Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Birds were landing on the eaves. The bright and warm morning sun shone through the mottled leaves and onto the window sills. The warm wind blew in through the open window.

As the light penetrated deeper into the room, the tiny minister danced and flew in the light, and a powerful voice came out.

"Your Majesty, we have some clues about the grain route. It was leaked by Zhongjing Road, and the person has been arrested..."

"Let Zhongjing carry out the execution. I believe Gao Zhen will do a good job." Lu Bu waved his hand, took a sip of the sugar water cooled by the well, looked at Deng Fei sitting in the wooden wheelchair and smiled: "It seems that the Liao Dynasty still has loyal ministers."

"A great country that has been around for two hundred years will naturally have people willing to die for it." Deng Fei picked up the bowl on the table and looked at the sugar water swaying in it: "I went to that valley to take a look some time ago. Now that I see it again, I suddenly feel that things have changed and people have changed."

"Hmm?" Lu Bu raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment and understood, then shook his head: "I didn't expect you to be in such a good mood..."

After a pause, he suddenly smiled and said, "Since you like it, after you conquer Xijin Prefecture, I will give you that piece of mountain land."

The red eyes suddenly widened a lot, and Deng Fei scratched his hair in embarrassment: "I... that's not what I meant. Besides, I'm not asking you for a reward."

"Okay, it's settled." Lu Bu waved his hand and laughed loudly, "You and I met there, and it's interesting to reward you now."

Deng Fei heard this and knew that he had made up his mind. He could only smile helplessly and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

"Hahahaha——" Lu Bu laughed even louder.

There were footsteps outside, followed by a knock on the door, and Yu Cheng's voice came in: "Your Majesty, the Liao Kingdom has sent an envoy, and he is outside asking for an audience."

The laughter stopped abruptly, and Lu Bu looked over there: "Messenger? Let him wait first, you go and notify Wang Zheng, Zhang Lin, Lu Sili and others to come over."

"Here."

The voice outside responded, and then the footsteps of the person leaving faded away.

Deng Fei looked outside the door and stroked his beard: "I heard that the Liao people have a new emperor?"

"It's just a last-ditch struggle." Lu Bu lowered his eyes, looking at the decorations on the table with some difficulty. He gently stroked them with his hand and said softly, "The survival of a dynasty has never been continued by changing the emperor..."

After a pause, he thought about it and said, "There are still few people like Emperor Guangwu."

Deng Fei stopped stroking his beard, his expression a little subtle: "If he really is, we'll be in trouble. I don't want a rock to fall from the sky while we're fighting."

The two looked at each other, the air in the room became quiet for a few breaths, and then they burst into laughter at the same time, talking casually about what they had just collected.

Not long after, Yu Cheng came over and said that Wang Zheng and others were already waiting in the lobby in front, so Lu Bu and Deng Fei immediately went forward.

"Let the Liao envoy come over and listen to what he has to say."

Naturally, his personal soldiers rushed out to pass down his orders.

Inside the hall, Wang Zheng, Zhang Lin and Lu Sili stood up and met Lu Bu. They had already asked him what was the matter when they came, and they all had their own guesses about this.

Soon, several men with shaved heads and brocade robes came in. When they saw Lu Bu, they hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May the Eternal Heaven bless you."

"I don't believe in the immortal heaven." Lü Bu waved his hand behind the table, asking several people to stand up. He squinted at them and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it directly. Don't waste time on small talk."

The faces of the Khitans who followed in blushed for a moment, but the Liao envoy who was in the lead stood up with a normal expression and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." He reached out and took out a national letter from his bosom, and said in a sonorous and loud voice, "I am here to present the imperial letter to you, as entrusted by Emperor Tianxi.

Your Majesty has received the mandate of Heaven and your virtue is known throughout the world. Now, our Great Liao is willing to swear an oath on the Baishui River, face north and serve Qi, and regard Qi as a brother state and Liao as a younger brother state.

From this year on, the annual tribute of silver is 200,000 taels, silk is 300,000 pieces, northern pearls are 100 hu, and falcons are 10 pairs. A market will be set up in Yuguan to exchange what we have and what we need.

I humbly hope that the Holy Spirit will take your eyes and allow Liao to serve as a dog or a horse and show his loyalty in front of the tent, so that the Hu and Han people will be one family and the whole country will be submissive. "

Yu Cheng stepped forward, picked up the letter and placed it in front of Lu Bu's desk. Wang Zheng, Deng Fei and the other four people sitting below looked at each other, and then looked at the figure sitting in the first seat.

Lu Bu reached out and picked up the letter, flipped through it casually, and then threw it on the table.

Snapped--

The crisp sound reached everyone's ears. Wang Zheng, Zhang Lin and others smiled, while the faces of several Liao envoys standing below suddenly changed.

