Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In early summer, the weather warms up.

All sorts of news filled the ears of the people of Hejian. Since the Northern Expedition, which was still part of Song territory a few years ago, the people here had never heard any exciting news from the foreign battlefield.

However, ever since the city fell to the State of Qi, news of victories would be announced by government officials every now and then. When Lü Bu entered Hejian, the announcements of victories became a unique sight in the city.

The people of Hejian went from being numb and having mixed feelings to feeling proud, a change in mindset that was quite surprising. However, in the eyes of the Qi government, this was a good thing.

White clouds, like cotton wool, swayed the branches, causing the green leaves to move up and down.

Dust rose with the sound of footsteps, obscuring the city behind them. Under the central banner, Lü Bu turned his head and glanced at it, letting out a breath.

The biggest worry when going to war is one's family. Fortunately, Hejian is not far away. After this campaign ends, we can move to Daming Prefecture, which is also close by, so there won't be a long wait.

Marching, setting up camp, marching again—the monotonous journey was spent in this repetitive cycle. In just one month, the army reached the banks of the Yellow River.

Banners fluttered in the wind, and troops joined in from time to time. The moving army advanced rapidly under the orders of its officers and generals, and the shouts could be faintly heard from the central army.

The army marched steadily when a fast horse galloped up. Wei He, the guard of the central army, stepped forward to stop them, said a few words, and led his men over: "Your Majesty, the Southern Dynasty has sent someone." He then glanced back at the captain.

The captain named Li Gui was slightly nervous and quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, there is... no, an envoy from the Song Dynasty has come and requests an audience with Your Majesty."

"At this moment..." Lu Bu swayed on his horse, looked up at the sky, and then nodded, "Send someone over. The march is boring, let's hear what he has to say to pass the time."

Li Gui clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned his horse around, and rode away.

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves rang out again, causing the soldiers in the central army to look up. They saw Li Gui in front, followed by several figures in wide robes and sleeves, who appeared to be from the Song Dynasty.

As the warhorse galloped closer, Zhang Bangchang, who had been sent on a mission, dismounted and tried to step forward to pay his respects. However, he tripped over a stone and fell to his knees, sliding over to perform a grand salute: "Your subject Zhang Bangchang pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Qi. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years."

When the attendants following him knelt down, their knees buckled, and they bowed down as well.

Lu Bu sat on Red Hare's back, watching his movements with a strange expression. He reached out to help him up, saying, "Get up."

Despite the pain in his knees, Zhang Bangchang rose with a fawning smile: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Behind them, Yu Cheng and Wei He remained expressionless, while Wang Zheng, Li Zhu, and others accompanying the army watched the comical appearance of the Song officials in front of them with smiles and remained silent.

Lu Bu, mounted on his horse, looked down at the men below and said, "Speak! What brings you here at this hour? Are you begging for mercy?"

Several court officials and generals following behind Lü Bu chuckled softly.

Zhang Bangchang seemed not to hear, bowed slightly, rubbed his hands together, and smiled broadly: "Your Majesty is right, I have come to beg for mercy."

The soldiers in the central army couldn't help but burst into laughter. The two men who had come with Zhang Bangchang felt their faces burning hot and lowered their heads in unison.

He himself seemed unfazed, continuing to say, "Our Emperor has offended Your Majesty in some way, but whatever the reason, it is our fault. We beg Your Majesty to quell your wrath."

Stealing a glance at Lü Bu, he said, "We are, after all, a child dynasty. We are willing to offer 500,000 taels of gold, 3 million taels of silver, 5 million dan of grain, 1,000 beautiful women, and also cede the Yongxing Army Road to Your Majesty. We only ask that Your Majesty show mercy."

"Quite a move." Li Ying stroked his beard, looked at Zhang Bangchang in front of him, and muttered to Fang Xuedu beside him, "Looks like we can squeeze some more out of them."

