Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 320: Wu Xuejiu Visits Taohua Mountain
This went on for seven or eight days, with Zhao Zhen training with everyone every day and practicing various martial arts. One day, Zhao Zhen had just finished lunch and was playing with Cheng Wan'er and the other two in the room when he saw Zhao Xing approaching and saying, "Sir, the military advisor, Mr. Wu Yong, is waiting in the hall."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen changed his clothes, grabbed a feather fan, said hello, and hurried out of the house.

After greeting, Zhao Zhen looked at Wu Yong, Liu Tang, and Shi Xiu and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my three brothers. Did you have a smooth journey?"

Wu Yong said: "It is thanks to the dedication of brothers Liu Tang and Shi Xiu that we would have encountered more troubles."

"Oh? Please tell me more."

"We went to Qingzhou and contacted brothers Li Zhong and Zhou Tong first. With their introduction, we met Song Gongming, a kind man. He was very polite to us when he heard that we came to deliver weapons as agreed. It's a pity that Ren Yuan heard that it was brother Jiao Ting from the county who defeated him, so he held a grudge against us. He instigated [Golden Scaled Python] Ma Yuan and his gang to embarrass us."

Zhao Zhen said: "Ren Yuan is too narrow-minded, he is not a good man."

"Who said it wasn't true? This fellow relied on his disciples to fight against the Qingzhou government army and made many contributions. Song Gongming relied on him a lot, so he was so unscrupulous and embarrassed us in public." Liu Tang said.

As they spoke, the three of them told Zhao Zhen about the transaction in Qingzhou.

When Wu Yong arrived at Qingzhou, he did not go to Qingfeng Mountain where Song Jiang was stationed, but went to Taohua Mountain where Li Zhong and Zhou Tong were. Since the surprise attack on Qingfeng Village, Qingzhou prefect Murong Yanda was afraid that Song Jiang's group would go down the mountain separately and the villages would not be able to resist the enemy, so he asked him to rob people and food to go up the mountain to strengthen the natural environment. Therefore, he did not dare to attack Qingzhen Mountain together, leaving only Yun Tianbiao to attack Qingzhen Mountain, and [Zhen Sanshan] Huang Xin stationed in Qingfeng Village to guard Qingfeng Mountain. The Qingzhou soldiers and horses ruled [Thunderbolt] Qin Ming stationed in the prefecture.

Li Zhong and Zhou Tong now felt that they were in a difficult situation. Although they had become bandits and robbed houses, they only wanted to be free and easy mountain kings and never thought of attracting the government troops to encircle and suppress them. After all, in today's world, the lords of the prefectures and counties were happy on their own, and few were willing to contribute to the country's affairs.

When Wu Yong and his party arrived at the foot of Taohua Mountain, the minions who had been lying in wait saw them and came up the mountain to deliver the message. Li Zhong and Zhou Tong came down the mountain in full armor and saw that it was Wu Yong. Li Zhong said, "We have been looking forward to the return of our military advisor. Please come up the mountain."

Wu Yong called Liu Tang and Shi Xiu to come forward, and the crowd brushed their hair on the roadside and accompanied them to the gathering hall. After they had a conversation, Wu Yong was allowed to sit in the front, followed by Shi Xiu, Liu Tang, Li Zhong, and Zhou Tong. The five heroes were treated as guests and hosts, and the banquet was set. Only three or five trusted minions were left, and the rest were sent away.

Li Zhong first said, "I didn't listen to the military advisor earlier, and now I have ended up in this situation. I regret it now."

"If we just leave and the news gets out, it will show that we two brothers are disloyal." Zhou Tong also said.

Wu Yong said: "The great master also heard that Qingzhou is not peaceful, and there are many rumors about the caravans coming and going, so he sent people to investigate. Hearing that the soldiers and armor here are not well prepared, let the two brothers pass the message to the leader of Song Village. The great master will naturally remember the contributions of the two brothers. If things are impossible in the future, the two brothers can also go to Liangshan County to take shelter."

After hearing this, Li Zhong and Zhou Tong hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

Wu Yong continued, "Brothers, how is the battle going now?" Li Zhong said, "Thanks to Song Gongming's strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, we were able to hold on to the Qingzhen Mountain line. He personally led four heroes, Ren Yuan, Wang Ying, Kong Ming, and Kong Liang, to attack Qingfeng Village overnight. They killed Liu Gao, looted a large amount of money and food, and recruited many farmers to the mountain, which stabilized the situation."

