Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Today is destined to be an unpeaceful day for Bianliang.

Black figures were running everywhere in the streets, shouts were being made to dissuade people from coming out, and the sounds of footsteps, galloping warhorses, and screams were playing out in the capital of the Song Dynasty.

Cavalrymen carrying wolf-head banners galloped past, several figures lying across the backs of their horses. The leader held a roster aloft, glancing at it in the sunlight before galloping off.

Groups of two or three wolf riders gathered together and galloped toward the Kaifeng Prefecture government office. Some handed over the riders on horseback to others and then sped off again.

Yelü Zonglin, dressed in wolf rider gear, tossed the book to a soldier behind the table, caught the book thrown to him from the opposite side, and heard a voice say, "Fourth Brother, your eldest and second brothers are in the south city, and you are too, go over there..."

Snapped--

wow-

The booklet flew over, and Yelü Zonglin's gruff voice came through: "Quickly find me another place, preferably one without my brother."

"Damn it, you're such a busybody." The man on the other end caught it with his hand, laughed and cursed, picked up another booklet from the table, flipped through it, and threw it over: "This is from the west of the city, get lost."

"okay!"

Yelü Zonglin didn't mind the scolding, he just smiled and took it, then turned his horse around and headed back the way he came.

When they stopped, they glanced at the first page of the booklet, called out to their companions, and with a shout of "Giddy up!" they regrouped and sped away, kicking up a cloud of dust in the eyes of the foot soldiers.

……

"Whoosh..."

Inside the small room, a figure hung a rope on the roof beam, tied a knot, and tugged it twice.

Then he turned around, moved a chair over and placed it below, stood up shakily, grabbed the rope loop with both hands, took a few deep breaths, and closed his eyes.

Bang bang bang—

A deafening knocking sound came from the door. The man heard shouts outside for someone to open the door. His breathing became even more rapid. When the knocking started again, he gritted his teeth, put his head inside the door, and kicked off with his feet.

bang-

……

The sound of horses' hooves suddenly stopped.

He galloped to a house, dismounted, strode forward, raised his arm, clenched his fist, and pounded it down.

Bang bang bang—

"Open the door! Open the door!"

Bang bang bang—

The continuous pounding noise echoed through the streets and alleys. After a while, the person banging on the door stopped, put his hands on his hips, looked at the door, and shouted, "If you don't come out, don't blame us for breaking down the door!"

After a long silence, Yelü Zonglin raised an eyebrow, reached behind him, and a cavalryman carrying a mace stepped forward and handed it to him. The rascal put all his strength into it and "Hey—" it was done in one go.

bang——

The wooden door burst open, and Yelü Zonglin, dressed in wolf rider armor, stormed in. He saw a figure in a rope and immediately frowned, saying, "Boy, no swinging in the room!"

He raised his foot and kicked.

The figure that had just been hung up was kicked away with a "bang!"

Bang, crash—

The flying figure crashed onto a wooden stand holding a basin of cold water, which was poured directly onto its face.

"Aha--"

The figure, jolted awake by the cold water, sat up, panting heavily.

Dang clang——

The copper basin fell to the ground beside it.

"Huff...huff..." The man wiped his face, looking somewhat dazed at the copper basin beside him, before hissing in pain in his abdomen. He turned to look at Yelü Zonglin, who was blocking the light from the doorway: "You..."

"Li Zhuo?" Yelü Zonglin looked down at the book, pointed with the iron mace in his hand: "His Majesty has summoned you to an audience. Come with me."

“…Vulgar…Vulgar!” Li Zhuo pointed at Yelü Zonglin with trembling hands: “I am a Song subject, how could I go to pay homage to a foreign ruler?”

What did you say, you scoundrel?

Yelü Zonglin frowned, took a step forward, and kicked.

bang——

The large foot landed on the side of his face, sending him flying sideways before he crashed heavily to the ground.

"Men, drag him away."

Wolf riders came in from outside, dragged the person with his eyes closed out, and threw him onto the horse's back.

