Chapter 17 Yang Zhi Became a Fugitive, Joined Lu Zhishen and Occupied Erlong Mountain as Bandits

The Water Margin, Chapter 17. Today, we are jumping, I mean, straight into the fire. Oh, absolutely. We're picking up the story of the blue-faced beast, Yang Shi, literally seconds after his world has just completely fallen apart. He's just lost the birthday tribute, the Sheng Sheng, and with it, any chance of a legitimate life. He's a dead man walking politically and legally. And the sources put us right there with him on this emotional ledge. He's not just running, he's thinking about ending it all. Exactly. His very first thought is just self-destruction. The text says he considered just leaping off the slope, a quick end. But something stops him. Something does. And it's this grim calculation, really. It's about his own value, his own worth. He remembers who he is, basically. Yes. He literally asks himself, you know, I've mastered the 18 kinds of martial arts, should I die here like a nobody? He decides his skills, his lineage. They demand a better ending than that. So better to be captured and executed than to just give up on a dirt hill. Right. It's a choice to survive, even if it's for a more public ending. And once he makes that choice, his first move is pure fury. Directed at the guards, the 14 men who wouldn't listen to him. He finds them still groggy, completely useless. And he just curses them for causing this whole catastrophe. He grabs his gear, his Pudao and his saber. The only things he has left of any value. And he just walks away. He abandons them, which, you know, you can understand, but that act right there sets up the next disaster. And this is where it gets really interesting because the story pivots from just a tragedy to outright political treachery. Oh, it's immediate. As soon as those guards wake up, the conspiracy begins. Yang Zi thinks they'll just report what happened, that they were drugged by bandits. But they're smarter than that, or at least more cynical. The old steward, the Duguang, he gets them all together and they realize, wait a minute, Yang Zi is gone. His absence is their opportunity. It's their get out of jail free card. They realize they can craft a story, a lie that saves them and completely destroys him. So let's break that lie down because it's not just a simple cover up. It's like surgically precise. It's a three part kill shot. First, they claim Yang Zi abused and beat them the whole way. Which plays on his reputation for having a temper. Makes it believable. Exactly. Second, they say he was secretly in league with the bandits the whole time. The inside man. And third, the final nail is that he was the one who drugged them with the minkanya, tied them up and then made off with the treasure himself. Wow. So they don't just blame him for incompetence. They frame him for treason and theft. It's a total character assassination. And they're thorough about it too. They decide to report it in Jizhou Prefecture first, leave a couple of guys there to make sure the local story sticks. While the rest race back to Beijing to lock down the official narrative with the big bosses. So while Yang Zi is just trying to survive running south, a massive man hunt is already spinning up behind him based on a complete fabrication. He's totally alone. And totally broke. Which brings us to his next crisis. He's been traveling for more than a day. He's exhausted and he's out of money. He has his weapons, but you can't eat a polearm. He needs food. So he stumbles into a tavern. Now, why does he do this? After everything, why risk a confrontation over a meal? He knows he can't pay for it. Is it just hunger or is it pride? I think it's desperation feeling that pride. He's probably thinking his reputation or just his intimidating presence will get him by. He orders food, wine, meat. And just tries to walk out. He tries. And the young guy serving the wine is having none of it. He chases him down and Yang Zi just snaps. All that frustration, it just boils over and he punches the kid to the ground. Which, of course, brings out the owner. Of course, a huge, bare chested man comes running out with a pole. And Yang Zi is just, he's done. He's had enough bad luck. He decides he's going to end this guy and end him fast. So what happens when an imperial guard commander faces off with an angry butcher? They fight. And it's a serious fight. We're talking 20, maybe 30 rounds. But it becomes clear pretty quickly that the tavern owner, for all his size and rage, is outmatched. He's just walking and dodging. He's just trying to survive. And he realizes he's up against someone on a whole other level. So he calls a halt, asks for his name. And Yang Zi, even at rock bottom, still has that core of pride. Oh, absolutely. He