Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 496: Getting there first
Zhao Zhen shook his head and said, "Now Song Qing's group has occupied Jiaoshui and Ye County, and is only separated from Penglai where the navy of Dengzhou and Chenghai is located by Huang County. The scholar is now confronting him, restraining Song Qing from seizing the warships of the water fort. As long as Song Jiang cannot go to Goryeo, he will be eliminated later, which will be beneficial to us."

"Brother Sun Li once told me that there are two battalions of crossbowmen in the Chenghai and Pinghai naval forces in Dengzhou, as well as Daoyu warship soldiers and Yuanjiehe warship officers. They are responsible for boarding, crossbowmen, and sailors. There are 10,000 imperial guards and more than 300 warships of various sizes. Although there are not enough personnel now and many warships are damaged, the available ships are enough to send tens of thousands of people away at once."

"I plan to have the navy go along the Yellow River, directly into Laizhou Bay, bypass Qingzhou, Mizhou, Laizhou, and go to Dengzhou, disguised as Qingzhou thieves, and seize the ships. Without these ships, Song Jiang and his gang will have no way to retreat."

Liu Hui Niang asked, "Sir, how did you come up with this plan to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron?"

Zhao Zhen shook his head: "I didn't think of that. Since I learned the news, I sent someone to inform the scholar. It was he who came up with the idea. I was undecided at first, but now that the Grand Commandant is on guard, I took the ships."

Zhu Wu said: "With the Qingzhou bandits covering up, the imperial court won't be in any trouble for the time being. But how do we deal with the captured ships?"

Zhao Zhen said: "The scholar has already thought about it. To the north of Penglai is Shamen Island, where few people go and we can hide."

Xiao Rang said: "Now that we have planned it well, we must act before the court reacts. Even if we cannot capture the ships, we must burn them and never let Song Jiang get them. If this man goes to Goryeo, I don't know how much bloodshed he will commit in the future."

"Sir, who should we send?" Zhu Wu asked.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Military Advisor, are you interested?"

Zhu Wu heard this and said, "Sir, of course I am willing."

Zhao Zhen said: "I intend to appoint Ruan Xiaoer as the commander and Zhang Heng as the deputy. In addition to the commander's ship, each of the other naval forces will be assigned a three-masted warship and two two-masted warships."

"Also, Sun Li, the [Sick Wei Chi], will bring 30 to 50 Dengzhou soldiers to go with the ship. I heard from Sun Li that the Dengzhou dialect is very difficult to understand, so communication will be much smoother. In addition, these navy soldiers will be needed to steer so many ships. Sun Li is well-known in Dengzhou, and with him taking care of Shamen Island, there will be less trouble."

Zhu Wu nodded again and again after hearing this. Then, Zhao Zhen issued an order to use the seal to allocate naval vessels everywhere.

Sun Li was in Zhongdu County. Upon hearing the order to instruct Yan Shun and Sun Xin, he brought his soldiers to Baishi Manor.

The next day, Sun Li arrived at noon. Zhu Wu told Sun Li the plan and asked, "Brother Sun Li, you have been in Dengzhou for a long time. Do you have anything to tell me?"

After hearing this, Sun Li said to Zhao Zhen and Zhu Wu, "The Dengzhou navy has long been corrupt. It is not difficult to capture them with the state navy. The place is surrounded by the sea, and we only need to control the ships to prevent the prisoners from escaping. It is also for this reason that it is difficult to transport food to Shamen Island. Food on the island has always been insufficient, and many prisoners have died. Now that we are stationed here, we must prepare more food and grass. We must also bring enough military tents and herbs."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said to Zhu Wu, "Well, let's follow what Sun Li said. We should load the boats with food and grass, and first occupy Shamen Island, leaving some soldiers to garrison there. Then we can charge towards Daoyu Village."

The three of them discussed it again, and then Zhu Wu and Sun Li said goodbye and went to prepare.

Three days later, everything was ready and Zhao Zhen saw off all the soldiers at the water fort at the north gate of Baishishan Valley.

