First Encounter with a Hero, Heart Aches with Uncontrollable Emotions; Gazing at the Sky,

"Of course I'll see him!" Song Jiang said happily.

Chao Gai and Zhu Tong were among the most capable men in Yuncheng County, and they had a good relationship with him. Since he was already here, why not see them now?

Song Jiang was also touched. He had just woken up and they came to visit him. Such friendship was not common in later generations!

Following Song Qing into the hall, Song Qing sensed that her brother was different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Was he more spirited and confident than before, rather than as low-key and humble as he used to be?

Song Qing put aside his own distracting thoughts and led Song Jiang to the main hall!

Song Taigong sat in his armchair, staring at Song Jiang. Song Jiang felt a little guilty, after all, his soul had been replaced by another person, which was an indisputable fact!

In terms of details, it's easy for those close to you to notice something amiss!

Fortunately, Old Master Song didn't say much. Song Jiang bowed to Old Master Song according to his memory. Old Master Song coughed and then slowly went out with his cane.

Chao Gai and his companions had already taken their seats. It had probably started raining suddenly when they arrived, so their clothes and hair were all wet, but they didn't look disheveled at all. Instead, they had a unique air about them!

Song Jiang first looked at the person on his right, who should be Lei Heng, the Winged Tiger. Although he was sitting, his height was not to be underestimated. His hands, which reached past his knees, were no wonder he was called the Winged Tiger.

Looking at the person on the left, he was eight feet tall, with a three-foot-long beard, phoenix eyes, silkworm eyebrows, a face like a red date, and half-closed eyes. Wasn't this Guan Yu reincarnated?

Song Jiang suppressed his surprise and recognized him as Zhu Tong, the Bearded Gentleman, who was also the cavalry captain of Yuncheng County!

The person in the middle is naturally Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King! Chao Gai wears a square turban and has a full beard, but he doesn't look scary at all. Instead, he looks very heroic, giving people a feeling that they can't wait to befriend him!

Sure enough, these three are no ordinary people. Since they are not extras, they cannot be ordinary individuals!

Song Jiang looked at Chao Gai again, a wave of emotion washing over him. Was Chao Gai a true hero? At least in Song Jiang's opinion, he was. For his brothers, he was willing to give up his family fortune to join Wu Yong and the others in robbing the birthday gifts!

Was Chao Gai's wealth less than the birthday gifts? Maybe, but it certainly wasn't much less. Plus, he was the head of Dongxi Village, owned land, and had other legitimate businesses, so his annual income was definitely not small. Yet, he was eventually dragged to Liangshan to become the leader!

But his role as the leader was incredibly frustrating! You could even say he was sidelined, manipulated by the two people he trusted most, Song Jiang and Wu Yong, and ultimately died tragically on the battlefield during the campaign against Zengtou City!

It doesn't matter who shot that arrow anymore. But after Liangshan was granted amnesty, who would remember Chao Gai's lonely grave on Liangshan, the spirited Liangshan elder who led everyone to establish the initial foundation?

Tragic, lamentable, but not cause for tears! This is Song Jiang's assessment of Chao Gai!

Why? Because Chao Gai valued loyalty above all else, but he lived without any clear goals. Perhaps he felt happy just eating meat and drinking wine with his brothers and dividing the gold among themselves, but many others did not want to live like that!

His cunning and shrewdness were far inferior to Song Jiang's in the original novel, which is why he was so quickly sidelined!

Whether Liangshan would ultimately be annihilated by Zhang Shuye or simply fade into history, who could say for sure? But now that Song Jiang had arrived, he wouldn't let that happen. Looking at the kind-hearted Chao Gai, Song Jiang silently vowed, "In this life, I will protect you for the rest of my life!"

Chao Gai looked at Song Jiang, stood up, quickly walked over, and tightly grasped Song Jiang's hand, saying happily, "Brother, it's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake!"

Lei Heng and Zhu Tong also gathered around!