"His Majesty will not agree," Fang Xuedu replied in a low voice. "You know how much His Majesty dislikes Zhao Ji and his son. Besides, once we take Bianliang, all the wealth inside belongs to His Majesty; we don't need him to give it to us."

After Zhang Bangchang finished speaking, he lowered his head and waited. After a long while, he did not hear Lü Bu's voice. He looked up and met a pair of mocking eyes. After thinking for a moment, he tentatively said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has truly realized his mistake. He is still young and inevitably deceived by treacherous officials. Now that the sycophant Li Gang has been demoted to a local post, no one will be able to mislead him anymore."

His gaze remained ambiguous and mocking, and his voice slowly lowered: "This...that..."

"I dislike lying and deceiving people." Red Hare snorted and impatiently stretched its legs, causing Lü Bu to sway a few times. "Go back and tell that brat Zhao Huan that I will not retreat so easily this time. Let him wait."

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..." Zhang Bangchang was immediately anxious and took a step forward.

Lu Bu ignored him and ordered the army to prepare to cross the river! He lightly squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, and Red Hare took a step forward, shook its head, and turned its head to blow a puff of hot air at him.

Zhang Bangchang immediately staggered backward. It was his bad luck; his legs were weak, his knees buckled, and he fell backward, spreading his arms to brace himself: "Ouch... Ouch—hiss!"

I took a deep breath and stood up. I looked at my palms and saw that the skin was broken and bleeding. My buttocks were burning with pain. I focused on feeling the pain.

It seems like... a bone is injured.

"This is Master Zhang, please." A slightly teasing voice came from behind. Zhang Bangchang turned around and saw Li Gui, who had led him there. He glanced at Lü Bu's back, sighed, turned around, mounted the warhorse prepared for him by the Qi army, and shouted as he headed back the way he came.

The generals and court officials in the central army chuckled at his appearance and spurred their horses forward.

Under the bright sunshine, white clouds drifted with the wind. Following the clouds southward, dozens or even hundreds of large ships were transporting soldiers and supplies across the Yellow River.

The soldiers, carrying flags, marched in long, winding lines, crossing the plains and entering the towns.

This area consists mostly of towns that were looted by the Qi army during the previous northward return. Now, more than half a year later, people have gradually returned to the area. Bianliang has even moved people from villages in the south to populate it. Although it cannot be compared with before, it is no longer a desolate place that has been completely looted.

However, with a small population, there were even fewer soldiers to defend the city.

The Qi army didn't need to attack the city after crossing the river. They simply stood outside holding their flags, and the city gates immediately opened. Temporarily appointed officials came out waving white flags and surrendered.

Vanguard General Ma Ling immediately ordered his men to inspect all the key roads and take over the city's defenses. He reported back to the central army behind him and urged his troops to continue south.

In early midsummer, the Qi army, with its eastern and western armies combined, and a total of 250,000 troops crossed the Yellow River, once again posing a threat to the capital of the Song Dynasty.

……

Bianliang.

As the capital of a dynasty, also known as Kaifeng or Tokyo, this was not the first time it had faced difficulties. The previous Qi army had made the people and officials in the city realize the danger. However, there was an old man who was willing to lead the army to stand on the city wall and was willing to work hard for the safety of the people in the city, inspiring the soldiers and people on the city wall.

Now that figure has crossed the Yangtze River to the south, the people in the city are being forced to pay gold, silver and copper coins, and a thousand beautiful women are being captured to await the Qi army.

Complaining, cursing, and fleeing became the most common ways for the city's residents to cope.

Inside the palace, the young emperor trembled as he looked at the returning delegation. After a long while, he finally spoke: "...They didn't accept it?"

Several figures knelt down in unison on the opposite side: "Your subject is incompetent."

"That's not what I want to hear!" Zhao Huan, who had stood up, waved his hands impatiently, paced back and forth a few steps, and pointed at Li Bangyan, Bai Shizhong and others: "You said that the Qi army would agree to cede territory and pay reparations, and I just gave my permission. How can you tell me now that it can't be done? The Qi army is already on the verge of crossing the river!"

