Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

He always felt that his martial arts skills were quite good.

Unexpectedly, he was defeated by the burly man wielding the mountain-splitting axe in less than twenty rounds. He couldn't help but ask in confusion, "May I ask your name? Are you perhaps the Dragon Slayer Sun An?"

"Teacher Xu, he actually called me Brother Sun An?"

The burly man with the axe laughed twice before introducing himself.

"Listen up, my name is Bian Xiang, I come from a farming family, and I haven't made a name for myself yet!"

"As for me, I can wield both a large axe and a long spear, while Brother Sun An wields two iron swords. Don't get them mixed up again!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tong could only reply with a wry smile, "With a hero's martial arts skills, he will surely become famous throughout the world sooner or later."

Those who have no reputation in the martial arts world are either not very capable or are just starting out.

Bianxiang possessed astonishing strength, wielding the axe with effortless ease, yet he was a complete novice in the martial arts world.

18 Zhu Tong, this bearded gentleman, has really suffered a major setback this time.

"You're quite adept at using a broadsword, man."

Bian Xiang asked curiously, "Does he have a reputation in the martial arts world?"

"My name is Zhu Tong, also known as the Handsome Bearded Gentleman."

Zhu Tong's expression suddenly became subtle halfway through his sentence.

Sure enough, upon hearing this name, Bian Xiang scrutinized Zhu Tong again, his face full of confusion.

"A man with a long beard? You have a short beard, where did this long beard come from?"

Zhu Tong had no choice but to explain, "Well... my tiger beard got caught in a weapon during the last battle against Liangshan, so I had to cut it off."

Not wanting Zhu Tong to feel embarrassed, Chao Gai quickly asked the man wielding the hook-and-sickle spear for his name.

"Hehe, my brother here has quite a background; he used to be in the Tokyo Golden Gun Squad..."

Bian Xiang stopped mid-sentence, realizing he didn't know if Xu Ning would reveal her name.

"I'm sorry, teacher, I was just being nosy."

"It doesn't matter, the whole world will find out sooner or later anyway,"

Xu Ning didn't seem to mind, and bowed to Chao Gai, saying...

"I was originally an instructor in the Golden Spear Class of the Imperial Guards in Tokyo, known as the Golden Spear Master, Xu Ning."

"So it's Teacher Xu. I am Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King."

Chao Tianwang wanted to return the greeting with a bow, but then he remembered that his hands were tied, so he could only look helpless.

"I am Wu Yong, the strategist,"

Wu Yong, who was standing nearby, quickly introduced himself as well.

If someone were mistaken for an unknown soldier and killed at this point, there would truly be no way to seek justice.

"May I ask you two heroes, what exactly happened in Xixi Village? And where is Huang An, the militia commander of Jizhou Prefecture?"

"What else could have happened? We Liangshan have already captured Xixi Village,"

Bian Xiang replied, "As for Huang An, the militia commander, he was captured by Brother Zhao himself from the very beginning, and he is now a prisoner of our Liangshan!"

"But Huang An has more than a thousand soldiers under his command!"

Wu Yong asked in shock, "We received the news and immediately led our men over. It's only been about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Even if there were a thousand pigs, you couldn't catch them all in that time, could you?"

"Haha, of course, this is all thanks to our Brother Zhao's abilities,"

Bian Xiang smiled smugly and then recounted the entire process of Liangshan's capture of Xixi Village.

It turns out that yesterday on Liangshan Mountain,

After Zhao Yuan met Li Dazhuang, who had come up the mountain to plead with Liangshan to send troops and uphold justice for Xixi Village,

They immediately decided to strike first and take advantage of Huang An's encampment in Xixi Village to seize the troops of Jizhou in one fell swoop!

This was partly due to the desire to avenge Xixi Village.

It was also because among the troops in Jeju, there were actually five or six hundred cavalrymen!

It's important to know that the Song Dynasty lost the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun at its founding, and the Hetao region in the northwest was also in the hands of the Western Xia.

There has never been a good breeding ground for horses, so they could only rely on scattered, small-scale breeding in various parts of the Central Plains.

This not only prevents the number of horses from increasing, but also hinders their quality.

In most local militia units, having one or two hundred horses is already considered quite good.

Unexpectedly, Huang An had five or six hundred cavalrymen under his command!

Although both their warhorses and the quality of their soldiers were certainly inferior to those of the Imperial Guards and the Western Army of Bianliang,

But what can you do when he's Ma Jun?

They were born a cut above the foot soldiers!

The Mandarin Duck Formation used by Liangshan at this time was naturally extremely effective against infantry.

However, it was insufficient to deal with the cavalry.

It was Qi Jiguang who popularized the Mandarin Duck Formation.

To deal with the Mongol cavalry, the strategy was to first disrupt the Mongol formation with wagon formations and firearms, confuse them, and then use cavalry to finish them off and deliver a fatal blow.

Liangshan had no cavalry; if they relied solely on infantry to engage the Jizhou troops in open battle,

Those five or six hundred cavalrymen alone were enough to inflict heavy losses on the Liangshan soldiers!

