Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In midsummer, the fields near Yanjing are full of life. Caravans and pedestrians hurry by, and occasionally someone goes to the fields to ask the farmers for a couple of bowls of cool water to drink. They sit on the ridges and chat, occasionally pointing at the fast horses heading into the city and saying something.

Merchants from all directions come and go from the streets, and pedestrians in various costumes walk on the streets, making the place uniquely attractive.

Qi replaced Liao as the hegemon of the north. As the capital, there were always bolder people who dared to be the first to try it out. Moreover, the Qi court had already announced that it was willing to accept merchants from all directions and reduce some commercial taxes. As a result, after the snow melted, more and more merchants gathered here in the past two months.

The fast horse galloped past amidst the curious gazes of passersby, only stopping when it reached the foot of the imperial city.

"A delegation from Goryeo?" Lu Bu frowned, looking at the knight who rushed in with the news. "What do you say they've come for?"

"The other party's envoy said he came to request an official title." The man took out a bamboo tube from his pocket and presented it with both hands: "This is General Han's record of what he said to the other party."

The attendant, Su Yi, stepped forward, took the document, checked it, and then placed it on the dragon table.

Lu Bu unscrewed the bamboo tube, poured out the rolled-up letter, opened it and read it carefully before speaking to the knight: "Go and rest."

The guard bowed and left. Su Yi watched the man run away before smiling and asking, "Your Majesty, what are the Goryeo people doing here?"

"Do I have to repeat it to you?" Lu Bu glanced at his brother-in-law with annoyance, and tapped the letter on the table: "You can take a look, it's not a secret."

"Here."

Su Yi nodded, stepped forward, took the papers, glanced through them, and then looked up: "Has someone in Goryeo usurped the throne? This fellow wants us to crown him King of Goryeo?"

Lu Bu shrugged, "This is the first time I've encountered something like this." He stroked his beard, seemingly lost in thought, and murmured, "But it's not like I've never seen tribes granted fiefdoms before. We'll just follow the old precedent..."

"Huh? What did Your Majesty say?" Su Yi didn't hear clearly at first, looked up at Lü Bu, then thought for a moment and realized, "That's true. In the past, Song and Liao had contact with small countries and tribes and designated them for investiture. We can learn from that."

Lu Bu glanced at him but didn't elaborate. He tapped the table twice and said, "Let's wait for them to arrive before we talk."

After sitting and thinking for a moment, he stood up and said, "Let's go, today's affairs have been settled."

Where is His Majesty going?

"Leave the palace!"

……

In spring, flowers bloom everywhere in the palace. Wu Qing woke up lazily from her bed. The bright sunlight shone into her eyes from outside the window. She had just managed to coax her son to sleep and was so tired that she slept for a while.

Hearing the commotion inside, footsteps approached from outside. The bedroom door opened, and a palace maid entered, methodically bringing in clean water, salt, and items for rinsing the mouth, washing the face, and dressing...

The incessant chatter of the personal maid could be heard outside.

"...Be more shrewd in your actions. You represent the Empress's reputation in public. The Empress is kind and hates those who use their power to bully others, but that doesn't mean you have to be all polite and courteous to everyone. You need to figure out how to maintain the right balance. If I find out again that someone is abusing their power, I'll make sure you're properly respected. And..."

The entire courtyard was filled with cold, reprimanding voices.

Wu Qing put down the comb in her hand, glanced outside, smiled helplessly, then looked at her youngest son who was sleeping soundly, signaled the maid inside to keep an eye on him, stood up, put on her coat, and went out.

"Holy Mother".

The figures waiting outside bowed when they saw her come out. Wu Qing waved her hand and said, "Keep your voice down. If you wake the prince, you'll have to put him back to sleep for me."

"It was my fault." The maid bowed her head, her expression still somewhat serious. "However, there are some things I should say. Recently, the people below have been going too far outside."

Wu Qing looked at these people thoughtfully and shook her head: "Never mind, you can go out and do your work first."

"The slaves retire."

The group spoke softly, turned, and left. The personal maidservant came over and stood beside Wu Qing, reaching out to support her, and said softly, "Your Highness has been too lenient with them..."

“We can’t punish someone right away.” Wu Qing walked forward and patted her dismissively: “You’ve already reprimanded her this time. If she does it again next time, you can punish her.”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will follow your teachings."

“You…” Wu Qing looked helplessly at the maid who had been with her the longest: “You don’t need to be so careful with me.”

Seeing that she remained silent, knowing she hadn't listened, he also shut up, stretched, and looked at the sky: "I wonder what my lord is doing..."

……

Time passed quietly, and as noon approached, the clouds in the sky grew thicker, making the government office of the Imperial Work Bureau quiet. Through the windows, one could see many people engrossed in writing and drawing at their desks.

