Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 571 Response
After hearing this shout, everyone looked at each other, stopped and looked at Wang for observation.

Wang Guancha saw that many officials were dead or wounded, and everyone looked terrified. He said to his attendants, "Lu Junyi is fierce and stubborn, and he has many helpers. We are no match for him. You guys, hurry back to the government office and ask the prefect to send troops to capture this thug. I will follow him from a distance and leave marks along the way to prevent him from escaping."

After hearing this, several officials on the left and right ran back.

Wang Guancha led seventy or eighty people and followed all the way, which seemed like an escort.

Lu Junyi ignored him and told the farmhands to light torches and set off without stopping.

But the officials rode on the front and returned to Daming Prefecture without stopping. They asked the soldiers guarding the city to use a basket to lower the soldiers into the city. They did not dare to delay and knocked on the door of the prefect Huang Zhensheng's house. They said that Lu Junyi resisted stubbornly and killed many officials. Wang Guancha asked a few people to come to ask for reinforcements and exaggerated the story.

Huang Zhensheng was furious when he heard this and cursed: "You are all useless. A rich and powerful official has left you helpless." After that, Huang Zhensheng called up the Yu Hou who was on duty in the mansion to go to the military camp to mobilize troops.

In the military camp, the patrolling soldiers saw Huang Zhensheng coming and did not dare to stop him. They went to the camp to pass the message and wake up the officers on duty.

In the big tent, Huang Zhensheng met with the chief eunuch Li Cheng. After hearing Huang Zhensheng's intention, Li Cheng evaded the question, saying, "Sir, the mobilization of troops must be approved by the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Minister of the Command."

Huang Zhensheng said: "The situation is urgent, so we can't take care of much. The Minister of the Central Secretariat should take a rest. If anyone dares to disturb us, we will order him to take his place in the morning."

"This..." Li Cheng hesitated and said, "It would be better to inform the military commander Zhang. Besides, I cannot leave this camp easily."

After hearing this, Huang Zhensheng asked the Yu Hou behind him to take his letter and go to invite the military commander Zhang Kui.

After a while, Zhang Kui entered the tent, greeted him, and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Huang Zhensheng told the story, and Zhang Kui said, "I heard from Li Cheng and Wen Da that although Lu Junyi is just a rich man, he is very skilled in martial arts. The prefect can't rely on those officials."

Then he said to Li Chengdao: "Li Dujian, you still have to go through this matter."

After hearing this, Li Cheng said to the two men, "Lu Junyi and I have a bond of friendship due to our battles on the battlefield, but we must avoid suspicion. Since the commander-in-chief is in front of us today, why don't we go there in person?"

Huang Zhensheng listened and nodded, "Yes, it is still best to be in command."

Zhang Kui said, "I'm not afraid of this Lu Junyi. No matter how skilled he is in martial arts, he can't be stopped even if a hundred or so crossbows are fired at him. If we chase a criminal in the dark, the soldiers will surely have many complaints. I'm afraid they won't be willing to do their best."

"Don't be afraid of that. If we can arrest Lu Junyi and bring him to justice, there's no telling how much property will be confiscated. Even if a little bit is leaked out, it will be enough to satisfy all the soldiers." Huang Zhensheng said.

Zhang Kui listened, his eyes turned, and he said to Huang Zhensheng: "If that's the case, I'll go."

After saying this, he sent someone to gather a thousand cavalrymen and marched out of the city.

Huang Zhensheng saw this and also said goodbye and left.

Li Cheng sneered when he saw the two men leave.

Zhang Kui, however, had his own plans. A well-known official named Lu in Daming Prefecture had a fortune. It was heard that Lu Junyi had more than 300 carts of wealth and goods, and many farmhands were carrying loads. He used this to claim that he had no share of the land and houses in the city. Who could say how much wealth there was outside?

They chased him all the way and finally caught up with Lu Junyi before he exited Hebei Road.

It was already Chenpai time, and after a night of non-stop travel, everyone was already exhausted. Hearing that the cavalry was coming from behind, everyone was terrified. Three generations of everyone had worked in the Lu Mansion, so they suppressed their fear and dared not run around.

