Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The golden sun shines across the earth, and horses gallop into the military camp.

Zong Ze had been releasing news since he decided to send out troops to clear out the rebellion, but he himself had kept his troops on hold. He had scouts constantly explore the area around Dengyun Mountain while recruiting brave warriors. He had a very good reputation in Dengzhou, and many brave young men came to apply. After careful selection, he recruited 300 soldiers, who were trained diligently in the military camp every day.

But he was keeping his troops there and not doing anything, while some gentry in Dengzhou were extremely anxious. Some of them went to ask why the magistrate had not sent out troops yet. Thanks to Song Jiang and Wu Yong for seeking development, there had been too much trouble in Dengyun Mountain in recent times, and many families had suffered losses, and many caravans and travelers had been killed. Now that they heard that the government troops were going to clear out the place, these gentry were more concerned than ordinary people.

Zong Ze did not meet them either, but asked his son Zong Ying to meet the guests and told them that the army was short of food and money, and insufficient weapons and armor, making it difficult to send troops. Many wealthy families with some wealth but no background, on the one hand, were grateful to his father for exempting them from the deadly transfer tax from the royal family, and on the other hand, they planned to spend some money to solve the problem once and for all, so they donated a lot of food, and some people also donated money and goods, which made the army's expenses and rewards much more sufficient, enough for a major war, which made Zong Ze, who was planning, breathe a sigh of relief.

In the first month of winter, Jiashen, the first rain of winter fell.

The government troops suddenly set out in the heavy rain. Dai Zong, who had been keeping an eye on the movements of the government troops, immediately passed the news back to the mountain. Song Jiang and Wu Yong immediately led their troops down the mountain. After looking at the government troops' route, the two men whispered to each other for a while, and then ordered the brothers below to take their men down the mountain.

In the cold rain, the commander of the government army led 500 troops and urged his men to march towards Dengyun Mountain. They had only walked two or three miles when the brothers Mu Hong and Mu Chun on the left led their men to attack, and on the right, uncle and nephew Zou Yuan and Zou Run led their men to attack. Nearly a hundred people were killed or wounded, and the entire government army began to collapse. The bandits of Dengyun Mountain were very excited when they saw this. Qiu Xiang and Shi Jun, who were guests there, were young and impatient. They howled and rushed forward.

Song Jiang and Wu Yong were standing on the mountain and saw these four men driving the government troops all the way to the central army in the rear. Before they got close, the team with the big flag with the word "Song" on it threw down the flag and ran away. They couldn't help but feel relieved and laughed that the Dengzhou army was as useless as the army in other states. They ordered the brothers Sun Li and Sun Xin to stay behind, while Li Kui, Wu Song, Kong Ming, Kong Liang, Zhang Qing, Duan Sanniang, Qiu Xiang, Shi Jun and other leaders on the mountain led a large group to Dengzhou, wanting to take the opportunity to break into the city and plunder it.

The government troops organized three interceptions in a row, but were all dispersed by Li Kui and his men. Icy rain mixed with blood flowed over his dark skin, and the swaying stick hung between his legs. His weird appearance made everyone who saw him feel frightened and sick. Duan Sanniang looked at him carefully for a long time, muttered, "What a pity that he is a wild boar-like man." Then she turned and left.

The two brothers Duan Er and Duan Wu were sweating for Li Kui. When they saw her leave, they ran to Li Kui and patted him on the shoulder happily: "Brother Li Kui has a good-looking face. He escaped a disaster. Hahahaha, congratulations!"

They continued walking forward arm in arm.

Li Kui looked at the two brothers walking away, somewhat bewildered. He brushed off the scraps of meat stuck to his shoulders from who knows where, and touched his prickly steel beard. Suddenly, his eyebrows danced with joy: "I said I was good-looking, but they didn't believe me. I didn't expect these two brothers to have good taste."

Wu Song, who was far away, called out to him, and Li Kui hurriedly ran forward with his two hairy legs.

But the government troops were not useless in stopping the enemy. When the Dengyunshan group arrived at the city, the four gates of Dengzhou City were closed. The bandits had no siege equipment, and as soon as they ran in, they were shot back by a hail of arrows and cold rain from the defenders on the city wall. They cursed for a long time under the city, but when no one came out, they retreated in disappointment.

