Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1051 Response
The sounds of the battlefield gradually calmed down. The sky was filled with corpses and the dying wounded groaned softly. A soldier in khaki armor walked by, killed a man with a single blow, then picked up the sword on the ground, waved it, and walked to the next place with it in his hand.

The sky was shifting, and the shadows on the ground were gradually lengthening. The faces of the generals riding on their war horses were not very happy. They jumped off their horses, looked at each other, and sighed, "We didn't do our best."

Ru Tingqi walked over and patted his armor. Broken flesh and blood fell with the force of his palms. "It is said that the Qi army is fearless and brave. Today I have seen it."

"This is just the vanguard of the Qi army. There are tens of thousands of brave soldiers behind them." Zan Tongmei frowned, "It's not an easy job..."

"It's not our turn to take on such a good job." Ji Anbang walked over with a majestic figure, grinning, "The army that can capture three capitals is really amazing. The Qi general must be Zhao Li, right? He is indeed a fierce general. I didn't take him seriously when I heard of his reputation before. So, Xi Sheng, Di Lei, and Lu Zhishen on the opposite side are also capable."

Ru Tingqi glanced at him and said, "Brother Ji, you can still laugh."

"When we received the imperial edict, didn't you and I know that this matter was dangerous?" Ji Anbang shrugged, "Otherwise, why would our Majesty go to Nanjing Road to employ three unknown little people like you and me?"

Zan Tongmei and Ru Tingqi looked at each other and smiled bitterly: "...That's true."

As they were talking, a soldier came over and whispered the number of casualties to the three generals. Silence lasted for a moment between the three men, and then Ji Anbang walked towards the warhorse: "The casualties are much greater than I expected." He stepped on the stirrup to mount the horse and grabbed the reins: "The casualties are more than 30%, and we failed to annihilate the enemy army. The enemy commander escaped. It was a tragic victory..."

"Go back, fighting in the field is unsustainable, rely on the city walls to defend." The voice came, Ji Anbang pulled the reins and shouted to the Liao soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield: "Pass the order, cavalry take the wounded and dead comrades to evacuate, treat the wounded, and let the dead return home. This battle has been won, and everyone will be rewarded-"

The soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield stopped for a moment, and then the sound of response came like a tsunami.

Soon, the troops that took the initiative to attack retreated.

……

"hiss--"

The sound of inhaling came from Zhao Li's mouth. On his naked upper body, there were two wounds turned outward and were being bandaged by soldiers. The rest of his body had seven or eight bruises of different lengths, some were purple and swollen. If he had not dodged quickly, he would have died at the hands of the enemy.

"General, bear with it." The guard who was bandaging him looked up at the beads of sweat on his face and said, "This is excellent medicine for the wound. It may hurt a little."

"I... can bear it!" Zhao Li's eyes widened, bloodshot all over the whites of his eyes: "Come on!"

The personal guard held the porcelain bottle and poured it down. A muffled groan was heard, but the sound of Zhao Li inhaling was not heard. Not long after, the general with his upper body wrapped tightly came into everyone's sight.

"Hu——" Zhao Li exhaled, raised his arms, and then put them down.

He was still a little sore. He had been a bit too aggressive in his previous fight with the two Liao generals. The former was okay as he used double iron whips, but the latter used a spear with such great force that he found it difficult to defend himself.

Zan Tongmei, Ji Anbang...

Zhao Li's eyes moved and his eyelids narrowed slightly. The other person leading troops to block the road should be Ru Tingqi?
He was quite courageous, no wonder he was sent to the front by Yelu Yanxi.

Looking around in silence, the surviving soldiers seemed a little depressed. Occasionally, they would talk in low voices, but most of them were still a little depressed. They couldn't help but stand up and shook their bodies wrapped in white towels: "It's just a small loss, not a big defeat. Since ancient times, there have been few armies that have never lost. We just need to remember today's defeat, and in the future..."

"Let's get back today's debt!" Zhao Li suddenly clenched his fists: "Pass my order, retreat and wait for the central army."

bang——

The less than a thousand soldiers looked at each other, suddenly stood up, and slammed the butts of their guns on the ground. The sound of their response resounded through the sky.

At that moment, Zhao Li's troops retreated another five miles, while recuperating from their wounds, they reported to Xi Sheng in the rear, and at the same time gathered seven or eight hundred defeated soldiers, finally making the army look somewhat resilient.

Xi Sheng, who led the army, received the news of Zhao Li's defeat. His face suddenly changed and he called Lu Zhishen and Di Lei: "Zhao Li was ambushed and defeated by the Liao army. Now he has temporarily stopped to rest."

Looking at the expressions of the two generals, he said, "General Di, lead your troops to speed up and support General Zhao first. I will order the central army to speed up."

Di Lei nodded, spurred his horse forward, and then a troop of two thousand men marched forward quickly.

Xi Sheng then issued a military order to have the army move faster and sent out fast horses to deliver the message backwards.

In the fourth year of Jianwu, in the early spring, the chill gradually faded, and when the spring breeze blew, tender green emerged from the black soil. The battle between Zhao Li and Ji Anbang was like unveiling the curtain hanging in front of the painting, revealing the colors inside that were difficult to comment on, and painted a heavy stroke on the relationship between Qi and Liao.

