Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The wind whistled across the beach.

"Where did the ships come from? The Song navy? Or Qi's sea vessels?"

"Damn it, no matter who he is, go get your weapons ready first!"

"Send a signal, have Qiao Zheng and Xie Fu lead the navy to respond!"

There was chaos on the beach, with all kinds of shouting sounds echoing in the sky. The man who was carrying the wooden boards stood there looking around at a loss. At a roar of "Throw away the boards and come here!", he quickly put down what he was holding and ran to the side as ordered.

squeak--

The whistling arrow made a sharp hissing sound.

Soon, large and small boats with oars and sails appeared near the coast, flying flags of various colors and swarming towards the distance. From afar, it looked like a mess.

"Send a message to Bao Daoyi, and have him bring his troops here quickly to build a defense." Lü Shinang, wearing a green cloak, turned around and gave an order: "Send someone to inform General Fang, and have him gather his troops quickly. The rest of the generals should also return to the army and bring their troops here quickly."

He looked around and said, "If it's the Qi State's ships, it's fine. But if it's the Song Army, we should defeat them right here on the beach and never let them land here."

Suddenly, there were more figures running on the beach. Lou Minzhong turned around and pointed to the cliff above the beach: "Let's go up and take a look. That's Bai Yanshou's camp. He should know that something happened below by now."

Sure enough, as they slid down, many shadowy figures appeared above, and arrows with cold light were carried to the edge of the cliff in bundles.

When generals such as Lu Shinang and Lou Minzhong came up, there were already hundreds of soldiers on the defensive. Xu Dingzheng and Qian Zhenpeng, who came up first, shouted at their men to restrain themselves. Bai Yanshou, who was wearing a helmet and armor, saw the group coming up and hurried forward to greet them.

"Secretary Lu, Prime Minister Lou."

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Bai Qu." Lu Shinang smiled, and walked across the sandy ground with his burly figure, turning to the edge of the cliff. "This is a good place. I wonder whose camp is behind?"

Bai Yanshou followed behind him, his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist: "It's the camp of General Du Weiqu. He just came up and has passed by."

As they were talking, they had already reached the best position for overlooking the view. Lu Shinang and Lou Minzhong did not say anything either. They just watched in silence. Bai Yanshou and the personal guards who were protecting them stood in the back, also without saying a word, as if they were waiting for their orders.

Although Fang La's Yongle Dynasty was a makeshift team with many people holding official positions, deep down they still believed in the idea of ​​strength being supreme. Lu Shinang was the leader of the Taizhou rebels, and Lou Minzhong had the support of the great general Fang Qifo. A general of average strength like him was somewhat inferior to these two.

The sea breeze blew, and the sleeves of people's clothes were blown constantly. The sound of rustling cloth could be heard from time to time. Looking into the distance, the fleet composed of various ships was slowing down.

"Qiao Zheng and Xie Fu's fleet seems to have stopped. It's a sign of safety." Lou Minzhong stroked his beard and raised his head slightly: "It's not the Song army."

"That's good." Lu Shinang breathed a sigh of relief. It was good not to have to fight. A look of relief appeared on his ruddy face. "Tell Cheng Gui and Zhai Yuan not to go up to meet them. Just stand by and wait."

A messenger hurriedly waved the flag in his hand, and soon the second batch of Fang La’s navy stopped near the coast. The same fleet of ships of different sizes swayed gently on the sea with the waves.

Before long, the entire view of the ships approaching from afar came into view. The sea eel boats powered by foreign ships passed by the Yongle Dynasty's navy. The waves they created caused many small boats to sway from side to side, and the upright flags shook continuously.

"What a strange ship!" Lu Shinang blurted out in amazement, and then sighed with envy: "This is a navy. Compared with them, our army's ships are like children compared to giants. I'm afraid even the Song army's navy can't compare."

"After all, it is a force that can expand the territory of the Northern Kingdom." Lou Minzhong's expression was complicated: "It is reasonable to have such a powerful navy. It's a pity that the two princes are unwilling to come and wait, otherwise they would know what the gap between us and others is."

