xymnovel Chapter 16 Subduing Gongsun Sheng
Chapter 16 Subduing Gongsun Sheng
Emperor Huizong of Song had many children, most of whom were good-looking.
The man is handsome, and the woman is beautiful.
Among the princesses, Zhao Yupan and Zhao Fujin were the most outstanding.
Zhao Fujin, in particular, was known as the most beautiful woman in the Song Dynasty.
Wang Lun was very interested in these ancient gossip stories when he was a student, and he was very familiar with the information about the princes and princesses of the Song Dynasty.
He had felt that the name "Zhao Yupan" was familiar, but he couldn't remember it for the moment.
Upon hearing the words "Princess Deqing," he immediately remembered her.
No wonder Zhao Yupan had such a beautiful appearance and temperament. Even though he had seen many beautiful women in the 21st century, he was easily moved by Zhao Yupan.
However, the other party is a princess, high and mighty.
Wang Lun, mounted on his horse, felt rather sad; he was just a bandit. And a useless one at that.
In addition, he was getting old; although his soul was only in his twenties, his physical body was over thirty.
Zhao Yupan appeared to be close to thirty years old during the Jingkang Incident.
She's probably only an adult now.
Troubles welled up in Wang Lun's heart, and he felt lost and dejected.
In his memory, Zhao Yupan and a group of princesses were kidnapped, fought over by Jin nobles, and suffered all kinds of humiliation.
Can these things be solved by our own efforts?
It sounded like Gongsun Sheng was speaking, repeating himself several times before Wang Lun finally came to his senses: "What?"
Gongsun Sheng, feeling helpless, asked again, "Should we go back to the stronghold or go to meet Chief Chao?"
Chao Gai and his men robbing a mine shouldn't cause any problems.
After thinking for a moment, he asked Zhao Si, "Have you finished the task I asked you to do?"
Zhao Si quickly replied, "Of course. The chieftain just told me two things in secret at Cuiyue Tower. First, he told me to send someone to set fire to the Du family manor. Second, he told me to send people to spread rumors among the people about how great Liangshan is."
Gongsun Sheng suddenly realized that he had been wondering why the Du family's house had suddenly caught fire; it turned out that it was arranged by the chieftain.
"There are some spies from our stronghold in Jeju. When we arrived, Chief Zhu... oh no, I should say Director Zhu had already told me. So I contacted them quickly, and these two matters were also entrusted to them."
Zhao Si was very pleased with himself, as if he had accomplished a great feat.
Wang Lun smiled slightly and said, "With the commotion we've caused in Jizhou today, the people will only remember our good deeds, which will be very beneficial for us in recruiting soldiers and horses."
Gongsun Sheng nodded secretly, thinking that this chieftain was indeed very clever, not at all like the muddle-headed and incompetent people in the legends of the martial arts world.
"But the people acted rashly and robbed the Du family. After they calmed down, they will definitely be afraid. But they have already taken some property, so how could they hand it over? Once they are oppressed by the government troops, they will rise up again and join Liangshan."
Wang Lun was very pleased with himself and continued, "Rebellion can only happen once or countless times. Once it happens the first time, everyone will lose control of their restless hearts."
Gongsun Sheng couldn't help but exclaim, "The chieftain's wisdom is truly remarkable. With this, it will be as easy as taking something out of a bag for Liangshan to take Jizhou City."
The people of Jeju support Liangshan. Although Jeju is nominally under the control of the imperial court, it actually belongs to Liangshan.
Wang Lun's actions today may seem like nonsense, but in reality, he has won over countless people and captured a city without bloodshed.
"The people are restless, and with our people infiltrating and instigating them, Jeju Island can rise up in rebellion with just one order from me."
Although Wang Lun tried to keep a low profile, his tone was excited, indicating that he had indeed done a great job.
Gongsun Sheng was completely convinced. He didn't actually have any intention of rebelling, nor did he want to become a bandit. He just wanted to cause some trouble in the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) because he had met Chao Gai.
