Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 151 Uniting to Eliminate the Eunuch Party, Destroying the Dike to Save the People from Suffe

After all, eunuchs are very sensitive about their physical defects, so Li Hanxiao's words were more painful than stabbing them in the lungs.

"Kill them! Kill them!"

Yang Chengen let out a loud "Aow!" and pointed at Li Hanxiao and the others with his pinky finger. The scarred man next to him raised his knife and led his men to charge over.

These people were all on horseback, but Li Hanxiao and his group were not afraid at all. As the saying goes, "skill breeds courage." The first one to stand in front of them was "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen.

Lu Zhishen's eyes were bloodshot, and his monk's staff swept across with the sound of wind and thunder. The scarred man raised his knife to block, but the steel-forged scimitar was smashed into an arc shape.

The staff's momentum hadn't subsided when it slammed the man and his horse three feet into the mud, blood and brain matter gushing out from the gaps in the helmet.

"Damn it! This Buddha will send you to see the true Arhats!"

Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," killed the man and his horse with a single blow of his staff, which frightened the cavalry so much that they reined in their horses and dared not advance.

In the past, it was always cavalry that could crush infantry. When had they ever seen infantry kill cavalry, horse and rider at once?

This is terrifying! Is this even human?

At the same time, the cavalry dared not charge forward, but Li Hanxiao and his men charged forward on foot. Bian Xiang swung his mountain-splitting axe fiercely, and with his burly physique, he looked just like a legendary giant god charging into the crowd and unleashing his unparalleled power.

Furthermore, none of the cavalrymen's horses were wearing armor, so Bian Xiang's great axe cleaved through them without any resistance. He immediately split two warhorses in two, and the blood and entrails of the horses were splashed onto the "Yang" boundary marker on the embankment, washing away the old mud on it.

"Iron-backed Wolf" Shan Shiqi swung his iron-ringed staff, aiming to smash people's knees. The sound of bones cracking was like popping beans as the iron staff passed by. Because he was an infantryman fighting cavalry, he could easily swing the staff to hit the lower half of the cavalrymen's bodies. It would be more difficult to smash their heads. One by one, the cavalrymen screamed and fell off their horses, their kneecaps shattered inch by inch, lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

Hao Siwen's silver spear, nicknamed "Wellwood Falcon," transformed into countless cold stars, aiming specifically for the throat and heart. Each time the spear tip retracted, it brought up a spray of blood. A cavalryman charged forward, and Hao Siwen, having spotted his target, waited patiently. He positioned his spear on the ground like a barricade, piercing the man through and impaling him on the shaft of his spear.

Li Hanxiao's three-pointed double-edged sword entangled the three spears, and the blade suddenly emitted a dragon's roar.

A flash of cold light appeared, and the heads of the three servants flew into the air, their headless bodies still in a thrusting posture.

Guan Sheng, known as "Big Saber," raised his Red Hare to his feet. With a flash of cold light from his Azure Dragon Saber, he cleaved a servant carrying a crossbow in two, his intestines hanging from the gold-bearing beast head on the hilt of his saber.

As the only one on horseback from Liangshan, Guan Sheng, known as "Big Saber," swiftly slashed down seven or eight enemies, their heads severed from their bodies.

"You bunch of useless trash, get them!"

Yang Chengen himself had practiced martial arts, and seeing his cavalrymen being beaten so badly by a bunch of two-legged runners, he was furious. These cavalrymen were all servants of Yang Jian, who served as henchmen and did dirty work. They were all selected from the local militia, yet they were so easily defeated by a group of unruly bandits!

Yang Chengen spotted Li Hanxiao in the crowd. To shoot a man, shoot his horse first; to capture a thief, capture his leader first. He planned to use a sneak attack to take down Li Hanxiao first!

Just as he drew his bow and prepared to release the arrow, "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu noticed his movement. Although he was too far away to catch up in an instant, he swiftly threw one of his twin swords at Yang Chengen, performing a "throwing knife" maneuver.

As Yang Chengen watched a flying knife sweep out in a fan shape, a flash of silver light heading straight for his face, he had no choice but to use his bow to block the flying knife, but the flying knife had already cut the bowstring.

"You castrated dog, how dare you stab someone in the back!"

"Two-headed snake" Xie Zhen, "two-tailed scorpion" Xie Bao, "Little Wenhou" Lü Fang, and "Surpassing Ren Gui" Guo Sheng—four heroes, wielding two steel forks and two halberds, surrounded Yang Chengen from four directions, launching a coordinated attack.

"Someone! Come quickly!"

Although Yang Chengen possessed some martial arts skills, he knew he was no match for the four of them and called for reinforcements.

"drink!"

"Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen slid down to his knees and lunged beneath the belly of a warhorse. His steel fork sliced ​​open the horse's flank, causing it to rear up in pain. However, its intestines, stomach, heart, liver, spleen, and other internal organs spilled out, splattering all over Xie Zhen. Without its internal organs, the warhorse was beyond saving. It fell backward, crushing the servant on its back to death.

"Go!"

"Double-Tailed Scorpion" Jie Bao turned his fork handle and struck the horse's hoof, throwing the cavalryman and horse to the ground. He then rushed forward and thrust the steel fork into the horse's back with a "thud," hoisting the corpse into the air.

But then another cavalryman charged forward. "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Jie Bao used his strength to throw the corpse away, causing the oncoming cavalryman to fall off his horse.

"Chief, let me lend you another hand!"

At that very moment, Xu Guanzhong, who had been severely damaged and was setting up gunpowder with Ling Zhen, the "Thunderbolt," on the dike, chanted an incantation, picked up the lightning-struck wooden sword, pointed it at the ground below, and then cast a small spell. Suddenly, the ground collapsed, creating a large pit. More than a dozen cavalrymen fell into it along with their horses, and then the cracked ground returned to its original state.

"Chief! Come back quickly, we need to light the fire!"

"Thunderclap!" Ling Zhen shouted as he finished preparing.

"withdraw!"

Upon hearing Ling Zhen's shout of "Thunderclap," Li Hanxiao immediately ordered everyone to retreat to the embankment.

"Oh no! They're going to blow up the dam!"

Yang Chengen was furious. He had originally intended to lure the bandits here to make himself more powerful and then wipe them out in one fell swoop. Who would have thought that he would be unable to defeat them now and that the dam would be destroyed? He could not bear this responsibility!

"Get up there! If the dam collapses, none of you will survive!"

The eunuch screamed hysterically, his voice even changing. The cavalry charged towards Li Hanxiao, but at this moment, "True Lord Xu" Xu Guanzhong cast a spell again, creating a crack in the ground. Their horses all became unruly and went out of control.

At the same time, Li Hanxiao and others quickly climbed up the levee, and Ling Zhen took the opportunity to light the fuse. The crackling sparks flew along the waterproof fuse into the depths of the levee.

"go!"

Without stopping for a moment, Li Hanxiao and the others mounted the horses that were resting on the dam and quickly retreated to the south bank!

"Aaaaaaah! Put out the fire!"

Seeing Li Hanxiao and the others retreating to the south bank, Yang Chengen instantly understood what was going on. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who understood; the cavalry servants also realized what was happening and, taking advantage of their horses, quickly began to flee.

"Don't leave!"

Yang Chengen roared in the field, tears streaming down his face. It was no use for him to be on the dam now, because he couldn't find where the fuse had gone.

"Boom!"

At that moment, a muffled thunderclap rolled down from the sky, and at the same time, amidst the earth-shaking tremors, a twenty-foot-high wall of water carrying the thousand-year-old locust tree soared into the sky.

The moment Li Hanxiao leaped down the high slope, pulling on the reins of Beihai Saluzi, twelve explosions detonated simultaneously.

The boundary marker marked "Yang" was shattered into dust in the flood, and 30,000 mu of fertile land was instantly turned into a swamp.

People strive for higher places, and water flows downhill. Now that the dike on the north bank has been destroyed, the even lower-lying terrain on the north bank has been exposed to the flood, and surging white waves have rushed directly down the north bank.

Because some areas have been flooded, the water level on the south bank will definitely be relieved; this is an inevitable phenomenon.

As the people on the opposite bank watched the water level drop at a visible rate, a scholar suddenly knelt down and wept bitterly, his copy of Mencius submerged in the muddy water: "Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes!"

The old woman, holding her grandson's body, kowtowed towards the north bank, her forehead striking the bluestone slab with bloody marks.

Yang Chengen struggled in the torrent, his gold-inlaid crown long gone. He clung tightly to half of the Yang character plaque, only to see the stone mill rushing down from upstream crashing down on him.

In the final glimpse, Li Hanxiao's three-pointed double-edged sword reflected the setting sun, casting a rainbow halo on the dam ruins.

The rain fell again, but it became a sweet rain that nourishes all things.

Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," stood in the mud, leaning on his staff, with a child covered in mud lying at his feet.

The child suddenly reached out and grabbed his clothes, clutching half a muddy, dirty wheat cake in his palm: "Master, my mother said... said you are living bodhisattvas..."

The child handed the cake to Lu Zhishen, who stuffed it into his mouth and ate it with great relish, as if it were not an ordinary wheat cake, but a rare delicacy.

"Great!"

Guan Sheng, nicknamed "Big Knife," and Hao Siwen, nicknamed "Well Wood Wolf," were overjoyed that the people were finally saved.

