Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 123 Song, the clerk, uses his position to intimidate others; everyone at Liangshan performs

After calming Liu Gao down, Song Jiang rushed to Qingzhou City to see Murong Yanda.

To be honest, Murong Yanda was furious. He was usually like a local tyrant in Qingzhou, but now Zhang Shuye, an official from Jizhou Prefecture, had overstepped his bounds and even interfered in his Qingzhou Prefecture affairs, which made him lose face.

However, he dared not disobey, because the "Imperial Sword" that Song Jiang brought was very powerful. Zhang Shuye and Murong Yanda were currently of equal rank, and this "Imperial Sword" could just restrain him. Moreover, he also knew that behind Zhang Shuye was Grand Tutor Cai Jing, and now was the time when Grand Tutor Cai needed him. If he offended Zhang Shuye, he estimated that his life would not be easy.

Don't be fooled by his sister being a concubine in the palace, or by the fact that he is a relative of the emperor and his brother-in-law. He was promoted by four treacherous ministers, and it would be easy for them to bring him down.

These four treacherous officials possessed such abilities, and during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, they indeed wielded such power.

Murong Yanda was unhappy, but he had no choice but to swallow his anger. So he simply sent "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, "Jin Mao Hu" Yan Shun, and "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying back to Jizhou Prefecture with Song Jiang.

However, this feud was now firmly established, and Murong Yanda kept it in mind, thinking that he would definitely give Zhang Shuye a hard time when the opportunity arose.

After all, Murong Yanda had heard of Zhang Shuye. Zhang Shuye and his ilk of treacherous officials were not the same kind of people. He couldn't fit in, and he guessed that Cai Jing couldn't control him to do those dirty things for Cai Jing.

The reason Zhang Shuye is being used now is because Grand Tutor Cai Jing has a need for him. Zhang Shuye is working hard here, single-mindedly recruiting people everywhere to fight against Liangshan Marsh. Little does he know that if he really wipes out Liangshan Marsh, his days are probably numbered.

Once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; once the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away! Liangshan Marsh is already gone, so what use is Zhang Shuye now?

Unfortunately, Zhang Shuye couldn't see this point yet; his mind was filled only with thoughts of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country. Murong Yanda wasn't in a hurry; he would wait until Zhang Shuye was no longer useful before making his move...

Meanwhile, Song Jiang, known as "Hu Baoyi," arrived with the "Shangfang Sword" to rescue Hua Rong, "Little Li Guang," Yan Shun, "Jinmaohu," and Wang Ying, "Dwarf Tiger." In fact, the credit for their success went more to Zhang Shuye and the "Shangfang Sword." Song Jiang was merely a messenger, and the credit had little to do with him.

But who made him the one to step forward? These three men believed that Song Jiang had saved them, so they were extremely grateful to him. As for "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, he and "Hu Baoyi" Song Jiang were already very close, and he believed that Song Jiang had received his letter and come to them under the cover of night.

As for "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun and "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying, it was much simpler. These two originally thought they were doomed to die, but in the end, they were saved by Song Jiang and brought back to Jizhou Prefecture. They were even able to become minor officials, which was already a stroke of good luck. Therefore, they were very grateful to Song Jiang and became his loyal followers.

Song Jiang, the "righteous protector," readily accepted the offer, telling everyone that as long as they followed him under Zhang Shuye, the prefect of Jizhou, to serve the country loyally, they would have no problem securing a position and a comfortable retirement for their family.

This pie in the sky is quite a nice picture, but Song Jiang, the "Protector of Justice," hasn't even had a taste of it himself yet, and he's already drawing pie in the sky for others.

This only proves that he subconsciously believes he will definitely get to eat the bread, and even be able to get these people to eat it too. But can he really do that...?

While Zhang Shuye was recruiting soldiers, Li Hanxiao was preparing to further refine the roles of the new and old leaders of Liangshan. This was because the number of heroes on Liangshan had increased too much in recent days, and there was no order of rank or detailed division of roles.

As for the seating arrangement, Li Hanxiao still doesn't plan to proceed now, because many people have come up the mountain without having made any contributions. Even if you know they are capable, if you put them ahead of the veteran members who have made contributions, they won't be satisfied.

However, the functions and responsibilities must be further refined.

According to the original division, Wen Huanzhang was the strategist under Li Hanxiao, in charge of all affairs and providing advice and strategies. This remained unchanged.

"Soaring Eagle" Li Ying was in charge of finances and provisions, as well as various businesses outside the mountain. His remaining poison had been cleared, and it was time for him to get back to work. Li Hanxiao assigned him two deputies: "Divine Calculator" Jiang Jing, who was in charge of cashiering, and "Ghost Face" Du Xing, his old subordinate, who was responsible for helping him with detailed matters. He was not assigned to the cavalry, infantry, or naval forces. As long as he could help Liangshan Marsh and use his money-making skills, that was enough. They wouldn't miss his fighting ability in battles.

