Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The wind blew from the fields, and the war spread from the north gate to the south city.

A large number of Qi army infantrymen seized the Dashun Gate. Sun An rode his warhorse onto Nanheng Street and looked around. Black figures ran quickly past the walls on both sides. Pan Zhong was heading towards the Yingchun Gate. The army with the big flag with the word "King" on it was ahead of him. The big flag was far away and could only be vaguely seen in the dim light. A large number of figures walked down the stone steps and seized the Jinfeng Gate. The escape passage that was opened by the defenders was closed again.

"Order Shangguan Yi to continue forward and seize Shunyang Gate." Sun An pointed forward on horseback and said, "Tell Ma Zhen the bandits that our troops will clear out the Liao bandits in the west and east of the city, so please ask him to take care of them."

"Send the message forward. Anyone who has information about the bandits will be rewarded with 100 copper coins."

The cavalrymen hurriedly retreated, and then ran into the street with thundering footsteps, shouting "Civil servants are not allowed to go out!" and "Anyone who has information about the rebellious soldiers will be rewarded with 100 coins." Suddenly someone in the house became interested, and the sound of shouting for directions was heard.

Luo Wu, who was guarding the imperial city, luckily avoided the charge of the cavalry and ran into Qianliao County with several of his comrades to avoid the pursuing Liao soldiers. Some of them went to the homes of civilians in the city to loot. The general who came from the Orudo Army cursed, "Doing such a thing at this time is courting death. Don't bother with them!" He pulled his comrades beside him and ran quickly.

Turning the corner, they saw a wall that was more than one person high. Without thinking, the three of them helped each other to climb over it, and hid behind the wall, gasping for breath. Someone next to them slid down and sat on the ground against the wall.

"What the hell, what kind of war is this?" Panting heavily, the soldier who was sitting pulled off the leather helmet that was in the way. "The emperor is not here, the general is not here, and we are just a bunch of small soldiers and crab generals. What's the point of fighting?"

Luo Wu also sat down. He was quick to see the opportunity. At that time, many of his comrades who had followed him to attack the front line of the Qi army were trampled by the cavalry. Only now did he feel like mourning for them. He patted his legs which were trembling from running away, and said nothing.

The people on the other side nodded in agreement: "We are not surnamed Xiao. If we lose the fight, we will have no good brothers to help us get away with it. If we win, it will be the credit of Xiang Wen and the general. We will not get any money from it."

He nudged Luo Wu with his arm and said, "Hey, you're rushing so fast, are you thinking of losing your life?"

Taking off his helmet, a burst of hot air rose from his head. Luo Wu wiped the sweat off his face and said, "The superiors want you to go, how dare you refuse? In a dangerous war, if you don't use some real skills, you will die."

The man scratched his head and said, "I saw you were almost chopped off."

"...It was indeed dangerous." The brave general wiped his nose and exhaled: "Damn it, I rushed in too fast and almost got hit. If it weren't for my quick reaction, I would be lying down now."

The three were talking when the owner of the house heard the noise and ran out. Two children, a boy and a girl, were holding whistle sticks, hatchets, and small wooden swords. The woman took the children and hid behind the man. The man in front looked at them nervously: "Who are you waiting for? Get out quickly."

The three looked at each other, and the soldiers on both sides stood up and laughed grimly. Luo Wu suddenly stood up and stretched out his hand to hold the two of them: "Wait, don't make trouble." He reached into his arms and fumbled around, then looked for his belt, took out a few pieces of silver and weighed them in his hand, then walked over with a smile on his face: "Master, we are soldiers of the imperial city, and now we have been defeated and fallen to this place. We don't ask to hide it for a long time, but we ask to rest here for one night."

The man looked at the change in his hand and hesitated. The woman behind him poked her head out from behind him to take a look, then retracted her head and pinched him with her hand. The man immediately shook his head and said, "No, you will hurt us if you wait here."

The two soldiers at the back moved their fingers, but before they could draw their swords, there were suddenly shouts from the Qi army outside: "Ordinary people should not go out!" "Anyone who has information about the rebellious soldiers will be rewarded with 100 coins." The two soldiers immediately changed their grip to holding, took out a purse from their pockets, and went over despite the pain: "Please do me a favor."

wow-

Copper coins and silver coins piled up in Luo Wu's palm. The Khitan man took a breath and said, "Since we are all Liao people, I hope you can help me."

The man's eyes suddenly widened. The woman in the back also saw it clearly and quickly pushed the front.

"No, hurry up and leave, don't hurt..."

"Who said no!" The woman interrupted her man and jumped out to snatch the copper coin and a dozen pieces of silver from Luo Wu's hand: "Let me make it clear first, I can keep you here, but don't mess around and cause trouble. If you do, it will hurt you and us."

