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

Chapter 390 Dong Ping: I Surrender—[2 Updates]

Erlong Mountain, the first pass.

"What a blockhead!"

Zhu Wu brandished his twin swords and killed two henchmen, and the rest of the henchmen scattered in all directions!

Having rescued Lei Heng, Zhu Wu couldn't help but curse as he looked at Li Kui, who was still sleeping like a log.
"We can't even get porridge, and this guy still managed to hide some wine!"

Lei Heng collapsed to the ground, panting heavily like a dead fish.

"Thank goodness my brother arrived in time, otherwise we would have been doomed..."

"Sigh! Things have suddenly gotten chaotic on the mountain. I was worried that someone might open the gate and surrender!"

Zhu Wu, as the deputy strategist, had done his job well. As soon as he thought of this problem, he rushed over to save the day.

When Zhu Wu arrived, Lei Heng had already been tied up; if it weren't for him, the door would have been open.

Just then, Zhu Wu heard a commotion outside:
"Brother, you rest for a bit, I'll go take a look."

Zhu Wu took a few trusted men outside and saw Dong Ping leading a group of henchmen, ordering the gate to be opened.

The underlings in charge of the gate were already eager to try, and when Dong Ping forced them, they readily opened the door.

"Brother Dong Ping!"

Zhu Wu, unsure of Dong Ping's intentions, stepped forward to probe:
"But are we going to coordinate with reinforcements to kill the enemy?"

"Hmph! That's exactly right!"

Dong Ping's eyes flashed: "The reinforcements are fighting a desperate battle with the government troops!"

"If we don't strike now, when will we?"

"Brother is right!"

Zhu Wu glanced at the few hundred henchmen behind Dong Ping and subconsciously took a step back.
"But with only this many men, an attack would be a drop in the ocean. Why not gather more leaders to go together?"

Seeing that Zhu Wu had clearly seen through him, Dong Ping stopped pretending and fired a shot!
"Pfft!"

Caught off guard, Zhu Wu was stabbed through the shoulder blade by Dong Ping's spear, and the pain was so intense that he could no longer hold his knife!
"Hmph! Come here!"

Dong Ping took the opportunity to drag Zhu Wu over, grabbed him, and laid him across his horse's back.

Dong Ping's "Curly-haired Lion Beast" is a thoroughbred horse, so naturally he wouldn't let his underlings eat it.

Dong Ping personally took great care of it, so the curly-haired lion not only wasn't eaten, but it didn't even lose weight.

Having captured Zhu Wu, Dong Ping shouted sternly:

"Hmph! Open the door!"
"If you don't open the door, I'll kill you all!"

When the henchmen saw that even Zhu Wu had been shot, they dared not be negligent and quickly opened the door.

"Hmph! Let's go!"

Dong Ping laughed heartily, spurred his horse, and galloped out of the gate!

Dong Ping originally intended to capture Song Jiang as a stepping stone to advancement, but Lin Chong and Qin Ming ruined his plans.

So Dong Ping was quite worried that if Gao Qiu refused to accept him after he surrendered empty-handed, what would happen?
Now that Zhu Wu, the "Divine Strategist," is the deputy strategist, presenting Zhu Wu as a gift is a great achievement!
As Dong Ping charged down, he looked down and saw that the battle in the government army camp had already ended.

Dong Ping couldn't help but feel secretly relieved that he had come out and surrendered, otherwise he would have been trapped to death.
In Dong Ping's view, the Liangshan reinforcements numbered at most 10,000 men, while the government army numbered 130,000.

Of course, it was the Liangshan reinforcements that were defeated.

Really? Really? Surely no one actually thinks 10,000 can beat 130,000?
Dong Ping led several hundred henchmen and charged into the government army camp in one go.

Upon seeing the government troops guarding the entrance to the camp, Dong Ping immediately shouted:
"Hmph—I surrender—"

Slow!

