Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sky above Hangzhou was cloudless, and the sun was hanging in the sky from an unknown distance, emitting the little heat that was available during this Little Ice Age.

Vehicles were passing slowly in the suburbs.

Amid the escort of hundreds of people, two gorgeous carriages pulled by mules and horses passed through the woods that had not yet turned green in spring. Occasionally, hearty laughter could be heard coming from the carriages.

Gao Keli, who was riding on his warhorse, glanced at Bai Yanshou and Du Wei beside him and said, "What are they talking about? It's rare to see the Left Prime Minister in a good mood."

"Who knows..."

Bai Yanshou shrugged and looked sideways at Yang Lin and Ma Lin who were following the car. He saw the two of them whispering to each other, "Maybe some literary exchange?"

"Literati?" Du Wei couldn't help but glance at him sideways, then turned his face to the car, with an indescribable emotion in his tone: "What kind of literati can charge into the battlefield with a sword? He even killed the general leading the army. He is clearly a desperado dressed in a turban.

I'm afraid that Mr. Li is bragging about his achievements in the martial arts world."

The two people next to him were silent for a moment and nodded. Although Gao Keli did not see Li Zhu killing Wang Xun with his own eyes, he had led an army that was defeated by the Western Army and knew their combat effectiveness. He was also familiar with the martial arts of the two generals next to him, so he was extremely afraid of Li Zhu in the car.

To be honest, if I had such martial arts skills, I would definitely brag about it in various ways.

The three of them didn't know that what was said in the car was far from what they thought. Lou Minzhong patted his thigh with a sincere smile on his face: "The taxes in the southeast are mostly given to Xia Gou and Khitan as annual tribute. I have long been disgusted with it. I even joined forces with many friends to write a letter to explain the pros and cons. It's a pity...

People like me have little influence, and even though the officials don't say anything, we can still see the disdain in their eyes. Most of the time, they use clichés to mock scholars like me who are ignorant of state affairs and unrealistic.

There were countless casualties in the war between the two countries. They thought that paying some money could guarantee the stability of the two countries, but they completely ignored the suffering of our people in the southeast.

In the past two years, I heard that the Khitans in Liaodong were fleeing in panic after being beaten by your country, which proved that what we useless people thought was not entirely wrong. When we were drinking at the table, the real people felt a few years younger.

It's a pity that the Holy Lord is busy with something and can't leave now, otherwise I really want to go to the north with Brother Li to see what the newly created country is like."

After the words were spoken, there was some silence in the carriage.

Li Zhu was sitting opposite, feeling somewhat surprised. The so-called deep talk with a stranger was something that only loyal men in the martial arts world would do. For him and Lou Minzhong, it was a bit too heartfelt to say such things. After a pause, he said, "Brother Lou, you are too kind. At that time, His Majesty was just trying to find a place for the brothers on the mountain to stay, and succeeded by accident."

"That country is stronger than Song. We are not sure whether we can win the battle against the Western Army." Lou Minzhong showed a trace of confusion: "Continuous defeats will make people feel at a loss. I am also worried."

In the slightly shaking carriage, Assistant Li twirled his beard with a smile. During this period of time when he was talking with Lou Minzhong in Hangzhou City, he felt like he was being held in high esteem. However, this man's eyes were sincere and his tone was genuine, so Mr. Jin Jian, who had seen countless people, could not see anything wrong.

From this we can also know that this person has a yearning for the State of Qi in his heart, so we can interact more with him.

While pondering in his heart, Li Zhu comforted him: "Brother Lou, don't worry. The outcome of the battle has always been hard to predict. I see that your army is full of talented people. If you have complete armor and weapons, you may be able to defeat the Song army."

"It's difficult." Lou Minzhong smiled bitterly: "After all, I have been to various armies in the court for more than a month. Brother Li, please don't regard me as a sour scholar who knows nothing about military affairs."

