Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 417: Precious Light Tathagata
Song Jiang, Lai Yong'er and Wu Jiao discussed for a long time and finally came up with a plan. To select gifts, Song Qing and Lai Yong'er were to pretend to be merchants and take people to Liangshan Prefecture.

Without going into details about how Song Jiang chose the gift, let's just say that Zhao Zhen and his entourage were marching along the official road and passed through Sishui County. Zhao Zhen, with Lin Chong, Lu Fang, and Guo Sheng, entered the city to meet Tianmu General Peng Qi under the escort of a cavalry unit.

Peng Qi followed Zhao Zhen, served some wine to Zhao Zhen, and invited the three of them to sit in the backyard of the county government office.

Peng Qi said, "Thank you, sir, for inviting Dr. An to treat me. If it weren't for Dr. An's miraculous medicine, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to use my left arm anymore."

Zhao Zhen said: "Last time I saw you guys chatting and laughing, I thought nothing serious happened, I never thought this would happen. Fortunately I met you guys, the country didn't lose a warrior."

Peng Qi smiled and said, "Sir, you are too kind. To be honest, the elite troops of our three states cannot even match the results of yours in one state."

Zhao Zhen said: "How can I have such ability? I rely on brothers like you to risk their lives for me."

As he spoke, he introduced Lin Chong and the other two one by one.

Peng Qi said, "So Master Lin is here."

Lin Chong said, "I am trapped, and it is all thanks to your care."

Peng Qi sighed, "This world..." After sighing for a while, Peng Qi turned and asked, "Sir, why did you withdraw the army?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Firstly, the weather is getting colder, which is not suitable for fighting. Secondly, I have only been supporting Commander Huyan and I have no siege equipment. I have fought until now and have exceeded the expectations of the court. Now that the two sides are in a stalemate, it is better to return to the army to rest and deal with the rest next year."

Peng Qi said, "That's true. The imperial court has never given many rewards, and only allowed the prefectures to provide their own food and grass. This time, it was all thanks to Hu Yanzhuo's command that he won the emperor's favor. He is also the descendant of a founding hero, so he has been given many favors."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "I have heard about that too. These linked armored horses made Song Jiang unable to fight back in the field. If Laiwu were not so mountainous, I am afraid they would have already entered Qingzhou."

Peng Qi shook his head: "Brother Han Tao wrote to say that Song Jiang has many leaders with great martial arts skills and military advisors who can give advice. I'm afraid it won't be easy for Hu Yanzhuo to command this army."

Zhao Zhen said, "He has a man called Lai Yong'er, nicknamed 'Ghost Sees Sorrow', who is the most cunning. As for the leaders among the thieves, we only know a few old ones, but we don't know much about the newcomers. If the militia knows, please tell us so that we can be on guard if we encounter him in the future."

Peng Qi said, "Speaking of the bandits Song Jiang recruited, they are really brave. Other things are not important, but two brothers are the most powerful, the elder brother [Mugwort Leopard] Di Lei and the younger brother [Thin Face Bear] Di Yun, both use two red copper hammers, and are really invincible. Commander Hu Yan is so powerful that he can't beat Di Lei in fifty rounds. Now he has withdrawn his troops back to Fengfu County."

Zhao Zhen listened and kept it in mind.

Zhao Zhen then asked, "Now that we have all withdrawn our troops, Sishui is also in Laiwu. Peng Tuanlianshi is now injured, and there are many wounded soldiers in Sishui. We should ask Hu Yanzhuo to send troops to garrison as soon as possible. If Song Jiang ventures south, he should march lightly and quickly. Sishui is only two days away from Laiwu."

Peng Qi said, "What you said is true, sir. The cavalry and infantry of Fengfu only have more than 5,000 people. How can we transfer troops? When you go to suppress the Qingzhou bandits later, you will have to pass through here. Why don't you leave a battalion of troops to garrison?"

