Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sky is dim, the clouds are dyed with a strong lead color, and the crescent moon

"Your Majesty, go here."

"There are no enemy soldiers or horses on this trail."

Gao Yongchang's troops stationed in the northeast of Hua Mountain and evacuated to the north had thrown away their flags and banners. They were fleeing in panic. The number of troops around them was greatly reduced. I don't know how many cavalry had escaped, leaving only less than 800. He was at his side, and Lu Bu's vanguard cavalry army behind him was in hot pursuit, so he could only hurriedly withdraw and find another way. As for rushing straight to Liaoyang Mansion, he really didn't have the courage. Seeing the winding fire dragon behind him rushing towards the north, he Knowing that their target is Tokyo.

As for the cavalry themselves, they were determined not to light torches.

"This guy Lu Bu...is really bullying people too much!!"

As he ran wildly, Gao Yongchang's frail state seemed to have returned. He still had half of the emperor's deportment at the moment. The golden helmet on his head was missing. His black hair was covered with sand and hung loosely on his shoulders. He lay prone on his horse, rising and falling as he ran, moaning from time to time due to pain.

Just as he was about to turn east and enter the mountain trail, he suddenly found cavalry in front. Seeing the people coming here, they quickly mounted their horses and formed a formation. Someone shouted loudly: "Where are the soldiers and horses in front?"

"The Bohai Warriors are here!"

The answering voice was a little breathless, but the group of cavalry breathed a sigh of relief, and each of them lowered their weapons. With such an appearance, they were naturally deserters from the Bohai Horse Army.

"stop!"

Gao Yongchang signaled to the guards, and someone shouted loudly. The galloping cavalry slowly stopped in front of the array, and the guards came over surrounded by the emperor who was encouraging him to stand up.

There was a commotion among the horse soldiers standing there, and then someone recognized the person through a dim light.

"His Majesty!"

Seeing Gao Yongchang on horseback, the leading general hurried forward, dismounted, staggered, gasped for breath, and then knelt down on one knee to pay his respects.

"It's Wu Shi..."

When the monarch and his ministers met, Gao Yongchang felt a little emotional for a moment: "You went out with the army before your injury was healed... Oh, and I let you see my miserable appearance. Get up. Don't make such big moves until your injury is healed. I don't know. How many people ran out?"

He wanted to dismount and help the only general he met, but he was exhausted, so he had to signal to the left and right, and a guard dismounted and hurriedly helped Wu Shi to get up.

"Perhaps there are quite a few, but at the end of the journey, the general led 342 people to ride here." Wu Shi covered his chest. He was beaten hard before when he fought with the Liao army, and now he is somewhat depressed: " Your Majesty, why don't you go around and go back to Liaoyang Mansion? There are still two troops in the city, Brother Xian and En Shengnu, with a total of 6,000 infantry. If you recruit young men to go to the city to defend it, the Lu thieves will not be able to break the city in a short time. If he doesn’t have enough food, he will retreat.”

Gao Yongchang was silent for a moment after hearing this, and shook his head on his horse: "We can't go back to Liaoyang Mansion. The vanguard of the Lu thieves has two armies, horse and infantry. If we go back at this time, we will definitely run into one of them. Our soldiers and horses are already exhausted. The battle was unfavorable, so we took a long way back..."

After a pause, he tightened his grip on the reins and said, "I'm afraid that I'll run into Thief Lu's army."

"That……"

"From here, I want to go to Yanzhou. There are naval forces there. We will walk eastward from the Dongliang River into the sea and go to Changsong Island."

"But Your Majesty..." Wu Shideng was a little anxious at the time: "Changsong Island is far away overseas, the island is not big, and there are no natural dangers. There is not much that can be done there..."

"Okay!" Gao Yongchang signaled him to shut up, but after all, he was the only general who could show his hands now, so he had to patiently explain: "Before departure, I sent a letter to Wanyan Aguda of the Kingdom of Jin in the north, inviting him to attack the Liao Dynasty together. Army, when they send troops to go south, we still have a chance to make a comeback. I have ordered my trusted guards to go north to find Tabuye and Piaohe to explain their whereabouts. At this time, we must ensure our own safety. These more than a thousand cavalry..."

The darkness gradually swallowed up the last ray of light. Gao Yongchang looked around and couldn't see clearly. He sighed: "There is still my beloved, who is my last support."

Wu Shi's face twitched, but he still clasped his fists reflexively: "I am willing to die for Your Majesty."

"Let's go."

Gao Yongchang nodded and said hello, and the cavalry went on the road again. Wu Shi looked at his back, stamped his feet, got on his horse, roared "Follow me!", and ran forward with the cavalry in front.

……

The moonlight shines down on the top of the city, and wind lanterns are hung on the Liaoyang Mansion city tower. The dim yellow lights sway slowly in the wind, illuminating the mottled red paint of the city wall. A dozen guards holding long guns line up from the east to the west side of the city wall. , nodded to the colleagues passing by, and continued moving forward.

