Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1013: Give Up and Set Off

The bonfire licked the deer leg above, and the fat dripped into the fire, exploding into balls of flames. The sizzling sound was endless, and the aroma of barbecue mixed with the smell of wine.

In the field, groups of big men were shouting loudly. Li Kui took off his shirt, exposing his hairy chest as he drank with Wen Renshi Chong and Shi Jin. From time to time, he bent down to pick up a roasted lamb leg, which was hot or cold, and bit into it, then continued shouting with oil dripping from his mouth.

Sun Xin, Gu Dasao and Wu Song were chatting and drinking with a couple. These two people were newcomers who had come from the Cross Hill some time ago. The man was Zhang Qing from the Vegetable Garden and the woman was nicknamed Mother Yaksha Sun Erniang. This group of people didn't speak loudly, but they would always burst into laughter.

The newly joined Lei Yingchun and Zhang Yue'e sat together with five men of different body shapes under their command. From time to time, they looked around at the people who were making a lot of noise, with disdainful looks on their faces.

The people from the Duan family were talking to Song Qing. Qiu Xiang and Shi Jun said something that made the young Song Qing blush. Then Duan Er and Duan Wu burst into laughter, patted the iron fan hard, and drank and chatted with their shoulders hooked.

In the corner, several men from Yangtze River were sitting there and talking in low voices.

"Brother, Liu Heihu and Zu Qiu, who are under Wenren Shichong's command, recently took over the tributary of the western waterway and two nearby roads. That was originally our territory, and this guy has overstepped his boundaries."

"That's right. That guy has been going too far recently. It's not enough for him to just stay in the land to the south. He keeps going west and north. We..."

"We gave up that place in the first place." Li Jun's face remained calm. He stopped Shi Quan and Hu Yong from talking and said, "It's meaningless for us to fight for so much territory here."

He pursed his lips and looked at Chao Gai, who was being toasted by Song Jiang and Wu Yong, and said, "This place is no different from the Yangtze River for us. I miscalculated."

Shi Quan and Hu Yong blinked: "Jun Ge'er, what do you mean?"

"..." Li Jun watched them open their mouths, then closed them powerlessly and shook his head: "Nothing, let's drink."

Tong Wei and Tong Meng looked at Shi and Hu and scolded them with a smile: "Damn it, the two of you are going backwards as time goes by. You can't even understand what people say. Jun Ge, don't pay any attention to them."

Li Jun raised his eyebrows and looked at the Tong brothers: "Oh? It seems that you two have the same idea as me."

"Haha——" Tong Meng raised his head and laughed: "Of course, we brothers have followed you for many years, so naturally we are different."

Shi Quan curled his lips: "Damn it, it's like everyone is following Jun Ge'er all the time."

Tong Wei held the wine bowl at the side and said, "That's right. We brothers have always been by your side, brother Jun. No one else can replace us."

He finished the wine in one gulp, put the empty bowl on the table, and looked at Li Jun seriously: "So, Jun brother, tell me what you mean, we brothers don't understand either."

"I don't understand you, why are you pretending to be me?" Shi Quan and Hu Yong were furious, and each slapped the Tong brothers on the head: "You two should be careful not to fall into the stinking ditch next time you go into the water!"

How could the Tong brothers allow them to bully them like this? They immediately pulled back their hands. Li Jun saw that the four of them were sitting there without getting up, and knew that they were just joking. He rubbed his forehead and said, "Alright, stop it."

Seeing the four of them stop, he signaled with his eyes: "Fangshan now has dozens of leaders and more than 20,000 followers. It has reached the limit. No matter how much food we borrow, it is difficult to maintain such a large population. It is just like when we were on the Yangtze River. It is difficult to continue."

The four of them looked at each other, and Tong Wei moved closer: "But didn't Brother Song Jiang break through a few military states and seize some food, fodder, and weapons? I see there's still a lot of food stored on the mountain."

"It's useless." Li Jun shook his head, covered his mouth with one hand, and whispered to his brothers: "Fangshan is now the largest stronghold in western Beijing, just like Liangshan in Jingdong back then. What happened to Liangshan in the end? Didn't they move away and start a new one?"

