Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 988 The calculations of both parties

"Your Majesty, the situation is not good. A large number of Qi cavalry are patrolling outside, harassing us with arrows and horseback shooting. It is clear that they are trying to lure us out. However, I am afraid that if this continues for a long time, the morale of my men will be even lower, and it is hard to say what will happen then."

Inside the camp of Dongxian Wenrong, a sturdy man in red armor and a red robe was leaning on a flaming broadsword and frowning at the commander who also had a sullen face.

"That's not a reason to be blocked in the camp..."

Xia Mo rubbed his cheek unconsciously while speaking. His anxious feeling made his mouth hurt as if it was on fire. He took a breath of cold air and said with a grunt, "Even if there are only cavalry outside, there can't be 50,000 of them. At most, there are more than 10,000 cavalry. With the support of the military camp, we still have the strength to fight."

The sound of war horses roaring could be heard in the ears, and soldiers in black armor rode past on horseback in the sight. Arrows shot from bows hit the shields with a crackling sound. A general shouted "Shoot!", and the archers in the camp shot the long arrows in their hands, leaving a trail of tail feathers on the ground where the horses' hooves passed.

"It's better not to shoot this arrow, hiss..." Xia Mo pointed outside, half of her face looked ferocious due to the pain: "The cavalry has already run over and if you still shoot, you won't be able to shoot down even a damn horse hair."

"...Maybe the soldiers were a little slow to react." Dongxian Wenrong spoke after a pause. He knew that what he said was unreasonable, so there was a hint of embarrassment on his face, and his toes kept flexing and stretching in his boots.

"Hmph - just say you're afraid of death." Xia Mo snorted coldly and took a breath: "I thought you were the only one who was different in this army..."

Before he finished speaking, the color of Dongxian Wenrong's face matched the color of his armor. He straightened his neck and walked towards the warhorse: "Of course I am not a coward. General, wait a moment. I will go out and kill a few Qi army generals for you to see!"

"and many more!"

Xia Mo shouted, her eyes turned, and a light flashed in her mind. Seeing Dongxian Wenrong stop, she spoke: "Why go out now? You don't have to be so eager to die."

After a pause, he thought about the main idea and continued, "Let's wait in the camp first. Since we don't go out, the Qi army will definitely think we are cowardly. When they retreat, they will definitely not take us seriously. Then we will select brave warriors and attack them under cover of night..."

……

"The enemy army has not moved until now, either because they lack courage or have other plans."

On the Red Hare, Lü Bu gently stroked the mane of the fiery red warhorse, squinted his eyes and looked at the dust raised by the warhorse in the distance, and snorted softly: "A commander who can walk out of the city and into the wild must have a heart of attack and fighting. He will definitely find a way to defeat our army in the wild. Therefore, there is no doubt about his courage. Otherwise, why would he leave the city? He is a coward now, I am afraid he has bad intentions."

The wind blew across the fields, and the flags behind them fluttered non-stop. Yu Cheng and Wei He looked at each other, and the latter patted his armor that was bulging with belly fat and said, "Your Majesty, what you mean is that the Liao army tonight will..."

……

"Night attack?"

Dongxian Wenrong suddenly turned around, his eyes lit up for a moment, and then frowned: "But the scouts don't know the whereabouts of the Qi army..."

"With so many war horses outside, how can we hide our tracks? Are you afraid that we won't be able to find where we are?"

Xia Mo gently rubbed his left cheek, his eye twitching in pain, and he groaned, "Last time, our camp was attacked by the Jurchen barbarians. If we don't go out to fight today, everyone will think we are afraid. Later, let someone who is good at tracking lead the way and catch them off guard. This is..."

He wanted to say something like "let the enemy be arrogant", but after thinking it over he was too embarrassed to say it out loud, so he just hummed twice to get away with it.

His voice was vague at the end, and Dongxian Wenrong didn't hear clearly, but he heard everything at the beginning. He quickly took two steps back with a smile on his face: "The commander is right. Before the Qi army's infantry arrives, we should give them a good beating to dampen their spirit."

Xia Mo twitched the corner of her mouth, then quickly stopped her movements, and said with a twitching eye: "That's it, tell each camp to hold on tight. If the camp is breached during the day, hiss..."

His face twitched, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I will definitely report him to His Majesty later, and my whole family will be exiled to look at sand under the governor of Daota Ridge!"

Dongxian Wenrong's face became serious. He first saluted and then turned to the cavalry beside him and said, "Why don't you go and pass the order!"

……

"Send an order, have all the troops hold back their strength, pretend to attack, and then retreat at noon."

"Your Majesty, the morale of the Liao army is low, why not fight hard?" Yu Cheng looked at the dust rising in the distance and whispered: "Under this situation, we may be able to break the camp."

"How many people will die?" Shaking his head, Lu Bu tapped the iron plate on his skirt armor and said in a steady voice, "The cavalry suffered heavy casualties when attacking the camp. The lives of our soldiers cannot be wasted here. It is only a matter of speed to defeat this army. There is no need to sacrifice human lives."