"The two of them..." Lu Shinang muttered with his hands behind his back, his face somewhat complicated. Lou Minzhong didn't hear clearly, so he turned back to ask, but the person who was talking on the other end changed the subject: "I just don't know if this ship is for sale. Although we have a navy, it is too weak and not as good as the land force."

"Hmm..." Lou Minzhong paused while twisting his beard. He didn't ask him about his comments on Fang Tianding and Fang Bo. He took a breath and said, "I really forgot about this last time. Why don't I ask him later?"

Seeing that the ship was slowing down, he said quickly, "Let's get off quickly, so as not to make the people of Qi wait anxiously."

The well-proportioned figure kept shouting as he ran forward: "Prepare the boats, prepare the boats, don't keep the envoys of Qi waiting! Also prepare a banquet, and notify the commanders of the various armies, go quickly—"

Without waiting for Lu Shi Nang to catch up, he turned around and walked down the cliff. The figure behind him looked at his anxious look and shook his head, sighing, "Ah——"

The army suffered defeat after defeat, and many people have lost the courage to continue fighting the Song army. Only the core members are still able to stay in the army. In his opinion, it is normal for scholars like Lou Minzhong to find something to support their beliefs.

"But people still have to rely on themselves." Muttering to himself, this important figure of the Yongle Dynasty also hurried down from behind.

The beach was bustling, and the sea eel boats were no less lively.

As they approached the agreed transaction location, Huyan Qing, Ruan Xiaoqi, and Ruan Xiaowu, who had gathered on Li Bao's ship, looked at each other.

The colorful flags and the fishing and merchant ships of different sizes opened their eyes. Ruan Xiaoqi, who was the most outgoing, looked around and said, "Fang La relies on these people to form a navy? He doesn't even have a decent ship."

He scratched his head heavily and said, "He wanted to compete with us for Jiangzhou a few years ago. How come after so many years, he is still like this?"

"I'm afraid he is only focused on his Manichaeism and has not paid attention to military equipment." Li Bao grinned: "Is your Majesty's equipment going to waste this time?"

Hu Yanqing agreed with his words, but just nodded silently without saying anything. Instead, Ruan Xiaowu smiled and waved his arms and said, "Everything in the world is a gamble. When we followed Your Majesty, it was a gamble. When we fought against the Song army, it was a gamble. When we went to Liaodong, it was a gamble. Now, isn't it also a gamble to trade with Fang La's people?"

"Fifth brother..." Ruan Xiaoqi looked at him with some complexities: "I will talk to my sister-in-law when I get back and ask her to take care of your gambling habit, so that you won't squander all the family property and then have my second brother and I clean up your mess."

After a pause, he said, "That's what my second brother meant."

Ruan Xiaowu was dumbfounded: "Xiaoqi, you are so dishonest, are we still brothers?"

"I'm helping you quit gambling because I'm your brother." Ruan Xiaoqi spread his hands and glared, "Second brother is also involved, why are you only talking about me?"

Everyone around him laughed. In the sea breeze, Hu Yanqing pointed ahead and said, "Don't make a fuss. Those people are coming up. Look over there. Isn't there even a place to stop?"

Several people stretched their necks and looked carefully. Ruan Xiaoqi spread his hands and said, "It's been such a long time since they even built a pier. These guys are not sincere."

"Maybe the Song army is encircling and suppressing us tightly."

"Stop the boat first and send a few boats down to hear what they have to say."

However, soon, these naval generals saw a boat rowing very fast from the coast towards this side. They shouted a few times to the ship in front, and then turned to the ship where the four naval generals gathered.

When Li Bao heard the sailor report that someone wanted to board the ship to see him, he thought it was okay and immediately ordered someone to lower the ladder. Soon a figure climbed up, hurried over and bowed to the ground.

"Lou Minzhong, the Left Prime Minister of Yongle, meets with several generals."

