Chapter 7: Dry Land Hulu: Can't afford to offend, can only join

"My benefactor, this is Handi Hulu Zhu Gui, a native of Yishui County, Yizhou. He committed a crime in his hometown and ended up here. I met him today and I saw that he is quite capable and a cautious man, so I brought him to meet my benefactor."

Song Wanren was tall and strong with a loud voice. He started shouting before he even got close.

Hulu!

This is the name for crocodile in Khitan language.

Crocodiles are the kings of the water, but on land they are just four-legged reptiles.

Zhu Gui is just like this. On the surface, he is just an ordinary hotel owner, not a hero of the outlaws. He is like a crocodile that does not stay in the water.

In fact, he is very good at disguising himself and getting information from all sides. He is a natural intelligence agent.

This nickname is similar to his younger brother Zhu Fu's nickname "Smiling Tiger", they are truly brothers.

When Cao Jie first saw this man, he was wearing an open sable fur coat and a pair of narrow deer fur boots. He was tall and thin, with a strong appearance, a bony face, and a three-pronged yellow beard.

At this time of year, he was still wearing winter clothes, obviously he was fleeing.

Moreover, judging from his appearance, he should have some Hu blood.

"Brother Zhu Gui! Nice to meet you."

Cao Jie walked up to him with a big laugh, not minding the strong smell of mutton on him, and held his hands.

This is called shaking hands and making peace.

In ancient times, shaking hands was a gesture of intimacy. In history, the great magician Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu relied on the idiom "shaking hands and talking happily" to win over countless famous generals.

Emperor Zhaolie took it even further. Not only did they shake hands and chat merrily, they also had long conversations and even slept with their feet touching.

The reason why Cao Jie treated Zhu Gui so seriously was because he valued his abilities.

Back then, Mengchangjun relied on a group of thieves to escape danger, which shows that talent cannot be judged by the strength of individual strength.

In Water Margin, Zhu Gui ranks 92nd among the 108 generals. He serves as the second of the eight welcoming envoys of the Internal Affairs Department and concurrently serves as the deputy manager of Nanshan Hotel.

Song Jiang does not value professional talents like Zhu Gui and only employs him as a shopkeeper. This shows that he does not know how to employ people.

In Cao Jie's opinion, professional talents like Zhu Gui and Shi Qian, if used well, are far better than the Five Tiger Generals and the Eight Riders.

"Zhu Gui, this is my benefactor, Second Brother Cao Jie. Without Second Brother Cao, I would have grass growing on my grave."

Although he had heard Song Wan talk about the abilities of Second Brother Cao on the way, Zhu Gui was still shocked when he saw with his own eyes that this was actually a young man with no hair on his face.

But just as he was startled, his hands were held, and he immediately felt touched.

Only those who have experienced it can understand the pain of being in trouble.

It is amazing that such a young hero has such a magnanimous character!
"Zhu Gui meets Brother Cao!"

After bowing, Cao Jie held Song Wan's hand with one hand and Zhu Gui's hand with the other, and said with a smile:

"I would rather make friends with good men. Come, eat and drink your fill here first, change into clean clothes, and then go up the mountain. This will prevent others from looking down on me."

Looking at the wine and braised beef in front of him, Zhu Gui's feeling of being touched increased by another 30%.

"Second Brother Cao, I heard that there were heroes who became bandits on Liangshan Mountain, so I came here to seek refuge. I didn't expect to meet Brother Song and Brother Cao before I even got to the mountain. Zhu Gui is so lucky..."

While sifting wine and cutting meat, Cao Jie said, "As the saying goes: rely on your parents at home and rely on your friends when you go out. I will introduce you to three heroes from Shijie Village later."

"well!"

"Eat first."

"Thank you, Brother Cao."

Wow! The cooking skills of this braised beef are absolutely amazing!

Zhu Gui was also a good cook. After taking just one bite, he was surprised again.

As one of the founding members of the gang, Zhu Gui had been engaged in intelligence work from the founding of Liangshan to its recruitment.

His specific job was to open a hotel at Lijiadaokou near Liangshan.

This hotel is a window for Liangshan. On the one hand, it can collect various types of intelligence for decision-making by the Liangshan leadership.

On the other hand, it is also a stopover and transit station for gangsters from all over the world to join Liangshan.

On the surface, this hotel is engaged in legitimate business, but in fact it is a cover and secretly serves as an intelligence station of Liangshan.

Sometimes, if they encounter single guests, this hotel will kill and rob them.

The importance of Zhu Gui's hotel management is revealed in many places in Water Margin. Lin Chong went to Liangshan through Zhu Gui's hotel, and Chao Gai and his gang went to Liangshan through Zhu Gui's hotel. Later, a large number of people from Qingfengzhai and Qingfengshan went to Liangshan through Zhu Gui's hotel.

