, Hua Rong and the other two came out of their hiding place.

Lu Zhishen laughed and said, "Haha, brother, this plan is brilliant. It not only hurts Li Tianrun and vents the anger of Doctor An, but also causes infighting within the Manichaeism."

Hua Rong nodded and said, "Now that Li Tianrun has gone back, he will definitely fight Shi Bao to the death."

The group burst into laughter, and then quickly left the city to meet up with Wang Lun.

Wang Lun was very happy to have gained Pang Wanchun and An Daoquan, both of whom were very important to him.

The group traveled on and arrived in Yangzhou. They spent several days there, and then passed through Taizhou, Chuzhou, and Haizhou.

Chuzhou and Haizhou were the main salt-producing areas of the Song Dynasty. The salt fields in these places were extremely wealthy, and the salt gangs that sold smuggled salt were also very powerful.

Wang Lun only secretly investigated, not daring to make direct contact with the local salt gang.

Although he now has several experts around him, he also knows the saying that there are always people more skilled than him, and that there may be many experts among these salt gangs.

Having ascertained the general situation of the salt gangs in Chuzhou and Haizhou, he led his men to Jizhou.

He has been away from Jizhou for almost three months, from leaving to save Song Jiang until now, when he has returned to Jizhou.

Upon entering Jeju Island, he first went to Geumhyang County.

It's already late August, and given Jeju's climate at this time, it's the season for harvesting spring wheat.

Upon entering Jinxiang County, he saw that the land in the plains had been largely cultivated, with fields of golden wheat stretching as far as the eye could see. It was as if he had traveled to another world. Among the prefectures he had passed through, very few had achieved such high yields as Jinxiang.

The people were busy harvesting, and many soldiers dressed in Liangshan Flying Tiger Army uniforms were also helping them with the harvest.

Further ahead, not far from Jinxiang County, this land was where the Flying Tigers were stationed, and thousands of soldiers were harvesting wheat, busy yet orderly.

Wang Lun was overjoyed. He walked to a place where the Flying Tiger Army had reaped their harvest and asked, "Brothers, may I ask where your leader is?"

Those soldiers were newly recruited by Luan Tingyu after he arrived in Jinxiang. They did not recognize Wang Lun and the others, but seeing that the men looked extraordinary, they pointed ahead and said, "See that group with the most people? Our leader is over there."

Wang Lun led his men over to a perfectly flat, square field. The wheat there was of better quality than the surrounding wheat, and the ears of wheat looked heavy and pleasing to the eye.

The wheat in this field has been mostly harvested, with only a small amount remaining. At this moment, dozens of soldiers are cutting the wheat, while more soldiers are bundling it into bundles and transporting it to the county town by horse-drawn carts.

As soon as Wang Lun and his group entered the field, Flying Tiger soldiers recognized them and rushed over to greet them.

Among this group of people, Lu Zhishen was easy to recognize. Such a tall monk was unique on Liangshan Mountain, and anyone could recognize him at a glance.

One soldier recognized him, and immediately more soldiers ran over to salute him.

They were all soldiers of the Flying Tiger Army, and during their training at the Liangshan recruit camp, they had all been criticized by Lu Zhishen. Even the dignified leader of the stronghold, Wang Lun, often trained with them in the recruit camp, and everyone recognized him.

Wang Lun and Lu Zhishen greeted the soldiers repeatedly, showing no airs whatsoever, and were very happy.

Before long, a tall farmer came running from a distance, carrying a sickle, with his trousers rolled up, shirtless, and wearing a hat to shield his head from the sun, looking quite comical.

He called out from afar, "Oh my, the chieftain has arrived! I, Luan, have failed to greet you properly."

Luan Tingyu rushed over, threw down his sickle, and knelt down.

Wang Lun quickly helped Luan Tingyu up and said with a smile, "Instructor Luan is quite capable. In just a few months, you have managed to do such a good job with the land reclamation in Jinxiang County."

Luan Tingyu didn't take credit, but laughed and said, "It's all thanks to the good reputation of the chief and all the Liangshan brothers. When I came to Jinxiang, the people all praised Liangshan and were very friendly to us. I also distributed all the fields in Jinxiang to the people as instructed by the chief. The land that was seized from the corrupt merchants and officials was cultivated by the Flying Tiger Army. Now it's harvest season."

Both Pang Wanchun and An Daoquan were shocked upon hearing what Luan Tingyu said.

Unexpectedly, Wang Lun distributed land equally among the people of Jizhou. As a result, the people were able to live a good life. No wonder Wang Lun of Liangshan has such a great reputation now.

Wang Lun introduced Pang Wanchun and An Daoquan to Luan Tingyu, and then visited and comforted many Flying Tiger Army soldiers in the fields before entering the county town under Luan Tingyu's guidance.

The county town was well-organized and exceptionally prosperous, showing no signs of being occupied by bandits, which amazed Pang Wanchun and An Daoquan.

Upon entering the county government office, Luan Tingyu's maid, Yulan, stepped forward to pay her respects to Wang Lun and several leaders, and had tea and snacks served to them.

Luan Tingyu then gave Wang Lun a detailed report on his governance of Jinxiang County.

The basic strategy remained unchanged as instructed by Wang Lun, focusing on land reclamation and pacification of the people. However, Luan Tingyu carried it out thoroughly. He directly registered all the land in the county and brought it under his management. He also re-counted the county's household registration and distributed land according to the number of people.

At the same time, countless corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen were executed in Jinxiang County, resulting in a major purge of the area.

This good policy has not only been supported by the people of Jinxiang, but also attracted many people from nearby Danzhou Yutai County to come to Jinxiang.

Luan Tingyu not only accepted all these people, but also built houses for them and distributed land to them according to the same policy.

Jinxiang County is now like a paradise on earth.