Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The wind howled across the wilderness, and the howling of wild beasts at night rose one after another.

Bonfires flickered and burned in the camp.

The air was filled with the smell of blood and the aroma of medicinal medicine. From the wounded camp, wailing and groaning could be heard from time to time. Occasionally, a corpse was carried out by soldiers with sad expressions and placed on a carriage beside to be transported away.

Figures in khaki clothes and armor sat in a circle in the wilderness. Under the firelight, everyone looked listless. Some had numb expressions, while even more were depressed and gloomy. Many were wiping away tears. They were the soldiers who had not found their fathers, brothers, relatives and friends.

A force of 150,000 to 160,000 soldiers surrounded the 80,000 Qi army, but they were defeated in one battle. The battle was so intense that many soldiers who had been encouraged by the defeat of the Song army before the war lost confidence. Now, only about 40,000 defeated soldiers were gathered, less than half of the number before the war.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves came closer from afar. They entered the military camp and dismounted. The leading general was covered in blood, his armor was torn, and there was an oblique wound on his exposed chest. The wound, which was covered with medicine, broke from time to time due to movement, and oozing warm red blood. He held the long-handled bone flower in his hand upside down, and walked with some difficulty.

Many soldiers around him looked at him numbly, then lowered their heads and remained silent.

The general frowned slightly, handed the bone flower in his hand to the guard beside him, pulled the reins and walked inside, looking at the familiar generals: "Where are Dashi Lin Ya and the Four Army Grand Master? Are they back safely?"

"It's General A'lu." The general clasped his fists and said, "Lin Ya and the Grand Tutor have returned safely. They are now resting. The largest military camp in the south is where the Grand Tutor is."

A'lu nodded palely, thanked him and left, walking straight towards Xiao Gan's tent. To the south were all Xi soldiers and horses, but the original army of nearly 40,000 had now been sharply reduced in number, with only 40% of them left.

After talking to the guards at the door for a few words, A-Lu then lifted the door curtain and clasped his fists: "Master, I'm back."

A few drops of blood were spilled, leaving strange marks on the ground.

Xiao Gan was sitting in the tent. When he saw him come in, he was delighted: "Alu, you're back. Come and sit down."

The burly general bowed his head in thanks and walked over to sit down. Xiao Gan saw that he was injured and frowned: "Someone, bring some clean water and medicine in to bandage A-Lu properly."

A personal soldier responded and walked in. Xiao Gan looked at his seated confidant and said directly, "How many cavalrymen have returned? Where are the eight jins of men in Room B?"

"I am incompetent. I failed to bring everyone with me when we were defeated. After we were out of pursuit, I only gathered... 3,700 people." A Lu lowered his head and was silent for a while, then spoke in a muffled voice: "When we left the battlefield, the Qi bandits pursued us very closely, and the cavalry under my command lost their will to fight. Later, Yishi Bajin and I were separated by the Qi bandits. I don't know where he is, but I think he is still alive."

"...I hope so." Xiao Gan said in a low voice. Not only were they uncle and nephew, Yishi Bajin was also a good general in the army. Naturally, he didn't want anything to happen to him.

"...less than four thousand people." Xiao Gan murmured again, closed his eyes, leaned back, and remained silent for a long time without moving.

Inside the military tent, a bloodstained wet towel was thrown into the basin, and a faint red color was blurred in the clear water. The sound of the white towel being wrapped around it rustled, and a strong smell of medicine lingered in the nose. Xiao Gan opened his eyes and said, "Go back to the military tent and have a good rest. Tomorrow morning, get up at three o'clock and set out at four o'clock. We will retreat to Wuqing."

"Yes."

A-Lu responded instinctively, then blinked his eyes in hindsight and said, "Grandmaster, Yuyang is no longer defendable?"

"Defend..." Xiao Gan uttered a word, and then lowered his voice: "Let Yelu Dashi defend it himself. We Xi people have worked for the Liao Kingdom for more than a hundred years. Since the Khitan people are not doing their best, we can't die with them, right?"

"That...this..."

A-Lu realized something, and his eyes were a little flustered for a moment. He looked at Xiao Gan with his mouth open and didn't know how to speak, and suddenly remembered something: "What about the eight pounds in Room B?"

"Although I am his uncle, I am also the king of the six tribes of Xi people." Xiao Gan hesitated and shook his head: "We have just been defeated today, Yelu Dashi will not pay too much attention to us for the time being. We can get away while we are still some distance away from Yuyang. If it is too late, I am afraid that he will drag us to defend Jizhou together, which will be fatal."

With red eyes, he looked at his generals: "Once we are in the city, if the Qi army mobilizes its troops to attack fiercely, relying on the defeated Khitan soldiers, I am afraid that we will all die in Yuyang. By that time-"

bang——

He slammed his hand down on the table: "Even if Xiren is finished, I will never allow it."

