Chapter 331: Thoughts of All Parties! (Thanks to the book friend Ye Yimei Dare Shui for the reward!)
Looking at his son who lowered his head, Zhen Sanshan asked solemnly:
"Xiao Lin, are you still unwilling to take over White Tiger Mountain?"

Hearing that Zhen Sanshan had indeed asked this question, Zheng Xiaolin smiled bitterly and said:
"Dad, you already have the answer in your heart, why ask again?"

"Even if I had this idea, how could a disabled person like me subdue those vicious criminals under your command?"

Zhen Sanshan felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. He was silent for a while and then asked again:

"So what are your plans after I die?"

Zheng Xiaolin said seriously:

"Although I am a cripple, I can't even farm or do any hard work!"

“But fortunately, after learning from my master for these years, I can read and write, diagnose diseases, observe, smell, ask and palpate, and write documents for others. It should be no problem for me to see a doctor and prescribe medicine. After all, I won’t starve to death. Father, don’t worry about me…”

Seeing Zheng Xiaolin speaking so easily, Zhen Sanshan shook his head and said with a smile:

"What do you think will happen to the Green Forest after I die?"

In response to this question, Zheng Xiaolin thought for a while and replied in a deep voice:

"Torn apart, fighting for everything!"

After receiving this answer, Zhen Sanshan looked at Zheng Xiaolin with appreciation, and then continued:
"Since you know this, Xiaolin, why do you think you can stay out of it?"

"The most taboo thing about being a bandit is that if you don't remove the roots, they will grow again when the spring breeze blows!"

"You are my son. Even if you are kind-hearted and don't fight with others, they will try every possible means to kill you to avoid future troubles!"

After Zhen Sanshan finished speaking, Zheng Xiaolin lowered his head and fell into silence. Having grown up in a bandit's den, he certainly understood this truth.

It’s just that Zhen Sanshan used to be in good health, so he could numb himself and avoid this problem. But now his father, the big tree that has protected him from wind and rain, is about to fall. Even if he wants to escape, there is nowhere to hide...

Looking at the silent Zheng Xiaolin, Zhen Sanshan felt a glimmer of hope and continued:

"Xiao Lin, do you know why your master, Grandpa Du, insisted that your father agree to the third condition and let you follow him to learn medicine?"

Hearing Zhen Sanshan suddenly mention this, Zheng Xiaolin was a little surprised. He hesitated for a while and said:
"Master saw that I was born with a disability and felt pity for me, so he taught me medical skills, hoping that I could heal myself one day?"

Zhen Sanshan shook his head and said:

"Xiao Lin, this leg of yours was brought from your mother's womb. It's God's punishment to me. It's a great blessing for you and me that Grandpa Du can make you stand up. As for more, that's just wishful thinking..."

"If that's the case, why did Master insist on letting me learn medicine from you?" Zheng Xiaolin asked with some confusion:
Zhen Sanshan, who was lying on the bed, sighed and said with emotion and admiration:

"I, Zhen Sanshan, have been a man of swords and horses all my life. I never blinked when someone put a knife to my neck, but I really admire your master!"

"Mr. Du is very wise. I only realized it after all these years!"

"He knows that my life has been set and there is no cure for it. It cannot be changed, so he wants to start with you, Xiaolin."

"He brought you with him and taught you by example, imparting medical skills to you because he wanted you to have a compassionate heart as a doctor. When you inherit Baihu Mountain one day, you will be able to make up for what your father did, do some good things for Posuo Mansion and the people of Liaoyang, and turn this Baihu Mountain, which is full of tigers and wolves, into a kind place!"

After he finished speaking, Zhen Sanshan looked at Zheng Xiaolin, didn't say anything, just shook his head.

Listening to his father's words, Zheng Xiaolin finally came to an understanding. The scenes of Du Jing teaching him in those days emerged in front of his eyes. He understood why Du Jing told him so many principles of life besides learning medical skills, and taught him to sympathize with the sufferings of the people...
Looking at Zheng Xiaolin, whose expression changed and seemed to be somewhat moved, Zhen Sanshan continued to encourage him:

"This is the world where the strong prey on the weak and the strong are respected. When you have enough power, you can change the world and make the rules of the world operate according to your ideas. But if you don't have power, then you have to do things according to other people's ideas!"

