Moma Liangshan

Chapter 184: Changing the Era Name to Xuanhe, Seven Stars Gather in Righteousness

In Feng Gu's eyes, although Wang Hao had some talent, he was ultimately just a seventh-rank county magistrate. He continued to argue, "With Brother Yanping's talent and reputation, he should go to Tokyo. That's where a renowned scholar like you can truly realize your ambitions!" Li Tong countered, "What does it mean to be a renowned scholar? What does it mean to realize your ambitions?" Before Feng Gu could answer, Li Tong continued, "A renowned scholar should not seek fame and fortune, and a great scholar should not disrespect learning. A great ambition is not about being second only to one person or above ten thousand others!" Feng Gu still wanted to refute him, but he also felt a faint sense of shame rising deep within him, and for a moment he didn't know how to speak. Li Tong sensed Feng Gu's inner turmoil and finally spoke earnestly, "Although I've traveled extensively these past years, I've heard about the factional strife in Dongjing (Kaifeng). Do you know how much of a stir you caused in Luoyang back then, taking the powerful minister Cai Jing as your teacher for that one Ding Wusha? And what was the result? You know better than I do!" Feng Gu practically slumped onto the soft couch, weakly replying, "The result was utter disgrace and complete failure!" Seeing that Feng Gu had recognized his mistake, Li Tong continued, "You are not without a chance to regroup. As long as you adjust your mindset and find your place, one day you will achieve your goals!" Feng Gu still harbored a sliver of doubt, asking, "You think so highly of Wang Hao?" Li Tong sneered, saying, "How I view Young Master Wang is my business, but do you have any other path to take now?" Feng Gu took a deep breath and said, "No!"

With everything arranged in Jiaozhou, Wang Hao prepared to head south to Quanzhou again to borrow a boat from the Lin family. However, at that moment, an official document arrived from the capital, stating: "I, by the mandate of Heaven, have ascended the throne for twenty years. To ensure the stability of the empire and the well-being of the people, I hereby change the reign title from 'Chonghe' to 'Xuanhe'!" Holding the document, Wang Hao gazed at the clouds drifting outside the window, thinking to himself: "In the first year of Xuanhe, Song Jiang launched his rebellion; in the second year, Fang La launched his rebellion; in the third year, Song Jiang was granted amnesty by the court and led the Liangshan heroes to attack Fang La; in the sixth year, the Jingkang Incident occurred, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished!" Emperor Huizong's change of reign title to Xuanhe officially ushered in the chaos of the late Northern Song Dynasty. All of this should have been unrelated to a mere reign title, but history often unfolds in this way.

Ships heading south to Fujian set sail again, and at the same time, a major event was brewing at Chao Gai's manor in Dongxi Village, Yuncheng County. Feng Tang, as always, tipped off Chao Gai—Liang Zhongshu was about to escort the birthday tribute to Cai Jing in Tokyo; Gongsun Sheng and Wu Yong also appeared as scheduled; and the three Ruan brothers, after bidding farewell to Wang Hao, returned to Shijie Village to continue their fishing livelihood. Because of Wang Hao's presence, Chao Gai, Song Jiang, Zhu Gui, the three Ruan brothers, Zhu Tong, and Lei Heng had already sworn brotherhood. When Wu Yong arrived at Shijie Village and met the three Ruan brothers, he said, "Chao Baozheng has prepared wine and meat at his estate and has specially ordered me to invite the three heroes to a gathering!" Ruan Xiaoqi was a little surprised and asked, "Usually it's the servants from my brother's estate who come to ask for it, why are you, a scholar, doing it today?" Wu Yong suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Because Chao Baozheng is plotting a great fortune and has specially invited the three heroes to share it!" Ruan Xiaoqi said, "We're all brothers, if Brother Chao Gai needs anything, just ask, why be so mysterious?" Wu Yong quickly said, "That's right!" Ruan Xiaoer, now a man of the world, couldn't help but be more cautious and asked, "What great fortune is it?"

