Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The sky is brilliant.

Inside the study, Lu Bu stood in front of the feng shui map and slowly drank the chicken soup stewed with Polygonatum odoratum brought to him by the eunuch. The soup with a slight sweetness flowed down his esophagus, and a soothing feeling spread throughout his body.

A figure walked in from outside the door. Lu Bu looked back, wiped his mouth, handed the bowl of soup to the eunuch standing by, and ordered: "Bring a bowl of soup to the doctors as well."

Then he pointed to the chairs and said, "Everyone, sit down. Let's try Fatty Zhou's new soup. It's pretty good."

The people who walked in were Wang Zheng, Li Zhu, Qiao Lie, Wu Jiao, Fang Xuedu, Liu Min, Zhang Lin, and Lu Yan. They were either doctors from the six ministries or people who were familiar with the affairs of the Liao Kingdom. Upon hearing what was said, they looked at the extra chairs in the study compared to usual, walked over and sat down after politely offering to each other.

"You have seen the attitude of the generals just now. They are all hot-blooded men, not to mention some who have old grudges against the Song Dynasty. Few of them can analyze the situation calmly." Lu Bu smiled and went to sit behind the table. "Yes, I personally think that what Wanyan Zonghan said makes some sense, so I called you over to discuss whether we should join forces with him and the Song Dynasty to attack Liao."

The people sitting there looked at each other in silence for a while. Lu Bu looked directly at Zhang Lin and said, "Mr. Zhang, you are the most familiar with the Liao Kingdom here. Why don't you tell us something?"

"Your Majesty." Zhang Lin bowed, stroked his beard, and looked at me with a sharp gaze: "I would like to ask if my Qi State is ready to go to war with the Liao State immediately."

"No." Lu Bu shook his head and didn't try to be brave. He looked at Liu Min over there and said, "If we were to fight Liao... I think Liu Qing would be the first one to come and cry."

Liu Zhibo smiled bitterly and nodded: "Your Majesty, you understand me. If the national treasury could not support it, I would not complain. Although the consumption of money and grain has eased since the northern expedition to the Jin Kingdom last year, our foundation is too weak. The only way to support the war with Liao is looting..."

He pursed his lips and said, "But if that's the case, the cost and time required to conquer each place will be even greater, and the gain will not outweigh the loss."

Zhang Lin nodded and took over the conversation: "Yes, I think so too, but there is something more that the king and everyone should pay attention to. The Liao people still have four regions: Shangjing, Zhongjing, Nanjing, and Xijing. How long will it take for our warriors to take over the seven or eight million people and land in these four regions?"

"Law Master..." Fang Xuedu looked at him from the side, "But the Liao army is not as strong as ours. They have been defeated in several previous battles. How can they resist our army?"

Zhang Lin shook his head. "It's not that I want to destroy my own prestige to boost the morale of others. Liao can still afford to lose. Wanyan Zonghan was not kidding when he said that Liao still has hundreds of thousands of troops. If our army fails to capture a city, giving Liao a chance to gather its forces, what will happen? Doctor Fang, do you have any predictions?"

Fang Xuedu frowned, stroked his beard and said nothing.

Wu Jiao said, "But I heard that there are rebel armies rising up everywhere in Liao. This is also an opportunity to divide the Liao people's fighting power."

"Most of them were wiped out within a few months." Lv Yan, who was sitting at the side, said calmly, "Although the rebels always cause a big disturbance, how can they deal with the garrisons in various regions with only flesh and blood, without enough weapons and armor? Dong Pang'er the year before last, An Sheng'er, Zhang Gao'er, and Huo Liuge, all of them gathered hundreds of thousands of people, but they were still defeated in the end. Instead of targeting the rebels, it would be more reliable for us to train more soldiers and horses."

The eunuch came in, and the person who was talking stopped talking and waited for him to put the chicken soup on the table in front of the people before he hunched back. Lu Bu turned to look at Wang Zheng: "What do you want to say, military advisor?"

Wang Zheng was drinking a mouthful of soup, and the hot soup made him take a breath. He put down the bowl and blew on his fingers: "Your Majesty, have you heard that the python eats elephants?"

Lu Bu frowned and shook his head.

Wang Zheng sat up straight and said, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Southern Classic of the Seas states: 'The Basque snake eats elephants and spits out their bones after three years. A gentleman who eats it will not have any heart or stomach problems.' It means that there is a kind of Basque snake that can eat elephants and needs three years to digest and spit out the bones." He put on a serious look with strange emotions in his eyes, "Although Qi is large now, there is no corresponding population here. In the army, except for nearly 20,000 infantry and cavalry who can be trained on the battlefield, the rest of the soldiers have to cultivate the land to increase military food. And Liao, although it is an old elephant with various diseases, is still a giant. Although there are those who resist the ruler, there are also those who are loyal to the country."

He paused for a moment and looked at the people around him. Some of them seemed to be thinking about something, while others nodded in agreement. He then continued, "So we are like little snakes that have not yet grown up. We are not strong enough to swallow the old elephant of Liao in one gulp, not to mention that it will take several years to digest it and promote the growth of our bodies. By then, we may have to face the Song Dynasty, which is even larger than Liao. Do we have to say to the emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty, wait a moment, let me absorb the essence of my skin and flesh and then fight with you?"

Liu Min rubbed his chin: "How do I know that Song will go north to attack me?"

"Of course I will." Li Zhu suddenly said, "If I were the commander of the Northern Expedition of the Song people, it would be strange if I didn't take the opportunity to swallow up my allies when I saw them weak and powerless."

"Qiao thinks so too." Qiao Lie nodded. "The ruler and his ministers of Song Dynasty regard the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun as a top priority. However, Zhao Ji is warlike. Since his reign, he has been in constant conflict with Western Xia, causing almost every family in the Western Army to be in mourning. However, he is still unwilling to stop. It can be seen that this man is not a good person. If the king forms an alliance with him, he must be careful."

"Okay, don't think too much about it." Lu Bu interrupted, "The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are their target, but we have to save our lives first." He turned around and asked again, "Zhang Qing, if we don't ally with Song, will the Liao people attack us here?"

"Yes." Zhang Lin said firmly: "The loss of Liaodong will definitely be a pain for the Liao Dynasty. Although Yelu Yanxi may not take it to heart, Yelu Dezhong and even several important officials will definitely look for opportunities to promote the eastward advance, so the king should not take any chances."

"Haha, I don't have that intention." Lu Bu narrowed his eyes and said, "Since he will definitely fight, there is nothing else to say. We just need to find a way to destroy him."

He stood up slowly and said, "Then accept the Song people's request for an alliance. You can go back and think about how to make the Song people show their sincerity."

Lu Yan was stunned: "Shouldn't we be the ones to show our sincerity and form an alliance with Song?"

Lu Bu laughed, and Zhang Lin patted him on the shoulder: "It is the Song court that is seeking an alliance now, not us."

Liu Min and Fang Xuedu's eyes lit up, and they said almost in unison: "We should think about it carefully. This is also a good opportunity to replenish the national treasury."

Li Zhu stroked his beard and laughed: "Indeed, since you don't want to pay tribute to Liao, you should at least give me some benefits." (End of this chapter)