Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Candles were lit in the room, casting a dim yellow light on the four people inside, and the accessories adorning their black lambskin coats gleamed.

Zhai Liang and Zhai Cong, the two young men, exchanged a glance without saying a word, their eager eyes fixed on Zhai Xing, who was standing there.

The oldest man in the room fell silent for a moment, then glanced at the three people in the room who were related to him by blood: "The last military order was for us to defend the city to the death..."

His tone softened slightly, and Zhai Cong couldn't help but stand up: "But Father, defending the city is a dead end. The Ever Victorious Army of Yi County is what we will suffer."

Zhai Xing's gaze swept over his son's face, and Zhai Cong quickly lowered his head, saying, "I was too excited," before sitting down.

Zhai Jin glanced at his nephew before speaking: "Brother, Cong'er is right. With less than four thousand soldiers in the city, we will surely die if we stay here."

He paused for a moment, then saw his elder brother looking over: "However, the fate of Yongqing's garrison is also clear. If they cannot return quickly, they may be in danger of being wiped out in an instant."

In the dim light, Zhai Liang, whose light was blocked by his cousin's figure, looked up at his father, his lips twitched, but he ultimately lowered his head and remained silent.

“Let’s go down the Liu Li River and head straight back to Xiongzhou.” Zhai Xing and his younger brother said, “Our cavalry is not strong. If we take a long detour, we will be easily pursued by the Qi cavalry. At that time, we will inevitably repeat the mistakes of the Yongqing garrison.”

She stood up: "Why don't we leave tonight?"

“That’s good, that’s what I thought too.” Zhai Jin wasn’t one to procrastinate, and upon hearing this, he stood up: “Liang’er, go quickly and have the garrison assemble, abandon unnecessary supplies, and leave tonight.”

"Yes." Zhai Liang stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned around, and strode out.

Now that the decision has been made, whether as a son or a general, one must obey the order.

"Cong'er." Zhai Jin turned to his nephew: "Go and prepare more dummies to stand on the city wall to confuse the enemy."

Zhai Cong clasped his hands in a fist salute and turned to leave.

"We're still quite a distance from our Great Song Dynasty." Zhai Jin walked to the side, picked up his sword, and looked at his brother: "If we hurry, we might be able to return before the Qi army."

"Assemble the elite forces." Zhai Xing patted his shoulder with a stern face: "Don't take any chances, or we might get caught up."

"I understand." Zhai Jin nodded, and then the two of them quickly went out.

The night was not yet deep, and thick dark clouds obscured the moon in the sky. Torches were lit throughout the city, and the sounds of people shouting and horses neighing echoed through the streets, while the chaotic sound of footsteps reverberated across half the sky.

Those who were still awake quickly found heavy objects in their houses to block their doors. Men with sticks held them in front of their chests, protecting their wives and children behind them. The sound of banging on the doors could be heard from near and far.

The four members of the Zhai family, having finished donning their armor and fastening their cloaks, had no time to worry about whether any soldiers in the city were taking the opportunity to cause trouble. They shouted, "Hurry up!" urging their elite troops to assemble. On one hand, they sent the supervisory team into the city to summon the soldiers, and on the other hand, they dispatched more than twenty riders as scouts to explore ahead.

In no time at all, the troops had assembled. The four generals hurriedly led their army from the south gate into the dark wilderness. The sound of footsteps came from the city gate. Zhai Jin reined in his horse and turned to look back.

"What is Father looking at?" Zhai Liang asked as he saw him stop, and quickly rode over.

"...Nothing much." In the flickering firelight, a puff of white breath escaped from Zhai's mouth: "But what's the point of wasting the nation's strength like this in the end?"

Zhai Liang's lips moved, followed by a sigh.

Zhai Jin glanced at his son, then reached out and punched him on the shoulder: "Why are you sighing at such a young age? You've aged quite a bit." He then flicked the reins: "Let's go."

Zhai Liang quickly followed behind him, the running scarlet figure gradually disappearing into the darkness, the scattered fire points gradually becoming invisible.

The night was dark, and several wolf howls echoed through the night, sometimes near, sometimes far, one after another.

……

To the east, a cavalry force of three thousand was trotting forward, their horses galloping lightly, making their way through the night, with torches held aloft in the winding, dragon-like formation.

Tonight, it was pitch black. The warhorses and soldiers relied on the torches in their hands for light and dared not advance at full speed. They had to stop occasionally. The two large banners were unfurled from time to time by the night wind, and the two large characters "Yang" and "Wang" appeared and disappeared in the firelight. The two generals huddled together and whispered to each other.

"This time, the wolf cavalrymen were well-fed. They didn't kill many of the four thousand Yongqing garrison soldiers, but captured more than half of them."

"This credit should be shared by the entire army... At the very least, it should lead to the emergence of a few officers and doctors in the army, right?" Yang Zaixing stroked the short beard that had grown on his chin and tilted his head.

