Water Margin Chapter 7 On a snowy night on Liangshan
Chai Jin kept Lin Chong for five or six days, and he was treated with good wine and meat every day. He stayed for another five or six days, and the second prince urged him to do it. Chai Jin wrote two letters, sending Lin Chong twenty-five taels of silver, and the second prince five taels of silver, and invited the three of them to have a night of wine. In the morning, Chai Jin explained: "The governor is my friend, and he has also received a lot of benefits from me in charge of the camp and the transfer, you hand over the letter, and I will take care of you, and I will also send someone to send you cotton clothes in winter, take care of yourself." ”
The three of them thanked Chai Jin, and before noon, they came to Cangzhou. Although Cangzhou is a small place, there are also six streets and three markets, which is very lively. The three of them came to the state government and saw Zhizhou, the public handed over the official document, Zhizhou inspected it, wrote a reply, Dong Chao and Xue Ba returned to Tokyo and sent Lin Chong to prison. The prisoners came to see Lin Chong and persuaded him to send some personnel to the camp and send them to the camp, otherwise the 100 killing sticks will beat you to death, and you will be very mean to you on weekdays. As he was talking, the order arrived, Lin Chong hurriedly got up and made a gesture. He was furious and scolded: "The thief is with the army, and when you see me, you don't bow down, whose power are you fighting?" Look at your hungry face, you won't be able to make a career for the rest of your life!" After the dispatch was scolded, Lin Chong took out five taels of silver, was careful, and said, "Please send the dispatch and the camp to take care of it." He asked, "Is this money for both of us?" Lin Chong took out another ten taels of silver and said, "This is for the camp." Cha Pao changed his face again and said: "I know at a glance that you are a good man, Gao Taiwei has wronged you, and he will definitely be able to soar and become a big official in the future." Lin Chong handed over Chai Jin's letter. He said, "This letter is worth ten taels of gold, and I will take care of you." Lin Chong sighed secretly: Money can make ghosts grind, I only believe it today.
When he saw the camp, he only sent five taels of silver, and handed over Chai Jin's letter. Guan Ying passed Lin Chong to look, Lin Chong knelt under the hall, Guan Ying said: "Follow the instructions of Emperor Taizu Wude, the new arrival with the army, you must fight a hundred killing sticks!" Lin Chong said: "The villain was infected on the road and has not been cured yet. Guan Ying said: "Seeing that you have a yellow and thin face, you must be sick, so I will send this hundred kills first." He said, "The Tianwang Hall is unguarded, but this army can be sent to take care of the Tianwang Hall." Guan Ying issued an approval document and asked Lin Chong to go to see Tianwang Hall. Lin Chong left the view hall and said, "This is taking great care of you." When you go to Tianwangdo, you only need to sweep the floor and burn incense every day. Lin Chong thanked him, took out a few taels of silver, and said, "Please open the flail." "The messenger asked someone to break the flail for Lin.
Lin Chong took over the Tianwang Hall, and as long as he swept the floor and put incense on every day, he was done. He went up and down to make money, and no one in the prison camp did not say that he was good, and no one cared about him. In the blink of an eye, it was late autumn, and Chai Jin really sent someone to send winter clothes and silver. One day, Lin Chong wandered back to Tianwang Hall, and suddenly heard someone shouting: "Lin Jiaotou, why are you here?" Lin Chong turned his head to look and recognized it as Li Xiaoer. That Li Xiaoer was originally a bartender in a hotel in Tokyo, and was taken by the master for stealing the master's money, and he had to be sent to the official for punishment. Lin Chong met and interceded for Xiao Er, and the master exempted him from the lawsuit. Lin Chong was entangled with him again, and he left Tokyo, where he had not seen him for several years. Lin Chong told him about his unjust lawsuit and asked, "Why are you here?" Xiao Er said that he left Tokyo and wandered to Cangzhou, where he joined a shopkeeper surnamed Wang as a bartender. Because he worked in the Tokyo Hotel and cooked good food, the Royal Hotel was full of customers. The shopkeeper liked it, so he hired him as his son-in-law. Now that the old couple is dead, the younger couple has opened a tea hotel opposite the prison camp, and they are meeting their benefactors today. He invited Lin Chong to the store, and the husband and wife were closer to Lin Chong than to their father. Lin Chong's bedding and cotton clothes were all dismantled and washed by the Wang family, and he often sent some wine and food to eat with Lin Chong. Lin Chong also often gave the two of them some silver taels as capital.
