Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Sea voyages are boring and unbearable, but Li Bao and Hua Rong have only experienced it once. Li Shanqing, an official from the Ministry of Rites, is somehow accustomed to such long voyages. This surprises Li Bao, who was holding back and was ready to vomit because the delicate scholar was not suited to seafaring.

In mid-autumn, the sea ship docked at Dengzhou. Ma Zheng did not care about the fatigue of the long voyage. He first sent a fast horse to inform Tokyo Bianliang that an envoy from Qi State had arrived. He also attached a memorial, describing all the hardships he had experienced in Liaodong. He then said that he was fortunately blessed by the emperor and that the King of Qi was willing to form an alliance.

He also organized carriages and horses to go to where Li Bao docked his boat.

"Does the Qi envoy want to rest here for a while, or set off for Bianliang as soon as possible?"

Li Shanqing looked at Hua Rong and Li Bao, and seeing that neither of them said anything, he immediately made a decision: "Let's not delay here. My king is also waiting for the decision of Emperor Song. Let's finish the discussion as soon as possible, and we can go back as soon as possible."

Ma Zheng nodded and held out his hand: "That's great, I have prepared a carriage, please--"

Li Shanqing nodded immediately, and as he walked forward, Li Bao waved to his deputy general Shan Jinglong and said to Hua Rong: "It's a long way to Bianliang, and the general has only 200 men, which is too weak. Let Shan Jinglong bring 200 sailors with him to show his strength."

Hua Rong looked at Shan Jinglong, who immediately straightened his chest and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay." Hua Rong did not refuse and said, "But General Shan must listen to my instructions and don't show your weakness in Bianliang."

"General Hua, just watch." Shan Jinglong patted his chest and said, "We are all originally from the Song Dynasty, so there won't be any trouble."

Li Bao glared at him and said, "If you don't know how to speak, don't speak." Then he clasped his fists towards Hua Rong and said, "It's a long journey, General Hua, please be careful. I will be guarding the boat and waiting for you, General."

Hua Rong responded immediately and gave a shout, then led his two hundred elite soldiers off the ship. Shan Jinglong also led two hundred sailors armed with crossbows and spears.

He then followed Ma Zheng and others to Qingzhou.

……

Qingzhou, Yidu.

Murong Yanda had already received news that an envoy from Qi State had arrived in Dengzhou. Relying on his sister's private letter, he already knew what the emperor's brother-in-law was thinking. He secretly sighed at his good luck. If this had happened when Liangshan was still around, wouldn't he have been embarrassed in front of foreign envoys?
However, he never thought that this messenger was Lu Bu's man. If Liangshan was still there, this kind of thing would not have happened.

In late autumn, the news of the envoy's arrival had been delivered by the soldiers sent by Ma Zheng. Murong Yanda immediately ordered his empty house to be cleaned, the streets of the entire city to be swept, and the roads to be paved with yellow earth. Fearing that the envoy would be cold, he prepared a large amount of high-quality charcoal and transferred all the maids and servants from his own house.

The moment he received the delegation, he was inexplicably excited. He asked someone to take the escorting Qi army to the military camp for a rest. He smiled at Ma Zheng, who was familiar with him, and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I have prepared some gifts for the emperor and the imperial concubine. Please take them with you when you return."

"The governor Murong is so thoughtful. The emperor will be very happy if he knows about it. Please rest assured. I will leave everything to you and will definitely help you bring it."

Ma Zheng quickly bowed in response. Although he had made some achievements on this mission, he could not compare with the brother of the imperial concubine, so he dared not neglect him.

Murong Yanda was very happy to see Ma Zheng being respectful to him, and then he looked at Li Shanqing who came out of the carriage from behind and smiled: "The envoy must be tired from the journey, so I have prepared a house for you, it's not a very good place, so you can just stay there for one night."

"Please trouble the governor."

The three of them were talking and laughing as they walked in front. Hua Rong, who was behind them, just sneered when he saw them. He glanced at both sides of the street. It was dusk, but few people were on the street. He also saw that the road was clean, the doors of the shops on both sides were open, and there were no beggars begging. He knew that it was all the good work of Murong Zhizhou, and he stared at his back with disdain. Murong Yanda, who was walking in front, felt as if someone was staring at him from behind, but he didn't care. When he entered his yard, it was already dark, and the lights in the yard were on. Neatly trimmed pine trees stood in the yard. The rugged rocks, the long corridor, the pavilion, and a small pond made this house look like the color of the south of the Yangtze River.

Li Shanqing, a northerner, had never seen such scenery before. His eyes widened, he exclaimed in amazement, and praised repeatedly: "Such scenery is really rare to see. This trip to Song is really worthwhile. It has broadened my horizons. It has broadened my horizons."

Murong Yanda laughed: "That's nothing. If the envoy goes to the imperial city and sees Wansui Mountain, that would be a surprise."

With a smug look in his eyes, he accidentally glanced at Hua Rong as his figure swayed, and was stunned.

"Really?" Li Shanqing's voice came into my ears: "That makes me look forward to it."

Murong Yanda nodded hesitantly, and walked inside with a few people, but he frequently looked back at Xiao Li Guang behind him.

"What are you looking at, Magistrate Murong?" Li Shanqing turned his head twice as he did, something in his mind moved, and he smiled at him.

"...No." Murong Yanda came back to his senses, smiled, and pointed at Hua Rong: "I just saw this general in the rear who is very brave and extraordinary. I wonder if you can introduce him to me?"

"This is General Hua Rong, the Eastern Army General of Qi." Li Shanqing turned around for no apparent reason and asked curiously, "What's wrong with that?"

"...No." Murong Yanda's eyes flashed with realization, but he still shook his head: "It's just that this general is handsome and has fair skin. He doesn't look like someone in the army."

"I was born with a fair complexion." Hua Rong interrupted unhappily, "Just based on my skin color, how can you say that I am not a soldier?"

Shan Jinglong looked at him strangely.

"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue! Hahahaha——" Murong Yanda laughed up to the sky, unwilling to say more to Hua Rong, and said directly to Li Shanqing: "I have asked someone to prepare some wine and food, please have a taste."

"Of course I want it." Li Shanqing also smiled: "The governor Murong has an extraordinary demeanor. I think the food he prepared is not something you can eat normally. I want to taste it today."

The two men walked forward while talking and laughing, while Ma Zheng followed closely from behind, laughing along with them.

While they were talking in front, Shan Jinglong approached Hua Rong and touched him with his hand: "General Hua, why are you so angry today?"

Hua Rong glanced at him, snorted, and replied softly: "I worked under this birdman for a while in Wuzhizhai."

Shan Jinglong suddenly realized that he might have been bullied by this person. He hesitated for a moment and said, "General, we are envoys now, don't act rashly..."

Hua Rong looked at him and was suddenly a little amused: "Don't worry, it's all in the past. I won't be able to distinguish the primary from the secondary."

"...Oh." Shan Jinglong finally breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed at himself, secretly cursing himself for overthinking. This General Hua has always been known for his calmness, how could he act so casually.

That night, the guests and hosts had a great time at the banquet, and the next morning, everyone headed towards the Jishui River. (End of this chapter)