Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 989: Dispatching Troops and Sending Troops

It was getting dark, and soldiers in black were riding their horses and running through the woods. A soldier came out from the darkness, shouted a few commands, and then let them pass.

The running horse stopped and panted. The knight saw the people in front of him who were resting with their flags down and jumped off and walked over quickly.

"General, I discovered a convoy coming out of the north of the city. There are nearly thirty carriages, escorting about two thousand soldiers."

"Two thousand?" Han Shizhong, who was sitting on a large bluestone, stood up after hearing this and asked, "Are there any other Liao soldiers nearby?"

"I asked someone to investigate, and they found nothing. The gate of Dading Prefecture in the rear was closed immediately after the convoy left, and there was no sign of it being opened when I returned."

"So they really went out of the city to deliver supplies?"

Pan Zhong and Guan Sheng, who were sitting next to Han Shizhong, interrupted. The former stood up with an anxious look on his face and said, "Let's go and rob them, so as not to cause trouble to His Majesty and his men."

Guan Sheng slightly opened his eyes and nodded: "If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences."

Han Shizhong looked at the two of them, then clapped his hands and said, "Since both generals agree, let's go and rob the convoy."

Pan Zhong's face showed great joy, but Guan Sheng kept his eyelids drooped expressionlessly, and only quickened the movement of the hand that was stroking his beard.

"Get on the horse, get on the horse."

The blades of armor rubbed against each other gently as they walked. The soldiers moved when they heard the call. Officers kept shouting orders in low voices in the woods. One after another, nimble figures mounted their horses, holding the reins in their hands and looking at Han Shizhong.

"You lead the way." Han Shizhong instructed the scout, then raised his spear and waved it forward: "Follow me, and take away the Liao dogs' stuff. You will all be rewarded after the battle."

More than a thousand riders cheered and followed Han Shizhong outside.

Although the moon in the sky at night was less than half full, it was very bright. These cavalrymen were well fed and well-fed on weekdays, so their vision at night was certainly not as good as during the day. However, they were not blind and could see several moving figures ahead.

The sound of horse hooves knocked slowly in the silent woods, and gradually accelerated as they got onto the official road. The rumbling sound of the hooves tore through the silence, and they galloped quickly into the distance.

……

Wheels and wheels——

The wooden wheels rolled over the ground, soldiers with torches walked on both sides of the car, people talked and chatted from time to time, the whole team was buzzing and noisy.

The general on horseback also looked absent-minded. He listened to the noise from the troops behind him and had no mood to scold them. If Xia Mo in front did not have 50,000 soldiers under his command, he would not have obeyed this man's orders.

Perhaps the entire Dading Prefecture is waiting for the battle situation ahead...

Except staying behind.

Scratching his cheek, the general let out a "tsk--" sound. Unlike the Zhongjing garrison commanders who came here to take up the post, these local generals and officials all had their families, young and old, in the city and had nowhere to escape. They could only pray that the war would be over quickly. As for who would win or lose, that was no longer an important matter.

"General, after we deliver these things, will we come back?"

The guards on horseback asked, and the general turned to look at him: "Why? Do you still want to stay in the camp and fight against the Qi people?"

"That's not what I meant..." The guard scratched his head: "If we just go there, what if the king asks us to stay?"

"...I don't think so." The general was stunned. Obviously, he had never thought about this question. He hesitated and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. Send all the supplies over first..."

As he spoke, he turned his head again and looked behind him, frowning: "Did you hear anything?"

Several bodyguards looked at each other and listened attentively.

"There seems to be some movement..."

"Like cavalry."

"It's so late?"

The general reined in his horse and stopped, shouting, "Shut up!"

The voices around suddenly quieted down, as if it was contagious, more and more people began to shut up, and the thunder-like sound gradually grew louder.

"It's the cavalry!"

The general suddenly turned his horse's head, his face uncertain: "Tonight, we are the only ones leaving the city. I haven't heard of any other troops taking action."

He turned around and looked around: "Something's happening, cheer up and get ready to fight!"

The young man driving the carriage quickly jumped off the shaft, lay down and hid under the carriage.

Figures holding torches came running over quickly, and soldiers wearing yellow armor and holding swords grasped their iron spears and iron knives and began to line up in panic. Light shields were held in front of them, and iron spears and lances were extended from behind and then pressed down, and nervous faces were looking around.

In the direction of vision, there were loud sounds of horse hooves in the darkness, and the ground seemed to be shaking faintly. The people looking ahead felt goosebumps all over their bodies, and had the illusion that darkness would pounce on them at any time.

"General, surrender now. If you don't slow down now, you are not one of us."

"Yes, General, there are at least a thousand cavalrymen there, and the number of us is not enough to fill the gaps in our teeth. Besides, His Majesty has already given up Zhongjing, so why should we fight?"

"Even if I guess wrong, it's just a few words to others. It's better than fighting to the death with the Qi army."

