Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Whether it was the fourth year of Tianshun in Qi, the tenth year of Tianqing in Liao, or the second year of Xuanhe in Song, this last month was busy.

Wang De did not dare to neglect the imperial order and immediately called Yelu Yudu into the military camp.

"Since the imperial order has been given, I will naturally obey your majesty's orders, but my subordinates..." Yelu Yudu looked at Wang De and closed his mouth.

Wang De smiled heartily and waved his hand: "This is easy. I guarantee that your soldiers will not starve."

Then he looked at him seriously and said, "But you have to keep your people in line and cooperate with the soldiers I send before the next order arrives."

Yelu Yudu frowned.

Wang De was also a military commander, so he naturally knew what he was thinking. He stood up and walked out of the table and said, "Don't worry. I am just worried that your soldiers might break military discipline, so I sent you to supervise them. Actually, you just need to go to Linhuang Prefecture quickly. His Majesty's order will be issued in a month or two."

"...You mean." Yelu Yudu frowned and tilted his head: "The emperor will continue to let me lead the old troops?"

Wang De gave him a meaningful look and said, "Who knows?"

The Khitan man opposite was silent for a moment, nodded, and then went out.

Soon, Wang De gathered two hundred cavalrymen and escorted Yelu Yudu all the way north to Linhuang Prefecture.

……

Liaodong.

The white snow collapsed the houses. Officials in black clothes walked through the disaster area with runners and yamen runners, their faces full of sorrow.

"Follow me back to the yamen. Such important events must be reported immediately."

……

Zhongjing Road.

The wind whistled through the erected tents, and the colorful flags on the top fluttered and opened, struggling in the air to fall down, but were always blown away.

The snowflakes that had not yet solidified were flying everywhere, sticking to the faces and beards of the soldiers on duty outside, but these people did not dare to breathe. They watched the guards in iron armor and cloaks escorting Yelu Yanxi as they walked by and then entered the tent behind them.

The charcoal in the brazier became excited the moment the curtain was opened, and then calmed down.

In the dim light of the room, a young man of no more than seventeen or eighteen sat decadently on a chair, feeling the cold wind and looking up: "Father..."

He spoke in a hoarse voice, then closed his mouth again. After a few breaths of silence, he raised his hand and bowed casually: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"...Aoluwo." Yelu Yanxi gave him a complicated look, walked over and sat beside his bed: "It has been a while since we last met."

The young man's mouth twitched but he didn't say anything.

"I know you are sad about your mother." Yelu Yanxi narrowed his eyes slightly, "It's just fortunate that you have never participated, so that my efforts for you over the past ten years will not be completely in vain. You must know that what I give you is yours. If I don't give it to you, don't ask for it."

“……” Yelu Aolu’s mouth twitched a few times, but he remained silent.

Yelu Yanxi looked bored, stood up and walked out, stopped before leaving the tent, and turned his head slightly: "The people I sent to the north came back and said that Yelu Yudu had betrayed the country. You must be careful about your words and deeds in the future, and..."

He stretched out his hand, opened the curtain and stepped out. A cold wind blew in for a moment, and a voice came: "You did not participate in the rebellion. You can come and go as you please from now on."

The light was blocked as the curtain fell, and the young man who was sitting on the ground moved a little, then stood still again.

In the dim tent, a hoarse voice sounded after a long time: "...Thank you, Your Majesty."

A strong wind howled outside, covering up the faint sound.

The guard outside seemed to have heard something, looked back, hesitated for a long time and did not go in.

His Majesty said that the Prince of Jin did not commit treason and is no longer a criminal, so it would be better for him to behave himself at this time.

……

Bianliang.

It's the end of the year, and the capital city, known as the city that never sleeps, has become even busier, with merchants coming and going in an endless stream to sell all kinds of ornaments, door gods, and festive items, looking forward to earning enough money to support their families for a month in these few days.

Regardless of the cold weather, young girls and wives dressed in gorgeous clothes and expensive fur coats, walked out of their homes, and picked and chose what they liked in the streets, with satisfied smiles on their pretty faces.

All the people of Bianliang were happy and prepared to spend the last month of the second year of Xuanhe.

pity……

The people gathered together in the imperial palace were sweating profusely, and visible panic was conveyed in everyone's expressions and words.

"The rebellion in Jiangnan has been going on for nearly two months, and six counties have been destroyed. Why is it reported only now?" Zhao Ji stretched out his hand and shook the urgent military information, and threw it fiercely at the officials in front: "Why don't you wait until the bandit leader leads his troops to attack Bianliang before telling me!"

Tong Guan below glanced at the panicked emperor, then lowered his eyes.

