Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1186 The Horn of Battle

As dawn broke and the sun rose to noon, amidst the rushing sound of the river, Li Bao stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the approaching land. It was still far from the capital, near Yangwu. If they continued westward along the waterway, they would soon reach Bianliang.

"General, this is our banner."

"Move closer and tell the lookouts on the ship to be alert and not to slack off, lest they be ambushed without even realizing it."

Li Bao, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, gave an order. Hearing the reply from behind, he raised his head slightly and squinted. A black dot hovered back and forth in the air, occasionally emitting a sharp eagle cry.

In recent years, thanks to the Jurchens' eagle-raising techniques, several flagships have been equipped with gyrfalcons or goshawks, which are much faster for sending messages than by rowing small boats. Therefore, he already knew about Zhang Heng's reckless advance.

Although he complained that the naval commander was too hasty, there was nothing he could do about it. He could only sigh in his heart and continue to sail downstream according to the marching plan.

Ahead, the military flag stood closer and closer, and the black-clad soldiers waiting on the shore became clearly visible. Many young men stood on the makeshift dock waiting, the rushing water subsided, and the boat's speed decreased.

bang——

A muffled thud was heard as the warship came to a stop. Li Bao waved to the familiar faces below, then turned and walked to the ship's side, sliding down the gangplank.

"General Li, you've worked hard." Guan Sheng stroked his long beard as he stood in front of the crowd. "We're just waiting for your cannons to be used to attack the city."

"I'm sorry to trouble you, General Guan." Li Bao chuckled and glanced around. "I heard that the Song army has amassed quite a few troops. It seems they are only stationed around Bianliang?"

"Not bad." Guan Sheng gestured with his hand and led Li Bao toward the rear tent.

On and off the ship, many strong men went down to the deck at the command of the officers and soldiers to carefully unload the cannons. Every now and then, shouts and curses could be heard: "Be quick, or you'll be paid for if you break it!" "It's not your wife, so be careful. You can't break the cannons!"

"Has Your Majesty been anxious about the war these past two days?"

“There’s no rush…” Guan Sheng looked back and led Li Bao forward: “We’ve already taken Suanzao and Yangwu. His Majesty even went to Suanzao a couple of days ago to wait for you.”

Li Bao smiled and said, "If Your Majesty still has the intention to travel, then it seems that you are indeed not in a hurry."

“Bianliang is a fortified and high city, with a moat and the Song army outside the city providing strong support.” The general with the broadsword walking ahead sighed, “There’s no use in rushing. Your Majesty’s actions have only given the soldiers more confidence.”

"I see..." Li Bao nodded, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "I wonder how Zhang Heng is?"

“It’s probably too late.” Guan Sheng shook his head. “Before I came, I heard that his wound was oozing pus and he was in a daze. He was only awake for an hour or two a day. It’s probably too late.”

"He's greedy for quick results and overly ambitious..."

"Who says otherwise? If the main army had arrived later, he might not have been so badly injured and on the verge of death."

The two sighed and entered the military camp. Guan Sheng sent a cavalryman to the central army to report to Lü Bu, while inviting Li Bao to rest in the tent.

The two chatted about the war in the south and lamented that they never expected to return to Song territory in this way. Half a day passed as they talked, and a messenger rushed back to report.

"His Majesty orders that the cannons remain here, and the infantry will join us tomorrow to attack Bianliang City."

……

Bianliang, Wansui Mountain.

The jagged rocks were piled up here, and the colorful flowers emitted different fragrances. Emperor Huizong, who was the retired emperor, looked at the eunuch who came to report the matter with some discomfort, and then waved for him to leave.

"That fellow Huan'er always listens to Li Gang. Just two days ago, he gave money to the soldiers guarding the city walls, and today he wants to reward the troops and send money to those fighting men. He even wants to use my private treasury!"

Tong Guan and Gao Qiu, two staunch supporters, looked at him from their seats. They exchanged glances, and the former spoke thoughtfully: "Your Majesty, the Emperor is still young. Sometimes he may be misled by wicked people. Perhaps he will be fine in a couple of years."

“His Majesty has come of age and can no longer be regarded as a young child.” Gao Qiu waved his hand repeatedly, speaking to Tong Guan with apparent dissatisfaction: “We should listen to His Majesty’s thoughts more on important matters, after all, he is now the supreme ruler and holds the power of the court.”

Tong Guan frowned and didn't reply for a moment, but Zhao Ji slammed his hand heavily on the stone table in front of him.

bang——

"Coming of age? Even if he is ten years older, he is still my son! I am still alive, how can I let a little kid cause such trouble?"

Tong Guan and Gao Qiu immediately rolled off their seats and prostrated themselves on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

Zhao Ji snorted coldly: "I don't want to watch you perform here. Think of a way for me. If he empties the imperial treasury, I will take money from both of your pockets."

