Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 329 Liu Guang
Three or five days had passed since Zhao Zhen returned to the fantasy world. During this time, Zhao Zhen had people pick out three mu of good land in Dongxi Village and planted the water cotton seeds that had been dried in the main world. He also asked Tang Ting to take good care of it, as he wanted to promote this cotton in the future.

Unfortunately, no one in the entire Liangshan County had ever grown cotton. Zhao Zhen could only find two old farmers, explain the precautions he knew, and let them follow them. After all, as long as you manage water, fertilizer, pruning and pest control well when growing cotton, the harvest will not be too bad.

Another thing was to send the packaged [Huangshan Maofeng] and [Hundred-year-old Huangshan Maofeng] to the heroes one by one. Each village head and county clerk also received a pound of [Huangshan Maofeng].

Forty stones of ordinary tea were also packed, and as soon as the birthday gift was completed, Shi Xiu and the other two would take it to the north to exchange for horses.

On this day, Zhao Zhen was planning to go to Jingyang Town to drink with Hua Rong and other heroes. Hu Sanniang and Hua Baoyan led a group of female riders to harness their horses, and the cavalry led by Lu Fang and Guo Sheng were also dressed in uniform. When they were about to leave, Yang Xiong from Heihu Temple sent someone to report that a group of people were caught by him under the banner of Yizhou to catch bandits. After asking, he found out that they were the defense envoy of Yizhou East City, who had abandoned his post and was on the run. Hearing that the great official was recruiting heroes, he came with his family to surrender.

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this: "Quick, ask Brother Yang Xiong to come to the village to meet him."

As he spoke, Zhao Zhen said to Lü Fang and Guo Sheng beside him: "Brothers, let's go today and go to Jingyang Town another day."

Lu Fang said, "Sir, a brave man has come to surrender today. We have all the cavalry well-tethered. Why don't you let me and my brother Guo Sheng go to greet him and let him see our military equipment. This will also serve as a training for today's assault and march."

Zhao Zhen looked at the cavalry in front of him and nodded: "Liu Guang is an official appointed by the imperial court. The two of you leading the team to welcome him will also show that I value him."

After hearing this, Lu Fang and his companions led their team straight to Heihu Temple Town.

"Sanniang, are you and Miss Hua still going to Jingyang Town?" Zhao Zhen turned to Hu Sanniang and asked.

"Sir, Sister Baoyan is homesick. How about I go with her first and you come back to look for me later?"

"That's fine. The pigeon message has been delivered. Brother Hua Rong won't worry about not being able to see anyone. I'll go in a few days."

After Hu Sanniang and her group left, Zhao Zhen ordered Zhao Yuanli to prepare water and wine in order to receive Liu Guang's family who had come to surrender.

Then, Lü Fang and Guo Sheng led a group of cavalrymen to the direction of Heihu Temple Town. The iron hooves fell, raising dust all over the sky. The horses' manes flew, the battle flags fluttered in the wind, and the soldiers advanced with iron halberds in their hands like a forest.

Liu Guang and others saw it from a distance and were surprised. Liu Qi said, "Father, I didn't expect the soldiers in Liangshan County to be so majestic."

Liu Lin said: "Compared with them, the officers and soldiers of Yizhou Prefecture are nothing but mud."

Yang Xiong said, "This cavalry is similar to the infantry of Heihu Temple Town, both are newly built. The two leading ones, the one in red is [Little Wenhou] Lu Fang, and the one in white is [Sai Rengui] Guo Sheng. They are both good at martial arts and are about the same age as the two young generals. They are both young heroes. Now they are both brave cavalry generals, guarding the great official. I guess the great official heard that Lord Liu and his family were coming, so he sent the two generals to welcome them."

As they were talking, Lü Fang and Guo Sheng came in front of the crowd and stopped their horses. Everyone immediately bowed and greeted them. Lü Fang said, "Brother Yang Xiong, is this Liu Guang, the Defense Envoy?"

After hearing this, Yang Xiong rode forward and introduced them to everyone.

Guo Sheng said: "We two are here to welcome Master Liu and his family on the orders of the great master."

Liu Guang said he dared not, and Lu Fang and Guo Sheng gave the order to turn the horses around and slowly headed towards Baishi Manor. Not long after they started walking, they met a group of female riders. When they saw them, they did not stop and galloped past the official road. When Liu Qi saw them, he pointed at the distant horse team and asked, "Brother Lu Fang, what is this?"

Lu Fang said, "This is the female cavalry that the master uses to protect the manor. They have all been to the battlefield and fought before. Now they have joined the master and originally found a job in the silk shop, but they are not used to it. The master has reassembled them and formed a female cavalry team, led by the master's concubine Hu Sanniang and Hua Baoyan, the sister of Hua Rong, the general manager of Jingyang Town [Little Li Guang]."

