Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Let's move the time forward a bit.

In the eastern camp of the Qi army, fires were lit. Although the daytime siege had not completely captured the city walls, the veteran soldiers who had experienced battles knew that it was only a matter of time.

The patrolling soldiers walked along the smooth roads within the military camp. Inside the central command tent, generals Shi Wengong, Wang De, Zeng Tu, Ma Qiang, and Ma Jin were listening to military orders.

"...What we have seen today shows that the enemy general is resilient. There may be unforeseen events tonight. All camps should be on high alert and prevent people from the city from coming out to take advantage of the chaos. Specific arrangements will be made by the respective army commanders." The general handed the order to Shi Wengong, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "General Shi, the order has been delivered. I must go back to report."

Shi Wengong nodded slightly, watched the cavalryman walk out of the tent, and turned to the others: "The infantry have worked hard today, your brother should go back and rest first."

Ma Qiang and Ma Jin exchanged a glance. After a day of siege, they were both exhausted. Although there were several hundred cavalrymen in their army, they were not in a hurry to compete with the cavalry, who had been waiting all day, for the credit that depended on luck. They nodded and said, "Then we'll go out first."

Wang De watched the two men leave and said, "General Shi, let my troops keep watch for the second half of the night."

“That won’t do.” Zeng Tu shook his head abruptly: “General Wang is a famous general in the army, and his troops are elite. This kind of hard work should be left to us ragtag soldiers.”

"Hey~" Wang De waved his hand: "General Zeng, what you're saying is ridiculous. Your cavalry is definitely stronger than my lazybones. Besides, you guys were running around the city today to cover the infantry's attack on the city walls. Leave the hard work in the middle of the night to my troops."

"No, no, General Wang, you must take good care of your health. We'll come later tonight."

"General Zeng has worked hard today. I can't let you wait on both the old and the new. I'll do it myself."

"I..."

"This humble one..."

Shi Wengong silently watched as his two former colleagues argued heatedly, their faces red with anger. Seeing Wang De begin to crack his knuckles in preparation for a fight, he quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Wait, when two armies clash, don't fight."

Wang De and Zeng Tu turned to look at him, only to see Shi Wengong pause for a moment before saying, "To be fair, let's draw lots!"

He turned around and went to the table, wrote the characters "up" and "down" on a piece of paper, waited for the ink to dry, rubbed his hands together, put the bamboo tube used to hold the command arrows into the paper, and shook it for a while.

thump—

Shi Wengong removed his hand from the mouth of the bamboo tube: "Each of you choose one; this is the will of Heaven, and cannot be defied."

Wang De and Zeng Tu looked at the bamboo tube and nodded. Then the former stepped forward, but before he could pick it up, he saw Shi Wengong's complicated expression and said, "I thought General Shi could speak normally again, but why is he starting to mispronounce words again?"

Shi Wengong glanced at him, his tone indifferent: "Save where you can." Then he pointed to the bamboo tube: "Stop making such a fuss, choose!"

Wang De reached out and poured out one, while Zeng Tu poured out another, and they each opened their own.

The former shows an "up" shape, while the latter shows a "down" shape.

"It's settled then." Shi Wengong peeked over and nodded.

Wang De pursed his lips and said, "Then I'll head out first," and strode out.

"I'm also troubling General Wang to patrol the area south of the city."

Shi Wengong's voice came from behind, but Wang De simply raised his hand and waved it over his head.

Before long, cavalrymen rode out of the camp, their horses thundering into the distance.

With the banner fluttering overhead and the thunderous sound of hooves, Wang De, his figure rising and falling, gripped the reins and turned north. After a moment's thought, he pointed south: "His Majesty is in the north of the city, so we don't need to worry about him. Let's go to the south of the city and patrol back from there."

Thousands of warhorses moved like a winding dragon.

The faint sound of bugles could be heard echoing through the night sky.

……

In the darkness, figures crouched low and ran forward, accompanied by a "coo coo coo~" sound carried by the wind.

In the group, three men of different builds huddled together. Tang Huai glanced at the figure next to him who was practically lying on the horse's back and said, "Didn't you just eat? How come you're hungry again?"

"Is this my fault?" Wang Gui looked up at him listlessly, then pouted, "You slept yesterday, and you're going to sleep today anyway."

A rustling sound came from beside him. Zhang Xian glanced at the two of them and said, "Say less and hurry back. By the way, why didn't we see any Qi scouts along the way? I thought they had left troops to guard the south of the city as well."

"Should we withdraw? To avoid the people in the city thinking they're trapped in a deadly situation and getting them to fight desperately."

"who knows……"

"Pengju has disappeared without a trace. I hope he can escape."

"His martial arts skills are definitely not a problem."

The three were talking in hushed tones, when suddenly Tang Huai sat up straight on his warhorse: "Wait, listen, the sound of horns—"

The other two straightened up, listened carefully, looked at each other, and gripped their weapons tightly.

"It doesn't sound like ours, there's the sound of horses' hooves..."

"Oh no, could it be that someone has already left the city?"

