Moma Liangshan

Chapter 193: Years of Green Forest, Hard to Leave One's Homeland

Bai Sheng was imprisoned and, after enduring severe torture, finally confessed to the involvement of Chao Gai and his associates. Liang Zhongshu's forces were not without capable men; both Li Cheng, the Heavenly King, and Wen Da, the Great Saber, were seasoned generals of both courage and strategy. As for the vanguard, Suo Chao, he possessed unparalleled bravery. However, Li Cheng, having failed to capture Wang Hao the previous year and lost several fine horses from the northern frontier, was in a sorry state and was left unattended upon returning to Daming Prefecture. Suo Chao, the commander responsible for escorting the birthday tribute, ultimately fell into the hands of Chao Gai and his men, and while he escaped death, he was not spared punishment. Thus, Liang Zhongshu could only deploy Wen Da, accompanied by Liang Chun, the steward of Liang's household, from Yuncheng County.

Last year, Wang Hao arrived in Tokyo and made a name for himself with his Eight Immortals Wine. Envious, Cai Jing persuaded the emperor to give Wang Hao the task of "retrieving the precious stones from the Yellow River," with all expenses to be borne by Wang Hao himself. At that time, Wang Hao was poor, and the expenditure of tens of thousands of strings of cash was enough to bankrupt him. In desperation, Wang Hao sold one-tenth of his shares in the Eight Immortals Winery to Li Rongshang of Fanlou to alleviate his immediate crisis. However, being at the mercy of others was not in Wang Hao's nature. The 100,000 strings of cash birthday gifts prepared by Liang Zhongshu for Cai Jing were then targeted, leading to the later ambush of the birthday gifts by the Liangshan heroes at Erlong Mountain.

At the time, Liang Chun and the others were captured, but their lives were not in danger. Wang Lun even took one hundred taels of gold from the birthday tribute and gave it to Liang Chun. In order to escape punishment, Liang Chun naturally said what he should say and kept silent about what he shouldn't say after being released back to Daming Prefecture. However, that one hundred taels of gold became Liang Chun's permanent handle.

Ma Cao was one of Wang Hao's earliest followers, and he was currently sent to Tokyo to recruit artisans. In modern terms, he was a "headhunter." His partner in this task was Liu Hong, one of Wang Hao's earliest allies and a minor official in the Palace Guard. Recruiting artisans wasn't anything shady, so the two met regularly at Fanlou. On this particular day, as soon as Liu Hong saw Ma Cao, he said with great gossip, "Have you heard? The birthday tribute sent by Daming Prefecture to Grand Tutor Cai has been robbed again!" Ma Cao was startled and deliberately asked, "How can you say 'again'?" Liu Hong feigned mystery and said, "It was robbed once last year, and it seems the same thing happened again this year!" Ma Cao then asked, "Was it done by the same person?" Liu Hong deliberately cleared his throat and said, "Brother, that's a rather uninformed question. Ten thousand strings of cash are used to trade jewelry; how could one person..." "Can you move it?" Ma Cao continued his act, saying, "So, it was a gang crime!" Liu Hong nodded, saying, "It was definitely a gang crime. As for which gang of thugs did it last year, we don't know, but this time, we've found out!" Ma Cao frowned and asked, "Who?" Liu Hong said, "It's said that the leader is a village headman outside Yuncheng County, named something like 'Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Chao Gai.' I didn't ask about the others!" Ma Cao deliberately slammed his hand on the table, startling Liu Hong, and said, "I know this Chao Gai!"

This time, it was Liu Hong's turn to be incredulous. He asked, "How do you know him?" Ma Cao replied, "Not only do I know him, but my young master does too!" Liu Hong quickly pressed for an answer, "Why is that?" Ma Cao explained, "For a long time, the winery in Yuncheng County was the largest of the Eight Immortals Wineries. The statue of Chang'e bestowed by the Emperor was also enshrined in that winery. Did you know that?" Liu Hong nodded, saying, "Yes, yes!" Ma Cao continued, "That winery isn't located in Yuncheng County, but in Dongxi Village outside the east gate of Yuncheng County. And that Chao Gai is the headman of Dongxi Village!" Liu Hong suddenly understood, saying, "In that case, if Chao Gai hadn't committed any crimes, he wouldn't be an outsider!" Ma Cao nodded, saying, "With the changes in Yuncheng County, your business may be affected. I must return to Jiaozhou to see you!" Liu Hong, being a shrewd man, replied, "I will take care of things in Dongjing for you!"

