Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The allied forces of various tribes in the main city of Talan did not sleep well that night. From time to time, cavalrymen ran to the city from outside, and the sound of ox horns came from the wild into the city, waking up countless people from their dreams.

When they climbed up the city wall, they found that it was all a false alarm. This happened twice. The grassland tribes in the city simply stopped paying attention to the harassment from the Qi army outside, which made the generals leading the troops feel very unfulfilled.

The sound of horse hooves gradually stopped about seven or eight miles north of the city. Wang Yin looked at the scattered torches on the top of the city with bright eyes and took a breath: "When daybreak comes, we must be on guard against people coming out of the city."

The officers around were silent, just silently stroking their weapons. After a while, someone spoke up, "Let's take a break. In case the people in the city come out in the morning, we will be prepared."

The leading general nodded and issued the order, "Dismount and rest."

wow——

The armored wolf riders jumped down at the command. After a night of rushing and harassing outside the city, most people were tired. They gathered in groups of three or four, holding the reins and standing outside, holding their weapons and taking a nap with their eyes closed.

Some cavalrymen were still sitting on their horses, holding bows and arrows. They were on night duty and would be replaced later.

The night was slowly fading away. The golden sun didn't care whether the creatures on the ground were waiting for him. It still leaped up into the clouds, shedding the light of the early morning through the gaps in the clouds.

Wang Yin, who had closed his eyes to rest, opened them when Shi Bao called him softly. He stood up and stretched his muscles. After a few crackling sounds, he lowered his arms and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's Chen time." Shi Bao's face looked a little strange, and he raised his hand and pointed at the city in the distance: "The people in the city have been silent."

Many awakened officers turned their heads to look over there after hearing Shi Bao's words. Bai Yanshou dug his fingers into his hair and scratched his scalp, muttering what everyone was thinking: "What are these barbarians doing?"

"do not know……"

Wang Yin took out his dry food and dried meat from the saddle, took a sip of water, chewed hard, and stared into the distance.

"Tell the scouts to keep watch on the four gates and report any situation at any time."

The leading general gave an order, and immediately more than a dozen riders rushed out in three directions. The rest of the men took out the rations and dried meat they had brought with them, and gradually there were sounds of eating and drinking.

……

"There are only 1,500 soldiers and horses outside Qi. Why not take this opportunity to send them out and kill them all? This will teach that arrogant emperor of Qi a lesson."

"I think it's better to retreat back to our tribe before the main force of the Qi army arrives. We have lost a lot of herdsmen and livestock. If we go back, we don't know how we will survive the winter disaster..."

"Don't even mention winter. In two days we won't even have any food... Well, I think we should focus on the present."

"Let's find another place to plunder, otherwise we'll have a hard winter with such heavy losses."

"That requires the Qi army to give us a chance to leave."

"Sure enough, let's fight."

In the meeting hall, the leaders were arguing. The commander-in-armor outside kept lowering his head and circling outside with his fists clenched. It was unknown when the people inside would be able to reach a conclusion.

Outside, there was the sound of war horses neighing, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching, and several scouts ran over.

The tribal commander who was standing at the door made way. Zubu Gudu inside was talking loudly: "It is definitely not possible to go back. Then we will all be waiting to die. It is better to reassign tribal warriors. The Qi army is also human. People will get tired. By then, we will all have a good rest. How can we not win against their exhausted army?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the scout who had run back stepped into the hall.

"Your Majesty, Xiao Yixue from the east is not in the city, and there is no one in Pibeihe City."

In an instant, the heads of various departments looked over, and then angry voices rang out in the hall.

"What did you say? Xiao Yixue escaped?"

"That fellow actually dared to run away... I will definitely report him to the court when the time comes."

"Stop arguing!" Zubu Gudu yelled, then walked over, grabbed the scout's shoulder, and yelled with a ferocious look on his face: "Is there no one inside? Where are the soldiers who stayed behind?"

“No…” The scout’s forehead was covered with sweat and he shook his head repeatedly: “All the soldiers inside have fled.”

"Damn it!"

Zubu Gudu swung his hand fiercely, and the scout could not withstand his brute force and was thrown to the ground.

"I'm going to skin him alive when I get back!"

An angry voice rushed out in the hall and went straight up to the sky. Then he looked with red eyes: "Withdraw, go back!"

The chief of the Ulia tribe hesitated and said, "We can divide our forces to guard there..."

"fart!"

A vulgar voice interrupted the conversation over there. Zubu Gudu looked at the leaders fiercely and said, "If any of you want to kill Xiao, go by yourself. Don't drag me into it!" He turned around abruptly, and his large figure walked out of the hall with the sound of the wind: "Let's go!"