A wolf rider looked at the mark on the man's face and tsk tsk... He then looked at Yelü Zonglin and said, "You might as well not have saved him. That kick is enough to hurt the kid. You might have kicked him to death before he was hanged."

"Who knows if he really hanged himself? I don't care about that." Yelü Zonglin curled his lip. "Even if he dies, His Majesty won't blame me. It's all because this guy has a foul mouth."

He stepped into the stirrups and mounted the horse with a jolt: "Quick, next one."

The warhorses galloped away, and another wave of arrests ensued. More and more Song officials, either voluntarily or forced, took to the streets, escorted by soldiers towards the distant imperial city.

As the daylight faded and the midday sun shone down, many court officials felt their stomachs rumbling. Cao Ning appeared at the gate of the imperial city on his warhorse, pulled on the reins, and called out, "His Majesty commands that all officials of the second rank or above may enter!"

The once arrogant crowd fell silent. Several high-ranking officials from the court hesitated as they stepped forward. Meanwhile, some people in the back looked at each other and took a step forward: "Wait a minute. We also have great respect for the Emperor of Qi, and we are also worried about our own Emperor. Could you please go in and inform him that Zhang Shuye (Li Ruoshui) also wants to enter?"

Cao Ning frowned as he looked at them, then thought for a moment and said, "Wait here. I'll mention it to His Majesty later, and we'll see if we can get in."

Zhang Shuye, with his gray hair, and Li Ruoshui, who looked like a young man, quickly cupped their hands in thanks: "Thank you for your trouble."

Bai Shizhong, Wang Shiyong, Li Bangyan, Wang Shiyong, Zhang Bangchang and other group members came out, looked at the two people who had volunteered to go in with strange eyes, and then slowly made their way into the imperial city.

As Cao Ning turned his horse around, he had only taken a few steps inside when he heard someone behind him say, "Excuse me, we have been waiting for quite a while and are getting hungry. We don't want to be impolite in front of the palace, so we wonder if we could have some food."

Cao Ning turned his head and was immediately delighted to see a familiar face: "Zhang Bangchang, right?" He reached out and took the bag from beside the saddle and tossed it to him: "I shouldn't have given you this food, but you've made me quite happy a few times before, so this is a reward for you."

Zhang Bangchang's smile faltered slightly, then he smiled again, thanked them, took out the dry rations inside, and generously shared some with the people next to him before quickly munching and chewing.

The people here were all veterans of the imperial court, and naturally they had their own estimates of the journey. They were all quickly finishing their rations, and by the time they were almost at the Zichen Palace, they had all eaten.

At this time, it was clear that an hour or two had passed since the Zhao family father and son arrived, and several more generals had come to hand over their orders. When the Zhao Song ministers who had come in saw that all the generals in the palace were strong and tall, and even the few who were well-proportioned had fierce looks, their courage immediately waned by three points.

Cao Ning entered first, stepped forward, and clasped his hands: "Your Majesty, everyone has been brought in. There are two people outside, Zhang Shuye and Li Ruoshui, whose ranks are not high enough, but they wish to come in together."

“Zhang Shuye?” Lu Bu raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over Li Zhu and Wang Zheng, who were also somewhat surprised, before he suddenly smiled and said, “Alright, summon them in.”

He then said to Yu Cheng, "Go and fetch Zhang Zhongxiong. Let him meet his father. Don't say I'm heartless."

"Here!"

Yu Cheng nodded and then arranged for someone to leave.

Lu Bu then turned his gaze to the court officials. Upon seeing this, Bai Shizhong and the others hurriedly stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying, "Your humble servants pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Qi." For a moment, there was silence in the Zichen Hall. The Song Dynasty officials, who were prostrate on the ground, were all somewhat nervous. They turned their heads slightly, looked at each other, and then stared at the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.

After a long while, Lü Bu's voice came: "I remember a few years ago, I was going to send an envoy to discuss matters with the emperor of Zhao Song. Whether it was successful or not, I never expected that in the blink of an eye, I would be standing in the Zhao Song palace myself."

The former officials of the Song state, kneeling in the middle, remained silent; no one dared to step forward.