"Almost there." Wang De nodded, his body rising and falling slightly with the movement of his warhorse: "The Wolf Cavalry are elite troops, mostly soldiers of the third or even fourth rank, and some of them are of the rank of Grand Doctor, but they are all veterans. Tsk—I envy them."

Yang Zaixing chuckled: "Sooner or later, all the soldiers in our army will be promoted and given higher ranks."

Wang De stretched and shook his head on horseback: "I don't ask for much, I'll be satisfied if I can keep an army without fighting."

“Then my master would be at a loss.” Yang Zaixing shook his head jokingly, then said with a hint of longing, “But what Uncle Wang said is true, to have soldiers in an army with titles…” He turned to look at the cavalry running around, “is a great honor to speak of.”

The night grew darker as the two chatted, and the torches around them were blown to one side by the wind, and when they slowed down, they swayed backward due to the speed of the horses.

In the darkness, the shadowy cavalrymen gradually approached the distant city. The scouts who had been scouting ahead rode back at full speed, slowing their pace as they neared the central army: "Reporting to the two generals, the new city is just ahead. There are quite a few soldiers guarding the city walls. Please make a decision."

Wang De and Yang Zaixing exchanged a glance. Yang Zaixing tightened the reins and said, "It seems the army in Xincheng knows they are next. General Wang, our master told us to cooperate with the troops in Yi County to capture the city. Perhaps we should guard their south side to prevent them from breaking through."

"Very good."

Wang De had no objection. Both of them had cavalry under their command, and having traveled dozens or even hundreds of miles without siege equipment, they naturally wouldn't be so foolish as to attack.

After the two finished their discussion, they decided that Lü Fang would lead 300 men to guard the east gate, while Wang De's troops would send 300 men to the west, and the rest would run to the south to wait.

In the pitch-black night, only a few lights could be seen on the distant new city, and figures could be vaguely seen standing in the cold wind. Only then did the two men lead their troops a little further away, find a sheltered place, arrange for people to stand guard at night, and allow the remaining troops to rest.

The night was long, and gradually the east began to lighten with the first hint of dawn. The sound of hooves startled the cavalrymen wrapped in felt, and they jumped to their feet, picked up their spears, and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the approaching riders were their own.

Guided by the directions, the cavalryman ran to his general, dismounted, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "General, I went to scout this morning and found no one on the city wall."

"Huh? What did you say?" Wang De was startled and quickly stepped forward: "What do you mean there's no one here?"

Yang Zaixing's young face showed a mixture of emotions, and he had a vague sense of unease in his heart.

"The walls of the city are full of dummies." The scout didn't mince words and simply stated what he had seen: "They're on all four sides of the city walls."

Wang De and Yang Zaixing exchanged a silent glance, then shouted, "Mount up!"

woo-

The guards beside him took out their horns and blew them. Instantly, the surroundings stirred. The cavalrymen who heard the horn jumped up, lifting their blankets. In the distance came the shouts of the captains and military commanders: "Assemble!"

In a short while, the 2,400 riders resting there mounted their horses, and a booming shout of "Go!" rang out. "Giddy up—"

"Aha--"

The reins twitched, and with a light kick to the horse's belly, the warhorse began to run, its hooves pounding the earth as it galloped toward the distant city.

Upon reaching the city gate, both men clenched their fists and stared at the human figures on the city wall. A soldier stepped forward and shouted, "The Song army inside the city has fled! Why aren't you opening the city gates yet!"

After shouting several times, Wang De and Yang Zaixing grew impatient. The former pointed to the city wall and said, "Go find someone who can climb up and let me see what's going on!"

Dozens of cavalrymen, confident in their ability to climb, rushed out. Before they could find a suitable spot to climb, the city gate creaked open. Several constables cautiously peeked out, and a sharp-eyed black-armored cavalryman pointed and shouted, "Hey! What are you doing!"

Several heads suddenly shrank back, but one brave one looked outside, took a breath, and called out, "Sir, we've opened the door. Please come in this way."

"He's quite clever."

Wang De said something, and with a wave of his hand, hundreds of cavalrymen rushed over, opened the city gate wide, and then ran inside. After a short while, someone came out and shouted, "General, it's safe!"

"Let's go!" Wang De, carrying a long-handled broadsword, followed by the expressionless Yang Zaixing, led the cavalry into the city at high speed.

The two generals dismounted and, surrounded by hundreds of personal guards, ran up the city wall. Rows of straw and paper figures came into view. A group of people took a few steps forward, picked up a dummy, and examined it closely. Yang Zaixing angrily threw the dummy to the ground: "Damn it! We've been tricked!"

“We’ve been tricked.” Wang De laughed heartily, stepped forward and patted Yang Zaixing on the shoulder: “All’s fair in war. You and I have no one to blame but ourselves for being fooled and suffering losses. Kid, it’s better to be tricked now than to be tricked later.”

