Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

"There are still rebels in Miyun City, and the people are not allowed to go out on the streets at will."

"The Khitans are unjust and oppress the people of all ethnic groups. Our emperor is kind and righteous, and will definitely reduce your taxes and levies."

The sunlight was slanting, and the orange-red light illuminated the ruined city below.

The cavalrymen rode past at full speed on their horses. In the houses that were still intact, people looked through the window frames, door cracks, and fissures, and saw teams of strong warriors in black armor running through the city.

The sound of fighting could be heard from time to time in every corner of the city. After the city fell, most of the Liao army had surrendered, and some of the stubborn resistance retreated into the city, using the terrain to hunt down the enemy soldiers that entered the city.

And more often than not, there were some people with evil intentions who went to the city to vent their desires, and roars of fear were heard from civilians' homes from time to time.

The infantry and cavalry who entered the city searched every inch of the city. They were not at ease with the city that had been captured after a hard battle. Some of the people who had been harmed saw them and hurriedly called for help.

The soldier who was doing evil at home saw this and broke through the window to escape from the house. He was followed by a cavalryman with glowing eyes and stabbed to the ground with a gun. The cavalryman dismounted and chopped off his head with a knife and tied it to the neck of the warhorse, causing the people to scream.

There were also some vicious people who, seeing that they could not escape, occupied civilian houses to resist. Then the doors of the houses were knocked open by the infantrymen with shields. The archers who followed up pulled the trigger with their swords, and were hit by several crossbow arrows and fell to the ground dead.

A large number of armored soldiers marched in with rumbling steps, and the surrendered officials and generals were brought to the front. Lu Bu did not go to meet these people, and directly let Zhang Lin take charge of the matter. Some of the surrendered people knew him, and when they saw the former Prime Minister of the Southern Palace, their faces suddenly showed indescribable excitement, but they felt more at ease in their hearts, knowing that their lives would not be in danger for the time being.

It was getting dark and the city was getting quieter. Torches were held high in the hands of soldiers and patrolling soldiers walked through the streets. The dull footsteps gave the people in the city a sense of security.

They were not fools. When the Qi army entered the city, they did not kill and loot wantonly, let alone do so at night. They then fell asleep peacefully.

In the provincial government office, this place was used as a temporary palace. The rooms in the back hall were not enough for the civil and military officers accompanying the army to rest and stay. The soldiers who entered the city first cleaned it up. The governor who was originally here also joined the surrender team, so this place was completely empty.

Soon, Lu Bu led the soldiers of the left and right guards to join generals Xiao Haili, Mi Xian, Sun An, Bian Xiang and others in the city, with Yang Zaixing and Ma Ling following them.

The city was under curfew at this time. Apart from the patrolling soldiers, there was no one on the long street.

"That Ji Anbang chose to fight to the death, which surprised me a little. I never thought there would be someone so loyal and brave to Yelu Yanxi, and he was... a Han Chinese."

Thinking of the generals who desperately charged in the battle in the afternoon, Lu Bu also sighed a little. Xiao Haili beside him touched his head and said: "Ji Anbang... I seem to have heard of this person. In which year was he the top martial arts champion?"

"The top martial arts scholar...his martial arts skills are worthy of the title of top scholar." Lu Bu looked up at the stars in the sky and shook his head: "The country misses a good general, what a pity."

As they were talking, generals and their personal soldiers came over one after another. Zhao Li, who was originally in the rear army, came running with a cavalryman, dismounted and saluted: "Your Majesty, a messenger from Zhongjing has arrived."

The moving figure stopped, Lu Bu turned around and frowned: "What happened?"

The knight who came was the captain of the Right Guards who stayed in the palace. He looked a little tired. He quickly took out the bamboo tube and presented it with both hands, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. Wu Zhaoyi gave birth to a prince in the Gengxu year of the last month of spring. Both mother and child are safe. I was ordered to come here to announce the good news."

Lu Bu was so overjoyed that he put his hand on his forehead and said yes repeatedly.

The civil and military officials around also showed joy on their faces. The emperor having many children was what everyone was looking forward to. The more princes he had, the more would survive, and their continuation would be guaranteed. Therefore, they were no less happy about the news than the emperor himself.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune. Now that you have a son, it is truly a blessing for the country!"

"Your Majesty has returned victorious from the expedition, and the Crown Prince has also had a newborn son. This is the image of 'Dragons fighting in the wild, their blood is dark yellow' and then 'yellow robes are extremely auspicious' as in the Book of Changes! I watched the Purple Palace light up at night, and it coincided with the birth of the prince. It is truly the will of heaven that favors our Great Qi!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Breaking the city and seizing the flag is the first achievement, and the birth of the little prince is the second achievement! This piece of good news is louder than the drums of war. I will keep the iron whip I just confiscated, and I will choose the tiger talisman when he grabs his first birthday!"

"Okay, stop flattering me." Lu Bu waved his hand cheerfully, his blood-red cloak fluttering in the light of the fire. "I know what you mean. Tell the people in the barracks behind to bring up the wine and meat so that the soldiers can also share in the joy."

