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

Chapter 459 Li Jun: What can I do? I'm desperate too! [1st Update]

"The heavens really know how to pick their timing; it just so happened that a torrential downpour started halfway through our journey to suppress the bandits!"

"It's not that God picks the right time, it's that Prefect Cai Jiu picks the right time..."

"Shh! Are you crazy? The Prefect is the son of Grand Tutor Cai. Aren't you afraid of losing your head if you dare to speak ill of him?"

"He didn't know I was saying... Hey! There's someone by the lake!"

The two soldiers at the front were whispering among themselves when they suddenly spotted three suspicious-looking men lying on the lakeshore ahead.

"Those three men lying by the lake, one with both legs broken, and the other two with gunshot wounds to the stomach, are really suspicious!"

"I'll report to the general!"

One of the soldiers turned and ran, rushing to the horse of Xie Kun, the general in charge of the Hukou army, to report the matter.

(The General should not have appeared in this era, but since this is how it is in the original novel of "The Story of Yue Fei", let's stick to the original novel.)
Upon hearing this, Xie Kun immediately ordered the three men to be arrested, as he wanted to interrogate them personally.

Without any interrogation, his own soldiers recognized Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng.

"General, these three are the leaders of the Kanglang Mountain bandits!"
"This big red-faced man with broken legs is none other than Li Jun, the Great King of Kanglang Mountain, known as 'Mixed-River Dragon'!"
"The two men shot in the stomach are the naval leaders of Kanglang Mountain. One is called 'Emerging Dragon' Tong Wei, and the other is called 'River-Turning Mirage' Tong Meng!"

Xie Kun was overjoyed: "Really?"

"More real than real gold! We've fought them on the battlefield!"

"General, look! This knife wound on my arm was inflicted by Li Jun. I'd recognize him even if he were ashes!"

"These three pirates were quite formidable during the naval battle, but I never expected them to be so badly wounded and left on the lakeside..."

At least several hundred government troops recognized Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng. Xie Kun stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

Who says you can't have something for nothing?
He was sent by Prefect Cai Jiu to suppress bandits in Kanglang Mountain, but he never expected to find the bandit leader on the way!

There were still three bandit leaders!

The three bandit leaders were still seriously injured!
Happy Chinese New Year!

Xie Kun, full of vigor and high spirits, waved his hand:
"Tie up the three bandit leaders, and we'll go to Jiangzhou to claim our reward!"

Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng felt utterly disheartened.

Tong Wei and Tong Meng looked at Li Jun: Brother, what should we do?
what can I do? I'm desperate too!

Although Li Jun felt utterly hopeless, all he could do was comfort Tong Wei and Tong Meng:
"Brothers, don't worry! Life is full of ups and downs!"
"We've hit rock bottom now, and we can't be in a worse situation than we are now!"
"There's always a way out. As long as we don't die, we can recover from our injuries in prison and then find a way to escape..."

Tong Wei and Tong Meng exchanged a glance. Although they felt the chances were slim, it was still better than complete despair.

……

Jiangzhou.

Xie Kun brought Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng before Prefect Cai Jiu, and proudly clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"Your Excellency, I was ordered to quell the bandits on Poyang Lake and successfully captured the bandit leaders Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng alive..."

"Who?"

Upon hearing the name, Prefect Cai Jiu's small eyes widened, and he slammed his hand on the table:
"Keep your head up!"

Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng naturally wouldn't listen. Xie Kun snorted coldly, and immediately a group of fierce soldiers stepped forward, forcing the three of them to raise their heads for Prefect Cai Jiu to see.

Prefect Cai Jiu took a closer look at Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng, and burst into laughter:
"Good! Good! Good! The net of justice is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it!"
"You bunch of Liangshan rebels have finally fallen into my hands!"

Xie Kun was taken aback: "My lord, they are pirates from Poyang Lake..."

"What Poyang Lake pirates!"

Prefect Cai Jiu's eyes lit up, and he shouted:
"Those three are clearly rebels from Liangshan! Back then, when Song Jiang, the leader of Liangshan, was captured in Jiangzhou, I personally oversaw his execution!"
"Song Jiang was just a hair's breadth away from being executed, but he was rescued by this group of Liangshan rebels!"

"Hmph! My lifelong reputation has been ruined by these Liangshan rebels!"
“I have investigated thoroughly. The bandit leaders Chao Gai and Hua Rong came from Shandong, but these three are locals!”

"I dug three feet into the ground in Jiangzhou but couldn't find them. Later I found out they had all gone to Liangshan Marsh!"
"I thought I'd never catch them in this lifetime, but I never expected that they would fall into my hands again!"

"This is truly a blessing from heaven! Hahaha!"

"Your Excellency's discerning eyes are truly remarkable; it turns out they are rebels from Liangshan!"

"Your Excellency, what should we do with them?"

Xie Kun became even more excited upon hearing this. How could the merit of capturing the Poyang Lake bandits be greater than that of capturing the Liangshan rebels?

I never imagined that even in his old age, he could still climb another level!

Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng were all thinking, "Holy crap..."

Li Jun and his group were the third of the twenty-nine heroes who stormed the execution ground to rescue Song Jiang back then, known as the "Little Gathering at Bailong Temple."

They followed Song Jiang to Shandong, so they were unaware that Prefect Cai Jiu was conducting a frantic manhunt for them in Jiangzhou.

Of course, it doesn't matter if they know, since they are in Shandong, and Prefect Cai Jiu can't possibly cross provincial borders to arrest them.

But unexpectedly, after going around in circles, they returned, only to fall into the hands of Prefect Cai Jiu...

"Given the example of the bandit leader Song Jiang, we must not let them live for too long!"

"First, torture them severely until they confess their crimes, then file a formal document. Tomorrow, take them to the marketplace and behead them. After that, write a memorial to the court!"

Even after Prefect Cai finished speaking, he still felt uneasy:
"That's all!
"Why wait until tomorrow? The longer we wait, the more things might go wrong. It would be even worse if their accomplices stormed the execution ground again!"
"Kill them now!"
"I personally... appoint General Xie as the executioner. They must be executed today!"
"As long as these three Liangshan rebels are brought to justice, General Xie, I will recommend you to my father!"

Originally, Prefect Cai Jiu wanted to personally supervise the execution, but then he thought, what if there were more Liangshan rebels storming the execution ground?
Safety first, I'd better stay in the mansion and remain the mastermind behind the scenes...

Upon hearing this, Xie Kun was so moved he almost cried:

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency. I will certainly kill them!"

……

crossroads.

Li Jun, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng were bound hand and foot and kneeling in the middle.

I glued my hair, tied it into a pear-shaped bun, and stuck a red silk paper flower into each bun.

The crowd was enormous, a truly bustling scene of people jostling shoulder to shoulder.

The last time Jiangzhou was this lively was when Song Jiang was beheaded...

Tong Wei and Tong Meng stared longingly at Li Jun:

Brother, didn't you say that life is full of ups and downs?

Why is it that the lives of the three of us brothers have been nothing but ups and downs...?

Li Jun was speechless and could only shake his head with a wry smile.
Don't worry, brothers, after the beheading, we'll fall to the bottom!

Believe me, there's no more difficult situation than being beheaded at a crossroads!

Tong Wei and Tong Meng: (_)(_)
When Song Jiang was beheaded and his head was displayed in public, they came to his rescue. Now that it's their turn to be beheaded and displayed in public, who will come to their rescue?

Song Jiang, the "Timely Rain"?
Stop joking. Song Jiang himself is in dire need of help, otherwise why would they abandon him?

(End of this chapter)