I became a saint by picking up corpses in Water Margin

Chapter 363: Vitality, everything is blooming, still before our eyes
Shi Xiu's words were like thunder, shocking the two people in the tent to lose their composure at the same time.

Wu Yong's chopsticks fell to the ground, and Song Jiang's hand holding the wine bowl shook, spilling most of the wine in the bowl.

But the guy's panic flashed across his face, and he smiled evilly and began to comfort himself, "We just sent a message to repel Wu Song half a day ago, how could something new happen so soon? Shi Xiu is too familiar with us, and he actually made such a joke. I guess there is other good news. I have to talk to him about it later, and I'm sorry to disturb our drinking mood."

"hope so."

Wu Yong bent down to pick up the chopsticks.

He couldn't see through Yang Chang in Liangshan, and his strategies were more than enough to deal with Wu Song. But if he really used them on Yang Chang, he would feel inexplicably powerless.

At this moment, Shi Xiu's footsteps were very close, and he continued to repeat: "General, Military Advisor, Yang Chang is coming to kill us!"

"Look, here we go again"

Song Jiang still had a smile on his face, but he had put down the wine bowl and was ready to explain the rules to Shi Xiu.

Desperate Sanlang rushed in with big strides. Before Song Jiang and Wu Yong could see him clearly, he fell to the ground and kowtowed, crying and saying, "Captain, Military Advisor, Yang Chang suddenly appeared and was unstoppable. We fought with all our might but failed to hold on. The military camp in the west of the valley has been breached, and the soldiers have suffered heavy casualties."

"What did you say?"

Song Jiang was slightly tipsy just now, feeling a little euphoric.

Hearing Shi Xiu's serious story and his disheveled appearance which didn't seem like a joke, Heisabalang instantly panicked, and the alcohol in his body turned into beads of sweat, hanging on his dark and wrinkled forehead.

He stood up and rushed forward, helped Shi Xiu up with both hands, and asked excitedly: "Yang Changzhen is here? Where is Qin Ming?"

"Qin Tuanlian was no match for Yang Chang, and was killed after fighting for several rounds before the battle."

"what?"

At this moment, Song Jiang felt as if the sky was falling, and his body fell backwards involuntarily. Shi Xiu was so scared that he hurried forward to support him.

Wu Yong also stepped forward to help quickly, and asked Shi Xiu at the same time: "It seems that Yang Chang has arrived with reinforcements to attack Wu Song and others from the front and back?"

"No."

Shi Xiu responded with a sad face, "Yang Chang came from the valley to kill us, together with Wu Song and others."

"How is this possible?" Wu Yong was stunned.

Song Jiang covered his chest with one hand and gasped, his tone suddenly became stern: "Don't be afraid of my blame, report the situation truthfully!"

"I dare not say a single lie. Yang Chang's martial arts skills have reached a new level. He is definitely not someone that ordinary people can defeat. Our hundreds of archers could not hit him, but he picked up the chevaux de frise with one hand and threw it around as easily as throwing a stone."

"All right."

Shi Xiu was interrupted before he finished speaking. Song Jiang continued to ask with a dark face: "I know this guy is powerful, you don't have to keep praising him. Tell me the details. Except for Qin Ming who unfortunately died in the battle, have the other brothers withdrawn? How many soldiers are still alive?"

"Except for me, none of the brothers managed to escape. I gathered the remaining soldiers along the way, but there are only 3,700 of them."

"What? I. Ahem."

Song Jiang was so excited that he choked on his own saliva and started coughing violently.

Wu Yong patted his back to calm him down and consoled him: "It has come to this point. It is useless for the commander to worry. The brothers have not returned yet. They may still be fighting in the back. The 3,700 soldiers who returned should not be all those who escaped. There are probably more behind."

"Military Advisor, don't be too optimistic. I heard."

"Since you've already lost, don't hesitate. Just say what you want to say!"

"Someone saw that Suo Chao surrendered to the enemy."

