Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The screams of fighting were heard in the darkness, the smell of blood filled the air, and on the undulating hills, the light of torches was rekindled by figures in scarlet clothes. Under the firelight, figures holding spears began to clean up the battlefield, and all the property and spoils were pushed aside. The lightly injured bandits were caught and tied up tightly, waiting to be taken back and thrown into the prison camp.

The injured figure crawled on the ground with clenched teeth. Wang Dashou's leg, which was hit by a stray arrow, had lost all feeling. He could only crawl and hide in an area with thick grass. He turned sideways with difficulty and glanced around. In his field of vision, the light of the torch shone on his figure in the distance, which made the iron spear general breathe a sigh of relief.

rustle--

Footsteps came from behind. Wang Dashou, who was hiding in the bushes, froze suddenly. He felt a chill running from his tailbone to the back of his head, and cold sweat mixed with hot sweat dripped down his forehead.

Crack——

The sound of armor clanging had never been so clear before. Wang Dashou suddenly widened his eyes, fell to the ground and shouted, "I am willing to surrender! I am the leader of Fangshan, don't kill me!"

call--

The tip of the gun suddenly stopped at his brow. A gust of wind blew across his face. Beads of sweat instantly covered his forehead, making him breathe heavily. Even with the sweat in his eyes, he didn't dare to move at all.

"Leader?" The unique voice of the Northwestern man reached the ears of the people on the ground, and then the gun tip with a cold glow in the dark night was removed from his eyes.

Saved his life.

Wang Dashou suddenly went limp, feeling that he had no strength left in his body, even the strength to control his bladder had left him.

"Sniff—what's that smell..."

The man holding the spear upside down looked down. The moonlight flashed from behind the dark clouds, illuminating Wu Jie's face. He bent down and grabbed Wang Dashou, then suddenly stopped and twitched his nose.

"Dirty bastard!"

With a kick of his foot, Wang Dashou's sturdy figure suddenly flew a few feet away. He screamed, "Ah!" and rolled on the grass until he stopped three feet away.

"unlucky!"

Wu Jie wiped his hands vigorously, as if he had touched something dirty.

"Wu Dalang, what's wrong?"

A soldier from the Western Army heard the noise and came over with a torch. In the light of the fire, he looked at the figure standing with a gun and shouted. Then he saw Wang Dashou who was kicked out and pointed his iron knife in that direction: "Are you going to help you deal with this guy?"

Wang Dashou’s eyes suddenly widened and he shook his head desperately on the ground.

"No need. This guy said he is the leader of Fangshan. Just take him back and hand him over to the commanders for interrogation." Wu Jie waved his hand, then looked at the figure on the ground with disgust: "Be careful, this guy peed his pants, don't get your hands dirty."

The Western Army soldiers on the other side responded with curses, but Wang Dashou breathed a sigh of relief, feeling sure that his life was indeed saved for the time being.

The black night enveloped the border between Junzhou and Dengzhou. After three incense sticks of time, the sounds of pursuit and battlefield cleanup gradually disappeared, and the returning Western Army soldiers walked towards their own military flags in the firelight with exhausted faces.

After more than a year of war in the southeast, most of the soldiers who had not been able to return home were physically and mentally exhausted. However, the order from the Grand Tutor was to transfer them to the two lakes to suppress the bandits, and they could not disobey the order, which made them even more uncomfortable.

Dozens of figures on horseback slowly gathered around. When Zhai Jin arrived, a piece of open space nearby had been cleared, but the lingering bloody smell in the air indicated that a massacre had just taken place here. Soldiers in scarlet clothes holding bows and crossbows surrounded the surrendered and captured minions. A quick glance showed that there were at least half a thousand of them.

Zhai Jin reined in his warhorse, jumped off and walked through the place. Soldiers from the west of Beijing saluted him with blood-stained swords and guns, while men from the Western Army hurriedly ran past and whispered to their general.

Under the firelight, Wang Yuan patted the soldiers, glanced at Wang Dashou who was being held in solitary confinement, and then walked towards Zhai Jin: "The bandits in several directions have all been dispersed. Unfortunately, it was dark, and many of them escaped."

"It's as expected." Zhai Jin took the water bag handed over by his personal guard, poured it over his face and washed it: "How can a bunch of rabble fight to the death?"

"I just don't know what the outcome of tonight's battle will be."

"We captured a Fangshan leader over there, which is considered a harvest for tonight. Now we just have to wait for Generals Xin and Zhe to come back and see if they have caught any big fish over there."

As soon as Zhai Jin finished speaking, he threw the water bag back to his personal soldiers. In the dark night, there was a sudden cheering sound from the direction of the two generals mentioned just now. Wang Yuan and Zhai Jin turned their heads to look over, then smiled at each other.

"Looks like we caught a big fish tonight."

