Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 288 Hua Rong
Wu Yong was moved when he heard this: "If that's the case, why should you suffer here? With Liu Zhizhai, who harms the people, here, even if you have martial arts skills, how can you use them? You'll just be wasting your time here."

"Zhao Daguan, a man from Liangshan County, often said that he was able to rise from a small village chief to the head of a county, thanks to the help of his brothers. But when someone comes to surrender, no matter if he is wise or foolish, he must be properly arranged and his talents must be put to the best use."

Hua Rong heard this and said, "I have also heard a lot about the good things about you, great official. There is also a very extravagant person in Yuncheng County, Jizhou, known as Song Gongming, the Timely Rain. Does the military advisor know him?"

Seeing Wu Yong nod, Hua Rong continued, "I often correspond with Brother Song Gongming. In the past six months, the one he mentioned the most is Mr. Zhao from Liangshan County. I have heard a lot about him and wanted to pay him a visit. But it's a pity that Liu Gao is such a bad guy that he forced many kind people to abandon their homes and go to the mountains to become bandits. I often patrol the surrounding areas and dare not leave easily. Today, you all came to visit me. It is a great comfort to meet you. It's a pity that I can't meet Brother Zhao Zhen."

Wu Yong deliberately said, "Brother, what you said is true. When we came here, we passed by Qingfeng Mountain. There was a hero on the mountain named Yan Shun, the Golden-haired Tiger. He heard that we were under the command of the great official Zhao Zhen of Liangshan, so he invited us to the mountain and held a banquet for us. From what he said, there are indeed many kind-hearted people on the mountain who have come to seek refuge with us."

"Brother Yan Shun admires the great official very much, and wants to take these people with me to Liangshan County. I want to visit the chief of the camp and appease him, and we will return together in two or three days. There are some evildoers in the mountain, and we will not take them with us. Taking this opportunity, the chief of the camp will raise an army to conquer them, and they will surely be defeated in one go. If they have made meritorious contributions, they can also be transferred to other places, so that they don't have to deal with people like Liu Gao every day."

Hua Rong sneered, "If that's the case, it's not easy to get promoted even if you have made great contributions. I have eliminated quite a few bandits like this. For some reason, the bandits in Erlong Mountain were dispersed. I led the troops there, but the government only praised me. Not to mention promotion, I didn't even get a single cent of reward. I've been disappointed for a long time."

Wu Yong said, "I have also heard that Murong Yanda is the brother of the current emperor's favorite concubine, and he is not a man who stands up for the people. How can he care about the life and death of the farmers under his jurisdiction? Not to mention that there are people like you who are highly skilled in martial arts guarding the important places in Qingzhou, and there are also the commander [Thunderbolt] Qin Ming and the chief supervisor [Three Mountains] Huang Xin, but there are more and more mountain bandits in Qingzhou."

"Recently, another group of imperial guards have been transferred from Dongping Prefecture to guard another dangerous place. The chief steward is called Yun Tianbiao, and he is a disciple of General Tong of Bianjing. Apart from other things, this man's martial arts are first-class. With him here and cooperating with the brothers, I think we will be able to wipe out a lot of bandits in the mountains."

After hearing this, Hua Rong said angrily: "I am only a deputy governor, how can I cooperate? I am afraid that I will have to obey orders from the camp. How can the governor, who is corrupt, prevent the farmers from going into the mountains to become bandits?"

"I might as well resign my official position and go to Liangshan County to work, so I don't have to curry favor with these corrupt officials. When I pass by Yuncheng County, I can also visit Brother Song Gongming."

After that, he invited Wu Yong and the other two to sit down. The accompanying soldiers were taken care of by Hua Rong's trusted soldiers.

After everyone sat down, Hua Rong raised his glass and said, "We have prepared a little wine to welcome you. Brothers, please drink together."

As soon as Wang Dingliu drank the wine, he exclaimed "Huh?" Hua Rong said, "But this wine is bland, not to the taste of brother Wang Dingliu, let's change it." After saying that, he was about to call someone to change the wine.

