Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1216 Kidnapping the Two Emperors

The sun was high in the sky, and its light shone on everyone outside.

In Bianliang City, as the black-clad forces infiltrated the city, sporadic battles gradually broke out.

It is unknown who ambushed the soldiers entering the city. After someone screamed, a large number of soldiers in black armor turned red-eyed and those with swords and shields stepped forward to cover their comrades behind them.

Crossbows and powerful bows were brought out, and arrows shot through the air. After the whistling sound of arrows cutting through the air, figures with shields stepped forward. The flashing of swords and spears filled the narrow space. Then, several screams were heard, and several figures dressed in cloth were pulled out from the corner and thrown on the side of the street, waiting for the cleaning team to come and take them away.

Sporadic battles broke out from all directions, injuring many Qi soldiers. Bamboo whistles, indicating the presence of enemies, were blown from time to time, and the increasing number of soldiers began to suppress the city.

Naturally, these sounds were inaudible to those within the imperial city.

"Guo Jing ran away... How dare he, how dare he, how dare he!" Zhao Huan paced around the room, his right thumb in his mouth, muttering to himself, occasionally biting his nails, his usually clear eyes looking somewhat vacant.

"Your Majesty..."

Sun Fu wiped the sweat from his brow. He was exhausted from running all the way back from the city gate through the side streets. Looking at the emperor pacing in circles, he felt a surge of anxiety: "We'd better hurry and prepare to flee, or else..."

"run?!"

Zhao Huan stared blankly at him, leaving the Minister of War speechless for a moment. After a while, he suddenly laughed hysterically: "Where to run to? When the Qi army enters the city, how can they not seize the four gates? They also have naval forces on the southeast and flanks. Once they enter the city, they'll have to watch their every move, even the boats entering and leaving the city will have to wait for them. It's too late... it's too late!"

Sun Fu looked sorrowful. Although he knew his young emperor was telling the truth, he still tried to persuade him: "Your Majesty, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. You should..."

As the emperor and his minister were talking, the palace doors burst open, and a eunuch scrambled in, shouting, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Qi army has blocked the imperial city and demands that you and the Emperor Emeritus leave. They also say..."

He glanced at the two men and said, "They even said that if you don't leave within half an hour, they will lead their troops to attack the imperial city."

"So fast……"

Zhao Huan muttered absentmindedly, then plopped down on the floor: "What should I do? This is going to kill me."

……

at the same time.

Wansui Mountain, a vast royal garden, is filled with all sorts of strangely shaped rocks. A stream of fresh water flows through the area, with an arched bridge for visitors to stop and enjoy.

The banks of the river are planted with various trees and flowers, and in this warm season, flowers of all colors compete for beauty, making it a truly wonderful place.

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) usually lived here with his trusted courtiers, spending his days drinking, making merry, writing poems and painting, and occasionally causing trouble for his son who sat in the imperial court.

But at this moment, the usual laughter and joy were gone from Wansui Mountain. Everyone looked at the retired emperor sitting in the main seat with worried expressions.

"Let...let me out?" Zhao Ji sat on the stone bench, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. "Why...why did they come here? What is Zhao Huan doing? The city fell so quickly? This is Bianliang! Bianliang! The capital of my Great Song Dynasty, the capital that has stood for two hundred years!"

Everyone around was silent, no one dared to speak.

It was the messenger who spoke up: "Your Majesty, the commander outside said he only gave us two quarters of an hour. If we don't leave after two quarters, he will storm in."

"Wild... barbarian!"

Emperor Huizong was so angry that his hands trembled: "These northern bandits claim to be Han Chinese rulers, how can they be so ignorant of manners and say such things!"

"The Emperor Emeritus..." The man hesitated for a moment before speaking, "The banners of those people outside belong to Wanyan and Yelü, so they don't seem to be Han Chinese."

“I…” Zhao Ji’s face showed a look of having swallowed a fly.

Tong Guan and Gao Qiu exchanged glances and leaned over to say, "Your Majesty, let's make some preparations. If those people really break in, we'll be fine, but it would be bad if you were hurt."

Zhao Ji hummed a few times and shook his head: "I'm not going."

Tong Guan wanted to persuade them again, but before he could speak, a commotion broke out outside, followed by several screams. The people on this side were immediately startled and stood up, looking in the direction from which the sound came.

A moment later, several figures clad in black armor emerged from behind some strange rocks. The general leading the way was burly and moved with a powerful stride. On either side were muscular men, all dressed like military officers.

The sound of footsteps thundered from behind, and dozens of black-armored soldiers carrying powerful bows and crossbows rushed over, all facing this direction.

"Your Majesty, be careful..."

Instinctively, he uttered a sentence, then Tong Guan took a breath, suppressing his unease, and stepped forward to block Zhao Ji's path: "Who are you! What do you intend to do!"

Wanyan Loushi glanced at the retired emperor of Song, shook his head, and ignored the eunuch in front of him. His gaze shifted, and Wanyan Huonu beside him raised her crossbow at Tong Guan: "Eunuch, get out of the way."