Outside, several generals from King Zhubu's tribe hurriedly followed their king outside, completely ignoring the buzzing sound in the hall.

"My king, are we leaving like this?" A general caught up with the figure in front of him, with a timid look on his face: "Our tribe has suffered heavy losses. If we leave the city alone..."

"Alone?" Zubu Gudu did not stop, turned his head slightly, and looked at the man who spoke strangely: "Who said we are leaving the city alone?"

The men from the Zhubu tribe behind were stunned: "But..."

With a snort of laughter, Zubu Gudu looked back meaningfully at the direction he had just come from, and turned his head away: "Just wait and see, they will be here soon."

The burly men at the back looked at each other with confusion in their eyes, but the figure in front had the final say, so they shut up and followed the figure in front.

As Zubugudu had expected, within the time it took to stick of incense, dozens of figures walked out of the meeting room at the back. A group of strong men in armor and helmets quickly surrounded them and walked out with their leader.

Soon, the sound of the horn representing the assembly echoed in the city. Figures dressed in herdsmen's clothes walked out of the houses and corners where they were resting temporarily, under the scolding of the tribal soldiers, and walked quickly towards the place where their horses were stored with somewhat numb expressions.

creak-

The city gates on the west and south sides were opened wide in the early morning light, and armored tribal soldiers swarmed out, with curved swords on their waists and bows and arrows in their hands, standing on guard. Behind them, cavalrymen in cloth clothes rode out on horseback, shouting "Hurry up!" and "Don't dawdle!", gathering towards the west in a cloud of dust.

The wolf riders in the wilderness were just finishing their simple breakfast. The moment the scouts brought the news, the officers in the army stood up instantly.

"Xi Men! Are you trying to run?" Shi Bao reacted quickly and looked towards General Ya.

"Get on the horse and go take a look."

"Scouts, return and report to His Majesty what has happened here!"

"shelf--"

Amid the shouts, a low horn sounded, and a group of wolf riders jumped on their horses, shouted and pulled the reins, galloping quickly to the west.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves spread over the edge of the city, raising a trail of dust across the plain.

On the top of the wall, the person in charge of guarding drew his bow and shot an arrow to warn.

The four Zubu tribes and the nine Dadan tribes below were all startled, their expressions changed from alert to panic. The Zubu Gudu roared: "Meet the enemy, meet the enemy!"

Of the 30,000 cavalrymen, most had come out at this time, including 3,000 tribal soldiers, and the rest were herdsmen who had never worn armor. From last night until now, many of them had only gathered together to give themselves courage, and had long lost the desire to continue fighting.

Hearing the shouting, the herdsmen who were gathering to the west did not hesitate at all and whipped their horses and galloped away.

"Come back! Bastards! Do you want to die?!"

The chiefs were shocked and angry as they saw a scene similar to the one last night. They shouted loudly, but it was no use calling back the herdsmen. The team that was leaving the city in an orderly manner instantly scattered in chaos.

Zubugudu sat on the back of his warhorse in a daze, then he screamed, turned the horse around and ran away.

The commanders of the Zhubu tribe behind him shouted "Let's go!" and galloped away behind the patriarch in front.

The horses' hooves were galloping. The fifteen hundred wolf riders were instantly excited when they saw this scene. Their already tired bodies were filled with strength. Amidst the roar of "Charge!", the sound of "Woo, woo..." the charge horn was then sounded.

Chaos spread among the various tribes. Some of the cavalrymen who were on guard ran away, some stood there at a loss, and there were also generals who could not see the situation clearly and wanted to be a hero, so they roared and led their troops forward to block the attack.

Amid the roar of horse hooves, a group of generals galloped out from the wolf riders. Wang Yin, relying on the speed of his horse, took the lead with his steel spear in hand. He shouted loudly and knocked the cavalrymen from the Zhaotao Division who were charging head-on off their horses, roaring: "Barbarians, don't run!"

boom--

The sounds of charging and shouting burst out from the wolf riders' mouths. Those who were selected were the elites carefully picked by Lu Bu, and after more than a year of training, the five thousand people were selected into the most elite three thousand knights. At this time, the collision between the two sides was like tumbling stones against a trickle of water.

The cavalry from some unknown tribe suddenly splashed out like water, and the wolf riders still fought in a group. In front of them were Wang Yin, Shi Bao, Bai Yanshou and other brave generals from the southeast, who immediately killed these grassland barbarians and made them unable to resist.

Those who were still alive quickly pulled the reins and rode away, but more of them turned into meat paste under the horses' hooves and sank into the soil.

Next year, the flowers and plants here will surely grow lushly.