Zhao Zhen said in embarrassment: "To be honest with Peng Tuanlian, I have stationed troops in Xintai, Xinwen, Mengyin, and Pingyi. If you want to garrison here, you have to recruit troops from the counties of Liangshan. The two armies are not under the command of each other, and I am afraid that many troubles will arise."

Peng Qi heard this and said quickly, "Don't worry, sir. I am injured and cannot go to war. There are only 500 soldiers in the city who can fight. The remaining people need to rest. If you send someone, I am willing to give way and just rest here to recover."

Lin Chong also advised: "Sir, what Peng Tuanlian said is right. If Song Jiang occupies this place again, the local people will see that the government troops cannot protect the place and will probably follow the bandits."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "In that case, I will go back to the state and select a group of soldiers to garrison here, and also take charge of Sishui and Xianyuan. I will give the two thousand civilians a five-day leave, and then gather them in various counties. I will have them train them. If they cannot fight in the battlefield, they can transport battering rams and cannon stones to defend the city, which is just what they need."

Peng Qi listened and nodded.

After discussion, Zhao Zhen released the civilians from Sishui County, and they returned home one after another, carrying the cloth, rice and flour rewarded by Zhao Zhen.

When the neighbors saw this, they all asked about it.

When they heard that this was the income from transporting food and grass for the army, cutting down trees, and building the camp, many of the neighbors were envious. A group of civilians praised the great official Zhao Zhen for his good deeds.

The neighbors heard that the civilians were only in the rear and did not go forward to fight. The brave ones asked Mr. Zhao if he was still recruiting civilians.

Everyone said, "The great official gave him five days off. He still needs to go to the county town for training and practice on how to defend the city."

Some people gave up the idea of ​​signing up after hearing that they had to defend the city. But more people said they would sign up.

After all, it was winter now, and Zhao Zhen's army not only provided meals every day, but also gave out rewards. Not only did he save food for his family, but he also got some rewards, which would make life much better next year. After all, this year was a war, and every household suffered some losses to varying degrees.

After all, recruiting civilians in other places is not like this. If you encounter a ruthless person, not only will you not be rewarded, but sometimes you will be forced to go forward and fill the trenches under the arrows.

Zhao Zhen didn't know that he had gained so much support just by rewarding some money and food.

By the time Zhao Zhen returned to Liangshan Prefecture, the news had already spread to Xianyuan and Sishui, and Zhao Zhen's reputation grew even more.

After returning to Liangshan Prefecture, the soldiers who participated in the expedition were rewarded according to their merits and given ten days of leave.

Then Zhao Zhen ordered to transfer 1,000 men from Yuncheng and Liangshan counties, one part to the left guard camp, Bian Xiang, Huo Wancheng, and Wang Liang to guard Sishui, and one part to the right guard camp, Yang Zhi, Liu Qi, and Zhou Jin to guard Xianyuan. They were also in charge of training the civilians.

Afterwards, Zhao Zhen, accompanied by Bao Xu, Yan Shude and Yu Baosi, met with [Baoguang Tathagata] Deng Yuanjue in the hall of Baishi Manor.

Speaking of Deng Yuanjue, he is also a wine-drinking and meat-loving monk.

When he first arrived, he got drunk in a restaurant in Liangshan County and started to act violently in the street. The shopkeeper had no choice but to report to the police, but seven or eight constables were unable to subdue him.

It was Jiao Ting who took action and knocked Deng Yuanjue down twice before he was subdued.

After sobering up, Deng Yuanjue was not convinced and came to challenge Jiao Ting. They fought for more than fifty rounds with bare hands before Jiao Ting found an opportunity and knocked Deng Yuanjue down.

Then they changed weapons, and after more than twenty blows, Deng Yuanjue knocked Jiao Ting's broadsword away with one stroke of his stick.

The two men became acquainted after a fight. Deng Yuanjue put away his arrogance when he heard that Jiao Ting was just a militiaman in Liangshan County.

