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

Chapter 77 This sword kills the wicked, but not the righteous.

Following his command, the government troops behind Huyan Zhuo rushed frantically toward the gate of the barbican.

With a rustling sound, the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army on the upper part of the barbican fired arrows in unison. Now, they didn't need to be accurate; as long as they shot downwards, the densely packed government troops below would surely hit their targets.

The first wave of soldiers who captured the barbican gate were almost entirely killed by arrows.

"General Huyan, try my stinky fart bomb!" Wang Lun laughed loudly. "Fire!"

Then dozens of soldiers stepped forward, each carrying a black earthenware pot with a long fuse attached.

Dozens of other soldiers stepped forward and lit the fuse; with a hissing sound, the fuse quickly caught fire.

Seeing this, Huyan Zhuo felt a chill run down his spine. Back then, Wang Lun had used thunderbolts to blast his heavily armored cavalry into a rout. Now, in the even more confined space of the barbican, if dozens of thunderbolts were to strike, how could his troops possibly survive?

He immediately shouted, "Wang Lun, do not commit such a heinous crime!"

Wang Lun laughed heartily, and amidst his laughter, the dozens of earthenware pots were thrown down by the soldiers. They landed on the ground with a soft "bang," but it was not a thunderclap and did not cause a huge explosion.

Hu Yanzhuo was stunned for a moment, but then he saw that the earthenware pot exploded and suddenly burst into thick smoke, which made the soldiers cough incessantly, unable to see anything, and their eyes instantly filled with tears.

The government troops were thrown into chaos, fleeing out of the city in droves.

His 6,000 soldiers were too many. Those outside the city gates, unaware of the situation inside, were pushing their way in, while those inside were rushing out like madmen. The government troops on both sides were crammed together.

Huyan Zhuo soon lost his sight as well. His eyes burned with pain, tears streamed down his face, and his body trembled uncontrollably. He realized how mediocre he had been and how he had fallen into a trap once again.

This plan is so simple that anyone who has read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms would not fall for it.

Wang Lun was suddenly taken aback. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written in the Ming Dynasty. Although people at that time read the Records of the Three Kingdoms, there were not many records of this part. No wonder Huyan Zhuo did not know this story.

Wang Lun completely replicated Zhou Yu's self-inflicted injury ruse with Huang Gai, and now it's Wang Lun beating Yang Zhi—one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.

Huyan Zhuo was filled with regret. Hearing the chaotic sounds around him, he let out a long sigh and raised his right steel whip to smash it down on his head.

The previous time, he also fell for Wang Lun's very simple trick, and his heavy cavalry was completely wiped out.

Because of his carelessness, how could these 6,000 soldiers possibly survive?

He was heartbroken and only wanted to die.

Standing atop the city wall, the Liangshan heroes saw Huyan Zhuo through the thick smoke and vaguely discerned that he was about to commit suicide. Wang Lun hurriedly said, "Quick, who can save him?"

Hua Rong raised his hand and seemingly casually shot an arrow. With a thud, the arrow deflected Hu Yanzhuo's steel whip, and grazed his forehead, leaving a wound that immediately bled profusely.

He was stunned for a moment, then heard Wang Lun shout, "General Huyan has already surrendered! Soldiers, why are you still fighting to the death? Put down your weapons!"

In the chaos, the soldiers were stunned, unsure whether Huyan Zhuo had truly surrendered.

They did not hear Huyan Zhuo's voice. Since he was not speaking, Huyan Zhuo must have surrendered. The soldiers then put down their weapons.

Wang Lun ordered his men to open the gates of the barbican, confiscate the weapons, and lead the soldiers into the city.

Inside the city, dozens of large buckets of clean water had already been prepared. Yang Zhi, riding on his horse, loudly directed the government troops to wash their eyes with the clean water.

Smoke bombs actually existed in the Song Dynasty, but they were not very useful. For example, smoke balls were filled with wormwood and gunpowder, covered with paper, fixed with hemp rope, and finally coated with melted pine resin. When launched, they produced a large amount of thick smoke.

