Chapter 1867
The Late Northern Song Dynasty
A gang of vicious and brutal bandits not only robbed but also killed.
The woman was abducted and defiled in the mountains, and the men made her into a soup to eat, just as disgusting as that short-legged tiger Wang Ying.
Enraged, Liu Tong killed the bandits and went to their stronghold, where he killed all the bandits inside.
They then distributed the money the bandits had stolen to the women and sent them down the mountain.
Liu Dong set the mountain stronghold ablaze.
After that, he left this place and went to Bianliang, unaware that the leader of the mountain stronghold was named Tian Hu.
Tian Hu is not yet the self-proclaimed "King of Jin," but merely a mountain bandit king who has gathered a few dozen men.
Birds of a feather flock together. He was a vicious and wicked man, and his subordinates were naturally the same. None of his subordinates were clean or innocent.
Liu Tong killed them to rid the people of a scourge.
This included Tian Hu's brother Tian Biao, Tian Hu's son Tian Ding, and his nephew Tian Shi, all of whom were killed by Liu Tong.
Therefore, the original four bandits became three bandits.
The imperial decree was sent to Qingzhou, and then Liu Tong went to Liangshan to deliver it.
Liu Tong brought along Wu Song, Qin Ming, Lu Zhishen, Hua Rong, and Shi Qian, allowing these few of the original 108 heroes to join Liangshan.
I wonder if there is a celestial book stele on Liangshan Mountain.
So, where is Gongsun Sheng?
To Liu Dong's surprise, Gongsun Sheng, the so-called "Dragon Who Enters the Clouds" who was said to possess magical abilities, had not joined Liangshan!
He stayed at Liangshan for a few days and successfully won over Song Jiang and the Liangshan group.
Liu Tong: "The Emperor was very pleased with your voluntary surrender to the court and originally intended to reward you. However, Lord Gao Qiu stopped him. He said that you had not rendered any service to the court and should not be rewarded. He suggested to the Emperor that you be sent to attack Wang Qing and Fang La, saying that you would be rewarded after you had eliminated Wang Qing and Fang La and rendered meritorious service."
The Liangshan heroes were furious; they all hated Gao Qiu to the core.
However, they also understood Gao Qiu, after all, Gao Qiu had suffered three defeats at their hands.
Everyone patted their chests and promised to complete the mission, stating that they would earn their rewards through their abilities.
Liu Dong smiled and said, "In that case, I will have Lord Lu, Lord Wu, and Lord Hua join you in the campaign against Wang Qing and Fang La, and serve as your support."
Song Jiang knew Hua Rong and was aware of how skilled he was at archery.
Lu Zhishen and Wu Song were very famous in the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), and all the heroes of Liangshan had heard of them and considered them to be on their side.
According to Liu Tong, no one objected to their participation in the campaigns against Wang Qing and Fang La; in fact, they welcomed it.
And so, Lu Zhishen and others joined the Liangshan band.
Liu Dong stayed in Liangshan for several days, trying to find out more about the stone tablet, but to no avail.
It seems there really is no stone tablet in this world.
Or perhaps the original stone tablet was forged by Song Jiang?
After descending the mountain, Liu Tong sent Shi Qian to inquire about Gongsun Sheng.
Shi Qian learned that Gongsun Sheng's mother had passed away, so he went to Erxian Mountain to cultivate in seclusion and became a proper Taoist priest who did not concern himself with worldly affairs.
As for magic, this person doesn't know it.
Of course, Wang Qing's men didn't know any magic either; they were just people who used deceptive tricks.
Wang Qing was quickly eliminated, and the Liangshan heroes then turned their attention to attacking Fang La.
Fang La was no easy opponent. He had been operating in the Jiangnan region for many years and had used foreign doctrines to brainwash ordinary people, making his subordinates extremely loyal to him.
In the original novel, more than half of the Liangshan heroes died during the campaign against Fang La.
This time, Liangshan also suffered many casualties, but not as many as in the original novel. Based on the description in the novel, Liu Dong gave Lu Zhishen, Hua Rong, and Wu Song guidance from behind the scenes, enabling them not only to win the battle but also to rescue other Liangshan generals.
The disgusting and low-character people in Liangshan were killed by Liu Dong. The remaining people, although not good people, were not bad people either, and could be used.
Liu Dong still needs these people, so naturally she won't let them die.
Therefore, after defeating Fang La, fewer than twenty people from Liangshan died.
Emperor Huizong was very pleased and bestowed rewards upon Song Jiang and the others.
With Liu Tong's intervention, Gao Qiu was unable to poison Song Jiang.
Song Jiang also knew that they were irreconcilable enemies with Gao Qiu, and that only Liu Qiu could protect them in the court.
Therefore, Song Jiang did not hesitate to lead the Liangshan bandits to join Liu Dong.
Two years later, the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty joined forces to attack the Liao Dynasty.
All the Liangshan heroes went to the front lines.
After the attack on Fang La, Lu Zhishen, Song Jiang, and Hua Rong were all promoted and transferred away from Qingzhou, each leading a troop of soldiers.
Now, they have also joined the ranks of those attacking Liaodong.
Liu Tong sent letters to both them and Song Jiang, warning them to be wary of the Jin Kingdom's betrayal and their potential southward invasion of Song after conquering the Liao Kingdom.
If that's the case, tell them to prioritize preserving their strength, avoid a direct confrontation with the Jin Dynasty, retreat promptly, and take away the civilians along the Jin army's advance route to prevent them from being harmed by the Jin soldiers.
The group greatly admired Liu Tong's abilities and had no doubt about his "guess," keeping his instructions firmly in mind.
The actions of the Jin Kingdom proved Liu Tong's "foresight." While praising Liu Tong's foresight, the group led the people to retreat into the deep mountains, leaving the Jin army with only an empty city.
The Jin army was in a hurry to invade the Song Dynasty, so they didn't bother with the people who had fled into the mountains. They rushed away, which saved Song Jiang's troops and civilians.
Liu Tong sent Shi Qian and others to Bianliang, the capital of the Jin dynasty, to spread rumors about the brutality of the Jin soldiers among the people. This frightened the people so much that they dared not stay in Bianliang any longer and fled.
Of course, some people did not believe that the capital would be captured by the Jin army. They thought that as long as the emperor was still alive, Tokyo could be saved, so they did not flee.
Liu Tong sighed.
These people made their own choices; their lives and deaths are their own destiny.
Liu Dong left Qingzhou Prefecture and traveled alone to Xiangzhou, where he waited.
He finally got his chance; Zhao Gou, or rather, Wanyan Gou.
Liu Dong will absolutely not let this guy live.
After killing Wanyan Gou, Liu Tong went north to meet with Zhang Chi and several officials in the court.
Zhang Chi is Zhang Dun's son and knows Liu Tong's true identity.
Liu Tong had previously written a letter to Zhang Chi. Although Zhang Chi thought Liu Tong's words were exaggerated, he still chose to believe Liu Tong and left Bianliang with his family.
The other officials were Zhang Chi's friends and left with him.
Shortly after they left, the Jin army arrived in Bianliang and besieged the city.
These people were filled with lingering fear; if they had remained in Bianliang, they would probably all be dead.
They had all heard that both Emperor Qingzong and Emperor Huizong had been captured by the Jin army, and that the princesses and concubines had all become tools for the Jin soldiers' pleasure.
If even royal ladies met such an end, one can imagine the fate of others.
Several officials were grateful to Liu Tong, but after learning Liu Tong's true identity, they began to seek personal gain in return.
Two phrases simultaneously came to mind for several people: restoring order and the merit of supporting a leader! (End of Chapter)