Born in Luzhou (蘆州; present-day Hefei, Anhui), he moves to Jieyang Ridge (揭陽嶺; believed to be in present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi), where he robs customers after knocking them unconscious with spiked drinks and then butchers them to make filling in baozi with their flesh.
He is a close friend of Li Jun, who smuggles salt on Xunyang River, which flows below Jieyang Ridge.
Li Jun checks the official documents on the escorts and is shocked to learn that the exile is Song Jiang, the chivalrous hero he greatly admires.
In Jiangzhou Song Jiang is arrested and sentenced to death for being the author of a seditious poem found on a wall in a restaurant.
He participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in Song territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan.