Chapter 20: Black Third Responds with a Play on Words, The Savior General Remains Unmoved

This battle, led by Song Jiang, resulted in heavy casualties for Liangshan. 25,000 cavalry and infantry were completely wiped out by Wang Wende’s forces. Liangshan’s leading general, Little Li Guang Hua Rong, and his deputy, the Short-Legged Tiger Wang Ying, were both killed by the lowly auxiliary officer, Han Ren!

Wu Lin, the commander of the second main force against Liangshan, the General of Loyal Bravery and the commander of the Imperial Guards, was overjoyed. He moved his camp forward fifteen miles, bringing his troops to the foot of Liangshan City.

Song Jiang was shocked upon hearing this news. He quickly summoned his strategist, Wu Yong, to discuss countermeasures.

Wu Yong pondered the situation, unable to understand why the same army had suddenly become so valiant. Under Gao Qiu’s leadership, the ten garrison commanders had only fought the Five Tiger Generals to a standstill. How could a lowly auxiliary officer under Tong Guan’s command have killed two Liangshan generals?

When the other Liangshan heroes learned of the disastrous defeat, they did not unite in anger but instead demanded that Song Jiang step forward and take responsibility. They said that if they had followed Zhang Yue’s deployment, they would have stayed behind their defenses, waited to learn more about the imperial army, and then discussed countermeasures. This way, they wouldn’t have suffered such heavy casualties.

As it was, Song Jiang had blindly rushed into battle without knowing who his opponent was, and he had lost 30,000 Liangshan troops!

Fortunately, Hua Rong and Wang Ying, who had died, were Song Jiang’s own men, so no one demanded that he be held accountable for their deaths.

Fortunately, at this moment, the sixteen small cavalry leaders that Zhang Yue had sent out before the battle to gather intelligence from Jizhou Prefecture, Yizhou Prefecture, and other areas returned.

They had not disappointed Zhang Yue’s arrangements. They had discovered that Tong Guan’s 150,000 troops were divided into three routes to encircle Liangshan.

They also learned that Tong Guan had over thirty fierce generals under his command, including five or six high-ranking generals from the Imperial Guards, six or seven famous generals from the border regions, the ten garrison commanders, and a dozen local troops from Jizhou and Yizhou.

Song Jiang turned pale and slumped in his chair. He had not expected the imperial army to be so powerful. After a long moment, he regained his composure and asked Wu Yong, “Who can match the high-ranking generals of the Imperial Guards and the famous generals from the border regions? How do they compare to our Five Tiger Generals?”

Before Wu Yong could answer, Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, Huyan Zhuo, and Dong Ping, the four generals, lowered their heads in shame.

Dong Ping even said in despair, “Brother Gongming, you said it yourself. What are we, the Five Tiger Generals? We are just low-ranking military officers abandoned by the court. We are nothing!”

Dong Ping finished speaking, but he wasn’t done. He continued, “The high-ranking generals of the Imperial Guards and the generals from the border regions, those are heights we could never reach in eight lifetimes!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Guan Sheng and Huyan Zhuo, whose ancestors had been generals, shouted in unison before Dong Ping could finish.

Song Jiang sighed, “Alas, we Liangshan heroes are doomed! When Grand Marshal Gao came the other day, we should have done everything we could to secure an imperial pardon!”

“Chief Song, why are you so quick to lose heart and belittle ourselves?” Zhang Yue strode in.

Song Jiang, seeing Zhang Yue, immediately felt as if he had found a savior. He quickly jumped down from the leader’s throne.

He wagged his tail like a puppy, shouting, “We’re saved! We’re saved!”

He ran to Zhang Yue, bowed, and said, “Please, God-Sent Savior, save Liangshan!”

Zhang Yue thought to himself, “Where’s that arrogant attitude you had yesterday? Didn’t you say you were the leader of Liangshan? If you’re so capable, go ahead and do it! Why are you begging me?”

Seeing Song Jiang’s flattering demeanor, Zhang Yue was furious. He directly retorted, “I, Zhang Yue, am just a guest on Liangshan. How to defend against Tong Guan’s army is a matter for you, the leader of Liangshan. How dare I even think about it?”

Song Jiang was a helpless man by nature. This slight didn’t bother him. He continued to smile and grovel, “The other day, I, Song Jiang, was blind, arrogant, and ignorant. I spoke foolishly. I hope that the God-Sent Savior will be magnanimous, forgive my past transgressions, show your divine power, turn the tide, save Liangshan from collapse, and rescue us!”