In the city gate tower, an oil lamp was lit in the room of the general on duty. A few wisps of black smoke came out from the orange-red light. The dim light illuminated two figures reflected on the wall. The general named Brother Xian sat He gulped down the strong wine in the bowl at the table.

"Your Majesty has his own reasons for arranging for you and me to be stationed in the city. Besides, you and I have the military power, so there is nothing to be depressed about." Opposite the figure, En Shengnu wearing round gold earrings looked at him and continued to drink without saying a word. Companion: "There will be many wars waiting for you and me in the future."

boom--

The wine bowl was placed heavily on the table. Brother Xian raised his bloodshot eyes: "That's waiting for you!" He lifted the wine jar and poured wine into his own bowl: "Your Majesty has always disliked me. Do you really think I don't know?"

"Brother Xian, you are worrying too much." En Shengnu advised him. Seeing that he was still pouring the wine after a few sips, he quickly pressed the hand on the other side and said, "Don't drink any more. You have drunk enough tonight." ”

"Leave me alone!"

Brother Xian grabbed it hard, but the wine jar didn't move at all. He looked up at the figure opposite, his face darkened: "En Shengnu, what do you mean?"

"Calm down." Baring his teeth, En Shengnu pushed the cold flesh in front of him forward: "You and I are His Majesty's trusted generals, why are we so hostile?"

"You are my confidant." Brother Xian looked at him steadily, then reached out to grab the cooked meat, dipped it in the sauce on the side, stuffed it into his mouth, and said vaguely: "He has always been dissatisfied with me, do you really think I am Don’t know?”

En Shengnu opened his mouth, and the figure opposite raised his hand: "He has looked down on me since he was a general in the Liao Dynasty. Do you dare to say that you have never heard him insult me ​​in private?"

En Shengnu was silent for a moment: "You should call your Majesty, so as not to cause trouble if others hear you."

"Hmph! Who can listen, I..." The general stood up suddenly and pointed outward.

Before he finished speaking, there was the sound of hurried running outside, and someone shouted: "General, general! Something bad is going on. There is a cavalry attack outside!"

The two people sitting opposite each other drinking suddenly became smart. They bent their pointing hands downwards, stared at each other with wide eyes, and suddenly started to move. They picked up their iron helmets and put them on their heads. They picked up their long swords and hurriedly opened. Enter the gate of the city tower.

The soldiers outside smelled the smell of alcohol as if they had never smelled it, and hurriedly stepped forward and pointed out: "General, cavalry!"

In the dark night, a fire dragon appeared in front of us, and the roar of iron hoofs sounded like muffled thunder in the distance. The two people who were ordered to guard the city quickly walked towards the battlements, holding their hands on the city wall and looked outside. They were so close that they could see it. The banner with the word "Yuan" fluttering in the sway of the torch.

En Shengnu immediately turned around and said to the soldier: "Go and sound the alarm, light more torches to prevent the enemy from climbing up the wall in the dark!"

"Yes!" the soldier responded, and quickly turned around and ran away. Not long after, the sound of "dang, dang, dang, dang" golden bells sounded, startling countless sleeping soldiers. Weapons on the city wall!" He stood up and picked up his weapons. He didn't have time to put on his inner clothes, so he put on his leather armor and ran towards the city wall as if his butt was on fire.

"This number of torches..."

Ignoring the things around him, Brother Xian squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. The evening breeze blew, and he felt a little drunk.

"About a thousand riders can come at this time..."

En Shengnu took up the words, leaned forward slightly and patted the blue-black wall: "They are probably the vanguard cavalry of the Lu thieves. Unfortunately, there are no more cavalry in the city, otherwise we must go out of the city and annihilate them."

"You said..." Brother Xian turned to look at En Shengnu with a strange expression: "Why are these cavalry here?"

"Of course it's from the south..." Xin said bluntly, and En Shengnu suddenly realized something. He stopped and looked at Brother Xian's drunken face, "You mean... His Majesty..."

"Haha..." Brother Xian stood up straight, swayed, took a step back and left the battlement, walked to En Shengnu, slapped him hard on the shoulder, and put his mouth smelling of alcohol close to the round earrings made of gold: "He...oh, no, Your Majesty, haha...Your Majesty went south to intercept Lu...General Hussars, but at this time it was the other party's cavalry who came over to kill him. Why do you think it is?"

En Shengnu's Adam's apple twitched, his eyes looked at the cavalry that was rushing over quickly, and an ugly smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Maybe... maybe His Majesty didn't meet him?"

"Do you believe this?" Brother Xian glanced at En Shengnu meaningfully, and pointed at the fire snake that started to slow down: "Let's wait until he gets closer and see what he will say."

……

The horses' hooves trampled on the dark night and roared, the strong wind brought by the speed blew the flags, and even the lit torches made a whirring sound, flickering on and off in the narrow field of vision around them.

"Ahead is Liaoyang Mansion!"

"Quick! Make great achievements today!"

Yuan Lang roared from time to time to cheer up the cavalry in the rear. Teng Si and Teng Kan looked excited. As the vanguard, their duty was to open roads through mountains and build bridges when encountering water. If there were any enemy troops, they should be defeated.