A woman at the back asked, "Can women also serve as generals in the army?"

Guo Sheng smiled and said, "What's the big deal? There are more than just these two women serving as generals in the county. [Iron Rod] Luan Tingyu's wife [Flying Sword Fairy] Wu Sanniang is also the deputy commander of the cavalry. The high official employs people in an unconventional way. Men, women, young and old, as long as they have ability, can have a place."

Liu Guang said: "No wonder people in the martial arts world say that the great official has the legacy of Meng Chang."

Liu Guang wanted to find out more about Zhao Zhen, so Yang Xiong and the other two did not shy away from telling him everything they knew. When they arrived at Baishi Manor, Liu Guang already had a preliminary understanding of Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen took down the horse cup and wanted to invite everyone to sit in the hall.

Zhao Zhen sat at the head, Yang Xiong and his two companions sat at the main seat on the left, and Liu Guang and his family sat at the guest seat on the right. Behind Liu Guang were his two brothers Liu Qi and Liu Lin, and behind the three were the female relatives. Liu Guang introduced them one by one. Behind Liu Guang were Liu's mother and his wife, behind Liu Qi and Liu Lin were their respective wives, and the one sitting at the end was Liu Guang's daughter Liu Hui Niang.

"My two sons, Liu Qi and Liu Lin, have practiced martial arts since they were young and are both skilled in it. Their wives are also daughters of generals and know some martial arts, but they are not very good. This daughter is really the apple of my eye. She was born with a pair of sharp eyes and can distinguish the smallest details at night and recognize people within two or three hundred miles when climbing a mountain in the daytime. She has been clever since she was young and can make tools, self-sounding clocks, wooden oxen and flowing horses. It is a piece of cake for her. She also has a photographic memory."

"When she was sixteen, an old nun took her to an ancient cave deep in the mountains and taught her the art of war, battle formations, Qimen Dunjia, and Taiyi Liuren. She learned everything in half a year and then returned home. From then on, everyone called her the "Female Zhuge"."

When Zhao Zhen looked at her, Liu Huiniang had taken off her veil. She was indeed very pretty, with a graceful figure, like a lotus just emerging from the water, so beautiful that it was indescribable.

After they exchanged greetings, Zhao Zhen collected his thoughts and asked, "Why did Lord Liu give up his post as defense envoy?"

Liu Guang heard this and gnashed his teeth and said, "It makes me furious. A new governor has come to Yizhou Prefecture, named Gao Feng. He is a cousin of Gao Qiu, and I don't know where he learned some magic tricks, and he has a paternal love affair with men. There is a captain under his command, named Ruan Qixiang, who has a son named Zhao'er, who is very handsome. Ruan Qixiang wanted to exploit the weakness of my East City defense, so he offered his son to Gao Feng as a companion. They were in love, so he found fault with me out of thin air and dismissed me without reason."

"Afterwards, they wanted to plunder my property. Fortunately, the magistrate of Yizhou Prefecture was a loyal, generous and upright person. He tried his best to protect me and bribed the superiors and subordinates to escape from Yizhou City. Ruan Qixiang filled the gap in the defense of the East City and did all kinds of evil. I originally took my family to farm in Anle Village, but I couldn't escape. In addition, Ruan Qixiang forced me to flee with my family."

Zhao Zhen heard this and sighed, "How can such a person be the governor of a prefecture?"

"It's because he has a good brother who has a say in front of the emperor. I heard that this guy has an elder brother named Gao Liande, who is also a prefect of a prefecture. There is no man in this family who does not hold some official position. Most of the civil and military officials in the court are treacherous and evil, blinding the emperor's wisdom. The treacherous are in power and are jealous of the virtuous and capable. They are like ghosts and monsters, all wearing tall hats and wide belts. The loyal and upright people are all imprisoned and framed. If these treacherous officials are not eliminated, how can loyal officials have a chance to advance?" Liu Guang sighed.

Liu Qi also said: "Who said it wasn't true? My brother and I took the military examination, but the examiner was unfair. A young man whose martial arts were not as good as ours was also selected."

Seeing that Liu Guang's family had many complaints about the injustice of the court, Zhao Zhen said, "What Liu Fangshi said is right, but unfortunately we are of low rank and low position, and dare not expect anything else. It is enough for us to be able to protect a place and help the people live and work in peace and contentment."

Yang Xiong, Lü Fang and the other two said, "That's right. We are just ordinary people. We have a place to live and a place to use our martial arts. It's all because of the great officials. What the officials do or the court is like is none of our business."

(End of this chapter)