When Chao Gai and his gang went to Liangshan, Wu Yong once said something that revealed the importance of Zhu Gui's hotel:
At present, there is a Handi Hulu Zhugui at the entrance of Lijia Road, where he runs a tavern to recruit heroes from all over the world. But those who want to join him must first surrender to him. We have arranged a boat, loaded all the necessary items on the boat, and sent some favors to him to bring him in. It can be seen that this tavern was basically the only bridge between Liangshan and the outside world in the early days.

Generally speaking, as long as you arrive at Zhu Gui's hotel safely, it means you have arrived in Liangshan safely.

Is it worth spending the effort to make friends with such an important person?

In addition, some of Liangshan's outings were based in Zhu Gui's hotel, and they were arranged properly without any problems.

Gathering intelligence was Zhu Gui's job. For example, the news that Fan Rui and his gang in Mangdang Mountain wanted to harm Liangshan was provided by Zhu Gui.
It was Zhu Gui who informed Song Jiang when Lei Heng passed through Liangshan.

Zhu Gui's job is very important to Liangshan. Without Zhu Gui's hotel, Liangshan would basically be without eyes and ears, and would lose an important channel of communication with the outside world.

Strangely, the imperial court has always ignored and done nothing about such an important spy intelligence station in Liangshan.

Song Jiang also did not attach importance to such an important department.

But in Cao Jie's mind, the intelligence department is one of the main forces for entrepreneurship.

After picking out the important information and sharing it with the three Ruan brothers, they immediately knew everything about Zhu Gui's role.

"Erlang, if that's the case, then it's up to you to decide what to do next."

Ruan Xiaowu patted his chest and said with a smile: "This Handi Hulu, if he doesn't recognize you as his elder brother today, he won't be able to climb this mountain."

One plays the good cop and the other plays the bad cop, this is a tactic that never goes out of style.

Cao Jie agreed in his heart, but subconsciously waved his hands repeatedly: "Fifth brother, harmony is the most important thing, we still need to communicate with each other from the heart!"

Hearing Erlang say this, Ruan Xiaoer also advised: "Erlang, the most important thing for Jianghu people is the size of their fists. If you don't show off your abilities, they will treat you like a sick cat and how can they obey you? Just leave this matter to Xiaowu!"

"Erlang, you finish the job. The three of us will beat him into submission, and you can use medicine to cure him. I'm not afraid that he won't be convinced."

Ruan Xiaoqi put his arm around Cao Jie's shoulders and walked towards the thatched hut humming a song.

Those who live in the underworld all admire the strong.

There are many cases where after being beaten up, Nadi would call his master "big brother".

Although Ruan Xiaowu's work was rough, it worked.

Zhu Gui, a four-legged reptile on dry land, is no match for Ruan Xiaowu, the short-lived idiot.

He fell to his knees before he could even exert even a little bit of strength.

Then, Cao Jie came out to ask about the patient's well-being, applied medicine with his own hands, and gained a wave of goodwill.

Complete a medical practice

["Barefoot Doctor" experience value +3]

After applying the medicine with a grimace on his face, Zhu Gui looked at Ruan Xiaowu with some fear.

The murderous aura just now really frightened him.

At that moment, he thought he was dead.

'Such a small village like Shijie has produced so many heroes...'

"Although Ruan Xiaoer and Ruan Xiaoqi did not take action, their murderous aura was truly terrifying..."

Compared with Song Wan, Zhu Gui's eyesight is much stronger, which is his unique skill in the world.

At this time, Ruan Xiaowu came over with two bowls of wine and said in a deep voice, "Brother Zhu Gui, I was a little too aggressive just now. Please forgive me. I'll drink this bowl of wine. You can do whatever you want."

Zhu Gui quickly took the wine bowl and drank it all, then said with a smile: "Fifth brother, you must have mastered the art of refining your essence! Zhu Gui was convinced."

Zhu Gui drank with great trepidation until he passed out.

The next day at noon, Zhu Gui bid farewell to Shijie Village and followed Song Wan on a small boat to Liangshan.

When Wang Lun and Du Qian heard from their younger brother that a brave man had come to surrender, they were both happy and worried.

The good news is that if the village is to develop, it will need talented people to join.

What they are worried about is that if the hero who comes to join them is too powerful, they will have to consider whether to keep him or not.

A meal of wine in Shijie Village and a meal of wine on Liangshan.

Zhu Gui's ability to read people's expressions is so great that no one could hide their thoughts from him.

After comparing the two places, he began to make up his mind.

Shijie Village is a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers are everywhere. He can't afford to offend them, so he can only join it!
(End of this chapter)