He sighed, "If Brother Li had not left today, I would not have said this. Not to mention the character of the generals in the army, there are many soldiers, but most of them are fools who have just put down their hoes and have not received much training. To this day, they cannot even recognize all the orders in the training ground, let alone fight for supremacy on the battlefield.

The Western Army is a powerful force that has been fighting with the Xixia people for many years. They have unified commands and their soldiers are experienced in fighting. If they only rely on their bravery, I'm afraid they will..."

He shook his head and stopped talking.

Li Zhu had figured out something, so he opened the car window and looked outside. He saw the silhouette of the ship in the distance, so he loosened his grip and smiled at Lou Minzhong: "Brother Lou, if you have anything to say, just say it."

He stroked Hu Gen'er's hand and said jokingly, "If you want to go with us on the boat, that's fine."

The humidity in the car seemed to have increased a bit, making people feel vaguely a little colder.

Lou Minzhong patted his knees twice and said, "Thank you for the invitation, Brother Li. I am participating in the uprising because I hope to do something for the people in the southeast. If things go wrong in the future, I will definitely go to Liaodong and ask Brother Li for help. Please don't deny the friendship we have had in the past few days."

Li Zhu smiled and shook his head to indicate no.

The left prime minister of the Yongle Dynasty pondered for a moment and said, "Although there are some in the army, I think they are still lacking in terms of battle formations. If your army has time, could you send one or two generals to teach the people below how to deal with the war? It would be better than them crossing the river blindly."

He smiled bitterly for the nth time: "To put it bluntly, if the Holy Lord is defeated too quickly, it will not be in the interests of your country, right? Having the Holy Lord in the south to consume the money and grain of the Song Dynasty will also be beneficial to your country's future plans."

Li Zhu laughed: "Brother Lou, do you think that Qi will definitely move south? What if you are wrong?"

Lou Minzhong straightened his back and said, "I have never heard of a founding emperor who was willing to live in a corner."

Then he smiled and said, "Brother Li, aren't you telling me that my guess is correct?"

"Brother Lou is smart." Li Zhu slowly put away the smile on his face, opened his slender eyes, and said seriously: "I will report this matter to His Majesty. The decision is not up to me, but..."

He paused and looked Lou Minzhong up and down: "Brother Lou, you mentioned this matter now, but you haven't discussed it with Fang La yet. You made a decision without asking the monarch's opinion first. Aren't you afraid of being suspected later?"

"I planned this with all my heart." Lou Minzhong looked at Li Zhu calmly: "If you question me for this, there is nothing to say."

As the two looked at each other, the carriage slowly stopped and Ma Lin's voice came from outside: "We're here."

Li Zhu stood up, lifted the curtain and stepped onto the carriage. A gust of cold wind blew over him, and his beard fluttered. When he was about to get off the carriage, he turned his head and looked at the left prime minister behind him: "Brother Lou, don't worry, I've made a note of this matter and will do my best to facilitate it."

He paused for a moment before turning his head and said, "If things are not going well, you might as well lead the army to retreat somewhere else first. It is better than staying in the city and dying."

Jump down and get out of the car.

Lou Minzhong came out from behind and was not in a hurry to get off. He bowed deeply to him on the carriage, then got off. He whispered a few words to Yang Lin and Shi Qian, and then bowed to see him off.

Gao Keli, Bai Yanshou and Du Wei, who were following the guards, looked at each other, increasingly confused. No one knew what the two of them talked about in the car, but it seemed like they were having a very pleasant chat.

Is this why the Left Prime Minister followed the Holy Duke in starting a rebellion?
He is a scholar with a chivalrous spirit.

Several people were thinking about this. Seeing Li Zhu, Yang Lin, and Shi Qian go ahead, Ma Lin turned around and casually clasped his fists: "Everyone, this is a farewell. Don't forget that there will be a ship coming in two months. You should bring the armor and weapons you agreed on." He paused and glanced at the faces opposite him meaningfully: "I hope to see you all again then."

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the boat docked behind.