……

The morning breeze was blowing, and the temperature became comfortable as the sun rose. The clouds cast light and shadows on the ground, and the dust in the soil trembled slightly, and then shook violently.

The muddy horseshoes kicked up dust, and countless pieces of mud and dust rose into the air, spreading in the wind and obscuring the knight behind the fiery red figure.

"Report—report—"

Several wolf scouts galloped over on horseback. Lu Bu pulled the reins in front and slowed down the horse. Several soldiers turned their horses and followed Red Hare, shouting, "Military information from the main city of Talan. The grassland barbarians are leaving the west of the city and may be withdrawing—"

"Where are you now?"

"The general led his troops to investigate, but I don't know the details."

Lu Bu suddenly turned around, and a loud voice spread to the back: "Blow the horn, speed up, hurry up--"

woo-

The sound of horse hooves became faster and faster amid the desolate sound, and the raised dust rolled in the air.

At noon that day.

The central army led by Lu Bu encountered the tired wolf cavalry who were resting. The cavalry gradually stopped, and the dust behind them was blown to the west by the wind, leaving a cloud of dust on the people.

The general leading the army stepped forward, pointed to the west and shouted, "Your Majesty, they ran away and went to the west!"

Lu Bu pulled the reins, looked at the bloodstained wolf riders, and laughed loudly: "You have worked hard, can you still fight?!"

Wang Yin, Shi Bao, and Bai Yanshou suddenly became excited, jumped up from the ground and shouted: "Yes!"

Lu Bu lightly kicked the horse's belly, and Red Hare, breathing hot air, trotted forward: "Follow me!"

The tired soldiers stood up and pulled on their saddles. The horses took a breath and then galloped forward with the large group of people.

In the early part of the first lunar month, the Qi army defeated the coalition forces formed by the Northwest Route Recruiting Office on the north bank of the Luqu River, killing or beheading more than 5,000 prisoners, and built five Jingguan on the east side of Wugu Mountain.

The pursuing cavalry followed their emperor's banner across the undulating mountain road and entered the western territory.

Xiao Yixiu, who fled first, took a total of 5,000 Khitan soldiers from the Recruiting Office and soldiers from Pibeihe City and ran into the Khatun City before everyone else. In the end, no other soldiers appeared behind him.

"It should be safe here, tut--"

Xiao Yixue took a sip of water, rinsed his mouth and spit out: "If I had known that the Zubu tribe and the Dadan tribe were so weak, I might as well have gone to the grass valley by myself."

A personal guard beside him handed over a clean white cloth, and Xiao Yixue took it and wiped it: "Gather all the troops and follow me to Xijing Road. We can't stay here any longer.

Damn it, His Majesty has been very cold-hearted recently and no longer trusts us Khitan children. I'm afraid I'll have to pay a heavy price to save my life if I go back this time."

To the west, scouts were returning on Pegasus.

Xiao Yixue took off his helmet while complaining, lowered his head and scratched his bald scalp: "Damn it, which noble man should I find?"

"Uu——"

The galloping warhorse stopped, Xiao Yixue looked up, and the scout jumped off the horse and ran over quickly: "Commander-in-chief, something is wrong."

"Stop saying bad things!" Xiao Yixue glared at him, then stared at him: "What's the matter?"

The scout swallowed his saliva and stammered, "I... I saw several tribes near Khatun City being massacred. The old... the old, the young, the women and the children... all died..."

Dang clang——

The iron helmet in Xiao Yixue's hand fell to the ground. After a moment of stunned silence, the Khitan nobleman suddenly stood up and said, "Get on the horse, get on the horse, and go take a look."

The cavalrymen around him, who had not even sat down yet, jumped up and followed him towards the vicinity of Khatun City.

In just over half a day, more than 5,000 cavalrymen followed him outside the city and saw a piece of scorched earth. All the men, women, young and old in the tribe were beheaded and their heads were piled up to form a small hill.

A gathering place.

Several grassland tribes that lived by following water and grass were burned to ashes, and the scorched earth was scattered on the grassless ground, without any trace of abruptness.

"Who?! Who did it!"

Xiao Yixue was filled with shock and anger, and he took a deep breath on his horse: "How dare you do such a cruel thing while everyone is traveling eastward? You are going to make enemies with everyone..."

A general came up from behind and asked, "General, do you want to send someone to investigate?"

"……don't want."

After thinking for a while, Xiao Yixue calmed down from his angry expression and shook his head: "The Emperor of Qi will not let this place go. We must evacuate immediately...?"

The speaking figure suddenly turned around. Over there, the rumbling sound of horse hooves was hitting the ground. A large group of soldiers was coming. (End of this chapter)