Looking down at the junction of Nanjing Road and Zhongjing Road from a high place, the troops coming and going were like teams of ants moving, one after another, densely packed.

The border cities of Nanjing Road were being attacked by three Qi armies. Zhao Li was unprepared and ambushed by Ji Anbang, who defeated him.

Han Shizhong led his troops all the way to Jingzhou. Except for the scouts, he did not encounter a single general who came out to stop the enemy. Even when the provincial capital Zunhua was besieged, the defenders in the city were still determined to hold out and wait for reinforcements, and refused to move out.

On the sea, Wei Zhaode, Li Bao, Huyan Qing, the three Ruan brothers and the Zhang brothers got together and argued for a long time before they organized the navy on the ship to surround Guangning, the capital of Yingzhou, while the three Ruan brothers continued to move south and go to Yifeng via the mouth of the Qinglong River.

These soldiers on the water went ashore and, led by Wei Zhaode, launched a fierce attack, which frightened Guangning three times a day. Five waves of messengers seeking help were sent to the west.

The Liao government and the people were suddenly shocked.

Jizhou, noon.

As a thousand-year-old county, it has always been the most prosperous place in Nanjing Road besides Xijin Prefecture. Wu Yanguang led his troops from Xijing Road to provide support. After meeting the emperor in Nanjing, he was stationed here.

Also because of the addition of their 50,000 reinforcements from Nanjing Road, the atmosphere in Jizhou became a lot weirder. The vendors and pedestrians were all a little nervous, and they were cautious to stay away from the soldiers strolling on the streets. These barbarians from the northwest would often teach you a lesson if you said something wrong, and the government didn't care, so you had no place to complain after being beaten.

Following the rows of houses extending into the city, the provincial government office has become the temporary residence of the military commander. Wu Yanguang is controlling the front line here, and a young voice is heard.

"Dad, Ji Anbang is worthy of the title of martial arts champion. He defeated the vanguard of the Qi army in one battle and dampened the morale of those villains."

"If the Qi army had been defeated so easily, we father and son wouldn't have to sit here and guard against it today."

"But we have won a victory after all. If the soldiers on the front line heard about it, they would surely be excited and excited."

Ji Anbang and his two generals who were at the frontline would naturally not keep the victory a secret. This matter, which could prove their strength and make the emperor smile, had already been sent back via express mail over 800 miles, but the father in the room obviously did not think it had much effect.

A moment later, a soldier hurried in and handed the young commander a message asking for help from the front line.

"...With a war on three fronts, the Qi army is not afraid of being divided and defeated."

The letter asking for help was casually thrown on the table. Wu Yanguang was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. Although he was bald, he was a handsome man with a height of more than eight feet and a strong build. He had a yellow beard and blue eyes, and it was obvious that he had foreign blood.

Opposite him was a young general of about eighteen or nineteen, who looked about seven or eighty percent like Wu Yanguang. It was his son Wu Yanyanshou. Upon hearing what he said, he hurriedly took two steps forward, grabbed the two letters asking for help, and said, "Damn, these rubbish!"

bang——

He slammed his hand on the table along with the letter for help. His young face flushed with anger. "We had such a good situation, but we just gave it away like that."

Wu Yanguan glanced at his son and said, "When a good situation comes, how come I don't know it?" "Uh..." Wu Yanyanshou was speechless, not knowing what to say.

Wu Yanguang stood up and said calmly, "The current war situation is that we are at a disadvantage, otherwise why would His Majesty transfer me here from Xijing Road in such a hurry?"

Stroking his yellow beard with one hand, he walked to the door step by step, looking up at the floating clouds in the sky: "Write a memorial and have someone take it to Xijin Prefecture to ask His Majesty for soldiers, money and food. If you want to stop the Qi army, we are not enough."

As he was speaking, someone walked over from outside. Seeing him standing at the door, he quickly stepped forward and clasped his hands together, “Greetings, Commander-in-Chief.”

"What's the matter?"

"General Aliqi asked me to inform you that the newly formed cavalry is not enough."

Wu Yanguang frowned: "How much difference?"

"We still need two thousand war horses."

Wu Yanguang turned around and looked at his son: "The memorial asked Your Majesty for 5,000 war horses."

Wu Yanyanshou nodded, walked to the table and sat down, picked up the pen and wrote quickly, and then a fast horse galloped out of Jizhou.

Wu Yanguang stroked his beard while standing, and was silent for a moment: "Send an order, leave 5,000 men to guard Jizhou, and prepare the remaining troops to go to aid Danzhou and defeat Xi Sheng's army as soon as possible."

A guard ran out to deliver the message.

……

The spring breeze blows across thousands of miles.

In the southern part of Zhongjing, the sky gradually dimmed in the west, and the golden sun was stained with blood.

The simple military camp was formed as the soldiers sweated profusely. The faint aroma of food wafted from the fire department. The military craftsmen checked the equipment parts on the vehicles again before walking back with peace of mind. This was the most common scene along the march.

