Hao Siwen - Becoming An Outlaw

Becoming An Outlaw

When the outlaws from Liangshan Marsh besiege Daming Prefecture (in present-day Handan) to rescue Lu Junyi, Grand Secretary Liang Shijie calls for reinforcements from the imperial court. Xuan Zan recommends Guan Sheng to the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing. Guan Sheng is appointed as commander of the imperial army with Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen serving as his deputies and leaders of the vanguard army.

Guan Sheng gains the advantage in the battle against the outlaws initially, but he is lured into a trap by Huyan Zhuo and captured. Xuan Zan fights with Liangshan's Qin Ming and is defeated and captured as well. Hao Siwen fights with Lin Chong and Hua Rong joins in. Hao Siwen is unable to take on two opponents at the same time and he retreats. He is captured by Hu Sanniang later. Song Jiang treats the captives with respect and succeeds in persuading them to join the Liangshan cause of "delivering justice on Heaven's behalf".

Cai Jing assigns Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo to lead the imperial army after Guan Sheng's defection. Guan Sheng volunteers to lead the attack on the imperial forces with Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen as his deputies. Shan Tinggui lures Hao Siwen into the enemy formation, where he is captured. Hao Siwen is escorted as a prisoner-of-war back to Daming Prefecture. Along the way, the bandits from Mount Deadwood led by Bao Xu and Li Kui attack the convoy and rescue Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan.