Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Shouts of battle rose from all sides.

In front are Yang Zhi and Wu Song, behind them are Qin Ming and Hua Rong, on the left are Wang Lun and Gongsun Sheng, and on the right are Lu Zhishen and Huang Xin.

In their first battle, the leaders surrounded Huyan Zhuo. Even though the enemy had 5,000 soldiers, they were almost all wounded by the Thunderclap and the Divine Arm Bow.

Furthermore, Gongsun Sheng displayed extraordinary abilities, summoning a fierce wind that swept away the accumulated snow, blinding Huyan Zhuo's soldiers. They could only hear the sounds of explosions, arrows, and screams of agony all around them.

When a normal person suddenly loses their sight, their mind becomes tense, and coupled with the dangers around them, they are easily thrown into panic.

Gongsun Sheng stopped casting spells, and Huyan Zhuo and the soldiers were gradually able to see their surroundings clearly.

Corpses lay strewn across the field, flags were toppled, horses were scattered, and the government troops were in complete disarray.

Huyan Zhuo felt a chill run through his body; his heavily armored cavalry, which he had been so confident in, was so easily defeated.

Just as he was in despair, Yang Zhi thrust his spear at him from the front, and Huyan Zhuo had no choice but to swing his double whips to parry.

After exchanging several blows, someone behind shouted, "Yang Xianfeng, please step back and let me fight Huyan Zhuo."

It was Qin Ming.

Wielding a spiked club, he had already cut through Huyan Zhuo's ranks and charged behind Huyan Zhuo.

Yang Zhi was unwilling to join forces with others to fight Huyan Zhuo, as it would be an unfair victory, so he put away his spear and stepped aside.

Qin Ming brandished his spiked club and fought with Hu Yanzhuo. Both of them were strong and had great explosive power. When they fought, they used all their strength. Their weapons clashed and sparks flew.

Lu Zhishen brandished his monk's staff and killed several armored soldiers, shouting, "Put down your weapons! Liangshan does not kill prisoners!"

The Liangshan Flying Tiger Army roared in unison, "Put down your weapons! Liangshan will not kill prisoners!"

The officers and soldiers looked at Huyan Zhuo, who was locked in a fierce battle with Qin Ming and had no time to command his troops.

At this moment, Yang Zhi, Wang Lun, Gongsun Sheng, Huang Xin, Lu Zhishen, and Wu Song had already surrounded Huyan Zhuo and were watching Qin Ming and Huyan Zhuo fight with great laughter.

"Ouch, General Huyan is out of strength; this whip strike wasn't strong enough."

Wu Song was the first to comment, and he also wanted to step forward and fight, but little did he know that Qin Ming was quick and made the first move.

Lu Zhishen said, "Huyan Zhuo is indeed skilled in martial arts. His double whip skills are not weak. He fought with Brother Yang Zhi for dozens of rounds and then fought with Qin Xianfeng for so long."

"The chieftain didn't want to kill him, otherwise I could have easily taken his life with just one arrow."

Hua Rong also offered his comments, holding a bow and arrow, eager to try it out.

The officers and soldiers dared not fight any longer and threw down their weapons.

"Gather the prisoners, clean up the battlefield, and collect the weapons, armor, and warhorses of the dead soldiers."

It wasn't over yet; Wang Lun had already begun arranging for the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army to clean up the battlefield.

Seeing this, Huyan Zhuo realized that even if he had three heads and six arms, he couldn't win, so he jumped away and said, "That's enough."

Qin Mingchao stopped and smiled, "General Huyan, are you convinced?"

Hu Yanzhuo looked at Wang Lun, then at the Liangshan leaders around him. Each of them seemed to be quite skilled in martial arts, but it would not be easy to win their respect. So he remained silent and just sighed.

"General Huyan, if you submit, join my Liangshan. If you do not submit, I will release you. Go back and reorganize your troops, and we will fight again another day."

Wang Lun smiled and pointed to the soldiers behind him, "These people are all my prisoners. They cannot be released. Your heavy cavalry belongs to me from today onwards."

Hu Yanzhuo was pale and wanted to speak, but he couldn't. He had devoted his whole life to training this team, but he never expected that they would be defeated by Wang Lun so easily.

