Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 974: The Vanguard Battle is Over, Please Give Me Your Majesty’s Advice
What a great effort!

Guan Sheng looked at Han Shizhong with some surprise. Compared with his not-so-strong physique, Han Shizhong's arm rose uncontrollably. Without using much force to suppress it, he let the force lift it up. The sword handle, which was as thick as an ordinary person's wrist, turned along with the momentum, and the Qinglong Yanyue Sword slashed down in a zigzag shape.

when--

He deflected the steel spear that was thrust forward, and when the two horses crossed each other, one of them had a black python wrapped around his waist, while the other swung with his backhand, and the weapons collided again, sparks flew for the third time. Almost at the same time, the two men pulled back their weapons, turned the reins, drew an arc, and ran back with a trail of dust rising up.

The two men roared. Han Shizhong grasped the steel spear with both hands, swung the heavy weapon horizontally with a whistling sound, and smashed it forward with the help of the horse's speed.

There was the sound of metal clashing, the clear sky exploded, the color of his face became darker, a big knife flew to block, and the sound of iron hammering could be heard in the training ground.

On the high platform, Lu Bu stood up and stepped forward, holding the wooden railing and looking down. It was naturally not appropriate for the generals to continue sitting there, so they stood up one after another and took a step forward, talking to each other in a low voice.

"Guan Sheng will lose if he continues like this, right?"

"His crescent-shaped sword is an imitation of his ancestors', and it is quite heavy. If we can't determine the winner in a short period of time, I'm afraid he will be exhausted in the future."

Bian Xiang and Du Fu frowned and looked at the figure in the green cloak.

Wang De was listening and nodded: "Han Powu is younger than him, but his strength and stamina are not worse than his. I don't think he will be dragged into a protracted war."

Shi Wengong stood quietly at the back and just uttered one word: "Difficult."

The light from the sky refracted down, as if responding to what the person above said. The sword shadow was suppressed by the steel spear. There was more defense than attack, and the chestnut horse was retreating.

"Guan Sheng still has a chance." The general's voice came from below. Lu Bu supported himself with both hands on the wooden railing, looked at the figure below and said calmly: "It depends on how good his swordsmanship is."

While the superiors were talking, the broadsword generals below seemed to have finally been defeated, and a group of war horses ran back. Han Shizhong raised his eyebrows, let out a "Ha--" and squeezed his legs to catch up with the war horses.

Dedede——

Horse hooves pounded the ground beneath the two men, stirring up dirt and flying far away. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade hung upside down. Guan Sheng listened intently to the sounds behind him. The sounds of pursuit were getting closer, and he suddenly exerted force with his palms.

Twist around.

Swing a knife.

"Drink!"

The steel spear came swinging sideways and hit the side of the blade fiercely. "How can the dragging sword trick defeat me!" With a roar, he flipped and pushed his wrist, and the two-foot-long blade of the steel spear stopped in front of Guan Sheng.

The two war horses slowly stopped.

"It seems that Guan Sheng didn't seize the opportunity."

Lu Bu chuckled and watched the victory and defeat decided below. The figure in green seemed to say something to Han Shizhong, and then the two of them separated with a smile. Lu Bu tapped the wooden railing with his hand and was about to announce the vanguard, but he saw a figure running out of the battle formation in his peripheral vision and suddenly stopped talking.

"...Wanyan Loushi." Du Fu whispered the name of the person who ran away and sighed softly: "This person is not easy to get along with."

"Indeed." Wang De scratched his beard and said, "I think these Jurchens are very brave. Han Powu just fought a battle. I wonder if he has the strength to fight again."

"The battle between the two of them is the final one. The vanguard should be decided between the two of them." Lu Bu stood up straight and suddenly raised his voice: "Beat the drums and cheer them on."

Boom, boom——

The drummer waved his arms vigorously. The drumhead vibrated and the sweat from his forehead fell to the ground, forming dark marks on the ground.

The horses stopped as the drums roared. Wanyan Loushi, wearing heavy black armor, asked the same question as the people above him: "General Han, do you still have the strength to fight again?"

The steel spear in Han Shizhong's hand spun above his head with a whirring sound, and the sharp blade chopped into the ground with a clang, causing mud to scatter. He raised his sweaty face and said, "I still have enough courage, General Wanyan, don't worry."

"That's good." Wanyan Loushi smiled, and clenched the knife handle with his armored hands: "Logically, I shouldn't take advantage of others, but the hatred between us Jurchens and Khitans has not yet been resolved, so I can only say sorry."

"Where do the soldiers get such flowery words?" Han Shizhong waved his hand, and his warhorse pawed the ground with its hooves. "I heard that you Jurchens are very straightforward. Why are you so long-winded?"

"Hahaha, I'm just being pretentious!" Wanyan Loushi laughed loudly and swung the sword in his hand: "Come on, I'll buy you a drink after we're done."

In the sunlight near noon, the figure holding the spear suddenly moved, "Then let's drink together tonight!" Amid the laughter, the steel spear roared like a python coming out of a cave and stabbed forward like a violent storm.

