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

Unexpectedly, Fei Bao suggested again: "While our fate is not yet over, let's find a place to settle down and live out our days, gather some money, build a large ship, gather a few sailors, and find a clean place on the river or sea to live out our remaining years!"

Li Jun heeded his advice, which led to his later claim to the throne overseas.

Although these four men came from humble backgrounds, they had a clearer understanding of the ways of the world than Song Jiang, who was literate.

"The gold and silver treasures in these wooden boxes are of little use to us,"

Zhao Yuan stepped forward and used his waist knife to cut the ropes binding the four men.

"Once the passenger ship arrives at Jiankang Prefecture, the four of you may leave with this money."

"this......"

Fei Bao and the other three looked at each other, somewhat unable to believe that there were actually people in this world who didn't care about 100,000 strings of cash.

"This hero saved our lives and returned this money to us. Please be sure to tell us your name so that we may know who our benefactor is," said Chixulong Feibao in a deep voice.

"I am Zhao Dalang from Liangshan!"

As soon as Zhao Yuan uttered his name, Fei Bao and the other three looked surprised.

Before they could even speak, Zhuo Wanli exclaimed in surprise, "You are actually the leader of Liangshan!"

"Oh? People in Jiangnan have heard of my name?" Zhao Yuan asked with some curiosity.

Zhuo Wanli quickly explained, "I didn't know at first. It was when I met the Holy Duke that I heard him mention Chief Zhao's name."

"Fang La? Why would he bring up my brother out of the blue?" Ruan Xiaoqi asked in surprise.

"The Holy Lord said that neither Wang Qing of Huaixi nor Tian Hu of Hebei can amount to anything, and even Chief Zhao, staying in the small Liangshan Marsh, will... find it difficult to achieve great things!"

Zhuo Wanli suddenly gritted his teeth as he said this.

"Chief Zhao, the Holy Lord is broad-minded and ambitious. Why don't you join him and work with us to accomplish great things? After we succeed, we'll be made kings and ministers, enjoying all the riches and honors in the world. Wouldn't that be wonderful!"

"Pooh!"

Before Zhao Yuan could answer, Ruan Xiaoqi spat hard into Zhuo Wanli's face.

"My brother is the leader of Liangshan, with tens of thousands of people under his command. He just recently defeated the army of Jizhou Prefecture! While we were upholding justice on behalf of Heaven, punishing evil gentry and corrupt officials, what was your leader Fang La doing? He even rebelled in secret! What kind of hero is he!"

"In my opinion, it should be your cult leader who comes to seek refuge with my brother!"

Ruan Xiaoqi snorted, "When my brother rules the world in the future, he'll give you, the leader of the sect, a high-ranking official position."

········Requesting flowers·· 0

"How dare you insult the leader of my Manichaeism!"

Zhuo Wanli glared and roared angrily.

"Even if I have been humiliated, what can you do to me?"

Ruan Xiaoqi sneered, "My brother is a champion for the people of Liangshan and has long been supported by the people of Jizhou and Yunzhou. Your leader, Fang La, is just using ghosts and gods to bewitch the people. If Fang La can achieve great things, I, Ruan Xiaoqi, will write my name backwards from now on!"

At this point, the living Yama suggested, "Brother, since Fang La covets the wealth of these four brothers, he will never give up easily. We have important matters to attend to, but we are also involved. Why not kill Zhuo Wanli and the other river bandits to prevent the news from leaking out and delaying our journey!"

"Um,"

0 ....... ...

Zhao Yuan nodded indifferently.

Ruan Xiaoqi then dragged the already limp Zhuo Wanli to the side of the boat, ended his life with a single slash, and then threw the body directly into the river.

Seeing this, Hu Sanniang waved her hand as well.

A dozen or so guards stepped forward, dragged the group of pirates to the side of the boat, and dealt with them in the same way as Zhuo Wanli.

Seeing the bandits perish, Fei Bao and his three companions...

The other three breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the matter of the birthday gifts was now over.

Fei Bao's expression changed, and he sighed.

"Chief Zhao killed Zhuo Wanli, leaving us with nowhere to go in Jiangnan."

"You're such an inconsiderate man!"

Ruan Xiaoqi said irritably, "We have an important matter to attend to in Jiankang Prefecture. If it weren't for you, how would we have gotten involved with Zhuo Wanli!"

"If we spare this bastard's life and he delays our important business, even if we capture Fang La and poke a thousand holes in him, it won't be enough!"

"Furthermore, as long as the birthday tribute is in your hands, do you think Fang La will let you go?"

Fei Bao knew Ruan Xiaoqi was telling the truth, and could only manage a wry smile.

Ni Yun, Di Cheng, and Bu Qing were also at a loss for what to do.

Fang La's Manichaeism had a great influence in Jiangnan.

In many villages and towns, almost every household is a follower of Manichaeism.

If Fang La truly wanted to find someone,

In the Jiangnan region, few could escape the notice of Manichaeism's informants...

Chapter 156 Who Killed the Four Fei Bao Brothers?

"What else is there to think about?"

Ruan Xiaoqi laughed and said, "Since you four were able to rob the birthday tribute, you must be no ordinary people. Why don't you come with us to Liangshan and live a happy life together? It's better than being treated as fat sheep with a huge sum of money in this Jianghu!"

Well done, Xiao Qi!

Zhao Yuan looked at Ruan Xiaoqi with admiration.

The four people on the other side exchanged glances. Fei Bao was about to say something when...

Ni Yun, Di Cheng, and Bu Qing all said in unison, "Big brother, we'll listen to you!"

Seeing how much his three brothers trusted him,

Chixulong Feibao felt a surge of emotion. He gritted his teeth and suddenly said to Zhao Yuan,

"Chief Zhao, it's not that we're being pretentious, but if you're going to let us join Liangshan, please answer one question for us first."