Something seems wrong!
Dong Ping rushed to the gate before suddenly realizing why all the government soldiers had a piece torn off their left sleeves.
Having been to Erlong Mountain before, he naturally knew that the soldiers who had torn off a piece of their left sleeve were surrendering government troops.

One might be a coincidence, but if hundreds of government troops at the gate were all like that, then there's definitely a problem.

"squeak--"

Dong Ping quickly reined in the horse, and the curly-haired lion came to a sudden stop at the gate!
The gatekeeper was He Yuanqing, nicknamed "Iron Hammer General".

Upon seeing that Dong Ping and his men were not dressed in the uniforms of government troops, He Yuanqing asked curiously:

"Who are you?"

Dong Ping had already confirmed that He Yuanqing was a hero of Liangshan, so without saying a word, he turned his horse and rode away!

Upon seeing this, He Yuanqing immediately took off after him:

"Don't go! Didn't you say you were surrendering?"

With his big feet, He Yuanqing certainly couldn't catch up with Dong Ping.

Fortunately, Yang Zaixing came out at this moment, and he even rode out on horseback. He spurred his horse to catch up with He Yuanqing and asked:

"Who are they?"

He Yuanqing, panting heavily, said:
"Brother, that guy surrendered as soon as he arrived!"

"I asked him who he was, but he turned and ran away!"

"If he runs, I'll chase him; if he runs, I'll chase him..."

Yang Zaixing was more astute than He Yuanqing and understood immediately:
"That guy's from Erlong Mountain, I'm going after him!"

"Quack! Quack!"

Yang Zaixing spurred his horse and chased after it at full speed!

Originally, Dong Ping's curly-haired lion beast was a thoroughbred, and Yang Zaixing should not have been able to catch up with it.

Unfortunately, Zhu Wu was also on Dong Ping's horse, so the journey slowed down...

"Where to go!"

Yang Zaixing caught up with Dong Ping, shouted loudly, and thrust his spear into Dong Ping's buttocks!
Why not stab him in the back? Of course, it's because Dong Ping was fully armored, and his buttocks were exposed on the side of his armor.

"Clang!" Dong Ping drew his silver spear to block Yang Zaixing's spear, and at that moment Zhu Wu suddenly jumped!

Zhu Wu remained obediently lying on the horse's back without any resistance, which indeed made Dong Ping lower his guard.

Yang Zaixing caught up with Dong Ping and fought him. Zhu Wu believed this was the best opportunity for him to escape.

So, taking advantage of Dong Ping's unpreparedness, Zhu Wu suddenly pushed off the horse's back with both knees, and slid backward!
"Xilulu——"

The curly-haired lion-beast broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, and now that the weight on its back was lighter, it immediately took off running forward at full speed!

Dong Ping had no desire to continue the fight, so he let the curly-haired lion beast escape, quickly shaking off Yang Zaixing...

Yang Zaixing failed to catch up with Dong Ping and returned dejectedly, only to find Zhu Wu sitting on the ground, hugging his legs and waiting for him.

It turns out that Zhu Wu twisted his ankle when he fell off his horse and couldn't stand up.

Yang Zaixing was overjoyed and hurriedly went up to Zhu Wu, pointing the tattered silver spear at him:

"Who are you?"

Zhu Wu sighed, and had no choice but to introduce himself and recount the whole story to Yang Zaixing:
"May I ask how the young general is addressed?"

"My name is Yang Zaixing, and 'Sai Xuande' is my godfather!"

Yang Zaixing dismounted and tried to help Zhu Wu back onto his horse.

Zhu Wu quickly waved his hand: "No need to trouble yourself, I can just find a stick and make do..."

Go up there!

Yang Zaixing picked up Zhu Wu and placed him on the horse's back:
"Father said that we are all brothers, so there's no need to be so polite!"

"You've injured your leg and can't walk easily. Since we're on the same side, I should let you ride the horse!"

Zhu Wu was stunned: "Did Brother Cai Fu teach you this?"