Afterwards, Zhe Kecun and Xin Xingzong brought Chao Gai's body. They were overjoyed when they found the captive to identify him. They hurriedly reported the victory to Bianliang. At the same time, they gathered the troops and took the captive to the nearest town to rest before heading south to attack Fangshan.

……

The sky gradually brightened and the golden sun rose above the clouds.

Figures in twos and threes walked across the unknown hills with their heads down. The figure standing on a high place looked at the person below, greeted him, and then led him to the woods behind the mausoleum. The moment he sat down, his stomach growled a few times. He looked at his companions lying around, sighed, and lay down with his eyes closed to conserve his remaining strength.

"Damn it, how am I going to explain this to my brother when I get back to the mountain..."

He Ji sat dejectedly against the tree trunk, chewing a wild fruit, and then spat out the fruit pulp and juice with a "puff" sound: "So sour!"

"Eat some sour food. At least it can help you regain some strength." Sun Li had a gloomy face. He stuffed the unripe fruit into his mouth, bit his upper and lower teeth together, chewed slowly and swallowed it with an expressionless face.

"...Which one of the ones you ate wasn't sour?" He Ji looked at him curiously, then took another one and put it in his mouth. "Woo!" He let out a whine, and when he wanted to vomit, he saw Sun Li staring at him, so he had to close his eyes and swallow it with all his strength.

"Brother Sun..." He Ji frowned and spoke reluctantly: "What should we do next?"

"What should I do..." Sun Li spat out the fruit core and threw it aside: "The government troops suddenly showed up and must have been targeting us for a long time. Go back and tell my brother quickly."

Taking a breath, the sick Yuchi looked up at the floating clouds in the sky and said, "The tranquility of Fangshan is gone."

In the fifth year of Xuanhe, at the beginning of the summer, the grain-collecting troop from Fangshanyuan was ambushed by government soldiers and defeated in a battle. Chao Gai, the third in command of the stronghold, was beheaded in battle, and Wang Dashou, the seventeenth in command, was captured.

Liu Tang escaped from the chaos, but he ran in the wrong direction, and wanted to go back to Fangzhou from Guanghua Army. However, Bai Sheng was smart and climbed a tree in the dark. He was safe with the branches and leaves. However, he watched Chao Gai being stabbed to death and beheaded on the battlefield. His body was dragged away and buried somewhere unknown. At dawn, he came down from the tree and cried at the place where Chao Gai died. Then he went back to the mountain to report the news. As for the casualties after the battle, the leaders of the mountain stronghold, Zheng Jie, Kou Meng, and Bai Ren were killed, and Shi Jin, Chen Da, and Yang Chun encountered the general of the Western Army, Xin Xingzong, while escaping.

During the conflict, Chen Da injured his shoulder and Yang Chun broke his ribs. Shi Jin risked his life to rescue the two from the Western Army's battlefield. However, he was only wearing half a piece of leather armor, which was chopped to pieces during the breakout. He had twelve or thirteen wounds of varying sizes, and had to stay in bed when he returned to the mountain stronghold.

As for He Ji and Sun Li, they were not seriously injured. They only had two or three minor wounds on their bodies which would heal in a dozen days of recuperation. They were the least injured among the group.

However, less than 40% of the more than 4,000 people who went down the mountain returned, which surprised Song Jiang and Wu Yong who rushed over after hearing the news.

"what happened?"

"We were ambushed by the government troops. We had to run away at all costs to see our elder brother."

In the Juyi Hall, Shi Jin, who reeked of wound medicine, smiled bitterly at the two men and said, "I barely escaped this time. I almost won't be able to see you again, brother."

"Where are the troops from?" Wu Shou didn't even wave the goose feather fan in his hand. He quickly took two steps closer and looked at him: "How many troops are there? Can they follow you southward?"

"It should be the flag of the Western Army." Shi Jin smiled bitterly. "I have seen the battle flag pattern over there in the Western Army before, and the name on the flag is also familiar. Especially the surname Zhe, he is a powerful general in Fuzhou."

"Zhe family? Who else?"

"There is also a flag with the word Zhai on it." Sun Li said calmly, "It should be Zhai Jin or Zhai Xing. The other two flags are Xin and Wang. I don't know who they are. We were ambushed at night. We haven't found out the enemy's troops yet, but now I think there are at least 7,000 or 8,000 of them."

Wu Yong looked at Song Jiang and whispered, "It's troublesome. There has been no news from him before..."

Song Jiang listened with a frown, and glanced at everyone: "Where is Brother Chao Gai? Where is Liu Tang? Where are Wang Dashou and Bai Sheng?"

Sun Li and Shi Jin looked at each other and lowered their heads at the same time. Sun Li whispered, "The Heavenly King died in battle, and many people saw it with their own eyes. As for the other three, they may have escaped."

Song Jiang felt a black screen before his eyes, and he staggered back two steps, finally sitting on the ground. Everyone around him panicked and ran over to help him, shouting, "Brother!" and "Brother, are you okay?"

