Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 316 Li Ying: The jade cage shatters, the colorful phoenix soars; the golden locks are broken, the dragon escapes! [1st Update]

Erlong Mountain.

Main Hall of Baozhu Temple.

"what?"

Song Jiang flipped the table in front of everyone: (ノ益)ノ彡┻━┻

"Who dares to be so arrogant?"

Upon hearing Kongming and Kong Liang's report, Song Jiang was so angry that his whole body trembled:
"How dare you kill someone from Erlong Mountain!"

Kongming said cautiously, "When we arrived, the inn had already been burned to the ground!"
"There were only five charred corpses in the shop. Judging from their belongings, they were Tang Niu'er and his group of five!"
"We suspect that the inn might be a shady establishment; the owner killed someone, robbed them, burned the inn down, and fled..."

"brute!"

Song Jiang cursed and said, "Brother Tang Niu'er is one of us from Erlong Mountain. We absolutely cannot let our brother die in vain!"
"Brother Xiao Rang, issue a kill order in my name!"
"We must catch the murderer at all costs to honor the spirits of the Tang Niu'er brothers in heaven!"

Xiao Rang quickly stepped forward to receive the order.

What kind of shady inn is this? So ruthless, killing five heroes of the martial arts world for a few hundred taels of silver?

Zhu Wu, the "Divine Strategist," subtly pursed his lips and looked at his two brothers, Chen Da, the "Leaping Tiger," and Yang Chun, the "White Flower Snake."

Unfortunately, Chen Da and Yang Chun failed to grasp the essence of the matter and thus did not reach a tacit understanding with Zhu Wu.

Zhu Wu looked around in vain and was about to look away when he happened to run into "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying.

Both were intelligent people; they exchanged a glance and immediately understood what the other was thinking.

Zhu Wu was alright, after all, he wasn't forced to join the Liangshan bandits.

Li Ying felt a chill run down his spine; he and the "Divine Strategist" had the same idea!

If he's the only one thinking this way, he might be overthinking it, but what if Zhu Wu is thinking the same way...?

You should know that Li Ying was forced to join Liangshan, and it was Song Jiang who forced him to join Liangshan!
First, Xiao Rang was made to impersonate the prefect and arrest him, and then Song Jiang pretended to rescue him!
Dai Zong and Yang Lin, disguised as patrol inspectors, led their troops to ransack his house!
They took his family and property to Liangshan Marsh and burned his manor to the ground!
Having been pushed to this point, Li Ying had no choice but to surrender.

Although Li Ying also called him Brother Song Gongming, the resistance in his heart was hard to express...

Originally, Li Ying was feigning compliance with Song Jiang in hopes of being granted amnesty so that he could be a good person again.

However, Song Jiang's actions left Li Ying feeling utterly disheartened.

He knew why Tang Niu'er died.

Isn't it just because Tang Niu'er got drunk that he likes to bring up Song Jiang's dark history?
The problem is that Tang Niu'er really took the blame for Song Jiang, so how could Song Jiang devise a poisonous plan to take Tang Niu'er's life?

This is hardly a "timely rain"!

This is clearly a mudslide!

Although there is no evidence, Li Ying, who had been tricked by Song Jiang, believed that Song Jiang was definitely capable of doing such a thing.

He began to worry about himself, wondering if Song Jiang would have a problem with him since he was always just going through the motions.
What if I say something wrong one day? Would Song Jiang find an excuse to trick me into going out and getting my life taken?

Li Ying became increasingly confused, and with a determined look in his eyes, he made a decision that went against the code of brotherhood:

"Brother Song Gongming, although Brother Tang Niu'er has encountered misfortune, the Qingfeng Mountain branch cannot be delayed!"

"I have not accomplished anything since I came up the mountain. I am willing to volunteer to go to Qingfeng Mountain to open up a branch village!"
"Please grant me permission, brother!"

He made up his mind to take this opportunity to leave Song Jiang!

