Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 108

"Having a general like this is like adding wings to a tiger!"

Liu Hong excitedly helped Hu Yanzhuo up and embraced her mature and beautiful body. His sigh was like a ghost whispering in her ear, and his warm breath first burned her delicate earlobe red. Then the blush spread to her charming cheeks and her neck like a dying swan, making her feel feverish and hot all over.

Hu Yanzhuo didn't know what was wrong with her at this moment. This female knight, who was over thirty years old and still had a charming appearance, felt her breathing quicken, her heart beat rapidly, and her mind went blank. Her mature and beautiful eyes looked at Liu Hongshi with a gaze that was like a wildfire.

Perhaps it was the loneliness of thirty years without human intimacy? Perhaps it was the desolation of a lifetime without being conquered? Perhaps it was the overwhelming survival instinct after near death? A strange, burning sensation instantly extinguished the defenses of reason. Her tattered battle robe slipped off her fragrant shoulders, revealing two mounds of snow-white flesh. Liang Shan's letter fell down her sweat-drenched, honey-colored waist, mingling with the Big Dipper on her battle robe, tracing across her slender, shapely waist. Full, plump buttocks, healthy, and tall legs, nestled between a pair of jade-like feet.

At this moment, Liu Hong was also full of lust. The pressure of fighting Huyan Zhuo was really great. This battle was the biggest challenge he had ever experienced in his life, and the closest Liangshan had ever come to death. Seeing that the majestic female general who had driven Liangshan to the brink of death several times actually showing such a girlish side, he couldn't help but be infatuated. He roughly tore off the remaining straps on her shoulders with his fingertips, and the broken armor and bodice fell to the ground with a clang.

At the point where the skin peeled away, two snow-white mounds, stained with sweat, blood, and dust, suddenly broke free from their restraints, springing out from the steel and clothing, rippling in the air with mesmerizing flesh-colored waves. A pair of pink cherry blossoms suddenly stood atop the peaks, and with the trembling of the twin peaks, they drew sensual and explicit vermilion marks in the air.

Liu Hong took a deep breath, opened the lid, and immediately began to eat. He buried his head in those enormous breasts, feeling their astonishing softness and elasticity. He closed his eyes in ecstasy, enjoying the wonderful experience of his face being submerged by the surging waves of beautiful flesh. Before, these two mounds of flesh had been suppressed by the armor, and he hadn't realized they were so voluptuous and so amazing. Liu Hong put his hands on them and patted them gently. His five fingers sank into the flesh, and countless white, soft flesh instantly submerged his fingers like sensual waves.

With a little pressure, the entire palm will be completely submerged!

"Hu-hu-"

The female general's breathing became increasingly rapid, and she very proactively embraced Liu Hong's body. Her pair of jade-like legs wrapped around Liu Hong's waist armor like a dying python. She was so beautiful that she made it difficult for Liu Hong to breathe.

Liu Hong let out a low, beast-like growl, his hands suddenly grabbing her plump, moist buttocks, like ripe peaches, and slamming the woman, whose waist was taut like a fully drawn bow, onto his bed. Her jade feet bent slightly, her delicate toes curling lightly, and Liu Hong's jade belt fell away like a stream, his official robes collapsing like the night sky, revealing his strong and beautiful body. The candlelight flickered wildly, casting huge shadows on the stone walls of the tent. Sweat, blood, and tears steamed between their etched skin, creating a salty, pungent mist. Every movement was like a dying beast locked in a desperate struggle.

At this moment, Hu Yanzhuo, his plump buttocks, outlined and wrapped in rose-red desire, were raised high. Relying on instinct, he awkwardly began to sway, creating fragrant and lustful flowers in mid-air. Liu Hong dug his ten fingers into the two plump and round buttocks, prying them apart, and thrust his scalding long spear deep into the already muddy and dew-drenched path.

Liu Hong gasped. In an instant, countless hot and juicy flesh crowded in from all directions, automatically conforming to every fold and every inch of skin. The heavy pressure and the almost vacuum-like tightness, combined with the tearing and swelling pain of breaking through the hymen, brought the woman to her climax. Her lower body gushed water continuously, instantly soaking the sheets.