Zhang Bangchang lowered his head and remained silent. Li Bangyan and Bai Shizhong exchanged a glance, their faces also showing signs of difficulty.

After a long pause, Zhao Huan plopped down, clutching his head in his hands, exclaiming, "What are we going to do?!" He then looked up and asked, "Where is the Emperor Emeritus? Does the Emperor Emeritus have any ideas?"

Bai Shizhong thought for a moment and shook his head: "Your Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus has been making a fuss about wanting to flee south to seek refuge. I had people stop him, saying that retreating at this time would be bad for the morale of the army, and the Qi army outside would catch up immediately. The Emperor Emeritus stopped, but I don't know how long we can stop him."

"Heading south?" Zhao Huan suddenly stood up again, pointing at Bai Shizhong: "Well done! What kind of father would abandon his son and run away alone! We must not let him escape now. I will personally order people to guard him."

Bai Shizhong, Zhang Bangchang, and the others shifted slightly, seemingly wanting to utter the name of Emperor Gaozu of Han, but then decided to keep quiet. Seeing Zhao Huan pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, asking "What to do?" and "What should we do?", Sun Fu, standing at the back, stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I have a plan."

Zhao Huan abruptly stopped and looked over with the others. He then walked a few steps to him, grabbed his sleeve, and said, "What method? Tell me quickly!"

"Has Your Majesty read the poem of reflection that I sent you?"

"I've seen it." Zhao Huan nodded, then asked疑惑地问道, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Qiu Jun is a man of great talent, capable of discerning good and bad fortune. Is Your Majesty aware of this?"

"Of course I know." Zhao Huan nodded as well: "The Imperial Study has a record of anecdotes about extraordinary people in this dynasty. I loved reading this when I was a child. It includes a story about Qiu Jun, saying that all his predictions were accurate, even his own lifespan was clearly predicted."

Sun Fu stroked his beard, his voice light and cheerful: "Indeed, I read a poem about current events, which contained the line 'Guo Jing, Yang Shi, and Liu Wuji, all lying in the southeast amidst white clouds.' Later, I found Yang Shi and Liu Wuji in the marketplace, and heard that there was a member of the Dragon Guard named Guo Jing. Doesn't this mean that this person is sure to be able to repel the Qi army?"

"really?!"

Zhao Huan was overjoyed, and the others were also delighted. They quickly looked at Sun Fu and said, "Now that we have found him, we should invite him here quickly and ask him what his skills are."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and find the person immediately."

Sun Fu bowed respectfully, then hurriedly headed out of the hall.

……

Tension, depression, and hopelessness.

The streets of Bianliang were filled with men and women hurrying by, their faces grim. Occasionally, they would bump into one or two acquaintances, huddle together and whisper among themselves, occasionally spitting on the ground with their faces flushed. When they saw government officials or yamen runners appear on the street, they would swallow their breath, lower their heads and walk away quickly.

"Minister Sun, this way."

The constable, bowing low, looked at Sun Fu behind him with a fawning smile rarely seen on his face. Seeing the important figure standing still, he followed his gaze and saw a rice shop. He tilted his head and asked, "This... is there something wrong with that rice shop?"

"Nothing much." Sun Fu turned his head and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. "I just didn't expect the price of grain to rise so sharply. I remember it used to be around 250 wen per liter of rice, but now it's more than eight times that."

The constable seemed surprised that this high-ranking official was interested in this matter, and after stammering for a while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Since last year, the price of grain has dropped."

Sun Fu was taken aback: "Is...is that so?" He smacked his lips: "Never mind, the price will naturally come down after the Qi army retreats."

"...Yes." The constable nodded blankly after a long while. His monthly salary was only a little over four thousand coins. With the addition of some illegal work, he could only make around six thousand coins a month. His family had already started to eat bran and wild vegetables.

If prices rise again, even rat meat will become more expensive.

The group walked and walked, and soon arrived at the garrison. After making his identities clear, Sun Fu stepped inside, but did not see a single person walk ahead of him.