Shi Xiu lowered his head after saying this, but Song Jiang's muscles were tense, and he gritted his teeth and cursed: "This guy has been in a negative mood since he returned from his last mission to Yangqu. He also spread the word that Yang Chang is invincible. It turns out that he has been bribed and deliberately returned to our side to be a spy. Your defeat is understandable. I will kill his entire family to vent my anger!"

"Taiwei, don't get excited. It's best not to do anything radical before the matter is thoroughly investigated. I'm more surprised at how Yang Chang showed up. Did he bypass your defenses?"

"It should be impossible. The valley entrance is well guarded by us. Unless Yang Chang crosses the mountains, some brothers in the army suspect that he has been hiding with Wu Song."

"It must be the latter. Yang Chang is a very sinister guy. He is capable of doing such a thing."

Song Jiang spread out his hands, pushed away the two people who were supporting him, staggered back to his seat, and sat down when his body softened.

Wu Yong chased after him, twisting his beard and analyzing, "I don't think it's possible. If Yang Chang is so powerful, why is he hiding in Wu Song's army? He can defeat us in the first battle. He has a precedent of assassinating the marshal of the Jin army. It is not difficult for him to cross mountains and ridges. He must have gone in by a roundabout way."

"But the golden man said he was cursed and would fall into a deep sleep until he died?"

"The only possibility is that the Jin people lied."

"hiss"

Song Jiang was so shocked that he slammed the table and stood up, swallowing his saliva and muttering softly: "If the Jin people use this matter to make up, won't it be difficult to fulfill the promised reinforcements?"

"Taiwei, have you forgotten that Commander Dai came back yesterday and said that 100,000 Jin troops were already in Xingzhou and it would take another two days to reach Fengyue Pass. This shouldn't be false."

"If everything is true, then what is false?"

"This"

Wu Yong picked up the wine bowl on the ground, cupped his hands and offered advice to Song Jiang, saying: "Since Yang Chang is fine and has defeated the Qin militia, it is meaningless for us to camp here. He will definitely come east to fight us. It is better for the Taiwei to withdraw to Shexian to rest and wait for the Jin army to arrive before joining forces to take revenge!"

"Uh-huh"

Song Jiang's tone changed tactfully, indicating that he agreed with Wu Yong's proposal, and then he muttered to himself: "You were born with supernatural powers, right? You want to kill my general, right? How many rabble can you gather? Sun Li's 3,000 men can hold out for seven or eight days. I, the general, have nearly 30,000 soldiers and the city of Shexian as a shield. How easy will it be to hold out until the reinforcements arrive?"

"In that case, I will arrange to move camp and return. You can talk to Brother Shi Xiu again."

Wu Yong bowed and said goodbye. Just as he turned around, Song Jiang motioned Shi Xiu to come closer and asked softly, "Did you see Yang Chang with your own eyes?"

"At that time, my brother and I were in charge of the central army. We heard from the defeated soldiers in the front that only he could kill the Qin militia in battle, so he should be right."

"Don't be so sure until you see it with your own eyes."

Before Shi Xiu finished speaking, Song Jiang frowned and interrupted him, adding: "Qin Ming's martial arts are good, but there are more than just Yang Sanlang who can defeat him under Yang Chang's command. Lin Chong and Lu Junyi can also do it."

"No, no." Shi Xiu waved his hands hurriedly and explained, "Although Lin Chong and Lu Junyi are very strong, the Taiwei has not seen Qin Tuanlian die. Such injuries are not something they can do."

"Explain it more clearly."

"Qin Tuanlian was hit hard in the chest, and the nearby bones must have been broken. He died of bleeding from all seven orifices. I heard that Yang Chang took the mace, threw him into the air with one hand, and then swung the mace to hit him in mid-air. This requires a lot of strength, and..."

"I see."

Although Song Jiang was unwilling to believe it, this was obviously Yang Chang's trick.

When the two were still under Tong Guan's command, Yang Chang once threw a stone lion to kill a Jin soldier in front of the Xuanfushisi gate, so there was no point in deceiving himself anymore.

