Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 117 The White-Day Rat's Jeju Spy, the Imperial City Guard's Willing Passengers Tak

Because they drank strong liquor, Li Hanxiao and the others drank too much yesterday and were completely hungover. When Li Hanxiao woke up again, it was already the evening of the next day.

Having wasted a lot of time, Li Hanxiao still had to quickly arrange things. His next task was to find a way to plant an intelligence station in Jeju City.

Zhang Shuye was no ordinary man; he posed a real threat to Liangshan Marsh, so Li Hanxiao had to find a way to find out his whereabouts.

The setting sun, like blood, cast a shimmering golden light upon Liangshan Marsh. In front of the Duckbill Beach stronghold, Li Hanxiao stood with his hands behind his back, the sword at his waist reflecting the evening glow. The red silk wrapped around the hilt of the sword fluttered in the wind, as if it were about to drip blood.

"Chief!"

Footsteps sounded behind him. Bai Sheng, known as "White Day Rat," arrived behind Li Hanxiao, wearing a gray cloth coat. He had a short knife at his waist, and the mottled copper nails on the scabbard were faintly visible in the twilight. There were a few specks of fresh mud on his cuffs, indicating that he had just returned from the foot of the mountain.

Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White Day Rat," had not appeared for many days. When he reappeared, his eyes were much sharper than before, simply because Li Hanxiao had set up a "training plan" for him and had been sending people to train him.

Li Hanxiao's idea for this "Day Rat" Bai Sheng was to train him into a good scout and reconnaissance soldier. After more than a month of training, Bai Sheng's combat effectiveness was greatly improved. Li Hanxiao also taught him tracking and counter-tracking techniques.

Among them, the most difficult thing to teach is literacy. Bai Sheng, the "White-Day Rat," was originally illiterate. He didn't know that a large character was a "sheng" (a unit of volume), and he didn't know that a fallen carrying pole was a "yi" (another character). This made teaching him very difficult.

However, it's not good not to teach him. If he's assigned a mission and he can't read, it will cause a lot of trouble. If he gets an important document but can't understand the contents, or if he arrives at the designated location but doesn't know that this is the place he's looking for, then he's doomed.

Now, Bai Sheng, the "White Day Rat," has undergone a complete transformation.

As Li Hanxiao turned around, his gaze swept over the naval training ground next to him. A hundred or so henchmen were practicing martial arts, all holding long spears used for naval warfare. Amid the whistling sound of spears cutting through the air, he noticed that the movements of several new men were slightly hesitant.

"Chief, the Jizhou Prefecture is recruiting soldiers everywhere these days, and it seems Zhang Shuye has sent a messenger to Qingzhou."

Bai Sheng's fingers tapped the hilt of his sword, his body tense, seemingly still recovering from the tense situation. "Zhang Shuye was training the new army at the western camp, and his armory had gained thirty more triple-bow crossbows, all sent by the imperial court."

Bai Sheng was sent by Li Hanxiao to gather information, but this trip was not easy. While spying on the armory, he was discovered and had to kill three enemies to escape. Fortunately, he was wearing a black and gold mask and did not reveal his identity from beginning to end.

"Uncle Zhang is starting to prepare for war. Bai Sheng, I want you to establish a secret base in Jizhou City, a secret intelligence station, and you will be in charge of it, exclusively relaying intelligence from within Jizhou City for us."

As Li Han smiled, he unfastened the jade pendant from his waist, revealing a jade Pixiu with clearly visible fangs. "Manager Wang of the Zuixianlou restaurant in the south of the city received a favor from King Chao years ago. King Chao has already made arrangements with him; he's now one of our men. Take this with you and say you want to take over the silk shop next door. He'll understand. From now on, the two of you will act as spies in Jizhou City. He'll be in the open, acting as the manager, while you'll be in the shadows, focusing on gathering intelligence."

Li Hanxiao's words came as a surprise, catching "White-Day Rat" Bai Sheng completely off guard. After a moment's reaction, Bai Sheng said, "Chief, this matter is too big, I'm afraid I can't handle it well..."

"What are you afraid of? You 'day rat' are someone I personally trained. If I say you can do it, then you can do it. Why be afraid? Be confident!"

Li Hanxiao had always wanted to establish an intelligence network for Liangshan Marsh. Originally, Liangshan Marsh relied on the tavern of Zhu Gui, the "Dry Land Crocodile," at Lijia Pass. However, this method was no longer suitable for the increasingly powerful Liangshan Marsh.