He gripped and relaxed his two whips repeatedly; if he admitted defeat, he wouldn't be able to get over the mental hurdle, and if he fought again, he would definitely not be a match for them.

The Liangshan Flying Tiger Army quickly cleaned up the battlefield. They were elite troops that Wang Lun had painstakingly trained.

"Chief, we killed 1,100 enemies and wounded nearly 2,000."

Upon hearing the report, Wang Lun nodded. This time, he used the improved large-scale bombs, detonating a total of ten. Most of the more than one thousand people who died were killed by the bombs, and most of the injured were also injured because of them.

Including the wounded, nearly four thousand officers and soldiers were captured this time. In particular, weapons, warhorses, and armor are things that the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army is currently lacking.

The results were fruitful.

Huyan Zhuo sighed heavily and said, "Chief Wang, according to the previous agreement, you must capture me three times."

Wang Lun laughed and said, "Alright, then this is the first time. I'll let you go back."

He waved his hand, and the soldiers made way for him.

Huyan Zhuo left alone on his horse, head bowed.

He dared not look up at the soldiers on both sides; they were the troops he had trained for many years, and now they had all become Wang Lun's prisoners.

The iron cavalry he painstakingly trained for many years and spent countless hours building ultimately served as a stepping stone for Wang Lun.

He left the valley dejectedly before mounting his horse and heading back.

He led five thousand soldiers in a grand procession, but ended up returning alone on horseback.

They were as anxious and lost as stray dogs.

Zhang Shuye was already uneasy, and when he saw Huyan Zhuo return alone, he was so angry that he almost fainted. It took him a while to come back to his senses.

He asked tentatively, "General Huyan... why did you return alone?"

Huyan Zhuo looked up at Zhang Shuye and sighed, "We've lost."

Zhang Shuye's vision blurred, and he almost fainted again.

"How did you lose?" Zhang Shuye paused for a while before continuing to ask.

After all, there were 5,000 soldiers, especially 3,000 heavily armored cavalry. Even if they stood still and let the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army cut them down, they wouldn't be finished so quickly.

From the time Huyan Zhuo set out to his return, only half a day had passed.

"I fell into their trap and was lured into the mountains. Wang Lun had set up an ambush there." Hu Yanzhuo said succinctly, not in the mood to recount the whole story in detail.

"Even if there was an ambush, the Liangshan forces combined might not even number five thousand, let alone your three thousand armored soldiers..." Zhang Shuye still found it unbelievable.

"They've deployed devastating thunderbolts, which are incredibly powerful, and they also have divine crossbows," Huyan Zhuo said simply, though he was extremely annoyed.

"What?!"

Zhang Shuye was shocked: "They actually possess thunderbolts and divine crossbows? These are forbidden items of the imperial court!"

Huyan Zhuo glared at Zhang Shuye: "Forbidden items? They dared to conquer cities and rebel, so why would they be afraid of not being able to create forbidden items? What, because they have forbidden items, you're going to punish them according to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty?"

Uncle Zhang choked and fell silent.

He knew that Huyan Zhuo was very upset right now, and he might accidentally upset him.

After a long silence, Huyan Zhuo finally spoke up: "I was a bit impulsive just now."

Zhang Shuye nodded: "It's alright, the important thing is for us to work together to suppress the bandits."

"I've thought about it. Liangshan has the Thunderclap Bomb, so we should have one too. They have fierce generals like Yang Zhi and Qin Ming, so we should have one too," Huyan Zhuo said in a deep voice.

Zhang Shuye quickly said, "I will immediately ask Grand Commandant Gao for help."

"Ling Zhen, the deputy commissioner of the Tokyo Armory, is skilled in using artillery; we can ask him for help. Guan Sheng, the patrol inspector of Pudong, is highly skilled in martial arts and has the courage of ten thousand men; we can also ask him to come." Huyan Zhuo named two people, both of whom he had been thinking about for a long time.

Zhang Shuye immediately said, "Alright, we have lost five thousand soldiers. In case Liangshan attacks, we should ask Han Tao and Peng Qi to return as soon as possible and suspend the attack on Yuncheng and Liangshan Marsh."

Huyan Zhuo remained expressionless, hummed in response, and then swayed as he fell off his horse.