Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 740 New Year’s Eve
By the afternoon, the convoy carrying the Wanyan brothers finally crossed the ice on the river and, after a bumpy ride, arrived at the Qi army's checkpoint.

The scouts from the escorting scout camp cheered. Amid the strange looks from others, the soldiers at the checkpoint brought vehicles to where Du Fu was. The cavalrymen all breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at the victims in the distance.

Even though many people are eager to fight the Jin soldiers, the people who are seeking refuge still hope that everything can be peaceful and smooth. It is a good thing that there are no enemies in the distance.

While he was thinking, the vehicle stopped in front of him, and Shi Qian, a short and thin figure, stepped forward and bowed: "I am Shi Qian, the commander of the scout battalion, and I pay my respects to General Anbei."

"No need to be polite." Du Fu smiled and said, "If you don't come soon, I will send troops north."

Shi Qian stood up as he was talking, a smile on his face: "Then I am the culprit who provoked the war between the two sides."

Du Fu laughed loudly: "It's only a matter of time." He looked around and asked: "Why don't I see Du Lisan and Tang Erhu?"

"The two commanders are still in the north." Shi Qian sighed. He was surrounded by his own people, so he did not hide his voice. "Commander Tang went to the Wanyan tribe. I don't know how he is doing. As for me... I heard that Huanglong Prefecture was under martial law because of the lost horse. Unfortunately, we were in a hurry to lead people out, so we had limited means. Only I and the three people from the Wanyan family could leave. It's a pity that Commander Du couldn't leave the city with me, so he stayed there temporarily. He should be able to return in two days."

The golden retriever was standing behind him. He could have left first, but when he heard Du Fu want to praise him, he stayed here and waited. Now, after hearing the words from the other side, he suddenly felt uneasy and looked at that side awkwardly.

Du Fu raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised, and couldn't help but look back at Duan Jingzhu who had a smirk on his face.

Shi Qian was also smart. Seeing that his expression was different, he followed his gaze to the golden retriever behind him, then looked at the tall horse standing beside him. He blinked and jumped up immediately: "Okay, is it you, a bastard, who made it impossible for us to leave the city?"

Duan Jingzhu begged for mercy: "General, please forgive me. I didn't know anything. I just felt sorry for the horse being ridden by the Jin people, so I wanted to offer it to the King of Qi, so I rescued it from its suffering."

Shi Qian widened his eyes and looked up and down at Duan Jingzhu's dirty appearance: "Damn it, you are the only one who can describe stealing as saving people. According to you, those people who were able to steal money with their hands also saved Yinzi from suffering?"

"No." Duan Jingzhu didn't understand and shook his head. His big eyes under his fur hat looked at Shi Qian sincerely: "It's just a thief stealing money."

"...You bastard!" Shi Qian was furious and jumped to his feet and yelled, "How dare you comment on others like that? If you steal, it's rescuing others, and if others steal, it's stealing. I'm going to beat you to death, you shameless person." He took a step forward to hit the man.

Duan Jingzhu over there didn't know what was wrong with this guy for a moment. Seeing that the big shots in Du Fu's eyes had come to pick him up, he knew that he was obviously not someone to be trifled with, so he didn't dare to talk back and just hid behind him.

Du Fu was also confused on his horse, but he couldn't just watch Shi Qian beat someone up, so he quickly said, "Captain Shi, please wait, it was just a joke, don't take it to heart."

Shi Qian couldn't bear to disobey General Anbei, so he snorted and said "Yes, sir," and glared fiercely at the golden retriever over there.

"It's getting late." Du Yu looked up at the sky. The sky was originally overcast, and now it felt like dusk. He waved his hand and said, "We will return to Tongyuan City in the rear first. After two days of rest, I will send you back to Liaoyang Prefecture."

The reins pulled the horse's head, the warhorse turned around, shouts rang out under the sky, the horse's hooves moved, and a snow dragon was rolled up.

Soon, Tang Erhu, who went to the Wanyan tribe in the north, sent back news that he gained nothing there, but he met up with Du Lisan and would return to Qi soon.

Du Fu, Xi Sheng and others then breathed a sigh of relief and made some arrangements, sending the army to escort the two only children and a child south to Liaoyang Prefecture.

……

At the end of winter, the weather was unusually clear. The cold wind blew away the thick clouds, revealing a golden sun that was a little smaller than the one in summer.

"drive!"

