Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Page 154

"It is said that Liang Zhongshu originally had such a plan, but Yang Zhi stopped him,"

Han Bolong said, "According to our spies at Liang Zhongshu's residence, Yang Zhi suggested that the group of people being escorted pretend to be people suffering from the plague who were going to Liangshan Marsh for medical treatment."

"Heh, this blue-faced beast has quite a plan,"

Zhao Yuan chuckled and said, "Pretending to be commoners suffering from the plague and seeking medical treatment serves two purposes: first, it can deceive others; second, ordinary bandits are afraid of the plague and will avoid them if they see them, let alone dare to rob them."

"Brother, shall we proceed according to the original plan?" Qiongying asked.

Zhao Yuan is determined to obtain this year's birthday gifts.

However, Liangshan is still fighting the plague, so Zhao Yuan only wants to secretly take the birthday gifts without attracting the attention of the Song court.

Ideally, we should act as quietly as last year's Dragon, Tiger, Bear, and Flood Dragon, so that even if we take the birthday gifts, no one will know.

To achieve this goal, Zhao Yuan and his group devised a plan to switch the birthday gifts without anyone noticing.

Then they would transport the genuine goods up the mountain. As for the counterfeit goods, that was not Liangshan's concern.

"The sleeping potion I had Dr. An improve is already prepared,"

Zhao Yuan looked around at everyone: "Do everything as previously agreed!"

"Yes!"

The leaders bowed and agreed!

......

He Zhongbao has been traveling from Guanshan Town to Liangshan Marsh for three days now.

Aside from meeting a few Liangshan leaders on the first day...

At other times, he was confined to a tent in the Liangshan army camp on the north bank, and he was not even allowed to go out for a walk.

However, despite being imprisoned, He Zhongbao was actually relieved.

If the bandits of Liangshan Marsh don't kill him immediately, it means there's still room for negotiation.

Little did he know that in the large camp, several dozen feet away from him...

Lu Zhishen, Lin Chong, Sun An, and sixteen or seventeen other leaders, both big and small, were discussing his matter.

"I've called you all here today because of something..."

Lu Zhishen explained to everyone the purpose of He Zhongbao's visit.

"With my brother away, what should we do about this? Let's all share our opinions."

Lu Zhishen said, "Let me state my opinion first: How can we Han people serve a foreign race!"

"Brother Zhao said long ago that he would never accept amnesty!"

Ruan Xiaoer spoke up first: "Brother Zhao is unwilling to even submit to the Song court, let alone these foreign Liao people!"

"In my opinion, these Liao people definitely have ill intentions,"

Ruan Xiaowu said, "We Liangshan just fought them at Duiying Mountain. These Liao people probably hate us to the core. How could they possibly have any good intentions?"

"These Liao dogs are clearly trying to ruin the reputation of our Liangshan,"

Ruan Xiaoqi continued, "If Liangshan were to be granted amnesty by the Liao people, wouldn't they become traitors?"

After the three Ruan brothers finished speaking, the other leaders all nodded in agreement.

Although everyone disagreed with accepting the offer of amnesty,

However, they disagreed on how to deal with He Zhongbao's matter.

Lu Zhishen and a group of leaders who came from humble backgrounds decided to simply kill He Zhongbao with a single stroke and use his head and life to pay tribute to the soldiers who died in the battle at Duiying Mountain.

However, Lin Chong, Xu Ning, and others disagreed.

"Brothers, in war, envoys are not to be killed; this is a principle that has been followed since ancient times,"

Lin Chong advised, "The Zhao brothers are men destined for great things. It's not a big deal if we kill this Liao man today, but if we ruin Liangshan's reputation, who will dare to come to Liangshan to discuss matters in the future?"

"This precedent must not be set,"

Xu Ning agreed, saying, "If we break the rules today, won't our lives be at risk when Liangshan sends people on missions in the future?"

After some persuasion from the two of them...

Lu Zhishen and his companions gradually changed their minds.

"Very well, I'll order my men to release that Liao dog."

As Lu Zhishen spoke, he raised his hand to call the messenger.

At this moment, Sun An suddenly interjected,

“Commander, we should release this Liao man, but before that, why don’t we make use of him a little more?”

"Brother Sun An, what do you mean...?"

"Commander, brothers, before Brother Zhao left, he asked us to find an opportunity to leak the news about the birthday gifts,"

Sun An laughed and said, "The reason why Brother Zhao (who obtained Zhao) did this is to lure others to rob the fake birthday gifts that we switched, so that they can attract the attention of the Song court and act as a shield for our Liangshan."

"Isn't there the perfect scapegoat right in front of us?"

"Brother, do you mean to leak the matter of the birthday gifts to that Liao dog?" Lu Zhishen confirmed.

"right,"

Sun An nodded: "The Liao Dynasty was not as wealthy as the Song Dynasty. After the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Song Dynasty had to give the Liao Dynasty 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk every year, totaling 300,000 taels."

"This birthday tribute is worth more than 100,000 strings of cash, equivalent to one-third of the annual tribute. Even in the Song Dynasty, it would be a huge sum of money, let alone in the poor Liao Dynasty!"

"If we just plan ahead and 'accidentally' leak this news, the Liao people will definitely be tempted. As for whether they can succeed, that depends on fate!"

