Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The winter wind was cold and biting. As dusk approached, Tong Guan came out of the imperial study first with his hands tucked in.

I looked up at the dim sky, and there was white mist from my mouth and nose dissipating in the cold wind. Behind me, I heard the sound of a door closing, followed by the rustling sound of footsteps as they walked out of the palace.

The two figures walked away, one in front and one behind. The thin figure behind said, "I have to thank my wife for recommending me to the emperor. Otherwise, I don't know when I can see the scene of attacking Liao together."

On the quiet road, several young eunuchs lowered their heads and dispersed far away. Tong Guan squinted his eyes and said, "It was Secretary Zhao's own efforts. I was just helping you to make a connection."

After a pause, he turned around and said, "Just remember one thing, don't let the officials down."

"Of course not."

Li Liangsi, who had just been given the surname Zhao in the imperial study, grinned and walked forward: "I wanted to persuade the emperor to ally with Jin to destroy Liao, but now that Jin has become Qi, it doesn't matter."

Seeing Tong Guan taking another step, he followed closely behind him: "No, it's better to say it's better. The Jin people are too brutal. Now the Qi people are less brutal, but more brave. Once a war with Liao breaks out, it will definitely help the ambition of the old prime minister."

"Hehehe——" Tong Guan laughed with indescribable emotion: "I put all my hopes on the Secretary."

Li Liangsi bowed in the back and said: "I will definitely live up to the trust of the old lady."

Tong Guan nodded in satisfaction: "Let's go, let's leave the palace today, you go back and think carefully about how to act, it's better to write a rule. I understand the emperor's temper. Since the envoys sent last time were useless, he will definitely not be reconciled, and will send someone else later..."

He stopped and turned to look at the Yan people behind him: "What do you think is a good time?"

Li Liangsi's heart moved, and he said respectfully: "If possible, the best time is when Qi and Liao start fighting again."

"Then in your opinion, when will the war start again?"

The new secretary was silent for a while. He stood there frowning and thinking for a while before speaking: "Qi occupies most of Liaodong, but there is still Jin in the north that has not been defeated by it. In my humble opinion, this year should be the time for Qi and Jin to fight to the death. If they want to turn around and attack Liao, it will be next year at the earliest."

Seeing Tong Guan's thoughtful look, he said, "I think it should be the year after next. The Jurchens are brave and fierce. If the war is over, Qi will need time to rest. Besides, Liaodong is bitterly cold. If there is not enough food and grass, it will be difficult to launch another war in a hurry. So it should be the year after next."

"Food and grass... The thing that the Song Dynasty lacks the least is food and grass..." Tong Guan laughed and muttered, "It seems that I should go find that Taoist priest Lin Lingsu when I have time."

He turned around and continued walking out of the palace.

Li Liangsi lowered his eyes and did not speak. He just followed the figure in front of him. A eunuch lit a lantern in the palace and led the way with a wooden stick in his hand.

The darkness gradually covered the sky, and figures came out of the palace and walked away.

……

As the night falls, we reach Dengyun Mountain in Dengzhou.

The lights in the Juyi Hall were bright. More than a dozen figures were drinking spicy drinks and eating roasted meat. Song Jiang sat at the head of the group and raised his wine bowl to persuade Wu Yong to drink: "Thank you for your help, Professor. Otherwise, Song Jiang alone would not be able to take care of so many people."

Glancing down, Li Kui, Dai Zong, Mu Hong and Mu Chun were blushing as they were drinking from Dengyun Mountain with Zou Yuan, Zou Run, Jie Zhen, Jie Bao and the Duan brothers and sisters. It seemed that they had no goal in mind and were just pouring wine for each other, hoping to see who would get drunk first.

Sun Li sat aside in silence, and Li Jun, who was also frowning and thinking, sat at the table. The two of them drank by themselves and did not communicate with others.

On the contrary, Sun Xin, Gu Dasao, Tong Wei and Tong Meng were chatting and drinking the whole time. Qiu Xiang and Shi Jun, two young men from western Beijing, held up their wine bowls and listened to the four of them talking about the affairs of the underworld. From time to time, they would laugh and agree with them, and then drink the wine together.

Song Jiang turned around and sighed, "I just don't know how long this lively scene can last."

"Why do you say that, Brother Gongming?" Wu Yong squinted at him as he drank. "In the mountain stronghold, Xiaoke is the only one who makes decisions. Without a wise man like Mr. Jialiang, it's really..." Song Jiang looked a little embarrassed and sighed, "What if Song Jiang is not thoughtful enough? Wouldn't it harm so many brothers?"