"Brothers, where do you intend to go from here on out...?"

Li Hanxiao stepped forward and took the initiative to talk to them. He would not let the two of them go easily, especially "Big Knife" Guan Sheng, a first-class expert and a talented general.

Of all the generals who led the campaign against Liangshan in the original novel "Water Margin," only Guan Sheng's strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" truly posed a significant threat to Liangshan, demonstrating his exceptional skill.

Upon hearing this, Guan Sheng, nicknamed "Big Knife," and Hao Siwen, nicknamed "Well Wood Wolf," exchanged a glance. Indeed, this was a problem; what should they do next?

It's unlikely they can stay in Puzhou any longer. After all, the two of them openly defied Yang Jian and even killed someone. They can't stay in Puzhou anymore. Even if they go far away and hide their identities, they might not be able to survive.

Seeing the troubled expressions on Guan Sheng and Hao Siwen's faces, Li Hanxiao could tell that they had already considered the consequences, so he said, "Brothers, you two have offended Yang Jian and even killed his men. Although you are acting in the name of justice, you will probably face a lot of trouble in the future. If you are willing, the gates of Liangshan Marsh are always open to you. How about we work together to uphold justice?"

Li Hanxiao took the initiative to extend an olive branch, and Guan Sheng and Hao Siwen, after their experience of working together to control the flood, had gained a good understanding of Li Hanxiao and admired him greatly. It should be said that following Li Hanxiao was much better than following this corrupt and incompetent court!

However, "Big Knife" Guan Sheng did not agree. Instead, he changed the subject, saying, "Chief Li is very kind, but I cannot go at the moment. I have a wife and children back in my hometown of Yuncheng. If I were to be implicated in this matter, I would have to make sure they are taken care of first..."

The implication is that he definitely won't leave with Li Hanxiao; he has to go back to his family. However, whether he and "Jingmu Han" Hao Siwen will eventually join Liangshan Marsh is still uncertain; the matter hasn't been definitively decided.

Li Hanxiao then remembered that, indeed, in "The Complete Story of Yue Fei", Guan Sheng had another son, Guan Ling, who was the sworn brother of Yue Fei's eldest son, Yue Yun. He learned the swordsmanship passed down in Guan Sheng's family and also used the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

This young man is extremely skilled in martial arts. He can fight a tiger with his bare hands, and fighting Wanyan Wuzhu, the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty, is almost as easy as fighting a chick. Later, when Yue Lei swept the north, he made many great contributions.

Oh dear, if only we could bring both of them, father and son, to Liangshan in the future, and let Guan Sheng dedicate his youth and his descendants, that would be wonderful, wonderful indeed!

"What did Brother Hao Siwen say?"

Li Hanxiao then asked Hao Siwen, "Jingmu Han," that compared to Guan Sheng, "Da Dao," who had a family to support, he himself was all alone and had no ties, even though his family had all died. However, Hao Siwen expressed his desire to help Guan Sheng move his family.

Seeing that both of them said the same thing, Li Hanxiao didn't press the matter any further. He could roughly guess that these two would eventually end up joining the Liangshan bandits.

After all, they had offended Yang Jian, and they were locals in Puzhou, known to many. If they were to be hunted down, they would likely have no place to hide or any way to escape punishment in the official circles.

After all, the four treacherous officials were incredibly powerful in this era. They could do whatever they wanted to anyone they wanted, and the fate of "Leopard Head" Lin Chong is a perfect example!

After Li Hanxiao and the other two set off separately, Yang Lu, who was still alive, found out that Guan Sheng, the patrol inspector of Pudong, and Hao Siwen, a local, were involved in the matter, while the other group of bandits were unidentified people.

In just three days, Yang Jian received the news from Tokyo, a city 300 miles away.

Yang Jian smashed the imperial jade cup that had been bestowed upon him.

The scout, kneeling on the ground, nervously handed over half of the charred Yang-character boundary marker, the inscription still bearing the marks of damage scraped off by Bian Xiang's axe.

"What a fine inspector from Pudong, a descendant of Guan Yu..."

Eunuch Yang's shrill voice echoed through the palace: "Order Yuncheng County to muster the troops and arrest Guan Sheng's family! Let them know that the might of the Great Song Dynasty cannot be overturned by a few mudskippers!"

In the south of Puzhou City, tens of thousands of people spontaneously set up porridge stalls. Guan Sheng's Red Hare was chewing on tender grass handed to him by children, and Hao Siwen's silver spear had a red ribbon tied to it by someone.

Xu Guanzhong stroked the cracked Thunderstrike Sword, then suddenly looked southeast—there, a purple aura was disappearing into Liangshan Marsh, and the sound of crashing waves could be faintly heard.