Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 94

However, these people's actions were incredibly crude. This was clearly a golden opportunity to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun while simultaneously supporting the Liao as a puppet state and vassal, waging a proxy war against the Jin. It would have been a win-win situation, instead of watching helplessly as the Jin devoured the Liao's land, people, warhorses, and wealth, and then, four years later, conveniently wiped out the isolated and helpless Northern Song!

Yelü Dashi was the last spark of the Liao Dynasty. He led 20,000 cavalrymen to Central Asia and established the Western Liao, which lasted for more than a hundred years before finally being destroyed.

“I heard that your Liao emperor has lost several battles in the Northeast. Wanyan Aguda’s Jurchen soldiers are like dragons, horses like tigers, monkeys like monkeys on mountains, and otters like otters in water. Their strength is like Mount Tai, and Tokyo is like a pile of eggs. If things really can’t be avoided, you should retreat to my Liangshan. Yang Zhi is my sister, and since you are her grandson, no matter what happens to Liao in the future, no matter how the Zhao Emperor treats Liao, you will definitely have a place in my Liangshan.”

Liu Hong took out a jar of captured fine wine and gave it to Yelü Dashi. While waiting for the ransom, he also started a victory celebration, trying to coax Yelü Dashi, the future emperor of the Western Liao, into coming to him with his cavalry if the Liao Dynasty really collapsed in a few years. He told Yelü Dashi not to run to Central Asia, where there were 20,000 cavalrymen! 20,000!

"Who the hell are you cursing? They're just a bunch of Bohai remnants! If you ask me, they're just a bunch of Liao thugs from the Northeast. If His Majesty were to send me to quell the rebellion, I could wipe out ten Wanyan Agudas!"

Yelü Dashi was dismissive of the war situation in the Northeast, but he still had to drink. Sitting at the victory banquet in Liangshan, he didn't feel like a prisoner at all and ate and drank heartily.

"That's why I said, just in case, it's always good to have a backup plan."

Liu Hong also partied and drank heartily. After seeing Luan Tingyu put away his stick, he signaled the others to put away their weapons as well, and they all ate, drank, and had fun together.

"Hmph, this teleportation gate is already useless. Do you know how many resources it takes to teleport a single soldier? We started funding the Zhu Family Manor when that old man was young, and it took us fifty years to finally have the resources to teleport over five hundred soldiers instantly. The plan was to use five hundred elite Liao soldiers as the base, with ten thousand soldiers from the Zhu Family Manor as auxiliary troops, to open up a second front in Shandong. Now, my two hundred-plus soldiers have almost exhausted the gate's resources with their round trips. There's no way to replenish them in the short term."

Yelü Dashi shook his head.

"Furthermore, even if what you say is true, if the Jurchens are indeed powerful enough to crush the Liao Dynasty, and if the Song and Liao are still brothers at that time, of course I'll run to Kaifeng to find my niece, the Zhao family. Would I be crazy enough to run to your Liangshan?! What would I want from you? Yelü Zhi, who gave up a good general position in the Liao Dynasty to run to the Song Dynasty to become a minor official? That's hilarious!"

"If the Song and Liao are no longer brothers... your Liangshan Marsh is located in Shandong, south of the Yellow River! How could I possibly cross half of Hebei and the Yellow River to come to your Liangshan Marsh?"

Yelü Dashi laughed heartily, taking Liu Hong's joke as an excuse, but he also acknowledged Liu Hong's fighting ability.

"Fine, you're just a bandit leader, yet you managed to cause such a commotion in Shandong, even taking down the Zhu Family Village built by our Khitans, which had been under construction for over a decade with its triple walls. I'm impressed! Come, Great Sage Evil, let me toast you!"

Liu Hong outwardly accepted the toast, but inwardly he began to ponder. Yelü Dashi was right. Liangshan was located in the inland area of ​​Shandong. If the Liao, Jin, and Song dynasties really started fighting each other, his position would be too awkward, and he would be unable to do anything.

