I grabbed Wu Yong and asked, "Strategist, what happened?"
Wu Yong ushered me inside, and after I sat down, he said, "Yan Qing and Dean Dai have returned."
I quickly asked, "Oh, how is it?"
Wu Yong said, “That Jin Wuzhu is extremely arrogant and doesn’t take Liangshan seriously at all. He thinks we are just a group of bandits under the control of the imperial court, and he said that if we don’t surrender soon, we will be wiped out. He rejected Li Shishi’s matter after only a few words. If it weren’t for Xiao Yi’s wisdom and courage, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to escape unscathed.”
I asked in surprise, "He has no scruples whatsoever about our 250,000-strong Liangshan army?"
Wu Yong gently waved his feather fan and said, "There is probably a misunderstanding here. Jin Wuzhu does not know the true situation of Liangshan. We belong to the Song court, and he only thinks that the brothers have been bribed by Emperor Huizong of Song to act as his advocates. As a result, he regards Li Shishi as a rare treasure. It is my fault for not thinking things through properly and alerting the enemy too early."
Seeing Jin Shaoyan's face turn pale, I quickly asked, "What do we do next?"
Before Wu Yong could answer, Li Kui roared, "Beat him up! What else can we do?"
Wu Yong smiled without speaking, seemingly genuinely intending to send troops to resist the Jin. Bandits are bandits; no matter how refined their appearance, it can't hide their fierce and ruthless spirit. No wonder Xiang Yu and Wu Yong got along so well. Speaking of war, these men cheered and rubbed their hands together, clearly itching to fight. They'd been cooped up in the mountains for ages.
I asked urgently, "Is there any other way?"
Wu Yong smiled faintly and said, "I'm thinking about it, but it seems there's no better way."
I suddenly thought of a question: "How many Jin soldiers were there?" In my memory, when ethnic minorities invaded the Central Plains, the number of people was usually not large, and they were usually elite troops.
To my surprise, Wu Yong's answer was: "Around 800,000."
I exclaimed in horror, "How can there be so many? Can we even win?"
Wu Yong said, "The Jurchens are all soldiers, and with the addition of some soldiers from the old Liao dynasty, that's about the number. I also remember that there weren't this many before, but things have come to this point. We have to fight whether we can win or not—we're men of the trade, and we have to keep our word."
I was sweating bullets. Judging from Wu Yong's tone, he probably wasn't confident of winning this battle. The Jin army was not like the Song army. At this time, the Jin Dynasty was at its peak, with 250,000 peasant militia against 800,000 elite troops. Even if Xiang Yu came, it would be useless. If I were to run to the front lines and laugh, even if I laughed myself silly, it probably wouldn't help.
I grabbed Wu Yong's hand and said, "Don't get agitated, let me think of a way."
Wu Yong asked, "What's your plan?"
I scratched my head vigorously and said, "I just don't believe that among all the clients I've served, not one could have any connection with Jin Wuzhu..." After thinking for a long time, I really couldn't, except for Tong Yuan, who was Manchu but couldn't speak Manchu...
Looking at the group of bandits who were barely concealing their murderous intent, I said, "How about this, I'll go and talk to Jin Wuzhu. After all, they're all potential clients in the future; can't we talk things out amicably?"
Yan Qing retorted, "Do you think you're better at talking than us? Do you think he'll believe you?"
I said, "How will I know if I don't try?"
Wu Yong said, "Forget it, let Xiao Qiang try. He's just trying to avoid us both getting hurt."
Actually, what I'm worried about isn't a lose-lose situation, but a total loss. This also involves the Jin dynasty's conquest of the Northern Song. Organizing Liangshan to resist the Jin—who knows what unexpected things might happen? One wrong move and we'd all be wiped out—why do I feel like what I'm doing is a bit like that traitorous Qin Hui?
I had no time to say more and turned to get into the car. Wu Yong said, "Jin Wuzhu's army is currently stationed outside Taiyuan Prefecture in Shanxi. Just drive west."
Baozi bid farewell to everyone and sat down next to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I was taken aback and said, "What are you going to do? Get off!"
Baozi said, "I want to go see Shishi."
I said, "Do you think this is a concert?"
Baozi said, "If all else fails, I can just stay in the car, right?"
I knew it would be difficult to persuade this woman, and time was of the essence, so I had to give up. Just as I was about to leave, Jin Shaoyan grabbed my car window and threw in a huge pile of gold bars. I said, both amused and exasperated, "What are you doing?"
Jin Shaoyan said, "It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. Brother Qiang, I'm counting on you!"
I waved and drove off.
Once outside Liangshan's sphere of influence, the situation immediately changed. In this chaotic time of war, refugees were everywhere, and groups of defeated government troops could be seen looting the food of the starving. The internal and external troubles of the Song Dynasty had come to a head; even if the Jin army retreated now, the country was doomed.
After driving for a short time, the number of refugees gradually decreased, indicating that we were approaching the Jin army's main camp. I drove around people as I could, and finally, I could see the Jin army commander's golden-roofed tent in the distance. Jin soldiers and generals were densely packed around it, and the fortifications were winding and complex.
I hid the car in a grove of trees and asked Baozi, "What do we do now?"
Baozi, mimicking the sneaky look of special forces soldiers on TV, glanced around, then made a cutting motion at me and said, "Why don't we just barge in and snatch Shishi out?"
I playfully slapped her and said, "You've been reading too much 'The Many Bloods,' haven't you? Do you think we can even get in?" Actually, I'd been fantasizing about this method all along. But our vehicle wasn't a giant dragon that could descend from the sky, nor could it be stopped by a thousand gates and eight generals; a few steps and it would be over. Besides, the Jin army's tents stretched for hundreds of miles; who knew where Li Shishi was being held captive?
Baozi opened the car door and said, "Let's go then."
I said, "Weren't you in the car?"
Baozi retorted, "Did you believe me when I said that?"
I'm speechless... I've noticed that this woman has been increasingly displaying her strategic planning and innate cunning lately. This might be a result of being influenced by her surroundings—although she only played checkers with Fatty Ying for two days, it's hard to say whether she's picked up any underhanded tactics from his unconventional thinking. Another possibility is that our Baozi is simply born to thrive in chaotic times. You know, a baozi shop owner is already quite successful among those low-born warlords in troubled times.
Baozi and I had barely stepped out of the woods when a group of Jin soldiers spotted us, brandishing long spears and shouting as they surrounded us. I immediately raised my hands and cried out, "I am a law-abiding citizen!"
Their squad leader shouted, "What are you doing?"
Wow, they can speak Chinese, and what they do, not just some kind of manual laborer—my impression of them immediately improved...
I raised my hand and said, "I'm here to talk to your marshal."
The squad leader glanced at us and said, "Come with us, don't try anything funny!"
After that, we weren't blamed or questioned. Ordinary people would normally avoid them like the plague, so those who came to us were obviously there to negotiate.
The squad leader led us to a tent and left. Two guards stood at the door to watch us, and they didn't even offer us a sip of water. It was the first time I'd ever been treated like this, and I grumbled, "Damn it, they're not hospitable at all."
Baozi said, "You're not their guest, so just make do. Just think of it as us coming to the bank for a loan."
A moment later, the curtain was lifted, and a military officer entered. He wore a bronze helmet and armor, with an animal hide waist guard, but judging from the decorations and the color of his armor, his rank was probably not high. Seeing someone arrive, I quickly stood up and smiled obsequiously. The officer glanced at us, then sat down casually, glaring at me coldly and refusing to exchange a word. After sitting for a long time, I couldn't help but ask, "General, when will your commander see us?"