Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sounds of fierce and brutal fighting gathered that afternoon, spreading throughout the city.

As the defending Song soldiers, the city walls on three sides were under heavy attack, and a large number of soldiers were injured. Young men were accidentally killed on the spot while transporting the wounded. Afterwards, some people were forced to step forward, lift people up, and put them on gurneys and stretchers to be transported to the wounded and sick camp for treatment.

Most of the wounded soldiers sent here were no longer able to fight in a short time. Many of them were asked which commander they were under the command of the moment they were carried in. When they heard a familiar name, they asked their relatives. When they received the answer, they were often ashen-faced, lying there silently shedding tears, occasionally choking back sobs.

"Medic, medic, hurry, a big one is coming."

The roaring sound came from outside. The middle-aged man who was bandaging the injured person quickly wrapped the arm and hurried outside.

Some of the curious and active ones slowly got down and followed behind.

The courtyard of the restaurant, which had been temporarily converted into a clinic, was already full of wounded people lying on the ground. Outside, people were being helped off gurneys, and thick blood dripped from the edge of the gurney onto the ground, soon forming a small pool of blood.

Several men with injured arms approached the less seriously injured: "Brother, what's going on up ahead? You wait... you've been hurt enough."

"Don't mention it..."

The man with the injured leg leaned back, supporting himself on the ground. The man with the sling quickly helped him back a little. Seeing the men with broken legs and arms groaning on the ground, he sighed softly.

The man clutched his wound, wincing in pain: "After General Li went to rest, two more fierce Qi soldiers came. The brothers didn't know the danger and went forward, only to be brutally killed. The commander didn't even last three blows before he died. The corpses on the city wall are almost piled up over the battlements."

"You still have the mind to joke around, so your injuries must not be too serious." The wounded soldiers exchanged glances, sat down on the ground, listened to the wails around them, and looked up at the dim light of the sky: "I wonder when the Qi army will retreat. Are they going to fight a night battle?"

"The places for treating the wounded are all full. If we continue fighting, we're afraid morale will drop."

"It's quite impressive that they've held on this long," someone interjected, then looked at the newly delivered supplies: "How have they managed to hold out on the city walls for so long?"

The man adjusted his posture and watched as an old soldier approached carrying a white-clothed medicine box: "The Grand Chancellor took out money, real gold and silver. Which brother wouldn't be envious? I went up there hoping to kill someone and make a few coins, but..."

The medic stepped forward, lifted the leg, and with a whoosh, tore open the trouser leg to begin treating the wound.

One of the wounded slapped his thigh and sighed, "If they hadn't taken it out earlier, I would have stabbed another one. What a loss..."

"If I stab one person, wouldn't it be reasonable for me to ask for 20% of the reward?"

"Alright, this didn't happen when we were on the city wall. No matter how virtuous the Prime Minister is, he wouldn't care about this."

"You think this is a good thing?" The old soldier bandaging the wounded couldn't help but sneer as he listened to their lively discussion.

Everyone around him looked at him: "Our military pay has been almost entirely withheld. Why not risk our lives for some reward money?"

The old soldier glanced at him, tilted his head, and gestured for him to look at the wounded soldiers filling the courtyard: "If you want the reward, you have to survive first. Look at these hundreds of wounded around here, how many of them will survive? Reward money? More like money to buy your life."

As they were talking, a doctor stood up and said, "Carry this one away. His injuries are too severe; he's already passed away."

A group of people turned to look in that direction, and a soldier raised his hand, grabbed the head, and carried out a man who had lost his right arm.

"Let me teach you a lesson!"

The old soldier deftly applied the medicine to the patient, then half-squatted up and said, "Following a capable and honest official is not as good as following a cowardly general. At least we can survive this wretched life."

"Hey, what's wrong with you!" A hot-tempered man stood up abruptly, pointed at the old soldier's nose, and cursed, "When the Grand Chancellor came to Daming Prefecture, he investigated and found out how many blood-sucking parasites he had. We owe all our good days to him!"

The old soldier merely sneered, offering no rebuttal, and stood up, his back hunched, to go to the next lightly wounded soldier.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

The man who stood up persisted, but was grabbed by the leg by one of his companions: "Save your energy. Look at his age. He's been in the army for many times longer than us, so naturally he has different ideas."

The man glanced down and squatted down: "I think what he said is wrong. At least Commander Li and Commander Li are capable of fighting, and they haven't drunk much blood from soldiers."

"In such a large prefecture as Daming, with dozens or even hundreds of generals, there are only two or three..."

The soft murmur silenced everyone present for a moment, then they sighed, each feeling it was pointless, and fell silent.

As dawn broke in the west, dusk descended, and the sounds of battle that could reach the city fell silent. The booming of cannons and the pounding of stones also ceased.

"Finally, they've withdrawn..."

Li Cheng plopped down in front of the ruins of the city gate. After a day of attack, only three walls remained of the city gate tower, with half of the gate open. Inside were two-story buildings and rubble from the collapsed roof, showing no trace of its former glory.

