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

"The fact that you three brothers have come here shows that you think highly of me, Chao Gai. If there is anything I can do to help you, please speak up!"

Although Chao Gai was inwardly distressed, fearing that these three men had also come to borrow money,

But on the surface, he still maintained a righteous expression.

After all, people in the martial arts world would rather lose their lives than lose face.

"On our way south, we've heard everywhere speak of King Chao's loyalty and righteousness. The three of us thought that as the saying goes, 'seeing is believing,' and that these rumors in the martial arts world must be exaggerated."

Princess Tianshou praised, "I never expected to meet the Heavenly King today, and his reputation far surpasses my expectations. Heavenly King Chao is indeed a man of great righteousness!"

Hearing these words, Chao Gai was naturally overjoyed. Although he didn't lose his mind, he was still very happy.

"Brother, you flatter me. A man of the martial world who doesn't value loyalty would only be ridiculed for no reason!"

"Now that I have seen that King Chao is a hero rarely seen in the world, I will not beat around the bush. In fact, I have come here today to tell you something important!"

As Princess Tianshou spoke, she glanced at the servants standing outside the hall, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

Seeing her hesitate, Chao Gai's heart skipped a beat.

Liu Tang came to find him because of the birthday tribute.

I had never met Gongsun Sheng before, but his visit was also about the birthday gifts.

Now that this young man has come, could it be that he also has designs on those 100,000 strings of gold and jewels?

Thinking of this, Chao Gai immediately ordered people to prepare a feast.

After a few rounds of drinks, Chao Tianwang feigned concern and asked, "Brother, you seem to have some unspeakable trouble. Perhaps you have nowhere to stay?"

“That’s easy. The three brothers can stay at the manor temporarily. Although Chao Gai is a countryman, he does own some land, and the manor won’t be short of food for the three brothers.”

There were no outsiders in the hall at this time, so Princess Tianshou stood up, cupped her hands, and bowed to Chao Gai.

"I am deeply grateful for the Heavenly King's hospitality. I have no way to repay you but to offer you an immense fortune!"

Chao Gai feigned surprise and asked, "Oh? What kind of wealth or status could make you so cautious, brother?"

"I wonder if 100,000 strings of gold and jewels in Daming Prefecture can be considered immense wealth?" Princess Tianshou asked with a smile.

Chao Gai remained calm and simply asked with a smile, "Since you have such immense wealth, why don't you take it for yourself, brother? Why do you have to find more people to share the spoils?"

Princess Tianshou said shyly, "I'm not afraid of the Heavenly King laughing at me, but although the gold and jewels are good, there are only three of us here. How could I dare to do such a risky business?"

"So I have no choice but to come and ask the Heavenly King for help. That way I can get gold and silver and also make friends with a hero like the Heavenly King. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Upon hearing these words, Chao Gai's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly and shouted.

Suddenly, twenty or thirty servants armed with knives and spears poured into the entrance hall.

They surrounded Princess Tianshou and the other two.

He Chai was already pale with fright, one hand gripping the scabbard, preparing to draw his sword.

Princess Tianshou and He Zhongbao, however, remained as calm as ever.

The former glanced at the servants who had rushed into the house and simply asked with a smile, "I wonder what the Heavenly King's intention is in doing this?"

Chao Gai, with a stern face, said sternly, "Nothing else, it's just that such an enormous deal is something I dare not undertake. I can only send the three of you to the authorities."

"Heh, so this is what the so-called righteous and loyal King Chao looks like—a coward?"

Princess Tianshou mocked, "Since you're going to hand him over to the authorities, why don't you hurry up and do it? Even if he ends up in jail, the three of us won't complain about anything else, we'll only regret that we were blind and trusted the wrong person!"

Chao Gai's actions were intended to test whether these three men were government spies.

Seeing the three people's reactions, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

I was just about to find a way to save face...

Just then, another person entered the hall; it was none other than the strategist Wu Yong.

He smiled amiably, and after the many servants left the hall,

Wu Yong immediately cupped his hands in congratulations and said, "Has Your Majesty forgotten the Big Dipper in your dream? These three brothers, since they dared to come, must be courageous and heroic men."

