Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The flags fluttered and the footsteps roared.

The cavalrymen came and went running quickly through the roads separated by the formation, sweeping up the sand on the ground like a whirlwind. The soldiers left behind squinted their eyes out of habit, then continued walking with a blank expression.

Unlike the previous battle with the Liao army, the Qi army's belief in victory is now more firm. After all, when they did not have a large number of cavalry, they were able to hold their positions and not be broken through. But now, their own king has come, accompanied by the cavalry who previously burned the enemy camp in Zhongjing Road.

"The number of soldiers is less than 70,000... It should be around 61 or 62,000. Your Majesty, the Liao army has lost so many soldiers and still has no reinforcements. Regardless of whether the Liao people will have any countermeasures in the future, at least what we have in front of us now is equivalent to an isolated army."

The army marched forward in a mighty force. Wang Zheng, riding a war horse, looked at the military situation from behind Lu Bu and spoke out his own speculations.

Lu Bu narrowed his eyes on Red Hare and tapped his skirt armor with his fingers: "I wonder how many cities along the way still have soldiers that can fight..." His thoughts drifted away for a moment, and he raised his hand: "Order the army to stop, and if we move forward, we must enter the battlefield in advance."

Command flags were waved, trumpets blew brief messages, and the thundering footsteps stopped.

After touching Red Hare's mane, the beast snorted. Lu Bu then looked quietly at the end of the wilderness.

Team after team of scouts ran back to the camp, bringing the news that the Liao army was approaching. Wang Zheng could only sigh when he heard it, as the speed of the Liao army was not much different from what his own king had estimated. If he were the commander of the Liao army and knew this, he would simply defend the city.

Too bad they don't know...

Within the field of vision, smoke was rising in the distance, and then a long black line appeared at the end of the field of vision, and a faint rumbling sound could be heard.

"Here it comes!" Wang Zheng straightened up unconsciously, licked his dry lips, and suddenly looked at Lu Bu with a bright light in his eyes: "My king, break through Linhuang Prefecture!"

Lu Bu smiled and didn't look back. He looked at the black line like a river tide sweeping towards him from the opposite side, and his legs lightly touched the belly of Red Hare.

A fiery red figure suddenly jumped out, and a warhorse that looked like charcoal fire, with a bright red cloak fluttering on it, making the knight's golden armor even more eye-catching. The Fang Tian Hua Ji was raised up with a "whoosh" and ran through the square formations. In the fiery eyes of countless Qi soldiers, Lu Bu shouted loudly: "Soldiers, prepare to meet the enemy! Defeat the Liao people--"

"May the King win--"

Xu Wen's eyes were red, he suddenly raised the sword in his hand and shouted, spitting out three feet.

"Long live the king!" Han Shizhong echoed, holding up his steel spear, and couldn't help but glance at him. This kid has been in an excited state since he finished talking with Hua Rong. Now that the battle is approaching, this guy is so excited that he is about to fly.

All around, countless soldiers raised their weapons and shouted wildly:

"The king is victorious!"

"The king is victorious!"

Flags were fluttering, shouts were shaking the sky, and there was a scene of iron horses and golden swords.

……

thump—

dong dong dong-

The light shone through the gaps in the clouds, and the deafening sound of war drums slowly came with the marching steps of the Liao army.

A huge amount of smoke and dust filled the air, and in the yellow earth all over the sky, the mighty army advanced across the mountains and plains. Banners with various ferocious beasts painted on them stretched for miles, covering the sky and the sun. The three armies were deployed horizontally to the left and right, forming an array and advancing for more than ten miles, passing through plains and hills, stepping on green grass and wasteland.

In front of the army was the Resentful Army. After losing nearly half of their troops and resting for several days, they had regained their original fierce and confident look.

Countless pairs of feet wearing cloth boots and straw sandals stepped across the field. The leather armor with knife marks on their bodies looked a little worn. Pharmacist Guo rode his warhorse in the middle with an expressionless face. Hundreds of resentful soldiers beside him looked at the Qi army in the distance in silence. The sound of shouting floated into their ears, causing many people to suddenly clench their weapons.

The shadowy figures and the moving heads formed large square formations. Yelu Yuyang led his Zuo Pi Shi army to protect the left wing, and the right wing was arranged with the cavalry of the Northwest Road Recruiting Office and the Ugudilie Military Command. Next were the Xi people's cavalry and infantry on the left and right wings, and behind them were the Shangjing troops led by Yelu Zonglei and the extra soldiers from various armies. Among them, the remnants of the Right Guard were marching while enduring the pain.

The Liao banner and Yelu Dezhong's flag were standing in the center of the army. A huge chariot was moving slowly forward. Yelu Zongyun's three brothers followed the chariot as guards.

The footsteps of more than 60,000 soldiers merged into one in a roar. Several big drums were shaking on the carriage. A drummer in a red jacket stood beside them, swinging his arms vigorously and beating out rhythmic beats.

