The Legend of Song Jiang in Water Margin

Chapter 125 Hua Rong Breaks Through Erlong Mountain Again, Gongming Battles Zheng Tianshou

Deng Long was overjoyed upon hearing this and shouted, "Bring this scoundrel up the mountain! Cut him apart, take his heart and liver to use as a side dish for wine, only then can I quell the hatred and resentment in my heart!"

The foreman, having received the order, was about to open the gate when Deng Long suddenly said, "Wait! Tell me in detail how that black fellow was captured!"

It turns out that Deng Long had suffered a loss at the hands of Li Kui before and was almost killed. He was a cautious person by nature, otherwise he would not have met with Li Kui outside. Now that this incident has happened, he is even more cautious!

The leader nodded and truthfully said, "The tavern owner is named Cao Zheng, also known as the 'Butcher Ghost.' Two years ago, he lost money in business and married into a farming family here, opening a tavern to make a living! Cao Zheng is incredibly skilled at butchering oxen, adept at picking bones, peeling and tearing them open. He's also generous and righteous, and I've met him a few times! Cao Zheng said that the dark-skinned fellow came to his tavern for drinks. He got very drunk and refused to pay back his money, muttering about calling hundreds of men to attack Erlong Mountain and the surrounding villages. So Cao Zheng offered him more good wine, got him drunk, tied him up with a rope, and presented him to you, brother, to show our filial piety and prevent future troubles in the village."

Deng Long then asked, "How many of them came?"

The foreman replied, "Including Cao Zheng and his brother-in-law, there are eight people in total!"

Deng Long nodded in satisfaction and said, "In that case, let them come up. This Cao Zheng is quite a character. Pass down the order that they must not attack their village again. If he is willing to join us, we can keep him a seat!"

The junior leader received the order, opened the gate, and ordered the goods to be brought up.

Hua Rong and Cao Zheng escorted Li Kui up the mountain. When they saw the three passes, they found them to be extremely dangerous: the mountains on both sides surrounded the temple; the mountain peaks were majestic, with only one road leading to the pass in the middle; on the three passes, there were wooden cannons, strong crossbows, and densely packed bamboo spears.

After passing through three gates, when we arrived at Baozhu Temple, we saw three temple gates, a section of flat ground that looked like a mirror, and the surrounding area was a wooden fence forming a city.

Seven or eight henchmen stood at the foot of the temple gate. Seeing the bound Li Kui arrive, they pointed and cursed, "You black bastard, you've finally got your comeuppance! Slowly tear this bastard to pieces to vent our boss's anger!"

When they were taken to the Buddhist temple, the Buddha statue had already been carried away, and a tiger-skin chair was placed in the middle, with many henchmen holding guns and clubs standing on both sides.

In the hall, Deng Long was glaring menacingly at Li Kui, wishing he could immediately step forward and skin him alive!

Cao Zheng and Hua Rong escorted Li Kui forward. Deng Long pointed at Li Kui and cursed, "You beast, you injured me yesterday, but I never thought you'd end up in my hands today!"

Li Kui roared, "Die!" Cao Zheng yanked the rope, loosening the knot and untying the rope. Li Kui then grabbed his double axes and rolled around. Hua Rong and Pang Wanchun attacked simultaneously, while Wu Song charged out of the temple to open the gate and let the government troops up the mountain!

As Deng Long tried to struggle, his luck ran out; Li Kui's axe had already cleaved his head in two, severing it as thick as a bucket. Four or five of his underlings had already been killed by Hua Rong. Cao Zheng shouted, "Surrender! Those who refuse will be wiped out and executed!"

Five or six hundred henchmen and several minor leaders in front of and behind the temple were stunned with fear and had no choice but to surrender.

Wu Song opened the three gates, and the government troops quickly poured in. Hua Rong shouted, "I am Hua Rong, the magistrate of Qingfeng Village. Today I will take you back to Qingfeng Village. If you dare to resist, kill them without mercy!"

The henchmen were extremely frustrated. They had thought Hua Rong had come to establish himself as a mountain king, but it turned out he was actually a member of the imperial court. If they had fought to the death at the beginning, they might have had a chance of survival. But now that the other party was highly skilled in martial arts and had a large number of men, if they were to resist, they would probably not escape death!

Everyone immediately lay on the ground obediently, hoping that they would have a chance to survive once they reached Qingfeng Village!

Hua Rong ordered Cao Zheng to calculate the grain and silver, and asked Wu Song to lead a hundred men to guard Erlong Mountain. After all, this mountain was easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the bandits occupied it again, it would be much harder to take it back than it was now!

If Murong Yanda knew that Erlong Mountain, which had stumped the troops of Qingzhou Prefecture, had been easily breached by Hua Rong, I wonder what he would think!

After riding his horse for a whole day, Song Jiang finally arrived at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain. After traveling a few more miles, the bushes on both sides became more and more lush, as if someone was hiding inside!

Song Jiang reined in his horse and said towards the woods, "Now that you're here, why not show yourself!"

