Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sky was dark and the sun was still hiding behind the night, ready to jump out at any time.

The bird flew high in the sky, looking at the hundreds of horses galloping towards it below, then turned and flew away into the distance.

The dust raised by the horses gradually spread in the air, and then returned to silence. The galloping horses gradually slowed down on the field. The huge military camp ahead was already in sight. After a moment, the horses walked slowly with all four hooves, shaking their heads and snorting from time to time.

"Brother Wang..." On the front horse, Dong the Clown turned his head and looked at the man behind him who claimed to have brought secrets: "Are you sure that what you got is a secret?"

"rest assured."

Wang Bolong grinned, patted the bamboo tube in his arms, and looked to the side: "If I were a spy of the Khitans, I wouldn't bring so many people with me. After all, more people means more thoughts, right? I'm not that stupid."

Dong Xiaochou thought for a moment and nodded, "Come on, don't look around once you enter the military camp, or you might be caught as a spy."

Wang Bolong smiled and rode his horse behind him.

Dong the clown came forward, exchanged commands, and showed his military order and identity plate. Only when all three were correct did someone move the antlers and open the door to let people in.

Inside, deer horns formed a ten-foot-long corridor on both sides of the door. Archers on both sides stood behind the front row of sword and shield men, with powerful crossbows loaded with arrows pointing at the ground.

Wang Bolong didn't dare to turn his head in the team. He was shocked by the scene he saw out of the corner of his eye. The security in this military camp was so strict. It seemed to be true what he had heard before that the Emperor of Qi led the army in person, otherwise an ordinary camp should not be like this.

As they walked along, the group encountered four patrol teams, which made Wang Bolun more confident in his judgment.

After passing one white tent after another, the front became spacious. There were six soldiers standing in each row at a distance. Three were holding swords and shields, two were holding spears, and one was holding a crossbow. They were all wearing black iron armor and their eyes were looking at the chests and necks of the people in the row.

"Be more alert and don't show your fear."

Wang Bolong took a breath, turned around and shouted at them. These brave soldiers on the battlefield were very powerful. His men had already started to have cramps in their calves and could not walk properly.

In front, there were soldiers coming up and trying to stop them.

"Have your people wait outside." Dong Xiaochou turned his head and looked at him and said, "You and I will go in."

"...Okay." Wang Bolun's mouth twitched, and then he quickly ordered the people who followed him to follow the Qi army soldiers to the side and be guarded. He took a deep breath and followed Dong Xiaochou to the central army tent.

A large white tent with cloud patterns was fixed on a wooden platform. Facing the two people were three-story wooden steps. Outside the tent, a circle of armored soldiers had swords hanging from their waists and were holding imitation divine arm bows, looking around.

Armored soldiers came forward, and Dong the clown handed over his sword and dagger. Wang Bolun followed suit and quickly handed over his weapons. He was searched again and was finally let go. Seeing him coming, Dong the clown in front turned around and stepped forward.

Walk up the wooden steps and enter the big tent.

A warm breath came towards me.

"Yelü Yudu and He Zhongbao persuaded Sanhe City to surrender."

"Wanyan Loushi from Xincang sent news that the defenders are stubborn and unwilling to surrender, and they may have already begun to attack the city."

"General Bian Xiang has sent a message saying that he is in contact with the officials in Yutian. They are willing to surrender and change their allegiance. Your Majesty, please..."

Hearing the report, Wang Bolun stood at the door nervously, and his heartbeat, which had been steady just now, began to speed up.

The tent was quite spacious, perhaps because of the bright weather today, or perhaps because there was a charcoal stove inside warming the wine flask. He found his palms a little wet and couldn't help wiping them behind his buttocks. The sound of his heartbeat began to drown out the sound in his ears.

Dong the clown in front stepped forward and seemed to say something. In an instant, dozens of eyes looked over.

Xu Wen, who was standing at the door, looked at him, as if he understood something. He walked up to him and patted him. In an instant, it was as if a barrier was broken, and the sound in his ears rang again.

"What are you standing there for? Why don't you come forward and greet His Majesty?"

Wang Bolong's scarred face turned red. He used to pride himself on being brave, but he never expected that just when he was scolding his men not to show their fear, he would be the first to show his fear.

After calming down, he bowed to Xu Wen and thanked him. He strode over and stood behind Dong Xiaochou, bowing and saying, "Wang Bolong, the wild man from Liaoyang Prefecture, pays homage to His Majesty."

Under the gaze of the generals and guards, he slowly reached out and pulled out the bamboo tube: "I met the Liao people in the wild who were delivering the message 800 miles in an emergency. I got this secret and dared not open it lightly, so I brought it here to present to Your Majesty."

