Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The atmosphere in Wood Hall suddenly turned cold.

"The clowns are jumping out one by one."

Lu Bu stood up, clutching the urgent document in his hand, and with a "humph!", he threw it to Wang Zheng who was standing next to him.

This lazy fellow reacted quickly this time. He reached down and took the document, opened it and took a look. Then, with a thoughtful look on his face, he handed it to Fang Xuedu and looked at Lu Bu, who was pacing with his hands behind his back: "Your Majesty, this may be a good thing."

"Good news?" Lu Bu stopped and turned to look at him. "These Xi people rebelled in Jizhou, causing the loss of several counties. What good can come of this?"

"...It's not all bad." Wang Zheng thought for a moment and smiled. "The Xi people originally lived in Ji and You. If they had been secretly disobeying the king's orders because of their tribe, it would have been bad for the court. Now that they are so eager to leave, I think it's a blessing for us."

The figure walking quickly paused for a moment. Lu Bu stood there thinking, then closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath. The anger on his face subsided: "I lost my composure." He walked to the geomancy map and took a look. He slapped his palm on Danzhou and snorted coldly: "They are crazy. How can they act in Danzhou? Do they think they can hold out alone in this area?"

Fang Xuedu passed the document to Xiao Haili after reading it. Wang Zheng lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty has not been in the North for long. Most of the six tribes of the Xi people are distributed in Danzhou, Jizhou, and Jingzhou."

Then he knelt down and said, "This is my fault. I knew that it was the place where the six tribes of Xi people were. Xiao Gan evacuated from Changping, but I did not warn him. As a result, many places were lost and several colleagues died. I hope Your Majesty will punish me."

Several people in the hall passed the document around and looked at it, then looked up at the feng shui map.

Following Wang Zheng's words, Lü Bu's finger moved on the geomancy map, tapped on the map of Jingzhou, and uttered two words: "Zhang Jue..."

"Yes."

"You get up first." Lu Bu turned his head and glanced at Wang Zheng who was kneeling on the ground, with a thoughtful look on his face: "So, in the end, it was the Song people who were behind this."

He put his fingers together and flicked the feng shui map. A crisp sound of "snap" was heard. "I thought Xiao Gan was crazy. He dared to challenge our army alone, but after all, he still had a sword in the hands of others."

Xiao Haili stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, give me some soldiers and horses, and I will definitely crush this guy to death in Tanzhou."

Wang Zheng looked at him and was about to speak when he saw Lu Bu waving his hand and said, "No need. Everything should be done as planned."

The civil officials who wanted to make suggestions breathed a sigh of relief and stood there calmly.

"But we can't make a move to go to Datong at this moment." Lu Bu pondered for a moment and then said, "Let someone spread the word that I am short of food and grass, and let Han Shizhong and Wang De approach Danzhou.

He ordered Mi Xian and Yuan Lang to march towards Liangxiang, Shi Wengong, Hua Rong and Ma Ling to defend Hengyin, and Dong Xian and Zhao Li to advance to Xianghe.

The rest of the troops are ready to go, and when the troops from Pingzhou and the south approach, we will send troops to force them out of Jizhou."

"Here!"

Wang Zheng, Xiao Haili and others bowed and accepted the order.

A few days later, news came that just as Wang Zheng had said, the Xi people from Jingzhou and Jizhou raided the city gates and opened them. The Xi soldiers waiting outside entered the city and occupied it.

At the same time, Zhang Jue from Pingzhou issued a manifesto, claiming that he would rebel against Qi from that day on, and that Yanyun should have belonged to Song based on historical origins, and that he was willing to return to the Southern Dynasty together with the people of Yanyun.

For a time, the people in the north were complaining bitterly. The war that had just subsided for a while was about to break out again. However, most people in Zhuozhou and Yizhou had made up their minds at this time. They ran towards Qi State and were unwilling to stay in the military state occupied by the Song army, for fear that their houses and fields would be taken away by the soldiers.

The bustling crowd headed north, and the huge group of black-armored soldiers began to march eastward.

The sound of orderly footsteps came from the west of Miyun. Human figures spread forward and backward, spreading out one square after another, connecting into one piece at the end of the field of vision, slowly infecting the world wrapped in silver and white.

Trumpets sounded under the overcast sky, and groups of troops extended out in formation. The pupils of people looking over on the city wall shrank nervously.

"The Qi army has arrived. Immediately notify all city gates to be on guard."

Figures on the city wall ran and shouted, infantrymen holding shields moved forward amid the shouts, archers ran to the back with quivers on their backs and stood still, the arrows in the quivers colliding with each other and making a rattling sound.

