We were chatting away when suddenly a person popped out of the large water vat next to me with a splash, startling me. The person wiped the water from their face and said, "Second Brother, Fifth Brother, what are you talking about? I can't understand a word." It was Ruan Xiaoqi.
Ruan Xiaoer laughed and said, "You'll find out tomorrow. Come on, let's have a drink together."
Ruan Xiaowu explained to me, "In the summer, we like to hide in the water vats to escape the heat." When I looked in the yard, there were indeed five more water vats—it seems that the wives of these three men are all good swimmers.
They drank until the sun went down. The heat still lingered, and Ruan Xiao'er, fanning himself frantically, looked up at the sky and said, "If only a great flood would come and drown us all—"
Ruan Xiaowu said, "Looks like I'll have to sleep in the tank again tonight. Hey, Xiaoqiang, do you want to try it? It's really fun. You can sleep in my tank."
I quickly waved my hand: "Don't be so polite—" Guess whether I'll drown first or saturate first?
Zhang Shun didn't come back that night, so we had to postpone the plans we made for him to the next day.
The next morning, while I was still dreaming, I heard a series of increasingly loud and urgent clanging sounds. I had just gotten up, still half asleep, when I saw the Ruan brothers hurriedly getting dressed, saying, "Xiao Qiang, come with us quickly. Brother Song is on an emergency assembly; something must have happened."
As we left the courtyard, we saw groups of heroes rushing towards the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness from all directions; some we knew, some we didn't. Ruan Xiaoer grabbed Duan Jingzhu and said to me, "Xiaoqiang, you can't come in with us yet. Just stand at the entrance of the hall and let Jingzhu greet you."
I followed Duan Jingzhu to the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, where seventy or eighty people had already gathered. In the very center of the hall, an unassuming, dark-skinned, stout man was already seated, with Lu Junyi and Wu Yong beside him. Wu Yong squinted and pointed towards the door, asking something, probably asking if I had arrived. Many people winked at me, but no one had time to come and talk to me. It seemed that this kind of emergency meeting was quite important and more serious than usual on Liangshan; something must have really happened.
Song Heipang sat there without putting on airs, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with the brothers who came forward to greet him. About ten minutes later, the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness was packed, and all 108 heroes had finally assembled.
Everyone was seated according to their rank. Duan Jing was seated last, near the door, and I stood hesitantly behind him. Since it was a bandit meeting, the protocol wasn't very formal, so my position at the back wasn't particularly noticeable.
A few minutes later, after the leaders, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, exchanged greetings, Song Jiang coughed lightly. Everyone knew the meeting was about to officially begin and gradually quieted down. Song Jiang stood up and said, "I've called you all here today because there's something I want to discuss with you all."
Everyone looked up, waiting for him to continue. Song Jiang smiled slightly and said, "We'll talk about that later. First, let me mention something else—I've heard that recently our brothers on the mountain have been associating with some shady characters. I must give you all a little reminder: Liangshan has rules..."
Seeing that Song Jiang was a million miles away, I tugged at Duan Jingzhu's sleeve and asked, "Who is it? Who are you talking about?" Although I was in a bandit's den, I thought I was still quite safe, so my gossipy soul started stirring again. Some shady characters? Who could it be—could there be anyone more shady than these people present?
Song Jiang continued, "I vaguely remember hearing this person's name was something like Xiao Qiang?"
I was just whispering with Duan Jingzhu when I heard the name "Xiao Qiang" and was shocked: I'm involved here too?
As soon as I looked up, I saw dozens of smiling eyes staring at me, many of whom couldn't help but laugh. Wu Yong and Lu Junyi exchanged a glance, then whispered something in Song Jiang's ear. Song Jiang was initially confused, but after listening for a while, he smiled and said, "Oh, since he's a friend, let's invite him up to meet everyone."
Wu Yong and Lu Junyi both waved and smiled at me, saying, "Xiao Qiang, come here—"
The thirty-odd heroes, led by Zhang Qing and Dong Ping, couldn't help but laugh when they saw my silly, goose-like appearance...
Chapter 113 Democratic Voting
I don't know how Wu Yong and the others spoke to Song Jiang, but this kind of situation probably happened before, since the bandits all had wide connections before joining the bandits. Song Jiang sat there and glanced at me, smiling, but he seemed somewhat absent-minded.
As I walked forward, people greeted me—some patted me on the shoulder, some kicked me, and some even tucked my head under their armpits and pinched my scalp with their fists…
By the time I finally made my way through the group of over 30 people to Song Jiang, I looked like a dirty, shaggy bear that had been played with by countless mischievous children. I staggered forward and awkwardly said, "Brother Song Jiang."
Song Jiang probably hadn't expected me to know so many people present, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes as he looked me over. He had originally been sitting there, intending to be greeted by me, but at this moment he changed his mind, stood up, rushed to me, grabbed my hand, and said with a smile, "Hehe, Brother Xiao Qiang, where are you from?"