When the wind and rain stopped, the group of people cursed "coward" and "cowardly rat" and went back to the mountain with laughter.

Yiyou, sunny sky, muddy roads.

The government troops appeared at the foot of the mountain again, but this time they did not dare to go up the mountain directly. Instead, they kept shouting and cursing at the foot of the mountain.

Even though Song Jiang and Wu Yong had won a great victory yesterday, they still acted cautiously. They left Zou Yuan and Zou Run to guard the stronghold, and personally led a large group of bandits to charge down the mountain. Li Kui was naked again, waving a black stick and holding two axes as he charged forward. The soldiers who watched him were all disgusted and shouted to run away.

Then they were attacked by the people from Dengyun Mountain again and were forced to the outskirts of the city. They were still unable to attack by force, so they showed off their might for a while before leaving.

In the next few days, the government troops went to the foot of the mountain to provoke the bandits. They watched from afar as the bandits came down the mountain and then fled, which made Ji Shi Yu and Zhi Duo Xing very upset. However, the government troops' behavior only fueled the fire in their hearts. After a discussion, they ordered people to build wooden ladders and try to attack the city.

The government troops challenged Song Jiang at the foot of the mountain as usual. He was furious and called out all the leaders of the troops, leaving only a few to guard the stronghold. In the cold wind, the leaders Sun Li and Mu Hong rode their war horses and rushed forward with more than a hundred strong and fast-running followers. Behind them, a large banner of "Carrying out Justice on Behalf of Heaven" slowly walked out of the stronghold, and flags of various colors were moving downwards.

Seeing this, the soldiers at the foot of the mountain shouted and ran back. Sun Li slowed down his riding, with some sadness in his eyes. Mu Hong beside him glanced at him and whipped his horse: "Brother Sun Li, do you feel sorry for the soldiers in Dengzhou? You are really kind-hearted, haha——"

Sun Li gritted his teeth and watched his galloping back. His expression changed twice, but he finally did not make up his mind to chase him. He just felt a little upset when he saw several officers and soldiers being hacked to death by Mu Hong at the back of the government army. He was not afraid of being questioned afterwards, so he simply slowed down his mount and turned to look at the infantry team of more than 1,300 people on the mountain running towards him in a somewhat scattered manner.

"Pass on my brother's order and charge directly into the city. We must break through the city this time. Brother Sun Li will go ahead and check if there are any enemies ahead."

Dai Zong ran the fastest. He saw Sun Li slowing down from a distance, thinking that he wanted to wait for the team behind. Sun Li had no choice but to kick his horse and run forward.

While running wildly, Song Jiang looked at Wu Yong who was standing beside him and said, "Professor, if we take down the city this time, my reputation will spread. You..."

"...Brother Song Jiang." Wu Yong knew what he meant and sighed, "After all, I am trusted by the Heavenly King and cannot abandon him easily."

Song Jiang was silent for a while, then he laughed and said, "That's true, Professor, don't take it to heart."

Then the two of them stopped talking and just directed the army forward. In the distance, the city appeared in sight. Song Jiang pulled himself together and said, "Order Li Kui, Wu Song, and Zou Yuan to attack the east gate together. Order Sun Li and Mu Hong to lead the troops to guard the government troops out of the city." He glanced at Li Jun and others in the back and said, "Order Li Jun to lead the navy to guard the central army."

After the order was passed down, the team began to move, and one burly and fierce bandit leader after another came forward.

Wu Yong looked at the men from Jingxi and said, "Brothers, it's a rare opportunity to show off your skills in Jingdong. Why don't you go up and test the government troops' ability to defend the city? Then, when we return to Jingxi, we can attack the city ourselves."

Duan Er and Duan Wu were a little tempted, but before they could make a decision, Qiu Xiang and Shi Jun had already rushed out with a roar. Duan Sanniang glanced at them and said, "I'll just wait here. If you want to fight, you can fight me."

The two brothers shrugged helplessly, and after some hesitation they stepped forward to join the siege.

……

At the foot of Dengyun Mountain, in the dead woods.

In the woods, the old general stood up from the stone he was sitting on and said, "Let's go and burn down the bandit camp first." (End of this chapter)