"Xiao Lin, tell me, do you want to control the fate of others, or do you want others to control your fate?"

Under the instigation of Zhen Sanshan, Zheng Xiaolin, who had originally been determined not to inherit Baihu Mountain, began to waver in his inner determination. If it were under normal circumstances, he would definitely sneer at these things, but now that he knew that Zhen Sanshan would not live long, Zheng Xiaolin realized that he had no way to escape anymore and he had to face this problem head on.

After thinking about it seriously, Zheng Xiaolin smiled bitterly and spread his hands and said:

"Dad, you only have two months left at most, and you still have to face Ji Qiwei. Even if you want to help me take over, I'm afraid you can't do it, right?"

“And even if you help me get to the top, who can I convince as a cripple? It won’t be long before I’m driven out, and my death will be even more uglier then…”

Zhen Sanshan did not sigh when he heard this. Instead, he looked at Zheng Xiaolin and nodded with satisfaction. As a superior, your body can have some defects, but your brain must be good, at least able to make a clear and calm judgment of the current situation!

"Don't worry, Xiaolin. Although you have been unwilling to accept it these years, your father has been preparing for it. Although I dare not say that I am 100% sure that I can help you take the position, I am still 60% to 70% sure!" Zhen Sanshan said confidently:
Zheng Xiaolin was somewhat skeptical when he heard this, as if he couldn't believe what Zhen Sanshan said. At this moment, Zhen Sanshan lowered his voice and revealed all his preparations.

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Posuo Prefecture, Shenmenling.

Thousands of Liaoyang soldiers were resting on this small hill. They looked dejected like a defeated rooster, no longer as high-spirited and majestic as when they first entered Posuo Prefecture and vowed not to return until they conquered Baihu Mountain. The painful cries of the wounded faintly heard from the tents made this already low-spirited army even more depressed.

Six hours ago, they had just withdrawn from the foot of Baihu Mountain. Although the 30,000 Liaoyang soldiers only besieged Baihu Mountain for about seven days, due to the strict orders of the commander Ji Qiwei, the fierce attack regardless of casualties, this resulted in more than 3,000 people in the Liaoyang army being killed in the battle, and countless more were injured...
Paying such a huge price is not the worst!

The worst thing was that with so many casualties, Ji Qiwei's troops did not gain any benefits in Baihu Mountain and could only retreat in a hurry after leaving thousands of corpses on Baihu Mountain.

At this time, in the central army tent, the military officer Fan Ke was introducing the army's logistics situation to the general Ji Qiwei who was sitting in the main seat.

General, we still have about 500 dan of food. At the current consumption rate, we can last for two days. If we use it sparingly, we can last for about three or four days."

"In addition to the food problem, we are also short of medicines. The military doctor told me that we are short of more than ten kinds of medicinal herbs, including Panax notoginseng, Herba Blastis chinensis, and Blowing Wind Powder. We urgently need to replenish them as much as possible. Many of our brothers have run out of herbal medicines to treat them and can only wait to die."

"According to intelligence, our army's grain transport team is still wandering around Qilipu due to harassment from surrounding bandits..."

Hearing this, the hot-tempered Ji Qiwei roared angrily:
"What are these bastards on the grain transport team doing for a living?"

"Why hasn't it arrived yet?"

"Do they want to starve me and my brothers to death?"

"I assigned them more than 2,000 people, but they were frightened by a few bandits and stopped moving forward?"

"Did their parents give them less courage?"

Amid Ji Qiwei's scolding, all the generals in the camp dared not say a word, fearing that Ji Qiwei's anger would be directed at themselves. After scolding for a while, Ji Qiwei gradually became exhausted and sat down on his tiger-skin coat. Looking at the group of silent and cowardly subordinates in front of him, he said unhappily:

"Please discuss this matter!"

After hearing what Ji Qiwei said, the soldier Fan Ke raised his head and introduced:

"General, I suggest that we retreat now before the remaining bandits from Baihu Mountain catch up with us..."

Although Fan Ke's words sounded nice, such as retreat, Ji Qiwei understood that he was implicitly telling him to run away. Ji Qiwei's face turned ugly in an instant.

Baihu Mountain is only more than 30 miles away from Shenmenling. The reason why Ji Qiwei took his troops six hours to cover such a short distance was not because the government army's movement speed was so slow, but because Ji Qiwei was unwilling to leave in such a disgrace.

