Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The bare branches swayed in the cold wind. Occasionally, a bird landed under the eaves. Simple clothes flashed at the door. A middle-aged man covered the jar of pickled vegetables, poured clean water into the jar to seal it, and then smiled with satisfaction.

The wheels rolled over the dry ground. Dong Kai and a few of his men pushed a cart loaded with groceries into the village. He looked at the middle-aged man and raised his hand to greet him: "Professor Wen, are you busy?"

Several guys at the back turned their heads to look over, and one of them whispered to the person next to him, "That's Wen Huanzhang."

The man behind him looked at him carefully for a few seconds, then lowered his eyelids and just glanced at him vaguely.

"It's Dong Dalang." Wen Huanzhang smiled and walked over. Although he was dressed simply, he looked very elegant. The cold wind blew and his beard immediately rose with the wind. "You came back so late today. Did you go shopping?"

"The professor guessed right." Dong Kai walked up to him with a smile and said to him through the fence: "It's winter now, and everyone is thinking about getting some winter supplies, so let's buy some from the city." He turned around and shouted, "Bring over that bag of preserved fruits."

The man waiting behind was well prepared. He came forward with a square package wrapped in reed leaves. Dong Kai took it and handed it to Wen Huanzhang: "Professor, take it and eat it. It's from Li's Old Shop."

"How embarrassing."

Dong Kai shook his head: "What's the value? Usually the professor also writes letters for us, reads official documents, and teaches the children in the village. I'm afraid my wife will scold me for being stingy if I give you such a small thing."

"Then I'll take it." Wen Huanzhang took it happily: "I have some pickles here, come over later to taste them and have some wine."

"Okay, I'll bring another salted fish." Dong Kai said happily, took two steps back, raised his hand as he walked, "I'll come to see the professor later. I'm leaving now."

Wen Huanzhang, who was standing behind, smiled and waved his hand, watching the men driving the cart towards the village. Then he walked towards the house carrying the preserved fruits, opened the door with a creak and went in.

On the way, Dong Kai greeted the people he knew, turned a corner and looked at the people behind him: "It will be dark soon, follow Lin Zi and the others and take the opportunity to leave the village. There are often strangers here, and I often bring people back from outside. You don't have to worry about others looking at you with suspicion."

Someone behind nodded, and then followed silently.

In the village, smoke rose up and the sound of dogs barking could be heard from far away.

Soon, several figures ran out of the village under the cover of night.

……

Bianliang.

Hua Rong led a dozen soldiers for a stroll, each of them holding something in their hands. They looked around and it was obvious that they were strangers who had just arrived in this prosperous place. However, there were many of them, and they were all strong and muscular men. Even the idlers in the city who specialized in "eating" strangers did not dare to provoke them.

When the moon was at its zenith, the group of people returned to the inn leisurely. As soon as they entered the door, they were approached by soldiers: "General, Doctor Li and General Shan are waiting for you in the hall."

Hua Rong nodded, knowing that there was probably something wrong, and hurried to the hall. Under the candlelight, Li Shanqing and Shan Jinglong were chatting tiredly. When they saw him, they stood up and stepped forward as an envoy: "General Hua, today I am going to see the emperor of the Song Dynasty. The other party has a handwritten letter to give to the king, and has appointed a new envoy. I hope we can go back as soon as possible to complete the alliance. The time is tentatively set for three days later."

"Why now..." Little Li Guang frowned and thought for a moment: "Maybe it can be delayed for another two days?"

Li Shanqing shook his head: "The Song people requested that the hostages be returned home as soon as possible to reassure their families, and they also urged us to return early on the grounds that the handwritten letter must be delivered as soon as possible to form an alliance. If I don't respond, I'm afraid the other side will become suspicious."

"Tsk..." Hua Rong clicked his tongue slightly, thinking back and forth in his heart, and sighed for a while: "Then it has to be this way. After all, the court also hopes to use the power of the Song people to attack Liao. This is a major event and cannot be delayed."

Shan Jinglong and Li Shanqing nodded in agreement, but Hua Rong lowered his head, thinking about something.

On the Gengshen day of the first lunar month, Zhao Ji issued an edict in court, ordering Zhao Youkai, a senior official of the Imperial Court, and Wang Huanchong, a loyal assistant, to accompany Li Shanqing back to Qi with the edict and gifts.

The court and the public were shocked. Some people realized that the court had been concealing the truth and had established relations with the northern Qi State. Prime Minister Zheng Juzhong and Privy Council Director Deng Xunwu wrote to the emperor to dissuade him again, but the memorials fell on deaf ears.

