Moma Liangshan

Chapter 41: The Enemy Approaches 2 Dragon Mountain, Displaying Divine Might Before the Pass

In Daming Prefecture, Liang Zhongshu was furious and demanded, "Liang Chun, you've lost the birthday gifts! Do you know you can't escape death?" Liang Chun prostrated himself on the ground and said, "The bandits are powerful, surrounding us with ten times the number of men. I knew I couldn't fight them, so I had to spare my life and wait for an opportunity to escape back to Daming Prefecture to report to you, sir!" Liang Zhongshu frowned and said, "Since the bandits surrounded you, why didn't they kill you all? Why did they spare your lives?" Liang Chun said, "The bandits are greedy; they want us to ask our families for help and demand a ransom." Liang Zhongshu sneered. "How much is the ransom?" Liang Chun asked. "One hundred strings of cash per person," Liang Zhongshu replied. "One hundred strings per person, twenty people would only amount to two thousand strings. Do you know the value of the birthday tribute?" Liang Chun answered, "One hundred thousand strings." Liang Zhongshu fell into deep thought, then slowly said, "Having already obtained one hundred thousand strings of birthday tribute, why would they care about a mere two thousand strings of ransom? The bandits must have a reason not to kill you!" After a moment's thought, he called out, "Summon Li Cheng and Wen Da to come immediately!" A little over half an hour later, Li Cheng and Wen Da arrived one after the other. The two bowed simultaneously and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Anxious, Liang Zhongshu asked directly, "Do you two know that the birthday tribute sent by Daming Prefecture to Grand Tutor Cai in Tokyo was robbed by bandits?" The two men were shocked. Wen Da asked, "Were any of the soldiers responsible for escorting it alive?" Liang Zhongshu, thinking of this, felt a surge of anger and replied, "More than twenty men, all unharmed." He then looked at Liang Chun, who was kneeling and lying down. Li Cheng and Wen Da were two military commanders from Daming Prefecture, and Liang Chun was the steward of Liang Zhongshu's household; all three knew each other. Wen Da asked, "Was it Steward Liang who was in charge of escorting the birthday tribute?" Liang Chun, knowing Wen Da and Li Cheng were quite cunning, feared they would discover his treason and cautiously replied, "That's me." Wen Da then asked, "Where was the birthday tribute robbed?" Liang Chun answered, "Erlong Mountain." Wen Da pondered for a moment and said, "Erlong Mountain is still within the jurisdiction of Daming Prefecture. The birthday tribute didn't conceal its flags, so the bandits must have known it was a convoy from the Beijing Garrison. Anyone who dares to rob the Prime Minister's convoy under his jurisdiction is either a vicious thug or someone with a powerful backer." "Fearless!" Li Cheng nodded, saying, "More than twenty people were unharmed, showing that the bandits are not bloodthirsty." Liang Zhongshu was agitated, saying, "So, the bandits are fearless! Who in the Great Song Dynasty dares to simultaneously provoke the Beijing Garrison and the Tokyo Grand Tutor's Mansion?" The three remained silent for a long time before Liang Zhongshu suddenly said, "Could it be the Emperor?" Wen Da quickly said, "Your Excellency, please be careful with your words. How could the Emperor, who possesses the entire realm, engage in banditry?" Li Cheng slowly spoke, saying, "Perhaps it is someone favored by the Emperor."

After much deliberation, Liang Zhongshu said, "Li Cheng, write down all the details of the robbery of the birthday tribute and have it sent to Tokyo by express courier for the Grand Tutor's decision. Wen Da, mobilize officers from the army to search Erlong Mountain for clues. If any bandit hideouts are found, eliminate them directly without reporting." The two men obeyed and left. Liang Zhongshu looked at Liang Chun and shouted, "Guards! Lock Liang Chun in the dungeon. No one is allowed to visit him without my order. Anyone who violates this order will be treated as an accomplice." Wen Da found Zhou Jin, the deputy commander, showed him Liang Zhongshu's order, and ordered him to lead 500 soldiers to Erlong Mountain with him the next morning.

