Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In the hall, Yelu Yanxi looked helpless. He looked at his brother who looked serious and sighed, "Everyone has his own talents. Xiao Aiqing can still share the burden for me." He waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore."

Yelu Dezhong frowned below. Xiao Deli was very much in Yelu Yanxi's favor, and there was also a...

"Your Majesty is right." The figure who came out bowed and looked at Yelu Dezhong with an arrogant look. "The deputy governor is afraid of ropes after being bitten by a snake once. He was defeated by Lu Bu, so he regarded him as his mortal enemy and was afraid of him all day long. Little did he know that such a scumbag could only be rampant for a while. In the vast land of Liao, there are countless rebels like him."

"Xiao Fengxian, you..." Pointing at the other person, Yelu Dezhong's face looked grim. In the history of the Liao Dynasty, there were indeed many rebels buried underground. However, they were all rebels without any foundation, such as Dong Pang'er last year. He just gathered some vicious people, had no land or city, and no support from local clans, so he could be easily suppressed.

Liaodong was different. They occupied half of Liaodong and had the largest population and the most money and grain. They were supported by Bohai, Han, and Jurchen. Yelu Dezhong was afraid that if he continued to let them go, it would be even more difficult to get rid of them in the future. He was convinced that even people like Yelu Yuyang would support this idea. However, the emperor who could make the decision...

"Hey, my dear ministers, please stop arguing..." Yelu Yanxi looked helpless. It was because of this that he was even more reluctant to attend the court to discuss matters. He forced himself to cheer up and said, "Now we should discuss whether to let the resentful army continue to advance south..."

After saying that, he wanted to slap himself in the face. They had just started a quarrel because of this. Sure enough, the two groups of people below stared at him and raised their voices: "Before-"

The people with the surname Yelu and Xiao below looked at him, and the Liao emperor breathed a sigh of relief: "The Jin soldiers are indeed strong, and the Lu thief is not easy to deal with. I intend to send more troops to the border between the two countries first, and then the commander will act according to the military situation."

Yelu Chun and Yelu Deda were very happy. While Yelu Yuyang was delighted, he also secretly complained in his heart, wondering how this ridiculous emperor could come up with such a reliable idea.

"...Xiao Fengxian is fully responsible for this matter."

The sound that came into their ears changed the expressions of the first two. Yelu Yuyang was stunned, but he actually felt a sense of security that this was the emperor's true nature. For a moment, his face showed a complicated expression.

"His Majesty!"

"I accept the decree!"

Two voices sounded at the same time. Yelu Yanxi, who didn't want to sit in the hall and watch them quarrel any longer, shook his hands and stood up: "Okay, it's decided like this, don't bother me!"

He turned and left, and the eunuch beside him shouted: "Withdraw from the court——"

Many officials in the rear lowered their heads and turned away. Yelu Yuyang lowered his eyelids, turned around and strode away. Xiao Fengxian walked past Yelu Chun and Yelu Dezhong with his hands behind his back, let out a "humph", and strode away with his head held high, leaving the two of them gritting their teeth, but helpless, so they both had to leave the almost empty hall.

In the eighth year of Tianqing in Liao Dynasty, on the day of Renyin in the last month of spring, Xiao Delidi took command again as the envoy of the Northern Privy Council and mobilized Xiao Heshangnu, the governor of Guizhou, and Xiao Gan, the king of the six tribes of Xi, to lead a total of 23,000 soldiers from various ethnic groups to go into battle.

At that time, Xiao Fengxian sent the army outside the city and had a secret conversation with Xiao Delidi before leaving. Then a young general named Xiao Sixian appeared in his army.

On that day, flags were waving, carriages and horses were marching, raising clouds of dust, and with the sound of rumbling footsteps, they set out on the road to the east.

……

After the war, Jingyuan City was busy repairing the city walls and clearing out dissidents in the city. A large number of female corpses were cleared out every day. At the same time, Guo Yaoshi wrote letters to the emperor crying three times a day requesting the allocation of food, fodder, and weapons. At the same time, he restrained his subordinates and did not provoke the Jin army and Wanyan tribe that were right in front of him, as if he was satisfied with just capturing a city.

It was not until the news of confirmed reinforcements from the Liao army arrived that Guo Yaoshi ordered his troops to be stationed fifteen miles southeast of the city, forming a corner with Jingyuan City and waiting for the troops from the rear to arrive.

On the Yi Si day, Wanyan Sheng, who received the news, ordered his troops to withdraw. At the same time, the Wanyan tribe in the north began to intensify the deployment of the Binzhou defense line to guard against the Yuan army. Wanyan Loushizhe took the opportunity to go south and threaten Xiangzhou.

On Dingwei, Wanyan Xiyin, the defender of Xiangzhou, surrendered to Wanyan Gao, and the northern barrier of Huanglongfu was suddenly lost.

……

Bangpong——

The precious porcelain was smashed to the ground. Wanyan Sheng stood in the room with a green face. His shiny scalp had some stubble. He pulled out the scimitar embedded with gems and chopped it down hard on the table. Amid the crackling sound, the successor of the Jin Dynasty who was sitting in Huanglong Mansion smiled strangely and murmured, "You are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust."

"Someone come!" Wanyan Sheng thrust the knife hard on the table, "Send to Soli B room!"

