Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The long bonfire illuminated the military camp. Liao soldiers holding guns and swords marched across the road. The whole camp was filled with the smell of fireworks, except for the smell of herbs coming from the camp area near the east. The groans made the passing soldiers look unhappy.

In the military tent diagonally opposite the central military tent, lights were flickering. Dozens of candles were placed in front of a bronze mirror, illuminating the entire space. Yelu Dezhong, who was standing near the door, frowned with a serious look on his face.

Dang clang——

The arrowhead was thrown into the iron plate, and then a strong medicinal fragrance floated out as the military doctor opened the porcelain bottle. A white hand held the bottle mouth and poured powder into the wound below.

“Ah—hiss…”

A cry of pain came from the figure lying on the bed. His muscular body was covered with a layer of shiny sweat, and then a white cloth was wrapped around the wound.

At the back, the curtain was suddenly lifted, and two bald heads poked in to look. Yelu Dezhong, who was standing at the door, felt something strange. He turned around and saw his two sons who had not gone to the war stretching their necks to look inside.

"go out!"

The prince, who was so angry, immediately hit one of his heads with a blow. With a scream of "Ouch!", the third and youngest sons retreated out of the tent.

"All right."

The military doctor quickly put away the things and stood up as if he had heard nothing. He bowed to Yelu De again and said, "The two young princes are fine. Only His Highness Zongdian has injured his tendons and bones. I have applied good ointment. Change the ointment three times a day. After one month, change it to once a day. After three months, change it to once every two days. After half a year, it will be fine. As for the arrow wound, it is no problem. Just change the ointment once a day until it is healed."

"Ah?! Doesn't that mean I can't go to the battlefield to seek revenge?"

Disappointed words came out of the mouth of the figure with his arm in a sling, but Yelu Dezhong didn't even respond to him. He looked relaxed and nodded to the military doctor: "That's good. Thank you for your hard work, doctor."

The man quickly bowed his head and said, "It's my duty to do things for the prince."

Yelu Dezhong smiled and said, "There are many wounded soldiers in the army today. You should go and do your work. Come here!"

The two guards lifted the curtain and clasped their fists: "Your Majesty."

"Give the doctor a silver ingot as a reward, and take him to the sick camp."

The military doctor quickly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, this is part of my job, so I don't deserve your thanks."

Yelu Dezhong waved his hand and said, "Take this reward that the king gave you. Come back tomorrow to change the medicine for my son."

"It's my duty, it's my duty." The military doctor hurriedly bent down, then came to his senses: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

"Go down."

"I'll take my leave, little one."

Yelu Dezhong took two steps forward, ignoring the military doctor who was bowing behind him, and sat down to one side. He lowered the curtain and then opened it again. Yelu Zonglei and Zonglin walked in with laughter. They glanced at their two sons, and snorted at the two wounded men sitting on the camp bed, "I usually ask you to practice martial arts more. You four always say that you are very skilled. What's wrong with you today? Are you all mute?"

The youngest brother, Zong Lin, nodded repeatedly, "That's right, big brother and second brother should reflect on themselves more."

Yelu Zongyun and Zong Diandian glared at the fool fiercely.

The father looked sideways as he listened, pointed at his youngest son, then pointed at an empty space in the corner and said, "Silang, go kneel over there."

“Ah…?” Yelu Zongli drew out the word, looked at the corner, then looked at his father who looked intimidating without even getting angry. He said, “Oh.”, walked over, and fell to his knees.

"Pfft--" Zong Yun and Zong Dian almost laughed out loud and quickly covered their mouths with their hands. When the second son raised his hand, the injured area was moved, and the muscles on his face twitched in pain.

"Laugh! You still have the nerve to laugh?!" Yelu Dezhong glared at the two of them, and they quickly restrained their expressions and pretended to be sad. The father was helpless and slapped his leg angrily: "I will train you well after your injuries are healed. Now tell me, how did you get injured?"

Yelu Zonglei looked at his brothers, and Yelu Zongyun took a breath, turned to look at his father and spoke first: "Dad, I wanted to kill the leader of the enemy cavalry when fighting with them, but I didn't expect him to be so strong. I fought with him for a while, but I couldn't defeat him. Instead, I was ambushed by one of his men."

Pointing to the white scarf on his forearm, he said, "That guy wanted to shoot me in the throat, but I blocked it with my hand. Otherwise..."

Yelu Dezhong rolled his eyes and said angrily, "You have more soldiers than him. Even if you are not good at fighting head-on, you should find a way to wear him down. Why are you fighting him recklessly? I think you deserve it."