Wanyan Loushi responded with "Okay!" and swung the sword in his hand fiercely. Bang and bang sounds exploded again in the sky after Guan Sheng.

Sparks flew everywhere, the four arms of the two men above kept changing their movements, and the horses below kicked and bit each other when they were crossing and approaching each other. Occasionally, fur fell to the ground and was covered by the dust when it fell.

In the direction of the Jurchen formation, generals such as Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Shitumen, and Wulinda Taiyu nervously clenched their fists. Tens of thousands of Jurchen soldiers suddenly struck the weapons in their hands and shouted to cheer for their own generals on the field.

On the opposite side, the Youwuwei and Han Shizhong's main force in the first camp were not to be outdone. They beat their weapons and roared loudly, trying to overwhelm the other side.

Such contests of personal martial arts are common everywhere, but there are not many such high-level ones as today. Suddenly, many people have a stronger sense of identification with the army having such a brave general.

In everyone's sight, the wielding swords and steel spears kept colliding, blocking all of the opponent's attacks, and sparks flickered and burned between the two.

Wanyan Loushi's majestic body urged the warhorse to charge forward fiercely. He chopped, slashed, stabbed, lifted, and entangled with the long-handled sword in his hand... He kept swinging at the steel spear with all his strength. The weapons made a huge collision sound, which made people's blood boil.

"Ahhh-"

Han Shizhong raised his spear, his dark face turned red, the muscles in his arms bulged, and the blood vessels under his armor popped out. Then he chopped down fiercely, and the more than two-foot-long spear head made a sharp scream and fell down with a bang, bringing up a strong wind.

Wanyan Loushi's face was solemn. The spear fell too fast and he was unable to dodge. He gritted his teeth and raised his sword to meet it. With a "clang", he felt the weapon in his hand tremble and some fragments flew out. They were the material on the blade.

Gritting their teeth to suppress the numbness in their arms, the two men swung their weapons again and attacked fiercely, their war horses breathing heavily and moving forward with all their might.

The long weapon was swung with all its might, reflecting the sunlight from the sky. It seemed to bend under the huge force, and then it slammed towards the opposite side.

"sharp……"

Xi Sheng, who was sitting on the high platform, stroked his beard and murmured to himself.

The other generals also nodded. The two men below were both highly skilled in martial arts and had great strength and agility. In this fight, the constant collision of weapons was the result of the two men predicting and intercepting each other's moves. A head-on collision like the one now would only happen once.

The horse kicked its hooves and charged towards the opposite side.

The closeness of space seemed to slow down time. The swung steel spear almost accurately hit the gap of the sword. "Squeak--" a tooth-grinding metal scraping sound, pieces of fire flew everywhere. Han Shizhong held the steel spear and exerted force. At the same time, the warhorse under his crotch let out a miserable cry of being overwhelmed, and the whole person flew forward. The brave general reacted quickly and quickly pulled his legs and feet away, trying his best not to be crushed under the mount.

Wanyan Loushi only felt his hand lighten, and a piece of knife blade swirled in the air and reflected in his pupils. Then he saw the figure opposite him suddenly become shorter. In a flash, he pulled the reins hard and kicked with his legs. The warhorse suddenly leaped out with its hind legs, and its shadow passed over the figure that fell to the ground.

boom--

The iron hooves stepped on the ground, and it ran forward two steps before being restrained by Wanyan Loushi. The man on the horse looked back with his chest heaving violently. The figure who had fallen to the ground in a mess was getting up, with a mark scratched by the armor behind him. When he stood up, mud and gravel kept falling from the gaps in the armor.

Pulling the reins, the warhorse turned around. Wanyan Loushi looked Han Shizhong up and down and asked, "Is General Han all right?"

"vomit--"

Han Shizhong spat on the ground with a mouthful of sand in it and stretched his arms and legs. "Fortunately, I just fell down and didn't hurt anything."

"The general's horse is in poor condition and can't withstand such a fierce fight..."

"I have ridden this horse for quite some time, but I didn't expect it to be in such a bad condition today." Han Shizhong turned around and took a look with a look of regret. The horse was trying to stand up, but its movements were not very flexible, and it was already useless.

Have you been fighting Guan Sheng for a long time? The sword of that bearded man is indeed heavy.

Tsk...the horse is not as hard as this spear.

Han Shizhong walked over, picked up the lance, looked it over, and seeing that the weapon was intact, he muttered to himself.

Wanyan Loushi had no expression on his face, but he was relieved in his heart. He heard that the man in front of him was from the northwest. There were generals in the army such as Wang De and Lu Zhishen who were from his hometown. He also had a good relationship with Xu Wen of the Right Guard. The Right Guard also had the younger brother of the imperial concubine as the deputy general. Xu Wen himself was the brother-in-law of Hua Rong of the Sheying. He heard that his wife also called His Majesty "brother". If something bad happened to him...

