Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

At the beginning of summer, clouds floated across the sky, covering the sky intermittently.

In this vast area, the elite troops from the northwest finally marched north from Xiongzhou after a long journey. Tong Guan, who was stationed in Xincheng, was overjoyed when he heard the news. Regardless of the fatigue of the western army's march, he left 10,000 soldiers to guard the city and ordered the army to set off immediately.

The troops in crimson armor gathered together, including the Vanguard Battalion, the Brave Warriors, the Hebei Imperial Guards, and the elite Western Army, like blood flowing on the ground, winding their way towards Zhuozhou in the north.

The rumbling sound of footsteps could be heard all around. A series of majestic figures stepped on the dust on the ground. The dust was blown away by the wind, and from time to time, the sound of soft voices could be heard.

"If we keep fighting like this, I don't know when we can reach Xijin Prefecture." Zhai Liang's body swayed slightly on the horse, and he lowered his head a little depressed: "Up to now, we have only been on the road behind. I feel like my belly has grown bigger in the past two days."

"It's better than Song Jiang in front of us." His cousin Zhai Cong rode beside him and patted him: "Sit up straight, be careful that your second uncle will look at you and scold you again."

Zhai Liang straightened his back a little when he heard this, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face: "Hey! Speaking of Song Jiang, I am not so depressed anymore."

He gloated and tilted his chin forward, saying with a smile, "This guy caused us so much trouble in Jingxi, and now he is the first to be scolded. This is retribution in this life. When I saw him the other day, I saw that his black face was about to turn green."

Zhai Cong smiled slightly, but it quickly disappeared. He looked around, drove his horse closer and whispered, "The Songs have saved us from disaster. To show our benevolence, our superiors don't allow us to hurt the Liao army at will. If we go up to fight under such restrictive orders, we will most likely be the ones who suffer."

"...That's right, luckily it was Song Jiang and the others."

The two brothers looked at each other and smiled bitterly at the same time.

The lives of Liao soldiers must not be harmed at will. This is the order issued by Tong Guan, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition. He said that he wanted to let the Han people in the north see the benevolence of their own court and show that they were not here for killing.

The soldiers were in a dilemma as to whether to kill or not to kill. They were at a loss as to what to do on the battlefield. As a result, the army was slow in capturing cities and strongholds, and its pace was as slow as a turtle.

Many generals were so angry that they wrote letters to Tong Guan, such as Zhong Shidao, Yang Keshi, and Zhai Jin, to advise him. However, Tong Guan replied with a scolding, but he still insisted on his own way and was determined to promote his reputation as a benevolent and righteous army, which made everyone in the army feel depressed.

at the same time.

A large number of cavalrymen kicked up dust on the ground. Soldiers under the banner of the Liao Army came from the west and entered Fanyang City one after another. Generals in armor walked into the official residence of the provincial government.

"Grandmaster Xiao, I, General Guo Yaoshi, have been ordered to come here to take orders." The tired-looking man walked up to Xiao Gan and bowed, then he straightened up and said with a smile, "I never thought that I would be able to fight together with Grandmaster again this time. It is really a great honor for me."

"General Guo is still so careful with his words." Xiao looked at him with a dry smile, stepped forward and patted his shoulder: "We are all working for the country, so there is no such thing as luck or misfortune. We should say that those who are still fighting for the country are all heroes."

Pharmacist Guo smiled and bowed his head along with the generals of the resentful army in the rear: "I don't deserve the praise from the Grand Master."

Xiao Gan just shook his head and pointed to the seat next to him: "Okay, we have fought side by side many times. Sit down first and read the latest military information."

Pharmacist Guo bowed in thanks and sat down at the table with Zhen Wuchen, Liu Shunren, Zhao Heshou and other generals. A Xi general passed the intelligence over.

Pharmacist Guo took it and read it carefully, then passed it on. After everyone had read it, Xiao Gan spoke up, "The Song army is large in number, but they are so ignorant. How can they come to fight and not allow anyone to die? I think it will be easy to win."

"Grandmaster, I am not trying to boost others' morale." Pharmacist Guo looked over hesitantly, "It's just that my resentful army has only over 10,000 elite soldiers and 1,000 war horses. Counting some miscellaneous soldiers, there are only 240,000 to 250,000. Grandmaster's troops should also be around 30,000, which is less than half of the Song bandits. If the Song people relax their military orders and no longer restrain their hands and feet, we may be at a disadvantage."

"You and I don't have enough troops, but with the rest, we will be enough." Xiao Gan was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he looked at Pharmacist Guo with appreciation and said, "Xiao Telie of Xijin Prefecture has led 20,000 troops to Gu'an. There is also Dashilin Ya. I have also received his message that most of the troops in Nanjing Road are in his hands. Now he is leading 50,000 troops to come. I believe he will arrive in two days. In this way, we already have half of the Song army."