Yelu Zongyun touched his head and smiled awkwardly. "What about you?" Yelu Dezhong looked at his second son.

"I..." Yelu Zongdian's eyes twitched, and he swallowed his saliva and said, "I'm almost there, but..." Seeing his father's angry look, he quickly continued, "I met Yelu Ma Wu in the battle."

"What?" Yelu Zonglin, who was kneeling on the side, jumped up immediately: "Did you meet that Wangba?"

"Who told you to stand up!" Yelu Dezhong looked over there, glared at him, and pointed to the ground: "Kneel down!"

"Oh..." The reluctant figure fell to his knees again.

The father turned around and looked at his second son: "Yelü Ma Wu... are you serious?"

"I can't be wrong." Yelu Zongdian nodded repeatedly, almost swearing to the heavens and the earth: "That guy has troubled us many times in Shangjing. I can recognize him even if he turns to ashes."

A voice floated from the corner: "He also cheated me of my two good horses..."

Yelu Dezhong looked at him helplessly. He knew that his sons had played archery games and hunted with the royal family members when they were in the capital. However, this situation had been going on for a long time. He did not want to scold them. He stood up and walked a few steps, shaking his head: "No, although Yelu Ma Wuzhi is dissatisfied with Your Majesty, he is also a member of the Liao royal family. He has his own pride. How could he easily surrender to a thief who came from nowhere? Isn't he afraid of failure and death? It doesn't make sense..."

"But Dad, he's in the opposite camp..."

Zong Dian said this, and then he and his brothers exchanged a glance. The third son, Zong Lei, hesitated and said, "Could it be that this fellow is afraid of death? Deputy Commander Xiao died in the battle with the thief Lu, and he surrendered because he was afraid of being held accountable by His Majesty?"

The other brothers blinked and nodded: "Very likely."

Yelu Dezhong frowned and turned a few steps, still shaking his head: "No, it still doesn't make sense. He is not alone in the court, and there is no one to speak for him. It's not right... it's not right."

After muttering to himself for a few words, Yelu Dezhong stopped and looked at his eldest and second sons: "Father has something else to do, you two should take good care of yourself first, so as not to hurt your health and be unable to go into battle in the future."

After a pause, he said, "Sanlang and Silang, go back to the camp and rest first. We may have to fight against Lu thief tomorrow."

"Yes."

Yelu Dezhong was satisfied with the responses of his four sons. He left the tent and walked towards the central army tent with his guards, saying, "Go and call Bao Misheng."

A guard hurried away.

Bonfires burned brightly in the Liao army camp, soldiers were patrolling everywhere, and the night deepened.

……

In the opposite military camp, the bonfire also illuminated the area. Under the clear moonlight, the atmosphere in the camp was somewhat solemn. Generals such as Xi Sheng, Xiao Haili, and Bian Xiang were walking out of the wounded camp in the rear. The soldiers following behind were holding torches in their hands, which were swaying in the wind, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, shining on Bian Xiang's rough face.

"Brother Guan Sheng is also unlucky. An arrow pierced his bones. I'm afraid he will need to recuperate for a long time."

"But he is also a man. When bandaging his wound and removing the arrowhead, he was still calm and composed, just as handsome as his ancestors."

Xi Sheng held the hilt of the sword and spoke softly: "It's just that many brothers were injured today. Pan Zhong injured his leg, and Yu Dajiang was stabbed several times. Fortunately, the wounds were not deep and they recovered in time, otherwise..."

He didn't finish his words, but just shook his head. Several people beside him sighed: "They are too anxious. If they stay calm, nothing will happen."

"Everyone is anxious when they come to Liaodong." Xiao Haili understood and walked forward: "The Liao army retreated today, but they may come again tomorrow."

As they were talking, a horseman came running towards them and stopped not far in front of them. The knight jumped off his horse and ran over, kneeling on one knee: "Greetings, captains. The general has a letter for you."

"Oh? Let me see it." Xi Sheng took it and looked at it by torchlight, then laughed: "Who knows, the Liao army may not come tomorrow."

Xiao Haili raised an eyebrow: "Why do you think so?"

Xi Sheng handed the letter over and several heads leaned over. Under the flickering light of the fire, a line of words was written: We defeated Yelu Yudu in the northeast of Liaoyang City, burned all of his food and grass, and captured more than 3,000 Liao cavalry and infantry. It was a great victory!
Laughter came from the mouths of several majestic figures, and then they walked away arm in arm.

The night gradually passed. (End of this chapter)