During this period, the court was arguing over whether to go north to attack Liao. As the leader of the pro-war faction, he had no time to care about other things. What's more, his power was in the northwest border, and the things in Jiangnan could not be blamed on him.

It's just a pity...

Take a look at the position that originally belonged to a certain prime minister.

The old guy was dismissed from his post five or six months ago, otherwise he would have been able to go fishing in Lingnan for a living just based on this...

"Wang Fu, Wang Jiangming!"

The roar interrupted the eunuch's fantasy. Zhao Ji, who was sitting behind the dragon table, stood up and pointed his finger: "Are you dumb? Why don't you speak? Why are you reporting it now!"

"Your Majesty, I just received the news as well. I think the local officials deliberately concealed the news."

The man who replaced Cai Jing stepped forward. Wang Fu first glanced at the furious emperor and pushed all the responsibility away. Then he calmly bowed his hands and said, "I think that although the bandits are powerful, they are only superficial. If Your Majesty dispatches a large army to the south and a good general leads them, they will be defeated within three months.

At that time, I ask the government to investigate the crimes of officials in Jiangnan for dereliction of duty."

"Oh? It seems that you are confident?" Zhao Ji raised his eyebrows and suppressed his anger a little.

Ever since Wang Fu succeeded Cai Jing as the new prime minister and requested the establishment of the Yingfeng Bureau, many rare and precious items produced from all over the country were presented to the palace, which was very much to Zhao Ji's liking. So he took the opportunity to step down, after all, the palace was still counting on him to collect those rare and precious things.

Tong Guan frowned and glanced at the new favorite of the court. He had a bad feeling in his heart. He was about to overwhelm the opposition and march north to take back Yanyun. If he was sent to Jiangnan...

When can we send troops north?

"I have some ideas."

"What kind of troops do you think can be sent?"

Tong Guan had no way to interrupt the conversation between the emperor and his ministers. The prime minister, who was wearing court robes, stroked his beard and said, "Jiangnan is the most important region of our dynasty. Half of the money and grain comes from the area around Hangzhou. Therefore, we must wipe it out with the force of a mountain pressing down on our heads."

He lowered his beard and bowed to Tong Guan: "In this case, it is not that the Western Army is incapable of doing this, but the person who can lead the Western Army is not Taifu!"

Zhao Ji hesitated: "Then Yanyun..."

"Hasn't the court made a decision yet?" Wang Fu said indifferently.

Tong Guan frowned and was about to speak, but Wang Fu spoke first: "Your Majesty, please issue an edict to quell the rebellion as soon as possible. Jiangnan is not peaceful, and even if we want to take back Yanyun, we lack money and food support."

The eunuch closed his mouth again after he had opened it. He calmed down and thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. He stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying in a heroic tone, "Your Majesty, what Young Master Wang said is very true. I am willing to lead the army and pacify the area south of the Yangtze River as soon as possible to maintain peace for the Song Dynasty."

"it is good!"

Zhao Ji always liked his heroic image. He walked out of the dragon case and patted him on the shoulder: "Daofu is indeed a general whom I rely on. In this case, let Daofu lead the imperial army and the barbarian and Han soldiers from Qin and Jin to go to the south of the Yangtze River."

He paused for a moment and said, "I grant you the power to respond to emergencies. If the situation is urgent, you can act in the name of the imperial edict."

Tong Guan was overjoyed in his heart, but his face remained calm. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

At that moment, Zhao Ji returned and wrote an imperial edict, appointing Tong Guan as the envoy of Jiang, Huai, Jing, and Zhejiang, and Tan Zhen as the governor of Liangzhe, and dispatching 150,000 soldiers from the capital and six routes of Shaanxi, including foreign and Han soldiers, and countless civilians, to march south in the cold wind. At this time, at the end of the last month of the second year of Xuanhe, the rebel army, with the slogan of "killing Zhu", surrounded Hangzhou.

Chen Jian, the governor of Liangzhe Road, Zhao Yue, the inspector of integrity, and Zhao Ting, the prefect, were watching from the low city wall with sweat dripping from their foreheads. Hangzhou City had only 5,000 soldiers and horses, all of whom were weak in fighting. The three of them racked their brains but could not figure out how to deal with the siege that was about to be launched by tens of thousands of troops below.

“…Finally, this day has come.”

Fang La was standing on the chariot, holding a precious sword in his hand. He looked at the big flag with the Chinese character "Song" above Hangzhou City, which was a bit annoying. He pointed his sword forward and said, "Send an order! Imperial Master Deng Yuanjue will attack the north gate, Fang Qifo will attack the south gate, Li Tianrun will attack the west gate, and Fang Tianding will be ambushed outside the east gate. If anyone escapes, no matter young or old, they will be killed.