Tong Guan's lips twitched. The courage he had mustered earlier vanished under the crossbow. He lowered his head and dodged. Zhao Ji glanced at him in alarm, swallowed, and looked at Wanyan Huonv. He spoke with some lack of confidence: "You... what are you going to do? I am the retired emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, equal to your royal family. How can you treat me like this?"

Wanyan Loushi raised his hand and pressed his son's arm down, then looked at Zhao Ji and cupped his hands in greeting: "Wanyan Loushi, General Who Guards the East of the Great Qi, greets His Majesty the Retired Emperor."

He lowered his arms and looked directly at the person opposite him: "His Majesty the Emperor requests the presence of the Retired Emperor."

Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment, then managed to say, "No...didn't you say two quarters of an hour? This...this hasn't been up yet..."

"You have never kept your promises to our dynasty either." Wanyan Loushi interrupted him with a sneer: "I was just kidding when I said it would be two quarters of an hour, so what can you do about it?"

His face darkened, and he waved his hand forward: "Take him back, and if he resists, kill him on the spot!"

"Here!"

Dozens of soldiers responded with a roar, drew their iron swords and stepped forward. Zhao Ji, Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and the others stood there trembling and dared not utter a sound. They were escorted away by these Jurchen soldiers, one by one.

Wanyan Loushi coldly watched them being escorted out. "Wansui Mountain..." He looked around with some curiosity, then stepped onto the arched bridge. Wanyan Huonu, Yelü Mawu, Wulindatai, and others followed him up.

Looking out from a high vantage point, Wanyan Loushi curled his lip: "It's an impractical place. It can neither defend against enemies nor lay an ambush here."

Yelü Ma Wu glanced at him sideways and said, "This place was built for people to see, so naturally it wasn't intended for military use."

“…It’s a waste of manpower and resources.” Wanyan Loushi shook his head again, then turned around and said, “Forget it, anyway, what you Khitan nobles did back then wasn’t necessarily worse than this.”

Yelü Mawu was taken aback, then turned around and pointed at him: "Hey! I..."

Wanyan Huonu turned around and patted his shoulder, saying, "We're all watching." Then she walked past him.

Pointing at Wanyan Huonu again, he sighed, "Sigh..."

Snapped--

Ulindatai patted him on the shoulder: "That's the truth."

After saying that, he followed.

"I... hey—, I have nowhere to reason with anyone!"

Yelü Ma Wu looked at this and that, withdrew his hand, took off his helmet and tidied up the hair on his head: "At most, we can only fence off a hunting ground and set up tents, buy gyrfalcons to play with and play with pearls. At most, we can fence off a pasture. How can we compare to this place?"

Looking around, the scenery is picturesque; the mountains, rocks, trees, and flowers all seem to be in their proper places.

Yelü Ma Wu thought for a moment, and it seemed a bit awkward to move any of them to another place: "Tsk! Can't compare, can't compare at all!"

He swayed and walked off the bridge, accompanied by a few guards.

……

The sunlight is moving.

The imperial guards on the city walls watched nervously as squads of soldiers in black armor approached. Cavalrymen roared past from the front, and from the city walls, the yellow dust kicked up by the cavalry formed a straight line as they passed by amidst the thunder of hooves.

"What's going on? Could it be that they've sent cavalry to surround the capital?"

"We've been surrounded for a long time. Why are you sitting here so calmly, pretending to be the Emperor of Qi? Use your brain." "That's true..."

"They won't break in, will they?"

Panic spread among the Imperial Guards with whispers, everyone's face was tense, sweat dripped from their foreheads, and many Imperial Guards who had never seen blood sat down on the ground, holding their heads and muttering, "I don't want to die..."

"Stop arguing."

A general of the Imperial Guards named Wang Zongchu shouted, "The Emperor is coming out! Everyone, stand in line!"

Seeing the people sitting upright against the wall, he stepped forward and kicked them a few times: "Get up! You are the imperial guards, the last bastion of the emperor. You eat good wine and meat and receive piles of silver every day. Is this how you act now?"

The person who was kicked looked up at him a few times, gave a wry smile, and said, "My legs are weak, I really can't get up."

Helpless, Wang Zongchu waved his hand: "Get a few men to hold them up!" Then, looking at the men, he said, "Even if you're leaning on your guns, stand up straight for me!"

As they spoke, they watched as Zhao Huan, surrounded by eunuchs, walked to the front of the imperial city gate. He stood upright at the gate for a long while before nodding to the eunuch beside him.

"By imperial decree, open the gates—"

A high-pitched voice vibrated in the air.

The tall Imperial Guardsmen, clad in the armor of famous generals, used their arms to pull open the door that they usually opened and closed many times, and the doors that blocked their view parted.

Outside the imperial city, the sight of cavalry on horseback and rows of black-armored warriors made Zhao Huan dizzy, his legs went weak and he bent forward. He quickly reached out and grabbed the eunuch beside him, who gritted his teeth and used all his strength to prevent the Song emperor from kneeling down.

"Support...support me."

With a trembling voice, Zhao Huan walked out, supported by the eunuch beside him, as the wind swept through this somewhat unfamiliar place.

