Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

That night, the State of Qi continued to mobilize its troops. In the huge military camp, figures holding swords and guns mounted their horses. When the gates of the military camp were opened, they split into two directions and headed towards Nanjing Road amid the roar of horses' hooves, like a torrent of water.

When the sun rose the next day, the wind blew through the central army's banners, and the simple military tents were packed up early under the spring light. Lu Bu rode on his Red Hare and waved his arms: "Speed ​​up the march--"

Then, he looked towards the south, with a hint of understanding and disgust in his tiger eyes. In the end, he said nothing, shook the reins, and tens of thousands of troops continued to move south.

The war in Linhai, Nanjing Road has been burning.

In Guangning City, the flames on the ruined city gate tower gradually died down, corpses were cleared from the city walls, arrows on the ground and corpses were pulled out and gathered, and the busy soldiers looked up from time to time at the black figure in the distance with fear in their eyes.

The Qi army had been attacking the city for more than ten days, and each time it caused considerable casualties. Although the enemy was not able to gain a foothold on the city wall, they also suffered heavy losses. At the most dangerous time, the officials and generals in the city drove the people to the city wall to assist in the defense and fighting.

If the provincial governor had not sent messengers to the three cities of Lulong, Wangdu and Yifeng in the rear to ask for help, they would have surrendered long ago. Who would have believed that the Qi army over there was a naval force.

"Pfft..." Wei Zhaode spat out the sand in his mouth: "Another day, the defenders of Yingzhou are really tenacious."

"It's almost time. The reinforcements should be arriving soon." Li Bao sat on a piece of bluestone, looking at the city wall in the distance with a lazy look on his face: "Without the reinforcements, the morale of the defenders here will be even lower."

"Yes." Wei Zhaode glanced at him, then looked at Yu Yulin and Cui Meng who were shouting loudly to organize the army: "It depends on Brother Huyan and the three brothers of the Ruan family. One of them will lead the troops to wander outside, and the other three will take the boat to the inland river to attack the rear..."

A sinister smile appeared on his face: "If there are reinforcements, he will have to come over too."

To their northeast, almost at the same time, twenty miles away from Yingzhou, Huyan Qing led his navy to launch an offensive in the forest. A thousand navy soldiers fired their powerful crossbows, and the Lulong defenders who were marching in formation were ambushed. Amid screams, hundreds of people fell to the ground injured or dead.

The sturdy Liao general clenched his weapon, looked at the Qi army ambushers who rushed out of the forest and shouted "Kill!" and shouted in panic: "There is an ambush, the rear team will become the front army, retreat--"

However, another round of arrows shot from powerful crossbows fell from the forest. In the field of vision, the Qi army, holding long spears and swords, rushed into the crowd. The Qi general who led the group was pale, riding a warhorse, waving his steel spear and instantly knocking several people away. As blood and flesh flew everywhere, he shouted loudly: "Suzhou Duwei Fei Zhen is here, Liao dogs, die quickly!"

The Lulong defender did not reply and turned to run. Behind him, Xue Can, who was also wearing black armor, rushed over silently with an axe in his hand. The general was knocked to the ground by the axe in panic. The short and strong figure on the horse killed him on the spot with another axe.

The Liao army, having lost their general, became even more chaotic. Some wanted to form a team to resist, while others threw down their weapons and ran away. Huyan Qing saw the opportunity and hurriedly led the navy to charge out. In an instant, the shouts of killing shook the sky and blood boiled in the area.

The night gradually obscured the light of the sky, and also concealed the blood, broken limbs and dead bodies on the ground.

There were also Liao soldiers rustling around, trying to find a way to escape.

Torches lit up like stars, and teams of black-armored figures chased towards the place where the sound came from in the firelight.

There were wolves howling in the night.

The next day, the sky gradually brightened.

The sound of war drums rang out in the river east of Yifeng, and the sounds and scenes of roaring, shouting, and arrows flying across the sky were roaring. Figures on the floating bridge fell into the river, rising and falling with the waves, and soon the diffuse red color merged into the river called Qinglong.

Ruan Xiaoer, wearing a water jacket, looked calmly at the chaotic water in front of him. He waited until the troops from Luanzhou were halfway across the river before launching the offensive. Now, half of the Liao soldiers had already landed because his navy did not dare to step onto the pontoon bridge.

Ruan Xiaoer glanced at the east bank. Captains Xuan Zan and Zeng Suo were leading their soldiers to fight with the Liao soldiers who had already crossed the river. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, a large number of Liao soldiers were considering escaping and surrendering.

It seems that there is no need to pay attention to the East Coast anymore. It all depends on whether Xiaowu and Xiaoqi can stop Wangdu's troops.

However, soon, when the remaining troops of Yifeng City retreated back into the city, the news that Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi had successfully ambushed the troops of Wangdu came along with the heads of the leading generals.

