Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Boom boom boom——

The armor made a metallic scraping sound as it rose and fell, the warhorses let out hot breaths, the knights in front all laid down their lances, the armor leaves on the horses rustled as the horses' hooves flew, the armored knights on horseback bent slightly, and rushed forward like a huge wave.

Yao Gang charged ahead, holding up the iron mask that covered his face, his pupils revealed a ferocious look, and he thrust the iron spear in his hand, which was a circle thicker than an ordinary man's: "Break--"

"Formation——"

The five hundred armored cavalrymen in the rear roared at the same time.

The resentful army in front was in a panic. Guo Yaoshi turned his horse around as soon as the armored cavalry showed up. He was not an ignorant country bumpkin. He had never seen such cavalry armed to the teeth with his own eyes, but he had heard from others that both men and horses were wearing armor, and anyone who stood in their way would be invincible. Equipped with solid horse lances, it was hard to imagine what kind of damage would be caused if he rushed into a group of people mainly in leather armor.

He somewhat regretted leaving Liaodong.

"kill--"

Pharmacist Guo whipped the warhorse under his crotch with all his might, and the soldiers beside him also went to protect him. The warhorse pushed aside the crowd behind and galloped away desperately. He admitted that the armored cavalry was very lethal on the battlefield, but their endurance and speed were also obvious shortcomings. If only they could be a little faster...

Thinking of this, Pharmacist Guo turned his head to look at the battle situation in the rear. In his field of vision, the armored cavalry were charging forward, and their iron hooves were rolling over like continuous thunder. The figures on the horses were flashing the unique light of metal in the sunlight. Countless eyes from both sides of the battlefield were watching this scene, and many soldiers of the resentful army showed fear in their eyes.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

The resentful soldiers near the armored cavalry knew they had no way to escape, and they let out hysterical shouts, veins bulging on their temples and their faces flushed red.

The next moment, the iron hooves stepped on the ground, creating a violent impact.

Under the daylight, the loud sound of huge waves hitting the shore exploded on the battlefield. Sparks flew from the blades and spear tips on the armor of people and horses. The long-handled weapons broke with a snap. The figures sprinting at high speed hit the shields and people with their own weight. The more than 30 armored cavalry in the front row crashed into the formation of the resentful army. The broken shields and human bodies flew away. The broken bones could not support the shape of the limbs and fell to the ground twisted. Some people's bodies turned into meat paste directly under the horses' hooves, and the broken internal organs poured out through the cuts on their bodies.

Occasionally a war horse would stumble and fall to the ground, crushing the enemy soldiers beneath it and sliding forward together. The blood of both sides would squeeze out of their bodies under the weight and mix into a ball. The fallen war horse would tumble and struggle on the ground with its four legs, and more resentful soldiers would scream and retreat. The chaos reached its peak at this moment.

The suffocating feeling brought by the armored cavalry made the enemy soldiers gasp. The entire battlefield was silent for a moment, and then suddenly a huge shout broke out. The formation of the resentful army was killed and retreated step by step. At this moment, the Liao army on this side no longer felt hopeful.

The trumpet sounded in the sky.

The cavalry under Mi Xian's command rushed forward in a circle, and began to chase the fleeing soldiers of the resentful army and started killing them. The cavalry general named Zhang Qi bravely moved forward, continuously killing the Liao army on the road, and driving the fleeing soldiers towards the Xi people's formation further behind.

Yao Gang and Zheng Huai, who had escaped from the battle formation, were covered in blood. The intestines of an unknown person were hung on the tip of their spears and thrown away with force. The big man in thick armor raised his iron spear and said, "Turn your horses around and approach the Xi people's formation!"

The rumbling sound of horse hooves was slowing down, and the war horses were panting heavily and moving slowly forward under the control of the knights. The dark formation moved forward again.

In the back, Han Shizhong swung his steel spear and knocked a soldier flying. He curled his lips and looked at Yao Gang and Zheng Huai who had almost escaped from the battle formation. He looked at the cavalry who were smashing the enemy's position like a rotten wood and muttered: "What's so great about it? I will form a more powerful team in the future."

He raised the steel spear in his hand and said, "Go to the camp first and listen to the order. Divide into two groups to protect the two sides of the armored cavalry!"

At the same time, Zhao Li and Dong Xian, who were originally on the front line, ordered their troops to move forward to provide cover. The Wu Ya captain, with red eyes, looked at his deputy general who was lying on the ground without a sound, and immediately swung his spear and took the lead in running forward. The soldiers in black armor were surging, gradually forming a line of defense outside the torrent of steel, and followed the light cavalry with fiery eyes as they moved forward.

As the horses' hooves flew, Xu Wen injured several soldiers. A resentful army guard rushed over with a weapon in hand. He stared at the fleeing Guo Yaoshi and chopped him down with a single blow.

He squeezed his legs against the horse's belly and started running quickly, charging towards its prey like a hunter. When there was a soldier of the Resentful Army blocking the way who wanted to stop him, he raised his hand and chopped him with his sword, cutting the man in half from the shoulder and sending him to the ground.