After Liang Chun returned to Daming Prefecture, Ma Decao began to monitor him day and night. That morning, Liang Chun was taken to the garrison headquarters, and that afternoon he was directly transferred from the garrison headquarters to the prison. Ma Decao sensed something was wrong and went to Erlong Mountain that night to deliver a message. Lu Zhishen had occupied Erlong Mountain, and although he hadn't looted, he still kept the mountain gates closed. Ma Decao went to Baozhu Temple and met Lu Zhishen, saying, "Liang Zhongshu lost 100,000 strings of cash for the birthday tribute; he certainly won't let it go easily. Now that Liang Chun is in prison, I'm afraid Daming Prefecture will take some big action. I wonder how Chief Lu plans to deal with this?" Lu Zhishen said, "Erlong Mountain has tall trees and dense forests; Baozhu Temple is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The temple has a clear spring and several months' worth of provisions. With its terrain, even if hundreds or thousands of government troops besiege it, I'm not afraid." Ma Decao thought for a moment and said, " "The Beijing garrison has tens of thousands of troops. If Liang Zhongshu, cornered as a dog, were to send thousands of soldiers to attack, what would we do?" Lu Zhishen laughed casually and said, "You've never served in the army and don't know its rules. Liang Zhongshu has the authority to command troops, but not the authority to mobilize them. We didn't kill any of the twenty officials, so even if we're sent to the Ministry of Justice, we'll only be considered thieves, not rebels. With no foreign invasion and no peasant rebellion, Liang Zhongshu can mobilize at most two battalions, one battalion..." Horses and five hundred men. But as far as the Sa family knew, although the imperial court had given the left-behind mansions in each region the right to mobilize two battalions of troops, the left-behind mansions in each region had only mobilized half of the troops to defend against the impeachment of Shi Yanguan. Therefore, if Liang Zhongshu wanted to attack Erlong Mountain, it would be difficult to have more than 500 troops. Although there are only fifty or sixty people on the mountain, everyone dares to fight and kill. In addition, the mountain road is narrow, making it difficult to spread the troops. Ma Decao understood and asked again: "What if Daming Mansion is surrounded but not attacked?" Lu Zhishen said: "The soldiers and horses have not moved, but the food and grass go first." The birthday card was robbed, which was Liang Zhongshu's private matter. It is not in line with the rules to use the money and food of the imperial soldiers and horses to settle personal grievances. The imperial court is corrupt. Ten days and a half months are acceptable, but years and months are absolutely impossible, unless Liang Zhongshu doesn't want the black gauze hat of Beijing's left-behind mansion! Ma Decao admired him in his heart and said: "Leader Lu has made a plan. I will return to Daming Mansion immediately to continue to spy on the news." "Lu Zhishen said: "Well done, little brother! "

The next day, Wen Da and Zhou Jin led five hundred soldiers to attack Erlong Mountain. The five hundred men set off at dawn and arrived at the foot of Erlong Mountain after noon. Wen Da and Zhou Jin saw an inn ahead and went straight inside, while the rest of the soldiers cooked and prepared the food outside. The innkeeper, sensing the group's hostile intentions, hurriedly came to serve them. Before the innkeeper could speak, Zhou Jin spoke first, saying, "Bring up the best wine and meat. If you serve well, the general will reward you; if you serve poorly, I'll smash this inn!" The innkeeper was none other than Cao Zheng. Seeing the group approaching from the north, Cao Zheng suspected they were officers from Daming Prefecture. He tentatively asked, "We have meat and wine at our small shops. Would you prefer rice or flatbread, sir?" Zhou Jin replied, "Sir, you're used to flatbread in Daming Prefecture." He then looked at Wen Da and asked, "What would Commander Wen like?" Wen Da said, "Flatbread will do." Zhou Jin shouted, "Go and arrange it quickly, lest we delay our mission!" In less than a quarter of an hour, two catties of beef, a leg of lamb, and a jar of wine were delivered to Zhou Jin and Wen Da's table. As Cao Zheng was about to leave, Wen Da suddenly asked, "A few days ago, a caravan from Daming Prefecture passed through Erlong Mountain. Did you see it, sir?" Lu Zhishen had already sent someone to inform Cao Zheng of Liang Chun's arrest. Without hesitation, Cao Zheng replied, "Yes, I've seen them. There were ten carts and over twenty people. They all stopped at my inn for a meal." Wen Da nodded and asked, "Are there bandits on Erlong Mountain?" Cao Zheng said, "Half a year ago, the monks from Baozhu Temple grew their hair back, occupied the temple, and started robbing and looting everywhere." Zhou Jin suddenly said, "There really are bandits on Erlong Mountain. Let's eat and drink our fill and then wipe out their den!" Wen Da continued to inquire, "How far is it from Baozhu Temple?" Cao Zheng replied, "Less than twenty li." Wen Da then said, "A mere twenty li, why aren't you afraid of bandits at your inn?" Cao Zheng answered, "Within a radius of fifty li, this is the only inn I own. The bandits on the mountain are all strong men, and they all love to drink. I've been forced by them to load a cart with wine and meat and deliver it to the thatched pavilion ten li away on several occasions."

