Gathering Hall of Heroes: Huangfu Xin Burns with Anger at Changbai Mountain

Chapter 153 Gathering Hall of Heroes: Huangfu Xin Burns with Anger at Changbai Mountain

"Brother, this hero is from Fuzhou, named Shi Bao, known in the martial arts world as the Great General of Nanli. His mastery of the 'Splashing Wind Blade' is unparalleled, and he is also skilled with the meteor hammer, hitting his target every time. Most importantly, he understands military strategy and is a rare talent!"

Seeing Li Jun introduce Shi Bao so solemnly, not only Wang Yin and Deng Yuanjue who were traveling with him, but also Bian Xiang, Xu Ning and Mi Sheng from Liangshan themselves all had the desire to compete with Shi Bao!

But Song Jiang knew that what Li Jun said was true!

Speaking of Shi Bao, it's not just that he killed Suo Chao, Deng Fei, and seven other Liangshan heroes. More importantly, Shi Bao was clear-headed, good at using strategies, and highly skilled in martial arts, yet he never confronted you head-on. This fully proves that the saying "A true man does not act rashly" is true!

The Liangshan heroes who died at his hands were also the most numerous. Whenever Shi Bao was mentioned, the other Liangshan heroes would grit their teeth and wish they could tear him to pieces, but they were powerless to do anything about him. This was what made them most infuriating!

Of course, in one-on-one combat, Guan Sheng, Lin Chong and others are no less skilled than Shi Bao. However, Guan Sheng also praised Shi Bao's swordsmanship as being no less than his own. In addition, Shi Bao is alert and good at adapting to situations, making him a major threat and nightmare for Liangshan!

Most importantly, Shi Bao refused to surrender even in the face of death, and ultimately committed suicide after his defeat, leaving all those in Liangshan who wanted revenge against him empty-handed!

He was brave, resourceful, and principled. Knowing that being captured would inevitably lead to humiliation, he preferred to die standing, leaving those who hated him speechless!

Song Jiang greatly admired Shi Bao, believing that in terms of ability, among all the people of Liangshan, only Bian Xiang could compare to him.

He was ultimately a step below Wang Yin and Xu Ning, and as for Yuan Lang and Mi Sheng, they could only serve as vanguards; their command of troops still needed improvement!

Song Jiang bowed deeply and said, "With brothers coming to join me, what do I have to worry about in achieving great things!" His words were so sincere that Shi Bao's expression changed.

Upon hearing Song Jiang's words, everyone was taken aback. They never expected Song Jiang to value Shi Bao so much. They also had their own thoughts. They were all human, and no less capable than Shi Bao. They had to work hard to avoid being outdone by Shi Bao!

Shi Bao was secretly delighted. Before coming to Liangshan, he had some doubts about Liangshan, but after seeing the development of Liangshan, he felt that Liangshan was the place where he could realize his ambitions!

When he saw how much Song Jiang valued him, he knew in his heart that coming to Liangshan was the right thing to do, and he became even more determined to follow Song Jiang as his master!

Shi Bao had received a letter from Fang La and, after some thought, went to find Fang La!

But Li Jun, along with Wang Yin, Deng Yuanjue, and others, intercepted Shi Bao beforehand!

Shi Bao didn't have much thought about who to side with. Song Jiang's reputation was no less than Fang La's, but Fang La only sent someone to deliver a message, while Li Jun personally brought people to find him. Clearly, Li Jun valued him more!

Moreover, Fang La only liked to use his confidants, and even trusted them more than the virtuous and talented. He knew people but did not know how to use them. Even if Shi Bao went there, he might not be given important responsibilities. After a while, Shi Bao decided to follow Li Jun to join Song Jiang. In addition, Wang Yin and Deng Yuanjue made him feel close to them. Deng Yuanjue, in particular, strengthened his determination to go to Liangshan!

Shi Bao clasped his hands in a fist and knelt on one knee, saying, "Brother, you flatter me. Shi Bao is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"

Song Jiang helped Shi Bao up, then stepped back a few paces and bowed three times to everyone, saying, "Brothers, please settle down at Liangshan. Enjoy the New Year these next few days. After the New Year, I will arrange things for you all according to your talents, and I will make sure you can all give full play to your abilities!"

Everyone was taken aback and quickly returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you, brother!"

Li Jun, supporting Song Jiang, also spoke up, "No, brother, there are still several heroes who have matters to attend to and haven't come to Liangshan with me yet. I'll go find them in a few days, and they will definitely come with me to Liangshan!"

Song Jiang was truly surprised that Li Jun could find so many talented people for him, and he admired him even more!

Song Jiang had a plan for Li Jun's future. Li Jun was a capable man, and it would be a waste of his talents to leave him at Liangshan, while leaving him outside would be disheartening. The most important thing was to make the most of Li Jun's talents!

Seeing that Liangshan had many outstanding talents and its equipment was much better, I thought back to when we first arrived at Liangshan, there were only a few dozen people training, and the generals were just the three Ruan brothers, Liu Tang, and Pang Wanchun.

