Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 206 Procuring Military Supplies: Song and Wu's Disorderly Laws, Huyan's Reforms in

Inside the command tent, the pair of enormous candles had burned out, leaving only a last drop of wax dripping onto the bronze candlestick, as if it were the last tear of resentment shed for yesterday's crushing defeat.

As dawn broke and the first light of day appeared, the thick, unyielding stench of burning and blood still lingered in the camp. Huyan Zhuo had not slept all night.

His face, usually as resolute as still water, was now so somber it seemed to drip with gloom. He sat upright on his command throne, the pure gold wine cup bestowed upon him by the emperor slightly deformed by his large, fan-like hand.

Yesterday's defeat was like a resounding slap in the face of this descendant of a founding general.

"How much food...how much food is left?" he finally asked, his voice hoarse as if two rusty iron pieces were rubbing against each other.

A captain in charge of provisions knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to raise his head. His voice shook like a sieve in the wind: "Reporting...reporting to the general, last night those bandit's hairy beasts set fire to our army's provisions...nine out of ten...ten li have been burned..."

"Useless!" Huyan Zhuo suddenly stood up and kicked over the desk in front of him! The desk, made of fine rosewood, along with the writing implements and military documents on it, was kicked several feet away and crashed into the corner of the tent with a loud "bang," shattering into pieces!

"A bunch of good-for-nothings! You can't even guard the grain supplies, what use are you to me!"

His eyes were bloodshot, like two burning embers, scanning the captain back and forth. The murderous aura he exuded was so terrifying that the captain's body went limp, and he actually urinated on the spot, a foul stench spreading out.

"Drag him out and behead him!" Huyan Zhuo's voice was as cold as ice.

"General, spare me! General, spare me!" the captain cried out as he was dragged away by two fierce-looking guards.

The generals under his command were all silent and trembling, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Huyan Zhuo paced back and forth in his tent, like a tiger trapped in a cage. Supplies were the lifeblood of the army, and now less than a tenth remained. How could they possibly continue the battle? He suddenly stopped and roared towards the outside of the tent, "Someone! Prepare pen and ink!"

Before long, a military order to urge the delivery of grain was written.

"By my command, proceed immediately to Jizhou Prefecture! Inform the officials there that I require 30,000 shi of grain within three days! If there is any delay, do not blame me, Huyan Zhuo, for military law is merciless!"

A messenger received the order, leaped onto his horse, and sped off towards Jeju Prefecture.

……

Inside the Jeju Prefectural Government Office, the atmosphere was equally oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Song Jiang, nicknamed "Hu Baoyi," had a sallow complexion. Although he could get out of bed and walk around, his sickly appearance, ravaged by wine and women, could not be recovered in a day or two. Looking at the grain urging document in his hand, stamped with the seal of Commander Huyan Zhuo, he felt as if every word on it had turned into a heavy mountain, pressing down on him and making it hard for him to breathe.

“Thirty thousand shi…within three days…this Huyan Zhuo is truly asking for the moon!” He slammed the document heavily on the table, his voice filled with helplessness and frustration.

Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," stood to the side, gently waving his feather fan. His face, which always carried a hint of gloom, showed no sign of panic, but instead flashed a glint of shrewdness that was hard to detect.

“Brother, please calm down. Huyan Zhuo has just suffered a defeat and his supplies have been burned. He is furious. If we cannot gather supplies on time, he will surely find a pretext to cause trouble and pin the blame for the defeat on us.”

Huyan Zhuo didn't have that intention, but that didn't stop Wu Yong from thinking what he wanted.

There's a saying that goes, "When a crow lands on a pig, it only sees the pig's black coat, but doesn't see that it's also black, nor can it see that it's black itself."

Wu Yong is definitely a crow.

