Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 460: Secret Discussion
Early the next morning, Zhao Zhen met with Fan Chenglong, who was here to take up the post, in Fei County. After giving him instructions, he led his troops to Xintai City.

In addition, Huangfu Xiong, who was running day and night, met Song Qing and Lai Yonger who were fighting against Zhu Wu in Yishui. Lai Yonger asked, "Brother, have you taken Xintai City?"

Huangfu Xiong said in a low voice: "Brother, we have been defeated."

"What? There are only a thousand capable cavalrymen in Xintai City, and the rest are just militiamen from Zhaojiazhuang. Five thousand people can't conquer Xintai?" Song Qing was shocked.

"Brother, our intelligence was wrong. According to what the two leaders Li Jun and Mu Hong said, Xintai City was well prepared. Not only were there cannons on the top of the city that could emit poisonous smoke and divine fire, but there were also no less than 1500 cavalry in the city. At the end of the battle, there were more than 2000 infantrymen who surrounded and killed the enemy from behind. The flag they raised was the General's Flag with the word 'Li' on it. This does not include the soldiers defending the city."

After hearing this, Song Qing and Lai Yong'er could not help but look at each other.

After a long pause, Lai Yonger finally asked, "Among the five leaders, only Li and Mu returned?"

Seeing Huangfu Xiong nod, Lai Yonger sighed, "I still underestimated Liangshan."

Song Qing said: "Although we have obtained some wealth here, it is a pity that Wu Jiao and his apprentice from Wolf Howl Mountain have not escaped. The military advisor negotiated with Wu Yong to exchange the five leaders, but these five spineless people have surrendered to Liangshan, and together with the soldiers they led, more than 2000 of them have been killed."

Lai Yonger said, "Everyone has his own aspirations. We can talk when we meet on the battlefield in the future. Brother Gongming asked me to come here now. Do you have anything to say?"

Huangfu Xiong heard this and said, "Brother Gongming, tell the military advisor to return to Laiwu as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures."

Lai Yonger said, "It seems that Yishui and Yiyuan cannot be defended. Brother Song Qing, you issue a warrant and ask Brother Huangfu Xiong to take them to Yiyuan and have them move the people of Yiyuan to Qingzhou. Liangshan will not benefit from this. However, do not destroy the city of Yiyuan."

"Military Advisor, why is this?" Song Qing asked.

"Not destroying the city is also an explanation to Liangshan. After all, we are not as powerful as others now. Although Wu Yong followed us all the way outside the city, he never went forward to fight. Besides the cold weather, it was not suitable for fighting, but he also did not want to be our enemy. After all, Zhao Zhen is not a loyal person to the court. He kept us here just to keep the enemy for his own benefit." Lai Yong'er replied.

After hearing this, Song Qing quickly wrote a warrant and used his seal.

After seeing Huangfu Xiong off, Lai Yong'er ordered someone to beat the drum to gather the troops.

Soon, Ren Yuan, the Pillar of Heaven, Fatong, the Iron Arhat, and Zhao Fu, the Mountain-pulling Bear, together with the newly surrendered Sima Shi Wanqi Chun, Sima Zhao Wanqi Rong, and Ruan Qixiang and his son Ruan Zhaoer, all came to the county government office.

Lai Yonger said, "We have reached an agreement with Wu Yong of Liangshan to send Yishui and Yiyuan to Liangshan in exchange for Liangshan not moving its troops. Tomorrow, we will gather our soldiers and withdraw from Yishui."

Ren Yuan shouted, "Military Advisor, we are stationed at Yishui, and Liangshan dare not attack us. How can we hand over the city to others without even fighting?"

Lai Yonger said, "Now we are attacked from three sides. Although we have lost a few cities, we can get a secret connection with Liangshan and stop attacking each other. We can concentrate on dealing with Hu Yanzhuo and Yun Tianbiao, so it is not a loss."

Song Qing also said as he had discussed with Lai Yong'er: "Yes, we had a deal with Liangshan in the beginning, giving Yizhou to Zhao Zhen, it was already agreed upon long ago."

Lai Yonger stole a glance at Wanqi Chun and Wanqi Rong, and then said, "I will go to Liangshan camp to make a plea later, and we will set off tomorrow. Brothers, make preparations early. When we return to Qingzhou, it will be a good time to eat meat and drink wine to celebrate New Year's Day."

After everyone dispersed, Song Qing said to Lai Yong'er, "Military Advisor, will Wanqi Chun and Wanqi Rong really run away?"

Lai Yong'er said, "It doesn't matter whether they leave or stay. There won't be any loss. If they leave, they will just cause some trouble for Liangshan. If they stay, these two are smart and can be used."