After the initial pain subsided, the female general, who had not been aroused for over thirty years, let out a satisfied sigh. She swayed her slender waist and her plump buttocks, which contrasted sharply with them, as she thrust, contracted, and swayed, giving the two of them an almost perfect experience. It was as if she had given up on herself after years of abstinence, and her lower body was constantly wet. It would flow with each thrust, with each slap on her buttocks, and even when he pressed down on her and gently bit her earlobe and breathed into her ear, it would flow continuously.

In this ecstatic sensation, the previous hatred, pain, and despair seemed to be completely crushed and evaporated by the ecstatic tide, leaving only an unprecedented joy that filled every inch of her soul.

"Hooray, oh hooray!"

An alluring low moan escaped from her equally fragrant lips, no longer bitter, but a velvety groan wrapped in thick honey.

The waist that had stood firm as a mountain during the bloody battle now swayed and twisted restlessly in the cool air, like willow branches ruffled by a spring breeze, chasing after the lingering, wonderful aftershocks within. Beads of sweat rolled down the taut neck, mingling with the fragrant saliva to form pools of emotionful fluid.

Those towering jade peaks, once imprisoned by cold armor, have now lost all the awe-inspiring frost of the battlefield, leaving only the abundance of snow-capped waves and intoxicating undulations! With each unconscious tremor of the waist, the plum blossoms on the peaks trembled with pearly light in the moonlight-soaked sweat, and the crimson buds stood firm, proclaiming the lingering throbbing of the past.

Hot, viscous nectar gushed forth from the depths of the canyon, like abundant tributes flowing from a completely conquered territory, offered to the Liangshan lord on his back.

The star-patterned black robe that had draped them halfway over was now a tattered banner of passion on the battlefield. It tumbled and throbbed violently under the moonlight, its deep shadows and wrinkles stained with sweat, dew, and breaths, seemingly rippling with a surging, dark golden tide of desire under the flowing moonlight, each wave crashing against the nearly broken dam of Huyan Zhuo's mind!

"Great...Great Sage...Waaah..."

The peerless female general who had fought valiantly on the battlefield was now like a fledgling, her burning cheeks pressed tightly against Liu Hong's broad, sweat-drenched chest, her peach lips seeking the wild rhythm of his pulse at the side of his neck, her breath rapid like that of a dying fawn, her broken breaths turning into incoherent moans:

"Whip...whip...whip me again, whip me...whip me faster, faster!"

"Go...go deeper...push me apart!"

"I...I'm going to melt...melt away...Great Sage!"

At this moment, her voice had almost lost all reason, leaving only endless joy and madness. Her jade fingers spasmed as they dug into the sweaty muscles of Liu Hong's back, leaving streaks of blood. Her legs, however, were like water snakes, tightly wrapped around his waist. Her hips and waist arched upwards like madmen, as if she wanted to completely swallow the source of the overwhelming ecstasy!

Liu Hong roared like a tiger, his battering ram-like attack unleashing an even more frenzied wave of assault! His fingertips pinched and kneaded the pair of bouncing, swaying jade-like mounds, leaving the mark of crushed red plum blossoms on the snow-capped peaks; his other hand ruthlessly parted the two delicate, creamy lips at the entrance to the muddy valley, precisely grinding them on the pink stamens that dripped with jade dew.

Hu Yanzhuo's waist suddenly arched and snapped, her scream piercing her throat! Sweet, sticky sweat poured out like a spring, staining her honey-colored, healthy body like a nectar-covered offering under the moonlight.

Each breathtaking tremor sprayed forth scalding hot spring water, soaking the tattered black robe beneath her into a swamp of desire. Her drunken eyes were hazy, as if dyed crimson, and beads of sweat rolled down like a collapsing jade mountain. Her stamina was terrifying; Liu Hong was unable to subdue her for a time. The two fought fiercely on the bed, at the table, and on the floor, for three hundred rounds, yet neither could gain the upper hand. The overflowing deep valley was no longer a trickle, but a surging, molten spring marsh that, after several climaxes, overflowed, gently soaking the tattered battle flag beneath her, now crushed into mud—as if she were surrendering herself to Liangshan and to Liu Hong.

