Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 965 Untitled
pat-

The door was tightly closed, and the young man who returned to the room held his chest and gasped for breath. The scene of being chased by his peers just now kept rolling back and forth in his mind, and then he shuddered. In his entire life, he had never run like he did today. He was really forced into a corner.

"Damn, these people are crazy."

He ran over, gasping for breath, and drank some cold water, then lay down on the wooden bed in a spread-eagle position.

Number...one scholar?

I am... the top scorer?
I am the top scorer!

The young man named Li Qiu began to think about the meaning of these two words at this time. He immediately opened his eyes wide with excitement, raised his hands and looked at them, his mouth corners getting wider and wider, and a laugh of "Haha! Haha!" came out of his throat. Then he covered his mouth to cover the sound. The whole person curled up into a ball and trembled constantly, moving like a crooked worm.

dong dong dong-

Qiang Qiang——

The sounds of blowing and playing could be heard outside. The figure still on the bed seemed to calm down. He covered his eyes with one hand and gasped for breath. The laughter just now seemed to have consumed a lot of his energy.

The sound of gongs and drums outside had become much quieter. Li Qiu seemed to have just heard it and turned his head with his hand supporting his forehead.

bang bang bang-

There was a knock on the door, and the newly crowned champion suddenly sat up, his face flushed with laughter, and he shouted, "Who!"

"But where does Mr. Li Qiu live? We are servants of the Linhuang Prefecture."

The sound made the young man's heart move. He quickly got out of bed, tidied his clothes first, then quickly went to open the door. As expected, he saw two policemen outside who were laughing very happily, and there were drummers and gong beaters behind them who were making light sounds.

The two yamen runners looked at him and bowed: "But is it Mr. Li Qiu?"

"It's me." Li Qiu nodded, his heart pounding. He already knew what was going to happen next, and quickly reached out to take out the reference certificate and handed it over: "But do you want this?"

"If you are a scholar, you are smart and you will understand what I mean immediately."

The yamen runner confirmed it with a smile, then bowed and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Li, congratulations, Mr. Li." As he spoke, he took out a note sprinkled with gold powder and decorated with gold flowers, "This is your gold flower note, please keep it."

Li Qiu's face suddenly turned red, and he took it with trembling hands, staring at the golden note. He took a few deep breaths for a long while, looked up at the two yamen runners who were bowing and smiling stiffly, and suddenly came to his senses. He quickly took out some change and stuffed it into their hands: "Thank you for your trouble to send me the note. This is just a small token of my respect."

"I dare not refuse the reward from Wenquxing."

"Thank you Wenquxing for the reward!"

The two policemen accepted it happily and said, "Someone will be parading around the streets with you in a boastful manner later, so please be prepared."

The new number one scholar was overjoyed. He watched the people who brought the victory leave, then hurriedly washed up and changed into clean and decent clothes. Just as he had tidied himself up, the sound of gongs and drums came into his ears again, followed by the sound of knocking on the door as expected.

Red clothes, red flowers, red silk, a maroon horse with red flowers, a golden saddle and golden stirrups. In a daze, the newly crowned number one scholar smiled like a flower and let others control him the whole time. Then he stepped on the stirrup and mounted the horse amid cheers from the onlookers.

Flags and drums led the way, and the sound of gongs and drums was deafening. Soon, the mounts of the second and third place winners gathered together. The three men and three horses were surrounded by the officials of Linhuang Prefecture, and behind them followed a group of black-armored soldiers to support them. Every ten or so feet they walked, someone shouted loudly, "Congratulations to this year's number one scholar Li Qiu, the second place Li Baoxin, and the third place..." to report the victory.

The streets were decorated with lights and everyone rushed to watch. Firecrackers were set off at the four corners of the city, and every time a team passed by, a cannon would be fired.

boom--

The smell of gunpowder spread in the wind, and the sound shook the whole city.

"The sound of Ling Zhen's cannon is shocking."

Lü Bu, dressed in black, stood on the wall of the imperial palace. He listened to the noise coming from outside and looked back at Yu Cheng and Wei He who were following him. He pointed at them and said, "I didn't have any idea at first. I thought the more powerful it was, the better. It would only add more power to our army.

But I have read too many books and experienced too many things in the past two years, so I have been wondering if there will be no place for warriors like us if his artillery continues to be developed. "

The two commanders of the Left Guard looked at each other, and the former scratched his cheek with his hand. "No way? Doesn't it take a long time for his cannon to fire? Each time it just makes a loud noise, and not many people are killed or injured. If I were to send a group of brave knights to the front of his formation, we would be able to kill all his cannon operators."