Several of the personal soldiers around him looked nervous. The general on horseback looked at the surrounding soldiers who were looking at him expectantly and took a breath: "What are you standing there for? Find some white cloth and pick it up! Quickly——"

"Yeah!"

"White cloth, white cloth, white cloth, got it, my foot binding cloth is white!"

"Your foot bindings are all black and smell terrible. Use mine. My undergarment is new!"

"I have it too, I have it too..."

tear it up-

As if on notice, the sound of cloth being torn rang out one after another. The rags hung on the spears fluttered in the wind and were swung vigorously, casting a white shadow in the firelight. Shouts of "Surrender!" and "We surrender!" rang out in the army, and occasionally someone would curse, "Who the hell is hanging sackcloth pants! Ugh——"

The sound of horse hooves in the distance became clearer and clearer. Someone shouted "Stop!" and slowly and hard rushed into the aperture.

The torch removed the darkness from the people, illuminating the figures of the victims. The black armor was tinged with orange in the light, and the brightly polished spears occasionally flashed a gleam of light.

The horses were panting, and the knights looked at each other, then turned to look at the pale soldiers in front of them. Someone in the rear cavalry shouted, "Since you surrender, why don't you put down your weapons?"

"Put down your weapons, quick! Put down your weapons!"

Dang clang——

There was a sound of swords falling to the ground.

The Liao general on the horse shouted, then hung the sword in his hand on the horse, jumped off, untied the iron sword at his waist and threw it to his guards, then quickly separated the soldiers and stepped forward: "I am the commander of this army, and I am honored to meet the generals of Qi."

The soldiers in front hurriedly pulled their horses away, the sound of horse hooves echoing on the silent road. Han Shizhong slowly walked forward with his steel spear in hand, looking around at the surrendering soldiers, and then looked at Zu Xing's face: "Do you really want to surrender?"

"This general is..." "I am Han Shizhong, the vanguard of this southern attack on Huizhou."

"General Han." Zu Xing knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Your Majesty has abandoned Zhongjing, and the defenders have also fled. In front of us, Xi Wang Xiamo has stopped more than 30 miles away and does not move. We know that we cannot defeat your army, so we are willing to surrender to you."

Pan Zhong and Guan Sheng in the back also urged their horses to come closer. Han Shizhong did not turn around to greet them. Instead, he hung his steel spear on his horse, jumped down with one leg, walked over to help the man up, and the light of the torch was reflected in his bright eyes: "General Zu, please stand up. Since you are willing to surrender, there is something that can earn you merit. Are you willing to do it?"

Zu Xing calmed himself down and said quickly, "Of course I am willing to do so. Please give me your orders, General."

"Tell your men to take off their armor and put them on, then go and trick the gate of Zhongjing open." Pointing at the Qi soldiers behind him, Han Shizhong smiled sincerely, "If you can do it, I will guarantee you a position as a general."

Zu Xing looked at Han Shizhong with his eyes wide open, licked his dry lips, nodded vigorously, and said with a fierce look on his face: "Of course I am willing, but please give me a hand on the arm later, so that it will seem real."

"General Zu, you don't have to fight so hard." Han Shizhong looked at him carefully and said, "Just make yourself look embarrassed."

"No..." Zu Xing smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid that I'll become timid in a while, and having a wound on my body can make me more resolute."

Han Shizhong opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment. He just patted him on the shoulder and nodded, then called Pan Zhong and Guan Sheng to discuss the matter.

The Liao soldiers over there were driven to stand aside. Zu Xing went over and scolded them a few times. Half of them took off their clothes and armor and placed them on the ground. The Qi soldiers came forward to pick them up. After a change of clothes, 600 soldiers wearing Liao army clothes and armor stood on the open space.

Han Shizhong ordered his men to kill two inferior horses that were pulling the carts, smeared the blood on the soldiers' face armor, and then smeared some mud on them. Then he called Zu Xing over and asked, "General Zu, are you ready?"

"bring it on."

Zu Xing closed his eyes and stretched out his arm. Han Shizhong glanced at the personal guard beside him. The soldier walked forward with a sharp knife and stabbed it into his arm with a "puff".

"Uh……"

Zu Xing uttered a syllable from his throat, and watched with trembling arms as the soldier pulled out the knife, bringing out a trickle of sticky blood, "hiss..." He took a breath of cold air and let others bandage him roughly.

Another knight came over and pried off several pieces of his armor with a knife. Zu Xing threw away his helmet and let his bun down. His long, thin hair was instantly stuck to his forehead by sweat.

"General Pan will go with you this time."

Seeing that he had finished "dressing up", Han Shizhong turned to Pan Zhong, who was wearing Liao costumes, and spoke. Zu Xing followed his gaze and, regardless of who he was talking about, his lips trembled and said, "Of course, but if there is a fight later, I am afraid I can't help General Pan."

"That's fine." Han Shizhong waved his hand and smiled, "As long as you can open the city gate."