"So that's how it is." Wu Yong smiled, put down the wine bowl, picked up the roasted nuts and put them into his mouth to chew, with a thoughtful look on his face. After a while, he said, "There is a person who also has a plan, but I don't know if this person is willing to come out and help my brother."

Song Jiang's eyes lit up, and he bowed solemnly: "Who is it? I hope Mr. Jialiang can tell me."

Wu Yong leaned over and said, "Brother Gongming, do you still remember how we robbed the birthday gift?"

"How can I not remember..." Song Jiang's eyes were somewhat complicated, and he quickly calmed down: "I wonder why Mr. Jialiang mentioned this?"

"The person I recommend is the partner who robbed the birthday gift that day. His surname is Gongsun and his given name is Sheng." Wu Yong narrowed his eyes. "But after the incident, he left Jingdong and may have returned to Erlongshan."

Song Jiang was overjoyed: "Thank you for letting me know."

The night was as dark as ink, except for this hilltop which was brightly lit by the fire.

……

Not only people in Bianliang and Dengyun Mountain couldn't sleep that night, but Lu Bu, who was far away in Liaodong, was also looking at the intelligence received in recent times.

It has been more than a few months since the opening of the market, and all military states have implemented a strategy of recuperation. Wang Zheng and Yang Pu, who are good at mediating relations between all parties, have been able to show their talents. However, the former is too lazy, and often only deals with things when they come. Yang Pu has been running around in central and eastern Liaodong. Several Jurchen tribes have now hung the flag of Qi.

The children of the Lu and Han families brought by Lu Guan also made their mark in the local areas. Although their political achievements cannot be said to be remarkable, they still contributed to the stability in various places. Today, these young people have become cornerstones, helping the State of Qi to control the people below.

Land planning, population adjustment, and production encouragement were all policies implemented during this year. Lu Bu also reduced taxes and corvee labor for the people in accordance with previous years of disaster. For example, during the Qin and Han dynasties, widows were encouraged to remarry, and families with many children were given various conveniences with the help of prefectures and counties until the males grew up. Suddenly, the Liaodong area gradually regained its vitality, with nearly 70,000 new people added in a year. Although the population was not as prosperous as that in the Central Plains, Lu Bu was still very happy.

These are potential soldiers for future wars and will also be important taxpayers in the future.

In the army, the desire for war had reached its peak. Many meritorious soldiers were first rewarded with land, and later they were given gifts by the woman from the north. This made many new recruits greedy and they couldn't wait to start a war and fight for wealth and glory.

However, the military merit system had its limitations, which made Lu Bu mutter to himself. From time to time, he summoned knowledgeable people such as Zhang Lin, Wang Zheng, and Gao Zhen to discuss it. He was willing to change it to the Fubing system. Now he has some experience in it and is just waiting for an opportunity to promote it.

As Liaoyang Prefecture is now the center of Liaodong, the city has expanded outward over the past year. A larger military camp than the original one was built outside the city. It is no longer made of wood as before, but is supplemented by tents.

Based on his decades of military experience, Lu Bu simply asked Tao Zongwang to build a barracks with bricks and stones. The officers' offices and soldiers also had houses. He even built a special family area in the city of Liaoyang Prefecture so that soldiers with families would have a safe home. This move turned out to be a good thing and won the support of the soldiers below.

After all, soldiers are also human beings who eat food, and they will miss and worry about their relatives at home even more. Now that there is a guarantee, the morale of the army is immediately boosted.

During this year, apart from attacking the Jurchens in the east, Qi did not engage in any major wars. Instead, it was frequently attacked by the Jin Kingdom and the Wanyan tribe in the north. The Liao army also came to disrupt the situation, but was repelled by Wanyan Sheng and Wanyan Gao. In addition to killing and wounding countless Liao soldiers, they also received a wave of reinforcements.

This made Lu Bu realize that now was not the time to attack.

Surprisingly, since the research on artillery was suspended due to money, Ling Zhen, Kou Wei, Wu Hu and others had been feeling depressed, knowing that they had wasted a lot of money and supplies, so they simply took advantage of the break to do exploration work, which took nearly a year, and they found an iron mine. Wu Hu and Ling Zhen were so happy that they danced with joy and said they wanted people to mine there.

"It's not that easy..."

Lu Bu put down the document with a wry smile, stood up and stretched. The moonlight outside was hazy, and was occasionally covered by dark clouds. He blew out the lights and a tall figure walked out of the house.

It’s cold tonight, I wonder how many children are freezing?
He thought. (End of this chapter)