Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sunlight was hidden behind the clouds, but the city gates remained open, and the banners representing the Song Dynasty still fluttered on the city walls.

The sound of wheels rolling on the streets of the city could be heard, and pedestrians moved aside after shouts of "Get out of the way!" and "Don't block the way!"

More than twenty carts filled with wooden crates sped out of the city gate, pulled by mules and horses. Behind them, a number of people in official robes followed one of the carts, smiling and talking to the middle-aged man in brocade robes at the front.

"Just send it here."

Outside the city gate of Daming Prefecture, Liang Shijie stopped and turned around, his face showing barely suppressed joy: "My colleagues, you can see me off here. It would be inappropriate to go any further, so as not to delay your official business."

"Prefect Liang is too kind. This time I am being transferred to Jingnan, which is a long way away. I hope you will not forget me."

"Yes, Jiangling is a wonderful place, with beautiful mountains and rivers that nurture people. If Prefect Liang is summoned there, I will certainly go to accompany him."

"Not bad, not bad, the young lady from Jiangling is also... *sob*..."

Amidst the scrambling to flatter, just as someone opened their mouth, the curtain of the carriage in front was suddenly flung open, and the person was caught with their mouth covered. Their colleagues quickly pushed them to the back, and they fell to the ground with a cry of "Ouch!"

"Prefect, don't listen to his nonsense. This man has a problem."

The official in the same group pointed to his head. Liang Shijie forced a smile, glanced at the carriage behind him, and bowed, saying, "Alright, the journey is long and arduous. We are all serving the court, and we will meet again someday. I, Liang, will take my leave here."

"The smoke and dust of the northern capital are far away, the stars are high in the southern sky, Prefect Liang, take care."

Someone called for the people behind to bring forward the wooden tray. Liang Shijie drank three cups of wine and watched as officials presented sandalwood boxes, ancient books, and scrolls of calligraphy and painting. Servants and subordinates piled them into the carriage. Only then did he turn around, get into the carriage, and drive away amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd.

The wheel axle creaked as Liang Shijie plopped down in the carriage. Madam Cai glared at him and asked, "How is the young lady from Jiangling?"

"Oh, my dear wife, you're joking. You know I'm not good at this kind of thing," Liang Shijie said with a smile, carefully trying to appease his wife.

"Hmph—who doesn't know that all men are the same?" Madam Cai rolled her eyes at him again, casually picked up the books piled in the carriage, the two small seal characters of the Book of Han were written in a very elegant style, and with a casual flip, several large-denomination banknotes fell out.

The woman reached out and picked it up to look at it, then pursed her lips and said, "These things aren't worth anything anymore, and you're still giving them away? You have no thought for me."

He shook the book by the spine, and a few more gold leaves fell out. He smiled with satisfaction: "Not too stupid."

Then they opened the scrolls of calligraphy and painting and the sandalwood box, which were filled with gold and silver items, pearls and jade. The sight of the dazzling array of items made the entire carriage seem three times richer.

“That’s right.” Madam Cai smiled happily. “I knew my husband had been in Beijing for so long and had done so many good deeds, how could no one remember your kindness? It seems that not everyone is an ingrate.”

Liang Shijie stroked his beard, smiled, and remained silent.

He heard Madam Cai say, "You should thank my elder brother properly later. If it weren't for him speaking up for the Emperor Emeritus, you wouldn't be able to leave this quagmire."

"That's what the lady said."

Liang Shijie's face stiffened slightly, then he put on a smile again. Cai Jing had passed away a couple of years ago when he reached the age of majority. He originally did not want to follow the path of her family, so he only sought out officials in the court with whom he had connections. However, he had not yet figured out what was going on with his side when this woman secretly found Cai You and sent him all the way to Jiangling.

But it's all good. I was worried that abandoning the city and fleeing would make the Emperor and the Emperor Emeritus resentful. Now that Du Yun has taken over the job of guarding Daming Prefecture, and Zong Ze has become the Pacification Commissioner of the East and West Circuits of Hebei, fully responsible for resisting the invasion of Qi.

It's a good thing I got out of this quagmire, but to still be pinned down by this woman...

Liang Shijie looked at Madam Cai thoughtfully. This woman was well-maintained and her figure was still in good shape. He blinked and thought to himself, "Anyway, I'm not the one who's tired tonight. I'll just blow out the lights, darken the room, and keep her entertained for a few rounds."

He lowered his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

But the women of Jiangling... should get to know them better.

The carriages and horses traveled south, raising a trail of dust.

