Three times the cock crowed, and the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn. The people of the village were already stirring. Far from the bustling south of the Wu Dynasty, life around Solitary Dragon Ridge was simple and unadorned. There was little in the way of entertainment. The villagers tilled the fields, the womenfolk did needlework, and in their spare time, they visited each other, gathering in front of someone's house to enjoy the cool air. This was the daily life of most farming families in the Wu Dynasty, day in and day out, year after year. Around Solitary Dragon Ridge, there was perhaps one additional activity: to protect the village, they would organize the villagers for combat training. It was often from these drills that a fierce and hardy spirit emerged.

The formation of places like Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge was originally similar to bandit strongholds. First, a local gang gathered, and then more people gradually came. Since the area was close to trade routes, a new order gradually established itself. Instead of earning money through looting and murder, which was short-sighted and would attract the attention of the government, they began to collect protection fees and engage in gray-area businesses. Even if they occasionally fought and clashed with others, it was only for the sake of competing for and protecting territory. In Shandong, especially near Liangshan, these things were unavoidable, but most of the villagers returned to farming when the situation was relatively peaceful.

Solitary Dragon Ridge was blessed with a unique terrain, and the three villages there also had a number of workshops that employed the villagers. Although they couldn't compare to the prosperity and specialization of the big cities, these small workshops, on the one hand, could meet the living needs of the twenty to thirty thousand people on Solitary Dragon Ridge, and on the other hand, they could produce some goods and trade with the outside world for huge profits. For example, some salt and iron businesses, which were strictly controlled by the government, could be stockpiled and operated by Solitary Dragon Ridge itself. As long as it wasn't done too excessively, life was fairly comfortable.

The usual farming life, martial arts training to defend the village, and various money-making businesses could be regarded as three things that went hand in hand in Solitary Dragon Ridge. Of course, recently, due to the growing strength of Liangshan, the villagers' drills had become the most important thing. Solitary Dragon Ridge, from top to bottom, had become tense. Early in the morning, one could see the villagers starting to train under the command of their instructors.

Hu Cheng walked along the bluestone path in front of him and arrived at the threshing ground, where he saw his younger sister arguing with the villagers. She stood with one hand on her hip, smiling and looking up, and shouting, "Anyone who has the guts can come and fight me!" The person arguing with her was Liao Sibao, the son of the village's chief steward, who had grown up with his sister and himself since they were children. Similar arguments weren't uncommon.

Although the words were loud, no fight broke out, of course. His sister had been skilled in martial arts since she was a child. Now, she was taller than most men, with a pair of Sun-Moon Twin Blades on her back. Her swordsmanship was fierce, and few in the village were her match. Liao Sibao wouldn't fight her. In fact, Sibao was probably interested in his sister. San Niang was beautiful, and most of the children who grew up with her had some feelings for her, but if they couldn't beat her, it was all in vain.

Among the young people in the villages, only Zhu Biao of Zhu Family Village could slightly overpower San Niang. After San Niang was betrothed to Zhu Biao, everyone had nothing to say.

"Alright, Bao Si, stop arguing with her and take everyone to practice. San Niang, you too, all you know how to do is argue early in the morning..."

As an older brother, Hu Cheng went over to mediate, and both sides gave him face. Quarrels and arguments were common among villagers. If they were married, the men and women would say all sorts of lewd things without restraint. His sister wasn't married yet, so that was good, and everyone wouldn't argue too fiercely. After this small farce was over, his sister walked to the side with her brother, raised her chin, and asked, "Who's that over there? That... business公子哥?"

Following her gaze, at the edge of the threshing ground, several people were doing simple exercises, none of whom were from their village. The young man in the middle was wearing clothes that were so beautiful they were almost ostentatious. He was also looking over here, with his hands on his hips, twisting and swaying his body like a noodle, looking rather awkward. Then he waved hello to this side, and Hu Cheng cupped his fist in greeting.

"Yeah, that's 雷锋 Lei Feng,公子, who came here the day before yesterday to talk about business."

"What's he doing, acting so strange? I heard he knows martial arts?"

"He said he does. His bodyguards aren't bad, but he just looks like a guy who practiced a few fancy moves with a master for a few years. He's from a wealthy family in the capital, you know. He said... he has a nickname, 'Hun Yuan Pi Li Shou' (Mixed Primal Thunderbolt Hand), so he probably knows a few palm techniques... When he came over, he said he was very interested in the fact that there was going to be a war here and wanted to watch..."

