Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The setting sun was hanging in the west. People who had finished their work were leaving the yamen in twos and threes. People in official robes and court dress got on horse-drawn or ox-drawn carriages and sat slumped in the carriages, not wanting to move. Their bodies swayed slightly as the carriages moved, and soon they let out a long breath.

On the street, patrolling policemen looked tired. They mechanically moved their feet across the road, repeating in their hearts that everything would be fine after this month. Then they looked at the sky, breathed a sigh of relief, and walked back with the iron ruler on their waists.

I didn't notice that there seemed to be more pedestrians on the street than usual. After all, it was dusk and time for dinner. Many people chose to go to restaurants and hotels for dinner. Amid the hustle and bustle, the waiters who greeted and saw off guests sang loudly to welcome guests in.

Qiao Lie and Lu Yanlun walked up to the second floor of the hotel on the corner, sat down by the window, and asked the waiter to bring wine, water, meat and vegetables. They looked outside with interest and signaled with their eyes.

“…It’s that alley.”

"According to the diagram your majesty gave, it should be over there." Lu Yanlun looked in the direction of his gaze and smacked his lips. "There are a few former Liao officials over there, but they are all Han people."

"It's dark under the lamp..." Qiao Lie sighed and raised a glass of wine: "I only looked for places where people could hide, but forgot about these people."

"It's not your fault, Shangshu. Who would have thought that they would get involved in such a matter?" Lu Yanlun clinked his cup with the one opposite him, drank it in one gulp, and laughed at himself: "If you still care about them, now it's Lu's turn to be trembling with fear."

"Blessings and blessings to the Heavenly Venerable." Qiao Lie lowered his eyes and chanted the name of Taoism as usual, with anger burning in his eyes: "This time I want to see who is so ignorant of death."

Boom boom boom——

A troop passed by the restaurant, and the figures carrying battering rams made people on the street whisper. In the silence, the black wave gradually approached the cordoned alley.

……

South City is located in the north. It was the place where the nobles of the previous dynasty lived. At that time, many people worked in the court. Although they were all minor officials of the seventh or eighth rank, for ordinary people, this place was already rich enough.

In the streets, there are three most outstanding families, the Mao family, the Li family, and the Shen family. They are all frequent visitors to the officialdom. Even after surrendering until now, some of their children work as clerks in Linhuang Prefecture or fight in the army with their own abilities, maintaining their dignity in the capital.

Therefore, even though it is not as good as before, there are still many people coming and going, and the men in the family are willing to communicate and meet guests. This is a reflection of the influence of their family. If there are no visitors, that would be their nightmare.

However, today, the guests who came through the door felt like something was amiss.

"Brother Mao, you and I are both generals in the army, so we have a relationship. I want to warn you that plotting rebellion and intentionally creating chaos on the day of the imperial examination is a capital crime. If you hand over the person now, I can even say a few good words for you to the Lu Fuyin."

Sun Yanshou, who had not taken a seat, stood in the middle of the hall, looking at the man in his forties sitting opposite him.

"You are slandering!"

The figure named Mao Zilian stood up and pointed at Sun Yanshou: "What evidence do you have?"

"Evidence..." Sun Yanshou shook his head, smiled strangely, and raised the corner of his mouth: "There is really no evidence today, what can you do?"

boom--

Mao Zilian slapped the table with his big hand and stood up, his face flushed: "Then let's see for ourselves..."

Boom boom boom——

Before he could finish his angry words, the sound of running footsteps reached his ears. The front gate made a loud "bang" and then soldiers in helmets and armor appeared outside the door.

The middle-aged man's face, which was flushed with ruthlessness, turned pale in an instant, and he watched the soldiers running in, with spears, swords, and crossbows pointing coldly at him.

"You are stubborn and unyielding." After saying this word by word, Sun Yanshou suddenly shouted, "Search them for me. If anyone resists, I will kill them without mercy!"

"Yes!" The loud voice of response echoed in the house, and figures began to move.

The standing figure said nothing, watching woodenly as the soldiers ran past from both sides and entered the backyard. Screams and curses came from the backyard, followed by a voice of "Here!", which made the man in his forties close his eyes.

Swords clashed, screams and shouts echoed through the sky behind them. Sun Yanshou glanced at his bloodless face, walked over and patted his cheek: "Brother Mao, now is the time to think about how to explain to the prefect."

The general with his chest puffed out was about to issue an order with confidence, "Chase him quickly!" "Don't let him get away!" "Climb the wall!" shouts were heard in a mess. Sun Yanshou's face changed, and he quickly walked past him and went to the backyard.

Dozens of corpses lay there, blood was flowing freely in the yard, gathering into several large pools of blood. Sun Yanshou turned a blind eye and asked, "What happened?"

Someone stepped forward and said, "Captain, there is a strong fighter among the bandits who has escaped over the wall."

