Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 172 Little Li Guang Changes allegiance, the strategist harbors treacherous intentions

Meanwhile, in Jeju Prefecture, Shandong.

Thanks to Song Jiang's efforts, Zhang Shuye of Jizhou finally managed to bring Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," to Jizhou to serve as a general. In the process, he also gained Yan Shun, nicknamed "Golden-haired Tiger," and Wang Ying, nicknamed "Dwarf Tiger."

Zhang Shuye was overjoyed because with the capable general Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," to help him lead the troops, along with Zhang Bao and his two sons, as well as Yan Shun, nicknamed "Golden-haired Tiger," and Wang Ying, nicknamed "Dwarf Tiger," he would be able to put up a fight against Liangshan Marsh.

That very night, Zhang Shuye hosted a banquet to entertain "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong. "Hu Baoyi" Song Jiang played the biggest role in bringing "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong here, acting as the go-between. Therefore, Zhang Shuye looked at him with new respect.

Zhang Shuye thought to himself, "This 'Honorable Protector' Song Jiang's connections are truly impressive; he can really help me recruit talented people."

Just two days after "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong arrived, another group of people from Cangzhou in Heng Hai County came to the county government office, saying they had come to join "Hu Baoyi" Song Jiang.

Only after asking did Zhang Shuye learn that this was a group of more than two hundred farmhands that "Hubaoyi" Song Jiang had obtained from Chai Jin, the wealthy official of Cangzhou in Heng Hai County, who had come to help.

After Zhang Shuye took stock of these people, he found that most of them were incompetent and very undisciplined, but most of them knew a few basic punches and kicks, which made them somewhat stronger than ordinary soldiers of the Xiang Army. Zhang Shuye decided to break them up and mix them into the army, which would not have any major negative impact.

Among them were a few capable individuals. Zhang Shuye discovered two promising talents: Jin Ding and Huang Yue. Both were quite skilled in martial arts and were able to join forces with Zhang Bao to fight against him. Their strength was comparable to that of "Jin Mao Hu" Yan Shun and "Ai Jiao Hu" Wang Ying.

In the original novel, Jin Ding was a leader under Tian Hu of Hebei. He surrendered during a battle with the Liangshan army and was killed by "Red-faced Tiger" Yuan Lang during the campaign against Wang Qing.

Huang Yue was the same. He surrendered in Zhaode Prefecture during the battle with the Liangshan army and thus joined the Liangshan army. Later, he participated in the campaign to conquer Huai Xi Wang Qing. In the battle to attack Jishan, he fought with the enemy general Yuan Lang. After being knocked to the ground, he was captured alive by the Western Army and executed.

Jin Ding and Huang Yue were born in the countryside of Xingtai, Hebei Province. Their families lived next to each other and grew up together herding cattle and harvesting wheat. Jin Ding was naturally strong and could carry a hundred-pound grain bag when he was ten years old. Huang Yue was as slender as a swallow and was unmatched in the village when it came to climbing trees and chasing rabbits.

The two worked in the fields during the day and spent their nights in a dilapidated temple at the edge of the village. They listened to the village elders tell stories of the great generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing from the Han Dynasty who had led expeditions to the northern deserts, and their hearts began to burn with passion.

When they were seventeen, the county magistrate forcibly collected a "bandit suppression tax." Jin's father couldn't pay and was whipped by the yamen runners until he vomited blood. Jin Ding angrily snatched the tax collector's whip and lashed it back. Huang Yue kicked over a grain cart and shouted, "This court doesn't protect the people, but instead drinks their blood. Let's rebel!"

The villagers responded enthusiastically, and the two men led the resistance against the tax, burned the grain requisition registers, and fled into the Taihang Mountains with thirty able-bodied men overnight.

However, without a long-term plan, how can one achieve anything with just enthusiasm?

The government offered a reward of one hundred taels of silver, but the two men went into hiding, and the people who had followed them dispersed.

Just then, he heard of Chai Jin of Cangzhou's "generosity and righteousness," and decided to go there to seek refuge. Before leaving, Jin Ding knelt and kowtowed towards his hometown: "When the day comes that my injustice is cleared, I will surely return home in glory!"

The two men went to seek refuge at the manor of "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin. When "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin first saw the two men, he was overjoyed to see that Jin Ding was burly and strong and Huang Yue had piercing eyes. He exclaimed, "Truly brave men!" He bestowed upon them brocade robes and fine horses and appointed them as guards of his manor.

At first, the two were grateful to Chai Jin for taking them in and spared no effort in training the farmhands.

Jin Ding used stone locks as weapons to teach the villagers to train their physical strength; Huang Yue used bamboo formations to train their dodging skills. The martial spirit in the village greatly improved, and they enjoyed themselves immensely.

However, six months later, the two began to suspect something was amiss. "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin was hosting a grand banquet for江湖客 (jianghu guests), yet he was indifferent to the life and death of many of his tenants.

That year, there was a severe drought. The old tenant farmer Liu San knelt down and begged for a rent reduction. "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin frowned and waved his sleeve: "There are rules in the martial world. How can rent be reduced just like that?"

