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

Chapter 382 Song Jiang: Why Don't We Surrender? [3rd Update, Please Subscribe]

"Two dragons from the same root, red flowers and green leaves are one family!"

Cai Fu helped Hua Rong up with both hands and said solemnly:
"Although Brother Song Gongming opened a branch village at Erlong Mountain, we are still brothers, even though we are separated by a branch village!"
"How can I not help my brother when he is in trouble?"

"Brother Hua Rong, don't worry, Cai Fu will immediately muster his men and march on Erlong Mountain to rescue you all!"

Hua Rong was moved to tears by Cai Fu's words, and felt that Brother Song Gongming might have really misjudged him!

Brother Cai Fu is clearly a man of great righteousness!

"Thank you, brother..."

Hua Rong was barely holding on, but when Cai Fu made that promise to him, he lost all his strength.

Before he could finish speaking, Hua Rong's eyes rolled back and he fainted in Cai Fu's arms.

Cai Fu immediately sent someone to invite An Daoquan. After examining Cai Fu, An Daoquan told him:
"without……"

Cai Fu glared at him, and An Daoquan quickly and readily said:
"He's alright, he just fainted."

“If you need someone, I will wake him up right away, but he needs to recuperate and cannot fight.”

"No need, take him back to the Divine Healer Camp for treatment first."

Cai Fu ordered Hua Rong to be carried away, and then immediately mobilized troops.

Although speed is of the essence in warfare, the terrain of Erlong Mountain made it impossible for the cavalry to maneuver effectively, so Cai Fu decided to deploy 10,000 infantrymen.

To avoid being lured away from his post, Cai Fu left Lu Junyi to guard the house, with strategist Wen Huanzhang as his assistant.

Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, and Yang Zhi are familiar with the terrain, so they will definitely be brought along.

Cai Fu then selected Han Shizhong, Liu Yun, and Zhang Wei, three newly appointed generals, to give them a chance to prove themselves.

The infantry leaders Liu Tang, Xie Zhen, Xie Bao, and Li Yun were both identified.

He brought along his two adopted sons, Yang Zaixing and He Yuanqing.

He also brought along Shi Qian, the indispensable head of the intelligence battalion.

Cai Fu originally thought this was enough, but Qiu Qiongying insisted on coming along, so he had no choice but to bring her along as well.

This was Cai Fu's first time leading a large army on an expedition, marking a significant milestone.

Cai Fu appointed Yang Zhi as the vanguard, and Han Shizhong and Yang Zaixing as the deputy vanguard, leading two thousand infantrymen ahead.

When encountering mountains, build roads; when encountering rivers, build bridges.

Cai Fu was the commander-in-chief, and together with Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, Liu Yun, Zhang Wei, Qiu Qiongying, Xie Zhen, Xie Bao, and Shi Qian, there were ten leaders and six thousand infantrymen in the central army.

Liu Tang, Li Yun, and He Yuanqing led two thousand infantrymen as the rear guard, in charge of provisions.

This army of ten thousand men left Liangshan Marsh with the speed of flowing spears and swords, and the wind-like movement of men and horses, heading straight for Qingzhou!
……

Erlong Mountain, Baozhu Temple.

Wu Yong, trembling, carried a bowl of thin porridge to Song Jiang:
"Brother, at least have a sip..."

Erlong Mountain was a newly established branch stronghold, and it lacked sufficient food and supplies. To make matters worse, Song Jiang brought more than 20,000 men with him.

Originally, Song Jiang was very upset that his 5,000 men had been wiped out when he attacked Longtou City, but now he was actually feeling fortunate.

Fortunately, we lost those 5,000 men; otherwise, our supplies might not have lasted until now.

Well, the supplies are running out.

As early as two weeks ago, the underlings of Erlong Mountain were only allowed to eat one meal a day.

That's bad enough, but starting three days ago, I've only been able to eat one bowl of thin porridge a day, so thin that you can see your reflection in it.

If Song Jiang hadn't sent Li Kui and Lei Heng, two great generals, to guard the first pass, who knows how many deserters would have fled!

