Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 569 Disaster

Haligan and Halitu led their troops and killed the enemies in all directions.

They chased for five miles and met Wen Da's army coming to support them, so they stopped their troops.

Wen Da and Li Cheng guarded the troops and counted the soldiers, finding that more than 5,000 people were killed and the civilians were scattered. Wang Ding, the commander of the rear army, was killed, and all the food and supplies were taken away.

They set up camp on the high ground, and Wen Da summoned all the generals to his tent to discuss matters.

After the greeting, Li Cheng looked ashamed and said to Wen Da: "Thanks to my brother for coming to rescue me, otherwise, I would have to face the punishment of the Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Wen Da sighed, "Don't blame me, brother. Who would have thought that he had 3,000 elite cavalry here. Although his fighting spirit has been dampened, fortunately, we killed two enemy chieftains, Zeng Suo and Zeng Sheng, in Lingzhou. I'm glad that you are safe. Today, we two will write to you, first to report the victory, and second to inform you of the 3,000 new cavalry in Zengtou City, so that you can allocate food and fodder and elite troops to encircle and suppress the enemy."

Li Cheng heard this and said, "Thank you, brother, for covering up for me. Today, Suo Chao was going to win, but he led his troops and broke through our formation, resulting in the loss of many soldiers and generals."

Suo Chao said angrily: "Tomorrow when we go to the battle, we must prepare more strong bows and crossbows to shoot at the base of the formation, and use shields to block the enemy from charging."

Li Cheng sighed and said, "If it weren't for this cavalry, we wouldn't be in such a mess. Now it seems that we won't be able to win quickly."

Wen Da said, "Tomorrow, my brothers will guard the camp. I will lead Suo Chao and Lu Junyi out of the camp to challenge them. Since this guy knows that his identity has been exposed, I'm afraid he will withdraw and return north."

Li Cheng heard this and asked, "Brother, why do you need to bring Lu Junyi to the battlefield? He is a rich man, how can he fight in the battlefield?"

"Brother, you may not know that Mr. Lu has not gained his reputation in vain. Today, we were able to kill Zeng Sheng and Zeng Suo thanks to his efforts. As long as we wipe out Zengtou City, your husband will promote him. Tomorrow, brothers, just wait and see him pick generals and kill the enemies." Wen Da said with a smile.

After hearing this, Li Cheng said no more.

In Zengtou City, Zeng Nong heard that Zeng Suo and Zeng Sheng had been beheaded, and his worries doubled. Now that his identity was suspected, he was afraid that he would have no place to stand.

Therefore, Zeng Nong said to Zeng Mi, Zeng Kui, Ha Ligang and Ha Litu: "Do you have any ideas about the current situation?"

Haligang said: "We have penetrated deep into the heart of Song State. Now we have no chance of winning. We must make preparations early, abandon this place and rush back to the outside of the pass."

Zeng Mi said angrily, "We have lost three brothers in succession for the Great Jin Kingdom. How can we leave so easily? Even if we want to leave, we must destroy the Song army camp outside and take revenge."

Zeng Kui said, "That's one reason. Besides, there are two to three thousand cavalrymen outside the Song army. If we don't kill this group of new cavalrymen, they will entangle us and we won't be able to leave. We won a small victory today, and the outsiders must be afraid. Why don't we take advantage of the opportunity to raid the camp at night?"

Haritu said: "Yes, this group of newly arrived Song soldiers must be tired, so tonight is a good night to raid the camp."

Zeng Nong heard it and said to the four men, "Now that you have made your plan, go and prepare. If you can win, you must set out tomorrow. You must not delay, lest the army surrounds you from all sides."

That night, the sky was clear, the moon was bright, the wind was calm, and the clouds were calm. At the second watch, Zeng Mi and Haligang led 2,000 soldiers in front, and Zeng Kui and Halitu led 2,000 soldiers in the back to support. Four thousand soldiers and horses went out secretly, with the horses' bells removed and the men wearing soft clothes, until they reached the central army camp.

Just as Zeng Kui and others expected, Wen Da and Lu Junyi were drunk when they came today, and they forced themselves to come to the rescue, and the soldiers were exhausted. Li Cheng's troops suffered a great defeat today, and their morale was low.

The army's defenses were lax, allowing Zeng Mi and Haligang to rush in.

The two thousand soldiers killed anyone they saw and set fire everywhere. Li Cheng, Wen Da and others were awakened and fled without caring about the fighting.