Pharmacist Guo's expression eased: "Now that you say that, I feel relieved."

Xiao Gan stood up and walked to the center of the crowd: "The Song army is moving slowly, which is exactly what I want. We can rest here and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out."

He walked to the door, looked at the floating clouds in the sky, and narrowed his eyes: "Under the chaotic orders, the Song army must be upset. When they arrive, they will be exhausted both physically and mentally. It will be a good time for us to attack."

Outside, a royal guard came running in, panting and clasping his fists towards the people in the room: "Greetings to the Grand Tutor and all the Xiangwen and generals," and handed over a few bamboo tubes.

As Xiao Gan was unpacking the bamboo tube, he listened to the knight saying, "Teacher, there is a military report from the east. The thief Lu personally led a large army to attack Danzhou. The commander Wu Yanguang was killed in the battle, and most of his troops surrendered to Qi. Now the thief Lu has led his army to besiege Miyun for five days. Danzhou is in danger.

In addition, Han Shizhong joined the Qi navy in the east and surrounded Jizhou. However, there were many soldiers and sufficient food in Yuyang City, so there was no problem for the time being. The governor of Jizhou had already asked the court for help. "

ga-

"What did you say!?" Xiao Gan stood up suddenly, and the seat under him slid back a foot and fell to the ground with a "bang".

Generals Liu Shunren, Zhen Wuchen and others looked at each other in surprise. Pharmacist Guo also had a look of surprise on his face, but his eyes flickered, as if he was thinking about something.

"Uncle, we have Qi behind us and Song in front of us..." The Xiren named Yishi Bajin looked at him hesitantly: "Which route should we attack first?"

Xiao Gan did not reply to his nephew's words, but only checked the military report in his hand. With the sound of "rustling" papers, he handed the military information in his hand to General A Lu beside him and took a breath: "We have not received any other military orders. According to the original plan, we will first suppress the rogues in the South Dynasty and then return to the north for rescue."

After a pause, he looked around at everyone and said, "Everyone, the situation is critical now. I hope you will fight bravely and defeat the Song bandits as soon as possible."

boom--

All the Xi army generals and the Yuan army troops in the room stood up and clasped their fists, saying, "We will obey the order of the Grand Master."

"Okay!" Xiao Gan cheered up: "Send a message to the county town and army ahead to slow down the Song army as much as possible.

Contact Xiao Telie, Yelu Fuding, and Yelu Wuzhi, and ask them to move eastward as quickly as possible to attack the eastern flank of the Song army and attract the attention of the eastern troops.

Contact Yelu Dashi and ask him to lead his troops south as soon as possible to deal with the Song bandits' eastern troops. He will decide how to fight.

Go! "

After quickly speaking the military order, he watched the messenger run out, then turned his gaze to the others: "We will deal with the Song bandits' Western Army. Their commander is Zhong Shidao, who is said to be a famous general of the Southern Dynasty. Let me meet him and see..."

bang——

He placed his palm on the table and asked, "Is it really as magical as the people of the Song Dynasty said?"

A few birds suddenly flew up from the eaves, chirped a few times, and headed south. …

Miyun.

The sun disappeared, and warning smoke rose into the sky from both ends of the city wall, occasionally bending down to cover the human figures below.

The wind blew through the city, stirring up the falling black smoke, revealing a ferocious figure. Someone screamed "Ah--" as an arrow pierced his shoulder. He staggered back two steps. In his sight, dense arrows replaced the black smoke, covering the sky and the sun.

"hide!"

The wounded figure took two quick steps, lowered his body, and crashed into the base of the wall with a bang. Arrows rained down on him, and crackling sounds reached his ears. Arrows were scattered all around, some pierced human bodies, causing corpses to fall to the ground, and more pierced shields and city walls.

The cavalrymen in black armor galloped past below, turned their horses around after running far away, drew their bows while running, and shot arrows, causing people on the city walls to run for cover again.

On the plain, under the banner surrounded by soldiers, Lü Bu, wearing golden armor and a blood-red cape, observed the reaction on the city wall. He stroked Red Hare's mane and praised him: "He is a cautious and defensive man. So far, the troops have not been mobilized in disorder."

After a pause, he said, "Announce to the whole army, whoever reaches the top of the city wall first will be made a marquis!"

The heroic voice spread out along with the messenger's voice, and the soldiers on horseback shouted loudly in front of the battle array with all their might: "Your Majesty's order - whoever reaches the summit first - will be granted the title of Marquis!"

The two brothers Ma Xi and Ma Jin were holding spears and riding horses in the formation. When they heard the sound, they turned their heads to look at the figures under the big flag. They looked at each other, suddenly raised their spears and pointed them forward. Immediately, the infantry phalanxes under their command quickened their pace and rushed quickly towards the walls of Miyun City.