Thinking about this, he pondered carefully and realized that he needed a way out to sea. Liangshanbo was connected to the Ji River and the Yellow River, and ships could sail all the way to the Bohai Sea. He had to establish a stronghold on the coast of the Bohai Sea before the Liao Dynasty was destroyed.

In fact, Liangshan's original development model had a serious problem: Song Jiang and Chao Gai both had a petty-bourgeois mentality. They only wanted to build Liangshan into a super autonomous city like Venice or Shanghai in the Republic of China era, or what Chao Gai called a utopia or Peach Blossom Spring.

Therefore, no matter how many cities they conquered, these people would simply plunder them and then return to Liangshan Marsh. They would not occupy or control the cities, nor would they expand their territory. In the original history, these people had conquered the entire Shandong province, winning every battle and defeating every enemy they attacked.

However, even after being granted amnesty, Liangshan's actual controlled area was still only Liangshan Marsh.

Now, Liu Hong has decided to expand his territory—since the Emperor Zhao doesn't know how to play, and neither do Song Jiang and Chao Gai, then I, Liu Hong, will play this big game in this chaotic world!

Chapter 247: Luan Tingyu's Thunder Transformation into a Dragon

After the group held a victory banquet amidst the carnage and ruins of Zhu Family Village, the Liao Kingdom arrived with ransom and took Yelü Dashi, who had been completely drunk at the banquet, back home. Upon tallying the loot, including the Liao ransom, everyone realized they had plundered 600,000 strings of cash from Zhu Family Village – six times the amount they had made from robbing the birthday tribute! According to tradition, half went to the Liangshan treasury, half to the participating soldiers, and all the land and property of Zhu Family Village was distributed to the people.

Immediately, the people affected by this policy applauded and cheered, some even shedding tears of joy. They had worked their whole lives on other people's land, and now, they finally owned their own land! Therefore, everyone supported the arrival of Liangshan.

As for Zhujiazhuang itself, it has no real strategic value. It is indeed located in a strategically important area, with mountains and rivers as magnificent as those of the fortresses in Sichuan.

But it was no use. The Dulonggang area where Zhujiazhuang was located was too remote. This mountain valley was a strategic location that was not contested by military strategists. There were no mineral resources. It was true that it could control tens of thousands of households, but once the enemy attacked, they could completely replicate Liu Hong's operation. With just a few thousand men, they could block the two entrances to the mountain, and the defending troops could just play with stones in Dulonggang.

The Zhu Family Village was built here purely as a teleportation portal for the Liao Dynasty to enhance its concealment and security.

But Liu Hong ignored the teleportation portal and simply razed the Zhu Family Village to the ground. "I don't intend to control this place, and no one else should set foot here either." He used the ruins of the Zhu Family Village to display his medals of glory.

Subsequently, Liu Hong once again extended an olive branch to Luan Tingyu.

"Instructor Luan, now that the Zhu Family Village has been destroyed, you have nowhere to go. Why not come to Liangshan Marsh? We can all eat and drink meat from big bowls and divide gold and silver by the scale. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Luan Tingyu glanced at Liu Hong with a somewhat confused expression.

"Actually, my background is similar to yours. I was also a minor military officer in the imperial court, but I offended my superior, was framed, imprisoned, and imprisoned. However, I escaped and ended up in this Zhu Family Village. I thought that being a wealthy man here would be fine, and I could live a peaceful life."

"You're inviting me to Liangshan Marsh, but I'd like to know, what was the purpose of creating Liangshan Marsh?!"

Luan Tingyu's gaze was sharp as he stared intently at Liu Hong, listening to his answer and watching his reaction.

Liu Hong smiled slightly. He had seen this expression too many times. Yang Zhi, Suo Chao, and the others all showed the exact same expression as Luan Tingyu when they went up the mountain. Therefore, he once again added a hint of a lie to some of the truth and whispered it in Luan Tingyu's ear.