"General Qu, the bandits from Qi are chasing us from behind!" When one of the guards turned around and saw Xu Wen rushing towards them, he was shocked and shouted a warning.

Pharmacist Guo turned his head and frowned. As the commander of the resentful army, he was not only able to bring victory and seek benefits for his subordinates, but also had outstanding personal bravery in the army. However, he had never liked to go to the battlefield in person. Now that he was forced into a desperate situation, he suddenly became fierce. He put down the weapon in his hand, took out the hard bow, put an arrow on it, turned around and shouted, "Get down!"

The guards at the rear also reacted quickly. They immediately leaned their heads against their horses and felt a current stirring above their heads.

Xu Wen in the back had his pupils shrink, and he quickly raised his knife to cover his face. He heard two "dang, dang" sounds, and the knife in his hand suddenly felt heavy. The moment he put down the knife, he saw that the fleeing Liao army commander had drawn the bow and arrow again.

Whizzing--

Xu Wen dodged two consecutive arrows and looked at the distance between the two sides. He saw that the Xi people in the distance were raising their bows and arrows towards him. He could only pull the reins in anger and give up the idea of ​​continuing the pursuit. He returned to his own light cavalry and led his troops to vent his anger at the resentful infantry who were fleeing in front of him.

Panic spread among the soldiers, and armor, weapons and flags were scattered all along the way.

"Armored Cavalry..."

In the Liao army formation, Xiao Gan murmured a little disappointedly, regretting not sending troops to attack earlier. However, he thought about the momentum of the Qi army's cavalry and felt relieved. The impact of such a huge object was not something that could be stopped by human power.

He tapped his boots with the whip in his hand and said, "Come here, report to Marshal Yelu immediately. The Qi army has sent out armored cavalry, and the Yuan army is unprepared and has already been defeated. Our army is unprepared and must retreat to avoid their attack. Marshal, please prepare for defense immediately."

A messenger responded and rode away quickly. The Grand Master of the Fourth Army looked at the cavalrymen on the opposite side with a metallic glow, tapped the edge of his shoe with a snap, and raised his hand: "Pass the order..."

He paused, listening to the screaming sound approaching, and finally let go of his hand unwillingly: "Retreat!"

At the beginning of midsummer, Qi and Liao fought at the border of Wuzhou. The battle lasted for five hours and ended with the defeat of the Yuan army. The Liao people gradually retreated and shrank their front line to Huizhou. While Yelu Dezhong was consolidating his camp, he sent messengers to Shangjing for help, but all his requests fell on deaf ears and there was no news.

In this battle, the Liao army of 80,000 attacked in vain, and many middle and low-level officers died in battle, especially the resentful army, which suffered heavy casualties. Guo Yaoshi wrote three times to request for reinforcement of troops, but he did not know that Yelu Dezhong also had no one to send. As a result, many generals in the army complained, but they were suppressed by him.

As for the Qi army in the east, more than 30,000 infantry and cavalry defended the front line but suffered more than 30% casualties. Captain Shan Shiqi of Yokoye suffered a broken rib, Captain Lu Zhishen of the infantry was wounded three times but still fought hard, Lieutenant Yan Guang of Wen Zhongrong was beheaded by the Qiong demon Na Yan, Lieutenant Zhong Liang of Zhao Li was killed by the resentful cavalry of Zhao Heshou, and the rest of the officers were also injured to varying degrees.

The battlefield in Shangjing was temporarily calm, but everyone on both the Qi and Liao sides knew that this was only temporary. In the next few days, Yelu Dezhong went out of Huizhou three times. Xi Sheng, Bian Xiang and Mi Xian gave up the farthest Fuzhou and tightened the battle line from Shunzhou to Weizhou. Relying on the bravery of their soldiers, they kept the Liao army outside the defense line and prevented them from advancing an inch.

Midsummer, Ji Mao.

The wind blew across the plains, and the forests rustled and swayed, as if welcoming the cavalrymen running through them. The dull sound of horse hooves startled a large number of flying birds, and the dust raised could be seen from three miles away. At dusk, the raised royal flag entered the military camp in the wild, and several figures came to greet them: "I greet the king."

"No need to be polite." Lu Bu La stopped Red Hare, turned over and got off the warhorse, threw the reins to the guards coming from behind, and smiled: "I heard on the way here that you did a good job in not letting the Liao people take advantage of you in several battles."

The war horses stopped one after another in the rear, and several generals with tired faces and heavy helmets and armor got off their saddles, bowed to the generals over there, and followed behind them.

"The casualties are still quite heavy..." Xi Sheng sighed as he looked at Mi Xian who had caught up with him, "If General Mi hadn't sent the Xianzhen Camp over at the beginning, I'm afraid my defense line would not be safe."

The big black guy next to him grinned.

"Not losing is winning." Lu Bu walked towards the central army tent and waved his hand: "The Liao army is more than twice as large as yours, but they still can't break through. I think they are just dead bones in a grave..." He paused and smiled: "Maybe they are not as good as you."

Several people in the rear looked at each other, and although they didn't understand why, they all smiled. Before the battle, even though they knew that the Liao army was not that powerful, they didn't think that they would have the upper hand on one side before this battle. If they were not short of troops, they might have tried to counterattack.