After that, Lai Yonger really swaggered out of the city and visited Wu Yong. On the second day, the Qingzhou bandits left from the north gate, and the Liangshan army entered the city from the south gate. Jie Zhen was left to lead a thousand people to guard the city, and Wu Yong led his troops to continue to march towards Yiyuan.

Facing the empty city of Yiyuan, Lu Zhishen shouted: "The Qingzhou thieves are indeed untrustworthy and have kidnapped the people in the city."

Wu Yong said, "That's good. We can stay here."

Without mentioning how Wu Yong settled down in Yiyuan County, it is only said that Lai Yong'er passed Yiyuan County, abandoned the army, and took his followers and rushed back to Laiwu at full speed.

When Lai Yong'er saw Song Jiang, he said, "Brother Gongming, I miscalculated and lost my troops."

After a few days, Song Jiang was relieved when he saw that the Liangshan army from Xintai City had not arrived. He said to Lai Yong'er, "The Liangshan army was treacherous, which led to their defeat. It was not the fault of the military advisor alone. It's a pity that we lost two old brothers, Kong Liang and Di Yun."

"I heard from brother Huangfu Xiong that the military advisor broke through the Yizhou city, killed Gao Fengman's family, and reached a peace agreement with Liangshan again. With this great victory, no one dares to underestimate us. In the past two days, I sent people to spread the news throughout Qingzhou and Weizhou. Yesterday, a hero [Flower Knife] Meng Futong came to surrender. This brother is from Jieliang, Puzhou. He is eight feet tall and proficient in martial arts."

"In addition, Ma Yuan in Linzi has also gathered a group of heroes. Because Yun Tianbiao was suppressing bandits in Zibo, this group could not survive in Zibo, so they abandoned Black Wind Hill and came to Qingzhou to join the gang. Brother Ma Yuan has sent someone to bring these people here. Brother Ma Yuan said in the letter: The leaders are two brothers, the elder brother is called [Zhuangtiantu] Yin Tai, and the younger brother is called [Drilling Earth Ghost] Yin Chun. Both brothers have good martial arts. Yin Chun is good at using the iron-pointed steel five-pronged fork, and Yin Tai is better than the brothers. He uses two axes and dozens of people can't get close to him. There is also Wanqi De, who was originally a scholar. Although his martial arts are ordinary, he is good at strategy. He used to be a military advisor in the mountain stronghold, and now he has surrendered. There are also five or seven hundred minions who are used to fighting, which can be considered a help."

Lai Yonger heard this and said, "They all came here for my brother's fame."

"Brother Gongming, although Gao Feng was killed, Wu Jiao and his apprentice ended up with Zhao Zhen in Liangshan."

After hearing this, Song Jiang asked immediately.

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Lai Yong'er explained the whole story, and Song Jiang said, "No wonder only Dong Kai and Yu Zhiwang came back. These five had long been in contact with Liangshan. This makes sense, why Liangshan reacted so quickly. I'm afraid he had eavesdropped on our plan. That's why Xintai City suffered such a great defeat. I wish I could have recognized these ruthless people earlier."

The two of them discussed secretly in the mansion for a long time before dispersing.

Song Jiang asked his men to prepare several jars of good wine and set up a banquet. He invited Di Lei, Li Jun, Mu Hong and Mu Chun to the banquet. After they sat down, Song Jiang picked up the wine and said, "I know that you have been depressed these days. I have already found out that the battle of Xintai was not your fault. It was a traitor in the army who secretly sent us to Liangshan, which led to the death of three brothers."

As he said this, Song Jiang burst into tears.

After hearing this, Di Lei shouted, "Brother, who is so two-faced? Don't let him fall into my hands. I will beat him into a pulp with three hundred blows."

Li Jun also said: "That's right. When we heard Brother Gongming was calling us, Brothers Tong Wei and Tong Meng sent us letters to recruit us, but we all declined. We left our hometown and traveled thousands of miles to join us. Unexpectedly, Brother Li Li died before he could enjoy wealth and honor. Brother, who is this man? If we meet on the battlefield one day, we must kill him."

"It was Wu Jiao and his disciples. It's a pity that they were not careful enough and let these villains escape back to Liangshan Army in Yizhou Prefecture."

Di Lei panted and growled, "So it's these guys, Master, I'll make a note of it."

Everyone comforted Song Jiang and vowed to take revenge.

Song Jiang cried, "The bodies of the three brothers are still in Xintai City. Please be patient for now. I have sent someone to redeem them. I want you to rest in peace."

Seeing Song Jiang weeping non-stop, Di Lei became anxious and slammed the cup in his hand on the table, saying, "Brother, please don't be like this. Di Yun and his friends are unlucky and cannot follow you. One day, you will be able to avenge them."

(End of this chapter)