A-Lu thought about it, and pinched his thigh hard: "I understand, I am willing to go with the Grand Master."

Xiao Gan nodded and watched the guards bandage him. He waved his hand for him to retreat and rest, and called the rest of the guards to go outside to see if his nephew would return. Then he prayed to Changshengtian and rested.

The night is getting darker.

……

Under the same starlight.

Pharmacist Guo looked up at the starry sky. The night wind blew his hair, and the thin black hair was not obvious at night.

The soldiers of the resentful army were resting around them. Since they retreated from the front battlefield, the army had retreated nearly forty miles. He was also cautious and did not dare to retreat with Yelu Dashi. Instead, he led his army to break out to the northwest and happened to meet Zhao Heshou who was leading the cavalry.

The troops from both sides joined together, and the soldiers under his command were all celebrating their escape.

"What is the commander-in-chief thinking?"

Zhen Wuchen came over with a naan in his hand. He took off his helmet and looked a little tired. He turned around and looked at Zhao Heshou, Liu Shunren and others who were coming over. "We brothers are together again. You should be happy."

Upon hearing this, Pharmacist Guo stared at him twice, snatched the naan from him, and took a bite: "I'm so happy, damn it!"

The three generals were startled when they heard this. Pharmacist Guo suddenly stood up and pointed at Zhao Heshou: "Why did you retreat from the battlefield first?"

The smiling face froze and turned ugly. Just as he opened his mouth to argue, he heard Guo Yaoshi speak like a machine gun: "Those Khitans don't trust us, the resentful army from Liaodong. If you leave first, it will confirm the matter! Even if you retreat, you shouldn't be the first. Now, believe it or not, Yelu Dashi will definitely put all the responsibility on us when he pursues the responsibility later."

"...Uh." Zhao Heshou's face suddenly turned awkward, and hesitantly said, "Well, I didn't think too much about it for a while because I saw the central army's banner fell down."

"I didn't think much about it..." Pharmacist Guo snorted coldly, biting the hard naan with his sharp teeth and taking a big bite. "You didn't think about it and just pushed all of us into the pit. This situation can't be solved by beating people with sticks. It's likely that we'll have to hand over a few heads to satisfy them."

Several generals scratched their heads, looked at each other, and sat down cross-legged: "What should we do?"

Pharmacist Guo frowned and said nothing. The three men over there were gloomy. They were good at fighting, but they were not good at coming up with ideas. After thinking for a long time, Liu Shunren's head hurt: "If you ask me, we should just retreat to Xijin Prefecture and stay away from Yelu Dashi. With more than 10,000 troops, I don't believe the court will make things difficult for us."

"Bullshit! Go back to Xijin Prefecture..." Zhen Wuchen glanced at him and said, "Yelü Dashi can kill us with just one letter. I think we should retreat to Xijing."

Liu Shunren straightened his neck and asked: "Where will the food and grass come from?"

"Just rob them." Zhao Heshou couldn't help but say, "Can a living person be suffocated to death? There are so many villages along Nanjing Road. If we rob them along the way, we might even become wealthy."

The three were talking animatedly. Pharmacist Guo was eating naan and didn't bother to pay attention. Hearing Zhao Heshou's arrogant words, he felt unhappy. He raised his head and glanced at the three people: "Don't even think about Xijing. I heard that the Qi army's detachment went all the way to Datong Prefecture. Some surrendered and some rebelled on the way. It's almost like we have to attack Xijing and invite the Qi army in."

"What should I do then..."

The three generals sat down with their backs slumped and their bodies hunched. Zhao Heshou snorted twice, "We can't go to Qi, can we?"

"No." Pharmacist Guo shook his head. "Let's not talk about the fact that the imperial court has not done anything to us. This is not morally tenable. Besides, we won't achieve any merit if we go there, and we won't be given any official title. On the contrary, they may even deprive us of all our troops."

The three of them opened their mouths, closed them again, and nodded sullenly. "...But the way we talked about going to Xijin Prefecture is one way." Pharmacist Guo was silent for a while, then spoke thoughtfully: "The court is short of troops. If we go back, it will at least comfort His Majesty and the court officials, so that they won't be so worried. It may be the best way."

He bit off a piece of the cake viciously and chewed it: "Who knows, the ministers in the court may even try to win us over to help defend this half of Nanjing."

The three of them blinked and straightened up again.

"...So it's settled then? Going to Xijin Mansion... seems like a good option indeed."

"I listen to the commander."

"... Stop talking nonsense, this cake is too dry, water, water——"

……

The night was deep and the Qi army camp fell silent. The patrolling soldiers with lit torches walked with their heads held high. The firelight cast their shadows on the tents and the ground.

Outside the central army tent, flames were burning in a copper basin. The bright lights cut human shadows on the cloth, and voices could be heard.