"These公子 from the city think this is a game? I could beat him with one hand." The young woman named Hu San Niang glanced at him. "But, coming at this time, could he be sent by Liangshan? Why did we let him into the village..."

"That shouldn't be the case." Hu Cheng shook his head. "I confirmed it with the government people yesterday. The young master of the Lei family has a lot of connections. The day before yesterday, he spent more than six thousand taels of silver in Zhu Family Village, all on buying things and placing orders. His family sent him here to run a business, but what he's most interested in is war. Although this kid isn't good at martial arts and is a bit muddled when he talks about war, he has a family background, so he's very good at doing business. Yesterday morning, when he was talking to Li Family Village, Uncle Li praised him to the skies."

Of the three villages on Solitary Dragon Ridge, Zhu Family Village was the leader, because Zhu Chaofeng had the best overall perspective. But when it came to doing business, the village head of Li Family Village, "Soaring Eagle" Li Ying, was extremely skilled. This newcomer, 雷锋 Lei Feng公子, had impressed Zhu Chaofeng and Li Ying with his business acumen one after the other. Yesterday afternoon, he was invited to Hu Family Village, where Hu Taigong asked him about ways to improve several workshops. It was said that new methods were used in big places like the capital, and this young man was indeed very persuasive when he talked about business matters.

"It's just that, after saying a few words about business, he has to drag it into martial arts and war, talking about what we should do when Liangshan attacks. It's really unlucky, and he talks nonsense. I really want to beat him up, but Uncle Li said he's a genius in business and told us to learn from him, so I held back. I don't know how Zhu Biao held back when he was at Zhu Family Village."

Zhu Biao, the third son of the Zhu family, had the highest martial arts skills. Although he was his future brother-in-law, Hu Cheng and the others knew that he was arrogant and hot-tempered. It was really not easy for him not to beat up this annoying公子哥.

After saying a few words about this, the village's armed forces and commerce were two separate forces, and Hu San Niang didn't really care much about it, so she changed the topic. She then talked about Liangshan. Although the atmosphere was a bit tense at the moment, whether they would really attack seemed a bit distant, at least to young people like Hu Cheng and Hu San Niang. They had grown up here and participated in skirmishes involving hundreds of people, but Liangshan was openly rebelling, with tens of thousands of people. If they fought with all their strength, it would really be a war.

"I heard that Luan Tingyu, the instructor from Zhu Family Village, has returned these days because he thinks there's a possibility of war."

"Our village has a good terrain and a lot of people. If these bandits dare to attack, I'll chop off dozens of their heads with my Sun-Moon Twin Blades!"

"Just be careful. Zeng Family City was hit really hard last year, but our Solitary Dragon Ridge isn't to be trifled with. If they really attack, we'll definitely let them know how powerful we are."

The brother and sister talked about this and stopped paying attention to the rich公子 and the others. On the other side, Ning Yi, Wang Shanyue, Su Wenyu, the Qi brothers, and others were stretching their muscles and talking.

"Brother Lei, you said... you're interested in a girl, that Hu San Niang? She is really tall..."

Ning Yi was starting to practice slow Tai Chi: "I'm a little disappointed too. She's pretty, but she just looks like a village girl..."

Wang Shanyue, with a plain face, sat on a wooden stake on the side. He actually looked a bit prettier than Hu San Niang. He watched him practice boxing: "This Miss Hu is highly skilled in martial arts and ranks among the best on Solitary Dragon Ridge. She is betrothed to Zhu Biao, the third son of Zhu Family Village. You almost fought the other day... I want to remind you that this 公子 Zhu has the true teachings of that Instructor Luan. He can withstand more than a hundred moves from Instructor Luan without being defeated. If you are interested in this Miss Hu, you should think twice."

Scholars and men of letters often consider themselves to be romantic, and Wang Shanyue, with his family background, had seen a lot of it. At this time, he opened his mouth to warn him. Ning Yi nodded as he practiced boxing: "I know. I estimate that his martial arts are not much different from those of Lin Chong and the others. That is to say... about the same level as Fang Shuchang of the Dominating Blade Manor. Three brothers Qi, can you beat him?"

