Through countless dynasties, I can summon the heroes of Chinese history.

[Ding dong, Wu Yong's skill "Strategist" is activated.]

The Wise Star: He has read countless books and is known for his cleverness and resourcefulness. This skill is unique to Wu Yong.

Effect 1: After this skill effect is activated, your Intelligence increases by 2;

Effect 2: When scheming against others, randomly reduce the opponent's intelligence by 1 to 3 points.

Effect 3: When you need to deceive or cheat someone, you can gain an extra 1 point of Intelligence.

Effect 4: When assisting Song Jiang in battle, it can increase Song Jiang's leadership value by one point and intelligence value by one point.

Effect 5: After successfully recruiting someone into your faction, it greatly increases the target's sense of belonging to your faction;

Wu Yong: Command 86, Martial Prowess 72, Intelligence 92, Politics 78, Charisma 80;

Wu Yong's "Strategist" skill seems pretty good; with the skill's enhancement, he can also possess silver-level intelligence.

This time, in order to complete his plan, he chose to deceive Song Jiang and his companion.

[Ding dong, Wu Yong's skill "Strategist" effect 1 and effect 3 have been activated consecutively, therefore Wu Yong's intelligence has increased by 2 and 1, his base intelligence is 92, and his current intelligence value has increased to 95;]

Many readers of Water Margin have a certain prejudice against Wu Yong, thinking that he is just a cunning strategist.

Little did people know that Wu Yong in the original story also had good battlefield command ability, but he was more inclined to use ingenious strategies and was not good at large-scale regular army assaults or long-term troop command.

Through the original text, we can see Wu Yong's strengths. For example, when attacking Zhu Family Village, Zengtou City, and Daming Prefecture, he broke through the stalemate by using strategies such as planning, feigning surrender, and fire attacks, which made him suitable for Liangshan's mobile warfare.

In the third battle against the Zhu Family Village, Wu Yong first broke through the Pantuo Road, then used Sun Li, a former imperial soldier, as an infiltrator to feign surrender. Through coordinated attacks from within and without, they accurately exploited the weaknesses in the Zhu Family Village's defenses and finally breached the fortified stronghold.

When capturing Zengtou City, Shi Qian, the drummer, was sent to steal a horse to lure the enemy, then ambushed and killed Zeng Tu. A counter-espionage plot was then used to sow discord between Shi Wengong and the Zeng family, and with the help of Lu Junyi, the enemy was captured and the operation concluded.

During the capture of Daming Prefecture, taking advantage of the Lantern Festival, Shi Qian was sent to set fire to Cuiyun Tower as a signal, and the Liangshan generals launched a surprise attack from different directions, capturing the important town of Daming Prefecture with the help of both inside and outside forces.

Of course, his shortcomings were also obvious, namely his lack of experience in regular army battles. In the later stages of his campaign against Fang La, he relied heavily on the hard combat power of others, which increased the probability of his strategies failing.

This is also why Wu Yong and Song Jiang have different roles in command.

Within Liangshan, Wu Yong was responsible for devising tactical details and providing strategies to break the deadlock, such as feigned surrender, fire attack, and coordinated attacks from within and without. His thinking was point-based, focusing on how to win the immediate battle.

Song Jiang, on the other hand, was the commander-in-chief of the army, responsible for strategic decisions (such as where to attack and the direction of accepting amnesty), pre-battle mobilization, morale boosting, and post-battle appeasement. His thinking was comprehensive, controlling the overall rhythm and the hearts and minds of the people.

In terms of combat style, Wu Yong is the kind of person who is cunning and deceitful, believes in the strategy of "all's fair in war", and is good at making use of terrain, inside help, and intelligence gaps. His command is often deceptive and surprise-oriented, and he does not care about being fair and square.

Song Jiang, on the other hand, mainly employed open strategies and emphasized "just cause" and "military superiority."

