The Legend of Song Jiang in Water Margin

Chapter 130 Huang An encounters Di Lei while escorting a thief; their brotherly bond surpasses everything.

It seems that only Luo Zhenren knows about Song Jiang's time travel!

Song Jiang wasn't sure if Luo Zhenren knew, but Luo Zhenren's previous subtle hints seemed to suggest something!

But ever since she rescued Liu Huiniang, she has acted unpredictably, and her several encounters have left Song Jiang "terrified! It seems she is implying to Song Jiang that she knows everything about him!"

The fact that he had traveled through time was Song Jiang's greatest trump card, but now it made him increasingly insecure. More importantly, if the world knew about it, he feared he would become the target of everyone's hatred. At that time, whether it was Emperor Huizong of Song, Wanyan Aguda, or even the incompetent Emperor Tianzuo, they would all attack him from all sides, and might even join forces to kill him. No ruler would allow a prophet to exist; the threat he posed was unparalleled by anyone or anything else. If Song Jiang's identity truly reached that point, even if he had three heads and six arms, he would not be able to escape everyone's relentless pursuit!

Holding the crossbow in his hand, Song Jiang sighed and returned to his room!

Inside the room, Song Jiang stared blankly at the Divine Arm Crossbow. If a person couldn't use this crossbow, it would be rather useless; it would be more practical to use a bow and arrow!

Crossbows are much more convenient than bows in two ways. First, anyone can use a crossbow without much training, while archers need repeated training day after day, being "fed" with arrows! (Just like the sharpshooters of later generations.)

Secondly, the crossbow is indeed much more lethal than the bow. The crossbow relies on the machine to push it out, while the bow relies on the person to draw the bowstring taut and then release it. That's why the crossbow can penetrate heavy armor, but the bow may not be able to penetrate heavy armor!

Of course, archers like Hua Rong and Pang Wanchun, who can draw a strong bow, are not included in this category!

Another advantage of crossbows is that they can fire in rapid succession. For example, the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow could fire ten arrows at a time, and after being modified by Ma Jun, it could fire fifty crossbow bolts in one go!

Of course, the disadvantage was that the production of repeating crossbows was very complicated, and the crossbow bolts used also had to be specially made. They were not as easy to make as arrows, so they could not be mass-produced. Unexpectedly, with the change of dynasties, the technique was eventually lost.

However, the Divine Arm Crossbow is so powerful that it cannot fire continuously, but it is a great weapon for attacking and defending cities, making the enemy tremble with fear!

After putting down the crossbow, Song Jiang lay on the bed, feeling troubled for the first time, with jumbled thoughts swirling in his mind!

The next morning, Song Jiang left Liangshan, not to avoid anyone, but because Huang An, the militia leader of Jizhou Prefecture, was leading a thousand soldiers to escort Yao Shun and others from Qingyun Mountain to Jizhou Prefecture for trial!

These bandits from Qingyun Mountain were in Yuncheng every day, and Song Jiang didn't mistreat them, after all, he had promised Di Lei that they wouldn't be mistreated!

However, the news had already been delivered to Di Lei, and Song Jiang was unsure whether Di Lei could rescue Yao Shun and the others!

Since Song Jiang had already accepted the gold and silver, there was no reason for him to return it. He also couldn't possibly lead people to help Di Lei, because if something went wrong, it would be even worse!

Yuncheng County had the right to deal with the bandits of Qingyun Mountain, but Song Jiang advised Shi Wenbin to send the bandits to Jizhou Prefecture, so that he could also gain a favor from the prefect of Jizhou!

After thinking for a long time, Shi Wenbin agreed with Song Jiang's idea. According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, if these guys were really sentenced, few would be exiled, and most would be doomed to death. As for whether they could live, Song Jiang really didn't know!

The September wind is already chilly. Dawns are getting later and later, while the nights are getting longer and longer. Although the cool breeze is not biting, it still makes people wrap themselves up tightly in thick clothes to prevent the cold from getting into their bodies. If they catch a cold, they will have to spend money to see a doctor!

The county government office remained the same, but unlike before, the atmosphere was much more harmonious!

If there was any backstabbing or infighting before, the county government is now more united!

Upon seeing Song Jiang arrive, Shi Wenbin joked, "Gongming, you're even busier than me, with so many affairs to attend to!"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "You've gotten greedy lately!"

After chatting and laughing for a while, nothing much happened today. Soon Huang An arrived at the Yuncheng County Government Office!

A thousand soldiers were too many; Huang An didn't bring that many people with him. He only wanted to escort some prisoners, so why would he need so many people?

"Clerk! Magistrate!" Huang An stepped forward and bowed.

