Wu Yong Tricks Away the Golden-Bell Hanging Ornament; Song Jiang Raises Havoc at the Western Marchmount Hua Mountain

There is a poem that says: Men praise the Liangshan heroes for surpassing wisdom, not sparing their lives to avenge their brothers. Their plans are so fine that even the strategists Chen Ping and Zhang Liang of old would be ashamed; once their schemes are made, demons and ghosts alike grow worried. They smoothly rescue the trapped heroes and cut off the wicked official’s head. It is a pity that those court officials hold office without doing real work, watching disaster unfold before their eyes and feeling not the least shame. Now, Prefect He lured Lu Zhishen into the rear hall and shouted, “Seize him!” A crowd of constables rushed forward and seized Lu Zhishen, like a hawk catching a swallow or a fierce tiger pouncing on a lamb. The constables pushed Lu Zhishen below the steps of the great hall, and Prefect He demanded, “Where do you come from, you bald donkey?” Lu Zhishen retorted, “What crime have I committed?” The prefect said, “Confess honestly—who sent you to assassinate me?” Lu Zhishen said, “I am a man who has left home; why do you ask such things?” The......