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He quickly stepped in front of Liu Tang to block him.
"Gentlemen, that Liao woman is our enemy. My brother was so angry that he acted impulsively..." Chao Gai quickly explained.
"Brother Xiao Qi, you should lend a hand too!"
Seeing that Ruan Xiaoqi was watching coldly from the sidelines again, Wu Yong hurriedly urged her on.
"Wu Xuejiu, I really can't help you with this."
Ruan Xiaoqi scratched her head helplessly.
"These are the law enforcement teams of Liangshan, who are specifically responsible for supervising military discipline and law and for administering corporal punishment."
"Throughout Liangshan, they only listen to Pei Kongmu, the head of the Criminal Affairs Department. Even my brother can't interfere."
"this......"
Chao Gai and his three companions were dumbfounded; there were even soldiers that the Liangshan commander couldn't control.
At this moment, the leading black-clad soldier loudly proclaimed,
"According to the Liangshan military law, anyone who engages in horseplay in the military camp without injuring anyone shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane, and those who use weapons shall be punished with double the cane!"
"Considering you are guests and unaware of Liangshan military law, we will only punish you with twenty strokes of the cane this time. If you do not lay down your weapons and surrender, do not blame us for being impolite!"
Seeing that Chao Gai and the other two were still protecting Liu Tang, Ruan Xiaoqi quickly advised them,
"Gentlemen, this law enforcement team on Liangshan is notorious for its ruthlessness. Since Brother Liu Tang has violated military law, let them give him twenty strokes of the cane, and we'll call it quits. Otherwise, even if you are my guests, they would still dare to arrest you all!"
Chapter 243 Sworn Brotherhood with the Liao People
"Slap! Slap! Slap..."
Liu Tang was forced to the ground and given twenty strokes of the cane.
Chao Gai, Wu Yong, and Gongsun Sheng could only watch from the sidelines.
But they couldn't blame Liangshan for this.
After all, strict military law is the foundation of a strong and disciplined army.
As the military baton struck Liu Tang repeatedly,
The three of them undoubtedly felt an even greater hatred for "Liao Tianshou".
And on the other side,
Liu Huiniang pulled Princess Tianshou back to the tent and asked with concern,
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
"I...I'm fine,"
Princess Tianshou shook her head, her face still showing some fear.
If Liu Huiniang hadn't pulled her back in time, she would probably be beheaded by now.
Thinking of this, Princess Tianshou quickly bowed to Liu Huiniang in gratitude.
"Thanks to..."
At this point, she realized she didn't even know the other person's name.
Liu Huiniang was exceptionally clever; seeing that she was stunned, she quickly smiled and said...
"My surname is Liu, my given name is Huiniang, and my nickname is Axiu. Your Highness may simply call me Axiu."
"Ah Xiu... little sister, thank you so much for saving me!"
Although Dalibo was a Liao person, he was grateful for kindness shown to him.
If it were before, given her contempt and hatred for the Song people,
He would naturally not utter the word "sister."
But he had just received Liu Huiniang's life-saving grace.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Princess Tianshou naturally uttered the word "sister."
"Your Highness, please don't do this,"
Liu Huiniang quickly shook her head and said, "I am just a commoner from Song. Your Highness is of noble birth, how can you call me your sister?"
“Sister Ah Xiu just saved my life, how can she not be my sister?”
Upon hearing this, Princess Tianshou immediately said,
"Sister Ah Xiu, how about we become sworn sisters?"
"Sworn brotherhood?"
Liu Huiniang was about to refuse when Dalibo pulled her to her knees.
"By the gods of the grasslands above, Dalibo and Sister Axiu..."
Listening to Princess Tianshou earnestly reciting her sworn brotherhood vows,
A sly glint flashed in Liu Huiniang's eyes.
Then, somewhat reluctantly, she and the Liao princess became sworn sisters.
........
Liu Tang received twenty lashes before the enforcement team finally left.
"Brother, are you alright?"
Chao Gai quickly helped him up.
"Don't worry, brother, it's just twenty lashes, how could they hurt me..."
Liu Tangqiang pretended that nothing was wrong.
Unexpectedly, Ruan Xiaoqi deliberately mischievously bumped into him, causing him to aggravate the injury on his buttocks.
Liu Tang gasped in pain.
"Brother Liu Tang, how does this military rod taste?" Ruan Xiaoqi teased.
"It's no big deal..."
Liu Tang still wanted to play the tough guy, but seeing that Ruan Xiaoqi was about to deliberately bump into him again, he quickly limped behind Chao Gai.
Wu Yong scolded, "Brother Qi, what are you doing now?"
"Haha, Wu Xuejiu, you can't blame me for this!"
