The Utopia of Liangshan Marsh: Song Jiang's Clever Plans to Carry the Birthday Gifts

Chapter 88 The Utopia of Liangshan Marsh: Song Jiang's Clever Plans to Carry the Birthday Gifts

Song Jiang was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. In the original story, Jin Cuilian had a tragic fate. She went to Weizhou to look for her relatives but failed to find them. As a result, her mother died, and she was cheated out of money and her virtue by Zheng Tu, a butcher. She was trapped in Weizhou and could not leave. If it weren't for Lu Zhishen's intervention, who gave them enough silver and killed Zheng Tu with three punches, helping them escape, she would probably have been singing in the tavern for the rest of her life and would never have been able to get away.

Song Jiang then looked at the woman who would change Lu Zhishen's life. She was decent-looking, but not quite a beauty. She was around fifteen years old.

Her hair was styled in a loose, cloud-like bun, adorned with a jade hairpin; her slender waist was cinched in a six-panel red silk skirt. A plain white old blouse covered her snow-white body, and pale yellow soft socks complemented her embroidered shoes.

Looking at the father and daughter before him, Song Jiang sighed and said gently, "Old Master Jin, you've heard so much. There are some of our secrets that absolutely cannot be known to outsiders, so I'm afraid I can't let you leave. But don't worry, come with us, and we'll ensure you have plenty of food and clothing."

Old Man Jin looked worried, but this was the best option. He had no choice but to agree.

Song Jiang was actually unwilling to do this. Old Man Jin and Jin Cuilian were not ungrateful people, otherwise Lu Zhishen would not have helped him all the way to Mount Wutai to become a monk after escaping to Shanxi.

However, the current situation is far more serious than Lu Zhishen killing Zhen Guanxi. Moreover, he has already revealed his name. If the birthday tribute incident is exposed or Qingyun Mountain causes trouble, and if they find this father and daughter, they might be able to coax and intimidate them into revealing their true identities. Song Jiang is unwilling to gamble on human nature and would rather be the villain. Besides, going to Liangshan might not be worse than going to Nanjing to visit relatives.

After everyone rested for a while, Ou Peng suddenly spoke up: "Brother, when I came here before, there were many refugees in the distance of the dense forest. They must have been people fleeing from disaster."

Ou Peng didn't speak up before because there were too many refugees, numbering seven or eight hundred, including men, women, and children, and most people wouldn't take them in or couldn't take them in. Secondly, he didn't know Song Jiang's attitude towards refugees, and he was worried that speaking up rashly would be too abrupt and would displease Song Jiang.

However, after getting to know Song Jiang, Ou Peng felt that Song Jiang was somewhat different from what he had known. In particular, Song Jiang was able to accept four or five hundred of his men from Huangmen Mountain, so Song Jiang probably had a large mountain stronghold or territory. Ou Peng boldly guessed that Song Jiang might be short of manpower at that time. If these eight hundred people were converted into laborers, they could do a lot of work in a day, especially the refugees, who only needed to be fed!

Song Jiang thought for a moment. The refugees plus Huangmen Mountain numbered at most 1,500, which he could handle. The refugees varied in quality, and it was not easy to distinguish them. But since they could join Liangshan, he could transform them through later reforms!

Song Jiang did not blindly expand the population of Liangshan; he kept it within a controllable range and gradually increased it!

The Liangshan stronghold is now a monolithic entity, with everyone united and Song Jiang at its absolute core!

It's not as easy for outsiders to enter Liangshan as it used to be. They must abide by Liangshan's rules and not act recklessly. Ideological indoctrination is very important. Why can the armies of many countries have absolute loyalty? Because they need to be indoctrinated with their ideology. This makes it difficult for outsiders to turn them against their cause. Of course, there are exceptions, but Liangshan is isolated from the world, which basically eliminates this possibility. Moreover, outsiders do not know that the leader of Liangshan is Song Jiang!

Although they wanted to take in refugees, Song Jiang couldn't just take any Tom, Dick, or Harry. Once they were on Liangshan, they would have to start working immediately. They could choose to be soldiers or laborers. If they wanted to be soldiers but weren't qualified, they could work. In short, they would definitely not starve to death, but they had to be absolutely obedient!

Ou Peng took Song Jiang to find refugees. Liu Huiniang wanted to go with them, but Song Jiang thought that Liu Huiniang had a silver tongue and might be able to help, so he didn't stop her. Zhu Jing also went along to prevent any unscrupulous people among the refugees from causing trouble. Old Man Jin and his daughter came to Wu Song and the others to prepare to set off together later.

After walking for a while, a large group of people were sitting on an open grassy area, with several large trees nearby providing shade from the not-too-hot sun.

Upon closer inspection, these refugees appeared pale and emaciated, clearly suffering from prolonged hunger and exhaustion from a long journey.