Suo Chao gathered a part of his troops and fought hard. Taking advantage of this respite, Wen Da and Li Cheng led soldiers with incomplete armor to block them from all sides. Zeng Kui and Hari Tu also came to attack. The battle lasted for half the night and continued until dawn, when they returned to their camps.

Wen Da and Li Cheng gathered their troops, and only about 10,000 soldiers and 3,000 soldiers and civilians were left. All the food and fodder in the military camp were burned down. Fortunately, Yan Qing shot and killed a general on the opposite side during the melee, but unfortunately, the soldiers didn't get to rob him.

Several people looked at each other in silence in the camp that was burned to the ground. Wen Da pulled himself together and said to them, "For now, we should withdraw to Lingzhou City first and send only scouts to monitor Zengtou City to prevent him from escaping. We will report to the lord and mobilize the troops to suppress him later."

The melee lasted until midnight, everyone was exhausted and did not dare to stay in the wasteland for long, so they all retreated to Lingzhou.

In Zengtou City, everyone withdrew their troops and returned. After counting the personnel, they found that only 500 to 600 of the 4,000 soldiers were killed, but Haligang was missing. Halito was anxious and wanted to gather the soldiers to fight again.

A group of soldiers brought in Harry's body.

Haritu was furious: "Who killed my brother?"

The soldiers kneeling on the ground cried after hearing this: "The general was attacked by a hidden arrow in the dark night, and we were unable to rescue him. We only saw a short Song soldier firing a crossbow."

Zeng Kui stepped forward and saw a short arrow stuck in Hali's throat. He said to Halitu, "This must be a crossbow arrow. Such short arrows are not commonly used in the army. General, wait a moment and ask the soldiers captured yesterday to identify one or two, and then we will know the truth."

"Let me know who did it, and let him be shot by my arrow." Haritu said hatefully.

Zeng Kui hurried back and said to Haritu: "The one who used such a short crossbow arrow with the word 'Ruyizi' engraved on the shaft was a man named Yan Qing from Daming Prefecture. The master and servant who killed my brother were both this pair."

Haritu was furious and said, "Last night we had a great success in the raid on the camp. Why don't we take advantage of the situation to attack Lingzhou City and plunder it. You can also take this opportunity to collect your valuables."

Zeng Nong said: "I am afraid that the governor who stayed behind will mobilize the troops to chase and intercept us. If that happens, we will have no way out."

Zeng Kui heard this and said, "No, these Lingzhou soldiers were all recruited by my brothers, and most of them are useless hooligans. Lingzhou city is empty now, looting it will not only avenge our hatred, but also reward the soldiers. Two days is the limit, no matter success or failure, we will turn around and leave."

"Okay." Haritu shouted.

Immediately, the three of them gathered their troops and marched towards Lingzhou.

The three of them set up a rough camp two miles outside the city.

Hari Tu urged the troops to go out, and Zeng Kui and Zeng Mi mounted their horses at once, and two thousand cavalrymen formed a battle formation two arrows' distance from the city gate.

Zeng Kui ordered his soldiers to carry Wang Ding's head and challenge him to a fight at the foot of the city.

When everyone heard this, they were all furious.

Suo Chao could no longer hold back and asked, "Captain, watch me go out of the city and chop off his head."

Seeing the low morale of the soldiers in the city, Wen Da said, "Now we should guard the city carefully. The lord will certainly mobilize troops, and then it will be time for us to contribute."

Suo Chao shouted, "We can't just let the people outside the city shout like this. If we do that, how can the army maintain morale?"

Li Cheng also said: "That's right, I will go with you, and I will only take 500 elite soldiers out of the city to fight. On the top of the city, brother, please prepare more bows and crossbows for support."

Wen Da was furious when he saw the soldiers and horses of Zengtou City playing outside the city and Wang Ding's head was covered with women's clothing. He nodded and said, "You two should be careful. Five hundred swordsmen under my command will go with you."

After they were fully armed, Wen Da gave the order to open the city gates, and Suo Chao took the lead and charged out of the city.

Suo Chao shouted, "You ignorant boy, you are so brave and strong, do you recognize General Suo Chao?"

Zeng Kui was furious, raised his gun and shouted, "Zeng Kui is here, how dare you act so recklessly?"

After saying that, the two of them started fighting in front of the battle.