A soldier came over and handed him a water bag. The man picked it up and gulped down half of it. He took off his helmet and poured the other half over his head. Blood splattered down his chin and onto the ground. He wiped his face and shook the water off his hands. "Count out the fallen brothers and send them to the government office. Please ask the magistrate to allocate the compensation money as soon as possible."

"Yes."

The guards obeyed and left. Li Cheng sat for a while, then stood up, leaning on his sword. He looked at the nicked sword and tossed it aside.

Dang clang——

The iron knife bounced off the bluestone bricks and fell back down. Li Cheng strode down the city wall.

Below the city, the houses near the west city wall were all hit by the whirlwind cannons, and the broken walls and ruins came into view. The current military commander of Daming Prefecture frowned, and then hurriedly went to the wounded soldiers' camp. After today's battle, not everyone was injured, but at least half of them were in the wounded soldiers' camp in the city. He had to go and see them.

The stench of blood lingered in the air. Li Shixiong shook his arms and led his personal guards along the deserted streets, feeling as if he could hear hysterical shouts of killing.

"General." A guard behind him approached when no one was around and said, "I didn't tell you earlier because of the time constraints. The losses on both the east and west sides are not small. In my opinion, at least half of Li's troops are gone. Generals Chen and Quan are in similar situations. They are struggling to hold on."

Li Shixiong nodded, turned to look at the "Song" flag on the city wall behind him, and paused for a moment: "Many of the brothers below have died. We need to compile a list of their names so that when we send them to the families of the deceased, we can call them... well, never mind, let's compile the list first."

As if he had thought of something, Li Shixiong stopped halfway through his sentence. The dozen or so guards beside him exchanged glances but did not respond. They simply followed him silently through the various wounded soldiers' camps. Some of them cried out as they saw him enter.

"General, have the Qi people retreated?"

"General, is Daming Prefecture safe now?"

The questions made Li Shixiong's smile somewhat unnatural. He comforted them, saying, "It'll be over soon." Not long after, he left the wounded soldiers' camp, stood on the street, and sighed, "Let's go, let's go see the government office."

"What are you going to see?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shixiong turned around and saw Li Cheng standing beside him with his personal guards. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and frowned slightly: "Commander, what brings you here?"

"Let's see how much damage has been done here."

Li Cheng tilted his head back and looked at the people in front of him: "It seems... there are more on my side now."

“After all, this is the enemy’s main attack direction.” Li Shixiong said calmly, turning back to look at the city gate tower where no one was visible in the dim light: “We fought several bloody battles today, and we all risked our lives to stand here. It’s a pity that the brothers who are gone will never see this sunset again.”

Li Cheng frowned: "When did you become so sour like those big headscarves?" Then he sighed: "Never mind, there are too many dead and injured today. I have also ordered someone to go to the garrison commander to ask for compensation."

He turned around and waved to Li Shixiong: "Come walk with me. There are too many familiar faces today, so seeing you feels much more welcoming."

The latter snorted but did not refuse his invitation, walking beside him: "If it weren't for your constant forming of cliques and eliminating dissidents, given your sincerity towards the soldiers, I wouldn't dislike you." "Your words caught me off guard..." Li Cheng looked at him with some surprise, forcing a smile: "But it's good, it's better to be frank than to keep it to yourself and plot against me."

Li Shixiong remained silent, listening to Li Cheng mutter, "That's how things are in the imperial court. If you don't find a powerful backer, the higher-ups will always think you have ulterior motives... But, I haven't really targeted you, have I?"

"Suo Chao".

"That brute, he's not even under your command, why are you so upset about him?" The brief words made Li Cheng pause for a moment, then he waved his hand and said, "...What a pity, he was a fierce general."

As the two walked, it grew dark, and every now and then young men carrying medicine bags and torches would run past on the street.

The two men knew they were delivering medicine to the wounded soldiers' camp. A guard stepped forward to ask for a torch. As the two men chatted idly, footsteps suddenly approached. Turning around, they saw several soldiers running over.

"Commander! Commander!"

Li Cheng and his companion stopped and watched as the man ran over. Leading the way was Li Cheng's personal guard, who, after catching his breath, said, "Commander, I went to request the compensation, but Commander Du said it would be distributed after the war."

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow and nodded: "That's normal."

“But…” The man glanced at Li Shixiong, hesitated for a moment, and Li Cheng tilted his head to look at him, then waved his hand: “Speak, what is it?”

"Yes, I saw that Commander Du was loading a lot of wooden boxes onto carts. I was curious and peeked over there. I saw that Commander Du was moving wooden boxes from the treasury to the back of the government office. There were already more than ten carts full."

Li Cheng and Li Shixiong stared at each other, their eyes wide. The former's eyes darted around, and his expression changed: "Quick, come with me to the government office."

He hurriedly ran away with his personal guards.

Li Shixiong paused for a moment, glanced meaningfully at the figure in front of him, and waved to his personal guards to follow.