After a while, it was early in the middle of winter. One day, a guest flashed through the door, and then another person flashed in, as if he were a companion. The guest entered a private room, handed him a piece of silver, and said, "Go and bring me the stewards and the messengers." Li Xiaoer heard that this person had a Tokyo accent and acted sneakily, so he was a little suspicious in his heart, so he went to the prison camp to invite him to manage the camp and send it. The manager of the camp sent a dial to ask the man's name, but the man didn't say, but only asked Xiao Er to arrange wine and food. After eating more than ten rounds, the man said, "Go out, and don't tell you not to come in." Xiao Er left, his heart was even more suspicious, he called his wife, and whispered: "This person is not authentic, I heard him say the word 'Gao Taiwei', don't have anything to do with the benefactor, you go to the back and listen to what they say." Wang said, "Call your benefactor and let him recognize him." Xiao Er said: "Benefactor's nature is like fire, if it is Lu Yuhou who makes a fuss in the store, we have to suffer a lawsuit." Wang went to the back of the pavilion and eavesdropped.
About an hour later, the steward and the messenger went first, and then the man and his companion left the store. Wang said: "They speak very softly, and they can't really hear it. I saw through the crack in the board that the guest took out a bag of gold and silver and handed it to the camper, who said, 'Put it on us, and it will end him up.' While the two were talking, Lin Chong walked in the door. Xiao Er said the matter. Lin Chong asked about the person's appearance, it was Lu Qian, he went to the street to buy a sharp knife, looked around, and searched for several days, but he didn't see Lu Qian's shadow. On the sixth day, the camp called Lin Chong and said: "Fifteen miles east of the city, there is a forage field for the army, which was originally guarded by an old army. It is difficult for ordinary people to spend no amount of money to find this beauty difference, I see that the face of the Chai officials sent you. ”
Lin Chong came to Li Xiaoer and said, "Guan Ying not only didn't harm me, but also sent me to see the forage field, I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse?" Xiao Er said: "The forage field is a fat errand, as long as the benefactor is fine." It's just that it's far away and can't take care of you often, and the benefactor can walk around often when he is free. ”
The next day, it was overcast and snowed like goose feathers. He led Lin Chong to the forage field and told the old army to let him change Lin Chong to see Tianwangtang. The old soldier handed over the keys and accounts, pointed to a big gourd hanging on the wall, and said: "There is a town in the east three miles, and if you want to eat and drink, go there to sell." "Cha Pao and the old army left, Lin Chong lit a fire and roasted it for a while, but he still felt cold on his body. So he picked a gourd with a flower gun, and walked three miles to the east, and sure enough, there was a town. Walked into the village head hotel and asked Xiao Er: "Do you recognize this gourd?" Xiao Er said: "It turned out to be a new military master from the forage field. "At the moment, pour three glasses of wine and cut a plate of beef, which can be regarded as catching the wind for Lin Chong. Lin Chong ate, bought a few catties of beef, ate more than ten bowls of wine, and when he left, he made another gourd of wine, picked it with a flower gun, wrapped the rest of the beef, put it in his arms, and went back to the forage field.
By this time it was already dark, and the snow was getting heavier and heavier. Lin Chong opened the lock, walked in, and saw that the heavy snow had crushed the grass hall, and he tore open the broken wall and only pulled out a quilt. With such a heavy snowfall, where to spend the night? He remembered that there was a mountain temple on the side of the road, so he took up his spear, went to the temple, put a stone on the door, spread the quilt on the ground, wrapped his lower body, drank the cold wine in the gourd, and still felt cold all over his body.