Everyone laughed when they heard this. Marching and fighting were hard, and they only ate and drank military rations and water every day. Their mouths had long been so tasteless that they could feed fish in them. Now they had wine and meat, which was indeed the best reward.

That night, several riders flew out from the north and headed for the military camp to bring wine and meat to the south. Lu Bu ordered people to buy some wine, meat, rice and flour in the city, and asked the cooks in the army to prepare some food. He was very happy drinking and chatting with the generals during the meal, but he frowned when talking about the other army.

"Jizhou in the south seems to be a tough nut to crack." Lu Bu put down the wine bowl. Even if he would not get drunk, he would not drink too much now. The civil and military officials below looked up at him and said, "As for the Song army, I don't know where it has gone now. I have never heard any news about them."

He frowned and looked at Qiao Lie over there: "Where are the Song people fighting now?"

The civil and military officials on both sides looked at the figure over there.

Qiao Lie stroked his beard and pondered, "Some time ago, news came that the Song army had occupied Xincheng, which is the closest to them, and was preparing to march north to attack Zhuozhou." He paused and continued, "According to the time when the news came, they should have sent out the troops by now, but I don't know how the progress is."

Li Zhu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Song army has delayed its dispatch, clearly intending to trap us. We can just sit back and reap the benefits. Why don't we stop and wait for him to attract the Liao army over before continuing southward?"

"I think so too." Zhang Lin bowed in his seat again: "Now that the dense clouds have descended, we can free up our hands to take Jizhou as well. In this way, one-third of Nanjing Road will be in our hands."

"That's right." Wang Zheng echoed, "We can split our troops into two groups. One group heading to Jizhou is the right path. The other group heading to Xijing Road was originally planning to follow the alliance agreement and share the Nanjing Road with the Song people before heading to Xijing. Now that they have used tricks to attract the Liao people's attention, we can slow down our pace. I think the Liao court is willing to deal with the Song people first before fighting us."

"The Xijing Road... that's fine too." Lu Bu tapped the table with his fingers and nodded slowly: "Then we can take advantage of this opportunity to seize the land south of the Great Wall. Aren't there surrendered soldiers from there in the army? Send half of them to lead the way."

He put his big hand on the table and said, "Swallow the southern part of Xijing Road and block Yelu Yanxi's escape route to the north.

Du Fu, Sun An! "

The two people who were called stood up: "I'm here!"

"Rest for two days, then you two can take Aliqi west to seize Datong Prefecture."

The two generals clasped their fists and bowed their heads: "Yes!"

Lu Bu looked at Mi Xian, Bian Xiang, and Xi Sheng and said, "You too, take a rest for two days. After two days, leave some people to guard Danzhou, and the rest of you will follow me south to take Jizhou."

Then he laughed and said, "It's a good opportunity to see the places I've been to before."

Xiao Haili, Qiao Lie, Ma Ling and the others looked at each other, all with smiles on their faces, and stood up with the other civil and military officials, clasping their fists: "Yes!"

……

The sky gradually turned pale, and the morning dew on the grass leaves slowly slid down and dripped onto the ground.

The spring sun had not yet fully bloomed, and in the chilly air, Lu Junyi stood in front of the tent door, wielding his spear to move his body. Sweat slid down his forehead and cheeks, and flew out of his head and face as he moved violently. The spear tip made a sound of breaking through the air, attracting the attention of many generals in the camp. When the spear swung a semicircle and finally stopped, there were soft footsteps coming from behind.

"Deputy vanguard, handkerchief." Yan Qing stepped forward as he usually did at home.

Lu Junyi took it and looked at him, then smiled bitterly: “Xiao Yi, you don’t have to do this.”

The young man on the other side smiled and said, "It's just a matter of convenience, why should the deputy vanguard worry about it?"

Lu Junyi put his spear aside and wiped his face with the clean, warm towel. His sturdy body was steaming. He looked at the generals around him without saying hello. He looked up at the first ray of sunlight from the sky and asked, "Where do you think we can go today?"

Yan Qing was silent for a while, then he smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid we can't go far. Towards... well, the vanguard must obey military orders. If we encounter the Liao people, we can only slow down our pace."

Lu Junyi had a bitter look on his face: "I thought that my martial arts skills would eventually be put to good use in the North, and I could make a comeback with the military merits I earned. But now it seems... "

dong dong dong-

The sound of sighs was drowned out by the sound of the drums. The two looked at each other in surprise. Lu Junyi couldn't help but mutter, "Why are you gathering the generals now?"

"I'm afraid there is military intelligence." Yan Qing's face turned pale, and he quickly turned to look at Lu Junyi: "Deputy Vanguard, let's go to the big tent quickly to check, maybe the scouts have discovered the Liao army."

Lu Junyi then nodded and followed him to the big tent. Things were exactly as Yan Qing had expected. Song Jiang, wearing armor, stood in the center of the military tent and announced that a large number of Liao troops were invading from the east. He immediately ordered Sun Li to be the chief general, and Shi Jin and He Ji to be the deputies, to serve as the vanguard to meet them.

