xymnovel Chapter 61 Hua Rong and his friends go to Liangshan
Chapter 61 Hua Rong and his friends go to Liangshan
Since Wang Lun occupied Jeju, he has hardly had a moment of rest.
He personally oversaw everything from provisions and weapons to training and city defense, determined to make Jeju an impregnable fortress.
However, Jizhou City is low-lying, unlike Kaifeng, Daming, Yingtian, and other places. Even if he equipped the city walls with archers and prepared defensive weapons, he might not be able to hold the city if the imperial army attacked.
He couldn't help but sigh, "Liangshan is still the best. It's easy to defend and difficult to attack. The imperial army has too many troops, so they can't get into Liangshan at all. And with too few government troops, they can't take Liangshan down at all."
But Liangshan only had a small area, and as the number of soldiers, leaders, and civilians gradually increased, it became difficult for Liangshan to support them.
When there are one or two thousand people to feed, one can go and rob and plunder.
When you have tens of thousands of people to feed, how can you still resort to robbery?
How many people could the stolen wealth provide for their basic needs?
He had been in trouble for a while, but the capture of Jeju and Yunseong solved the problem.
Looking back at Song Jiang in the original story, he actually only had two paths: either rebel or accept amnesty. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to support so many people on Liangshan.
Shi Wenbin has been busy these days as well.
Ever since Liangshan occupied Jizhou, countless ordinary people have gone to the government office to seek justice.
Shi Wenbin was extremely busy and very angry. He never expected that the Jeju aristocratic families would be so despicable. They killed one Master Du, and there were many other masters and wealthy gentry. These people were all rich and heartless.
Forcibly abducting women and seizing farmland were common practices.
Shi Wenbin truly experienced the joy of "acting on behalf of Heaven".
That day, he sorted out the list and went to report to Wang Lun.
When Wang Lun opened it, the first thing he saw was a list of wealthy men in Jeju who had been reported by the public and whose cases had been investigated and verified by Shi Wenbin. They were guilty of numerous crimes and were not unjustly accused.
The following section lists the charges against each person.
Wang Lun pondered for a moment, then asked, "What does Brother Shi think?"
Shi Wenbin said, "In my opinion, these people should be punished according to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty."
After saying that, I realized it was inappropriate. This wasn't the Song Dynasty court; this was the Flying Tiger Army of Liangshan. Where would I find any Song Dynasty laws?
Wang Lun nodded and said, "We have just pacified Jizhou, and we should not wantonly kill people. It would be better to confiscate the homes of these people and conscript them all, regardless of gender. The men can go to the front lines to fight the enemy, and the women and children can be sent to the cooks' camp and placed under the management of Wu Dalang."
Shi Wenbin had no objection and nodded in agreement.
Due to their discussion, countless wealthy people in Jeju were raided, Liangshan's military expenses increased again, and the people were even more grateful to the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Just then, Zhu Gui rushed in, not even having time to bow to Wang Lun, and exclaimed, "Ten thousand troops from the imperial court have arrived! The commander-in-chief is Zhang Shuye, and the general is Huyan Zhuo!"
Wang Lun's eyes lit up: "Oh? The imperial court has sent me someone."
Shi Wenbin hurriedly said, "Although Zhang Shuye is a scholar, he is exceptionally courageous and resourceful. He was sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom a few years ago, and even the Liao emperor personally recruited him."
Wang Lun nodded and said, "I know Zhang Shuye is a good comrade. I also know Huyan Zhuo; he is a descendant of the founding general Huyan Zan, and he wields double whips and is highly skilled in martial arts."
He was very satisfied with Shi Wenbin's attitude. Initially, Shi Wenbin was a prisoner who had no choice but to join Liangshan and work for Wang Lun. But now he was worried about the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army, which showed that Shi Wenbin had unknowingly come to accept this team.
"Where have the imperial troops gone?" Wang Lun asked Zhu Gui.
Zhu Gui was in charge of the intelligence bureau. According to Wang Lun's idea, intelligence agents were spread all over the country, so their information was naturally the most up-to-date.
He quickly replied, "It's strange, but if we had been traveling quickly from Tokyo, we would have arrived in ten days. But this group isn't taking the shortcut; instead, they've been making detours and stopping along the way, so their speed is very slow. It looks like it will take them another five days to arrive."
