Water Margin never reveals who carried out the previous robbery of the birthday tribute, saying only that the culprits were never caught. So what did it take to rob the birthday tribute? The bandits had to be highly skilled in martial arts, strong and fit, meticulous planners with reliable information and men at their command. They also needed to take advantage of the terrain, making it easy to get away with the stolen goods. Using the unanswered questions left in Water Margin and imitating its writing style, this story reasons through the principal suspects in the birthday tribute robbery one by one: Li Ying, the Zhu Family Manor, Shi Jin and Li Zhong, and Ximen Qing.
