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

Wu Yong chuckled and said, "Last year, Li Baozheng bought up grain on a large scale. He may have some money, but it's not much! If we defeat the bandits, the money will be easy to take, but transporting ten thousand shi of grain will be difficult. The manor lord can give the money to the two captains and take the grain himself. Next year, we can sell it in Cangzhou and make a fortune!"

"Sir, you've got quite the cunning!"

Chao Gai laughed heartily and then followed Wu Yong's plan.

He simply followed behind the county government soldiers with his servants.

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng thought that Chao Gai didn't want to compete with them for the Li family's money.

They deliberately delayed because they wanted to give way.

In his heart, he still felt that Chao Gai was indeed worthy of being called King Chao, and was truly righteous!

Only Song Jiang sensed something was amiss.

He deliberately reined in his horse and moved to the back.

The two men, Zhu Tong and Lei Heng, who were in the lead, were accompanied by soldiers.

They were about to charge into the ranks of those transporting money and supplies and slaughter them indiscriminately.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a group of soldiers suddenly rushed out from the side.

They stood directly in front of it.

"These must be the bandits from Liangshan who are escorting money and supplies! Brothers, follow me! Now is the time to kill the bandits and make a name for ourselves!"

With money and provisions right in front of him, and seeing that the newly appeared troops numbered only a hundred or so, how could Lei Heng possibly resist?

He immediately ordered his soldiers to charge!

Zhu Tong, unable to stop him, could only follow along!

In Zhu Tonglei's impression,

So-called bandits, when they charge into battle, often engage in chaotic, disorderly fighting.

As long as their courage can be extinguished, no matter how many bandits there are...

They're a disorganized bunch, only good for scattering like birds and beasts.

But the bandits they encountered today were completely different from those they had encountered before.

Seeing the soldiers from the Yuncheng County government rushing up,

The hundred or so bandits suddenly broke up and formed about ten small groups.

At the front was the captain, holding a waist sword, flanked by shield bearers.

Then the two men each wielded a wolf-tooth spear over ten feet long.

This was modified by Zhao Yuan based on the wolf-tooth spear technique from the Mandarin Duck Formation.

There's no way around it; Liangshan is not the South after all.

Although there are bamboo groves on the mountain,

But there aren't many, and even fewer are suitable for making wolf-tooth rakes.

Zhao Yuan then simply found a blacksmith and had him make a replica of the wolf-tooth rake.

They made a spearhead with a sharp, horizontal spike, and then attached it to a long shaft.

Although the iron wolf-tooth brush made in this way is slightly heavier than the bamboo wolf-tooth brush, it is still usable.

Following the wolf-tooth rake were four spearmen and two short-sword men.

The eleven soldiers in total formed the Mandarin Duck Formation, which could both attack and defend!

When encountering the enemy, the captain at the front directs the advance and retreat.

Shield bearers on both sides shielded them from arrows and swords.

Two soldiers wielding wolf-tooth clubs harassed the enemy troops.

The spearmen and daggermen behind them were responsible for killing enemies and providing support.

The team also includes a cook, according to the established rules.

During long marches, they were responsible for cooking and starting fires.

In wartime, they also serve as a reserve force, stepping in to replace those who are injured.

The Liangshan Mandarin Duck Formation was something they had only recently learned.

Although the formation was arranged in a proper manner, its actual offensive capability remained to be seen.

Nobody knows!

Today marks the first battle for this newly formed Liangshan army!

Chapter 85: The results were too few, not because our army was incompetent, but because the enemy escaped too quickly.

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng led the county government soldiers in a charge.

Seeing the enemy soldiers change formation,

Zhu Tong was somewhat surprised and subconsciously slowed his pace.

Lei Heng, standing to the side, was already blinded by the wealth displayed not far away.

He brandished his waist knife and charged forward without a care in the world!

Lei Heng was seven feet five inches tall, with a purplish-brown face and a full beard; he looked rather fierce.

He shouted loudly and raised his sword high.

Just as they were about to charge into the enemy ranks and fight...