Recalling the time when the troops were sent out, Ji Qiwei patted his chest in front of Song Wenhui and promised that he would bring back Zhen Sanshan's head to Song Wenhui.

If he went back like this, where would Ji Qiwei's face be? Where would his reputation as the best general in Liaoyang be?
If it weren't for the logistical emergency, he really wanted to fight to the death with Zhen Sanshan and would not return until he conquered Baihu Mountain!

Even though he was in a difficult situation now and was forced to retreat from the foot of Baihu Mountain, Ji Qiwei deliberately walked very slowly, hoping that Zhen Sanshan's troops could chase them out from Baihu Mountain and have a fierce battle with him on this plain. As long as Zhen Sanshan chased them out, Ji Qiwei was confident that he could turn the tide in one battle!
Unfortunately, Ji Qiwei's action was like flirting with a blind man. Zhen Sanshan was not fooled at all. This made Ji Qiwei feel a little dilemma. He also knew that his logistics were in urgent need and the grain transport team could not come. The best way now was for him to take the initiative to move towards Qilipu with his troops...
But if he did so, it would undoubtedly be tantamount to admitting the failure of Ji Qiwei's operation!

Ji Qiwei is Song Wenhui's brother-in-law and also a powerful general under Song Wenhui. Besides, now is the time when people are needed, so even if he loses this battle, Song Wenhui will not do anything to Ji Qiwei. At most, he will reprimand him and let him make up for his crime with merit!

However, Ji Qiwei had a very high opinion of himself, and it was hard for him to accept that he would lose to such a group of bandits!
Thinking of this, Ji Qiwei gritted his teeth and decided to give it a try. He ordered in a deep voice:
"Pass the order down. Spend the night at Shenmenling. Send out all the scouts. If Zhen Sanshan doesn't come by tonight, the whole army will set out for Qilipu tomorrow!"

Hearing that Ji Qiwei wanted to stay in Shenmenling for another night, Fan Ke instinctively wanted to dissuade him, but before he opened his mouth to say anything, he saw Ji Qiwei's fierce eyes, his heart trembled immediately, and he shut his mouth obediently.

Seeing that Fan Ke had shut up, the other generals did not dare to disagree with Ji Qiwei and nodded to show their agreement.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Ji Qiwei nodded with satisfaction, then waved his hand and said:

"Everyone, stay alert tonight and guard the place with all your might. Be careful of those bandits' night attacks. If anyone dares to slack off, don't blame me for bringing him to justice!"

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Xiangshuiyuan, in the Fengzhou military camp.

Ye Dong took a secret letter, walked into the tent, handed it to Ye Mingsheng with both hands and said:

"Master, this is the latest news sent by Director Huo!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng opened the envelope without hesitation and read every word. After reading it carefully, Ye Mingsheng handed the secret letter to Gu Sansi beside him, and then he stared at the sand table of Posuo Mansion in front of him.

After half a cup of tea, seeing Gu Sansi put down the letter, Ye Mingsheng asked:

"Mr. Gu, if I'm not mistaken, the three helpers that Zhen Sanshan found, Feng Erlangzi, Li Mang, and Sun Dahai, are trying to cut off Ji Qiwei's retreat!"

Gu Sansi nodded with a serious expression and said:
"According to the map, Ji Qiwei's grain transport team is now around Qilipu. Because of the harassment of bandits along the way, Ji Qiwei is having difficulty in getting supplies. He must go to Qilipu first to meet up with the grain transport team, and then make other plans after replenishing his supplies."

"From what I've seen, Feng Erlangzi, Li Mang, and Sun Dahai should be heading for Sumugou. As long as Ji Qiwei doesn't want his tens of thousands of troops to climb the old forest, that's the only way from Shenmenling to Qilipu. And although it doesn't look like a strategically located place, it's at least easy to defend and difficult to attack."

“Feng, Li, and Sun already have more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, and they have the advantage of terrain. Although Ji Qiwei’s government troops are superior to these bandits in all aspects, they are a newly defeated army with low morale, and their logistics will be cut off. So I think that even if the three bandit leaders don’t fight to the death for Zhen Sanshan, they should have no problem holding on for two days…”

(End of this chapter)