Chapter 17: Song Jiang’s Eagerness for First Merit, Wang Ying Dies Leading the Charge

In the Song Jiang’s residence on Liangshan, Song Jiang, who had fainted after Dai Zong took the blame for him and died, slowly opened his eyes.

Wu Yong hurried over, sat beside the bed, and held Song Jiang’s hand, his eyes filled with tears as he said, “It’s great, Brother Gongming! You’re finally awake.”

Song Jiang put one hand on his forehead and the other on the bed. With Wu Yong’s help, he sat up with difficulty. His eyes were glazed over as he scanned the room. Seeing no one else, he pushed Wu Yong away, quickly got out of bed, drank three large bowls of tea at the table, and then went to the window to check the situation outside.

He turned around and sat down in the hall. Wu Yong quickly reported to him about Tong Guan’s attack on Liangshan and Zhang Yue’s strategic deployment. Song Jiang listened, closed his eyes slightly, and nodded, saying, “Zhang Yue’s deployment is indeed excellent. It seems that I, the leader of this mountain stronghold, should abdicate and let him take over.”

Wu Yong listened, smiled slyly, and said jokingly, “Brother, you should say this in the Hall of Righteousness, in front of all the brothers, when you are being humble and polite to Zhang Yue!”

Song Jiang chuckled. Wu Yong continued, “Now we should discuss how to dampen Zhang Yue’s spirits and consolidate your position, brother!”

They decided to use their trusted troops to win the first victory in the battle against Tong Guan’s army, to intimidate the hearts of the people.

After making their decision, they immediately ordered the soldiers to beat the drums and raise the banner. The soldiers quickly ran to the front of the Hall of Righteousness. After three rounds of drums, the leaders all changed clothes and went to the Hall of Righteousness for a meeting.

After a while, Song Jiang and Wu Yong slowly set off, passing through the connecting door from the back room and arriving at the main platform of the Hall of Righteousness.

Song Jiang smiled and looked down at the more than one hundred seats, half of which were empty. His smile faded slightly.

He looked more closely and saw that the infantry leaders, including Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, were all absent. Only two or three of the Eight Gallant Knights, including Hua Rong and Zhu Tong, were present. Half of the navy leaders were also missing, including the three Ruan brothers.

Song Jiang’s smile disappeared completely. He turned to look at the platform and saw that in front of the leader’s throne, three chairs were neatly arranged in a row.

Song Jiang’s eyes darkened, and his face twitched slightly. At this moment, all the leaders present stood up in unison and shouted, “Welcome, Brother Zhang Yue! Please take a seat!”

Song Jiang quickly turned to look at the entrance. Zhang Yue entered first, followed by Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, Huyan Zhuo, and Qin Ming.

The five of them chatted and laughed as they walked towards the Hall of Righteousness, their steps measured and confident. Zhang Yue, at the head, smiled warmly and bowed to Song Jiang from afar, saying, “Heaven is on Liangshan’s side. Chief Song is safe and sound. It’s truly a cause for celebration!”

Before Song Jiang could respond, the Firecracker, Qin Ming, behind him, blurted out, “If we’re talking about heaven being on Liangshan’s side, then we have to credit the God-Sent Savior for coming to Liangshan!”

Qin Ming was straightforward and didn’t notice Song Jiang’s murderous glare. He continued, “Brother Zhang Yue’s brilliant arrangements, even if all eight hundred thousand Imperial Guards from Tokyo come to attack Liangshan, they will be defeated and never return!”

The other leaders also echoed his sentiments, praising Zhang Yue’s strategic deployment. Song Jiang forced a smile and said, “I am truly ashamed. With such a formidable enemy at our doorstep, I, Black Third Brother, as the leader of Liangshan, closed my eyes and became a hands-off manager. It’s thanks to Brother Zhang Yue’s efforts. Song Jiang, on behalf of Liangshan, thanks Brother Zhang Yue!”

Zhang Yue listened and thought to himself, “Heh, this black brute, Song Jiang, is subtly implying that he is still the leader of Liangshan, and I, Zhang Yue, am just a helper. It seems he wants to regain control!”

“Well, if you want the command back, so be it. Let’s see if you have the ability to face Tong Guan’s elite troops. Don’t come begging me to be the leader of Liangshan later.”

Zhang Yue had made up his mind. He immediately ordered someone to remove the row of chairs in front of the leader’s throne and then pushed Song Jiang onto the high seat. He then walked to the lower seat, bowed to Song Jiang, and said, “The other day, Instructor Lin was poisoned, and the identity of the culprit is unknown. Everyone on the mountain is on edge. Chief Song is also unwell because of his brother, Song Qing. In this desperate situation, I, Zhang Yue, had no choice but to take charge.”

