Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Wisps of green smoke floated into the sky, and the air was filled with the aroma of food. The locations and sizes of the forts in Yin and Liao states had already been arranged when Yelu Dezhong was defeated.

The flag with the word "Lu" fluttered in the wind. Wang Ji, fully armored, led his soldiers to patrol outside the fort to familiarize themselves with the terrain. Xie Ning directed his soldiers to cut down the trees outside. The young and strong men loaded the wood onto the carriages and transported it to the city behind to make chevaux de frise and arrow shafts.

Continuous shouting echoed on the road. Under the protection of Wei Dingguo, able-bodied men who came all the way from Liaoyang Prefecture drove vehicles loaded with food, fodder and equipment into the gate. Teams of soldiers holding spears marched past, one in and one out, in an orderly manner.

He directed the young and strong men to transport the grain and grass into the warehouse, and then walked all the way to the middle room. He looked at Yu Cheng who was guarding outside, and then went in and clasped his fists.

"Wei Dingguo, the Left Colonel of the Firearm Battalion, pays respect to the General of the Cavalry. The food and fodder have been delivered, and I have come to hand over the order."

"General Wei, you have had a hard time on the journey." Lu Bu looked at the general in red armor and smiled, "Come in first. You may be stationed here with Xie Ning for a while."

"The general will obey the order."

Lu Bu waved his hand and said, "It's not a war, no need to be so serious, relax a little."

"I can't relax." Wei Dingguo also laughed: "I came to Liaodong, but I didn't win any battles. I'm so anxious. I'm afraid the general will say that we can go back after transporting the food and grass."

Lu Bu laughed out loud: "How can that be? This battle is in need of someone like you who is experienced in using firearms. Come, take a look..."

He paused and waved his hand, signaling Wei Dingguo to come over, pointing to the geomancy map: "You and Xie Ning are in the middle of Yinzhou. To the east are Jing Chao and Cao Mingji. Behind you are Sun An and Wang Jun who are responsible for support. To the west are Du Fu and Shangguan Yi."

He knuckled and tapped the map twice: "Xi Sheng and Yuan Lang are stationed in Liaozhou. Contrary to you, they put their cavalry in the east. This way, the two cavalry can support each other at any time. In contrast, you and Xie Ning will have a heavier burden. After all, this is a must-pass place to go south. If you don't take down this fort, the Jin soldiers won't think of coming down easily. Do you have confidence?"

Wei Dingguo patted his breastplate, and said amid the thumping sound: "Leave it to me, it will be no problem."

Then he scratched his hair and said, "General, why don't we send troops to attack the north first?"

"So do I."

Lü Bu shook his head, put his hands behind his back and walked to the door, looking at the sky and sighing, "It's a pity that the time is too short. Although the conquest of Liaodong is not a major blow to our vitality, it still causes some damage. The surrendered Liao soldiers and the newly recruited soldiers are lack of training, and the army has also injured Niu Wenzhong, Guan Sheng and other generals."

He turned his head and glanced at the Divine Fire General: "In the final analysis, it is because we lack the foundation and dare not leave this newly occupied land in a large scale, otherwise..."

Tiger's eyes narrowed slightly, and his hands behind his back clenched slightly.

"...I am just too impatient." Wei Dingguo was silent for a moment, then said with emotion: "I always wish I could grow wings and fly to Huanglongfu to capture that place."

"Take it one step at a time." Lu Bu turned around and walked back, patting him on the shoulder: "I have been impatient before, and I know how it feels, but now is not the time to be impatient. We should slow down, and we still have to slow down."

At this moment, a cavalryman rode a warhorse and galloped in from the door. He rushed to the door and jumped off. He ran in quickly, knelt on one knee, and took out a letter from his arms: "Reporting to the general, Miss Qiu and Young Master Yang are missing. This is a letter written by the chief clerk."

"What do you mean!"

Lü Bu was shocked. He walked up to the soldier and snatched the letter from him. He saw that it was indeed written by Li Zhu. "Miss Qiongying and young master Zaixing went out hunting and have not returned yet. They are missing, which worries the three young ladies in the mansion. Zhu has sent people to look for them everywhere, but to no avail. Thinking carefully, they went missing when the food and grass were shipped north. A lot of clothes were missing from their room, and their weapons were also missing. I am afraid they mixed in with the team and went north. I hope the general will be informed."

Lu Bu closed the letter and said, "These two little guys..."

He turned to look at Wei Dingguo and shouted outside: "Yu Cheng, send someone to look among the young and strong team to see if anyone has found Qiongying and Zaixing!"

A voice of "Yes" came from outside the door, and then more than a dozen guards quickly ran out of the courtyard.

Wei Dingguo's expression changed: "General, why are you so anxious?"

"They are just two young men in a certain mansion." With a hint of helplessness on his lips, Lu Bu turned around and walked back to the table and sat down: "I just received a letter from Li Zhubu, saying that he might follow you to the north."

"This..." Wei Dingguo kept his eyes fixed, clasped his fists and said, "General, I have not seen Qiongying and Zaixing."

"I know you haven't seen them." Lu Bu nodded, stroking his chin in thought, "I think they either followed the laborers who were transporting grain, or followed Yao Gang's auxiliary troops."