He himself led the army and followed behind, while sending people to convey a message to Xin Xingzong, the commander of the central army behind.

In early spring, the Song army encountered the Liao army led by Xiao Telie, Yelu Fuding and Yelu Wuzhi.

Xiao Telie led 3,000 soldiers with Yelu Wuzhi as the vanguard, and Sun Li, Shi Jin and He Ji led 5,000 soldiers to fight against them.

Relying on the advantage of cavalry, Yelu Wuzhi fought back and forth, killing Chen Da in the battle array and injuring Sun Xin and Qian Yi. Sun Li, Shi Jin and He Ji were shocked and angry, and urged their troops to repel them with great difficulty. Only then did they discover that more than 30% of the 5,000 vanguard troops had been killed, but only 500 Liao soldiers were injured.

Seeing this, Song Jiang was saddened by the casualties of Chen Da and his soldiers, and he reported the situation to the rear.

"Pass on the commander-in-chief's order to continue pursuing the Liao army, but don't let too many people die." Yu Hou, who came to deliver the order, said this and was about to leave.

Song Jiang hurriedly stopped the people and bowed: "My lord and lord, it's not that Song Jiang is unwilling to follow orders, but this group of Liao soldiers is extremely fierce. We may not be able to win even if we let go of our hands and feet. If there are not many casualties, this... How can we still fight this war?"

The Yu Hou opened his mouth when he heard this, then smiled bitterly: "It's no use for the vanguard and the young general to say this." He arched his hand in the direction of the army and said: "This is an order passed down by the old master, how can we disobey it?"

Then he looked at Song Jiang and sighed: "I am also a soldier, I know the hardships of the vanguard, but this matter has been decided and cannot be changed, the vanguard should bear more."

"...Thank you very much." Song Jiang had a bitter mouth, but he still bowed to thank the Yu Hou and sent the man out. He just looked at the other person's back with a somewhat helpless look in his eyes.

Soon, the army set out and continued to move towards Xiao Telie's army.

……

The wind blew across the fields, and horseshoes-carrying hooves flew past one crimson figure after another. The raised dust made many people raise their hands to cover their mouths and noses, and then they looked at the backs of the people on horseback and spat fiercely to the side.

Several war horses stopped under the "Zhong" flag. The painted figure on the horse looked at the vigorous old general, raised his head slightly, and bowed: "I meet General Zhong. You won the battle with the Liao army's vanguard today. You really made our country proud!"

In front of him, several generals of the Western Army looked at him angrily. The eunuch frowned, glanced at them, smiled contemptuously, and didn't bother to pay any attention to these fighting men.

Zong Shidao, who looked like he was fifty, glanced at the eunuchs who stopped in front of him and bowed: "Thank you for coming to congratulate me, but accidents often happen during marches and battles, so it's safer for you to stay behind."

"Who's here to congratulate? We're here to call you to task!" The leading eunuch suddenly raised his voice, his shrill voice irritating the eardrums of those around him.

After saying this, the eunuch rolled his eyes, pointed at Master Zhong with his orchid finger and said, "What did you mean by that just now?" He patted his chest and said, "Are you cursing me to die on this battlefield?"

Zong Shidao lowered his eyes and said calmly, "That is not my intention. The military supervisor has misunderstood."

"Hmph!" The eunuch looked at him twice and swung his sleeves fiercely: "Let's just treat it as a misunderstanding." His chest rose and fell twice, and he shook his head and looked at him: "Let me be frank, the Grand Tutor has ordered not to kill anyone. What you need to do is to spread the reputation of our Song Dynasty for benevolence and righteousness to this land of Yanyun, not to let you kill people and bring disaster to the court!"

She raised her hand and pointed at the heads of the generals of the Western Army one by one: "I will inform the Grand Tutor about what happened today. You'd better be careful with me, otherwise when the Grand Tutor comes, you won't be as easy to talk to as I am! I will be watching you from behind!"

He flicked his sleeves and turned his horse's head: "Let's go——"

The warhorse trampled the ground again, and several eunuchs surrounded the man and galloped past.

"Bah! What the hell!"

"This rootless bastard is too arrogant!"

"Let this damned bastard die on the battlefield."

Various voices came from the mouths of the red-faced generals of the Western Army. Zong Shidao was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Shut up!"

The old man opened his eyes and fiercely glanced at the generals: "You all know what to say and what not to say. Do you still need me to teach you when you are this old?"

"Don't dare..."

The generals of the Western Army lowered their heads upon hearing this and clenched their fists with gritted teeth.

Seeing this, Zhong Shidao did not say anything more but just sighed and said, "Send a message to Yang Keshi, and tell him to continue to pursue the Liao army."

He turned around and looked at the generals around him. After a moment of silence, he said, "The Grand Master is the commander-in-chief of this expedition. We, as generals, should obey his orders and pass them on..."

After a long silence, he raised his head and sighed, "Tell the soldiers in the army not to kill or injure Liao people at will."

The spring breeze blew, and the marching team made a noisy sound. (End of this chapter)