Su Mengzhen Goes to Prison!
Bai Chou Fei was a ruthless man. Even though these newly arrived martial heroes had been introduced by Su Mengzhen, he still demanded that they present a token of their sincerity.
The token was simple enough: they were to take their men and lie low inside the city, then help open the city gates when he brought his forces there.
Offering such a token was an established rule of the martial world, and most people had no objections. Once a few had led the way, the rest agreed as well.
The county walls were low to begin with, and with these martial arts experts lending a hand, Bai Chou Fei's troops swept east, capturing county after county. They not only secured a route to the coast but also pushed their vanguard right up to Mizhou.
What was more, Bai Chou Fei had struggled his way up from the bottom and knew exactly what ordinary people needed. By robbing the rich to aid the poor and standing up for the weak, he successfully won the hearts of the locals.
The troops under his command multiplied several times over, and he even gained a few fierce generals. He also picked up several advisers to offer suggestions, though they were a sorry bunch.
They might not have been much use in a fight, but their sheer numbers were intimidating enough to put pressure on people and keep the surrounding prefectures and counties in constant alarm.
Seeing the achievements Bai Chou Fei, his second-in-command, had made in such a short time—and that his forces had already grown several times larger than his own—Song Jiang could no longer sit still. He led his own men northeast.
He had been slower to act, and he lacked a large contingent of martial