Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Jiashen in the first month of autumn.

The green stretches far away, and the golden sun jumps out of the top of the mountain and rises into the clouds.

Inside the Huanglong Mansion, footsteps could be heard on the long street. A small team of soldiers wearing leather armor and holding spears and iron lances, led by a general, ran to the tall gates and courtyards that they usually looked up to. More soldiers were scattered outside the doors of wealthy merchants in the city, with ferocious and unfriendly looks on their faces.

bang bang bang-

"Open the door, open the door, open the door!"

The soldier who came forward to knock on the door shouted and banged on it until it made a loud noise. He was dissatisfied with the fact that the door was being opened slowly, so he raised his foot and kicked it hard.

Boom——Boom——

"Open the door! How can you be dead?"

"How dare you disturb my sweet sleep so early in the morning! Someone just died in your family, and you come here to mourn so early in the morning, do you know..."

A cursing voice came from behind the door. A man in a single layer of clothing opened the door. The swords and guns outside looked cold and gleaming in the morning sun. The voice that came out of his mouth suddenly dropped an octave: "Where...is this?" A smile immediately covered his angry face. He nodded and smiled: "My dear soldiers, what can I do for you?"

"You're blind!" the soldier cursed and waved his hand.

Snapped--

The beaten man turned around on the spot. Puliyan, the leader of the rear, stepped forward to pull away the arrogant soldier, put his thumbs in his belt, and raised his head: "Send Bo Jilie's order. Now the Qi army is besieging the city. The army is short of food. The rich merchants in the city should share the country's worries. Every household should donate food and money and send servants to the army. If there are those who are unwilling, they will be regarded as accomplices of the Qi army. The crime will be punished with three clans and will not be forgiven."

"General...General, this..."

The man who opened the door opened his eyes wide. Before he could think of what to say, Puliyan pushed him away and stepped into the yard: "Come here, search for me. Take away all the food, rice and fodder."

"Yes!"

The soldiers behind him roared excitedly and rushed in with guns and spears. The man hurried forward and pulled Puliyan's arm: "Sir, no, my master is in poor health and can't stand being frightened. Give me some time, I will go and talk to him and move the food and money out to you."

Pu Liyan just frowned and looked at the hand that was holding his arm. The doorman immediately reacted and quickly let go of the hand and raised it to his ear. Then he smiled at him and turned to the soldiers and said, "This man is also young and strong. Bring him back to serve in the army."

"Yes."

"No—wait…let me go."

Cries for mercy were heard as the soldiers were capturing the women. Soon, screams of women and roars of men were heard from the house in front. Soldiers carrying grain bags came out and threw them on the ground. Soldiers carrying women were hit on the head. Only then did they reluctantly take the women to practice their bear catching dragon claw technique and walked away regretfully amid the crying of the maid.

……

Under the daylight, there was chaos in Huanglong Mansion.

The gate of Wanyan Zonghan's mansion opened. Wanyan Zongpan looked at the soldiers carrying rice bags, meat and vegetables and smiled with satisfaction. Then he looked at the owner of the house apologetically: "Marshal Nianhan, the army is short of food now, and Bojilie has no choice but to do this. I promise that as long as the Qi army is driven back, the money and food taken away today will be returned tenfold on another day." "It's just a little money and food. It would be the best if I could help Bojilie. If you say you won't return it, don't you look down on me?" Wanyan Zonghan shook his head with a faint smile on his face: "Please forgive me. The mansion is large. We can't let women sweep the courtyard. These servants..." He turned his head and looked at the servants standing timidly at the wall behind: "Just leave it to me."

"Of course, the army is not short of a few people. The commander has given an order, and I will obey it."

Wanyan Zongpan looked up at the sky with a half-smile: "It's getting late. I have to go to another place to meet my colleagues. Goodbye."

After saying that, he bowed to Wanyan Zonghan, waved his arm, shouted "Go!", and marched out with his soldiers.

As the footsteps faded away, Wanyan Zonghan's face darkened. He stood there for a while, waved his hand to let the servants leave, and walked to the door. The shouting outside the door gradually increased, and the screams of cursing and beating spread along the street. There were even excited voices shouting, "Kill me if you dare! Otherwise, I will kill you... Damn you!"

The voice is familiar, it's...

Yan Zan’s family?
Wanyan Zonghan stopped and did not go out. He was not interested in looking at the expression of the downtrodden man, nor was he interested in joining others in cursing the culprit at this time.

"It seems that Wu Qimai has lost his sense of proportion."

A young voice came from behind. Wanyan Zonghan turned around and saw Wanyan Huonu, who was standing behind him in servant's clothes. She looked him up and down and said, "You hide well." Then she turned around and looked at the soldiers escorting servants from various families past the gate.

Wanyan Huo Nu stretched her legs and feet in the back and said, "Just now I was in the back kitchen and was watched by several soldiers. Fortunately, Puluhu didn't go to the back, otherwise it would be bad if he was recognized."

"He wants to make sure I don't cause any trouble, so why would he go to the back and hang around?" Wanyan Zonghan curled his lips and said, "This guy is on guard against me."

"That's right..." Wanyan Huonu nodded, looking at the commotion outside the door. Two servants went up to close the door. The young man stretched his body and said, "If this goes on, isn't he afraid that everyone in the city will rebel?"

"The military power is in his hands, what is he afraid of?" Wanyan Zonghan turned around and smiled, his smile was indescribably strange: "If I didn't have prestige in the army and people believed in me, we would have to sit back and watch him show off his power."

"Is it because we set the time a little late..." Wanyan Huonu scratched her chin, thinking: "With the chaos in the city today, I'm afraid it will be easier to take it down."

Wanyan Zonghan walked over, pinched his shoulder, and patted him: "I think two days is just right. Even though there is chaos in the city today, the people on the city walls will definitely be doubly vigilant. If we attack the city now, Poluhuo will probably be closely watched. Why increase casualties? Moreover..." He put his hand down: "It also gives those people outside a reason to unite against a common enemy."

The two men crossed each other's paths, and Wanyan Zonghan, with his hands behind his back, staggered towards the backyard: "Two days is just right. These court officials are resentful and I'm afraid they won't even bother to do the superficial work. Besides, we also have to prepare outside."

"...Hmm." Wanyan Huonu thought about it and it seemed to be true. She stood there listening to the noisy noise outside for a while before turning around and going in.

The arrests in Huanglongfu continued, and cartloads of grain were transported from the homes of court officials, wealthy families, and merchants to the granary. Some civilian grain merchants who wanted to resist were hacked to death on the spot by the Jin army. The gathered people looked reluctant, but they could not defeat those with knives with their bare hands, so they could only watch in silence, until someone said, "The grain prices in the city are so high, it's not all caused by people like this. There's nothing to be sad about." Then they turned to verbal abuse.

In the evening of that day, the soldiers who had been dispatched in all directions just returned to the barracks. Nearly four thousand servants and men were forcibly conscripted and dispersed into the four gates, where they were incorporated into the young and strong men who had been there before.

Outside the city, since morning, cartloads of bows and arrows and other equipment have been transported into the military camp. The army's craftsmen assembled them, and the soldiers checked their swords and weapons, and some took out whetstones to sharpen them.

On Yiyou, the defenders on the city walls distributed money, which caused a stir and helped to improve the morale. However, complaints were heard from the young and strong camp, and many of them looked at the noisy Jin army with red eyes. (End of this chapter)