Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sky gradually darkened, and the troop movements that had been moving back and forth were gradually coming together.

The firelight, tearing through the darkness, enveloped the area outside the military camp. Countless crimson figures stood inside, hurling lit fire arrows at the outside world, the flames and black smoke winding their way into the sky.

Outside the tightly closed gate, corpses lay piled one on top of another, the ground a carpet of crimson dead bodies, interspersed with a few men in black armor. The flowing blood gathered into streams, slowly converging towards the low-lying areas.

Outside, cavalrymen dressed in scarlet uniforms and black armor with red headbands gathered, their faces bearing the unique weariness of a great battle.

In the past few days, Bian Xiang has been advancing slowly, and the enemy's long spears and crossbows have not given them any opportunities to take advantage of him. In particular, the cavalrymen in his army who belong to Pingzhou are mostly dragging their feet, which has greatly affected the cavalrymen who are bravely advancing.

After several fierce battles, even with capable warriors like Yang Keshi and Wanyan Chanchun leading the charge, the rest of the troops were simply unmanageable.

If an army cannot break through the enemy lines on the spot, and the enemy's large army comes up, the army that has penetrated too deep risks fighting alone.

They dared not lure the enemy too deep, fearing that their own comrades might take the bait and turn a luring campaign into a pursuit.

The entire military camp had nearly 20,000 men, who could only guard the camp and dared not stray too far from it.

Arrows whistled through the air, and someone swayed on their saddle, then fell off. The sounds of battle and shouts gradually faded away, and the sounds of hooves and footsteps receded into the distance.

Yang Keshi held the iron spear upside down, panting heavily. The cavalrymen around him were all covered in superficial wounds.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Outside the military camp, Yang Kesheng, who had set up the first line of defense, rode his warhorse slowly over. His face was covered in streaks of dust from sweat, and half an arrow was stuck in his shoulder armor, which he had obviously cut off with his knife after being hit by the arrow.

"It's nothing." The valiant general tightened his grip on the iron spear and turned to look at his brothers: "We didn't gain any merit in this battle, but many people died. What kind of command did Zhang Jue give! Why didn't he send the infantry in the camp to attack the enemy's formation!"

Yang Kesheng pursed his lips and clenched his fist tightly: "Zhang Jue said that the infantry in Pingzhou have suffered heavy losses in the past few days, and the various camps are not fully organized. If they are broken up and combined, they may not even have three-tenths of their previous fighting strength. They can only support us with bows and crossbows from within the camps."

"What's the point of fighting? The army camp can't grow legs and follow me around to provide support. How am I supposed to fight the Qi army with these less than two thousand cavalrymen under my command?!"

Yang Keshi's face suddenly flushed red: "What about the commander? Is he still holding firm and not coming out?"

Yang Kesheng lowered his head and shook it twice.

The general on horseback was speechless with frustration. His hands clenched tightly, and suddenly, as if all his strength had dissipated, he hunched over and let out a sigh: "Traitorous ministers have ruined the country..."

That night, scouts brought news that Qi reinforcements had arrived. The two brothers looked worried and could only order the battlefield to be cleaned up first, while they returned to the camp to discuss the matter with Zhang Jue.

……

Night falls.

A bronze incense burner burned in the central command tent, its warm aura spreading through the air. Rows of figures on both sides listened attentively to Bian Xiang's report with composed expressions.

"Your Majesty... Our army has fought several battles, large and small, with the Song army in the past few days. Apart from Qin Ming being seriously wounded and losing a cavalry unit due to his greed for merit, we have been in the upper hand in all other battles. However, the enemy's camp is indeed well-built and backed by Shicheng. I was unable to capture it in my haste. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

The generals present were somewhat moved. Wang De looked at Lü Bu, then at Bian Xiang: "Liu Yanqing on the other side is so powerful, how could he have guarded this place so well?"

"No." Bian Xiang said helplessly, "Shicheng has about 30,000 troops. In the past few days, our army has clashed with the troops outside the city several times without moving. At first, I did not know what Liu Yanqing's intention was. In the past two days, I guessed that the other party probably did not want to come out of the city to fight."

Looking at Lü Bu on the command post, he said, "As for the troops outside the city, the ones who went into battle these past two days were Wanyan Chanchun and a Song general named Yang Keshi. The one guarding the camp was Zhang Jue. I have not seen him take the initiative to attack; he has just been holed up in the camp to defend."

"Heh, it does remind me somewhat of my duel with him back in Song." Lü Bu chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the generals below: "I don't care what the others think, I will take Zhang Jue's head."

The tent fell silent. Lü Bu sat back and said, "Get a good rest tonight. We'll set off early tomorrow morning to attack their outer camp. Han Shizhong, Lin Chong, and Tang Bin, you three will lead the troops ahead."

The three generals rose and acknowledged the order. Yang Zaixing also rose and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, this humble general requests to fight and is willing to cut off Wanyan Chanchun's head and present it to you."

