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

Chapter 626 Yang Yao: Keep the music playing, keep the dance going! [1st Update]

After receiving Wang Zuo's letter, Wang De quietly rowed a small boat to the other side after dark.

After landing, Wang De had barely taken two steps when he was captured by a Qi army lieutenant. He quickly revealed his identity:

"I was sent by General Wang to see the Grand Commander. There is a secret letter that must be delivered to the Grand Commander in person!"

"Which General Wang?"

Although Junior Officer Fu Lu didn't understand, fearing it might cause a major misunderstanding, he still took him to see Lu Zhishen.

Upon seeing Lu Zhishen, Wang De knelt down and presented Wang Zuo's secret letter with both hands:

"Your Excellency, I am Wang De, a retainer of Wang Zuo, the garrison commander of Dongermu Village on the east side of Dongting Lake!"

"My master is willing to defect to the State of Qi and help the Grand Commander take Dongting Lake, so he sent me to deliver this message!"

Lu Zhishen and Li Zhu exchanged a glance, and Li Zhu asked him, "Why is General Wang willing to join my Qi Kingdom?"

Wang De: "This is a long story, and my master has written the whole story in the letter!"

"The Grand Commander will know at a glance!"

Li Zhu took the letter, silently used his inner energy to wipe the envelope, and when there was no reaction, he handed it to Lu Zhishen.

If the letter was poisoned, the moment Li Zhu touched it, the letter would glow green, and the more poisonous it was, the greener it would be.

Lu Zhishen tore open the envelope, took out the letter, and glanced at it:
But I forgot that I am illiterate!
So he handed it back to Li Zhu, and Lu Zhishen blinked his bright, watery bull eyes at Li Zhu:
Strategist, you know what I mean!

Li Zhu, understanding perfectly, took the letter and helped Lu Zhishen write it out:

"Blah blah blah..."

"King Qi was righteous and spared me; I will remember this kindness forever..."

"When I returned to Dongting Lake, I never expected that Yang Yao would suspect me of betraying my master and seeking personal gain, and beat me with fifty lashes..."

"As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and a wise minister chooses a good lord to serve. I only now realize that I followed the wrong person..."

"Three days later, at the third watch of the night, I will await the Grand Commander at Crescent Bay to discuss the matter of taking Dongting Lake in person..."

After Li Zhu finished reading, he exchanged a glance with Lu Zhishen:
To go or not to go?

"most!"

Lu Zhishen agreed without hesitation:
"We will meet at Crescent Bay in three days, at the third watch of the night!"

Wang De clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Could you please grant me a reply, Grand Commander, so that I may return and report back?"

"That's easy!"

Lu Zhishen waved his hand: "Bring me pen and ink!"

Once the paper, ink, brush, and inkstone were all prepared, Lu Zhishen picked up the brush, dipped it fully in ink, and wrote in one stroke:

"That's how it is. Take it and hand it in!"

Wang Degong respectfully accepted it with both hands, and upon taking a look, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood, but fortunately he managed to hold it in.

Lu Zhishen gave Wang De a few instructions, and Wang De returned to Dongermu Village by the same route and delivered the reply to Wang Zuo.

Wang Zuo lay on the bed, his backside exposed, and when he opened the letter, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Blinking his small eyes, Wang Zuo handed the letter to Qu Yuan with a wry smile:

"Strategist, look at this..."

"Ok?"

When Qu Yuan took the letter, his eyes widened in surprise. The letter contained a brush painting:

The picture shows a bald man with a small flower on his head!

The bald man raised his hands, making a circle with his left thumb and forefinger, and raising his middle, ring, and little fingers.

His right hand was clenched into a fist, with only his index finger raised.

Behind the bald man, there was a large crescent moon drawn.

Qu Yuan, looking completely bewildered, mimicked the bald man's pose, making a three-point gesture with his left hand and a one-point gesture with his right:

"What do you mean?"

Wang Zuo: "Perhaps it's a number?"

Thus, Qu Yuan deciphered the brush painting technique:
"Does that mean one person will keep the appointment at Crescent Bay in three days?" Wang Zuo exclaimed in astonishment, "The strategist is brilliant!"

"Where."

Qu Yuan humbly stroked his beard twice:

"It turns out that Lu Zhishen was completely illiterate."

"In that case, you should stay here and recover from your injuries. You can go see Lu Zhishen in three days."

Wang Zuo clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, strategist!"

"No need to be polite, it's all for Your Majesty's imperial ambitions."

Qu Yuan left satisfied.

He delivered Lu Zhishen's reply to Yang Yao, who laughed so hard he couldn't stop when he saw the painting:
"Three days later, I'll make sure that reckless monk Lu Zhishen never returns!"

Qu Yuan also laughed: "This Qi army is led by Lu Zhishen."

"With Lu Zhishen dead, the Qi army is a disorganized mess and not worth worrying about."

Yang Yao grasped Qu Yuangong's hand: "Thanks to the strategist!"
"With a strategist, I am like a fish in water!"

Qu Yuan was delighted and asked again, "I wonder when the two kings will return from Snake Coil Mountain?"

"Feng Tai possesses unparalleled bravery; only our two kings can rival him!"

Yang Yao: "We have already sent someone to Snake Coil Mountain to deliver the message."

"My second brother will lead a large army back to help me in just the next two days."

Qu Yuan was then relieved: "That would be best."

"Your Majesty, we must keep a close eye on Wang Zuo these next two days to prevent him from causing any unforeseen trouble."

"The strategist is absolutely right!"

Yang Yao nodded: "I will send someone to Dong'ermu Village to gather information. Report back to me immediately if there is any disturbance!"

"Strategist, if this succeeds, you will be the one to deserve the greatest credit. I toast you!"

Qu Yuan, who was a teetotaler, quickly declined:

"Your Majesty, I am not a good drinker..."

"Hey?"

Yang Yao feigned dissatisfaction and said, "Strategist, this cup of wine is to express my respect for you!"
"How can the strategist refuse?"

"I know that my strategist is not a good drinker. This is the only cup you can have. I will not allow you to have another cup!"

After Yang Yao said that, Qu Yuan had no choice but to swallow the wine and drink it.

After eating, Qu Yuan felt dizzy and unsteady on his feet.

Yang Yao laughed heartily and beckoned to two palace maids:
"When you send the strategist back, you must take good care of him!"
"If the strategist is not satisfied, I will not spare you!"

The two palace maids then carried Qu Yuan out, one on each side.

Yang Yao picked up his wine cup and waved his sleeve:
"Keep playing music, keep dancing!"

He felt like he had forgotten something, but under the dual intoxication of fine wine and beautiful women, Yang Yao was too lazy to think about it.

With women on either side of him, Yang Yao gradually became drunk, and the beauties even brought full wine glasses to his lips:
"Your Majesty, you've drunk the wine she fed you, but you won't accept the wine I feed you!"

"Eat! Eat it all!"

Yang Yao laughed heartily, and after a few more drinks, his eyes were practically drooping.
"My beauty, let me feed you a cup too!"

After saying this, Yang Yao took a sip of wine, but instead of swallowing it, he held it in his mouth and puckered his lips to feed the beauty.

The overwhelming stench of alcohol almost made the beauty vomit, but she had to force a smile and catch it with her mouth.

Just as Yang Yao was feeding the wine in his mouth, suddenly some bandits ran in in a panic:

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Wait a minute!
While continuing to feed the soldiers wine, Yang Yao raised a hand to tell the bandits to shut up and not interfere with his work.

The bandits, impatient and anxious, finally waited until Yang Yao finished feeding them the wine, and then smacked their lips as if they were still not satisfied.

(End of this chapter)