After thirty rounds of fighting, there was no clear winner.

In the battle of Zengtou City, Hari Tu thought to himself, last night, his brother shot him with a hidden arrow, and he should be shot by my arrow as well.

Haritu immediately drew his bow and arrow, aimed at Suochao who was closer, and shot an arrow that hit Suochao's left arm.

Suo Chao dropped his axe, turned his horse around and headed back to his camp before leaving.

Zeng Kui saw this and chased after him. Li Cheng, seeing that he had lost to Suo Chao, danced with his two swords and went out to meet Zeng Kui.

The two continued to fight, and after a while, Suo Chao returned to the city early. Wen Da asked a doctor to pull out the arrow and bandage the wound with medicine.

Seeing that Suo Chao's wound was too severe to fight, Wen Da said to Lu Junyi, "You can leave the city. As long as you kill one person, the enemy troops will be relieved."

Lu Junyi agreed generously and said, "Master, please watch me kill the enemy."

After that, he asked Yan Qing to bring the Thunderbolt White Dragon Horse, and Lu Junyi rushed out of the city gate holding a two-foot steel spear. Yan Qing followed behind on foot holding a pole and a crossbow.

Lu Junyi came out of the battle formation, without saying a word, and rushed towards the two people fighting in front of the battle formation with the spear in his hand.

Here, someone recognized Lu Junyi and said to Zeng Mi: "General, this is Lu Junyi who killed the two generals."

After hearing this, Zeng Mi hurriedly rode forward.

Haritu also raised his gun and urged his horse forward.

Lu Junyi, riding a horse and holding a spear, fought against two people without showing any fear.

Five people, divided into two groups, each trying to be a hero.

After fighting for about thirty rounds, Yan Qing saw that Li Cheng was gradually unable to defeat Zeng Kui. Fearing that Lu Junyi would be implicated, Yan Qing quietly took out the crossbow from his waist, hid behind the soldier in front, and shot an arrow, which hit Zeng Kui's horse and knocked him off the horse.

When Li Cheng saw this, he turned around and struck again with the knife, killing Zeng Kui.

The three men were fighting, and when they were deep in the room, Zeng Mi saw Zeng Kui being killed. He shouted loudly, left Lu Junyi and went straight to Li Cheng.

Hari Tu was stunned, and Lu Junyi saw an opportunity and shouted, then shot Hari Tu off his horse with one shot.

Zeng Mi was startled and looked frightened. He had no intention of fighting any longer and rode his horse back to his camp.

When Wen Da saw this on the top of the city wall, he rolled up his sleeves and went forward to beat the drum himself.

On the top of the city wall, the soldiers cheered like a tsunami and a landslide. Outside the city, a thousand soldiers were inspired and followed Lu Junyi, Li Cheng, and Yan Qing to charge forward.

On this side, Zeng Mi relied on the bravery of the Jin army, and on the other side, he killed the general and captured the flag, and the morale was high. There was also the bravery of Lu and Li. The two armies fought in a melee, and the corpses were everywhere and the blood flowed like a river.

Both sides suffered losses. Zeng Mi saw that he could not win, so he had to lead his troops to retreat.

Lu Junyi and his men were also exhausted and did not dare to pursue them. They had to withdraw their troops and return to the city.

Zeng Nong saw that Zeng Mi was the only one who came back, so he burst into tears. He set fire to Zeng Tou City, and then urged the farmhands to push the folded luggage and head north under the supervision of the soldiers.

Relying on the sharpness of the cavalry, they broke through three waves of obstructions in succession, passed through Cangzhou, entered Bohai, and returned to the Jin Kingdom.

In Lingzhou City, Wen Da and Li Cheng sent people to report the victory urgently.

In Daming Prefecture, Liang Zhongshu received 3,000 gold soldiers from Zengtou City yesterday, which was also a headache. Although there were soldiers in the city, none of them could take on the important task, so he had to call Zhang Kui, the commander of the troops in Daming Prefecture.

Although Zhang Kui was the commander of the army, his martial arts skills were ordinary.

After hearing what Liang Zhongshu said, Zhang Kui's face turned pale and he nodded in agreement.

Liang Zhongshu forced Zhang Kui to send troops. Zhang Kui had no choice but to bid farewell to Liang Zhongshu and went home to make arrangements for his funeral. Then he went to the camp to select soldiers.

