Chapter 1861
The Late Northern Song Dynasty
Liu Dong entered Mengzhou territory, and as darkness approached, he needed to find a place to stay.
Liu Dong and Wu Song saw many travelers heading in one direction, so they followed them and arrived at a place called Happy Forest.
This place not only has inns, but also restaurants, brothels, and gambling dens for merchants to rest and have fun.
The two stayed at the inn and then went to the restaurant next door for drinks.
It was mainly Wu Song who was drinking, as Liu Dong didn't think much of ancient wine.
After Liu Dong finished eating, he returned to the inn to rest, leaving Wu Song to continue drinking and eating meat at the restaurant.
As a result, the plot unfolded without Liu Dong's knowledge.
Wu Song, drunk, beat Jiang Menshen and helped Shi En reclaim Happy Forest.
How could Jiang the Gatekeeper not retaliate? After inquiring, he found out...
Well, it turns out that Wu Song is a military officer in Qingzhou Prefecture, and he is currently accompanying the new prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture to take office.
Jiang Menshen withdrew his claws; this was not someone he could afford to provoke.
Although Jiang Menshen had Zhang Tuanlian behind him, Zhang Tuanlian's official rank was not as high as Wu Song's.
But Jiang Menshen was unwilling to give up such a lucrative opportunity as Happy Forest, so he went to Zhang Tuanlian to discuss a solution.
Zhang Tuanlian sighed and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. The prefect has already warned me that we cannot take any further action against Happy Forest in the short term."
Jiang Menshen: "How could the Prefect..."
Zhang Tuanlian: "How do you think Happy Forest, which was so chaotic before, became orderly? Who got most of the protection money that Shi En collected?"
Jiang Menshen's eyes widened: "Prefect?"
Zhang Tuanlian nodded: "If you really take over Happy Forest, then we will hand over the money to the prefect according to the precedent set by Shi En. The prefect will not care who owns Happy Forest, but now that Cheng Yaojin has appeared, the prefect does not want Happy Forest to cause trouble, so he has stepped in."
Jiang Menshen gritted his teeth: "It's all Wu Song's fault!"
He cut off his own source of income.
Zhang Tuanlian also hated Wu Song. With a quick glance, he beckoned Jiang Menshen to lower his head and whispered a few words in his ear.
Zhang Tuanlian: "Don't kill anyone, just teach them a lesson."
Jiang Menshen nodded repeatedly and went to find someone after leaving the Zhang family.
If he can't defeat Wu Song alone, then he should find more men.
Liu Tong and Wu Song did not leave Mengzhou; they were invited to drink by the prefect of Mengzhou.
The prefect of Mengzhou had a younger brother who was a candidate in the same examination as Liu Tong. The prefect of Mengzhou used this opportunity to build a relationship with Liu Tong.
Qingzhou and Mengzhou are not far apart, and perhaps there will be times when the two prefectures will help each other.
Liu Tong smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the prefect of Mengzhou. The prefect poured wine for Liu Tong and Wu Song, saying, "This wine was specially purchased by my steward. It's said to be a specialty of a wine shop in Shili Slope, and its taste is quite unique..."
Liu Tong spat out the wine in one gulp.
"My lord..." Wu Gong called out with concern.
Liu Dong waved to him, then asked the prefect of Mengzhou, "Is this really wine from Shili Slope?"
The prefect of Mengzhou, not understanding why, nodded.
Liu Tong: "I advise you not to drink this wine."
Prefect of Mengzhou: "Why?"
Liu Tong: "I've heard a rumor in the martial arts world that the wine shop at Shili Slope is a black market, specializing in ambushing and killing passersby, sparing neither the elderly, women, children, nor monks. They make human flesh into buns and sell them to other passersby and people in the surrounding villages and towns. The internal organs and bones are used to brew wine..."
Wu Song also coughed up the wine, trying to cough up all the wine he had just drunk.
The prefect of Mengzhou's expression changed drastically, and he threw the wine pot away.
Prefect of Mengzhou: "Lord Liu, are you telling the truth?"
Liu Tong: "Whether it's true or not, you'll know once you send someone to investigate. But it must be done discreetly, otherwise it would be bad if those bandits discovered it and escaped." After dropping this bombshell, Liu Tong left Mengzhou with Wu Song.
After traveling more than twenty miles from Mengzhou, a group of more than twenty masked men appeared in front of the two.
Wu Song stood in front of Liu Dong and said, "My lord, please step aside. Don't worry, I won't let these people hurt you."
Liu Dong smiled and patted Wu Song on the shoulder: "Then I'll leave it to you."
He had great confidence in Wu Song's skills.
Wu Song met those people.
His kung fu was indeed very impressive, but with so many opponents, Wu Song was somewhat overwhelmed.
Fortunately, Liu Tong was always nearby. Whenever Wu Song was in danger, Liu Tong would shoot a stone to help him out of trouble.
With Liu Dong's help, Wu Gong defeated more than twenty people.
Wu Song tore off the mask from the leader and discovered that he was Jiang Menshen.
Wu Song spat, "So it was you, you coward..."
However, he did not kill them again, but instead left the group behind and went with Liu Dong.
He had heard Liu Dong's analysis: the struggle for the management of Happy Forest involved a power struggle within the Mengzhou government, and Shi En and Jiang Menshen were just pawns pushed to the forefront.
It's best for outsiders like them not to get involved in these kinds of things.
Upon arriving in Qingzhou Prefecture, Qin Ming immediately came to apologize.
Liu Tong: "This matter has little to do with you. So, keep your position and redeem yourself through meritorious service."
Liu Tong replaced Liu Gaowen as the magistrate with Wu Song and also summoned Hua Rong.
Hua Rong had not yet been forced to resign from his official post by Liu Gao and was still the military commander of Qingfeng Village.
He and Wu Song got along very well and cooperated very well, so he naturally gave up the idea of resigning from his official post.
Hua Rong had known about Liu Dong for a long time.
When he learned that Liu Tong would be taking office as the prefect of Qingzhou, his grandfather called him back home and instructed him to listen to Liu Tong and be loyal to him.
Hua Rong didn't know Liu Dong's identity, but since his grandfather had spoken, he naturally had to listen.
Moreover, after getting to know Liu Dong, Hua Rong discovered that he was different from other officials he knew and that Liu Dong was a person worth getting to know.
Shi Qian returned to Liu Tong's side, and Liu Tong gave him another task: to help persuade Lu Zhishen to surrender to the imperial court.
Liu Tong: "Tell Lu Zhishen to think about General Zhong. Tell him that under my command, he doesn't need to worry about corrupt officials or anything like that."
Shi Qian: "Then, sir, may I tell him about your background?"
Liu Tong nodded: "Okay, but you have to tell him to keep it a secret."
Shi Qian: "Don't worry, sir. Lu Zhishen knows what he can and cannot say."
Liu Dong waved his hand, dismissing him.
He summoned Wu Song and Chai Rong, and ordered them to lead troops to conquer Peach Blossom Mountain.
If Liu Tong wants to develop Qingzhou, he must eliminate all disharmonious factors within Qingzhou.
Shi Qian went up Erlong Mountain and met Lu Zhishen.
Liu Dong didn't know what the two said.
But Lu Zhishen went down the mountain and, with a group of brothers from Erlong Mountain, accepted Liu Tong's offer of amnesty.
Liu Dong appointed Lu Zhishen as the chief instructor of Qingzhou, and asked him to assist Qin Ming in his work.
Meanwhile, on Peach Blossom Mountain, Wu Gong and Hua Rong, working together, easily defeated them. (End of Chapter)