Chapter 20: Arriving at Liangshan, meeting Wang Lun for the first time
"Gulong!"

Cao Jie swallowed his saliva, and his second brother hardened slightly.

"Jinlian! You haven't reported your training yet today! Come on, sit down and talk."

I had no chance to sleep in the open air along the way, but now I'm at home, so should I...

It’s not that I lack self-control, but who can bear to be tested on veteran cadres?

Just as he was about to make a move, Ruan Xiaoqi and Wu Song came over, each holding a jar of wine, singing a song as they walked:
"The river flows eastward! The stars in the sky are like the Big Dipper!"

"..."

After singing a song, K Brother Master Ruan Xiaoqi said drunkenly: "Erlang, teach us another song!"

Looking at the two big light bulbs, Cao Jie said helplessly: "Tomorrow!"

"Brother!" Wu Song's eyes were blurred. "Brother is really a master of both literature and martial arts. I will give you another bowl. Brother gave my seventh brother a song. I want one too."

"Okay, okay, let me think about it..."

Soon, Wu Song roared at the lakeside with a hoarse voice: "The sea laughs, the tides surge on both sides. Ups and downs follow the waves, remember this day..."

Wu Song was satisfied, and Ruan Xiaoqi was also satisfied.

A group of heroes gathered together after hearing the noise.

Inevitably, there will be another round of urging people to drink.

They say people get carried away after drinking, that's all bullshit, can you still stand up straight when you're drunk?

Xiao Jinlian, who was busy taking care of Cao Jie, had a hint of resentment in her eyes.

Women conquer the world by conquering men.

Everyone wants to climb up, everyone wants to make progress.

Climbing into bed is the easiest step to progress.

Silent all night.

When I woke up the next day, it was already noon.

Lu Fang and Jiao Ting took advantage of the breakfast time to speak:

"Brother, last night I heard from Brother Zhu Gui about the situation in Liangshan. Brother Jiao Ting and I discussed it and decided to settle down in Liangshan and help you protect this place."

"Second brother, I, Jiao Ting, know that I have low abilities and foul mouth, but you don't despise me. I will remember this kindness in my heart. Leave the small matters on the mountain to me and Brother Lu Fang."

On Liangshan Mountain, Wang Lun and Du Qian occupied the main positions, while Song Wan and Zhu Gui were excluded and suppressed.

This is when reinforcements are needed.

The three Ruan brothers and Wu Song are very capable. Cao Jie will be of great use to them in the future. It is a waste of his talents if he becomes a bandit now.

Moreover, Wang Lun is jealous of talented people and may not take them in.

Lu Fang and Jiao Ting are very suitable for the role.

We are all in the Liangshanpo area, so it is easy to meet each other.

Cao Jie had already made plans in this regard, and now that the two of them had taken the initiative to bring it up, he went with the flow and said, "Song Wan and Zhu Gui are indeed outnumbered on Mount Liang. If you two brothers can help us, this Mount Liang will be our backyard. Brothers, it's hard on the mountain, and it's just hard for you guys."

Lv Fang felt the warmth of Cao Jie's hand and said, "Brother, I had always planned to go to the mountains and become a bandit. Now that I have joined Liangshan, I don't have to start from scratch. I have made a profit."

Jiao Ting chuckled: "I have visited many mountain masters, but none of them would take me in. Only my second brother doesn't mind my rudeness and lack of face..."

"Then I'll leave it to you two brothers."

Upon seeing this, Zhu Gui opened the window of the pavilion, took out a magpie-painted bow, put the whistling arrow on it, and shot it towards the reeds on the opposite side of the harbor.

Wu Daqi beside him asked, "What does this mean?"

Zhu Gui explained: "This is the signal arrow of the mountain stronghold. A boat will arrive soon."

Sure enough, not long after, three or five minions came from the reed marsh on the opposite side, rowing a speedboat and went straight to the water pavilion of the hotel.

"Since you two brothers are going up the mountain, why don't you all go to Liangshan to have some fun?" Zhu Gui invited.

Cao Jie thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, we'll take you up the mountain and meet the scholar in white, Wang Lun."

Zhu Gui immediately led Cao Jie and others, took their weapons and luggage and boarded the boat. The little minions rowed the boat away and headed for the berth.

Come to the golden sand beach.

Although Cao Jie had been in Liangshanpo for several months, this was his first time to go to Liangshan.
The chaotic reeds are filled with thousands of swords and spears, and the strange trees are lined with thousands of swords and halberds.

The antlers of deer on the moat were made of bones; the bowls and gourds in the village were made of skeletons. People's skins were peeled off to cover the war drums, and their hair was cut to make reins.

To stop the government troops, there are countless dead-end roads; to stop the thieves, there are many dead-end paths and mountains. Pebbles are piled up like mountains, and bitter bamboo spears are dense like rain.

