Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The first month of winter, Xin Chou.

The sky was overcast, with thick clouds blocking out the sunlight.

Han Shiqing, the garrison commander of Xuancheng, stood with his troops two miles north of the city, dressed in black armor. His specially polished armor seemed to gleam with a metallic sheen even without sunlight, making him quite eye-catching among the crowd.

The autumn wind blew his cloak behind him, and his warhorse trotted restlessly. The rider reached out and stroked the horse's neck to calm it down.

A soldier on horseback came galloping back from afar: "Reporting to the general, they're here! We can already see the Qi army's banners."

Han Shiqing's face lit up with joy. He quickly looked down at his breastplate and the longsword at his waist, then tugged at his cloak. "You all go back to the army first, quickly!" he said, turning to shout, "Play music! Play music quickly!"

The sounds of sheng and xiao filled the air, and the dust raised in the distance dispersed with the wind. An army carrying black and red banners came into view, and a large banner with the character "厉" (li) could be seen in the distance.

Han Shiqing's expression immediately turned serious, and he shouted, "All of you, be on your guard! If you lose face, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Several responses came from the rear ranks, followed by the reprimanding voice of an officer. Han Shiqing saw that his troops were more orderly, a smile appeared on his face, and then he turned around.

In his line of sight, the Qi army, dressed in black armor and carrying standard-issue swords, was rapidly approaching. Han Shiqing was just about to open his mouth when he was stunned to see the man run past him without stopping at all.

"Ah, I am the... garrison... general of Xuancheng..." The surrendering Song general reached out and touched the man's back, his voice gradually fading. Then, his face turned ashen as he watched the figures passing by.

His hand, which had been hanging by his side, slowly clenched into a fist. His face changed color, his knuckles cracked, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched.

"Uu——"

A soft call woke Han Shiqing. He quickly turned his head and saw a figure dressed in fine iron scale armor standing to his side, with the "Li" banner slowly hanging down behind him.

"I am Li Tianrun, the guerrilla general of the Great Qi. May I ask if you are General Han Shiqing?" The general first cupped his hands, forcing a smile onto his somewhat fierce face: "I should have entered the city to drink and chat with the general, but the military situation is urgent and I need to rush to Ningguo County immediately. I regret that I missed the opportunity to drink with the general today. Please remember this meal today, and I, Li, will host another party in the future as an apology."

Han Shiqing's expression softened, and he put on a smile again. He quickly returned the salute on his horse: "I dare not. I am Han Shiqing. Military matters are of utmost importance. How could I trouble the general to keep me in mind? The important matter is more important."

Then, seeing that Li Tianrun's army had not yet finished passing by, he spoke again: "I wonder what important matter this is, is there anything I, Han, can do to serve you?" He patted his chest: "I dare not speak of anything else, but I can certainly do my part in Xuanzhou."

Li Tianrun originally intended to appease this person and continue south, but upon hearing this, his eyes darted around, his eyebrows raised, and he lowered his raised hand: "Indeed, there is something I need to trouble the general with. If this matter is successful, I will petition His Majesty for your reward in the future."

Han Shiqing was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly clasped his hands, saying, "Please give your orders, General."

"General, prepare the defenses for the city immediately. I will leave half of my troops with you. In a few days, an army will come to garrison the city."

Li Tianrun chuckled at him and patted his shoulder: "His Majesty will also be heading south. If the general performs well, His Majesty will see it and his future will surely be bright."

Han Shiqing's mouth stretched almost to the back of his head: "General Li, rest assured, I will do my best."

At that moment, Li Tianrun ordered the infantry to stop, and led by his deputy, they followed Han Shiqing into the city to prepare for the defense of the city, while he himself led the cavalry to continue to Ningguo County.

……

Boots clattered across the field, kicking up dust. Countless men marched forward in an orderly fashion at the command of their officers. Scouts continued their advance, and knights carrying intelligence reports from the front lines moved back and forth along the road filled with figures.

As darkness fell, a messenger issued an order for the army to halt. A makeshift camp began to be built not far from Qiancheng, gradually taking shape.

The magistrate of Yuqian County opened the city gates and personally led wine, meat, rice, and noodles out of the city. The night was deep, and the sky was full of dark clouds.

In the field of vision, bonfires were lit everywhere in the military camp, scattered among the troops. Tens of thousands of Song soldiers were temporarily stationed here. The sounds of talking and shouting hummed and clamored in the night. A large number of soldiers dressed in scarlet were drinking wine and eating meat porridge. Some of them, who had a low alcohol tolerance, staggered back to their tents, fell on their beds, and fell into a deep sleep.

The campfire flickered and crackled, sending sparks soaring into the night sky.

A group of burly figures in civilian clothes sat together, eating and drinking without making a sound. Nearby, some soldiers were singing loudly, which drew cheers from the surrounding soldiers. Some of the off-key singing gradually grew louder.

During the banquet, Zhang Jun slammed the wine bowl he was holding onto the table. The wine sloshed around in the firelight, spilling some of it.

