Night had fallen, and the clamor of battle on Du Long Gang raged on without respite. Search: \(¨Complete¨ Book¨ Site¨) to read premium literature for free.

On the road between the Zhu Family Manor and the Hu Family Manor, skirmishes continued. Hu Sanniang, mounted on her horse, charged towards a group of Liangshan soldiers ahead, targeting their leader. In the dim light, her Sun and Moon Twin Blades clashed with the iron hammer in the enemy's hand, as the Zhuang villagers accompanying her surged forward.

Even after driving the enemy back, she didn't know who that general was.

In the darkness, she was nearing the east gate of the Zhu Family Manor when another group of Liangshan men, carrying torches, rushed out from a side road. The leading general rode a gray horse, wearing a tall headdress and a long beard, wielding a Green Dragon Blade. Her heart sank as he charged towards her!

"Little girl, you should be at home embroidering! Why come out in this chaotic war!"

The long blade came down fiercely. Hu Sanniang gritted her teeth and met the attack with her twin blades.

Although she hadn't faced this man before, after several days of fighting, she'd heard the names of some of the Liangshan generals. This "Great Blade" Guan Sheng was said to be a descendant of Guan Yunchang of the Three Kingdoms. His Green Dragon Blade was unmatched in battle, making him one of the most formidable leaders in Liangshan. She wasn't sure if she could handle him. After a brief skirmish, she led the villagers towards the Zhu Family Manor.

After a dozen or so exchanges, Hu Sanniang, already exhausted from the battle, struggled to defend herself. Fortunately, she was near the Zhu Family Manor's gatehouse. The enemy didn't dare pursue further. Guan Sheng halted his horse, watching the hundreds of people enter the manor before turning back to support other areas.

The fighting on Du Long Gang was like this – a series of skirmishes. Although each side had tens of thousands of men, the Du Long Gang area was full of winding paths, some wide, some narrow. Even at their widest, they couldn't support large-scale positional warfare. Usually, a general led two or three hundred men, at most five hundred, to charge between the manors. In such skirmishes, the general's martial prowess was paramount.

It was dawn on the first day of the sixth month. Hu Sanniang rested near the manor gate before preparing to meet with Zhu Chaofeng, led by a villager. As she passed a courtyard, she saw Lei, the young master dressed like a nouveau riche, stretching in front of the door. He smiled politely at her. Seeing his leisurely demeanor, Sanniang didn't bother to acknowledge him. This guy probably thought they had the upper hand. Though she hoped so, he would be wrong if that wasn't the case.

He was just a rich young master here to do business. They couldn't really criticize him. She only thought about it briefly. Then she saw the young master's attendant, who looked very feminine, walk over, bow slightly, and pass her by.

Things are troublesome... Wang Shanyue thought to himself.

The battle had been going on for three days. On the surface, at least, the situation remained a stalemate. The Liangshan forces had initially suffered some minor losses. The complex terrain of Du Long Gang, with its roads leading to dead ends, had initially caused them some trouble, but they had quickly overcome it.

Of course, even if they could find their way, the people of Du Long Gang still had the advantage of the terrain. They were familiar with the surroundings, and their ambushes, taking advantage of the geography, often caused the enemy trouble. Initially, they had even defeated and captured several small and medium-sized Liangshan leaders. Although they had also suffered losses, it helped their morale. But alas…

If Liangshan was steadily advancing with overwhelming force, then Du Long Gang was barely holding on, using every trick they knew to avoid defeat. Those who were tired of fighting should have realized this...

Moreover... there was the problem of the Li Family Manor not putting in enough effort. Pouncing Eagle Li Ying was hedging his bets, watching which way the wind blew…

Wang Shanyue frowned and went to Ning Yi, who was still not taking any action.

*****************

"Our army has seized the overall advantage."

On an open space near the woods outside the battlefield, Wu Yong, watching the clusters of light reflecting in the sky in the distance, smiled while waving his fan. Nearby, Song Jiang, with dark skin and phoenix-like eyes, walked over with his hands behind his back. "The strategist foresaw this outcome from the very beginning, didn't he?"

Wu Yong pointed his fan towards the fighting. "Now we can see it even more clearly. Once we press against the manor's edge, they will no longer have any advantage of the terrain. Our victory is assured. Now we're just trying to minimize casualties and watch them struggle pathetically, haha."

As he spoke, a group of soldiers returned. Black Whirlwind Li Kui, holding two broadaxes, was covered in blood and laughed as he came over. "So satisfying, so satisfying to kill! Brother Gongming, Strategist, when will we break their manor?"

"Iron Ox, don't be impatient. It will be in a few days."

"Then I'll kill the entire family of these bastards!"

As they talked, more people returned. Wu Yong was using the battles to train his troops in real combat, preparing for Liangshan's expansion. As for Du Long Gang, it was going to be destroyed anyway, so a few days earlier or later didn't matter. Once they seized the money and supplies from Du Long Gang, they would have more room to maneuver. Training troops and preserving strength at the same time was the right way.