In the fourth year of Jianwu, in mid-spring, the navy that was originally used as a diversionary force was defeated by three reinforcements from Yingzhou. When the news reached Guangning City, the morale of the defenders fell to the lowest point. On the eleventh day of the war, Guangning City surrendered.

The naval officers, who had been well prepared, were following the emperor's order to march westward.

The troops surged westward.

……

Boom boom boom——

Meticulous footsteps were heard from the north of Zunhua City. Human figures spread out front and back, extending to the end of the field of vision and forming a black straight line. The sounds of horns and war drums intertwined between heaven and earth. One after another, groups of soldiers lined up. In the sight of the city wall, people's pupils were shrinking.

"The Qi army is coming. Tell the young men in the city to go up to the top of the city walls, quickly—"

Figures on the city wall were running and shouting. Some of the infantrymen holding large shields had minor wounds. Archers ran to the back, and the quivers they carried on their bodies clattered. The sound of alert golden bells rang on the top of the city, and the shaking sound spread to the city.

The commander of Zunhua was named Wang Ce. Although he used a Chinese name, he was a Khitan. He stood on the city wall and watched with an iron spear in his hand. Beside him were two generals who were also Khitan.

"It's still Han Shizhong..." Someone looked at the general's flag flying below with a bitter mouth: "And the traitor He Zhongbao, this guy didn't think about repaying the emperor's grace and instead surrendered to the enemy, he really deserves to be cut into pieces."

Another general looked at him and said, "Calm down your anger. What we should be more concerned about now is the unstable morale of the troops below. If they surrender to the enemy in battle, we will all be finished."

"Huh? Who told you that?" Wang Ce turned to look at him with a tired look on his face. The Qi army below was attacking fiercely, and he hadn't had a good sleep in recent days.

"Commander-in-chief, there is no news from the messenger who sent help from Jizhou. The news has spread among the army."

Wang Ce turned his head silently and gritted his teeth. There was no way to cover up this matter. Han Shizhong's offensive was fierce. He had sent several waves of messengers out for help, but no one had come so far. He could not blame the soldiers for not having the will to fight.

Looking around, I saw many nervous faces.

"hold onto."

Wang Ce muttered something and gritted his teeth: "Hold on..."

The light of heaven came down from the city walls.

Moving to the field outside the city, the war horses were circling in place, stepping lightly on the ground. Han Shizhong turned his body, keeping his eyes on the city wall, and then waved his arm. The sound of the horn in the army changed, and the formation slowly moved. The dust under his feet floated up with the shaking of his footsteps.

But a moment later, Jing Chao came running over on his warhorse: "Brother Han, the scouts reported that there are cavalry coming from the north. Judging from the flag, it belongs to General Wanyan Loushi."

"Damn, we're still too slow." Han Shizhong slapped the raised saddle on his horse, making a "bang" sound. He looked thoughtful with a ruffian look on his face: "Come here, pass the message to General He Zhongbao and tell him to lead his men to provoke. If the enemy doesn't come out, attack the city wall directly." He turned his head and looked at Jing Chao: "General Jing sent scouts to tell General Wanyan Loushi in the rear that we have the upper hand and are preparing to attack the city. Let him slow down and turn to the west."

Jing Chao nodded: "Okay, I'll send someone to pass on the message."

Han Shizhong nodded and said, "That's good. When General He comes forward, you can try to lead your troops to the East Gate to provoke them. The Liao people are good at field battles but not at defending the city. They have been trapped in the city for so many days without any reinforcements. They may open the city and escape. Then you can seize the East Gate."

Jing Chao took the order and left.

Han Shizhong looked at the city wall and said, "Let's go to the west." He paused and called his personal soldiers, "Send a message to Li Yi to lead the cavalry to ambush outside the south gate."

At that moment, messengers rushed in all directions, and the battle in Zunhua City began again.

Not long after, Han Shizhong led his troops to the west gate, and Jing Chao led his troops to the east gate. In addition to swords, spears, bows and crossbows, the soldiers were also equipped with a number of poisonous smoke balls and thunderbolt fireballs.

He Chongbao led his brothers He Chai and He Yun to attack the north gate fiercely. Han Shizhong and Jing Chao also sent troops forward at the same time. After several provocations, the city walls on both sides remained unmoved, and then they launched a fierce attack.

The Xiandeng Camp, which was good at infantry sieges, rushed up the west gate city wall several times, making the defenders of Zunhua City break out in cold sweats. Wang Ce had no choice but to mobilize the reserve troops for assistance several times, and finally managed to barely ensure that the city wall was not lost.

Then, when Tianguang was leaving westward, Wanyan Loushi led 8,000 Jurchen soldiers and horses to appear in the west of the city, and launched a charge towards the city wall with great fanfare.

When the defenders of West City saw that the Qi army had arrived to reinforce the city first, they could no longer suppress their panic. Their morale was already low, and with no reinforcements coming, the young and strong men on the city wall disobeyed orders and evacuated the city. Wang Ce knew that the situation was hopeless, so he hurriedly went down the city and opened the south gate to escape.