Zu Xing glanced at the wound, his expression ferocious: "Don't worry, General, I will make him open the door."

The wind fluttered the flames, and the Liao army flag that had fallen to the ground was lifted up. As the wind fluttered, Han Shizhong's powerful voice rang out in the night: "Send troops to seize Zhongjing—"

……

"Send out troops to drive the Qi bandits back!"

Xia Mo was wearing double armor and riding on a warhorse with a serious expression. His roaring voice spread and echoed in the wind. Fully armored figures looked solemnly at the commander in front of them. The eight thousand carefully selected soldiers around them did not dare to utter a word. They followed the generals in front of them, turned around, and began to walk out of the camp at an increasingly faster speed.

Before the second watch, waves of black shadows surged out of the Liao army camp. All of them had their horses bitten, their bells removed, and their horseshoes wrapped. Soldiers held stones in their mouths to prevent themselves from making noises when talking.

The scouts had gone outside to search for traces of the Qi army as early as the first watch. At this time, the returning figure led the troops for the night attack with ease and went to the explored location.

The figures in front were only concerned with hurrying on their way, while many people behind them, carrying cowhide bags, were pouring something out. Spots of liquid fell on the grass leaves, emitting a bright glow. It was luminous paint made from firefly vesicles, which was convenient for the army to use when they returned.

Next to them, there were people with bags hanging on their bodies, which contained large amounts of sulfur sealed in wooden boxes, and they were running around absent-mindedly.

Time passed as they ran, and when they reached three miles outside Baiye Forest, the team slowly stopped.

"General, the traces of Qi cavalry are in the forest. We found hidden stakes outside and did not dare to go in."

Xia Mo turned around with the big knife in his hand and looked at Dongxian Wenrong. In the dark night, the bright red armor did not look very conspicuous. The Liao general felt the gaze and hurriedly urged his horse forward: "My king!"

"When the time comes, you will take the lead."

Dongxian Wenrong nodded: "This is as it should be, your Majesty, rest assured!"

……

at the same time.

A bonfire was lit in the brazier on top of the city wall of Zhongjing. Several bamboo poles extended outward from the battlements of the parapet. Lanterns should have been hung there to look outside the wall, but it was pitch black at this time. Only the wind-killing lantern hanging on top of the city gate was swaying in the wind, and the dim light was flickering from side to side.

Several soldiers stood on top of the city gate, staring blankly outside. The wind blew over and they stamped their feet: "Damn it, our feet are still cold even in spring."

"I told you to buy new shoes long ago, but you took the money to gamble. We are not cold."

"Don't give me that. You have a wife to make soles for your shoes, but we don't. We are cold."

"Stop making so much noise, or the night watchman might see us chatting here."

The figure who was talking was holding a spear, but he didn't come close. The few who were talking turned their heads to look. On the empty city wall, there was only a bonfire burning in a copper basin: "There is not a single ghost, it's just a scare!"

Amid the complaints, the people turned around and looked at the companion who had just spoken. Seeing him stretching his neck and trying to look outside the city, they cursed, "Wu Laoliu, you unlucky guy, are you looking at a female ghost? You are so obsessed with it."

"No." Wu Laoliu pointed outside and said, "Look over there, is there a flame coming over here?"

"Ok?"

Several soldiers looked in the direction his hand was pointing, and sure enough, they saw a few scattered flashes of fire moving quickly towards them. In the darkness, they could faintly hear shouts and the sound of horse hooves.

"That doesn't seem right. I'll go call the commander."

"Wait, if nothing happens, won't we all be scolded by the commander?"

"That's right, take a look first, don't panic."

Amidst the chatter, the person who wanted to report the news stopped and watched the figure in the distance gradually become clearer in his field of vision. The sound of horse hooves also came over, and someone jumped up in an instant: "Damn it, it's one of ours. It looks like he's being hunted. I'll go inform the commander."

As he spoke, he turned and ran towards the city gate tower. Several people beside him also looked outside with serious expressions. Someone murmured, "The Qi army is coming so soon?"

The wind blew over the top of the city, and several people shivered. Not long after, footsteps sounded behind them, and the commander in leather armor ran over: "What's going on?"

"Outside!" The soldier pointed, "Our people are being attacked by the Qi cavalry..."

"It's General Zu Xing!" Before he could finish his sentence, the commander with better eyesight took a step forward, estimated the distance and shouted: "Quick! Call everyone over, the enemy is attacking--"

There was a sudden panic on the city wall.

Linen pants are underwear, and the styles are slightly different. Royal family members can use brocade pants (Song Huiyao Jigao), scholars and officials mostly wear silk and satin pants (Sima Guang's Shuyi), and common people are limited to linen pants (Qingyuan Tiaofashilei). If you are curious, just search for pants and you will know.

Zu Xing, Water Margin, No. 28
PS:

In the Tang Dynasty, people used firefly vesicles to make luminous paint to mark retreat routes.

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(End of this chapter)