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Author's note: Requesting monthly votes for the new month!

Chapter 295: Liangshan's various armies rise up together

The two fought fiercely all night, and by noon the next day, Liu Hong finally awoke. By the time Hu Yanzhuo was fully awake, the sun had already set. Liu Hong had ordered his army to empty all the government supplies and grain from Qingzhou and transport them all to Dengzhou for storage. Afterward, they abandoned Qingzhou—there was no other way. Liangshan didn't have enough troops. Occupying Qingzhou and consuming Dengzhou was already too much of an expansion, and they needed time to digest it. To take on Qingzhou, located in the heart of Shandong with no natural defenses, would be a losing proposition.

At this time, the Liangshan forces recruited another wave of soldiers, ushering in a major expansion. Liu Hong reorganized the Song Dynasty's army structure, changing it to a battalion of one thousand men to ensure that each infantry battalion could be organized into the Liangshan square formation and fight independently. Above the battalion, Liu Hong also established a higher unit: the army. Every five battalions formed an army. A "Commander of the Army" was appointed to manage the commanders of the other battalions. In this way, an army of five thousand men became a large-scale military unit capable of going on expeditions.

At this moment, Liangshan has a total of three cavalry battalions, with one thousand armored cavalry and two thousand heavy cavalry. For now, these three battalions constitute an understrength army. After all, cavalry numbers are really difficult to manage. We'll take it slow, and one day we'll be able to gather an army of five thousand.

The infantry numbered a terrifying 20,000, which were combined into 20 battalions and divided into four armies.

The navy also surged to 10,000 men in one go, mainly newly recruited soldiers from the coastal areas of Dengzhou, totaling ten battalions, divided into two armies.

The cavalry's commander-in-chief was Leopard Head Lin Chong, with Thunderbolt Qin Ming as his deputy. The three battalion commanders under his command were Blue-Faced Beast Yang Zhi, Little Li Guang Hua Rong, and Golden Spear Xu Ning. The three deputy commanders were Vanguard Suo Chao, Sickly General Sun Li, and Mountain-Suppressing Huang Xin. A gathering of masters and heroes, Liu Hong attempted to forge these three thousand cavalrymen into his sharpest spear!

The First Infantry Army was commanded by Lu Zhisheng, the Flower Monk, and its deputy commander was Liu Tang, the Red-Haired Devil.

The commander of the Second Infantry Army is Wu Song, and the deputy commander is Shi En, the Golden-Eyed Leopard.

The commander of the three infantry armies was Luan Tingyu, the Iron Rod, and the deputy commander was Hu Sanniang, the One-Zhang-Qing.

The Fourth Infantry Army was commanded by Huyan Zhuo, the Double Whip Commander, and Li Cunxiao, the Little Protector, as its deputy commander.

These eight were the people Liu Hong wanted to train. Liangshan had very few capable commanders, not because they lacked ability, but because they had never actually tried. Aside from Huyan Zhuo, the largest battles these outlaw heroes had commanded were raids with only a few dozen or a few hundred men; no one had trained them in large-scale warfare. Even those with formal training like Lin Chong and Xu Ning could only teach others marching, troop deployment, and drills—just going through the motions—they lacked real experience commanding large armies.

Therefore, Liu Hong selected five of his closest, most trusted, and most capable men to lead the cavalry and infantry legions. He trained them from scratch, starting with small-scale battles.

The commander of the navy, Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, had the three Ruan sisters as his subordinate commanders.

The commander of the second naval force, Li Jun, nicknamed "River Dragon," had Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun, sisters, as well as Tong Wei and Tong Meng, sisters, as his subordinate commanders.

Arranging Chao Gai for the navy wasn't because there weren't enough positions for the infantry. Rather, Liu Hong was surprised to discover that although Chao Gai was a wealthy landowner, he was surprisingly good at swimming and possessed immense strength, second only to Lu Zhisheng. The navy also needed someone to keep things in order. Although Li Jun, the River Dragon, had submitted, it was still difficult to say how much of a relationship he had with Song Jiang.