Wang Lun and Shi Wenbin were both puzzled. Could it be that Zhang Shuye and Huyan Zhuo dared not come to suppress the bandits?
Wang Lun frowned and said, "There might be a trap involved, perhaps it's a feint. Let's investigate further and report back."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Gui realized it might be a feint, and he was alarmed, so he quickly took his leave.
Just then, Cao Zheng strode in from outside.
Wu Song, Lin Chong, and other leaders were resting in the next courtyard when they heard the commotion and followed Cao Zheng.
Cao Zheng was appointed as the city gate guard, so his sudden arrival must mean something.
"Brother, there is a group of people outside the city who want to see you. They say they were introduced by Song Jiang and have come to join Liangshan."
Song Jiang's introduction?
Everyone immediately became suspicious. None of the people present knew Song Jiang well, especially Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and others, who had never even heard of Song Jiang.
Wang Lun asked, "Did you give your name?"
Cao Zhengdao said, "The leader is named Hua Rong, and he says he's from Qingfeng Village."
Wang Lun was both surprised and delighted. It really was Hua Rong who had arrived. He quickly said, "Gentlemen, there's no need to worry. Although these people are deeply loyal to Song Jiang, they are all heroes. Please invite them in."
Wang Lun was aware that these people had joined Liangshan.
It turned out that Song Jiang had killed Yan Poxi in a fit of rage and fled to avoid punishment, seeking refuge with Hua Rong, the magistrate of Qingfeng Village in Qingzhou.
When Song Jiang was at Qingfeng Village, he was framed and captured by the villain Liu Gao and sent to Qingzhou Prefecture to claim credit. As a result, Hua Rong was no longer appointed as the magistrate of Qingfeng Village.
The heroes of Qingfeng Mountain, Yan Shun, Wang Ying (the Dwarf Tiger), and Zheng Tianshou, rescued Song Jiang. The Qingzhou Prefecture then dispatched Huang Xin and Qin Ming to suppress them.
Song Jiang used a counter-espionage scheme, causing Qin Ming to be misunderstood by the prefect of Qingzhou, resulting in the death of his family. Left with no other choice, Qin Ming had to join Qingfeng Mountain, and Huang Xin also surrendered after being persuaded by Qin Ming.
Then the group planned to come to Liangshan. On the way, Song Jiang received a letter from his elder brother Song Qing and left alone. The rest of the group came to Liangshan under the leadership of Hua Rong.
Before long, Cao Zheng led everyone to the flower hall to meet them.
Wang Lun was delighted to see so many heroes, especially Hua Rong and Qin Ming, one with unparalleled archery skills and the other with superb martial arts.
After exchanging names, everyone sat down according to their status as host and guest.
Hua Rong began by recounting his experience of coming to seek refuge, which was almost identical to that in the original Water Margin.
It seems that after Wang Lun traveled through time, apart from his direct intervention, nothing else changed; things continued to follow the original plot.
After saying this, Qin Ming praised, "I had long heard that the chief had captured Jizhou. Seeing it today, Liangshan is indeed a strong and well-equipped army."
Wang Lun looked at the hero who had been tricked by Song Jiang. He saw that the man was tall and upright, with a heroic air about him, and was indeed extraordinary at first glance. He quickly said, "Brother Qin, you flatter me. I have long heard of the great names of all the heroes. It is a blessing for Liangshan that you have come to join us."
Qin Ming was tricked by Song Jiang, resulting in the death of his entire family and the destruction of his home; he was truly a pitiful figure. However, given his exceptional martial arts skills, he was indeed a capable and useful individual.
Wang Lun was very familiar with these people.
Especially after looking at Dwarf Tiger Wang Ying, who was exactly like Wu Dalang, Wu Dalang at least had a companion.
Although Wu Dalang was short and ugly, he was a very reliable and hardworking man, and his character was not bad.
Wang Ying, however, was a notorious lecher.
The thought that such a person had actually married the long-legged Hu Sanniang ignited a fire in Wang Lun's heart.
"You've all come at just the right time; it's like sending charcoal in snowy weather. We just received news that the imperial army is coming to punish us, and they'll arrive in two or three days."
Wang Lun smiled as he spoke of the impending predicament, observing the expressions of the newly joined leaders.