Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Twenty miles southwest of Pennsylvania, the cavalry was moving away.

The red clouds in the west were losing their blood color. A swaying figure came over, pulled out the iron spear stuck in the corpse, and dragged his dead comrade away. Looking up, the flag of the Wanyan tribe fluttering in the dust was moving away towards the northwest. The smell of blood filled the air. The corpses of horses and people were piled up around him. The fighting spanned an area of ​​several miles, and there were many groaning sounds. Han Shizhong spat out blood foam, hung the iron spear on the warhorse, and jumped off.

"The Wanyan tribe has retreated. Clean up the battlefield, drag out the surviving brothers, and treat them quickly..."

He stretched his arms and walked to the front line where the fighting had just taken place. Looking at Xu Wen lying in a pool of blood, gasping for breath, he stretched out his foot and kicked him: "If you are not dead, get up. Why are you lying here?"

"...I don't want to move anymore." The energetic young general raised his hand, then patted the bloody soil beneath him, and gently closed his eyes: "Damn it, I just want to find a bed to lie down on now, I'm too tired..."

Han Shizhong hesitated for a moment, then bent down with difficulty and looked at his deputy general: "Are you not hurt anywhere?"

"You are not going to live long!" Xu Wen suddenly opened his eyes, struggled to glare at his commander, sighed and lay there, his voice a little weak: "I fought on the city wall after noon, climbed up and fought for a long time, although I didn't take it... Then I rushed fifteen miles and led the charge. Now I can still deal with you, a damn bastard, which is already a luxury for me! This North Central Army General, if you have the strength to talk to a little lieutenant like me, please help me to lie down in a dry place, okay? It's so uncomfortable to lie in the blood!"

"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay, hahahaha--" Han Shizhong stood up straight, ignored the request of his old partner, kicked him again, and said: "Just lie here, you can fall asleep anywhere anyway.", then turned and left.

"Han Powu, you bastard—"

Xu Wen stretched his neck as far as he could and glared at his unreliable commander. He trembled, then fell back down. He twisted his body angrily, but still had no strength to stand up in the armor. He simply closed his eyes and took a rest. Soon, a soldier lifted him up and, amid his protests, took him to the temporary gathering place for the wounded at the back.

Dark red bloodstains became the main color on the battlefield. The corpses of the Qi army were intertwined with the corpses of the Wanyan tribe. Someone went over and used all his strength to separate them. A knight of the Qi army was stabbed in the chest by an iron spear, but he held it tightly in his hand, and his own spear was also inserted into the opponent's stomach. The bodies of the two were trampled soft by the war horses. There were many such tragic scenes. The cavalry fell off their horses during a high-speed charge, and basically suffered the same fate.

Life and death, reflected in Han Shizhong's eyes, began to be covered with the blue sky. In the distance, the sound of a bull horn came. The somewhat ruffian young man sighed, stood down and shouted: "Where is the cavalry? The cavalry!"

"exist--"

Someone answered, and Han Shizhong turned around to see a soldier walking over with Zeng Tu. He then stepped forward and pulled the eldest brother of the Zeng family over, saying, "Blow the horn and let the central army come over!"

"Yes."

After a tired reply, the soldier took out his ox horn and blew it to inform his own army of his position.

“…I came a little late.”

Holding Zeng Tu, Han Shizhong sighed. The eldest of the Zeng family curled his lips and glanced at the side: "I'm lucky to be alive... Damn it, I underestimated that Wanyan Loushi."

Han Shizhong did not say anything. Zeng Tu was talking about the general mentality of the Qi army that was heading north this time. After conquering Xiangzhou and capturing Wanyan Xiyi alive, even he himself could not help but have a feeling that "this northern expedition should be an unstoppable one."

It's just that Wanyan Loushi gave them another answer...

"The damage is quite severe..."

He helped Zeng Tu aside and looked at the damage on his shoulder armor. His shoulder cape was torn open, revealing a wound as thick as a finger. The flesh turned outward was bleeding. He frowned and said, "You are also seriously injured."

Zeng Tu looked up and said, "I was almost stabbed in the heart by a young man with a gun."