"I don't like to give up halfway now." Lu Bu's indifferent voice came down, sitting back and leaning against the back of the chair: "Your Liao Kingdom only has 20% or 30% of its territory left. Why should I allow you to still sleep soundly beside my bed?"

He stared at the green-faced Khitan envoys and said, "I wanted to chop off your heads and send them back, but I don't want to see your dirty blood spilled on your land. Go back and tell Yelu Chun to clean his neck. After I finish dealing with the affairs here, I will go south and take Yanyun into my grasp."

Looking at Yu Cheng, he said, "Drag him out and beat him out of the city with sticks."

The messenger's expression immediately changed: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, is there anything we can discuss... Uh!"

Several sturdy guards walked in led by Wei He. They stretched out their big hands holding palm-leaf fans, grabbed the collar of the messenger, and made the man stick out his tongue.

Then the guards dragged the envoys out one by one, "Your Majesty..." "Everything can be discussed..." Pleading cries continued to come from outside.

Zhang Lin stroked his beard and said, "It seems that the Yelu man is getting anxious and has even resorted to the means of collecting annual tribute."

Lu Bu narrowed his eyes and said, "I am not a wimp like his ancestors. Let alone our obvious advantage now, even if we are evenly matched, I will fight him to the end."

He slapped his hands on the armrests and stood up: "After fighting for so long, they still expect me to stop. I don't know what they are thinking."

"This should be the only solution." Wang Zheng saw the man leave and leaned back in his chair in a very unpresentable manner: "They have lost soldiers and generals one after another, so they can only pin their hopes on this matter."

Lu Sili twirled his beard and smiled: "Today I will cede five cities, tomorrow I will cede ten cities, and then I can sleep peacefully for one night. I got up and looked around, and the Qin army was here again."

Lu Bu laughed out loud: "If Qi really had the military strength of Qin, I would wake up laughing even in my sleep."

Several people smiled at each other, and Zhang Lin said: "As long as you give us some time, we can store up food and fodder, weapons, and train soldiers. With the help of the martial arts and strategies of the generals in the army, we will be able to achieve your majesty's wish."

"But Your Majesty, do you want to go south to Xijin Prefecture immediately or..."

Lu Bu glanced at the faces of several people, pondered for a moment, and made a decision: "As discussed before, we will advance step by step. Send another cavalry to Xijing to tell Du Fu not to worry. All the cities we have conquered are under my control. Don't let them surrender today and rebel again tomorrow."

Several people nodded, and then their eyes brightened. Not long after, several figures ran out of the gate of Yuyang City in a panic under the beating of soldiers holding sticks, looked at the city behind them and cried, then wiped their tears and returned south with sad faces.

On the same day, dozens of cavalrymen galloped out, leaving a thin trail of yellow smoke in the northwest direction.

……

The sky moves away to the south.

The city of Bianliang was still bustling with people, peddlers were shouting their wares, young girls and wives were walking on the streets, looking at the things they liked and bargaining with the sellers for lowered prices.

Young men and high-ranking officials dressed in luxurious attire walked together, fanning themselves with their newly bought folding fans. Occasionally, when they saw a beautiful lady, they would comment on her with shining eyes.

After the court session, the officials got into the carriage and drove all the way back home. They had a quick meal before going back home to catch up on some sleep.

In the afternoon, Gao Qiu opened his eyes, got out of bed, stretched, washed up, and walked into the backyard.

There was a pavilion standing among the exotic flowers and plants. Gao Qiu's wife was sitting there with a peaceful look on her face. She watched him coming but did not stand up. She just asked the servants to bring her some drinks with crushed ice.

"My dear, wake up. Come and have some cold drinks to cool off."

Gao Qiu smiled and came over and sat down: "Thank you, ma'am."

The woman pulled up her thin shirt, put down the book in her hand, turned to look at him and said, "I heard that the battle was lost at the front?"

"Huh?" Gao Qiu glanced at her and said, "Madam knows about this too? I thought you weren't interested in this."

"I'm not interested, but since so many people are talking about it, I'm bound to hear something."

The woman said casually, then hesitated and said, "The Liao people won't attack us, right?"

"Oh!" Gao Qiu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it. The Khitans in the north are busy with their own affairs and have no intention of attacking the south. Just relax."

"Oh..." The woman was relieved after hearing that, and then she said, "Then the defeat won't have any impact on you, right?"

"What impact? That's not right..." Gao Qiu shrugged first, then pondered for a moment: "Master Tong still relies on me. He has received letters in the past two days, asking me to persuade His Majesty to continue to send troops to the northern border."

"Does the gentleman agree?"

"Of course." Gao Qiu put down the ice drink and wiped his mouth: "The Grand Master is a knowledgeable and interesting person. He has given me enough. Why should I object?"

