The Second Volume of Water Margin

  Xue Jingxian was overjoyed and said: "Brother Ximen, you saved my life first, and now you want to follow me into battle. This is truly heaven helping me!"

  "In that case, tomorrow morning we'll cook and set off in unison towards Zengtou City!"

  Ximen Qing saw that Chao Gai was determined to avenge himself, but had lost sight of the proper method. He advised: "General, you must not be rash. If you know yourself and your enemy, you can win every battle. For now, it would be best to send out scouts to gather information about Zeng's situation in the city, and then make plans. If we attack blindly, there may still be unexpected consequences."

  Xiang Gai nodded in agreement: "Younger brother's words are reasonable, what does the military advisor think?"

  These days, Chao Gai gradually recovered, and Wu Yong's poisonous plan was in vain. But Wu Song and An Daquan were staring at each other, unable to make a move, and were anxious all day long. At this time, Chao Gai asked, but Wu Yong's mind was not on it, and he just nodded casually: "This is reasonable."

  Tongtian Tianwang Chuang Ge saw Wu Yong and had nothing to say, so he ordered the Divine Traveler Taibao Dai Zong to investigate the truth about Zeng Tou Shi, and the troops trained day and night in the camp, waiting for a major battle.

  Ximen Qing was just about to take his leave when Chong Wei grabbed his hand and said, "Younger brother, come with me to watch the soldiers' drill and see how powerful our army is."

  Ximen Qing had come several times before, but he was always in a hurry and didn't have time to notice. Under the enthusiastic persuasion of Chongtian Wang, he gladly agreed. The crowd of leaders surrounded Ximen Qing and Chongtian Wang, and they went to the front of the camp to watch the soldiers' drills.

  Wu Yong, the clever and resourceful strategist, watched from the side with a mix of jealousy and resentment. He thought to himself: "I didn't expect this linked ring plan to fail, and instead let Chai Jin gain Ximen Qing. I must find an opportunity to hurry back to the mountain stronghold and discuss this with Elder Brother Gongming."

  Listening to the earth-shaking shouts of the soldiers' drills, Ximen Qing looked around with hope in his eyes. Tuo Tuo Tian Wang Zhuo Ge was also on the side, pointing and gesturing: "These are all the elite of the mountain stronghold! Brother, look at the formation of the soldiers' drill, it is the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation presented by Wu Jun Shi, passed down from Zhuge Wuhou, mysterious and unparalleled!"

  Ximen Qing took a look and almost vomited blood. What kind of military might is this? Which nine palaces eight trigrams formation is this supposed to be?

  Only about two thousand soldiers were seen in front of the village, tall and short, fat and thin, not uniform. The good ones had pu dao and flower guns, but most of them were just carrying wooden clubs, and some even held a shovel, making Ximen Qing wonder if these were really the "crack troops" mentioned by Chao Gai?

  The soldiers' weapons were not uniform, and their clothes were even more diverse. Some wore loose-fitting robes with large sleeves, while others had bare arms; some wore monk's robes slanted over their shoulders, as if they had robbed a hapless monk. Several brothers wore tattered clothes, with several bags hanging from their waists, looking like beggars playing the role of a senior member of the Beggar Clan!

  Ximen Qing looked on with a numb scalp, coldly observing the crowd around him. From the self-proclaimed "Tathagata" Chao Gai to Du Qian and Song Wan, not one of them wasn't puffed out their chest, with an air of complacency. Only Sun Li's pale face showed a hint of shame, as he looked up at the sky with feigned nonchalance, while Wu Song furrowed his brow slightly, clearly also very dissatisfied with these two thousand "elite" troops.

  Ximen Qing suddenly remembered that except for a group of surrendered generals from the imperial court on Mount Liang, all the others were not from military backgrounds and had no concept of drilling soldiers. Looking at the current situation, it was clear that they thought "many people" and "loud voices" were synonyms for "elite", while Sun Li and those surrendered generals could not speak up and did not have the actual power to command the army!

  The two thousand people in front of him, if they were to be called "elite", it would be more accurate to call them bandits! Ximen Qing estimated that if they really encountered a well-trained official army, the leaders on both sides being equally matched, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that one official soldier could take on ten. Ximen Qing suddenly felt that stories like "Marshal Tian's three battles against Liangshan Marsh" were all compiled by Shi Nai'an from folk storytellers' tales, and if a real army of 100,000 soldiers were to crush them, then these so-called "elites" would probably not even have a glimmer of hope.

  Ximen Qing suddenly felt that for himself, this might not be a bad opportunity either. Now that Tong Taichang considered him a lifesaver and could be said to be a powerful ally, he could arrange for his own elite troops in Liangshanbo while struggling in business and officialdom. Only then would he have a last resort in the impending Jingkang disaster and turmoil!

  But the first step is to strengthen the relationship between Chao Gai and Lu Zhishen, slowly squeezing out Song Jiang's power in Liangshan Po, allowing these surrendered generals to grasp real power and control them!

  As for why Song Jiang, that black-hearted and cunning man, wanted to exclude these surrendered generals from the actual power structure, Ximen Qing also understood very well. After all, Song Jiang was just a small-time prison guard by origin, and when facing someone like Chai Ge, who was just a local security officer, it was still manageable; but if he were to face someone like Sun Li, who was a military commander of Dengzhou, Song Jiang would certainly not let them have control over the troops, lest there be mutinies or even internal conflicts.

  Under Song Jiang's policy, it can be imagined what kind of "crack troops" this motley crew would become.

  "Please, General, take the flag and change the formation, so that my brother Ximen can open his eyes." Tu Ta Tian Wang Chu Ge looked delighted, at this time two thousand people stood in a square array, although it was a bit crooked, but roughly square, preparing for the changes of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.

  "Good!" Wu Yong, the clever star, climbed up to the high platform and pulled out a triangular brocade flag from his sleeve, waving it back and forth. This Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation was something that Wu Yong had come up with using all of his knowledge and experience, combined with some formation diagrams he had seen in a damaged book.

  These triangular brocade flags were obviously used to command the changes in formation, two thousand pairs of eyes all looked at the small flag in Wu Yong's hand changing, and followed suit, dividing into groups, some larger or smaller, naturally revealing eight gates.

  This nine-palace eight-trigram formation is quite impressive! Although Ximen Qing doesn't understand the art of military deployment, he has also looked at some relevant materials out of curiosity. The nine-palace eight-trigram formation is divided into eight gates according to the Qimen Dunjia method: Rest, Birth, Injury, Du, Jing, Death, and Surprise, with endless changes. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a legendary story about Zhuge Liang using the Nine-Palace Eight-Trigram Formation to block 100,000 elite soldiers.

  Ximen Qing was amazed by the array of troops in front of him, and he carefully observed with great interest. Zhidu Xing Wu Yong secretly watched Ximen Qing's reaction with a cold eye, feeling proud of himself, deliberately showing off his knowledge, waving the triangular brocade flag in his hand to change continuously, and the soldiers followed suit, demonstrating various changes.

  The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation hides the way of heaven and earth, it can be said that changes are endless. Ximen Qing looked at the formation below changing continuously, nodding secretly to himself, this is indeed the biggest reliance under Liangshanbo's eyes. If a few generals control the gate, they can really win with fewer people, Zhī Mǎoxīng Wu Yong is indeed a clever person.

  Wu Yong was even more pleased, and the triangular brocade flag in his hand changed again. This time, Ximen Qing saw some clues, and while watching, he secretly counted from the first change to the eighteenth change. The soldiers' performance was extremely familiar, without any mistakes, but from the nineteenth change onwards, the soldiers' footsteps became somewhat hesitant, unsure whether it was due to insufficient practice or other reasons.

