Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In late summer at Tiantai, flags with the word "Zhe" and flags of the Song army came from the north and west.

Countless figures in scarlet clothes stepped on dark brown military boots across the dry land. Near the fluttering red flag, a commander in leather armor raised his spear and shouted. Then hundreds of voices spread out. Eight thousand Song army infantrymen in each direction were divided into several square formations and advanced layer by layer. The wing troops pushed vehicles and followed on both sides to protect the local soldiers and the Western Army inside.

There were layers of figures and surging heads in front, on the left and right. The Xiang troops in military uniforms were used to consume the enemy's arrows, physical strength and even the fighting spirit in their hearts. After them were the local troops and archers. Although these local troops commanded by the inspectors and county lieutenants were not very useful, they were better at fighting than the Xiang troops.

After them came the more ferocious local soldiers arranged in formation. These people were local people's armed forces composed of young and strong men selected according to the ratio of registered adults to men. Because they were all made up of people from the same hometown and village, they were more cohesive. Their position in the southeastern bandit-suppression army was second only to the Western Army. If the Hedong and Hebei imperial guards had not left, they would have been on par with them.

Finally came the Western Army's formation, with Zhe Kecun's flag flying in the army. As the fourth general of Hedong, most of the soldiers under his command were those who had followed him in battles in Xiting for many years. They could be considered a rare army that had experienced many battles.

The water was floating up under their feet.

There were a total of 16,000 soldiers and horses, including the garrison troops, local troops, and militiamen. The flags of various teams were dazzling and they marched slowly under the bright sky. The Western Army also had hundreds of war horses. Zhe Kecun, wearing silver-white armor, rode on the horse's back. His sturdy figure swayed slightly. He looked at the information just passed on by the scout and frowned slightly.

"All the bandits are hiding in the city..."

The contents of the intelligence seemed to make him grin. He was also familiar with the bandit generals near Tiantai City. One was called Shi Bao and the other was called Li Tianrun. Both were skilled in martial arts, but they were not as good as leading troops in battle. They were often teased by him and would run out of the city to fight with him. After suffering several losses, they were unable to change this habit. As of today, they usually stayed in the city and did not go out. It could really be said that this was the first time for a young lady to get married.

The bad battles during this period made this general, who once fought for his life in Western Xia, a little fed up. But this place was like a quagmire. He wanted to get out but couldn't. Now he saw some hope.

Don't let me get caught in this situation...

he thought.

A general came over and said, "General, the enemy will not leave the city. If we attack with such limited manpower, the gains will outweigh the losses."

"Then don't attack the city. Who says you have to attack a city if you come across one?" Zhe Kecun handed the intelligence to the side. The personal soldier took it in his hand, took out a fire starter and moved closer. When the flame ignited, he let go of his hand. The piece of paper burned in the air and floated down. The voice of the leading general continued in the air: "Block the west and south directions, don't let the bandits connect with the bandits in the middle of the sea, and deploy 1,500 troops in the east of the city to lure them. I want to see if you can really bear it!"

The messenger immediately rushed out, the military order was delivered, and the army turned and moved. Among the long army formation, people sighed from time to time, while in the outer wing troops, there was a sound of relief.

……

"Prime Minister Lou, why don't you let us attack? The Song bandits are coming from afar now. We can give them a hard blow while they are on the move, which will just dampen their morale."

Shi Bao was wearing a suit of black armor with fine scales, and was walking around the house in a somewhat impatient manner.

Li Tianrun and Pang Wanchun sat aside, looking at Lou Minzhong opposite with a wry smile on his face, and advised the man from Fuzhou: "General Shi is brave, but now is not the time to show off his bloody courage."

After a short pause, the thin scholar stood up, twirling his beard and taking two steps: "The Song army moved so quickly this time, I think it's a little different from the past."

Pang Wanchun was a little confused: "But those damn eunuchs have left..."

"I'm afraid it's because of his departure that things have changed." Lou Minzhong frowned and looked at the others. "When he was here, the Song army fought hard, but they were never as decisive as they are now. It seems like they want to win everything in one battle."

The figure who stopped stood between the three people: "So I guess the generals from the Western Army of the Song Army are impatient. It just so happens that the one leading the army is Wang Bing, who has a grudge against us. Under his coercion, the offensive of the Song Army this time may not be like before. Now the one under the greatest pressure may be General Fang..."

"In other words, we are just a diversion here?"

"Containment can also be turned into a breakthrough point. This is why I stopped the generals. Our battle line is too long, so we should shrink it and help General Fang defend Yuezhou." Lou Minzhong frowned and suddenly sighed: "The worst thing is that I haven't told General Lu about retreating. Now the Song army..."