announces himself. Blue-faced beast, Yang Zi. And the man recognizes him. Instantly recognizes him as Commander Yang from the capital. But then comes the twist. The owner introduces himself. He's Cao Zhang, the demon of the butcher's block. That's a great nickname. It is. But the connection is what's critical. Cao Zhang is from Kaifeng. And he tells Yang Zi he was an apprentice of the instructor Lin Chong. The Lin Chong from the 800,000 imperial guards. The very same. Cao Zhang says he recognized Yang Zi's fighting style because it was the same elite level that his master, Lin Chong, used. That's an incredible coincidence. A random violent brawl over a meal connects him right back to the world he just lost. It's a lifeline. Yang Zi finally has someone he can talk to who understands his world. He tells him everything. Losing the flower stones. Now the birthday tribute. And he mentions his plan or his sort of half-baked idea to go to Liangshan. Right. Because he knows Lin Chong is there. They'd fought before, you remember, when Wang Lin tried to keep them both. But he's deeply conflicted about it now. Why? What's the hesitation? It's shame. Pure, crushing shame. He refused to join them when he was a decorated officer. To crawl back now as a branded fugitive is just humiliating. And he has a physical brand, too. He mentions it specifically. The jinyin, that gold tattoo the criminals mark on his face. For a man like him, that's the ultimate symbol of failure. He feels he's lost his ambition. His, uh, Hamezuki. It's not just ink. It's a social death sentence. Totally. And Cao Zhang hears all this and basically tells him, yeah, your instincts are right. Don't go to Liangshan. Why not? It's the biggest outlaw stronghold around. Because the leader, Wang Lin, is notoriously narrow-minded. Cao Zhang knows Wang Lin treated his own teacher, Lin Chong, horribly. He warns Yang Tze that a man of his scale would be seen as a threat, not an asset. So he offers an alternative. A much better, much more strategic alternative. A place called Erlong Mountain to Dragon Mountain. Okay, so what's the play here? The play is to take it. Erlong Mountain has a stronghold. The Baozhu Temple, run by a bandit chief called Golden-Eyed Tiger Danglong. He has four or 500 men. So instead of joining a crew, he should go start his own, become the leader. Exactly. Seize his own mountain. And just like that, Yang Tze's despair vanishes. It's replaced with a target. He stays one night, borrows some travel money, and he's off. He has a purpose again. An outlaw's ambition. A purpose, yes. But he's still one man against 500. And the story almost immediately throws another challenge, an even bigger one. In his path. He's traveling toward the mountain. Night falls. He finds a forest to rest in. And he's not alone. He finds this huge, fat monk cooling himself off under a tree. And the detail the source gives us is incredible. The monk's back is covered in flower tattoos. Waxu. A visual warning sign. This is no ordinary monk. Not at all. And just like the tavern brawl, there's no conversation. The monk just shouts, challenges him, and attacks with this huge iron staff. A chanzang. Yang Xi must be so tired of this. The text says he's annoyed by the bald fellow's rudeness. He fights back with his pudao, and what follows is, well, it's an epic duel. This isn't just a scuffle. No, this is a clash of titans. They fight for 40 or 50 rounds, and neither one can get an advantage. They are perfectly matched. The source even describes it as two dragons competing for a pearl. A pair of tigers fighting for food. It's the ultimate sign of respect in this world. They are equals. They finally break off. Both of them stunned by the other's skill, and the monk asks for his name. And he recognizes Yang Xi. He does. He remembers the story from Tokyo about the officer who killed the street thug Niu Er while trying to sell his sword. So Yang Xi is identified. The big question is, who is this monk? The monk reveals he's Lu Zhixian, the former Commissioner Lu. And he tells his own story, how he killed a corrupt butcher, the butcher of the West, with three punches and had to flee. And became a monk to hide? Exactly. Became a monk at Maotai and got his nickname, flowery monk Hua Hsiang, because of those very tattoos Yang Xi saw on his back. This is just, the convergence of fate is unbelievable. It's an astronomical shift. A few days ago, Yang Xi was thinking of suicide. Now, through Kao Zheng, he has a plan. And now he's found a partner of equal skill and status in Lu Zhixian. A partner who is also a fugitive from a high-ranking background. They're perfect counterparts. They are. Together, they have the military might to actually take Erlong Mountain. It's no longer a suicide mission. So