Lu Junyi also had a worried look on his face, and told everyone to keep their heads down and move forward. Lu Junyi led two hundred farmhands and formed a square formation on the road.

Zhang Kui arrived and shouted, "Lu Junyi, you have heard my name, how dare you resist? Why don't you just surrender? It will be too late to regret until you are trampled into mud!"

Seeing Zhang Kui stopped his horse and refused to move forward, Lu Junyi shouted, "General Zhang, I have a warrant from the Minister of the Central Secretariat. How dare you stop me?"

"Bullshit, your family has killed the official Li Gu and his wife Jia, you can't deny it. Come back to the city with me and confess your crime, and I can spare your life today."

Seeing that the situation could not be resolved peacefully, Lu Junyi angrily said, "You are a shameless person. You have risen to a high position by serving the Grand Master as a dog. Do you dare to compete with me? If you can defeat the spear in my hand, all my wealth will be given to you."

Zhang Kui was furious and shouted, "Who will help me catch this guy?"

After hearing this, the two militia commanders, Hu Sihan and Duan Cheng, rode out of the battle formation and headed straight for Lu Junyi.

Lu Junyi did not say anything, but drove the Thunderbolt White Dragon Horse, brandished his spear and galloped his horse, and went straight for the two generals.

Lu Junyi was filled with anger and shot Hu Sihan with a spear, killing him first. Duan Cheng was shocked when he saw this and tried to leave, but Lu Junyi caught up with him and shot him again, killing him also.

Lu Junyi did not stop and rushed straight towards the opponent.

Zhang Kui was shocked and shouted "Kill!"

Upon hearing the noise, the soldiers from Daming Prefecture drove their horses and rushed towards Lu Junyi.

Lu Junyi showed no fear and charged in, killing the soldiers and sending them fleeing in all directions. Zhang Kui did not dare to step forward, but shouted and drove his soldiers forward to surround and kill them.

During the fight, Zhang Kui let out a loud cry and fell off his horse. The guards saw this and screamed in surprise.

After hearing this, the soldiers who were besieging Lu Junyi scattered.

Looking around, I saw a group of cavalry led by two heroes rushing towards me on the official road.

The crowd shouted and scattered.

This team of cavalry chased and killed for a while, then retreated after a brief fight.

It was Yan Qing who asked the military commander of Kouzhou, the Iron Spear General, Wei Yangyin, to deploy his troops at the border. After waiting for Lu Junyi to arrive, Yan Qing became anxious and asked Wei Yangyin to send troops to support him.

Because Zhao Zhen's place is different from other places, the military commander has the right to mobilize his troops, and he only needs to write a letter to state his destination. Therefore, Wei Yangyin let the 500 cavalry in the camp lead by the regiment commander [Red Iron Knife] Zhen Dayi, and went with Yan Qing along the official road to meet them.

Just then, Lu Junyi ran into the fighting, and Yan Qing raised his crossbow and shot Zhang Kui off his horse from a distance. He chased and killed the soldiers and dispersed them.

The grass was brushing against the roadside. Lu Junyi said to Zhen Dayi, "If the general hadn't come to save me, I would have almost died here."

Zhen Dayi laughed and said, "I saw you from afar. You are worthy of being one of the Three Wonders of Hebei. With your ability, you will be fine even without us to help you. I also saw Xiaoyi's archery today. It is really amazing. Under your command, only the two commanders of the Shesheng Battalion, [Tiger Shooting Warrior] Lei Jiong and [Bear Shooting Warrior] Ji Ji, can compare with you."

"We should not stay here any longer. Let's hurry a little further and enter Kouzhou, then we won't have to worry anymore."

After hearing this, Lu Junyi ordered everyone to mount their horses. Seeing that the pursuers had been killed and dispersed, the farmhands gritted their teeth and stood up, and continued to drive for a while. When they entered Kouzhou, Wei Yangyin had already been waiting for them. The wealthy family in Fengtian Township also brought people to set up tents, boiled water, and cooked hot porridge to wait for them. When Lu Junyi and his party arrived, they quickly served the porridge and soup. The farmhands had already collapsed on the ground.

