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

Chapter 86 Guan Sheng Joins Liangshan

Wang Lun's offer to lead the army to escort Zhang Shuye from behind not only delighted Zhang Shuye, but also filled Guan Sheng and the others with conflicting thoughts.

They all thought to themselves that Wang Lun was truly a man of great respect for the virtuous and talented, and a man of great loyalty and righteousness, and indeed worthy of being the leader of Liangshan.

"General Guan, General Hao, and General Ling, you three don't need to go with Vice Minister Zhang, do you? I can't bear to let you go back."

Wang Lun laughed heartily. He knew that Guan Sheng was a loyal and righteous man who hated being wronged. Gao Qiu's framing of Guan Sheng had actually done him a favor.

These days, he sent Lin Chong to befriend Guan Sheng, hoping that the two could become friends through martial arts, and eventually keep Guan Sheng.

Now that Gao Qiu is helping, things have actually become simpler.

Guan Sheng clasped his hands and said, "I am unworthy of the chief's favor. I am only willing to give my life for the chief and serve him."

Hao Siwen and Ling Zhen also clasped their hands in a gesture of loyalty.

Wang Lun dismounted and personally untied the men, then threatened Li Yuhou, allowing Zhang Shuye to ride in a sedan chair while Li Yuhou walked beside him.

Only then were they allowed to leave.

Li Yuhou had narrowly escaped death, his legs were weak, and he couldn't wait to leave. He kept urging others to hurry up as he walked along the road.

As the procession marched a long way, Zhang Shuye looked back and saw the three thousand iron cavalry of the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army following far behind. The formation was orderly, the flags were bright, and the generals in charge, including Wang Lun, Wu Song, Lin Chong, Guan Sheng, and Hao Siwen, looked majestic and awe-inspiring. The Song Dynasty had not had such generals for many years.

Zhang Shuye withdrew his gaze, his mind racing, before finally letting out a long sigh.

Wang Lun led his troops to follow at a distance, from Jizhou to Puzhou, and then through Xingren Prefecture, they left the territory of Jingdong West Road.

As expected, Li Yuhou dared not lay a hand on Zhang Shuye again. Gao Qiu had originally sent the cunning and narrow-minded Li Yuhou to capture Zhang Shuye and Guan Sheng, with the aim of forcing them to rebel.

If Zhang Shuye and Guan Sheng are forced to rebel, then the Song emperor's plan to recruit Wang Lun will have to be temporarily shelved.

Zhang Shuye was also valued by the emperor, and even he was taken in by Wang Lun, which made the emperor more wary of Wang Lun.

Then, together with Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and others, they will "patiently persuade" the emperor to launch another campaign to wipe out the Liangshan bandits in one fell swoop.

According to his plan, even if he couldn't force Zhang Shuye and Guan Sheng to rebel, he would secretly kill them on the way and then claim that they were Liangshan bandits who came to rescue people and were killed in the chaos of battle.

Could the Daoist Emperor possibly find out the truth?

Gao Qiu knew this official all too well; aside from painting, his passion for everything else was just a passing fancy.

He might approve of Wang Lun now, but he'll lose interest in him after a while.

But little did he know that Wang Lun directly led the army to escort Zhang Shuye, making Li Yuhou hesitant to act. Once they reached the territory of Tokyo, he dared not make a move even more. After all, once they reached Tokyo, there were many people and eyes watching, and the confidants of various high-ranking officials of the court were spread all over the country. If there was any disturbance, everyone would know about it clearly.

Seeing that Zhang Shuye was safe, Wang Lun and the others led their troops back.

Along the way, Puyang and Xingren Prefecture saw how powerful the Liangshan army was, and upon hearing that Huyan Zhuo's army had failed in its campaign against the bandits, neither dared to attack Liangshan.

Wang Lun led his troops back and forth as if they were in an empty field.

On their return journey, Wang Lun and his group returned to the territory of Jeju, but instead of entering Jeju City, they turned north.

He led a cavalry force, and in just over half a day, they arrived at Yuncheng County.

Chao Gai and Lei Heng were stationed in Yuncheng. Although they fought against Yuncheng by Han Tao and Peng Qi, they returned empty-handed.

Upon hearing that Wang Lun had defeated Huyan Zhuo one after another and achieved great results, the two were extremely excited and wished they could follow Wang Lun to his side.