This time, Suo Chao, Yang Zhi, and Lin Chong returned. Earlier, Suo Chao and Yang Zhi had fought the Zhu Family Manor's instructor, Luan Tingyu, outside the manor. After more than twenty exchanges, Luan Tingyu had steadily held his ground, only retreating without being defeated. Then Lin Chong arrived and, seeing that the two might be led into an ambush near the manor, quickly warned them. The three then returned together. They spoke of Luan Tingyu with some admiration. In previous encounters, even "Fiery Thunderbolt" Qin Ming had been defeated and captured by him. In the battles of the past few days, he had even forced Guan Sheng, Hua Rong, and Lin Chong to retreat. He was truly formidable.

The group said, "He is indeed a hero."

"After we break the manor, if he knows what's good for him and treats Brother Qin and the others well, we might spare his life."

"If he doesn't surrender, let him taste my broadaxe and chop off his head!"

*******************

Even though they had retreated, the Zhu Family Manor side showed no signs of discouragement. When Luan Tingyu entered the manor gate, holding his octagonal staff, the villagers cheered, saying, "Those people were formidable." "The Azure-Faced Beast and the Vanguard General are all great generals of Liangshan." "Instructor Luan almost caught them!" "So amazing!"

Amidst the cheers, Luan Tingyu smiled and raised his heavy octagonal mixed bronze staff in acknowledgement. When his gaze dropped, a glint of fierceness flashed in his eyes, and his arm trembled slightly in the shadows, unseen by the others.

Too bad I couldn't catch those two… I'm afraid there won't be another chance like that.

In the past few days, he had been fighting with all his might, pushing himself to the peak of his abilities, defeating opponents and even capturing three leaders. But even so, with the combined efforts of his disciple Zhu Biao and others, the situation hadn't improved. The sense of urgency in his heart only grew heavier.

He continued inside, seeing Zhu Biao, covered in blood, returning excitedly from the battle. He greeted him. After dismounting, several children came hopping up to offer him wine and follow him with towels to wipe the blood off his armor. He knew he smelled strongly of blood, so he drank a bowl of wine and sent the children away. When he returned to his courtyard, the fatigue and anger in his body surged up. He entered his room, placed the heavy mixed bronze staff against the wall, sat down in a chair, took a deep breath, and his eyes turned fierce.

If we really can't withstand these people… He thought of the Zeng Family City and remembered the righteous declarations that Liangshan had recently shouted, as well as the accusations against Du Long Gang… Honestly, he had lived here for so long, in Shandong Province, where gangs and bandits roamed rampant. The Zeng Family City and Du Long Gang had certainly been involved in all sorts of shady dealings. He was sure that they weren’t clean if they clashed with other groups. But Liangshan's acting on behalf of Heaven? With the few acres of land and pigs they raised on Liangshan, how could these guys both act on behalf of Heaven and have big bowls of wine and big pieces of meat? Where did that wine and meat come from!?

But when encountering evil people, talking is useless. Whether those people are repulsive or full of righteousness, they will kill their way in, slaughter the manor, and steal everything. He didn't know how many more days he could fight. There were too many experts among the bandits on Liangshan. He was almost always pushed to his limit. As he weighed his strength, he heard a knock on the door. Zhu Long called him out to eat something. He suppressed his physical exhaustion and stood up.

Although he wanted to rest, he had to prop up the morale of the manor. It wasn't time to let go yet…

*****************

After all, the late night hours were advantageous to the Du Long Gang people who knew the area well, so they stopped attacking. But at dawn on the first day of the sixth month, the battle started again. Afterwards, on the second and third days of the sixth month, psychological fear and exhaustion finally appeared on the faces of the villagers. No matter what the local customs were, or what training they had undergone, as villagers, their psychological fortitude was ultimately no match for the soldiers and generals of Liangshan.

The various instructors, Zhu Long, Zhu Hu, Zhu Biao, and the others, had all been wounded to varying degrees. Luan Tingyu was physically injured, but he was still holding on. At least as of the third day, his skills hadn't noticeably declined. However, the Li Family Manor's half-hearted effort had become obvious. The Zhu and Hu Manors were also being more cautious in their attacks, even preparing to defend their own manors. Under these circumstances, Wang Shanyue's emotions had reached a high point of tension, because once the two manors couldn't support each other, it might mean that the situation had deteriorated to a certain extent.

When he saw Ning Yi in the courtyard, he would see him sitting there thinking, the agate beads in his bracelet rolling like prayer beads. But most of the time, he would stay in his room, sometimes with the light on all night. On the morning of the fourth day of the sixth month, the Liangshan people attacked again. Wang Shanyue saw him go out for a walk, returning with the smile of a playboy on his face, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, his expression returned to seriousness. Even the Wolf Raiders could see that his emotions were also tense. In the afternoon, he sat in the courtyard, thinking and rolling the agate beads of his bracelet in his ears one by one. Wang Shanyue went over and asked, "The situation has reached this point. When are you going to do your thing?"

"I'll think about it more," he replied, and then returned to his room.

Ning Yi was indeed thinking.