"I understand!" Hu Yong clapped his hands, and a crisp "pop" sound startled several people. The sea ghost shrank his head and looked around. Seeing that some people were drinking and some were talking, no one paid attention to him. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Jun, are you saying that we should start an uprising like Liangshan?"

"Bullshit!" Tong Meng curled his lips in disdain: "I'm not trying to destroy our own prestige. We've seen people from Liangshan before." He shook his head: "Just the people in this room and the minions on the mountain, how can they compare with others."

Tong Wei also nodded: "If we rebel here, the Western Army is to the north. If they slap us, we will all have to go to the river to find fish and shrimps for company."

"That……"

"Our good brother will not choose the same path as that one." Li Jun drank the wine in the bowl slowly, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Xiaoyi Heisaburo over there, and said softly: "He wants to be an official."

"Yes, he wants to recruit..."

Several people looked over with complicated expressions.

The banquet gradually came to an end as the men in the water were absent-minded, and the drunken heroes went back to their rooms to sleep soundly.

But a few days later, Song Jiang led his army down the mountain again, and successively captured several cities including Dengzhou and Yiyang in Henan Prefecture, and brought back a large amount of food and supplies. For a time, the two routes in the west of Beijing were shocked, and the people of the green forest rushed frantically to this originally unknown mountain.

But in this situation where the government was fearful and the heroes were reveling, a certain village chief felt increasingly lonely.

"It's time to give up this position..."

The tall village chief murmured as he looked in the direction of the gongs and drums at the foot of the mountain.

……

In the spring of the fifth year of Xuanhe, a streak of mud rolled across the Xinyang Military Post Road.

The red lacquered wooden box that rushed for 800 miles broke the spring rain that was more precious than gold oil. All the pedestrians on the road scattered and the riders rushed at high speed to take turns amid screams.

The major crimes committed by the bandits in the west of Beijing were already known to everyone. The military and state governments were troubled by them. The local county magistrates, prefects, and state governors all sighed and wrote letters, sending people with gifts and money to Bianliang, hoping to change the place of governance. The bandits here were so brutal and cruel that they were no longer suitable to be officials here.

Letters of emergency came into the capital. The officials who received the letters did not dare to act on their own and hurried to the Privy Council. At that time, Tong Guan was discussing the northern expedition with Wang Bing and Liu Yanqing. He was speechless for a long time after receiving the letters.

"Taifu..." Liu Yanqing saw that he looked unhappy, and he couldn't help but speak curiously: "I don't know what is making it so difficult for you to make a decision. If I can help you, please give me some advice."

"It's not a big deal..." Tong Guan stroked the boxwood paperweight on the table, threw a few documents over with one hand, and had a worried look on his face: "Two or three years ago, a group of thieves emerged from Fangzhou and robbed houses everywhere in the southwest of Beijing. Now they can break into the military state and plunder food and military equipment. If the government is alarmed, I might be sent to quell the rebellion again."

Wang Bing and Liu Yanqing looked at each other and wanted to say that these bandits could be wiped out by sending any number of people, and there was no need to use the big knife of the Taifu. However, thinking of Fang La in the southeast, the two soldiers who were not very familiar with politics hesitated for a moment.

After a while, Wang Bing had an idea and stepped forward and clasped his fists: "Grandmaster, I think you don't have to worry. The Northern Expedition will not be prepared in a day. There is still plenty of time. As long as we wipe out this group of rebels first, it won't matter if His Majesty knows about it."

"Oh?" Tong Guan looked up at him and tapped the table: "The emergency documents have been delivered. How can we eliminate them in advance?"

Wang Bing lowered his head and said, "Hasn't this document been sent to the palace yet?"

"Hmm?" Tong Guan looked up at him and suddenly laughed: "Haha, what Zhengchen said makes sense, but I am just being too picky."

He stood up and said, "Someone come here!"

The young eunuch who was waiting outside quickly opened the door and came in to listen.

"From now on, all war reports and documents should be sent to me first. Don't alarm the government with minor scabies."