Suddenly, a burst of fire reflected the temple red. Lin Chong jumped up and looked at the crack in the door, but it was the forage field that caught fire. He was about to open the door to put out the fire, but when he heard the sound of footsteps, three people rushed over. The three of them pushed the temple door, but they didn't open it because there was a stone on it. I heard one person say, "Is this a good plan?" Another said, "Thanks to the management of the camp and the trouble of allocating it." When I go back, Captain Gao, make sure you are a big official, this time Zhang Jiaotou didn't say anything. Then he said, "The villain climbed in and set fire in four or five places, and now I am afraid that it will burn almost to the ground." Another said, "Even if you can't burn him, it's a capital offense to burn the hay field." Then he heard a man say, "When the fire stops, go and pick up some of his bones, and I will go back and make a deal." ”
Lin Chong heard that it was clear that outside the temple were Lu Qian, Fu An and Cha Pao. God has eyes, the heavy snow has collapsed the grass hall, otherwise wouldn't it be buried in the sea of fire at this time? He gently moved away the stones, slammed open the temple door, and rushed out with a jacquard gun. When the three of them saw Lin Chong coming out of the temple, they trembled with fright and their legs cramped. He turned around and wanted to escape, but was knocked over by Lin Chong with a gun, caught up with a few steps, and knocked Fu An down with a single shot. Lu Qian fled two or three steps, Lin Chong caught up, grabbed his chest, fell into the snow, and stepped on his chest. Lu Qian shouted: "Spare your life!" It was all Captain Gao who asked me to do this. Lin Chong shouted angrily: "I have been friends with you since childhood, like brothers, you have harmed me several times, how can you have nothing to do with you?" Eat me!" As he spoke, he tore open Lu Qian's coat and dug out his heart and liver with only one knife. When he got up and wanted to escape, Lin Chong rushed forward and killed him, cut off three heads, put them on the table in front of the mountain god, drank all the cold wine in the gourd, picked up the flower gun, and walked east.
Walking to the fourth watch, Lin Chong walked colder and colder, only to see a light in the sparse forest in front of him. He stepped forward, but there were several thatched huts. The door was opened, and there were several people inside who were cooking a fire. He was careful, and asked him to bake the fire too, and a few people let them go. Lin Chong roasted for a while, but he still couldn't stop the cold on his body, and when he raised his eyes and saw a barrel of wine next to him, he said, "Can I buy a few bowls of wine to eat?" An old farmer said, "We let you roast the fire and it will be good, how can you get an inch?" This wine is not enough for us to eat, and it is not for sale. Lin Chong caught fire, picked it up with the tip of his gun, and a piece of coals flew into the face of the old farmer, burning his beard. Everyone was furious and came to beat Lin Chong, but Lin Chong punched and kicked him, and he was beaten to the ground. Lin Chong found a water scoop to scoop the wine to eat, ate half a bucket, and went out with a gun. After walking a few miles, the wine came up and he fell drunk in the snow.
The Zhuang guests found twenty or thirty people to fight Lin Chong, and when they saw Lin Chong gone, they chased down the footprints on the snow, tied up Lin Chong, who was drunk and unconscious, took him back to Zhuang, and hung him on the gatehouse, which was a good fight. At this time, an official came up and asked, "Who are you beating?" Zhuang Ke said, "This man wants to steal grain, and he is caught by the little one." Lin Chong saw that the person was Chai Jin, so he shouted: "The big official save me!" Chai Jin recognized Lin Chong and asked in surprise: "How did the head of the Lin sect fall into their hands?" Zhuang Ke saw that the master knew Lin Chong, and he was so frightened that he left in a hurry. Chai Jin put down Lin Chong with his own hands and said, "This is my Dongzhuang." The two came to the cottage, and Lin Chong said that Lu Qian's plan to burn the forage field was how he escaped death and killed the three thieves. Chai Jin sighed: "Brother Lin's fate is so bitter. Ordered someone to take out a new set of clothes, let Lin Chong change it, and arranged a banquet to surprise Lin Chong.
Lin Chong lived in Chai Jin's village for six or seven days, and heard some rumors that the camp had sued Lin Chong for setting fire to the forage field and killing three officials, and that he was wanted by an order. He said to Chai Jin: "I have to go, don't bother you." Chai Jin thought for a while and said: "Shandong Jeju Mansion, there is a water town, the place name is Liangshanbo, a radius of eight hundred miles, there is a Wanzi City in the middle, there are three leaders in it, the leader is called Wang Lun, the leader is called Tiandu Qian, the third leader is called Yunli King Kong Song Wan, and there are seven or eight hundred small minions under his hands, and the government has no choice but to them. I am gracious to the three princes, and I am writing you a letter to them, and you may go to them. ”
Lin Chong has a country that is difficult to vote for, and it is difficult to run to a home, so he only has the road to go up the mountain and fall into the grass, so he agreed to come down. Chai Jin wrote a letter for Lin Chong, and packed some silver clothes to make a burden. Lin Chong was afraid of being recognized by the checkpoint, and Chai Jin already had an idea.