Li Yi, who had been waiting outside for a long time, took the opportunity to rush out and killed Wang Ce's army in the middle, which was defeated. However, the defender of Zunhua City was so focused on escaping that he did not fight and was allowed to escape.

Han Shizhong, He Chongbao and Jing Chao took the opportunity to seize Zunhua, and rested for a day with Wanyan Loushi. The next morning, they left a thousand soldiers to guard the city, and the rest led the troops to attack Jizhou.

……

Beacon smoke was burning everywhere on Nanjing Road. The messenger soldiers rode their horses and whipped their horses desperately, heading straight for Xijin Prefecture. Birds flew over the city, and the messengers who ran in were like cold water in hot oil, exploding this southern capital.

Yelu Yanxi, who originally disliked living in the city, almost fell off his chair upon hearing the news. He quickly summoned the court officials to the palace and said, "The Qi army is advancing from three directions. Jingzhou and Yingzhou have been lost, and Luanzhou is in danger. Where is Wu Yanguang? What is he doing?"

Yelu Dezhong frowned. He had been concerned about the war situation recently. There were also news channels in the army that reached him. He said, "General Wuyan led his troops north to Danzhou. I think he wants to concentrate his forces to defeat one route first, and then return to attack the other two routes."

"I don't think he can defeat the enemy, the enemy will defeat me!" Yelu Yanxi stood up angrily and walked back and forth: "The Qi army is advancing rapidly now. I don't know how long Luanzhou can hold out. Once Luanzhou is broken, the east will no longer be mine."

He turned back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, and suddenly looked at his brother: "Dezhong, do you have a way to stop the enemy east of Jizhou?"

Yelu Dezhong gritted his teeth and bowed: "I am willing to go to support you. As long as I am alive, I will not let the Qi army take a single step westward."

Yelu Yanxi frowned instinctively, then waved his hand in annoyance: "It's unlucky to talk about death at this time."

Yelu opened his mouth again. The emperor looked at his ministers below him. They all looked down at the ground, as if they were suddenly ill. Only Yelu Dashi looked at him with his head held high. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind: "Dashi, are you willing to lead the troops to resist the enemy?"

The Khitan general below stepped out and clasped his fists, saying, "I am willing to help Your Majesty resolve your worries."

"That's good." Yelu Yanxi showed a happy expression on his face and said quickly: "I will order the troops in the nearby military states to obey your orders and follow you to Jizhou to guard it."

"According to the order!"

……

same moment.

The sunlight shone on the ground of Baozhou. Military flags with the word "Song" on them stood in the military camp, making the sound of cloth fluttering in the wind.

Song Jiang was wearing leather armor and riding on a war horse. His sight slowly moved from the military flag on the left to the flag on the right, then he looked up at the large banner fluttering above his head, and a surge of pride seemed to be about to burst out in his heart.

Conquering Liao and taking back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, either of these two things is what the men of the Song Dynasty always think about. As for whether they can defeat the Liao army...

The imperial court assembled 200,000 troops, including the Western Army and the Hebei Imperial Guards, and recruited countless brave warriors. It also conscripted 300,000 civilians to transport grain.

There is no way that such a large number of troops could fail against the Liao army, which was already on the decline.

This Northern Expedition is the best opportunity to get promoted!

thump—

dong dong dong-

The sound of war drums was exciting. In the distance, a general was galloping over with dozens of cavalrymen. Song Jiang did not dare to delay and quickly called Wu Yong and Lu Junyi to go forward to greet them.

"But Song Jiang, the vanguard?" The general, who was wearing fish-scale armor, had a sallow complexion and two small mustaches on his lips. He clasped his fists with a somewhat arrogant look and said, "I am Wang Wenbin, the training envoy of the Zhengzhou militia and the spear and stick instructor of the 800,000 imperial troops. I have been ordered to escort food, grass, clothes and armor here and serve under the vanguard."

He put down his hand and pulled the reins, changed his posture with the movement of the warhorse, and raised his head slightly: "From now on, we will walk together, and please take good care of me, Song Xianfeng."

Of the three people opposite, Wu Yong remained calm, Lu Junyi frowned, and Song Jiang murmured "Oh...Oh."

Yu Qilin was once a wealthy man in Daming Prefecture and was known as one of the three wonders of Hebei. Naturally, he didn't like anyone being arrogant in front of him, but he was also a man who had experienced many things, so he just watched silently from behind.

Song Jiang and Wu Yong looked at each other, and they both understood that this man was not here to serve as a subordinate, but was clearly here to supervise the army. They smiled and said, "General Wang, you are too polite. Please come into the camp and we will go out together later."

He stretched out his hand and gestured backwards: "Please."

"please."

Dozens of figures rode into the camp.

Soon, the drums of war sounded three times in succession, and the army slowly marched out. The Song army marched towards the Liao from the east and west. (End of this chapter)