Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In the first month of autumn, on the day of Guimao, the sun rose in the middle of the sky, and the cicadas were making desperate noises.

The heavy rain a few days ago made the world a little cooler. Ships carrying food and equipment were parked in the surging Liaohe River. Green grass stretched out outside the dock. Docile pack horses were harnessed to carts, and the round wheels began to move forward with the crisp sound of the whip. The heavy wheels rolled through the grass, leaving two clear ruts.

Around the dock, soldiers in black military uniforms stood there holding their guns, with the scorching sun shining down on their heads, their temples wet. Figures riding war horses were patrolling the surroundings in groups of three or five, and Lu Bu, wearing white brocade clothes, walked down from the transport ship.

"The last general has met the great general."

Du Fu and Xiao Haili, who came forward to greet him, knelt on one knee, followed by Niu Gao and Dong Ping who came behind them and bowed together. Then a voice came, "No need to be polite." Several people stood up and put their hands on the hilts of their swords. The Khitan man was the first to laugh: "I thought the general would arrive a few days later if he went by land, but I didn't expect him to come on a transport ship."

"I also want to stay back for a few more days." The figure moving forward looked back and saw Chi Tu being led down the gangplank by Yu Cheng. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "It's a pity that I can't do that. If I stay in Yinzhou any longer, I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed by official duties. Besides..." He glanced at the two of them approvingly: "My generals have already fought to Tongzhou. If I don't come here, it will disappoint the soldiers fighting hard on the front line."

The two cavalry commanders smiled. Du Fu said as they walked: "It wasn't a hard fight. Apart from chasing the remnants of the Jin army, most of the troops surrendered at the sight of the enemy. They rode their war horses over, entered the city, changed the flags, and took the city."

"That's right." Xiao Haili's bald head looked shiny in the sun. Hearing this, he added, "I thought we had to fight all the way up, but I didn't expect these city defenders to surrender one after another."

Several cavalrymen led the war horses over, Yu Cheng stepped forward with Red Hare, Lu Bu climbed on, and the rest of the people mounted their horses one after another. The sound of horse hooves could be heard slowly, and the guards and personal soldiers holding weapons guarded around.

"It's because the Jin Dynasty was established not long ago." With his body swaying slightly with Red Hare's steps, Lu Bu raised his hand to block the sunlight: "I remember that the Jin Dynasty was established only two years ago?"

"That's right. The country was established in the first month of the fifth year of Tianqing, which was last year." Xiao Haili nodded and looked at the green fields in front of him: "I heard that the Jurchens in Jin are very friendly to the Bohai people. There are also many Bohai people in this area. Many of the garrisons in several cities are from Bohai. If we have ten years, I'm afraid we will have to fight all the way up."

"Doesn't this mean..." Lu Bu narrowed his eyes slightly, wiped the sweat from his temples, "The heavens are helping us." He turned his head slightly, "As time goes by, these cities will belong to us sooner or later."

"Maybe it will be faster." Du Fu lowered his head and touched the hair of the green-maned horse. "The Liao court is unpopular in this land, and the Jin Kingdom has just been defeated by us. This means that destiny is on the side of the general. If he doesn't surrender, who else can he follow?"

A horse team of hundreds of people marched slowly. A breeze blew over, and the flags fluttered in the back, then drooped down again.

"Hahaha, well said—" Laughter rang out in the sky, and Lu Bu raised his whip and pointed to the north: "Next, as long as we swallow up the Jin Kingdom, the hundreds of tribes in Liaodong will know what to do."

Dong Ping tightened his grip on the reins and suddenly said, "General, why don't you attack immediately? The Jin army is frightened now, so you can keep fighting until Huanglongfu."

"A centipede will not die without being stiffened, let alone defending the capital." The warhorse was moving up and down, and Lu Bu's face was thoughtful as he spoke: "We have a total of 30,000 to 50,000 elite soldiers. This time we are fighting the Jin people. I believe you also know that their soldiers are resistant to hard fighting. It is easy to lose them if we attack head-on." With an indescribable strange expression, he said: "Do you know what happened to the Yuan brothers after Yuan Shao died in the late Han Dynasty?"

The people following behind couldn't see his expression. Du Fu thought for a moment: "Does the general want to follow Cao Wei's strategy?" "Tsk——"

A barely audible sound seemed to come from the front, and amid the sound of horse hooves, the people behind were not sure they had heard it correctly and thought they had misheard.

"Let's give it a try. We will retreat later. If it works, they will weaken their own strength. If it doesn't work..." Lu Bu paused for a moment, and stroked the red and fluffy mane of Red Hare with his big hand: "I am also a man who can fight tough battles!"

The people at the back looked at each other, and then all looked at the Khitans. Xiao Haili looked thoughtful, "The Jurchens are different from the Han people. They inherit the throne from the elder brother..." He grinned wickedly, and gloated, "The guy the general killed on the battlefield probably didn't have time to leave a will to choose a successor. I'm not unfamiliar with his brothers. They're not easy to deal with. If there's no external pressure, I'm afraid they can do what the general wants and cause chaos among themselves for a while."

Hearty laughter rang out among the people. Lu Bu, who was riding forward, first forced a smile, then frowned, as if...

Not that happy...

Time passed slowly, and as the sun set in the west, a long supply team entered Tongyuan City from the Liaohe River. Soon, ships with the words "Li" and "Wei" on their flags came over and patrolled back and forth on the river.

……

Night falls.

Heading south from Huanglongfu, to Weizhou, you’ll be greeted by a night sky paved with stars.

Under the Milky Way, three thousand cavalrymen were resting in the military camp. Many of them had caught a cold after traveling in the rain. They were blowing their noses vigorously and drinking boiling hot ginger soup. Since they entered the city in the daytime, the situation in Huanglong Mansion had spread throughout the army. It turned out that Wanyan Gao, who had returned first, had lost all his troops, causing instability in the army. The subsequent battle reports were even more alarming. Many people in the court had retreated to the Wanyan tribe in the north.

Wanyan Gao didn't know what he promised to make several old men in the court support him, but now Wanyan Sheng, who came back a little late, is in a passive position.

"Fourth brother..." Wanyan Wuzhe, who had a dark complexion, sat behind the table, holding a wine glass and looking at Wanyan Sheng, who looked exhausted. "Does it have to be like this? Is there anything that brothers can't sit down and talk about?"

"Talk?" Wanyan Sheng looked at his brother opposite him with drooping eyelids: "I want to talk too, but you can see that the southern army has come forward in large numbers, and Xie has lost soldiers and humiliated the country. It is not enough to resist the southern invasion. If he is allowed to take power, I am afraid that the Great Jin will be destroyed in just two years. Wouldn't that be a huge joke?"

Looking at his silent brother, he raised his glass and said, "Although I am not as good as the second brother, at least I am more involved in military affairs than Shilang, and I can hold up this house that is about to fall. Brother, will you help him? Or me?"

The lights flickered, and the dark-skinned man kept drinking. (End of this chapter)