Unexpectedly, two strangely long spears with sharp spikes growing horizontally appeared in front of them.

Lei Heng hurriedly grabbed his waist knife to block.

Unexpectedly, the blade struck precisely between the horizontal thrusts of the spear and the blade.

With a clang, metal clashed!

Just as Lei Heng was about to sheathe his sword, the strange spear suddenly spun around.

Caught off guard, Lei Heng...

The knife in his hand was suddenly snatched away and fell to the ground!

Immediately afterwards, two long spears thrust forward!

Lei Heng was indeed quite capable.

Seeing the spear thrusting towards him, he quickly leaped backward.

This jump covered a distance of nearly ten feet.

No wonder he's called the Winged Tiger!

Lei Heng, however, relied on his skills to evade it.

How could the soldiers of other county offices compare to him!

As soon as they made contact with the Liangshan army, casualties began to appear.

Zhu Tong, wielding a broadsword, slashed at the iron wolf-tooth rake with a single blow.

The enemy soldiers on the other side were about to turn their strange spears.

Zhu Tong, relying on his great strength, directly used his broadsword to forcefully slash.

He actually managed to knock that strange spear from the bandit's hand.

But before Zhu Tong could be happy,

Another iron wolf-tooth club came flying from the side!

Zhu Tong hurriedly retreated.

But his long beard was caught on the hooks of the iron wolf-tooth rake.

Two long spears were already thrusting towards them from within the enemy ranks!

Zhu Tong didn't have time to feel sorry for himself.

He quickly drew his broadsword and cut the long beard in half with one stroke!

Although they escaped a terrible fate,

But the once handsome man with a beautiful beard has now become a bald man!

In this back-and-forth exchange, Zhu Tong felt a chill run down his spine.

He quickly stepped back, looking around.

Only then did they realize that the county government soldiers who had charged ahead earlier...

In a short while, most of them had fallen.

Seeing the horrific scene before them, the soldiers in the rear...

They all hesitated in place, not daring to go forward at all!

The band of bandits, having discovered the strange formation, seized the opportunity to charge forward.

"Fire the arrow! Fire the arrow quickly!"

Zhu Tong retreated while shouting urgently.

His twenty mounted archers quickly drew their bows and fired arrows.

Unexpectedly, the enemy troops suddenly shrank back.

The bandits gathered together, with two shield bearers holding their shields high to block the arrows.

Apart from a few bandits who were slow to react and were hit by arrows,

The bandits hiding behind their shields were all unharmed.

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng were dumbfounded.

The two had served as constables in Yuncheng County for many years.

They had wiped out small groups of bandits before, but they had never seen such a formation.

Seeing the bandits, shielded by rattan, braving a hail of arrows, about to charge forward,

Zhu Tong hurriedly ordered a retreat!

Lei Heng, standing to the side, no longer cared about the money and grain.

He hurriedly led his soldiers to flee backwards.

Song Jiang was already at the rear of the group.

At this moment, they saw the soldiers in front of them retreating in defeat.

He quickly turned his horse and retreated.

Following behind them were Chao Gai and Wu Yong.

He had originally been waiting for the government troops to break through the enemy's formation so he could lead his men forward to attack and kill them.

Who would have thought that the county government's infantry would be defeated so quickly?

But in a moment,

Just a moment ago they were shouting to charge and kill the enemy, but in the blink of an eye they've turned into a full-scale retreat!

Chao Gai hurriedly led his servants to retreat, and at the same time said to Wu Yong with a look of relief,

"Fortunately, I listened to your advice just now!"

If he had charged alongside Zhu Tong and Lei Heng,

Now, these farmhands will likely suffer heavy losses, just like these government soldiers.

"It was just luck! I never expected that these bandits' battle formation would be so formidable!"

Wu Yong said with a wry smile, "Master, quickly summon the two captains, we must retreat to Dongxi Village immediately! Then gather the villagers and make preparations as soon as possible!"

......

Behind the Liangshan army formation, Zhao Yuan, Lu Zhishen, and Sun An...