Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 432: Zhu Hu Mountain Sprinting Robbery
After thanking Zhao Zhen, Xu Ning asked, "Sir, other camps don't use nicknames for their commanders. Is the name [Golden Spear Camp] appropriate? But do all the soldiers in this camp have to use hook-and-sickle spears?"

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "That's not the case. The reason why this battalion is called the Golden Spear Battalion is that some time ago, the Yanggu County Tuanlian Envoy, Hua Rong, trained the county's cavalry well. Everyone held a silver spear and wore silver robes and silver armor. They called themselves the Silver Spear Battalion and asked me to allocate horses for them, and they wanted white horses."

"I have already agreed. Brother Zhu Wu must have made the arrangements in the past few days. Therefore, all of you brothers here will hold golden spears, ride black horses, wear black clothes and armor, and be called the [Golden Spear Battalion]. As for the horses and soldiers, you also need brother Zhu Wu to coordinate."

"As for [Golden Spear Capital], the military name will not be changed. Brother Tang Long will be the commander, and Tao Zongwang will be the deputy commander."

"Tao Zongwang?" Tang Long asked.

Zhao Zhen said, "Ever since you went to [Golden Spear Capital], Brother Tao Zongwang has been telling me openly and secretly that he wants to join the army. [The Construction Camp] is now on track, and all construction matters are handled by the prefecture. Brother Tao Zongwang is just a supervisor, and a chief in the prefecture can handle it."

"Since he came to your house, his martial arts skills have never fallen behind. Since he likes to use spears and swords, I will take this opportunity to let you two accompany him and lead a battalion of soldiers. In this way, you two can also take turns to train the soldiers, and you have to continue this business of making weapons."

Tang Long was delighted when he heard this and said, "If I am left alone to lead the soldiers, I am afraid I won't be able to manage them well. Now that Brother Tao Zongwang is helping, I will definitely be able to lead the soldiers well for you, my lord."

Zhao Zhen immediately wrote a military order, ordering Zhu Wu to allocate personnel, horses and weapons, Jin Dajian to prepare military seals, and Hou Jian to prepare all the necessary flags, robes and jackets.

At night, Zhao Zhen stayed at Cheng Wan'er's place. After some lovemaking, Cheng Wan'er lay in Zhao Zhen's arms with seductive eyes and said, "Sir, Uncle Chen hasn't come back yet, how do we arrange Sister Liqing's marriage?"

Zhao Zhen said, "How can we marry her when he is not here? Let's wait until he comes back. What is Li Qing doing now?"

"I heard from Sanniang that Sister Liqing is working hard to train her female rider."

Zhao Zhen said: "She has a very proud personality, but what provoked her?"

Cheng Wan'er said, "Although Sister Liqing recruited strong and skilled women, their horsemanship is far inferior to that of the Green Flag Willow Leaf Troops led by Sanniang. In the competition between the two female riders, the Red Flag Women's Troops fell behind by a lot. Therefore, these days, Sister Liqing has been taking Pang Qiuxia and her four maids to lead the female riders to run around the city every day."

However, Chen Xizhen, whom Zhao Zhen mentioned, resigned from Zhao Zhen that day, and took his two companions, Zhang San (the "Street Rat") and Li Si (the "Green Grass Snake"), and crossed mountains and rivers, all the way to Yuanbi Village.

It was noon, about fifty miles away from Yizhou. Passing by a mountain, Chen Xizhen said, "This mountain is steep and dangerous. I'm afraid it's occupied by bandits. We can't stay here for long. We have to pass through it quickly."

As he said this, he took Zhang San and Li Si and hurried forward.

As they were walking, they heard a gong sound, and thirty or fifty thugs emerged from the bushes, surrounding a man and shouting, "Pedestrians must stop! If you know what's going on, leave some money and I'll spare your three lives!"

Zhang San shouted, "Who are you? You are so bold as to speak so arrogantly. We are the subordinates of Mr. Zhao from Liangshan, and we are here to visit friends with his father-in-law. You have ears, so you should know the reputation of Mr. Zhao. If you know what's going on, leave immediately."

The big man heard this, dropped his stick, bowed his head and said, "I am Liu Tong, from Hebei. I am good at running and can travel 300 miles a day. People nicknamed me 'Flying Legs'."

"Because I got into a fight with someone in my hometown and accidentally killed someone, I fled here and became a bandit. I gathered these seven or eight hundred people. Although I admire you, I can't get away for the time being."

"I am fortunate to meet your relatives today. Please come up the mountain and rest in my village. I will entertain you."

Li Si said: "You are a man with good eyesight. Not to mention the senior official, the old man alone is also a well-known deputy commander in Bianjing City. Don't say that you only have these people here, even thousands of troops can't stop them."

"May I ask your name, old man?"

Chen Xizhen said: "The old Taoist has resigned from his official position long ago. I am Chen Xizhen. I heard that the son of an old friend has settled down in Yuanbi Village, so I came to visit him?"

As he spoke, Chen Xizhen helped Liu Tong up.

Liu Tong heard this and said, "Yuanbi Village is now the largest group among us. I wonder who the old man is looking for?"

"It is the brothers Gou Huan and Gou Ying, the leaders of the village there."

Liu Tongdao: "Old Master, this Yuanbi Village is still a hundred miles away from here. I know the road between the two mountains very well. Please take a rest for a day. I will lead the way for you tomorrow."

After saying that, Liu Tong took Chen Xizhen's arm and earnestly invited him to go up the mountain.

In the Juyi Hall, there was a tiger-skin chair at the head. Liu Tong invited Chen Xizhen to sit on it, and then invited Zhang San and Li Si to sit facing east. Liu Tong bowed again and said, "Old Master, I have long wanted to submit to you, but I have no way to get in. Please help me."

