novelSusiti Chapter 62: Dividing the Army into Three Routes
Chapter 62: Dividing the Army into Three Routes
Introduced by Song Jiang, a total of nine leaders joined Liangshan this time.
They are Hua Rong, Qin Ming, Huang Xin, Yan Shun, Wang Ying, Zheng Tianshou, Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, and Shi Yong.
Among these people, "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong is unparalleled in archery, and "Thunderbolt" Qin Ming is highly skilled in martial arts, both considered top-tier.
Huang Xin, known as "Suppressor of Three Mountains," Lü Fang, known as "Little Marquis Wen," and Guo Sheng, known as "Surpassing Ren Gui," are considered to be in the second tier among these people, and are at the middle level among the Liangshan heroes.
Yan Shun, Wang Ying, Zheng Tianshou, and Shi Yong were slightly inferior.
Wang Lun was delighted to have nine leaders join him at once, but he also wanted to test whether they were truly sincere. So he told them about the impending attack by the imperial army.
He was also considering how to win over Hua Rong and others.
He had confidence in Qin Ming, after all, Qin Ming was a surrendered general who, to some extent, was forced to become an outlaw because of Song Jiang's mistreatment of his family and his own death, similar to Yang Zhi's experience.
When he mentioned the approaching imperial troops, everyone reacted with varying expressions.
Wang Lun observed carefully and found that although everyone's expressions were different, no one wanted to back down and none of them were cowards.
He couldn't help but nod to himself.
"When we came in, we saw that the Liangshan army was strong and well-equipped, and the soldiers were in high spirits. I suppose the chieftain already has a plan. We are newcomers, so please give us your instructions, chieftain, so that we may show off our skills and make some contributions."
Hua Rong immediately volunteered.
Qin Ming clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "May I ask who the imperial court has appointed as general?"
Lin Chong, who was standing nearby, said, "The enemy is led by Zhang Shuye as commander and Huyan Zhuo as general, with an army of ten thousand."
Qin Ming pondered for a moment and said, "Although I do not know this Huyan Zhuo, I have heard of him. I have heard that he is a descendant of Huyan Zan and is highly skilled in martial arts. I am willing to be the vanguard and fight Huyan Zhuo."
Wang Lun was overjoyed and said, "Good! With Thunderbolt Qin Ming as the vanguard, we will surely make sure that Huyan Zhuo never returns."
Yang Zhi, standing nearby, objected and immediately said, "Brother, last time when we attacked Jizhou, Instructor Lin was the vanguard, and I didn't make any contributions. Now that Huyan Zhuo has arrived, why is Qin Ming given the vanguard position again?"
Wang Lun laughed and said, "Commander Yang, there's no rush for you to be the vanguard. Now that Liangshan has captured Jizhou, defeated the imperial army, and captured Zhang Shuye and Huyan Zhuo, why would we worry about not having any battles to fight?"
He glanced around and said, "Besides, Huyan Zhuo is no pushover; he's not so easy to defeat."
"Brother," Lin Chong said, also wanting to secure the vanguard position for Yang Zhi. "Since Huyan Zhuo is difficult to deal with, why not ask Brother Qin Ming and Brother Yang Zhi to both be vanguards, one on the left and one on the right? With their combined strength, how can we not defeat Huyan Zhuo?"
Everyone nodded in approval, saying that Lin Chong's idea was excellent.
Wang Lun pondered for a moment and said, "This battle is crucial for the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army to establish its prestige. If we win, our Liangshan Flying Tiger Army will be able to awe the world. But if we lose, we may have no choice but to flee back to the marshland."
Hearing him say this, everyone nodded.
"It will be a few days before the imperial troops arrive, so let's put aside the matter of the vanguard for now. We have new leaders joining us, and the Flying Tiger Army has also absorbed the original soldiers from Jeju. Let me consider it tonight, and we'll make a final decision at a general meeting of all the leaders tomorrow. What do you say?"
Wang Lun is right. Now that there are more leaders and several people who can lead troops, we might as well take this opportunity to assign some positions to them, which will make management easier.