……

Boom boom boom——

Horse hooves and boots kicked up clouds of dust on the plains, and black lines rolled down in a fan shape, engulfing the land and cities belonging to the Zhao Song state. The red Song flag was stained black, and the golden five-clawed dragon flag of the Qi state fluttered over the cities where black smoke was rising.

In the middle of summer, Niu Gao and Li Bao launched a fierce attack. Quan Bangyan, the governor of Jizhou, led 3,000 troops to ambush Niu Gao's army in the fields. However, the plan was foiled, and in one battle, more than half of the troops were lost. The governor's capital, Xindu, was captured by Niu Gao. At the same time, Zaoqiang was captured by Li Bao.

Quan Bangyan led his remaining 800 troops to retreat to Enzhou. With no one to stop them, Niu Gao and Li Bao sent troops to attack the outside.

Yang Zaixing, along with Han Shizhong and He Zhongbao, seized Jiangling City from Yongjing Army in the east. Lü Bu then ordered his troops to march into the neighboring Enzhou, while sending Wanyan Loushi's troops to provide support. He also urged the firearms battalion behind to catch up quickly before leading his troops to continue their advance.

In late summer, Enzhou Liting was captured by Han Shizhong and Yang Zaixing after two days of defense. The three generals then joined forces with Wanyan Loushi, who had arrived at the scene, and prepared to cross the river to attack Wucheng.

Chen Cui, who was promoted to Prefect of Enzhou and Commander-in-Chief of all armies, and concurrently served as the Military Commander of Daming Prefecture, joined forces with Quan Bangyan, who had retreated to Enzhou, to lead an army of 5,000 to Qinghe.

At the same time, Li Bao ordered the navy to assist Niu Gao in crossing the river and entering Enzhou.

In late summer, Chen Cui and Quan Bangyan's armies met Yang Zaixing and his four generals at Wucheng. Yang Zaixing and Wanyan Loushi took the lead and broke through the combined forces of Chen and Quan. Five thousand Song soldiers were broken through in a single encounter. Helpless, the two could only lead their remaining thousand-plus soldiers to retreat into Daming Prefecture. Subsequently, Wucheng was captured by Han Shizhong and He Zhongbao with their infantry.

Meanwhile, in Qinghe to the west, Niu Gao, Li Bao and other generals crossed the river and attacked. In just two or three hours, the city, which was short of soldiers and generals, decided to surrender. The flags on the city walls changed instantly, and under Niu Gao's supervision, the soldiers and generals in the city handed over their weapons.

At this point, Daming Prefecture opened its arms to the Qi army to the north.

At the same time, Zhen Ding Prefecture to the west also opened its arms. Generals such as Wang Bolong, Zhao Li, Dong Xian, and Jing Chao attacked urgently. Although several military prefectures west of An Su Army resisted, they all collapsed at the first touch, and most of the generals knelt down and surrendered after the battle.

Zhao Li, Dong Xian, and Jing Chao were all from Song territory, and the surrendered generals had little resistance to them. These four simply incorporated the surrendered troops into their army, and they were even more enthusiastic about attacking cities and capturing strongholds than their original soldiers, which amazed Wang Bolong, a Han Chinese from the north.

The scorching sunlight hung high overhead, and the dry air and rising dust filled their nostrils. The soldiers in black clothes looked up to wipe away their sweat and continued on their way.

The central military banner swayed gently in the early autumn breeze, and a fast horse galloped in to deliver the intelligence that had been relayed back.

"...The progress ahead is so smooth it doesn't feel like a war at all." Lü Bu patted the battle report in his hand and casually handed it to Wang Zheng, who was following behind him. "It's going much better than in Liao."

"May Heaven bless our Great Qi."

The lazy youth perked up, his eyes shining as he flipped through the military intelligence in his hand: "The Song Dynasty only has Daming Prefecture here now. If we attack it, the capital region will have no shield, and we can take it at will."

Lu Bu patted Red Hare's neck, listening to the sound of the army's footsteps as they marched: "Order the generals at the front, including Niu Gao and Han Shizhong, to calm down and not rush to attack Daming Prefecture. First, take Linqing, Xiajin, and Qingping for me."

He turned to look at the banners behind him: "This time, I will also proceed step by step, openly and brazenly charging forward, and see how he responds."

He tapped his finger on the saddle, his tiger-like eyes narrowing slightly: "There should be quite a few garrisons in Guantao and Weixian. The Song army will likely use these two cities as protective strongholds for Daming Prefecture. If I were the Song emperor, I would also send reinforcements from the surrounding prefectures..."

Wang Zheng didn't speak, but simply nodded in agreement.

"...Heh, I can now understand Cao Cao's feelings when he heard that the Qiang people had come to his aid."

Then, with a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Order the entire army to accelerate." (End of Chapter)