Regardless of how Lei Heng is criticized in later generations, he was truly sincere towards Song Jiang!

Song Jiang genuinely felt their heartfelt concern and said gratefully, "Thank you for your concern, brothers!"

Chao Gai laughed heartily, "Brother, you're being too polite. Our years of friendship can't be covered up with just a few clever words!"

If it were anyone else, Song Jiang would have just listened to these empty words, but he could feel that there was not a trace of falsehood in Chao Gai's words of kindness!

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng also stepped forward to show their concern for Song Jiang!

During their conversation, Song Jiang learned what had happened three days earlier!

Three days ago, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which also happened to be the birthday of Magistrate Shi Wenbin, the county government officials celebrated Shi Wenbin's birthday at Tianxianglou Restaurant in Yuncheng County on this auspicious day!

Although Song Jiang was only a clerk, his nickname "Timely Rain" was not just for show. As the second most important person in the Yuncheng County government, his prestige was not much less than that of Shi Wenbin. In addition, many people had received his favors, so naturally, he was the only one who could be the second male lead that day!

Song Jiang was also momentarily carried away by his success, thinking that he was young, promising, and full of vigor, so he couldn't help but drink a few more cups!

Unexpectedly, when Lei Heng approached Song Jiang with a bowl of wine, Song Jiang suddenly collapsed to the ground, unconscious!

This sudden turn of events startled everyone, but Zhu Tong reacted quickly, shouting, "Two of you go find a doctor, the rest of you stay where you are!" With that, he darted to Song Jiang's side!

The kind-hearted Shi Wenbin also came up, his face full of bitterness. He and Song Jiang were very close friends, and today was an auspicious day. If Song Jiang were to really pass away, not only would he lose a dear friend, but he would also have no reason to celebrate his birthday every year!

Fortunately, Zhu Tong discovered that Song Jiang was still breathing, so he had only fainted, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief!

A short while later, the doctor was brought over by two constables. After examining the man, the doctor said to Shi Wenbin, "Sir, the clerk is fine and out of danger. As for when he will wake up, I do not know!"

Shi Wenbin gave the doctor some silver to send him away, and then had Zhu Tong and Lei Heng personally hire a carriage to take Song Jiang back to Song Family Village. He instructed the two men that Song Jiang must tell him when he woke up!

When Song Taigong saw his unconscious son, he didn't blame Zhu Tong and Lei Heng, but only thanked them repeatedly!

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng would visit Song Jiang every day, but Song Jiang remained unconscious. On the third day, Lei Heng was patrolling Dongxi Village when he happened to run into Chao Gai and told him about the matter!

Upon hearing this, Chao Gai immediately wanted to visit Song Jiang with Zhu Tong and Lei Heng. The group agreed to come to Song Family Village together the next day. Unexpectedly, Song Jiang had just woken up, which was quite a coincidence!

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Song Qing brought out the wine and dishes and placed them on the table, inviting them to come and dine.

Song Jiang was a little hungry, after all, he had been lying down for three days. Song Qing naturally knew this, and smiled as he pulled the others to the table!

A plump chicken, a plate of beef, a small dish of side dishes, a jar of wine, and twenty steamed buns—several dishes were neatly arranged on the table!

Upon seeing the wine, Chao Gai reminded him, "Brother, you're not feeling well, so perhaps you shouldn't drink!"

Song Jiang didn't mind at all, and laughed, "Since everyone has come to see Song Jiang, Song Jiang can't neglect the proper way to treat guests!"

Song Qing quickly filled five cups with wine. He really got the details right!

Chao Gai picked up his bowl and said to Song Jiang, "It's been so long since we brothers last drank together! I'm so happy to have Zhu and Lei here today!" He then drank it all in one gulp!

Song Jiang also picked up his cup, intending to drink it all in one gulp, but he almost spat it out as soon as the wine entered his mouth!