Besides smoke bombs, the Song Dynasty already had poison gas bombs and excrement bombs, which were made in a similar manner.

The smoke bombs used here were modified by Wang Lun based on smoke bombs from the Song Dynasty. Croton powder was added to them. The gas produced when croton is burned has a spicy taste and can irritate the eyes.

At this moment, Huyan Zhuo led his troops into the barbican. The space was small and the crowd was dense, so the use of these smoke bombs was very effective.

As expected, once the smoke bomb was deployed, the government troops were at their mercy. If Wang Lun were ruthless enough, it wouldn't be difficult for all of these government troops to be killed.

Wang Lun smiled and pulled Huyan Zhuo up to the city wall, saying, "General Huyan, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Why seek death? Look at us, which of us hasn't suffered, which hasn't endured hardship? Who among us is contemplating suicide?"

Huyan Zhuo lowered his head in shame, not wanting to speak.

"We must preserve our bodies so that we can protect the land and people of the Song Dynasty in the future."

Upon hearing this, Huyan Zhuo immediately raised his head: "You... want to be offered amnesty?"

The surrounding leaders all looked at Wang Lun, their expressions varying; some were slightly annoyed, while others showed excitement.

Wang Lun calmly observed the expressions around him and smiled, "General Huyan, brothers, I think you've all thought about this question. Many people want to know where our way out lies: to remain bandits forever? To rebel and become kings ourselves? Or to accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty?"

He glanced around and his gaze settled on Wu Song.

Wu Song snorted angrily and said, "Accept amnesty? What kind of amnesty is this!"

Wang Lun laughed heartily and said, "Exactly, what's the point of inviting such a bird!"

He reached out and drew the long sword from Wu Song's waist, slashing it down onto the city wall. The blade embedded itself in the wall, and he said in a deep voice, "This sword cuts down traitors but not righteousness; this body guards the country but not the sovereign."

The sound carried far, and everyone fell silent.

Even more silent was the county magistrate, Shi Wenbin, who stood at a distance, looking at Wang Lun without saying a word for a long time.

"Wu Yong, publish what I said in tomorrow's Jianghu Daily and spread it throughout the world."

Wang Lun instructed Wu Yong to continue, "A few days ago, I drank with General Huyan outside Jizhou City and made a pact to capture him three times. At that time, I said a sentence: 'The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important.' This Song Dynasty belongs to the people, not to the Zhao Song emperors."

He glanced at the surrounding leaders and raised his voice: "We, the heroes of Liangshan, are loyal to the Song Dynasty and protect its people, not the Zhao Song emperor. If the ruler is tyrannical, I, Wang Lun, will act on behalf of Heaven; if people are tyrannical, I, Wang Lun, will uphold justice."

He looked at Huyan Zhuo and said, "This is my answer to you, Wang Lun."

Hu Yanzhuo's expression changed for a long time before he suddenly sighed and knelt down on the ground: "I, Hu Yanzhuo, will treat you as my elder brother and serve you for the rest of my life. I only wish that my brother will not change his original intention and that the people of the Great Song Dynasty will live in peace and prosperity."

Wang Lun was overjoyed and quickly helped Huyan Zhuo up, saying, "Huyan, you flatter me. I don't need you to serve me. As long as we brothers join hands and stay true to our original aspirations, we will surely achieve great things and bring peace to the world and prosperity to the people."

The world is at peace, and the people live in tranquility.

These eight simple words have caused countless heroes throughout history to bow down and countless soldiers to turn to dust for them.

This may not be Wang Lun's true wish. His current ideals have not reached that level yet; he is just an ordinary person.

But as soon as he said those words, Wang Lun felt a surge of emotion, and he vaguely felt that he had truly found his direction.

The leaders stood atop Jeju City walls, gazing at the city in the still of the night.

The battle was exciting, but not particularly intense. The people in the city remained fast asleep, and no one noticed the changes on the city walls.

The night was still and silent, with a gentle breeze blowing.