Wang Dingliu said quickly: "That's not the case. This wine has a unique taste. It seems to be similar to the Hua family wine of the senior official. I was surprised by this."

After saying this, he looked surprised: "Is this also a small wine from [Hua Family Liquor]?"

Hua Rong heard this and said, "Yes, this wine is indeed the small wine you mentioned. I wonder how the great master has this wine?"

Wu Yong took over the conversation and told Hua Rong about Yang Lin's exploration of Huangnigang and the purchase of a wine recipe. After hearing this, Hua Rong said, "So that's how it is. The Hua Yue you mentioned is my cousin."

Everyone laughed when they heard this. "It seems that going to Liangshan County is God's will." Hua Rong said.

Wu Yong said: "Since you have made up your mind to go to Liangshan County, you should plan some things in advance. The Yun Tianbiao mentioned earlier was originally employed in Jingyang Town, which borders Liangshan County. Because his relatives led 6000 farmhands to attack Liangshan County and made enemies with the great official, he stayed away from them."

"I never thought that he would take the place of the Grand Commandant and be transferred to Qingzhou. So Jingyang Town is in need of a general manager. Are you interested, brother?"

Hua Rong asked, "This place is not under the jurisdiction of the great official, how can I be transferred across states?"

"It is still uncertain whether this will succeed or not. I will discuss it with the great official when I return. If the great official's father-in-law can help, I think it will be possible. In this case, I will have to wait here for some time. If it succeeds, I can take up the post. In this way, Liangshan County will be much more stable. Without external disturbances and with the great official's benevolent governance, the farmers in Liangshan County will naturally live and work in peace. If it fails, you can come to Liangshan and help us protect the peace."

Hua Rong heard this and shouted like Wang Dingliu: "I will follow the military advisor's instructions. I have just checked the treasury and the troops these days. I will take away everything I can. I won't let Liu Gao get away with it."

At this point, Wu Yong said, "The great master values ​​good men the most. I wonder if you know any of them?"

Hua Rong shook his head and said, "I only met Brother Song Gongming a few years ago. With him, I got to know the two captains of the county, Zhu Tong and Lei Heng. These two men are quite skilled in martial arts. After that, I have been an official in Qingfeng Village, and I have never met many heroes in the martial arts world."

Wu Yong said: "In this case, we will take our leave tomorrow and go to Qingfeng Village to meet up with Brother Yan Shun, and return to Liangshan County early to make plans. This way, we can see our brothers sooner."

After the plan was finalized, Wu Yong and his companions rested for a night, and left after breakfast the next day.

Hua Rong escorted Wu Yong and the others out of the house and said, "Military Advisor, I was thinking last night that although Yan Shun and his gang are disguised, they are not from the official army. If they are discovered, there will be a fight, and there may be casualties, which is not good. It would be better for you to go with me in a few days."

Wu Yong said: "Brother, you are wise. However, I have sent someone back first. If the great master hears the news, he will certainly send troops to meet us halfway. Brother Yan Shun is also cleaning up the mountain stronghold. He has a lot of people there. If we delay for a long time, it will not be good."

Hua Rong heard this and said: "In that case, Military Advisor, please be careful along the way. I will wait here for the master to call me."

Let's not talk about Hua Rong going back to his mansion to count the inventory and pack his luggage. Let's just say that Wu Yong and his party left Qingfeng Village and rode straight to Qingfeng Mountain.

After joining Yan Shun, Wu Yong and his men spent another three days counting the personnel, distributing gold and silver, dismissing some of the thieves who were hard to change, and incorporating the rest into the army. All the food and grass, gold, silver, and cloth from the treasury were loaded onto the carts. After leaving Qingfeng Mountain, the group raised the flag of the Yanggu County Xiangjun and headed straight for Liangshan County in the southwest along the official road.

(End of this chapter)