Today, the colonel who was reporting the victory shouted along the way that three thousand Jin soldiers lurking in Lingzhou were killed and five Jin generals were beheaded.

In Daming Prefecture, Liang Zhongshu was overjoyed when he heard this.

Ask Zhang Kui to lead 3,000 soldiers to set out today to replace Li Cheng, Wen Da and his men.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Kui showed off his military prowess, brought three thousand imperial guards, and rushed to Lingzhou to replace Li Cheng, Wen Da and their group.

When Li Cheng, Wen Da and others returned to Daming Prefecture, Liang Zhongshu listened carefully to the news. Hearing the two men praising Lu Junyi's martial arts, Liang Zhongshu said, "Now is the time to use people. I sent someone to write to the Grand Tutor and he must be promoted. It's a pity that he didn't complete his mission and sent Zeng Nong and Zeng Mi to go out to sea on the ship."

"With these five commanders' heads, along with the heads of two thousand Jin soldiers, although some soldiers were lost, you have made contributions without fault. Go back to your homes and rest. You will be rewarded within ten days."

Everyone hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

At Lu Junyi's house, Li Gu saw Lu Junyi coming back home in high spirits, and he couldn't hide his joy. He was just waiting for Lu Junyi to go out as an official, but he was calculating.

With an express journey of 500 miles, it only takes one day to travel from Damingfu to Bianjing.

However, when Grand Tutor Cai heard the good news from his son-in-law Liang Zhongshu, he was first happy and then worried.

I am happy that I have killed the generals and the enemies, which is a great achievement. But I am worried that the Jin Kingdom has sent so many soldiers across the sea. Although we have formed an alliance, the Jin Kingdom also has evil intentions.

Now that a part of the Jin army had escaped, he was afraid that there would be trouble in the future, so he did not dare to ask for credit for the time being. He only wrote a reply letter and sent the soldiers who came to report the victory back to Daming Prefecture.

Liang Zhongshu was unhappy when he received the reply.

Mrs. Cai saw this and couldn't help asking, "My husband, you won a great victory in your campaign, why are you so unhappy now?"

Liang Zhongshu took out the reply from Grand Tutor Cai, and Mrs. Cai read it and said, "Sir, in terms of talent and intelligence, can you compare with my father?"

"How dare the light of a candle compete with the brightness of the bright moon? In this world, who can compare with the wisdom of Mount Tai?"

"Since my husband knows it, why bother to be sad? How could my father harm you?" Mrs. Cai said.

Liang Shijie heard this and forced a smile, saying, "I just don't know what has happened that has caused my soldiers to wait so long."

Because of this fight, Lu Junyi, Wen Da, Li Cheng, Suo Chao and others became good friends. For seven or eight days, Lu Junyi held a banquet to entertain Wen Da and Li Cheng. Suo Chao's arrow wound had not yet healed, so he stayed at home to recover. Lu Junyi brought Yan Qing, the best wound medicine, ginseng, deer antlers and other things, and visited him often.

On this day, Liang Zhongshu received a letter from Master Cai's family, which asked Liang Zhongshu to push someone to take the blame.

As Cai Jing expected, the Jin Kingdom indeed sent someone to hold him accountable.

When Cai Jing had persuaded the emperor to order Liang Shijie to send troops to wipe out Zengtou City, he thought that it was only Zeng's father and son and 300 to 200 Jin herdsmen who would not cause any trouble. However, he had never expected that Liang Shijie's victory report would include 3,000 Jin cavalrymen, and that one of them had fled far away. He knew that there would be trouble, and used this to suppress Liang Shijie's victory report.

Now the Jin Kingdom blamed Cai Jing and the emperor questioned him. Cai Jing evaded the charge and sent a letter to Daming Prefecture.

When Liang Shijie saw the letter, he said to Mrs. Cai, "Taishan is indeed wise."

Madam Cai asked, "My husband, my father asked you to find someone to take the blame, but you want that one?"

Liang Shijie smiled slightly and said, "Madam, don't worry. Shijie will take care of it." After that, he sent someone to invite Wen Da and Li Cheng to come to the mansion to discuss matters.

When Wen Da and Li Cheng heard what Yu Hou, who had come before them, said that there was a letter from Grand Tutor Cai in Bian Jing, they were both overjoyed, thinking that he had received a promotion and reward.

After the greeting, Liang Zhongshu said to the two men, "The disaster is over."

(End of this chapter)