"In order to be granted amnesty, as long as we can make a big commotion at Liangshan Marsh, attract the attention of Emperor Zhao, and successfully defeat several troops sent to quell the rebellion, Emperor Zhao will grant us amnesty and reinstate us to the government. At that time, everyone will have a bright future."

Liu Hong frankly stated that he did indeed intend to offer amnesty, but should it be during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song? Or should it be when the Jurchens invaded the south, the Northern Song Dynasty collapsed, and it was about to perish? Or even when the Jurchens launched a dark expedition, tearing the Central Plains in two with the Huai River as the boundary, forcing the emperor to offer the greatest bargaining chip for amnesty—you don't need to worry about that, just tell me whether or not he offered amnesty.

Upon hearing Liu Hong's words, Luan Tingyu was filled with respect. He stood up, walked to Liu Hong, and knelt down on both knees, kowtowing to Liu Hong.

"Brother, from this day forward, your younger sister is willing to join Liangshan and serve you faithfully!"

"Please rise, sister! Please rise, sister! Having a sister is like adding wings to a tiger!"

Liu Hong happily helped Luan Tingyu up, adding another powerful general to the team. As for the Thunder General within her body, Liu Hong explained it to Luan Tingyu in detail and promised to give her even better demonic power. Only then did Luan Tingyu nod in agreement—since she was signing a demon contract anyway, it didn't matter which one she signed.

After nodding, Luan Tingyu entered the Jidu Temple. Ao Ying didn't reveal itself, remaining in a ghostly, shadowy state. It infiltrated Luan Tingyu's body, found the dormant Zi Chong Lei Fu Xiao Feng Bian Ting Tian Chong Zhen Jun within her, devoured him, and obtained the subspace essence of the second Thunder General. The power of thunder continued to surge!

Subsequently, the Dragon King of Jidu handed Luan Tingyu the second dragon scale with great satisfaction. Luan Tingyu had a thought and found that he could no longer summon the Thunder God General. Instead, he summoned a black-scaled, gold-patterned thunder elemental dragon that circled around him and fought alongside him. His strength not only did not weaken, but was actually amplified, which greatly pleased him.

Meanwhile, Liu Hong also leveled up during the fierce battle, finally reaching level 9 and becoming a level 5 Mind Mage, level 2 Hero, and level 2 Blade Master. His spiritual energy surged again, giving him more energy to fight the Holy Slash. At the same time, he also learned two additional third-ring spells.

【Third Ring Psionic Power - Telekinetic Throw】: Consumes 5 points of psionic power to control 9 objects simultaneously (based on psionic power level), move them at will, and launch attacks for six seconds.

[Third Ring Psionic Power - Mind Suppression]: Consumes 5 Psionic Power to suppress, lock, and imprison a target's spellcasting ability for 54 seconds. The target may break free of the imprisonment at any time.

With his strength greatly increased and the addition of a fierce general, Liu Hongzhi was overjoyed at the sight of the mountains he had conquered. He ordered his entire army to rest in Zhujiazhuang for three days. Afterward, under the leadership of Hu Cheng, they went to Hujiazhuang to liberate the people there and give them land.

At the same time, Hu Cheng also agreed to all of Liu Hong's requests: Hu Cheng and his family, along with all their treasures, would go to Liangshan and be placed under Liu Hong's supervision. In Liangshan, they would still be wealthy men.

However, it's best to discard Hujiazhuang, this small fortified village also built on a hill.

At this moment, Song Jiang was the one who was suffering. She originally wanted to lead her trusted confidants to conquer the Zhu Family Village and make a name for herself, vying for control of the situation. However, she didn't make any impact in this war. Instead, Liu Hong displayed the prowess of a stronghold leader, causing her own confidants to start worshipping the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

What's more troublesome is that he not only gained face but also benefits! The wealth of the Zhu Family Village was at least divided among all the brothers, but the wealth of the Hu Family Village was all in Hu Cheng's possession and moved back to Liangshan.