Several naval commanders looked at each other and introduced themselves. Ruan Xiaoqi thought about the past and raised his eyebrows, pointing to the distance: "Prime Minister Lou, there is not even a place to stop the ship. Where can we put our full ship of goods? How can you transport the grain up? You can't let us wait for you to repair it, right?"

Lou Minzhong blushed, looked around at his own fleet, and did not argue: "This is our mistake, but we have more ships, so why not use a soft rope to lower it? After all, your ship is higher, so it will take more time and effort."

He paused, smiled, and gestured to the beach in the distance: "We have prepared a banquet on the shore, and we invite the generals to come and enjoy the feast."

Ruan Xiaoqi was stunned by his attitude. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. He glanced at Li Bao, who was leading the team this time. Li San's eyes moved: "Okay, but we need someone to watch over the boat. General Huyan and Xiaowu will stay on the boat, and Xiaoqi and I will go to the shore."

Lou Minzhong's expression remained unchanged, and he smiled and said, "In that case, I will have wine and meat delivered to the ship to thank the generals for their hard work. Of course, we have also prepared rations and wine for the soldiers."

Hu Yanqing, Ruan Xiaowu, Li Bao and others looked at each other and nodded: "Very good, I'll trouble Prime Minister Lou."

Lou Minzhong kept being polite and walked towards the boat. When he saw that Li Bao and the others didn't catch up with him, he knew that they had something to say, but he didn't care and went down the ladder first.

"Everyone, be careful. I don't know if the Fang La army will make any unusual moves. Anyway, let the men be alert." Li Bao gave an order, took two steps and stopped again: "If they don't give us food, we won't give them goods either."

The two men at the back agreed, and Li Bao called for someone to lower the boat down. Then, together with Ruan Xiaoqi, the two reckless men got on the boat without any guards, and followed Lou Minzhong's boat as it wobbled towards the coast.

……

The sunlight shines through the gaps in the clouds, and the constant wind hides the sunlight from time to time.

On the cliff, soldiers carrying wine jars and wooden trays kept coming in and out of the tents. The aroma of wine and meat wafted out, and cheers could be heard from time to time.

"It's a good drink, that's how a man should drink. Drinking from a wine bowl is a woman's way of drinking!"

"I heard that Liangshan had caused trouble in the east of China, and all the cities had to look to you for their favor. I was not convinced. It was only when you went to Liaodong and conquered a large area of ​​land that I began to admire you. Come on, come on, I won't go home until I'm drunk today."

"Drink from this jar, drink from this jar."

Figures surrounded Li Bao and Ruan Xiaoqi, clinking wine jars with them. The two looked drunk. Ruan Xiaoqi stood up suddenly, took off his military uniform, and held up the wine jar: "Fuck you, come one by one, I will drink you sooner or later. Now I drink a jar, do you dare to drink one?"

The generals in Fang La's army froze, and Shi Bao and Li Tianrun stepped forward, holding jars of wine.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Come on, come on, I'll fight you for thirty jars!"

Ruan Xiaoqi raised his eyebrows: "Who is afraid of you!"

He squinted at the two men who were bringing the wine jars to their mouths. The other two were not willing to be outdone, and the three of them held the wine jars and drank directly from them.

Next to them, the two biggest generals, Lu Shinang and Fang Qifo, looked at each other, took their wine bowls and went to sit next to Li Bao: "General Li, don't listen to those people's nonsense, let's just drink slowly."

Li Bao gestured with his bowl, and the other generals in the tent saw that the few people seemed to have something to discuss, so they did not go over and surrounded Ruan Xiaoqi, Shi Bao and Li Tianrun, cheering.

Lou Minzhong and Zu Shiyuan looked at each other and stood up and walked over.

"We can get a glimpse of Qi's military strength from the ships. The Holy Lord didn't refuse to pay the money and food back then. It was just that the personnel expanded too quickly at that time, and we were unable to pay money for Brother Liu Yun." Fang Qifo sighed while holding the wine bowl: "I know this sounds like a sophistry, but we are indeed in trouble."

