Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 617: The Four Heroes of Taihu Lake
Zhu Xiaoba, the Water-Dividing Rhino, had come over earlier and asked someone to bring a set of clothes and told the three men to go into the cabin and change into them.

The two men who came with them saw Li Jun and his companion take the clothes and go to the cabin to change, so they also followed them to the cabin to change.

After a while, the two men changed their clothes and a soldier asked them to meet him at the bow of the ship.

I saw that the two people who came with me were already sitting on the bow of the boat, accompanied by two others. A group of soldiers stood around them, and several soldiers were heating up wine there.

When they saw the two men, one of them said, "Brothers, please take a seat."

After hearing this, the two of them sat down next to each other.

Li Jun said, "To be honest, I am Li Jun, the commander of the Liangshan navy, [Hunjiang Dragon], and this is [Golden Carp] Shi Quan."

After that, he pointed to [Water-Dividing Rhino] Zhu Xiaoba and [Diving Kun] Yu Gui and introduced them. Then he asked, "I was hungry, so I went to the city with brother Shi Quan to have a feast. Seeing that you are well-dressed, I invited you to the boat. Please don't blame me. What's your name?"

The big man said, "We are the subordinates of Lord Zhao of Liangshan. We used to beg for food in the green forest, and later moved to Taihu Lake to seek food. These days, the imperial court and Fang La's troops are fighting endlessly, and we can't stay in Taihu Lake, so we have to bring our families and run to Qiantang River to seek a living."

"The four of us brothers also have nicknames. My name is [Red Bearded Dragon] Fei Bao, this brother is [Taihu Jiao] Bu Qing, and there are two brothers who lead the fleet, one is [Curly Tiger] Ni Yun, and the other is [Thin Face Bear] Di Cheng. Nowadays, there are heavy taxes everywhere, and my brothers can only catch some river fish and live on the property they have accumulated in the past. Today, I heard what my brother said and thought I could find a way to make a fortune. But it's too reckless for us to leave now."

Li Jun said with a smile: "Since you are the heroes of the green forest, it is not satisfactory to stay here. Why don't you go to Liangshan to join me?"

It was still [Red Bearded Dragon] Fei Bao who spoke: "We are thousands of miles away from Liangshan, and we have no way out. Although we have heard of Mr. Zhao's reputation, we dare not go there."

Li Jun said, "With your ability in the water, you will definitely be given a position as a military commander when you go to Liangshan. If you are interested, why don't you follow us to Liangshan?"

Seeing Fei Bao and Bu Qing were hesitant after hearing this, Li Jun asked, "Brother, do you have any concerns?"

Fei Bao said, "I heard that Mr. Zhao has married Fang La, and I think Liangshan will also become a place of fighting. I am a simple man, and I am good at sailing and fishing, but when it comes to fighting in battle, my four brothers tied together are no match for a lieutenant in the army."

Li Jun smiled and said, "I don't have anything to worry about. Although you married the daughter of the Holy Lord, you don't want to fight with the court. You may not know that you also married the daughter of the Secretary Tong. Marrying the daughter of the Holy Lord is just to trade with the Holy Lord. As for fighting in battle, everyone is born to do it. The rest of us were just private merchants in Xunyang River."

"Once you are promoted by your Excellency, you will be in charge of an army. There is a saying since ancient times: learn the arts of literature and martial arts, and sell them to the emperor. Now the world is not at peace, but the land of Qi and Lu is protected by your Excellency. Now it is not a peaceful and prosperous time, but everyone lives and works in peace. It's a pity that you brothers, with your skills in the water, can only do some private fishing business."

Shi Quan sighed, "The world is not good. Even fishing and private business are not easy to do."

Seeing that Fei Bao and the other two did not respond, Li Jun said, "Today is not for anything else. I met two heroes in Qiantang River. Let's have a feast. Tomorrow I will send the two brothers off the boat. Don't doubt each other. You brothers can think about it for a few days. If you are willing to get along, you can wait in front. In a few days, we will pick up the goods to be transported and return to Liangshan." After that, he stopped recruiting the two. Shi Quan and others urged them to drink. In the middle, they couldn't help but talk about the deeds of the heroes in the rivers and lakes. They chatted and had a fight. Fei Bao and Bu Qing saw the loyalty of Li Jun and the other four, and they also drank happily. They drank until dark, and asked Fei Bao and Bu Qing to stay overnight.

On the second day, as had been planned, the two of them left the water while wine and food were being delivered from Yangzhou City.

Zhu Xiaoba said: "Brother, it's a pity for these two brothers. They have so many abilities but cannot display them."

Shi Quan said: "It's also possible that these people who haven't seen each other won't come to meet each other."

Fei Bao and Bu Qing came ashore and returned to their residence. [Curly Tiger] Ni Yun and [Thin Face Bear] Di Cheng were already waiting at home. When they saw the two, Ni Yun was the first to ask, "Brother, is the deal done?"

Fei Bao called out, and the four of them boarded the fishing boat and rowed to the middle of the river. Fei Bao asked, "Brother, do you know who those two people were yesterday?"

Ni Yun said: "Is he a bandit who lives in the river?"

Fei Bao nodded and shook his head, saying, "The one in front, tall with thick eyebrows, big eyes, red face, and iron-like moustache, is the famous [River Dragon] Li Jun in the Jianghu. The one behind is [Golden Carp] Shi Quan. There is also [Water-Dividing Rhino] Zhu Xiaoba and [Submerging Kun] Yu Gui on the boat, who are the commanders of the Jiangli fleet."

"Yesterday, the boatman saw our ability in the water and invited us to join Liangshan. I couldn't make up my mind for a while, and was about to ask my brothers for advice."

Having said that, Fei Bao told the two of them the news he had heard.

[Curly-haired Tiger] Ni Yun said: "Brother, when Fang La was rising, if we wanted to be officials, we would have been in charge for a long time. We just wanted to live a carefree life. If we go to Liangshan now, we will also be under someone's control. Besides, there is no guarantee that there will be no war there."

【Slim Face Bear】Di Cheng said: "This is a different time. We were free and easy in Taihu Lake at first, but now we have to leave Taihu Lake and settle here. Not only are we being harassed everywhere, but the imperial army will come to Hangzhou sooner or later. When that happens, where can we go? In my opinion, it is better to go to Liangshan."

"First, Lord Zhao is a well-known hero, and he has many heroes like Li Jun under his command. If we go there, we don't have to worry about our background or being treated unfairly. Secondly, now that Brother Li Jun has introduced us, we will have someone to take care of us if we go to Liangshan."

"As for the war that Brother Ni Yun mentioned, it's not a big deal. How many safe places are there now? If we go to Liangshan, we will at least have a position and be able to take care of the elderly and children at home. It's not like now, where we live in fear every day."

【Taihu Jiao】Bu Qing hesitated for a moment and said, "Yesterday on the boat, although I saw Li Jun's loyalty, I never thought of joining Liangshan. But today, after listening to what brother Di Cheng said, I changed my mind."

After hearing this, [Red Bearded Dragon] Fei Bao nodded and said, "If Liangshan is safe, it won't matter if we go there. Now, the rumors are spreading everywhere in and outside Hangzhou that Liangshan has formed an alliance with Fang La to attack the imperial court. I'm afraid that if we go there, there will be no peace there either."

(End of this chapter)