"No, no, we will definitely behave ourselves." The three were overjoyed and promised hurriedly.

"Then you should tell us your names, so that others won't find it difficult to explain."

"Ugly man."

"Brother Le."

Luo Wu looked at the host in front of him and thought for a while: "My name is Yilacheng."

The two soldiers looked at him in surprise, and then looked surprised.

The couple didn't care what the three of them said. The man said, "Well, take off your armor first, and bury your weapons in my yard. I have some old clothes at home. You can change into them later."

Looking at the three people, he said, "Remember, you are my wife's cousins ​​from her mother's family, and you are here in broad daylight."

How could Yilacheng and the other two have any objections? They quickly took off their armor and combat boots, and buried their weapons together with their weapons in the yard, and then followed the family into the house.

……

The sky gradually darkened, and the hand of night stroked the leaden blue sky, staining it with a layer of thick ink.

Bonfires were lit in the imperial city. Looking from above, there were clusters of bonfires in the east and west, but every corner could be illuminated. Soldiers of the Qi army wearing black armor walked back and forth, and their swords and guns reflected the light in the fire.

There seemed to be a figure moving in the darkness further back. When the night wind blew across the firelight, a cold light flashed by. It was a figure walking with a crossbow and a weapon in his hand.

Yelu Daribo stood on the wall, frowned his slender eyebrows, and scanned the familiar buildings with his sharp eyes. Even though his eyes were obscured by the night, he could still accurately distinguish the location of each bonfire. However, now that the area below was occupied by the Qi army, these memories in his mind only deepened his worries.

"Princess, it's late, please go to bed early."

Behind him, the rough voice of the female guard came. Yelu Daribo remained silent. He used his white hands to tidy up his messy hair before speaking softly, "Do you think it is feasible to send someone to break through and look for my father now?"

The female guard looked outside. The firelight that illuminated every street made her swallow her saliva: "If the princess needs us to fight, we are willing to fight with our lives."

The footsteps of patrol soldiers could be heard on the wall. Yelu Daribo put down his hand and placed it on the hilt of his sword. Without turning back, he said, "Forget it. I was just talking. Judging from the location of the Qi army's campfire, it would be dangerous as soon as the palace gate is opened."

He exhaled: "Although I don't know why these villains only besieged us and did not send troops to attack, this situation is favorable to us. I only hope that father can know the situation in Shangjing as soon as possible and bring troops back to help."

The female guard behind him didn't say anything. Having been in the palace for a long time, she already understood that the more you talk, the more mistakes you make. The best response at this time was to shut up.

In front, a pretty figure stood for a while before turning around. The female guard behind her hurriedly followed, and her footsteps gradually became farther and farther away, disappearing at the entrance of the stairs leading down to the city wall.

……

Thirty miles south of Shangjing City.

The night wind made the branches and leaves in the forest rustle. Bonfires shot up several feet into the sky in the night wind. Someone came over and removed some wood to lower the flames. The staggered tents separated passages, and footmen holding swords, shields and spears patrolled by. The firelight cut out people's shadows on the white tent surface.

The war horses were tied not far away, huddled together with their heads down to rest. The camp extended to the bank of the Raole River. Amid the sound of flowing water, two figures were walking along the river bank, surrounded by guards who were patrolling every sound at night. The sound of voices could be heard faintly.

"...I never thought that Du Fu would enter Shangjing City first. It was quite a surprise. Although I had guessed that there was a problem within the Liao army, I didn't expect it to be so serious. The imperial city was actually breached by a small army."

Wang Zheng was walking slowly at the side and smiled when he heard this: "This proves that Your Majesty is destined to be with us. With a brave man like General Du Fu, we can capture Shangjing City without Your Majesty's intervention."

Lu Bu turned to look at him, smiled suddenly, turned around and continued walking along the river bank: "I can hear that you think I am jealous of others' talents. Could it be that I am so petty that I cannot tolerate my generals attacking the palace and making contributions?" Wang Zheng was not flustered, but just smiled and said: "How do you know that I am not flattering you?"

"Hahahaha——" Lu Bu laughed a few times, and saw a round stone under his feet in the light of the fire. He bent down to pick it up and threw it into the river. After a few breaths, there was a sound of water. "Maybe, if it was a few years earlier, I don't know if I would have felt a thorn in my heart, but now I am only happy."

Looking up at the night sky, there was a rustling sound in the grass on the river bank. A guard pointed a crossbow at that place, and then put it down after a while. Lu Bu looked over there and said, "If we take Shangjing, the Liao Kingdom will lose its backbone. Although we may not be able to win by issuing an edict, it will definitely be much easier than the heavy battle with Yelu De this time."

The river rippled and made noises. Wang Zheng looked at the figure in front of him and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Your Majesty, if Shangjing is taken, I have some ideas that I would like to share with you."