Ha, that sounds nice, but everyone knows Liu Hong married his sister, Hu Sanniang! The Hu family's enormous wealth, comparable to the Zhu family's, wasn't that all her dowry? Didn't it all go to Liu Hong?! Even if it didn't, Hu Cheng brought his whole family up the mountain, and Liu Hong was their only contact. If he didn't give the money to Liu Hong, who else could he give it to?!

Chapter 248: Liu Xianzhong's Husband is Currently Committing a Crime

In an instant, a dark emotion, like a poisonous vine, quietly sprouted from the depths of Song Jiang's heart: first, envy, like a sweet bait, lured out the deepest resentment in his heart; in a flash, this envy fermented into a scorching fire of jealousy, scorching his reason; finally, this flame of jealousy completely melted into a thick, inky hatred, gnawing at his soul, corroding his bones and marrow, pushing this Heavenly Star to the edge of losing control.

Song Jiang felt as if his internal organs were burning, his entire soul and will consumed by that flame. Endless malice and scheming wove a new plan.

However, before the army set off, Liu Hongxian and Hu Sanniang got married on the ruins of Zhujiazhuang. Zhu Biao stood outside the prisoner's quarters, his eyes bloodshot! The dazzling red wedding hall in front of him, the joyous music of sheng, guan, di xiao, and xiao, sounded to him like a dull knife cutting into his heart, each note slicing through his taut nerves.

His gaze was fixed on the bride in the center—his childhood sweetheart, Hu Sanniang, with whom he had long pledged to grow old together. She wore an elaborate wedding dress embroidered with gold and red silk, and a red silk phoenix shawl covered her face. Her posture remained as upright as a pine tree in the frost and snow, but her steps were as stiff as a puppet's. Her white jade lotus feet moved slowly on the ground. Zhu Biao could not see her face, but he could read a sense of desperate humiliation from her slightly bowed head and from her slender hands that were tightly gripping the hem of her dress, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Beneath that red veil, were tears of shame and indignation, or burning anger that had been forcibly extinguished? She stood there, like a most precious offering, forcibly placed on an altar that did not belong to her.

Liu Hong, standing beside Hu Sanniang, beamed with joy. Amidst the cheers and cheers of his brothers and sisters, he gently helped Hu Sanniang into the hall of marriage, occasionally turning his head to whisper to her. But to Zhu Biao, that smile was clearly the smugness of someone who had achieved his goal and an undisguised boast.

Zhu Biao even imagined a whole drama unfolding in his mind! He imagined that Hu Sanniang still loved him, but in order to protect Hu Family Village, she had no choice but to marry Liu Hong as a concubine. He even imagined Liu Hong's imagined face and false voice.

"Miss, you wouldn't want the entire Hu family to end up hanging from the flagpole, would you?"

"boom!!!"

An uncontrollable madness exploded in Zhu Biao's mind! The bowstring of reason snapped. Rage surged through his body, pounding in his temples, his ears ringing, almost drowning out the damned joy. He wanted to rush forward and smash that smug face to pieces! He wanted to tear that obstructive wedding hall to shreds and burn it all!

A bitter feeling of grievance surged from his stomach, like a poisonous thorn stuck in his throat. Why? His engagement to San Niang was in black and white, with real money involved, and now he had simply lost—his fiancée had been taken away by a group of thieves.

Resentment, like a poisonous vine, clung tightly to his heart, tightening with each passing moment. This overwhelming hatred, mixed with excruciating pain, threatened to tear him apart. He gazed at Hu Sanniang's stiff back, imagining the torment she endured—that pain so close yet untouchable, more agonizing than a thousand arrows piercing his heart!

The humiliation was like cold, dirty water poured over his head, chilling him to the bone. The surrounding guests cast glances at Zhu Biao with varying degrees of pity, mockery, or indifference, like countless needles piercing his skin. He, a grown man, had become the laughingstock of the entire city! His fiancée had been snatched away right before his eyes! This unbearable shame burned within him, yet also froze him as if he were in an ice cave.