After the greeting, Zhao Zhen looked at the big monk in front of him. He was wearing a blazing scarlet robe, a round belt made of tiger tendons, a string of seven-treasure rosary, a pair of nine-ring deerskin monk shoes, the lining of which was a golden beast covering the heart with incense thread, and he was holding a shining iron Zen staff.

He cheered, "Master, you have a great stature."

Deng Yuanjue bowed and said, "I am a monk from Shezhou. I have never practiced Buddhism, but only love to practice martial arts and use sticks. Seeing that the world is not peaceful, I came out of seclusion. The court is corrupt, and granite has caused great harm to the people. I wanted to surrender to Fang La, but I saw that he acted without any scruples, so I was worried."

"I heard that among the four great bandits in the world, Song Jiang from Shandong has the greatest reputation, but he is confined to a small corner. They all say it's because the great official is in Liangshan. I also heard that there is a "Flower Monk" here. I simply don't want to go to Fang La, but come to Shandong to see it for myself."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "Master, you came at an unfortunate time. We are on the battlefield these days, and Lu Zhishen is stationed in Xintai County." Deng Yuanjue said, "That's not a big deal. I can't recite the sutras. These days, I have nothing to do, and I have talked with the donors who came to burn incense with me in the Waguan Temple. They all said good things about you, so I also want to join the army. I will have plenty of time to get to know Brother Lu Zhishen in the future."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said with a smile, "This is easy. We will have to fight Song Jiang in Qingzhou next year. Since the monk is here for Lu Zhishen, why don't you go to Jianrui Camp and keep Lu Zhishen company?"

Deng Yuanjue heard this and said with a smile: "That's the best."

"The Jianrui Battalion has 3000 soldiers. Now the three commanders Guanghui, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song have led 2000 people to garrison in Yizhou, and there are 1000 people stationed in Zhongdu County. How about you temporarily lead these 1000 people?" Zhao Zhen said.

Deng Yuanjue heard this and bowed, saying, "Obedience is worse than respect. I will obey your command."

World Log:

Name: Deng Yuanjue (hero, warrior monk from Shezhou.)
Nickname: Precious Light Tathagata

Race: Terran

Reputation: 100 (the famous monk in Shezhou)
Occupation: Monk

Level: Level 5 and Level 5 (Strength 65, Commander 50)

Attributes: Strength 61, Constitution 54, Agility 34, Spirit 25
Skills: Natural Strength Level 6 (strong despite being big, Strength +6), Professor Level 3 (teaching martial arts, Spirit +3), Fighting Level 3 (competing in martial arts, Constitution +3).

Commander Skills: Fighting General Level 3 (fighting generals before the battle, morale +3 if winning, morale -3 if losing), Charge Level 2 (leading the troops, morale +2)

Martial arts: fists and feet (minor success, using fists and feet increases force +5, three-way Vajra Fist), Zen staff (great success, using Zen staff weapon increases force +6, five-way small Yaksha staff, three-way big Yaksha staff)
Monthly salary: 20 dollars

On that day, Zhao Zhen hosted a banquet to entertain Deng Yuanjue. On the next day, he sent Jiao Ting to take Deng Yuanjue to Zhongdu County with a document of appointment. He also introduced the magistrate Xu He, the chief clerk Chao Ning, the county lieutenant Xu Qing, and the militiamen Shi Xiu, Du Qian, and Song Wan to Deng Yuanjue.

After two busy days, Zhao Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief after sorting out the backlog of affairs in the state.

Everyone seemed to know that Zhao Zhen was tired, and no one came to disturb him for three days. Zhao Zhen hid in Baishi Valley and was happy to be free. He did not practice martial arts, but just played with cats and dogs every day, accompanied Cheng Wan'er and others, and played with the birds at home.

That day, Zhao Zhen took Jinlebo Chu Yuan and Xiulebo Chu Yan to the lotus pond to watch the black clams spit out pearls.

This is the third time that this black clam has spit out pearls since it was discovered.