The refugees looked at each other and whispered among themselves when they saw three people walking towards them. An old man stood up, who seemed to be the leader of the group of refugees.

Just as Song Jiang was about to speak, Liu Huiniang suddenly stepped forward and whispered something to the old man. Song Jiang looked at Zhu Jing and was speechless for a moment. Liu Huiniang's change was too abrupt, and he couldn't very well go up and pull her away.

Song Jiang whispered to Ou Peng and Zhu Jing that if things went wrong, they should intervene to save the people. After all, not all the refugees were kind and honest; there were bound to be some people of low character mixed in. If someone with Liu Huiniang's appearance had ulterior motives, that would be bad.

Liu Huiniang and the old man were talking to each other. After a while, Liu Huiniang returned with a slight smile, while the old man was chatting quietly with a smile on his face among the crowd.

Song Jiang stared straight at Liu Huiniang's face, as if trying to see through her. Liu Huiniang met Song Jiang's gaze without fear. Song Jiang shook his head and looked away. He really couldn't see through this woman. He hoped she wouldn't cause any trouble, otherwise he would definitely kill her without hesitation.

After the old man finished speaking to the crowd, he led a large man to Song Jiang and respectfully bowed, saying, "I beg you to take us in, sir. If we had a choice, who would willingly leave their home and become a wanderer?"

Song Jiang glanced at Liu Huiniang, wondering what she had said to these people. He felt that ever since he met Liu Huiniang, things seemed to have gotten out of his control.

Nodding, Song Jiang exchanged a few pleasantries with the old man and learned that they came from Anyang County. Because of the flooding of the Yellow River, many villages and farmlands had been washed away, leaving the people homeless and forcing them to flee to various places.

Song Jiang didn't know how to comfort them. He sighed, glanced at the burly man beside the old man, who looked somewhat familiar, and after a moment's thought, asked, "Is this brother surnamed Ruan?"

The burly man asked in confusion, "You know me?"

Song Jiang smiled and asked, "Do you know someone named Ruan Jin?"

The man exclaimed happily, "He's my second brother!"

Song Jiang once talked to Wu Yong about why the three Ruan brothers were called Xiao Er, Xiao Wu, and Xiao Qi.

There are many theories about their names in later generations. Some say they were cousins, some say their brothers died young, and others say it came from the weight of the fish they caught!

However, Wu Yong told Song Jiang that the three Ruan brothers were originally seven siblings, but they were separated when they fled famine as children, so the three Ruan brothers and their mother eventually settled in Shijie Village!

That Ruan Jin was indeed Ruan Xiao'er's name. Song Jiang noticed that this man's features were extremely similar to those of the three Ruan brothers, hence the question!

This man was one of the missing brothers of the Nguyen family, though his exact birth order was unknown. He then smiled and said, "Your mother, your second brother, and the fifth and seventh brothers are with me."

Overjoyed, the man exclaimed, "Heaven has eyes! Mother, Fifth Brother, and Seventh Brother are here too! That's wonderful!"

Song Jiang thought to himself, "So he's ranked sixth. I wonder how capable he is."

Because of Ruan Liu's presence, the relationship with the refugees was instantly improved. Song Jiang didn't waste any time and brought everyone together. He then had Zhu Jing and Ruan Liu buy a lot of grain, set up a fire on the spot, and cooked porridge, allowing the refugees to have a rare full meal. Then, they marched in a grand procession towards Liangshan.

On Liangshan, it was still a vibrant day, with everyone doing their jobs. Wu Yong and the other leaders were waiting for Song Jiang's return. When they saw Liu Huiniang step onto the golden sand beach, Wu Yong and Chao Gai smiled at each other!

Meanwhile, Hua Baoyan and Pang Qiuxia, who had also come to Liangshan, began to sized up Liu Huiniang.

The three Nguyen brothers also met Nguyen Liu. The brothers had so much to talk about. Nguyen's mother never expected to see her son again. Her joy was beyond words. The only regret was that her husband and eldest daughter were still missing. Of course, heaven rewards those who persevere. Since she was able to see Nguyen Liu, she would surely be able to see the other relatives one day.

Song Jiang was overjoyed to see his family reunited. Watching them enjoy their time together, Song Jiang secretly vowed to do his best to help them find their other lost relatives. Thinking that Liangshan was getting better and better, it was time to bring the families of the other Liangshan soldiers up the mountain.

Previously, because Liangshan was still developing, there wasn't much housing or food available, so they couldn't bring their families up the mountain. But now, Liangshan is thriving, and bringing their families up would not only increase the workforce but also allow them to enjoy family life. Even if some elderly people can't work, they won't lack daily rations. It's as if Liangshan is taking care of them in their old age and seeing them off in their final days. After all, their sons might sacrifice themselves for Liangshan at any time, and Song Jiang was determined to do this small thing.