That's why Zhao Yuan decided to take the initiative.

The battlefield was moved from the wilderness to the village of Xixi!

The village roads are narrow and full of obstacles.

It is not conducive to cavalry charges and maneuvers, but it is extremely suitable for the Mandarin Duck Formation, which focuses on small-team combat.

After Zhao Yuan successfully persuaded the other leaders of Liangshan,

While ordering everyone to gather their military equipment and prepare to descend the mountain and advance,

On the other hand, they also learned from Li Dazhuang that...

Although Huang An stationed his troops in Xixi Village, the military camp was austere.

That fellow simply abandoned the military camp and moved his headquarters directly to Li Baozheng's estate.

He usually spent his days drinking and making merry inside, forcing villagers to sign tenant contracts with him.

The entire village was guarded by only one force!

Upon hearing this, 060 immediately had an idea.

He, Sun An, and Deng Fei disguised themselves as ordinary villagers.

Li Dazhuang returned to Xixi Village.

Because Huang An caused such a disturbance in Xixi Village that it angered both heaven and man.

This was a stark contrast to Zhao Yuan's previous attitude towards them.

Although some villagers recognized Zhao Yuan, none of them reported him to Huang An.

Instead, they helped Zhao Yuan and the other two conceal their identities.

They successfully infiltrated the manor as tenants of Li Baozheng's family.

After that, things were simple.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to sign a tenant farmer contract, Zhao Yuan and his two companions successfully kidnapped Huang An.

Then, taking advantage of the fact that the soldiers outside the village were unaware of the changes at the manor, they...

Huang An issued an order, ostensibly to arrange troop deployment for an upcoming attack on Liangshan.

He summoned all the commanders, captains, and most of the captains from the more than one thousand soldiers in Jeju Prefecture to the village.

After they left, the Liangshan soldiers who had been lying in ambush outside the village immediately rushed out.

Without their commander, the Jeju soldiers immediately fell into chaos.

In addition, these days they have only been preoccupied with bullying the villagers, and the soldiers have become increasingly lax.

However, they were defeated by the Liangshan army in a short time.

Apart from the dozens of soldiers who died or were wounded in the initial resistance, almost all the remaining soldiers from Jizhou were taken prisoner by Liangshan!

As for those commanders, captains, and captains...

Upon entering Li Baozheng's manor, they were wiped out in one fell swoop by Zhao Yuan and his two companions, along with Liangshan soldiers who had come to their aid!

Chapter 143 Where Did All These Horses Come From?

Bianxiang recounts the process of Liangshan's capture of Xixi Village.

Upon hearing this, Chao Gai and the other two all looked stunned.

The shock caused by Zhao Yuan's audacity in infiltrating Li Baozheng's manor with only three men and kidnapping Huang An was only a small part of the story.

More than anything, people are wondering if Huang An is a pig.

Knowing full well that they were there to suppress bandits, they still dared to separate their field camp from the main camp.

Separating themselves from their families is one thing, but failing to even ensure proper security for themselves led to their own kidnapping.

Being kidnapped by Liangshan was one thing, but they were also expected to do whatever they were told.

Does this person still have any backbone as a general of the imperial court?

Chao Gai and his two companions were escorted by Bian Xiang and Xu Ning to see Zhao Yuan.

Meanwhile, at Li Baozheng's estate...

When Zhao Yuan revisited this place, he was filled with emotion as he looked at everything before him.

He originally only wanted to try his luck when the three of them infiltrated Xixi Village, and he wasn't 100% sure of success.

Unexpectedly, it went exceptionally smoothly.

Not only did they easily capture Huang An, but the entire Jizhou garrison was also captured by Liangshan!

Zhao Yuan remembered Huang An very clearly.

In the original timeline of Water Margin

Chao Gai and his men were forced to flee to Liangshan after the birthday tribute plot was exposed.

Not long after instigating Lin Chong to kill Wang Lun,

Huang An then led a thousand soldiers to attack.

At that time, Liangshan had a population of less than a thousand and only three to five hundred soldiers.

However, they only had the three Ruan brothers and some soldiers who were good swimmers.

They then slaughtered most of the more than a thousand men in the marshland, and even Huang An was captured alive!

Although Liangshan had the advantage of terrain in this battle,

But Huang An didn't even investigate the situation of the water beforehand, and went straight into the trap.

They're worse than pigs!

Come to think of it, this man seems to be an old acquaintance of Song Jiang.

In the original timeline, when Song Jiang joined the Liangshan bandits,

Upon seeing Chao Gai, he inquired about Huang An's whereabouts.

It was only later that I learned that after this person was arrested,

He died a pathetic death on Liangshan Mountain in less than two months.

While Zhao Yuan was still thinking about Huang An, Deng Fei, who was standing beside him, couldn't wait to ask,

"Brother, what should we do with this gang leader? Should we just execute him?"

"Chief Zhao, Your Majesties, spare my life! Spare my life..."