Although clearing the mountains to reach the branch village was quite arduous, it was still better than constantly being on guard against Song Jiang, that venomous snake!
Moreover, if Song Jiang were to be granted amnesty, I, as the leader of a branch stronghold, could also be granted amnesty along with him, without any delay.

Song Jiang was annoyed: I only did that to trick Tang Niu'er to death, how could you take it seriously?

However, it's not entirely impossible, because Erlong Mountain is indeed a bit too small to support an army of over 20,000...

Song Jiang looked at Wu Yong, who sighed silently: How could he not see what Li Ying was thinking?
But morale has collapsed, and the team is harder to lead...

Generally speaking, when Wu Yong doesn't offer his opinion, Song Jiang makes decisions based on his own judgment.

He felt that establishing branch villages was not impossible, but it had to be under his leadership, with the villages remaining as one family.

Although Li Ying was somewhat capable, his loyalty was not high enough, so Song Jiang decided to place his own people in the position.

"most!"

Song Jiang first agreed to Li Ying's request, and then said:
"But given Tang Niu'er's example, Master Li should bring more helpers!"

Li Ying tried to resist: "I have my supervisor 'Du Xing' to help me, that's enough!"

"That's not enough."

Song Jiang made the arrangements for him directly:
"Mu Hong, the 'Unrestrained' fighter, is skilled in martial arts and can share the military burden for you!"
“We should not shy away from recommending worthy people, and my brother Song Qing is literate and can be in charge of managing finances for you!”
"Take a thousand henchmen and go to Qingfeng Mountain to open up the area. Let's settle things down first."

Li Kui hadn't killed anyone in a while, and his hands were itching to do so. He jumped out and shouted:
"Tie Niu is going to lend a hand too!"

However, Song Jiang rejected the idea with a single sentence, saying that it was safer to keep Li Kui, the Tibetan Mastiff, by his side.

Li Ying was frustrated: Mu Hong was in charge of military affairs, and Song Qing was in charge of finances and provisions, so wasn't I being sidelined?
But the thought of escaping Song Jiang, that venomous snake, made Li Ying grit his teeth and accept it.

He was also the kind of person with a soft heart; although he was quite strong in combat, he dared not resist the powerful.

He was suppressed by the Zhu Family Village at Dulonggang, and after the Zhu Family Village was destroyed by Song Jiang, he was suppressed by Song Jiang again...

So Li Ying, Du Xing, Mu Hong, and Song Qing, the four leaders, led a thousand henchmen down the mountain.

Song Jiang was relatively reassured about this group.

The main reason is that Qingfeng Mountain and Erlong Mountain are very close, both located within Qingzhou.

Erlong Mountain can intervene in any disturbances at Qingfeng Mountain.

The next day, before the three checkpoints.

"Brother, let's stop here!"

Li Ying, suppressing his excitement, bowed deeply to Song Jiang:
"I will definitely take Qingfeng Mountain for you, brother!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

Song Jiang helped Li Ying up with both hands and said with concern:

"Brother, be careful in everything you do!"

"Don't worry, brother, I understand!"

Li Ying turned and left, so excited that he even forgot to turn back every few steps to express his reluctance to part with Song Jiang...

His departure was like a phoenix breaking free from its jade cage and a dragon breaking free from its golden lock!
As Song Jiang watched Li Ying's resolute departure, he had a strange feeling that Li Ying would never return...

No way?
Song Jiang thought about it again and realized he was overthinking it, after all, Mu Hong and Song Qing were also traveling with Li Ying.

Even if Li Ying betrays him, Mu Hong will not betray him, and Song Qing is one with him.

Thinking this way, Song Jiang relaxed a lot and turned to Wu Yong with a smile:

"Once Master Li takes Qingfeng Mountain, we can send troops there to let them eat at Qingfeng Mountain, which will greatly reduce the pressure on Erlong Mountain."

"If we also have Qingfeng Mountain make a big splash, and both sides work together, how can we not attract the attention of the imperial court?"

Wu Yong nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)