"Walk--"

……

In the darkness, the thunder of hooves echoed as countless cavalrymen raced forward, one after another. Behind them, torches were lit, and they surged forward in a swarm. Under the flickering light, knights in black armor stood, and some would occasionally raise their horns and blow them, the sound carrying far into the night.

The flames hanging on the city wall were already visible, which were set up to prevent people from attacking the city wall at night. There were also small fires moving on the city wall, which everyone knew were soldiers patrolling the city wall.

A look of joy appeared on Suo Chao's tired face: "Quick, speed up and rush back to the city..."

"Wait, there's a sound over there!" A cavalryman shouted, pointing northeast. "It's the Northern Bandit cavalry! Their reinforcements are here!"

Hearing the shouts from behind, Yue Fei suddenly turned around and saw a fiery dragon rushing towards them from the northeast in the darkness. The torch held by the knight flickered back and forth and left and right as it moved, looking like a will-o'-the-wisp from a distance, and it was approaching at an extremely fast speed.

Suo Chao's expression changed drastically: "General Yue, the Qi army has a considerable force. Judging from the number of torches, there are at least a thousand men. If they come so quickly, we may lose the city gates if we enter!"

"I know!"

Yue Fei gritted his teeth, glanced unwillingly in the direction of Daming Prefecture, and could vaguely see figures moving on the city wall. Finally, he roared, "Turn around, turn around, break through!"

A Song soldier gave a signal, and Suo Chao shouted from the front, "Go! I'll cover the rear!"

Over a hundred cavalrymen drew an arc, with Yue Fei as the arrowhead, and sped toward the rear. The two armies, moving in opposite directions, were approaching each other at an extremely fast speed.

Behind them, hooves churned up the grass, and Wang De's roar came: "The enemy is trying to escape! Chase after them and find out where they got these rats from!"

A thousand cavalrymen, carrying torches, swarmed towards Yue Fei's rear like locusts.

More than a hundred Song cavalrymen followed Yue Fei as he galloped. Most of these soldiers had been with him for a long time, and although they were not eager for battle, they were still fearless. Now, facing a Qi cavalry force that outnumbered them several times over, they brandished their weapons and charged forward.

"Charge!"

In the Qi army formation, Dong Xiaochou issued an order, and the pursuing cavalry suddenly shouted, raising their swords and charging into the darkness.

boom--

The spearhead pierced the man's body, causing a large bulge in the leather armor on his back. The sharp spearhead pierced through the inner lining and through the outer armor, leaving a trail of blood.

"kill--"

Shaking off the corpses, Yue Fei roared repeatedly at the front, his Liquan Divine Spear slaying knights off their horses one after another as he charged forward relentlessly.

The cavalry following behind extended their lances from their horses. Occasionally, someone would strike the figure opposite them, but most of the time they would miss. As the two horses passed each other, the figure of a Qi soldier would leap onto the back of an empty horse and then slash at it with his sword.

puff--

Severed arms and corpses fell from the warhorses, the sound of bones breaking under their hooves filling the night air with the stench of blood as the horses surged forward.

Holding a long-handled broadsword, Dong Xiaochou galloped forward among the cavalry. Heart-wrenching battle cries mingled with the sound of horses' hooves. In the flickering light of the torches, he could only see a few feet in front of him.

"kill--"

"Let the Southern Dynasties see what cavalry really is!"

"Dismount!" Amidst the thunderous shouts, screams of agony filled the air. Suddenly, Dong Xiaochou realized something was wrong. A general from the Song army was rapidly approaching. The cavalrymen in front of him charged forward, only to be knocked off their horses by the sweeping spear. Then, the spear slanted and pierced the chest of a soldier on the other side.

"The bandit general is rampant! General Dong Xiaochou, the Great Qi's Border Pacification General, is here!"

With a loud voice, Dong Xiaochou shook the reins, loosened the reins, gripped the broadsword, and with a powerful thrust of his arms, slashed fiercely at the charging Song general.

"Song Bingyi, Yue Fei!"

The general roared as he flung away the corpses, and in the darkness, thunderous hooves, laden with the stench of blood, charged forward.

Yue Fei flicked his wrists, and the Liquan Divine Spear rose upwards. With a clang, a few sparks flew as the two weapons collided, and the falling spear light followed his hand forward.

Dong Xiaochou first felt a tremendous force deflect his knife, and immediately cried out in his heart that something was wrong, and tried to tilt his body to the side.

Chi-

The spear pierced through Yue Fei's shoulder, and Yue Fei exhaled with a shout of "Hah!" sending the man flying with a single thrust. He didn't bother to finish him off, and quickly spurred his horse forward, continuously knocking down any cavalrymen blocking his path.

Behind him, the cavalrymen who were following him perked up and cheered, "Follow General Yue!" They chased after him, their eyes red, brandishing their swords and spears.

"Quickly protect General Dong!"

As Dong Xiaochou fell from his horse, his personal guards immediately shouted and rushed forward to protect him. The general, who was dizzy and disoriented from the fall, barely opened his eyes. "Heh heh..." he gasped for breath and managed to utter a few words: "Blow... the horn, call for reinforcements!"