Boom boom boom——

The carriage sped along the official road which was still covered with snow. The trampled and compacted snow appeared in black and white in people's sight. Occasionally, there were scattered gangsters or merchants on the road. They turned their heads when they heard the sound of horse hooves, and then hurriedly avoided in the snow on the side. They waited until a carriage went away under the escort of three hundred cavalrymen, and then they cursed in dialect and watched the team, which had raised a cloud of residual snow, go to the official road below.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" Hundreds of horseback riders were wearing thick armor and cloaks, equipped with long weapons, short swords, bows and arrows. They looked like the elite cavalry in the army. They were naturally heading towards Liaoyang Prefecture. As the team passed, the merchants, wanderers, and passers-by on both sides of the official road returned to the official road, stomped their feet a few times to shake off the remaining snow on their trouser legs, and then continued on their way.

It's the end of the year, and the area around Liaoyang Prefecture has become as lively as before. Merchants from all over the country are rushing here, hoping to clear out their inventory in the next few days. In addition, with the government's work-for-relief policy, there are more people with money than before. While feeding people, the demand for food, rice, diesel and clothing has increased.

There are many roadside teahouses on the official roads that intersect Liaoyang Prefecture. The lit bonfires make the place warm. Some of the Jurchen, Bohai and Han merchants who come and go will choose to rest here to warm up. Occasionally, there are also gangsters and bandits who come here. Whether they know each other or not, they will exchange a few words on the street, talk about each other's experiences, and listen to what is happening outside.

"These days, there aren't many places as peaceful as Liaoyang Prefecture."

"What? Brother, do you mean that other places are not peaceful? I know that the war in the north is fierce, but where else are there wars?"

These words attracted a lot of attention. The vendors and gangsters at other tables looked at the two people who were talking and shouted at them to speak quickly.

The person who spoke was also a wuxia man with a sword and a bow. Seeing so many people looking at him, he immediately felt proud. He drank a mouthful of hot soup and cleared his throat: "Actually, it is still related to the Jin Kingdom. Previously, they said that the Jurchens were one family and they wanted to jointly resist the Liao people who were riding on them. But after they drove away the Liao people, they followed the King of Qi to fight."

"I know all of this, tell me what I don't know."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'll tell you right away." Jianghu waved his hand and said, "The various tribes of the Eastern Jurchens originally supported the Jin Kingdom's proposal and sent a lot of people, but they were defeated in the first battle and less than 30% of them were able to return. I heard that few people from the Donghai Jurchens went there, and seeing that the Changbai Mountain and Pulumaoduo tribes in the southwest suffered a lot of losses, they have now raised their troops to fight over there, and many people have died."

Then he chuckled and said, "There is also the Yidian tribe. They are having a dirty fight with Huanglongfu. The chief of the Yidian tribe was injured, and Huanglongfu persuaded the Hue King's tribe. Now the Hue King's tribe has also attacked. Now the fighting in the north is very lively."

Someone sipped his wine and said, "I think it's because King Bojilie of Jin died too early. Otherwise, if the successor had enough prestige, there wouldn't be a war in a short time."

"What nonsense! Even if he is alive, he will die if the King of Qi attacks him."

"Not necessarily. The King of Qi won by luck. If the Kingdom of Jin had been calmer, they might not have lost."

More people started talking in the teahouse, saying all sorts of things. They were all traveling merchants and wanderers. Although they were angry, they were talking about other people's business, and even if they had different opinions, it didn't develop to the point of fighting.

"Hey, why is there such heavy snow and fog over there? Is it snowing again?" Someone looked into the distance casually and stood up.

"What?" Someone turned around and sneered, "What do you mean it's snowing? Didn't you hear the sound of horse hooves? Someone must be on the road."

As they were talking, teams of cavalrymen escorting horse-drawn carriages quickly ran past the makeshift teahouse. The cold wind they brought with them made the people sitting outside pull their clothes closer.

"They are indeed a powerful force. Looking at the scratches of swords and knives on their armor, it's obvious that they have survived hundreds of battles."

"Or else the King of Qi deserves to be in Liaoyang Prefecture?"

The people who had been arguing with each other lost interest in arguing after watching the team run by. However, a merchant who had just sold his goods seemed to remember something and said, "Oh, I have a relative who works in Liaoyang Prefecture. He told me that the King of Qi intends to open a trading market on the border between Liao and Qi."

"Really?" Several businessmen immediately stood up and looked at him.

The merchant scratched his head and said, "Probably... I'm not sure, but what my relative said is very accurate, so it can't be wrong."

The other businessmen looked at each other and immediately showed joy on their faces.

"This is a good thing!"

(End of this chapter)