Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

When the disaster victims were heading south, Xi Sheng and Du Fu had already received the news. According to the news from Liaoyang Prefecture, border controls were immediately relaxed to allow women and children to cross the border. They even cooked some hot soup and served it to the elderly and children, which made the grateful people burst into tears.

At this time, having a hot mouth is better than anything else.

The wind from the north blew through the frozen snow, and tiny snowflakes flew up into the air. The fur sewn on the iron armor was covered with a few crystals, and the cloak rustled in the wind. Du Fu wiped his face to get rid of some melted water droplets. Behind him were a thousand black cavalrymen, all wearing thick winter clothes, armor on their coats, and cloaks on their bodies. They watched the vehicles approaching in the distance in the cold wind.

The King of Qi ordered them to come at the same time, and there were reports that scouts needed to be responded to. So he and Xi Sheng took precautions and brought cavalry to meet their colleagues who were about to arrive. However, it seemed that...

Noisy sounds echoed in my ears. Groups of women and children supported each other and walked past the soldiers guarding the checkpoints. Occasionally, a frightened look came over, but when they saw the people on horseback ignored them, they hurriedly walked to the back.

"How long do we have to wait like this?"

There were a few snowflakes on Feng Tai's steel beard. He rode his horse behind Du Fu and complained, "You only said you could arrive today but didn't say when."

"Maybe they don't know either." Du Yu looked back at him, holding the reins with his furry leather hands. "There is too much snow on the road now, and many people from the north are moving south. The time may be a little off."

"Then there's no need for the general to wait here in person..." Feng Tai muttered, "I can just wait here, why do I need you to be here in person?"

"I have to watch it to feel at ease." Du Fu stroked the horse's mane, with a faint white smoke coming out of his mouth: "If the Jin soldiers attack, I can take precautions early. Besides, I am not a spoiled person. I can't go out if it's a little cold."

The wind blew across the fields, the military flags in the rear made sounds, and the war horses neighed softly. From time to time, people glanced over, watching the cavalry here with vigilance and curiosity.

At a certain moment, there was a commotion at the checkpoint, and someone on horseback followed the sentry and ran over from that side. Du Fu frowned, not knowing what was going on.

The warhorse stopped in front and asked the rider to wait there. The soldier jumped off the horse, ran over and knelt on one knee: "General, I stopped a rider and he said he had a precious horse to present to the King of Qi."

"Oh?"

Du Yu's expression changed. He looked at the horseman waiting over there. He was dressed like a herdsman, wearing a fur hat on his head. The warhorse under his crotch was dirty. He couldn't tell his true appearance. But the warhorse looked very agile and tall. He raised his left hand with the muff and pointed: "Let him come over."

"Yes."

The soldier hurried back and said a few words. The man on the horse quickly got off and trotted over. When he saw Du Fu, he knelt down without paying attention to the snow on the ground and kowtowed: "I am Duan Jingzhu, with a nickname of Golden Retriever. I am honored to meet the great general of Qi."

"I'm not a general, just call me general." Du Fu shook his head and looked at him from his horse: "Stand up and answer."

"Yes, thank you, General." Duan Jingzhu stood up quickly, but saw that the man had red hair and yellow beard, was thin and stout, and stood there with his head lowered.

"You said you wanted to present a horse to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi?" Looking at the grey horse, Du Fu could tell that the horse was deliberately covered with plaster to hide its original appearance. He raised his head and asked, "Is this the horse?"

"It's this horse." Duan Jingzhu said nervously, his body tense, "I happened to run into some Jin generals in Huanglong Mansion, and this horse happened to be away from them. I saw that this horse was a famous horse that could run a thousand miles, but it was a pity that he had to be inferior to a mortal, so I wanted to find a hero to ride it, so I took the opportunity to run away with it."

"Accidentally, coincidentally, huh..." Du Fu repeated softly, and looked at Duan Jingzhu meaningfully, without saying much. Looking at the precious horse, he couldn't help but get off the horse out of curiosity. The personal soldiers gathered behind him. The former circled around the side of the horse, but saw that the horse was ten feet long from head to tail, and eight feet high from hoof to spine. The whole body was gray and white, and it was snorting, and kept raising its hoof to stomp the ground, and its tail behind it was swinging vigorously.

Duan Jingzhu watched him walk to the side of the horse and said, "This horse was originally white. At first, I was afraid that someone would catch up with it, so I smeared mud on it. But it is indeed a good horse that can run a thousand miles. It runs like the wind. It has been running for several days without anyone chasing it. It's just that it's cold and I didn't dare to wash it, so it looks like this just now."

"……Um."

Du Fu nodded, looked at the horse's ears and eyes, listened to the horse's breathing, and carefully examined the horse's head and spine, then looked at the horse's belly and legs.

Duan Jingzhu's eyes lit up when he saw this, and he couldn't help but smile: "General, you also understand horses. Look at this horse. Its ears are like bamboo shoots, and it can endure hard work. Its eyes are like bird eyes and they are big. Big eyes mean courage and it is not easily frightened. The horse's head bones are distinct and all sections are raised. It is energetic and vigorous, its mane is light and smooth, and its breathing is gentle."

Du Fu looked at him in surprise, then looked at the precious horse and listened to the sound.

"Looking from the front, you can see the eyes, the belly and the flesh, which means this horse is a fine horse. The chest is more than one foot wide, which means it can run for a long time. There is hair under the belly, which means it can run a thousand miles. The two front feet are white, and the teeth are white, which means it has a long life. It looks big but is small when you get close to it, which means it is a strong horse."

Du Fu stroked his chin, read what he said with interest, and glanced at the golden retriever: "You also know how to judge horses?"

Duan Jingzhu gave a flattering smile: "I often hang out in the horse market, so I know a thing or two after a while."

Feng Tai, who was riding on a horse in the back, could not help but approach Niu Gao and said, "He is most likely a horse thief. He looks poor and shabby. He doesn't look like someone who can buy and sell horses."

Niu Gao scratched his steel beard and leaned forward slightly: "Who cares? As long as it's a good horse, it's fine."

"……Too."

In front, Du Fu looked at Duan Jingzhu and pointed at the horse: "Does this horse have a name?"

Duan Jingzhu quickly said, "This horse has a name, it's called the Jade Lion Shining at Night."

"The horse is good." Du Fu said with a smile: "I will send a team to Liaoyang Prefecture later, and you can go with them then."

Duan Jingzhu was not stupid. He knew that the general of Qi was obviously going to send someone back to deliver the horses, and that he was being taken along as a gift. He was overjoyed, and knelt on the ground with his knees bent. "Thank you, General, for your appreciation."

"You earned it yourself." Du Fu said, then he remembered something and looked at him: "You know how to judge horses, but can you train and raise horses?"

"This is my specialty." Duan Jingzhu patted his chest and pointed at the Jade Lion of Zhaoye: "Look, General, from Huanglongfu to here, it was freezing cold, but I didn't let this horse lose weight. This is enough to prove my ability."

"Very good!" Du Fu laughed. (End of this chapter)