Lu Shinang nodded and said, "General Fang is telling the truth. I hope you will understand."

"It's an old story, I won't remember it." Li Bao paused and put down his wine bowl. "We are now in a business relationship. I don't know if your army has prepared all the food and grass. If not, I can't give you the weapons and armor on the ship."

Fang Qifo and Lu Shinang exchanged a glance. Lou Minzhong, who was walking over, laughed and said, "Don't worry, General Li. I have already ordered the two commanders Cheng Gui and Zhai Yuan to send the food back to the ship."

"That's great. One hand for money, the other for goods. This is the basis of our cooperation." Li Bao smiled and looked at Fang Qifo and Lu Shinang: "Isn't that right?"

"Of course." Lu Shinang nodded and picked up the wine bowl to indicate: "I will need your country for a long time in the future. I hope General Li can say good things for us."

He glanced at Lou Minzhong, then at the other side: "I forgot one thing when Lou Zuocheng discussed with your country last time. I wonder if your country can sell us some of its ships? I don't have much else here, but I still have some money and food. I am willing to buy them at the market price."

"I need to ask His Majesty about this matter." Li Bao shook his head without hesitation: "But I can also tell you that even if His Majesty agrees, the sea eel boats outside cannot be sold."

There was a loud cheering in the tent, and when they looked over, they saw that Ruan Xiaoqi and the other two had already finished a jar and were drinking from another one.

"Eel boats..." Lu Shinang murmured while stroking his short beard, and then nodded: "Even so, your country's sea vessels are better than ours, we are still willing to buy them."

"Ten ships." Fang Qifo, who was standing beside him, gestured to the number and said, "We also need weapons for naval warfare. The price is negotiable."

"I've made note of this." Li Bao just nodded and said, "I'll report this to His Majesty when I get back. But I can't guarantee that it will work."

"Natural, natural."

"General Li is already helping us by being willing to pass on the message."

Several people in Fang La's army laughed and then urged each other to drink.

On that day, Ruan Xiaoqi, Shi Bao and Li Tianrun were all drunk. The three of them hugged each other's arms and wanted to swear brotherhood. Li Bao couldn't stop them. He could only watch with a headache as this devil knelt on the ground with the other two at the instigation of Fang La's army.

Shi Bao followed the custom of his hometown and ordered a live chicken. He chopped the chicken's head three times with a knife before chopping it off and burning yellow paper on it. The three of them, still drunk, knocked their heads to the ground, shouted "Brothers!" to each other, and then fell asleep in a daze.

Seeing this, Li Bao had no choice but to stay in Fang La's army that night.

The next morning, Ruan Xiaoqi listened to his friends swearing brotherhood after drinking. He was stunned for a long time before he said, "Who is the eldest brother among the three of us?"

"You idiot!" Li Bao rolled his eyes angrily, waved his hands and walked out of the tent without bothering to pay attention to him.

Ruan Xiaoqi was left sitting on the bed, covering his head and muttering: "Who is the big brother to tell me..."

……

Soon, the Qi army and the Yongle army exchanged weapons and armor, and filled the cabins with food, tea, herbal medicine and other items, then they set sail and headed back north.

Shi Bao and Li Tianrun stood on the shore for a long time, until the boat turned into a black dot, and then they reluctantly returned to the military camp.

In that month, Master Lu captured 3,000 soldiers and, with Shi Bao as the vanguard, they captured Taizhou City. Fang Qifo led 2,000 soldiers and equipped his elite troops and hurried westward, intending to lure out some Song troops for Fang La in Muzhou.

at the same time.

The Western Army, which had already entered Muzhou, surrounded Qingxi County. Wang Bing and Liu Zhen used troops to pass messages, then agreed on a date and issued an order to attack.

……

Linhuang Mansion.

The student in cloth looked up at the words on the city gate and muttered, "God bless me, I will definitely pass the exam this time!" (End of this chapter)