he went from total despair to basically co-founding a new outlaw kingdom. An incredible rebound. They're a legendary duo before they've even begun. Their combined reputation is immense. They've traded solitary despair for a shared ambition. A powerful new beginning. But, you know, even with all this good fortune, the original problem, the thing that started all this, it's still there. Absolutely. He solved his immediate problem. He has a safe haven. He has an ally. But he's still a wanted man. And he's wanted because of that incredibly clever, vicious lie told by the 14 guards. That lie is still working its way through the imperial system and ensures that no matter what mountain he conquers, in the eyes of the state, he's a traitor. Two huge figures from the outlaw world, the Jiang Hu, just happened to meet. And both of them are at absolute rock bottom. Famous, yes, but they're fugitives. They're desperate. Let's start with one of them. The flower monk, Lu Zhixian. He has this massive reputation, but he's on the run. What pushed him out into the wild? Well, his story really starts with him doing the right thing. He was defending his friend, Lin Chong, against this incredibly powerful official, Gao Taiwei. And Gao Taiwei isn't just some local magistrate, right? We're talking about the grand marshal of the entire Song dynasty. Exactly. So when Lu Zhixian saves Lin Chong from an assassination attempt, he basically picks a fight with the entire government. A fight he can't win. Not a chance. The report goes straight to the capital and the Taiwei is, you know, furious. He orders the temple where Lu Zhixian was staying to kick him out immediately. And Lu Zhixian, being who he is, doesn't just pack his bags and leave quietly. No, not at all. He goes out in a blaze of glory. Literally, he burns down his own quarters before he flees. He destroys his own sanctuary. Right. It's a message. He's making it clear he can never go back. And that's what makes him so desperate when he finally gets to Erlong Mountain. But even for a hero like him, the road is dangerous. I mean, right after this, he almost gets killed himself at a place called Crossroads Slope. Oh yeah. He runs straight into Sun Erniang, the mother knight Yaksha. She runs this inn where she drugs travelers. With something called Menghan Yao. What exactly is that? It's basically a potent knockout drug. The name means bewilderment drug. It renders you completely helpless, like dead weight. So he's out cold. Totally. He was only saved because her husband, Zong King, came home and recognized his gear. He saw this massive monk's spade and knife and realized, wait, this has to be the famous Flower Monk. And that recognition forges an alliance. They become sworn brothers. And they're the ones who tell Luzixian, go to Erlong Mountain. The leader there, Deng Long, should take you in. But that doesn't exactly go to plan. It's a disaster. Deng Long is a petty guy. He refuses to let Luzixian join. They fight and Luzixian lands this, uh, just a brutal kick right to Deng Long's stomach. Injuring him badly. Very badly. So Deng Long, humiliated and in pain, just retreats up the mountain and locks everything down. All three casses. Fortified. He just refuses to fight. Which leaves Luzixian stuck. He can't get up and Deng Long won't come down. He's in a total impasse. And that is the exact moment that Yang Zi, the blue-faced beast, stumbles onto the scene, carrying an even heavier weight of failure. Right. Yang Zi has two huge public failures hanging over him. First, killing a man in the capital, which got him exiled. And second, the big one. The catastrophic loss of the birthday gift convoy. The Shengchen Gang. A treasure meant for the Grand Tutor. The Tai Chi. That's one of the most powerful men in the entire empire. Losing that treasure made Yang Zi the most wanted man and, frankly, the biggest failure in the imperial service. He has nowhere to go. So you have these two incredibly powerful warriors, but they're completely stymied by a locked gate. Brute force is useless. Utterly useless. They need a plan. They need a genius. And they find one in a local innkeeper, Cao Zhang. Yes. Cao Zhang takes one look at the situation and says, if those passes are locked, 10,000 troops couldn't get up there. You have to use intelligence, not force. He flips the whole script. This isn't a battle anymore. It's a performance. It becomes about stagecraft. And what's so brilliant about Cao Zhang's plan is that it's all based on understanding their target. Exactly. They know he's paranoid. They know he's petty. And most of all, they know he wants revenge for that kick. So let's break down the plan. Step one is the disguise. The heroes have to disappear. Yang Zi dresses like a simple farmer. And, crucially, Liu