Although Chao Gai and Song Jiang had a good relationship, their ideologies were completely opposite. It was perfect to put this second-in-command of Liangshan in full charge of the navy.

Liu Hong meticulously and carefully arranged the power structure of Liangshan.

The strategist Wu Yong is in charge of the secret military affairs, and the cloud-piercing dragon Gongsun Sheng is in charge of the secret military affairs.

Li Ying, the Sky-Soaring Eagle, and Mu Hong, the Unobstructed, are the two chief stewards of the Internal Affairs Department, concurrently serving as the supervisors of money, grain, and fodder.

The other heroes were all commanders, deputy commanders, or even lower-ranking officers in the infantry and navy, acting as capillaries.

Moreover, in response to Han Tao and Peng Qi, Liu Hong creatively established a new organization: the General Staff Department.

These two are of average combat strength, probably around the level of Moyun Golden-Winged Roc or Flame Lion Deng Fei. As captains, they could easily manage a hundred men, or even as infantry commanders, they could easily manage a thousand men, given their martial prowess.

The problem is that they are the imperial defense commissioners, and within Liangshan, their experience in leading troops in battle is second only to Huyan Zhuo, and even more experienced than Lin Chong and others!

However, their combat strength is only at the level of ordinary Earthly Fiends. It would be too much of a stretch to have them as military commanders managing an entire legion, as they wouldn't be able to control the powerful and incredibly strong demons under their command. They're stuck in the middle, neither here nor there.

Therefore, Liu Hong simply incorporated the two into his staff, placing them under his direct command, somewhat different from Wu Yong and Gongsun Sheng. These two were responsible for overall strategic planning, while the staff was responsible for the specific tactical execution, complementing each other and allowing Liu Hong to gain more tactical experience and guidance. When necessary, these staff officers could also be directly assigned to specific army corps to assist the military commander in combat.

Zhu Tong, Lei Heng, and Liu Hong established a Liangshan Prefecture on Liangshan Mountain, similar to a police station. Zhu Tong was appointed as the head, and Lei Heng as the deputy. They were specifically responsible for maintaining order in Liangshan Marsh, arresting criminals, and returning to their old profession. Zhu Tong, the Mind-Stealing Demon, could detect other people's thoughts, while Lei Heng was also a rare flying ability user with extremely fast speed, leaving enemies nowhere to hide.

At this moment, Liangshan had been revitalized under Liu Hong's leadership, with order and prosperity. After the captured blue dragon was healed, it saw that Huyan Zhuo had actually defected to Liangshan. At first, it cursed loudly, but when it saw Li Cunxiao, it was stunned. In the end, it didn't say a word and silently chose to defect to Liangshan with Huyan Zhuo. This made Liu Hong a little confused, wondering what the blue dragon was up to.

But at this moment, he had no time to deal with the blue dragon. Instead, he continued his policy of becoming a wealthy landowner and distributing land in Dengzhou.

The most urgent task at hand is to make the people of Dengzhou become just like the people of Jizhou, completely loyal to Liangshan, trusting and joining Liangshan Marsh, so that Dengzhou can become their base of operations.

Chapter 296: The Great Jin Dynasty Unleashes Chaos in Northeast China (Bonus Chapter for 3200 Monthly Tickets!)

While managing Dengzhou, Liu Hong also transferred Meng Kang, the chief shipwright of Liangshan, to Penglai in Dengzhou, establishing this large city on the coast of the Bohai Sea as Liangshan's largest port. Meng Kang was put in charge of shipbuilding there.

Not only that, Liu Hong and Meng Kang secretly talked for seven days and seven nights. Liu Hong dictated, gestured, and explained his ideas, plans, shapes, and principles of ships from the future. Then Meng Kang was responsible for turning these things from hundreds of years in the future into reality.

After seven days and seven nights, Meng Kang finally completed what Liu Hong had entrusted to him on the design drawings: a galleon from the Age of Exploration.