To their surprise, Wang Lun suddenly arrived with a large army, and the two hurriedly went out of the city to greet him.

The troops were stationed outside the city. Wang Lun led a group of leaders into Yuncheng, and after a banquet with Chao Gai, he listened to Chao Gai's report on the affairs of Yuncheng.

Hearing that Chao Gai had managed Yuncheng quite well, Wang Lun offered a few words of encouragement.

"What brings the chieftain and his troops to Yuncheng?"

After reporting his work and receiving commendation, Chao Gai began to get to the point.

Wang Lun then explained his purpose: "A few days ago, Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu came to join Liangshan. One of their younger brothers, Shi Qian, was captured by the Zhu Family Village. I have already written a letter to Hu Taigong, asking him to intervene on my behalf."

Only then did the leaders realize Wang Lun's purpose: he had come for the Zhu Family Village.

Now that the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army has captured Jizhou and occupied Yuncheng, the nearby Hu Family Village, Zhu Family Village, and Li Family Village need to be dealt with.

It goes without saying that the Hu Family Village had already formed an alliance with Liangshan.

Neither the Zhu Family Village nor the Li Family Village sent letters to Liangshan to offer their congratulations, nor did they take the initiative to seek refuge or form an alliance.

On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep soundly.

These three villages are ones that Liangshan absolutely must take.

But Wu Song's heart stirred. Only he knew that one of Wang Lun's purposes in coming here was to help him with his marriage.

"But even after Hu Taigong mediated with the Zhu Family Village, they still refused to release him. Hey, Shi Qian only stole a chicken, why make such a fuss about it?"

Upon hearing Wang Lun's words, all the leaders nodded repeatedly. They had long understood Wang Lun's meaning; the so-called rescue of Shi Qian was merely a pretext.

Zhu Family Village is a powerful village on Dulong Ridge. If Liangshan wants to expand further, it has to deal with these powerful forces in the vicinity.

The group rested in Yuncheng, and Wang Lun kept Chao Gai behind to explain the various matters concerning the distribution of land for farming.

The next day, Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu traveled from Jizhou to Yuncheng to meet up with Wang Lun.

Wang Lun then led his troops in a grand procession toward Dulonggang.

The terrain of Zhujiazhuang is complex. According to the original story, Liangshan suffered heavy losses in its three attacks on Zhujiazhuang. Qin Ming, Huang Xin and others were captured one after another. Even though Shi Xiu entered Zhujiazhuang and learned how to navigate the Pantuo Road, Liangshan still failed to conquer Zhujiazhuang.

Later, Sun Li, a new recruit, went undercover at the Zhu Family Village, which enabled Liangshan to succeed through a coordinated attack from within and without.

Sun Li has not yet joined Liangshan, but Wang Lun has his own plans.

The Zhu Family Manor also has many skilled martial artists. The manor lord, Zhu Chaofeng, his sons Zhu Long, Zhu Hu, and Zhu Biao, and their teacher, Luan Tingyu, are all highly skilled in martial arts. Luan Tingyu, in particular, is a force to be reckoned with.

However, all of this was already in Wang Lun's plans. He brought many skilled generals with him this time, and either Lin Chong or Guan Sheng was a match for Luan Tingyu.

Wu Song and Hao Siwen's martial arts skills were also superior to those of the three Zhu family sons.

Taking down the Zhu Family Village was not difficult; Wang Lun's plan was to take over the Hu Family Village and the Li Family Village in one fell swoop.

Hu Cheng became Yang Zhi's disciple, and his martial arts skills improved greatly.

Li Ying, the lord of Li Family Manor, was even more skilled in martial arts. His spear technique was comparable to that of the Five Tiger Generals of Liangshan in the original novel. In addition, he also had five throwing knives, which could kill people from a hundred paces away, making him appear and disappear like a ghost.

Wang Lun was also eager to meet this "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying.

Before reaching Dulonggang, Wang Lun stopped in an open area with his back against a hillside and ordered his soldiers to set up camp and rest.

As dusk fell, a group of people approached from afar, the leader of whom was a striking figure, her beauty accentuated by the setting sun.

Perhaps she had dressed up specially to meet the Liangshan leaders. When she got closer, she dismounted and, before even bowing to Wang Lun, went to greet Wu Song.

"Brother Wu, it's been a long time."

Looking at Hu Sanniang in front of him, Wu Song felt inexplicably embarrassed, smiled, and didn't know what to say.