In the Water Margin
Wu Yong holds third place among the 108 heroes under the star Tianji (天机星), the Star of Heavenly Secrets. He begins as a village schoolteacher in Dongxi Village, Yuncheng County, a scholar in plain robes who carries a pair of bronze chains instead of a sword. His nickname, Resourceful Star, says everything: he is the man the others turn to when strength is not enough.
He is an old friend of Chao Gai, and when Liu Tang brings word of the birthday gifts bound for the Grand Tutor Cai Jing, it is Wu Yong who turns a reckless idea into a plan. After the robbery is exposed he leads the group to Liangshan Marsh and quietly nudges Lin Chong into overthrowing Wang Lun. For the rest of the novel he is the stronghold's chief strategist, first under Chao Gai and then under Song Jiang.
Key episodes
- Recruiting the Ruan brothers. Wu Yong rows out to Shijie Village on the pretext of buying fish and, over wine, tests the three Ruan brothers' grievances before revealing the plot.
- Yellow Mud Ridge. Disguised as date merchants, the conspirators wait on a scorching ridge for Yang Zhi's convoy. They openly drink from one bucket of wine, slip a drug into the other while ladling, and the guards who drink it collapse as the gifts vanish.
- The forged letter. To save Song Jiang in Jiangzhou, Wu Yong has a letter forged in Cai Jing's name. Only after it is sent does he realize the seal is wrong: no father would stamp his own name seal on a letter to his son. The slip forces a rescue at the execution ground.
- Luring the Jade Qilin. Posing as a fortune teller, with Li Kui as his mute servant, Wu Yong persuades the wealthy Lu Junyi to travel to escape disaster, and leaves him a verse that later brands him a rebel.