However, in less than a year, Liangshan now has several thousand soldiers and its generals can form the Five Tiger Generals and Eight Tiger Generals. This is not a qualitative leap, but a rocket leap!

"Today, everyone will slaughter pigs and sheep, and bring out all the good wine and meat. Everyone must eat and drink to their heart's content!" Song Jiang ordered with a loud laugh!

Everyone was looking forward to the New Year. Now that the New Year was just around the corner, Song Jiang didn't hold back. He ate and drank the best wine and meat to his heart's content. After all, the New Year only comes once a year. To be petty at this time would only make him seem narrow-minded and not magnanimous!

Although people weren't exactly on edge on ordinary days, they weren't relaxed. After all, they were dealing with a business that involved confiscating property and exterminating families. It was easy to shout slogans, but when it actually happened to them, it was impossible not to be afraid.

Song Jiang was well aware of this, and daily cultural lessons were essential. He would improve the soldiers' meals whenever possible, and as long as everyone was free from too much psychological burden, that was the best thing for Song Jiang!

Today is just an appetizer. Song Jiang plans to hold a five-day banquet at Liangshan, starting from the 29th of the twelfth lunar month and continuing until the 30th of the twelfth lunar month and the 3rd of the twelfth lunar month. Normal training will resume on the 4th of the twelfth lunar month. The soldiers will have a good holiday during these days. Except for the soldiers on daily patrol, the other soldiers can spend time with their families or do what they like. In short, they should be happy!

Although the Liangshan army was strong, it ultimately lacked experience and real battlefield training. After the New Year, Song Jiang would want to develop in a real battle. Liangshan was ultimately just a stepping stone, capable of holding down a local area, but unable to achieve great things!

But for now, let's just have a happy New Year and deal with other things later. Seeing everyone's excited expressions, Song Jiang felt the same way. Why are we able to be together so often? It's because we share the same beliefs!

That evening, Huangfu Duan and Duan Jingzhu arrived at Song Jiang's room!

Seeing the satisfied look on Huangfu Duan's face, Song Jiang smiled and asked, "Brother, have you found that little horse?"

Huangfu Duan nodded and replied, "Found it. It's like a dream!"

Finding a horse might be a trivial matter for others, or even something they would disdain to do, especially something as pointless as traveling thousands of miles to Changbai Mountain to find a horse. However, Song Jiang strongly supported Huangfu Duan. He knew that Huangfu Duan's inner conflict was hard to resolve, and even if he joined Liangshan, his spirits would not be high, and he would be hindered in his work. But if he were to go to Changbai Mountain to find a horse, whether he found it or not, it would resolve his inner conflict, and Huangfu Duan would achieve twice the result with half the effort. Why not do it?

Moreover, Song Jiang greatly admired Huangfu Duan's mentality. As the saying goes, a doctor has a benevolent heart. Whether it is people or animals, Huangfu Duan has a bodhisattva-like heart. When the time comes, Song Jiang will be at ease entrusting all the horses of Liangshan to Huangfu Duan!

In response, Song Jiang not only sent Shan Shiqi and Ma Ling to escort him and ensure his safety, but also sent Zhang Shun to personally sail a sea boat to bring him back!

Although Huangfu Duan was not good with words, he knew everything Song Jiang had done. He was grateful and secretly vowed to do his best to select and train outstanding horses for Song Jiang!

Duan Jingzhu shared the same sentiment. He was originally a horse thief, but Song Jiang did not look down on him at all. On the contrary, he treated him with great courtesy and even saved his life, which made him determined to serve Song Jiang well no matter what!

Seeing Huangfu Duan's joyful expression, Song Jiang remained silent, waiting for Huangfu Duan to continue.

Life is sometimes full of drama. After Huangfu Duan and Duan Jing moved to Liaodong, they retraced their steps and went back to Liaodong!

Although they were a little unfamiliar with the road after not having been here for several years, the two still managed to find the spot where they had encountered the bear before, relying on their memory!

With Shan Shiqi and Ma Ling by their side, Huangfu Duan and Duan Jingzhu became much bolder and were no longer as timid as before!

However, Liaodong is ultimately Jurchen territory, so it is not appropriate to be too high-profile. The group decided to keep a low profile.

Besides helping Huangfu Duan find horses, Duan Jingzhu was also preparing to buy horses from Liaodong to bring back to Liangshan. After all, it was common knowledge that Liangshan was short of horses, and Song Jiang had gone to great lengths to get them!

The Jurchen horses are strong, have good endurance, and are cold-resistant, making them very suitable for battles on the plains. If Duan Jingzhu could buy a thousand fine horses, and with Huangfu Duan's horse breeding and training skills, it's no exaggeration to say that he could raise a cavalry army of three thousand men for Liangshan at any time, and there would be a continuous supply!

However, a thousand horses are not easy to buy, and transporting them back is also a difficult task!

If they traveled by land, a thousand horses would have to pass through the Liao Kingdom, and I'm afraid not a single one would be left behind.