Ruan Xiaoqi shook his head and laughed, "I told you before that this is the military camp on the north bank of Liangshan. What military camp is without rules and regulations?"
"Fortunately, Brother Liu Tang didn't hurt anyone. If he had really killed that Liao princess, the law enforcement team would have beheaded him and displayed his head to the public!"
"Why is Liangshan protecting a princess from the Liaodong people so much?"
Liu Tang snorted angrily.
"Brother, don't say anything more. Chief Zhao must have his reasons for doing this!"
Although Chao Gai was reprimanding Liu Tang, his expression showed dissatisfaction, clearly indicating that he was also somewhat dissatisfied with Liangshan protecting Princess Tianshou.
"Hmph, in my opinion, it must be that the Liangshan chieftain saw that the Liao dog's princess was beautiful and wanted to..."
Before Liu Tang could finish speaking, Ruan Xiaoqi suddenly shouted in a cold voice,
“My brother is not that lecherous. He will send someone to escort the Liao princess back to Liao tomorrow. If you continue to talk nonsense, don’t blame me for turning against you!”
"Send her back to Liao?"
Wu Yong and Gongsun Sheng couldn't help but exchange a glance, and a thought involuntarily popped into their minds.
Is Liangshan going to collude with the Liao people?
........
In the main tent of the North Bank commander,
Chao Gai and his three companions paid their respects to Zhao Yuan, expressing their gratitude to Wang Dingliu for protecting them and for what had happened on Huangni Ridge.
Zhao Yuan had already heard Yang Zhi's account of what happened on the shore.
Knowing that these four were willing to live and die together, I couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.
Chao Gai, Liu Tang, and Gongsun Sheng were relatively easy to deal with.
However, Zhao Yuan did not expect that Wu Yong would also be willing to die with Chao Gai and the other two.
However, after a little thought, Zhao Yuan understood the reason.
In the original Water Margin timeline,
Chao Gai's death was truly too suspicious.
Therefore, many people believe that Song Jiang conspired with Wu Yong to have someone secretly shoot and kill their elder brother Chao Gai.
Song Jiang then stopped talking.
Wu Yong, however, had been following Chao Gai from the very beginning.
He should have been one of Chao Gai's confidants.
However, this led to the assassination attempt on Chao Gai.
From this perspective, he is clearly a snobbish and petty person.
But in the end, at the conclusion of Water Margin, this guy and Hua Rong hanged themselves together in front of Song Jiang's grave.
Although the political situation at court forced him to act with no other options, leaving him disheartened,
But judging from his feelings towards Song Jiang, he still harbored some loyalty and affection for him.
Compared to Chao Gai, the contrast between his past and present is striking.
The only reason, if we had to pin down, was the matter of being granted amnesty.
Although Zhao Yuan didn't know whether Chao Gai in the original timeline was actually killed by Wu Yong and others (or by Li) through a plot,
But now,
When Chao Gai and his three companions were all wanted by the authorities, they were in the same boat and had not yet had any conflict over whether to accept amnesty.
At this time, Wu Yong was clearly still quite loyal to Chao Gai.
......
After Chao Gai and his three companions bowed in gratitude,
Zhao Yuan naturally wouldn't hold their past actions against them. He had a table of food and wine prepared and hosted a banquet for the four of them in the tent.
In addition, they also invited Wu Yong's acquaintances, the three Ruan brothers, to come and drink with him.
However, Chao Gai and his companions were not in high spirits, and they did not enjoy the food and drink very much.
"Master Chao, are you still thinking about Princess Tianshou of the Liao people?" Zhao Yuan asked knowingly.
Ruan Xiaoqi had just whispered the whole story of Liu Tang being flogged to Zhao Yuan.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuan knew that Liu Huiniang was plotting something again...
Chapter 244 Who is the Traitor?
Chao Gai and his men, seeing that Princess Tianshou, who had tricked them, was in the Liangshan camp, were naturally not in a good mood.
Upon hearing Zhao Yuan's question,
Chao Gai, Wu Yong, and Gongsun Sheng all remained silent with grim faces.
Liu Tang, however, was impulsive and said without thinking, "That woman betrayed us brothers. If it weren't for those Liao people, the birthday tribute would have been ours long ago."
"Even without her, do you really think you could get the birthday gifts?" Zhao Yuan asked with amusement.
Liu Tang then remembered that the Liangshan forces were also on Huangni Ridge that day.
Even if Liao Tianshou and the other two did not betray them, they would still have to give up the gold and jewels once the Liangshan forces arrived.
"Even so, we can simply give the goods to Liangshan. It's better than those gold and silver treasures falling into the hands of the Liao dogs!" Liu Tang said discontentedly.
"Chief Zhao, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should,"
Gongsun Sheng bowed deeply.