"Courageous, my generals should be brave and march forward like this." Lu Bu laughed, turned around, raised his legs and stepped on the parapet, bent down, put his arms on his thighs, and sighed: "Cannons..."

Wei He rubbed his nose and looked at Yu Cheng, neither of them saying anything.

Lu Bu in front seemed to have figured it out himself: "But there is no need to worry too much about this. I have never seen anything like this before, and I have only had this artillery for a few years. It is still too early for us warriors to leave the battlefield."

Putting down his legs, he turned around and said, "Return to the palace and summon Yang Pu to meet you to discuss the matter of hosting a banquet for the Jinshi later."

Wei He smiled and said, "Your Majesty seems to be looking forward to this year's Jinshi. It is true that the number one scholar is said to be the god of literature incarnate. I think with his help, our Great Qi will surely prosper."

Lu Bu walked to the stone steps, listened to his words, turned his head and glanced, and smiled strangely: "Expectations? I do have some, but I am more looking forward to the people who will take the imperial examinations later."

He turned around and walked down: "As for the descent of Wenquxing... I don't know, and I haven't heard of it. I only know that if it is really the descent of Wenquxing, then there are too many Wenquxing.

Moreover, these scholars have no experience in government affairs, and they will be sent to learn how to handle government affairs later. It will take some time before they can be used.”

Yu Cheng laughed and bumped his shoulder against the stunned Wei He, saying, "You and I are just rough guys, so let's not think about these complicated things."

"...No, didn't everyone say that the top scholar was the god of literature in Song?" Wei He frowned and tilted his head. He patted his protruding belly with his hand, and the armor made a metallic collision sound. "That's what everyone said when I was in Xiangzhou before."

Yu Cheng blinked, then nodded in agreement: "In fact, I also heard this in Hedong. There is also a saying... uh... only those who are called by Donghua sect are good men."

"Yes, that's what Minister Han said." Wei He nodded.

"What are you mumbling about?" Lu Bu turned his head in front. He was preoccupied with his own affairs and didn't pay attention to the conversation afterwards. He just heard a few words sporadically.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me." The two strong men first clasped their fists and repeated their words, then Wei He smiled embarrassedly: "It's nothing important. We grew up listening to these words. Unfortunately, I fall asleep when I read books and scriptures. I am not cut out for the imperial examination, otherwise I would have tried it."

"It's just a trick played by the scholars of Song Dynasty." Lu Bu strode forward and waved his hand: "Be careful, if you have too many thoughts and lose your courage, you will be bullied by others."

The two guards behind shrugged. They had fought to the death in Liaodong in the past two years. Without the command of the literati, they had a vague feeling that they understood the problem, but the thinking formed over the years could not be changed so quickly. Not long after, Yang Pu was ordered to enter the palace. He talked with Lu Bu for about a meal before leaving the palace.

Two days later, Yang Pu, the Minister of Rites who was well-versed in various etiquette classics, personally presided over the preparations. Lu Bu hosted a banquet for this year's Jinshi in the imperial palace, and then announced that they would be arranged to work in the counties below. When the Jinshi heard that they would not have to wait for several years for the selection, they were overjoyed, and they all thought to themselves that this time they had come.

Afterwards, the people in the Free Personnel Department were assigned to various places based on their performance to learn how to handle local government affairs and prepare for their future entry into the central government.

Although……

These people may become ordinary people, but this does not prevent them from having dreams and ambitions.

……

The drizzle washed away the dust on the leaves, and a figure in an official robe walked into the palace holding an oil-paper umbrella.

Lu Bu was waiting for him behind the dragon case. Seeing him come in, he smiled and said, "I guess there is a result for my Right Guard?"

"I'm ashamed that it took me so long to finish it." Li Zhu came over after raising his hand and said, "The transfer orders for General Xu Wen and General Su Yi have been issued. In addition, the soldiers under General Xu Wen can be transferred to the Right Guard."

Lu Bu put down the pen in his hand and leaned back: "Xu Wen's army... I remember they were also new soldiers."

"General Han Pingbei transferred 500 men from General Xu's command to his army. So there are new soldiers, but the old can also be used to lead the new."

Lu Bu raised his eyebrows and said, "Han Shizhong is quite generous. It seems that the two of them get along well."

"After all, they are both relatively young, and they have lived and died together." Li Zhu stroked his beard and then laughed, "But they do have similar tastes."

"But it's a good thing. Xu Wen has been on the battlefield with Han Shizhong for a few times, and he is more or less like a general." Lu Bu also smiled and knocked on the table with his left hand: "But his temper has become a lot more erratic."

"After staying in Wuwei for a while and being released, he will surely calm down."