Then, fourteen or fifteen henchmen came out carrying knives and guns!

Song Jiang dismounted and said, "Are you brothers from Qingfeng Mountain? Song Jiang has important business to discuss with your leader, Yan Shun!"

A minor leader said, "Where did this bastard come from? Could he be a government spy? Seize him!"

The henchmen, armed with weapons, slowly approached Song Jiang!

Song Jiang frowned. How could these people not tell right from wrong? Without further ado, he drew his Chunyang sword from behind his back. Sometimes, force was the best way to intimidate these cowards.

With a whoosh, the henchmen saw a red blur before their eyes, and then their weapons seemed to become lighter. When they looked again, they saw that their weapons had all broken in two and fallen to the ground, leaving them holding only half of the weapon!

Song Jiang brandished his Chunyang sword and said, "Killing you all is as easy as turning my hand. Why don't you take me to see Yan Shun? Don't you even realize you're facing imminent disaster?"

The henchmen were caught in a dilemma. If they took him along, he might be a spy, and they would be punished. If they didn't take him along, Song Jiang's weapon could kill them at any moment!

Just then, a voice came from afar: "Where did this scoundrel come from, daring to cause trouble at Qingfeng Mountain!"

Upon hearing the voice, the henchmen exclaimed joyfully, "It's the Third Boss!"

A fair-skinned man with a three-pronged mustache, a slender build, and a handsome appearance emerged. He wore a crimson headscarf, had blond hair, and a necklace made of a human skull. In one hand he held a hooked sword, and in the other, he held a tiger-head hook.

Upon seeing Song Jiang, the man spoke again: "Where did this scoundrel come from? Daring to pretend to be deaf and dumb, are you looking for death?"

Song Jiang narrowed his eyes. This must be the handsome young man Zheng Tianshou. Although he is handsome, he is a beast who eats human flesh. If you are deceived by his appearance and think that he is a polite gentleman, you will definitely suffer a great loss. Judging from his necklace, he probably has a lot of lives on his hands!

Seeing that Song Jiang didn't answer, Zheng Tianshou became somewhat annoyed. He thought to himself that he was the third leader of Qingfeng Mountain, yet he was being looked down upon like this. He sneered, "Am I not worthy of your word? In that case, I'll take your life, you black bastard, and see if you dare to be so insolent again!"

Before he finished speaking, he raised his right hand and thrust the tiger-head hook at Song Jiang!

Although Zheng Tianshou was not very good in the original novel, he could still fight Wang Ying to a draw, so he was definitely better than the weakling Song Jiang!

But the Song Jiang of today is not the same as the one in the original story who was bullied by everyone. He has mastered the Chunyang Sword Technique and learned fifteen or sixteen moves of the Tian Dun Sword Technique. Most importantly, Song Jiang has never fought against a leader with any real skills. Today, he will test his skills against Zheng Tianshou!

Seeing Zheng Tianshou's tiger-head hook thrusting towards him, Song Jiang calmly dodged it, and then slashed his sword towards Zheng Tianshou's neck!

Zheng Tianshou was startled and hurriedly blocked with his Wu Hook Sword in his left hand. However, the Chunyang Sword was extremely sharp and directly cut the Wu Hook Sword in half, then slashed towards Zheng Tianshou's throat!

Zheng Tianshou thought to himself, "My life is over!" But to his surprise, Song Jiang stopped an inch away from his neck!

Just then, a loud shout came from afar: "Brother, have mercy!"

It turned out that Wang Ying had arrived! Song Jiang waited until Wang Ying was close before coldly saying, "If I wanted to kill him, why would I show mercy? He would already be dead before you even spoke!"

Wang Ying knew that Song Jiang's words were true. He had seen from a distance that Song Jiang had held back, and he also knew that Song Jiang was furious. He scolded, "Third brother, don't you have eyes? This is Brother Song Jiang, whom I've mentioned many times. You're still shouting to kill him! You deserve to be hacked to pieces!"

He glanced at the henchmen again and said, "All of you, get up the mountain. We'll see how I deal with you when we get back to the stronghold!"

The henchmen, knowing Wang Ying's methods, trembled with fear!

Song Jiang said calmly, "It's alright, they're just doing their duty!"

Wang Ying said, "Since my brother has spoken, I'll spare you this time!"

The henchmen cast grateful glances at Song Jiang!

Zheng Tianshou also knelt on the ground and said, "I didn't know it was Brother Gongming. Please forgive me!"

Song Jiang shook his head and said, "Ignorance is no excuse. Let's cut to the chase and get up the mountain! I have important business to attend to!"

Wang Ying was also puzzled as to why Song Jiang would suddenly come to Qingfeng Mountain to look for him, but seeing Song Jiang's serious expression, which left no room for hesitation, he quickly led Song Jiang up the mountain stronghold!

Inside the mountain stronghold, Yan Shun was quite surprised by Song Jiang's sudden visit. Song Jiang said solemnly, "Brothers, I'll get straight to the point. Qin Ming, the military commander of Qingzhou, is coming with his apprentice Huang Xin to wipe out your Qingfeng Mountain! They will arrive at Qingfeng Mountain to attack you no later than the day after tomorrow!"