Behind the central desk, Lu Bu calmly put aside the documents in his hand, looked at the figure who raised his hands to present the bamboo tube, and gestured to Su Yi beside him.

The much stronger young man walked over and took it from him.

"From Liaoyang Prefecture?"

Lu Bu watched Su Yi come over and put down the bamboo tube, but he didn't open it immediately: "How did you get to Nanjing Road? How did you rob and kill the Liao army's 800-mile rush?" Seeing that he was still kneeling, he said: "Stand up and answer."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Bolong stood up naturally, not caring whether what he did was in accordance with etiquette. Fortunately, everyone in the tent didn't care much about etiquette, and no one criticized him for doing so.

"...There are some reasons for this." Wang Bolong scratched his head. "My family also has some property in the Central Plains, but Liaoyang Prefecture has been in turmoil since a few years ago. My family is worried and dare not trust the people in Liaodong at that time, so I recruited some people from Nanjing Road and Zhongjing Road to go back for protection."

He looked up at Lu Bu and said, "Later, Gao Yongchang started a rebellion. All the wealthy families who were not from Bohai were harmed. My family was also affected. Fortunately, I have practiced martial arts for many years and had some self-protection ability at that time. That's why I was able to leave Liaoyang Prefecture in one piece."

"Then it's not easy for you to lead people to kill the Liao army's military envoy." Someone behind him interrupted: "How dare the people you recruited follow you to do such a beheading thing?"

Wang Bolong looked back and saw the speaker sitting in a wooden wheelchair with red eyes. He didn't know his name. He first saluted to show respect, then looked at the people around him with embarrassment, and simply confessed: "Back then, my family recruited desperate criminals in Nanjing Road and Zhongjing Road, and some cases were left here. Later, because of the Jin people's uprising, we hurriedly left and returned to Liaodong to protect our family. Although we left Liaodong because of the turmoil...but we are not cowards, so we are not afraid of those who intercepted and killed the Liao army."

Lu Bu raised his eyebrows, but before he could speak, Deng Fei's voice rang out again: "Desperado? Back then, a group of fierce bandits suddenly disappeared in Wuzhong Mountain, Jizhou..."

"It was someone in my family who did it." Wang Bolong nodded and admitted it. Then he looked at Deng Fei and said, "I wonder who this gentleman is and how he knows so much about this matter?"

The Fiery Eyed Suanni smiled calmly: "Maybe we were neighbors back then."

Wang Bolong scratched his head in confusion. Almost all of his neighbors had been harmed by the Bohai people under Gao Yongnian. Besides, this guy looked so good that he should have had an impression of him after meeting him.

There was also some realization in Lu Bu's eyes, and his expression became much calmer. He lowered his head to pick up the bamboo tube, checked that the sealing wax was intact, then unscrewed it, poured out the military information, and slowly unfolded it.

"Ha ha……"

With a chuckle, Lu Bu put down the military information in his hand and turned to Su Yi: "Show it to the generals. The Song army was defeated, and Yelu Dashi will return to Jizhou soon to provide assistance."

"Really? God bless you!"

"Finally, we can see the cowards in Yuyang City come out." Mi Xian and Yuan Lang laughed out loud immediately, and then the sounds of chuckling and discussion from the civil and military officials in the tent were heard.

Lu Bu waved his hand, and the noisy sound immediately died down. The figure who had stood up also took a few steps back and sat down.

Wang Bolong watched Dong the Clown walk to the tent. For a moment he didn't know where to stand. After hesitating for a while, he wanted to follow him and wait aside. Then he heard Lu Bu's voice.

"Wang Bolong, right? You have done a great job in delivering the letter, so you deserve a reward. I will give you money..."

Before he finished speaking, Wang Bolong suddenly shuddered, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together and interrupted loudly: "Your Majesty, I do not want any reward of gold, silver or other valuables."

"Ok?"

Lu Bu frowned. His words were interrupted. Although he was a little unhappy, he still looked at him curiously: "What do you want?"

"A mean person does not like money, he only likes power."

Wang Bolong's eyes were blazing and his voice was loud and clear: "I heard that your majesty values ​​military achievements the most. I have practiced martial arts since I was young and have read military books and strategies. I am willing to join the army to serve your majesty and fight for a future with the sword in my hand."

Lu Bu was amused: "You are quite direct."

"I can speak from the bottom of my heart. There is nothing wrong with that." Wang Bolong said calmly, kneeling on the ground, and then knocking his head on the ground: "I hope Your Majesty will give me a chance."