Even though Wanyan Loushi didn't like to think of things in a bad way, he still felt a chill down his spine and was quite scared.

After calming down, the figure on the horse hesitated whether to continue, then looked down at the weapon in his hand which was missing half of the blade, and let out a long breath.

Never mind. It's the same if we follow the army. There's no need to offend him in the army just to fight for the vanguard. Besides...

Eyes downcast.

The knife had been cut off, and he was too embarrassed to continue beating people.

"I (my family) lost."

The two men's voices rang out at the same time, and then they were both startled and looked at each other. Han Shizhong carried the steel spear on his shoulder and said, "I have already dismounted. There is no need for General Wanyan to give way. I am not someone who cannot afford to lose."

"Losing is losing, winning is winning, I never cheat." Wanyan Loushi jumped off his mount, raised the long-handled broadsword in his hand, which only had a stub left, and shook it with his hand: "Besides, my sword has become a sharp stick, how can it not be considered a loss?"

Just as Han Shizhong was about to say something else, he heard the sound of horse hooves and Yu Cheng ran out from the formation under the high platform. The two generals knew that it was the emperor's order, so they stopped talking and watched the burly young man run up to them and shouted, "Your Majesty has ordered that Han Shizhong has fallen from his horse and Wanyan Loushi has been cut off from his troops. This battle is considered a draw. You are ordering the two to lead their own troops and send another 5,000 soldiers to take Huizhou and Enzhou as the follow-up to this battle. The winner will be named the vanguard and will be given a mansion, ten beauties, and 100,000 strings of cash."

Han Shizhong and Wanyan Loushi looked at each other, bowed towards the platform and said, "I obey your orders!" Seeing this, Yu Cheng knew that he had nothing to do with it, so he hurriedly rode his horse back.

Han Shizhong straightened up, glanced at Wanyan Loushi and laughed: "Your Majesty's order is exactly what I want. Let's see who captures the city first."

Wanyan Loushi took off his helmet, and white steam was visible on his thick hair: "In terms of attacking cities and capturing strongholds, Loushi believes that he is not inferior to anyone, General Han..."

dong dong dong-

The sound of the drums vibrated again on both sides of the platform. The soldiers and generals who thought they had finished their work were startled and quickly turned their eyes from the center to where the drums were beating.

Han Shizhong put down the steel spear on his shoulder and stared blankly at the figure moving downward. He couldn't help but murmured, "...No way?"

"Your Majesty, do you want to perform martial arts?" Wanyan Loushi was also surprised, but in an instant his expression became respectful: "Good! Those who are good at fighting should do this."

Han Shizhong took a breath and looked at the warhorse with a depressed look on its swaying legs: "It's time for you and me to retreat."

……

Turn back the clock a little.

When the horses fell and the swords broke, several generals on the high platform said it was a pity. When they saw Wanyan Loushi stop his horse, several generals knew that they could not fight any further. Xi Sheng turned his head and looked at Lu Bu: "Your Majesty, how do you judge this?"

Lu Bu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked down, with a smile on his face: "Okay, let's have an extra game."

"This..." Wang Dechou was stunned: "Your Majesty, it is a bit unfair to Han Shizhong to change horses at the last minute. After all, they have not yet been used together..."

Then he added: "Of course, Wanyan Loushi is the same. He may not be used to using a new sword, so the fight will be unbearable."

"That's right, that's right." Du Fu and Shi Wengong also nodded in agreement.

"Who said I want them to continue fighting?" Lu Bu glared at them unhappily. "I was originally thinking about which of Enzhou and Huizhou should I attack first. Since the two of them have not yet decided the winner in this battle, it has solved my worries. Yu Cheng!"

Although all the generals on the platform were military officers, none of them were stupid. After hearing what was said, they immediately became thoughtful and watched their emperor say a few words to the tall figure. Then the young man who received the order quickly turned around and ran down the platform.

Lu Bu stood there, holding his waist and laughing: "In this case, I want to see what surprises these two people can bring to me with such a generous reward."

After a pause, he waved his arm and said, "Order the entire army to march south in three days to capture Zhongjing Road."

"Here!"

Du Fu, Xi Sheng and others bowed and took the lead in accepting the order.

Wang De stood up, looked down, licked his thick lips nervously, and suddenly clasped his fists to Lu Bu: "Your Majesty, Shi Wengong and I will go south soon to join General Xiao Haili and General Mi Xian. But just now I was agitated when I saw the generals fighting. It seems that the best fighters in the army are either resting after fighting or have already been defeated by me, so -"

He took a step forward and knelt on one knee: "I beg Your Majesty to teach me!"

Lu Bu raised his eyebrows, looked down at him, then laughed, swung his arm back, and his scarlet cloak fluttered back with a rustle: "Okay! I'm itching to do it too, who wants to go down and move around, just come along!"

Du Fu and Shi Wengong looked at each other and knelt without hesitation: "How dare you!"

Then, the figure on the platform walked down the stairs.

(End of this chapter)