A Clever Plan Leads to a Great Victory at Yunmeng Mountain; Light Will Eventually Arrive

The waiter led the village head into the shop. Upon seeing the group, the village head stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Gentlemen, we don't know where you've come from!"

Song Jiang knew perfectly well that the waiter was testing him. He figured the waiter must have told him the whole story, and the waiter just wanted to know their purpose. So, he didn't expose him, but pointed at Yang Zhi and asked, "Do you know who this is?"

The village head shook his head, looking completely bewildered!

Song Jiang spoke up: "This gentleman is a descendant of the Yang family of Tianbo Mansion, currently serving as a high-ranking official in the Imperial Household Department. He is a descendant of loyal and virtuous officials, and the Yang family has sacrificed their lives for the country for generations. Even today, knowing that the traitors are committing evil deeds, they still want to wipe them out and protect the peace of your region!"

Yang Zhi felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that Song Jiang was intentionally bringing up the glory of his ancestors! But then came a pang of sadness. His ancestors had protected their homeland and defended it against foreign invaders, sacrificing countless lives to bring about the prosperous era we enjoy today. Yet, how many people still remember the sacrifices of the Yang family? That period of blood and tears was both the glory and the pain of the Yang family!

Song Jiang wasn't trying to flatter Yang Zhi, but rather he felt that the heroic spirits who shed blood and sacrificed their lives for the country should never be forgotten! As the saying goes, "The green hills are fortunate to bury loyal bones, while the white iron is innocent in casting treacherous ministers." The Yang family deserves respect no matter what. Seven sons went to war, but only one returned, leaving behind a widow who wept bitterly!

When war came again, the widows took up their husbands' weapons and threw themselves into the battlefield without hesitation, using their bodies to protect the land of the Song Dynasty!

Song Jiang did not want the people of today to forget those brave warriors and heroes. Without them, there would be no paradise today!

Song Jiang's words filled the village head and the waiter with awe, and their eyes were filled with admiration as they looked at Yang Zhi!

Song Jiang then pointed to Hao Siwen and said, "This is the sworn brother of Guan Sheng, the Martial Saint Guan Yu. The Martial Saint was loyal and righteous throughout his life, hating evil as if it were his enemy. His descendant is the same. As Guan Sheng's sworn brother, this brother is equally righteous!"

Right now, only Yang Zhi and Hao Siwen have something to brag about. As for myself and Zhu Tong, we don't really have anything to say. As for calling ourselves "Timely Rain"? These villagers probably haven't even heard of us. It's better to tell them some well-known stories!

The village head, without suspicion, knelt on the ground and said, "It's not that I doubt you, but we have been oppressed for far too long! Without money and food, we fear we will face annihilation!"

Song Jiang helped him up and said, "Where there is oppression, there is resistance. Compromise will not bring peace; it will only embolden the thieves!"

The village head carefully considered Song Jiang's words, and his eyes lit up! He said, "I am Wang Dahu, the village head of Yunmeng Village. May I ask how the hero can save us?"

Song Jiang said earnestly, "It's better to rely on yourself than on others. It's not that I'm helping you, but that you must save yourselves, and we will assist you from the sidelines!"

It's not that Song Jiang was unwilling to help them, but rather that he wanted them to understand that they couldn't rely solely on external forces; they themselves were the most important!

Song Jiang helped them this once, but what if they encountered the same situation again? Wouldn't Song Jiang leave? "To forge iron, one must be strong oneself; no whip is needed to spur one on." Ultimately, one must rely on oneself!

Song Jiang's idea was for everyone to work together to eliminate this bandit scourge and help them start a new life!

It's unclear whether Wang Dahu understood Song Jiang's good intentions, but he still said gratefully, "Thank you all for your help!"

Song Jiang said, "I wonder how many people are in your village? Take us to see the village!"

Wang Dahu immediately replied, "Yunmeng Village has a total of 837 residents!"

Song Jiang had three countermeasures in mind, but none of them could do without the help of the local militia. Otherwise, with only six men on his side, it would be quite a lot of effort to deal with three to five hundred mountain bandits, even if they could win, it would be pointless!

Walking through the village, signs of decay were everywhere to be seen!

The low, old houses, the desolate villagers with expressions of suffering, the old trees with withered branches and leaves but no new buds—everything symbolizes the gloom and pain here!

Song Jiang looked at Wang Dahu with a questioning expression. Wang Dahu sighed and said, "Alas! Yunmeng Mountain demands that we hand over two hundred taels of silver and fifty shi of grain every month, or they will massacre our village!"

"Why not leave this place?" Hao Siwen asked.

"Where can we go?" Wang Dahu asked in return.

Hao Siwen was speechless for a moment!

