Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The golden sun jumped into the sky, and the ancient city gradually woke up in silence. A few birds flew over the eaves and disappeared. Early risers in short shirts drove their carts out of the city gate to start a new day of work.

creak-

The door opened and Ma Zheng walked out with dark circles and bloodshot eyes. Several guards who were watching were stunned for a moment and wanted to step forward to greet him but stopped when they saw his expressionless face.

The Song envoy did not respond and went straight to sit in the front hall. Someone brought him breakfast and he sat there eating quietly.

Pharmacist Gao did not sleep well yesterday and got up a little late. When he came, he was watching the servants taking out the plates and bowls. Ma Zheng was sitting at the table with a tea bowl in his hand, closing his eyes, thinking about something. He stopped for a moment, then continued to walk in.

I should have come out later.

With thoughts turning in his mind, Pharmacist Gao put on a smile and said, "Brother Zhongfu, did you sleep well last night?"

"I didn't sleep all night."

Ma Zheng sighed and then opened his eyes. His red eyes startled the smiling man: "What are you doing..."

"Sit down." Ma Zheng waved his hand and said tiredly, "I couldn't sleep well yesterday because I didn't get the decision from the King of Qi. Before I knew it, it was already dawn."

Pharmacist Gao was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say. After a while, he managed to say something to comfort her: "This is a serious matter. I think the State of Qi will also have to think carefully about it. Brother Zhongfu, don't worry."

Ma Zheng nodded hesitantly. This was the truth, but he just sat down and kept thinking about it. His mind was like boiling hot soup, stirring non-stop. He never calmed down for a moment. Finally, he sighed: "... Let's find someone to ask. Come on!"

Pharmacist Gao rolled his eyes inwardly.

A guard outside hurried in and heard his messenger's order: "Go to the Ministry of Rites of Qi State and check. If Doctor Yang is back, report back immediately."

"Yes."

The guard immediately turned around and left, running all the way to the Ministry of Rites.

……

at the same time.

Lu Bu summoned important officials in the court to discuss how to negotiate terms with the Song Dynasty.

When Yang Pu arrived, Li Zhu, Qiao Lie, Wang Zheng and others were already seated. Seeing him coming, they all straightened their backs and adjusted their sitting postures. The old-fashioned middle-aged man looked around, smiled and walked forward and bowed: "I am Yang Pu, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites, and I pay my respects to the king."

"Doctor Yang, please take a seat."

Lu Bu gestured, and after watching the other party sit down, he spoke: "I called the doctor here today because the Song envoy proposed an alliance yesterday. After discussing this matter yesterday, I am ready to accept it. However, the form, conditions, time to send troops, and whether to communicate military intelligence with the other party need to be discussed with them. That's why I called the doctor here today."

Yang Pu bowed his head: "Everything is subject to the king's orders."

Lu Bu smiled and sat back. "You are from the Ministry of Rites, so you must have your own opinions on this matter. You may as well speak freely here."

"Then I will tell you about it."

All eyes below gathered over, and clear voices echoed in the study.

……

After noon, the weather suddenly changed. Thick clouds covered the sky and the sunlight shrank into a ball. Ma Zheng was waiting anxiously in the inn. He stood up from time to time and walked to the door to look outside. Seeing that there was no one, he walked back and sat down. However, after a while, he stood up again and walked around in circles with his hands behind his back.

Pharmacist Gao felt dizzy and felt uncomfortable all over when he saw Ma Zheng, like an ant on hot pot. He had the urge to run out of the inn without caring about anything.

Unfortunately, I still have to wait here.

Just as one of them was getting annoyed and the other was getting even more annoyed, the guard who had left came running in and said, "Qian Xia, the doctor from the Ministry of Rites of Qi has returned to the government office."

Pharmacist Gao exhaled, and the discomfort in his body seemed to

Ma Zheng was overjoyed and walked over to look at him: "Are you really back? What took you so long?"

