Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

A black army marched through the street, the sound of armor and swords colliding softly, a large banner with a black background and a red border and a golden dragon fluttering in the wind, and the large flag with the word "Lü" in the front fluttered in the wind, and the footsteps stopped.

Lu Bu was wearing a golden armor and a black fur cloak. He took a look at the vermilion palace gate in front of him, then looked at the civil and military officials who followed him. He stopped the guard who was about to go in to pass on the message, got off his horse, stood in place, and looked at the gate in front of him with interest: "Let's go in and see old acquaintances." Then he walked into the palace.

The civil and military officials behind him chuckled. Qiao Lie gestured to the back, and Shi Xiu understood and quickly pushed Deng Fei's wooden cart to catch up.

A large group of figures followed behind and walked into the mansion.

At this time, the noise of unrest in the city had decreased a lot, and the mansion was also controlled by Yelu Yudu's troops. The ugly monk guarding the front yard saw Lu Bu coming in and hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "I, the ugly monk, greet your majesty. The general was guarding the prisoner in the house. Please forgive me for not being able to bring him in time to welcome you. I will send someone to the house to notify the general to come over."

"No need." Lu Bu interrupted with a wave of his hand, and his tall and burly figure walked past the group of people who were saluting: "I will go in by myself."

"Here."

All the soldiers in the garden bowed their heads respectfully as they watched the important civil and military officials from the court walk by majestically.

The palace covers a large area. After walking a while inside, I could no longer hear the noise outside. Not long after walking further, I heard voices coming from the house in front.

"Madam, please stop hitting me. I am a man of honor. Later, that thief Lu..."

Snapped--

"What should you call me? Think about it first!"

"Ah! Hiss... Lu... No, if the Emperor Qi came and saw my face red and swollen, what would that mean?"

"It's better for you to lose face than for our whole family to lose their lives! You're talking nonsense right after I took out the cloth to gag you. If you dare to speak casually later, I'll tear your mouth apart."

"Hey! You unreasonable woman, how can you say that to me in front of others and my son!"

"Brother Dezhong, you can just pretend I'm not here."

"Dad, we didn't hear anything." x4
"Great! You're actually accusing me of being unreasonable. I've worked so hard to keep this family alive, and now you dare to yell at me!"

“Oh oh – ah – let go, let go quickly, you think your husband doesn’t dare to do anything, right?!”

"Dad, don't even mention that you were tied up. We've all seen you kneeling in the hall before. When did you dare to do anything?"

"If you don't speak, no one will treat you as a dead person!"

"How dare you yell at Shiro!"

"Oh oh oh--"

rustle……

Lu Bu stopped walking and listened to the words entering his ears. His face twisted, his lips tightly pursed, and the corners of his eyes curved slightly. After a while, he couldn't help it anymore, and he covered his mouth with a "puff" sound.

Qiao Lie and Deng Fei lowered their heads, the smiles on their faces almost extending to the back of their heads. The one sitting in the wooden wheelchair simply covered his mouth with the felt covering his legs, and a dull laugh came out.

The civil and military officials around also covered their mouths or tried to hold back their laughter, and none of them had the solemn look they had when they came in.

Lu Bu took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and forced down the urge to laugh in his heart. He glanced at Yu Cheng who was shrugging his shoulders to the side.

Yu Cheng took two deep breaths, and white air blew out from his mouth. A sound of "Hunchi" came out of his nose. He clenched his fist and hit his thigh hard, raising his voice: "Your Majesty is here--"

The noise in the house suddenly subsided, and a voice was faintly heard: "Don't press on me!"

Lu Bu rubbed his face to relax the muscles on his face, then walked in with everyone. A figure came out quickly from the door, clasped his fists and bowed.

"This humble general, Yelu Yudu, greets Your Majesty."

Lu Bu looked at him, stretched out his hand and waved: "Get up, no need to be polite.", and stepped on the ground with his boots with gold thread.

Turning my sight, I saw six figures of men and women kneeling in the hall, but the oldest one among them had four hands on his shoulders.

"The guilty daughter of the Xiao family pays respect to His Majesty the Emperor of Qi."

The woman's voice sounded calmly. Yelu's four sons and several women and children kneeling behind them were also kowtowing. Only Yelu Dezhong, who was tied with ropes in the middle, held his back straight.

Lu Bu looked at his face, with a smile in his eyes, and said teasingly: "Yelü Dezhong, why is your face red?"

"Hmph..." Yelu Dezhong turned his face slightly away. His face was red on both sides, and the shape of fingerprints could be clearly seen. He just said stubbornly: "I'm hot!"

