Wearing a cold straight jacket, he was covered in a layer of black mist, and the light of the ring on his head pierced through the autumn frost. The forehead is cut over the long eyebrows, and the back of the head is protected by the hair, neatly extending to the neck. The bone beads at the top shone brightly, and the miscellaneous velvet and tape were woven into a yellowish bun. The two steel knives burst out with cold light, as if he was a warrior walking the rivers and lakes, and the image of the heroic Wu Song was vividly displayed.
When talking about that group of "Liangshan heroes", what names will come to mind?Whether you have read the original work of "Water Margin" or not, you have probably heard of Wu Song's British name. Maybe you even think that in this classic, Wu Song is the high-profile "protagonist", because he has carried out a series of thrilling adventures in **, which is indeed incomparable to other heroes.
However, what you may not know is that in the original book, Wu Song was later cut off by a less prominent character. Since then, he has lost his ambition to continue to explore the rivers and lakes, and finally chose to live in Liuhe Temple, and ended his life. You may wonder why the author gave this "protagonist" such a tragic ending
In fact, if it weren't for this broken arm, Wu Song's ending might have been even more tragic.
1. The light of the protagonist: Wu Song
"Water Margin" is like a huge group drama, and there is no clear protagonist in it. The Liangshan hero who made his debut was not Wu Song, nor the "Hu Baoyi" Song Jiang who later became the leader of Liangshan, but the "Nine Pattern Dragon" Shi Jin. However, in the follow-up stories, Shi Jin's roles are relatively few and relatively unprominent.
Wu Song is completely different, and the author has carved this role with heart. Of the stories that only have one hundred and twenty stories in total, Wu Song has ten exclusive ones, which is not a simple list of deeds, but a series of amazing operations. His magnificent achievements in fighting tigers in Jingyanggang are enough to win the respect of the heroes of the green forest. Although there are many people who call themselves "tigers" and "big insects" in the book, they just play nicknames to scare people, but Wu Song can fight the tigers single-handedly, making these self-proclaimed heroes a laughing stock in front of him.
Let's take a look at his description of fighting the tiger: "Wu Song tightly pulled the top of the flower skin, raised a fist the size of a hammer with his right hand, and showed the strength of his life, just slamming it desperately." After fifty or seventy punches, blood gushed out of the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears of the big worm. Wu Song stepped forward to show his might, and with his excellent martial arts, he beat the big insect into a heap, as if blocking a brocade bag. For others, the once fearsome tiger was now crumbling like a sandbag under his fist.
The later achievements of "killing sister-in-law" and "drunken beating Jiang Menshen" are familiar to those who have read the original work, and Wu Song's ** is unparalleled. However, who would have thought that this powerful Wu Song had also experienced defeat.
2. Unknown heroes
In fact, the reader may not be excluded from Wu Song's loss to others. When Song Jiang wanted to lure Lu Junyi up the mountain, he sent Lu Zhishen, Wu Song and others to lead the enemy deeper. However, Wu Song only fought Lu Junyi for three rounds, but he was ridiculed. The book describes: "Lu Junyi is about to go;In the middle of the rush, Wu Song stepped forward, holding two ring knives, and rushed directly towards Lu Junyi. Before Sanhe, Wu Song turned around and left. Lu Junyi laughed and said, "I don't chase you. You guys are nothing!’”
Although Wu Song had a ** move, he chose to give in at this moment and did not ridicule him. This is not because he is weak, but because he knows that he is by no means Lu Junyi's opponent. There are only a handful of people who can defeat Lu Junyi in the book, so there is no shame in losing to Lu Yuanwai.
Wu Song experienced a defeat in the expedition to Tianhu, and was captured by Qiao Daoqingsheng with Lu Zhishen and others. This is not surprising, because Qiao Daoqing is not a military general, but a mage. In the whole book, only "Into the Cloud Dragon" Gongsun Sheng and his ** Luo Zhenren are slightly higher. Wu Song's defeat did not make him lose his grace.
However, in the decisive battle of Zhengfangla, when confronting Zheng Biao, Wu Song suffered defeat in the conspiracy. Although Zheng Biao was not enough to match him as a general, someone secretly acted and successfully attacked Wu Song, and this person was Bao Daoyi, who was like a dragon. The book describes: "Bao Daoyi saw Wu Song waving two ring knives on the horse and went straight to Zheng Biao. Bao Daoyi quickly pulled out the Xuanyuan Chaotian Sword and flew down from the air, hitting Wu Song's left arm, blood splattered, and Wu Song fainted. At this moment, Lu Zhishen slammed over with a Zen staff and rescued Wu Song, but his left arm was already injured and was about to be broken. ”
This generation of ruthless Wu Song actually lost an arm because of a small role Bao Daoyi. Since then, Wu Song has never appeared on the battlefield again, and Song Jiang has clearly stated that Wu Song, who has broken his arm, has become a "waste man". Maybe you wonder why such an important role ended up with such a tragic endingBut before being surprised, please understand that the author's intention may not be to frame Wu Song, but to protect him.
Third, the murderous machine in Song Jiang's heart
What is Song Jiang's attitude towards Wu Song?Why would anyone say that Song Jiang was murderous to Wu Song?
To a certain extent, Wu Song is one of the most loyal heroes to Song Jiang besides Li Kui. Although there were some contradictions when they first met, when Wu Song learned that the other party was "Hu Baoyi" Song Jiang, he instantly gave in, and even knelt down to admit his mistakes, showing great sincerity.
However, Wu Song's unruly personality is difficult to suppress. At the later Chrysanthemum Conference, when Song Jiang said that he wanted to accept Zhao'an, Wu Song, Lu Zhishen and others expressed their dissatisfaction. But just because of this incident, will Song Jiang have a killing effect on Wu Song?
Of course not. Later, Wu Song, Lu Zhishen and even Li Kui all accepted Zhao'an's decision, and there was no dispute about the matter. So, why would anyone think that Song Jiang might be murderous to Wu Song?
The answer may lie in Li Kui's ending. At the end of the story, Song Jiang and others returned to the court and accepted the reward, but they were retaliated by the emperor for listening to the slander of the traitorous ministers, which led to the death of these green forest thieves and gave Song Jiang poisonous wine.
Song Jiang felt sad and angry after drinking poison and wine, but what he was most worried about was not his own death, but that Li Kui would ruin his reputation for loyalty. So, he lured Li Kui to his side, and then handed over the poisoned wine to Li Kui. He said to Li Kui: "Today, the Son of Heaven listens to slander and gives me medicine and wine, and offends He Gu. I can't fight to the death, only Li Kui sees that he is in charge of Runzhou, if he hears that the imperial court has committed this treachery, he will inevitably go to the mountains and forests again, and ruin the matter of my reputation and loyalty. This is the only way to do it. ”
For the sake of his reputation for loyalty, he can even take the act of mutilating his brother, which can be said to be deeply trapped in **. It is precisely for this reason that if Wu Song had not broken his arm and did not show his intention of retiring, he who was still by Song Jiang's side at that time might not have escaped the same fate as Li Kui. After all, he is also a rebellious person, how can he tolerate such a thing happening?
Therefore, it can be said that the author let Wu Song have his arm cut off by Bao Daoyi, but he was saving his life. Wu Song finally passed away peacefully in the Liuhe Temple, which can be regarded as a good death.