Although they also used tactics, they more often adopted the Liangshan formation, first using courtesy and then resorting to force, attempting to overwhelm their opponents through troop deployment and absolute strength.

In addition, Wu Yong was not good at managing troops and lacked prestige; he could only offer suggestions but could not directly command a large army.

Without Song Jiang's intervention, his schemes would have been difficult for the rough-around-the-edges Liangshan heroes to fully execute.

Song Jiang's tactics were mediocre, and he was prone to relying on others in battle. Once Wu Yong was not around or his plans failed, he would fall into a disadvantageous position.

For example, when Liangshan faced the strong formation of the imperial army, Song Jiang, as the commander-in-chief, often appeared indecisive and easily fell into a passive position, and had to rely on the professional military skills of surrendered generals such as Huyan Zhuo and Guan Sheng.

In summary, Wu Yong was Liangshan's best strategist, responsible for achieving victory through surprise attacks, while Song Jiang was a competent group chairman, responsible for integrating resources and leading the troops. Only when the two worked together could they achieve a synergy greater than the sum of their parts.

[Ding dong, Wu Yong's skill 'Strategist' effect 2 is activated. When scheming against others, it randomly reduces the opponent's intelligence value by 1 to 3 points;]

Currently, Song Jiang is plotting against Song Jiang and Chao Gai, therefore Song Jiang's intelligence has decreased by 3, his base intelligence is 85, and his current intelligence has dropped to 82.

Chao Gai's base intelligence was -3, and his current intelligence has dropped to 62.

Under Wu Yong's persuasion, Song Jiang did not have any doubts.

For example, how did he get Zhang Ping to willingly go up the mountain?

Or what if Jiang Ce gets furious and forces Fengxiang County to wipe out Liangshan?

At this moment, Song Jiang was still unaware of this.

…………

Three days later, in Fengxiang County.

With nothing to do, Zhang Ping went out for a stroll to relax. However, as he was walking home and had just turned a street corner, he suddenly felt a strange movement behind him, as if someone was secretly following him.

He suddenly turned around and saw two people standing in front of him. The one in the lead looked like a scholar, but he was wearing a plain Taoist robe and holding a wooden pole in his hand.

A cloth banner hangs on the pole, with the four large characters "A Divination Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold" prominently displayed on it;

Beside him stood a burly young Taoist boy, with a robust build and sharp eyes, clearly no ordinary sorcerer.

"Sir, what brings you following me all this way?" Zhang Ping suppressed his doubts and asked in a deep voice.

"General Zhang, this place is too crowded and noisy to talk. Would you mind if we went to your residence so I could explain in detail?"

The fortune teller cupped his hands and spoke, his tone humble yet with a hint of certainty.

Zhang Ping's heart skipped a beat. He had a feeling that this person was no ordinary person. Although he didn't know who they were, judging from their demeanor, they probably didn't want to harm him.

He immediately composed himself and replied politely, "Since you don't mind the simplicity of my humble abode, please come with me to my residence, have a cup of tea, and we can continue our conversation."

"Excellent!" The fortune teller readily agreed, then led the young Taoist priest beside him, following behind Zhang Ping, and walked together toward his residence.

This is an extremely simple house, with low walls made of blue bricks and simple furnishings inside.

It is clear that Zhang Ping's seclusion here is a genuine desire to escape the hustle and bustle of the world and remain detached from worldly affairs. As a result, most people in Fengxiang County are unaware that a renowned general from Laizhou lives in this ordinary little courtyard.

Zhang Ping welcomed the two into the living room and immediately ordered the servants to brew hot tea.

After the tea was served, he waved for all the servants in the mansion to leave, leaving only him, the fortune teller, and the young Taoist priest in the large living room, thus protecting them from outsiders.

Once the servants had all gone far away, Zhang Ping cut to the chase, looking intently at the other man: "Sir, what brings you here today? I doubt it's just to see this old man like me!"