Zhang Yue looked around and continued, “Now that the culprit has been identified and Chief Dai has taken responsibility, and Chief Song has recovered, all matters on the mountain should be handled according to Chief Song’s arrangements.”

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, he helped Song Jiang sit on the leader’s throne and then bowed to the leaders present, saying, “I am grateful for your kindness. I have only made some strategic defenses. They are not of much use in repelling the enemy. Please do not rely on me too much.”

Zhang Yue finished speaking and left the Hall of Righteousness to go to Lin Chong’s courtyard to check on him.

Song Jiang, in order to win the first victory and save face, directly rejected Zhang Yue’s strategic defense arrangements and prepared to launch a fierce attack on the second main force against Liangshan, led by Wu Lin.

Song Jiang, in his eagerness to achieve quick results, had no idea of Tong Guan’s military capabilities and strategic deployment. He didn’t even know how many troops the court had sent. He thought that Tong Guan was a military idiot, just like Gao Qiu.

He thought that the current court generals were like those under Gao Qiu, who were greedy for money and stayed in the rear, eating and drinking. Those who didn’t give Gao Qiu money were forced to go to war, but they didn’t put in any effort. They were just playing house with Liangshan.

Before Zhang Yue’s scouts returned with information, Song Jiang eagerly arranged for his trusted lieutenants, the vanguard leader, the Chief of the Outpost, the Heavenly Hero Star, Little Li Guang, Hua Rong, and the commander of the scouting team, the Earthly Micro Star, the Short-Legged Tiger, Wang Ying, to lead 10,000 cavalry and 15,000 infantry. He also ordered the commander of the navy, the Heavenly Longevity Star, the River Dragon, Li Jun, to lead 5,000 men from the southeastern navy and 500 warships to provide support.

After Song Jiang finished his arrangements, Hua Rong, Wang Ying, and Li Jun immediately accepted their orders. They sent soldiers to relay the orders, gathering 30,000 cavalry, infantry, and navy troops at the foot of Liangshan to set up camp and wait for Wu Lin’s 40,000 troops to arrive.

Speaking of Wu Lin, he had received Tong Guan’s orders and was marching towards Liangshan with great fanfare. The army set up camp thirty miles from the lake.

Wu Lin reviewed his troops. Besides Wang Huan, the deputy commander of the second main force against Liangshan appointed by Tong Guan, there were three vanguard officers:

Xu Jing, the commander of Shanxi and Taiyuan, Wang Wende, the commander of Jingbei and Hongnong, and Mei Zhan, the commander of Yingzhou and Runan.

Wu Lin gave an inspiring pre-battle speech, using Tong Guan’s promotion to a princely title as an example, recounting the promotions of the generals who had accompanied him on his campaigns.

He explained that as long as they achieved merit in battle, Grand Tutor Tong would immediately report it to the emperor, granting them promotions and titles, bringing glory to their ancestors.

The generals were all fired up and eager to fight. Wu Lin seized the opportunity and said, “I have learned that Song Jiang has sent Hua Rong, Wang Ying, and Li Jun, leading 30,000 cavalry, infantry, and navy troops, to set up camp at the foot of Liangshan and await battle. Who dares to fight?”

Before he finished speaking, the vanguard officer, Wang Wende, volunteered. So, Wu Lin ordered him to lead 20,000 troops to fight Hua Rong.

Wang Wende accepted the order and left. Wu Lin then ordered the vanguard officers, Xu Jing and Mei Zhan, to each lead 5,000 troops, flanking Wang Wende’s left and right wings, to march secretly and seize the opportunity to attack and annihilate the enemy.

Speaking of Wang Wende, he led his troops to the front of Liangshan’s camp. Hua Rong and Wang Ying led the cavalry and infantry out to meet them.

Wang Ying saw who it was. It was Wang Wende, who had been under Gao Qiu’s command. He said, “A defeated general! Let me, the Short-Legged Tiger, take you down and make Brother Gongming proud!”

Before he finished speaking, Wang Ying charged forward on horseback.

A low-ranking auxiliary officer emerged from behind Wang Wende. Without announcing his name, he charged forward on horseback and engaged Wang Ying in battle.

The two generals had not fought for three rounds when Wang Ying’s hand slipped, and his spear flew out. Seeing that things were going badly, Hua Rong charged forward on horseback to rescue Wang Ying.

The auxiliary officer was unwilling to let him come to the rescue. This was a chance to gain glory and promotion!

He thrust his spear forward, killing Wang Ying. He drew his treasured saber from his waist, chopped off Wang Ying’s head, hung it on his saddle, and charged towards Hua Rong with his spear!