As they marched, scouts would come galloping over on their war horses from time to time to report the surrounding situation, and there would also be cavalrymen coming from the rear to respectfully hand over papers covered with writing.

Wearing a white cloak and luxurious armor, Yelu Dezhong stood on the chariot. He raised his hand to touch the wolf-hair brush sewn in the gap of his armor, slowly unfolded the intelligence that had just been delivered, frowned slightly, and pursed his lips tightly.

"The capital is still full of singing and dancing, but my brother is still out hunting and ignoring state affairs at this time of year..."

wow-

He clasped his hands together suddenly, and the paper with the words on it was crumpled into a ball: "Does he not want the foundation anymore?"

The eldest son, Yelu Zongyun, who had been distracted by his father, saw his angry face and rode over to him: "Father, is there something important?"

"……fine."

Yelu Dezhong looked at him again, said something comforting, asked the guards for a fire stick, lit the paper, and watched it burn to ashes with a cold face: "Lü Bu is already waiting in the battle array ahead. Order them to stop and have the baggage camp pull the catapults over to say hello to him first."

The soldier who was delivering the order immediately waved the flag in his hand. The signal was given and someone shouted to stop. In the long and magnificent square formation, soldiers were pushing huge carts slowly. Yelu Dezhong sat on the cart and touched the wooden railing in front of him: "No need to ask for permission when you are within range. Just fire directly."

The wooden wheels made a creaking sound as they rolled over the ground.

Seeing this, the resentful army leader Guo Yaoshi waved his hands and shouted: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, make way for the catapults."

The sound of footsteps rubbing against each other could be heard, and the resentful army opened up several gaps, allowing the soldiers of the baggage camp to push the catapults forward, while raising their swords and spears to hit their shields and the ground. The sword and shield soldiers in the front row walked to the sides of the vehicles, and the army formation was moving.

In their field of vision, under the banner with the Chinese character "齐", Xi Sheng, Mi Xian, Bian Xiang, Wang De, Wanyan Zonghan and other generals gathered around Lü Bu and Wang Zheng, quietly listening to the deployment of their own king, and then returned to their respective camps. After the generals returned, Lü Bu stroked the mane of Red Hare and looked at the Liao army launching catapults in the distance. "The Liao people are weak, but they have more people and equipment than our army. The number of cavalry on their wings and in the center is not comparable to our army, which is really enviable." Lü Bu stuck the Fang Tian Hua Ji into the ground and sighed as he looked at the soldiers and horses in front.

Although there were many more soldiers at Qi's disposal, the constraints of money and food and the need to rebuild Liaodong had prevented Qi from recruiting a large number of soldiers. All the tribes were demanding money and food, and it was only because they had achieved some results in running the market and encouraging agriculture and sericulture in the past two years that they might have been dragged down by the finances.

"Tell Wang De and Wanyan Zongbing to step forward to cover the infantry. Have Wanyan Zonghan, Dong Ping, and Hu Yanzhuo stand by and be ready to go into battle at any time. Since Yelu Dezhong wants to greet me, he should return the greeting."

Wang Zheng did not say anything. He turned around and called for his cavalry. Several war horses galloped out quickly. On the opposite side, the scene of the Liao army's vanguard holding shields and escorting catapults came into view.

The tall figure of the trebuchet here also moved forward in the formation, and someone pulled down the lever.

In sight, Han Shizhong was observing the speed of the Liao army's movement in front of him on horseback. After some calculations in his mind, he waved his hand and ordered: "The team should spread out and move forward." The tight formation was immediately separated, with a distance of three steps between each person. When they were about to enter the range of the catapult, he and Xu Wen dismounted, patted the horse's buttocks, and let the horses run back to their own position.

The general was about to engage in close combat according to military orders. It was better to fight with the soldiers in the battle formation at this time. He held the horizontal sword in his hand, stretched his arms, took the iron spear handed over by the personal guard, and lined up with his soldiers to wait. On both sides of his battle formation, two horse-shaped battle flags were fluttering in the wind, and two brothers who looked similar also walked into the formation.

"forward!"

As the roar came out, the resentful army sounded the order to attack, and the military drums on both sides played passionate drumbeats at the same time.

bang bang bang-

The arm of the catapult bounced up violently, and more than twenty black dots on both sides drew arcs and crashed towards the ground like meteors.

The array of swordsmen holding shields were moving forward quickly. Hearing the noise, some of them subconsciously raised their shields and tightened their bodies, while others quickly looked up into the sky and leaped to the side. Stone bullets as big as heads slammed into the shields, and broken wood chips splashed with blood. The blood-stained stones bounced up and fell to the back, bouncing three or five times before falling to the ground, rolling twice and stopping.

More than ten stones from both sides killed nearly fifty people in an instant. The rest of the people, still in shock, gasped and looked at their killed comrades, then turned their heads with red eyes and ran forward more determinedly.

A horn sounded from the Liao army's formation opposite, and the drum beats became faster. The resentful army in front paused for a few breaths, and then the flag moved forward again.