There's no right or wrong in this matter. In reality, changing the status quo is often easy, but having the courage to do so is crucial. However, many people have become accustomed to their current situation and refuse to change. Can you say they're wrong? You can only pity their misfortune and resent their lack of resistance! Once a submissive mindset takes hold, resistance becomes virtually impossible!

This group of people was simply not capable of forming a fighting force. Although Song Jiang was somewhat disappointed, it did not affect the overall situation!

"Moo!" A cow's moo interrupted Song Jiang's thoughts!

Song Jiang had a sudden inspiration and a plan came to him!

Looking at Wang Dahu, Song Jiang asked, "Wang Baozheng, how many cattle do you have in your village?"

Wang Dahu thought for a moment and replied, "There are only ten left!"

Song Jiang nodded. Ten heads wasn't much, but it was enough!

Seeing that it was getting dark, Song Jiang guessed that these bandits were vindictive and would probably launch a surprise attack on Yunmeng Village under the cover of night, since Yunmeng Village was not far from Yunmeng Mountain!

These people can't form an effective fighting force right now, but it's better than nothing!

"How many local militia are there?" Song Jiang asked.

Wang Dahu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Not many, fifty or sixty people!"

Song Jiang nodded and said to Wang Dahu, "The bandits will surely attack tonight, but I have a plan to defeat them!"

Wang Dahu seemed unconvinced, but still replied, "Please tell me, hero!"

Song Jiang pulled the group aside and whispered something to them. They all nodded in admiration.

After they finished discussing their plan, Wang Dahu summoned all the local militia!

These guys looked listless and dejected, yawning constantly! Wang Dahu had no authority as the head of the gang and was completely helpless against them!

Song Jiang shook his head and took out a ten-tael silver ingot!

The group's eyes widened instantly! How long had it been since they'd seen so much silver? Ever since the bandits from Yunmeng Mountain arrived, their meager monthly income had all gone to the bandits, and they hadn't even had meat in ages! Now, with such a gleaming ingot of silver right in front of them, they couldn't wait to snatch it, but they weren't bandits after all, and were bound by the law, so naturally they dared not act rashly!

Song Jiang looked at the group of local militia and asked, "Do you want them?"

No one responded; no one knew what Song Jiang was up to!

Song Jiang tossed the silver into the air, caught it as it fell, and sighed, "I can't believe nobody wants this silver!"

The waiter then promptly produced twenty taels of silver, saying, "If it weren't for you, sir, I wouldn't have received these twenty taels!"

This back-and-forth banter left everyone itching to join in!

Although the waiter was diligent, it was ultimately just a village shop with very limited business. Plus, the shopkeeper took the lion's share, so how could he possibly earn twenty taels? At that moment, he was seventy percent convinced!

Song Jiang possessed a profound understanding of human nature, making it easy for him to deal with these local militia members!

Lacking morale, unwilling to fight, and disobeying orders are no big deal. As long as there's money, surely they can be motivated by doing some simple tasks? Song Jiang truly didn't believe it!

The group whispered among themselves, as if they were dreaming. Why not get ten taels of silver for free?

Song Jiang laughed and said, "Only one of you will get this silver; let's see who's the fastest!"

Everyone was eager to try and got excited!

Song Jiang instructed Wang Dahu to give orders that, apart from the local militia, all other villagers should stay at home and not leave their houses no matter what noise they hear!

At the first watch of the night, a rustling sound could be heard in the distance outside the village, as if many people were hurrying on their way.

The village militiamen were all sweating bullets; it would be a lie to say they weren't afraid! In the distance, countless torches illuminated the surroundings as if it were daytime, and a group of people, about two hundred in number, rushed towards the village.

Everyone was armed with knives, spears, and halberds, shouting loudly, their imposing manner making them appear fierce and menacing!

With a wave of his hand, Song Jiang conjured ten oxen standing side by side! The villagers quickly lit their tails with torches! Two sharp knives were tied to each horn of the ten oxen, and their tails were coated with fuel!

The fuel burned quickly, and the cattle felt a sharp pain in their tails and began to run forward frantically!

The fire grew larger and the pain became more and more obvious. The cattle quickly lost their minds and charged wildly!

"Boom boom boom!" The frenzied herd of cattle surged forward like rockets, causing the earth to tremble and groan in pain!

A minor leader, riding a tall horse at the very front, was completely caught off guard by the loud tremor that came from ahead!

"What's going on?" he asked a henchman beside him.

"What's going on? How dare they resist!" Another henchman thought it was a villager who had attacked!

They didn't know it was a cow; seeing the firelight, they thought the villagers were reckless and dared to stroke the tiger's whiskers!

"No, it's a cow!" A sharp-eyed henchman noticed that the firelight wasn't a person, but a cow!

"Oh no, retreat now!"

But there was no time to lose. Almost instantly, the ox crashed into them, and in an instant, the henchmen at the front were thrown to the ground!