"Report——"

Before he could finish his sentence, a scout outside came in and knelt on one knee and clasped his fists: "The Song army is heading to the south city, and the army in the north seems to be heading west."

The faces of several people in the room suddenly changed. Shi Bao took the lead and ran out. He stood on the city wall and looked out. The figures five miles away were connected into one.

"Go check it out!" Lou Minzhong turned around suddenly: "I want to know what the Song army is going to do!"

"I'll go! Some people come after me!"

Pang Wanchun shouted, turned around and ran downwards. Several teams of scouts hurriedly followed him and headed out of the city.

……

boom--

boom--

The stone slid in a parabola in the air and hit the city wall hard. On the top of Xianju City, the soldiers at the front huddled under the parapet. The vibration after the roar made many people sit down on the ground.

"shoot--"

"fight back!"

The general's voice echoed in the sky. The archer holding the longbow suddenly stood up, and a rain of arrows flew into the air and fell towards the city. The five crossbows placed on the top of the city turned in one direction, and someone smashed the mechanism viciously.

bang bang bang-

The strings rang one after another, and five black shadows flew downwards in a horizontal row. Below, the Song army soldiers who were pushing the ladders or holding shields almost subconsciously lay on the ground. The spear-like crossbow arrows directly nailed the ladders, and broke into pieces the next moment, with the remaining force continuing to pierce into the soil below.

Some crossbow arrows were aimed at the soldiers' necks. With a loud bang, a head jumped forward more than ten feet, fell to the ground, and rolled forward several times before stopping.

The Xiang army's troops paused for a moment, then stood up and turned to run. When did these local troops ever have the awareness of fighting to the death? It was not a battle with favorable winds, so just showing off was enough.

In the Song army, Xin Xingzong, the commander, pointed forward with his whip and said calmly, "Tell them to go back and continue attacking the city. Those who disobey the order will be executed on the spot."

"The general has ordered the front troops to..."

Immediately, more than ten messengers came forward and shouted, and the loud voices spread throughout the battlefield, but the retreating figure over there did not stop at all.

Liu Yanqing and his son stood in front. Liu Guangshi turned his head to look at the flag raised by the central army, and then walked to his father: "Dad, the central army raised the flag and ordered to shoot arrows." "Then give the order." Liu Yanqing did not even turn his head, and said in a nonchalant tone: "The central army sent an order over here, what do you say to me?"

"But..." Liu Guangshi hesitated on his young face: "They are all our own people, so..." He tilted his head and frowned: "It's not a good idea, right?"

"Our own people?" Liu Yanqing sneered and gave an order: "Order them to shoot arrows to stop them from charging. Send people to shout and tell these cowardly bastards to go back."

As the messenger ran forward with a roar, he turned around and looked at his son: "You treat those who surrendered from the rebels and the rebels as your own people? How come you have grown older in the past two years?"

In the sight, arrows were shot out from the Song army formation, densely covering the sky, and fell down when they reached the highest point. A burst of ghosts crying and wolves howling sounded in front of the formation. The Xiang army, which had originally rushed towards their own people, was forced to turn around and run back.

"Remember, the only people who are close to us are your father, me, and your brothers. Humph, if your eldest brother hadn't died long ago, I wouldn't have to tell you these simple truths now."

In the battle, Liu Guangshi lowered his head and exerted slight force on his hands, but he had nothing to say. When his brother was alive, he had always been his father's most capable deputy.

"You should also go down and prepare." Liu Yanqing's voice continued to come to his ears: "This time, the commander-in-chief has ordered to recover Taizhou and Yuezhou. This is a good opportunity for you and me to make meritorious deeds. Whether you can be reinstated depends on this trip."

"Got it, Dad."

Liu Guangshi nodded solemnly, urged his horse forward two steps and then subconsciously pulled it back. His elderly father watched from behind and frowned, "What's the matter? Is there anything else?"

"...I just don't understand why General Jie had to launch a general attack at this time. It was obvious that when the Grand Tutor was here, he was slowly bleeding them. Why did no one object to General Wang's change of Grand Tutor's strategy so easily?"

"It's a different time now." Liu Yanqing interrupted him, rode his horse to his side, and whispered: "The Grand Tutor has so many people under him, why did he choose Wang Bing as the leader, and why not Liu Zhen and Yang Keshi? Doesn't he know that Wang Bing is in pain of losing his son?"

Liu Guangshi's eyes moved.

"The Grand Tutor knows everything." Liu Yanqing did not leave him any suspense and let him figure it out himself: "But you see, the Grand Tutor is returning to the capital by imperial order, which means that the emperor can't wait any longer, so now we must end the war as soon as possible.

