Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

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Blood dripped from the person's clothes, and the wide sleeves of the palace robe were soaked with blood. The moment he turned around, an arc of blood line was thrown on the ground.

It is particularly eye-catching on the bluestone slab.

"Zhao... Zhaorong?" Yelu Daribo looked at the blood on her face hesitantly, as if he didn't recognize the person in front of him for a moment. His hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of the sword: "So what are you doing..."

A eunuch came over with a low head and handed over a hot wet white towel. Zhao Zhaorong took it and wiped the blood off her face. The bloodstains faded under the wet white towel. Her face looked too rosy. Her voice was as gentle as before: "I said, I will not let anything happen that damages the dignity of the royal family."

He handed the bloody sword to the eunuch and said as if he had done something insignificant: "The princess is not guarding the city walls, so how did you get into the palace?"

The eunuch holding the sword took out a piece of sackcloth to wipe the blood, then stood there holding the sword.

"...The situation has changed a bit." After a moment of silence, Yelu Daribo looked at Yelu Neri who had followed him and curled his lips: "The Qi army wants to persuade them to surrender, and this general of our clan is the other side's envoy."

The woman in front of me looked at me as I spoke. She was graceful and smiling, but the blood all over her body made my heart beat wildly.

The man whose name was spoken felt his heart tighten. He glanced at Princess Tianshou and then at Zhao Zhaorong. Even though he knew that she had killed powerless concubines in the palace, he still felt dry in his mouth. He always felt that the other person's eyes were somewhat malicious.

Is the King of Zhao's mother so murderous? How come I didn't know about this before in the court! And...

She glanced at the wounds on the body that was dragged away. They were all on the heart and throat. The technique was clean and neat. She thought to herself, this doesn't seem like the method of a woman with no martial arts skills. She has never heard of any fierce generals in her Zhao family...

Taking a deep breath of the cool air filled with the smell of rust, Yelu Neri calmly stepped forward and saluted: "King of Jin, Former Qin, Yelu Neri greets Zhao Zhaorong."

After a slight pause, seeing that the other party did not speak, he could only continue: "The king is kind and does not like to embarrass women. When he came down, he told me that if you surrender, he will naturally protect the nobles in the palace..."

His eyes unconsciously glanced at the eunuchs who were carrying the corpse: "Your life will be saved, and I will let you go after the war."

The woman opposite smiled and said, "I have heard about the King of Qi, but I never thought he was such an upright person." She glanced at Yelu Daribo and said, "I wonder if the King of Qi has mentioned how he will treat Daribo?"

Yelu Nieli raised his eyebrows, and the man opposite him continued to speak in a gentle voice: "After all, the city has always been guarded by Daribo. Although she is a woman, she is also the commander of an army. The two armies fought for her commander. I wonder if the King of Qi has any opinion on how to deal with her?"

"The king has not spoken."

Yelu Neri shook his head. Zhao Zhaorong opposite him narrowed her eyes slightly. Yelu Daribo had no expression on her face. Since she dared to bring female soldiers to the top of the city wall, she must have prepared for the worst.

"It's just..." Yelu Neri looked at the people around him and was silent for a moment: "I have a plan here. I wonder if Zhao Zhaorong and the princess can ask everyone to leave and listen to it?"

"Oh?"

The two women looked at each other, the older one nodded: "Of course." She looked around and said: "You go down first." She raised her bloody sleeves and held the sword again with her well-maintained hands.

The corner of Yelu Nieli's eye twitched.

The maids and eunuchs at the side all put down their work, saluted and retreated. Seeing this, Yelu Daribo had no choice but to signal to the female soldiers under his command, and this team of women with silver spears and silver knives on their waists retreated together.

Zhao Zhaorong signaled with her eyes: "You can tell me now."

"In the fourth year of Tianqing, the battle of Ningjiang Prefecture began. The imperial court fought against the Jin Kingdom, but was defeated by it despite its superior military strength. In the middle, the imperial court fought against the Jin Kingdom and Qi Kingdom at the same time, but was still defeated despite its superior military strength. Even your majesty personally led the army and suffered a disastrous defeat. Now, Qi Kingdom has destroyed the Jin Kingdom and counterattacked the Liao Kingdom. Hundreds of thousands of troops have been thrown on the battlefield, but they have not won a single battle. Zhao Zhaorong, Princess..." Yelu Neri looked at the two women and said, "How long do you two think the Liao Kingdom can last if things continue like this?"

The older woman frowned, her eyes showing a thoughtful look. Yelu Dalibo's eyes widened and her pretty face flushed, "The Liao Dynasty will last for thousands of years."

Yelu Neri looked at her with a strange expression.

"What's that look in your eyes?!" Yelu Daribo immediately got angry and pointed his finger: "Explain to me clearly, what do you mean?"

