Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 175 Li Hanxiao Raises an Army for Revenge, Zhang Shuye Hesitates to Exchange Prisoners

Just then, Yuan Lang, nicknamed "Red-faced Tiger," who was about to kill "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, was blocked by an iron rod that flew through the air. Zhang Bao, who had been defeated by "Leopard Head" Lin Chong in Xixi Village, was now leading his remaining troops across the stream and approaching "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong.

He originally thought that "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong was at least a professional military officer and would be in a better situation than him, but it turned out that "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong was beaten even worse, so he hurriedly threw out his iron rod to help.

"Quickly, fire arrows to provide cover!"

Zhang Bao immediately ordered his soldiers to fire arrows along the stream to cover Hua Rong's troops' retreat, but Hua Rong was still thinking about rescuing his sister and wanted to rush forward.

"Brother! Are you out of your mind? Let's go!"

"Jinmaohu" Yan Shun rushed forward, grabbed Hua Rong, and dragged him away. "Xiao Li Guang" Hua Rong was already covered in injuries from the beating and could not resist, so he was dragged away by Yan Shun.

As they retreated, the Liangshan troops did not pursue them. The reinforcements from Dongxi Village and Xixi Village joined together, and soon the chieftain Li Hanxiao arrived.

Looking at the corpse of "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing, Li Hanxiao couldn't help but sigh, "Since joining Liangshan, this brother has not made any great contributions, but he has also never lost his prestige. It is truly a great injustice that he died under Hua Rong's hidden arrow. Give Brother Zhu Jing a proper burial, gather your troops, and come with me to avenge Brother Zhu Jing!"

"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"

The brothers shouted in unison, "Liangshan Marsh is no longer what it used to be. Li Hanxiao has brought back many heroes on his westward journey, making our strength much greater. Meanwhile, uprisings are springing up everywhere, and we can't stop them. It's time to issue an ultimatum to the government troops in Jizhou Prefecture and seize even more land."

Even if Li Hanxiao doesn't provoke them, they'll probably provoke him anyway. After all, Zhang Shuye somehow managed to transfer "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong directly from Qingzhou. When he didn't have any elite troops, this old guy was very arrogant. Now that he has Hua Rong, he's bound to come and antagonize Liangshan Marsh every day.

Li Hanxiao immediately ordered "Divine Strategist" Zhu Wu to preside over the funeral of "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing, and then mobilized 5,000 troops to attack Jizhou City in Juye County.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jizhou followed the administrative divisions of the Later Zhou Dynasty, governing four counties: Juye, Yuncheng, Rencheng, and Jinxiang. The capital of Jizhou was Juye. Li Hanxiao's goal was to strike at the heart of the state and wipe out Jizhou's vital forces once again.

Then, he planned to swallow up the entire territory of Yuncheng County and then gradually annex the remaining three counties.

Another thing is that we need to use the two prisoners we have now, Hua Baoyan and Jin Ding, to exchange for "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai.

Meanwhile, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," and his men led their remaining troops back to Jizhou City. Halfway there, Huang Yue, who was in charge of covering the rear, brought news that the Liangshan army was catching up.

Now things were really bad. In order to escape, Hua Rong and the others practically abandoned their armor and fled towards Jeju City. Those with horses whipped their rumps until they were almost torn apart, while those without horses ran as fast as they could on four hooves.

When Zhang Shuye saw the defeated army, he was very surprised. When he learned that the Liangshan army was in pursuit, he was even more surprised and immediately led his troops to the city.

But he still asked in confusion, "General Hua, how did you get beaten so badly?"

Hua Rong was extremely ashamed and lowered his head, saying, "The bandits were fierce and we were unprepared. We only killed one bandit and captured another."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuye was quite pleased, as at least they had achieved something. So he said, "That's alright, we can use this prisoner to force them to retreat!"

"No!"

Before "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong could say anything, Huang Yue hurriedly said, "Sir, people have been arrested on our side too! General Hua and Jin Ding have been captured!"

"Ah? No... General Hua, why is your sister still in the army?"

Zhang Shuye's young mind was now filled with countless big question marks.

Hua Rong had no way to explain. Just then, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist" who had anticipated this situation, stepped forward to dissuade them, saying, "Gentlemen, let's not worry about this for now. The bandits are approaching the city; we must prepare for battle first!"

The infighting among the people of Jizhou Prefecture finally ceased. Zhang Shuye, fully armed, led his two sons, Zhang Bofen and Zhang Zhongxiong, to the city walls to defend them. Before long, the Liangshan troops arrived and surrounded the four gates of the city.