Lu Bu stopped on the shore and turned to look at him when he heard the words.

Wang Zheng looked at the dark river and said, "The further west you go on Shangjing Road, the more sparsely populated it becomes. However, the military prefectures near Linhuang Prefecture are densely populated and truly fertile. We might as well move the seat of government from Liaodong to Shangjing. You can also stay in the imperial palace first."

Seeing that Lu Bu didn't say anything, he moved his eyes and spoke again: "The king refused the throne before because the land of one road was not enough to be emperor. Now that you have taken Shangjing and even the surrounding military states, it should be a step forward."

Lu Bu turned around and stepped on the grass with his boots: "This matter is not urgent, we can discuss it later." He looked up at the sky: "Now that Yelu Yanxi has not been captured by General Du, the Liao Kingdom is not considered destroyed. Even if it is destroyed, there will be people who want to restore it, and it will be a mess."

"Your Majesty is right." Wang Zheng blinked and responded absentmindedly.

"Let's stabilize Linhuang Prefecture first."

Lu Bu took a breath. The wind on the river bank was getting stronger and stronger. The sound of the water waves continued, and the smell of water entered his lungs. "Tomorrow the army will set out. I will lead the cavalry first, and you will lead the infantry behind."

"Yes."

After responding, everyone returned to the military camp. Wang Zheng watched Yu Cheng escorting Lü Bu towards the central army tent. He stroked his chin and walked back to the military camp, calling his guards: "Go find Generals Xi Sheng, Bian Xiang, Mi Xian, and Shi Wengong, and tell them that there is something important to discuss."

The guard responded and ran out quickly.

Wang Zheng stared at the top of the tent in a trance under the candlelight. Not long after, several big men hurriedly opened the curtain and came in. Mi Xian shouted in a loud voice in the tent: "Military Advisor, what do you want from us so late at night?"

"Keep your voice down." Wang Zheng scratched his ears and waved for a few people to come over and sit down: "Everyone, the king will lead the cavalry to Shangjing early tomorrow morning."

Several people looked at Shi Wengong's cold face.

Wang Zheng shook his hand and said, "I just said this when I was chatting with the king." Then he leaned forward and said, "Everyone, don't you want to go further?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The four generals looked at him strangely.

Wang Zheng smiled, and then whispers were heard in the tent.

……

The moon rose to the zenith in the sky, and a few dark clouds floated by, blocking the cold moonlight.

In the dark wilderness, five Liao army sentries tightened their clothes. Although it was midsummer, it was still a bit cold in the wilderness at night. They heard rustling sounds in their ears and wondered what kind of wild animal was out looking for food.

Looking back at the dimming campfire, he muttered a few dirty words. Suddenly, someone raised his index finger and made a "hush" sound, asking all the soldiers in this secret post to shut up.

In my ears, the monotonous sound of horse hooves came from far away and gradually became clearer. The soldier leading the team waved his hand, and the others nodded and moved towards the direction where the sound of horse hooves came from.

In the dark night, a horse was running slowly, with a dark shadow lying on its back, rising and falling as the horse ran.

"I'm coming from the direction of Shangjing."

"Catch him, maybe there will be news about Shangjing, and bringing it to Xiangwen will be a credit."

After a few simple words, the five men crouched down and jumped to the side of the road. When the horse came over, they rushed out immediately. Two of them grabbed the jogging warhorse, and two of them dragged the person on the horse off and pressed him to the ground.

"Ouch—"

A scream of pain came from under the man. The leading soldier came over and pointed his gun at the figure being pinned down by his comrades: "Don't move, or I'll kill you."

goo goo-

A rumbling sound was heard at an inopportune moment, and the five Liao soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment.

The person standing there cursed, "Damn you, bald old man, all you do is eat all day long. Your stomach is rumbling at such an inopportune moment."

Some of the soldiers who were oppressing others cried out: "It's not me, my stomach didn't growl."

"...Captain." Another man pressed his leg against the man's shoulder, glanced at the man with the gun, and then lowered his head to look: "It seems like this guy's stomach is growling."

cuckoo-

The five men looked at each other silently, then looked down. The two soldiers unconsciously relaxed their strength, and the one who was pressed down raised his head with difficulty: "I... I am the son-in-law Xiao Yu, give me some... food."

"Damn it, you are the prince consort, but I am still the emperor."

The standing team laughed and kicked the man on the shoulder. A weak "ouch!" sounded, and they said to the two soldiers who were holding him down, "Brothers, use your strength and give him a few punches as big as sandbags."

"The prince consort, right——"

"what!"

"You're eating, right—"

"what!"

"Louder your voice for me!"

"Ah-"

In the darkness, the screams gradually increased, and then someone was tied up and walked to the station. (End of this chapter)