Although Wang Zhengchen was furious about his son's death, he was the one who wanted to defeat the bandits the most. He was also a veteran and would not suddenly become insane. Even if he had problems, the military commanders under him were not dead and would not accept unreasonable military orders. Naturally, he became the most suitable candidate. Do you understand?"

Seeing his son's thoughtful look, he patted him and said, "If you understand, go to the front and wait for the order from the central army."

Under the daylight, stone bullets whizzed through the sky.

Below, the army formation formed by the wing troops was running back and forth. They ran back under the rain of arrows from the Xianju City in front, and staggered back under the shooting of the Song army archers in the back. After several times, these timid ones finally had tears in their eyes.

"Damn it, let's fight!"

"Charge toward the top of the city! Those behind are even more ruthless!"

"You can still survive if you kill them on the top of the city wall. Charge!"

The remaining 1,200-odd Xiang troops ran forward under pressure. Xin Xingzong watched as the mud finally began to stick to the wall. He raised his hand and pointed forward, "Order the front troops to move forward and prepare to attack the city."

dong dong dong-

The war drums sounded, Liu Yanqing and Liu Guangshi issued orders one after another, and the army in neat rows began to move forward under their command. The soil under their feet shook, and the raised dust gradually covered their figures.

On the top of the city wall, Chen Kutong, who was wearing leather armor, looked calmly at the surging Xiang army below. Hearing the exciting beats of the war drums, he turned around and shouted to the side: "Raise the crossbows and aim at the main force of the Song army behind, and let those Xiang troops come closer.

Have the people down there prepare the stones and battering rams, and get ready for the battle, get ready for the battle!"

……

"kill--"

Arrows hit the shields from the air, stones bounced off, and the slanted shields flipped up amid shouts. The Song soldiers, without any cover, frantically grabbed the ladders and climbed up shouting. Stones and wood fell like raindrops. Someone screamed and fell off the ladder. More figures climbed up, covering their bodies with shields.

"Pour the boiling water!"

Wang Yin stood on the top of the city wall and shouted loudly. Dozens of strong men of the volunteers ran to the campfire, and in groups of two, they carried wood and lifted up the steaming earthenware jars, shouting "Hey, hey, pour--" a few times, and the clear water poured over their heads.

"Ahhh-"

More screams were heard from under the city wall, and the Song soldiers who were drenched by the hot water fell down screaming.

Stone bullets were thrown from the sky. The rebel general who was in charge of the defense of the city wall in sections shouted "Dodge!" and ran to hide under the parapet. A man who was carrying hot water was smashed into pieces by the stones amid the roar. Blood foam, broken bones and fragments of the clay jar covered the heads and faces of the people around him.

Wang Yin bent over, looking at the tragic scene over there with a calm expression in his eyes. He had experienced a more tragic massacre a year ago, and this kind of scene could not shake him. He took a breath and stood up: "Get on the bamboo pole! Free throw--"

The figure hiding in the back grabbed a sharpened bamboo pole from the city wall, waiting for the archer pointing diagonally to the sky to release a black rain of arrows, then they ran forward two steps together and swung their arms fiercely.

Below, figures were running with shields in hand, rushing over like a tide, passing the corpses of the soldiers under their feet and entering the range of arrows. There was the sound of crackling arrows hitting the shields, and the still trembling arrow shafts fell to the ground. The moment they put down their shields, their pupils suddenly shrank.

"avoid--"

"Get out of the way!"

Bamboo poles were thrown down from the top of the city wall with a shrieking sound, and then they stabbed into the soil with a trembling sound. Some people were nailed to death on the spot with a scream, and their bodies were supported by the bamboo poles. Some people covered their wounds and wailed. The dense footsteps around continued, and they ran forward with a rumbling vibration.

There were intermittent sounds of bangs and bangs, and someone climbed up to the top of the city wall. Wang Yin, who was watching from behind, suddenly had bloodshot eyes. The ferocious faces of the Song army soldiers became clear. He took two steps forward, picked up a javelin made of a bamboo pole, and threw it hard. The figure who had chopped back the soldiers on the city wall was immediately rushed out of the top of the city wall by the huge force of the throwing, and fell down with a scream.

"Brothers! Chop off these birdmen coming up!"

Feeling the anger in the voice coming from the air, the soldiers of the rebel army clenched their swords and guns. When the shouting on the top of the city wall stopped, they suddenly shouted: "Chop them off!"

The overwhelming sound resounded on the top of the city, the metallic color reflecting the sky light lit up, and countless hot blood was shed on the city. (End of this chapter)