Yang Zaixing remained silent with a gloomy face.

Wang De turned and instructed: "Send someone to inform His Majesty of the situation here, and at the same time inform the generals in the direction of Yi County that there are no enemy troops here, and ask them to move south and capture Rongcheng."

A guard quickly descended from the city wall, and soon a fast horse galloped out.

Yang Zaixing watched the figure running out of the city from the city wall, and then let out a sigh of relief: "...What a disgrace."

"Alright." Wang De patted his shoulder, a smile on his ugly face: "Didn't I get tricked just like everyone else? Just remember this lesson."

Seeing Yang Zaixing's sullen appearance, he kicked him in the butt: "Don't look so regretful. Use this time to go to the city and appease the people."

Yang Zaixing nodded, then walked away, leaning on the hilt of his sword. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at Wang De with a puzzled expression: "I'm going to appease the people, what are you doing, Uncle Wang?"

"This humble one?" Wang De touched his nose, chuckled, and puffed out his chest: "Of course, I'll change the king's flag on the city wall."

Yang Zaixing opened his mouth, turned around and headed down the city wall, muttering to himself, "Always finding excuses to shirk his responsibilities."

A few days later, Lü Bu in the east received the news. He wrote a letter to Wang De and Yang Zaixing, reprimanding them for their carelessness in letting the Song army escape and punishing them by suspending their salaries for half a year. He also ordered Mi Sheng and Shi Wengong not to go south to meet him, and ordered Hua Rong to take Rongcheng and wait for further orders.

At the end of January, Hua Rong, Ma Ling, Yuan Lang, and Dong Ping led their troops to capture Rongcheng. Their army was running out of food supplies. Li Ying, from the rear, scraped together supplies and sent caravans of provisions to the border, while also informing Lü Bu of the food shortage.

Helpless, Lü Bu ordered Mi Sheng to return to Zhuozhou to garrison, Bian Xiang to enter Xincheng, Shi Wengong to guard Gu'an, Ma Ling to stay in Rongcheng, and the rest of the troops to return to Xijin Prefecture.

Thus, the former Nanjing Road of the Liao Kingdom was annexed by the Qi Kingdom.

……

A cold wind blew through the streets of Bianliang. Officials and young masters dressed in luxurious fur coats walked briskly along the streets. The usual bustling crowds were less, but there were still many more people strolling around than in other places. It was bustling and prosperous.

Hundreds of warhorses galloped into the capital region. Tong Guan, wearing a fur cloak, slowed his horse down and looked around at the familiar scenery, only then did his unease subside.

Once inside the city, he sent his guards back to their residence on horseback while he himself hurried to the palace. After reporting his arrival, he made his way to the warm pavilion.

I stood at the door for a few moments, took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open and went in.

A warm breeze wafted over him. Tong Guan took off his cloak and handed it to the eunuch beside him. Walking on the warm wooden planks, he turned around a screen and saw Zhao Ji, whose expression seemed unchanged, sitting behind a table, holding a book of poems and reciting them with a swaying head. Every now and then, he would raise his hand to pick up a wine cup and take a couple of sips.

Tong Guan felt somewhat relieved and quickly stepped forward, bowing deeply: "Your subject, Tong Guan, greets Your Excellency..."

boom--

A sharp pain shot through Tong Guan's head as he was struck on the top of his head. He screamed "Ah!" and collapsed to the ground, clutching his head.

Gollum-

A jade wine cup rolled on the wooden board and came to a stop.

"Tong Guan, Tong Daofu!" An angry voice rang out from the other side. Tong Guan jumped up and knelt down respectfully.

"You bastard, what a mess you've made!"

"My lord is guilty!"

Ignoring the pain from his wound, Tong Guan immediately kowtowed to the ground, his buttocks sticking up high.

Snapped--

Emperor Huizong angrily threw the poetry collection on the table, stepped out of the table, and kicked Tong Guan in the shoulder. The eunuch staggered and quickly straightened up and knelt down.

"During our two Northern Expeditions, you provided us with both provisions and funds, and this is the result you give me now?"

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, while Tong Guan kept his head down, not daring to utter a sound.

"Speak up! Are you mute?"

Tong Guan raised his head, looked at the dragon boots that had stopped in front of him, and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Your subject..."

Zhao Ji raised his leg and kicked him: "Who told you to speak!"

Tong Guan was in pain from the kick and quickly shut up.

"Tell me, what should we do this time? Huh? The Qi Kingdom has occupied the entire territory of the Liao Kingdom, and now it's pressing down on us. What do you expect me to do?"

Zhao Ji slapped the back of his right hand against the palm of his left hand, then spread his hands and said, "What should we do!"

Tong Guan looked up, his lips moving. (End of Chapter)