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

Chapter 29 Lu Zhishen, a God Descending to Earth

When Wu Yong was scolded by Chao Gai, he was immediately shocked. Could he really have been malicious?

"Brother..." He felt his voice was a little hoarse, "I'm doing this for everyone's good. Yang Zhi and we have a grudge. What if he comes here not to rescue us, but to seek revenge?"

"Stop talking! If I, Chao Gai, die at his hands, it won't be in vain!"

Chao Gai brandished his sword and shouted, "Everyone, follow me and charge out to join Yang Zhi, the leader!"

With reinforcements arriving, everyone's spirits were lifted, and they rushed out with Chao Gai.

Wu Yong was left standing there blankly for a long time before joining the group.

Undeterred by death, Chao Gai and his men charged straight at Huang An. Ruan Xiaoqi, enraged, engaged Huang An in battle.

The soldiers and servants of Dujiazhuang numbered about eight hundred. Although Yang Zhi's sudden attack startled their ranks, they quickly returned to normal.

Yang Zhi had only two hundred men, and Chao Gai and the others had only a little over one hundred, totaling three hundred men.

Even with two against one, there was still some to spare; why would the officers and soldiers be afraid?

Yang Zhi was a descendant of the Yang family generals, skilled in using spears and swords, and possessed superb martial arts skills.

In the original novel, Yang Zhi was someone who could fight Lin Chong without being at a disadvantage.

He originally intended to serve the imperial court and restore the prestige of the Yang family generals.

Little did he know that his mission to escort the birthday gifts would be thwarted by Chao Gai and his men, forcing him to become an outlaw. The resentment and anger in his heart had long been hard to contain.

At this moment, he led his men into the ranks of the government troops, using his long spear as if he were in an empty field. He led two hundred Liangshan soldiers from behind enemy lines to the front lines and directly broke through the enemy ranks.

Seeing Chao Gai and the others fighting a bloody battle, Yang Zhi no longer mentioned past grievances, after all, he was here to rescue them on Wang Lun's orders.

He used his spear to shield Chao Gai from an incoming blade, then slipped behind him and asked, "Is King Chao alright?"

Chao Gai was deeply moved and nodded, saying, "Very good. I am grateful to Brother Yang for coming to the rescue. I will never forget it."

Yang Zhi stopped talking, his spear flashed like a dragon, and he charged into the enemy ranks once more.

Huang An, the military commander of Jeju, was also highly skilled in martial arts. He fought Ruan Xiaoqi to a standstill, and with the help of his personal guards, he forced Ruan Xiaoqi to retreat after several dozen rounds. Only then did Huang An have time to issue orders: "Hold your ground and surround the bandits first."

Although these soldiers were just local militia, they had been trained by Huang An for a long time. Now, upon hearing Huang An's command, the troops gradually closed in, and seven or eight hundred men surrounded Yang Zhi and Chao Gai's two or three hundred men.

No matter how brave Yang Zhi and his men were, they were no match for the enemy's overwhelming numbers and were gradually forced to retreat into the mountain valley behind them.

Yang Zhi glanced back at the terrain of the ravine and said angrily, "We can't retreat. If we retreat into the ravine, we'll only be waiting to die."

He carried a long spear and led the charge, with Chao Gai, Ruan Xiaoer, and Ruan Xiaoqi following closely behind, moving the group forward a few more steps.

In the era of cold weapons, close combat mainly depended on numbers and momentum; having more people naturally gave you an advantage.

Huang An was overjoyed and ordered, "Speed ​​up the offensive and force them into the mountain pass."

As they were talking, suddenly there was a rustling sound behind them, and countless arrows came flying through the air.

Huang An was startled. Judging from the sound, it was no ordinary arrow. He turned around and saw an arrow flying from a distance, hitting a soldier beside him. It not only pierced through the armor but also went in through the front shoulder and out through the back shoulder.

What kind of bow and arrow has such great power?

After a volley of arrows, a large number of government soldiers fell.

Huang An shouted, "Hold on!"

But then a large, fat monk came charging from the crowd in the distance, wielding a staff. He wielded the staff with such speed and precision that any soldier who touched it was injured.