All the civil and military officials of Qi State narrowed their eyes. Yelu Yudu turned his body to the back, his body shaking continuously.

call--

With his cloak lifted, Lu Bu sat down and looked at the dozen figures kneeling below him. "Old friends, please stand up." He looked at the four figures kneeling beside Yelu Dezhong and said, "After so many years, even you have descendants now."

On the right, Yelu Zonglin stood up and just as he straightened his chest, an arm wrapped around his neck and covered his mouth. Yelu Zongyun on the far left lowered his head and said, "I never thought that His Majesty still remembered us."

"Woooooooo..."

Lu Bu raised his eyebrows as he looked at Yelu Zongli who had his mouth covered, then glanced at Yelu Zongyun who bowed his head in a respectful manner. He was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to talk to the family in front of him.

"Stop making noise, it's disrespectful!"

Madam Xiao helped Yelu Dezhong up, turned around and scolded her son.

"This fellow has a foul mouth..." Yelu Zongdian, who was blocking his brother's mouth, smiled awkwardly and let go: "I am a sinner, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Yelu Zonglin turned around and spat a few times: "Pooh, pooh, pooh, you are the one who stinks!"

Madam Xiao glared at him, and the fourth brother quickly covered his mouth with his hands and took a step back.

Lu Bu opened his mouth, then closed it again, and smiled for a while: "I have seen prisoners begging for mercy, begging for death, and cursing, but people like you..." He thought for a long time and said: "It's quite rare."

Upon hearing this, Yelu Dezhong glared at his sons fiercely. Yelu Zongyun, Zongdian, and Zonglei lowered their heads in embarrassment, but Zonglin straightened his body and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind."

Who praised you?!

Lu Bu couldn't help but look at Yelu Zonglin. Yelu Dezhong and Madam Xiao beside him also smiled awkwardly and lowered their heads.

"Haha, I don't want to kill you guys anymore." Lü Bu didn't go down with a smile on his face. He stood up and said, "Well, enough people have died in this period of time. It's a pleasure to keep you here."

"Uh..." Yelu Dezhong raised his head suddenly, opened his mouth with an indignant look and was about to say something, but Madam Xiao beside him stepped on his instep.

"Um--"

Her angry expression suddenly turned into one of pain. She clenched her fists and leaned to one side. Madam Xiao rolled her feet twice and smiled at Lu Bu, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness." Lu Bu saw her little action and looked at Yelu Dezhong, whose face was purple, with some sympathy. After thinking for a while, he said, "Give up this palace."

Madam Xiao did not feel sad or aggrieved when she heard this, but instead breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes."

Lu Bu nodded and turned to leave when he heard a voice from behind: "Your Majesty, wait a minute."

The figure who was about to leave stopped and turned around.

What caught his eye was Yelu Zongdian's hand, which he could not reach. Yelu Zonglin, who was beside him, suddenly knelt on the ground and said under the surprised eyes of his father and brother: "I thank your majesty for sparing my life. I have no special skills, but I can use my martial arts. I wonder if I can serve your majesty like my uncle."

"Rebellious son! You actually... Woo!" Yelu Dezhong gritted his teeth and glared at Yelu Zonglin. Before he could say a few words, Madam Xiao quickly grabbed the rope on his chest, pulled it down, and covered it with her hand. The man rolled his eyes in anger.

The other three sons reacted at this time and quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, we have admired your martial arts for more than ten years. Now that Your Majesty has forgiven our lives and spared our lives, we are willing to serve as your vanguard to repay your kindness."

Deng Fei watched from his wooden wheelchair, thinking of the past. His pair of red eyes stared at the face of the person in front of him, with a look of emotion on his face.

"it is good."

Lu Bu smiled and did not refuse. He just glanced at the generals in front of him and thought for a while: "You guys deal with the current matters first. I will hold a court meeting in ten days. Then you four will decide what to do."

The four bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Bu waved his hand and walked out with everyone. The civil and military officials looked back at the house behind them and heard the loud shouting of the father and son in the house.

"Rebellious son, you are so spineless that you are going to piss me off to death!"

"Dad, it's already this late. It's better to live a miserable life than to die."

"That's right. We are not the first wave to surrender. It's not shameful to surrender now."

"Dad, surrender."

Someone chuckled. Qiao Lie thought for a moment and took two steps forward: "Your Majesty, this family may be pretending to be crazy and stupid to survive."

"It's okay." Lu Bu smiled and shook his head: "It makes people happy after all. Besides, this family can't cause any big trouble."

He turned his head and glanced at Qiao Lie: "Just keep an eye on them from now on."

The person behind him nodded.