Zhang Yue was furious. He couldn’t believe that this little Song Jiang, after he had merely reprimanded him, was now using idioms to flatter him.

He used all these little phrases, “blind,” “arrogant,” “ignorant,” “magnanimous,” “forgive past transgressions,” “turn the tide,” “save from collapse.” He was really quite good at it.

But Zhang Yue remained unmoved, acting as if he was in a difficult position. He said, “Tong Guan is a ruthless man. He has spent his life in the army, killing countless people. He has changed course to attack Liangshan on his way back to the capital. I’m afraid he is simply trying to eliminate Liangshan. This battle is going to be difficult…”

Zhang Yue paused, pointed at Song Jiang angrily, and wanted to scold him. But Song Jiang, with a shameless grin, went up to Zhang Yue, slapping himself repeatedly with both hands, saying, “Black Third Brother knows he’s wrong! Black Third Brother knows he’s wrong! I shouldn’t have disrupted the God-Sent Savior’s defensive deployment. I shouldn’t have sent Brother Hua Rong and 30,000 men to their deaths! I wasted Liangshan’s fighting force!”

Song Jiang cried, tears streaming down his face. He knelt down, kowtowed, and begged Zhang Yue to help Liangshan.

Zhang Yue remained unmoved. Wu Yong, hearing this, thought that Zhang Yue was right. This time, Tong Guan’s attack on Liangshan was different from Gao Qiu’s.

He wasn’t seeking military merit or rewards. He was simply trying to eliminate Liangshan. Wu Yong finally understood why the same army was now different.

It was because their leader was different. The leader’s mission was different. They were no longer tools for the commanders to amass wealth or stepping stones for their promotions.

They had become true, genuine members of the army that was tasked with conquering the bandits.

Wu Yong understood this and realized that there was no other way out for everyone on Liangshan except to defeat Tong Guan.

So, seeing that Song Jiang was only begging Zhang Yue to help him repel the enemy and was unwilling to give up his position as leader of Liangshan, he quickly ran to Zhang Yue, knelt down, and crawled to Zhang Yue’s feet. He grabbed Zhang Yue’s feet with both hands and cried like a heartbroken person. Zhang Yue coldly watched Wu Yong’s performance.

Wu Yong, while crying, stole a glance at Zhang Yue. Seeing the disgust on Zhang Yue’s face, he stopped crying and said loudly, “Since ancient times, the leader of Liangshan Marsh has been the one who is most capable. As long as the God-Sent Savior, Brother Zhang Yue, is willing to save Liangshan, we are willing to make you the leader of the mountain stronghold!”

Song Jiang, hearing this, jumped up, slapped Wu Yong aside, and cursed, “You ink-stained villain, how dare you nominate the leader of Liangshan!”

Song Jiang slapped Wu Yong aside and, like a diligent eunuch, bowed and bent over, leading Zhang Yue to the leader’s throne.

He used the sleeve of his long robe to wipe the throne several times before inviting Zhang Yue to sit down.

Zhang Yue was unwilling to sit down. He repeatedly declined, “Now, Liangshan is facing Wu Lin’s 40,000 troops, who are poised to attack. A lowly auxiliary officer under his command was able to kill Wang Ying and Hua Rong.”

Zhang Yue paused, expressing his condolences for Wang Ying and Hua Rong, and continued, “Behind us, Liu Gao is leading 50,000 troops, guarding the rear. We are now caught in a pincer movement, unable to support each other.”

Zhang Yue looked at the crowd. Everyone looked troubled. This was clearly the greatest crisis Liangshan had ever faced. Zhang Yue continued, “In Jizhou City, Tong Guan is personally leading 60,000 elite Imperial Guards, waiting for the right moment to strike. You want me to be the leader of Liangshan now. Are you trying to find a scapegoat?”

Song Jiang, hearing this, was so scared that he knelt down at Zhang Yue’s feet, grabbed his leg, and said that as long as Zhang Yue was willing to command the defense, he, Song Jiang, would take full responsibility!

Zhang Yue chuckled. He thought, “I’ve had enough fun with this black brute. The war is more important. I’ll let him off this time.” He said, “If you can agree to two of my requests, I will stand with Liangshan, live or die, and I will defeat Tong Guan’s army!”

Song Jiang said that he would agree to two requests, two hundred requests, or even twenty thousand requests.