The two were unwilling to give up, so they immediately rushed around and called on friendly court officials to submit a memorial to stop this incident. Also included in the memorial was a memorial from Zhao Liangsi, who advised the court to respect Qi and use the state letter in an equal manner.

Emperor Zhao Ji of Song Dynasty read the memorial and threw it into the pile of reviewed books. He said, "Zhao Liangsi has lost his mind. Qi State occupies only one strip of land and has only one million subjects. How can I treat it with equal courtesy?" He looked aside and asked, "What are the envoys of Qi State doing now?"

Yang Jian stepped forward and whispered, "I am already packing my bags as ordered by the emperor, but the other party's guard general Hua Rong is leaving the city today."

"Hmm?" Zhao Ji paused after reading the memorial and looked up at him: "What are you going to do?"

"Someone below reported that they were going to look for Wen Huanzhang in Anren Village." Yang Jian remained bowed.

"Oh? Is it Wen Huanzhang, who is known as a talented and famous scholar?" Zhao Ji closed the memorial and smiled. "I remember... Jiang Ming talked about this person a few days ago, saying that he wanted to learn from the famous scholars of the Han and Jin dynasties and take the recommendation route. However, everyone in the court treated him as a joke and no one spoke up for him."

"Exactly this person."

"Haha, a man who is just looking for fame." Zhao Ji shook his head and threw the letter in his hand aside. "He went to visit at this time, perhaps with the intention of inviting someone to come out of retirement. It seems that Qi State has few talents, and it even wants this kind of leftovers."

Yang Jian smiled and said: "All the talents in the world are in the hands of the government, but it is not that there are no talents in the wild."

"Haha, you old dog, you are still so talkative." Pointing at Yang Jian, Zhao Ji smiled and simply stopped reading the memorial. He stood up and stretched himself: "Go and bring Gao Qiu to stretch his muscles with me. I haven't played Cuju for a while."

Yang Jian was already used to his playful nature, so he agreed and paused before asking, "Sir, do you need to take care of Wen Huanzhang?"

"No need." Zhao Ji waved his hand and walked out: "Don't let him think that I am interested in him. There are so many state affairs, how can I waste time on people from the countryside? Since Qi is interested, let them contact him. I will wait and see."

The old eunuch at the back bowed his head deeply.

……

Anren Village.

"I appreciate General Hua's kindness, but I know that I am not talented enough to take on this important task, so I will not go to Liaodong to cause trouble for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."

At the door, Wen Huanzhang looked at Hua Rong apologetically and handed over the package: "General, please take back these gifts. I have refused you. It would be shameless to accept them again."

Hua Rong opened his mouth, but could not find the words to persuade him to leave his things behind. He could only force a smile and continued, "I admire the professor's integrity, but it's a pity that we can't work together. If the king knew, it would be a great pity."

"It can only be said that we are not destined to be together." Wen Huanzhang took two steps back and bowed to the ground: "I sincerely wish the King of Qi to achieve great things."

Hua Rong's facial muscles twitched, and he could only nod: "I will tell the king what the professor said."

He turned around and walked out of Wen Huanzhang's yard. A personal soldier led a war horse to the side. Hua Rong asked the soldier to take his things, got on the war horse, and looked behind him. He saw the middle-aged man smiling and bowing to him. He turned sideways on the horse and returned the salute, then shook the reins and said, "Go——"

With the sound of flying hooves, several horses quickly ran out of the village and arrived at a wasteland. Hua Rong reined in his horse and the soldiers behind him hurriedly stopped their horses. They looked at the general riding a white horse in front of them, whose horse turned around. The originally gentle face had lost its usual calmness.

"General, that guy doesn't know how to appreciate your kindness. Do you want to..." A personal soldier stepped forward and said, with a look of hostility on his face.

"This is the border of Bianliang, don't cause trouble for the delegation." Hua Rong said expressionlessly, staring coldly at the village, as if he saw the scholar who rejected him through the house in front of him, and whispered a few words: "This matter is not over yet!"

He pulled the reins and shouted, "Let's go!"

In the first month of winter, the delegation, which had only stayed in the capital of Song State for a few days, set out again on the road to Dengzhou. However, no one was watching. A man dressed as a fisherman entered Zhuji Restaurant after the delegation left Beijing.

Soon, someone ran out of Bianliang and entered the fishing village. A boat carrying fast horses and people left the village and headed southwest, and disappeared. (End of this chapter)