All the leaders clasped their hands in agreement.
"According to the old rules of Liangshan, when a new leader comes to the mountain, I always organize a drinking party, and we drink several large bowls of wine to our hearts' content. But now that a powerful enemy is attacking, I have other important matters to attend to, and it is not appropriate for me to get drunk."
He looked at Lu Zhishen and Wu Song and said, "Why don't you two greet the new leaders on my behalf and remind them to drink in moderation and not to overindulge?"
Upon hearing that there was wine to drink, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song quickly agreed.
Everyone then withdrew to rest, except for Lin Chong and Shi Wenbin.
Among the current leaders of Liangshan, Wang Lun ranks first, Lin Chong second, and Chao Gai third. According to Wang Lun's previous arrangements, all major matters need to be discussed and decided by the three of them.
Now that Chao Gai is guarding Yuncheng, it's just him and Lin Chong here.
Shi Wenbin was insightful and capable of serving as a staff member. Wang Lun had a good impression of both Shi Wenbin and Zhang Shuye, two court officials, and trusted them greatly.
After Shi Wenbin started working for Wang Lun, his two subordinate captains, Zhu Tong and Lei Heng, also became leaders of Liangshan.
It can be said that they gained Shi Wenbin, who was well-read, knowledgeable, and capable of handling political affairs, and also received two military officers as a bonus.
Wang Lun naturally valued Shi Wenbin highly.
The three then listed the names of the existing leaders one by one and began to analyze them according to their personality traits. This analysis continued until late at night.
The next day at dawn, Wang Lun ordered the drums to be beaten at the government office, gathering all the leaders. There were now a total of twenty-six leaders. Apart from Chao Gai guarding Yuncheng, Du Qian, Tang Long, and Song Wan still guarding outside Liangshan, the other twenty-two were all present.
Wang Lun sat high on his throne, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. He immediately felt that there were many talented people among them, and a surge of pride rose in his heart. Now, it truly could be said that there were many fierce generals.
He cleared his throat, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Wu Song and Lu Zhishen loudly recounted their drinking spree the previous night. As the hosts, they had entertained Hua Rong and other generals, getting everyone thoroughly drunk.
When Wang Lun looked, he saw that, as expected, those who couldn't hold their liquor, such as Zheng Tianshou and Yan Shun, were still looking like they hadn't woken up from a hangover.
Only Wu Song and Lu Zhishen looked relaxed; the two seemed to get more energetic and stronger the more they drank.
He laughed and said, "Now that the enemy is about to attack, let's abstain from alcohol for a few days. After we defeat Huyan Zhuo, I, Wang, will drink with you all again."
Everyone quickly agreed, saying that there were important matters to attend to, and of course, one should not drink to excess.
"After discussing with Instructor Lin, we now plan to divide our Liangshan Flying Tiger Army into four routes. Each route will have two vanguard commanders, one strategist, and several deputy vanguard commanders. Each route will be equipped with one thousand soldiers, consisting of five hundred cavalry and five hundred infantry."
When Wang Lun got down to business, everyone quieted down.
"We're short on soldiers right now. We can recruit soldiers gradually, and we can also capture the imperial army. Huyan Zhuo brought 10,000 soldiers, so we can capture at least 5,000."
After he finished speaking, the leaders burst into laughter. The so-called "using war to sustain war" not only means obtaining resources such as food and weapons through war, but also includes capturing soldiers through war, which is also very important.
The Liangshan bandits initially numbered only eight hundred, but through recruitment and capture, they gradually grew to over five thousand men.
Wang Lun, full of energy, said, "Next, I'll ask Instructor Lin to explain the specific division of labor to everyone. Please feel free to raise any opinions you may have, and we can discuss them further."
Lin Chong then stood up and straightened his clothes.
Now he sits in the second-highest position in Liangshan, with more than twenty generals, more than five thousand soldiers, abundant food and supplies, and sufficient military pay. He is very confident.
His leopard-like eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Although four armies have been established, the chieftain will still serve as the Grand Marshal, overseeing all four armies..."