"Great Sage, this thing is theoretically feasible and looks very powerful, but what do we need it for?"

Meng Kang hesitated.

"This thing is too big. It can't sail into inland waterways like the Yellow River or the Huai River. It's not suitable for inland river warfare. It can only stay in the Bohai Sea. I don't know if this thing can cross the ocean as you said, without fear of wind and waves. But even if it can, why would we cross the ocean? It would be faster to get to Liaodong."

"Just make it. This thing is very troublesome to manufacture and will take several years. It will definitely be useful after several years."

Liu Hong said calmly.

"That's the problem, Great Sage!"

Meng Kang asked again.

"This thing is too resource-intensive to manufacture. With that kind of financial, material, human, and time resources, I could even build a dozen or so thousand-stone king ships. Why consume so many resources, waste so much time, and even occupy one of the largest ports for a year, just to build one of these? What can it possibly do?"

"Just make it. This thing is very troublesome to manufacture and will take several years. It will definitely be useful after several years."

Liu Hong repeated his words, but this time his tone was filled with disbelief. The Great Sage of Chaos had just led Liangshan to victory in the most difficult battle in history. This terrifying prestige made Meng Kang and all the shipwrights obediently shut up and do as he was told.

Not only that, Liu Hong also dispatched many messengers along the coastline of the Bohai Sea to trade with the Liao Dynasty and even further to Liaodong. He was eager to know if the Jin Dynasty had already appeared and to what extent it had developed.

While waiting for a reply, Liu Hong personally oversaw the land reform in Dengzhou, winning the hearts of the local people. The Song Dynasty court, however, merely watched without taking any further action.

The reason was simple: Gao Qiu dared not attack—I had dispatched a full four thousand elite cavalry, mixed with over ten thousand local soldiers and laborers, to attack Liangshan Marsh. My plan was to capture it easily; with the arrival of the heavenly army, Liangshan Marsh would crumble and its forces would scatter like leaves in the wind.

After all, this is probably the scale of a large-scale attack launched by Zhong Shidao against Western Xia. No matter how strong Liangshan is, can it possibly be as powerful as Western Xia?!

But the reality is clear: Huyan Zhuo was defeated, and not only that, he was defeated miserably, even losing thousands of warhorses and horse armor to Liangshan, greatly increasing Liu Hong's strength! How the hell can we fight like this?! Even if I mobilized an offensive on the scale of Huyan Zhuo, I might not be able to take down Liangshan.

This time I was defeated, but the emperor, out of old affection, still protected me, which is why I wasn't impeached and forced to step down by the court officials.

If I lose again next time, will the Emperor still protect me?

Gao Qiu dared not fight, and the other ministers dared even less—even Gao Qiu, who enjoyed the Emperor's favor, was impeached by the ministers after this defeat, leaving him in a dilemma. I don't have Gao Qiu's treatment. If I lead troops to fight, it would be fine if I won, but if I lost, I would lose all the money, reputation, prestige, and official position I had earned in one fell swoop.

Amidst the treacherous atmosphere in the capital city of Kaifeng, none of the high-ranking officials in the court wanted to take responsibility, which led to no one wanting to attack Liangshan Marsh. They allowed Liu Hong to continue to grow, just as they had with Fang La, Tian Hu, and Wang Qing.

Seeing that the imperial court had calmed down, Liu Hong was happy to give himself some time to develop. Meanwhile, the intelligence department, led by Shi Qian, Bai Sheng, and Dai Zong, had obtained enough intelligence in Liaodong and brought it back to Liangshan Marsh.

The Khitans were cannibals, but the Jurchen tribes were very diverse, boasting seventy-two tribes. Among them, the most powerful were the frost giants of the Wanyan clan, the white dragons of the Seven Waters clan, and beastmen who could freely switch between human and animal forms. There were also ice bears, terrifying as bears yet walking like humans, and so on.

The frost giants of the Wanyan tribe had already unified the seventy-two tribes of the Jurchen people and even devoured the white dragons of the Seven Waters. One of these white dragons, named Lou Shi of the Seven Waters, was invincible. After surrendering, he was given the surname Wanyan and the title Wanyan Lou Shi.