The next day, Chai Jin brought dozens of people, let Lin Chong mix in, rode on horseback, and went out of the village to pretend to hunt. When he encountered a checkpoint on the way, Chai Jin said, "Lin Chong is inside." The sentinel said, "The big officials have made fun of it." "Put the switch card. Chai Jin and his entourage passed the checkpoint, and Lin Chong said goodbye to Chai Jin and went to Liangshanbo.
Lin Chong traveled alone for more than ten days, and there was no heavy snow along the way. At dusk that day, Lin Chong saw a hotel on the lakeside in front of him, so he walked in, asked for wine and food, and asked the bartender about the way to Liangshanbo. The bartender said: "This is to Liangshanbo, although it is only a few miles away, but there is no dry road, it is all waterway." Lin Chong said, "You can go with me to find a boat." The bartender said, "It's snowing, it's dusk, where can I go to find a boat?" As the two were talking, they saw a person wearing a leather jacket and watching the snow with his hands behind his back. Lin Chong ate alone for a while, half drunk, remembered his life experience, couldn't help but sigh, and asked the bartender to come to the inkstone, and inscribed a poem on the powder wall:
Righteousness is Lin Chong, and he is the most simple and loyal. The rivers and lakes are famous, and the Beijing country is a hero.
The life experience is sad and floating, and the fame is turned into a canopy. If he is young, he will be in Taishan.
After writing, Lin Chong threw his pen and ate for a while. The man who admired the snow walked over quietly, unexpectedly stopped his waist and hugged Lin Chong, and said, "What a Lin Chong, the government is offering 3,000 yuan to reward you, I don't want you to fall into my hands!" Lin Chong was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "I'm not Lin Chong, my surname is Zhang." The man said, "Your poem is still there, how can you deny it?" Lin Chong said, "Do you really want to take me?" But the man let go of his hand and said, "I'm joking with you." To tell you the truth, I am Zhu Gui, the leader of the mountain, known as the dry land law. This hotel is the eyeliner of the cottage. ”
After Zhu Gui finished speaking, he invited Lin Chong into the warm pavilion at the back, re-served the wine and food, and asked, "Why did Lin Jiaotou inquire about the cottage road?" Lin Chong let out a long sigh and told what happened to him. Zhu Gui said: "Chai Daguan is kind to the cottage, since he recommended you to come, I will send you up the mountain tomorrow." ”
Early the next morning, Zhu Gui called Lin Chong, and the two freshened up and ate some snacks. Zhu Gui opened the back window, took a bow, set up a ringing arrow, and looked at the sky above the lake to shoot. Lin Chong asked, "What is this for?" Zhu Gui said: "This is the arrow, and the sound of the arrow was heard on the side of the cottage, so the boat was released." When Lin Chong looked, a small boat on the opposite side was coming like an arrow.