Even if we were to cross the Liao Kingdom and enter the territory of the Song Dynasty, we would likely be detained by greedy Song officials and then confiscated. In that case, not only would the money be wasted, but we wouldn't be able to take the horse back. Wouldn't that make one's chest burst with anger?

Traveling by water would require ships of enormous size, something Duan Jingzhu dared not even imagine, and with his intelligence, he certainly couldn't come up with a plan!

Huangfu Duan, having come all this way, made the best of it and spent his days looking for his own pony. Duan Jingzhu was also busy, getting to know several horse traders, including more than two hundred fine horses, but figuring out how to bring them back was a real headache!

On this day, Huangfu Duan was walking down the street when he heard a commotion in the distance. A group of Jurchens were watching. He was curious, so he walked closer to the crowd!

But they saw a tall and strong Jurchen woman whipping a horse. The horse was loaded with goods and was lying on the ground panting heavily. The Jurchen woman showed no pity for the horse and kept yelling at it. The horse couldn't get up, so she whipped it!

Huangfu Duan was a horse lover, and seeing that this man didn't love horses at all, he felt a pang of pity. Just as he was about to speak, he realized that the horse on the ground was the little horse he had been longing for day and night!

He was both happy and angry. He was happy because there was always a way out, and he had actually run into the little horse again. It was truly a blessing from heaven!

What angered him was that he usually couldn't bear to scold or beat the little horse, but this person treated the little horse like this, which made him furious and wished he could beat the person up immediately!

The little horse was still the same horse, but it was much thinner and weaker than before. When the little horse was with him, he couldn't bear to hit or scold it, and he took good care of it every day!

Although the little horse is not a thoroughbred, it is still exceptionally fine and handsome, unlike today when it looks so haggard!

At this moment, Duan Jingzhu, who had come looking for Huangfu Duan, also came over. When he saw Xiao Ma, he was greatly surprised!

He truly hadn't expected to encounter this little horse again, but seeing Huangfu Duan's current state, he secretly thought that if Huangfu Duan spoke, things would likely turn bad. So he spoke first in Jurchen, saying, "Brother, if we keep fighting, this horse will be beaten to death!"

The man glanced at Duan Jingzhu, also speaking in Jurchen, and said, "It's my horse, I can do whatever I want with it, what's it to you?"

Duan Jingzhu remained unperturbed and smiled, saying, "Heaven cherishes life, and I am also a lover of horses. Seeing that this horse possesses some intelligence, why don't you part with it and give it to me?"

The Jurchen woman looked at Duan Jingzhu and recognized him as the Song man who had recently been asking the horse trader about horses. She then said, "One hundred taels of gold!"

One hundred taels of gold—that's outrageous! Keep in mind that when Tang Long bought horses at the Imperial Stables in Bianliang, it only cost five or six taels.

A horse costs a hundred taels of silver, and even the better ones cost a thousand taels of silver. Of course, exceptional horses like the Jade Lion, the Snow-Treading Black Steed, the Qilin Beast, and the Purple Sa are not something you can buy for a few hundred or a thousand taels of silver. That's why Duan Jingzhu dared to ask for a thousand taels of gold when he sold the Purple Sa. If it were someone who knows horses and has money, they would definitely spend gold to buy it!

However, Xiao Ma was not a fine horse, but just an ordinary one. Asking for a thousand taels of gold was indeed a bit expensive. Qian Duanjing had enough gold and silver. When he left Liangshan, Song Jiang gave the group enough gold and silver in case of emergency.

Duan Jingzhu didn't feel bad about spending one hundred taels of gold to buy a horse, not because the horse was worth the price, but because Song Jiang had instructed him to buy any small horse he came across!

However, Duan Jingzhu did not intend to spend one hundred taels of gold to buy it, because if he agreed too readily, and the person went back on his word and asked for another two hundred taels of gold, would he give it or not?

This is Jurchen territory after all, and I can't just forcibly take it. If I cause a scene, I'll definitely be the one who suffers. At this moment, Shan Shiqi and Ma Ling aren't around either. Now it's a matter of who can keep their temper in check!

Having made up his mind, Duan Jingzhu gave Huangfu Duan a look to keep quiet, then turned and left without even haggling over the price!

Seeing Duan Jingzhu turn to leave, the Jurchen woman quickly said, "Eighty taels of gold, take it if you want!"

He found the horse while chopping wood in Changbai Mountain. It was injured at the time. He took it back with the idea that if the horse could heal itself, he would use it as a tool for hauling goods. If the horse died, he would eat its meat. Either way, he would not lose out!

Unexpectedly, the horse was lucky and actually came back to life. So he began to exploit the horse relentlessly. With the horse, he no longer chopped wood. He used the horse to transport goods every day and earned much more silver than he used to chop wood!

Seeing Duan Jingzhu turn and leave, Huangfu Duan was extremely anxious, but he remained silent, believing that Duan Jingzhu would come up with an excellent idea for him!

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