We know that robbing the rich and giving to the poor is a characteristic label of Liangshan heroes in "Water Margin", and it is also a topic that has been talked about by bookstore storytellers for thousands of years. We all know that the people in Liangshan are actually bandits who went up the mountain and fell into the grass. However, in Shi Naian's novel, they used the banner of "doing justice for heaven" and flaunted that they were doing good deeds of "eliminating violence and bringing order to society".
Back to the question, which rich people did Liangshan heroes rob, and which poor people helped them?
If we go back and read Shi Naian's "Water Margin", it is not difficult to find that these heroes really robbed a lot of wealth.
In "Water Margin", Chao Gaihuo became the leader of Liangshan after he merged with Wang Lun. In order to win over the hearts and minds of Wang Lun's old tribe, he, Wu Yong, Ruan brothers and others robbed the birthdays. "The Gang rewarded all the little bosses in public." We know that the Birthday Gang was the first fortune robbed by the heroes in Shi Naian's "Water Margin". The big leader at the time, Chao Gai, did not help the poor, but used the robbery to Rich gold wins people's hearts.
As the scale of Liangshan grows, their source of income is clearly explained by Shi Naian in Chapter 71 of the novel:
There are heroes in Bozi, but they go down the mountain at leisure, either with men and horses, or just a few leaders, and go their own way. If there are merchants, vehicles, and horses, they will be allowed to pass by. If they are officials, they will find gold in the box. When the money comes, the whole family will not keep it. The money will be sent to the village, and the rest will be divided among the small ones. If there is a big family with a lot of money and food, it will be divided. , so he led people to move them up the mountain openly. Who dared to stop him? But when he found out that there was a man who oppressed the good and got rich, he had accumulated some belongings, no matter how far or near, so he ordered them to pack them up and do this. , the size is more than a thousand.
Either they block the road, rob the official, and kill the whole family; or they rob large families with a radius of more than 100 kilometers, at least thousands of them. It can be seen that the source of the Liangshan heroes' income lies in their "robbing wealth". In this aspect, the Liangshan heroes have done a very good job. How did they do in helping the poor?
Actually, Shi Naian did not mention how the Liangshan heroes helped the poor. The novel always writes that the Liangshan heroes repeatedly robbed the rich and succeeded. They loaded them all up the mountain without leaving a single coin behind. This is exactly how the people in Liangshan "are not afraid of the sky, the earth, or lawsuits. They divide gold and silver according to scales and wear brocade in the same way. They eat wine in jars and eat meat in large chunks. They are so happy." This is exactly the portrayal of bandits.
We feel very sorry that there are not many records of this group of people and their organizations who call themselves "Liangshan Heroes", and it can even be said that there are not many records of helping the poor. Come on, that's pitiful.
After the Liangshan heroes captured Dongchang Mansion, Song Jiang did something a little more authentic. The day after they captured Dongchang Mansion, Song Jiang ordered the warehouses to be opened and the money in the treasury was taken away. Loaded and transported to Shuibo Liangshan. Half of the food was used to save the people, and the other half was transported to Liangshan. In other words, this time the Liangshan Heroes Organization headed by Song Jiang finally opened the door and made a big effort to help the poor. A copper plate, but still made an exception to distribute food to the people. In Liangshan's poverty relief, Shi Naian added that "the governor is honest". This reminds us that Song Jiang and others did not get much oil and water at that time. . The most important thing is the words "the governor is incorruptible", which makes us question, aren't they a good man who upholds justice for heaven? They even rob and kill the good and honest officials.
After the attack on Dongchang Mansion? After that, the group of people in Liangshan began their life of being unable to get in or out. After they were accepted by the imperial court and began to receive salary from the imperial court, when Song Jiang and his group left Liangshan, Song Jiang took away all the property he had robbed from the rich in Liangshan for many years. Taking it away, it stands to reason that Song Jiang would distribute some of his belongings to the people around him when he left, which could be regarded as a way to help the poor, but Song Jiang still didn't want to part with it. Song Jiang divided this huge wealth into three parts: one part was used as a public fund, one part was evenly distributed to the soldiers who accepted the recruitment together, and the other part was used for severance pay for the "three to five thousand people" who were unwilling to accept the recruitment.
After all, the heroes of Liangshan did not do much in helping the poor. It is no wonder that most of the people in Liangshan were bureaucrats in trouble and outright bandit bullies. Real heroes like Wu Song and Lu Zhishen Too little.