Arrows crossed in the air, and the whizzing sound of arrows breaking through the air rang in the soldiers' ears from time to time. People on the top and bottom of the city were constantly shot and fell to the ground.

Behind the parapet, an archer dodged the flying arrow, gritted his teeth, stood up, quickly put the arrow on the bowstring, and shot an arrow at the Qi army rushing below.

Before the running Qi soldiers approached the ladders in front, a feather arrow pierced into their shoulders, broke through the outer layer of their leather armor, and penetrated into their flesh and blood, with the remaining force still trembling.

Amid screams, the fallen figure watched his companions pass by him one by one, taking over the task of attacking the enemy, climbing up along the ladders and wooden steps, and then some of them retreated.

In the rear, the calibrated whirlwind cannon made a creaking sound, and several stone bullets with whistling sounds bombarded the city wall. The archer on the city wall who had just shot and injured a Qi soldier showed his head from under the parapet again, and looked at the nearby round black shadow with wide eyes.

boom--

The head came into contact with the stone bullet for a moment, and the head that had failed to win the battle shattered. The headless corpse fell down, spurting blood all over the place, and lay backwards on the ground, with its limbs twitching and twisting. It was only after a few breaths that it became still.

Soon, a figure came up from below.

“Kill ahhhhh—”

The shouts of fighting rang out, and the Qi soldiers who popped out from the battlements roared and rushed forward with their swords brandished. Several large shields came together and the sound of chopping wood fell on the shields with bangs.

"Ahhh-"

The soldiers behind the shields roared and pushed forward, pulling away the people they squeezed and stabbing with spears. After screams, corpses fell from the top of the city with blood, leaving behind a series of climbing figures. The moment they landed, stones fell from above.

"Go and inform Ji Tongjun that the Qi army is coming from this side, quickly--"

Zan Tongmei, who was in charge of the city wall on this side, roared, stepped forward and knocked down with an iron whip the Qi infantrymen who had climbed up on the other side under the bombardment of stone bullets. Several personal soldiers around him followed and picked up the stones and beams piled under the parapet and threw them down. Only then did he have a chance to speak.

Turning around, he saw the commander and the general of the army rushing forward to fight with the fierce soldiers of the Qi army who had climbed onto the top of the city wall, regardless of their lives.

"There are also Qi bandits climbing up the city wall on General Ji's side. It is said that General Li was killed in the battle, and General Ji is leading people to reinforce..." Someone turned around and shouted during the fight, and was hit in the head by a stray arrow the next moment. The strong force penetrated his leather helmet, and he fell to the side without a sound, with his eyes bulging out of his eye sockets.

"Fuck you!"

Zan Tongmei cursed at his dead comrade, then turned to look at the black-armored figure climbing up below. He turned around and grabbed the soldiers behind him, shouting, "Go and inform the commander-in-chief that we have suffered heavy losses and are short of manpower. Hurry—"

The long city walls were filled with fighting. The black armor of the Qi army could always be seen by the defenders on the city walls from various angles. The knights on war horses circled around the city, throwing the arrows they carried.

Bows and crossbows on the city walls and flaming arrows were fired back and forth at the people below. Stone bullets the size of human heads were constantly thrown onto the city walls. Battling wood and stones were also thrown down from above. The people defending the city and the soldiers climbing up the city walls screamed and fell to the ground dead. Blood kept flowing on and under the city walls.

Even though the Qi army's offensive was like a tide, the Liao army soldiers defending the city were often able to burst out with high morale under the leadership of generals such as Ji Anbang and Zan Tongmei, thus temporarily saving the crumbling city.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of retreating troops was heard. Ji Anbang, who was standing on the city wall, looked at the retreating troops with an expressionless face.

...and lived another day.

……

Under the sunset.

Han Shizhong frowned as he looked at the retreating army, unwillingly tightening the steel spear in his hand. Looking at the black smoke rising from the top of Yuyang City, his usually unruly face was filled with solemnity: "This is not going to be easy..."

Today's battle was a tentative attack. The Qi army had already detected that Yelu Dashi was heading south, and several generals speculated that it was because of the Song attack. They thought that without that guy, it would be easier to fight here.

The original intention was to provoke people out of the city, but unexpectedly, the people in the city refused to come out no matter what.

In desperation, Han Shizhong discussed with Li Bao, Wei Zhaode, Hu Yanqing and other generals before ordering He Chongbao and other generals to try to attack once.

However, although Yelu Dashi was no longer in Yuyang, there were still many defenders in the city. The number of people here was not as large as those in the city, so they could not attack at all.

After a while, Han Shizhong stroked his messy beard and turned to look at Li Bao and others behind him: "It seems that the defenders here are determined to defend the city to the death. Let's..."

He turned his attention to Wang De and Yuan Lang: "Why not attack from another place and see how they react."

Several generals looked at each other and nodded. (End of this chapter)