And this first piece of news is explosive enough—the Battle of Hubudagang.

Wanyan Aguda had already led his people in a fierce resistance against the Liao, fighting battles at Ningjiangzhou and Chuhedian, achieving successive victories. Wanyan Aguda even declared himself emperor, becoming Emperor Taizu, establishing the Great Jin Dynasty, and securing independence. In the Battle of Dalugu City, he achieved a great victory against the Liao army with fewer troops, and then captured Huanglong Prefecture, his momentum growing stronger with each battle.

In September, Emperor Yelü Yanxi of Liao was greatly alarmed upon learning of the fall of Huanglong Prefecture and resolved to personally lead an expedition to annihilate the Jin army in one fell swoop. He then led 10 troops, including both Han and non-Han soldiers, claiming a force of 70, out of Changchun Road. He appointed Xiao Fengxian, the Privy Councilor, as the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, with Yelü Zhangnu as his deputy, leading 2 elite troops as the vanguard. The remaining troops were divided into five divisions as the main army, with over a thousand sons of high-ranking officials and nobles forming the elite troops, and the officials in charge of the imperial guards forming the escort army. He also appointed Xiao Hulianggu, the commander-in-chief, as the commander-in-chief, with Chai Shiyi, the academician of the Privy Council, as his deputy, leading 3 Han infantry and cavalry south out of Ningjiang Prefecture, carrying several months' worth of provisions, and advancing along different routes.

Then, this Wanyan Loushi, leading a small elite force of frost giants, white dragons, and beastmen, forcefully broke through the Liao army's lines, breached dozens of layers of defense, killed hundreds of elite soldiers, and directly attacked Emperor Yelü Yanxi of Liao! He was forced to flee in a camel cart, much like the stories of Emperor Taizong of Liao and Song.

The Liao army subsequently suffered a crushing defeat, with countless deaths. Emperor Tianzuo abandoned his troops and fled, covering 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers) in a single day and night. It seemed the Liao Dynasty was in serious trouble; this battle had nearly wiped out all of its elite field army and cavalry. For at least several years, Liao would be unable to engage in open battle with Jin, and had been forced into a defensive posture. The northeast was now in the hands of Jin, not Liao.

The author says:

Author's note: The missed chapters are finished. I've made up for all the missed chapters. I'm asking for monthly votes for the new month! QAQ~!

Chapter 297: The Uncrowned King Reigns Over Shandong

Upon hearing the news from the Northeast, Liu Hong breathed a sigh of relief. The Battle of Caihubudagang was alright. According to history, the Liao Dynasty could have lasted another ten years before its demise. Even if this was a magical history, with the Jurchens being giants and white dragons, the Khitan cannibals could at least hold out for another seven or eight years. He still had time to manage things!

Liu Hong was not in a hurry to conquer cities and territories. These battles had already shown him that he only had Liangshan Marsh in Jizhou and had not occupied any county towns. However, due to his long-term management and popular support, coupled with the distribution of land, he was able to mobilize all 400,000 people in Jizhou. With a single call to arms, hundreds of thousands of men, carrying provisions, followed him and fought Huyan Zhuo to the very last moment.

Even if he occupied the entire Dengzhou region, he would not be able to mobilize all the people. In the end, it was Lu Zhisheng and Wu Song who led their troops to launch the attack on Huyanzhuo, while the people of Dengzhou chose to watch the show.

Therefore, Liangshan continued with its established policy of attacking wealthy landowners and distributing land. Liu Hong divided his troops into three parts, using Liangshan, Dengzhou, and Qingzhou as their bases, stationing troops in each to intimidate and strike at local wealthy landowners. Subsequently, they not only carried out land reforms in their own prefectures but also gradually began to radiate outwards, launching attacks on several neighboring prefectures such as Laizhou, Qingzhou, Zizhou, and Weizhou.

As long as the wealthy man there doesn't do anything wrong, Liangshan now has cavalry. Once they receive a report, the heavily armored cavalry can rush to the other side's doorstep and wipe out his entire family in a day and a night!

