Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

"Prisoner Mengdu."

Cui Yanping, the prefect of Cizhou, was a sprightly old man in his fifties with three long strands of beard under his chin, a distant gaze, and a clear, melodious voice.

"According to you, that thief came from the southern barbarian lands, possessed exceptional poison skills, and was also adept at controlling venomous insects?"

"Exactly!"

Zhu Biao nodded calmly, but inwardly he was cursing.

After Prefect Cui arrived, Liang Siqi, that little vixen, thoroughly outmaneuvered him.

She claimed that she had been frightened and caught a cold. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she put on a weak and helpless appearance and went to the back room to rest.

Let him face that old fox, Prefect Cui, alone.

"Supervisor Meng, do you know why that thief robbed and killed Lady Liang, and who ordered him to do so?"

"I don't know."

Zhu Biao shook his head and said succinctly.

When dealing with such a seasoned and shrewd quasi-regional official, the best choice is to speak as little as possible; the more you say, the more mistakes you make.

"Oh?"

Prefect Cui glanced at him with a half-smile.

"Poisonous insects fear fire. If this thief is skilled at controlling insects, why would he set the mountain on fire?"

Before Zhu Biao could reply, he continued to ask.

"Furthermore, if he intended to abduct and kill Lady Liang, why did he also massacre the officers and soldiers of the patrol office, and even use arrows to kill many of them?"

Damn it! This old fox's information network is incredibly efficient, a hundred times better than that incompetent county magistrate.

Zhu Biao's heart skipped a beat, but he raised an eyebrow.

"Police officers and soldiers?"

Immediately afterwards, his face darkened, he raised his hands, which were still covered in scabs, and his eyes became sharp as knives.

"Those thieving birds in the tiger's den were all shot down by me!"

"But at the time, they weren't wearing uniforms or carrying flags, and they even joined the bandit's men in robbing and killing us."

Those patrolmen, now even their mothers' loincloths have been ripped off, so Zhu Biao can naturally deny it and make up a story.

"Uh~"

Prefect Cui's expression froze slightly, and his gesture of stroking his beard also paused.

Zhu Biao, however, was relentless in his pursuit of the truth. His gaze suddenly sharpened as he stared intently at Prefect Cui.

"Prefect Cui, are you sure these thieving birds are truly under the command of the Cizhou Patrol Inspectorate?"

"If that's the case, then we've found a lead, and I can report this to Prime Minister Liang."

"hiss!"

Upon hearing this, Prefect Cui's hand trembled, and he accidentally plucked out a beard hair, instantly cracking his calm and collected expression.

He never expected that this young military commander would be so shrewd, seizing upon just one flaw to exploit his weakness.

Those dead soldiers were all stripped naked, so Zhu Biao's lies really couldn't be exposed.

As for those deserters, their duty was to guard the Tiger Pass, and desertion in the face of battle was a capital offense.

How dare you still come out to testify? Or go to court against Liang Shicheng's fake daughter and the Imperial City Guard Commander?

If Liang Shicheng is angered, he can report directly to the emperor and make a decision to classify this matter as allowing soldiers to impersonate bandits, and the inspector of Cizhou will surely lose his head.

His fate won't be any better; at best, he'll lose his official position, and at worst, he'll be imprisoned.

"Ah, I see. Perhaps my men did not investigate thoroughly enough. I will certainly punish them afterward."

However, Prefect Cui reacted very quickly, chuckling lightly in an instant and casually covering it up.

"Supervisor Meng, you just said that you have now discovered the thief's hiding place. How do you intend to resolve this matter?"

"Kill him!"

Zhu Biao said coldly.

"Liang Yiren had already given instructions that once the thief's head was seen, the matter would end there."

"good!"

After a moment's hesitation, Prefect Cui nodded in agreement, but then changed the subject.

"Cizhou has soldiers, but no good generals. Since Commander Meng is an elite of the Imperial City Guard, he must know about military affairs. I will trouble Commander Meng to take on this command position."

"Damn your ancestors!" Zhu Biao cursed inwardly.

This old fox really doesn't suffer losses on either side. If he can kill Master Qin, the credit is his; if he suffers losses, the blame falls on Zhu Biao.

"good!"

However, Zhu Biao agreed without hesitation.

Even if there was a mistake, it was that damned Supervisor Meng's mistake, what does it have to do with Zhu Biao?

Besides, this matter is bound to succeed!

After repeated battles, Zhu Biao's heart hardened, and he no longer cared about the dead. Even if it meant piling up human lives, he would still kill Master Qin.

Once this malignant tumor blocking his path is removed, his journey home will be smooth sailing.

It's already December, and more than two months have passed since Zhu Biao left Zhujiazhuang. He's tired and homesick.

