What is a good boy?

  Gao Feng and Zhang Shuye invited Wu Song to enter the Yanzhou city, to the government office, sat down in order of seniority, ordered the maidservant to serve tea. Gao Feng liked to flatter, clapped his hands to let the songstress offer a song and dance performance, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air. Everyone drank wine while appreciating the dance, Wu Song had become a great national teacher of the Song Dynasty for four years, now he had the demeanor of a superior person, lessening some of his rustic air, his mannerisms were dignified, the song and dance performance was quite enjoyable to watch.

  Gao Feng bowed and smiled obsequiously: "Sir, which songstress has caught your eye? I'll have her sent to your quarters..." Gao Lian secretly kicked him in the foot, and only then did Gao Feng come to his senses. He glanced at Gong Sunyan beside Wu Song and said no more. When the dance was finished, Wu Song waved his hand, dismissing the songstresses, and asked: "Has the High Official prepared the sandboard?"

  Gao Feng, although accustomed to flattering his superiors, had a talent for military strategy. He ordered the soldiers to bring in a sandbox and place it in the center of the hall. As everyone gathered around to observe, they saw that it was a detailed topographic map of Yizhou.

  "Understood a little about magic, using flying skills to observe all over Yizhou, only then did I make this sand table."

  Wu Song shook his head and said: "The battlefield is not here, but in Qingzhou!"

  "The topographic map of Qingzhou is actually not here, could it be..."

  "I received news from the secret door that Chen Kui and Song Wan have seen me conquer Liangshan Water Margin, and they led their army east to Qingzhou. They may have already occupied Qingyun Mountain by now." Gong Xun waved his hand and let the soldiers take down the sand table, saying: "The terrain of Qingzhou is in the middle of Qingyun Mountain, southeast is Lao Mountain, below is Ai Mountain, southwest is Wulian Mountain, west is Yishan, and north is Linglong Mountain and Yunmen Mountain. This area is all mountainous, with few open spaces, and the waterway is not connected, so the tower ship cannot pass."

  Zhang Shu thought for a moment and said, "If they hide and don't come out, the other side has an advantageous terrain. I'm afraid it will take ten times the military strength to eliminate this group of rebels."

  Wu Song laughed and said, "This matter is simple. These rebels are determined to replace the heavens and do justice, wanting to enter the capital and destroy this Wu thief. As long as we remain still, Chen Shi and Song Jiang will inevitably be unable to bear it and launch a preemptive attack, advancing towards the capital. At that time, I will enter the capital to defend the emperor and force Your Majesty to kill me."

  Zhang Shuobo's spirit was lifted, and he said: "So their direction of attack can only be to bypass Liangshan Water Village, bypass Yanzhou, attack Jinan, and then march on the capital from Jinan!" When he said this, he furrowed his brow again and said: "No, the Yellow River runs through Jinan. If Chen's bandits are going to attack Jinan, they will still encounter the national teacher's great warships..."

  Gao Fengdao said: "If we go south, it would be by sea route. The bandits Chen and Song don't have large ships, they can't sail the sea."

  Gong Sun's eyebrows furrowed, she had planned for Wu Song in the capital, luring out the Liangshan bandits and then attacking Liangshan from the Yellow River. When Song Jiang, Chen Xiuren and others came to reinforce, they fired cannons chaotically and quickly pacified Liangshan.

  This plan was originally supposed to yield a bigger harvest, but unfortunately only Yan Shude and Liu Yongxi's troops returned to rescue Liangshan. It is clear that the plot has been seen through. Judging from the ruins of Zengtou City, there must also be an expert in mechanical engineering within Liangshan. Wanting to build a large ship to sail the seas shouldn't be easy?

  "Could it be someone from the Mo family?"

  Wu Song laughed and said, "Gao Feng, you immediately dispatch someone to ride a fast horse with whip in hand, hurry to the capital to report the good news. Say that we have already taken down Liangshan, killed 200,000 enemies, and the bandits fled east and south. At that time, His Majesty will certainly grant us additional titles..."

  "We didn't kill that many people, at most only two thousand, and there are still quite a few prisoners..."

  Wu Song glared at her and said, "I'm a treacherous minister, what's the big deal about exaggerating our military achievements tenfold?" Gong Yannan stuck out her tongue and listened to Wu Song say, "Cai Jing will definitely not see me achieve this great merit, thinking that Liangshan is weak and can be defeated with one blow. He must come to steal this credit. In this way, Cai Jing will lead the snake out of its hole, letting Chen Kui and Song Jiang escape from Qingyun Mountain. After Cai Jing suffers a defeat, he will certainly become more honest, and we can continue to attack those bandits, taking all the credit for ourselves!"

  Gao Feng secretly wiped away a cold sweat and forced a smile, saying: "National Master, what a great plan! What a great plan!" He was of the same lineage as Gao Yuan, who had seen Wu Song's power growing stronger. Secretly, he had joined forces with Cai Jing to prepare for overthrowing Wu Song. Now that he heard Wu Song's plan, he felt that if he were to join forces with Cai Jing, his future would be uncertain. In his heart, he thought: "It's better to send a letter to my elder brother and surrender to Wu Song instead."