Kill them all!"

The soldier who was delivering the message ran away immediately. The voice of "The Holy Lord has an order..." came from afar. Fang La narrowed his eyes slightly and waved his hand: "Beat the drum——"

dong dong dong-

The war drums seized from the government troops suddenly sounded.

The black crowd shouted "Kill Zhu!" and "Destroy Hangzhou!" and rushed towards the city of Hangzhou. These volunteers from the south of the Yangtze River were poorly trained, and except for a few elite soldiers, they did not have much armor to cover their bodies. They charged forward with wooden ladders full of passion.

A sparse rain of arrows fell, and I don't know if it caused blood to splatter among the rebels below. Many soldiers standing on the city walls were terrified and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

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The anti-corruption official Zhao Yue couldn't help but jump up and down: "The country raised you useless people just for this moment of fighting. If you don't fight hard at this time, do you think that scholars like me will take up swords and go into battle?"

The Song army in front did not react at all, and the arrows they shot still missed the target.

From below, arrows were shot up and hit people. "I'm hit by an arrow, I'm hit by an arrow, military doctor, where is the military doctor?" The screams suddenly resounded through the sky. The soldiers who fell to the ground kicked their legs hard and quickly "moved" from the front to the back.

The three civil officials, Chen Jian, Zhao Yue and Zhao Ting, slowly turned their heads, widened their three pairs of six eyes, and looked in disbelief at the soldiers who were lying on their backs on the ground, stepping over them and retreating backwards.

Bai Yanshou was holding a broadsword in his hand, sandwiched between a hundred elite Fang La soldiers, and shouted heart-wrenchingly, "Raise the ladders!" There was a loud bang in the front, and ladders were placed on the top of the city wall. The parts with claws grabbed the top of the wall with a clang, and a strong voice came from below.

"Gao Keli, Qian Zhenpeng, follow me!"

Zhao Ting was awakened by the voice coming from below. He swallowed the words that were about to punish the soldiers of the Xiang army and changed his tone: "Run."

He turned around and ran towards the city. Chen Jian and Zhao Yue had already been frightened and wanted to run away. Now that the prefect Zhao Ting had run away, they did not dare to stay in the city any longer. They lifted their official robes, bowed, and ran away in a hurry.

Seeing this, several officers and trusted aides hurriedly followed. As soon as they got down from the top of the city wall, they heard a burst of fighting and shouting from above, mixed with screams and cheers.

The three officials were shocked. Chen Jian was the oldest, and was frightened by the sound. His legs went weak, and he fell to the ground. "Ah - help me! Wait! Come back!"

Zhao Yue and Zhao Ting ran forward at the brisk pace without even turning their heads, while the servants and runners who followed them raised their heads and waved their hands rapidly.

Amid the sound of running, Ren Zhizhou's men still had the energy to shout, "Chen Zhizhi, wait a moment, I will find someone to rescue you, hold on!"

"You..." Chen Jian was so angry that he pointed at his back, then used his two old legs to stand up. He didn't care about his painful knees and elbows from the fall and limped forward.

The shouts and cheers overhead were getting louder and louder. The Liangzhe Road guard was running breathlessly. In his sight, he saw a colleague who had already run for some distance turning into an alley.

He is not a human being at all!

Cursing fiercely in his heart, Chen Jian followed them and wanted to go to that alley. It seemed that the city wall behind could no longer be defended, so it would be better to go inside and find a house to hide.

"what--"

The sudden scream made Chen Jian's heart jump, and he slowed down involuntarily.

In front, the figure that had originally run into the alley ran out at a faster speed.

Chen Jian couldn't help but reach out to grab the person running by, asking, "What happened?"

The man opened his hand and shouted, "Let go, the one behind is more ruthless!" and ran away.

Figures kept running past him, and the voices of "Run, Envoy Zhao Lian has been killed!" made his pupils shrink.

Chen Jian hurriedly stopped and turned around, he saw a big man holding a wind-splitting knife striding out from behind, his eyes lit up when he saw the official uniform on Chen Jian, he slanted the knife and ran towards him.

"Wait, wait, don't come over here!" Chen Jian kept looking back, and seeing the big man getting closer and closer, he couldn't help but screaming: "Who are you? You know that killing an official will cost you your head--"

"Noisy!"

The man who caught up with him from behind reached out his hand to his waist. Chen Jian turned around just in time and saw the burly man throwing something at him. A black shadow as big as a fist suddenly blocked his sight, and there was a muffled sound.