Qin Ming was defeated like this, and he felt mixed emotions.

Seeing Shi Xiu's gloomy expression, he suddenly remembered that Yang Xiong had not returned either, so he carefully asked: "You often act with Yang Xiong, why didn't he escape back? Could it be that he was with Qin Ming?" "It was too chaotic at the time, and the sky was relatively dark. My brother and I were separated. His life or death is unknown now. I hope he is still alive."

"Correct."

Song Jiang patted Shi Xiu on the shoulder, nodded and encouraged him, "I just said that as long as you don't see it with your own eyes, things will turn around. I believe Yang Xiong will be able to turn danger into safety."

"I hope so too."

"You have been traveling a long way. Rest in the big tent for a while. When we return to Shexian City, we will hold a banquet for you to calm your nerves."

After Wu Yong gave the order, the Gudong camp quickly moved and then returned to Shexian County.

In order not to affect the morale of the army, Song Jiang temporarily concealed the fact that Qin Ming and others had died in battle. He planned to wait for Yang Chang to come and use this incident to boost morale and achieve the effect of the army of mourning winning. However, Yang Xiong's personal soldiers returned and delivered a letter, which exposed the matter in advance.

The next morning, after Song Jiang had breakfast and was about to inspect the city defenses, Shi Xiu came to his door.

He was holding a letter in his hand, and as he stepped over the threshold he said anxiously: "General, Yang Xiong is indeed not dead, he was just captured and is now writing to persuade me to surrender."

"What?"

Song Jiang found this very irritating and couldn't help but look at Wu Yong.

As if to say: What does he mean? Is he trying to embarrass me with a letter of persuasion to surrender?
Wu Yong knew that Song Jiang was not in a good position to respond, so he took the initiative to ask on his behalf: "You and Yang Xiong are as close as brothers, are you going to abandon the Grand Commandant and leave?"

"no."

Shi Xiu shook his head like a rattle, Wu Yong's eyebrows bulged even higher, and he continued to ask: "Then you take the letter of persuasion to surrender."

"The Grand Commandant and the Military Advisor have misunderstood. Although my brother wrote a letter to persuade us to surrender, he has not surrendered yet. He said he would wait for me to do so."

"Tell the important point!"

Song Jiang became more and more annoyed as he listened, so he interrupted in a deep voice. Shi Xiu hurriedly handed over the letter and said solemnly, "The Grand Commandant and the Military Advisor will know at a glance that my brother is passing on information to us under the pretext of persuading me to surrender."

"Oh?"

When Wu Yong heard this, he became interested and hurriedly took the letter from him. He unfolded it in front of Song Jiang and they began to read it together.

The two of them quickly skipped over the first half of the surrender part, and later praised Yang Chang as even more "eye-catching", but the killing of Wu Qimai finally made them realize the key point.

"This is nonsense, right? We can accept that Yang Chang is an outstanding martial artist, but to say that he traveled to the capital and killed the emperor of the Jin Dynasty? We can't believe a single word of it!"

"What the commander said is very true. What kind of intelligence is this from Yang Xiong? It is clearly affecting the morale of the army. Brother Shi Xiu, you don't believe it, do you?"

"I believe my brother will not lie"

"you"

Song Jiang had a gloomy expression. He crumpled the letter of surrender into a ball and threw it into Shi Xiu's arms.

"You are not a reckless person, why have you been so confused recently? Yesterday I told you earnestly that you should not take things seriously if you have not seen them with your own eyes. Have you forgotten it after just one day? Yang Xiong has been captured, how can this letter be his true intention?"

"Don't worry, Taiwei. The brother who was released to deliver the letter was actually my brother's close follower. He has seen and heard a lot in Licheng. They all say that Yang Changyuan went to Shangjing to slay the dragon and personally killed the Jin emperor. I think it's not groundless."

"It's just a rumor, how can you take it seriously?"

Seeing that Shi Xiu was still confident, Song Jiang felt like he was talking to a cow, but he couldn't help but refute: "If someone says I am the King of Jin, then I am really the King of Jin? I know you are worried about Yang Xiong, but you can't be confused by your concern. Go back and have a good rest, and stop thinking about it."

