Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 566 Li San Delivers a Message
The three people, the maggot in the shit, the worm in the rice, and the fart in the rice, also said, "These days, without the support of the yanei, these poor people on the street dare to show their teeth to us. The yanei is free today, why not go to the tile house with us to have fun with cockfighting."

Huang Wen heard this and said, "There is no time when we cannot go to the cockfight. Ever since Tu Qiao's wife beat him up, my father has been very restrained and has been feeling very uncomfortable these days. I asked you to come here today because I have something important for you to do."

After hearing this, the four of them hurriedly said, "Just give your orders, with you here, who dares to refuse?"

Huang Wen nodded and said, "You four go to the street and look for Li Gu. Don't make any noise. Ask him to come here to see me quietly. I have something to tell him. If this is done well, you won't have to be restrained in front of your father in the future. You can have fun on the street anytime."

Rice worm said: "This Li Gu, I saw him taking people to check accounts in the East Market today, who will go with me to invite him?"

Fan Nei said, "I'll go with you."

The two of them hurried to the East Market to look for Li Gu. In the tavern, Fence-Lifen and Shit-Li Maggot served Huang Wen attentively, telling him some street news to cheer him up.

Soon, the bug in the rice and the fart in the rice came back first, and they made faces to Huang Wen to show off their achievements.

After another two incense sticks, Li Gu came to the private room of the restaurant and asked, "Young Master, how come you are free today?"

Huang Wen asked the four people in the fan to guard outside, and then said to Li Gu: "Captain, I need your help today."

Li Gu took out a ten-liang gold ingot from his bosom and said, "I heard that you have been under a lot of pressure these days. Today, you have some free time, so you naturally want to have some fun. Ten liang of gold is not a token of respect, but I will treat you to some wine and music."

Huang Wen shook his head and said to Li Gu: "This time we need 10,000 strings of grain."

"What..." Li Gu cried out.

"Hey, Li Duguan, this time it's not my own expense. The Minister of the Central Secretariat wants to send troops to suppress the bandits, and it's common to levy some money and food."

"Ten thousand strings of cash is too much. How much will other families have to contribute?" Li Gu asked.

Huang Wen said, "The army will go out the day after tomorrow, so there is no time to assign people. Besides, your husband wants to find a job, so we can ask him to escort food and grass to the army. When the time comes, you will definitely stay at home, which is exactly what you want. If you are willing to spend money, you can even find him a position as a training officer in a state. After all, my father said that this time, Li Dujian and Wen Dujian will lead the army together, so they will definitely succeed immediately."

Li Gu heard this and his eyes turned. He asked, "I don't know where to go to suppress the bandits. I can go back and report to the official."

Huang Wen whispered, "Zengtou City, Lingzhou."

As he spoke, he whispered about what happened in Zengtou City.

Li Gu listened, nodded, and said: "The official has always wanted to be an official, but he is unwilling to start from a lowly position. If he can be made a militia commander based on his merits in suppressing bandits, how can he not be moved. But is this thing sure to succeed?"

Huang Wen said, "Guardian, this thing is not certain to succeed. However, with this achievement, if the official can make some arrangements with Liang Zhongshu, my father will certainly say something good about him, and I'm afraid he won't be able to ask Zhongshu to recommend him to be a militia commander. However, whether he can get the credit depends on him."

At that moment, Li Gu left the restaurant and hurried back to Lu's house.

When he saw Lu Junyi, Li Gu said, "Master, I came here to report what I have learned today. Please give me some advice."

"Why can't you make the decision?"

"Master, I became friends with Huang Wen, the prefect's official, because we were walking on the street. Today, he gave me a message. The day after tomorrow, the Secretary of State will send troops to destroy Zengtou City in Lingzhou, and will appoint the chief eunuchs Wen Da and Li Cheng as generals. The prefect is raising food and grass, and wants my family to donate 10,000 strings of cash to give me the job of transporting food and grass to the rear. According to Huang Wen, if I can make meritorious contributions and make some arrangements with Secretary of State Liang, I will most likely be able to get the position of Lingzhou's militia commander."

After hearing this, Lu Junyi asked, "Really?"

"I have known Huang Wen for a long time and have tried to bribe him in the past, so I believe he is right. But this fellow wants my family to pay 10,000 strings of money and food as a reward for the soldiers, and I am afraid it will be a waste of effort." Li Gu replied.

"Otherwise, when we sent troops out in the past, we had to levy some money and food. If I can get an official position this time, I can pay tens of thousands of taels of money and food." Lu Junyi said.

"You go and gather the food and grass, I'll go to the government office and ask for a letter from Prefect Huang."

After saying that, Lu Junyi took a few farmhands and went out to look for the prefect.

When it was dark, Lu Junyi returned to the mansion with a smile on his face. The farmhands who accompanied him also brought back two carts of leather armor.