A pair of combat boots with gold thread stepped into the tent, and the tall figure of Lu Bu walked to the commander's seat and sat down. The generals walked into the tent in groups of three or four and sat down on both sides.

Above, Lu Bu pointed at the newly surrendered general and said, "That is General He Zhongbao. He has made great contributions in Zhongjing Road this time. He will be temporarily promoted to General Pingchuan. His military achievements will be counted after the battle."

He Chongbao quickly stood up and clasped his fists: "He Chongbao greets all the generals. I am a rough man and I can't speak well, so I hope you can forgive me."

"General He is too modest." Mi Xian laughed: "Everyone here is a rough person."

He Chongbao smiled and felt that these people had no intention of making things difficult for him, so he sat down with peace of mind.

Lu Bu glanced down and said calmly: "I will follow you on the way. The military situation is not detailed. It takes a long time to get from Zhongjing to Shangjing. Has the Liao people sent reinforcements?"

The three of Mi Xian looked at each other. Bian Xiang stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, we have not received any news about the arrival of Khitan reinforcements." He scratched his scalp with his thick fingers and said hesitantly, "... However, there are many spies in the Liao army. Many of the spies sent by me and others have been damaged. Perhaps their news has been blocked."

"Since you don't know..." Lu Bu narrowed his eyes and said softly: "Then we will know after we hit him." He looked around and said: "It is getting late today. Let the cavalry rest for a day tomorrow, and follow me to attack the Liao people the day after tomorrow morning."

Everyone's expressions brightened, and they all clasped their fists and said, "Yes."

Xi Sheng put down his hand and hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, the army has limited food and grass, I don't know if you want to..."

"Don't worry." Lu Bu waved his hand with a relaxed look. "Ruan Xiaoqi and Zhang Shun have teamed up to seize all the military rations in Zhongjing. They are now on their way. However, the river is winding, so it will take some time to get here."

Several generals immediately showed a look of relief on their faces. When Bian Xiang and Mi Xian opened their mouths to say something, Xiao Haili suddenly stood up and said, "My king, don't forget to let me lead the way."

Mi Xian's smile faded, and he jumped up in a hurry: "You old man, we have been oppressed and can't breathe. Finally, the king came and wanted to ask for a vanguard to kill and vent his anger, but you came and took our place."

"That's right." Bian Xiang slapped his thigh and said, "There should be a first come first served rule. We are already impatiently waiting for this battle."

Xiao Haili was not to be outdone. He touched his bald head and widened his eyes: "This is also what the king promised."

The two of them immediately looked towards Lu Bu.

"Alright." Lu Bu seemed to be in a good mood and waved his hand: "I promised Xiao Haili the vanguard position in Zhongjing. You two should bear with it for once."

"I'm sorry, both of you." Xiao Haili smiled and bowed to the people around him: "This time it's me, Old Xiao, who wins."

Mi Xian and Bian Xiang rolled their eyes at him and turned their heads away, not bothering to look at his smug look.

Lu Bu clapped his hands and stood up: "That's all for today. Let's arrange dinner first. After such a long journey, it's time to let the soldiers rest."

The tense bodies relaxed, and the generals chatted and laughed. Soon, guards came in with steaming food. Although there was no wine, they chatted lively.

……

Early midsummer, Jingyuan City.

There was a commotion in the military camp outside the city. Since Du Fu moved in, there had been constant movement of troops. Some time ago, a messenger brought news of a great victory in Zhongjing Road, which really excited all the generals in the army.

The grain carts entered the camp, and the civilians transporting the grain in the distance walked on the official road under the supervision of the generals who were escorting the grain. Further behind were herdsmen driving cattle and sheep. There were many livestock in Liaodong, and although the military rations were mainly grain and fodder, these cattle and sheep were the last guarantee for the army to continue fighting when the food ran out.

"Are there any reinforcements from Changchun Prefecture?"

"We haven't seen them yet. Only the nearby military states have sent troops to reinforce them."

In the military camp, Du Fu and Sun An walked side by side, followed by their personal guards. Du Fu frowned and said, "So, the Liao army reinforcements may all be heading to the king."

Sun An nodded with a gloomy expression: "I have already sent a messenger to Xi Sheng to inform him that perhaps we should also send troops. However, the Liao people do not seem to care about stationing here."

"That's what I was thinking." Du Fu nodded and looked up at the sky: "It's sunny and windy, a good day to send troops."

Sun An also raised his head and smiled: "It's a good day."

On the 23rd day of the 11th month, Du Fu, who was stationed in Huanglongfu, launched an attack on Changchun Prefecture with Wanyan Loushi as the vanguard. Wulindatai and Zeng Tu defeated his army several times, making the soldiers of Changchun Prefecture dare not leave the city. Wanyan Loushi and Sun An then led their troops to besiege the city.

On the same day, the horns were blown in the military camps on the border between Weizhou and Shunzhou, and teams of cavalry, led by Xiao Haili, charged towards Huizhou.

The border on the road to Shangjing is in danger. (End of this chapter)