Qi Xinyi said: "About the same... If it's Fang Shuchang, we might be a little worse... In short, it's very difficult to win. We might be able to hold on without being defeated."

"Oh, then Brother Wang must be very powerful?" Ning Yi had heard that the wolf-pack leader was highly skilled in martial arts, came and went like the wind, and was feared by all. No matter what, such an evaluation seemed to be on par with Lin Chong, but after asking, Wang Shanyue said: "My martial arts are not high. You misunderstood. I have been weak since I was a child, and it has always been difficult to learn martial arts. If we really fight, don't mention Zhu Biao and Hu San Niang, even Zhu Long and Hu Cheng, I may not be their match..."

"Ah?" Ning Yi was stunned, but then he shrugged his shoulders indifferently: "But it's okay, I'm just curious. After seeing it, it's nothing."

"Why are you curious?"

"Secret." Ning Yi smiled. Although he didn't know much about the Liangshan heroes of Water Margin, he had certainly heard the name Hu San Niang. It was said that she was highly skilled in martial arts, beautiful, and tragic. When he saw Zhu Family Village, he wanted to come and take a look. But now that he had seen her, he felt that she was just an ordinary village chief's daughter. Her appearance was not bad, and she was more confident than the average woman, but she wasn't too crude. But to be honest, she was just like a taller Guo Fu.

It seemed that Hu San Niang, who had not been raped by that wretched dwarf and whose whole family was still alive, lacked a bit of charm...

This was just a small diversion on the way to doing serious business, and Ning Yi wouldn't take it too seriously. In his opinion, the timing of this visit was good. Intelligence from the government and from the Angry Banana side showed that Liangshan was preparing to settle the area around the Water Margin in one battle, and the war might break out at the end of this month.

After staying on Solitary Dragon Ridge for two days, Ning Yi also went to Ten Thousand Family Ridge and met with the head of the Ji family there, using "business talks" as an excuse. But to be honest, the scale of Ten Thousand Family Ridge was only about sixty percent of that of Solitary Dragon Ridge. After this simple meeting, Ning Yi returned to Solitary Dragon Ridge and had Qi Xinhan follow Su Wenyu to Jizhou City to spread some simple rumors through government officials.

Wang Shanyue followed all the way, but he didn't quite understand what Ning Yi was going to do. The rumors that he had the government spread were simply "Song Jiang wants to negotiate with the government and surrender." There wasn't much in the way of manipulation or arrangement. The credibility of such rumors was extremely low. Compared to the Secret Intelligence Division, the efficiency of the government in the Liangshan area was shockingly poor. Even if they spread rumors all over the world, they wouldn't be able to shake the internal stability of Liangshan.

On the other hand, Ning Yi's methods and plans for talking business with Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge were extremely reliable. Ning Yi had basically come up with a smuggling plan that ran through the Shandong area, with Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge as important links. If they could ensure that the roads were clear and combine with merchants in the capital, they could obtain huge profits. Some of the goods could even be processed on Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge. This plan could even be subtly extended north. If they could open up the Lvliang Mountains, they could even cross the border into the Liao Kingdom and make huge profits by trading in salt, iron, tea, and other items.

Wang Shanyue had a family background and could figure out whether some things were feasible with a little thought. After a few days, he even suspected that Ning Yi had really come to do business. When he was staying at the inn on Solitary Dragon Ridge, he asked directly.

"If you want to deal with Liangshan, you should gather all the forces around you, Solitary Dragon Ridge, Ten Thousand Family Ridge, and even the large and small strongholds around you. You have already prepared the government's identity certificates. Why are you only talking about business these days and not about dealing with Liangshan? Once the fighting starts, there won't be this opportunity..."

For the past few days, Wang Shanyue had been providing Ning Yi with information about the heroes of Liangshan to summarize. On this night, he expressed his doubts. Ning Yi, who was eating peanuts and sorting out information under the light, clapped his hands.

"It's not the time yet. Brother Wang also knows that although Solitary Dragon Ridge is a bit whitewashed, they have no good feelings for the government, or rather, everyone knows what kind of person the government is. The Wu Rui Camp fought with Liangshan before and lost face terribly. When I came over, Prince Kang and Prime Minister Qin told me that it wasn't impossible to force them to send troops, but they could only gather at most 20,000 people for one battle. In a situation where everyone cherishes their lives, even in the best case, the Wu Rui Camp with 20,000 people, plus Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge with 15,000 or 16,000 people... Even if they gathered a total of 40,000 people, they wouldn't want to put in the effort. It's still meaningless."