Zhou Jin slammed his hand on the table and said, "You dare to join the bandits?" Cao Zheng feigned fear and said, "Sir, spare my life! I was forced into this. In just six months, I've lost at least fifty strings of cash." Wen Da asked, "Have you been to Baozhu Temple?" Cao Zheng replied, "I went to offer incense before the New Year, but the bandits sealed the gates and forbade anyone to approach. I haven't been back since." Wen Da said, "Take us to Baozhu Temple, and your previous crime of joining the bandits will be forgiven." Cao Zheng pretended to be hesitant, and Zhou Jin said, "It seems you don't want this hotel anymore?" Cao Zheng quickly replied, "I wouldn't dare!"

The group traveled twenty li (approximately 10 kilometers) of mountain road, taking an hour and a half to traverse. Reaching a fork in the road, Cao Zheng pointed to a narrow path leading into the forest and said, "This road leads directly to Baozhu Temple. Please, gentlemen, release me." Wen Da looked up and said, "Take thirty men to scout ahead. I'll cover you!" Zhou Jin accepted the order and led a group of men up the mountain. The mountain path was narrow, barely wide enough for two horses to ride side-by-side. After traveling about two li, the terrain suddenly rose, and a treacherous pass appeared before them. Lu Zhishen personally led twenty soldiers to guard it. Seeing the gate tightly shut, Zhou Jin stepped forward and shouted, "I am Zhou Jin, Deputy Commander of the Daming Prefecture Army! Open the gate immediately! Any delay will result in your heads being chopped off!" Lu Zhishen laughed loudly and shouted, "Let's see if you can catch this rolling log!" As soon as he finished speaking, a log about one foot in diameter and five feet long was thrown from the gate. Lu Zhishen, already possessing immense strength and with the advantage of terrain, sent the hundred-pound log hurtling towards Zhou Jin like a meteor. Zhou Jin, terrified, tumbled off his horse and hid behind a large tree. Seeing this, the soldiers followed suit, each hiding behind trees, afraid to show their faces. Lu Zhishen laughed loudly, his laughter echoing through the forest, startling countless birds into flight. Wen Da, seeing that Zhou Jin hadn't responded, personally led his troops forward. When he saw Zhou Jin leading the way, hiding behind the trees, he shouted, "Deputy Commander Zhou Jin, come and answer me!" Seeing Wen Da arrive, Zhou Jin immediately stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Commander, it's not that I'm cowardly, but these are just strong and fierce men, too powerful to fight." Wen Da snorted coldly, drew his broadsword, and went to confront him. Zhou Jin looked around and saw everyone retreating, so he had no choice but to steel himself and follow Wen Da. Wen Da arrived twenty paces from the mountain gate, brandished his broadsword, and shouted, "Who goes there? State your name!" Lu Zhishen yelled back, "Break down this gate first, then ask my name!" Seeing Lu Zhishen appear, Zhou Jin secretly grabbed his bow and arrow, intending to launch a sneak attack. Unexpectedly, Lu Zhishen, positioned high above, saw him clearly, picked up a large rock beside him, and hurled it at Zhou Jin again. Before Zhou Jin could nock an arrow or draw his bow, he heard a whooshing sound. Looking up, he saw a dark shadow rushing towards him. Zhou Jin again scrambled for cover, hiding behind a large tree.