kvmb Chapter 449: Li Ying, the Sky-Pouncer
Chapter 449: Li Ying, the Sky-Pouncer
After staying at home for half a month, Lu Cheng set off for Jeju Prefecture.
Jizhou governs four counties: Yuncheng, Juye, Rencheng and Jinxiang. The seat of Jizhou prefecture is in Juye, only fifty or sixty miles away from Yuncheng County.
When Lu Cheng arrived in Jeju, he was immediately warmly received by officials from all levels of Jeju Prefecture. Officials such as the Jeju Tongpan and the Zhizhou accompanied Lu Cheng to entertain him.
During the Song Dynasty, in order to separate military and political affairs, a state's Tongpan was generally in charge of money, taxes, household registration, criminal proceedings, etc., while the prefect was in charge of local military affairs.
Later, Xin Qiji, a famous poet, general and writer in the Southern Song Dynasty, served as the governor of Jeju.
However, the prefect sitting in front of Lu Cheng at this time was just a middle-aged scholar in his forties, and did not look like a local military commander at all.
"You must have been exhausted from the journey. Judge Li and I have prepared some wine to welcome you. Please don't hesitate."
"Okay, okay. Thank you for troubling Magistrate Wu."
"Mr. Yuanwailang, please."
"please."
Judging from the rank alone, Lu Cheng is lower than the prefect and the magistrate of Jizhou Prefecture, but who can make Lu Cheng speak directly in front of the emperor?
Several officials from Jeju Prefecture politely invited Lu Cheng to a sumptuous meal and arranged a singing and dancing performance. Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere at the table, they prepared a generous gift for Lu Cheng, hoping that Lu Cheng would say a few good words for them in front of the emperor.
Lu Cheng accepted all the gifts from these officials without being polite. As for whether to speak for them or not, that depended on his mood.
After having a good meal and a good drink, Lu Cheng asked casually, "Wu Zhizhou, we have a lot of soldiers in Jizhou Prefecture. Do you have any powerful generals?"
"What kind of brave general could catch Yuanwailang's eye? We have all heard that Yuanwailang went into the grassland alone and killed the Liao soldiers who asked our Song Dynasty for help. How impressive was that? I'm afraid there is really no one in our Jeju Prefecture who can catch your eye. The only one who is relatively capable is Wu Song, who was recommended by Yuanwailang."
"Are there any powerful generals around here?"
Li Tongpan frowned and thought for a moment, then he spoke: "I heard that among the three Li Zhuhu manors on Dulonggang, there are some capable fighters. The owner of the Lijia Manor is called Li Ying, the Flying Eagle. He is good at using a steel spear and has five flying knives hidden behind his back. He can kill people from a hundred steps away. He is quite amazing. In addition, there is a fierce general in Dongping Prefecture who is good at using two spears. He is called the Double Spear General Dong Ping."
"Now that you mention it, I remember a Qingfeng Village in Qingzhou Prefecture. There was a young general there, known as the Little Li Guang Hua Rong, who was said to have the ability to shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away. And there was also Jin Xiang..."
The two of them talked back and forth, talking about many famous characters. Among these characters, some later went to Liangshan, and some were not in the original work.
Lu Cheng nodded after hearing this and said, "Can we send documents to all these people and ask them to participate in the martial arts competition in the training ground of Jeju Prefecture?"
"Of course you can, but it's almost the New Year now. If you want to gather all these people here, it will probably take some time."
"There is no rush. We can arrange it and schedule this parade competition after the New Year. If we can get more capable people, we can select the best and recruit them for the imperial court."
"Then follow your wishes."
After arranging the work, Lu Cheng went to visit Wu Song.
Wu Song was also a little excited when he saw Lu Cheng: "Wu Song greets the owner of the manor."
"There's no need for formalities between you and me. How's the training going lately?"
"Thanks to the guidance of the manor master, I have trained 2,500 combat-ready soldiers. If the manor master wants to see it, I will have them perform martial arts on the training ground."
"Then pull it out and let me see it."
"Yes!"
Afterwards, the two men came to the parade ground. Wu Song pulled out 2500 soldiers under his command and practiced spears, sticks, bows and arrows on the parade ground. Then he selected 600 people and divided them into two sides to practice military formations and fight against each other.
Lu Cheng watched for a while and felt that these soldiers were above the passing line, but still far from being elite.
However, this is the local army of the Song Dynasty after all, and Lu Cheng cannot interfere too much. It is already good enough that Wu Song can be trained to this level.
Afterwards, Lu Cheng tested Wu Song on his martial arts and then nodded with satisfaction.
Wu Song made considerable progress. He learned various combat skills from Lu Cheng, learned body-building methods, and used the strengthening pills, which greatly enhanced his strength.
It can be said that Wu Song is now the number one general under Lu Cheng. His fighting power is second only to Lu Cheng, and definitely exceeds that of Lu Junyi, who is known for his unparalleled mastery of spear and stick.
"Yes, it seems that your martial arts skills have not fallen behind. The New Year is coming soon. When I came here, I had already told Wu Zhizhou that I would give you a holiday in advance and let you return to the village to celebrate the New Year so that the family can be reunited."
"Thank you, Master."
Speaking of which, the four people with relatively high martial arts skills under Lu Cheng are Wu Song, Lu Da, Shi Jin and Yang Zhi. The other talents they have trained are much inferior to these four.
Thinking of this, Lu Cheng decided to take a trip to Dulonggang before the New Year.
After staying in Jeju Prefecture for another two or three days and instructing Wu Song on how to train, Lu Cheng left Jeju Prefecture and headed towards Dulonggang.
Dulonggang is just north of Jizhou Prefecture and not too far from Yuncheng County. It only took Lu Cheng half a day to arrive at Lijiazhuang in Dulonggang with his entourage.
Before arriving at Lijiazhuang, Lu Cheng had someone deliver a visiting card in advance. When he arrived outside Lijiazhuang, he saw the owner of Lijiazhuang leading a group of people to hold a grand ceremony and open the door to welcome him.
"I am Li Ying, and I am here to see the official."
"Master Li, there is no need to be so polite. I am here as a man of the Jianghu. We can just talk as peers."
"This... villain, Master Lu, please come in!"
Although Li Ying had a great reputation in the underworld, he was ultimately just a powerful landlord. He was still very polite to Lu Cheng, a serious court official.
Of course, even in terms of status and reputation in the martial arts world, Lu Cheng is a well-known figure in the martial arts world no matter what name he picks out.
After entering Lijiazhuang, Lu Cheng looked around at the surrounding environment. The terrain on Dulonggang was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was a unique advantage.
The entire Dulonggang is an isolated hillside with a river flowing around it. It is surrounded by water on both sides and is densely forested.
The three villages on Dulonggang formed an alliance with each other and set numerous traps in the dense forest on the hillside. If outsiders were not familiar with the terrain, it would not be easy to attack them.
When they arrived at the manor, Li Ying had already asked people to prepare wine and food, and warmly entertained Lu Cheng.
Lu Cheng was also very polite. After all, he was still planning to subdue this future Liangshan financial manager, whose martial arts value was not inferior to Lin Chong and Hu Yanzhuo's Flying Eagle...