When the outlaws of Liangshan Marsh attack Daming Prefecture to rescue Lu Junyi and Shi Xiu, Grand Secretary Liang Shijie, the governor of Daming, seeks help from the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, his father-in-law, in the Song imperial capital Dongjing. Xuan Zan, a minor officer under Cai, recommends his friend Guan Sheng, a military inspector in Pudong County, as cut out for the job. With the assent of Cao, Xuan rushes to Pudong, where he finds Guan in his office discussing the rise and fall of past dynasties with his sworn brother Hao Siwen. Guan takes Hao along to the imperial court, where he is tasked with saving Daming and the latter appointed his lieutenant together with Xuan Zan.