Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

On the last day of winter, wheel tracks were left on the official road outside the south gate of Dading Prefecture, and cartloads of supplies entered the warehouse under the escort of the army.

The squeaking of the wheels on the frozen dirt road lasted for a long time, attracting a lot of attention.

As the north settled down, some knowledgeable people in Zhongjing City were discussing when the emperor would send troops south, and many young and old men who liked to talk about the war would discuss it in the tavern.

As the convoy entered the city today, even though the people below didn't know why, they couldn't help but get excited, wondering if it was related to the battle to the south.

"Send the message back as soon as possible."

In an inconspicuous residential building, a man in ordinary clothes and with an honest face handed a written note to a traveling merchant with an even more ordinary appearance.

The merchant took it and nodded quietly, looking at the sky outside: "It's still early today, I'll go around the city first before leaving."

He picked up the fur hat and put it on to cover his ears, then turned around and glanced at his companions: "Recently, the people from Youshi Mansion have been searching for our people everywhere, so you better not expose yourself."

"You're such a jinx." The honest man spat, "Get lost and don't come back again. The north is not peaceful."

"...You and I have no choice." The merchant over there said, pulled the fur coat on Lala, and without saying goodbye, walked out of the door and disappeared from people's sight.

Only the honest man at the back stood there quietly. After a while, he walked forward, closed the door, and went about his business as usual.

What his companion said was both right and wrong. They still had a choice, the man who was silently packing up his household belongings was thinking.

Outside the house, people in the hotels and teahouses opened their windows and looked out until the long convoy passed by and could no longer be seen. Then they closed the windows and continued chatting.

The sound of wheels stopped, and burly soldiers stood guard outside. Young and strong men stepped forward and began to carry down boxes one by one. The goods on the carriage were being reduced at a very fast speed and piled up on the open space of the warehouse.

Han Tao stood together with Li Ying, Du Xing and Jiang Jing. He glanced at them sideways as they stared at the items being put into the warehouse and smiled so hard that their eyes were not visible.

Du Xing folded his hands and stood on tiptoe to look into the warehouse. "It's not easy. In such a cold day, instead of moving money and goods out, they are transporting them inside. Wow, this is the first time in history."

"It's just that some things are missing. Your Majesty should have doubled the amount at that time." Jiang Jing smacked his lips: "I always feel that this money and food is not enough to cover the expenses of this northern expedition to the grassland."

"At least it's a start." Li Ying raised his head and exhaled a breath of white air, watching the gas dissipate in the cold wind. "The harvest this autumn is good, enough to fight a war southward." He paused and said, "With the morale and combat power of the Liao army before, I don't think the food in the warehouse and the cattle and sheep in the pasture outside the city will be insufficient."

"It's better to be careful." Jiang Jing said, watching the wooden boxes on the last car being carried into the warehouse, he perked up and stretched his body lazily: "It's finally over. Who will go to the palace to inform His Majesty?"

Du Xing looked at the two of them and smiled bitterly: "Let me go, the Ministry of Revenue is also in charge of these things."

Li Ying smiled and patted his shoulder: "Go quickly and come back soon. I have prepared some good wine at home. Come over tonight and have a couple of drinks with me. It's almost the New Year, let's get together."

Du Xing responded, then walked forward and spoke a few words to the official who was recording the account. He took the account book and checked it carefully before walking out with the account books.

Li Ying's mouth was filled with white mist: "Brother Jiang and Brother Han, please come over tonight. It's been a while since we've had fun together."

"No problem for me." Jiang Jing nodded. "I have half a newly bought yellow sheep. I'll have someone deliver it to you later."

Li Ying said yes and looked at Han Tao. General Bai Sheng was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly with a strange expression: "Since we are going to drink, it should be more lively with more people..."

"Of course." Li Ying clapped his hands with a smile, agreeing: "There are still many people drinking and chatting..."

Before he could even say "OK", Jiang Jing's expression suddenly changed, and he grabbed Li Ying and said, "Wait, it's better for Brother Han to come alone."

Li Ying was stunned, "How can you..."

When he remembered something, his face changed color. He stopped talking suddenly, and his tongue pressed against his teeth for a long time before he uttered, "...Yes! It's better for Brother Han to come by himself."

"Oh..." Han Tao said with a dull look on his face: "Forget it. I agreed with Brother Peng before that I would go to his place to get together when I come back."

As the cars were empty one after another, General Baisheng sighed and said, "In that case, I'll take my leave now."

Then he turned around and slowly moved towards the warehouse door, step by step. The guards didn't know why he had that expression. They looked at their superiors strangely and then followed him away.

"Brother Han..." Li Ying looked at his back, hesitated for a moment, and exhaled a long breath: "You look very tired."

"Hmm..." Jiang Jing responded, put one hand behind his back, stroked his beard with the other, and shook his head with a complicated expression: "If he is not tired, then the four of us are tired."

Make a helpless expression: "Those who are capable should do more work."

