Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The night wind blew across the fields, caressing the wolf hair on the armor. Li Ji held his spear and looked indifferently at the collapsing battlefield. The cavalry dispersed the resisting battle group, and the infantry was chasing the cavalry. The victory or defeat of this decisive battle was already a foregone conclusion.

Turning his eyes to the edge of the battlefield, a group of soldiers were running out silently. This was a very normal scene at this moment, but it made the right guard general feel a little cold.

Over there, Yelu Zonglei, who had been transferred to the front army by the messenger, was leading his troops away in a panic. Li Ji knew who would be among them even without thinking.

Behind him, Zhier Fulang, riding a green-maned warhorse and holding a moon axe, approached and looked hesitantly in the direction his commander was looking at: "General, why don't we leave too? If we don't leave now, Zhemo will be unable to leave..."

Li Ji turned his head and looked at him.

Zhier Fulang lowered his head and said, "I don't want to drink with the Qi bandits anymore."

"...I don't want to either." Li Ji withdrew his gaze from him and turned his head slightly. The panicked faces of the remaining soldiers of the right guard came into his eyes: "Since the commander has abandoned us, there is no need to wait for death here."

Li Ji pulled the reins and pointed to the forest in the distance: "Go this way."

Zhier Fulang nodded and didn't say anything stupid like what to do if someone from the rear army tried to stop them. The battle situation had deteriorated to this point and everyone was fighting for their own life. There were already deserters in the rear army when the battle flags in the front army fell to the dust one after another.

"Lower the flags, keep quiet, and follow the general to evacuate the battlefield." Zhier Fulang spoke quickly, "Remember, if you fall behind and encounter the Qi army surrendering, we are not in the center of the battlefield, so the enemy will not kill us."

The words of instruction fell into the ears of the soldiers, and those who listened nodded one after another. They had all been captured once, so they would not have any psychological burden to surrender again. The words of my general really touched my heart.

Moonlight poured down from the night sky. Looking down from high above, clusters of fire were burning on the battlefield below, trying to emit light to illuminate a small area. The sight followed the dense torrent fleeing to places other than the east, and following behind were a relatively small number of black-armored soldiers in hot pursuit. Arrows were shot at the fleeing people from time to time, and some people fought back. However, in this pursuit, the number of arrows was relatively small, and the damage caused was not as much as when they were fighting in formation just now.

Compared with the aggressive attitude of the Qi soldiers in the rear, Qiong Yao Nayan led the more than 400 remnants under his command to flee madly. Occasionally, someone was shot and fell off his horse while fleeing, but he still rode away madly, unwilling to stop easily. After a while, the general with a gloomy face turned his head to look at the pursuing troops, and the blood on his hands dried in the airflow brought by the war horses.

"We must find a way to shake off these cavalrymen. Otherwise, if we continue like this, not only the people, but also the horses will not be able to bear it."

While galloping, Qiong Yao Nayan rose and fell on the horse's back and looked back. The black armor of the Qi army was really hard to see in the dark night.

"It's not easy." Xiao Yu, the son-in-law who had somehow sneaked into his camp, shook his head, his two long braids wet with sweat flying left and right on both sides of his forehead: "Just run back to Shangjing directly, or just turn around and eat them up. Anyway, we have more people, so we may be able to defeat them quickly."

"But what if we fail to defeat them quickly..." Qiong Yao Nayan moved his lips and looked at the frightened followers: "Now that the men are all afraid, it will be difficult."

The man, who was the son-in-law of the emperor, stood up while his horse was running, waved his arms, and said in a loud voice: "How can the Khitan warriors accept the humiliation of defeat? We are all descendants of the Wolf God. We must either die on the battlefield or eat the lambs behind us!"

Beside him, the voice of the personal guard came: "Prince consort, behind——"

Xiao Yu's loud voice was still echoing in the air. He heard a scream in his ears. He turned his head and looked behind him. Qiong Yao Nayan could not help but look behind him. Behind him, he saw countless fleeing figures. The cavalrymen of the Northwest Route Recruiting Division were also turning their heads with anxiety.

There were flashes of fire dancing in the field of vision.

At this time, a fluttering "Wanyan" flag appeared and disappeared in the flickering light of the fire. Knights in black armor, holding torches, swords and spears, rode their horses like the wind and chased after them.

Shadows overlapped in the firelight, and there seemed to be five or six hundred of them.

Xiao Yu immediately sat back on the saddle, his boots without soles moved on the stirrups, and he drew out his protective scimitar and raised it: "Soldiers of the border army, warriors of Khitan! The Qi people are arrogant, thinking that chasing after us is as easy as driving a flock of sheep. Let them see what they have learned!"

