Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The third year of Tianshun in Qi Dynasty, the first year of Xuanhe in Song Dynasty, and the ninth year of Tianqing in Liao Dynasty, late mid-winter.

As the year draws to a close, there are many caravans coming and going in Bianliang City. Cartloads of goods are transported into the city from all over the world, and most of the passers-by have smiles on their faces. The year is almost over, and the money earned is enough to cover family expenses with some surplus, so it is time to reward oneself.

However, some people in the city were happy while others were sad. Deng Xunwu, the head of the Privy Council, had been frowning in recent days. The court was determined to form an alliance with the State of Qi, which he thought was foolish. Even Prime Minister Cai Jing, who had always been regarded as the leader, did not bother to agree with it. He repeatedly wrote letters to try to dissuade them but received no response. He could only watch the court envoys and the Qi delegation leave the city. He felt very annoyed and simply stayed at home in recent days and did not go to court.

Outside the door, the cold wind was howling. The middle-aged man wrapped himself in his cloak, put a few pieces of charcoal into the brazier, and read his latest collection of poems. Only at this time could he feel a sense of comfort.

pop-

There was a knock on the door, and then the chief steward of the mansion opened the door: "Master, there is someone visiting outside."

“No!” Deng Xunwu didn’t even raise his head, his eyes fixed on the book: “Just tell him that I’m ill and can’t see guests, and ask him to go back.” He turned a page and said: “If it’s a minister in the court, tell him that I will visit him on a certain day after I recover.”

After reading two lines of poetry, I felt a cool breeze blowing across my face. I couldn't help but frown and put the book down: "Why are you still here?"

"...Master." The chief steward had an indescribable expression on his face: "It's better for you to meet him. The man outside is related to Master Zhang."

"I don't care if he's real or fake!" Deng Xunwu was a little upset: "Even if the prime minister comes, I won't see him."

“This…” The chief steward didn’t dare to look at him. He lowered his head and walked in, saying softly, “He’s an old friend of the down-and-out savage.”

Snapped--

The poetry collection slammed heavily on the table.

"You are rebelling. If you don't want to work, get out! You are a savage and you are talking to me..." Pointing at the manager opposite, Deng Xunwu stood up suddenly, but stopped talking suddenly. His expression changed: "What are you talking about? What savage?"

The chief steward looked respectful and repeated with his hands down: "Poor savage."

"Let's go to Kaifeng Prefecture to look for him..." Deng Xunwu said, then suddenly stopped talking: "Forget it, it's all old stuff, no one is investigating it anymore, just invite him in."

The steward responded and turned to leave. Not long after, a middle-aged man in a Taoist robe came in with a young and beautiful woman: "Brother Zichang, I haven't seen you for many years. You are still as charming as ever." He then said to the woman next to him: "Call me Uncle Deng."

"Uncle Deng." The woman bowed deeply as she was told.

The middle-aged man smiled and looked across at the opposite side: "This is my daughter Chen Liqing."

"...Chen Xizhen." Deng Xunwu narrowed his eyes and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Sit down."

Watching the father and daughter sit down, the Privy Councilor stroked his beard and asked, "Why did you come to see me today?"

Chen Xizhen bowed his hands and said, "I didn't mean to disturb Brother Deng's peace, but I heard that you tried to dissuade the Taoist Saint from forming an alliance with the State of Qi but to no avail. After thinking about it, I came up with an idea and came to help you."

Deng Xunwu's eyes lit up: "What's your idea?"

"I have two ideas." Chen Xizhen leaned forward and stretched out two fingers: "First, I should find someone in the city to spread the word that Qi and Liao are making peace. After all, there is no news of war between Liao and Qi now, and Qi's separatist trend is complete, and it is also a fact that the Liao people can't do anything about it." He bent a finger: "Second, I heard that Zhao Youkai, the doctor of the court, has a bad relationship with my brother..." After a slight pause, he sat up straight: "If this person suddenly dies, will this diplomatic mission be temporarily shelved?"

"Zhao Youkai?" Deng Xunwu closed his eyes, stroked his beard, and suddenly opened his eyes to look at the opposite side: "What do you want?"

The middle-aged Taoist laughed and said, "My master disobeyed the court last time, but I have always been loyal to the government. I would like to seek an opportunity to serve the government and relieve its worries." Deng Xunwu said nothing, stroked his beard, bent down and used the fire tongs to poke the brazier: "You can do it yourself. If you succeed, no one will know..." He put down the fire tongs and looked at the father and daughter opposite: "I will grant you the position of the ruler."

"Thank you, Brother Deng!"

The father and daughter opposite each other smiled, stood up and walked away.

Soon, voices of discussion about the Liao and Qi countries were heard in the city, and some people took a boat out of the city and went straight to Jingdong.

……

Mid-winter.

The cold wind was howling, and the dust was frozen to the ground by the cold wind. The Qi envoys returning from Bianliang, together with the envoys sent by Song, crossed the river and headed towards Dengzhou.

The cold wind blew the raised flag, making a rustling sound. The soldier holding the flag staggered forward and hurriedly exerted strength in his arms to steady himself.

Hua Rong exhaled, his cloak was blown against his armor by the cold wind. He couldn't help but wrap the fox fur scarf around his neck. The soft touch brought a little warmth. He looked up at the sky and said, "Send a message to the front army to find a place to camp. It seems that we can't make it to Changle County today."

"Go talk to the two Song envoys and ask them to control the imperial guards and speed up. Otherwise, we will miss the destination every time if this continues."

A soldier responded and ran away quickly. Little Li Guang looked in the direction of Dengzhou and his expression changed for a while, but in the end he still continued to move forward with an expressionless face.

……

Laizhou Bay.

The sea water raised waves in the cold wind, and the cold sea water hit the flat-bottomed sand boat, causing the hull to shake. The sailor standing on the deck took in the sails, looked at the sky, said something to his companions, and ran to the cabin to prepare some dinner before coming back to change shifts.

bang-

The porcelain bowl was thrown out of the cabin and hit the wooden cabin wall. Then a weak voice shouted: "I will never eat bandit's food! Dong Kai! I didn't expect you to be a spy from Qi!"

The sailor looked out and saw his captain Chi Fangzheng standing behind a tall man in the cabin. The two looked at the middle-aged scholar in front of them helplessly. The former turned to look at the sailor and waved his hand: "Go do what you need to do!"

In front of him, Dong Kai smiled and said, "Professor Wen, at least eat something. You haven't eaten all day." He paused and said, "Don't be angry with your body if you want to be angry with me. Besides..." He turned around and looked at Chi Fang, "If you don't eat, won't you have to trouble Brother Chi to feed you again?"

Chi Fang chuckled, took a step forward, and pointed his thumb at himself: "What trouble is there? I'm most willing to force others to do things against their will."

Wen Huanzhang shrank back, then pointed at the two of them and said, "You two are both citizens of the Song Dynasty. Why do you have to work for the Qi people? Let me go back, and I will pretend that this matter never happened. Isn't it even more..."

"Professor!" Dong Kai raised his voice, looked at him for a long while, and sighed: "Brother Chi, let the professor eat."

"okay!"

Voices of "Woo woo...", "I...", "Hmm...", "I don't want to eat!" were heard from the cabin. (End of this chapter)