"...Princess." Yelu Nili opened his mouth with a look of pity in his eyes: "If you really think so, you won't be so angry."

The hand that was stretched out shrank slightly, and then she shouted at a higher volume: "You...you are talking nonsense!"

"Daribo."

Zhao Zhaorong on the side called out softly, and somehow the seemingly more assertive Princess Tianshou actually quieted down obediently. Then the former looked at Yelu Neri and frowned slightly: "How do you know that Your Majesty can't revive the country again?"

Yelu Neri shook his head and said: "If Your Majesty could revive the country, he would not hunt all year round; if Your Majesty wanted to think about the country, he would not force his generals and the leader of the Liaodong Jurchens to rebel; if Your Majesty wanted to revitalize the country, he would not allow Xiao Fengxian and Xiao Delidi to act recklessly around him."

"Under such circumstances, how can Your Majesty resist the ferocious Qi army? You should know that the morale of the army in the court is low. If they have the upper hand, they can still fight. But if they are in a weak position, they will be defeated faster than a wild dog. How can they fight against the Qi army that values ​​military achievements above all else? Zhao Zhaorong should know about the affairs of the six kingdoms during the Han and Qin dynasties, right?"

Zhao Zhaorong frowned even more tightly.

Yelu Dalibo raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but say, "How do you know that the emperor won't wake up and work hard to govern the country?"

Yelu Neri did not refute, but just whispered three words: "Brother Xiao Gui."

Princess Tianshou on the opposite side wilted for a moment.

It is said that there is no true love in the royal family, but Yelu Daribo knew that this Princess Yuan had given birth to six children for her father, the emperor who loved hunting, since she entered the palace at the age of seventeen. She had three sons, the Prince of Liang, the Prince of Qin, and the Prince of Xu, and three daughters, Oriyan, Daye, and Ci Aoye.

Given his father's personality, if he didn't truly love her, he would never have had so many children. And since Concubine Yuan's position was secure, there would be no possibility for Xiao Fengxian to be demoted. If Xiao Fengxian didn't leave, the government would still be as corrupt as it is now.

Zhao Zhaorong thought for a moment, looked at the other side, and asked directly: "Don't beat around the bush, just tell me what you think."

Yelu Nieli licked his lower lip: "Since ancient times, when two countries have been at war, the worst hit are the imperial families, whose descendants and relatives are all slaughtered. If..."

In the quiet yard, the man's voice died down, and the two women's expressions became increasingly embarrassed, but they remained silent.

The female soldiers and eunuchs waiting outside looked towards the yard from time to time, and occasionally heard Princess Tianshou's shouts, "You are wishful thinking!" "You will not have a good death in the future!" However, they were not called in. These people could only stand guard outside, wondering what the three people inside were talking about that made them so excited.

As time went by, the light of day moved westward. Finally, a man and two women came out of the courtyard. A group of female soldiers quickly surrounded Princess Tianshou, whose face was livid. “Princess, are you okay?”

"no!"

Yelu Daribo said something hatefully after shaking his hand, and then glared at Yelu Neri. The former royal family member on the other side was calm and composed. He turned to Tianshou behind him and said, "Princess, hurry up. There is not much time left. If you are not out by then, the king will definitely send his army to attack."

Yelu Daribo snorted twice, then picked up his silver spear and walked forward. Zhao Zhaorong stood at the gate of the palace garden and watched Yelu Neri follow him to the city gate. After thinking for a long time, she turned around and said, "Come on, change your clothes."

The eunuchs and maids hurriedly lowered their heads and trotted forward to prepare. …

The glazed tiles reflect the light from the sky, and the palace walls look magnificent when viewed from below.

The wind blew the flags from time to time. The standing soldiers walked to the rear under the order, and the soldiers with full energy stood in the front, still staring at the city wall ahead with a fierce look.

Lu Bu narrowed his eyes slightly, sat on a chair made of unknown wood, and played with the wine cup in his hand.

Since he had agreed to Yelu Neri's request, he would not order an attack before the time came. It was just that the sight of the object reminded him of the person. The bronze wine cup was sent by Chai Jin, and he didn't know what happened to that person now. Although he knew that the other party had wanted to use him back then, during the cooperation during that period, both parties had done their best and did not make him feel uncomfortable.

He's someone you can work with...

With a sigh in his heart, he gently placed the wine cup on the table and said to himself, "I'll send someone to check it out later."

"What did your Majesty say?"

Yu Cheng, who was standing nearby, didn't hear clearly, so he bent down and asked.

"I said that I would send someone to Cangzhou to see Mr. Chai later. After all, we have a good relationship." Lu Bu said this first, and then he thought about it and said, "We can also send someone to move around in Songdi. Food, raw materials, and people are all what we need. If we can buy some back, we can buy more. I have been worried about Liaodong and the war for a long time, so I don't have much energy to do this. After the war in Beijing, we can put it on the agenda."