In the field of vision, the cavalry were running non-stop, and the arrows they shot looked like a swarm of locusts from a distance, jumping in an arc into the Liao army camp, and then running away into the distance with billowing smoke and dust.

"Just wait and see. I expect him to come tonight and we'll have a fight tonight to decide the outcome."

The low voice was carried by the wind into the ears of the guards behind him, and an imperial guard had already run out before Yu Cheng opened his mouth.

The figure on Red Hare turned around and looked at Yu Cheng and Wei He: "If you two are planning a night attack, what preparations will you make?"

The cloaks of the two men were blown by the wind, echoing the rustling sound of the flags above their heads. Yu Cheng stroked the short beard on his chin and said, "Select those who can see at night and are agile as the vanguard?"

Wei He waited for him to finish speaking, then saw Lü Bu looking at him, and thought for a moment: "Choose the best soldiers in the army, prepare more bows and crossbows, and things that can start fires. If they can be burned, burn them. If they can't be burned, cover them with arrows."

Lu Bu chuckled: "For night battles, there are more fire drums, and for day battles, there are more flags, but the most important thing is the weather."

Looking up at the sky, the wind was blowing for thousands of miles, and the sky was clear and cloudless. "I don't know much about the weather, but I can still tell whether it is a moonless night. There is a moon tonight, but it is not a full moon. Although the field of vision is not far, it is not to the extent that it cannot be seen. In this kind of weather, the enemy will attack at three o'clock in the morning."

The sound of trumpets was intermittent in the air, and many messenger cavalry rushed towards the smoke.

……

"Since we have decided to act tonight, Xiangwen, you should prepare some fire-starting objects and golden gongs and war drums..."

Inside the military tent, Xia Mo sat on a stool, watching Dongxian Wenrong go to the corner of the tent and bring a small jar of wine and put it down. He swallowed his saliva and subconsciously looked outside. Then he came to his senses and said with a strange expression: "Dongxian Wenrong is so calm, do you not take me, the commander-in-chief of the army, seriously..."

Dongxian Wenrong didn't understand what he meant. He followed his gaze to the wine jar on the low table, and then he understood: "Marshal, you have to lead the troops to go out tonight. It won't hurt to drink a few sips now. You can also take a rest later. Besides..."

Looking at his swollen cheeks, she said, "This wine can dispel wind evil and reduce pain. Your face is so swollen, it must be painful and unbearable. Why don't we..."

He sat on the other side of the stool and pushed it forward: "You try this, maybe it can ease the pain."

"Hmm... that makes sense." Xia Mo nodded, stretched out her hand to grab the wine jar, no longer rejecting his kindness, and just said: "Where were we just talking about? By the way, there is still some luminous paint in the army, which can be used to mark our retreat."

"We also need sulfur and pyrotechnics, which can be ignited when we return to cover our retreat." Dongxian Wenrong faced outside the tent and could see his soldiers running around in the distance.

Although he had made up his mind to stay in the camp and talk with the commander, he did not dare to devote himself wholeheartedly. Who knew if the Qi army outside would suddenly go crazy and attack his camp with cavalry.

"These should all be there, um...it seems to be effective."

Xia Mo said something, then poured himself a sip of wine. The weather was still a little cold at this time, and the wine had been placed in the corner for quite some time. Although it was not as cool as the wine from Jingshui Town, it still made people shiver after drinking it. In an instant, he felt that the pain in his mouth was not so severe anymore.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm glad it doesn't hurt, my king."

Dongxian Wenrong said, pointing outside, "When is the king going to act? I see there are no clouds and there is wind today, so it may not be very dark at night."

"We'll do it at midnight." Xia Mo drank the wine in big gulps, trying not to spill it, and said, "Then we'll do it while people are soundly asleep. The gods will bless the people of Wolf to victory."

Dong - the wine jar was placed on the table. Xia Mo's face showed a comfortable feeling: "He has been running outside all day, so he must be sleeping soundly at night. It will be convenient for you and me to do what we want."

The big red figure over there nodded slightly, and then the two of them discussed some details of the night's troop dispatch, listening to the shouting and cursing outside.

Time passed slowly as both sides calculated their own plans. After noon, a Liao soldier came running over and said, "The Qi army has retreated."

Gududu——

After drinking the cool wine, Xia Mo stood up suddenly and said, "Let's go to the central army and gather all the generals to discuss the matter!"

The bright red figure at the back stood up.

……

"Let's go! Go back and wait for them."

Thousands of cavalrymen gathered together again, and the sounds of voices and horses' hooves rang out at this moment. Many soldiers laughed at the Liao army for being as cowardly as mice, and at the same time patted their quivers to show off to their companions how many people they had shot.

