The small boat could probably seat four or five people at most. It had a pointed bow, so it was easy to move in the water. The boatman seemed to be rowing slowly, but with each stroke of the oar, the boat would move forward a lot. Once it left the reed beds, it seemed to fly on the water.
Even so, it took us over an hour to finally see a water fortress. A man with somewhat familiar features was strolling leisurely on a wooden plank. Zhu Gui nudged me and said, "That's Zhang Shun's brother." So this must be Zhang Heng, the boatman.
I said, "By the way, what's the situation up the mountain now?"
Zhu Gui said, "We just changed the Juyi Hall to the Zhongyi Hall."
That means that now that the Zhu Family Village has been attacked, Huang Gai is dead, the seating arrangement has been made, and the imperial army has suffered several defeats, it is the peak of Liangshan's power. However, the time for Song Jiang to accept the imperial pardon is also slowly ripe.
Zhu Gui asked, "What exactly is the matter that you went up the mountain?"
I sighed and said, "It's not a good thing. It's related to Fang La. We need to find someone to discuss a solution."
Zhu Gui paused for a moment and said, "Then let's go find the strategist first."
The small boat had already reached the shore, and Zhu Gui ordered someone to fetch two horses for us to ride up the mountain. Along the way, large strongholds nestled within smaller ones, filled with the sounds of people and horses, and for a moment, there were vast fields of fertile land. The mountain path wasn't too steep, just slowly extending upwards. If we hadn't just come by boat, it would have looked more like a city. Zhu Gui said proudly, "How about our Liangshan? Didn't expect that, did you?"
I really didn't expect that. I'd always subconsciously thought Liangshan was just a small mountain in the water, with its henchmen hidden in the woods, holding tripwires. I never imagined it was like a kingdom within a kingdom; the number of soldiers we've encountered along the way must be no less than 100,000—and I've seen armies before! It seems Liangshan, as a separatist force, is different from bandits like Zuo Shandiao…
They didn't encounter any acquaintances along the way, because those leaders couldn't just wander around aimlessly like idlers after a good meal.
After walking for a while, the number of mountain bandits suddenly increased, and the path became much steeper. The higher they climbed, the closer they got to the power center of Liangshan. Finally, at the top of a long mountain staircase, they saw the legendary "Acting on Behalf of Heaven" banner.
The horse couldn't climb any further, so Zhu Gui led me up the steps, saying, "When the brothers aren't going back to their own village, they usually stay here..."
Before he could finish speaking, I saw Zhang Qing right in front of me! I was about to shout, but then I quickly shut my mouth instinctively—he didn't know me yet, and shouting would easily attract hidden weapons.
After climbing the steps, the scene before me completely changed. On the vast mountaintop, houses stood side by side, high and low, leaning against each other, yet not at all chaotic, like a termite palace magnified countless times—most likely the work of Li Yun. In the most prominent place was a grand hall resembling a temple, its depths vaguely discernible, with three large characters hanging from the ceiling: Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness.
People were constantly moving back and forth inside and outside the house. The daily inquiries, cat meows, and dog barks mingled together, showing absolutely no sign of a bandit's den. Moreover, there were many familiar faces this time. I saw Duan Jingzhu walk past me with a short man. Zhu Gui introduced the short man as Hu Sanniang's husband, Dwarf Tiger Wang Ying.
Zhu Gui casually greeted the people around him, glanced at the sky, and said, "Now is the perfect time to find the strategist."
I looked up at the sky, and judging from my feeling it was only two or three in the afternoon, I asked, "Why?"
Zhu Gui said, "This time of day is when the strategist finishes his afternoon nap and wants to drink tea."
I said, "Shall we get started?"
Zhu Gui stretched out his hand and said, "Come on, give me the 'goods,' and I'll drug him."
I furtively handed him a blue potion, saying cautiously, "Watch your words, or people will misunderstand!"
Zhu Gui smiled and said, "It's alright, come with me."
I followed him through a winding path to a courtyard. The main house door was wide open, and a man was lying on a straw mat inside, taking a nap. Judging from his build, it was Wu Yong. There was no one else there. Zhu Gui, clutching the medicine, strolled in leisurely, lingered for a while, and then came out, squatting in a corner, looking towards the door, and said, "Wait here."
I asked in astonishment, "That's it?"
Zhu Gui said, "It's over—"
I was sweating bullets. It turns out it's that simple. Wu Yong is one of the top figures on Liangshan, I thought it would take a lot of trouble.
I squatted down against the wall too. A few minutes later, Wu Yong rolled over and sat up, his face covered in wrinkles from the straw mat. He smacked his lips, picked up the teacup on the table, grabbed a fan, and came out. He was wearing a t-shirt and was muttering to himself as he drank his tea. He sat down on a small wooden stool in the shade, glanced at us, and asked calmly, "Who's that—"
Zhu Gui smiled and said, "Strategist, it's me."
Wu Yong said, "Oh, Zhu Gui. Is there something you need?"
Zhu Gui smiled maliciously: "It's alright, we'll talk about it when you wake up."
Seeing that Wu Yong had already drunk more than half a bowl and was still unmoved, I asked anxiously, "Did you put the medicine in the right place?"
Wu Yong recognized my unfamiliar voice and asked, "Zhu Gui, who's that next to you?" Only then did I realize that Wu Yong was very nearsighted.
Zhu Guile said, "It's Xiaoqiang."
Wu Yong nodded casually, drank the last sip of tea, then stood up and said, "Xiao Qiang, please make yourself at home. I'm going back to my room to get my glasses..."
Hearing this, Zhu Gui and I finally burst into laughter. Wu Yong, perhaps still not fully understanding, rolled his eyes at us and went inside. After rummaging around for a while, he asked in bewilderment, "Where are my glasses?"
The next second, Wu Yong rushed out, grabbed the door frame, and shouted, "Xiao Qiang, did you bring my glasses?"
Chapter 110 Have you eaten?
Xiang Yu woke up and asked me for the Overlord Spear; Fatty Ying woke up and asked me for tomato and egg noodles and a game console; Er Sha woke up and asked me for a transistor radio; now, Wu Yong woke up and asked me for glasses…
The impact of human development and technological progress is evident from this. However, Wu Yong's situation is somewhat more understandable. After all, the eyes are the windows to the soul. Although he couldn't see clearly before, he at least showed some wisdom. Now, looking at him again, he's groping around like a blind man—so tell me, has technology brought progress or regression to people?
Hmm, such profound thinking. It seems I've taken another step closer to becoming an expert.
I laughed and said, "Brother Wu Yong, I came in a hurry this time. Next time I'll bring you a pair of invisibility suits."
Wu Yong was now fully awake. He subconsciously made a gesture to adjust his glasses and asked, "Xiao Qiang, how did you get here?"
"I drove here."
"...What era is it outside Liangshan?"
I understood his concerns and laughed, "Don't worry, no one will come to attack Liangshan with planes and tanks."
Wu Yong breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned to me, saying, "Come on, tell me what happened."
This is the difference between Wu Yong and Zhu Gui. When Zhu Gui and the others saw me, they first caught up with me, while Wu Yong immediately thought that something must have happened since I had come all this way. I ran into the house and brought out two small stools to sit opposite Wu Yong with Zhu Gui. Before speaking, I sighed and slowly said, "I came to see my brothers this time because of Fang La—have you heard? Fang La has already started a rebellion."
Wu Yong and Zhu Gui exchanged glances and both shook their heads. Wu Yong said, "Fang La isn't..."