  Wu Song finished his arrangements and returned to the government office to rest. Gong Sun's daughter followed him, and Wu Song took out the book that Zhuangzi had thrown at him. The two of them flipped through it, looking at each other in dismay.

  "You old scoundrel, how dare you deceive me!" Wu Song was so angry that he threw the book to the ground and trampled it with his feet. The book didn't mention anything about breaking the Eight Trigrams Seal of God, but instead talked about the method of planting the Eight Trigrams Seal of God curse!

  Gong Shu Yan's face turned deathly pale, and she grasped the table to prevent herself from falling over. She forced a smile and said: "Don't be angry with me, I won't live for much longer. There is still a younger brother at home, after things are settled here, I will return home and urge him to get married as soon as possible. The Gong Shu family cannot be exterminated by my hand."

  Wu Song hastily supported her and let her rest on the bed, saying: "Heaven will not cut off a person's path, you can rest assured to take care of yourself, and don't worry about anything. I've read some military books over the years, defeating Chen the old thief shouldn't be a problem. When the time comes, you'll go to Qin state, and I'll accompany you." As he spoke, he picked up the book again, saying: "I have a pair of divine eyes, who knows if I can use this book to deduce a way to break the Eight Trigrams Seal God?"

  Gong Xian nodded and retreated into the bed, Wu Song covered her with a quilt and smiled: "You sleep first, I'll go get Li Shishi to keep you company." After that, he walked out of the room.

  Gong Shu Yanran waited until he left the house, and she could no longer hold back, coughing several times, hurriedly covering her mouth with a handkerchief. When she relaxed her hand, she saw a patch of blood on the handkerchief. Gong Shu Yanran was stunned for a moment, quietly throwing the handkerchief under the bed, staring at the bed curtains with wide eyes, thinking about something in her heart.

  Wu Song stood outside the door without going far, his hearing was keen and he had already heard the girl coughing up blood in the room, his fists clenched tightly, his fingernails digging into his flesh without realizing it.

  He had already sent Shi Xi's wife to Qinzhou to investigate, and Shi Xi's wife reported that Gong Shu Yanran's family had a younger brother named Gong Shu Pan, but he was an idiot. The only person in the Gong family who was proficient in mechanical skills was Gong Shu Yanran alone.

  "Every time she says that making so many mechanical beasts is for her brother, I know she's deceiving me..."

  At this time, a maidservant passed by and looked at Wu Song twice. She smiled and said: "You are a general, a heroic man, why are you crying? Is it because someone close to you died on the battlefield?"

  "Fart!" Wu Song wiped away his tears and laughed, scolding: "I won a great victory, this is what I'm laughing at!"

  The maid spat and turned to leave. Wu Song called her back, asking her to invite Li Shishi over to accompany Gong Sunyan in conversation. He himself changed into casual clothes and walked out of the mansion, arriving at the streets of Yanzhou City, where he saw soldiers bustling about, transporting stones and arrows onto the city walls, still preparing for a great battle.

  On the streets, some people were chatting about this grand battle. Chen Xi and Song Jiang, who claimed to be upholding justice in the name of heaven, had a poor reputation among the common folk. What Wu Song heard was all curses against these bandits, while he himself, a martial hero, received lavish praise.

  But thinking carefully about it, one will understand that "robbing the rich to help the poor" means robbing whose wealth and helping whose poverty?

  They are not the ones who have been oppressed, but rather the common people. As for "carrying out justice on behalf of Heaven", it's even more ridiculous. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, representing the heavens. Wu Song is the Emperor's national teacher, the spokesperson for the heavens, where does he get off "carrying out justice on behalf of Heaven"?

  "I ask myself, all these years, although I have flattered Huizong and committed murder, but I have not done anything that goes against my conscience! The court allocates 2 million guan of money to the Tianji Pavilion every year, only a small part is used for the improvement of the Taoist's magical powers, most of it is used for manufacturing weapons, protecting the family and defending the country."

  Just then, Lu Junyi and Yan Qing were seen dragging Li Kui into the city, his mouth still stuffed with a smelly sock, it was unclear who had taken it off, the smell was so pungent that he kept rolling his eyes. Lu Da followed behind, repeatedly saying: "How can this be? You let him go, I am his sworn brother, and I will reason with him..."

  Wu Song walked up, and several people hurriedly bowed their heads in greeting, saying: "Armor on the body, not convenient to kneel down." Li Kui also did not salute, staring at him with his two bull eyes, as if he could spit out fire.

  "What's going on here?" Wu Song waved his hand and pointed at Li Kui: "What's the meaning of this!"

  Yan Qing smiled and said, "After the battle at Zhu Family Village, he discovered that one of the Liangshan prisoners was someone he knew, which raised his suspicions. He secretly asked around and found out that he had been deceived. Also, because he had killed Chen Daizi's sorcerer, he couldn't return to Song Jiang's side. Suddenly, he violently rose up, swinging two large axes and chopping at people, almost injuring Commander Huyan."