"We swore an oath of blood. The four mountains of Qingfeng Mountain, Taohua Mountain, Baihu Mountain, and Qingzhen Mountain all respect Brother Song Gongming of Qingfeng Mountain as the leader of the mountain stronghold. Qingzhou Prefecture divided its troops for defense, and we returned to our respective strongholds. Only half of the money and food from each stronghold were sent to Qingfeng Mountain and distributed by [Iron Fan] Song Qing."

Liu Tang said: "I wonder who among the heroes in the mountain stronghold has the best martial arts? What is the strength of the troops in each mountain stronghold?"

Zhou Tongdao: "I have never competed with them. There are four people from Qingzhen Mountain: [Golden Scaled Python] Ma Yuan, [Fei Lian] Huangfu Xiong, [Ghost Seer] Lai Yonger, and [Lie Jue Da Lang] Helian Jinming. I have competed with Lai Yonger before. This guy's martial arts is comparable to mine. I heard him say that Ma Yuan is the best in the mountain."

"This Ma Yuan once fought with Yunlong, a subordinate of Yun Tianbiao, but never got the upper hand. [Iron Wall] Zhou Xing and [Black God Slayer] Wang Bochao came forward to rescue him, but were killed by Huang Xin and Yun Tianbiao. Later, when they attacked Qingfeng Village for the second time, [Sky Pillar] Ren Yuan and [Three Mountain Guards] Huang Xin fought for thirty rounds without a clear winner. [Dwarf Tiger] Wang Ying came forward to help, which forced Huang Xin to stay in the village and not dare to leave."

"As for the soldiers of each camp, mine and White Tiger Mountain have the least, only about 700 people. Qingfeng Mountain has the most, no less than 4,000 people. Qingzhen Mountain is the most dangerous, and now there are 3,000 people."

After hearing this, Wu Yong and others nodded and thought to themselves: It seems that Song Gongming has established a firm foothold.

Li Zhong said, "At present, only Yun Tianbiao is still in the camp at the foot of Qingzhen Mountain. If there are occasional provocations, Ma Yuan will follow Brother Song Gongming's instructions and defend the mountain camp without fighting. With the strategic terrain, we have prepared more battering rams, cannonballs, ash bottles and gold juice, and we are prepared day and night, so we don't have to worry for the time being. I wonder how many weapons and armors the military advisor sent?"

Wu Yong said, "Weapons like swords, spears, and halberds are fine, as they are already made in the county. However, armor is slow to make, because there are not enough armorers, and there is not enough iron and cowhide. According to the agreement, we brought 500 sets of leather armor, most of which were captured on the battlefield. We also brought 30 sets of iron armor, 500 broadswords, and 1,000 spear heads, all of which are good items made at 300 degrees."

Li Zhong and Zhou Tong looked at each other after hearing this. Li Zhong said, "Brother Gongming will surely be delighted with this batch of equipment. I will send someone to tell Brother Song Gongming first. How about we go to Qingfeng Mountain tomorrow?"

Wu Yong said: "Okay, let's see what the leader of Song Village has to say first."

That day, the five heroes drank happily in the hall. At night, the little minions who went to Qingfeng Mountain to deliver the message returned, saying that Song Jiang would come to Taohua Mountain to trade tomorrow.

Wu Yong heard this and had no objection. During the dinner, Wu Yong mentioned the birthday gift by accident. Li Zhong and Zhou Tong were shocked to hear that the birthday gift was worth no less than 200,000 strings of cash.

On the second day, at the time of Sipai, Wu Yong met Song Jiang, the famous "Timely Rain" in Shandong and Hebei, in the meeting hall of Taohua Mountain. Also coming with him were Ren Yuan, the "Pillar of Heaven", Ma Yuan, the "Golden Scaled Python", Lai Yong'er, the "Ghost-Seeing Sorrow", and Kong Liang, the "Lone Mars".

After receiving the letter from Li Zhong yesterday, Song Jiang sent people to Qingzhen Mountain and Baihu Mountain to pass on the message. They discussed it overnight and came here today to meet with Wu Yong and others for the transaction.

(End of this chapter)