After the Dengzhou gang went up the mountain, Li Hanxiao sent "Little Yuchi" Sun Xin and "Mother Tiger" Gu Dasao to open a tavern on the west side of Liangshan Marsh, at the border of Jizhou and Yunzhou, to gather intelligence from that area. He also gave them thirty henchmen and twenty fast horses so that they could return to Liangshan Marsh to deliver messages at any time.

In this way, Li Hanxiao would be able to obtain information from the west.

After "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu went up the mountain, Li Hanxiao planned to send "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu down the mountain to the north, near the Hebei region, to open a tavern as an intelligence agency to gather information from the north.

As for the hooligans Li Hanxiao brought back from Tokyo, including "Street Rat" Zhang San and "Green Grass Snake" Li Si, along with their dozen or so men, Li Hanxiao had already trained them into scouts, all of whom were gathering information in the vicinity.

Currently, there are no intelligence agents within Jeju City. Li Hanxiao learned that "Strategist" Wu Yong had gone to join Zhang Shuye. Zhang Shuye was originally a man who could manipulate people, and now he was mixed up with "Strategist" Wu Yong, who was known for his cunning and ruthless schemes. We must be wary of him.

Therefore, the establishment of the intelligence station in Jeju City was of paramount importance to Liangshan Marsh.

"I never expected the chieftain to value me so much... Wow!"

Bai Sheng's lips trembled slightly, and a hint of tears welled up in his eyes. At this moment, "White Day Rat" Bai Sheng felt a bit of the feeling of "A woman adorns herself for her lover, and a man dies for his confidant." To be honest, after joining Liangshan, he was actually in a state of low self-esteem because he thought he had no skills, couldn't fight, had no culture, and was a good-for-nothing.

Even after Li Hanxiao gave him special training, his mindset still didn't change.

However, Li Hanxiao's act of entrusting him with important responsibilities and trust made him feel that Li Hanxiao valued him. How could he not repay him wholeheartedly?

The next day at dawn, Bai Sheng disguised himself as a lacquer merchant and entered Jizhou City. The bluestone streets were still covered with morning dew, and the wheels of his carts kicked up tiny water droplets as they rolled over them.

He wandered through three alleys in the south of the city and saw a faded blue cloth sign hanging above the entrance of a silk shop. Amidst the clanging of iron clappers on the eaves, a round, chubby face peeked out from behind the counter—it was none other than Manager Wang of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

"What kind of material would you like to see, sir?"

This silk shop was another shop owned by Manager Wang, while his main business, Zuixianlou, was located on the opposite street.

This man was named Wang Gang. He was originally a servant in Chao Gai's household because Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," had saved his life years ago. Later, he went to Jizhou City to do business, getting covered in mud and starting as a laborer. Eventually, he earned his fortune, but he still regarded Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," as his master. So when Chao Gai asked him to help Liangshan Marsh gather information, he agreed almost instantly.

Knowing that the leaders of Liangshan Marsh would be meeting him today, he waited early in the silk shop.

Shopkeeper Wang was working on the abacus, but his eyes were fixed on Bai Sheng's waist. When the jade pendant with the Pixiu symbol swayed across the counter, the abacus beads suddenly stopped for a moment.

He recognized the jade pendant; it was the promised token!

"I came here specifically to see your silk shop. If it's a good deal, I'll buy it right away!"

Bai Sheng tore off the jade pendant, placed it on the counter, and pushed it towards Manager Wang.

Manager Wang Gang picked up the jade pendant and examined it for a moment. After confirming that it was genuine, he immediately invited "White Day Rat" Bai Sheng into the silk shop and pointed to the path leading to the accounting office at the back, saying, "How about we discuss the details later?"

"it is good!"

So the two went to the accounting room at the back. Manager Wang Gang closed the door and immediately bowed and asked, "May I ask your honorable name, leader?"

Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White-Day Rat," returned the greeting and said, "I dare not, I dare not. I am Bai Sheng, 'White-Day Rat,' a servant under Chief Li!"

"You're Whitehead, please have a seat!"

Manager Wang invited Bai Sheng to sit down and then began to tell him about what he had noticed in the past two days.

“My master has already told me about Chief Li’s arrangements. He wants you and me to gather intelligence in this city. I will be in the open, opening a shop and doing business as a cover while gathering information, while you will be in the shadows to investigate various secrets.”

"White Day Rat" Bai Sheng nodded. "We'll have to work together from now on!"

Shopkeeper Wang Gang looked troubled and said, "But... alas, it's my fault for being careless. Now I have another troublesome matter to attend to..."