Sun Yanshou quickly raised his arm and looked in the direction the soldier was looking. There were two or three arrows stuck on the two-person-high wall. He was stunned for a moment, looked up at the sun, which was only a ball of light left, identified the direction, and sighed: "Forget it, I can't escape anyway."

He turned around and shouted, "Capture them! Take them all away, regardless of gender, age or status!"

Soldiers with blood on their bodies attacked everywhere.

……

pat-

The figure that jumped over the wall rolled over to release the force, and stood up to reveal a face with thick eyebrows and big eyes. It was the figure who had given orders in the house before. He ran forward two steps, then stopped, looking vigilantly at the man who was leaning against the wall in the shadow, holding a scimitar, but could not see his face clearly.

"... Xiao Zhonggong, Xiao Xiangwen, I didn't expect it to be you." Yi Cicheng said, put down his arms, took two steps forward and stood in the middle of the street: "I am Xiangwen, who was used as a death soldier to do things, I don't know what Yelu Yanxi thinks."

"Shut up! How can a Han dog like you call out the emperor's name directly!" The big man named Xiao pointed with his halberd, his eyes widened.

"I am a Khitan." He said in Khitan language, and then he smiled at the stunned figure, pulled up his official hat, revealing his hair which had grown a lot longer, and turned his head: "Look, the new hair."

Voices of shouting and pleading came from the courtyards on both sides. Xiao Zhonggong was silent for a moment, took a long breath, and slowly said, "Since you know that I am from this class, then I should be someone in the army, the Pishi Army, the Oruduo, or the Haier Class?"

"Oruduo." Yicicheng admitted openly, looking at the figure holding the dagger and shaking his head: "I know what you mean. So what if my ancestors were nobles of Hengzhang? Forget about the friendship, just surrender. There are armored soldiers blocking the front and back here. Even if you are very powerful, it is impossible for you to escape.

Besides…”

He took a step forward and said, "The Liao Kingdom is doomed. An incompetent like Yelu Yanxi cannot keep the kingdom. I heard that you are also very smart. You must have seen it."

Xiao Zhonggong was silent for a moment, then his ears moved suddenly. He turned his head and saw soldiers appearing at the entrance of the alley behind him. He turned his head and saw soldiers marching with swords and spears on the opposite side. He grinned slightly and said, "We have to try to know whether we can hold it or not."

His body was slightly arched, and the short knife was raised diagonally into the air with the blade pointing outward.

"Tsk..." Yi Cicheng tilted his head, choked, and drew out his scimitar: "I've heard about you before, let me see today, why you can be a banshi."

Tread-tap-

In the afterglow of the setting sun, figures were approaching, shouts burst out from the two men's mouths, sparks from the collision of blades burst out between the two men, the man in armor occasionally took two steps back, and then the soldiers who came running swarmed up and pinned Xiao Zhonggong down under them, someone took out a rope, and the tied up prisoner reappeared in front of everyone.

"spit--"

Bloody saliva fell to the ground. Yi Cicheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "Hiss..." He took a breath, touched the scratch on the leather armor, and glared at Xiao Zhonggong who was being escorted by several soldiers: "Take him away."

The captives over there stopped struggling and seemed to accept their fate as they were pushed out into the street by the soldiers in black armor. The injured Khitan general raised his scimitar and saw seven or eight rice-sized gaps of varying sizes on the blade.

"Damn it, the sword is useless." He sheathed the scimitar and threw it to the soldier waiting for him. He muttered to the figure who was walking longingly, "The reputation is well-deserved. After all, he was the class leader of the children's class back then. Tsk..."

As the sky darkened, torches were held up and desperate figures were forced to walk out of the gate. The sound of begging for mercy in the bitter cold was endless.

"Caught... huh? Why does the chief steward look like this?" Sun Yanshou was walking by with his soldiers, and he looked a little surprised when he saw the figure coming out from behind. Under the torch, the skin at the corner of his mouth was swollen due to being stabbed, and the three cracks and scratches on the black rhinoceros leather armor he was wearing looked quite serious.

"My blood is boiling." Yi Cicheng said, then shook his head: "Damn, my previous reputation is so tiring."

Sun Yanshou rubbed his head, not really understanding what he meant. However, Yi Cicheng had no desire to explain. He walked forward to look at the dejected figures and waved his hand: "Let's go. We still have to interrogate these people tonight. I hope they will be more lenient. Otherwise, forget about sleeping."

Sun Yanshou beside him did not say anything. He was just a captain of the Wei Palace. He was needed to lead the troops to arrest people, but interrogation was none of his business.

Under the light of the fire, the winding team headed towards the prison. Along the way, the captured people attracted more onlookers. Among the crowd of people pointing and talking, some people looked at the team being taken away in surprise, then turned around and left in a hurry.