"Huang, how have you been?" Song Jiang greeted him with a smile, but in his heart he was thinking, "I hope Huang An doesn't die at the hands of Di Lei! Otherwise, there will be much less fun in the future!"

Huang An didn't waste any words and greeted Wu Song, Zhu Tong, and the others one by one!

The handover procedures had already been completed. Soon, Yao Shun, Cui Hao, Xu Guang, Xu Fu, and the others were brought out and put on handcuffs and shackles, chained together!

Huang An's army from Jizhou Prefecture did not enter the county, but instead camped outside Dancheng County. The task of escorting them was naturally left to the three chief constables and dozens of yamen runners!

Once outside the city, the people were handed over to Huang An, and Wu Song and the others entered the city. From there, Huang An would lead the way back to Jizhou Prefecture.

It was already noon, and the sky was cloudless, making it a truly beautiful day. Huang An felt much more at ease!

The journey back to Jeju City wasn't far, but it wasn't short either, especially with so many bandits in tow, the speed was anything but fast!

After traveling for more than two days without incident, Huang An's anxious heart gradually eased.

Judging from the journey, we should be able to reach Jeju Prefecture by tomorrow. Once we've imprisoned these thieves, the matter will be settled!

Huang An didn't exactly eat and sleep in the open along the way, but he certainly didn't eat, drink, or rest well. After all, hundreds of thieves were too conspicuous. To prevent the thieves from taking advantage of the chaos, he took mountain paths instead of official roads all the way, just in case the thieves managed to blend into the crowd!

These thieves cooperated fairly well along the way, but no matter how well they cooperated, they would probably not escape death once they reached Jeju Prefecture!

But what does any of this have to do with me? As long as I'm eating and drinking well, I don't care about the lives of others!

All he wanted was to get back to Jeju City as soon as possible, have a good drink, and then go to the Pink Makeup Pavilion to see his lover, Rouxue!

Thinking of Rouxue's beautiful appearance and delicate waist, Huang An felt a flame burning in his heart and a certain part of his body stirring with desire!

As I walked along, lost in thought, suddenly the line in front of me stopped moving!

Huang An's thoughts drifted back from Jeju City, and he asked, "What happened?"

"Robbery!" A voice as loud as thunder rang out, like a bolt of lightning striking the clear sky!

Huang An snapped out of his daze and shouted, "We are the government troops of Jizhou Prefecture! Who are you to dare rob government troops like this? Are you tired of living?!"

They saw a large man sitting on the ground with two huge iron hammers on either side of him, staring at them fiercely!

Behind him sat about a hundred people, sitting in neat rows, silent but ready for battle!

Huang An's heart skipped a beat. As the saying goes, those who come are not friendly, and those who are friendly do not come. These people came prepared. It seems that he cannot underestimate them!

Thinking of this, Huang An picked up his weapon, rode forward, and said, "If you know what's good for you, get out of the way and you might save your life. Otherwise, don't blame the swords for being merciless!" Huang An definitely didn't want to fight if he could avoid it. Although there were only about a hundred of these people, each of them looked fierce and menacing. They were far superior to his soldiers who only knew how to have fun every day. If they really fought, his side would definitely suffer losses, which would be a loss that would not outweigh the gains!

At this moment, a captain nearby spoke up: "Commander Huang, this bandit in front of us is none other than Ai Ye Baozi Di Lei, the bandit leader of Qingyun Mountain!"

Upon hearing the name Di Lei, Huang An nearly dropped his weapon from his horse!

The shadow of a man, the name of a tree, Di Lei's skills and fearsome reputation had already spread throughout Shandong. He was about to reach Jizhou Prefecture when he actually ran into him!

A guard stepped forward and said, "The militia only has a hundred men, while we have four hundred more. What's more, we have Yao Shun and the others as hostages. If Di Lei dares to force his way in, I don't believe they won't care about Yao Shun and the others' lives. If we capture Di Lei today, it will be a great achievement, and the militia leader will be promoted and made rich in no time!"

After saying that, he led his men to prepare for the fight, but Huang An held him back tightly.

Huang An stepped forward and said, "Chief Di, I've long admired your name. You've come here today only for Yao Shun and the others. How about this: I'll keep Yao Shun and Cui Hao, and I'll take the rest of the underlings to Jizhou Prefecture. What do you say?"

Yao Shun and Cui Hao had seen Di Lei before, but they never expected that Di Lei would personally risk his life to save them. They only hoped that Di Lei would leave quickly so as not to lose his life in vain in order to save them, so they remained silent. The other henchmen also recognized Di Lei, but since Yao Shun and Cui Hao did not speak, they naturally did not ask for help either!

Di Lei stood up and laughed, "You're quite the straightforward one, but I didn't come here just to save Yao Shun and Cui Hao. Everyone here is my brother; how could I watch them die in vain!"