The arm holding the reins pushes outward with force.

"The descendants of the Khitans are not only able to gallop and fight on the plains..."

The warhorse under his crotch suddenly ran diagonally towards the dark woods next to him, leading the cavalry beside him to turn slightly: "You can still cross the forest and the sea!"

……

Arrows flew sporadically across the sky, and figures were desperately fleeing into the distance.

Flames burned on the torches in people's hands, on the wooden structures on the ground, and on the blood-soaked soil. Horse hooves trampled madly. A spear suddenly stabbed from somewhere. The warhorse let out a mournful cry, knelt on its front hooves, and fell to the ground with a bang. The figure on it flew out and fell headfirst into the ground. The sound of broken bones was heard, and the body rolled over, with the head shaking abnormally and randomly.

More soldiers ran over from all around. Except for the Liao cavalry who were killed, most of the remaining people did not dare to resist. They dismounted silently, threw away their swords and guns, and surrendered to the Qi soldiers who surrounded them. Some of them were smart enough to pretend to be dead on the ground and were discovered. Several soldiers rushed up and chopped them to death on the spot with their swords.

The field of vision extended, and the battlefield was full of swaying figures. The remnants of burning rockets and the armor on the corpses burned in the moonlight at night. The blood flowing from the densely packed corpses gathered together, reflecting a dark red light in the firelight. The injured war horses that could hardly struggle to stand up kept pushing their heads against the ground and tumbling their hooves, but finally they lay on the ground with a miserable howl and watched the figures who were starting to clean up and finish the work pass by.

The Liao cavalry jumped off their horses, discarded their weapons, and were driven aside, holding their heads. They looked anxiously at the Qi infantrymen holding knives and bows and crossbows beside them. Some armored soldiers from the Qi central army surrounded a scholar and came over. These people were not actually afraid of these soldiers who ran on two legs. Instead, they were afraid of a cavalryman who was still dozens of feet away, carrying swords and bows, wearing black leather armor and a thin iron on his chest.

In the center of the crowd, a red figure was stamping its hooves impatiently. Some of the captives couldn't help but look back, and saw that the cavalry, led by the general, were divided into several teams and dispersed, revealing the fiery red war horses surrounded by the personal guards.

Lu Bu rolled off Red Hare's back. With a few soft popping sounds, pieces of flesh and internal organs, still stained with blood, fell from the skirt and armor of the beast. Red Hare shook its head and snorted loudly, then slowly moved around this side. It had consumed a lot of energy from the continuous charges and now that it was idle, it felt a lot more relaxed.

The night wind blew over, Yu Cheng took out the water bag and handed it to him. Lu Bu raised his hand and took a big gulp, and poured it on his head. The cool water flowed down his head, washing away a lot of blood. The light red liquid continued to flow and drip from his chin, and more of it flowed along the skin into the inner armor, making the body tremble slightly.

"Huh..." Exhaling a breath of foul air, Lu Bu threw the water bag back to Yu Cheng: "Yelü Dezhong must have escaped when we were charging the battle, but I don't know when he left and how far he ran." The torch swayed in the wind. Wang Zheng looked at Lu Bu, who was covered in blood, and smiled bitterly: "Don't worry about whether Yelü Dezhong ran away or not. Your Majesty's appearance really makes me tremble with fear. I hope Your Majesty will not act so impulsively in the future. If something goes wrong..."

Lu Bu turned around and raised his wet big hand to pat him: "Alright, you said these words before, I know what I mean. Next time, unless the military situation is urgent, I will just stand by and watch."

"...Your Majesty, it's best that you do this." Wang Zheng was silent for a moment, then looked at the guard who was picking up the Liao army flag on the ground. He looked a little excited, clenched his hands fiercely, and took a breath: "But...now, no matter when Yelu Dezhong ran away, the last barrier of Shangjing Road has been broken by Your Majesty, and the next step is to take Linhuang Prefecture."

"Then leave him alone." Lu Bu waved his hand, with an indifferent look in his expression: "He is already scared out of his wits, I am not interested in paying more attention to him." He took two steps and wiped the water stains on his face and shook it off: "The war is almost over. I don't know where Shi Wengong's troops have gone. Send orders to clean up the battlefield and rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, Wang De and Wanyan Zonghan's troops will join together and advance to Linhuang Prefecture as the vanguard."

He stopped, turned around and looked at the guards holding Yelu Dezhong's flag, and pointed his finger: "Take this flag and tell the cities along the way that if they surrender now, I will protect their lives. If they are stubborn, I will chop off their heads after I capture the city."

The messenger galloped away.