That night, Jin Ding found Chai Jin in the middle of the night. It was during Chai Jin's grand banquet, but Jin Ding showed no mercy and directly questioned Chai Jin: "Does Your Excellency know that while the people outside the manor are gnawing on tree bark, you are indulging in a life of debauchery and revelry in your hall, disregarding the lives of the people? What kind of Lord Mengchang are you!"

These words caused a stir and uproar among the audience.

At that moment, the servants were about to beat up the two men, but Huang Yue held up his double swords to stop them from attacking. He sneered at "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin: "So, your 'generosity and kindness' is only for those who know how to wield swords and spears!"

Chai Jin, his face ashen, turned and left his seat.

The next day, the two were demoted from guards to grooms, and their meals changed from eight dishes and one soup to coarse rice and pickled vegetables.

Although the two were resentful, they had nowhere to go and could only endure it.

It was another Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Chai Jin and his fellow travelers shared roasted venison to celebrate the festival. However, Jin Ding saw an old tenant farmer from Chai Jin's estate secretly picking up leftover bones from the banquet, saying he wanted to make soup to save his grandson's life. But he was slapped by a servant.

So, Jin Ding and Huang Yue, their eyes red, snatched the whole deer leg and shoved it at the old man, beat up the servant who had hit him, and then turned to the drunken Chai Jin and shouted: "You 'Little Whirlwind,' you're whirling the flesh and blood of the people!"

From then on, the two men were disliked by everyone and even dogs at Chai Jin's manor. This time, Chai Jin deliberately wanted to drive them away, and they had suffered a lot of cold treatment at Chai Jin's manor, so they were willing to come here.

In addition, Song Jiang, known as "Hu Baoyi," also brought his younger brother, "Iron Fan" Song Qing, to Zhang Shuye. Song Qing, Song Jiang's own brother, had no real skills. In the original story, he was in charge of arranging banquets on Liangshan. After Liangshan was granted amnesty, Song Qing followed the army in the south and north, participating in all four wars: the campaigns against Liao, Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La. During this time, he sometimes served as a "subordinate general" under Song Jiang, but his main responsibility was still to arrange banquets on occasions such as celebrations. He did not have to go to the battlefield at all.

After Song Jiang's death, Song Qing was entitled to inherit his title, but he declined, preferring to return home to farm. Emperor Huizong was deeply moved and, appreciating his filial piety, bestowed upon him 100,000 strings of cash and 3,000 mu of land to support his family. Later, he had a son, Song Anping, who passed the imperial examinations and rose to the position of Secretary Academician, truly a winner in life.

However, when Song Jiang asked Zhang Shuye for an official position for his younger brother, Zhang Shuye still gave him face and promoted "Iron Fan" Song Qing to the position of registrar. There was nothing he could do, since Song Jiang had done a good job this time.

In addition, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," also managed to bring in two talented individuals.

These two talents, one a scholar and the other a warrior, were a veteran official from the Jizhou Prefecture government who had been there for over ten years. He was known as the treacherous and cunning "Heart-Cutting King," Wang Jin.

In the original story, when Gao Qiu came to attack Liangshan Marsh, he stationed his troops in Jizhou Prefecture. It was this old official named Wang Jin who gave Gao Qiu a suggestion.

Wang Jin's suggestion was this: split the phrase in the imperial edict, "Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, and all others, regardless of their crimes, are pardoned," into two sentences. Read "Song Jiang" as one sentence, and "Lu Junyi and all others, regardless of their crimes, are pardoned" as another. Once all the Liangshan heroes were lured into Jizhou City, Song Jiang would be killed first, and then the others would be dispersed. This way, Liangshan could be easily destroyed.

Wang Jin's intention was simple: to take advantage of the opportunity of being granted amnesty, use deception to lure Song Jiang and his men down the mountain to receive the imperial edict, and then wipe out Liangshan Marsh in one fell swoop.

Gao Qiu was overjoyed upon hearing Wang Jin's suggestion and immediately gave Wang Jin a ride in a helicopter, promoting him to the position of Chief Secretary of the Marshal's Office.

Of course, his schemes were completely useless in the eyes of the "wise strategist" Wu Yong, and ultimately failed.

However, it cannot be denied that in terms of intrigue and scheming, Wang Jin, the "Heart-Cutting King," was slightly inferior to Wu Yong, the "Strategist," but his skills were still quite good.

After seeing that Song Jiang, the "Righteous Protector," was increasingly valued by Zhang Shuye, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," also thought that if he relied solely on his own strength, it would indeed be difficult to rival Song Jiang.

Since Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," wanted to become the most powerful and irreplaceable force under Zhang Shuye, he had to build his own team. After all, a single thread cannot make a line, and a single tree cannot make a forest.

So he set his sights on this "heart-gouging king" Wang Jin, recommending him to Zhang Shuye. He could offer advice and handle some official business, and most importantly, the two of them were both the type to engage in intrigue and scheming. "A rotten fish looking for a rotten shrimp," "A turtle looking at a green bean—they've hit it off."