Chen Xizhen stood up and helped Liu Tong up, and asked, "Why does Village Leader Liu insist on submitting to my son-in-law?"

Liu Tongdao: "To be honest with you, sir, although I have settled here as a bandit, I have set three rules: one, no robbing of lone merchants, two, no raping of women, and three, no looting of nearby villages."

"Not far from here, there is a mountain called Jieyun Mountain. On the mountain are the Iron Arhat Fatong and the Drunken Vajra Fahui. They have gathered more than a thousand people and are very powerful. When they heard that I occupied this mountain, they invited me to join them and form an alliance with them. I was afraid that they would rape, rob and kill me, and do all kinds of evil. Their deeds were too evil, so I didn't want to join them and refused them outright."

"Later, these two took advantage of Song Jiang's disturbance in Qingzhou and went north to surrender. I was glad that I didn't join him, and gradually I stopped paying attention to him. A few days ago, I don't know why this guy thought of me again and sent someone to deliver a letter."

"Either you follow them and surrender to Song Gongming. Or you can wait for the army to attack Yizhou City next year and wipe me out. If Song Gongming writes a letter, I will follow him for his reputation. But I didn't expect these two bald donkeys to be so threatening in their words."

"I think I am no match for your opponent and I am not willing to sacrifice my life. I have no choice but to follow you. Today I met you, old man. I am willing to join you and be a small soldier."

Chen Xizhen said: "My son-in-law respects good men the most. Since you sincerely want to surrender, he will definitely accept you. I can't guarantee anything else, but you are more than qualified to be a deputy general in the army."

Liu Tong was naturally delighted to hear this, and asked his minions to prepare wine and food to entertain the three people.

After the meal, Liu Tongdao said, "Old Sir, this is a mountain range next to the Lion Head Peak. Because the highest peaks stand like a hu and the stone is ochre red, it is called Zhuhu Mountain. The scenery in the mountain is very beautiful. If you are interested, I will take you to the front and back of the mountain to enjoy it."

Chen Xizhen said: "That's the best. I also want to ask about the matter of Yuanbi Village."

After saying this, Chen Xizhen stood up and walked forward with Liu Tong. Zhang San and Li Si saw him and followed closely behind.

Chen Xizhen asked, "I heard that Yuanbi Village doesn't rob passing merchants, but only harasses the wealthy and unkind. In addition, they have recruited many farmers on the mountain and cultivated many fields. But is it really so?"

Liu Tongdao said: "What the old man said is right. The people in Yuanbi Village are really kind and righteous. They never harm the good people in the village. They have Luchuan on the left and Humen on the right, and are backed by the majestic mountains. As far as the front is concerned, there are fertile fields and mulberry trees, deep water and thick soil. They can recruit farmers who can't make a living to open up the land."

"That place has been occupied by strong men for a long time, and Gou Huan and others also went there later. There is a place called Qingyun Mountain next to it, and now it has also surrendered to Song Jiang. I also wanted to go to Yuanbi Village. But I heard that the leaders there are all old friends, and I am afraid that he will not accept me, so I am hesitant."

Chen Xizhen asked, "When I came here, I also discussed this with my son-in-law. Now the court is full of corrupt officials who are killing loyal officials. My son-in-law is also afraid that he will be abandoned by the court one day, so he has to make some preparations. Your mountain stronghold is located between Yizhou City and Mengshan Mountain, so it is a good place to station troops. If the great official is interested in stationing troops here, are you willing?"

Liu Tongdao said, "Old sir, I am not trying to shirk my responsibility. If I am alone, I am afraid I cannot defend this place. This place is quite a distance from Liangshan. If Fatong and Fahui lead people to attack, I am afraid I cannot resist them. I need you to assign some capable people to help me."

Chen Xizhen said, "You are not worthy to say this. As the saying goes, a small number of people cannot defeat a large number of people. Since you want to stay in this mountain stronghold, naturally someone will come to help you. Besides, I have to go to Yuanbi Village. If I can persuade the Gou brothers, this place will be taken care of."

Liu Tong heard this and said, "Old sir, the Jieyun Ridge I mentioned earlier is also a dangerous place. At the foot of the mountain are Fu'an Village and Feihu Village. This place has not been hit by war and is densely populated. There is a place next to the official road, which is better than my Zhuhu Mountain."

Chen Xizhen said, "Since we have this place, when I come back from Yuanbi Village, I will go to Jieyun Ridge. If it is true as you said, we can station a battalion of soldiers in Jieyun Ridge."

Liu Tongdao said: "Since Fatong and Fahui left, no one knows what is happening on the mountain. I will send someone to investigate first to avoid any accidents."

On the second day, after breakfast, Chen Xizhen and the other two packed up and prepared to go down the mountain to Yuanbi Village.

Liu Tong carried a package on his back and held a stick in his hand, and insisted on going with Chen Xizhen.

Chen Xizhen said, "Captain Liu, why bother to send him there yourself? Just send a little henchman who knows the way."

Liu Tongdao: "We have already agreed on this yesterday, how could I forget it? I will also take this opportunity to meet Gou Huan and his men from Yuanbi Village. All the affairs of the village have been arranged, so just rest assured, old man."

Seeing that Liu Tong was determined to do so, Chen Xizhen stopped arguing.

The group of four descended Zhuhu Mountain and, led by Liu Tong, arrived at Yuanbi Village in just two days.

When Chen Xizhen looked at it, he found that it was just as Liu Tong had said, the terrain here was indeed dangerous, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

(End of this chapter)