In addition, the leaders of the cavalry, infantry, and naval forces were further divided. The cavalry was led by "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, and commanded "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi, "Red-Faced Tiger" Yuan Lang, "Surpassing Gongming" Mi Sheng, "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi, "Beautiful-Bearded Gentleman" Zhu Tong, Wang Yin, Si Xingfang, "Horse Hawk" Ma Ji, "Three-Axe" Cheng Da, "Sick Yuchi" Sun Li, "Little Wenhou" Lü Fang, "Surpassing Rengui" Guo Sheng, "Fiery-Eyed Lion" Deng Fei, "Cloud-Piercing Golden-Winged" Ou Peng, "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin, "Brocade Leopard" Yang Lin, "Mountain-Pulling Warrior" Tang Bin, "Mountain-Shaking Warrior" Wen Zhongrong, "Mountain-Moving Warrior" Cui Ye, "Tiger-Slaying General" Li Zhong, "Little Overlord" Zhou Tong, "Mountain-Splitting Warrior" Nie Gong, "Yin-Yang Hand" Lu Hui, "Sky-Drilling Spear" Zhu Jing, and "One-Zhang-Green" Hu Sanniang.

The infantry commander was led by "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, and commanded "Tiger-Slaying Hero" Wu Song, "Red-Haired Devil" Liu Tang, "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng, "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen, "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao, "Faceless" Jiao Ting, "Death God" Bao Xu, "Ghost Mountain Demon" Han Bolong, "General Stone" Shi Yong, "Dragon Emerging from the Forest" Zou Yuan, and "One-Horned Dragon" Zou Run.

The naval leaders remained unchanged; they were still the three Nguyen brothers.

Among them, the leaders of the cavalry and infantry were responsible for guarding the mountain stronghold and training the troops. Li Han jokingly asked "Leopard Head" Lin Chong and "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi to be in charge of training the cavalry, "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen and "Tiger-Fighting Hero" Wu Song to train the infantry, and the three Ruan brothers to train the naval troops.

In addition, Li Hanxiao saw Jiao Ting's boxing skills and specially appointed him as the chief instructor of boxing and kicking for the three armies, to specialize in training combat techniques.

Besides the cavalry and naval forces, there were some leaders not included, precisely because Li Hanxiao had also set up several other departments.

These are the four departments: the Military Industry Department, the Intelligence Department, the Military Settlement Department, and the Logistics Department.

The Ministry of Military Industry, as the name suggests, is a department specializing in the research and development of military equipment, including weapons manufacturing, armor making, gunpowder research, fortifications, city walls, water conservancy, and even pharmaceuticals and medical care, all of which Li Hanxiao has included.

The number of people is relatively small, currently only four. One is "Thunderbolt" Ling Zhen, who is mainly in charge of firearms. Another is "Nine-Tailed Turtle" Tao Zongwang, who can be called the workaholic of Liangshan Marsh. He hasn't rested for months. First, he renovated the original defensive facilities of Liangshan Marsh, demolished and rebuilt them, then built new buildings to expand the area, and led people to reclaim wasteland for farming and repair water conservancy. Li Hanxiao was afraid that he would be exhausted to death, so he thought about finding him a few civil engineering assistants as soon as possible.

The other two are "miracle doctor" An Daoquan and his apprentice Pang Xiarong, who are in charge of medical and pharmaceutical aspects. Originally, Li Hanxiao wanted to set up a separate department for them, but An Daoquan said that it was unnecessary for just the two of them, as there were not enough people to handle the work of an entire department at the moment.

As for the intelligence department, it's easier to understand. It's an intelligence agency, responsible for gathering military intelligence, recruiting talent, and gathering information about the martial arts world. These are all their tasks. Li Han smiled and appointed the veteran assassin Ma Bian to lead the intelligence department, which was headed by several leaders, including "Dry Land Crocodile" Zhu Gui, "White Day Rat" Bai Sheng, "Iron Whistle" Le He, "Mother Tiger" Gu Dasao, "Little Yuchi" Sun Xin, "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu, and "Golden Retriever" Duan Jingzhu.

Among them, Zhu Gui, the "Dry Land Crocodile," Gu Dasao, the "Mother Tiger," and Sun Xin and his wife, the "Little Yuchi," all ran hotels on the outskirts to gather intelligence. Bai Sheng, the "White Day Rat," set up an intelligence station in Jizhou City. Le He, the "Iron Whistle," and Wang Dingliu, the "Living Flash," formed a mobile group, specializing in diplomatic issues.

There was also a "Golden Retriever" named Duan Jingzhu, who was a bit more special. He was a member of the intelligence department, but his main job was to cooperate with "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying and "Little Whirlwind" Chai Jin from Cangzhou to sell smuggled wine to the Liao Kingdom and then transport it to the Song Dynasty by horses.

Since this kid was originally a horse thief active in the northern regions of Liao and Jin, stealing good horses to places in the Central Plains where horses were scarce and then selling them, he had his own set of tips on how to get horses through checkpoints without being discovered, so it was just right to put him in charge of this matter.

The Military Settlement Department was responsible for managing agriculture, including farming, planting crops, and cultivating cash crops. It was headed by "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai, with "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng as his deputy. Other members included "Cloud-Piercing Vajra" Song Wan and "Touching the Sky" Du Qian.