A wisp of yellow sand drifted by, making the black figure outside even clearer. The metal armor reflected the sunlight, causing Zhao Huan to lurch downwards again. Fortunately, the person beside him was alert enough to stay on guard, preventing him from being pulled down by the sudden drop.

Zhao Huan looked at the Qi soldiers from left to right, but all their faces were blurry. He could only vaguely see a dark figure standing there. The generals' flags flying in the air were also like that, as if they were white cloths with ink spots. Everything looked like it was covered with a layer of something until a ball of fire appeared in front of him, which burned away the blurriness in his eyes.

The first thing you see is a cold, hard face, and a suit of golden beast-faced chainmail armor. His blood-red cloak ripples in the wind as it is blown to the side.

The young emperor stopped, swallowing hard. He had seen this image in memorials before, but he never expected to see the real person today, especially the look in his eyes…

A bit scary.

"Zhao Huan?"

Lu Bu stared at him, his face expressionless: "You've kept me waiting for quite a while."

The arm clad in golden armor was raised to the sky, and the relaxed palm was swung forward.

"drive!"

"Follow!"

At the two shouts, Zhao Huan looked over and saw several dark banners bearing the characters "Wang" and "Yang". A general in iron armor led the way and passed by him, while knights on tall horses roared past on both sides.

"Guan...Guan City..."

Wang Zongchu, standing on the imperial city wall, raised his hand to issue an order, but hesitated when he looked at the emperor below.

In that moment of hesitation, Wang De and Yang Zaixing had already rushed up to him. It was too late to shout to close the gate. He really didn't have the courage to order the shooting of arrows to start the battle. He limply put his arm down and said, "Never mind, don't move."

The thunderous sound of hooves echoed as a large number of knights galloped into the imperial city. Following them, Lu Bu's generals Hua Rong and Han Chang led their infantry into the palace.

A chorus of screams erupted.

"Qi... Your Majesty, you must not enter the city! I... I have already left, why must soldiers still enter the palace?"

Zhao Huan was immediately startled and, disregarding his image, knelt down before Red Hare and looked up at the man on horseback: "Please let the soldiers out, lest they disturb the women in the inner palace."

Lu Bu stared at him for a moment, then with a hiss, ignored him, lightly spurred his horse, and Red Hare strode past Zhao Huan.

"Wait...no! Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Zhao Huan was shocked. He suddenly stood up from the ground, took two quick steps, and reached out to grab Lü Bu's leg from behind.

Red Hare was a frequent rider on the battlefield and was most wary of people coming from behind. Zhao Huan suddenly felt a red light in his vision, followed by a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"Your Majesty—"

"Official!"

Several screams from the eunuchs rang out. Lü Bu glanced at Zhao Huan, who was rolling backward two zhang on the ground, snorted, and patted Red Hare: "You've learned to hold back now."

Red Hare snorted and shook its head.

Su Yi, who was behind, quickly jumped off his warhorse, reached out to feel Zhao Huan's neck, checked his breath and heartbeat, and looked up at Lü Bu: "Alive."

"Find a military doctor to examine him, don't let him die."

Lu Bu, still on horseback, gave an order, his tiger-like eyes coldly shifting away: "Order the wolf riders to disperse, forming squads of five, and to invite all the Zhao Song officials in the city here."

Turning around, the voice continued: "Those who don't want to come on their own, break their legs and drag them over."

"Here!"

A guard behind responded, turned his horse around, and rode away.

Lu Bu stopped paying attention to what was behind him and gripped the reins with one hand: "Let's go in and see what this Song Dynasty palace is like."

Wang Zheng, Li Zhu, and other civil officials behind them smiled at the same time, urging their mounts forward. Two thousand infantry and cavalrymen from the left and right guards escorted them into the imperial city gate.

Inside the palace.

Screams echoed through the palace as eunuchs and palace maids ran about. Soldiers in black armor pointed at them and roared, "One last time! Stop! Stand to the side, or you'll be killed without mercy!"

Some of the panicked figures obediently followed orders, while others continued to run aimlessly.

The command "Fire!" came from the general's mouth. The crossbow made several clicks of its mechanism and the bowstring. The running figure screamed "Ah!" and fell to the ground.

Then the survivors collapsed to the ground, crying and screaming, their trousers soaked with foul-smelling urine, which drew patches of map-like patterns on the ground.

"Take it away, take it away, it stinks like hell!"

Several village chiefs covered their mouths and noses and shouted loudly. Their men immediately dragged the corpses away and drove the living people aside.

Amidst the bustling activity, people would occasionally stop and bow to those nearby, while others would look over, pause, and shout, "May Your Majesty be victorious!"

"Your Majesty is victorious!"

Slogans were passed around among the people in the palace, and more and more soldiers who had entered earlier shouted as they looked at the Great Qi banner.

Lu Bu raised the corners of his mouth on horseback, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers around him, and he controlled Red Hare to move forward slowly.

　Wang Zongchu was a historical figure who persuaded Emperor Huan of Qin to accept the demands of the students at the Imperial Academy.

　　I still have chores to do at home, so I'm going to get back to work...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)