Li Ying nodded slightly after hearing this, then turned around and said, "Let's go. We still have account books to do, and we have to finish them before the end of the year."

Jiang Jing responded, and the two of them walked towards the yamen while talking. Figures walked out of the warehouse one after another, and the bustling scene gradually became quiet. Only a few officials guarding the warehouse chatted and laughed and hid aside to warm up and rest.

A doctor from the Ministry of Revenue went to the palace, but was told at the palace gate that the emperor was not there and he should come back another day.

……

The yellow-brown tree trunks were covered with ice and snow, and the dead branches were swaying in the wind. In the distance, the roar of horse hooves shook the air and the ground. The accumulated snow reflected the skylight, which looked a little dazzling.

The hooves of deer left their marks on the snow, and the hooves of horses galloping on the snow kicked up waves of snow to chase after them. The cold wind seemed to stop suddenly, and the running knights ran past the trees with snow on them.

On the back of a chestnut horse, a figure much shorter than an ordinary man was drawing a bow, and the bowstring made a slight "buzzing" sound.

More than ten feet away, the deer had an arrow in its neck. Judging from the loose and shaky appearance of the arrow bouncing up and down, it must have penetrated a little into the flesh.

The deer neighed and tried to flee despite being wounded. A majestic figure on the flaming warhorse behind it shot an arrow.

hum-

The arrow shot in from the place where the arrow had just been shot, and the previous arrow was immediately broken into two pieces, spinning in the air and falling to the ground. The running animal suddenly lost its strength, fell to the ground with a "bang", and slid forward a distance of several meters.

"Your Majesty's excellent shooting——"

The soldiers who were chasing the deer in the distance shouted loudly when they saw this. As the sound spread, more people around started shouting, and the sound echoed in the snow.

The next moment, the warhorse behind was pulled back, and Lu Wen's clear little girl's voice rang out: "Daddy, you're stealing my prey!"

Behind her, Lü Bu, who was riding on Red Hare, laughed and put away his bow, letting Red Hare stop beside his daughter: "Your power is too weak, you can't kill it with one shot, why bother letting it suffer more."

He stretched out his big hand and rubbed the top of his daughter's head, who was wearing a white fox fur hat: "Daddy already knows that you shoot accurately, isn't that enough."

There were hundreds of knights on guard all around. The guards following behind stepped forward and lifted up the dying deer and threw it onto an empty horse nearby. There were also a few horses with hares, pheasants and other prey hanging on them, ready to be taken back to the camp to enjoy.

Lu Wen puffed up her cheeks and said, "I'll eat more of the barbecue later." "Eat as much as you can." Lu Bu laughed, looked around at the snowy scene, and then looked at the horses carrying the prey: "It's a pity that it's so cold, these wild animals have lost a lot of weight."

"It's more interesting outside than in the palace." Lu Wen didn't care at all and looked very happy. In recent years, Lu Bu rarely had the chance to accompany her all year round. Her mother Wu Qing was very strict, and she had to follow the teacher to learn how to write and read every day, which was really suffocating and uncomfortable.

A large mass of cavalrymen were guarding in the distance, followed by the soldiers of the left and right guards. Xu Wen and Su Yi felt itchy when they saw this and rubbed the longbows beside them from time to time.

Ahead, the father and daughter who were talking turned their horses around and said, "Let's go, it's time to go back, or we won't be able to eat meat until dark."

Lu Wen responded and quickly rode her horse to catch up with Lu Bu. Although her chestnut horse was of inferior quality, it was a good horse raised by Zeng Nong and Duan Jingzhu in the past two years. It was young and fast, just right for her to ride.

The group of people rode on horses, facing the snow blown up by the horses' hooves, and ran back to the camping place.

The men and horses formed a huge camp in the mountains and fields of Zhongjing. A large amount of snow was cleared and pushed aside, revealing the original color of the land underneath.

A chilly wind blew across the silver-white world. A few wisps of smoke rose from the barren land. Occasionally, someone would come over shouting, and figures would shovel snow into the pot, put it on the fire and start to boil water.

A team of more than ten people ran over from the direction of Dading Prefecture in the distance. The knights, who were covered in cold air, jumped off their horses and walked in. From time to time, someone greeted the newcomers.

In the central army tent, Lu Bu took off his coat that was soaked by snow particles and put on a cloak. Looking at his daughter's drooping red face, he smiled and said, "Why do you still look unhappy?"

"I always feel a little sad that I couldn't shoot the deer." Lu Wen walked to the side and sat down. The charcoal in the copper stove in the big tent was burning red, making the tent warm.

"…How old are you?"

"But I heard from sister Qiongying that brother Zaixing could shoot a hard bow and lift heavy objects when he was a child."

"What are you comparing yourself to Zaixing..." Lu Bu looked at his daughter helplessly, "Zaixing is a person born with supernatural powers. There are only a few people like him. If you were also born with supernatural powers, what would you look like?"