"Good!" Lu Bu laughed heartily, "Then I will wait to hear your good news, and make sure you don't let him escape."

"I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's expectations!" Yang Zaixing smiled and clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, not taking it to heart at all.

"Then I'll assist you from the side." Wang De chuckled, stroking his steel beard, and winked at Yang Zaixing.

With the agreement reached, the atmosphere in the tent became more relaxed. The topic of the troops in Shicheng was brought up again. Xu Wen said, "Although Liu Yanqing may be too cowardly to send troops out of the city to provide support, we should still take precautions."

"Then let Su Yi lead a thousand Left Guards tomorrow, and Bian Xiang, you should also send two thousand soldiers to ambush them nearby. Once Shicheng sends out troops, stop them for me. At that time, the Wolf Riders will crush them."

"Here!"

A figure stepped forward, clasped his hands tightly, and spoke, causing the large tent to tremble.

……

At the same time, to the south, in Xiangzhou.

The clouds that had been obscuring the area for several days finally dissipated. Tian Hu and his group of over a thousand people, far away in Xiangzhou, were walking along the mountain path when they stopped in the northeast of Tangyin at nightfall.

The campfire burned, its black smoke barely visible in the night. Most of the people around were dressed in furs, warming themselves by the fire. Few people ventured into such desolate mountains at this time of year. Tian Hu and Tian Biao were gathered together, looking down at a simple map of Xiangzhou's terrain that they had previously collected. Of course, some places were not clearly marked, and there were many omissions.

“If we go down from here, we’ll go through Mushan and into Weizhou, then into Cangshan and we’ll be safe. If the Song army catches up with us, we’ll continue into the Taihang Mountains. We’ll just disappear into the mountains and I don’t believe anyone will be able to find us.”

"Then we should seize more food first."

Tian Biao turned to look at the henchmen behind him, who were wrapped in several fur coats and warming themselves by the fire: "More than half of the people have already left Luozhou. If there are even fewer people..." He smiled bitterly and turned to look at Tian Hu: "Brother, we should have just run away ourselves in the first place."

Tian Hu put away the geomantic map, exhaled a puff of white breath, looked at the deep night sky, and clenched his fist to slap his thigh: "Good, as long as the government troops don't catch up, we should rob a few more villages in the next few days, and then we can go into the mountains to recruit soldiers and start another uprising."

"It's good that you haven't lost your edge, brother." Tian Biao chuckled, a hint of joy on his face. "However, I've heard that there are many heroes in the Taihang Mountains. Brother, why don't we shake off our pursuers and head straight there?"

Tian Hu thought for a moment and shook his head: "It would be better to gather a team and go there first. The Taihang Mountains are vast and there are many powerful forces there. If we brothers want to gain a foothold in those mountains, it is not something that these people can do now."

Then he slowly reached out and clenched his fist: "Once everyone's had enough, I'll take this Taihang Mountain in my hands."

Tian Biao nodded vigorously beside him.

……

From the day the troops were dispatched, news of the Song army's defeat in its two-pronged attack on Liangxiang gradually spread, causing quite a stir in the north.

In early December, Xiao Haili dispatched 4,000 cavalrymen from the garrison of Xijin Prefecture, with Huyan Zhuo and Dong Ping as generals, to support the Qi army in the south. He ordered all troops to continue their southward attack in retaliation for the Song people's breach of the treaty and northward advance.

In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, news of the Qi army's southward advance spread to Zhuozhou. The eunuch in charge of supervising the army immediately abandoned the garrison and fled the city, causing many generals in the city who knew the situation to feel uneasy. Qiu Yue, who had returned to the city, considered withdrawing his troops.

On the other side, Hua Rong and his men broke through several Song army outposts and fought their way through. A small number of Imperial Guards from Hebei deserted, but Qiu Yue killed a hundred of them to stop the desertion.

Soon after, the Qi army besieged the city and set up camp, and none of the Song soldiers inside dared to venture out. ...

The azure sky had not yet dissipated as the sun rose, and birds flew over the wilderness and woods at dawn, looking down at the piles of extinguished campfires below.

Tian Hu got up from the felt, lifted the several fur coats covering him, and shivered. He then hurriedly told his men to get some firewood to start a fire and cook some hot soup for breakfast.

"Brother, another twenty-seven people have frozen to death," Tian Biao said quietly to his elder brother as he walked over.

"Tell the men to put away their fur coats." Tian Hu said nonchalantly, flicking the sleep from his eyes. "It's better if they're dead; it'll save us food."

Tian Biao smiled bitterly as he watched his henchmen light a fire and boil water, adding all sorts of grains, flour, dried meat, and other miscellaneous items. Apart from the two pots of food being cooked, the others could only sit around the fire, drinking cold water and stuffing their mouths with some dry rations they had found from who-knows-where.

After a short while, the leaders had eaten and drunk their fill, and Tian Hu patted his belly contentedly: "Let's go, Tangyin is close by here, there must be a village there, let's go find it."