Song Jiang sighed deeply, his brow furrowed with worry: "How could I not know this principle? It's just that Jizhou Prefecture has been through a series of battles, and the treasury is already empty. The other day, in order to reward Gao Lian's troops and also to support Liang's army in Rencheng County, there are only about 10,000 shi left in the granary. Even if we ransacked the entire city, we probably wouldn't be able to gather 30,000 shi. Where am I supposed to conjure up 30,000 shi?"

Wu Yong's lips curled into a cold smile, and a venomous glint flashed in his eyes.

"Brother, don't worry. Just because the grain isn't in the government granary doesn't mean it's not in the city." He leaned close to Song Jiang's ear, lowering his voice like a chilling wind blowing from hell, "Brother, do you still remember the 'Deshengchang' grain shop in the south of the city?"

Song Jiang was taken aback: "You mean, the owner's surname is Qian, and he's been running a rice shop in the city for thirty years, Qian Laoshi?"

“Exactly,” Wu Yong sneered. “This man always likes to do small favors like distributing porridge and rice, earning him a false reputation as a ‘benevolent philanthropist’ in the city. I’ve already sent people to investigate; his seven or eight granaries probably hold no less than fifty thousand shi of rice! Moreover, this man lives across the river from Dongxi Village, which is occupied by the Liangshan bandits, and they often do business together. We only need to…”

Upon hearing this, Song Jiang understood Wu Yong's meaning and couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

"The term 'scholar' means..."

"If you want to find a crime, you can always find a pretext." Wu Yong's eyes gleamed with the light of a hungry wolf. "Just find a reason to accuse him of secretly colluding with Liangshan and aiding the enemy, capture him, and throw him in a death row! His vast wealth, along with his 50,000 shi of grain, will all be ours. At that time, not only will we be able to solve General Huyan Zhuo's urgent problem, but you and I, brother, can also profit from it... hehe..."

Song Jiang was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. Although he was no saint either, he still had some reservations about such blatant fabrication of crimes and persecution of the innocent.

"But... that Mr. Qian has a good reputation and no bad record. If we act in this way, I'm afraid we will... lose the support of the people."

"Popular support?" Wu Yong sneered disdainfully, as if listening to a huge joke. "Brother, in this world, what does popular support mean! Power and influence are what really matter! As long as we can cling to General Huyan Zhuo, you'll be the one who makes the greatest contribution when we conquer Liangshan! At that time, you'll be promoted, your wife and children will be granted titles and honors—isn't that much more real than that ethereal sentiment of popular support?"

Seeing that Song Jiang was still hesitant, he added fuel to the fire.

"Besides, if this matter is handled cleanly, who will know the truth? We just need to solidify the charge, and find a few local thugs who have a grudge against his family to come forward as witnesses. At that time, no matter how many mouths he has, he won't be able to explain himself! The people are ignorant and only know how to follow the wind. In three to five days, who will remember who Qian Laoshi is?"

Song Jiang fell silent. He thought of the desecrated ancestral graves, the corpses of his ancestors lying exposed in the wilderness, and the humiliation Li Hanxiao had brought him. The slight reluctance in his heart was instantly swallowed up by overwhelming hatred and a thirst for fame and fortune.

"Good!" He slammed his hand on the table, his eyes, which had previously shown some hesitation, instantly turning cold and resolute. "Let's go with the scholar's plan! This matter will be handled by Wang Jin! He is an old official of Jizhou Prefecture, and he is most familiar with this kind of thing: fabricating charges, confiscating property, and exterminating families!"

That night, around midnight.

A dark and windy night, a night for murder.

Dozens of fierce and ruthless officials, led by Wang Jin, a veteran official of Jizhou Prefecture known as "Heart-Gouging King," stormed open the heavy door of the "Deshengchang" grain store like a horde of demons unleashed from hell.

"By order of the government! Qian Shen, the manager of the grain store, is secretly colluding with the Liangshan rebels and plotting treason! All his family members are to be arrested and imprisoned! All his property is to be confiscated and used as military funds!"

Wang Jin's shrill voice, like that of a male duck, pierced the deathly silence of the night sky.