When a horse is knocked down by a cow, some fall to the ground, while others go berserk alongside the cow.

Some of the lowly henchmen were pushed off the horse's back by the horse and trampled underfoot by the crazed horse, suffering broken bones and tendons!

The bull's momentum didn't diminish; it charged wildly forward, relentlessly pushing ahead! The knife on its horn now resembled a grim reaper, harvesting sinful lives one by one!

The henchmen cried and screamed, wishing their parents had given them two more legs, and ran forward as fast as they could!

At this moment, Zhu Tong, Yang Zhi, and Hao Siwen also followed with their weapons, like tigers descending the mountain, continuing to reap the lives of the underlings!

The local militiamen were initially incredulous, staring dumbfounded at what was happening before their eyes! Seeing Yang Zhi and his two companions bravely fighting the enemy, their blood boiled, and they gripped their knives tightly and joined the battle!

In an instant, wails echoed through the empty night, and many henchmen knelt down and begged to surrender!

Looking at the fierce and imposing local militia, Song Jiang thought to himself, "It seems anyone can beat a drowning dog!"

Soon, the battle ended. One hundred and ninety-four of the Yunmeng Mountain henchmen died, eighty-nine surrendered, and three escaped. In addition to the fire ox formation's charge, Yang Zhi and his two companions, along with the local militia, also killed many lone individuals!

The surrendered henchmen were all wounded. They were brought up, lined up in several rows, and made to lie face down on the ground with their hands behind their heads, not daring to resist!

"Who are you? Why are you attacking Yunmeng Village?" Although Song Jiang knew their origins, he still asked them absurdly!

A henchman hurriedly replied, "Hero, spare our lives! We are men under King Chen Lei of Yunmeng Mountain! If you are looking for him, I can lead the way immediately!"

The henchman wasn't stupid. Seeing that Song Jiang was prepared and had wiped them out in one fell swoop, he knew that Song Jiang must have come prepared. He had never met Song Jiang before and knew that Song Jiang must be looking for Chen Lei. So he shamelessly fawned over him!

Song Jiang actually despised these people. They were the type to bully the weak to death and become slaves without any dignity when faced with the strong. Keeping such people around would be a betrayal!

Song Jiang shook his head, too lazy to bother with these people anymore, and ordered Jiao Ting to take twenty local militiamen to keep an eye on them! It wasn't that he didn't want to kill them, but he would wait until Yunmeng Mountain was leveled!

These people are wicked and have no interest in recruiting them. Not only would they tarnish his reputation, but they would also corrupt the atmosphere of Liangshan. Death is the best end for them!

The villagers were also called out by Wang Dahu! The shouts of battle that they had heard earlier had terrified them, and now they were in disbelief at the sight of the Yunmeng Mountain henchmen lying on the ground, as if they were in a dream!

Only after Wang Dahu personally recounted the details of the battle did cheers erupt from the crowd, and even the numb faces began to show some expression! The mountain weighing on their hearts seemed to have been lifted considerably!

Song Jiang didn't think much of it. He had originally decided on one of three strategies: retreating to advance, feinting to the east while attacking the west, or closing the gate to catch the thief. But when he saw that the local militia were demoralized and had no fighting power, and that Yunmeng Village was wide and flat with cattle mooing in the village, he immediately decided on the simple and brutal method of the fire ox formation!

During the Warring States period, Yue Yi conquered more than seventy cities of the State of Qi, but was defeated by Tian Dan using the fire ox formation. Of course, the success of the fire ox formation was also closely related to Yue Yi's dismissal!

Although there are only ten oxen in the village, the number of bandits should not be too large, so the fire ox formation should be feasible. In addition, with Zhu Tong, Yang Zhi and Hao Siwen, three people with extraordinary skills, Song Jiang was certain that he would win this battle!

Zhu Tong stepped forward and said to Song Jiang, "Brother, in this battle we captured one hundred steel knives, one hundred spears, and twelve longswords, half of which are damaged and unusable! There were forty horses in total, but they have all disappeared. Send men to search for them!"

Song Jiang nodded, feeling a bit resentful. Liangshan didn't have a single horse at the moment, while these guys could mobilize forty horses just to rob someone. It was truly infuriating to compare oneself to others!

Song Jiang had important matters to attend to and couldn't afford to waste any more time in Yunmeng Village. He summoned Wang Dahu and asked, "There are still three hundred bandits on Yunmeng Mountain. Does Wang Baozheng have any ideas on how to take them down?"

Wang Dahu said directly, "Hero, we'll all listen to you. Whatever you say, we'll do!"

Song Jiang was somewhat surprised; these people's change of heart was too fast!

But Song Jiang didn't know that at this moment, in the eyes of these local militia and villagers, he was like an incredibly blazing light, illuminating the darkness of Yunmeng Village!

The figure under that light was their hope, the one who could lead them back to the light!