Woohoo——

……

"Over there, over there!"

Hearing the distant bugle call, Zhang Xian, Tang Huai, and Wang Gui quickly pointed in that direction and led their less than seven hundred men over.

In the darkness, footsteps thronged, and the sounds of panting and the light clinking of armor filled the air.

……

The horses' hooves kicked up dust.

Yue Fei, his face cold, mechanically swung his arms in front of him, while the thunderous sound of horses galloping behind him continued. Suo Chao kept looking back during the battle, and in the darkness, an arrow flew past his head, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Don't run away, surrender now, and we might give you a position."

Wang De, who was urging his warhorse, put down his bow and arrow and shouted loudly. Many of Dong Xiaochou's cavalrymen behind him began to turn around and chase after him.

Suo Chao chopped the charging cavalryman off his horse with a single axe stroke and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Enemy reinforcements are coming!"

"Ahhh-"

Hearing the sounds coming from behind, Yue Fei became anxious and roared repeatedly. He used his long spear to attack without defending. He could vaguely see the darkness behind the cavalry and was overjoyed, knowing that they were about to break through the formation. He quickly increased the intensity of his spear thrusts.

puff--

Blood splattered from the front. Yue Fei sent the last soldier flying, spurred his horse out of the battle, and looked back. The cavalrymen in their crimson battle robes were still struggling in the firelight, and the torches behind them had been spread out in a fan shape and were closing in.

At this moment, torches appeared to his east.

"Wow, so many warhorses..."

My mind wandered for a moment.

……

"stop--"

The warhorse stopped, its running footsteps coming to a halt.

Wang Gui squinted, looking at the figure emerging from the array. It seemed somewhat familiar. The torches in the distance were turning, and he could vaguely see the shape of the eighteen-foot-long Liquan Divine Spear.

“Pengju?!” Wang Gui blurted out, pointing at the figure.

"It's Pengju!" Tang Huai gripped his spear tightly, turning to look at the two men: "Should we call him over?"

Without a second thought, Zhang Xian shouted loudly, "Pengju, over here! Over here!"

The sounds of battle cries came from behind, and people kept shaking off their pursuers. Yue Fei looked sadly at his cavalry, which numbered only about twenty. Before he could turn around, the shouts came from the other side, and his expression changed immediately.

"Our people..."

"Hurry over there!"

The soldiers who followed cheered and spurred their horses toward the infantry. Yue Fei gritted his teeth and quickly followed, holding his spear in one hand and waving his other hand repeatedly: "Go! There are too many enemy soldiers, go!"

Wang Gui and the other two ignored what he said and just pointed at the charging cavalry and shouted, "Fire one arrow, then run!"

The infantrymen behind hesitated for a moment, then Zhang Xian swung his sword and killed one of them: "Anyone who disobeys orders will be executed!"

"Raise the bow—"

Amidst shouts, the Song soldiers had no choice but to raise their bows and crossbows.

……

"We can't let them escape! Prepare the cavalry!"

The command came from the cavalry formation, and the knights on both sides were no longer entangled and could use their bows and crossbows to shoot freely.

The cavalrymen at the front hung their swords and spears, took out their strong bows, and nocked arrows.

……

The ground shook with the sound of hooves. Wang Gui pulled on the reins, and with a shout of "Shoot!", he turned and ran.

hum-

Arrows flew like locusts, tracing an arc as they fell towards the cavalrymen holding torches behind them. A similar rain of arrows erupted from behind, crisscrossing in the air before falling down.

"what--"

Screams rang out one after another as many horses in the firelight were struck by arrows and fell, pulling their riders off their backs.

Wang De, enraged at the sight of the enemy, raised his bow, aimed at a lone rider ahead, released it, and switched to his sword: "Charge!"

"kill--"

Shouts of battle erupted like thunder.

As Suo Chao galloped ahead, he felt his warhorse dip below the ground, and in his vision, the ground was rapidly approaching.

"enter……"

boom--

His shoulder slammed into the ground, and he and his warhorse rolled on the ground like tumbleweeds. Lying on the ground, every part of his body ached, he couldn't hear a sound, and the whole world spun endlessly before his eyes.

Cavalrymen kept galloping past him, charging into the infantry who had turned and fled after firing arrows. Their dying screams echoed across the battlefield: "Surrender!" "I surrender!" The shouts continued, yet more and more men still perished amidst the roar of iron hooves.

Yue Fei turned his head on his warhorse to look back, then glared angrily at Wang Gui, Zhang Xian, and Tang Huai beside him: "Look what you've done!"

Behind them, the shadowy herd of horses, slightly slowed by the confusion of the infantry, quickly accelerated.

The chase and escape continued into the night.

……

At the same time, in the back hall of the government office in Daming Prefecture.

The firelight illuminated the three men's faces. Du Yun stood up and smiled with satisfaction: "In that case, the two generals will suffice." (End of Chapter)