At the anchorage, people from the Yongle Army kept coming forward to clean up the leather armor and crossbows piled up there. Du Wei looked at Ma Lin's back and jumped a little. He said in a soft voice, "Is this guy looking down on others? Xiaobi, who is he looking down on?"

"Who else could it be..." Bai Yanshou looked at the figure walking away expressionlessly, his eyes moved and turned to the side: "Besides you, could there be someone else?"

Gao Keli had a cold face and said suddenly: "If there is someone else, we have to ask Bao Daoyi to come from Wuzhou."

"Hey, who has the patience to see him..."

Du Wei made a sound through his nose, and finally did not continue to speak. He just walked over to stop the soldiers carrying the armor, looked at them carefully, and then turned around and said: "Let's go, we have to go back and report to the Holy Lord."

……

Time, like a wild horse, is still running wildly on the road.

In mid-spring, the suppression of bandits in the southeast of the Song Dynasty was in full swing. The Western Army and the Hedong Imperial Guards pressed forward, gathering local soldiers, militiamen, and prisoners along the way, and the number quickly expanded to 120,000 or 130,000. However, even so, Tong Guan, as the commander-in-chief, still felt that it was not enough. On the one hand, he ordered the military states on both sides of the Yangtze River to send prisoners from the prison camps to the front line, and on the other hand, he ordered Wang Bing and Liu Zhen to quickly attack the military states.

In mid-spring, the Eastern and Western Armies, which had been delayed for some time, advanced simultaneously.

In order to make meritorious deeds and atone for their sins, Liu Yanqing and Liu Guangshi, father and son under Liu Zhen's command, first led their troops to attack Shezhou. They beheaded Wu Yingxing, a general under Fang Jie, near Jixi County, and then captured the city near Xuanzhou in one breath, beheading two thousand people and reporting the result.

Upon hearing that the city had been captured, Fang Hu and Fang Jie of Shezhou led 50,000 troops to fight, but were held back by the troops led by Yang Keshi and Zhao Ming. Liu Zhen took the opportunity to attack their flank, and generals Xu Fang and Chang Sheng were killed on the spot.

Fang Jie was nearly killed in battle by Wu Jie, a general under Liu Zhen. He was able to escape thanks to the desperate fight between Zhang Wei and Zhen Cheng. When Zhang and Zhen were about to leave, Wu Jie, who had failed in his mission, became furious and chased after them, killing them all on the spot with one sword.

Unfortunately, the four generals of the reinforcements were quite capable and only wanted to make a name for themselves on the battlefield, but they all died in one battle.

In the second half of the month, Commander Fang Hu and Assistant Minister Gao Yu saw that the situation was not good, so they hurriedly led their troops to retreat to Muzhou and joined forces with the remaining garrison commander Fang Mao, with a total of 60,000 troops, preparing to block the pursuing Western Army outside Qingxi.

At the same time the Western Route Army attacked Shezhou.

Wang Bing, who had already entered Hangzhou, also headed straight for the city. Although Fang Qifo had received 200 leather armors and 100 crossbows from Zhang Shun and Li Zhu, he still felt that the city could be breached at any time when facing the commander of the Eastern Army who had lost his beloved son.

Burning arrows were thrown onto the city wall, and the ignited black smoke rose into the sky. Under the cloudless sky, spreading crimson figures were shooting arrows on the city wall, and from time to time, people were carried down the city wall wailing.

When the government troops rushed towards the city wall, they were shot down by more arrows. Even without considering the accuracy, the number of rebels in the city was no less than that of the government troops.

However, in war, numbers are never the decisive factor.

"Sir, the city wall is unable to hold up. The northern gate guards Zhao Yi and Ximen Wen Kerang died in the battle. Zhang Jian and Zhang Tao have already led their troops to the city wall. They lost 300 to 400 people before they managed to stabilize the city wall. Sir, please send troops to help."