Ma Cao believed that hearsay was not entirely reliable, so he did not return directly to Jiaozhou. Instead, he detoured through Yuncheng County, intending to inquire about the truth from the distillery in Dongxi Village and the remaining troops at Liangshan. The day before, Zhu Gui, under Wang Hao's orders, personally escorted two thousand broadswords to Liangshan.

Upon Zhu Gui's arrival, Chao Gai, the three Ruan brothers, Du Qian, and Song Wan all came down the mountain to greet him. Zhu Gui's twelve accompanying guards were all elite soldiers trained by the Jiaozhou military camp. Although few in number, their mere presence on Jinshi Beach silenced the more than one hundred waiting henchmen—a display of overwhelming force. Zhu Gui looked at the crowd, then said to Chao Gai, "The things on the boat are gifts from the young master to my brother!" Chao Gai looked towards the dock and saw seven or eight boats and dozens of wooden crates. At this time, Wu Yong remained in Yuncheng County under the pretext of gathering information, leaving Gongsun Sheng as Chao Gai's sole strategist. He asked, "What is this gift from the young master?" Zhu Gui smiled mysteriously and whispered, "It's all valuable stuff that must not be publicized!" Gongsun Sheng quickly realized the gravity of the situation. He glanced at Chao Gai, then turned to the people behind him and said, "Brother Liu Tang, please have some men move the items to the storeroom." He then added, "Remember to handle them with care!" Handling them with care was both to show respect for Wang Hao and to avoid making unnecessary noise.

Seeing Zhu Gui and Chao Gai laughing and exchanging gifts, Du Qian and Song Wan were filled with suspicion. After much hesitation, Du Qian asked, "Do the Chief and the Young Master know the reason why Chao Tianwang (Chao Gai) came to Liangshan?" Zhu Gui nodded and said, "I know it perfectly well!" Having grasped Wang Hao's general intentions, Du Qian continued, "Did the Chief and the Young Master give any specific instructions?" Zhu Gui said, "Liang Zhongshu is corrupt and lawless, Cai Jing is corrupting the court, and Chao Gai's slight punishment is truly gratifying. Liangshan, a place where tigers crouch and dragons coil, how can it be without a peerless hero? This is a gift to Chao Gai!" Du Qian and Song Wan asked almost simultaneously, "Are these the Young Master's exact words?" Zhu Gui nodded and said, "Even if you gave me a hundred lives, without the Chief and the Young Master's..." "Since the young master himself has given his approval, how could I dare to give Liangshan away to others?" Du Qian and Song Wan were somewhat disheartened. After a moment, Song Wan asked, "Does the young master have any instructions for us?" Zhu Gui nodded and said, "The young master said that if you two brothers find it difficult to leave your homeland, King Chao will surely reserve a place for you at Liangshan. If you two brothers wish to go to Jiaozhou to live a peaceful life, the young master will also prepare a house for you and settle your families!" Du Qian and Song Wan were pure outlaws; as generals, they knew nothing of military strategy, and as commoners, they had no special skills. If they went to Jiaozhou, they could only live out their old age in comfort. However, these two were middle-aged and still harbored ambitions for fame and fortune.

Du Qianxian said, "I have lived in Liangshan for more than ten years. It's not something I can just leave on a whim. I want to stay in Liangshan!" After saying that, he looked at Song Wan, who also said, "I also want to stay in Liangshan!" At this moment, Chao Gai suddenly laughed and said, "We are all brothers. I am overjoyed that you two brothers are willing to stay!" After saying that, he ordered people to kill chickens and sheep and prepare a grand feast.