Kill him! Destroy all of this!

A mad thought burned like hellfire in Zhu Biao's heart, devouring every inch of his sanity. His teeth clenched so tightly they rattled, his fists were so clenched that his nails dug deep into his palms, and he was oblivious to the metallic taste seeping out. His body trembled violently from extreme restraint, and every pore seemed to spew forth an aura of destruction.

He stared intently at the obstructive hand Liu Hong had placed on Hu Sanniang's waist. A metallic taste rose in his throat, and his heart burned with intense heat, but the chains binding him remained as cold as ice.

Seeing that the boy was not behaving himself, the nearby jailer did not hesitate to swing his stick and hit him on the back and buttocks, knocking Zhu Biao to the ground. His eyes, stained with blood, watched helplessly as his fiancée and Liu Hong bowed to heaven and earth, bowed to their parents, and then bowed to each other as husband and wife. Only then was he beaten unconscious.

What he imagined was completely untrue. Even as the couple bowed to each other, they were still whispering amongst themselves. Through her red veil, Hu Sanniang gave Liu Hong a wry, alluring wink. Her youthful, beautiful eyes already possessed a touch of mature sensuality; she had clearly savored the experience.

"You rascal, do you know we're getting married today? You tormented me like this last night! Every step I take now, my lower body is burning with pain. What if someone notices?"

Hu Sanniang moved with light steps, her jade fingers pinching her skirt. Although she was angry, her voice was as soft as if she were flirting.

"It's okay, they won't be able to tell."

After hearing Hu Sanniang's concerns, Liu Hong, amidst the laughter of the crowd, picked her up by the waist and gently carried her in his arms in a princess carry, striding towards the bridal chamber.

Seeing herself being lifted up in front of everyone, Hu Sanniang blushed instantly. She gently punched Liu Hong's chest with her two pink fists, and her small feet swung wildly in the air. Amid the laughter of the crowd, she entered the bridal chamber. This time, Liu Hong didn't even take off her wedding dress. Instead, he pulled out a dagger and ripped it open at the waist of Hu Sanniang's wedding dress, turning the solemn red and gold wedding dress into a sexy cheongsam with an opening that reached her armpits. His large hands easily reached inside, pulled out the inner garment, and explored the secrets inside.

A gentle kiss warms the cold spring on crimson lips, a light touch on the trembling peak of a pearly stamen. A giant hand descends, sinking into the cloud-covered mountains, a soft breath condensing into willow smoke. A delicate hand parts the tide, opening the deep ravine, a jade pestle chiseling forth sweet saliva. A clam opens on the moonlit islet, holding crimson dew, lotuses play with fishing boats, swirling on the waves.

Pink snowflakes tremble like piled flowers, the warbling of orioles breaks the icy strings. Heavy curtains sway, casting flickering shadows, candlelight dances in disarray, sweat soaks through the wedding dress, reflecting crimson ripples. Snowy thighs intertwine, tides surge and roll, gentle waves overflow, soaking the heart. Honeyed wine is poured, splashing cherry blossoms, melting bones with the lingering warmth of spring. The spring gurgles, swallowing and gulping, the spring river swells, about to burst its banks. Suddenly, a torrential rain lashes the mountains, rushing waves shatter reefs, bursting forth like jade lotuses. The moon falls into the deep pool, reflecting starlight, the spiritual platform clear and empty, descending from the clouds.

The next day, Liu Hong emerged from the bridal chamber looking refreshed and led everyone in a public trial of the Zhu family. He made all the people recount the Zhu family's crimes one by one. Zhu Biao knelt blankly on the stage, unable to hear a word of the angry voices of the people below. His mind was filled with thoughts of his fiancée and his wedding night with Liu Hong the day before.