"That's Wanyan Huonu." Wanyan Zongfu's voice came from behind. The two turned around and saw the young Jurchen man limping over, leaning on his iron spear. "Wanyan Loushi's son is also a fierce general."

He walked up to the two men, gritted his teeth, sat down with his legs straight, and said with sweat on his face: "When attacking Ningjiang Prefecture, this kid rushed left and right in the Liao army's formation and retreated only after being seriously injured. Dubo... Dubojilie once said that he would become a famous general in the future." He glanced at the two Qi generals and saw that they did not react when they heard him call Wanyan Aguda Dubojilie, so he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like he's a tough guy." Han Shizhong also sat on the ground, looked at Zeng Tu, and grinned: "He was injured by a famous general from another day..."

Zeng Tu snorted twice: "You are a dog's mouth that can't spit out ivory." He looked at Wanyan Zongfu's legs and said: "What's wrong with you?"

"I was hit by Wanyan Loushi." The young Jurchen smiled bitterly: "If his knife hadn't suddenly broken in the middle, I might have been chopped in two by him."

"It's just luck." Zeng Tu said.

Soon, someone lit a torch and night fell.

A flag with the word "Horse" written on it came into view in the firelight. The infantrymen who came over later helped the cavalry knights clean up the battlefield, and retreated to the camp with an indescribable expression.

At this time, the gate of the military camp was being repaired. Craftsmen holding wooden hammers and axes were banging on it. Spots of bonfires were burning in the military camp. The whole camp was silent amid the noise. The arrogant soldiers in the past had sorrow on their faces. In the dim light, someone walked into the central military tent, and the light of the fire cut the person's shadow onto the tent wall.

The flames crackled as Xi Sheng looked at the damaged document that was sent to him. The muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched, and he threw it on the table. He looked up at the generals below and said, "You all fought well."

Ma Ling, Niu Gao, and Zeng Tu lowered their heads in shame, Han Shizhong looked solemn, and Wanyan Zongfu had a blank expression, and no one knew what he was thinking.

After a while, someone walked out of the crowd, knelt on one knee and clasped his fists.

"General, it's all my fault. I knew the enemy had many cavalrymen, but I was still not prepared enough. Please punish me."

Xi Sheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Ma Ling: "Punishment? In today's battle, your infantry lost nearly a thousand soldiers, and Niu Gao's cavalry lost 700..."

Niu Gao, whose face was a little pale, trembled his lips and knelt down. The commander standing over there pointed to the side.

"Thirty percent of Zeng Tu's 2,500 cavalrymen are gone. Han Shizhong's cavalrymen still have more than 300, but you are short of cavalrymen to begin with. Even the 1,500 cavalrymen I allocated to you two have lost more than 300. How can you explain to the king if you continue to lead the troops like this?"

Several people bowed their heads in shame. Wang Zheng, who rarely looked serious, stood up, walked over, picked up the document, read it, and let out a sigh after a while: "General, calm down. At least we have left nearly 2,000 cavalrymen from the Wanyan tribe today..."

"More than half of these two thousand died during the attack on the camp. If Wanyan Loushi hadn't felt the situation was not good and retreated, how many people would have survived today..." Xi Sheng snorted twice and looked at the cavalry generals unhappily: "Get up, everyone. I will explain today's mistakes when I see the king tomorrow. This military beating will be remembered for you first, and I will settle the score with you after the battle!"

All the generals responded in a low voice. Xi Sheng sighed, "If we could have wiped out Wanyan Loushi's cavalry today, we would have been able to take the initiative in this battle. Although their losses are not small, they are not seriously injured. It seems that we must be careful in the future until we hear news from the king."

Han Shizhong and the others looked at each other and nodded. Xi Sheng waved his hand and said, "You guys go back and rest first." He looked at Wang Zheng and said, "Military Advisor, please stay for a while. I have something to discuss with you."

Wang Zheng nodded, and then all the generals clasped their fists and walked out of the tent. Two figures gathered in front of the feng shui map, whispering.

……

same moment.

There was a small boat moored by the Hunhe River. Wanyan Xishi threw down the oars with trembling hands, jumped onto the shore, ran all the way, and disappeared into the night. (End of this chapter)