"One hundred and eight heroes… quite the auspicious number. What a shame."
The 108 heroes of Liangshan—most of them turned to banditry out of sheer desperation. That was the fault of the times, not theirs.
What's worse, in the later stages of Liangshan's rise, many who ended up there were actually tricked or forced into joining by the Liangshan people themselves. While early Liangshan spoke of honor and brotherhood, later they became little different from the corrupt officials they once opposed.
Take Lu Junyi, the so-called paragon of loyalty and righteousness. The man had a prosperous life, wealthy and content, until Liangshan, wanting his talents, framed him and drove him to ruin. In the end, he had no choice but to join them. If it were Daniel Davis in his shoes, Liangshan would have paid dearly for such betrayal.
"Brotherhood, is it? Let's see just how loyal you all are. Send the order."
With Daniel's command, the decrees quickly spread from the capital out to the regions, reaching even the lands near Liangshan. The Song dynasty might have been weak, but the central government and its bureaucracy still existed. By controlling the court, Daniel effectively controlled the nation.
This was precisely why he chose to start at the top rather than lead a peasant rebellion. With his strength, it wouldn't have been difficult to overturn the dynasty through rebellion, but the time and energy required would've been exponentially greater.
"This is in your hands now. I'm going out to deal with a few lingering problems."
Leaving the capital to Emotionless, who now managed the city's affairs, Daniel packed up several thousand Imperial Guards and departed. His first targets: the Fang La and Liangshan uprisings. Thanks to the weakness of the Song military, both had grown dangerously large.
But Daniel had no intention of blindly crushing the revolts. Like the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the Three Kingdoms era, these people had been forced into rebellion—only a few were truly ambitious or treasonous.
He brought massive quantities of food, not for his troops, but for the people. His plan was simple: feed the starving, then redirect them to government work in exchange for grain. Through work-for-relief programs, he could rebuild the infrastructure he had been planning—killing two birds with one stone.
There was another reason for his personal journey: cleaning up the local elite. Without these corrupt forces bleeding the people dry, rebellion would never have been necessary.
"People of the town, by imperial decree, the Commander of the Imperial Guard has come to suppress the rebel Fang La. He knows you joined only because you had no other choice. But now the commander has come to help. These are fresh steamed buns—if you lay down your arms, you can eat as many as you like."
Outside a county seat held by Fang La's forces, loudspeakers enchanted with mechanical amplification rang out across the town. Huge piles of food were laid out: buns, bread, congee.
Daniel's proclamations were made in simple, direct speech—no "thees" and "thous," just plain words the common people could understand. He'd already begun reforming the bureaucracy to communicate this way as well.
Literacy was low, and while mandatory education was rolling out, it would take time to reach everyone. For now, he ordered daily broadcasts across the capital to inform citizens of policies and protect them from local officials making up fake taxes.
"So now that things have turned, you want to surrender? I see now why people wanted to 'accept the bandits into the fold.' What a good way to make money. I bet Gao Qiu got rich recruiting Liangshan too."
Fang La sent a generous bribe to buy Daniel's favor, hoping for a peaceful surrender. But he'd picked the wrong man. All that treasure? Daniel would take it anyway—after crushing him.
"Attack."
With Daniel's order, five hundred Guards armed with the Heavenly Thunder Five Cannons opened fire. The city gates, bombarded by explosive fire-bombs, crumbled almost instantly.
This era had been ruined by Confucian dogma. The Five Cannons had been labeled too violent, too destructive—deemed unworthy of moral use. Even the Thunderfire Hall, pioneers in early firearms, had been dismissed as demonic heretics.
Daniel had, of course, brought Thunderfire Hall into the fold immediately. Though their early fire-bombs were weak—barely able to burn a man or two—Daniel's support let them improve drastically.
Now the fire-bombs were nearly as powerful as modern grenades. And that wasn't all—he was also developing new variants: jet-fire bombs, essentially combining the Five Cannons and explosive shells. With different configurations, they could function like mortars or rocket launchers.
"Fang La's martial arts are impressive—pure body-hardening technique—but how many hits from these can he take?"
As a powerful martial artist, Fang La was near the top of the martial world—comparable to Capture God himself. But against ten-plus cannons firing at once? No chance.
Even in this wuxia world, most of the truly elite martial artists were tied to the government—just like in Qin's Moon or Twin Dragons of the Tang. Independent masters were rare.
Modern weaponry didn't render martial arts useless—look at One Piece, where despite high-tech weapons, personal strength still dominated. Only in mundane worlds did martial arts fade away.
"This guy had his ambitions—he even made a dragon robe. Couldn't wait to call himself emperor, huh?"
Daniel toured Fang La's residence, a luxurious manor now abandoned. The man had barely started his rebellion and was already enjoying the spoils—palaces, treasures, even a custom-made dragon robe.
