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

Chapter 85 Wang Lunli Sends Off the Vice Minister

When the men behind Li Yuhou saw Guan Sheng throw away his knife, they immediately stepped forward and tied up Zhang Shuye, Guan Sheng, Hao Siwen, and Ling Zhen.

In the fertile fields, the snow has long since melted, and it is now the busy farming season. Farmers in the distance can be seen watching the scene from afar.

The people thought to themselves, "Zhang Shuye's army is quite good. They've been stationed here for so long, but they haven't robbed anyone or invited any thieves."

How could such a good general be kidnapped?

Seeing that the men were tied up, Li Yuhou's arrogant attitude returned.

He glanced at the Green Dragon Crescent Blade on the ground, then stepped forward and picked it up: "This blade looks pretty good."

He reached out and grasped the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, but did not lift it; the blade remained as still as a mountain.

Li Yuhou was somewhat embarrassed. He exerted force, but could only lift the Green Dragon Crescent Blade about a foot off the ground before running out of strength.

Guan Sheng sneered: "My sword weighs eighty-two catties. You, a man of stature, are probably weakened by wine and women and have wasted your strength."

Li Yuhou was immediately enraged: "You warrior, what's so great about having great strength?"

He pointed to the Green Dragon Crescent Blade on the ground: "Can anyone think of a way to break it in half for me?"

Guan Sheng angrily retorted, "You dare!"

Li Yuhou laughed loudly, "What do I have to be afraid of? You're already tied up, what can you do to me now?"

Zhang Shuye sighed and advised, "Lord Li, we are only being escorted to the capital for questioning now. Everything has not yet been investigated. How can you treat us like this? If the injustice we have suffered is found out, we may one day be free."

"Hahaha, freedom? Minister Zhang, you'd better pray that you can return to the capital alive first."

Li Yuhou sneered repeatedly, glanced at the distant military camp, and said, "Send a few men to deliver orders to Han Tao and Peng Qi to lead their troops back to the capital. Bandits are frequently appearing in Jizhou; we must leave as soon as possible."

His trusted men then went to the military camp to relay the order, and the troops, escorting Guan Sheng and the other three, began to turn back and head towards Tokyo.

Li Yuhou returned to the sedan chair, comfortably closed his eyes, and continued his afternoon nap.

Guan Sheng and the others were bound tightly, making it difficult for them to walk. If they walked too slowly, they would be whipped.

These soldiers all knew that Guan Sheng had offended Li Yuhou, so most of the whips were directed at him.

Fortunately, Guan Sheng was highly skilled in martial arts and had thick skin, otherwise he would have been beaten down long ago.

Looking at the wounded men, Zhang Shuye felt a pang of sadness. Perhaps he should have listened to Guan Sheng and killed Li Yuhou, then joined Liangshan.

"The journey back will take about ten days. We'll reach Tokyo in the last two days, at which point he certainly won't dare kill us. But in the first eight days, every single day could be deadly."

Guan Sheng spoke in a low voice.

Zhang Shuye nodded. Judging from the current situation, the decision he made earlier was wrong. Li Yuhou did indeed intend to kill them.

"We must be careful. If he makes a move, we must fight back and capture him first."

Zhang Shuye tried to break free of the ropes binding his hands, and felt that it wouldn't be too difficult to break free by force.

In addition, Guan Sheng and Hao Siwen are both experts here, so they are not afraid of Li Yuhou, who is just a mere guard.

"I'm afraid he won't give us food and water, and will wait three or five days before making his move. We won't have the strength left then," Hao Siwen whispered from the side.

A chill ran down their spines. Hao Siwen had hit the nail on the head; this possibility wasn't entirely out of the question.

The road ahead was long and arduous, and all four of them were filled with worry.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves thundered, like a thousand troops galloping.

Dust billowed in the distance as a troop of men galloped rapidly through the swirling dust.

Li Yuhou was so frightened that he jumped out of the sedan chair, feeling his legs go weak. He hurriedly shouted, "Form a defensive formation!"

This group of people rushed in like an arrow, as if the earth were shaking, their momentum was terrifying.