The young eunuch responded and left. Tong Guan took two steps forward, looking thoughtful for a while, then went behind the table and wrote a few orders. He took out the seal of the Privy Council, covered it with red mud, and called people in again: "Send these two letters. Zhe Kecun and Xin Xingzong should not have left Jingxi yet. Send someone to chase them and ask them to lead their army south to Fangshan. Send the other letter to Zhai Jin, the top general in Jingxi, and ask him to go with us."

"Young man, go right away."

Tong Guan watched the man run out and smiled: "Come on, where were we just talking about?"

Wang Bing and Liu Yanqing looked at each other, walked forward, and the voices in the room sounded again.

...The spring breeze was chilly, and the slightly cool air blew on people's faces. Chao Gai was sitting in a pavilion on the mountain in a tight suit. In front of him was a lush forest stretching into the distance. Occasionally, he could see the exposed mountainside, with yellow and black rocks exposed outside and falling straight down to form a cliff.

Some birds flew in the shape of a human in the field of vision, and it was unknown where they landed in the forest. Their clear chirping made those who listened feel relaxed and happy.

"Brother, you are in a good mood." A gentle voice came from the back. Song Jiang came over in a coarse cloth, bowed deeply, and then sat down below him and looked in the direction Chao Gai was looking at: "It's full of green and there are steep cliffs. It's a good place to enjoy the scenery."

"That's right, my dear brother." Chao Gai laughed, "I found this place by chance after I occupied Fangshan. I asked you to come over and take a look today."

He stretched out his palm-leaf fan-like hand, picked up the wine jar on the table, and poured the wine into the wine bowl on the stone table: "I am a rough man, I don't know how to speak, but now the world says that Fangshan is the largest stronghold in western Beijing, and I, as a brother, am happy to hear it."

He raised the wine glass and handed it to Song Jiang. Ji Shiyu on the opposite side quickly took it with both hands and said: "It's just that everyone says that I, Chao Gai, am the leader of this mountain stronghold. In fact, all the brothers in the mountain stronghold know that you are the pillar of the mountain."

"Brother." Song Jiang quickly put down his drink, stood up and bowed: "I didn't mean to do this, it's just..."

"If you want to recruit them, you need to build momentum first. This is the old way of the Ten Jiedushi. I'll save you the trouble." Chao Gai stood up and pulled him up, then pushed him back to his seat: "Don't think too much. I don't like the court. I just want to live a carefree life, but I won't stop my brother from doing what he wants."

Song Jiang looked at Chao Gai with a complicated expression as he sat opposite him. He sighed for a while and raised his wine bowl with both hands: "Brother, you are so loyal, Song Jiang can't match you."

Chao Gai waved his hand: "Just listen to me."

Song Jiang put down the wine bowl and looked at Chao Gai. The Heavenly King with the Pagoda hesitated for a moment and did not speak immediately. He just kept drinking.

Ji Shiyu, who was standing by, felt a little uneasy. He moved his butt slightly, and seeing that Chao Gai's wine bowl was empty, he quickly stood up and filled it for him. After drinking half a jar, Song Jiang was about to move the wine jar on the table, but Chao Gai stretched out his big hand to hold him down.

The man who was half standing up paused and slowly looked up at the leader of Fangshan Stronghold in front of him. Chao Gai, who was sitting, just looked at the woods ahead.

"Brother...how many years have we known each other?"

Song Jiang slowly let go of his hand and sat back, his eyes flickering: "I haven't counted it carefully, maybe more than ten years."

"...Yes." Chao Gai stretched his muscles and stood up: "Back then, I was the village head of Dongxi Village, and you were the county bailiff. We often met each other in the past, but I didn't expect that we would be together in the west of Beijing again... Never mind, I'm not good at talking about these things, so let's be frank. If we continue in this mountain stronghold, I'm afraid there will be a fight."

Song Jiang stood up suddenly and said, "Brother, what are you talking about? Song Jiang will never do that."

Chao Gai looked at him with a half-smile: "Brother Gongming, even if you don't want to, there are many people who do. Can you really not think of it?"

Song Jiang opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word of no.

