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

Chapter 643 Lu Zhishen: Listen to advice, and you'll eat your fill! [1st update]

"Guan Shiyan?"

Qu Yuan recognized the refined-looking military general as Guan Shiyan, the Left Guard General of Snake Coil Mountain.

Guan Shiyan was originally his retainer. After joining Yang Yao's rebellion, he was promoted by Yang Yao to the position of Left Guard General at Shepan Mountain because of his superb martial arts skills and numerous military achievements. Thus, he left the tutelage of Qu Yuan.

However, Qu Yuan and Guan Shiyan actually had a very good relationship, just like Lu Junyi and Yan Qing.

However, after Guan Shiyan was promoted by Yang Yao, he broke off contact with Qu Yuan on the surface in order to avoid suspicion.

After Qu Yuan was imprisoned in the dungeon, Guan Shiyan first made no move and only came to see Qu Yuan when no one was paying attention.

"Master, it's me!"

Guan Shiyan said indignantly, "Without a master, Your Majesty cannot succeed!"
"Now that Your Majesty has succeeded, you will dismantle the bridge after crossing the river, discard the bow after the birds are all gone, cook the dog after the rabbit is dead, and kill the donkey after it has finished grinding the millstone..."

"I simply couldn't stand by and watch, Master. Today is my turn to patrol the mountain, and I'll escort you out of the mountain right away!"

Qu Yuan shook his head repeatedly: "I appreciate your kindness, but what will you do if I leave?"
"It's your turn to patrol the mountain today. If I leave, that tyrannical ruler Yang Yao will definitely cause you trouble!"
"No, I can't leave!"

Guan Shiyan resolutely said, "Master, I will go with you!"

"That tyrant Yang Yao is not worth my service. I will follow you to serve the King of Qi!"

"Come with me to serve King Qi?"

Qu Yuan was also exasperated: "That tyrant Yang Yao has wronged me! I truly did not defect to the King of Qi!"

Guan Shiyan slapped his forehead: "That's it, that's it! Let's go and join Governor Lu!"

"I didn't vote for Governor Lu either!"

Qu Yuan shook his head and smiled bitterly:
"I have been utterly loyal to Your Majesty, but Your Majesty has taken my loyalty for granted..."

"That's fine. Once we leave Yang Yao, aren't we free to roam the world?"

As Guan Shiyan spoke, he removed the shackles from Qu Yuan:
"Anywhere is better than the master suffering here!"

"Besides, even if Yang Yao defeats the Qi army, will he really release his master?"

Qu Yuan thought about it and agreed, so he got up with Guan Shiyan's help. Just then, someone suddenly arrived:
"What a mess you've made!"

Guan Shiyan was startled and quickly pushed Qu Yuan aside, drawing his sword and pointing it at the newcomer.

But after recognizing who it was, Guan Shiyan breathed a sigh of relief:
"Brother, you can scare someone to death!"

Qu Yuan looked closely and saw that the person who came was Shen Tiejian, the Right Guard General of Shepan Mountain.

Guan Shiyan introduced Qu Yuan to Shen Tiejian, saying, "Master, rest assured, Shen Tiejian is my sworn brother, and he would never betray us!"

Qu Yuan was finally relieved, and Shen Tiejian bowed to him.
"Strategist, I came to see the steward, but I overheard your conversation."

"Forgive my bluntness, but instead of blindly fleeing, you should seek refuge in the State of Qi."

"I've heard that the King of Qi is exceptionally benevolent and righteous; going to him is definitely the right thing to do!"

Qu Yuan: "...What you say makes sense."

Shen Tiejian then said, "Strategist, there's something I'm not sure if I should say..."

"Yang Yao is ruthless, so don't blame us for being unjust!"
"Why don't we send a message to Governor Lu, and work with him from the inside to break through Snake Coil Mountain!"
"With this tremendous achievement, I can go to the State of Qi and secure a bright future!"

"Well……"

Qu Yuan bowed his head and remained silent, while Guan Shiyan offered his advice:
“Master, my brother is right!”