Wang Zheng and Yu Cheng followed behind with their personal guards. Wang Zheng stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, General Shi received the order late after all. Why not leave a team of scouts here and wait for him to come and let him go find the main army."

"No one expected this. During the battle, Yelu Dezhong brought the central army up on his own." Yu Cheng grinned from the side, his face still stained with blood looking a little hideous.

"I didn't expect the central army to run away on their own."

"But it doesn't mean that we will be handed over the gateway to Shangjing Road."

The two of them were talking happily. Red Hare came over from behind, panting, nudged Lu Bu's arm with its big head, then raised his hand to stroke its horse face and said lightly: "Don't forget, we still have troops in the north, and we don't know what will happen to them."

Wang Zheng and Yu Cheng were stunned for a moment. The former thought for a moment and said, "I was so happy that I forgot about General Du and his men. However, since Yelu Dezhong has not received reinforcements, and General Du Fu is also in the same situation, Your Majesty does not need to worry. With the troops in General Du's hands, no one should be able to stop him from advancing westward."

"Since you say so, I will believe you." Walking past the captives, looking at the soldiers who were excited but tired, Lu Bu scratched Red Hare's neck and curled his lips: "Next, let's see who is faster, me or Du Fu. Although they are farther away, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and there are not many cities. Although we are close to Linhuang Prefecture, we have passed more military states."

He paused for a moment, looked at the fire burning in front of him, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "I really want to see what the Liao emperor looks like. I have never seen an emperor of a foreign race..."

The wind blew and the lit torches shook.

……

The night enveloped the forest. Startled birds flew among the treetops in the moonlight. They cried sharply in panic and rushed out of the treetops, making a rustling sound and flew into the night sky.

Below, dead branches and leaves were piled on the ground. Horses' hooves stepped into the half-man-high grass and ran among the dense and scattered woods. Dozens, hundreds, and more cavalrymen were also moving in one direction at the same time. Most of them had panic looks on their faces. Occasionally, they saw human figures in the moonlight, and they couldn't help but get excited. They drew their bows and swords and aimed over. They asked questions and answered them. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they were sure that it was their own people. They put down their weapons with trembling hands and hearts. Their spirits were stretched to the brink of collapse.

Behind them, the sound of horse hooves and miserable cries could be faintly heard. The cavalry who had not yet escaped from the battlefield were caught up by the Qi army in the rear. Wanyan Zongbing swung the axe in his hand and chopped down the cavalry who was about to run into the woods. He turned around and looked around. There was no one else there. He did not chase after the deserters who had already run into the woods. He whistled and ran away.

The team was moving through the forest in a panic, constantly encountering comrades who were also fleeing, and gradually gathered into a team of three to five hundred people. However, compared with the number of more than 60,000 people, three to five hundred people were simply an insignificant group. Some of them encountered a larger number of deserters and ran over happily.

"Is that General Li Ji in front?" an unfamiliar voice came over. The people who were running away turned around and saw a general holding a Qinglong Halberd and leading three hundred infantry and cavalry running towards them in a panic. The right guards in the rear were in a commotion, and many soldiers hesitated whether to throw away the weapons in their hands.

The moonlight shone on the man's face, and the familiar look startled the general leading the team: "But is it the consort of Taizhen?!"

"It's me." The figure holding the Azure Dragon Halberd ran over, looking unnatural: "Finally I see one of our own..."

Li Ji didn't know how to answer for a moment, and only uttered two single syllables, "Um...ah...". Prince Consort Taizhen hesitated for a moment, looked at the nervous Zhier Fulang, then looked at the relaxed remnants of the Right Guard, and said hesitantly: "Let's go...together?"

"Hmm?" Li Ji looked up at him and then opened his mouth: "Ah, then... let's go?"

"Go, go, go." Prince Consort Taizhen nodded repeatedly and called on his infantry and cavalry to join in. In an instant, the army with nearly two thousand people fled forward again. Not long after, voices were heard from the forest.

"How did the prince consort escape? I saw a lot of Qi cavalry over there."

"I was lucky. Those cavalrymen didn't fight me seriously. They just confronted me casually. I don't know what they were thinking... How did General Li escape?"

"I was in the rear army. When I saw the flag of the commander-in-chief in front fall to the ground, the army formation collapsed immediately. More than 4,000 soldiers in the rear army had already withdrawn."

"Hey……"

The footsteps continued, but the people talking stopped talking about sex.

……

Further north.

The black cavalry holding torches stopped running in the forest. The light of the fire shone on the geomancy map. The cold-faced general looked up carefully, his eyes originally without emotion, with a trace of confusion: "Where... is this place?"

The wind howled, and startled birds into flight. (End of this chapter)