"Yes."

"By the way, remember to control the soldier who came back to deliver the letter and don't let him talk nonsense."

"Uh" Shi Xiu was stunned for a moment, and replied with embarrassment: "I hurried here to report, I'm afraid..."

"Why don't you go and clean up the mess?"

"Eh"

Song Jiang watched Shi Xiu leave and couldn't help but sigh to Wu Yong, "I had a high opinion of him, but I didn't expect him to have such a fatal weakness. Now that Yang Xiong has fallen into the hands of the enemy, Shi Xiu may not be as devoted as he is."

"Yang Chang used this letter to persuade us to surrender, and told us that the Jin Kingdom was in turmoil and the Jin army was about to retreat. He clearly wanted to undermine our morale. Not only is his martial arts getting stronger, but his brain is also getting more flexible."

"If he hadn't been good at scheming, how could he have achieved the high position of King of Jin? This guy really dares to boast. I can't match him in this respect."

"Captain, what if this is true?"

Although Wu Yong didn't finish his words, Song Jiang understood the core meaning and sneered, "How can it be true? If he can run to Shangjing and kill Wu Qimai, I can also be granted a title and crowned a king by His Majesty!"

"But he has never boasted about it before. I suggest you send someone to verify it."

"Shangjing is thousands of miles away. How can you ask me to verify it?"

After Song Jiang finished speaking, he stared at Wu Yong and thought to himself, what happened to you guys today?
The clever Shi Xiu became dumb. Even a wise man like you asked stupid questions? Is it because I woke up the wrong way?

Wu Yong replied sternly, "The Jin army is not far from us. Let General Dai go again. If something serious has really happened in the Jin Kingdom, Marshal Wushi must have known about it. We can find out by trying to insinuate it. I heard that this man is a close confidant of Nianhan. It won't hurt for him to show his face more."

"Ok."

Song Jiang sighed, thinking that it would be a good idea for Dai Zong to go as well, which would be a disguised way to urge the Jin army to come faster.

He couldn't wait to seek revenge on Yang Chang, but he no longer had the strength to do so, so he could only place his hopes on the Jin people.

As for being accused of being a traitor?

Heisaburo has the support of Zhao Gou, so he has no pressure at all. Didn't his old leader Tong Guan also borrow the help of the Jin people to help the Song Dynasty recover Yanjing? Why can't I do the same?

Dai Zong now travels a thousand miles a day, and Xingzhou is only three or four hundred miles away from Shexian. Normally, he can make a round trip in one day, but Jinying is not a roadside vegetable market where he can leave in a hurry.

When he miraculously found the Jin army and accompanied Wushi into Cizhou, Yang Chang led 10,000 infantry and cavalry, marched through the Nan Valley where Wu Song was trapped, and appeared in the territory of She County.

Song Jiang was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly gathered his generals to personally deploy matters related to defending the city.

Thinking back to the time when the Loyalty Hall of Liangshan was filled with heroes standing in front of me, that scene of vibrant vitality and flourishing development is still before my eyes.

Looking at the few people in the hall, Heisabalang felt as if he was in another world.

Those who died died, those who were injured were injured, those who surrendered surrendered, and those who fled fled.
Wu Yong, Xu Ning, Shi Xiu, Pei Xuan, Xiang Chong, Lu Fang, Tang Long, plus Jie Zhen and Jie Bao who were guarding Fengyue Pass, there were only nine people left by his side. He had never fought such a miserable battle before.

"Captain, if you have no other instructions, please get everyone ready. Commander Yang will be here soon."

"Okay, wait a minute."

Song Jiang was awakened by Wu Yong, who had just answered and called out to him, "Yang Chang has a unique skill of long-range shooting, and he likes to shoot people's necks the most. You must wear armor before the battle, and especially don't forget the collar. I still want to lead you to achieve great things, so take care of yourselves."

(End of this chapter)