Huang An was shocked. Could this person be Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk" who ruled Erlong Mountain?

Two soldiers with superior martial arts skills who were close to Huang An rushed over. The two of them had just managed to hold back Ruan Xiaoqi with their own strength, and they were indeed considered experts among the soldiers.

The two men charged at Lu Zhishen with long knives, but Lu Zhishen did not take them seriously.

In Lu Zhishen's eyes, all beings are equal, and no matter who it is, they are all like vegetables that can be cut down.

With a slam of his staff, a soldier fell to the ground.

With another flick of his staff, a soldier was sent flying. As he fell, he landed on a knife lying on the ground and was instantly killed.

Lu Zhishen's monk's staff weighed 62 jin (approximately 31 kg), but he wielded it with ease, treating the heavy staff as if it were a light wooden stick.

As he joined the battle, the officers and soldiers all retreated in fear.

The hundreds of Liangshan soldiers behind Lu Zhishen followed closely behind, instantly carving a bloody path through the enemy lines.

Seeing that Lu Zhishen was brave and that his own soldiers were no match for him, Huang An thought of going forward himself to entangle Lu Zhishen.

To deal with a master, you naturally need a master to step in.

Suddenly, Lu Zhishen threw his monk's staff. The staff seemed to have eyes, hitting four soldiers standing side by side. The four soldiers were knocked backward by the force of the staff, and their bodies knocked down the soldiers behind them.

The staff bounced back into Lu Zhishen's hand. He stood there holding the staff, his divine power unapproachable.

Huang An abandoned his desire to compete with Lu Zhishen.

Just then, Lu Zhishen accurately spotted Huang An in the crowd, pointed at him, and shouted, "Hey, prepare to die!"

Having said that, he brandished his staff and charged toward Huang An.

Huang An was shocked and immediately shouted, "Quick, stop him!"

More than ten soldiers stepped forward to block Lu Zhishen, but Lu Zhishen let out a loud "Ah!" The soldiers were so frightened that their limbs went weak and they scattered and fled.

Just then, a soldier squeezed through the crowd, saw Huang An, and hurriedly reported, "Something terrible has happened! Lin Chong has led the Liangshan bandits to attack Jizhou!"

Lin Chong?

Attack Jeju Island?

Huang An was shocked. Although there were still a thousand soldiers left in Jizhou City, he had drawn out all the elite troops, and those thousand were not considered to be capable of fighting.

The military and political system of the Song Dynasty was so corrupt that, out of ten soldiers, after deducting those who were paid without working, only six or seven were truly capable of fighting, and of those six or seven, only three were actually able to fight.

With the prefect of Jeju in power, we absolutely cannot afford any trouble.

Huang An panicked immediately, and seeing Lu Zhishen rushing towards him like a god descending from heaven, he hurriedly shouted, "Retreat quickly! Go back to reinforce Jizhou!"

Before he could finish speaking, he had already run about ten steps.

The soldiers from Jeju behind him had no will to fight anymore and fled with Huang An, escaping completely in an instant.

"Yang Zhi, lead your men in pursuit for a while, but don't chase too fast. Once it's about time, you can call it a day."

Wang Lun emerged from the crowd at some unknown time, holding a feather fan, looking exceptionally dashing. It turned out that he had been standing right behind Lu Zhishen all along, but Lu Zhishen's tall stature had completely blocked his view.

"Zhishen, do you see that? That fat man with big ears is Master Du."

Wang Lun pointed with his feather fan at Master Du, who was surrounded by servants in the distance, and laughed, "Old Du, do you still remember me?"

Master Du was trembling with fear. In the battle just now, many of his servants had been killed or wounded. Now that Huang An had led the government troops away, he had become a sitting duck in Liangshan.

"Zhishen, capture him!"

With a loud shout, Lu Zhishen strode forward, brandishing his monk's staff. Before Master Du could surrender, all the servants around him threw down their weapons and squatted on the ground.

"Your Majesty, spare me! I... have money!" Master Du hurriedly squatted down on the ground, pleading in anguish.