……

Far to the south, the sun occasionally shone through the gaps in the clouds. Cavalrymen traveled back and forth on the plains. The knights with military intelligence put small flags on their backs and galloped towards Liaoyang Prefecture in the south, changing horses but not men.

In just three or five days, at the gate of Liaoyang Prefecture, the people were shouted at by the soldiers guarding the gate to make way for the knights who were coming from afar. When the soldiers on horseback delivered the information to the Prince of Qi's Palace, Lu Bu, dressed in military uniform, was talking to Ma Ling, Han Shizhong, and Niu Wenzhong who had returned. After reading the news, he stood up suddenly.

"Xuan Wang Zheng, Li Zhu, Qiao Lie, Jiang Jing, and Li Ying, come over here, and go to the military camp outside the city to ask Hua Rong to put down his current affairs and come to the palace to listen to orders."

Not long after, five civil officials and one military officer hurried in dressed in official uniforms and military uniforms.

"The Liao army has captured the Jin Kingdom's Jingyuan City." Lu Bu walked in the hall and threw the information in his hand to Wang Zheng, who had not yet sat down. Then he tilted his head and laughed: "I didn't expect that the Liao people would break the deadlock. I thought they would not dare to set foot in Liaodong again."

Li Zhu and Qiao Lie, who were looking at the military information in Wang Zheng's hand, raised their heads and said, "Your Majesty is right. We also thought that the Liao people were already scared and could only take a beating without the courage to fight back."

"It's really surprising." Wang Zheng held the document in both hands, his eyes wide open as if he was asleep in the past, and he pushed the document aside with some surprise: "Zheng thought that the Liao people would not dare to start a war easily for at least two years, but now I have a new respect for them." He touched his chin and muttered: "I just don't know what Wanyan Gao is thinking..."

Jiang Jing and Li Ying didn't say anything. They just stood there silently, thinking about something. Occasionally, they exchanged glances and whispered a few words.

"..." Hua Rong, Ma Ling, Han Shizhong, and Niu Wenzhong were all excited. The former took the document, and the four heads gathered together to read it. After a while, they looked up and said, "It's strange that the Jin soldiers actually lost to the Liao people."

Lu Bu put his hands on his hips and walked to the hanging feng shui map. He stretched out his hands and patted it, making a rustling sound. "Don't worry about that. Victory and defeat are common in the military. One victory or defeat cannot determine the overall situation. What you should pay attention to is that the Wanyan brothers did not unite together this time."

"Your Majesty is right." Han Shizhong's eyes lit up: "This is a godsend opportunity. No matter why, the tacit understanding between the two sides has been broken." He stepped forward and clasped his hands together: "I will lead the way and attack Huanglongfu from the north."

Hua Rong beside him stepped forward at the same time and said: "Hua Rong has not achieved much since entering Liaodong. I would like to ask for the position of vanguard."

Two voices intertwined, and the two people who finished speaking glared at each other at the same time. Lu Bu laughed and said, "Don't worry, we will definitely go north to Huanglongfu, but neither of you can be the vanguard. Don't forget that Xi Sheng and Du Fu are still on the northern defense line."

Han and Hua were a little discouraged.

Lu Bu looked at the two of them with amusement and said, "Don't worry. The Northern Expedition will not be accomplished in a day. We will have to work hard for you two."

The two men's faces calmed down a bit, and Lu Bu turned to look at Li Ying and Jiang Jing: "How much food and grass do we have now to support the Northern Expedition?"

The two people in charge of money and grain looked at each other, and the fortune teller bowed and said, "If the king goes north, how many troops will he bring?"

The generals in the hall all straightened their backs.

Lu Bu was silent for a moment. "In the north, Xi Sheng and Du Fu have 15,000 men. In addition to the soldiers defending Liaoyang Prefecture, I am ready to mobilize another 15,000 troops to the north." He looked at the two men and asked, "Are there any problems?"

Li Ying hesitated for a moment and said, "It should be fine. In the past six months, Doctor Jiang and I have purchased a lot of grain from Liao and Song. With 30,000 soldiers and farmers, excluding travel expenses, we should be able to support them for four months."

"But Your Majesty, you still have to hurry." Jiang Jing added, "The price of grain in Nanjing Road has risen by 20 to 30 percent recently. Du Xing, who went to Song, also complained about the rising grain prices. I think if I go again this year, the grain prices may be even higher."

"How is the situation in Goryeo?" Li Zhu suddenly spoke up.

Jiang Jing shook his head: "Goryeo is a poor place. It's good enough to be able to support itself. I really can't count on it."

"Then let's set a deadline of three months!" Lu Bu stood up, waved his arm, and pointed at Huanglong Mansion: "Capture this city in three months."

"Yes!"

Everyone in the hall was excited, and then they began to discuss the generals who would accompany the army and defend the city. Fang Zi said a few words, and Yu Cheng knocked on the door outside: "Your Majesty, there is an envoy from the Huanglong Mansion in the north."

"Ok?"

The people who were talking stopped and looked at each other. Lu Bu went back to his seat and sat down: "Let him in."

Yu Cheng bowed and retreated. Not long after, a burly man walked into the hall and bowed to Lu Bu: "The Jin envoy Suoli Yishi greets His Majesty the King of Qi." (End of this chapter)