The governor of Liangzhe Road felt a pain in his nose, and stars of various colors appeared in front of his eyes. He felt dizzy and was about to fall down.

A gust of evil wind whistled past, and the big man who caught up with him swung the wind-splitting knife in his hand and chopped off the head with a puff: "Pfft - I came here to kill the official. Remember this when you go to Yama Palace, the one who killed you is Shi Bao!"

At the end of the last month of the second year of Xuanhe, Fang La led the rebel army to attack Hangzhou from both inside and outside, killing the governor Chen Jian and the inspector Zhao Yue, while the prefect Zhao Ting disappeared.

The excited rebel army hated the officials and wealthy families in the city, and immediately captured officials and executed people in Hangzhou. Fang La even dug up the tombs of Cai Jing's father and grandfather, exposing their bones in the wilderness. He also set up a "platform for complaining" for the poor and those who were persecuted by the Flower and Stone Gang to go up and tell their stories, and at the same time recruited young and strong people.

The uprising in Jiangnan became more and more intense.

……

Shangjing, Linhuang Prefecture.

The snow in the palace was cleaned up, and festive patterns were pasted on the walls, window frames and door panels. Spring stickers and couplets were also pasted neatly by Hu Sanniang and Su Jinniang.

Lu Bu was acting like a good father, taking Lu Wen, Lu Qun and Lu Lan around in the backyard. The little children were having a lot of fun, and their screams and laughter echoed in the backyard.

Qiongying, who had seen her adoptive mother Ni, combed her hair into a high bun and wore a gorgeous long dress that trailed the ground. She walked over accompanied by Yang Zaixing, greeted Lu Bu, who rarely practiced martial arts or reviewed memorials, and then walked into the room.

Zhou Darong was standing at the gate of the imperial city in court robes, looking outside. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his sister and Ma Ling coming together. Every year at the end of the year, several of Lu Bu's disciples would come over, and he was even more worried that his sister had married Ma Ling.

However, after picking up his sister and brother-in-law, the fat man quickly ran to the imperial kitchen and gave instructions personally to the clerks and officials below. After all, he had been in Liangshan before, and he knew that those who had been promoted to generals or important officials in the court would come to the palace at the end of each year. The prepared dishes could not have any mistakes, and he had to keep an eye on them to feel at ease.

It was almost noon and more people started arriving.

In the backyard, noisy voices could be faintly heard. Lu Bu brought the children back to the room, washed the hands of the three little ones himself, and walked in to see the people who were talking excitedly. The three little ones screamed "Ahhh——" and ran to their mother.

The winter sun was shining in through the window. The small hall was filled with six women and two men. The young Princess Pingnan and Zhou Xiu'er were being talked to by Wu Qing's four daughters, while Ma Ling and Yang Zaixing were standing in a corner of the room gesturing at something. The two men turned around when they heard the noise.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." x2
"Today you can call me Master." Lu Bu waved his hand nonchalantly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I'm tired of hearing that all day long."

The two looked at each other, called out "Master" in unison, and then laughed.

"I also think calling you Master is more intimate, but since there are outsiders around on weekdays, I dare not be too casual."

Lu Bu laughed: "Then you can proceed as usual when no one is around. But don't take advantage of your status to do evil. Otherwise, if Pei Xuan and Gao Zhen catch you, you will be skinned alive."

"How dare I?"

Yang Zaixing smiled and shook his head. He was about to speak, but suddenly stopped. The three looked towards the door and saw a eunuch coming over: "Your Highness, General Hua Rong and his wife, along with their children, and General Xu Wen and his wife, request an audience."

"Let them in."

Lu Bu was overjoyed and waved his hand. He looked back at the eunuch running away and said, "I have always heard that Hua Rong has a son, but unfortunately I have been busy and have never seen him. Today, this guy finally brought the child into the palace for me to see."

Ma Ling chuckled: "General Hua's child is only two years old... eh?"

He glanced at Lu Qun over there and said, "In the future, I can be a companion to Master's children."

"We'll talk about the future later." Lu Bu said this, but his face showed a very excited expression. He couldn't help but look at his child, his eyes rolling.

Outside, five figures, two couples, walked into this bustling world.

On the last day of the fourth year of Tianshun, some old Liangshan men such as Qiao Lie, Yao Gang, Tang Bin, etc. came one after another. There were also new talents such as Han Shizhong and Shangguan Yi who joined later. Dozens of civil and military officials put aside their worries and came to the palace to chat, drink and eat meat.

After today, it will be a new year, and what we will face at that time may be a different scene. (End of this chapter)