The guards, clad in black armor, walked to the front of the largest house. They stood outside the door, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, facing each other in pairs. Then, a figure in a black robe adorned with gold thread stepped into the open house.

Ling Zhen was writing and drawing with his head down when he felt the light in the room dim. He quickly looked up and saw the person who had come. He immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, what brings you to my humble abode today?"

"I've come to see your money-grubbing place."

A tall and imposing figure stood in the room. Lü Bu chuckled as he scanned the room. There were seven or eight tables, with books and blueprints scattered about, making it look as if it had been robbed. He walked over and picked up a piece of paper. The drawing on it was clear enough to make out the cannon that Ling Zhen had mentioned, but the numbers and text written next to it were a bit confusing.

Yes, the length, height, and diameter are all possible.

"Your Majesty is joking." Ling Zhen rubbed his hands and chuckled, "These past two years, I have..." He paused, his face contorted, and gestured with his index finger and thumb to indicate a small distance, "...spent a little bit of money."

"You have plenty of that."

Lu Bu rolled his eyes and casually tossed the blueprints into a pile of blueprints.

Ling Zhen hurried over and put the blueprints into another pile. Lu Bu raised an eyebrow, looking at it strangely. He smiled sheepishly and said, "If these blueprints are here, I can find them anytime. If they're left aside, it'll take me forever to find them."

"...Heh." Lu Bu chuckled in exasperation, turned around and looked around. The table was messy, the drawings were scattered everywhere, and there were more than three or five brushes and inkstones tucked among the papers and books. He pointed at them teasingly and said, "How could you find them in a mess like this?"

Ling Zhen looked in the direction Lu Bu was pointing, his old face flushed, and he scratched his head: "Your Majesty, this is a case of order amidst chaos. I was able to find it, I was able to find it."

Lu Bu was just saying it casually, not actually asking him to pack. He walked to a wooden chair, picked up a booklet from it, put it on the table, turned around, sat down, and said, "I haven't had a chance to come over for a while because I've been dealing with post-war matters. Have you made any progress lately?"

"I was just about to speak with His Majesty." Ling Zhen's eyes lit up, and he took a breath and stepped forward: "Previously, there was not much progress due to the problems of pig iron and money. Now that the finances have improved and there is support from several iron mines in the country, Kou Wei and I have enough materials to experiment with the method of making cannon barrels."

Lu Bu sat in his chair, watching his mouth move, and paused for a moment: "...So, you two haven't yet made a cannon that can be used on the battlefield?"

“Go…” Ling Zhen tilted his head and hesitated for a moment, then waved his arm: “It is possible to go, but the cannon barrel will explode after about ten shots, which may injure the gunners next to it. And it cannot be replaced after each use, so it has been delayed.”

Seeing Lü Bu frown, he quickly added, "However, Your Majesty, do not worry. We already have a plan. In a little while, it will surely become a powerful weapon in the army."

"Don't make me wait until I'm old." Lü Bu sighed and rubbed his forehead. "If I can't even mount a horse by then, wouldn't all these years have been for nothing?" "No, no..." Ling Zhen smiled awkwardly. "Your subject will certainly not let this happen."

Lu Bu exhaled a gust of air from his nostrils, stood up, and walked outside: "Then I'll wait and see."

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your Majesty, I respectfully see you off."

The moving figure stopped at the gate. Lü Bu paused, turned to look at Ling Zhen, and said, "Do not let me down."

The thunderbolt behind him immediately bowed to the ground. When he looked up, the emperor in front of him had already disappeared.

"...We need to hurry."

Ling Zhen took a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead caused by embarrassment, and followed them out of the house, intending to find his ugly partner. Before he even turned the corner of the government office's corridor, he suddenly stopped.

In his line of sight, an ugly face peeked out from behind the corner wall, but then looked away from Ling Zhen.

Ling Zhen laughed in anger, pointing forward: "You bastard surnamed Kou, your ugly face has already betrayed you, where else could you hide!"

"Hehe, Brother Ling."

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Kou Xi stroked his beard with one hand and walked out behind his back with the other, nodding to his superior in a dignified manner.

"You scoundrel..." Ling Zhen rushed forward, grabbed his collar, and approached him through gritted teeth: "Do you know that His Majesty just came to the prison? Do you know that he went straight to my room? Do you know that I..."

"I know."

The air fell silent for a moment.

"...You knew you weren't coming?!" Ling Zhen stared wide-eyed at the ugly man in front of him, his anger rising even higher: "You bastard, leaving me to face His Majesty alone, do you know how pathetic I was just now when His Majesty questioned me? Damn it, you dare to betray me."