Wu Yong said, "Grand Tutor Cai's birthday is June 15th. His son-in-law, Liang Zhongshu of Daming Prefecture in Beijing, is about to escort 100,000 strings of gold and silver to his father-in-law's birthday celebration. A hero named Liu Tang has come to inform you. He wants to invite you to discuss gathering a few heroes to retrieve this wealth from a secluded mountain valley. It's ill-gotten gains, but we'll enjoy it for a moment! What do you think?" The three Ruan brothers looked at each other and remained silent. After a long while, Ruan Xiaoqi jumped up and said, "Back then, when we followed Young Master Wang, we robbed Liang Zhongshu once. I didn't expect this scoundrel to dare come again this year. How can we let him get away with this?" Wu Yong was shocked to hear this, and sighed inwardly, "I never imagined that Wang Hao, an official of the court, would dare to commit such a heinous act of murder and robbery, especially against Liang Zhongshu, the garrison commander of Daming Prefecture! No wonder the rumors in the streets say that Wang Hao and Cai Jing are at odds; I never imagined they had such a grudge!" However, Ruan Xiaoer reminded him, "Although we have bid farewell to Young Master Wang, he has ultimately not treated us unfairly. From now on, we must keep silent about anything concerning Young Master Wang!" Ruan Xiaoqi understood... Realizing his slip of the tongue, he quickly said, "Second Brother, don't worry, I'll never do it again!" Ruan Xiaowu, noticing Ruan Xiaoer staring at him again, hurriedly said, "I'll remember that too!" Ruan Xiaoer nodded and said, "Liang Zhongshu preys on the people, and Cai Jing is the leader of the Six Traitors. Even if Brother Chao Gai doesn't act, we brothers can't remain indifferent if we find out!" Wu Yong immediately said, "The three of you are truly heroes!" However, Ruan Xiaoer added, "But I hope you can keep quiet about what just happened!" Wu Yong dared to speak so boldly, saying, "If I utter a single word, you three heroes may tear me to pieces!"

The next day, the three Ruan brothers followed Wu Yong to Dongxi Village. Chao Gai was overjoyed and said, "My three brothers have missed me terribly! Come quickly into the village and let's talk!" To avoid being marginalized, Wu Yong said, "Chao Baozheng and the three heroes have long been sworn brothers, and Feng Tang has also been recognized as his nephew by Baozheng. Only I am still an outsider!" Chao Gai laughed and said, "Shall we become sworn brothers today?" Ruan Xiaoqi immediately said, "I'll go prepare incense and candles." A moment later, money, paper horses, incense, flowers, and candles were all prepared, just waiting for the cooked pig and sheep to be offered as sacrifices to heaven and earth. Just then, a servant came to report, "There's a Taoist priest at the gate who wants to see the village headman for alms!" Chao Gai said, "You're so ignorant! Brothers, you're all here with me; just give him three or five liters of rice, why are you making such a fuss?" The servant said, "I gave him the rice, but he didn't want it; he only wants to see the village headman!" Chao Gai said, "He must think it's too little! Go give him another three or five dou of rice. And tell him I'm entertaining guests and don't have time to deal with him!" The servant left, and returned a moment later, saying, "That Taoist priest won't take a single grain of rice. He's a pure Taoist, he didn't come for rice, he only wants to see the village headman!" This went on several times, until finally, a servant rushed back to report, "That Taoist priest got angry and beat down about ten servants!" Upon hearing this, Chao Gai said, "Brothers, please sit for a moment, I'll be right back!"

Upon arriving at the manor gate, they saw a Taoist priest who was eight feet tall and had a dignified appearance. He was lecturing the manor servants while saying, "You don't know a good person!" Chao Gai stepped forward and said, "Taoist priest, please calm down. The manor servants have already promised you rice and grain. Why do you still insist on seeing me?"