Duan Jingzhu and Huangfu Duan also joined Liangshan, along with Zhang Shun's brother Zhang Heng. The three of them were temporarily without positions, so Song Jiang sent someone to take them to be settled!

With such a large lake, Liangshan needed fish every day. Song Jiang had previously required the navy to produce 2,000 catties of fish daily while training. This was the main source of meat for Liangshan. In this society, the price of fish was far lower than that of meat or even rice. Fish was basically the cheapest food. This is why the three Ruan brothers lived so frugally, and why Zhang Shun, as the leader of the fishermen, was still not wealthy.

Of course, fish is extremely nutritious, so Song Jiang required the Liangshan army to eat more fish to improve their physical fitness. However, Song Jiang also had experience from later generations, so he prohibited fishing from March to June to ensure the normal reproduction of fish. Of course, Song Jiang did not only do this himself, but also for the fishermen in the surrounding area. Song Jiang would rent their boats or have them do some productive work, and give them a subsidy in silver. This subsidy was no less than that for fishing. But if anyone dared to disobey Song Jiang, Song Jiang would not be polite.

The local fishermen knew that there was a mysterious leader in Liangshan who always kept his word, and given the reputation of the three Ruan brothers, they generally followed his advice and no one disobeyed him.

Without disturbing the Ruan brothers and their mother's reunion in the room, Song Jiang came out first. Now that so many people had suddenly arrived, he needed to make proper arrangements. Most importantly, there were only a little over a month left until the fifteenth of June. Considering the time spent on the road, he didn't actually have much time left.

The birthday tribute needs to be delivered to Tokyo before June 15th. Judging by the numbers, it will probably be departing in a few days. We need to make preparations in advance and also depart as well.

In the hall, Song Jiang and his entourage were present. As for Liu Huiniang, she still wanted to follow Song Jiang, but he forcibly arranged a room for her to rest in. Liu Huiniang was somewhat dissatisfied, but in Song Jiang's territory of Liangshan, if Song Jiang couldn't even do this much, then all the effort he had put into building the business would have been for nothing.

Many refugees, upon arriving at Liangshan, were secretly amazed by everything new there. Today, Song Jiang specially showed them the two types of sports fields and the martial arts training ground that had been built. Seeing the training methods they had never seen before and the various indescribable ball-like sports, these people were filled with anticipation for the future of Liangshan.

Strike while the iron is hot! Song Jiang immediately summoned all the leaders to the Hall of Righteousness to discuss the birthday tribute!

Everyone gathered together, and Song Jiang pointed to a map and said, "Brothers, to make a long story short, Liang Zhongshu and Cai Jiu's birthday tribute will be sent to Tokyo in a few days. Such ill-gotten gains should be taken by us. Firstly, Liangshan needs money for development; secondly, we can recruit more brothers to join us; and thirdly, there have been many natural disasters this year, so we can use the money to provide relief to the victims!"

Everyone exclaimed in unison, "Brother, you are truly righteous!"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "Enough of this!" Then he said seriously, "The birthday gifts for Liang Zhongshu will be transported by land, and they will definitely pass through here before going to Tokyo!" He pointed to a circled area.

Song Jiang said, "This place is called Guantang Post Station, but there are no soldiers guarding it, nor are there any people living there. There is only an inn for supplies. This is the best opportunity to make our move!" Guantang Post Station is located in Henan, more than a hundred miles away from Lifeng. However, the roads around it are somewhat complicated. The map was drawn by a master after Shi Qian had traveled to many places and explored the roads. He spent a lot of money to draw it!

Liangshan currently has very few skilled fighters, but it's impossible to send out only ordinary people. Otherwise, if something goes wrong and we can't rescue them in time, wouldn't we just be throwing away our lives in vain?

After thinking for a moment, Song Jiang said, "This time, Xiao Rang, Jin Dajian, and Zhu Jing will lead twenty 'Qilin' brothers to Guantang Post Station. Ruan Xiaoer, Pang Wanchun, and Yang Lin will meet us from the waterway twenty miles outside Guantang Post Station. After the mission is accomplished, we will immediately sail to the Yellow River and then head to Liangshan!"

Seeing that the old man Luo Zhong seemed to have something to say, Song Jiang smiled and asked, "What good advice do you have, senior?"

Luo Zhong waved his hand and said, "I don't have any good suggestions, but these old bones of mine want to get some exercise!"

Song Jiang was overjoyed. Luo Zhong's spear skills were superb. If compared, he was probably between the strength of the strongest and weakest of the Eight Tiger Generals. With him going, the safety of Xiao Rang and the others could be greatly guaranteed!

Previously, Song Jiang had considered whether to have Yang Zhong and Luo Zhong go together, but these two were not young and were not his subordinates, so it was difficult to say some things. Now that Luo Zhong had taken the initiative to suggest it, Song Jiang was happy to agree immediately!