: The Rookies of Liangshan Marsh Assemble; Little Li Guang Shocks the World

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of this dynasty, the world was at peace and all people were living in happiness. It was a time of favorable weather, a righteous emperor, and virtuous ministers.

One morning at court, all the civil and military officials were present when Wen Yanbo, the Imperial Censor of the Western Terrace and concurrently the Director of the Imperial Observatory, stepped forward and reported: "Last night, I observed the celestial phenomena and saw that the Heavenly Dog Star was encroaching on the palace gates, which I fear is unfavorable to the Crown Prince... Now that the matter of Emperor Renzong has been explained, I will leave it aside for now and explain it later."

It turns out that Song Jiang was talking about events during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, which is the first chapter of the classic novel "Seven Heroes and Five Gallants"!

However, the Seven Heroes and Five Gallants were created by people in the Qing Dynasty, so they naturally had never heard of them. The reason for choosing the Seven Heroes and Five Gallants was twofold: firstly, the Renzong era was not too far from the present, so there would be more resonance; secondly, characters such as Bao Zheng and Zhan Zhao were quite upright and loyal, and Song Jiang still hoped that they would take these characters as role models!

After the first chapter was finished, everyone seemed unsatisfied. Seeing that Song Jiang didn't continue, they became anxious, and some said, "Clerk, please continue! We want to know what happens next!"

Others exclaimed, "Emperor Renzong really had such a miraculous encounter? I've never heard of such a thing before!"

Even Wu Yong was secretly amazed and asked, "These palace secrets are truly unbelievable, but how did you learn of them, brother?"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "It's just a story; don't take it as reality!"

Wu Yong shook his head and said, "This story is logical and well-founded; it doesn't seem fabricated!"

Song Jiang didn't argue and said, "It's getting late, everyone should rest early! To find out what happens next, please listen to the next chapter!"

The next morning, just like the day before, everyone ran seven kilometers after waking up. After breakfast, Song Jiang gathered everyone together and said, "Today is your third day on Liangshan. From today onwards, every morning after your run, you must sit down and study for an hour. Professor Wu will teach you to read and write. Every afternoon after dinner, you must also study for an hour. You cannot refuse without a reason, and you cannot be absent without a reason. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to eat for three days!"

Everyone was stunned. Why did they need to read and write? Most of them were roughnecks, and they would be grateful if they could even recognize their own names!

Some people don't care about reading and writing, but others are delighted. Not everyone dislikes learning; it's just that they are too poor to attend private schools when they are young!

Song Jiang calculated that four hours of study time a day was about right. Everything is difficult at the beginning, and it was most difficult to get them to recognize the characters in the early stages, let alone tell them the principles and meanings in the classical Chinese texts!

Fortunately, Wu Yong had some experience teaching mischievous children before, so this was not a difficult task!

Looking at the crowd before him, Song Jiang smiled and said, "The next hour will be in Professor Wu's hands. You must all listen attentively to his teachings. Those who do well will receive an extra two qian of silver each month!"

Upon hearing that there was money to be made, everyone became incredibly energetic, as if they had been injected with adrenaline!

Initially, conditions were quite difficult. There were no schools, no paper or pens, so the 130 students had to sit on the ground and start their schooling there!

Wu Yong taught them the ten simplest Chinese characters: one, two, three, four, five, and ten characters: 田, 米, 土, 可, 天!

Even so, it still took most of the day. Next, we taught the Analects, Book 1, Chapter 1: "The Master said: 'To learn and at due times practice what one has learned.'"

Everyone joined in reciting it until they could recite it completely from memory, at which point Wu Yong began to explain its meaning!

An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Song Jiang stepped forward with a smile, asking, "Brothers, how was the harvest?"

Cao Long replied, "At first, I was a little flustered, afraid that I wouldn't learn it well, but the professor was very patient, and I remembered it all!"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "The opening lines of 'On Teachers' say: 'In ancient times, every scholar had a teacher. A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and resolves doubts. No one is born with knowledge; who can be without doubts? If one has doubts but does not seek a teacher, those doubts will never be resolved!' In short, if you have any questions, you can ask your teacher, and he will answer them and resolve your doubts!"

After thinking for a moment, he added, "As the sage said, 'Reviewing what you have learned and learning something new makes you a teacher.' I hope that every night you can reflect on what you have learned and practiced each day in bed. This will also help you improve!"

Looking at the grateful crowd, Song Jiang clapped his hands and said, "It's time to form a team today. Liangshan is surrounded by water. If any of you are skilled in water combat, please step forward!"

Immediately, many people in the crowd stood up! Song Jiang counted them; there were forty-two!

Song Jiang summoned the three Ruan brothers and said, "These forty-two men will be yours to train every afternoon. Morning training will still be done by everyone. I need you to train an invincible navy. Are you confident?"

Ruan Xiao'er stepped forward and said, "Brother, rest assured, one day I will make the name of Liangshang Navy renowned throughout the world!"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "The three of you must not neglect your training. If one day your skills are surpassed, you will have to step down and give way to more capable people. Do you have any complaints?"

The three brothers bowed and said, "Brother, please rest assured, we three brothers guarantee that this will not happen!"

Song Jiang looked at the remaining eighty-eight men and said, "Since you are not joining the navy, you must train diligently on land. Otherwise, you will be no match for the navy and will all be punished. Do you have any complaints?"

The remaining people all said in unison, "We will not let the clerk down!"

Song Jiang waved his hand and said, "From today onwards, you no longer need to call me Clerk, call me Captain! It's time to give you all names!"