"Tell them to stop. This is a tune from Hebei. What, do you want it to turn into a song of encirclement and annihilation?"

Zhang Jun looked up at him and said, "Boying is overthinking it. The soldiers are just relaxing. They'll be going to the battlefield soon, so it's good to let them relax a bit."

Zhang Jun quickly lowered his head: "Yes."

On the other side, Liu Guangshi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and poured himself a glass of wine: "So you're saying we should just charge straight over like this? Has Xuanzhou already fallen? Why don't we contact the northern cities and ask them to withdraw from the cities so they can go south and help us take Ningguo?"

"Not quite, but not much different."

The court official named Zhou Ang, who was in charge of the Privy Council, looked at him and said, "When the Qi army crossed the river, the court did something, sending letters to officials in Nanling, Jingxian, Xuancheng and other places. Only Jingxian responded, and the rest..." He shook his head, looking somewhat sentimental.

Zhang Jun continued, "Han Shiqing, the garrison commander of Xuancheng, was originally a general under Miao Fu. Now that Miao Fu has surrendered to Qi, Xuancheng is probably no longer under state control."

"Then why bother going..." Liu Guangshi muttered under his breath, subtly rolling his eyes. He picked up his wine bowl, poured himself a drink, and was too lazy to say another word. He was thinking about whether he should find an opportunity to commit some crimes. Going back to Lin'an prison at this time would be better than going to fight them head-on.

The campfire crackled in the middle. Zhang Jun's gaze fell on Liu Guangshi's huddled figure, and he said, seemingly casually, "I know this battle will be very difficult. But since this is a decision made by all parties, it must not be broken. If anyone makes a mistake, don't blame me for killing them on the spot."

Liu Guangshi paused, his eyes darting left and right, before forcing a smile onto his face and raising his bowl in a gesture of greeting to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun raised his bowl in response, then took a sip and slowly swallowed the somewhat cold wine. He glanced at the serious expressions on the faces of Zhang Jun, Wang Xie, Tian Shizhong, Yang Yizhong, and others present, and pondered for a moment.

"Gentlemen, there is no need to worry too much. We are not going north to confront the Qi army..." He slowly scanned the gazes that were looking over him: "Ningguo City is small and cannot withstand our repeated attacks. As long as we can recapture the capital, we will retreat south immediately."

The scene fell silent for a moment, and after a long pause, Zhang Jun cautiously asked, "What if... what if the Emperor is in trouble?"

Zhang Jun, Zhao Ding, and Zhou Wang exchanged glances. Zhao Ding, whose beard was somewhat gray, stroked his beard with his thin hand: "If that's the case, we'll retreat to Fujian Road immediately. Someone has already gone to pick up Prince Xiu'an and his family."

The crowd relaxed somewhat, then drank some wine and ate some roasted meat. The sounds in the army gradually subsided with the moonlight, and the campfire slowly died out after everyone left.

The moonlight was lonely.

……

Golden light shone down on the earth, and the sound of horses' hooves thundered across the plains. With fewer men on two legs to travel, the four-legged warhorses were able to take advantage of their speed.

The galloping Qi cavalry entered Ningguo County before nightfall. Farmers and women in the fields scattered in panic, only gathering together to discuss the situation after the horses had disappeared into the distance. On the walls of Ningguo, Qi soldiers on duty, seeing their own banners, rushed into the city gate tower. Soon after, Xu Ning emerged carrying a golden spear, overjoyed to see the banner bearing the character "厉" (Li). He immediately sent someone to inform Han Shizhong, while he dismounted and rode out to meet them.

Warhorses galloped closer, kicking up dust. The generals greeted each other with great joy, bowing respectfully: "Where is General Han Shizhong? I have something to report to him."

"I'm currently at the county government office. General Li, please come with me." Xu Ning turned the reins: "Why are your troops so few, General? Is His Majesty's army behind us?"

"There are some reasons for this, and I will explain them in detail when I meet General Han Shizhong."

Xu Ning listened without saying anything more and led his cavalry into the city. The guards at the gate quickly opened the gate, allowing their comrades to gallop in.

The people in the city had been feeling tense with the military atmosphere and seeing more flags than usual, leading them to speculate that a major battle was about to break out. But when they saw the generals chatting and laughing with the rumored Qi army as they entered the city, and the guards showed no reaction whatsoever, they immediately erupted in chaos, shouting, "The city has fallen!" "The Qi army has entered the city!" "They're killing people!!" and running away.

Li Tianrun and Xu Ning's smiles froze as they looked at the debris and vegetable leaves scattered on the ground, and then at a bamboo basket that had rolled into the middle of the road and stopped. They looked at each other in bewilderment.

"...We have always been flying the Song army's banner." Xu Ning's fair, round face flushed red, and he scratched his cheek. "It's only natural that we would suddenly see the army entering the city in this manner."

Li Tianrun couldn't help but laugh: "It seems you've disguised yourselves very well here."

“Most of us are from the Song army.” Xu Ning shrugged. “Who can’t pretend to be something they’re not?”