Yan Qing saw this and hurried forward to hear the news. Lu Junyi told him the news that Li Gu had found out, and then said, "Now that I have accepted this mission, the prefect has sent a car with leather armor, and allowed me to lead 200 farmhands, and another 1,000 soldiers and 2,000 civilians to escort the grain and grass. I will be the escort with a deputy soldier, Wang Ding. Xiao Yi has also packed up and will follow me."

Yan Qing heard this and asked, "Thanks to my master's blessing, I have learned some cudgel techniques. I am not exaggerating, I can defeat 30 to 50 people. But the battlefield is dangerous, unlike other places. My master has such a large family business and lives a carefree life every day. Why do you suddenly want to go to the battlefield?"

Lu Junyi said, "My family has lived here for five generations and has built up a great fortune. But as you can see, whenever there is a change in the government, I have to make some arrangements. So I have been practicing martial arts since I was young, hoping to get a title for my wife and children. From now on, my family will also be a family of officials."

After hearing this, Yan Qing also said, "Since the master is so dedicated to bringing glory to the family, I will not hesitate to assist the master. However, I am just a street kid, I have no knowledge of military battles, I can only fight, but not command the army. I have a good friend, his surname is Xu, his name is Guanzhong. He is well-educated and talented, he is also good at martial arts, he once took the military examination, he is brave and good at planning. As for other minor skills, he is good at playing the piano, chess, and painting. Why not invite him to assist the master in military affairs?"

Lu Junyi said, "I have heard you talk about this a lot, but I have never seen him. It would be great if he could come to assist in military affairs. Xiaoyi, please don't refuse. Go and invite him tonight. Come to see me tomorrow morning. I will host a banquet for him so that we can set off the day after tomorrow."

After hearing this, Yan Qing hurried out of the city to look for Xu Guanzhong.

Without mentioning how Lu Junyi selected the farmhands, it is said that Yan Qing took two gold bars, a crossbow, and rushed out of the city gate to invite Xu Guanzhong at his home.

It turned out that after Xu Guanzhong took the military examination, he saw that the treacherous party in the court was monopolizing power, jealous of talents and blinding the court, so he had no ambition to make progress and wandered around. After returning to his hometown, he took his mother and moved to the mountains.

Yan Qing often visited Xu Guanzhong's home, and thus got to know where Xu Guanzhong lived.

After walking for a while, Yan Qing turned around several hills and came to a valley. He saw a flat area of ​​three or four miles in radius. Among the trees, there were two or three thatched cottages with lights shining through. They were surrounded by bamboo fences, with wooden doors closed. There were tall bamboos, pine trees, red maples and green cypresses, densely planted in front and behind.

It was exactly where Xu Guanzhong lived.

From a distance, Yan Qing called out, "Brother, are you home? I, Yan Qing, am sorry to come and visit you."

Hearing Yan Qing's shout, a man came out of a thatched cottage facing south by the stream. He had bright eyes and eyebrows that were like eight characters. He was seven feet tall, with three teeth covering his mouth and a beard. He wore a black crepe scarf to wipe his eyebrows, a brown cloth Taoist robe with a white rim, a colorful Lu Gong belt, and a pair of square-toed blue cloth shoes.

When Yan Qing saw this, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Please forgive me, brother. I am sorry to bother you."

Xu Guanzhong went out and welcomed Yan Qing in. The two entered the thatched cottage and sat down as host and guest. After drinking tea, he asked, "Why are you here, brother Xiaoyi?"

Yan Qing then told him about Lu Junyi's intention to seek an official position, "Xiao Yi knows that brother is well versed in martial arts and military strategy, so he boasts about it in front of the master and wants to ask brother to assist in military affairs."

As he spoke, Yan Qing pushed the two gold bars in his arms in front of Xu Guanzhong, saying, "It's just a small gift, to show my humble sincerity." Xu Guanzhong saw it, but did not take it. He sighed and said, "Brother and I are the closest friends, but I can't hide it from you."

"A few people came to my house these days and wanted to invite me to work in Jingdong Road. My mother is over 70 years old and I dare not go far away. But he persuaded my mother to insist that I go. Now that I have accepted it, it is not easy for me to work for Mr. Lu."

Yan Qing heard this and asked, "Is this the place where Prime Minister Zhao of Jingdong Road is?"

Xu Guanzhong nodded and said, "That's exactly where it is. How could I dare to promise anywhere else? It is said that Prime Minister Zhao is a modest man with a strong sense of righteousness. He gathered a group of heroes and defeated the Qingzhou bandits. Now he is protecting the ten states in Jingdong."

After hearing this, Yan Qing sighed and said, "I have also heard that everyone there is righteous, and the officials are honest and never harm the people. If it were somewhere else, I would naturally strive for a place. But I can't stop you from being an official with Lord Zhao. I just regret that you came a step late and didn't invite your brother. I don't know who is the one who invited you, why not invite him out so that Xiao Yi can get to know him."

Xu Guanzhong did not refuse after hearing this, and immediately asked the boy to invite someone to come and see him.

Soon, Tu Long, Cai Fu, and Cai Qing pushed open the door and came in. Yan Qing recognized them and said, "So you are three heroes."