"Since you've decided to join the King of Qi, let's go together and bring with us a tremendous achievement!"
"This will also teach Governor Lu not to look down on us!"

Qu Yuan gritted his teeth and glared: "That's exactly it!"
"Thank you both, Generals! I will never forget your kindness!"

"What are you saying, Master!" Guan Shiyan asked Qu Yuan for a token and then instructed Shen Tiejian to send a trusted confidant to deliver the message.

Soon, Lu Zhishen, who was stationed at Dongting Lake, received a secret letter from Shen Tiejian's confidant.

"Strategist, look..."

Lu Zhishen handed the secret letter to Li Zhu, who read it and then told Lu Zhishen its contents:

"Grand Commander, this is a great opportunity to eliminate Yang Yao!"
"But I wonder if they are sincere..."

"Yes, Grand Commander!"

Wang Zuo also said, "If we go and coordinate with them from the inside, they will lay an ambush waiting for us..."

Lu Zhishen frowned deeply: "That may be true, but if he truly wants to join us, wouldn't it be disheartening for a hero if I didn't respond?"

Li Zhu and Wang Zuo exchanged a glance, and Li Zhu still advised Lu Zhishen to be careful.

Lu Zhishen refused to listen: "I will only take the Arhat Camp to cooperate with them from the inside and outside, and you lead the main army to follow later!"
"If they've laid an ambush, I'll charge out, and you'll charge in—that'll be a coordinated attack from both inside and outside!"

Li Zhu and Wang Zuo had no choice but to agree. In the end, Lu Zhishen decided to lead the Luohan Camp to coordinate with Qu Yuangong from the outside.

So the next day, on the day Shen Tiejian was to patrol the mountain, Lu Zhishen went into the mountain.

The secret letter sent by Shen Tiejian's confidant contained a geographical map, with clear markings on it.

It is said that Snake Coil Mountain is located deep in the Ten Thousand Mountains. The road is full of chaotic mountains and ridges, dense bamboo groves, and complicated paths, making it extremely difficult to identify.

Fortunately, the map clearly showed the path. Lu Zhishen led the Luohan Camp, which had grown to a thousand men, and together with Feng Tai, they entered the deep mountains according to the map.

"Grand Commander, if we're going to coordinate an attack from within and without, wouldn't it be too few for us to only bring one Arhat Battalion?"

Feng Tai, wielding his double maces, pushed aside the branches blocking his path and asked Lu Zhishen:
"Snake Coil Mountain only has a little over ten thousand low-level thugs. Why don't we send out our entire army and charge straight in?"

Lu Zhishen shook his bald head and said, "Let's listen to the strategist!"

My older brother said, "Listen to advice, and you'll have a full stomach!"
"what?"

Lu Zhishen suddenly stopped and looked around at the map.

Feng Tai quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Look at this geographical map!"

Lu Zhishen casually stuck his crescent-shaped shovel into the ground and pointed to the map for Feng Tai to see:
"According to the map, this should be a main road, but it has turned into a canyon!"
"Could there be a trap involved?"

Feng Tai's heart sank, and he quickly looked up. The mountain walls on both sides of the canyon were extremely steep!

Looking further ahead and behind, the canyon was only about ten feet wide, and it stretched as far as the eye could see!
"Grand Commander, if there's an ambush here, we'll be in trouble..."

Before Feng Tai could finish speaking, a series of gong sounds were heard, followed by the removal of huge boulders from the top of the canyon!
"Boom boom boom..."

Many huge rocks fell from the sky, as if a meteor shower had fallen!

Lu Zhishen's expression changed, and he hurriedly shouted:

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

His Arhat Battalion had long been trained to obey orders, and they immediately turned around and ran back the way they came!
But the boulder had already fallen, and those who couldn't dodge in time were smashed into mincemeat!

"Roar--"

Lu Zhishen was both shocked and furious, his eyes turning red as he cursed loudly:
"Qu Yuan, you son of a bitch!"

"boom--"

A huge rock was about to crush a Luohan soldier to death when Lu Zhishen knocked it away with a single blow of his staff!

(End of this chapter)