Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

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More than an hour later, they arrived at Taoyuan Town, which was now under the jurisdiction of the Huaiyang Army.

Previously, because Liu Guang was troublesome,

This caused the plan suggested by An Daoquan and his wife to help everyone relax to fall through.

Now that they had arrived at Peach Blossom Town, Zhao Yuan told the others to get some rest.

He and Hu Sanniang, along with Liu Huiniang, headed south back to the small town in Chuzhou that they had visited during the day.

Zhao Yuan rode alone on a horse, while Hu Sanniang and Liu Huiniang shared the other.

When the three set off, it was already getting dark.

To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, under the cover of night, we could only proceed along the road at a moderate pace.

Liu Huiniang was worried about her family, so she urged the two to ride faster.

Do you think everyone is like you, able to see night as day?

Zhao Yuan shook his head and said, "If the horse runs too fast and hits something, even a small stone, it could be fatal."

"Who can see night as day?"

Liu Huiniang said in surprise, "Although my eyesight is indeed better than that of ordinary people in the dark, it is only slightly better."

"Can't see at night? What about during the day?"

Zhao Yuan pressed further, "During the day, standing on the mountain, can you see two or three hundred miles away?"

As soon as he finished asking the question, 097 Hu Sanniang burst out laughing.

"Brother, Sister Ah Xiu isn't a goddess, how could she have the supernatural power of seeing a thousand miles?"

Liu Huiniang also gave Zhao Yuan a strange look.

"I don't know where you heard this, Master Zhao, but my eyesight is about the same as an ordinary person's during the day. How could I possibly see three or four hundred miles away? However, if I use a telescope, I can barely see thirty or forty miles away when I stand on the mountain during the day."

"What? Ah Xiu, you can actually see things thirty or forty miles away?" Hu Sanniang exclaimed in surprise.

Zhao Yuan was just as surprised as she was, but what he was focused on was the "telescope"!

"Young lady, is this telescope made by attaching two pieces of transparent glass together, one in front of the other?"

"Has Mr. Zhao also seen this telescope?"

Liu Huiniang said in surprise, "I thought I had invented this telescope myself."

Zhao Yuan continued, "What about the wooden ox and flowing horse, the self-ringing clock, the mechanical beasts, and the mechanical wooden figures? Can you make them, young lady?"

"According to Chen Shidao's 'Houshan Congtan', the wooden ox and flowing horse were just a type of small cart in Sichuan. As for a self-ringing clock, the water-powered armillary sphere of the Tang Dynasty was one of them."

At this point, Liu Huiniang (bica) asked with a puzzled expression, "Although I like to make all kinds of tools, I have never even heard of mechanical beasts and mechanical wooden figures, so how could I possibly make them?"

So that's how it is. It seems that Liu Huiniang in this world, although a bit clever, isn't as overpowered as the one in the novel "The Water Margin".

If Liu Huiniang is like this, then presumably the other unusual characters in the story of the bandits should be the same.

Zhao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; he certainly didn't want the two armies to be locked in battle.

Suddenly a mage jumped out from the opposite side, and began to summon wind and rain, flying sand and stones, and turning beans into soldiers.

If that were the case, why would he rebel? He might as well find someone to learn how to cultivate immortality.

Although Liu Huiniang was puzzled as to why Zhao Yuan was asking her these questions,

But for her now, her biggest concern is still the whereabouts of her family.

Seeing that Zhao Yuan stopped speaking, she also kept quiet, and the three of them continued their journey in silence.

......

Under the cover of night, Zhao Yuan and his two companions led their horses and quietly entered the small town that had been in the daytime.

To avoid trouble, both Hu Sanniang and Liu Huiniang had covered their faces with veils.

Zhao Yuan led them to a noodle stall that was still open on the street and they sat down.

The owner of the control panel was an elderly man in his fifties or sixties.

After the three of them ordered three bowls of noodles, while the old man was cooking them,

Zhao Yuan began to inquire with him about the aftermath of what happened at the dock during the day.

"Old man, I heard that the yamen arrested a thief at the dock during the day. I wonder what law he broke?"

"What thief? It's just a fabricated charge made up by that official trying to extort money from you."

The old man said irritably, "Those people in the government office don't dare to arrest the real thieves and bandits in the surrounding mountains, but they dare to bully ordinary people."

"So, after the yamen runners extorted money from the man, they released him?" Liu Huiniang asked impatiently.

"What else are you extorting?"

The old man looked around and, seeing that there was no one else on the street in the darkness, approached the three of them and whispered,

"I heard it from a customer. The constables from the yamen suffered a great loss at the docks during the day. The person they arrested had accomplices at the docks."

The old man said with a look of satisfaction, "That accomplice beat up the yamen runners so badly that they were all lying on their backs when he came back, and almost every one of them was limping!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Huiniang knew that the accomplice must be her two elder brothers, so she quickly pressed for details.

"So they've already escaped and left this place?"

"If you don't run away, you'll stay here and be investigated by the authorities!"

The old man chuckled and said, "I heard that after that group rescued their companion, they hijacked a passenger ship and sailed downstream from the dock. Although the government officials sent official ships to chase after them, it seems they didn't catch up."

"What? They went downstream?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Huiniang was completely stunned.

"You little rascal, you talk really strangely,"

The old man shook his head and said, "If we go upstream, the boat will be slow, and how could these people possibly escape!"

After eating the noodles, the three left the noodle stall.

Seeing that Liu Huiniang still looked dejected and pitiful, Zhao Yuan advised, "Didn't the old man at the noodle stall say that there were official boats chasing after you? Your father must have had no choice but to go downstream and leave this place."