When a voiceless citizen, with tears of blood streaming down his face, rushed onto the platform and smashed his bones with a stone, he felt no pain. He simply fell into a pool of blood, and the last thing he saw in his bloodshot eyes was a bloody picture of his entire family, who had been oppressed for over a hundred years, being torn to pieces by the fingernails and teeth of the oppressed people.

Chapter 249: Li Kui Causes a Scene at Hu Family Village

After completing everything at Zhu Family Village, the Liangshan army split into two groups. Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu led a detachment to Li Family Village to persuade the rogue Li Ying, the Sky-Piercing Eagle, to surrender: "Alright, Zhu Family Village is gone now, you can join Liangshan's side."

Don't be ungrateful. The Zhu family has done just as much as your Li family. I'll say it again: you liberate all the serfs, return all the land to the people, and take all your property and family to Liangshan to become a wealthy man. The Zhu family village that was razed to the ground in the fighting will be your example.

Meanwhile, Liu Hong and Song Jiang led their army to Hu Family Village to supervise Flying Tiger Hu Cheng in dismantling his own village and bringing all of his property back to Liangshan Marsh.

Just as Hu Cheng opened his manor gate to let the Liangshan soldiers in, Li Kui suddenly roared and swung his double axes, aiming to strike Hu Cheng from behind! Hu Cheng hadn't expected an attack from behind and didn't dodge in time. His warhorse was instantly cleaved into three pieces by the two giant axes, and he himself fell awkwardly into a pool of blood on his horse, looking at Li Kui with a terrified expression.

The drow elf had fallen into a frenzied slaughter again, with only a few blood-stained spider webs and cold metal chains binding her vitals. Large swaths of smooth, obsidian-like skin were exposed to the damp air. Her tall, slender figure was adorned with well-defined, taut muscles that unleashed astonishing power with every movement!

At this moment, she let out a maniacal laugh, her scarlet eyes burning with a pure, undisguised destructive desire in the darkness. Her long, silver-white hair cascaded like a waterfall with her frenzied movements, stained with thick blood. Two monstrous axes, each taller than her, spun effortlessly in her hands, each swing accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air!

"Hero! What is the meaning of this?! I am your brother's brother-in-law! Are you trying to harm your brother?!"

Hu Cheng screamed in terror.

"I don't care who you are! You rich folks bully the common people, extorting and plundering; you deserve to die! After I kill you, I'll slaughter your entire Hu family! Take this!!!"

Ignoring everything else, Li Kui swung his axe, ready to chop.

At this critical moment, suddenly, Li Kui and her double axes emitted a ghostly blue spiritual energy. Liu Hong's eyes emitted ghostly blue spiritual energy ripples, and with a thought, Li Kui and her double axes were all suspended in mid-air, captured by Liu Hong's psychic power.

Liu Hong's face turned ashen. He extended his index finger and pointed upwards, sending Li Kui flying seven or eight meters into the air. With a downward swing, the black-clad man crashed heavily to the ground, shaking the earth and sending dust flying. Li Kui was also trapped in a large, human-shaped crater, groaning from the impact. The two giant axes were also manipulated by his spiritual energy to move to Liu Hong's side, away from Li Kui.

Upon hearing the commotion, all the heroes present looked at Li Kui in surprise, wondering what had gotten into him. Only Song Jiang had an unfriendly expression.

"Tie Niu! What are you doing?!"

Liu Hong rushed over and personally helped Hu Cheng up from the pool of blood. He took off his coat and draped it over Hu Cheng, while angrily rebuking Li Kui for his recklessness and madness.

This shrew was still defiant. After being thrown to the ground by Liu Hong, she actually tried to get up again, and Liu Hong didn't tolerate it. Damn it, disobeying my orders in front of all my brothers and sisters—wasn't that a slap in my face? If this isn't dealt with seriously, I might as well quit leading Liangshan.

