Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sky was somewhat scorching hot, and the fields and woods were filled with the irritating chirping of cicadas. In the Liao military camp, many elite soldiers took off their armor and walked around the camp with bare chests, while others sat in the shade in groups of three or four. In such a hot summer, even attacking the city became a luxury.

Complaints and laziness were expressed in the expressions and words between people. Among this group of less than 30,000 Liao troops, a considerable number were veterans from Zhongjing Road. As the capital of the Liao Kingdom, they had long lost the bravery of their ancestors at the founding of the country. Instead, being cunning and enjoying themselves were the skills these soldiers were best at.

The failure to capture the city in the past few days was due to the good organization of Liu Yun and Wen Zhongrong in the city, but more importantly, it was because these Liao soldiers had no fighting spirit.

The sound of horse hooves rang out on the road in the camp. Xiao Qing, riding on a warhorse, was fully armed with armor. Streams of sweat flowed down his cheeks, dripping continuously onto the saddle, and then burst into even smaller beads of sweat that splashed out.

The guard in front of the central army tent dismounted at the sight of the approaching figure, forced himself to straighten his chest, but as a wave of sweat passed by him, his shoulders slumped again.

"General Xiao Qing greets the king."

"Xiao Xiangwen is here." In the commander's tent, Yelu Nieli, with his chest uncovered to reveal a patch of black hair, pointed to a seat and said, "Sit down. It's so hot, and you're still dressed like this. Huh..." He panted, "Looking at you like this, I feel even hotter."

Xiao Qing walked over and sat down, lowering his head and saying, "I am just doing what a general should do."

"What Xiao Xiangwen meant..." A general nearby glanced at him and said, "Are we no longer considered generals?"

Xiao Qing looked over and saw that the person who spoke was the commander of the West Camp, who was sitting there shirtless and drinking cold water. He retracted his gaze and said calmly, "I didn't say that. You admitted it yourself."

bang——

The water bowl fell on the table, and the general named Yelu Qi stood up and pointed at him: "What did you say, Xiao?"

"Alright." King Qin Jin, who was sitting on the commander's seat, spoke before Xiao Qing: "It's already irritating in such a hot day, so please don't make me even more annoyed."

Yelu Qi quickly turned around and clasped his fists: "Excuse me, my lord."

"Okay, sit down." Yelu Neri stretched out his hand and sat up straight. "Everyone is here. Let me tell you that the Xianzhou army was defeated by the Lu thief last night. I think the enemy has reached Liaoxi Prefecture today."

The commanders of the other three battalions below all fixed their gazes, straightened their bodies and looked towards the commander's seat.

"The bandit Lu is definitely going to lift the siege of Changqing, which means..." Glancing at the faces of the generals below, Yelu Neri tapped the table in front of him with his big hand: "At the latest tonight, at the earliest after noon, we will engage in battle with the bandit Lu's reinforcements."

Tuk tuk…

The monotonous sound of ordering tables echoed in the tent. Xiao Qing clasped his fists below and said, "May I ask, Your Majesty, do you know the strength of Lu the bandit's troops?"

Nodding, Yelu Neri stopped moving his fingers and said, "Not many soldiers have fled back. It is said that all the troops of Lu are cavalry. There are different estimates of their numbers. However, I infer that Lu's troops should be between 4,000 and 7,000. Otherwise, it would be difficult to defeat the Xianzhou troops so quickly."

Yelu Qi stood up immediately, clenched his fists and said, "There are 30,000 men in our four battalions, more than half of whom are cavalry. Don't worry, my king. I am willing to lead the troops to defeat him and offer you Lu Bu's head." He paused and laughed, then continued, "Capture him alive and let him go through the White Gate Tower again."

Yelu Neri shook his head repeatedly, shaking his hands forward: "I am not Cao Weiwu, I dare not say that."

Yelu Qi quickly bowed and clasped his fists: "I am sorry for my words."