  After several more changes, Ximen Qing suddenly found that he had returned to the first change and repeated it. Only then did he realize that even Wu Yong, the clever star, could not grasp the ancient mysterious array, at most deducing about twenty or so changes, and only the first eighteen changes were the most familiar.

  The other leaders watched with relish, and Wu Yong, the clever star, still thought he had fooled everyone, and was delighted to have rearranged the sequence of the previous eighteen changes, re-practicing several times before finally waving the triangular silk flag in his hand, letting the two thousand soldiers return to their original square formation.

  "Master Ximen, how do you think Xiao Ke's 72 changes are?" Wu Yong, the clever star, put away the brocade flag and asked intentionally: "In fact, the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation is wonderfully infinite, let alone 72 changes. If we were to actually practice it, there would be over a thousand changes. But for demonstration purposes, 72 changes are enough."

  Ximen Qing had not yet spoken, but the Towering Sky King Zhuo Gai nodded repeatedly as he watched. The other leaders spoke one after another, saying that they were dazzled by the changes, which were indeed very powerful. Only Sick Yuanti Sun Li and Wu Song did not speak. Ximen Qing also didn't need to expose Wu Yong's lie at this moment, so he calmly said: "The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation in Zhuge Wuhou's hands can withstand 100,000 elite soldiers. In the hands of Military Advisor Wu... it can also resist a considerable number of troops."

  Ximen Qing's words came out, and Zhuang Ge and others did not figure out the meaning of Ximen Qing's words. Wu Song secretly sneered and looked up at the flying birds in the sky. Sun Li lowered his head to tidy up his armor, as if what was happening in front of him had nothing to do with himself.

  It was Wu Yong, the clever and resourceful one, who detected a hint of sarcasm in the words and his face turned slightly red. He didn't want to make a scene, so he politely responded with a couple of sentences, thus covering up the matter without further mention. However, Wu Yong's narrow-mindedness made him even more resentful towards Ximen Qing, and he furiously fanned himself with his feather fan over ten times, causing Liu Tang, the red-haired ghost, to burst out laughing on the side.

  "It's still chilly at this time of year, how come the military advisor's face is flushed, and he's fanning himself vigorously with a goose feather fan. Isn't he suffering from heat stroke? While Doctor An is still here, go take his pulse, it should be fine, don't let him sit on the illness."

  Wu Yong, the clever and resourceful one, was so angry that he wished he could swallow Ximen Qing with a mouthful of water. He didn't have time to bother with Liu Tang, stepped down from the high platform, ignored him, stood there thinking for a moment, determined to come up with a plan to deal with Ximen Qing once and for all.

  Tong Ta Tian Wang said to Ximen Qing, "In a few days, we will be fighting against Zeng Tou Shi. Your family is still living in Fahua Temple, which is not far from Zeng Tou Shi. When the time comes, it may be inconvenient. Why don't you move here to the camp and live with us? After we take down Zeng Tou Shi, I'll take you to Liangshan Po to stay for a while. I don't know what you think, brother, but if you agree, you can also get acquainted with the leaders on the mountain. What do you say?"

  This remark hit Ximen Qing's heart, and since the deadline for going to Tokyo was still early, he wanted to open his mouth with Chui Tianwang and stay in Liangshanpo for a few days. One is to recognize some good men who have admired Water Margin since childhood, and the other is to find an opportunity to tell Chui Tianwang about Song Jiang's idea of surrendering, and slowly squeeze out Song Jiang's power.

  Can't make Liangshan Po their own great rear, great base, really need to go through a bout, especially if that cold arrow is Xiaoli Guang's work, then Tuo Ta Tianwang Chao Gai will not be peaceful on the mountain, need to pay attention to assassination at all times.

  Because once Song Jiang tried it for the first time, as long as he didn't reveal his true intentions, he would inevitably try to arrange a second and third time! The current Liangshan Marsh is fraught with danger, and for Chao Gai, the current stronghold is actually safer.