Thinking of this, Liu Hong used the three-ring telekinetic throw again, raising Li Kui to a height of eight or nine meters in the sky for the second time, and then slamming him hard to the ground, creating a second, larger and deeper human-shaped hole.

"Roar!!!"

The bloodthirsty black-clad man was still unconvinced. He got up from the ground a second time, and was then thrown more than ten meters into the sky by spiritual energy a third time, before being slammed back to the ground! Liu Hong slammed him eight times in total, until Li Kui had no strength left to get up. He lay on the ground groaning, and only then did he give in.

"Why did you smash me, brother! I was just following the rules of Liangshan and acting on behalf of Heaven!"

At this moment, the bloodshot color in Li Kui's eyes gradually faded, and when he looked at Liu Hong, there was a hint of fear in his clear stupidity.

Seeing that Li Kui was no longer acting arrogantly, Liu Hong asked in return.

"Fine, then tell me, what Liangshan rules do you follow? How are you acting on behalf of Heaven?!"

"When I was in Zhujiazhuang, I heard the people bitterly complain about the Zhujiazhuang's perverse and cruel practices, how they preyed on the people. I wished I could personally kill every last remnant of the Zhujiazhuang! But then I thought, I wasn't persecuted by the Zhujiazhuang, and just listening to them made me very angry. Those people who were truly preyed on must be even angrier, which is why I didn't take action and let the people kill the Zhujiazhuang's dogs!"

Li Kui stared intently at Liu Hong, looking both pitiful and stubborn.

"But the Hu family village is just as despicable as the Zhu family village, yet my brother spared their entire family because of Hu Sanniang's beauty?! It's clearly my brother who betrayed our banner of upholding justice! I wanted to kill the entire Hu family to protect my brother's reputation, and he turned around and attacked me! I did nothing wrong!!!"

"Your logic—"

Liu Hong was speechless. At this moment, many brothers and sisters also turned their attention to see how the leader of the stronghold would answer this double standard question. Liu Hong first helped Li Kui up from the ground covered with eight human-shaped craters, and then patiently began to explain to this fool.

“That’s right, the Hu Family Village did make a mistake, but they have corrected it. If it weren’t for Hu Cheng’s obstruction of Zhu Biao and the eventual opening of the Zhu Family Village’s gates, how much time would it have taken us, how many brothers would have died, to break into the Zhu Family Village? How many of our brothers and sisters’ lives did Hu Cheng save?”

Li Kui opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. She had fought alongside Song Jiang in the most brutal siege battle and knew how many brothers had died on the city walls, so she had nothing to say.

"Everyone makes mistakes, but everyone should have a chance to correct them. Look, Hu Cheng is willing to liberate all his serfs, give up his land, and bring all his belongings to Liangshan. Isn't that enough of a correction? Our Liangshan only has forty battalions and twenty thousand soldiers. But with Hu Cheng joining, he directly brought two battalions and a thousand elite troops to join our Liangshan. This greatly increases our strength."

After explaining to Li Kui, Liu Hong began to explain to his brothers.

"Most importantly, we are gradually turning the tide in Liangshan's opinion. Before this, our reputation among the wealthy was extremely bad! Do you know why the Zhu Family Village resisted to the end? Because they were afraid of Liangshan. They knew we would kill all the wealthy and destroy all the villages. They had no way out, no choice, so they could only fight Liangshan to the last moment! Because Liangshan did not give them a choice!"

"But now, we are different. We have put up a banner and sent a signal to all the wealthy landowners: those who obey us will prosper, those who oppose us will perish!"

"When Liangshan Marsh launches a large-scale expedition in the future, those wealthy landowners will have to think carefully! If they choose to resist to the bitter end like the Zhu Family Village, then they will be executed along with their entire clan, leaving no one alive! However, if they choose to surrender like the Hu Family Village and the Li Family Village, then they will still be wealthy landowners, and our plans will proceed many times faster in the future."

Chapter 250: Sun Li Recognizes His Relatives at Liangshan Marsh