"Brother Ling, calm down." Kou Yi grinned, his ugly face contorted, and slapped Kou Yi's hand off his collar, rubbing his cheeks. "I'm off. It's just two of us looking disheveled, isn't it? Please bear with us..."

"...I'll strangle you!"

Ling Zhen's face darkened, and he felt as if a string in his brain had snapped. He grabbed Kou Qi's neck and shook him violently: "You ungrateful bastard, what happened to our agreement to stand together through thick and thin?"

"No...wait...let go...let go now, someone's going to die!"

Kou Xi knew he was just making a fuss, so he didn't resist. He just patted Ling Zhen's arm and waited for the thunder to stop before straightening his clothes: "We didn't report it because of the problem with the cannon barrel, and we were short of iron and money. Now that we have money and we have some ideas, we'll just test it a couple more times in the near future."

Ling Zhen said with a dark face, "You better pray to the Dao Ancestor that we will succeed, otherwise I will definitely shove you into a cannon and blast you out."

"Alright, alright, I'll just accompany you to see His Majesty next time."

Kou Xi grinned and put his arm around Ling Zhen, the two of them walking arm in arm toward the workshop of the Imperial Workshop.

……

There were quite a few pedestrians on the street. After leaving the Imperial Workshop, Lü Bu didn't rush back. He looked around and casually bought some trinkets, mostly toys for toddlers, perfect for his newborn son to play with.

As for his other children, he also bought them some shadow lanterns and thunder whistles, even though the palace had no shortage of these, it was still a token of his affection as a father.

After walking around for a while, he looked at the items in his hands and simply handed them to Xu Wen and Su Yi who were following him. Then he went to the rouge shop and bought some of the latest rouge and face powder before heading to the palace, satisfied.

Back when we were still in Liaodong, my family could stroll around the streets together. Now that we've moved to Yanjing, we have to be careful everywhere we go. It's true that life is unpredictable.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, the emperor and his entourage returned smoothly from the palace. Su Yi, who was about to enter the palace gate, couldn't help but look back and mutter to himself, "No one came out to cause trouble. They said that if anyone tried to embarrass His Majesty this time, they would definitely teach them a lesson."

Xu Wen glanced at him sideways, then patted him with amusement: "What are you thinking about all day long, kid?"

Lu Bu, who was in front, turned around and pointed with his hand: "You've been going to brothels too much, and you've gotten confused by listening to storytellers."

"Ah..." Su Yi scratched his head.

Lu Bu ignored him and continued walking forward. Behind him, Xu Wen whispered, "Even if His Majesty had the idea to leave the palace today, and someone had known beforehand, how many people could they have hastily mobilized?"

Pointing to the twenty-odd armored guards beside him, he said, "Do you think we're wearing this armor for nothing?"

Su Yi rolled his eyes and nodded, "That's true..." Then he sighed, "We were waiting for some arrogant young master to come out and cause trouble for His Majesty, but now it seems that we have the numbers and the armor, so we should all step aside."

Xu Wen chuckled and nudged Su Yi on the shoulder: "If someone really existed, they would have been beaten to death at home by their father and brothers long ago. They wouldn't need you."

Lu Bu listened with a smile. A patrol of guards came over, stopped and saluted. He waved to them as a greeting, then turned his head slightly and said, "If there really are such people, then it is the dereliction of duty of the Yanjing Prefecture. I will also make trouble for them."

Xu Wen and Su Yi exchanged glances and sighed in unison, "It's tough being the governor of Yanjing..."

Lü Bu laughed heartily as the group quickly entered the palace.

These guards were also not allowed to enter the inner palace. Lü Bu carried the gifts alone and strolled in. It was almost dusk, and the palace maids and eunuchs were busy again. The aroma of food filled the palace.

Before long, Lü Bu entered Wu Qing's palace. Several giggles came from inside the room as his children, who were already running around, chased and played.

He paused in the garden for a moment before smiling and stepping inside.

……

As summer approached, a procession escorting envoys arrived outside Yanjing.

Voices could be heard coming from beneath the "Qi" banner fluttering high in the air.

"We're almost at Yanjing City, Brother Zheng. I must say, this place is truly different from other places. Bricks are bricks, walls are walls. Hey, how big are your Goryeo cities? I heard you had some conflicts with the Jurchens before, is that true..."

Zheng Zhichang, pale-faced, rode a tall horse with a blank expression, staring blankly at the city in front of him. His ears were ringing, but he didn't want to speak or hear anything. The torment he had endured along the way made him wish he could become deaf.

"Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng, Brother Zheng?!"

The increased volume brought him back to his senses: "Huh? General Peng, what did you say?"

"Yanjing!" Peng Qi pointed: "We've arrived in Yanjing. Let me tell you..."

...Kill me.

The Zheng brothers' eyes were filled with despair. (End of Chapter)