Zixuan's famous weapons, that huge spade and knife, that they have to be hidden. He has to look weak. And the whole thing hinges on a piece of rope, right? The Hua Ji Tu, the live knot. It's such a clever detail. They tie Liu Zixuan up with this knot that looks totally secure, but it can be released with a single pull. The slipknot. A slipknot, basically. It's the trigger for the whole trap. Okay. So they have the props. Now for the story. What's the narrative they create for the guards on the mountain? It's just perfect. It's tailored to everything Deng Long wants to hear. First, they say they're just local innkeepers. Plausible. Second, they say this monk got drunk at their inn and wouldn't pay. Third, and this is the key, the monk threatened to come back with a thousand men from Langshan Marsh, the biggest outlaw stronghold, and wipe them all out. So you're creating a massive, credible threat. You're playing on Deng Long's fear. Exactly. But then the fourth part of the story makes Deng Long the hero. They say, we captured this troublemaker for you. We're offering him to you as a tribute, a sign of our loyalty. It's irresistible. It's a gift wrapped revenge fantasy. It's everything he wants. He gets to look strong. He gets his revenge and he neutralizes a threat all at once. But wait a second. Did the guards really believe that a couple of innkeepers could capture the flower monk? That's the genius of it. Deng Long was so blinded by his own pain and ego, the chance to see Luzixin helpless and tied up was too good to question. His emotions completely overrode his logic. They were banking on him wanting it to be true. 100%. So Yang Zi goes up with a simple staff. Cao Zheng is carrying this heavy bundle, which of course contains the hidden mug spade. And the guards on the mountain, they buy it completely. Hook, line, and sinker. They rush up past all the defenses, the crossbows, the stone catapults to tell Deng Long the good news. And Deng Long's reaction tells you everything you need to know about his mindset. He's ecstatic. He doesn't ask questions. He doesn't interrogate them. He just gives this chilling order, bring him up and take this scoundrel's heart to go with wine, to relieve my resentment. Wow. Take his heart to go with wine. I mean, his rage just consumes him. It's his undoing. So they lead Luzixin up past the three gates into the heart of the lair, the Baozhu temple. And the temple itself is this powerful image. The Buddhist statues have been torn down. In their place, Deng Long is sitting on a tiger skin armchair. The holy place has been totally corrupted. It's a symbol of his illegitimate power. He has all these physical defenses, but his real vulnerability is psychological. Okay. So Luzixin is dragged before Deng Long, who starts gloating. This is the moment. Luzixin is playing the part of the defeated captive. Then just as Deng Long is savoring his victory, the monk's eyes fly open and he screams, scoundrel, don't run. And the trap is sprung. Instantly. The laborers yank the cord, the live knot releases, and he's free. Cao Xing throws him the spade. And the violence is immediate. So fast. One blow. Luzixin brings the spade down and splits Deng Long's skull on the armchair he's sitting on. It's just overwhelming force unleashed in a split second. And what about the rest of the bandits? There are hundreds of them. That's what's so amazing. Yang Zi joins in, stabs maybe four or five guys, and that's it. The rest of them, the five or 600 other bandits, they just surrender. They're terrified. They're in shock. The psychological impact of seeing their leader destroyed by a plan that was so theatrical, so ingenious, it just broke their will to fight. So it's a nearly bloodless coup, a total victory for strategy over strength. A complete triumph. They burn Deng Long's body, take over the mountain and celebrate. But now we have to pull the camera way back. Because while they're celebrating their victory on the mountain, Yang Zi's fate is being sealed somewhere else entirely. Right. We have to switch back to the official world, back to Beijing. Where the guards who lost the birthday gift have finally returned to face their boss, Liang Zhongshu. And they need a story. They need a scapegoat to save their own skins. They need a perfect fiction. And Yang Zi, who already has a reputation as a failure and an exile, is the perfect candidate. So what's the lie they construct? I remember it being incredibly specific. Oh, it's a masterpiece of fabrication. They start by thanking Liang Zhongshu for his kindness, you know, buttering him up. Then they drop the bomb. That Yang Zi was in on it the whole time. Not just in on it. He was the mastermind. They claim he was an ungrateful thief who planned everything. They