Speaking of "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng, he and his sister "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang are hardly like siblings from the same mother. His sister "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang cried and begged to become a warrior and fight on the battlefield, while "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng, who is no less capable than his sister and is a grown man, came over to Li Han and said with a smile that he didn't want to fight and wanted to go back to farming. He also said that he used to manage the tenants of Hu Family Village and that he was good at farming and harvesting grain.

Li Hanxiao was also quite helpless, but since he himself didn't want to go to war, Li Hanxiao didn't need to force him to go. Moreover, Li Hanxiao also discovered that "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng was indeed better than other leaders in managing agriculture, because apart from "Nine-Tailed Turtle" Tao Zongwang, there were really few proper farmers among the leaders who came up the mountain. He, "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng, had been a second-generation landlord since childhood, and he had been able to manage these things since he was a child. It was his profession.

Therefore, Li Hanxiao ordered "Flying Tiger" Hu Cheng, along with "Cloud Vajra" Song Wan and "Touching the Sky" Du Qian, to cultivate and reclaim land within the 800-li Liangshan Marsh.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts, "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai and his farmhands were cultivating the land, mainly in the three villages that Li Hanxiao had recently occupied: Dongxi Village, Xixi Village, and Huandao Village.

In addition, Li Hanxiao stationed troops in three villages for protection. In Xixi Village, there were "Golden Wings of the Clouds" Ou Peng and "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin. In Dongxi Village, there were "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing, "Ghost Mountain Demon" Han Bolong, and "Stone General" Shi Yong. He also brought "Red-Haired Ghost" Liu Tang back to the mountain stronghold for his service. Because he was going to help "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai, he had one more person. In Huandao Village, there were "Fire-Eyed Lion" Deng Fei and "Brocade Leopard" Yang Lin.

As for the Logistics Department, it was in charge of logistics, which, to put it bluntly, was the cooks and mess hall. They were in charge of food and drink, as well as the production of wine, soy sauce, and vinegar. Their head was "Knife-wielding Ghost" Cao Zheng, who was equivalent to a "quartermaster" and led "Smiling Tiger" Zhu Fu and Wu Dalang.

Among them, "Smiling Tiger" Zhu Fu was mainly responsible for the production of high-proof liquor and various soy sauces and vinegars, while Wu Dalang directly took on the role of the cook, leading a group of cooks and still staying in his old profession.

However, Wu Dalang himself felt good about it. In his words, he had never had a good day since he was a child. He was used to hardship. If he didn't knead dough or do some work for a day, he would feel very uncomfortable. He was happy to do his work.

Under the vigorous efforts of Tao Zongwang, the "Nine-Tailed Turtle," Liangshan Marsh has established many more checkpoints and strongholds, and Li Hanxiao has also assigned guard duties to each leader.

The first pass on the southern route to the mountain is guarded by Xie Zhen, the "Two-Headed Snake," and Xie Bao, the "Double-Tailed Scorpion." The second pass is guarded by Yuan Lang, the "Red-Faced Tiger," and Mi Sheng, the "Surpassing Gongming." The third pass is guarded by Zhu Tong, the "Beautiful-Bearded Gentleman," and Lei Heng, the "Winged Tiger."

The first pass of Dongshan is guarded by Sun Li, nicknamed "Sick Yuchi," and Liu Tang, nicknamed "Red-Haired Devil." The first pass of Xishan is guarded by Ma Ji, nicknamed "Horse Hawk," and Shi Xiu, nicknamed "Desperate Saburo." The first pass of Beishan is guarded by Cheng Da, nicknamed "Three-Strike Axe," and Bao Xu, nicknamed "Death God."

Beyond the six passes, eight fortresses were established: the four dry fortresses to the south, guarded by Wang Yin, "Yin-Yang Hand" Lu Hui, "Forest Dragon" Zou Yuan, and "Unicorn Dragon" Zou Run; the dry fortress to the east, guarded by Si Xingfang, "Little Marquis Wen" Lü Fang, "Surpassing Ren Gui" Guo Sheng, and "One-Zhang-Qing" Hu Sanniang; the dry fortress to the west, guarded by "Mountain-Pulling Warrior" Tang Bin, "Mountain-Shaking Warrior" Wen Zhongrong, "Mountain-Moving Warrior" Cui Ye, and "Mountain-Splitting Warrior" Nie Gong; and the dry fortress to the north, guarded by "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi, "Tiger-Fighting General" Li Zhong, "Little Overlord" Zhou Tong, and "Faceless" Jiao Ting.

In the southeast water fortress, Ruan Xiaoer, known as the "Standing Earthly Tai Sui," guards Song Yashi; in the southwest water fortress, Ruan Xiaowu, known as the "Short-lived Second Brother," guards; and in the northeast water fortress, Ruan Xiaoqi, known as the "Living Yama," guards.

There is also a newly built Northwest Water Fortress, but there is currently no extra naval commander to take on the important task, so He Cheng, the former minor leader of the Liangshan Marsh naval forces, is temporarily put in charge of its management and guard.