Even so, Song Jiang felt that the morale of Erlong Mountain was on the verge of collapse...

In order to maintain morale, Song Jiang had to lead by example, even giving his own bowl of porridge to his brothers on the front lines in public.

It must be said that Song Jiang's performance was very effective.

The already precarious morale held up for another day, but Song Jiang didn't know how many more days he could hold out... Most importantly, would there really be reinforcements?

"Gudong!"

Song Jiang swallowed hard and pushed the bowl of porridge back with difficulty.
"Strategist, you eat. We still need your advice."

"How could you come up with such ingenious plans on an empty stomach?"

Actually, even after I'm full, I still can't think of anything...

Wu Yong was very frustrated. It was as if Gao Qiu knew that Erlong Mountain was short of food, and he immediately besieged Erlong Mountain!

If Gao Qiu were to fight them, Wu Yong would have a better idea, but Gao Qiu only surrounded them without attacking.

Especially after Qin Ming and Lin Chong helped Hua Rong fight their way out, Gao Qiu simply prepared archers.

When more troops emerged from Erlong Mountain, Gao Qiu did not engage them in battle, but instead ordered his archers to fire a volley of arrows back.

This left Wu Yong completely helpless, and Erlong Mountain, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, became a dead end...

Everyone is hoping for reinforcements right now. If it weren't for this hope, even the underlings would rebel!
Wu Yong and Song Jiang pushed each other back and forth, and in the end Song Jiang gave way half a step, and each of them ate half a bowl of porridge.

"Suck it-"

As Song Jiang licked the bottom of his bowl, he asked Wu Yong:

"Strategist, why don't we... surrender..."

"Brother, we cannot surrender!"

Wu Yong hurriedly looked around to make sure that only the two of them were in the room before he felt relieved and began to persuade them:

"Brother, if we are granted amnesty, not only will our lives be safe, but the imperial court will also be willing to spend a fortune to buy our horses!"
“Look at the ten military governors that Gao Qiu brought. Which one of them didn’t come from a bandit background and become a high-ranking official after being granted amnesty?”

"But surrendering is different. Surrendering means we have failed, and if we fail, we lose our value!"
"We laid down our weapons and handed our lives over to Gao Qiu. At that time, he was the butcher and we were the fish on the chopping block!"

"If Gao Qiu wants to kill us, we have no weapons and no brothers by our side, how can we resist?"
"Brother, we can accept amnesty, but we absolutely cannot surrender!"

Song Jiang sighed, "That's what I thought too, but I don't know if Hua Rong has escaped to Liangshan Marsh..."

"I wonder if the man surnamed Cai will come to our rescue..."

Wu Yong was speechless and could only comfort Song Jiang:
"The man surnamed Cai is a man of great loyalty and righteousness; he will definitely come to our rescue!"

Ok?
Song Jiang felt awkward hearing this, yet he couldn't help but pray that the man surnamed Cai was truly loyal and righteous...

……

Night fell in the central command tent.

"My lord, another secret letter has arrived!"

Niu Bangxi, Gao Qiu's confidant, Niu Huanxi's brother, and a captain of the infantry, ran in with an arrow to report:
"It was just shot down from the pass!"

"Oh?"

Gao Qiu raised his eyebrows, took the secret letter that Niu Bangxi had untied from the arrow, unfolded it, and his face lit up with joy:

“Okay! Okay! Okay!

"There is no food left on Erlong Mountain, and even Song Jiang has no food to eat!"
"Many of the lowly henchmen were so hungry that they ate the trees bare, and the rebels will soon collapse without a fight!"

At this moment, there were two generals, one old and one young, in the central command tent. Gao Qiu had been talking to them earlier.

Gao Qiu glanced admiringly at the young general, then said to the older general:
"General Liu, you have raised a fine son!"
"Our army used your son's brilliant plan, and Erlong Mountain was indeed within our grasp!"

The elderly general glanced at his son with pride, and said modestly:

"You flatter me, Your Excellency!"

"My son is still young, and I hope Your Excellency will give him much guidance and support!"

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(End of this chapter)