Huang An frowned and said, "If you take all the people away, how am I supposed to explain this to the prefect!"

Di Lei clapped his hands, and several people behind him carried out a large box. When the box was opened, it was filled with glittering silver!

Di Lei said, "Here is ten thousand taels of silver. You can take it all. As for my men, you can leave them behind! Prefect, you can naturally tell me that I, Di Lei, will rescue them!"

Huang An was speechless for a moment. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke up: "Go!"

The five hundred soldiers ignored the prisoners beside them, picked up their weapons and charged forward!

Dire picked up his double hammers and fell into the crowd like a shooting star!

With his twin hammers clashing, no one could withstand a single blow from him; a touch meant certain death, and a mere brush with injury!

The first few dozen soldiers were all knocked to the ground by Di Lei!

Not to be outdone, the men behind Dire also picked up their weapons and charged into the crowd!

Although the enemy outnumbered them five to one, they showed no fear and fought the soldiers head-on!

With Di Lei leading the charge, the people of Qingyun Mountain were as if they had been injected with chicken blood. This time, for the rescue operation, Di Lei had brought his elite troops. How could the soldiers, who had not fought in battle for many years, compare with the Qingyun Mountain, which had conquered cities and territories?

After several charges, the soldiers quickly found themselves at a disadvantage. Their bodies, weakened by the daily indulgence in food, drink, gambling, and prostitution, were no match for these thieves who lived on the edge of a knife every day!

Seeing that things weren't going well, Huang An wisely said, "We're outmatched; you can take these heroes with you!"

Di Lei laughed in anger. It turned out that Huang An was just trying to find a better reason and excuse to report to the prefect of Jizhou, and didn't care about the lives of the soldiers at all!

If it were before, given his temper, Huang An would not have survived. But I promised Song Jiang before, so it is truly his good fortune to spare his life today!

Otherwise, why would Di Lei have given him ten thousand taels of silver? He would have already charged in and killed them all!

However, Huang An knew what was good for him, so Di Lei didn't make things difficult for him anymore. He told Huang An to push Yao Shun and the others over, left the silver, and led everyone away!

Huang An, his face ashen, asked, "What are our casualties?"

A guard stepped forward and replied, "Seventy-eight brothers died and one hundred and fifty-six were wounded. No bodies were left on Qingyun Mountain, so there should be no fatalities!"

Another officer said, "Most of the dead were killed by Di Lei's double hammers. This blood debt must be paid for by that bastard Di Lei!"

Huang An sighed and said, "Let's take our brothers' bodies back to Jeju Prefecture!"

The captain had previously said, "How could Di Lei know our route back to Jizhou Prefecture? It should be top secret!"

""

Huang An was taken aback and pondered, "I must get to the bottom of this!" Huang An hadn't thought that much about it, but his subordinate's words made him realize that only the soldiers of Yuncheng County and Jizhou Prefecture knew his travel time. He certainly wouldn't do such a thing. Either one of the soldiers in Jizhou Prefecture had been bribed, or someone in Dancheng County was colluding with the bandits!

On Mount Qingyun, Yao Shun and Cui Hao knelt on the ground and said to Di Lei, "Brother, what have we done to deserve your personal rescue? If anything goes wrong, we would rather die!"

Di Lei laughed heartily, "Without you all, there's no meaning to my life. We brothers will be together no matter what!"

"Brother!" Cui Hao and Yao Shun exclaimed, their eyes filled with tears.

Di Lei helped the two men up and said to Di Yun, "Let's slaughter pigs and sheep, and drink until we drop tonight to celebrate the return of our brothers!"

The next day, Zhang Shun and Ruan Xiaowu led their navy aboard the seagoing vessel "Chengfeng Polang" and set off from Liangshan Marsh in a grand procession with five large ships.

The plan is to first travel from Liangshan Marsh to the Yellow River, and then from the Yellow River to the sea! The only concern is whether the five large ships can withstand the impact of the waves. After all, the waves at sea are not as minor as those on the river. If things go wrong, the entire fleet could be wiped out!

Fortunately, it's September, no longer the season for hurricanes and typhoons, and the boats are all locked together to prevent accidents!

Afterwards, Song Jiang planned to open up the Dengzhou shipping route. This would avoid attracting attention to the long-term use of seagoing vessels by Liangshan Marsh. In addition, seagoing vessels are indeed too large, and it is far less convenient to dock or land at Liangshan Marsh than to use a port!

A few days later, Tang Long sent a message to Song Jiang, saying that the matter of weapons, armor and craftsmen had been settled, and that if Song Jiang had time, he could come to Bianliang in person. Coincidentally, at this time, the brothers Jie Zhen and Jie Bao, along with Yue He, also arrived at Liangshan with a letter!