The air blew his armor backwards as the warhorse galloped. Lü Bu looked back on his red rabbit, then at the guards beside him: "Go and call Du Fu and Wanyan Loushi."

"Here."

The guards responded, and then they split up and rode their horses towards their respective targets with their comrades. Not long after, a general wearing a blue dragon armor and holding a broadsword rode over. Lu Bu turned his head to look at the two generals approaching: "At night..."

Amid the rumbling of horse hooves, occasional voices could be heard.

……

at the same time.

Hua Hua——

The river was flowing behind them. Han Shizhong, Guan Sheng, and Pan Zhong stood up, put on their wet clothes, and twisted their bodies awkwardly: "I thought we could arrive earlier, but we didn't expect to be delayed by the two rivers. I'm afraid Wanyan Loushi has already fought with the Liao people."

"What are you waiting for? Let's go."

Pan Zhong couldn't help but walk to the side and was about to mount his horse. Han Shizhong said quickly, "Don't be in a hurry."

Seeing Guan Sheng and Pan Zhong looking over, he said, "Wanyan Loushi not only sent a messenger to me, but also sent people to His Majesty. According to the time, His Majesty's army should have arrived by now. I think our thousand-plus cavalrymen are not a big deal..."

He reached out to take down the water bag hanging beside the saddle and took a sip. Guan Sheng and Pan Zhong looked at each other and came over curiously: "Brother Liangchen, what do you want to do?"

"Let's go for a walk outside Dading Mansion."

Han Shizhong covered the water bag and put it back: "Now many of their soldiers have left the city. Let's go and take a look. If they see that we have few soldiers and horses, they will dare to leave the city..."

"Then kill them." Pan Zhong chuckled and patted his horse's buttocks. "I didn't kill them to my heart's content last time. I hope I can make more money this time."

"It's hard to say." Guan Sheng stroked his beard and slightly closed his eyes: "If the Liao army in the city is like Huizhou, I'm afraid they will close the gates day and night and can't easily leave the city."

"Let's go and take a look first." Han Shizhong lifted the saddle with one hand, stepped on the stirrup, and pulled the reins of the horse: "We will hide first. If there is a chance, we will fight. If there is no chance, we will go to the Liao army camp in the north at night to wake them up to urinate!"

"Hahaha, you are still the one with the most clever ideas, Brother Liangchen." Pan Zhong laughed and mounted his horse, picked up the iron spear and turned it around: "My credit all depends on you, brother."

Guan Sheng rode on his war horse silently, stroking his beard and lowering his eyelids.

Han Shizhong also smiled and replied: "No, my contribution has not yet been realized, don't think of taking advantage of me."

After saying this, he raised his steel spear to the sky and shouted, "Follow me, let's go to Dading Prefecture!"

The knights on horseback shouted in unison, twitching their horses to gallop after the figure in front of them.

The iron hooves bypassed the majestic city.

……

The sky was slanting, and the blazing sun turned into golden afterglow.

In the Liao army camp, the smoke from cooking gradually died down, and an order was passed down not to make loud noises. The soldiers who were ordered to move at night went back to their tents to recuperate. New recruits were gathered together to do the carrying work with the young and strong men. Occasionally, someone was called aside to follow the army's craftsmen to make fluorescent agents.

Packages prepared for individual soldiers appeared in a corner of the camp. Soldiers in armor picked them up and carried them to the quiet tents, waiting for these people to get up and check later.

Xia Mo stood at the door of the big tent with his hands behind his back, looking at the sunset which was no longer so dazzling, and whispered softly, "God bless you!" Then he turned and walked into the big tent, took off his clothes, armor and boots, fell on the bed and fell asleep.

……

In Dading Prefecture.

"Faster, faster, faster!"

Soldiers holding spears walked past the loaded flatbeds and pulled the hemp ropes on the carts: "Tie them up tightly. If you break them halfway, I'll come back and you'll be in trouble!"

wow——

The rope was pulled open and there was a gap: "Whose skill is this? Come and tie it up again!"

When a young and strong man ran over, the soldier shouted in a loud voice: "Everyone, pay attention. When the king comes back, you will definitely be rewarded."

Amidst the golden light above the west city wall, the vehicles were finally ready. The soldiers escorting them shouted, "Get the torches ready. We will be on our way overnight!"

As the vehicles were being transported out, a group of conscripted laborers stood by the road and looked at each other in bewilderment as they watched the vehicles go away. A young man stretched his neck and asked, "What do you think...how much will the king reward us when he returns?"

"How much is the reward?" The young man who was listening nearby looked at him and patted him on the shoulder: "That also requires the king to come back!"

"That's right, these soldiers are just empty talkers."

"If everyone who stayed behind ran away, what's the point of fighting this war..."

"Stop talking. If the servants hear it later, they will give you another beating. Let's go!"

The young man who was asking the question was dumbfounded by the chatter. He looked at the car going away and murmured, "What's the point of sending things out of the city?"

(End of this chapter)