First, Song Jiang did have his own people, and he did cause trouble in Shandong and other places. Secondly, Song Jiang was so talented that "no one in the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers dared to resist". Third, Song Jiang was just a rogue bandit. He "transferred to ten counties" and fought in various places. It seems that there is no mention in the history books about his "falling grass and taking root" in Liangshan Shuibo. Later generations probably based the story on Song Jiang based on a sentence in the history books: "There are many thieves in Liangshan." Fourth, the scale of Song Jiang's uprising was limited, and the number of his followers was not huge. It was estimated that there were only a few hundred to thousands of people, and there were only thirty-six trusted followers, not a hundred and eight generals. The "Outline of Chinese History" compiled by Mr. Jian Bozan seems to hold this view. Fifth, Song Jiang is not victorious in every battle, "three defeats, Gao Qiu and two wins, Tong Guan", which is completely unreliable. Song Jiang was later defeated and surrendered, and he did not take the initiative to be recruited. The man who recruited Song Jiang to surrender was named Zhang Shuye. His famous name seems not to be the incident of recruiting Song Jiang to surrender, but to a later episode where it is said that he was captured by the Jin people and committed suicide on the way, thus becoming famous in history. There is also another theory in the historical circles, saying that the surrender of Song Jiang was carried out by a man named Zhe Kecun. After he was also a celebrity, his family had been guarding the northwest border for the Song Dynasty for several generations. In 1938, the "Zhe Kecun Epitaph" was discovered, which recorded that he had captured Songjiang on his way back to the army with Tong Guanzheng Fangla.
There is no historical record of Song Jiang’s life ending. He rose up and also surrendered. But what happened next? have no idea. This historical unsolved case has always been controversial among historians. Mainly because it has not been recorded in official history. The unofficial theory has no basis. Some unofficial histories are quite outrageous. Not only did they say that "big books and yellow papers came flying, thirty-six people worshiped him together", they also conquered Fang La, and even later accompanied Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty to paint and studied with Cai Jing, Grand Master Cai. Calligraphy...in short, none of them are credible. Of course, some unofficial historians say that after Song Jiang surrendered, he and his subordinates were all killed. Jin Shengtan's revision added the plot of Lu Junyi dreaming that all the Liangshan leaders were being killed. It is unknown whether this was influenced by this. In short, no one knows Song Jiang's ending. He disappeared from the official history, but became abundant in various popular songs. The "Xuanhe Legacy" of the Southern Song Dynasty is the most important version. "Water Margin" written by Shi Naian of the Ming Dynasty, and dozens of chapters later revised and continued by Luo Guanzhong, were based on "The Legacy of Xuanhe". Only then did the story of the Liangshan heroes become a household name, known to all women and children. Song Jiang, a young official in Yuncheng, was known as the "timely rain" because of his righteousness, wealth and friendship, and his image was truly deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Therefore, "Water Margin" is a novel, and Song Jiang is just a literary image. It has very little connection with history. The things that happened about Song Jiang in Liangshanbo were completely false. When we read "Water Margin" today, we must not equate the novel with a history book.