……

A cacophony of noise erupted from the room. A figure, draped in a hero's cap and with bloodshot eyes, shouted, "Place your bets now!" as he stared at the money on the table. A dozen or so burly men surrounding him were just shouting, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

bang——

The door slammed against the wall.

"Shut the hell up!"

Amidst the shouts, a guard strode in and grabbed the man wearing a hero's scarf: "Brother Guo, Minister of War Sun Fu is looking for you outside."

"I?"

The man's eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils darted around. He quickly pointed at the others and said, "Quickly, clean this place up. When I get rich, you'll all have a bite to eat too."

The others, probably used to obeying him, quickly began to tidy up. Guo Jing fastened the hero's scarf and said to the man who had come, "Go out now and pretend to run into the Minister of War. He has probably heard rumors from the streets and is asking me to perform a ritual. Otherwise, such an important person wouldn't come to a place like this in person. Remember, be clever."

"got it."

The man quickly walked away upon hearing this. At this moment, several burly men got to work, putting away everything in the room that could be put away. Those that couldn't be put away immediately rolled up their clothes and carried them with them. With a wave of Guo Jing's hand, he said, "Go quickly."

The burly man in the room ran out quickly. Before leaving, someone opened the window for him and lit a few sticks of incense, which made the room smell much fresher in no time.

……

Sun Fu stomped his feet as he walked through the guard post. The place was completely unfamiliar to him. He watched as many guards walked by, some carrying stone weights in the training ground, and others practicing with spears and swords. It was a lively scene.

"He is indeed diligent in his practice," Sun Fu commented with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the yamen runner glanced sideways at this rare high-ranking official, but remained silent, only inwardly scoffing, thinking to himself that not everyone in the court was clever.

Just then, a figure ran past, seemingly unaware, and bumped into Sun Fu's shoulder. The person he was with fell backward with a "Hey!" and was immediately grabbed by the arm.

"Is this gentleman alright?"

The man who had grabbed Sun Fu smiled apologetically, quickly let go, and bowed: "I was a little anxious, please forgive me, sir."

"You rascal, ouch—" Sun Fu rubbed his shoulder, wincing in pain. "Wait a minute, no one's going to cut you off. What are you doing here?"

"It was my fault, my fault," the man said with a forced smile. "I was just in a hurry to buy some incense, candles, cinnabar, and joss paper for people, and I was a little flustered."

Sun Fu's heart skipped a beat, and he felt no pain where he had bumped into something. He lowered his hand and asked, "Are you talking about Guo Jing? Does he really possess Taoist arts?"

The man feigned anger: "That's right! Let me tell you, Guo Jing has the title of Immortal and possesses the secret of Taoism—the Six Jia Method. Good heavens, it's incredibly powerful!"

Sun Fu was delighted to hear this. He didn't blame the man for not being able to explain himself clearly. In his mind, for someone as uncultured as him to say "amazing" was already a very high compliment, and he believed him even more.

"You shouldn't go buy it either." Sun Fu said with a smile, looking at the person opposite him. "I am the Minister of War. I need to summon Guo Jing to the palace. Take me to see him immediately."

"Huh?" the man said, drawing out the sound. Then he hesitated for a moment, "Well... well..." He murmured twice, and finally lowered his head and said, "Alright, please come with me."

He led the way, with Sun Fu following behind. After wandering around, they arrived at a house.

Sun Fu saw the window open, and inside it was quiet. Looking into the distance, he could see a person sitting cross-legged on the bed. He nodded and said, "He has quite the bearing."

The guards stepped forward and knocked lightly twice on the door. A voice from inside said, "Come in!" before the door was opened. "Brother Guo, the Minister has arrived."

Stepping aside, Sun Fu entered. Guo Jing on the bed opened his eyes, looked at Sun Fu with a smile, and said, "I already know. Are you here for the Qi army outside the city?"

Sun Fu's eyes widened, his face showing surprise.

I won the bet!
Guo Jing's lips curled into a smile. (End of Chapter)