  "Is Huyan Zhuo injured?" Wu Song hastily asked.

  "There isn't." Lu Junyi laughed and said: "Fortunately, Xiao Yi was quick-witted and knocked him down with one punch, or else a big disaster would have been brewed!"

  Wu Song also laughed and said: "Since Commander Huyan is unharmed, why don't you quickly untie Iron Bull?"

  Lin Chong said: "I'm afraid this fellow will suddenly become violent and harm someone!"

  "Can he beat any of you?"

  Several people had no choice but to untie Li Kui, who spat out the stinky sock from his mouth and threw it at Lu Da, letting out a grunt. Lu Da smiled awkwardly, and Li Kui asked: "Where's my axe?"

  Lu Da carried his two big axes, and upon hearing this, he looked at Wu Song, who nodded. Lu Da had no choice but to return the axe to Li Kui. With the axe in hand, Li Kui's courage suddenly increased, and he glanced at Wu Song's neck, thinking that even with the axe, he couldn't defeat him, and his courage dissipated again. He said: "Wu thief, stick your head out and let me chop it off with two axes!"

  Wu Song shook his head and smiled: "How childish!"

  Li Kui saw that he was ignored, carrying two large axes and walking away, turning his head to say: "You don't kill me, I can leave!"

  "See you later!" Wu Song said with a wave of his hand. Li Kui hesitated for a moment, then turned back and asked, "You won't shoot me in the back, will you?"

  "Let him go!" Wu Song shook his head and said: "No way!"

  "Nonsense!" Li Kui shook his big head like a wave drum, saying: "You are a martial thief, most fond of shooting cold arrows from behind, Brother Song Gongming said so, many good men died under your cold arrows!"

  Wu Song was both angry and amused, saying: "Why should I shoot a cold arrow? I am the national teacher of the whole world, one man below me, ten thousand men above me. With a wave of my hand, thousands of horses and soldiers will listen to my command. Wherever I point, the flags and spears will fly and smoke will rise. The army will arrive, and the bandits will surrender! Who is worthy of me shooting a cold arrow? The reason I don't kill you is that you are already a dead man, and it's not worth killing you!"

  Li Kui glared with wide eyes and shouted: "Brother Song Jiang won't kill me!"

  Wu Song sneered, "Song Jiang has no choice but to kill you! Now Chen Da is in the first seat, and Song Jiang is in the second. The whole gang listens to Chen Xi's words, and if Song Jiang wants to keep his position, not killing you won't be enough to convince everyone!"

  Li Kui was furious, gripping his two axes and looking as if he wanted to kill someone. His face twisted in anger, he said: "I've sworn brotherhood with him, we've kowtowed together, and I've even saved his life! A life for a life - would he still want to kill me?"

  "Wu Song shook his head and said, 'You can write a letter and send it to Qingyun Mountain, saying that you were deceived by the Wu thief and now know your mistake and are willing to return to Qingyun Mountain. If Song Jiang writes back and tells you to hurry back, not holding your crimes against you, then he has moved with the intention of killing you, wanting to use your head to convince the crowd! If you go back, you will surely die! If he advises you not to go back, then there is still brotherly kindness, and he won't kill you.'"

  "Write it then!" Li Kui threw down his axe, and after a moment's pause, scratched his head and said: "I don't recognize characters, you come write." Suddenly he came to himself and said: "What you write is definitely not good words, can't let you write!" He looked at Lu Da, still trusting this sworn brother, and said: "Old brother, this time you can't cheat me!"

  Wu Song ordered someone to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Li Kui dictated while Lu Da, who had followed Zhou Tong for several years and studied hard, now understood some calligraphy and wrote on the street. Li Kui carefully held the paper, blew it dry with the wind, and then pulled over a dozen people to ask, they all read the same thing, only then did he feel at ease.

  Wu Song ordered a small soldier to deliver the letter, and then he grasped Li Kui's arm and laughed: "You've become sworn brothers with Lu Zhishen? Lu Zhishen is my brother, so you're also my own brother!"

  Li Kui grunted, his nose pointing towards the sky, ignoring him. Wu Song burst out laughing and forcibly dragged him to stroll around the streets and alleys, only to hear those old men and women chatting idly, all of them severely scolding Song Jiang and Chen Shi for being traitors and harming the common people.

  Li Kui's face grew darker and darker, suppressing a bellyful of anger. Wu Song said: "Robbing the rich to help the poor, upholding justice on behalf of Heaven? Nonsense!"

  Li Kui's face grew darker, and Wu Song laughed: "Iron Bull brother, don't you still have an old mother at home? A real man should be a hero, bring honor to his wife and children, and let his mother live a lonely and miserable life at home, what kind of good man is that?"

  Li Kui remained silent, Wu Song loosened his grip and left with a smile. The iron bull crouched by the roadside, listening to the old man and woman's conversation, occasionally nodding its head.