"I once asked myself, how far should this war with you go?" Lü Bu stood up, his crimson cloak trailing to the ground and swaying gently as he walked.

The group of high-ranking officials from the Song Dynasty lowered their eyes slightly and remained silent.

"In the end, it was your founding emperor of the Song Dynasty who gave me the answer to this question." Pulsating Footsteps stood before the crowd. Lü Bu tilted his head slightly, his tiger-like eyes glancing at the figures below: "Do you know what it is?"

A group of ministers trembled slightly, and Wang Shiyong, the Minister of Personnel, suddenly spoke up: "How can I allow others to snore beside my bed?"

"Your Majesty's concerns are very valid. Since ancient times, the world has been divided and united. Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world has been separated for a long time and deserves to be unified."

Zhang Bangchang suddenly exerted force with his arm, his body arching as he touched the ground, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty's demeanor has long been admired, and I am willing to serve the Great Qi. In addition to bringing peace to the people, I also know a lot about the military deployments in the southern prefectures and am willing to contribute my strength to Your Majesty's hegemony."

Flatterer!
Prefect Xu Bingzhe of Kaifeng glanced at him with a mixture of surprise and anger, and quickly straightened up, saying, "I am the Prefect of Kaifeng. I am willing to reassure Your Majesty the people of Bianliang and reduce the time required for pacification."

"Your subject Bai Shizhong..."

"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation..."

A chorus of declarations of loyalty rose and fell below, while the military officers sitting to the side watched the scene with expressions of amusement, completely unmoved by the chaotic noise.

Lu Bu, standing in the middle, was annoyed by what he heard and was about to raise his arm to interrupt when a stern shout rang out: "You are all important officials of the court, eating the emperor's food and enjoying the emperor's favor. How can you be so humble and serve the enemy! Where is your sense of propriety, righteousness, and shame!"

Lu Bu raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw two figures walk in. After a quick glance, he realized that the one who spoke was the burly man with an angry expression at the front.

"Li Ruoshui, how dare you!" Zhang Bangchang straightened up and shouted at the person who entered, "How dare you shout in front of His Majesty!"

"No disrespect before His Majesty!" The others, a beat slower to react, reprimanded him with some regret.

Among the seated figures, the Qi generals all stood up abruptly, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, glaring angrily at Li Ruoshui and Zhang Shuye who had entered. The fierce aura of the battlefield generals immediately made the group of Song Dynasty officials kneeling on the ground tremble.

The two standing there showed no fear whatsoever. They merely glanced at the people in the hall, treating the weapons in the hands of the Qi generals as if they were nothing. They stepped forward a few steps, barely suppressing their anger, bowed to Lü Bu, and then asked, "May I ask Your Majesty the Qi Emperor, where are His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus?"

Lu Bu glanced at the two men, then became intrigued: "Are you two questioning me?"

"I dare not." Zhang Shuye's face showed neither joy nor sorrow: "We are merely Song subjects, and since our Emperor has been captured by Your Majesty, we are naturally concerned about his whereabouts. We beg Your Majesty to show mercy and inform us so that we may go and serve you."

Lu Bu squinted at the upright figures standing in front of him, nodded, pointed at the two of them, and said to the people beside him, "I didn't expect there to be two loyal men here."

"But he is a stubborn and inflexible person."

"Your Majesty, please entrust this to us, and we will make sure that the two of them realize their mistakes."

He Li, Xu Bingzhe, and the others acted as if they hadn't heard, vying to express their loyalty. Lü Bu waved his arm, saying, "No need. Since they are devoted to their former master..."

He glanced to the side and said, "Su Yi, take these two to see the Zhao family father and son."

"Here!"

Su Yi stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, held his sword upside down, and glanced at Li Ruoshui and Zhang Shuye: "Come with me."

The two men showed no fear, simply straightening their backs and saying, "Lead the way," and followed Su Yi out.

Lu Bu lowered his gaze to the people below: "You all go out now and persuade the officials outside to surrender. Those who refuse... Xu Wen!"

"The general is here!"

He glanced at the fierce general who had stepped forward and said, "You all just hand the man over to General Xu."