This time, Liangshan Marsh has deployed its elite forces. At the East Gate, the Liangshan Marsh leader Li Hanxiao personally leads the army, accompanied by four deputy generals: "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi, "Horse Hawk" Ma Ji, "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen, and "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao. In addition, "Thunderbolt" Ling Zhen leads a group of artillerymen to set up cannons and wait behind.

The main general of Ximen, "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, also led four deputy generals: "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong, "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng, "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, and "Three-Axe" Cheng Da.

The main general of the South Gate, "Guan Sheng with the Great Saber," also had four deputy generals: "Nine-Tattooed Dragon" Shi Jin, "Red-Faced Tiger" Yuan Lang, "Surpassing Gongming" Mi Sheng, and "Iron-Backed Wolf" Shan Shiqi.

The commander of the North Gate, "Giant Spirit God" Bian Xiang, led "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, "Pilgrim" Wu Song, "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi, and "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying.

Especially this "Pilgrim" Wu Song, wielding a fifty-pound iron cudgel, was furious. Today was supposed to be his wedding day, but that old bastard Zhang Shuye ruined it. He had come down the mountain specifically to take revenge.

"Zhang Shuye! Liangshan has never provoked you, yet you come begging for food, killing my brothers and capturing our leader. If you don't return them, I won't spare these two either!"

After Li Han smiled and finished speaking, he ordered his men to bring out Hua Baoyan and Jin Ding, who were tied up.

"Sister!"

When Hua Rong saw Hua Baoyan, he couldn't help but call out, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to gasp in pain.

"If you know what's good for you, release our brothers, and I'll let one of you go back so we can discuss things further. Otherwise, between the two prisoners, the man will kill the woman..."

Li Hanxiao didn't continue speaking, but instead gave a cold laugh, but those who knew what it meant understood.

"Li Hanxiao, you dare! I'll shoot you dead!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," flew into a rage. His sister was his own possession. At that moment, he snatched a bow and arrow from Zhang Bofen's hand and shot an arrow at Li Hanxiao.

As a result, before even encountering Li Hanxiao, the arrow was swooped down from mid-air by a hawk.

"You hairy beast!"

Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," completely lost his mind and was about to shoot the eagle again.

"General Hua, you mustn't!"

Zhang Shuye quickly intervened. Both sides still had prisoners, and negotiations could still be conducted based on the prisoners' information. The terms could still be discussed.

As a result, Hua Rong immediately shot an arrow at him, so how could Li Hanxiao possibly talk to them?

This time, neither of them can be saved!

Before Li Hanxiao could say anything, Ling Zhen, the "Thunderbolt," fired a cannon at the top of the city wall. With a deafening roar, a head-sized iron bullet was embedded deep in the wall, directly knocking down a layer of the battlements. The stones and bricks were reduced to dust, which turned into foam with a gust of wind!

The power of that cannon shot silenced Zhang Shuye and his men. Zhang Shuye was the first to react, asking "Strategist" Wu Yong, "What? They have cannons too?"

Even the wise Wu Yong shook his head; he had no idea that Liangshan would have cannons!

"You bunch of scoundrels, are you used to using underhanded tactics? You shot my chieftain with an arrow, and I'll retaliate with a cannon shot. If it happens a second time, I'll unleash a barrage of cannon fire!"

Ling Zhen, nicknamed "Thunderbolt," finally had his moment of glory.

"How many times can our city gates withstand cannon fire?"

Huang Yue's voice trembled slightly as he asked what everyone was thinking.

Originally, Jeju City had a surrounding wall and gates as a barrier, and Zhang Shuye was confident that Liangshan Marsh's 5,000 troops might not be able to take the city.

They now have weapons of mass destruction. I estimate that a few shots will destroy the city gates, rendering the city walls useless. There's no way we can defend it!

Jeju City was not a large city. Its city walls were built during the Later Tang and Five Dynasties period. It only had a single outer wall and no outer walls or barbicans, so its defenses were not very good.

"Hua Rong, you're more trouble than you're worth!"

The strategist Wu Yong is here, changing his tune with the wind and stirring up trouble; his intentions are truly despicable.

"I……"

Before "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong could refute, Zhang Bao spoke up to defend him, saying, "General Hua did his best. It's human nature to be confused when you're concerned. Now let's see if we can use capturing that person alive as a bargaining chip in our negotiations."

Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," sneered, "Fine, let's negotiate. You only have one, while they have two. They're only willing to exchange one. Who will you exchange it for? Even after exchanging, we'll still have to fight, won't we?"

"Then... could we threaten Li Hanxiao, saying that if we're going to exchange him, we should exchange him for two people, otherwise we'll kill this prisoner?"

