Dulonggang cleverly breaks the chain

Chapter Quote: The three villages swore an oath of solidarity, yet trouble arose within. To break the siege, we must act first, removing the fuel from under the cauldron to break the deadlock.

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Leaving Dongping Prefecture, Yan Qing rode tirelessly towards Dulonggang. Here, three major villages—Zhujiazhuang, Hujiazhuang, and Lijiazhuang—were allied and mutually dependent. Their powerful armies, high walls, and deep trenches posed a significant obstacle to Liangshanpo's eastward expansion. In a previous life, Liangshan had fought arduous battles, attacking Zhujiazhuang three times before finally conquering it. The brutal attack resulted in the tragic deaths of Hu Sanniang's family, and she herself was forced to join Liangshan and marry the dwarf, Wang Ying. Her fate was truly tragic.

Yan Qing always felt pity for Hu Sanniang, a heroine with great martial arts skills and a strong character. In this life, he was determined to change her fate and protect the Three Villages, making them a thorn in Liangshan's side.

To defeat Liangshan, the alliance between the three villages must be consolidated. In the previous life, the key to the three villages' destruction lay in their internal rifts: Zhujiazhuang's arrogance, Li Ying's forced estrangement from Lijiazhuang, and Hujiazhuang's fear of the consequences after Hu Cheng's capture. The conflict between Zhujiazhuang and Lijiazhuang stemmed from a conflict involving a small patrol team.

Yan Qing's goal is very clear: to resolve the conflict between Zhu Biao and Li Ying's troops and consolidate the alliance between the three villages; at the same time, to remind Hujia Village to be careful and prevent Hu Cheng from being captured.

He still disguised himself as a traveling merchant and settled in the villages near Dulonggang. He ordered his companions to go and find out the recent situation of the three villages. Soon, the news came:

Zhu Chaofeng, the owner of Zhujiazhuang, has three sons, Zhu Long, Zhu Hu and Zhu Biao, all of whom are brave and good at fighting. Especially the third son Zhu Biao, who is engaged to Hu Sanniang from Hujiazhuang, is even more arrogant and domineering.

Li Ying, the owner of Lijiazhuang, known as the "Putian Diao", is a martial arts expert and a generous man, but he is increasingly dissatisfied with the tyranny of Zhujiazhuang.

Hu Taigong of Hujia Village is old, his son Hu Cheng is mediocre in martial arts, but his daughter Hu Sanniang is a fierce general who wields two swords, the Sun and the Moon, and is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. However, she does not seem to be keen on marrying Zhu Biao.

Recently, the patrol teams of Zhujiazhuang and Lijiazhuang have had several frictions due to cross-border hunting, and the atmosphere is becoming increasingly tense.

"The storm is brewing," Yan Qing mused. The seeds of conflict had been sown, waiting only for the right opportunity to erupt.

He needed to create an "opportunity", an opportunity that would allow both Li Ying and the Zhu family to express their gratitude and thus ease the conflict.

The opportunity soon arrived. Spies reported that Zhujiazhuang had a shipment of important grain and fodder to be transported back from Qingzhou, escorted by Zhu Long. Liangshan, seemingly also on the news, had dispatched "General Shi" Shi Yong with a team to intercept the grain en route!

A gleam of light flashed in Yan Qing's eyes. That's it!

He sprang into action. First, he anonymously sent a secret letter to Li Ying, which read: "I've heard that the Liangshan bandits are attempting to rob the Zhu family's grain train in Black Wind Valley. I hope that Master Li, out of loyalty to our alliance, will quickly rescue them, resolve the conflict, and solidify the alliance." The specific phrase "resolve the conflict and solidify the alliance" struck a chord with Li Ying.

Then, he wrote another letter to Zhu Chaofeng in the tone of a chivalrous knight: "The grain team is in danger, there is an ambush in Heifeng Valley, rescue quickly!" At the end of the letter, he drew a small crossbow arrow as a mark.

A two-pronged approach ensures that nothing goes wrong.

Li Ying received the anonymous letter with skepticism. While he and the Zhu family had their issues, the Three Villages Alliance was a matter of life and death. If the Zhu family's food and supplies were plundered, weakening their strength would be detrimental to Lijia Village. Known for his righteousness, he considered it and decided to believe it. He immediately gathered his men and personally led the team to Black Wind Valley.

Zhu Chaofeng was shocked to receive the letter marked with a crossbow arrow. He recognized the mark; it belonged to a mysterious master from Hebei who had saved his life in his youth. Over the years, he had received occasional messages, each of which had come true. Unable to delay, he immediately ordered Zhu Hu to lead his elite troops to support Zhu Long.

In Black Wind Valley, Shi Yong and the Liangshan troops had just rushed out and surrounded Zhu Long's grain team. As the two sides were fighting, they suddenly heard shouts and screams from the east and west! Li Ying and Zhu Hu arrived at the same time!

Shi Yong was horrified. The intelligence he had received only mentioned Zhu Long's escort team, so how could two fresh troops suddenly appear? Seeing that he was surrounded, he dared not fight any longer. He abandoned more than a dozen corpses and fled back to Liangshan with his remaining troops.

