Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

As the night deepened, dozens of riders galloped across the field. The sounds of interrogation and scolding rang out under the night sky. Then they continued to move forward and entered the camp in the village.

Wanyan Gao is already dead.

The head was chopped off and treated with lime. Although it had lost its blood color, someone familiar with it could still recognize at a glance whose Liuyang leader it was.

Du Fu, Yuan Lang, Wanyan Bendu and several other generals stood below. At the top, Lu Bu sat on a seat looking at the head in the wooden box with a strange expression on his face. Dozens of thick candles were burning in the room, and the flames illuminated the faces of every soldier in the room. Wulinda Taiyu, who was kneeling on the ground, looked respectful with his lips tightly pursed. There were friendly eyes all around him. Under the flickering candlelight, his usually serious face seemed a little softer.

Wulindahe, who was standing outside, stretched his neck to take a look inside and muttered, "What are you doing? Standing there like an idiot and no one is talking..."

Yu Cheng looked at him with a helpless look. This guy spoke loudly, but he himself didn't notice it. Everyone in the room heard it. Lu Bu already knew that this guy was stupid, so he naturally didn't care. Looking at Wulinda Taiyu who suddenly looked uneasy, he stretched out his hand and said, "Chief Wulinda, get up."

"Thank you, King Qi."

Wulindatai wanted to bow and thank him, but he felt a little awkward when he stood up. He couldn't help but look back outside. The Jurchen man standing there tilted his head and looked inside. He took a breath as if he had a toothache, bowed his head and apologized: "Wulindahe is rude and impolite. Please punish him for the king."

Just as he turned around and was about to leave, Lu Bu raised his hand and said, "Forget it, I don't mind." The figure stopped and turned around with a respectful look on his face.

Lu Bu reached out and closed the wooden box. "As I said before, since you brought Wanyan Gao's head, I will not be stingy with the official position."

The tiger eyes looked at Wulindataiyu, and the standing man's face relaxed, but he still spoke in a low voice: "This time Wanyan Gao was killed, thanks to the help of the chief of Yidian tribe and the warriors of Pulumaoduo tribe. If they hadn't killed all the soldiers guarding the gate, I don't know if the bodies of Wanyan tribe would have been buried. So I dare not take the credit."

Du Fu and Yuan Lang looked at each other and nodded slowly. A soldier from Yidian's tribe had returned earlier than Wulindatai and informed them of what had happened in Wanyan's tribe, so everyone in the room already knew about it. Yidian Hada invited Puwuerha to go north to attack Wanyan Gao. After the 1,500 soldiers of Wulinda's tribe entered the city, Puwuerha hiding in his army joined forces with the warriors of Yidian's tribe to attack and occupy the city gate. Later, the two 3,000-strong coalition forces that arrived captured the city. The three of them worked together to force Wanyan Gao to death and surrendered his people. Now they are clearing out the remaining forces of Wanyan's tribe, waiting for Lu Bu to cross the river and take over Wanyan's territory.

"They have their own merits, and you have yours." Lu Bu leaned back and looked at the man in front of him with a smile: "Now I'm talking about your reward." His voice suddenly rose: "Wulindatai wants to listen to the title."

The Jurchen man ignored the hardness of his armor and knelt down with a thud. The voice in his ears sounded like the sound of nature: "Promote you to General Mingyi, give you the title of Right Shuzhang, grant you a horse, a set of swords, spears and armor, and three hundred taels of gold. You will be stationed in Huntong City, and your tribe will be moved west of Huntong City."

Wulindatai was overjoyed. Ningjiang Prefecture was located in the middle of two waterways, with rich soil and water, and many tribes and caravans coming and going. It was much better than the place where his own tribe was located. Naturally, he was willing to go there, and he kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Lu Bu stood up and smiled: "No need to be so, I will reward you for your merits and punish you for your mistakes, this is what you deserve." He patted the wooden box beside him and said: "Rest for tonight, and tomorrow morning I will have someone carry this head to persuade the defenders in the city to surrender."

Wulindatai wanted to stand up suddenly: "My king, please let me go." He clasped his hands together and clenched his fists fiercely: "I will make that guy Wudubu come out and kneel at your feet."