say he colluded with seven thieves disguised as date merchants at Yellow Mud Ridge. So they're even naming the co-conspirators. Yes. And they claim Yang Zi himself bought the drugged wine, tied up the guards, and then helped the thieves load all the treasure onto seven carts. It's a complete inversion of the truth. The man hired to protect the treasure is now the villain who orchestrated the entire theft. It's a perfect lie because it explains everything. And crucially, it absolves them of all responsibility. And Liang Zhongshu, their superior, he buys it. Completely. He is enraged. He calls Yang Zi a convict, an ungrateful man, and vows to have him sliced into 10,000 pieces. And this isn't just angry talk. He acts on it immediately. Immediately. An official order goes out to the prefecture to hunt Yang Zi as a wanted criminal. And even more damning, he sends a personal letter to his father-in-law. The Grand Tutor. The Tai Chi. The man the gift was for. So with that letter, Yang Zi is condemned at the highest possible level of the government. His reputation is destroyed. He can never go back. The contrast is just so stark, isn't it? On Erlong Mountain, intelligence and strategy win the day. They control the narrative and they get their fortress. A glorious victory. Yeah. But in the world that actually matters, the world of imperial power, a simple, convenient story told by a few desperate guards, completely annihilates Yang Zi's entire identity. In the capital, with Grand Tutor Kai Taishi. He gets the news that these 11 loads of gold, pearls, all this treasure meant for him, it's gone. And his reaction is more than just financial, isn't it? Oh, way more. This is a public insult. Kai Taishi is one of the most powerful men in the empire. And the sources say this isn't the first time, right? Exactly. They robbed a gift the year before too. So for this to happen again, it's not just incompetence. It's like an open challenge to his authority. He calls it rude. He does. Rude and completely unacceptable. And that language, you know, it signals that the official response is going to be swift and probably terrifying. So he doesn't just send a memo through the usual channels? No way. He dispatches a direct physical embodiment of his anger. A trusted official. The source calls him a Fugan. Yeah. A heart to heart person. And this is so crucial for you to understand. This guy isn't some low level career. He is a personal agent of the Grand Tutor. Bypassing the whole chain of command. The whole thing. His authority comes straight from the top and the document he's carrying, the Gong Wen, it basically has the weight of an execution order. And the message he delivers to the local prefect in Jizhou. It's an ultimatum. A terrifying one. There is zero wiggle room. So what are the specific demands? Well, first, a strict and frankly impossible deadline. Ten days. Ten days to capture all the culprits. And they even have a list pieced together from early reports. Dude, as they think it is. They're looking for seven date vendors, one person who sold wine and this runaway military officer, Yang Zi. That detail is going to be important later. Ten days is nothing. I mean, for a crime of this scale, that deadline sounds like it's designed for failure. It is. And the penalty for that failure is the real horror here. What happens if they miss the deadline? The prefect is told point blank. If you fail, you will be arrested and sent to Shaman Island. And Shaman Island isn't just a prison. No, it's a brutal, distant penal colony. For a scholar official, someone who spent his entire life climbing the ladder, this is social and political death. A lifetime of hard labor. Total separation from everything he knows. The Fugan even says that his own life is on the line just to hammer home how serious Kai Taishi is. Okay. So let's shift down to the regional level. The Jizu prefect is already under pressure and now he's facing this, this life destroying threat. He's in a complete panic and existential crisis. And you know, when the central system applies that kind of pressure, the local system just deflects it downward. So he needs to sacrifice. So I'm going to take the fall. Immediately. And that's where Hitao comes in. The chief arresting officer, the San Duji Bushi-Chen. So is Hitao more of a bureaucrat or guy in the field? He's the guy responsible for the actual police work. He connects the prefect's office to the messy reality of the streets. Ah, I see. And the prefect who got his status through clean scholarly exams. He makes that distinction very clear. He basically screams at Hitao that his, uh, field negligence is about to get him a high ranking scholar sent to Shaman Island. It's the ultimate deflection. My failure is your fault. 