Zhu Long was saved from a desperate situation, and seeing Li Ying come to his rescue despite their past grudges, he felt both grateful and ashamed. Zhu Hu also bowed to Li Ying to express his gratitude.

Li Ying saw that what he had said in the letter had indeed come true, and he also saw the change in the Zhu brothers' attitude. Most of the grudges in his heart disappeared, and he said loudly: "You and I are allies of the three villages. If one village falls, the other will be in danger. Rescue is our duty!"

After this incident, relations between Zhu and Li villages were greatly eased. Zhu Chaofeng specially prepared a generous gift and went to Lijiazhuang to express his gratitude. The two sides put aside their past grievances, and the alliance became even stronger than before.

Yan Qing secretly learned the news and smiled faintly. The first step was accomplished.

Next up is Hujia Village. Hu Sanniang's tragedy began when her brother Hu Cheng was captured by Liangshan. As long as Hu Cheng was safe, Hu Sanniang wouldn't hesitate to act rashly. With her martial arts skills and the strength of Hujia Village, she was more than capable of protecting herself.

He also wrote to Hu Taigong anonymously, reminding him that Liangshan spies might have infiltrated Dulonggang, and to be especially wary of a man named "Lehe" who was good at disguise and articulate, so he needed to be strictly checked against any strangers. He also warned Hu Cheng not to leave the village easily to pursue them.

When Hu Taigong received the letter, although he didn't know who the sender was, he believed it because the name "Lehe" sounded very plausible. He immediately strengthened the patrols in the village and strictly restrained Hu Cheng.

After all this, Yan Qing felt it wasn't enough. While the Three Villages Alliance was temporarily stable, Zhu Biao's fiery temper and Hu Sanniang's pride posed a hidden danger. If... the engagement could be dissolved naturally, perhaps it would be better for both of them.

He recalled a detail from his past life. Although Zhu Biao was engaged to Hu Sanniang, he was having affairs with other women, including a nearby young lady from a wealthy official family who had fallen on hard times. If the Hu family knew about this, given Hu Sanniang's temperament, she would definitely not tolerate it.

Yan Qing ordered his attendants to secretly investigate and indeed found the young lady's residence. He did not do anything, but "accidentally" revealed the news to a straightforward servant in Hujia Village.

Sure enough, within a few days, the news reached Hu Sanniang's ears.

Hu Sanniang was already dissatisfied with Zhu Biao's arrogance and this political marriage. Upon hearing this, she flew into a rage and immediately rushed into Zhujiazhuang with the Sun and Moon Swords in hand, questioning Zhu Biao in public.

Zhu Biao denied it flatly, but his words were evasive. Zhu Chaofeng was furious and apologized profusely.

Seeing the situation, Hu Sanniang understood a little bit, and said with a cold face: "Although I, Hu Sanniang, am not a princess, I also know the meaning of shame. It is better not to marry such a faithless and ungrateful person!" After that, she tore up the engagement on the spot and left.

Zhu Biao was ashamed and angry, but he was too embarrassed to stop it. The marriage between the Zhu and Hu families was thus called off.

Yan Qing sighed inwardly upon learning this. While this method might not seem entirely ideal, it was better to suffer a short pain than a long one. It prevented the tragedy of a future marital feud and the destruction of the family. At least, Hu Sanniang was now free.

A series of unforeseen events completely disrupted Liangshan's plans. Wu Yong had originally planned to exploit the internal conflicts within the three villages, first dividing them and then defeating them one by one. Now that relations between Zhu and Li have eased, Hujia Village has become more vigilant. Hu Cheng has become a recluse, and Hu Sanniang has fallen out with the Zhu family. Although Dulonggang has lost its marriage ties, the external pressure has made the military alliance between the three villages purer and more stable.

Spies reported that Le He, a Liangshan spy, had been discovered while attempting to infiltrate Hujia Village, narrowly escaped capture and fled in disgrace. Shi Yong's grain robbery attempt failed, resulting in heavy casualties. The plan to attack Dulonggang was on the verge of collapse.

Yan Qing stood on the hill, looking at the three large manors in the distance that formed a horn shape and were heavily guarded, and his heart was slightly relieved.

In this case, can the three villages be kept safe?

He couldn't be completely reassured. Wu Yong was full of tricks, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't come up with another surprising tactic. But at least he had bought them time and opportunity.

"I have done everything I can. The rest depends on your luck."

He reined in his horse and gazed into the distance. The purpose of his trip to Shandong had been largely achieved. Xu Ning, Zhu Tong, Sanzhuang… he had saved everyone he could, and whoever he should. It was time to return to Daming Prefecture. I wondered if my master was doing well.

But for some reason, he felt a faint unease in his heart, as if he had missed something extremely important. That feeling was like a whirlpool hidden beneath the calm surface of a lake.

He shook his head, waved away the inexplicable thoughts, and urged his horse on to return home.

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Chapter 9 End