Moma Liangshan

Chapter 194 Daring to Act and Take Responsibility, or Sitting on the Fence and Watching

That night, Ma Cao also rushed from Dongjing to Liangshan, intending to find Du Qian and Song Wanyi to get to the bottom of things. However, upon arriving at Jinshitan, he was surrounded by Chao Gai's men. Ma Cao immediately shouted, "Who are you? Don't you even recognize your own brothers?" Shijie Village was located right next to Liangshan Marsh, so they weren't outsiders. Moreover, the three Ruan brothers had served under Wang Hao, so the villagers held the Liangshan heroes in great awe. Although the men Chao Gai had recruited were usually brave and fierce, they were newcomers to the outlaws and were momentarily stunned by Ma Cao's roar. Seeing this, Ma Cao immediately said, "Take me to see your leader right now!" The leader, seeing the menacing aura and being alone, mustered his courage and said, "My brothers are all drinking in the stronghold and don't have time for you!" Ma Cao didn't back down and said, "Report your brothers' names!"

The leader replied, "You'll be terrified if I tell you! Have you heard of Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King of Dongxi Village?" Ma Cao nodded and said, "How could I not recognize Chao Baozheng!" The leader was slightly surprised and continued, "Do you recognize the three Ruan brothers?" Ma Cao snorted and said, "The Standing Tai Sui Ruan Xiao Er, the Short-Lived Erlang Ruan Xiao Wu, and the Living Yama Ruan Xiao Qi!" Seeing that the leader still wanted to ramble on, Ma Cao scolded, "I also recognize Du Qian who touches the sky and Song Wan, the Vajra in the Clouds. I advise you to stop rambling and make way immediately!"

Before long, Ma Cao could tell that none of the men were veterans of Liangshan; they were all new faces. Moreover, two rows of thatched huts had appeared on the flat ground not far away. The leader whispered a few words to his men and said, "Don't try anything funny. We'll take you to see my brother right now!"

Ma Cao knew the mountain path far better than the villagers of Shijie Village. As soon as they passed the mountain pass, the guards immediately recognized him and greeted him, "Young Master Ma, why aren't you in Jiaozhou fighting alongside the young master? What brings you to the stronghold?" Ma Cao turned around, glared at the leader from before, and then asked the guards at the pass, "Are they newcomers? And what's the story with Chao Baozheng?" The guards replied, "A few days ago, King Chao and the Ruan brothers suddenly arrived at Liangshan with their men. Leaders Du Qian and Song Wan allowed them to stay temporarily at Jinshitan. Today, the young master sent Leader Zhu Gui with a message, instructing King Chao to take over the stronghold. Right now, everyone is drinking in the stronghold!"

Ma Cao was utterly bewildered by this outcome and desperately wanted to find Zhu Gui to get an explanation. The leader, however, already understood that Ma Cao was likely on par with Chao Gai and quickly said, "I was blind to your greatness, please forgive me, Brother Ma!" Ma Cao had no time to argue with these lackeys and said, "You all continue to go down the mountain to keep watch; I'll go up myself!" Without hesitation, the leader repeatedly replied, "Yes! Yes!"

Ma Cao's sudden appearance startled Chao Gai and his companions, who were still quite drunk, and the noisy gathering hall fell silent. Ma Cao noticed Zhu Gui was also present, chatting and laughing freely, and guessed what had happened. He slowly said, "I heard in Dongjing that King Chao had seized Liang Zhongshu's birthday gifts, which I found very gratifying. However, I also heard that Liang Zhongshu had transferred a large number of troops from Daming Prefecture, which made me worried. Therefore, I came to Liangshan to gather information!" Chao Gai laughed heartily and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Brother Ma. Young Master Wang is truly righteous, temporarily lending us Liangshan for refuge, and the danger is temporarily averted!" Hearing this, Ma Cao, surprised, looked at Zhu Gui, who nodded slightly. Having understood the situation, Ma Cao said, "Although Liangshan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, King Chao currently has less than three hundred troops. Once Daming Prefecture launches a full-scale attack, I'm afraid we'll be willing to fight the enemy but powerless to reverse the situation!"

Hearing Ma Cao boost the morale of others while diminishing their own, Chao Gai and the others couldn't help but feel gloomy. Ma Cao, undeterred, continued, "I have some spies in Daming Prefecture; perhaps they can offer some small assistance to Chief Chao!" Gongsun Sheng, understanding their absolute disadvantage, said, "Liang Zhongshu has made thorough preparations for sending troops to Yuncheng County this time, with two thousand soldiers alone, and the leader is the fierce general Li Cheng!" Ma Cao pondered, "Two thousand soldiers is no small number; they shouldn't only have one general." He asked, "Besides Li Cheng, is there anyone else leading them?"

Chao Gai replied, "According to news from Yuncheng County, there is another steward named Liang Chun!" Upon hearing this, Ma Cao smiled slightly and said, "With Liang Chun around, even if Li Cheng has three heads and six arms, he can only return defeated!" Chao Gai found it hard to believe and said, "Brother Ma, you must be joking!" Ma Cao was confident and said, "If King Chao doesn't believe my one-sided account, you can ask the Ruan brothers!" Ruan Xiao'er frowned and said, "We captured Liang Chun, but you were kind and released him. As for other matters, the three of us brothers don't know anything about them!" Ma Cao reminded him, "Second Brother Ruan, don't forget that Liang Chun took one hundred taels of gold, and that one hundred taels of gold belonged to his master!" At this point, everyone understood the key point. Gongsun Sheng looked at Liu Tang and ordered, "Close the door!" Liu Tang immediately got up and closed the windows and doors.

Gongsun Sheng stood up, looked at Zhu Gui and Ma Cao, and said, "We're all on the same side here, so I'll be frank!" Zhu Gui nodded and said, "Please speak!" Gongsun Sheng nodded and said, "As the saying goes, one must take responsibility for one's actions! The birthday gifts for Liang Zhongshu were robbed by the seven of us brothers, and it has nothing to do with Young Master Wang. We are already grateful to Young Master Wang and Chief Wang for the great kindness we have to rely on to have a place to stay at Liangshan. Young Master Wang holds leverage over Liang Chun. If we brothers use it, it might implicate Young Master Wang. What face would we brothers have left to stand between heaven and earth then?" Chao Gai, who was also hot-tempered, immediately slammed his fist on the table and said, "This must not be done!"

Ma Cao didn't answer Chao Gai and Gongsun Sheng, but instead looked at Zhu Gui and asked, "Chairman Zhu, why are you here at Liangshan when you're not running the ironworks in Jiaozhou?" Wang Hao had established a "Management Supervision Committee" as the highest administrative body among all the large businesses in Jiaozhou, and Zhu Gui was the chairman of the Jiaozhou Ironworks Management Supervision Committee. Zhu Gui frowned and replied, "Naturally, I'm here on your orders, young master!" Ma Cao realized that Zhu Gui might have misunderstood him and said, "I have absolutely no intention of questioning Chairman Zhu, but the matter of Liang Chun is of great importance, so please tell me frankly!" Ma Cao had grown up at Liangshan and, to be precise, was Zhu Gui's junior; his loyalty was beyond question. Zhu Gui thought for a moment and said, "Young master sent me here, firstly to convey the order to yield to Liangshan, and secondly to deliver two thousand broadswords as a gift to Chao Tianwang!" In fact, the moment Ma Cao saw Zhu Gui, he had already determined that Wang Hao was on Chao Gai's side, which was why he suggested using Liang Chun, this opportunist.