All Men Are Brothers

Toward the end of Northern Song Dynasty, the government was deeply corrupted. The oppressed people finally rebelled. A hundred and eight men and women fought against the government and took their last stand in a place called Liangshan.

Song Jiang and Chao Gai met each other and developed a strong mutual respect. Gongsun Zheng instigates the Three Ruan brothers to intercept the birthday tribute. Together with Wu Yong , and and Liu Tang, they pledge brotherhood with Chao Gai to restore the tribute back to the people.

In the capital, Martial Master Lin Chong witnessed the righteous Shi Jin punishing some petty thieves. He taught him genuine skills and found out they had a mutual acquittance in Wang Jin, who has Shi Jin’s master. Sadly, he passed away before they could reunite. Lin Chong was appointed as the new military commander, but unfortunately his wife’s beauty attracted the lascivious attention of the ruling High Marshals’ son, Gao Yanni.

Shi Jin encounters Lu Da, a local officer and mistakes him for a brutish lout. Fortunately, the tavern owner explained that Lu Da was a righteous albeit coarse officer. Lu Da discovered a peasant singer lamenting how the local bully, Zheng Guan Xi, planned to seize her for his concubine and usurp their property. Enraged, Lu Da vows to intervene

Lu Da scrapped together some silver to help the peasant lady Jin pay off her debts. He then took upon himself the role to of “mediator “and subjected the bully Zheng to a humiliating three rounds of mincing pork in various difficult and almost impossible ways. Initially obliging, the butcher eventually lost his temper and his life when he came to blows with Lu Da.

Lin Chong’s woes with the magistrate, Gao Qiu continue to worsen with the unrepentant son pursuing and outraging his wife’s modesty. Lu Da must flee after killing Zheng, and heads into Wu Tai Monastery to hideout as a monk, changing his name to Lu Zhi Sheng. However, he is unable to give up his drinking and fighting and earns the ire of the other monks.