The generals in the tent also looked at him in surprise. Lu Bu stood up, laughed, and stared at him: "Good, I will give you this opportunity, but on the battlefield, swords and guns have no eyes..."

Wang Bolong was overjoyed, and he stood up and looked at the figure in the black robe in front of him: "If he died, it was because of my incompetence! Your Majesty, don't worry about it."

"interesting……"

Lu Bu raised his lips, nodded, and turned to look at Su Yi: "Find him some armor to wear, and have the officials of the Military and Political Department record his contribution in intercepting the letter."

He lowered his head and looked at Wang Bolong, who had a smile on his face: "If you can survive and make merit, you will be rewarded with merits. If not, these merits can also allow you to have a decent place to sleep."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to your expectations!" Wang Bolong clasped his hands together, then stood up. His eyes moved, and he said quickly, "I still have more than a thousand subordinates hiding near Xianghe in the south. I wonder if you can call them over?"

"Yes." Lu Bu waved his hand and said, "You still lead your people, but the army has its own rules." He glanced at him meaningfully and said, "Don't let them offend."

Wang Bolong understood what he meant and bowed with his fists clasped together: "If anyone is blind and breaks military discipline, I... no, I will personally send him off to atone for his sin."

Lu Bu nodded and gestured to the side: "Since you have made great contributions, you can stay in the tent and stand aside."

Wang Bolun's scar on his face turned red with excitement, and he walked over to stand next to Dong the Clown with his mouth wide open. His heart was so excited that he wanted to dance and cheer, but he could only clench his fists tightly to suppress himself.

Wang Zheng stood up after seeing Lü Bu finish his words and said, "Your Majesty, according to the intelligence intercepted by Wang Bolong, it will take several days for Yelu Dashi to return to Jizhou for support. You may as well notify the generals in front and have them prepare for the illusion of escape."

Lu Bu nodded, walked two steps to the feng shui map hanging nearby, and looked at it with his hands behind his back: "This is exactly what I was thinking..."

After a moment of contemplation, he said: "Tell the generals in front to deploy more scouts. Once they find the trace of the Liao army, they should retreat immediately to avoid being ambushed by Yelu Dashi's cavalry.

Return to me along the established route and tell the Khitans that we are here..."

He reached out and patted Shimen Town in the northeast of Jizhou: "Fight them!"

"Here!"

The civil and military officials in the tent bowed in response at the same time.

……

same day.

The clouds in the sky were blown forward by the wind, and several Saker Falcons were flying above.

The sounds of fighting had fallen silent in Xincang. The soil under the city wall was stained with a dark red color. The green grass was trampled to the ground. The city wall was full of potholes and scars. There was a figure swaying on the top of the city wall.

The armored Jurchen soldiers stripped the valuables from the corpses on the city wall, and then threw the naked bodies down the city.

There were wounded and groaning Liao soldiers begging for their lives, but they were still plundered and thrown off the city wall by the ruthless Jurchens. The series of screams ended abruptly with a dull crash.

The defender of Xincang City vowed to never surrender, but he only held out for a few hours before the brave Jurchen soldiers broke into the city. The defender's body was even hung above the city gate, swaying in the spring breeze.

Yes, yes...

The horse's hooves passed through the neat blue brick road of the city gate. Wanyan Loushi's majestic figure looked around on the horse, and Wulin Datai came towards him from the front, covered in blood.

"General Pingdong, the officials in the city surrendered at the county government office, saying that the resistance was the will of the city garrison commander and had nothing to do with him. He wanted to surrender to us."

"Hmph - that sounds nice." Wanyan Loushi snorted and then patted his horse's neck: "Alright, let's take what he said as the truth and allow him to surrender. Let him quickly calm the people in the city."

After a pause, he looked at him in surprise: "I heard that Wushu took the first place this time?"

Wulinda Taiyu also nodded with a strange look on his face: "It was Wuzhu, he entered the city first, and he was also the first one to enter the government office."

"This guy..." Wanyan Loushi frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Let the military and political department record his military achievements, and we'll talk about everything later."

He paused for a moment, then looked around: "Before, this garrison commander used words to delay for a day. Now that we have conquered it, I should report to His Majesty."

The fierce general covered in blood also nodded in agreement.

Soon, several war horses rushed out and ran towards the camp.

……

The sunlight shines on the green fields, extending all the way across several rivers and forests, and heading farther south as the terrain becomes gently undulating.

Tens of thousands of Liao troops are marching towards Jizhou.

On his warhorse, Yelu Dashi turned his tired gaze to the knights who were chasing him from behind, and uttered in a hoarse voice: "What do the Song people say?" (End of this chapter)