Meanwhile, in their stronghold of Jizhou, Liangshan's terrifying influence was gradually spreading, affecting nearby Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Puzhou, and even Dongping Prefecture.

In order to save time and increase efficiency, Liu Hong tacitly relaxed the punishment for some wealthy landowners. Previously, they were all killed, but now, as long as they hadn't committed any truly heinous acts and were willing to hand over their land to the people, they were allowed to retain their houses and property. This gained Liangshan the support of some minor wealthy landowners, and with their presence, Liangshan's expansion accelerated significantly.

With Penglai as a seaport, communication between Liangshanbo and the outside world became much easier. Liu Hong sent Dai Zong as a messenger to meet Yelü Dashi in the Liao Kingdom and told him about the battle of Liangshanbo. Yelü Dashi was currently in a state of great anxiety over the defeat of Hubudagang and the news of the Liao emperor's escape. He was also greatly surprised to hear that Liangshanbo had actually fought so bravely.

What? The Song Dynasty mobilized an army of 500,000 to attack Liangshan Marsh, only to be defeated by Liu Hong, who then wiped out most of their cavalry in one fell swoop? They even formed their own cavalry force, consisting of a thousand armored cavalry and two thousand heavy cavalry?

Yelü Dashi was deeply shocked. The Liao Dynasty in the north had annihilated its 700,000-strong army against the Jurchen rebels. The Song Dynasty in the south had also annihilated its 500,000-strong army against the Liangshan rebels. The world was probably about to change.

At the same time, Da Shi secretly changed his mind. Now that the Liao Dynasty knew about the Jin threat, it was trying to communicate with the Song Dynasty. We are brothers and should unite to destroy the Jin. However, the communication was not satisfactory. The Song Dynasty had no intention of helping the Liao Dynasty destroy the Jin.

If things become hopeless, perhaps fleeing to Liangshan Marsh wouldn't be a bad way out... No, let's not think about that now. Let's quickly organize another wave of elite cavalry and charge back into the Northeast!

The Liao and Song dynasties were indeed brother states, sharing many similarities. For example, after signing an alliance, they lived in peace for over a century without resorting to violence; both Emperor Taizong of Liao and Song had a history of fleeing by carriage; and both were equally corrupt and inefficient in their governments.

The Jin dynasty's victory over Hubudagang caused a major problem for the Liao army's entire eastern border defense. All of their field armies were wiped out, leaving the surviving Liao troops with only three choices: surrender, hold out in a small northeastern city without support, or flee immediately towards the grasslands or Youyun region! Forget about the northeast!

Liu Hong's victory at Liangshanbo caused a major problem for the Song army's defenses throughout Shandong. They couldn't spare any troops to support Shandong in the short term, and no one wanted to mess with Liu Hong. The officials of the various prefectures and counties in Shandong were in the same situation as the officials in northeastern Liao.

Are you going to surrender to Liangshan Marsh? Or gamble on holding out in some small town in Shandong without any help? Or take advantage of the fact that Liangshan hasn't attacked yet and run away like Prefect Murong?

Just when people were in turmoil, Liu Hong gave these county magistrates and prefects a new option: as long as you don't interfere with any of my actions in Shandong, I guarantee I won't attack the county towns, only the rural areas, and I'll give you every penny of tax—as long as you officials don't interfere or obstruct anything I do in Liangshan!

Several prefects and magistrates were well aware of what Liu Hong was planning to do. Jizhou was the best example. The previous prefect of Jizhou had contacted Liangshan in this way, which ultimately led to the surrender of 400,000 people in Jizhou to Liangshan Marsh.

If I agree, then in a few years, the hearts and minds of the people of Shandong will belong to Liu Hong.

But what does that have to do with me? I'm just a temporary official sent here. I might be transferred in a few years or even promoted to the central government. This future bomb might not explode during my term. And if I refuse, Liangshan might really attack!

In a short time, almost all the county and prefectural officials in Shandong agreed to Liu Hong's request: as long as you don't attack the county seat, pay taxes on time, and don't affect our careers and keep my official hat, you can do whatever you want with the rest!