One of the henchmen, with a knife tucked into his pocket, ran out quickly.

……

woo-

A long blast of the bugle sounded from the military camp outside Stone City, and figures gathered, officers facing each other, followed by waves of soldiers inspecting their weapons.

Outside the central command tent, Yang Keshi stood in the open space watching the soldiers come and go. A cold wind blew past from the side, causing the cloak he was wearing to flutter. After pondering for a while, he turned around and went into the tent.

"Pacification Commissioner"

Yang Keshi stepped into the tent and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the figure inside: "Now that the main force of the Qi army has arrived, we are afraid that we will not be able to support this camp on our own. I hope you can send a message to the commander and ask him to bring troops to support us."

Zhang Jue looked up at him from his seat and said, "I have already sent out messengers to deliver the message. Whether the commander-in-chief sends troops or not is up to him. I have urged him many times. Do you think you can command the commander-in-chief?"

"...This humble general dares not!" Yang Keshi's facial muscles twitched, suppressing his anger and making his voice sound calm: "But Zhang Xuanfu, you are also in this military camp. If something were to happen to you, you would probably be the one in the most danger."

Zhang Jue suddenly stood up and pointed at you: "You..."

"This humble general still needs to command the troops, so I'll head out first!" Yang Keshi put down his hand, turned around, flicked his cloak, and with a "whoosh" of the cloth, stepped out.

bang——

Zhang Jue slammed his fist on the table angrily: "You scoundrel!"

Outside, Yang Keshi stepped out of the main tent and spat on the ground. Looking at his neatly dressed brothers in front of him, he asked, "Second Brother, are the soldiers all ready?"

"Brother, rest assured." Yang Kesheng cupped his hands in greeting, paused slightly, and gestured towards the main tent: "What did Governor Zhang say?"

Yang Keshi turned around, a sneer on his lips: "Incompetent fool."

He strode to his mount, stepped into the stirrups, mounted, and yanked the reins: "Go!"

……

"Damn Song people..." On the other side of the military camp, Wanyan Chanchun looked at the flags fluttering in the sky, a bitter taste in his mouth, and glanced towards the direction of Shicheng: "Pah! A bunch of donkey dung!"

……

Boom boom boom——

At the edge of heaven and earth, a black line moved steadily forward. In the vast army formation, black and red banners and scrolls fluttered, countless footsteps created a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and the earth, and a forest of cold weapons stood, occasionally reflecting the figures in armor beside them. The aura of clashing swords and iron horses filled the air.

The messenger cavalry galloped back and forth, relaying military orders and reporting on the situation in all directions within the army.

Lu Bu was talking to the generals beside him, occasionally issuing orders, and cavalrymen kept setting off from beside him to various formations.

When the returning cavalryman arrived, he was talking to Xu Wen: "This time, the Left Guard will be the second force, and Wang Bolong, Shangguan Yi, Han Chang, and others will be under your command..."

The rider arrived and stopped his horse: "Your Majesty, the Song army is beginning to leave their camp. Judging from their banners, they are Wanyan Chanchun and Yang Keshi."

"It seems the Song army is still exactly the same as it was a few days ago..."

"Now that our troops have arrived, we should be even more careful. Why are we still acting as before?"

"Could it be that Shicheng has decided to send troops this time?"

Various thoughts swirled in Lü Bu's mind, but one thing was certain: he didn't want to send the two battalions of soldiers that had come out back.

"Could it be that they're trying to lull us into a false sense of security?" Xu Wen asked, a hint of doubt on his face.

Yu Cheng tilted his head: "Your Majesty, should we inform Su Yi and tell him to be more careful?"

"Better safe than sorry. Regardless of whether there have been any changes on Liu Yanqing's side, order the troops to be on high alert." As Lu Bu spoke, his gaze turned to the cavalry.

The horse galloped away.

……

On horseback, Yang Keshi gently stroked the horse's mane, glancing at the tense-looking Wanyan Chanchun out of the corner of his eye: "General Wanyan, I've rarely seen you so flustered."

"Enough nonsense..." Beside him, Wanyan Chanchun's forehead was slightly sweaty, his eyes fixed on the black line that appeared in the distance: "This time we've been tricked to death by you Song people. How was I supposed to know that you couldn't even unify your generals and came to this northern land?"

"..." Yang Keshi opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

"I'm asking you..."

"what?"

Wanyan Chanchun looked at him and said, "Your Song army fights like this, how did you manage to occupy half of the country?"

"...Who said that?" Yang Keshi defended himself: "Our Great Song Dynasty has countless people who are skilled in both literature and martial arts. How could you, a barbarian, possibly imagine that?"

The two men's eyes met, and the Jurchen general's face fell: "Then why don't you send some of your best warriors? Sending an idiot to hold down the fort in Shicheng, are you trying to kill me?"

Turning his head to look at the battle flag with the character "齐" (Qi) that was gradually becoming visible, he said, "This time, we've really been killed by you all."

The black battle formation halted in the distance. (End of Chapter)