it to a place I know of. How will that do?”
“As you Squire,” said Lin Chong, “will assist me in that way I will go and live in that place. But I do not know where you want me to go.”
“It is a village surrounded by water, called Liangshan Marsh with a fortress in the center called Wanzi Fortress and also Liao-er Hollow. The village has a circumference of over eight hundred li. Just now there are three fine fellows living there. The chief is Wang Lun nicknamed ‘White Clothes Scholar’; the second man is Du Qian nicknamed ‘Sky Feeler,’ and the third man is Song Wan nicknamed ‘Guardian in the Clouds.’ Those men have about eight hundred brigands who plunder the people. Most of them are men who are wanted by the officials for some serious crime or other, and they have fled to that place as a refuge. The three leaders just mentioned are fine men, and as I am intimate with them, they frequently send me letters. I will write a letter for you to take there, and you can join their band. How will that do?”
“If it is as you say,” said Lin Chong, “it will do very well.”
Squire Chai Jin said, “The officials have posted two military officers at the pass to cross-examine all persons who leave or enter Cangzhou, and have posted up the notice about you there where you will have to go.” Chai Jin bowed his head in thought, and then continued, “But I have a plan to enable you to pass them.”
Lin Chong said, “If you assist me in this matter I shall never forget your benevolence.”
The squire instructed a servant to take Lin Chong’s bundle beyond the barrier erected on the road, and wait there for him. He then summoned about thirty horsemen arrayed in their hunting dress; carrying bows, arrows, flags, and spears; with falcons on their arms, and hunting dogs in leash. He placed Lin Chong in the middle of the company. They all mounted, and left together for the barrier. Upon arrival there the military officers recognized Chai Jin and his men. These officers had been to Chai Jin’s estate before they were commissioned. They now got up from their seats and asked, “Sir, are you going to have some sport again?”
Chai Jin dismounted and asked them, “What are you doing here?”
They replied, “The Prefect of Cangzhou has issued an order, that the criminal Lin Chong must be arrested, and we have been specially appointed to watch this place. We have to closely question all travelers and merchants who pass this way before letting them pass.”
Chai Jin laughed and said, “I am smuggling Lin Chong through among this company of men, so why don’t you recognize him?”
The officers laughed. “Your Excellency knows the law so well that you would not do any smuggling. Please, sir, mount your horse again.”
Chai Jin again laughed and said, “That being the case I will get along, and should I kill some game I will make you a present of it.” So bidding them adieu Chai Jin and also his followers mounted their horses, and rode off. After riding about five li they came to the place where the farm laborer was waiting for them with Lin Chong’s bundle. Chai Jin told Lin Chong to dismount; take off the hunting dress and put on his own clothes that the farm laborer had brought along. This he did, then buckled on his sword, put on his felt cap with the red tassel, shouldered his bundle, and holding his halberd in his hand, he saluted Chai Jin, and departed.
The hunters then mounted their horses, and after the day’s sport they presented some of the game to the officers, and then returned to their village.
Upon leaving Chai Jin, Lin Chong traveled for about ten days. It was almost the end of the winter, and there were heavy clouds in the sky. A cold north wind was blowing, which scattered snowflakes over the countryside. He plodded along through the snow without stopping anywhere. One very cold day when it was just getting dark, he saw in the distance an inn almost buried in the deep snow. It was close to a lake and on the bank of a stream. Upon arriving there he lifted the reed curtain hanging over the door, and hurriedly entered. Looking round he saw that there were many tables and stools. He took his seat, leant his halberd against a table, hung up his sword, set down his bundle and took off his felt cap. A waiter came forward and asked him how much wine he wanted. Lin Chong ordered two jars of wine. The waiter brought and placed them on the table. Lin Chong then inquired what food he could have. The waiter said they had beef both cooked and raw; a fat goose; and a tender chicken. Lin Chong ordered three jin of beef for a beginning. The waiter very soon brought this in on a big tray with several kinds of vegetables. While Lin Chong was drinking about four bowls of wine he noticed a man walking about with his hands behind his back, and occasionally going to the door to look at the falling snow. Presently the man asked the waiter who the other man was who was drinking wine. Lin Chong saw that he wore a fur cap with a deep rim; a rich gown lined with sable; his boots were made of deer skin, and were neatly made; he was tall, and had a commanding appearance; he had prominent cheek bones, a mustache, and a small beard.
Lin Chong called for some more wine, and upon it being served he asked the waiter to have a bowl of wine with him. After the waiter had drunk his wine Lin Chong asked him how far it was to Liangshan Marsh. The waiter said that although it was only about a li away there was only one way and that was by water. Lin Chong asked him if he could get a boat for him. The waiter said that as there was so much snow, and also it was getting dark he could not find a boat that day.
“If you can find me a boat at once I will give you plenty of money,” said Lin Chong.
The waiter said that there was no place there where he could find a boat.
Lin Chong wondered what he must do under these circumstances. But after drinking a few cups of wine he became more perplexed. Previously when he was Drill Instructor at the Eastern Capital he had drunk wine and had a good time, but who would have thought that Gao Qiu would injure and brand him, and then force him into his present predicament. “I am,” he thought, “a castaway; although I have a family I cannot go home; a country and yet cannot visit it. It is enough to break one’s heart.” Being so much chagrined he asked the waiter to bring a pen and ink, and wrote a poem on the white wall:
Justice he loved; loyalty his glory,
For these his fame was sung;
And far and wide they knew the hero,
The man of deeds, Lin Chong.
But now he sails on a sea of trouble,
Drifts like a reed—and where?
But powerful east of Mountain Tai,
With luck he shall rule there.
This written he put down the pen, and had another drink. As he was drinking, the man with the fur-lined gown came forward and embraced him saying, “What a brave man! You committed a great crime at Cangzhou, and yet you come here! The officials have offered a reward of three thousand strings of cash for your arrest so what is your object now?”
“Do you know me then?” asked Lin Chong.
“Are you not Lin Chong, the ‘Leopard’s Head’?”
Lin Chong said, “My name is Zhang.”
The man laughed at this, and said, “You need not talk so absurdly. You have just written your name on the wall, and also your face is branded so that it is quite clear who you are.”
“So are you really going to arrest me?” asked Lin Chong.
The man again laughed and said, “Why should I arrest you?” He then requested Lin Chong to come