Therefore, in the original Water Margin, after Chao Gai's death, Gongsun Sheng repeatedly suggested leaving Liangshan, and he actually did leave. Later, Song Jiang sent someone to find him and bring him back.
Now that he has met Wang Lun, he realizes that Wang Lun is not only ambitious, resourceful, and magnanimous, but also seems to be even better than Chao Gai.
When Wang Lun ranked the leaders of Liangshan, he placed him before Wu Yong. This was a deliberate act to disgust Wu Yong. How could Wu Yong not know this? But he had no desires or wants, so he just pretended not to know.
Now that he has traveled to Jizhou with Wang Lun, Gongsun Sheng has come to fully approve of Wang Lun.
Wang Lun, however, was unaware of Gongsun Sheng's change; he was preoccupied with missing Zhao Yupan.
Less than half an hour after we parted, longing welled up in my heart.
When the three arrived at Liangshan Marsh, the Ruan brothers had gathered nearly a hundred fishing boats and were waiting on the shore.
Upon seeing Wang Lun and the others, the three Ruan brothers stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Chief, you're back so soon?"
Wang Lun replied absentmindedly, "Yes, he's back. Where's King Chao?"
Ruan Xiaoer said, "Chief Chao ordered us to wait here. It's just robbing a mine; it's not a big deal."
Wang Lun gave a soft "hmm" and said, "Then I'll wait here too, and we'll go back together."
He went straight into the boat carrying the three Nguyen brothers, saw wine on their table, and started drinking by himself.
He always kept in mind how to avoid the tragedy of the Jingkang Incident.
The Jingkang Incident is a pillar of shame in the history of the Song Dynasty.
It is like a ravine in the long river of history.
It would be far too difficult for him, a time traveler, to change the course of the Jingkang Incident.
At this time, Wanyan Aguda had already established the Jin Dynasty. The power of the Jin people could be said to have reached its peak.
He had only been in this world for a few days, and he was already a bandit leader with no soldiers or generals under his command.
Seeing that Wang Lun seemed preoccupied, Gongsun Sheng and the others sat down beside him and did not disturb him further.
"Why is there such a big fire in Jeju? What happened?" Ruan Xiao'er and the others also saw the flames.
Zhao Si immediately said, "Today, the chieftain displayed great power, beheading a local tyrant and forcing the prefect to surrender. The people in the city are deeply grateful to Liangshan. Before leaving, the chieftain ordered his men to set fire to the Du family's house."
"What!" The three Ruan brothers were shocked. They were suspicious that Wang Lun had such abilities.
The three brothers then looked at Gongsun Sheng, who had come to Liangshan with them, so his words were more reliable.
When Gongsun Sheng saw them looking over, he nodded: "The chieftain's actions today have won the hearts of the people of Jizhou. Taking Jizhou in the future will be as easy as taking something out of a bag."
The three brothers were so shocked they couldn't close their mouths. They turned to look at Wang Lun, only to see him sitting alone, drinking in silence, seemingly lost in thought.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves echoed in the night, and a group of people hurried toward the water's edge.
Ruan Xiaoer was overjoyed: "Chief Chao is back!"
When Wang Lun came to his senses, he indeed saw that the two in the lead were Chao Gai and Wu Yong, followed by hundreds of henchmen, all of whom looked very happy.
It seems the mission was accomplished very well.
Upon seeing Wang Lun, Chao Gai dismounted from a distance, saying, "Brother, why are you waiting here personally?"
Wang Lun smiled and asked, "Are the brothers alright?"
Chao Gai was quite pleased with himself and said, "Several brothers were injured, but no one died. We robbed several cartloads of ore."
After Wang Lun offered a few words of encouragement, the group loaded the ore onto the boat and headed back to Liangshan.
Wu Yong was also feeling smug, because it was precisely because of his wisdom that the mission was completed so well this time.
Upon hearing the three Ruan brothers recount Wang Lun's deeds during the day, Wu Yong immediately lost heart, leaned against the boat, and sighed helplessly.
Since Zhou Yu was born, why was Zhuge Liang born as well?