Warships come and go, and ambushes are set up around them; deep harbors are hidden, and there are many plants and trees under the walls. Clouds of sorrow rise above the Broken Gold Pavilion, and murderous auras rise in front of the Juyi Hall.

The minions rowed the boat to the golden sand beach under Liangshan Mountain in the water.

Zhu Gui and his brothers went ashore. His trusted followers carried their packages, took their weapons, and headed straight for the stronghold.

Those minions rowed the boat to the small harbor.

On both sides of the shore, there were huge trees that could be hugged by two men, and a Broken Gold Pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Turn around again and you will see a big pass.

In front of the pass were swords, spears, halberds, bows, crossbows, and daggers, and on all sides were wooden beams and cannonballs.

The little minions will go and report it first.

When Song Wan heard the news, he brought his trusted aides to pick him up, and the security measures were in place.

When everyone entered the pass, they saw team flags displayed on both sides of the road.

After passing two more passes, we arrived at the entrance of the village.

There are high mountains on all sides and three majestic passes, which surround it in a circle. In the middle, there is a mirror-like surface that looks like a flat land, with a circumference of three to five hundred feet. The main entrance is near the mountain pass, and there are side rooms on both sides.

"In such a short period of time, Wang Lun has built Liangshan into this state. He is quite capable!"

Cao Jie was quite emotional, thinking if he were to do these things.

Not to mention the issue of money, the infrastructure and coordination capabilities are not as good as before.

"Erlang, if you have money you can do it, it's nothing."

"Alas! Fifth brother, you can't underestimate this. There are many rich people in the world, but how many can build a foundation? Destruction is always easier than construction!"

It is true that Wang Lun is a bit narrow-minded, jealous of talented people, and a bit of a petty Confucian scholar.

But it cannot be said that Wang Lun has no ability.

Apart from other things, the vision he had in establishing a business in this 800-mile lake that is connected by land and water and can be used for attack or defense is something that ordinary people cannot achieve.

As for making things difficult for Lin Chong and Chao Gai's gang, you can say that he is narrow-minded, jealous of talented people and petty, but you can also say that he has a strong sense of crisis.

When Lin Chong went up the mountain, he was worried that he was a scholar who had failed the imperial examinations many times and was weak as a kitten. His subordinates were only Du Qian and Song Wan, two rough men with mediocre martial arts skills. Lin Chong was the instructor of the imperial army in the capital and must have high martial arts skills. If he allowed Lin Chong to go up the mountain, his position as the leader of the stronghold might be unstable.

As for Chao Gai's gang, the problem is even bigger. He has only five leaders, among whom he is weak and cannot even tie a chicken. There is also Lin Chong who is treacherous, and the other three are Du Qian, Song Wan and Zhu Gui who are mediocre in martial arts. On Chao Gai's side are Wu Yong, who is known as the wise man, Liu Tang, the three Ruan brothers, and Gongsun Sheng who is highly skilled in Taoism.

Once we let them go up the mountain, who will be the boss?

Moreover, if Chao Gai and his gang who robbed the birthday gift were allowed to go up the mountain, they would most likely be surrounded and suppressed by the government, and eventually be destroyed.

Therefore, he had a strong sense of crisis, or perhaps his emotional intelligence was not up to par, so he wanted to use fifty taels and two hundred and fifty taels of silver respectively to send away Lin Chong and Chao Gai's gang, and then develop the situation slowly.

Speaking objectively, although Wang Lun's behavior was a bit petty and showed low emotional intelligence, it was essentially not wrong. You have to know that Liangshan Marsh belonged to Wang Lun at that time. He didn't want to hand it over to others, nor did he want to endure the government's thundering encirclement and suppression. He lived for himself, so what was wrong with that?
Judging from Cao Jie's perspective, among the so-called 108 Liangshan heroes, there are only about 10 to 20 with decent character, and no more than one in number of real heroes. Most of them are not as good as Wang Lun in character!
“Brother, please!”

Song Wan and Zhu Gui led Cao Jie and others to the Juyi Hall.

Wang Lun sat on the middle chair, and Du Qian sat on the left chair.

Zhu Gui was angry when he saw them sitting there motionless, but he kept a straight face and said, "These guys are heroes from the neighboring Shijie Village. They sent the two brothers to the mountains to become bandits. This is the young Wenhou Lu Fang, and this is the shameless Jiao Ting. They are both highly skilled in martial arts."

Wang Lun made some polite remarks and asked some questions. Suddenly, he thought, "I am a scholar who failed the imperial examination. I came here to live as a bandit because of my bad luck. Because of Song Wan's connections, I gathered so many people and horses to accompany me. I don't have any special skills, and Du Qian's martial arts are just average."

"These people are numerous and powerful. I need to test their strength."

"If they are ordinary people, I will let them go up the mountain. If they are capable, I will take out some gold and silver and send them down the mountain..."

(End of this chapter)