Gao Qiu quickly put on a smiling face: "Everything I have belongs to the Emperor Emeritus. If the Emperor Emeritus wants it, I will offer it to you with both hands."

"Your Excellency is right." Tong Guan smiled broadly as well: "This servant's things are all His Majesty's."

Emperor Huizong looked down without saying a word.

Unable to withstand his gaze, Gao and Tong's smiles gradually froze. After a long while, Tong Guan spoke up: "Your Majesty, the responsibility of defending the city rests entirely with Li Gang. It is easy to change Your Majesty's mind. Now that the Zhong brothers of the Western Army are all here, if one of them is promoted to a higher position, Li Gang's power will be completely lost, and Your Majesty will not dare to touch your private treasury."

Gao Qiu nodded: "I was thinking the same thing. Besides, although Li Gang is in charge in the city, I have been in the Palace Commander's Office for a long time and have some manpower. We can send them all to other places to see if we can weaken his power."

Emperor Huizong's expression softened, and his gaze towards the two men became much gentler.

Tong Guan perked up and said with a fawning smile, "Your Majesty, many people in the court oppose Li Gang's forceful ways. Why don't I contact them? Once this man can no longer act recklessly in the city, Your Majesty will be much more obedient."

"Good!" Zhao Ji finally smiled upon hearing this: "I entrust this matter to the two of you."

Tong Guan and Gao Qiu were overjoyed and bowed in unison: "Yes, we will certainly live up to the Emperor Emeritus's expectations."

Under the bright sunlight, the Qi and Song armies were making their own arrangements for attack and defense. No one knew that Tong Guan, who had changed his clothes, was frequently visiting the residences of various court officials and chatting happily with Li Bangyan, Bai Shizhong, Geng Nanzhong, Cai Mao and others.

……

In the late autumn of the year Guiyou, the weather was cool and the sunshine was warm.

As the bugle call to assemble sounded in the military camp, Lü Bu allowed the guards to help him put on his armor, reached out and picked up the Han sword, which hung at his waist. He then put on a scarlet cloak and strode out of the central command tent.

After eating and drinking their fill, the soldiers marched out of the camp under the command of their officers, with banners and flags stretching into the distance, fluttering in the autumn wind.

In front of the numerous black-armored soldiers were surrendered Song soldiers wearing leather armor with scarlet robes underneath. These surrendered soldiers now numbered forty to fifty thousand, and their arrangement was quite awe-inspiring.

Occasionally, a messenger on horseback would gallop by, delivering orders to mobilize the army. Battle formations would move in sync with the general's banner, and weapons would occasionally strike the blades of armor with a soft thud.

Lu Bu looked up at the clear blue sky, gripped the saddle, and nimbly mounted his horse, settling in firmly: "Give the order—"

The nearby guards all turned to look at him.

Swish— An eight-sided Han sword was drawn and pointed to the sky: "Move out!"

Wuwuwu——

The horn sounded, and the army marched forward, billowing dust rising from their feet as they walked.

Scouts, under the command of their respective captains, sped off, kicking up long trails of dust as they raced into the distance. Meanwhile, Song soldiers on horseback turned their horses in alarm and returned to the city.

Soon, news of the Qi army's large-scale attack on the city reached the Song army both inside and outside the city.

The soldiers carrying the message rushed up the city wall to the top. Chen Xizhen was inside with a group of generals listening to Li Gang's orders when he turned to look at the soldiers who had run in. His eyes darted around, and he spoke up, "What are you doing?! Military council meetings are not to be entered without permission!"

Hearing the noise, Li Gang looked at the soldiers sweating profusely and asked, "Commander Chen, bring him over. What is it?"

The soldier wiped his sweat, bowed to Chen Xizhen, and hurriedly ran over: "Lord Li, the Qi army outside the city has mobilized in large numbers. Judging from their movements, they intend to attack the city."

Li Gang's gaze sharpened, and he immediately grabbed the longsword from the table: "Order the entire army..."

……

"Issue the order to the entire army."

Zhang Shuye stood up in the military tent and looked at his second son, Zhang Zhongxiong, who had brought the news: "Assemble immediately and prepare to launch an attack on the Qi army!"

The sound of troops assembling echoed under the sky. Soldiers from various states who came to provide support emerged from their camps and ran quickly at the shouts of their respective commanders. Every now and then, someone would roar, "Hurry up!" urging their troops on.

It took a long time to assemble an army of over 100,000, so Zhang Shuye had no choice but to order the drums to be beaten to urge them on. Only then did the troops below assemble to the sound of the drums.

"Order the troops of Tai'an Prefecture and Qing Prefecture to move closer to the vanguard."

Zhang Shuye sat upright on his horse, tapped his helmet with his whip, and looked at his eldest son behind him: "Bofen, you will lead the army as the vanguard, you must not be afraid of battle."

"Rest assured, Father." Zhang Bofen clasped his hands in a deep fist salute: "When fighting for the country, how can I avoid death!"

Having said that, he pulled on the reins and spurred his horse toward his own troops. Footsteps came from both sides, and the two generals' flags, "Dongfang" and "Yan," headed toward the vanguard.

Before long, the warhorses moved forward.

……

Dust billowed, banners blotted out the sky, and cavalrymen occasionally ran back and forth amidst the densely packed army formations.

As Lü Bu listened to the scouts' report, he looked at the map and asked, "How long will it take to encounter the Song army outside the city?"

"Your Majesty, their army is in the southwest of the city and needs to cross the canal. However, although their army is large, they have also built many pontoon bridges, so they should be able to gather in the northwest of the city soon."

Lu Bu looked at Wang Zheng, Xi Sheng, Mi Sheng, and Bian Xiang beside him: "I'm entrusting the entire siege to you. Any questions?"

Wang Zheng narrowed his eyes: "Your Majesty should not personally risk your life."

Lu Bu straightened his posture on horseback: "You can tell these things to the soldiers of the Southern Dynasty, but you can't tell me."

He squinted and chuckled: "As we discussed before, do not be distracted by me. Cavalry is not for besieging cities. It would be a huge mistake for me to be in the army."

He paused, then pointed ahead: "I have never encountered an opponent when using cavalry. Today I will teach the Song army a lesson: victory is not achieved simply by having more men."

Wang Zheng shrugged and sighed.

Xi Sheng, Bian Xiang, and Mi Sheng, however, were used to it and simply bowed their heads while on horseback, saying, "We will respectfully follow Your Majesty's words."

"That's good." Lü Bu didn't give any further instructions, and with a flick of the reins, he ordered all cavalry units to follow me.

"Order Guan Sheng, Wanyan Huonv, Yelü Mawu and other generals in the northwest to quickly move closer to me."

"Order Yang Zaixing to go forward as the vanguard. If he encounters the Song army, he can attack their vanguard."

A series of orders were issued, and cavalrymen galloped out from the side, followed by the sound of bugles echoing through the army.

The sound of warhorses pounding the ground echoed through the sky, the ground trembled slightly, and the foot soldiers looked on with envy at the figures galloping away in the distance.

"...Your Majesty, are we going to meet the enemy already?"

Within the army formation, Xu Guanzhong, mounted on his warhorse and clad in black armor, watched in disbelief as the large banner bearing the character "Lü" departed from the central army and gradually disappeared into the distance amidst a thunderous thud of hooves.

"His Majesty is an emperor on horseback." Lu Junyi craned his neck as he looked at the galloping figure in the distance, then clicked his tongue with some regret: "General Bian once said that all the major battles of our dynasty were won by His Majesty personally leading the cavalry."

Xu Guanzhong chuckled, thought for a while, and nodded: "It is just as rumored, but I am not used to this kind of emperor for the time being."

"it's the same."

Laughter erupted from Yan Qing and Xu Ning, followed by orders to urge the troops to march.

……

The bright sunlight tinged the gaps in the clouds with gold. Occasionally, a bird would fly by in the sky, and whatever it looked down at would suddenly turn and fly off in a different direction into the distance.

The land around the capital has long lost its former tranquility and peace.

A field mouse crawled out of the cleared ground, its paws gripping the ground, causing it to tremble slightly. It quickly withdrew its paws, but moments later, iron hooves roared past, kicking up dust as the horses' hooves landed.

The galloping cavalrymen shouted as they charged forward, some drawing their bows and shooting arrows from horseback. The fleeing figures swayed from side to side, and the piercing whistling sound that cut through the air sent shivers down one's spine.

The thunderous hooves shook the wasteland. The Song scouts who had been hiding ahead finally let out a scream and fell from their horses. The cavalrymen dressed in black galloped past, clinging to the outside of their horses. With one hand outstretched, they grabbed the arrows stuck in the corpses, put them back in the quiver at their waists, and continued galloping forward.

A large number of scouts dressed in black filled the field, chasing after the scouts from the Song army. Small skirmishes broke out from time to time, and after the fighting, they left behind the corpses of the Song soldiers and continued to sweep forward.

Troops bearing banners have already crossed the Bian River, with a group of Song generals, including Zhang Bofen, Zhang Zhongxiong, Dongfang Da, and Yan Shude, leading the vanguard.

The soldiers under his command were considered elite among these reinforcements. Scouts kept returning, their faces filled with panic. They stretched out to the left and right into the army, and many figures were binding their swords and spears to their hands.

Zhang Bofen, carrying a long spear, looked at the others and said, "The Qi army is hunting down our scouts, which means their troops are not far away. We are short of cavalry, so we should find a high place to defend ourselves and at the same time urge the troops in the rear to come up."

(End of this chapter)