Li Kui was the fastest. He jumped over and lifted him up, only to find that he was limp. He also saw that Song Jiang had his eyes closed and his breath was a little weak. He quickly shouted, "Stop, my brother is so angry, get out of the way, get some warm water."

Someone quickly got some warm water, and the black man opened Song Jiang's clothes and wiped his chest and back with a cloth dipped in warm water.

"Tie Niu, will this idea work? It won't make my brother suffer any more."

"Don't worry, when my mother fainted from my anger, the old ladies in the village saved her in this way."

Not long after he finished speaking, Song Jiang woke up with a groan of "Aiya..." He looked at Li Kui's face with a happy smile with blurry eyes, and suddenly burst into tears, crying out sadly: "Brother Heavenly King! Why are you gone now!"

Tears streamed down his face, and his black face instantly became sticky.

"My brother, now is not the time to cry." Wu Yong stamped his feet vigorously: "The group coming here is the army of the Southeast Pingla. Let's quickly discuss countermeasures."

"They are just government troops, what's there to be afraid of? I've killed them before!" Li Kui looked at Wu Yong anxiously and said, "If they dare to come, I'll kill them with one axe, two axes and a pair, and I'll chop them all off!"

Shi Jin frowned and looked at him with an unnatural expression on his face, but Sun Li remained expressionless. He already knew exactly what kind of person this bastard was, so he naturally wouldn't lose face because of a few words.

"Iron Bull! Shut up!"

Li Kui immediately shrank his neck and muttered, "Just shut up, why are you shouting so loudly? Just look at me, Tie Niu, bullying me honestly."

Song Jiang wiped his face vigorously with his sleeves, clearing away his tears and snot, and stood up with red eyes: "It is just as the military advisor said, now is not the time to be sad, gather the leaders on the mountain and prepare to deal with the government troops."

He gritted his teeth and said, "This time is different from the past. You all know how powerful the Western Army is. Be careful."

"Yes."

All the leaders bowed in response, and the sound from their dantian swirled and echoed in the hall, spreading with the air. The distant sight passed over the mountains and plains, with fluttering flags flying above the heads of the soldiers, pressing down towards the south in a dark mass.

The weather has turned warmer in the spring, and the peaks of Wudang Mountain are covered in clouds. The mountains in the distance rise and fall one after another, connecting to the mountains and rivers of Fangzhou, and then to the hard rocks and green trees of Fangshan.

The Western Army crossed the Han River and walked along the dirt road under the mountains. The dust rose up from the ground at an angle. Amid the roar of footsteps, scouts kept going back and forth to deliver messages.

In the center of the army, Zhai Liang was riding a warhorse and looking at Wang Dashou who was carried on a donkey. From time to time, he asked him about the situation in Fangshan. However, this bandit nicknamed the Iron Spear General did not dare to tell the truth. He often said one thing and concealed another, which made the young general want to kill him with a knife.

The sounds of the army marching and occasional conversations rang out in this place where the dragon was trapped. The mountainous and winding roads made the Western Army generals and the brothers Zhai Jin and Zhai Xing, who were here for the first time, frown.

Until a gong sounded, "Kill!" "Revenge for brother the king!" Hysterical shouts echoed in the mountains, arrows fell from the woods on both sides, and the naked Black Whirlwind, with two leather armor hanging on his chest and back, rushed down first with two axes in his hands.

"ambush……"

A murmur came from Zhai Jin's mouth, and then he curled his lips in disdain: "Blow the horn, order all troops to quickly form a defensive line and charge forward!"

The order was given with the sound of the horn, and the battle-hardened soldiers of the Western Army took the lead. At the shouts of the generals, formations of varying sizes were formed, arrows were fired into the air, and then the battle formations marched forward with shields raised to meet the oncoming Fangshan bandits.

Blood bloomed on the front lines of the two armies.

On the Dingmao day of the first lunar month in the summer, bandits from Fangshan ambushed on the road from Junzhou to Fangzhou. The government troops were forced to fight back. After the initial haste, they relied on their battle-hardened soldiers to take back the initiative and press back on the bandits.

At that time, Wu Yong struck the gong, and the Fangshan bandits retreated in a swarm. They were expecting the government troops to catch up and ambush them in the chaos, but Zhai Jin led the Jingxi Army to cover the rear, and the three generals of the Western Army in the front advanced step by step, and they did not give the wise guy any chance. In desperation, they had to pretend to be defeated and retreat in a hurry to the Fangshan headquarters.

In the first month of summer, the Western Army arrived at the foot of Fangshan Mountain. Song Jiang sent Lei Yingchun and Zhang Yue'e as the vanguard, and Sun Li, He Ji, Guo Jian, and Mu Hong all went out. Relying on their familiarity with the mountain roads, they fought with the Western Army for an hour before retreating. (End of this chapter)