"There are four of us, plus the three brothers from the 2.0 version of Tian Shou, making a total of seven. Doesn't that correspond to the number of the Big Dipper in the Heavenly King's dream?"

Taking advantage of Wu Yong's words, Chao Gai immediately burst into laughter.

"It is indeed fate that brought us together from afar. Brother Tianshou, please don't take offense. I was just testing your sincerity. After all, the matter of the birthday tribute is extremely important. One wrong move and it could lead to the execution of your entire family!"

"Judging from the Heavenly King's expression, could it be that he already knows about the birthday tribute?" Princess Tianshou asked in surprise.

"Haha, Brother Tianshou is a hero of the North, and he knows about the birthday tribute. We are from Shandong, so how could we not know?"

Chao Gai stood up and greeted them, "To be honest, two brothers had already come to me earlier to discuss the birthday tribute matter!"

Chapter 217 Liangshan probably wouldn't care about the birthday gifts, right?

Chao Gai and Wu Yong led Princess Tianshou and the two He brothers to the backyard and introduced them to Liu Tang and Gongsun Sheng.

After everyone had greeted each other, they sat down at the table to drink and discuss the birthday gifts.

Chao Gai said first, "The most important thing now is to determine where this birthday tribute is going. We can't let them go somewhere else after we've been waiting for so long. Otherwise, we brothers will become a laughing stock in the martial arts world!"

Princess Tianshou was about to reveal the news that He Zhongbao had heard from Liangshan.

Then Liu Tang laughed from the side.

"Your Majesty, do not worry. This year's birthday tribute will still travel through Shandong. I already know the route!"

"Given the rampant plague, the official roads are bustling with people. Since this birthday tribute is an important gift from Liang Zhongshu to his father-in-law, the escorts would certainly not dare to act recklessly and would only take secluded and deserted paths to avoid the plague."

"I've traveled most of the small roads in Shandong when I was doing private business. Speaking of the route from the west to the capital, there is a place called Huangnigang near Yuncheng County. It's a necessary place to make a move here!"

"However, there is one problem with this Huangni Ridge: it is deserted. We need to find a reason to go there, otherwise we might arouse suspicion as soon as we show our faces."

Although Liu Tang looked like a rough and uncouth man, his words were actually quite reasonable and well-founded.

Princess Tianshou, who was standing to the side, was somewhat surprised by what she heard and pondered to herself,

It's true that you can't judge a book by its cover; the person Chao Gai valued must indeed have some ability.

At this moment, Wu Yong had already retrieved the map and drawn a map of the terrain within a hundred li radius of Yuncheng County. Although it looked rudimentary, it was still very clear at a glance.

After everyone had carefully examined the map, Wu Yong clapped his hands and laughed.

“This Huangni Ridge is indeed a crucial place. Brother Liu Tang’s words are absolutely correct. As for the method of robbing the birthday gifts, I already have a plan in mind.”

"Shandong has received very little rainfall this year, and the birthday tribute will be passing through in June, when the weather will be hot and dry."

"When the escorts cross the border, they will surely be parched. We only need to add sleeping potion to their drinks and then find a way to coax them into drinking it. At that time, the birthday tribute will naturally fall into our hands."

This man seems to have everything under control; he looks every bit like a strategist.

Princess Tianshou inwardly praised her, then asked,

"How can you know the weather in early June, sir? What if there's wind and rain? Wouldn't this thirst-quenching wine be useless then?"

"Brother Tianshou, don't worry,"

Wu Yong pointed at Gongsun Sheng and laughed, "This Mr. Gongsun is a Taoist, skilled in summoning wind and rain. Since he says it will be scorching hot in June, he must be right!"

Commanding the wind and rain? Who are you trying to fool?

Princess Tianshou chuckled inwardly.

She was intelligent from a young age and had studied under renowned teachers, making her far superior to any country bumpkin.

Upon hearing this, he immediately understood that Gongsun Sheng must be a person who was well-versed in astronomical phenomena.

At this moment, Chao Gai suddenly sighed.

"In my dream, the seven stars of the Big Dipper were all gathered together. Now, there are seven of us in this courtyard, which is exactly what this dream meant. But in the dream, there was also a white light. I don't know what it means."

"White light?"

Wu Yong pondered for a moment: "I wonder if the Heavenly King still remembers the White-Day Rat, Bai Sheng, who once came to seek refuge with you. As far as I know, he lives in Anjiang Village, ten miles east of Huangni Ridge."

"The white light in the Heavenly King's dream must refer to this person!"

Upon hearing this, Chao Gai's expression immediately relaxed.

Princess Tianshou, standing nearby, found the sight amusing.

I only felt that Chao Gai, though seemingly righteous and broad-minded,

But just by looking at how he was preoccupied with matters in his dream, one can tell that this person is destined for greatness and will at most be nothing more than a bandit hero.

Even so, Princess Tianshou was still somewhat surprised.

She had initially thought that Chao Gai was at most a rough, uncouth country bumpkin, and that those he knew were at most just some uncouth village men.

But unexpectedly, the people in the courtyard...

Chao Gai was fierce and strong, while Wu Yong was intelligent and quick-witted.

Although Gongsun Sheng did not have the ethereal and otherworldly air of a typical Taoist, he was still handsome and knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and well-versed in weather and celestial phenomena.

Even Liu Tang, who seemed like a crude and uncouth man, was clearly not someone easy to get along with.

Princess Tianshou couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Don't work hard all day only to end up benefiting someone else!

"By the way, Heavenly King,"

He Zhongbao suddenly spoke up and asked, "As far as I know, there is a lake within the territory of Jizhou that spans eight hundred li, and in the lake there is Liangshan Mountain, where a group of heroes are gathering for a righteous cause."

"If they also have their eyes on this birthday tribute, what should we do?"

"this......"

Chao Gai and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Tang asked with some concern, "The Liangshan family is now very wealthy and powerful. I heard that they can earn one or two hundred thousand strings of silver every month just from reselling refined salt and white sugar. They probably wouldn't be interested in this birthday tribute, would they?"

The strategist Wu Yong looked distressed and sighed helplessly.

"How could we possibly know Liangshan's intentions? But if Liangshan truly covets the birthday gifts, what other choice do we have but to hand them over?"

"Is Liangshan really this domineering?"

He Zhongbao said indignantly, "Sir, you are wise. Why don't you come up with a plan to deal with Liangshan Marsh?"

"Brother He, you come from the north, are you unaware of the situation in Shandong?"

Wu Yong said helplessly, "In Shandong, there are countless heroes of the greenwood, but only a handful can compare with Liangshan. Even the government can't do anything about them."

"Brother, take my advice: don't go and provoke those Liangshan people if you have no other choice."

Chao Gai smiled bitterly and said, "I was just taking a chance and couldn't tell the situation from the surface. That's why I wasted all my family's money. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked robbing the birthday gifts. I could have lived a comfortable life with my family's wealth."

After saying this, Chao Gai disregarded his pride and recounted all his previous interactions with Liangshan.

He Chongbao fell silent immediately after hearing this.

He had originally intended to incite Chao Gai and his men to oppose Liangshan.

Even if he can't avenge his brother He Yun, he can at least annoy Liangshan.

Unexpectedly, Chao Gai and his men were so weak in the face of Liangshan.

They didn't even dare to have the slightest thought of resistance.

......

In the days that followed, Princess Tianshou and her entourage stayed at Chao Gai's manor. The seven of them checked for any omissions and made arrangements for robbing the birthday gifts.

And at the same time,

Zhao Yuan, however, was accompanied by Qiong Ying, Jiao Ting, Bian Xiang, Shi Xiu, Han Bolong, and the four brothers Long Hu and Xiong Jiao.

A total of ten people appeared in the capital city of Daming in the north...

Chapter 218 This Year's Martial Arts Champion

The capital city of Daming Prefecture remains as prosperous as ever.

Although the Cuiyun Tower in the city center was mostly burned down by Shi Qian four months ago,

But the ruins have now been cleared away, and it is said that they will be rebuilt soon.

Shi Qian came to greet them and led them to an inn near the prefectural government office.