After resting for an hour, Wei Yangyin asked people to help a group of farmhands, drive the horses and carts, and go to the nearby Tangyi Township to rest.

When they arrived at Tangyi Township, the township head, Qiao Hui, had already asked people to set up tents outside the town and accommodate all the farmhands.

Seeing this, Lu Junyi thanked them repeatedly, "Thank you two generals for your help."

Wei Yangyin said, "Don't worry, sir. Except for the city, the rest of Kouzhou is under the jurisdiction of the great official. Rest for two days, and then we will send you to Liangshan County."

As he was speaking, a man on a fast horse came up, saw Wei Yangyin, and shouted, "Sir, send a pigeon letter."

Wei Yangyin quickly took it, looked at the wax seal, and opened the pigeon letter. After reading it, Wei Yangyin said to Lu Junyi: "My husband asked me to entertain the master well, and wait until the master's entourage has rested, and then we can go to Liangshan."

After hearing this, Lu Junyi said, "How dare I be so arrogant today when I seek shelter from you, sir? Xiao Yi and I will go ahead without any followers to visit you at Liangshan. You will be in charge of all the luggage and followers. Now that you have rested, please take care of me."

Wei Yangyin listened and nodded, saying, "That's good. Please make an appointment. I will send a team of soldiers to lead the way for you."

At that moment, Lu Junyi called over thirty stewards who had come with him, gave them some instructions, and without resting, he took Yan Qing and followed the soldiers to Liangshan County.

In Daming Prefecture, the soldiers who were killed by Zhen Dayi fled in all directions. When Zhen Dayi withdrew his troops, the brave captains turned around and collected the body of Zhang Kui, the chief eunuch, and ran back to Daming Prefecture.

Liang Zhongshu quickly summoned Huang Zhensheng and two military supervisors Wen Da and Li Cheng. Huang Zhensheng said angrily: "Mr. Zhongshu, this Lu Junyi killed officials and rebelled. Please mobilize the army to round up this guy."

Liang Zhongshu heard this and said, "Prefect Huang, didn't you listen to what the captains who came back said? Someone came to rescue us under the banner of Liangshan."

"Mr. Zhongshu, even Liangshan cannot be so domineering and go to Hebei Road to show off its power." Huang Zhensheng said.

Liang Zhongshu shook his head: "If it were anyone else, who would dare to be so arrogant. This Liangshan is indeed a group of people who only follow orders but not declarations. The court has to appease them, let alone us. If we anger this group of people and they rise up to fight, I'm afraid the court will punish us."

"But this Lu Junyi not only killed Li Gu and Jia, but also the military commander Zhang Kui died because of him. How can we explain it to him?" Huang Zhensheng asked anxiously.

"Prefect Huang, there is no shortage of murder cases in Daming Prefecture. Besides, Lu Junyi was supposed to take the blame, and now that he has killed Zhang Kui, it is not justified."

"I'm not afraid to run to Liangshan. I can blame Liangshan for killing the Jin envoy."

Huang Zhensheng also laughed after hearing this and said, "It's a pity to waste those three hundred carts of money."

Liang Zhongshu also laughed and said, "Aren't there still a lot of land and houses left?"

Li Cheng said, "Sir, I heard that Zhao Ze of Liangshan is a lustful man who will take revenge for any slight. If Lu Junyi surrenders to Liangshan and offers all his land and property to Zhao Ze, he will not send anyone to ask for it, right?"

Wen Da also said, "That's right. Now that Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La are in chaos, the court can't care about Jingdong Road. I heard that even Tong Shumishi married his daughter to him. If he makes trouble, how should we deal with it?"

Liang Zhongshu heard this and said hesitantly, "Don't worry about it. Several houses and shops have been sealed up, and the land has been rented by tenants. We will collect the rent as usual. If he comes to collect it, he just wants to sell it. We can let him do whatever he wants. We can always get some rent in our hands."