As the lanterns were lit, the sound of footsteps echoed as Li Cheng, who had run to the government office, pushed aside the soldiers blocking his way and hurried inside.

There were many soldiers by their side along the way, but Li Chengben already had a great reputation in Daming Prefecture, and Li Shixiong was also a good general. Seeing that the people in front had been pushed aside, they did not dare to stop them anymore and let the two of them walk all the way to the backyard, where they were watching Du Yun pointing and gesturing.

"Idiot, why put so much on this vehicle? It'll fall apart when it's moving. Take a few off and put them on other vehicles, hurry up."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers and servants holding torches in the courtyard quickly ran over and did as instructed.

"Stay behind? What are you doing here?!"

Li Cheng strode over with a livid face. The soldiers who were carrying the wooden crates looked panicked when they saw him coming and stood there at a loss.

Du Yun was also startled when he saw him. He reached out and said "Hey..." He saw the man push the man forward, and the wooden box fell to the ground with a "thud!" The military commander grabbed the weapon from the guard behind him and smashed it against the lock on the box.

Clang——

Sparks flew, the copper lock fell, and Li Cheng kicked it with his big foot.

wow-

Dang clang——

The silver coins, cast into the shape of discs, slid to the ground, and the soldiers and servants around them watched with eyes that instantly lit up.

Du Yun's eyes flickered, and he lowered his arm.

"...Is staying behind meant to take this money and escape?" Li Cheng paused for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze to Du Yun.

Du Yun raised his head, his calm face shifting between light and shadow under the torchlight: "Escape? This Daming Prefecture is surrounded like an iron barrel. Wasn't the open space on the east side deliberately left by the Qi army?"

Li Shixiong walked over and stood to the side of the two men, looking left and right, his hand on the hilt of his sword, remaining silent.

"Since you know you're going to take all this tax money with you, aren't you afraid the Qi army will rob it?" Li Cheng stared directly at Du Yun, straightened his posture, and casually held the knife in his hand.

"It's good that we robbed them; sooner or later, it'll all be Qi's money." Du Yun took two steps and said to the two men, "You two have a clearer understanding of today's battle situation than I, the one left behind."

Pointing at Li Cheng with his right hand, he asked, "Can you defend Daming Prefecture?" Then, shifting his gaze towards Li Shixiong, he added, "Or can you defend it?"

With his hands behind his back and a cold smile on his face, he said, "Those who understand the times are heroes, while those who are oblivious to the times are not wise."

Yes, Zong Ze has managed to motivate the city's defenders to fight bravely today with money, but how long can this method last? Once tonight passes and their emotions, stirred by greed, subside, how many will still be willing to risk their lives?

Li Cheng frowned, paused for a moment, and then asked, "You want to surrender?"

Du Yun straightened his chest and parted his lips slightly, when he heard a voice say, "The Commander doesn't want to surrender?"

Ok?
Du Yun and Li Chengmeng looked at Li Shixiong.

Clang…

“Although I don’t like Du Liushou.” Li Shixiong slowly drew his sword, the blade with four or five nicks gleaming coldly in the firelight: “But he’s right. Daming Prefecture can’t be defended, and I don’t want to risk my life for those bigwigs in the court. Those people don’t respect us who fight on the battlefield.”

Du Yun smiled and stood facing Li Cheng: "Commander Li, I have heard the persuasion from outside today. If we surrender the city now, we will still have some official positions. If we wait for the enemy to invade, we, as surrendered generals and officials, will not receive such good treatment."

Li Cheng's eyes flickered. Li Shixiong looked at him and said, "Commander, two battalions were wiped out in the north today, and half of my men are gone." He raised his sword and examined the blade. "Even if they manage to defend Daming Prefecture in the future, do they think they'll receive even a single copper coin from the court?"

He gave a mocking laugh: "I doubt the officials in the court would even bother to offer a word of praise."

A gentle breeze stirred, and the torches in the courtyard crackled. Li Cheng's personal guards all turned their gazes toward his retreating figure.

"Stop talking," Li Cheng sighed. "This supervisor doesn't want to fight either."

The two men opposite him showed delight, but Li Cheng stretched out his hand to stop their laughter and pointed his knife at the silver ingots on the ground: "However, some of these silver coins should be distributed. We can't let our brothers die and our families go hungry."

Li Shixiong nodded slightly beside him.

Du Yun was overjoyed: "Of course, of course." He gestured: "Gentlemen, let's talk inside."

Li Cheng and Li Shixiong immediately sheathed their swords, bowed to him, and said, "We dare not disobey your orders and will remain to guard..." They then extended their hands and said, "Please!"

……

Outside the south city.

As the warhorse galloped past, Yue Fei dodged the incoming arrows, turned around and fired another arrow, listening to the screams coming from afar, and spurred his horse on.

"Quickly, Daming Prefecture hasn't fallen yet, let's go back quickly."

The horses' hooves thundered as they approached the city gate. (End of Chapter)