Though Fang La had raised more troops than Liangshan, he lacked their quality. Many of Liangshan's 108 Heroes were genuine masters.
Lin Chong, for instance, was stronger than Capture God and nearly a match for Zhuge Zhengwo.
There was Wu Song, Blue-Faced Beast Yang Zhi, the monk Lu Zhishen, Nine-Tattooed Dragon Shi Jin… all had made names for themselves before joining Liangshan.
Yang Zhi had even worked for the court—until a failed mission transporting imperial tribute ruined him.
Ah, the imperial tribute… flower stone, birthday gifts… wasteful schemes created by the emperor. A single imperial decree would send ripples across the land, destroying countless families.
Daniel had abolished all such programs. He scoffed at emperors who preferred poetry and calligraphy to governing.
As he mopped up the Fang La rebellion, back at Liangshan's "Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness" (formerly the Assembly Hall), most of the outlaws were gathered.
Normally, the place was full of chatter, brothers calling each other "big bro" and "little bro." But now, it was dead silent.
The reason? Daniel's decree.
He had pardoned dozens of Liangshan members—those who were clearly victims, like Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, Wu Song, and Lu Zhishen. Not only were their records wiped clean, but they were offered reinstatement.
If they still had grievances, they could report them. The Commander of the Imperial Guard would personally investigate.
Under normal circumstances, no one would trust such a promise. But after Daniel's sweeping victories and his public execution of Gao Qiu and his son, people believed.
Lin Chong now had the chance to return to the capital. Though his home was gone and his wife dead, it was still the place where he once lived with dignity.
"Brother Song…"
Black Whirlwind finally broke the silence, only to be silenced by a sharp glare from Song Jiang.
"Brothers," Song Jiang said, forcing a smile, "those of you who've been pardoned—your futures are bright. I won't stop you. But let's not rush to judgment. This might still be a trap to lure us in."
The proclamation had struck Liangshan like a thunderbolt. They had been in the middle of attacking the Zhu family stronghold, hoping to expand their territory—but Song Jiang had ordered a full retreat.
That had been a mistake. With their current strength, they could've taken Zhu Manor easily. But Song Jiang, paranoid his "brothers" might stab him in the back—just as he once rose to power by betrayal—held back.
It wasn't irrational. After all, he had delayed aid during a critical moment, letting the previous leader fall and seizing control himself.
"Big Brother is right."
With Song Jiang speaking, his loyal faction quickly fell in line. The meeting ended with no resolution, but the rift was clear. Lin Chong and his allies remained, for now, but the seed of division had been planted.
"Yanyu, do you know what you're doing?"
At the Divine Constabulary, with Daniel away, opposition forces stirred once again. Even Zhuge Zhengwo made a move.
"I do. The question is, do you?" Emotionless countered. "The capital is peaceful. The people are safe. Or do you miss the days when orphans and beggars filled the streets?"
Technically, orphans still roamed the capital—but now they were selling newspapers.
Yes, Daniel's wealth was enough to support them. He had seized massive fortunes. But even so, he preferred they work, learn, and grow.
Zhuge Zhengwo had no reply. Especially with Iron Hands and Life Snatcher now firmly in Daniel's camp.
"Instead of worrying whether he'll usurp the throne, you should worry about Prince Eight. That man is the real threat."
Emotionless dropped a scroll on the table. She had uncovered shocking evidence—Prince Eight, the man who acted so aloof and apolitical, was far from innocent.
Why else would he befriend Zhuge? Why else push Ji Yaohua into the Six Doors?
"Ling'er, let's go."
Though her legs had healed, her loyal maid Ling'er still stayed close.
"Wait! What did he tell you? Why are you, even General Di Qing, siding with him?"
If Emotionless had personal reasons, Di Qing had none—yet he had still aligned himself with Daniel.
"That's not for you to know. Just understand—it's all for the country."
"Yeah! So what if the emperor never shows up? The capital's still fine!" Ling'er muttered.
"Eight hundred miles of Liangshan—formidable terrain."
After settling Fang La's remnants, Daniel stood before the great lake surrounding Liangshan.
The terrain was why the court had failed to subdue Liangshan for so long.
Yes, the Song dynasty had a navy. But it was a joke—even worse than their army. They couldn't even swim.
Liangshan, by contrast, was full of skilled sailors. They could sink court ships by drilling holes in their hulls.
There was never enough manpower to surround and besiege the marsh.
"Begin the assault."
With a wave of his hand, freezing air swept across the land. In an instant, several kilometers of lake froze solid.
Forget sending in the navy—Daniel didn't need them.
"This… this can't be happening!"
Liangshan's sentries watched in horror as their greatest natural defense turned into a frozen highway. Without their waterways, they were doomed.
"Heaven itself is against us…"
At the fortress, as the leaders realized what had happened, their faces turned pale.
Song Jiang, seeing the ice, felt his world go dark—and fainted on the spot.
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