Zhu Gui and Lin rushed to the boat, and after a while, they rowed down the mountain, the two went up the mountain, crossed three passes, and entered the Juyi Hall, where three leaders sat in it, it was Wang Lun, Du Qian, and Song Wan. Lin Chong greeted the leaders and presented Chai Jin's letter. Wang Lun invited Lin Chong to sit down, and thought while reading the letter: I am not a talented person, and I have to settle down with Du Qian and Song Wan because I offended the government. Judging from Chai Jin's letters, this Lin Chong is a very capable person, if he sees that I am not as good as him, wouldn't this cottage be his? Wang Lun thought about it, and ordered the banquet to be set up to entertain Lin Chong. After a few rounds of wine, Wang Lun said, "Someone is coming." "One of the minions took out a plate, and put fifty taels of silver and two pieces of silk on it. Wang Lun arched his hand and said: "The cottage is small, it is unbearable for the head of the Lin Sect to rest the horse, some small gifts, please smile, and hope that the head of the Lin Sect will switch to the big village, so as not to miss the future." ”
Zhu Gui was a little unhappy, and said: "Chai Daguan's kindness in the cottage is as deep as the sea, how can my brother push the people he recommends?" Du Qian and Song Wan also repeatedly persuaded Wang Lun to stay with Lin Chong, so as to strengthen the strength of the cottage. Lin Chong begged for a long time, and Wang Lunfang said: "In this case, you have to bring the name certificate." Lin Chong said, "Please bring a pen and paper." Zhu Gui said: "Brother, I don't know, the name of the cottage is to ask you to kill a person and cut off the head, which is to vote for the name." Lin Chong said: "It's not difficult. Wang Lun said: "Give you three days, if you can't take it to vote, don't blame me for not allowing people." ”
The next morning, Lin Chong had dinner, was led by a small minion, took a boat to the shore, and waited for a day, but did not wait for a passerby. The next day, the little minion led him to an ambush on Nanshan Road, and in the middle of the afternoon, a group of merchants came over, with three or four hundred people. Lin Chong saw that there were many of them, and he couldn't start. When he went back that day, Wang Lun said: "Tomorrow is the last day, if you can't get the certificate, you don't want to go up the mountain." ”
On the third day, Lin Chong followed his minions to Dongshan Road to set up an ambush, and at noon, a man came over with a pick. Lin Chong shouted "ashamed", and jumped out with the Pu knife in his hand. The man screamed, threw down his burden and fled. The minion said, "If you don't have a head, you can also vote for your name if you have property." As he was talking, a big man rushed over and shouted, "Robber, give me back the treasure!" When Lin Chong looked at it, the big man was burly, with a big green mark on his face, and he came over with a simple knife. The two of you go back and forth, and there are thirty or forty rounds of fighting, regardless of victory or defeat. Suddenly, I heard someone on the mountain shouting: "Two heroes, stop!" Lin Chong jumped out of the circle and looked at the mountain, but it was Wang Lun and the other three. The three of them went down the mountain and crossed the lake. Wang Lun said: "The two good knife skills really make the gods unhaunted. This is my brother Lin Chong, the head of the leopard, a blue-faced man, what is your surname?" The man said: "The Sprinkle family is after Yang Lao Linggong, named Yang Zhi, and he lives in Kansai. When you are young, you should pass the martial arts and become the envoy of the palace. Because the emperor wanted to build Genyue, let us ten envoys go to Taihu Lake to escort Huashigang, but the boat capsized due to the wind, and I escaped. Recently, I heard that I had been pardoned for my crimes, packed up a load of jewelry, and went to Beijing to do some work. Please give me back the burden. Wang Lun said, "How about you go up the mountain with me and have a few glasses of water and wine?" Yang Zhi said: "The Sprinkle family doesn't go up the mountain, but I only ask you to return my burden." Lin Chong said: "As early as in Tokyo, I have heard of the name of the blue-faced beast for a long time, and I just hate not to see each other, but I am fortunate to meet today, how can I let you go?"
In order to recover the treasure, Yang Zhi had to follow the leaders to the cottage. Wang Lun set down the banquet, feasted Yang Zhi, and thought: Seeing that this Yang Zhi's martial arts are not weaker than Lin Chong, if he stays, he can contain Lin Chong, so he said: "This leopard head Lin Chong turned out to be the head of the 800,000 forbidden army, and he was desperate because he offended Gao Yu. If Yang Zhi's envoy goes to Tokyo, he will always be unable to get rid of Gao Yu's subordinates, how can he be useful? It's better to stay in the cottage and be a leader. Yang Zhi said: "The Sprinkle family is the queen of Yang Lao Linggong, and he has been the gate for generations, how can he go up the mountain and fall into the grass?" Insist on going. Wang Lun couldn't persuade him, so he had to leave him for a day to drink, stay in the cottage that night, and send him down the mountain the next morning.
Yang Zhi returned to Tokyo, went to the relevant yamen to make points, and all the yamen approved the reinstatement of other officials, and finally came to the palace marshal's mansion, but Gao Yu said: "Ten envoys escorted Huashigang, nine of them have returned, but you have fallen, do not surrender, but flee again, although you have been pardoned for your crimes, I will never use you again!" All the official documents were approved in one fell swoop.
Yang Zhi's jewelry has been exhausted, and he has spent all his entanglements, and he seems to have no money for food and hotel accommodation. After a few more days, he really couldn't imagine that he only had the ancestral knife with him.