Upon approaching, the men and horses suddenly parted and fanned out towards the crowd.

As they drew closer, the group changed formation again, forming a circle to surround Li Yuhou's thousand soldiers.

With a wave of the command flag, the cavalry stopped instantly, both men and horses remaining perfectly still.

Guan Sheng, Zhang Shuye, and the others were somewhat dazed; such elite troops were unparalleled in the world.

Three riders approached from the center. The one in the middle, dressed in white, had a bright smile. To his left was a burly man with piercing eyes and an aura of killing intent. To his right was a man with leopard-like eyes and thick eyebrows, his eighteen-foot spear gleaming in his hand.

It was Wang Lun, Wu Song, and Lin Chong.

"Having heard that the imperial court has sent people to escort Vice Minister Zhang, General Guan, and others back to the capital, I, Wang, have come to see them off."

Wang Lun rode slowly towards them, and saw the group of people who were bound hand and foot and beaten to the point of being covered in wounds. He remained expressionless.

Zhang Shuye sighed softly, never expecting that the court's "own people" would plot to harm him, while his savior was the Liangshan bandits.

"Brother Guan, what happened to you?" Lin Chong was very concerned about Guan Sheng. When he saw that Guan Sheng was the most seriously injured, he immediately became angry.

Wang Lun and his two companions rode forward, only a few feet away from Zhang Shuye and the others, but Li Yuhou and his soldiers dared not move at all.

"I heard this person came to take you back to the capital, so why did he turn out like this?"

Faced with Wang Lun's question, Zhang Shuye sighed again and refused to speak.

Guan Sheng stepped forward and said, "We fought a bloody battle with the Liangshan army, and although we were ultimately defeated, we had absolutely no intention of colluding with the enemy. Grand Commandant Gao, without distinguishing right from wrong, ordered this officer to come and question us, and even wanted to arrest us and take us to the capital for trial."

Wang Lun looked at the trembling Li Yuhou: "If that's the case, the charges haven't been determined, and the person hasn't been tried yet, how dare you resort to private torture? Has Gao Qiu become this arrogant in the Song Dynasty?"

Li Yuhou swallowed hard, not daring to speak.

"Judging from this situation, it's not like we're sending you to the capital for trial. We'll find a pretext to beat you to death on the way, and then accuse you of colluding with the Liangshan bandits. Not only will you die unjustly, but your families will also suffer."

Wang Lun had hit the nail on the head regarding Li Yuhou's thoughts, which immediately terrified him so much that he trembled all over.

"Arrest this Li Yuhou, I want to see if his heart is red or black."

At Wang Lun's command, ten cavalrymen rode up behind him.

The soldiers behind Li Yuhou were about to step forward when Lin Chong, spear in hand, stood on his horse and shouted, "Who dares to step forward!"

The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment, and could only watch helplessly as Li Yuhou was dragged away.

Li Yuhou was dragged in front of Wang Lun and the others. Terrified, he kowtowed and begged for mercy, repeatedly saying, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life! I would never dare to harm Minister Zhang and the other officials."

He then begged Lin Chong for mercy: "Instructor Lin, you may not recognize me, but I do recognize you. You were an instructor in the Imperial Guards, and I followed Grand Commandant Gao. I have seen you before."

Lin Chong let out a cold snort.

Wang Lun ignored him and looked at Zhang Shuye, saying, "I would like to ask Minister Zhang to stay, but I know that everyone has their own ambitions. This great nation of China still needs outstanding people like Minister Zhang. You must be careful."

Zhang Shuye nodded and said, "I am honored by Chief Wang's kind words. Although we have different paths, we are both for the Song Dynasty. I am in the imperial court, and you are in the wilderness. I hope that one day we can fight side by side."

Wang Lun nodded emphatically and said, "I will personally escort the Vice Minister; no one will dare to harm you."

Zhang Shuye quickly replied, "How could I dare trouble the chieftain?"

Wang Lun laughed and said, "I won't make things difficult for you. You go first, and I'll lead the army behind you from a distance. I doubt that dog of a guard will dare to do anything to you."

Zhang Shuye was immediately moved and speechless.