Wei Dingguo thought about it and nodded. The two of them talked about the defense of the fortress. Not long after, the guards outside reported that nothing was found. Lu Bu sighed and stood up.

"Dingguo and Xie Ning will discuss this later. Make sure to guard this place well."

"I saved it, General, don't worry."

Lu Bu nodded, then strode out, "Yu Cheng, prepare the horses, and go to Yanjin."

There was a commotion in the fortress, and soon a group of several hundred cavalrymen rumbled out of the gate and headed west. …

The sky gradually darkened, the sunlight burned the clouds red, and faded away to the west, to the banks of the Liao River.

A team of hundreds of people was moving up along a land with lush grass and water. Everywhere they looked was green, and the sparkling water reflected the setting sun, dazzling the eyes.

At the fort in front, people were coming and going. Many young men were fetching water from the river, putting it on carts and transporting it back to the fort. War horses were carrying knights. On the vehicles behind, armors were stacked up, and the empty horses were led by people following behind. They were all strong and sturdy, and they were obviously good horses.

Among the young and strong people driving in the back, someone was whispering, "Senior Sister, let's go back."

"Oh, are you annoying? We're almost there and you're still talking." A soft voice said in a low voice, raised its head to look around, and pulled down the felt hat on its head. The face inside was Qiu Qiongying. She was wearing a coarse linen dress and her face was smeared with some black dust. She didn't look like a girl at all. Fortunately, she had no worries about food and drink. Although her body was not fully grown, some of the young and strong men next to her were also very thin, so she didn't look much different.

"No... We've been out for such a long time, Wu Xiaoniang and the others must be worried. What if something happens to her?" Yang Zaixing, who was sitting next to them and dressed similarly, couldn't help but say something.

"Speak softly, don't let anyone hear you." Qiongying elbowed Yang Zaixing in the ribs, causing the teenager to bend over with a look of pain on his face.

"Don't you want to go to the battlefield to see it? Besides, if my wife and the others knew about it, they would come and capture you and me. How could you follow the young men?" Qiu Qiongying looked at the fort with some excitement, pointed to the arrow tower that was gradually becoming clearer and said, "Look, we're there."

He frowned and said, "I'm talking to you, why are you silent?"

"I... I got a stitch in the side." Yang Zaixing frowned and raised his head: "I guess Master must have known about it. If he came over..."

Qiongying rolled her eyes at him and said, "Then I'll just act like a spoiled child in front of him. Master is helpless with this."

"……All right."

Yang Zaixing sighed, waved the whip, and told the mules and horses to go faster and keep up with the front. Soon, the Yao character battle flag in the front entered the gate of the fort.

……

Almost at the same moment.

Heading southeast, smoke was floating above the houses, a bonfire was lit on the open ground, and young men and women were singing and dancing, circling around the bonfire.

The guests sat aside, and a man in silk and brocade drank wine with an open heart, talking about how much hunting he had done in recent days.

At the host and guest seat nearby, Wang Zheng was smiling as he held a wine bowl and drank with a rough man.

"Brother Asuhe, Brother Sulimu has agreed to help the General of the Cavalry. To show my sincerity, I brought a letter from the General, promising that as long as the Hesu Pavilion does not kill, steal, or rob, he will not interfere in other matters. You can still decide for yourselves."

The letter that was handed over was opened, and the burly man with a beard read it word by word and put the letter away.

“Hahaha——” Asuhe laughed loudly and drank the wine in one gulp. He didn’t care about the wine stains dripping from his beard onto his clothes. He put an arm around Wang Zheng’s shoulders and said, “Brother Wang, what are you talking about? Murder, theft, and robbery should be crimes. But I have seen the general’s sincerity. He even wrote that he would not collect too many taxes. I don’t have much to say, but…”

He glanced at Ah Hu who was acting as a guide below and asked, "Brother Sulimu, why don't you come over?"

"Brother Sulimu also has things to do. After all, the Wanyan family still has a branch here, right?" Wang Zheng's expression remained unchanged, still looking at him with a smile.

Asuhe's eyes moved and he nodded slowly: "That's right... I don't like Wanyan Hu Shimen either. He keeps talking about his Wanyan family. Tsk——"

Wang Zheng did not interrupt, but just smiled and said nothing.

The hand that was around his shoulder suddenly raised and patted: "Okay, since Brother Sulimu is willing, then I am willing too, but I have to make it clear that I don't want to fight. The children in the village have suffered enough in the past two years. Sending them to the battlefield again... I can't bear it."

"Of course." Wang Zheng's cheeks twitched, and he moved his shoulders inadvertently: "It's just that the general may recruit soldiers here later, brother, you won't even let me do this, right?"

"Then I can't control it." Asuhe laughed and took back his hand: "It's right to work for others when you are paid. As long as your general provides sufficient food and wages, they can go if they are willing."

"Brother Asuhe, you can ask. The general has never defaulted on food and wages, and his treatment is the best." Wang Zheng couldn't help but raise his hand to rub his shoulders: "The men in the army can also get military merit titles, which will also be beneficial."

Asuhe bent down, picked up the wine bowl and filled it up: "That's great, come, drink."

Seeing that he didn't respond, Wang Zheng also picked up the wine bowl and said, "Okay, let's drink."

The night covered the sky, but the singing continued. (End of this chapter)