"Now that he has killed Zhang Kui, the angels have seen it and the court has also known it. It's not that we don't do our job, but that Lu Junyi is cruel."

After some discussion, Huang Zhensheng, Li Cheng and Wen Da went their separate ways.

Liang Zhongshu wrote a letter and asked his confidant to deliver it to the residence of Grand Tutor Cai, reporting the matter of Lu Junyi to him so that Grand Tutor Cai would not be in a difficult position to deal with.

Three days later, Liang Zhongshu and others sent the angel away.

No one had ever thought that there was an envoy from the Jin Dynasty in the team. If it weren't for Zhang Kui's body, even if everyone pushed forward the white-collar Lu Junyi, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it.

In the city of Bianjing, the angel reported the Lingzhou incident to the emperor. The Jin envoy made a fuss in the court, asking the emperor to punish Liangshan and capture Lu Junyi and Yan Qing to pay with their lives.

The emperor had no choice but to say to Cai Jing, "Grandmaster, this matter still needs your attention. You must make the Jin envoy satisfied."

After all, the emperor had given the go-ahead to conquer Lingzhou. It was just a pity that the commander was incompetent and left the beginning and the end behind.

Cai Jing said: "I obey your orders."

"In addition, the military supervisors Wen Da and Li Cheng failed to supervise the troops properly. They were deceived by Lu Junyi and mistakenly killed the Jin people as thieves. They were demoted to the position of militia commander. The three yamen will select other brave generals to serve in Daming Prefecture."

After the court was dismissed, the emperor summoned Grand Tutor Cai and other important officials. The emperor spoke first and said, "The Jin people are rampant and cannot be trusted. Now the Liao people are no match for the Jin people. We can only regret that bandits are everywhere and we cannot attack Youyan from behind."

After hearing this, Cai Jing reported, "Your Majesty, now that Secretary Tong has succeeded in defeating Tian Hu, the forces of Wang Qing and Fang La have also been contained. The day of the Northern Expedition is not far away."

"Although the Jin envoys are rampant, it can be seen that they have no intention of making enemies with our Song Dynasty. Now that Liangshan has been pushed out, the Jin envoys will naturally have an explanation. The soldiers and horses of Zengtou City also went to suppress the Qingzhou bandits. They must know that what Liangshan did has nothing to do with the court."

Upon hearing this, the emperor said, "It is a pity that the rebels betrayed the court."

Taiwei Su said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Daming Prefecture sent out 20,000 soldiers, but they were unable to completely wipe out the 5,000 Jin troops. This shows that the Jin soldiers are very brave. If we become neighbors in the future, I'm afraid they will be bad neighbors, so we must be on guard."

Gao Qiu heard this and said, "Why should General Su boost others' morale and destroy his own prestige? Zengtou City has a favorable geographical location and is full of elite cavalry. It was the merit of the Daming Prefecture's imperial guards that they were able to kill the five Jin generals who led the troops."

"Didn't they say that they were all killed by Lu Junyi and Yan Qing?"

"It's all to deal with the Jin envoy. How much power can a wealthy man who donates money and grain like you have?" Gao Qiu said.

These words comforted the emperor from worry to joy.

After bidding farewell to the emperor, Cai Jing went to Duting Posthouse to meet the envoy from the Jin Kingdom.

He appeased the Jin envoys and told them that if they had the ability, they could take revenge and the Song Dynasty would never pursue the matter.

After hearing this, the Jin envoy despised the Song State for its incompetence, but also felt that this matter might be useful in the future. For the sake of the silk and satin sent by Cai Jing, he pretended to be embarrassed to accept it.

After seeing off the Jin envoy, Cai Jing went to the palace to report to the emperor.

Emperor Huizong heard this and asked, "Grand Master, do you want to make the Kingdom of Jin and Zhao Ze hostile to each other?"

Cai Jing said: "Your Majesty, the Jingdong Road also buys horses from the north. I am just setting up an ambush in advance and waiting for the future."

(End of this chapter)