During this period, Zhu Tong, Pang Yi, and Wang Jin also sent news that the county magistrates of Xia County, Gong County, and Zou County had heard that Liangshan Prefecture had stationed troops to guard against the Qingzhou bandits, so they all opened the city gates. As expected, the three counties were captured without any effort. Now the three are taking over the local militias of each county and recruiting them into the army according to Zhao Zhen's request.

Zhu Tongsui, an official of Xia County, recommended a man, saying that he had been a judge in a prefecture, was talented, learned, clever, and good at speaking. Most of the people in Jianghu also had a crush on him.

Moreover, he was of a straightforward character and refused to curry favor with the powerful. As a result, his family fortune was bad, his family had many problems, and his wealth was reduced. He drifted to Yanzhou, where he made a living by teaching students in the provincial capital.

Zhu Tong had seen this man before. When he was recruiting local militia, he heard people talking about him, so he went to Wei Fuliang's house in person to invite him.

Seeing Zhu Tong's high regard for him and having often heard of Zhao Zhen's reputation, Wei Fuliang thought again and again and decided to bring his family to Liangshan.

After reading the letter, Zhao Zhen asked someone to invite Wei Fuliang to Zhuangzi.

Wei Fuliang was over fifty years old, with a strange appearance and an extraordinary physique. He coughed up phlegm from time to time and was supported by a young man beside him.

After the greeting, Zhao Zhen asked: "Sir, you are so talented, but you cannot serve in the court. This is the fault of the court. Today I have come to visit you and would like to ask you to be a county magistrate. I wonder if you are willing to accept the appointment."

After hearing this, Wei Fuliang said to Zhao Zhen: "Sir, you are well-known for your courtesy and respect for the wise and humble. But from what I have seen from your actions, I am afraid that you are not a blindly loyal person."

Zhao Zhen was not angry after hearing this. He said to Wei Fuliang, "Mencius once said, 'If the ruler regards his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will regard the ruler as their own heart and soul; if the ruler regards his subjects as dogs and horses, then the subjects will regard the ruler as their fellow countrymen; if the ruler regards his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will regard the ruler as their enemy.' Now the Qingzhou bandits have not been wiped out yet, and the court is already taking the strategy of hiding the bows after all the birds have been killed. Sir, you are knowledgeable. Can you teach me how to deal with this?"

"Besides, I governed Liangshan, Yizhou and other places, and imposed light taxes and levies. Not only did I not pick up lost items on the road, but I also made sure that the people did not have to farm their land or live in houses, and died of hunger and cold. I led the army to fight and defeated the Qingzhou bandits many times. Now that you are in Laizhou, you should know that what I said is true."

Wei Fuliang said, "Every word you said is true. Nowadays, I don't care about fame and wealth. What's lamentable is that the world is unfair and people's hearts are upside down. They only care about wealth and power, regardless of right and wrong. I had no intention of becoming an official, but Zhu Tongzhi persuaded me with the people. The younger generation in my family would be implicated by me and could not become an official, wasting their time."

"I have come to see you now, sir, with the intention of helping you. But I have been retired for many years, and I am unfamiliar with worldly affairs. I am afraid that I may not be able to do something inappropriate. Please, sir, point me to a small place."

Zhao Zhen listened, thought for a while and said: "Sir, you have been a prefectural judge, so you are more than qualified to be a county magistrate. Yanzhou is still in conflict, and you have lived in Yanzhou for a long time, so you must care about Yanzhou. But it is not convenient for the chief official to serve in the local area, so how about asking you to serve in the nearby Zhongdu County?"

Wei Fuliang said: "Everything is up to you, sir. Now that I am under your command, I don't deserve the title of sir."

Zhao Zhen did not pretend to be hypocritical and said, "Even so, from now on, you can be called Wei Zhixian."

"I see that County Magistrate Wei has a cough and phlegm. Can you invite a doctor to see him?"

Wei Fuliang said: "I have invited many doctors from near and far, but none of them have helped. It has been seven or eight years now."

(End of this chapter)