"Alright, from now on, we'll call you Rookie Squad One and Rookie Squad Two. Squad One will be divided into two squads, with Liu Tang and Pang Wanchun as squad leaders. Squad Two will be the navy, divided into three squads, with Ruan Xiaoer, Ruan Xiaowu, and Ruan Xiaoqi as squad leaders. I will be in charge of all of you, so there must be no mistakes!" These days, Liu Tang and Pang Wanchun have not been on the mountain, so Song Jiang has to train them personally!

Rookie? Everyone, including Wu Yong and Hua Rong, looked at each other and whispered among themselves, finding the name extremely strange and probably not a good thing!

Song Jiang was also helpless, but everyone was indeed a novice, including himself, so he chose this name just to motivate himself at all times!

One of them said, "Captain, the name 'Rookie' sounds too... too... can we change it?" He didn't know how to describe it, he just felt it was weird!

Song Jiang laughed and said, "No, at least until you can defeat me, until you rookies become warriors in my eyes, you cannot be replaced!"

The group had no choice but to accept it. There was nothing they could do; they simply couldn't defeat Song Jiang, and they could only blame themselves for their lack of ability!

Song Jiang chuckled to himself, “As you improve, I will improve too. If you want to defeat me, you must first defeat yourself!”

After training for a while, Song Jiang said, "Today I'd like to introduce someone to you!" He then pointed to Hua Rong and said, "This is your honorary instructor, Little Li Guang Hua Rong. Instructor Hua will be leaving Liangshan in a few days, and he will be teaching you spear techniques for the next few days. You must learn diligently, otherwise you won't get another chance like this!"

Hua Rong laughed and said, "Brother flatters me. I, Hua Rong, am not good at anything else, but I am decent at a spear and a bow. How much I can learn in a few days is up to me!"

Seeing that the crowd didn't react much, Song Jiang laughed and said, "Brother Hua Rong, show us what you've got!"

Hua Rong thought to himself, "My brother must be trying to make me show off my skills to intimidate everyone, so that they won't disbelieve me and will submit to me. Only then will they be willing to wholeheartedly believe in my brother!"

Thinking of this, Hua Rong laughed and said, "In that case, Hua Rong will make a fool of himself!" He casually picked up a bow and an arrow, looked at them in his hand, and found them to be the most ordinary bow and arrow. Although they were not particularly handy, it didn't matter!

He said to everyone, "There is a lantern hanging a hundred paces away. I will shoot at the red rope hanging the lantern. If I miss, please don't laugh at me!"

After saying that, Hua Rong nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring taut, watched with great interest, and shot the arrow!

The bow was drawn to its fullest extent, and the arrow flew like a shooting star, flashing with dazzling light, like a swift thunderbolt, rushing towards the lantern!

"Snap!" The newbies only saw a blur before the lanterns fell to the ground!

The novices rushed forward and saw that the red rope of the lantern had already broken in two, and the arrow was stuck in the pillar, trembling, clearly indicating that it had not yet lost its momentum!

Everyone was horrified; if that arrow had hit them, they would surely be dead!

Song Jiang laughed and said, "There was once a poem praising Li Guang: 'In the dark forest, the grass rustles in the wind; the general draws his bow at night; at dawn, he searches for the white feather, only to find it embedded in the stone's edge!' But in my opinion, brother, your archery skills are in no way inferior to Li Guang's!"

Wu Yong also praised him, saying, "Not to mention comparing him to Little Li Guang, he's even inferior to Yang Youji!"

Song Jiang laughed heartily and said, "Liangshan happens to have a young Yang Youji, but he's gone out to find Dean Dai right now!"

The crowd shouted, "General, you are mighty! General, you are mighty!" Everyone admired Hua Rong!

Hua Rong smiled and said, "The bow is still a bit lacking!" With that, he drew the bowstring taut, and the bow snapped in two!

Seeing her brother's incredible prowess, Hua Baoyan stuck out her tongue, feeling incredibly proud!

Song Jiang just smiled. Hua Rong was being too Versailles-like. The others' respect for Hua Rong increased to another level!

In the following days, Hua Rong also taught them with all his heart, but unfortunately Liangshan was currently in dire need of equipment. They had neither swords nor spears, nor bows and arrows, nor horses. All they had were the ten crossbows and several hundred crossbow bolts that they had captured earlier!

Song Jiang would also teach everyone modern free fighting, military combat, and grappling techniques every day!

Liangshan's development is not too fast, but it is not too slow either. Overall, it is progressing steadily, which is in line with Song Jiang's expectations!

Seven days later, Hua Rong will take up his post as the magistrate of Qingfeng Village. Everyone in Liangshan will come together to see off this Instructor Hua!

Although it has only been a few days, Hua Rong's strength has already won people's hearts, and the improvement of the rookies is also obvious!

Although it's hard to part, the road ahead is long, and Hua Rong's departure is inevitable. But the day we meet again may not be far off. Parting is only for the sake of making the road ahead smoother and free of thorns!

Hua Rong smiled and waved to the rookies, saying, "If your marksmanship and archery haven't improved by the next time we meet, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

It is said that men do not easily shed tears, but only when they are deeply saddened. Although the eyes of the rookies were already moist, they held back their tears and did not let them fall!

Hua Rong turned around and waved to them again, leaving only his elongated shadow in the setting sun!

"Brother, although Baoyan is a mischievous girl, she is ultimately a kind-hearted one. I hope you will take good care of her!" Hua Rong said to Song Jiang in front of Jinsha Beach.

Hua Baoyan didn't want to leave Liangshan, and Hua Rong let her be. He felt at ease with Song Jiang by her side. Perhaps Hua Rong himself didn't realize that his personality had been subtly influenced by Song Jiang. He no longer treated women with the same disregard as before, but instead respected Hua Baoyan's thoughts more!

Song Jiang solemnly said, "Brother, please don't worry. Bao Yan is also my sister. As long as I'm alive, Bao Yan will not be harmed!"