They met Gao Yongchang, defeated him in a battle, and fled. Unfortunately, there were many people on the other side, and they were all cavalry. They fled in all directions and were unable to do their best. At this time, when the army came to Liaoyang Mansion, they and others could be considered capable. Got the credit.

The dark city wall approached in sight, and Yuan Lang shouted: "Slow down, don't get into the range of the archers!"

In the huge, dark horse's eyes, the city wall was already in sight, and figures with torches kept running up the city wall. Under the flickering light of the fire, they looked a little panicked.

"Uu——"

Yuan Lang pulled the reins, and the horse slowly stopped under his crotch. The cavalry in front lifted the reins and moved out of the way. The red-faced man urged the horse to move in front of the cavalry, slowly glanced around the soldiers on the city wall, and spoke with confidence: "City People above, listen, you, the false emperor, have been defeated and captured by us in the south of Zhuhua Mountain. If you surrender early, there is still a way for you to survive, otherwise, when the army arrives, we will all be defeated!"

The voice was loud and echoed far away in the silent night. On the city wall, En Shengnu clenched his fist and punched the wall. He pointed down and wanted to curse. Brother Xian looked at it wandering aside and suddenly pulled him. Holding his arm, the former turned his head to look at him strangely, and his slightly drunken words echoed on the city wall: "Anyone can talk nonsense, if you have the ability, you can lay siege to the city!"

"Okay, okay!" Yuan Lang raised his right hand at the foot of the city and pointed upward: "Wait, wait!"

He turned around and shouted to the back: "Stand back and be on guard until the infantry from behind come up to surround the city!"

More than a thousand cavalrymen on the city wall turned back in full view, retreated a few miles away and then stopped again, facing the city and remaining silent.

Seeing this, En Shengnu turned to Brother Xian: "What do you want to do?"

Brother Xian tilted his head slightly, looked left and right, and ordered: "Please guard the city wall, don't let anyone sneak up on you." He pulled En Shengnu into the city gate tower and closed the door: "There is no place to talk outside. Son……"

En Shengnu watched his movements and took a breath: "Brother Xian, do you want to rebel?"

Pushing the door leaf with both hands, Brother Xian was silent for a moment, turned around and smiled strangely. He walked forward and sat down at the table. He was not drinking at this time. He held a piece of meat and raised it in front of his eyes: "The Han people have a saying. "The king treats his ministers like his hands and feet, and his ministers regard him as his heart; the king regards his ministers as grass and grass, and his ministers regard him as a bandit."

He opened his mouth and put the unseasoned meat into his mouth: "What does Gao Yongchang think of me? Why can't he say the same thing? Besides..."

He smiled meaningfully: "Don't you also want to do the opposite? Otherwise, how can you listen to me nagging a lot here."

The lights flickered, illuminating the two people's faces with uncertainty. No one spoke for a while. En Shengnu untied his sword and put it aside, walked over and sat down, pouring himself wine and drinking in silence.

Brother Xian didn't speak, he just ate meat. I don't know how long it took. There was a sound outside, and a general knocked on the door and opened it: "General, there are Lu thieves' infantry outside. There are about six or seven thousand people watching the torch. They are building something." Fortifications, please tell me how to do it?”

Looking up at En Shengnu who was holding a bowl and drinking, Brother Xian turned his head and said calmly: "Don't worry about him, just be on guard against him until he attacks the city."

"Yes."

After responding, the general quickly closed the door and ran to the side, and then someone outside shouted orders.

"It seems that His Majesty has really been defeated..." Holding half a bowl of wine, En Shengnu stared at the swaying liquid with somewhat blurred eyes. He looked up at Brother Xian and then lowered his eyelids.

"Oh, he has great ambitions but few talents..." He said something, and the previous drunkenness seemed to have dissipated a lot, and he looked at his companions next to him: "Since he started the army, he has lost several battles, and now he can't even leave the door of his house. Such people..."

He shook his head slowly and said word by word: "Not worthy of allegiance."

En Shengnu raised his hand and drank the wine in one gulp, then put down the wine bowl gently: "Don't talk about it anymore, it's a battle between the king and his ministers..." He pointed his fingers on the table twice: "I just don't know whether he was betrayed by the thief Lu... General Lu Catch."

"...Probably not." Brother Xian thought for a while and shook his head: "If I were the leading general below and captured the opponent's general, I would like to tie it to a flagpole and erect it for the city to see in order to undermine the morale of the army. The other party just said it in words For a moment, but failed to push the person out, I thought..."

"Escape!" En Shengnu replied, and then sighed: "I feel that Your Majesty is always on the run and never wins..."

The person opposite didn't speak, just nodded. He reached out and picked up the wine jar and shook it. The remaining wine made a crisp sound. He stood up and filled the two of them with wine. He sat down and raised his eyes in a very different way: "Let's talk first. Well, I have no intention of fighting to death for it.”

En Shengnu lowered his head and remained silent for a few breaths, then took a long breath and raised his head: "Me neither..."

The two wine bowls were raised and collided. The wine sloshed and poured into the other's bowl.

Subsequently,

Drink. (End of chapter)