The sound of the golden bell rang out from the city gate tower. The people in the city looked at the top of the city wall numbly, then resigned themselves to their fate and ran towards their homes.

At this time, the defender of Miyun was A'ru, a general under Xiao Gan. He was walking on the city wall holding a long-handled golden hammer, and two Xi people's deputy generals followed closely behind him.

"Xian Deng, Han, Wang...it's these guys again. Let me go down and fight them." He squinted his eyes and saw someone staring at the big flag flying in the distance with wide eyes. He suddenly reached out to grasp the hilt of the knife. The person who spoke was Brother Gao Liu, one of the two deputy generals.

"Don't act rashly." A'lu waved his hand. In the view outside the city wall, black armor was surging, and soldiers on war horses were walking on one side. The big flag with the word "Qi" gave people a huge sense of oppression: "Han Shizhong and Wang De are both generals of the Qi bandits. Now they appear here, it is impossible that they only have such a small number of troops. It is not a good idea for us to go into battle rashly. Besides, the elite troops in the army are not as good as before. Let's wait and see."

Looking down from the city wall, across the field, the war horses were circling in a circle, shaking their heads and snorting. Han Shizhong raised his head and looked at the outline of the city wall, then waved his hand. The horn sounded in the army, the formation turned and changed, the combat boots were stuck with snow, and the crystal black soil made them look a little dirty.

A moment later, Zhang Qi came on horseback and said, "General, how should we fight this time? We don't have many soldiers in our army. If we attack by force, I'm afraid we won't be able to succeed."

"How can we really fight? Your Majesty is just pretending that we can't continue..." Han Shizhong pulled the reins and swayed with his horse in front of the battle formation, with a thoughtful look on his face: "But we can't come here in vain, right? I'm not the kind of person who retreats when there are difficulties. It's meaningless to just pretend, and we can't make the Song people and these rebels feel nervous. Besides, who would have thought that we would dare to attack the city with so many people?"

On his warhorse, Han Shizhong suddenly raised his steel spear and said, "While it's still dark, let's hit them once!"

The messengers shouted loudly and ran through the formation. Under the dense clouds, the sky was filled with war clouds.

The sound of rumbling footsteps was heard, countless war horses stepped out, and the cavalry began to run following their respective generals. Wang De led his troops to continuously harass the defenders on the top of the city. The soldiers of the Xiandeng Camp wearing sophisticated armor began to run. Han Shizhong led his troops to launch a fierce attack on the west gate.

The vanguard soldiers who were good at siege warfare fought with the Xi soldiers on the city wall for more than an hour, and then retreated to rest. They managed to find out the strength of the troops in the city and the overall combat power of the enemy.

Then Tianguang went to the west. Gao Liuge persuaded Alu to lead the cavalry in the city out. Later, Zhang Qi led his troops to attract attention. Wang De led his troops back from the north gate to attack and cut off the elite cavalry of the Xi people, killing the other side. Fortunately, with the help of Alu in the city, the soldiers and horses suddenly rushed out and forced the Qi army outside the city to retreat. The top of the city shot arrows desperately without considering the gains and losses, and only then did the two people get safe. The two sides fought outside Miyun City until it was pitch dark, and then they stopped fighting and went back.

However, in terms of morale, the Xi people on the city were already at a disadvantage.

Han Shizhong and Wang De are not rigid people. From the perspective of this offensive, they are now in control and they have the final say on whether to attack the city or not and how to attack it.

Late at night, loud shouts of fighting suddenly rang out from the three gates of Miyun City, and the sound of gongs and trumpets made people panic.

The Xi soldiers and horses ran to the top of the city wall in panic, torches were hung from the top of the city wall, and the black-armored soldiers below immediately turned around and ran.

It was a dark night. A'ru and other generals, including Gao Liuge, were worried that there might be an ambush of Qi troops outside, so they did not dare to let their soldiers go out of the city to fight. However, the soldiers on the city wall had just gone down not long ago, and before they could return to the battalion commander, the sounds of horns and gongs came into their ears again. They ran to the top of the city wall again, and looking at the figure running into the darkness, A'ru, in a rage, shot a few arrows before retreating.

This tactic of tiring the enemy continued until before dawn, making all the soldiers defending the city physically and mentally exhausted, but they did not dare to fall asleep. What if the Qi army outside the city played a trick and really attacked, then everything would be over.

But within two or three days, the eyes of every Xi soldier in the city had darkened a lot. So they took advantage of the bright sky and the absence of Qi troops outside, opened the east gate of Miyun, and dozens of cavalrymen ran out.