"It seems that Yelu Dezhong is also going to fight to the death." Lü Bu stared at the momentary chaos in the formation in front of him, sighed, and his face was a little complicated: "It's a pity... There are only thirteen catapults, not even crossbows. It seems that the Liao court does not support him. Under this situation, he is probably powerless."

"Your Majesty..." Wang Zheng looked at him strangely: "If the Liao court supports him, won't it cause trouble for our army?"

"Hahaha - that's true." Lu Bu laughed out loud, tilted his head slightly, and ordered the messenger beside him: "Beat the drums to cheer, and at the same time, have the trap camp get ready."

The figure swinging the drumstick in the back was sweating.

On the battlefield ahead, stone bullets whizzed down, creating a dozen blood fountains. The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. The catapults were retreating, and the resentful army resumed their tight formation, marching slowly with shields on their heads. Archers would nock arrows from time to time, pause slightly and shoot towards the sky, then continue to move forward.

The Qi army's formation was dispersed. Han Shizhong roared, and the swordsmen in the front row raised their shields at an angle to block the rain of arrows falling on their front line. The sound of "swoosh, swoosh, swoosh" breaking through the air was endless. The arrows fell into the formation and made crackling sounds. Occasionally, someone screamed and fell to the ground, and blood flowed along the arrow shaft.

After the rain of arrows was over, the archer in black armor at the back gritted his teeth and stepped forward, quickly drawing his bow and shooting back.

The advancing resentful army screamed in agony, and many of them fell to the ground without a sound. Pharmacist Guo pushed the iron helmet on his head, removed the shield that was blocking him, and raised the iron spear in his hand: "Ready - engage the battle!"

On the opposite side, Han Shizhong looked coldly at the ferocious faces of the soldiers of the Resentful Army before the battle, took a breath, raised his spear towards the sky, and exhaled a breath of Dantian Qi: "Go to the camp first--"

The next moment, the entire array of 2,000 people roared: "Advance, no retreat!"

The sound shook the whole field, and the entire field was buzzing.

Ma Jin and Ma Xi's eyes instantly turned red. The two who were a step slower raised their three-pointed double-edged swords and autumn-water goose-feather swords at the same time: "Loyalty and Bravery——"

The soldiers under his command had been waiting for their voices, and they immediately shouted, "Tiger Guards!"

In an instant, the Qi army's formation sped up, and they rushed across the ground, approaching the resentful army like a surging tide, with shields raised and swords raised, and long spears and iron spears in the back protruding from their shoulders.

The moment the two sides came into contact, the muscles of the Qi army's front-line soldiers suddenly tensed. Xu Wen pushed aside his subordinates in front of him and rushed to the front line. With red eyes, he shouted: "Kill——"

boom--

The sound was drowned out by the rumbling sound of collisions. Shields collided with each other, and the soldiers behind the shields propped up their shoulders and gripped the soil under their feet. Spears, swords and lances from both sides were swung desperately at this moment, and they slashed and stabbed wildly at the opposite side. Blood splattered on the front line, and limbs and heads flew up and fell to the ground from time to time. Corpses were pushed standing in place, and only fell to the ground after a moment of relaxation.

"Kill with me!"

Amidst the flashing of swords and guns, Xu Wen raised his iron shield high to block the opponent's spears. He kicked the approaching resentful soldier, knocked him down with his sword, and then jumped up on the opponent's body. The moment he fell, he used his shield to block the forest of spears in front of him. He stabbed the figure in front of him with the sword in his hand, and immediately pierced the man's body. "Ahhhh——" He pushed the opponent forward five steps while roaring, then kicked him out, drew his sword, and slashed sideways.

He blocked the swords and spears with his sword in his hand, and the notched blade burst into flames. He pressed his burly body forward against the iron shield, and the swords and spear tips chopped and pierced the shield. He threw the shield forward, rolled over, and the moment he stood up, he swung a sword at the calf of the person in front of him.

"what!"

"My legs!"

The fan-shaped figure in front fell down, the weapon dropped, and the blood spurting from the broken limbs dyed the surrounding land several feet red.

Xu Wen took advantage of the situation to throw away the knife with the blade rolled down, picked up a spear and a knife, roared and rushed forward, and his bodyguards and soldiers followed him, stirring up the sound of fighting on the front line.

In the Qi army, soldiers in the front row were injured, and then others hurried to fill in. The loose formation shrank closer. Han Shizhong shouted continuously and stabbed a soldier of the resentful army to death with one shot. The Ma brothers also stood on the front line with their personal soldiers. Hysterical voices filled people's eardrums, and the people who rushed to kill the enemies on the opposite side continued to kill them on the ground.

Han Shizhong took a few steps back in the chaos, looked around, and saw Xu Wen and his men bravely advancing. He quickly pointed his finger and said, "Follow me to pull that bastard back. Do you really think you have three heads and six arms?"

The guards rushed out immediately and approached Xu Wen. (End of this chapter)