At midnight, the streets of Fuyang City, which should have been quiet and peaceful, became noisy.

General store, mat shop (general store), craft workshop, blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, firecracker shop.

Whether the doors were closed or boarded up, they were all surrounded by the soldiers.

The lamp oil, kerosene, and gunpowder in the city were all sold out, but fortunately, the New Year was approaching, so these things were not lacking.

In the open space behind the county government office.

An experienced head constable, holding a long pole with several bamboo tubes tied to the end, shook a tinderbox, quickly lit the fuse, and extended the pole forward.

Call ~

Three breaths later, several bamboo tubes successively spewed out dazzling fire snakes half a zhang long, instantly scorching the snow-covered ground.

After the flames died down, the constable threw down his long pole, trotted over to Zhu Biao, and said with a fawning expression:

"My lord, how is it? Are you satisfied?"

Zhu Biao stepped forward, squatted down, picked up a clump of scorched earth, examined it carefully, and then clapped his hands.

"The power is acceptable, but the fuse is too long. We'll change it to a two-breath fire-breathing mechanism. We need to make at least a thousand before dawn."

"Tell the brothers that their pay and wages will be doubled, and they will be dispatched at dawn!"

"Here you go!"

The constable excitedly agreed and was about to turn and leave when Zhu Biao called him back.

"Chief Zou, you must demonstrate the usage repeatedly. If anyone makes a mistake during use, I will punish them severely!"

"Here you go!"

Chief Zou paused for a moment, then solemnly responded.

"Tsk, you're really smart, you even thought of using a flying fire gun to deal with poisonous insects."

Liang Siqi picked up the long pole from the ground and looked at it from left to right, her eyes sparkling.

To be honest, at this moment, she was somewhat taken aback by Zhu Biao's quick wit.

When they were opponents, she found Zhu Biao incredibly difficult to deal with; when they were teammates, she found him incredibly reassuring, as if no one and nothing could trouble him.

The flying fire lance—that was Zhu Biao's idea for dealing with the poisonous insect array.

This thing wasn't something he came up with; it was just a standard weapon from the Song Dynasty's armory that had existed for decades.

His hastily made, crudely constructed flying fire gun could only spew out flames half a zhang long, and the temperature was also quite ordinary.

It is said that the flying fire guns, meticulously crafted by the workshop of the Tokyo Imperial Household Department, can spew out a long, dark blue flame that melts upon contact with people and can even instantly heat copper and iron to a red-hot state.

Gaa~ Gaa~

Several startled crows suddenly flew overhead.

The neighboring side yard wasn't idle either; they were currently doing everything they could to collect crows, chickens, and ducks as alternatives for pest control.

"You truly have a flawless plan. With a thousand flying fire lances, why bother collecting birds?"

Zhu Biao remained silent, so Liang Siqi deliberately started another conversation.

"Now that we've taken care of Master Qin, it's time for us to go our separate ways. Tell me, what do you want to call me? Where are you going to stay? I'll start preparing your travel guide tomorrow."

Zhu Biao suddenly blurted out something.

Liang Siqi was stunned, a hint of darkness flashing in her eyes, but she quickly regained her senses and said.

"Her name is Fourth Sister, her surname is Fan, she is eighteen years old, she is from Yan'an Prefecture, and she is going to Daming Prefecture to visit relatives."

Zhu Biao glanced at her with slight surprise, but didn't say anything, only nodded.

After a few moments of silence, Liang Siqi suddenly said softly:

"However, you must personally escort me into the city, help me buy a house and servants, and make sure everything is arranged properly before you leave."

Zhu Biao frowned, about to reply, when the sound of running footsteps came from the corridor.

"Third Brother! Everything's taken care of."

Pang Qiutang jogged over, her pretty face flushed, her forehead glistening with sweat, and her spirits high.

"Five hundred oil arrows have been prepared, but most of the garrisoned imperial guards are unusable. After much selection, only about twenty archers have been able to be assembled."

This is Zhu Biao's third contingency plan.

Pang Qiutang was ordered to lead dozens of elite archers equipped with fire oil arrows to flank the enemy, check for any gaps in their ranks, and prepare for any eventuality.

When a lion pounces on a rabbit, it goes all out.

"Twenty-odd archers should be enough."

Zhu Biao naturally took her hand and looked at her fingers, which had been re-bandaged.

"Actually, if it weren't for worrying about your hand injury, we wouldn't need those good-for-nothings at all. You alone with a bow could be worth a thousand troops!"

Pang Qiutang's face flushed even more, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Third Brother, I... I'm not that good. My injuries are nothing to worry about."

Upon seeing this scene, Liang Siqi felt an overwhelming pang of bitterness welling up inside her, and she clenched her teeth.