"Then I'll leave it to you." Lu Bu did not refuse and waved his hand: "Come on, tell them to prepare a banquet." He looked at the generals and smiled: "It is still wartime, everyone, have a few drinks, and when we return to Liaoyang Prefecture tomorrow, you can drink as much as you want."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Finally I can drink some wine. My mouth is almost dry."

Several generals below laughed out loud, but Wanyan Bendu had a complicated expression. He stared at the wooden box on the table in a trance, unable to look away for a long time.

……

Early in the morning of Wuwu, Wulindatai, carrying Wanyan Gao's head, wanted to ride his horse to the foot of the city. The soldiers of Wulinda's tribe shouted in unison in Jurchen, "Xie is already dead, and you are no longer loyal. If you don't surrender now, when will you surrender!"

The voices echoed through the sky, and people on the top of the city walls gathered. Soon, someone ran to look for the commander in the city. In a hurry, Wanyan Ang led Chulidi and several generals guarding the city to the top of the city walls. They climbed up the parapet and looked down at the arrogant Wulinda Taiyu. They heard the Wulinda warriors shouting words of persuasion to surrender. Wanyan Ang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Is it really a slant?"

"Whether it's right or not, we need to come up with a plan quickly."

Chulidi looked around and saw panic and retreat written all over the faces of the soldiers. Although the Qi army had not attacked the city during this period, they could not get out due to the small number of soldiers in the city. Fortunately, the food in the city was not short of food. Wanyan Ang and Chulidi also inspected the city defense every day. Only then did they barely suppress their wandering thoughts. Now, the shout from the soldiers of the Wulinda tribe below meant that all their efforts were in vain.

"Then...ah? But...this..." Wanyan Ang felt his chest beating and his ears pounding like drums. He looked left and right and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Chulidi walked towards him, grabbed Wanyan Ang's arm and squeezed it hard: "Calm down, do you want to fight or surrender? Meng'an, give me an answer, otherwise..." Looking at the guards with uncertain faces, he leaned over and whispered: "Look at their faces, most of them have changed their minds. If we stay any longer, I'm afraid something will happen."

Wanyan Ang felt the pain and regained some consciousness. He hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Then... run?"

"Where are you running to..." Chu Lidi shook his head. "There are Qi cavalrymen outside. That bastard Wulinda Taiyu is also there. Believe it or not, if you run, he will be the first to catch up with you."

Wanyan Ang did not have the heart to complain about the surrendered generals below. After hesitating for a moment, he leaned over and whispered, "Surrendered?"

He looked at him from inside, then at the guards who were looking outside but listening to the conversation with their ears perked up, and nodded: "I'm afraid this is the only way."

“Then…then surrender.” Wanyan Ang’s legs went limp, and he staggered back half a step and stood up, waving his hand: “Open the door and welcome that bastard named Wulinda, I’ll go back…”

Before he finished speaking, Chulidi grabbed his arm and shook his head: "Meng'an, my words don't count, it's better for you to surrender in person." He turned his head to look at the guards who had already looked at him, and took a deep breath: "What are you looking at? Go get a rope! Meng'an wants to tie himself up and surrender outside the city!"

"Wait! I didn't say that!" Wanyan Ang was shocked and pushed his way out with one hand, trying to get away.

The strong man who was pulling him was very strong and pulled him tightly: "Meng'an, what are you doing? We will all be grateful for your kindness."

"That's right, Meng'an is a good person."

"We will remember you forever."

Several generals defending the city walked forward while talking, and subdued Wanyan Ang in a few moves. They let him shout "Let me go!" "You bunch of traitors!" "Thieves!" without moving a muscle.

Soon, the soldiers brought ropes and tied up the Huntong city defender tightly. Some generals were annoyed by his shouting and simply stuffed a rag into his mouth.

They found the seal and weapons that symbolized Wanyan Ang's identity and shouted to open the city. Then the four gates were opened. Everyone supported Wanyan Ang out of the city and surrendered to the Qi army outside.

On that day, Wanyan Ang was attempted to be killed outside the city by Wulindatai for refusing to surrender. At noon that day, Lu Bu walked into the city that had been under siege for more than half a month.

Ningjiang Prefecture has finally welcomed another master since it was conquered by the Jin army in the fourth year of Tianqing.

A large banner with the Chinese character Qi written on it was hung on the city wall. (End of this chapter)