"I know,"

Liu Huiniang nodded blankly: "It just makes me feel sad that I'm the only one in the family who was abandoned."

"Ah Xiu, what are you planning to do next?" Hu Sanniang asked.

"This humble servant..."

Liu Huiniang paused, clearly unsure of what to do herself.

“If you stay here and those constables and hooligans discover your whereabouts, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Zhao Yuan suggested, "As for setting off alone to find your family, it would likely be fraught with danger. Perhaps..."

"Why don't you come back to Shandong with us?"

Hu Sanniang continued, "We have renowned doctors on our ship, so there's no need to worry about being infected by the plague. The reason we invited them back to Shandong is to treat the plague."

"Why don't you stay with us for now, and after the plague subsides, I will personally escort you to Tokyo to find your relatives? What do you say?"

"this......"

Liu Huiniang pondered for a moment before nodding and saying, "This is the only way for now."

Well done, Third Sister!

Zhao Yuan glanced at his companion with approval.

Hu Sanniang glared at him, but she was annoyed.

If I hadn't heard Zhao Yuan mention it before...

Liu Huiniang is intelligent, quick-witted, and skillful; she is an invaluable helper to the mountain stronghold.

Even if Hu Sanniang were the most magnanimous woman, she would never help her lover seduce a beautiful young lady!

Chapter 185 Li Kui is going to pick up his mother

Liu Huiniang traveled north with the passenger ship.

This girl was beautiful, well-behaved, and sensible, and quickly won everyone's favor.

Even Hu Sanniang, who was initially somewhat cold towards her because of Zhao Yuan, began to dote on this little sister.

As for Zhao Yuan himself, needless to say, he was still waiting for this girl to come up the mountain so that she could help improve the weapons and equipment of Liangshan.

Of all the people on the ship, the only one who didn't like Liu Huiniang was Li Kui.

Upon seeing the young girl, the dark-skinned man immediately began complaining about her father, Liu Guang, for meddling in his affairs that day.

Liu Huiniang also felt wronged. Although her father was meddlesome at the time, he only stood up for Li Kui because he felt indignant seeing him being hung up.

As a result, the father and daughter are now separated, and even Li Kui, that scoundrel, shows no gratitude towards Liu Guang whatsoever.

However, although he did not get along well with Liu Huiniang,

Li Kui gets along well with everyone else.

This dark-skinned fellow already knew the identities of Zhao Yuan and the others.

That day, when the passenger boat reached Xiapi, Li Kui had to change boats and travel along the Yi River to Yizhou.

As everyone was seeing them off, the dark-skinned man suddenly turned to Zhao Yuan and asked, "Brother Zhao, I've had a wonderful time with my brothers these past two days, and it's made me want to join Liangshan. I wonder if that's possible?"

"Sure, why not! I'd welcome you to Liangshan anytime you want, but you should think it through!"

Zhao Yuan reminded him, "You should have heard about the rules of my stronghold from others these past few days. If you violate the military regulations and discipline of the stronghold, even I, as the leader, will not let you off the hook."

"Don't worry, brother. It just means we can't bully ordinary people."

Li Kui patted his chest: "I also come from a poor family, why would I bully them for no reason?"

Zhao Yuan said sternly, "Also, apart from battle, you can't just kill people at the drop of a hat!"

Upon hearing this, Li Kui's dark face immediately filled with grievance.

"Aside from accidentally killing someone in my hometown, I've never actually killed anyone."

"Don't argue, I'm just trying to be helpful!" Zhang Shun patted his shoulder.

Zhao Yuan also felt somewhat apologetic; the Li Kui in front of him was still just a simpleton.

In terms of the number of people he has killed, Zhao Yuan has killed far more than him.

"Brother, if we join Liangshan, does that mean I can't fight back if others bully me?" Li Kui asked with a bitter face.

"As long as you didn't bully anyone first, who would dare to bully you? Of course you can fight back, but you need to be careful how you use your strength."

Zhao Yuan warned, "Especially those two axes, don't take them out and brandish them all the time."

"By the way, Blackie, if you're going to join Liangshan, what about your mother?"

Zhang Shun asked, "Aren't you going to take her to the south?"

"Since I've already joined the Liangshan bandits, my mother will definitely come with me."

Li Kui chuckled smugly and said, "Although I have never witnessed the medical skills of that Doctor An, my brother went all the way to invite him back to Shandong, so that fellow must be quite capable. If I bring my mother up the mountain, she will have someone to treat her if she gets a headache or fever in the future."

"Besides, you and Brother Liu have both brought our parents to the mountain stronghold. If you're not afraid of the epidemic, why should I be afraid of anything!"

"You black bastard, you're quite the shrewd one,"

Zhao Yuan chuckled and said, "But since you're going to take your mother to Liangshan, it's not safe for her to travel alone."

"Don't worry, brother. Once I get back to my hometown, I'll carry Mother on my back and head straight for Liangshan."

Li Kui replied, "Anyone who dares to stop me along the way, I'll chop them down with my axe..."

At this point, the man remembered Zhao Yuan's warning and quickly changed his tune, saying, "I chased them away with my fists."

"What I'm worried about is your old mother. How can you take good care of her all by yourself?"

Zhao Yuan thought for a moment, then looked at Shi Xiu.

“Brother, this guy is rough and clumsy. Who knows what might happen if he goes to pick up my mother alone? I’ll have to trouble you to go with him.”

Shi Xiu cupped his hands and assured him, "Brother, don't worry. Now that Li Kui has come up the mountain, he's one of our own. His mother is my mother too. I'll take good care of her."

Zhao Yuan then sent two more personal guards to accompany Li Kui and Shi Xiu on their journey.