……

Snapped--

Snapped--

The whip sounded in the empty room. Occasionally there was one or two blackened straws on the damp ground, which made a rustling sound when the soles of shoes stepped on them. The panting figure was reflected on the wall.

A slender black shadow rose up with thick black arms, and fell down fiercely. "Ah--" Every rise and fall was accompanied by a wailing sound, and blood fell to the ground as the arms were swung.

Looking further away, a figure dressed in prison boss's clothes was torturing a person on the wooden frame. On the wooden frame next to him, Fang Fei, who looked like a scholar, had a pale face and was already dead. His body was covered with whip marks, and he was tortured to death.

Snapped--

The whip-wielding figure stopped, stepped forward and used the whip to pull the man's chin, revealing Fang La's rough face, then turned to the jailer and said, "Throw water."

As the footsteps moved away, the man carrying the bucket pushed his arm forward and a bucket of clean water flew out.

wow——

"continue."

wow——

wow——

"Uh..." A groan came out of his mouth, and the most authoritative figure in the southeast reluctantly opened his eyes.

Raising his hand to stop his colleague who was about to continue pouring water, the prison boss stepped forward and shook the whip in the air.

Snapped--

There was a crisp sound, and the jailer asked as usual: "Fang La, are you willing to confess?"

Then he laughed grimly: "I advise you not to say it, Grandpa, I haven't had enough of beating you yet."

"Huh...huh..."

After taking two difficult breaths, Fang La forced himself to open his eyes, looked sadly at his cousin on the wooden frame next to him, and closed his eyes again.

The prison boss chuckled and raised his arms.

"I...propose..."

The arm that had just been raised stopped, and the smiling face suddenly changed color: "Xiao Bi looks like a spineless man, and a rebel leader, Tu——"

A mouthful of thick phlegm flew across the side of Fang La's face.

The bruised and beaten figure closed his eyes, and liquid slid down his cheeks, and it was unclear whether it was water or tears.

The jailer turned around and pointed at the figure on the wooden frame: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and invite our Holy Archbishop down. Didn't you hear anyone willing to speak?"

"Hahaha, that's right. I'll be here to serve the Archbishop right away."

"Oh, my Lord, I'm sorry for making you suffer. I'll let you go now."

"Holy Lord, do you think the strength of my untying is appropriate?"

The jailer next to him came forward with a laugh, and roughly put the man down with great haste. Fang La kept his eyes closed and did not say a word the whole time.

The jailer looked at Fang La's expression, reached out and picked up a white towel used for wiping sweat, went over and wiped his face vigorously several times.

The sour smell filled his nose. Fang Lazi, who had lost all his strength, could not resist and silently let him do what he wanted. The prison boss took the white towel and nodded at the prisoner who had regained a somewhat "clean" face: "Change the Saint into a new prison uniform."

He looked at the figure lying helplessly on the ground with a smile: "Don't let his miserable appearance pollute the eyes of the commander."

Soon, several jailers dragged the disabled Fang La out of the prison and walked into the army. He bowed his head and said a few words to the guards, and then was taken to the central military tent.

Soon someone called the jailer in.

The man hurriedly ran in, lowered his head, looked at the boot-wearing feet on both sides of his sight, and knelt down: "Report to the Grand Marshal, the prisoner is willing to confess."

Wang Bing sat on the commander's seat and looked down at the prison boss: "Well, you've worked hard. Go to the back to receive your reward."

He turned to his personal soldiers and said, "Bring the person up."

The jailer thanked him profusely and went out. Then his personal soldiers came in carrying Fang La. They stretched out their hands and let go, and the leader of the southeastern rebel army fell to the ground with a bang.

"Fang La..." Wang Bing looked at him expressionlessly: "How did my son die?"

On both sides, Wang Huan, Wang Yuan, Xin Xingzong and other generals also looked down at him. The figure in white gurgled on the ground, then raised his face and gasped twice with difficulty: "I don't know the details, but someone in the army reported that Li Zhu killed a general of the Western Army."

"Li Zu?" Wang Bing frowned, slapped the table and stood up, leaning forward and staring at him intently: "Where is he?"

“Haha…” Fang La grinned, then stopped smiling as if it was too painful: “Qi State, huhu… He is an official of Qi State, if you have the ability… huhu… Go and catch him!”

The man in the commanding position swung his arm.

bang——

The brass paperweight on the table bounced off Fang La's head and fell to the ground, spinning.

Fang La was already weak from the torture, so he could not bear such a heavy blow and fainted again. Wang Bin's cheek twitched and he pointed with his finger: "Get some water and splash it on him to wake him up."

A guard went out, and then he tried to hide his embarrassment and said, "Today, he must reveal the names of the other leaders."

Then he sat down, clenching his hands tightly.

Qi State...(End of this chapter)