War horses galloped into the center of the army. More than a hundred people jumped off their horses and walked towards the largest tent in the middle of the military camp. The lights here were bright, and there were many soldiers patrolling and guarding around. When they saw the figure coming, they gripped their guns tightly, straightened their backs, and watched the figure walk into the tent.

"His Majesty."

There were already quite a few figures in the tent. Civil officials with tired faces, such as Wang Zheng and Lu Sili, bowed listlessly, while people like Li Zhu and Qiao Lie did not feel uncomfortable at all and saluted and greeted as usual.

"Please sit down." Lu Bu took off his cloak and handed it to the side. Yu Cheng quickly stepped forward and took it.

"On my way back, I met a messenger delivering military intelligence."

The generals at the back took their seats, their faces showing no signs of joy or anger. The civil officials looked at each other, then looked at Lu Bu who was walking to the head seat.

"There is good news and there is bad news."

Lu Bu scanned the expressions of everyone below with his tiger eyes, and fiddled with the paperweight on the table with his hand: "Han Shizhong and Wei Zhaode have surrounded the city with their troops and are attacking it. I think there will be a result soon."

He used his fingers to pinch the paperweight and put it on the table. With a "dong" sound, the people below couldn't help but straighten their backs. "Xi Sheng's team, Zhao Li was the vanguard and was ambushed by the Liao army. He was defeated for a while and almost died on the spot."

The civil and military officials on both sides immediately lowered their heads. A personal guard in black armor came in and handed dinner to everyone. This was a common scene in the Qi army. They could drink and eat meat while talking about things. Lu Bu didn't care about this. After all, who knew when an accident might happen while marching and fighting. The most important thing was to fill their stomachs as soon as possible.

Lu Bu reached out and took the wine cup and drank it. "Victory and defeat are common in the military. I don't want to use this as an excuse to scold anyone, but this defeat could have been avoided. Therefore, I will fine Zhao Li one year's salary, demote him three levels, remove his power to lead troops, and keep him in the army to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence."

Du Fu, Xiao Haili and the others' eyes twitched. The voice from the leader continued, "I hope you will take this as a warning. Don't think you are invincible just because you have won too many battles."

All the generals stood up quickly, clasped their fists and bowed their heads: "Yes."

Lu Bu stretched out his hand and pressed: "Everyone sit down." Then he said: "The Liao army still has 50,000 soldiers from Xijing Road stationed in Jizhou, and our army is advancing in three directions. If they concentrate their forces to attack one direction first, there will inevitably be losses, so the next marching route must be adjusted... What do you think?"

At the side of the generals, Wanyan Loushi stood up, and Lu Bu waved his hand: "Sit down and talk."

The half-risen figure sat down as he was told and said, “Your Majesty, if the Liao people are planning to hurt me, they will most likely send troops to Danzhou.

Firstly, General Zhao's defeat gave confidence to the soldiers guarding Danzhou. Secondly, even if General Han captured Jingzhou and the navy took Yingzhou, they would have to pass through Jizhou to reach Xijin Prefecture. If I were his commander, I would definitely leave a small number of troops to guard the city, and then march north to attack General Xisheng's troops in Danzhou.
I request to send troops to assist."

Lu Bu nodded: "What do the others think?"

Du Fu, Xiao Haili, Sun An and others below said, "I second the proposal and am willing to lead troops to support you."

At this time, a general stood up from his seat, walked to the big tent, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fists: "General Yelu Yudu requests your permission to lead the troops to the south to rescue."

After a pause, he knelt on the ground with his legs curled up and kowtowed: "All my relatives and friends were murdered by Yelu Yanxi. I will never forget this hatred. I hope Your Majesty will give me a chance."

Several generals in the big tent who were eager to try opened their mouths, looked at each other, and then looked at Yelu Yudu helplessly without saying a word.

"Your Majesty, those who lead an army out of hatred are bound to be blinded by anger."

Li Zhu narrowed his eyes and pinched his beard with his fingers. The figure kneeling on the ground suddenly turned his head and stared at him with red eyes.

The former seemed to be unaware: "However, General Yelu's situation is pitiful. It would be better to make him a deputy and follow the army south to assist General Xisheng."

The fierce look disappeared, Yelu Yudu turned his head and knelt on the ground without saying anything. At this time, someone who was higher in position than him and had a closer relationship with the emperor spoke. It would be inappropriate for him to say anything more, so he might as well keep silent and let the emperor decide.

Du Fu, Yuan Lang and others showed hope on their faces: "Your Majesty."

"I will give you 5,000 cavalrymen. Du Fu, Shi Wengong, and Yelu Yudu, the three of you will lead the troops to support Xi Sheng. I will lead the main army behind and will arrive soon."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yelu Yudu showed a happy expression.

Lu Bu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Wanyan Loushi: "The Jurchen cavalry should quickly go to Jingzhou to join Han Shizhong. If they capture Zunhua, they should immediately attack Jizhou."

"Send a message to the navy to advance westward to Jizhou as soon as possible. Since the Liao army wants to use it as a wedge between us, we should remove it."

"Here!"

The sound shook the big tent.

(End of this chapter)