Xiao Qing glanced at him and curled his lips. Turning back to look at the geomancy map, Yelu Neri pointed out: "Okay, let's not talk about this. We are surrounding the city from all sides. The Lu thief may choose to attack at any time. Everyone should be more careful when you go back. If you see any trace of the Lu thief, don't fight him alone. It's best to inform all parties and surround and kill him here."

"Yes."

Everyone stood up, clasped their hands together, and their voices shook the tent.

……

A cavalry of several thousand men galloped across the plains of Liaoxi Prefecture and followed the large banner with the word "Lu" into the woods. Waves of black-armored soldiers took a short rest in the shade of the trees. They were about to enter the next battlefield and face enemies that outnumbered them by several times, but they did not feel much nervous.

They were all veteran soldiers who had fought in many battles and had long lost the awkwardness and fear of going to the battlefield for the first time. Looking up at the rolled-up large flag with the word "Lu" on it, many of them felt more at ease. Some took the time to close their eyes and rest, while others took out their dry food and water bags and began to eat.

The iron helmet was taken off his head, and Yang Zaixing opened his mouth and gasped. Sweat kept oozing out from all over his body, and then was locked to his skin by his clothes and armor. He felt as if he was soaked in sticky water, and then a handful of fire was thrown on him, wrapping him tightly.

Sticky, stuffy, and irritable.

That was all he thought about.

"Drink some water, you'll feel better."

The hand holding the water bag appeared in his sight at some point. Yang Zaixing looked over and saw that it was Niu Gao. He quickly took it and raised his head to drink. "Drink slowly," he was told. He drank several sips before putting it away. He wiped his mouth and handed it over: "Thank you, Uncle Niu."

Niu Gao chuckled, took back the water bag, blocked his mouth, sat down and said, "What's up, kid? This is different from practicing martial arts at home."

Yang Zaixing pulled the corner of his mouth and nodded: "Compared to now, practicing martial arts at home in the past was simply a pleasure."

"Hahahaha..." Niu Gao patted the boy on the back, making Yang Zaixing cough twice. "Marching and fighting, marching and fighting, marching in the front is not just about telling people to hurry up, there is no such easy thing in the world." He retracted his arm and looked up at the dazzling sunlight between the leaves. "There is a lot of knowledge involved. What's the weather like, what's the road like, and even how to avoid being seen, all of which need to be learned."

The young man listened and agreed: "Uncle Niu is right."

Seeing Yang Zaixing nod, Niu Gao smiled on his dark and shiny face, stood up and pulled him up: "Let's go to the general, listen and see more, you may become a great general in the future."

Yang Zaixing smiled, took a breath, followed the figure in front of him, and headed towards the location surrounded by the personal guards.

"Let's contact Wei He and Han Tao first." Lu Bu sat on a tree stump, pointing at the location on the geomancy map. "The Liao army is now surrounded on all sides. It's easy to break through one side, but the enemy should also know that we are coming to help, so they will definitely be more cautious. So we have to find a way to keep us under the Changqing city."

Several cavalry commanders were surrounding them. When they heard the footsteps from behind, they looked back at Niu Gao and Yang Zaixing and made way for them. Hu Yanzhuo stroked his beard and said, "It's not that I look down on the Liao army. I'm afraid they still have a little time to keep us here."

Du Fu nodded: "It is true that the Liao army is weak, but it is also true that they have too many people. A large number of ants can kill an elephant, and a hero is afraid of a large number of people. If we surround them from all sides, let them find a chance to take a bite out of us..." He shook his head: "That would be a big loss."

"That's right." Lu Bu nodded and smiled: "So I'm going to attack his main camp." He drew four circles around Chang Qing: "Let the scouts go out and catch some tongues and find out who the commander is. We'll start the battle later and let the infantry hold them back." He looked up at the generals around him: "We'll attack his main camp with all our strength and kill his commander."

The people around looked at each other and nodded. Someone said, "I'll go find someone." (End of this chapter)