The other is Xue Yong, also a Liangshan hero who wandered the Jianghu, one of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, known as "Sick Tiger".

This man was very unlucky; Xue Yong was from Luoyang, Henan.

Xue Yong's grandfather was once an officer under General Zhong, but he offended his colleagues and was not promoted. Xue Yong, who could have made a name for himself in the Western Army, ended up wandering the world, making a living by selling medicine and wielding a spear. He was known in the world as "Sick Tiger".

He once took the tailor "Long-Armed Ape" Hou Jian as his apprentice and taught him martial arts. Later in the original novel, he met Song Jiang in Jieyang Town, participated in the small gathering at Bailong Temple, and went to Liangshan Marsh.

In terms of skill, Xue Yong, the "Sick Tiger" who had wandered the martial arts world, was able to take down Mu Chun, the "Little Hedgehog," with just a few punches and kicks, which means his martial arts skills are quite good among the Earthly Fiends.

However, his record was almost nonexistent. When he defeated Tong Guan twice, Xue Yong guarded the north gate of the central formation in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation. Only when he defeated Gao Qiu three times, "Sick Tiger" Xue Yong fought alongside the navy and wounded Mei Zhan, the military governor of Yingzhou and Runan, in the leg with a spear. He then captured Mei Zhan alive along with Zheng Tianshou, Li Zhong, and Cao Zheng.

After Liangshan surrendered to the imperial court, Xue Yong followed Song Jiang in his campaigns, participating in the wars against the Liao Kingdom, Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La. He only served as an ordinary subordinate general and did not achieve any outstanding results. In the final battle against Fang La, he participated in the Battle of Yuling Pass and was on patrol with Shi Jin, Shi Xiu, Chen Da, Yang Chun, and Li Zhong. As a result, he was ambushed by the defending generals Pang Wanchun, Lei Jiong, and Ji Ji and was shot to death by a hail of arrows. His death was extremely tragic.

He truly lived up to the "sickness" in his nickname "Sick Tiger," spending his entire life frustrated and unfulfilled.

He is now wandering the martial arts world, performing tricks and making a living, living a very miserable life.

He ended up in the territory of Jizhou Prefecture, where he was discovered by the strategist Wu Yong. After testing him, Wu Yong found that he was quite skilled in martial arts and recommended him to Zhang Shuye, the prefect of Jizhou.

Zhang Shuye was overjoyed to have so many talented people under his command. He raised his cup to toast everyone and said, "I, Zhang Shuye, am fortunate to be chosen by the imperial court to lead you all here to protect Jizhou and annihilate the Liangshan bandits. In the future, you will all lend me a hand and work together to protect our homeland and serve the imperial court!"

After Zhang Shuye finished speaking, Song Jiang also stood up. "What you say makes perfect sense, my lord. Now that Brother Hua Rong has arrived, we've heard that the Liangshan bandits have come down the mountain and occupied several villages and towns. Why don't we lead our troops there and take back one of those villages and towns first?"

Song Jiang, the "righteous protector," said this so that he could let Hua Rong, the "little Li Guang," show off his skills in front of everyone and take the highest position among the military officers in Jizhou Prefecture.

After all, Zhang Bao was one of Zhang Shuye's earlier subordinates, but Song Jiang, known as "Hu Baoyi," estimated that Zhang Bao's abilities were not as great as Hua Rong's, so he simply let "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong demonstrate his strength.

As soon as Song Jiang finished speaking, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," chimed in, "Brother Song Jiang's words are very appropriate, sir. We suffered a defeat at the hands of the Liangshan bandits before, entirely because we lacked good generals. Now that we have both soldiers and generals, it's the perfect time to show our might!"

To be honest, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," said this purely out of malice, because he didn't want Hua Rong, the "little Li Guang," to smoothly take control of the military affairs of Jizhou Prefecture, as this would be most advantageous for Song Jiang, the "righteous protector."

Although Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," is a newcomer, if he truly fights against Liangshan Marsh and achieves outstanding results, he can immediately win the hearts of the army.

If "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong were to lead his troops and train with them for a period of time, so that they would all become familiar with each other, then perhaps they would have a better chance of defeating Liangshan.

However, Hua Rong, the "Little Li Guang," is a newcomer, and his troops are not yet well-coordinated. Sending Hua Rong to lead his troops to attack the villages and towns occupied by Liangshan Marsh would not yield any benefits.

As long as "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong is defeated, the troops in Jizhou will not submit to him. After all, the current Song Dynasty Xiang Army only cares about following the general to fight. They will only obey the general who brings them back alive, achieves merit, and receives rewards.

They were naturally unwilling to accept the loss of soldiers and generals, and what could "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong do if he didn't bring his own troops?

Zhang Shuye nodded. He had long wanted to revisit Liangshan Marsh, but without capable generals, he had to hold back. Now that his two sons had recovered from their injuries and he had this fresh force, it was time to reclaim the lost territory!