At this point, Zhang Bao's image was undoubtedly that of a "great shrewd man".

"You idiot, if you can kill him, then don't. If you can't win, then fight to the death and neither of you will survive. But his cannons can break through the city gates at any time. If Jeju Prefecture is wiped out, will you be happy?"

Wu Yong then scolded Zhang Bao again.

Zhang Bao was furious and annoyed by the scolding, but there was nothing he could do. After all, everything his "wise strategist" Wu Yong said was correct. He could only reply indifferently, "Since that's the case, then you, wise strategist, can think of a solution!"

This time, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," had achieved his goal. He then lightly waved his feather fan, adopting a savior-like posture, and revealed his plan: "One word: delay. If he wants to switch, then switch to another one first—"

Before Wu Yong could finish speaking, he was interrupted by "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, "Scholar Wu, what do you mean? You're only going to save one, and not the other one?"

"Fool, look at the sky. The swallows are flying low, still reinforcing their nests. It's going to rain. Once it rains, the gunpowder in their cannons will be half ruined. Let's negotiate with them first and send someone back to buy some time. When it rains, we won't be afraid of their cannons and we can still defend the city. Without the advantage of cannons, they should retreat on their own. Then, will you chase them out of the city or try to rescue them? Wouldn't that be easier than now?"

Wu Yong's words drew everyone's attention to the swallows in the sky, which were indeed flying low under the eaves, reinforcing their nests.

"I see, then so be it. Let's stall them for now!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuye was overjoyed, but the next question was, who should be replaced?

Although, according to the "wise strategist" Wu Yong, the person who couldn't be brought back could still be rescued later, it doesn't mean that person is absolutely safe.

If they manage to get one person back, it's possible that Li Hanxiao might kill the other person to avenge Zhu Jing, who was shot to death by Hua Rong.

Zhang Shuye was also in a dilemma. From a value perspective, if he could exchange Hua Baoyan for her, he would naturally be able to better win the loyalty of "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, which would be more beneficial to him in the long run.

However, the difficulty lies in the fact that Hua Baoyan is a woman. From a gender perspective, it seems more worthwhile to exchange the Golden Cauldron for it, since the Golden Cauldron can help fight the war.

Moreover, people in this era are sexist. If Hua Baoyan were brought back and the Golden Cauldron were thrown away, Huang Yue and Zhang Shuye would be the first to get angry.

How do we choose? We definitely can't satisfy both sides.

"My lord, my sister is in grave danger in the hands of the bandits. Please exchange her for me, Hua Rong begs you!"

After saying this, "Little Li Guang" knelt down on one knee and began to plead.

"What are you talking about? Your sister is in danger, but my brother isn't? Sir, I said we should bring Jin Ding back first, and he can even help fight!"

Huang Yue became anxious upon hearing this and immediately retorted.

"This... can my sister compare to Jin Ding!"

In his anxiety, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," misspoke. His intention was that men and women are different, and the longer his sister was in the hands of bandits, the greater the possibility that the bandits would forcibly ruin her reputation.

In ancient feudal times, it was considered a great loss of chastity for a woman to "starve to death." If a woman lost her life, it was considered a death once. But if she lost her chastity and died, she would be infamous for eternity and would not even find peace in death, which was equivalent to dying twice.

However, the sentence that Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," blurted out in his haste did not express this meaning at all, but instead carried a great deal of ambiguity.

After listening, Huang Yue slammed his broadsword to the ground, pointed at Hua Rong's nose, and cursed, "Hua Rong, what do you mean by that? I know your Hua family has been a military family for generations, so what? In the master's eyes, you're nothing but mud under his feet! What? The lives of you noble families are lives, but the lives of us roughnecks aren't? I'm going to argue this point with you today!"

Huang Yue still gripped the gleaming broadsword tightly in his hand, his posture suggesting that he was ready to resort to force if they couldn't reach an agreement over a single word.

Hua Rong had initially thought his words were problematic, and if Huang Yue had properly refuted him, he would have explained himself. However, Huang Yue's tense demeanor had enraged him, so he retorted sarcastically, "Oh ho! You dog! You have no ability to fight the Liangshan bandits, yet you have the audacity to swagger in front of me. You're not worthy! You're nothing but a dog that Master Chai didn't want!"

"Then whose dog are you!"

"Gentlemen, we're all colleagues, brothers, let's stop arguing!"

Zhang Shuye was completely exasperated, but the two of them wouldn't give up. Huang Yue retorted, "That bastard is his colleague!"

"That bastard is his brother!"

"You bastard, that's your superior! What time is it, stop making noise!"

Zhang Shuye finally lost his temper and began to rebuke.