"Hmm? Tell me, Manager Wang!"

Bai Sheng asked.

“When I met my master the day before yesterday, two people eating at the restaurant saw me. They seemed to know my master. After my master left, they came to me and threatened me, saying that I was in league with the Liangshan bandits and demanding that I hand over three thousand taels of silver, or they would report me to the authorities!”

Manager Wang Gang said with a troubled expression, it wasn't that he was heartbroken or regretful about the three thousand taels of silver. He could easily have given it to them, but he knew he absolutely couldn't give it to them. He knew that if they dared to extort him once, they would do it again, and they might even use this as a long-term meal ticket to blackmail him, Manager Wang Gang. Moreover, it would pose a huge danger to Liangshan Marsh's intelligence system.

"He knew Chao Baozheng, yet he still tried to extort money from him, and he even knew that Chao Baozheng was a member of Liangshan..."

Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White Day Rat," sensed something was amiss. It wasn't surprising that Zhang Shuye knew that Chao Gai, nicknamed "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," was a member of Liangshan, but the ordinary people of Jizhou City could never possibly know, because the matter wasn't so widely known.

"Moreover, if these two want to report the court, they can get some silver from Zhang Shuye... to extort you... What do these two look like?"

"White Day Rat," Bai Sheng asked.

"I've never seen these two in Jeju City before. One of them is a man with a scarred face, and he carries an iron ruler."

Shopkeeper Wang Gang said.

"Iron ruler!"

Bai Shengxin, nicknamed "White Day Rat," said that this iron ruler was not a common weapon. Generally, it was used by constables and yamen runners in government offices. They liked to use it because they needed to resist arresting criminals but could not kill them directly. Therefore, the iron ruler, which could block swords and was a blunt weapon that was easy to carry, was almost standard equipment for such people.

Bai Sheng pondered for a moment and then said, "I think these two might be spies. The fact that they're extorting you without reporting it might be because they know that someone from Liangshan will be coming to your place soon and they're trying to cast a long line to catch a bigger fish..."

Although these two men did not arrest Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," upon seeing him, this does not mean that they were not government officials.

On the government side, both Zhang Shuye, the prefect of Jizhou, and Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," should be well aware of the strength of Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King." No matter what, those two could not possibly be a match for Chao Gai and could not hold him back.

Zhang Shuye should have a deep understanding of this. When his eldest son, Zhang Bofen, clashed with "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai, they both suffered heavy losses. Zhang Bofen should still be recovering from his injuries.

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang Gang was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Then...then...what should we do?"

Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White Day Rat," stood up. When Li Hanxiao was training him, he often told him that if you were to compete with fierce people like Lu Zhishen and Wu Song in terms of martial prowess, you might never be able to beat them in eight lifetimes. However, as long as you use your brain, you can still defeat your enemies. This is what is meant by "wisdom is better than strength."

Now, he needs to find a way to test his idea. If he's wrong, that's best. If he's right, then he'll have to use himself as "bait" to lure those two guys out, and then figure out a way to get rid of them...

"In this way, if they really have their eyes on us and want to use us to catch bigger fish, I'll try to lure them out instead. If they're watching this place, they'll definitely know I'm here, but I think they're unsure if I'm from Liangshan. So, when you escort me to the door, you must act extremely solemnly and respectfully, like commoners welcoming a county magistrate, so they think I'm some important person..."

Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White-Day Rat," still had limited education; he could only cite an example of ordinary people welcoming the county magistrate...

"and then?"

"Then, you go back to the shop and don't come out. I'll go straight to that secluded spot. They'll definitely follow me and try to capture me. I'll pretend to comply and then kill them!"

When Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White Day Rat," revealed the plan, Manager Wang Gang had no objections and simply followed his instructions. After all, he personally believed that this person sent by Liangshan Marsh should have no problem killing two government spies.

In reality, what they didn't know was that these two guys were not just ordinary spies, nor were they constables from the government office. They had come to Jizhou with Zhang Shuye from the Imperial City Guard.

What kind of organization is this? Just think of them as the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Song Dynasty.

Cai Jing assigned Zhang Shuye a total of six guards from the Imperial City Guard. Firstly, to use Zhang Shuye as a trump card, since these Imperial City Guards had terrifyingly high authority. Secondly, to prepare a backup plan, in case Zhang Shuye disobeyed, they would deal with him directly.

Of course, Zhang Shuye was aware of this situation. Since ancient times, the imperial court, prime ministers, and powerful figures have always been wary of those who are useful to them. He was very clear about this.