……

The setting sun gradually turned into blood red in the sky.

The cavalry of Qi State left outside the city ran around, and the sounds of fighting on the field gradually calmed down. Xiao Haili looked down at the face wrapped in the felt, bent down and stretched out his fingers.

"Heh..." He grinned, and wisps of white air spurted out of his mouth: "Someone, carry this dead man up there."

He looked at the female soldier who was surrounded by a group of cavalrymen, with iron knives and spears pressing on her vital parts, and pointed at the dead body in the middle: "Take the woman's body with you as well."

"Here!"

A soldier responded and stepped forward, surrounded the area, carried the corpse out and placed it on his warhorse.

Xiao Haili looked at the remaining 200 female soldiers and waved his hand: "These women are in your hands. Let's go into the city."

The war horses galloped, and the roar rose into the sky with smoke and dust, leaving behind figures cheering loudly.

Not long after, the news of Emperor Yelu Chun's death spread in the city, and also circulated the rumor that the imperial concubine Xiao Xianpu had died on the battlefield.

In the winter of the fourth year of Jianwu in Qi, before the heavy snow came, the five capitals were unified.

……

Ruixue is a prosperous year.

The snowflakes falling from the sky piled up on the ground, covering the yellow dead grass and black soil underneath.

Tong Guan sat in front of the bronze tripod, the aroma of burning charcoal wafting into his nose, and he looked at the document in his hand in a daze.

The eunuchs and maids, both big and small, dared not make any noise and walked on tiptoe outside, fearing that any noise would attract the anger of the people in the house. Three blind idiots had been beaten to death in the past two days, and no one wanted to be the fourth.

Several figures walked in quickly from outside, looked at the familiar people, moved their eyes towards the house, waved one hand, and gave an embarrassed look in return.

The figure who walked in looked at the leader. The man gritted his teeth, turned around and took two steps, then gritted his teeth and walked back, stepped forward, clasped his fists, and said in a loud voice: "Prime Minister, I am Dang Shiying, who has come here on the orders of the government. Please open the door and see me."

The cold wind blew snowflakes onto his face. The commander of the imperial guards dared not move. After a while, he heard a voice from inside: "Come in."

Dang Shiying exhaled, asked the servants to stay outside, and opened the door himself. The warm breath made him shiver. He didn't dare to look at the eunuch sitting in the room. He stepped forward and clasped his fists: "Prime Minister, there are many places in Hebei Road that are rebelling. The emperor has ordered you to suppress the rebellion."

"Equal verdict? Not down..." Tong Guan was stunned and subconsciously said a few words to shut up.

Dang Shiying did not dare to raise his head, but just presented the document to him: "Yes, there are many unruly people in the two routes of Hebei. They do not pay taxes to support the Northern Expedition, but instead gather people to rebel." He paused: "Among them, the most serious are the bandit leaders Tian Hu and Gao Tuoshan."

Tong Guan stood up slowly, his eyes rolling around, stroking his short beard and walking around the room for a few steps, looking at him with an inexplicable expression: "Besides this...what else did the emperor say? Did he give me any instructions?"

"He only said that the old lady should take back Yanyun as soon as possible. The rest..." Dang Shiying glanced at him and said quickly, "There is no other words."

"Oh..." Tong Guan groaned for a moment, and suddenly he knew what was going on. He had issued a gag order before, and had people inform his cronies in the court. The previous defeat happened not long ago, so it was probably possible to keep it secret. However, mistakes were bound to occur over time, so it had to be resolved as soon as possible.

"I understand." Tong Guan smiled, feeling that all the worries of the past few days were gone. He waved his hand to send him away: "Okay, you go down first."

Dang Shiying responded and walked out quickly. Dang Shixiong saw his elder brother walking out and hurried forward. He was pulled to a secluded place: "Okay, let's find a place to rest quickly. When the old prime minister sends troops, we will return to Bianliang to report."

Dang Shixiong looked around and approached him hesitantly: "Brother, the old lady has just been defeated, this matter..."

"What's the matter? When did the old prime minister fail?" Dang Shiying looked at his brother without changing his expression: "Don't talk nonsense without any evidence."

Dang Shixiong reacted immediately and lowered his head quickly: "Brother is right."

"Okay, let's find a place to stay first." Dang Shiying exhaled, "By the way, tell the others to keep their mouths shut. If I hear any nonsense, watch out for their heads."

Several people nodded and followed him.

Inside the house, Tong Guan squinted his eyes and walked to the candlelight. He looked at the contents written on the document in the light and slapped the table: "Come here, call Liu Yanqing for me." (End of this chapter)