100%. And to prove to the Fugan that he's taking action, the prefect does something chilling right there in the hall. What does he do? He orders Hitao to be tattooed on his face. Oh, wow. With the inscription banished to prefecture, Taipei Zoo. Banished to dot, dot, dot. They leave the place blank. They leave it blank. And that is a psychological masterstroke. Because the tattoo itself is a mark of permanent shame. It labels you a criminal for life. Why? But by leaving the destination blank. He has no idea where he's going. Exactly. The mark is a constant visible threat hanging over him. If he fails, someone just has to fill in Shaman Island and it's over. It's just a brilliant, ruthless way to guarantee compliance through terror. That is genuinely horrific. I mean, a threat permanently etched onto his skin. You can just imagine him going home with that weight. The source says he has double eyebrows locked with three iron bars, belly filled with 10,000 measures of sorrow. He's a broken man. And it's in this moment of total collapse that the actual solution starts to appear. Right. But not from the official investigation. It comes from his own family kitchen. We meet his wife and his younger brother, He King. And the wife explains the whole crisis to He King, right? The stolen treasure, the threat of exile. And now this, this fresh brand on his brother's face. Yes. And He King's first reaction tells you everything you need to know about their relationship. He's dismissive. Completely. He basically says, my successful brother only talks to me when he needs money because He King is known to gamble and hang out in some pretty rough places. So he's the black sheep of the family. He is. And you can feel his resentment for the very system his brother represents. He's watching it all come crashing down. But then there's a shift. The sister-in-law repeats the only description the authorities have of the thieves. Yes. That seemingly mundane detail. Seven date fenders. Kiefanzao zidikeren. And the moment he hears that, He King just bursts out laughing. Okay. So why? Why does this detail, which the officials apparently ignored, make him laugh? Because the entire official apparatus from the prefect all the way up to the grand tutor, they are focused on the high status threat. The runaway military officer, Yang Jie. Exactly. They're expecting some grand military operation. They see date vendors and they just think it's a disguise or, or they're just irrelevant commoners who are nearby. They dismiss the mundane detail. Completely. But He King, who lives on the margins, he hears date vendors and he recognizes it for what it is. Criminal jargon. It's professional camouflage. He knows the language of the Xiaozai, the petty thieves. He knows their wind path, their networks, their methods. It's intelligence you get from the street, not from a scroll. So if he knows the answer, why doesn't he just help his brother? Because this is his moment. This is his leverage. He's enjoying watching the system and the man who looked down on him, grovel. He tells his sister-in-law he'll only step in when the crisis is most urgent. He wants to make his brother sweat to prove his own worth. Absolutely. He's going to make him pay for years of being ignored. Which sets up this final desperate confrontation. He Tao hears all this, realizes his brother is his only hope, and he begs him for help. He does. He appeals to their shared blood, the face of the same womb and mother. He's throwing away all his official dignity. And even tries to pay him. Right. He goes back to the only transaction he knows. He offers 10 ounces of silver. A lot of money. A huge amount. But He King refuses it. He's not after money anymore. He's after respect. And he hits him with this incredible proverb. What does he say? He says, Which means? Hugging Buddha's feet when in crisis. Never burning incense in idle time. Wow. That's, that is devastating. Basically, you only come to me when you're desperate. That's the heart of it. He's not taking a bribe. He wants a promise. He wants fair treatment from now on. He wants the system to finally acknowledge that his knowledge, the knowledge from the streets has value. And once his brother is properly humbled, he, King finally agrees to talk. He does. And what he says is the ultimate assurance. It's a total mic drop moment that just flips the whole investigation on its head. What does he say? He looks at his broken branded brother and says, Incredible. So the chief of police is useless, but the family gambler already has them cornered. Metaphorically, yes. Just by understanding a single piece of jargon that the powerful chose to ignore. It's the perfect setup for the next phase where the investigation finally gets out of the bureaucracy and into the underworld.