It must be said that Song Jiang truly possessed leadership qualities, or rather, leadership shrewdness. When someone suddenly appeared in his territory whom his men all knew but he didn't, his first reaction wasn't wariness but acceptance—at least that's how it appeared. We know that Song Jiang was largely responsible for the downfall of Liangshan, but no one truly blamed him, as evidenced by the words of the 54 heroes who came to his side. This demonstrates that Song Jiang was genuinely popular. Otherwise, over a hundred unruly men wouldn't have stayed on Liangshan until they were granted amnesty. They weren't just a hundred simpletons; if Song Jiang were merely a manipulator of power, many would have seen through him long ago.
I finally had time to take a good look at this dark-skinned fat man—he really was a dark-skinned fat man, dark-skinned fat man from head to toe, like the second brother of my neighbor who lived in the tenement and ate noodles under the street sign every day, a bit simple-minded, but very good at carpentry.
His questions were very tactful; he didn't use the insincere "I've heard so much about you," nor was he overly enthusiastic. Instead, he asked where I was from. His thoughtfulness made me wonder if he was also trying to gauge my background to determine my character—well, I'm better at playing power games than Song Jiang.
I replied, "I came in 2008."
Song Jiang responded with two "ohs," completely oblivious to what 2008 meant, and it's unclear what he was thinking.
The chubby man exchanged a few more pleasantries with me, then ordered, "Get Xiao Qiang a seat." Someone moved a stool and placed it in front of the leaders, which meant they weren't treating me like an outsider and had given the subordinates enough face. I considered this matter closed. Wu Yong and Lu Junyi didn't mention the 109 incident again, because we could both see that Song the Fat had something very important to do today.
Song Jiang clapped his hands and said, "I have gathered all the brothers here today to discuss a matter of great importance concerning the fate of Liangshan!"
The crowd below exchanged glances, all focusing their attention on Song Jiang. Song Jiang waved his hand and said, "Last night, Dean Dai returned from outside the mountains with news that Fang La has already started a rebellion in Jiangnan. Please explain the details to the brothers, Dean Dai."
Dai Zong was ranked 20th on the mountain, not far from Song Jiang, and even closer to where I was sitting, but he didn't recognize me yet. He stood up expressionlessly and said, "Fang La started his rebellion in Shezhou, and in just a few months he has captured 6 prefectures and 52 counties, and his army is already close to Kaifeng. The imperial court is now urgently mobilizing troops from all directions to quell the rebellion."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions softened, and many responded with sounds like "oh" or "um," a clear indication of indifference. The bandits' hold on Liangshan was essentially a rebellion, so whether Fang La rose up or not was of little concern to them, let alone a cause for worry.
Song Jiang seemed dissatisfied with everyone's reaction and prompted, "Brothers, don't you have anything to say?"
Li Kui scratched his head and said, "Brother, do you also want to be emperor? Then let's rebel!" Some straightforward people in the crowd echoed his sentiment. There were also more experienced people who said, "I'm afraid it's not the right time to rebel now. We should wait and see."
Song Jiang glared at Li Kui, then turned to the crowd and said, "Brothers, as citizens of the Great Song Dynasty, how can we stand idly by when our country is in trouble?"
A rough, boisterous voice laughed in surprise: "Brother, don't forget our identities." It was none other than Monk Lu.
Song Jiang waved his hand and said, "We were forced to become outlaws on Liangshan Mountain. Every one of you brothers is skilled and loyal. We can't live with this stigma for generations. I intend to take this opportunity to request amnesty from the imperial court and send all the troops of Liangshan to quell Fang La. This will also help you brothers secure a better future. What do you think?"
I was immune to these words; it was Song Jiang's signature move. Wu Yong, Lu Junyi, and the other 30-odd men were also well aware of his intentions and remained silent. However, the majority of the remaining men erupted in protest, shouting and expressing doubt, with a few radicals vehemently objecting. I also noticed a few people remaining silent, seemingly in agreement.
Song Jiang raised his voice and said, "Stop arguing, speak one at a time."
The outspoken Ruan Xiaoqi exclaimed, "Our Liangshan is fertile and has plenty of water. The brothers are living a carefree life. Brother Song, you don't need to worry about the dog of a court invading. With us brothers here, no matter how many they come, they'll be fed to turtles. Isn't it better to live a carefree life like this? Why bother with amnesty?" As he spoke, he nudged Ruan Xiaoer and Ruan Xiaowu beside him, "Second Brother, Fifth Brother, say something! Do you want to become some kind of corrupt official?"
The second and fifth brothers are also in a difficult position, because according to our plan, the step of pacifying Fang La is still necessary.
Song Jiang looked at the noisy meeting hall below with a stern face, and after a while he said again: "Stop making noise, speak one by one."
A burly man sitting silently beside Lu Heshang suddenly said coldly, "Fang La has never provoked Liangshan, so why are you attacking him?" It was Wu Song.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Song Jiang stood up and asked, "What do you all think?"
I interjected, "Why don't we hold a democratic vote?"
Song Jiang asked in surprise, "A democratic vote?"
Wu Yong whispered in his ear, "It means everyone writes their opinions down on paper, and then we count heads. Whichever side has more people will get their opinion done."