"According to Brother Ning's calculation, the Wu Rui Camp will definitely cherish their lives. Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge might fight if they are forced to the extreme, but that wouldn't be very meaningful either. If they are beaten to the point where only a few thousand people are left, even if they fight desperately, they won't be able to defeat Liangshan. Instead of letting them be defeated one by one, wouldn't it be better to boost their morale and maintain the current situation?"

"I don't want a stalemate, I want to break up Liangshan." Ning Yi shook his head and looked at Wang Shanyue. Then, he pointed to a small map next to him. "Solitary Dragon Ridge and Ten Thousand Family Ridge just need to not be defeated immediately. These two places are their own homes that they have built up. They will definitely put in the effort to defend. I just need them to go back and forth and defend for ten days or half a month."

"Ten days... half a month?" Wang Shanyue frowned. "Can it reverse the situation?"

"Maybe it can destroy Liangshan." Ning Yi smiled. "There are no other big forces around. It's definitely necessary to borrow the momentum. I don't have time to wait for them to attack Jizhou, so for now, this should be the only opportunity. Of course... I'm not very confident either. I'll just have to see how it goes."

Wang Shanyue thought for a long time. Solitary Dragon Ridge, Ten Thousand Family Ridge, and other places were where the villagers' lives and property were located, so they would definitely be able to defend for a while. But... Liangshan had already expanded to more than 50,000 people, heading towards 60,000. With just these ten or so people, at most forty or so people, could they reverse the situation and destroy Liangshan in ten days or half a month? What on earth was this guy thinking...

"Then... what else do we need to prepare?"

"Actually, there's nothing." Ning Yi closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and shook his head. "The rumors from Wenyu's side have already been released. Your people should be coming soon. Now... we're just waiting for the fighting to start. And the only thing we need to ensure is..."

He smiled: "When the fighting starts, we have to be inside the village..."

Wang Shanyue thought for a while: "Then I'll wait and see."

After getting up and leaving the room, he shook his head. The wolf-pack bandits roamed this area, and good and bad people alike were terrified, but he was also at a loss when it came to Liangshan. And this matter, this person, really made him feel a kind of inexplicable weirdness and incomprehensibility.

In just six or seven days, it was difficult to say clearly his impression of this person. When facing outsiders, he seemed a bit reckless, but he did indeed hold the line in some ways. But when everyone was alone, he kept sorting out the Liangshan information that he had provided, comparing it with his previous information to make comparisons and modifications, arranging what others should do, racing against time and being meticulous. He looked younger than himself, but at that time, the impression he gave was an indescribable sense of oppression. He had seen such an aura on his grandfather, his teachers, and others. He could... tell that he was doing things seriously, but he couldn't see what he was thinking.

When the information from the capital came, saying that someone would be responsible for Liangshan's affairs, he had wondered how the other party would handle the matter. For example, mobilizing the forces of the government and the army, and uniting the forces near the Water Margin vertically and horizontally. The matter would inevitably be trivial and difficult, the situation would be huge, but it still had to be resolved, and the duration would definitely be very long. But the current matter had not appeared in any of his speculations.

He did have arrangements for matters that required the cooperation of the government and the army. He was using the people around him, because after staying here for a while, it was possible to really get the army and the government to move. He even made arrangements for what would happen if things couldn't be done. But these were not the center of his plan. He didn't seem to want to force the army and the government to come out to deal with Liangshan too much. And in just seven days, with only forty or so people he could use, he was ready to face Liangshan directly.

After the war started, if they stayed in the village, there was probably no chance of escaping if Liangshan broke through Solitary Dragon Ridge.

It was estimated that there would be war in just three to five days. Next, it seemed that all that was left was waiting. For a time, Wang Shanyue even began to wonder if he should make a decision at this time that might cost him his life, although the letter from his teacher did tell him to fully cooperate with this person's actions...

He thought about these things and was a little confused. He didn't know that not long after he left the room, a dark shadow walked in the darkness outside and knocked on the window of Ning Yi's room.

May 23rd, the night was as dark as ink. Looking back, there were only five days left until that battle that was not difficult to guess and seemed to have no suspense...