Sitting in the darkness of his room, watching the beads roll in the light, his emotions were complex, but not entirely due to tension. From the time Xi Junyu and the others broke into the Su Family at the end of April until now, not much time had passed. Since then, the various things that had happened between him and Tan'er, Xiaochan, Yunzhu, Jin'er, the journey north, the changes on the canal, then Bianliang, and then coming here… It didn't seem like much time had passed, but a lot had happened. And what he was about to do, he wasn't sure he could pull off. But after being in this world for so long, this was the first time he was actively preparing to hurt people with such means.

This time, it might be pure malice and efficiency, pure harm and plunder, just like when he first started his company. He didn't know if he would succeed in using such methods to fight a war, or what would happen if it expanded smoothly. But with things as they were, there wasn't much time to leisurely think about it anymore.

Near dusk, the battle was still raging. He walked out of his room, his bracelet like prayer beads. When Wang Shanyue went over, he said, "Brother Wang, Brothers Qi, right away, we will pay a visit to the Zhu Manor Lord."

Wang Shanyue raised an eyebrow. "You're showing your hand?"

"More or less. Also, according to what we agreed on, take out all the writing implements and paper from the third carriage. Eat dinner early, rest a little if you're sleepy. We might not get any sleep tonight."

At the same moment, outside Zhu Family Manor, Luan Tingyu was fighting fiercely with Guan Sheng and the others, his octagonal mixed bronze staff parrying Guan Sheng's great blade.

Having bandaged her wounds and also visited Zhu Chaofeng, Hu Sanniang saw the group coming as she left the Zhu Family Hall. She had fought her way over to ensure that the Zhu and Hu Manors could support each other. Slightly puzzled, she pulled a villager over and asked. The villager said that the group had come specifically to visit the Manor Lord, saying they had important matters to discuss. Hu Sanniang thought they had probably seen the decline of Du Long Gang and wanted to escape. How…

For a moment, she couldn't think of any sarcastic feelings, because their embarrassment might be a nightmare for her, with the entire manor being slaughtered. Perhaps the Hu Family Manor could surrender if they couldn't win, but Liangshan had come for all kinds of supplies and money, and they might not spare the people here.

Soon after, in the Zhu Family main hall, Ning Yi showed Zhu Chaofeng all the documents and proclamations related to the imperial court and his own identity. Zhu Chaofeng stared at him sternly.

After a while, as evening fell and the Xu hour arrived, in the courtyard where prisoners were held in the Zhu Family Manor, the captured Liangshan soldiers had just begun to eat when a group of villagers came in and overturned their bowls and chopsticks. They escorted a total of five leaders and more than two hundred Liangshan soldiers out to a larger courtyard square to squat down.

Since the start of the war, after these soldiers had been captured for various reasons, the Zhu Family Manor hadn't mistreated them too much, because if things became impossible, there might still be room for negotiation, and they didn't want to make things too difficult. The leaders looked proud and refused to squat down, but the surrounding villagers were already guarding them with swords and weapons. Before long, more people entered, each holding a well-made military crossbow, which was a very luxurious weapon here.

A large open space was left in front of them. Further ahead were rooms, lit with candles, with people already inside.

The atmosphere was indeed a bit strange. No one spoke. Then a very wealthy-looking young master dragged two chairs over and walked a few people in, heading towards the front of the field. He looked at the rooms lit with candles.

"Is everything ready?"

"Ready."

A man who looked like a woman coldly nodded in reply.

The wealthy young master nodded, walked in, and casually pointed to the five leaders, speaking coldly, "Qin Ming, Huang Xin, Deng Fei, Cao Zheng, Meng Kang, take them to the back first."

As he said this, Qin Ming and the others wanted to speak, but several crossbows were immediately pointed at their heads. The wealthy young master didn't look at them, but went straight to the front, placed the two chairs down with a bang, stood there, and cupped his hands with a cold expression.

"Sorry to disturb your meal. Let me be brief. I am Lei Feng, known in the jianghu as the Hunyuan Thunderbolt Hand. I came from the capital, a hawk of the imperial court, as they say. I am not a good person. I came to destroy Liangshan. I'm going to do something tonight. Don't worry, I'll tell you how to do it."

As he said this, someone in the crowd vaguely said "fuck", and there was a murmur of quiet curses. The wealthy young master rubbed his forehead and also wiggled his fingers. Two people next to him went to the front of the crowd and had a captured Liangshan soldier stand up and sit in a chair. The soldier looked around, his eyes proud. The wealthy young master patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll do it slowly. You can keep up."

He looked around. "Just one question. I want to destroy Liangshan. Can you tell me all the information about Liangshan that you know?"

He asked the question very frankly. As soon as he asked it, someone in the crowd sneered sarcastically. The wealthy young master, named Lei Feng, just looked sincerely at the man in front of him. The man paused for a second. "Heh..."

The wealthy young master took a crossbow from the side, moved it in front of his head, and pulled the trigger at the same time.

"Understood, next."

The sound rang out, blood splattered, and the corpse fell to the ground.

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