Chapter 214 He Zhongbao's Daydreams

He Zhongbao was locked in the tent for another day.

I have nothing to do during the day, and I can't go out.

He could only lie on his bed and close his eyes to sleep.

I slept all day, and then it got dark.

I overslept and couldn't fall back asleep no matter what!

Out of boredom, He Zhongbao began counting how many folds there were on the top of the tent.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the tent, as if someone was coming over.

He Zhongbao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly closed his eyes, listening intently.

Just then, someone outside the tent asked, "How are the Liao people doing? Have they caused any trouble?"

"It's been quiet, no fuss at all. It's been sleeping all day."

The guard at the tent entrance replied.

Then He Zhongbao felt the curtain of the military tent being lifted, as if someone was looking inside.

"No wonder those scholars like to say that the Liao people are uneducated beasts. They live such a comfortable life, doing nothing but eating and sleeping. How can they not be beasts?" the man who had just asked the question exclaimed.

Hearing this, He Zhongbao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but still pretended to be asleep without moving.

A moment later, the curtain was lowered again.

The man outside the tent laughed and said, "Looks like he's really asleep. You two, if you put in a good effort tonight, you won't have to do this work tomorrow."

"Instructor, are we going to kill this Liao man tomorrow as a sacrifice to the flag?" the guard asked.

130 He Zhongbao suddenly opened his eyes, and his heart jumped into his throat.

Am I going to die?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, he heard the man outside the tent laughing and cursing.

"What nonsense! In war, envoys are not to be killed. This Liao dog is, after all, an envoy of the Liao people. How can we just kill him like that!"

"Then let's lock him up. Didn't we Han people have an envoy before, whose name was something like Su, who was detained by these steppe people for more than ten years?" the guard suggested.

"You are, after all, Brother Zhao's personal guards. Don't you know that Liangshan is currently planning something big?"

The man laughed and said, "If we leave this Liao dog in the camp, what if he sees something? We'll be finished."

"Instructor, are you talking about the birthday tribute worth 100,000 strings of cash?" the guard pressed.

"(bica) What else could it be but this!"

The man instructed, "This matter is a secret of Liangshan. Brother Zhao only plans to take the leaders of the mountain and your personal guards to rob the birthday tribute. In another half month, once the tribute enters Shandong territory, we will make our move..."

After he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and it seemed that the person had already left.

At this moment, the two guards at the door began to chat quietly.

"If we rob this birthday tribute, how much would we get?"

“You and I are Brother Zhao’s personal guards, and each of us will definitely receive at least thirty to fifty strings of cash.”

"Tsk, 100,000 strings of cash, and in our hands, only 30 or 50 will be left."

"What can we do? There are so many leaders on the mountain now. If each of them gets a thousand strings of cash, that's forty or fifty thousand strings of cash. If the rest is divided among the others, there won't be much left."

"It's better to be a leader. Even if we don't become a leader, being a small leader is not bad."

Another guard, hearing his companion's expectation, chuckled and said...

"Being a leader is something you earn by risking your life; it's not that easy to get ahead!"

"Take this robbery of the birthday tribute for example. I heard that the one who escorted the 100,000 strings of gold and jewels was a descendant of the Yang family of the Tianbo Mansion, known as Yang Zhi, the Blue-Faced Beast!"

"His martial arts skills are so high that even among the leaders of Liangshan, only a few can rival him!"

......

The two then began to talk about the origin of the birthday tribute, and the birthday tribute that was stolen by some unknown group last year.

Inside the tent, He Zhongbao lay on the bed, his eyes wide open, not daring to miss a single sound from outside!

Ten thousand strings of gold, jewels and shells!

If we can bring it back to the Liao Kingdom, it will be a great achievement, and then the matter of the Shadow Mountain will naturally be nothing!

Thinking of this, He Zhongbao suddenly shook his head.

With 100,000 strings of cash already, why would I want to go back to the Liao Kingdom?

Why not take this gold and silver and go to the Jurchens to seek refuge?

The Liao Dynasty is gradually declining, while the Jurchens are growing stronger every day.

They remain impoverished, unable to afford even weapons and armor, and rely entirely on spoils from the battlefield.

If I were to offer up these 100,000 strings of gold and silver, wouldn't that be a lifeline for the Jurchens?

When the Jurchens establish their own state in the future, they might be able to create a hereditary title to leave to their descendants!

......

He Zhongbao lay in his tent, daydreaming about his future all night long.

When I got out of bed the next day, I was still feeling a bit listless.

"Our brother is merciful, that's why he didn't kill you, you Liao dog!"

Two guards led He Zhongbao to the gate of the military camp and casually cursed him.

"Get out of here!"

"I am an envoy of Princess Tianshou of the Liao Kingdom. You will regret treating me like this sooner or later!"

"Where is my mount? You even stole the messenger's horse! This Liangshan bandits really are nothing but thieves!"

He Chongbao stood at the entrance of the military camp and shouted twice, feeling that he had fully performed his role as the "unwilling messenger."

Then he turned around and strode away from the Liangshan army camp.

After he walked away,

Lin Chong, Sun An, and Ruan Xiaoqi emerged from behind the tent.

As the three watched He Zhongbao's retreating figure, Ruan Xiaoqi asked doubtfully, "Instructor, Brother Sun An, I always felt that the acting last night was too fake. Will this Liaoning dog really fall for it?"