Lu Bu smiled and said, "Let's not talk about him anymore. Have you decided on the person who will go south?"

"I have discussed this with the two ministers Fang Xuedu and Qiao Lie, and finally decided that Generals Liu Yun and Xie Ning would lead 200 veteran soldiers to go." After a slight pause, Li Zhu added, "It was Generals Liu and Xie who approached us."

"...Liu Yun." He drew a circle on the dragon table with his finger and tapped it twice: "It seems that what happened back then is still a thorn in his heart."

"Anyone who is abandoned would do the same." Li Zhu lowered his eyes, "If it were me, I would probably go back and ask him why, and poke him a few more holes."

"Uh... I hope Liu Yun doesn't think the same as you do."

Lu Bu thought about it, squinted his eyes and smiled.

In the following days, the city seemed calm. Without the pressure of the imperial examination, the officials and yamen runners of Linhuang Prefecture were relieved of their burdens. However, it was discovered that many idlers and scoundrels had actually moved out of their original residences, which made people feel less worried.

The scholars who came for examination were also leaving this place, but nearly half of them stayed to wait for the next imperial examination. Many poorer scholars recruited students to teach here, which brought more literate people to Shangjing.

In late midsummer, the troops heading to Yuezhou were gathering. Liu Yun and Xie Ning, with more than a hundred veteran soldiers, sailed south on the ship of Ruan Xiaoqi, Chi Fang, Zhang Heng and others. Also on board were three crossbows that had been eliminated by the Qi army.

And in the southeast.

Days of continuous rain covered the rolling hills near Mingzhou. The sounds of fighting and shouting on the city walls drowned out the sound of rain falling between heaven and earth. Figures climbed up the city walls and rushed towards the Song army in crimson uniforms. The rain curtain was broken, and people had already climbed up several sections of the city wall.

Lu Shinang, wearing black armor and a green cloak, and Fang Qifo, who looked a little pale, sat on their horses and watched their subordinates fighting bravely. The sharp sounds of fighting penetrated the water curtain that connected the sky and the earth, and people could be vaguely seen falling from the top of the city.

"Let Du Wei go to the west wall. A gap has been opened there. Take it down for me." Fang Qifo slightly turned his head to look at the messenger beside him.

The messenger ran past in the mud. Not long after, under the gloomy rain clouds, deafening cheers broke out on the city wall. Countless figures wearing leather armor and iron helmets climbed up. The Song army defending the city resisted for a while, but figures kept falling to the ground, and then they began to flee to the city.

In the rain, dozens of burly men carried battering rams and ran towards the city gate. A huge crashing sound followed, and the vibrating wooden door splashed countless water droplets.

Shi Bao on the top of the city wall jumped down ferociously, the blade cut into his neck, his huge head flew up, and warm blood sprayed on his face which was cold due to the wind and rain. The murderous man led his men to kill towards the city gate below with a roar.

boom--

The gate slammed heavily against the city gate at the rear. Countless footsteps stepped through the puddles, and the soaked rebel soldiers rushed into the city.

Soon, the other two city gates opened one after another.

The army under the banners of Li and Tan stepped into the long street, and the huge crowd rushed towards the government office in the center of the city. The crowd that was still resisting was immediately drowned in the wave of people, and even more fled without a trace.

Tread-tap-

The horses walked into the yamen at a light pace. The two generals, who were still damp, dismounted from their horses and breathed a sigh of relief.

"We finally took Mingzhou..."

"It's a pity that the Archbishop has already..."

The two people who spoke at the same time stopped talking at the same time, and then sighed. The news from Muzhou had already come. The Yongle Dynasty, which once had the hope of seizing Jiangnan, was short-lived. Many ministers and generals in the court were killed in battle or captured, and even the nominal emperor was captured by the Western Army.

It would be a lie to say that it had no impact on military morale. Fortunately, Lu Shinang's troops had been in Taizhou all along and had not received much favor from Fang La, which was how they were able to maintain the morale of their subordinates.

"After this battle, the morale of the army should be boosted." Lu Shinang cheered himself up. Seeing Fang Qifo frowning and worried, he comforted him, "The Qi army's military equipment will arrive next month. Then we can have a good fight with the Western Army. Maybe we can capture two generals and exchange them for the Holy Lord."

Fang Qifo smiled bitterly: "Unless the one we captured is the eunuch Tong Guan."

"..." Lu Shinang was speechless. He just raised his hand and patted him, then looked at the lead-colored rain clouds outside, just like his current mood.

Not long after, the remnants who fled from Muzhou arrived in Mingzhou one after another.

(End of this chapter)