"Of course!"

Yang Zaixing said as he led the horse:

"My parents are both dead, and it was my father who taught me how to be a person!"

"Well……"

Zhu Wu was at a loss for words.

Although he knew many of Cai Fu's dramatic stories, none of them were as shocking as what Yang Zaixing casually said while leading his horse!
Song Jiang's younger brother, Song Qing, always looked down on others because his brother was the chief of the stronghold.

It's not explicitly stated in the original text, but you can figure it out by counting how many friends Song Qing made at Liangshan.

Even a scoundrel like Li Kui made close friends with Bao Xu, Xiang Chong, and Li Gun!

Song Qing was alone when she went up the mountain, and she was still alone at the end; she didn't have a single confidant.

You have to understand that he is Song Jiang's own brother. If he wanted to make friends, how could he not make a single one?
So there's only one truth: Song Qing never intended to befriend these rough-and-tumble heroes!

However, Yang Zaixing, as Cai Fu's adopted son, led Zhu Wu's horse. How could Zhu Wu not be deeply moved?

And so, Yang Zaixing brought Zhu Wu back to the government army camp and presented him to Cai Fu:

"Father, I've rescued this gentleman!"

Cai Fujia looked at Zhu Wu and asked, "Brother Zhu Wu, what's wrong with you?"

Zhu Wu first recounted the story: "Brother Cai Fu, this is a long story, blah blah blah..."

Zhu Wu didn't know much either; he only recounted how he rescued Lei Heng at the first pass and was then captured alive by Dong Ping.

After speaking, Zhu Wu immediately bowed deeply without hesitation:

"If it weren't for being saved by my brother's adopted son, I would definitely have been harmed by that treacherous Dong Ping!"
"I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. I am willing to follow you, brother, through fire and water, without hesitation!"

Dong Ping has actually teamed up with Song Jiang again?
Is this fate?
Cai Fu was surprised to hear Dong Ping's name, and was also pleasantly surprised to receive Zhu Wu.

Zhu Wu, nicknamed "Divine Strategist," was one of the few intelligent people in Liangshan.

Moreover, Zhu Wu is an expert in military strategy and tactics, so having Zhu Wu is actually more useful than having Wu Yong.

Therefore, Cai Fu naturally accepted Zhu Wu and inquired about the situation at Erlong Mountain from Zhu Wu.

Zhu Wu told him everything he knew, but he didn't know the current situation at Erlong Mountain.

As Zhu Wu spoke, he observed his surroundings and was shocked to discover that Cai Fu had actually captured the government army camp!
Keep in mind that the government army has 130,000 troops, while Cai Fu can only muster a little over 10,000 at most...

This is too outrageous!
"Big brother, the statistics are finished!"

Han Shizhong came over and reported to Cai Fu:

"The total number of government troops killed or wounded was over 40,000, and over 40,000 surrendered; the rest fled..."

"hiss--"

Zhu Wu couldn't help but gasp:
Good heavens! Cai Fu really did it!

"There are too many surrendered soldiers..."

Cai Fu frowned. He had less than 10,000 men under his command. How could he possibly control so many surrendered soldiers?
Cai Fu certainly had ideas, but at this point Zhu Wu felt it was time to show off his real skills!

After all, he is a "divine strategist"!

"Brother, there's something I'm not sure if I should say..."

Zhu Wu said, sitting in his armchair.

This chair is the same chair that Gao Qiu used to sit in, the same chair that Cai Fu used to sit in.

Because Zhu Wu had injured his leg, Cai Fu gave up his chair to the injured man.

if not?
Zhu Wu was already one of their own. He had injured his leg, so Cai Fu couldn't possibly let him sit on the ground and talk, could he?

However, his very natural action deeply moved Zhu Wu, so Zhu Wu actively offered him advice:
"Brother, how about Makka Pakka..."

【Don’t worry, there’s more to come】

(End of this chapter)