In an instant, cries, pleas for mercy, women's screams, and children's wails mingled together. The once peaceful and harmonious Qian family compound was transformed into a living hell.

Qian Laoshi, over sixty years old, was pinned to the ground with his arms tied behind his back by two officers. Looking at his terrified wife, his daughter-in-law being roughly dragged, and his grandson crying his heart out, his old eyes instantly turned bloodshot!

"Injustice! Your Honor! I am innocent!" he roared hoarsely with all his might, "My Qian family has been honest and upright businessmen for three generations. We have never had the slightest connection with those Liangshan bandits!"

Wang Jin walked up to him, looking down at him with those triangular eyes that always carried a hint of malice, a cruel smile on his face like a cat playing with a mouse.

"Injustice?" He pulled out a pre-prepared letter bearing a forged seal from his pocket and waved it in front of Qian Laoshi. "This was found in a hidden compartment in your accounting office! It's irrefutable evidence of your secret dealings with Li Hanxiao, the leader of the Liangshan bandits! You still dare to deny it!"

"This...this isn't mine!" Qian Laoshi's eyes widened. He never dreamed that the other party would use such despicable means to frame him!

"Take him away!" Wang Jin waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.

The two constables dragged Qian Shi, who was still crying and shouting that he was innocent, away like a dead dog.

The next day at dawn, as wagons loaded with grain slowly drove out of the sealed "Deshengchang" grain store, forming a long line and heading towards Huyan Zhuo's camp, the people of Jizhou City dared not speak out against their anger.

They watched as the entire Qian family, bound hand and foot, were led to the execution ground. They saw Qian Laoshi, who was usually all smiles and kind-hearted, now disheveled, his face covered in blood, and still shouting "Injustice!" Many people had tears in their eyes.

But what can they do?

In this world where right and wrong are turned upside down, what can these unarmed commoners do besides remain silent and endure?

……

The main camp of the government troops, the commander's tent.

Looking at the mountain of grain and fodder before him, at the 30,000 shi of grain and fodder sent from Jizhou Prefecture, Hu Yanzhuo finally showed a satisfied smile on his dark face, which had been gloomy for several days.

His troops consisted of a large number of cavalry, mainly heavy cavalry. The amount of food consumed by the men and horses was staggering. Moreover, in order to maintain their strength, they could not eat hay, and the horses also had to eat grain. Otherwise, if they were wearing armor and carrying men, they would not be able to run.

"Good, very good." He nodded approvingly to Wang Jin, who had personally escorted the grain supplies. "Go back and tell Song Jiang that I have remembered this matter. After Liangshan is pacified, I will definitely present him with credit before the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jin was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, his face full of flattery.

Just then, a guard outside the tent reported that General Han Tao had woken up.

Upon hearing this, Huyan Zhuo's spirits lifted, and he immediately dismissed his attendants and went to Han Tao's tent himself.

Han Tao's face was ashen, his breath weak, but his mind was clear. Upon seeing Huyan Zhuo, he struggled to rise and pay his respects.

"General, there's no need for such formalities. Take good care of yourself." Huyan Zhuo pressed him down and sat him on the edge of the bed. His voice carried a hint of concern, but also an undisguised urgency. "General Han, what exactly happened in the battle in the valley that day? Were the hook-and-sickle spears of Liangshan really that powerful?"

Upon hearing this, Han Tao's pale face flushed with humiliation. He gritted his teeth and recounted the horrific scene of the battle in the valley that day in detail.

“General, that hook-and-sickle spear… is utterly vicious! It targets the horse's legs! Our linked cavalry, in front of it, were… were utterly powerless to fight back!” He choked up as he said this, “This humble general is incompetent, causing the loss of five hundred elite troops. I beg the general… to punish me!”

Hu Yanzhuo didn't speak. He simply reached out and gently unwrapped the bandage on Han Tao's chest. Looking at the deep, bone-revealing wound and the torn flesh, his brows furrowed tightly.