"…Today, the cavalry suffered a total of 717 casualties on the three sides, and 323 of them recovered and were able to go to the battlefield. The infantry suffered more casualties, with each unit losing 10% to 20%. Fortunately, the Xianzhen Camp fought hard and attracted most of the troops over, otherwise there would be more casualties.

There were more than 18,300 prisoners, most of whom were infantrymen, and there were 1,700 horses that could still be used in the battlefield. The swords, spears and flags did not indicate the exact number.

Zhang Lin put down the battle report in his hand, looked at Lu Bu wrapped in a white scarf and took a breath: "However, after this battle, the Liao army no longer has an advantage. Your Majesty has broken their backbone."

Sitting in his seat, Lu Bu felt the pain from his wound and grinned uncomfortably: "I am already in this state. If I haven't broken his spine yet, then all the blood would have been shed in vain."

"Your Majesty is still so impulsive. If it weren't for Xu Wen and Wang Yin, the wound would have been much worse, and the warhorse might have been killed by the Liao army's arrows."

Deng Fei stared with a pair of red eyes, reached out to grab the wine glass and took a sip.

Lu Bu did not deny it and laughed: "I rushed forward just because I saw that Xu Wen had a shield. Facts have proved that this is right. Once the big banner falls, he spread his hands and said: "The Liao dogs will all scatter."

Deng Fei said in a rather unpleasant tone: "I think your Majesty got angry and forgot his responsibilities for a moment."

The first figure blushed and waved his hand: "How can such a thing happen? I have been marching and fighting for many years..." After a pause, he quickly changed the subject: "How is the investigation of the grain road going?"

Deng Fei didn't hold on to it anymore after hearing this, and said, "Qiao Lie has already sent someone, but it will take some time to verify and send back the information. We have to wait for some time."

Lu Bu heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, his expression unchanged: "Just pay more attention to this matter."

After a pause, he said, "Investigate the movements of the Liao army and see how many people have returned from Yuyang.

Also, send a message to the navy, telling them to try their best to find the river and cut off the reinforcements. If there are any deserters, bring them back to me."

"Here!"

……

The sky is bright.

After tossing and turning, Yelu Dashi, who had just fallen asleep late at night, opened his eyes, ran to release the fluid deposited in his body, returned to bed, closed his eyes for a while, suddenly opened them, stood up and sighed.

can not fall asleep.

After putting on his clothes and boots, Yelu Dashi opened the tent curtain and walked out. The early morning wind was a little chilly, which made him feel much more energetic.

The guards outside saw him coming out and hurried to greet him: "General, why are you up?"

"Nothing..." Yelu Dashi forced a bitter smile: "I couldn't sleep, so I came out to see what was going on in the army."

The two guards looked at each other and spoke in a low voice: "It's not very good. Many wounded soldiers can't get treatment, and the morale of the others is not high..."

Another person continued: "In the past two hours, we have dealt with many crying soldiers. I heard that there are still deserters outside..."

Having said this, they pursed their lips and lowered their heads.

Yelu Dashi stood there silently for a while, waved his hand, and walked out without saying anything. The two bodyguards quickly turned around and followed him.

The night was quiet, with occasional snoring and groaning sounds coming from places where the medicinal fragrance was stronger.

Yelu Dashi stood with his hands behind his back, looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky, exhaled for a long while, and mechanically walked forward for a distance. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a noisy sound from one side of the military camp, followed by the mixed sounds of horse hooves and footsteps.

"What's going on over there?"

Yelu Dashi's expression changed, his eyes stared into the distance, and he raised his hand to point in that direction.

"Are there any soldiers?"

"The Qi thieves are attacking?"

"The Qi thieves are attacking!"

The sound of shouting came from a nearby tent. Yelu Dashi's face turned even darker and he quickly raised his voice: "I am Yelu Dashi. There is no sneak attack from the Qi bandits. You can go to sleep peacefully."

The loud voice shouted three times in a row before it suppressed the chaotic noise.

Yelu Dashi heard the noise in the nearby tent calm down and took a deep breath. He immediately asked his personal soldiers to find out what happened.

By the time the personal soldiers ran over there, the camp where the Xi people were originally stationed was already empty. He immediately ran back with a grim face and told Yelu Dashi the news.

"Xiao Gan ran away?!"

Yelu Dashi was shocked and angry: "Damn it! Tell Xiao Telie to lead the cavalry to chase after him and capture Xiao Gan."

The personal soldiers hurried to pass on the message. Yelu Dashi stood in the darkness with a dark face, listening to the sound of galloping horses leaving the camp. Then he shook his hand heavily and walked back to the tent.

The sky soon brightened and the monotonous sound of horse hooves returned. Xiao Telie walked into the tent wearing mottled armor and shook his head at Yelu Dashi who was looking at him.

A sigh came from the coach's position.

On that day, the Liao army hurriedly retreated to Yuyang. The Qi army left some soldiers to guard the prisoners, and the total 70,000 troops pressed towards Yuyang again. (End of this chapter)