After a brief exchange of jokes, Xu Ning led Li Tianrun towards the county government office.

Han Shizhong, Han Qinghe, Lu Junyi, Han Chang and others had already received the news and rushed into the county government office, overjoyed to see Li Tianrun arrive.

Han Chang clapped his hands: "General Li has arrived, so His Majesty's central army must be not far behind."

"It will probably take some more time." Li Tianrun cupped his hands in greeting. "I met Xiao Yifang at the border of Taiping Prefecture and Xuan Prefecture and came directly here. I was originally going to take over Xuancheng, but I never expected that the general and others would do such a great thing."

"Xuancheng has surrendered?" Han Shizhong's eyes flashed, and he exchanged glances with the others.

“Exactly.” Li Tianrun smiled. “Once the army crossed the river, there were only a few small battles. Many cities in Taiping Prefecture surrendered, and even some people in neighboring military prefectures abandoned their allegiance to the light. Before I set off, many envoys came from Chizhou, Xuanzhou, and Guangde Army. I imagine Runzhou in Misheng is no different.”

He looked at Han Shizhong and said, "Before coming to Ningguo, I had already ordered the surrendered generals of Xuancheng to prepare for the defense of the city. Brother Liangchen, Ningguo is a small city after all. Why don't we take Zhao Gou there? Once His Majesty arrives, we will have the southeastern land in our hands."

"Hey, I was just thinking about this too, but I didn't expect Brother Li to have already solved half of it for me." Han Shizhong laughed, glanced at the relaxed expressions on the faces of the others, and then looked at Li Tianrun: "Brother Li, do you know that the Song court has already sent troops toward Ningguo?"

"Oh?" Li Tianrun was taken aback: "When did this happen?"

"I've always been worried about the Song court in Zhejiang. I've deployed scouts along the border between the two prefectures, and I received news this morning." Han Shizhong said with a smile, "The vanguard of the Song army has already entered Xuanzhou and will reach Ningguo County as early as tomorrow night."

After saying this, Han Shizhong said to Lu Junyi, "General Lu, go and gather the troops. General Han, go and bring Zhao Gou out to prepare for the transfer to Xuancheng."

"Here!"

The two generals bowed to Han Shizhong and then hurriedly left.

Han Shizhong then looked at Li Tianrun: "Brother Li, later send some people to lead the way and first escort Zhao Gou into Xuancheng."

"It's my duty." Li Tianrun clasped his hands in a fist salute and looked at Han Shizhong: "General, are there enough provisions for the journey?"

"Huh? On what road?" Han Shizhong looked at Li Tianrun with some confusion.

Li Tianrun was even more bewildered than him: "...Go to Xuancheng."

Han Shizhong tilted his head: "Who?"

“Uh… Brother Liangchen, you…” Li Tianrun pointed at him.

"I'm not leaving." Han Shizhong chuckled, rubbing his short beard with his fingers. "I'll at least give the Song army some big gifts here before I go."

Li Tianrun suddenly realized, and excitedly patted his chest: "Count me in."

……

Footsteps echoed in the sky as soldiers shoved several prisoners toward the courtyard. Liu Zhengyan and Miao Fu mounted their warhorses and watched as Zhao Gou was forced onto a carriage by several fierce Qi soldiers, their expressions devoid of joy or sorrow.

Liu Zhengyan looked at the passing Qi army and pulled one of them aside: "Did the general say where he was going?"

The soldier bowed and said, "General Han orders us to depart for Xuancheng immediately!"

"Oh……"

Liu Zhengyan nodded, but he didn't see Miao Fu behind him suddenly look stunned. Before he could speak, Lu Junyi rode up on horseback, glanced around, and seeing that everything was ready, waved his hand: "Let's go!"

The soldier driving the carriage cracked his whip, and the carriage moved slowly forward with a crisp sound, leaving two shallow ruts in the street.

Miao Fu, on horseback, glanced at the carriage, then at Lu Junyi, his expression shifting for a moment before urging his horse forward: "General Lu, has Xuancheng surrendered?"

“They have surrendered.” Lu Junyi turned to look at him, smiling as he said, “General Li Tianrun came to inform us of this news today, so the path between us and His Majesty is now open…”

Seeing that Miao Fu's expression was getting increasingly strange, he asked with some confusion, "Brother Miao, is something wrong? Why do you look like that?"

Liu Zhengyan also looked over curiously, hissing as he inhaled, his wrinkles asking, "Is there something wrong with Xuancheng?"

“…Nothing’s wrong.” Miao Fu’s facial muscles twitched slightly. “It’s just that the garrison commander of Xuancheng was a former subordinate of mine. I’ve been too busy these past few days and forgot about it for a moment…”

"..."

Liu Zhengyan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed instantly, and he looked at the former commander in front of him with a hint of speechlessness.

Lu Junyi glanced at him disdainfully, thinking to himself that General Han was right; this man was ambitious but incompetent, no wonder he failed to rebel.

No wonder! (End of Chapter)