"Sir, the enemy general Wang Yuan climbed up the city wall and killed Fan Que. The general climbed up the city wall himself and fought desperately to drive him down. Now the enemy is attacking fiercely. Please help, Sir."

"Report to the Holy Lord, the enemy general Yao Pingzhong..."

"Your Excellency..."

The figures asking for help said different things, but the meanings were exactly the same. Fang La was so confused that he almost couldn't bear it anymore and had to hold on to the table.

"Pass the order..." He issued the order. The names of Pan Wende, Ying Ming, Xu Tong, and other military commanders came out of his mouth one by one. The messengers who heard the order hurried out without paying any attention to Fang La's livid face.

"…Holy Archbishop."

Lou Minzhong took a breath and looked at the Yongle Emperor who was a little unsteady. The words he said before sending Li Zhu to the ship two days ago came to his mind. He hesitated and said, "Hangzhou is no longer defensible. The city walls here are low and cannot withstand the repeated attacks of the Western Army. We should make plans early."

Fang La raised his haggard face, hesitated for a moment, and slowly glanced at Fang Fei and Zu Shiyuan in the room. His eyes moved, and he looked a little helpless: "It seems that time is not on my side, but this is not the time to show off."

Taking a deep breath, the leader of the Yongle Dynasty stood still and said, "Why not withdraw from Hangzhou and return to Muzhou to defend it? That is where I made my fortune and I have many followers there. I can then recruit the help of the major generals from all directions, or..."

"Holy Lord!" Lou Minzhong stepped forward and interrupted him, "I think that Muzhou, as the place where you made your fortune, will definitely be valued by the Song army. If I were the leader, I would definitely lead the army to attack. With our army's combat power, it is difficult to cope with it."

"That's right!" Zu Shiyuan nodded at the side. "The Song army had just reconquered Xuanzhou a while ago, and Shezhou is under their attack. If we retreat to Muzhou, we may be in danger of collapse."

There were constant footsteps outside, and many messengers and soldiers were running back and forth. Fang La turned his eyes to the outside of the door, and after a while he turned back and shook his head: "Muzhou is the place where the dragon rises, and it must not be lost. Pass on..."

"Holy Lord!" Lou Minzhong interrupted him again and stepped forward and said, "We have a two-month agreement with Qi State. As long as we can hold Yuezhou, or even Yuyao, we may have a chance to turn the tables.

However, if we retreat to Muzhou and cut off the road to Yuezhou, we may no longer have the opportunity to counterattack the Song army."

Fang La hesitated for a moment. Outside, the sound of war drums could be heard faintly, and the sound of fighting and shouting became louder. Lou Minzhong and Zu Shiyuan stepped forward and said, "Sage, you must not hesitate at this time." x3
As overlapping voices rang out, Lou and Zu could not help but look at Fang Fei, who had an anxious look on his face, secretly thinking that he looked like a prime minister today, and then they bowed and looked at Fang La.

The Saint was silent for a moment, took a breath and said, "I have made up my mind. Muzhou cannot be lost!"

Seeing the disappointed expressions on Lou and Zu's faces, he changed the subject and said, "Yes, what Prime Minister Zuo said is true. Yuezhou is our only chance. So I will order Fang Qifo to lead his troops to Yuezhou. You will meet up with Qiu Daoren and Shi Bao there and quickly build the Yuyao Wharf. I will wait for you to meet up in Qingxi."

Then he walked quickly behind the table, wrote three letters, walked over with them in his hands, and handed them forward: "One is for Fang Qifo and Qiu Daoren, and one is for my sons Fang Tianding and Fang Bo. Ask them to send troops from Wuzhou and Quzhou to Yuezhou."

Lou Minzhong and Zu Shiyuan frowned, feeling that these words were unlucky, but Fang La had made up his mind, so they could only bow and accept the order.

"Your Highness, please be careful."

Fang La then exhaled a breath: "Send a message to Fang Qifo, tell him to prepare to organize a breakout." (End of this chapter)