A trail of horse hooves was left on the white snow. Across the world of ice and snow, on the eastern land, a place called Pingzhou was also organizing troops to march westward and northward.

Wanyan Chanchu rode on his warhorse, his body swaying with the horse. He glanced at the figure beside him, stroking his beard and with white air coming out of his mouth and nose. "Professor Wen, this time I'm pledging my life and property to the Song people. Do you think those people can defend the city?"

Tightening his cloak a little uncomfortably, Wen Huanzhang exhaled a breath of white air, and then spoke after watching the gas dissipate in the air: "Don't worry, the imperial court's soldiers may not be good at field battles, but they will have no problem defending a city."

He turned his head with a smile and said: "Even if you don't trust the court, you should trust me. I asked you to take a huge risk to rescue me from that deadly place, not to walk into another place to die."

Wanyan Chanchun thought about it and nodded: "That makes sense." Then he touched his head and said: "I'm always a little nervous. I don't know if I will be cheated by Zhang."

Wen Huanzhang smiled gently, "Relax, Zhang Jue is the former governor of Liaoxing Army for a reason, he has many capable soldiers under his command, plus the Jurchen soldiers you have won over, it will be no problem for us to hold out until the imperial court advances north to Pingzhou."

Wanyan Chanchun didn't say anything else, but just looked at the sky silently, his eyes following the Saker Falcon released by the army, and he was speechless for a long time.

……

The fourth year of Jianwu in Qi Dynasty and the last month of the sixth year of Xuanhe in Song Dynasty.

The cold winter wind blew on people's faces like a knife. Many of the imperial guards had red faces, and some had bloody cuts.

The previous war with the Liao army was over. With the demise of the Liao Kingdom, the huge stone of defeat in the hearts of these people seemed to have been removed.

Throughout the north, teams of troops wearing scarlet robes were gathering. Several generals from the Western Army gave loud speeches in front of the troops, and then led their troops along the official road to the northeast.

Most of the remaining troops began to enter the city in the north that was closest to Xijin Prefecture. Food, fodder, and equipment from Hedong in the rear were transported here like ants and bricks along with the endless stream of young and strong troops, and were delivered to the front-line troops in batches.

Just as the final battle for Yanyun was about to begin, news came from the rear that the rebels had been successfully suppressed.

Although they had only captured the outermost city of the rebel army in western Hebei, Tong Guan still ordered his men to publicize it widely, giving the impression that it was a great victory.

Perhaps this is what the military needs today.

"Taifu, this is a brilliant move. Although the army has now gotten rid of the shadow of defeat, some people in the army are still worried about their hometowns. Now that the bandit army has begun to lose, it will play a huge role in stabilizing people's hearts."

"That's nothing."

Tong Guan stroked his beard reservedly, but his expression was very pleased, and it was obvious that his staff's horses had touched his itch: "I have prepared a huge amount of rewards. As long as the soldiers in the front fight, I will naturally not treat them unfairly. I just hope they know what is good and who is leading them."

"Master, isn't it inappropriate to break up with Qi at this time?"

The sudden voice came from the left, causing Tong Guan's smile to freeze. He turned his head and saw Zhao Liangsi's sad face. He frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Liangsi stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "The Qi army is extremely powerful. I once followed them to the northern grasslands. It was truly an eye-opener. With the current strength of our army, I'm afraid..."

"There's nothing to worry about." Tong Guan waved his hand impatiently, "Don't say such discouraging words."

This Northern Expedition was a mixed blessing for Tong Guan. He was happy because he occupied part of the Yanyun area and there were voices of praise for him in the court, but he was also worried because of the two defeats. Although he spent money and whispered in the ear of the emperor to temporarily prevent the person in the palace from being dissatisfied with him, who knew when the emperor would lose his good mood.

Therefore, he is now particularly unwilling to listen to those unlucky words.

Dong Yun hurriedly stepped forward and said softly, "Don't worry, Prime Minister Zhao. In the past, Lu Bu was a bandit in Jingdong. He occupied Liangshan and became the king. He was defeated by the Grand Master in a battle. He is not that brave. Please rest assured."

Zhao Liangsi always moved around among the powerful officials in the court, so he didn't know much about that incident. He looked at Tong Guan in surprise and asked, "Really?"

Tong Guan's impatient expression froze for a moment, his eyes rolled, and then he nodded: "Yes, Ben Xiang did destroy Liangshan, and even burned it down in the end."

Zhao Liangsi's eyes widened.

Dong Yun took the opportunity to step forward and said, "Grandmaster, why don't we have someone spread the news among the troops at the front, so that the morale of the soldiers will be more stable."

Tong Guan thought about it and nodded: "Okay." (End of this chapter)