"Yes, Your Majesty's order will be carried out."

"Your subject is determined to serve you loyally."

One by one, the high-ranking officials of the court patted their chests and spoke loudly, then left amidst Xu Wen's urging, "Hurry up, stop talking nonsense!"

Just then, Wang De and Yang Zaixing ran over and said, "Your Majesty, the concubines in the harem have all gathered. What do you think we should do?"

Lu Bu tilted his head: "How many people?"

Yang Zaixing rubbed his chin: "The two emperors of the Song Dynasty, one before and one after, really had a lot of women. There were more than a hundred of them who had the title of concubine."

Wang Dechou's face also showed disbelief: "If you include the palace maids and female officials below, there are probably three or four thousand people."

"Hiss...so much..."

"I didn't realize that. Can those two with their figures handle it?"

"More than a hundred concubines..."

"Three or four thousand palace maids..."

Amidst the commotion, Yu Cheng, Wei He, and Wanyan Loushi, who arrived later, all turned their gazes toward Lü Bu.

Lu Bu was extremely sensitive to gazes, and he turned his head almost simultaneously to look over: "Hmm? What are you all doing looking at me?"

"N-nothing...it's nothing." The generals chuckled and quickly looked away.

Lu Bu looked at them with a puzzled expression, then suddenly turned to look at Wang De, Yang Zaixing, and then at Wang Zheng, Li Zhu, and others. These civil officials quickly stroked their beards and looked up at the sky, seemingly suddenly becoming curious about the decorations on the roof beams of the Zichen Palace.

After a moment's thought, Lü Bu immediately understood and was somewhat amused and exasperated: "You guys are really idle, comparing these two people to rumors from Hejian."

"How could that be..."

"Your Majesty has misunderstood us."

Laughter drifted over, but Lu Bu didn't blame them. He just looked outside thoughtfully and said, "Don't break up other people's empresses. Send the older ones back to the Zhao family. As for the rest... those who have made meritorious contributions in battle since last year and do not have wives can be given priority."

When the people in the hall saw that they were talking about serious matters, they all stopped smiling and straightened their posture.

"The leaders can all choose one they like to take back." Lu Bu looked at the men below and suddenly revealed a sly smile: "This time, no one should think of refusing. Everyone has a share. Go back and have more offspring."

His gaze swept over Li Zhu: "Speaking of which, Li Qing is not young anymore. You should have your own descendants. You didn't like the Liao women last time, but this time there are three or four thousand women. Surely there will be some that catch your eye. Choose two."

Li Zhu's face stiffened, and his narrowed eyes widened: "Your Majesty, I am already..."

"No need for further words." Waving his hand to interrupt, Lü Bu strode out, declaring, "It's settled then!"

Li Zhuzhang looked helplessly at the figure that was about to walk out of the palace. Yu Cheng and Wei He quickly followed, shrugged at him with a regretful expression, and then chased after the emperor with smiles.

Yang Zaixing and Wang De exchanged a glance, walked over, and looked at Li Zhu with mischievous smiles: "Li Guanglu, His Majesty said you can choose two, why don't you go now?"

Wang Zheng, Fang Xuedu, and Li Ying, who were always eager for a good show, immediately nodded and cheered, "Absolutely right, absolutely right. Brother Li must have someone in his family who can manage things."

Li Zhu glanced at them with some annoyance, but seeing that they were still grinning, he rolled his eyes, put on a smile again, and squinted his eyes: "Gentlemen, don't you think that His Majesty has too few children, which is not conducive to the stability of the court?"

The smiling faces froze, and even Wanyan Loushi and the others who hadn't initially participated came over: "Li Guanglu means..."

"Among the princesses of the Song Kingdom, are there any who are exceptionally beautiful and unmarried?"

The others exchanged glances, thought for a moment, and then nodded in unison, each with their own thoughts: "It's only right. His Majesty has fought for half his life, he should enjoy some comfort."

"I've heard that the Song Kingdom has many beautiful princesses; it would be good to send them to His Majesty to amuse him." (End of Chapter)