Chao Gai lowered his head and looked at him for a while, then raised his head and took a breath of the mountain breeze: "I'll give this mountain stronghold to you later."

"elder brother……"

A rough hand stretched out in front of Song Jiang, stopping him from saying anything: "If I continue to stay in this position of the leader, sooner or later we will not be brothers. If you come up and sit, we can still drink together, and the brothers below will not quarrel over who to listen to."

The calloused hand disappeared from sight, and Chao Gai's smiling face reappeared in the pupils: "My dear brother, you must fight with the people in the mountain stronghold before you are satisfied."

A few birds flew over the pavilion, and their chirping made the treetops and branches sway.

Song Jiang took a breath, stood up and bowed to the ground: "The King will always be Song Jiang's brother."

Chao Gai knew what he meant, but he still asked, "Did you answer it?"

"I got it." Song Jiang nodded without hesitation, "Brother, you have said something like this. If Song Jiang still hesitates, it will be too unpleasant."

The two looked at each other and chuckled again. Song Jiang invited Chao Gai to sit down: "But even if Song Jiang takes over the stronghold, I still hope that brother will not leave. The second seat in the stronghold..."

"I won't leave, but I'll give you the third one." Chao Gai shook his head: "The second one will be given to Wu Yong, otherwise it will be a problem in the future."

Song Jiang was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay." He looked at Chao Gai earnestly and said: "In this case, we will not change. Brother, can you stay in the stronghold while I go down the mountain?"

"Are you not afraid that I will take over the village again?"

"If you wanted to take it, you wouldn't have given the position to Song Jiang today." Song Jiang said calmly, "Besides, there are only three or five people in the stronghold who listen to you, Song Jiang is not afraid."

Chao Gai squinted his eyes and looked at him for a while, then said with a smile, "I have never seen a bailiff look like this before."

Song Jiang also laughed: "I have never sat in my brother's seat before."

Chao Gai looked at him for a while, and they both laughed at the same time. The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King picked up the wine and filled their glasses: "It's settled then, but my dear brother, I have something else I want to do."

"Brother, please tell me."

"Since you came up the mountain, I have never gone out to borrow food. Now that I have unloaded this burden, I would like to go out for a walk." Chao Gai held the wine bowl and slowly raised it to the air: "Do you dare to let me take some brothers down the mountain for a walk?"

"What's the big deal?" Song Jiang smiled and picked up the wine bowl and pushed it forward.

Ding--

The wine swayed in the two bowls. "Xiao Ke, let Sun Li, Shi Jin and others prepare the troops. Brother can set off at any time."

Chao Gai laughed and said, "There is no need to rush. Let me think about where to borrow food."

"Come, brother, have a drink." Song Jiang smiled and raised the bowl to persuade him. For a moment, the atmosphere between the two in the pavilion was harmonious.

……

Henan Prefecture.

Smoke and dust slowly rose across the plains, as troops with general flags bearing the characters "Zhe", "Xin" and "Wang" approached the military camp outside the city. When the wind blew, the flags drooping from the flagpoles in the camp unfurled, and the large flag with the character "Zhai" in the center of the army made a sound along with the large banner with the character "Song".

The war horses galloped into the camp, and the three generals who dismounted from their horses strode into the spacious central army tent. Zhai Jin, wearing armor, came out of the gate to greet them and bowed to the three men: "You three generals have come at the right time. I have received an order from the Grand Tutor and am about to send troops south."

"General Zhai." Wang Yuan, who had the highest military rank among the three generals, took a step forward and said jokingly, "We are here just to add icing on the cake. Just don't let us escort the grain and grass."

Zhai Jin held the hilt of the sword with one hand: "If so, the army's food supply will definitely be worry-free."

The four generals looked at each other and laughed. Zhai Jin turned around and invited them with one hand: "Please come in, I have prepared some hot food, let's eat and chat."

"That's good. I've been eating so much dry food on the road these past two days that I feel like vomiting." Xin Xingzong touched his stomach and laughed, "Finally, I have something hot to eat."

Seeing that the other party was easy to talk to, both sides looked happy and then entered the big tent.

The next day, the well-prepared army set out south.

(End of this chapter)