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

After witnessing the power of the hook-and-sickle spear,

Overjoyed,

However, they all had a hint of helplessness on their faces.

"what happened?"

Zhao Yuan asked in bewilderment,

"Aren't the three strategists satisfied with the hook-and-sickle spearmen trained by Teacher Xu?"

"Teacher Xu's training methods are indeed excellent,"

Xu Guanzhong praised,

"In just a few days, these soldiers have become proficient in using the hook-and-sickle spear, and Teacher Xu has certainly made a great contribution."

"Using infantry to defeat cavalry, and hook-and-sickle spears to counter armored chained cavalry, should indeed be feasible,"

Wen Huanzhang nodded in agreement.

"Then why do you all look somewhat disappointed?"

Zhao Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Chieftain,"

Zhu Wu spoke up.

"From the demonstration just now, we have seen the power of this hook-and-sickle spear, but we have also discovered its shortcomings."

"Oh? Please explain further, Brother Zhu Wu,"

Zhao Yuan asked earnestly.

"Judging from what we just saw, these hook-and-sickle spearmen are similar to the Mo Dao (陌刀) troops of the Tang Dynasty in their approach to dealing with cavalry,"

Zhu Wu pondered for a moment and said,

"They all did this by cutting off the horses' legs, causing the charging cavalry to fall to the ground, thus creating chaos among the cavalry and forcing them to stop!"

"Without the impact of cavalry, they are just infantry on horseback, which is much easier to deal with."

"Yes, the strategist is absolutely right,"

Zhao Yuan nodded.

"But the hook-and-sickle spearmen are ultimately just infantry."

Zhu Wu said helplessly,

"In terms of flexibility, they are absolutely no match for the Ma army."

"And once on the battlefield, would the cavalry be foolish enough to charge the infantry square directly from the front!"

"So that's it..."

Zhao Yuan also understood at this moment.

"So, this hook-and-sickle spear can only be used to counter the linked horse formation?"

"After all, those armored linked cavalry are among the few cavalry units that must be defeated by a frontal assault!"

"Only by dealing with them can the hook-and-sickle spear be used to its fullest potential!"

"That's right,"

Zhu Wu sighed.

"But when facing other cavalry, the hook-and-sickle spearmen are still not much different from other infantry,"

"Even because his spear tip is so sharp, he might accidentally injure his own men,"

"They are probably even slightly inferior to ordinary spearmen!"

"I originally heard from Teacher Xu that this hook-and-sickle spear was specifically designed to counter cavalry,"

Xu Guanzhong shook his head and said,

"We were also thinking that in the future, when the chieftain goes north to face the Liao and Jin people, he might be of great use."

"Who would have thought it would end like this!"

"Alright, my three strategists, nothing in this world is perfect."

Zhao Yuan, however, didn't care at all.

"Our primary enemy now is the imperial army's encirclement and suppression!"

"The hook-and-sickle spear trained by Teacher Xu is enough to counter those armored linked cavalry!"

"As for how to deal with the cavalry of the northern tribes in the future,"

"Once we defeat the imperial army's suppression forces, we'll have plenty of time to think about it!"

"The chieftain is right, I'm the one waiting to be appraised,"

Wen Huanzhang laughed heartily.

The remaining two, Xu Guanzhong and Zhu Wu,

I couldn't help but chuckle...

Chapter 692 Song Jiang Arrives

"Anyway,"

Zhao Yuan said confidently,

"There's a unit of hook-and-sickle spearmen here,"

"At the very least, those government troops would have armored, chain-linked cavalry,"

"Then we Liangshan have nothing to fear!"

"That's true,"

Wen Huanzhang and the other two nodded.

Zhao Yuan was about to say something more...

Unexpectedly at this time,

Jiao Ting suddenly strode over.

"Brother, the brothers from the East Coast Hotel have come up the mountain to report,"

"It is said that there are bandits from Qingfeng Mountain who, upon learning that Liangshan is about to be besieged by government troops, have come to help!"

"Qingfeng Mountain?"

Zhao Yuan was slightly taken aback.

Then he smiled and said,

"But is that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Chao Gai?"

"This man is truly loyal and worthy of the title of a bandit leader."

"Brother, it's not Chao Gai who's come,"

Jiao Ting said with a strange expression,

"According to my brother on the east bank, the one who has arrived is none other than Song Jiang, the timely rain!"

"He came with Hua Rong, nicknamed Little Li Guang, and Liu Tang, nicknamed Red-Haired Devil, along with a dozen or so henchmen."

"Song Jiang?"

Zhao Yuan suddenly turned his head.

His eyes were fixed on Jiao Ting.

"Are you sure the brothers on the East Coast are not mistaken?"

"Is it really Song Jiang who has come?"

"Brother, the brothers on the east bank have been confirmed multiple times,"

Jiao Ting assured,

"The person who came was indeed Song Jiang."

"The brothers on the East Coast have already arranged for them to stay at a hotel for the time being,"

"It's up to you, brother, to decide what to do with them next!"

“Song Jiang..…”

Zhao Yuan exclaimed in surprise,

"This fellow actually dares to come to Liangshan?"

"Isn't he afraid I'll kill him?"

“If it were any other time, he would naturally be afraid,”

Hsu Kuan-chung analyzed,

"But now, Liangshan is about to be besieged by the government troops!"

"That dark-skinned fellow is using the pretext of coming to help Liangshan!"

"If the chieftain takes his life now, it will likely damage his reputation!"

"This timely rain is truly cunning,"

Wen Huanzhang couldn't help but laugh.

"He's absolutely certain the chieftain won't dare kill him,"

"So, by using the pretext of coming to help Liangshan, they've come to gain fame for themselves!"

"I'm afraid that after this, the entire bandit world will be singing its praises,"

"The righteous and filial Black Third Brother, undeterred by danger, has joined forces with Liangshan to fight against the government troops!"

"When I was at Shaohua Mountain, I often heard people talk about how righteous this Timely Rain was,"

Zhu Wu couldn't help but shake his head.

"It wasn't until we arrived at Liangshan and heard Commander Qin recount how his family had almost been harmed by that scoundrel,"

"Now I understand, seeing is believing!"

"Regardless, that black guy is already here now,"

Zhao Yuan also had a headache.

"Three strategists, please speak,"

"How should I deal with that guy?"

"Since Song Jiang came under the pretext of helping Liangshan,"

Wen Huanzhang pondered for a moment and said,

"No matter what, the chieftain should at least show him some courtesy,"

"Otherwise, people will inevitably say that we Liangshan are powerful and look down on others."

"Why not just bring them up the mountain?"

Xu Guanzhong suggested,

"Then find a place to settle him down, and at the same time, send someone to keep an eye on him,"

"We want to prevent this fellow from interfering in this war, and also to avoid him causing trouble in secret?"

"If we do that, I'm afraid we'll just be letting this timely rain get to us."

Zhu Wu said helplessly,

"In fact, now that this fellow has reached the marshland, he has already achieved half of his goal!"

"Even if we in Liangshan don't let this dark-skinned fellow go to the battlefield later,"