Upon hearing the news, the three were first taken aback, then looked at each other, their faces showing panic, worry, and surprise.

They had naturally heard of Qin Ming's great name. To put it bluntly, with Qin Ming's strength, even the three of them together would probably not be a match for him. This time, Qin Ming came to annihilate them personally, and Qingfeng Mountain was probably in real danger!

After a long while, Wang Yingcai cautiously asked, "Brother, is this really true?"

Seeing the three men's dejected and hopeless appearance, Song Jiang sighed inwardly and said, "Why would I come all this way to joke and make fun of you?"

Yan Shun said, "Brother, you are so righteous. We have long heard of Qin Ming's reputation. We've heard he's the number one expert in Qingzhou Prefecture. Now that he's come in person, what should we do?"

Song Jiang shouted, "The enemy hasn't even arrived yet, why are you so afraid? As the saying goes, when soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Now that I'm here, I certainly won't sit idly by and watch you do nothing!"

Wang Ying said with a distressed expression, "Brother, what should we do?"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "We'll outsmart him. Qin Ming may be brave enough to take on ten thousand men, but he's just a brute with a big body and a simple mind. I predict he'll suffer a great defeat at Qingfeng Mountain."

Seeing the three men's puzzled expressions, Song Jiang didn't want to explain too much and simply said, "Let's wait until he arrives with his troops!"

The three were at a loss, and could only rely on Song Jiang as their leader. Zheng Tianshou, seemingly without thinking, asked:

'

Why did my brother come all this way to tell us?

As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with eye rolls from Yan Shun and Wang Ying. They were afraid that Song Jiang would lose his temper and abandon them, leaving Qingfeng Mountain in a huff, because of this almost idiotic question.

But Song Jiang wasn't angry. Instead, he laughed and said, "I'm not interested in money. I only like to make friends with heroes and valiant men from all over the world. Otherwise, why would all the heroes of the Jianghu call me Timely Rain? Although I had some misunderstandings with Brothers Yan Shun and Wang Ying on the way to Qingfeng Village, since we've met, I can't watch them lose their lives in vain!" Song Jiang said these words without batting an eye, but in reality, he felt a little nauseous!

But Yan Shun and his companions were easily swayed by this, kneeling and saying, "Brother, if we can escape this calamity, the three of us brothers will follow your lead without hesitation."

Song Jiang laughed and said, "My three brothers, let's get through this encirclement first!"

Yan Shunxi said happily, "Brother must be hungry to have traveled such a long way to tell us!"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "My three brothers, let's get through this encirclement first!"

Yan Shunxi said happily, "Brother, you've traveled a long way to tell us, you must be hungry too. Quickly tell them to bring us the best wine and meat!"

Wang Ying immediately ordered his henchmen to serve wine and meat, and to host a banquet for Song Jiang!

Compared to the previous two tense situations, the atmosphere is much more harmonious now!

Soon the wine and meat were served. The three men asked Song Jiang to take the seat. After Song Jiang sat down, he thought that these three men were all cannibals, and these utensils must have been used to hold human flesh. So he just drank the wine and didn't touch the meat. The three men didn't mind, thinking that Song Jiang had eaten a lot before and wasn't hungry now!

Wang Ying drank a bowl of wine and exclaimed happily, "Brother, you have no idea how much silver we robbed from Liu Gao's mansion! Twenty thousand taels of gold and fifty thousand taels of silver! I wish I could rob as many of those corrupt officials as possible!"

Song Jiang laughed, "There's a saying: 'A clean prefect for three years, ten thousand taels of silver.' It seems that's true! You did a good job smashing it! You've rid the people of a scourge!"

Yan Shun also spoke up, "Brother, if it weren't for your guidance this time, we wouldn't have been able to succeed at all. You can have as much gold and silver as you want, you can have it all!"

Song Jiang shook his head and said, "Listen to me. Your stronghold is in the midst of development and needs money for many things. I don't need the silver! Getting to know the three of you is the greatest blessing for me, Song Jiang!"

Yan Shun was somewhat moved, while Wang Ying called out, "Call the madam out!"

A short while later, a woman was brought out by the henchmen.

Upon closer inspection, Song Jiang realized that this was Liu Gao's wife. It seemed that Wang Ying had indeed not killed her.

The woman also saw Song Jiang, her eyes filled with hatred. It was this short, dark man in front of her who had caused her family to be destroyed and her to be humiliated by this villain every day, living a life she could not control! If looks could kill, Song Jiang would probably have been torn to pieces by now!

Wang Ying pulled the woman's hand into his arms and said, "If it weren't for my brother, how could I have such a beautiful wife!"

Song Jiang said, "Brother, let's not mention this matter again!"

Yan Shun also said, "Second brother, no matter what, your elder brother is still an official. There are some things you shouldn't say too much about!"

Wang Ying quickly shut up and said no more!

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