How to describe this wine? Although it is a type of baijiu, it lacks the mellow aroma and smoothness of later generations, as well as the spiciness. Instead, it has a slightly astringent taste!

The taste was terrible, like water with a handful of chaff and some bitter juice added. Even Song Jiang, who was well-traveled, had never tasted such a strange wine!

But Song Jiang was no ordinary man. He had experienced hardship during military exercises and training, so this was nothing!

With a slight change in expression, Song Jiang finished the wine in his bowl!

Song Jiang picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth to chew. As expected, the meat was boiled with a little salt, and it was both tough and greasy. Song Jiang felt that it was a complete waste of good food to cook the meat like this.

Having lost his appetite, Song Jiang could only drink a few cups of bitter wine while slowly chatting with them!

There wasn't much to say, just some casual conversation, and the meal was finally over!

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng took their leave because they still had to patrol. Before leaving, Zhu Tong said to Song Jiang, "Brother, Lord Shi means that if you wake up, you should rest for a while until you are fully recovered before going to the yamen!"

After the two left, Song Jiang smiled at Chao Gai and said, "Brother, may I ask if there is a schoolteacher named Wu Yong in your Dongxi Village?"

Chao Gai asked in surprise, "This Wu scholar is a schoolteacher in my Dongxi Village. I have some acquaintance with him. How did you come to know him, my worthy brother?"

Song Jiang said, "I've heard that this Wu scholar is a man of great learning, a master strategist, and a brilliant military commander. He's well-versed in the Three Strategies and Six Arts, and is known as the 'Wise Star.' I've long admired him. I wonder if you could introduce me to him, brother?"

Chao Gai felt that Song Jiang was exaggerating. He knew Wu Yong, and although he didn't know Wu Yong's abilities that well, he was sure that Wu Yong's abilities were not as exaggerated as Song Jiang described. Otherwise, Wu Yong wouldn't have stayed in Dongxi Village as a schoolteacher!

But since Song Jiang was so enthusiastic about Wu Yong, Chao Gai couldn't refuse him, so he nodded and agreed, "Then come to my Dongxi Village tomorrow, and I'll take you to meet him!"

When Chao Gai left, it was already getting dark. Song Qing had his own things to do, while Song Jiang returned to his room.

How could Song Jiang not know Wu Yong's abilities? Of course he did, and he also knew how much of what he said to Chao Gai was exaggerated!

Without thinking about Wu Yong, he took out paper and a brush and laid them on the table to plan!

First point: money. War is about money, and this is not just a saying. Throughout history, the money consumed by wars has amounted to several years to decades of a country's income!

The economy was undoubtedly of paramount importance, but Song Jiang had no intention of becoming a bandit!

Becoming a bandit has too many limitations. Not only will it ruin one's reputation, but it will also make things very difficult for one to move forward. Of course, Song Jiang doesn't mind robbing the rich to help the poor, but he still needs to have a legitimate reason for doing so!

Secondly, talent. Song Jiang wrote down the word "talent." In any era, talent is a major factor in driving progress in the world.

A fence needs three stakes, and a hero needs three helpers. Even if one has thousands of years of history, one's energy is still limited. In ancient feudal society, a person's talent can even determine the key factors!

Song Jiang would never let go of talented people. If possible, he would recruit them all for his own use. Song Jiang also believed that following him would allow them to thrive and give full play to their talents!

Third, Song Jiang wrote down the words "elite troops"!

A great man once said, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," a statement that has been verified by countless truths!

If you want to be powerful, without an elite army, who will bother with your nonsense? They might just cut you down with a single blow!

Recruiting and training soldiers was no problem for Song Jiang. He was confident that he could build an elite army that was disciplined and dared to fight!

Compared to other things, Song Jiang valued morality and loyalty more. He would rather have 100 elite soldiers than 10000 mediocre soldiers. He could not be careless about the troops who would follow him in his battles!

After writing down the three plans, Song Jiang burned the papers and spent his first night in his time-traveling life lying in bed!