The first thing it spat out was a second-level [Cooling Pearl], and the second time it spat out two first-level [Green Spring Pearls].

Biquan Pearl (Level 1, the pearl is in the shape of a water drop, the whole body is light blue, the surface is smooth like jade, and it is slightly steamy.)
Effect 1: Condense water, put these beads on a wooden plate, and place it under the moon, you can get one liter of water.

Effect 3: When paired with it, wealth +.

Because drilling holes would destroy the characteristics of the beads, the two beads were inlaid with a circle of lotus patterns and gold to make two necklaces for Jin Cuilian and Bai Zhi. Today is the middle of the month again, and Cheng Wan'er decided that the beads she spit out this time belong to the two of them, so Zhao Zhen brought Chu Yuan and Chu Yan over.

After a while, the black clam slowly walked out of the lotus pond and spit out two more beads.

Zhao Zhen suddenly heard a voice in his mind. After careful identification, it was the voice of the black clam in front of him, which was directly reflected in Zhao Zhen's mind. Although it was intermittent and did not form a sentence, Zhao Zhen still recognized that the black clam was indeed expressing that it would dive into the mud and would not come out until the spring.

Zhao Zhen tried to respond in his mind, and the black clam seemed to really understand and slowly sank into the water.

The farmhand nearby rolled up his trouser legs, walked into the water, fished out two pearls, and handed them to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen had seen it, and it was also a first-level [Biquan Pearl].

Zhao Zhen handed it to Chu Yuan and Chu Yan, who smiled and thanked Zhao Zhen. After playing with it for a while, the two whispered to each other, and Chu Yuan said to Zhao Zhen: "Sir, we two want to make a pair of earrings and take turns wearing them."

Zhao Zhen said, "Well, then send it to Zheng Tianshou. Write down any requirements you have and I'll have Zheng Tianshou make it himself."

The two of them happily agreed.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Do you two know what happened to Li Jiao'er, Sun Xue'e, and Meng Yulou?"

Chu Yan said, "I heard from Sister Cui Lian that Li Jiao'er fell in love with Chen Da, Shi Yong fell in love with Meng Yulou, and Cao Tielin fell in love with Sun Xue'e."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Have you married yet?"

Chu Yuan nodded and said, "Master Dong picked a date and brought a sedan chair to the house. It was not as lively as when we first got married. Sister Cheng sent congratulatory gifts on behalf of the official. Each family received a mahogany bed with cloud patterns and inlaid warm stone, two mandarin duck quilts, four rolls of bright red velvet and two sets of gold and silver jewelry."

Zhao Zhen listened and nodded.

At some point, this hero spent all his time training himself up and practicing martial arts. He avoided women and was scarier than a tiger. He was nicknamed "Slippery Bone Marrow".

After Zhao Zhen married a wife and took a concubine, this custom gradually disappeared and few people ridiculed it. Jiao Ting, Hei Sijie, Bao Xu and Jin'er were brought together by Zhao Zhen, and the rest gradually accepted it.

In Zhao Zhen's opinion, as for the outlaws not marrying, apart from wasting energy and strength, they are more afraid of leaving their lives vulnerable and being threatened.

Now that these people have their own positions in Liangshan Prefecture, they naturally don’t have this worry.

The entire Liangshan Province still encourages childbirth. After all, population is also wealth.

It was November and the valley was chilly. After staying there for a while, Chu Yan and Chu Yan couldn't stand it anymore. Seeing this, Zhao Zhen took them back to the house on the mountain.

Cheng Wan'er asked, "Sir, are the pearls spit out by the black clam different this time?"

Chu Yan shook the two [Biquan Pearls] in her hand and said, "Sister, this is also a [Biquan Pearl]."

Cheng Wan'er smiled and said, "It seems that this black clam has produced a lot of [Biquan Pearls]."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen thought to himself: Next time I can ask this black clam.

The couple was chatting when the steward Zhao Yuanli came in and said, "Master, there is a brother and sister outside the manor who want to see you."

(End of this chapter)