Pointing outside the tent, he asked, "Would you like to look like me?"

The girl thought for a moment and shook her head. Before she could speak, a voice came in from outside: "Your Majesty, someone is coming from the palace."

Lu Bu looked at Lu Wen. The little girl pouted in frustration: "Does it mean that I have to go back to the palace early again?"

He patted her head with his big hand, and Lu Bu said in a deep voice: "Come in."

The curtain was lifted, and a figure walked in, bowed deeply, took out a bamboo tube and handed it over: "Your Majesty, the wealth of the Song Kingdom in the south has been delivered to the warehouse. This is a brief excerpt from the account book sent by Du Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue."

After a pause, he continued, "In addition, military intelligence has been sent from the south, saying that the Liao people have made unusual movements."

"Hmm?" Lu Bu frowned, raised his eyelids and looked at him, flipping through the information that had been poured out from the bamboo slips, and then pondered for a moment: "I understand, you go back to find Wang Jijiu and give him a copy of the same information, he will naturally know what to do."

"Here."

The knight clasped his fists in response, then bowed and walked out.

Lu Bu looked at Lu Wen. The girl pouted and stood up to walk back. Lu Bu couldn't help but laugh: "Where are you going?"

"Dad has something important to do. I'm going to pack my bags and prepare to go back."

"Well, that's fine." Lu Bu nodded, looking at Lu Wen's increasingly disappointed face, he said with a smile: "You go back now, I will eat barbecue and take a nap, and then I will be back tomorrow."

"Hey?" Lu Wen was startled, and suddenly turned back to look at Lu Bu, then laughed and rushed over: "Daddy, are you serious?"

"nature."

Lu Bu reached out and rubbed her head. Lu Wen tilted her head to get rid of the big hand and shouted, "Long live Daddy. I'm going to watch them grilling meat."

He happily wrapped himself in a fox fur cloak and ran out.

"Run slower." Lu Bu looked at her back, shook his head and reminded her, then lowered his head and looked at the folded paper in his hand thoughtfully.

……

As daylight moved south, the roads around Nanjing Road were blocked by heavy snow, making it difficult to pass.

Military camp outside Danzhou city.

The bonfire was lit, and the fire with pine oil added gave off bursts of pine fragrance. Occasionally, soldiers holding swords and guns passed by here, and they would slow down their pace and keep half of their bodies within the range of the bonfire for a while.

Ji Anbang was wearing a thick winter coat and a fur coat on the outside. He was sitting in the military tent, studying a book on military strategy carefully.

The wind and snow stopped in the past two days, and the soldiers in the army gradually resumed training. However, due to such cold weather, he could not train the soldiers as hard as usual, so he only trained for half a day every three days, which made the ordinary soldiers below very grateful to him.

There were hurried footsteps. Before the person arrived, the voice was shouting: "Brother Ji, Brother Ji, great news."

Ji Anbang put down the book in the tent, and watched the big curtain being lifted, and Zan Tongmei, with thick eyebrows and narrow eyes, ran in: "The court is going to send more troops."

"Hmm?" The tall figure stood up and Ji Anbang walked over to him: "What's going on? Who told you this? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Zan Tongmei took a breath first, then looked at the bowl of water that was steaming on the table, walked over to pick it up and drank it, then wiped his mouth and said, "Today I went to the city to urge for winter supplies, and I heard from Mr. Ma about it."

"Oh?" Ji Anbang's eyes lit up, and he turned around and sat down: "Tell me in detail."

Zan Tongmei sat down next to him and said, "He doesn't know much, but he said that General Wu Yanguang from Xijing led 50,000 elite soldiers to come. Your Majesty has already met with him in Xijin Prefecture and said that he was asked to come to the border of Nanjing Road to guard against the Qi bandits from the south. I think he will arrive soon."

Ji Anbang frowned and said, "But are you coming to Tanzhou?"

Zan Tongmei's eyes moved and she shook her head: "I haven't said that yet." She put her arms on the table and said: "But more troops are a good thing. The Qi army on the other side is also sending more troops. At least they can help us share some of the pressure."

"I'm afraid that the Qi army will raise another army to attack Xijing..." Ji Anbang said, and then smiled bitterly: "Forget it, General Wuyan is also an experienced warrior, how could he not know the situation in Xijing? I'm afraid your majesty intends to do so."

Zan Tongmei looked at him and said, "Brother Ji, don't worry. With you here and Wu Yan leading the army to help, as long as we can stop the Qi army and break their invincible golden body, we will be able to fight back sooner or later."

"I hope so..."

In the big tent, the sound of sighs dissipated into the air, causing the soldiers passing by outside to turn their heads, and then they continued walking with expressionless faces.

In the twelfth month of the third year of Liao Baoda, General Wu Yanguang led his troops out of Xijing. The emperor met him at Xijin Prefecture and encouraged him. Later, he led his troops northward. (End of this chapter)