"When I got there, I asked Doctor Yang if he was at the government office, but I was told that he was at the Prince of Qi's mansion. I have been waiting until now to see him come back."

"The palace?" Ma Zheng narrowed his eyes and pointed at him: "Are you sure he went to the palace of the Prince of Qi?" "The clerk in the Ministry of Rites would not lie."

"What's the expression on his face?"

"I can't tell." Shaking his head, the guard pondered for a moment, then spoke hesitantly, "But I heard from the chattering officers over there that Doctor Yang was in a very good mood today. I don't know if it's true."

Ma Zheng said "Hmm...", touched his chin with his hand, rolled his eyes, and smiled: "Okay, go down and claim your reward."

The guard was overjoyed, thanked him and ran out.

Pharmacist Gao stood up upon seeing this and looked at him curiously: "Brother Zhongfu, do you have good news?"

"I guess so." Ma Zheng exhaled, "The Qi State should have come up with a conclusion today. It might be good."

Pharmacist Gao scratched his head, and seeing that he was in a good mood, he rolled his eyes and asked, "Brother Zhongfu, I actually have a question I want to ask for a long time. Shouldn't the State of Qi be anxious about this matter? Why are you..." He gestured with his hands and didn't say anything else.

"You don't know." Ma Zheng shook his head and sighed, "This matter is of great concern to the government, the prime minister, and the minister. What do you think will happen if I don't handle it well?"

Pharmacist Gao was stunned.

Ma Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "All we have to do next is wait for Yang Pu to come. It looks like this trip is about to end." Then he turned and walked out.

Pharmacist Gao came to his senses after seeing this and asked, "Where is Brother Zhongfu going?"

"Go to sleep! So that I can discuss this with Yang Pu tomorrow!"

The voice came from the place where the figure disappeared. Pharmacist Gao scratched his scalp with his hands and said to himself, "Aren't you going to talk to King Qi?"

He didn't expect anyone to answer him, but now that there was no figure wandering around in front of him, Pharmacist Gao felt better. He called two guards and walked out of the inn leisurely, finding a place to leave.

The next day.

Dark clouds covered the sky. Ma Zheng got up in high spirits, had his meal, and put on his court clothes. Soon, an official from the Ministry of Rites came and said, "Doctor, invite Envoy Song to the Ministry of Rites for a talk."

Exhaling, Ma Zheng nodded: "Thank you, sir." He saw that the other party was no more than thirty years old, with a kind face, a cheerful expression, and a black official uniform with a jade pendant and a brocade bag hanging around his waist.

He was in a good mood, and when he saw that it was not the person he had met two days ago, he couldn't help but become interested: "What is the name of this official? What is his current position?"

"I'm Li Shanqing, the Minister of Rites." The official bowed.

"Mr. Li." Ma Zheng bowed and said, "I haven't seen you in the past two days."

"When the Song envoy came, I was ill and had not recovered yet. I only recovered yesterday." Li Shanqing laughed: "I was a little weak. I am ashamed, ashamed."

Ma Zheng suddenly realized and laughed: "Being healthy is better than anything else."

"That's right." Li Shanqing nodded, then extended his hand: "You and I should stop chatting here, please."

"please."

Ma Zheng also stretched out his hand, then walked out first, followed by Li Shanqing. Soon they were out of the gate of the posthouse, where a carriage was parked. The carriage invited him to get in, then shouted, and the group walked towards the Ministry of Rites.

……

Prince Qi's Mansion.

Maids and eunuchs were walking back and forth in the huge mansion, and noisy sounds were heard from outside the study.

In the room, a small bronze incense burner was emitting thin wisps of smoke, and the smoke, which had a calming effect, drifted in towards the standing figure.

Lu Bu put one hand behind his back and the other hand in front of his chest. He narrowed his eyes slightly while looking at the geomancy map. Thinking about what he had discussed with everyone yesterday, he looked at the newly marked lines on the geomancy map and turned his head: "It's time to start..."

……

In the late summer, a discussion called the Sea Alliance
Let's begin. (End of this chapter)