Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

For some people, this night seemed like a year, but for others, the day dawned quickly.

When the golden sun was rising, Wanyan Zonghan called Wanyan Poluhuo, and the two of them, with 800 surrendered Jin soldiers, rode out of Huanglongfu on their war horses and headed south to Weizhou.

The billowing smoke and dust made the defenders on the city wall feel excited, as that was the direction of home.

Lu Bu rested late yesterday, but he looked down on the vulgar women in the Jin Dynasty palace and slept alone at night. Today, he got up earlier than most of the generals.

Yu Cheng brought in the breakfast, and Lu Bu looked him up and down: "Why didn't you find a woman to sleep with yesterday?"

"It's still early. If you follow the king, you will get better sooner or later."

"You have high standards."

He smiled and nodded at his guard, tilting his neck: "It's not comfortable to rest outside. What time is it now?"

"Just after sunrise." A maid came in with toiletries. Yu Cheng stood to one side and said, "This morning, a cavalryman came to report that General Wanyan Fengyi had already set out for Weizhou, and General Polu Huobi was with him."

"I originally wanted him to go, but I didn't expect him to get up so early today. Well, it's always good to work hard."

As he was talking, he washed up, had breakfast, put on the black and red royal robe, let the maid comb his hair, and then went to the study in high spirits.

Huanglongfu was still under the jurisdiction of the army, but as the sun moved, more and more officials began to walk out of their homes and enter the palace, and the air still lingered with the scent of yesterday's fighting.

Occasionally, the line of sight shifted, and teams of soldiers in black military uniforms were marching down the long street. The order prohibiting people from going to the streets had not been revoked. The civilians in the city hid at home in fear, fearing that someone would break into their houses and loot their belongings. However, after waiting for a while, they found that the military discipline of the Qi army today was different from that of yesterday, and no one broke into people's houses.

In the imperial study, Lu Bu met with court officials who still hoped to continue to be officials. Two emperors of the Jin Dynasty died at his hands, so naturally there were people who hated him to the core, but they were not among those present today. After encouraging them, which was considered a reassurance, he let the so-called officials go out and return to their respective yamen.

Whether to use them or not, and whether they can be used, cannot be decided immediately. But as Wang Zheng said last night, it is not easy to start a war for the time being. These people are perfect for appeasing the people in the officialdom.

At noon, Wang Zheng got up from bed, hurriedly finished his meal and ran into the imperial study.

Soon, the king's order to lift the ban on the streets came down, and the runners from the government office passed it on. The sounds of hawkers along the streets rang out in the somewhat quiet city. Although there were still restrictions on going to the streets, more and more people dared to leave their homes. Some people gritted their teeth and went to the streets to do business, and vitality gradually revived in Huanglong Prefecture.

The army in the city also received new military orders. Sufficient guards were left at the four gates. The figures on the streets gradually withdrew, and the wounded were first transferred to the military camps built outside the city. The residents in the city were indifferent to such actions, but the opening of the granary that followed made the people excited.

The city had been under siege for a long time, and grain merchants had already raised the price. In addition, Wanyan Sheng had ordered the confiscation of grain from wealthy households and nobles two days ago, leaving ordinary people in the city with no rice to buy. Some people had already been hungry and could only rely on well water to survive. When they heard that the warehouses would be opened to help the people, they were immediately excited and had some good feelings towards the people from Qi who entered the city.

This is exactly the effect that Lu Bu wanted. There will always be people who benefit from opening the warehouse. It is not necessary for all the people in the city to be grateful to him. As long as some people begin to accept him and are not strongly resistant to the fall of Huanglongfu, it will be a good start.

In the next few days, order and life in the city began to recover, the ban was completely lifted, the Qi army soldiers on the streets returned to the barracks, and the tasks of patrolling the streets and maintaining public order were handed back to the government office. Yamen runners and constables began to walk around the markets and streets as usual, but they were much more serious than before.

Many common people felt that although the city had a new king, not much had changed and life went on as usual.

Only the wealthy families and former nobles in the city had complaints. The Qi army did not return their money and food, and most of the food used to relieve the people was theirs. They were naturally uncomfortable seeing their own food being taken away by the people, but unfortunately they had no way to appeal. As soon as the ban was lifted, many people drove their carriages away in anger, all the way west to the Liao State. Many merchants also learned about the opening of the Qi market, gritted their teeth and forgot about their losses, tried their best to get some mountain products, and just waited for the road to the south to be opened so that they could make up for their losses after a few trips.

Shops and restaurants also reopened in this atmosphere. Many people who were stuck at home called their friends to meet in hotels and restaurants. Seeing that each other was still alive, they drank a few more glasses of wine. However, they only talked about the fall of the Jin Dynasty and stopped talking about other things, fearing that others would overhear them and cause trouble for themselves. In the next few days, many people noticed that there were more soldiers from Qi who came to the wealthy families who had left. They broke the door locks and went in to search. Soon, people with land deeds and land deeds came to stay. However, this was not always the case. They did not touch the people who had land deeds. When they saw people coming out to ask questions, they smiled and talked with their neighbors.

Amidst this confusing information, some people walked out of the city gate and went elsewhere, while others came back from doing business or visiting relatives. They said they could hear the sounds of fighting and screaming in the city from the previous two days on the road, but when they ran over, they could only see bloodstains and could not find a single person.

Quite strange.

……

After noon, someone walked into the restaurant and sat down to order some food and drinks. When he saw someone he knew, he stretched out his arm to signal them. He watched the person sitting down and filled his glass. After a moment of silence, he said, "Huanglong Mansion...has changed."

The young-looking Ah Gulan looked at the somewhat decadent Soli Yishi opposite him and said: "Of course it has changed. The flags of the Qi army have been planted all over the city walls. It is no longer the same as before."

The two former Jin generals were silent, slowly drinking wine and eating roasted mutton. Suddenly, the younger one spoke up: "What are your plans for the future? Do you want to avenge Bojilie?"

"...No." Suoli Yishi was a little bored, and raised his wine glass to his lips: "How can I, a powerless person, take revenge? Besides, the King of Qi doesn't trust us Jurchens. It's better for me to find a mountain. With my ability, at least I won't have to worry about food and clothing."

He tilted his head back and drank the drink in the glass.

"Not necessarily." Ah Gu was too lazy to drink his wine, so he put it down, picked up the lamb leg and took a bite: "It's just that the time is still short, and there is nothing outstanding."

The cup rested on the table for a moment, then slowly dropped with a soft sound. Suoli Yishi was silent for a while: "So you want to join the Qi army?"

The figure opposite did not speak, but just tore into the lamb leg. After eating most of it, he wiped his mouth with a wet cloth beside him and said, "I am still young, and I don't want to retire to the mountains like this."

"...That's right." Sori smiled and found that he was not angry at all. He raised his glass calmly and said, "After we finish this, we will pretend we have never seen each other."

"..."

Ah Gulan remained silent for a moment, looked at the other side seriously, and then stretched out his hand——

clink.

Drink it.

respectively.

……

The sky was slanting, and it was already afternoon.

The parade ground was covered with flags and cartloads of boxes were pulled into the military camp.

A burly figure jumped off the fiery red rabbit and walked towards the wooden platform. (End of this chapter)