The three of them bowed in greeting, and Tu Long said, "Brother Xiaoyi, how are you?"

Yan Qing said, "I don't want Mr. Tu to join Mr. Zhao. How about Miss Tu Qiao?"

Tu Long laughed and said, "My father and I have been hiding for a long time since we escaped from Daming Prefecture. We dared not to come out. We asked for help from Liangshan Prefecture in Jingdong Road, where we were not afraid of the powerful. Qiao'er is a lucky person. Now she is married to Mr. Zhao as a concubine. Now she has fulfilled her wish and gathered hundreds of girls to practice martial arts every day."

Yan Qing heard this and said, "That's good."

Then he turned to Cai Fu and Cai Qing and said, "Jieji, why did you two also join Liangshan?"

Cai Fu smiled bitterly and said, "As the saying goes: A mile away is worse than staying at home. No one would easily leave home unless they encounter disaster." Then he told him what happened in prison.

When everyone heard this, they all sighed.

Cai Qing said: "Now it seems that a blessing in disguise. We two were just jailers and executioners, but now we have become officials."

Tu Long said, "I wonder what brings you here, brother Xiao Yi?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Qing smiled bitterly and explained the whole story to everyone again.

Tu Long listened and sighed, "Hebei Jade Unicorn is such a big name, but it also has its difficulties."

"It's a pity that Mr. Lu's family business is all in Daming Prefecture, so he can't go to Shandong to live with my son-in-law. He is now hiring people everywhere. With Mr. Lu's martial arts, if he goes to Jingdong Road, he can be a military commander, not to mention a military commander."

After hearing this, Yan Qing also sighed, "My master is unrivaled in the world with his stick. It's a pity that no one with discerning eyes recommended him, so he is still a commoner today."

After sighing for a while, seeing that it was getting late, everyone went to rest.

Early the next morning, at Xu Guanzhong's house, a servant had already lit a fire and cooked, and several people ate together under the shade of a tree outside the house.

After eating, Yan Qing said, "Everyone, I have to go back to the city to report, so I can't see you off."

Just as Xu Guanzhong was about to speak, he heard someone outside the valley shouting, "Is Brother Guanzhong home?"

After hearing this, everyone looked outside. Xu Guanzhong said, "Who is this person? Let me go and ask him."

Tu Long said with a smile: "This man is Li San, the commander of the Liangshan scout camp. He must have come to look for us because he saw that we haven't returned for a long time."

Everyone rushed forward, and Li San saw Tu Long and the other two, and said happily: "So the old man is here too, I have been looking for him for a long time."

After greeting, Li San said, "My husband is worried about you three, so he asked me to inquire along the way and welcome you back to the city as soon as possible."

Tu Long said, "We are leaving today. Li Tixia, do you want to go ahead or come with us?"

Li San said: "Of course I will go with you, old man, so that you can take care of me along the way. Besides, we will hurry up and reach Kouzhou in one day. When the time comes, we can send a pigeon letter to you."

Immediately, everyone set off and walked out of the valley together.

Yan Qing wanted to go north back to the city, but Tu Long and his group wanted to go east, so everyone said goodbye.

Xu Guanzhong said: "Brother Xiaoyi, please be careful when you go to Lingzhou."

Yan Qing replied: "Brother, you are going on a journey of great potential. I wonder when we can meet again?"

Li San listened from the side and said, "There will be a war in Lingzhou, so we must not go to Lingzhou."

Yan Qing said, "I am going there to conquer Zengtou City. Brother, do you know anything about this?"

Li San hesitated for a moment, looked at Tu Long and said, "Father, this..."

Tu Long said, "This is Yan Xiaoyi. His master is Yu Qilin Lu of Hebei. If you can tell, just tell him something."

Li San said, "It's not a big deal. We have already explored Zengtou City. Everything else is fine, but Zengtou City is a dangerous place. You have to be careful when attacking it. It is surrounded by wild water and high hills on three sides. The river port beside the moat is like a snake coiling, and the willow forest under the moat is as dense as rain. Looking from a high place, the green shade is so thick that you can't see any houses; if you sneak a peek nearby, you can see green shadows hiding deep in the stockade. It is really an iron wall and a bronze wall, with strong men and horses."

Yan Xiaoyi heard this and asked, "Even so, I'm afraid it won't be able to withstand the siege of so many people?"

Li San said: "You don't know that he has a group of new warriors from the Jin Kingdom, 3,000 cavalrymen, all of whom are skilled in archery and horse riding, and they are very powerful."

After hearing this, Yan Qing dared not stay. He thanked Li San and went back to the city to report.

Li San said, "I have heard from my husband that because the journey is long, there is no chance for us to meet Mr. Lu. And you are not officials, so why do you want to go to Lingzhou?"

Yan Qing had no choice but to tell Li Gu about how Li Gu had instigated the official to donate grain and work hard in order to seek an official position.

Li San said: "If that's the case, why not go to Liangshan. Liangshan is closer to Daming Prefecture than Lingzhou."

(End of this chapter)