"Excuse me!" Zhao Yuan nodded.

"073"

Fei Bao asked with a serious expression, "Does Chief Zhao intend to be recruited by the government in the future?"

Upon hearing this question, Zhao Yuan immediately burst out laughing.

Seeing the puzzled looks on the four people's faces, Ruan Xiaoqi laughed and said, "Our mountain stronghold's Instructor Lin and Teacher Xu are both people who have a great feud with the imperial court. Even my brother has an inextricable grudge against the imperial court!"

"Besides, just two months ago, we Liangshan publicly tried Huang An, the military commissioner of Jizhou, and beheaded him right in front of the villagers. If my brother wanted to be granted amnesty, why would he act like this?"

Red Beard Dragon was somewhat tempted upon hearing this, but his gaze remained fixed on Zhao Yuan, clearly wanting to hear the Liangshan chieftain admit it himself.

"As long as I live, Liangshan will never surrender!"

Zhao Yuan said firmly.

Fei Bao breathed a sigh of relief and led his three brothers to kneel down, saying, "Brother, you have saved our lives and share our views. The four of us are willing to follow you to the marsh to join forces!"

"These four brothers are all capable men, and I am naturally overjoyed that they are willing to join Liangshan!"

Zhao Yuan quickly helped the four of them up. The thin-faced Xiong Dicheng was the most impatient and couldn't wait to ask.

"I wonder how you plan to arrange things for the four of us, brother? Will we even have seats?"

"The third one!"

Fei Bao glared at Di Cheng, but his gaze also drifted to Zhao Yuan, clearly wanting to know the answer as well.

"My four brothers, you may not know this, but we no longer have a system of ranking chairs at Liangshan,"

Zhao Yuan recounted the recent reforms at Liangshan to the four men.

Upon hearing this, Fei Bao couldn't help but show a look of surprise and delight.

"If Brother can act in this way, Liangshan will surely flourish and grow stronger in the future!"

The remaining three, though still not understanding the significance of the Liangshan reforms,

Since Fei Bao had already said so, they had no objections.

"As for my duties..."

Zhao Yuan pondered for a moment: "Currently, the only naval commanders on Liangshan are the three Ruan brothers. I wonder how skilled you four brothers are in the water? Would you be willing to serve as naval commanders?"

In his memory, these four people were known as the Four Heroes of Taihu Lake in the original Water Margin timeline. They were also water bandits, so their skills in the water should all be quite good.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhao Yuan's question,

Fei Bao cupped his hands and replied, "Of the four of us, the fourth one is from Taihu Lake. He grew up in the water, which is why he has the nickname 'Taihu Dragon.' As for the other three of us, we have learned some water skills from him over the years."

His statement clearly indicates that he has no objection to becoming a naval commander.

Seeing this, Ruan Xiaoqi couldn't help but laugh.

He knew that Zhao Yuan always had his own purpose in doing things.

The sudden addition of naval commanders will undoubtedly increase the navy's combat strength.

In the few months since joining Liangshan, Ruan Xiaoqi has been quite satisfied with most things.

The only thing that both brothers were naval commanders was that they had never actually fought a battle, which he found somewhat regrettable.

Whenever there's a battle on Liangshan, their navy seems to have been completely reduced to a transport fleet.

They were either transporting soldiers back and forth, or carrying spoils of war.

For most people, this kind of job might be something to be grateful for.

But for the three Ruan brothers, it was incredibly frustrating.

......

Now that we've become family,

Zhao Yuan then stopped hiding the purpose of their trip to Jiankang Prefecture.

"I never imagined that the head instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in Tokyo would contract the plague,"

Fei Bao smiled wryly and said, "Brother, do you know why the four of us suddenly want to return to Taihu Lake?"

"Didn't you say you were going to retire from the criminal world?" Zhao Yuan asked with a smile.

"We did have this idea, but we originally planned to wait two more years, until the rumors about the birthday tribute had completely died down, before heading south,"

Fei Bao explained, “Who knew that a plague would suddenly break out in Naxu City? We were afraid that the epidemic would spread to various prefectures in Shandong, so we had to pack our things and head south in a hurry. As a result, we were exposed in Yangzhou, which is why Fang La took notice of us.”

No wonder! It turns out it was a chain reaction caused by the plague in Xucheng!

Zhao Yuan suddenly realized,

In the original timeline of Water Margin

These Four Heroes of Taihu Lake clearly lived in peace with Fang La.

Their village, Yuliu Village, is located right in the middle of Taihu Lake.

If it weren't for the sudden decision to head south due to the pandemic...

Let alone staying in the North for another two years, even three or four months would be impossible for Fei Bao and his men.

After Chao Gai and his men's robbery of the birthday gifts was exposed,

The attention of the bandits will definitely be focused on this year's birthday gifts.

Who would still be thinking about what happened last year!

In truth, the entire ordeal that befell Fei Bao and his companions was caused by Zhao Yuan.

If he hadn't instructed Liangshan to attract disaster victims with grain, the prefect of Yunzhou wouldn't have distributed grain as relief.

In this way, the disaster victims from Hebei might not come to Yunzhou, but instead go directly to Bianliang (Kaifeng).

Even if an epidemic breaks out, it will only affect Bianliang and will have no impact on Shandong.

Zhao Yuan was contemplating the unpredictability of life.

Fei Bao, who was standing next to him, hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up: "Brother, this birthday tribute is too hot for us to handle. Let's hand it over to the stronghold and use it to strengthen Liangshan!"

Before Zhao Yuan could speak, Ruan Xiaoqi, who was standing to the side, already laughed.