"I didn't see you take it home." The woman rolled her eyes.

"I didn't ask for money, but some land deeds. It will take some effort, but they will be delivered in a while. Madam, don't worry."

The couple chatted for a few words, then paused briefly to feel the cool breeze in the courtyard. The woman then leaned forward curiously and asked, "By the way, from what my husband said, Master Tong is going to fight again?"

"Yes." Gao Qiu called the maid over and poured himself some sweet water. "We have to fight. The Grand Tutor believes that this is the last chance to take back Yanyun. Although the emperor is angry that he lost the battle, he also believes that this opportunity should not be missed. He has ordered troops to be assembled and go north to support."

The woman frowned: "You won't let my husband take charge, will you?"

"No." Gao Qiu looked at her and shook his head: "Whoever goes to the Northern Frontier at this time will be the master's mortal enemy. Your husband is not crazy, why should I get involved in this mess?"

Perhaps seeing that the woman was curious today, Gao Qiu also talked about sex: "This time, a lot of imperial guards were sent out. His Majesty also ordered me to select generals to go north, and they will still be under the command of Master Tong. Master Tong also said that if this mission is successful, he will definitely remember this favor to Dalang and Erlang in the future."

"That's great." The woman said with a look of joy: "The Grand Tutor has always been a trusted confidant of the Emperor, and you are also a person who has been blessed by the Emperor. If Dalang and Erlang have your help, they will definitely have a bright future."

Gao Qiu laughed, and the couple talked excitedly about their two children for a while, and then went back to their own work.

Late that month.

The Song court once again assembled 100,000 imperial guards and conscripted a large number of Hebei civilians to transport food and fodder. Then, it sent the chief instructor of the 800,000 imperial guards, the commander of the Left Yiwei Imperial Guards, and the general who protected the emperor, Qiu Yue, as the main general, and the deputy instructor of the imperial guards, the commander of the Right Yiwei Imperial Guards, and the general of chariots and cavalry, Zhou Ang, as the deputy, together with the imperial Flying Dragon General Feng Mei and the Flying Tiger General Bi Sheng, to march north to Yanyun.

At the same time, Tong Guan made efforts from behind. Mei Zhan, the governor of Runan in Yingzhou, Wang Wende, the governor of Hongnong in Beijing, and Li Congji, the governor of Hanyang in Longxi, were all summoned and they sent troops to the north together.

……

Compared with the busy scene of Song State deploying troops, Xijin Prefecture, located in the center of Nanjing Road, was no less busy.

Ever since Yelu Dashi took over the city defense business, he had been urging Yelu Dezhong to recruit new soldiers. The constant coming and going of the cavalry made the former royal brother anxious and his mouth was covered with blisters. However, he still asked his four sons to cooperate with him and go to the nearby cities to recruit soldiers.

"Tsk, that guy Yelu Dashi keeps urging people to hurry him up. I wonder if everyone is so wary now. Who would be willing to enlist at this time?"

Yelu Zonglin squatted on the top of Liangxiang City, looking at the chaotic city below and curled his lips: "What can we do? Why doesn't he come? He only knows to urge father, and father only knows to urge us. Damn it, we don't have anyone who can urge them. Are we going to the cowshed to increase milk production?"

Snapped--

The calloused hand slapped him on the back of the head, causing him to fall forward and almost fall headfirst into the city.

"Ah! Hiss——" Yelu Zonglin covered the back of his head and turned around, looking at Yelu Zonglei with red eyes: "Third brother, what are you doing! Are you trying to kill someone?! Do you want to wait until I die so that you can become father's favorite son!"

Yelu Zonglei's face twitched, and he shook his numb palms: "You are so crazy, your father wants to beat you three times a day, when did you become the most favored one."

Yelu Zonglin didn't care: "My father loves me deeply and punishes me harshly. He beats me because he loves me. I'm not like you. Your grandmother doesn't love you and your uncle doesn't care about you."

Yelu Zonglei was amused and kicked him: "Stop talking nonsense, there are so many people."

"...less than a thousand." Speaking of business, the always unsuccessful Fourth Prince of the Yelu family no longer had any desire to play around: "It's been three days, and I've been watching these two people all morning. I don't think anyone here dares to respond to the call anymore."

"Hiss... Tsk!" Yelu Zonglei pinched his nose with a toothache: "I just came from my eldest brother and second brother's place. Like you, there are not many people there either."

The two brothers looked down with sad faces for a while. After a while, Yelu Zonglin said, "How about pulling all the young and strong men in the city into the army?"

"It's useless..." Yelu Zonglei shook his head and sighed: "Okay, you just watch here, I'll go and discuss it with my father." (End of this chapter)