Yu Cheng listened and took note, while taking the wine from the jar with a wine spoon and pouring it into the wine cup. Lu Bu reached out and took the wine, and pondered for a moment: "Forget it, bring me paper and pen, I will write a note, and you send someone back to Liaoyang Prefecture to immediately order Liu Min, Li Ying, and Jiang Jing to take charge of this matter."

"Yes."

Yu Cheng responded and immediately asked the guards to bring the four treasures of the study. Lu Bu wrote the letter immediately, put it in a piece of letter paper, and sealed it with wax. Then a team of cavalry quickly ran back.

The Liao army on the city wall was confused by this situation and there was a commotion. Amidst the discussions, many of them turned to look at their own generals.

"The Qi army is definitely going to attack the city, why not open the gate and surrender now!"

"Commander, open the door!"

"The princess is not here, let's open the door..."

thump—

The silver-shafted spear hit the blue brick hard. The voices fell silent. Several people who were about to surrender turned their heads stiffly and looked at the female general in silver armor lowering her head.

Yelu Daribo walked up to the city wall with a sullen face and said, "What's the matter? I was gone for less than half an hour and you opened the gate to let the enemy in. If I came back later, would you have cut off my head with a knife and claimed the credit?"

"Don't dare..."

"Princess, you misunderstood. There was some unusual movement outside the city."

“We haven’t thought about it that way.”

The guards cried out in grievance, and then saw Yelu Neri appear. Their eyes suddenly lit up. They were all shrewd people who roamed around in the palace. Seeing that this man was not dead, they immediately felt that something was wrong. A guard pointed at him and said boldly, "Princess, do you want to chop off this guy and throw his head down?"

Yelu Neri's face darkened. He knew that this man was saying the opposite of what he meant. However, there was no point in getting angry with these idiots at the moment. He just rolled his eyes and stood there quietly without saying a word.

"nature……"

Yelu Daribo looked unhappy. The two words he said made the guards in front of him change color. But she herself didn't notice it. She just looked at Yelu Neri. Seeing that he had no expression on his face, she felt very bored and continued, "No."

All the guards breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions relaxed, and the sound of them breathing out could be heard continuously.

Yelu Daribo glared at the guards and said, "Zhao Zhaorong and I have agreed to the Qi army's request and agreed to open the palace gates and surrender. You just need to lay down your weapons later. As for your safety."

Pointing at Yelu Neri, he said, "Ask him."

The Khitan man behind him reluctantly stepped forward to appease the anxious mood of the guards, and then said: "Princess, open the door."

He looked up at the sky and said, "It will be an hour soon. If the King of Qi orders an attack, it will no longer be a joke."

In the dim sky, Yelu Dalibo bit his lip, his rosy lips turning slightly pale, and after a while he said, "Open the door!"

Then he took two steps back, leaned against the wall behind him and closed his eyes slightly.

The guards cheered immediately, but some were still worried and pulled Yelu Neri down with them. The palace door that had been closed for many days opened slightly with a creaking sound.

……

The people below the city saw the swaying of heads on the city wall. Several experienced generals felt a little relieved when they saw it. Then the cheers that followed were carried into their ears by the wind, allowing the soldiers below to understand what was happening.

Lü Bu saw the gates open. He had expected the Liao palace to be opened so easily. He stood up and walked to Red Hare. He said, "Order Sun An to lead his troops in and guard the main roads. Leave someone on duty outside, and the rest will follow me later!"

Order the cavalry to rush out quickly.

In the front, Sun An, who received the military order, suppressed his excitement, waved his hand, and Guan Sheng and Ma Ling's troops moved slowly. The black square formation entered the open gate of the palace under the gaze of those behind.

Then the soldiers quickly stepped forward amid the roars of their generals, and the guards who had put down their swords and guns walked aside and squatted with their heads in their hands amid the scolding.

The sound of running footsteps came into his ears from the stairs. Yelu Daribo opened his eyes and saw that the female soldiers under his command were putting down their swords and guns. Black figures were invading his sight, the flags on the top of the city were being plucked away, and the soldiers waving black and red flags were shouting something.

But at this moment, she seemed to hear nothing.

clatter--

The sound of a metal pestle hitting the ground suddenly reached her ears. The standing princess turned her head blankly, and a Fang Tian Hua Ji came into her eyes. Then a young general wearing black armor and with a dark complexion bowed to her and said, "Princess Tianshou? I am Ma Ling, the general of Qi State who suppresses bandits. It's noisy here, please leave the city."

A huge cheer came to his ears after this voice. Yelu Dalibo focused his eyes and took a breath: "Good!"

Ma Ling nodded and immediately ordered: "Come here, lead the way for the princess." (End of this chapter)