Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The noisy and lively New Year's Eve passed by in everyone's busyness. Starting from Fengzhou, a team of 200 people was on their way to Linhuang Prefecture. A fast horse in the army galloped north first to pass on the message.

In the imperial study of the palace, the flickering lights illuminated the person behind the dragon desk, casting their shadows on the wall. Lu Bu was waving a brush to review some memorials. Two young eunuchs were standing on the left and right near the dragon desk. When they saw that the review was completed, they hurried forward to collect the memorials and put them on the other side in a stack. Later, all the reviewed memorials would be taken away together.

"Winter is getting colder and colder, and snowstorms are happening in many places. It's a troubled year."

The temperature at night was colder than during the day. Lu Bu tightened his sable coat and waved to the eunuch to adjust the brazier. He kept writing and continued, "... I received a letter from Nanjing saying that they were moving here. I waited until the New Year but no one came. I hope there is something wrong."

The news of the Lu family's move north had been reported long ago. Although Lu Bu did not care much about the relatives in this body, the other party had served as officials in the Liao Dynasty for generations and was very prestigious among Han officials. This would help him win over officials from other regions. He even thought about how to use the other party to infiltrate Zhongjing Road.

However, the Lu family never showed up no matter how long they waited. He asked himself that since he was not a member of the Lu family, he would naturally not keep an eye on them all the time. As a result, until today, due to many external reasons such as heavy snow blocking the road, he had lost track of the other party.

Even though he didn't care at all, he still had to show some expression. In the past few years from Song to Liao, he had discovered the benefits of showing concern for others, which was incomparable to his previous indifferent attitude towards outsiders.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Your uncle is not a person who knows nothing. He must have considered something. Perhaps the journey was delayed due to heavy snow, so they had to stop halfway. Nothing will happen."

In the imperial study, a tall young man rubbed the knuckles of his index finger with his left thumb, his expression calm. He was Lu Guan, the younger of the two members of the Lu family in Qi, and the current Shangshu Zuocheng.

“Although there are not as many Han people in Zhongjing as in Nanjing, the number of Han people working here far exceeds that in Nanjing. Although our Lu family is not as good as the Anci Han family, Changping Liu family, Yilu Ma family, and Lulong Zhao family, we are not unknown.

Besides, with His Majesty here, any normal person would not take action against the king and his uncle at this critical moment, otherwise, who would be able to bear the consequences when His Majesty asks for punishment in the future."

When these words reached his ears, Lu Bu put down his pen first, blew on the comments he had written, and then handed them to the eunuch: "Zi Jing's words make sense. Let's wait until the snow melts. I can afford to wait for this long."

He stood up and stretched, then walked out of the dragon case. After a moment of silence, he said, "With such a heavy snow this year, I hope there will be a good harvest next year. We must also speed up the purchase of food. Once everything is ready, we can take back the land of Youyan."

Perhaps because he spent too much time reviewing memorials, or perhaps because it was late, Lu Bu did not sit back behind the dragon table. He waved his hand to signal the eunuch to clean up the table, walked over and patted Lu Guan: "The snow disaster in various places should be taken seriously. I don't want to hear any news about the poor disaster relief in the future."

Lu Guan lowered his head. He knew about the disaster after the recent snowfall, and he had also suggested the court allocate funds for relief. However, disaster relief was always a matter of fearlessness and manipulation, and he did not dare to guarantee that there were no corrupt officials in the State of Qi today.

Lu Bu looked at the young tribesman thoughtfully and said, "Why don't you go and do this for me?"

Lu Guan looked up and opened his mouth slightly.

"You are the left chancellor, assisting the minister in overall discipline." Lu Bu put down the hand that was patting his shoulder and said, "According to the rules, the right chancellor should assist the minister in charge of money and grain, and should be the one to take my place in the inspection. However, the court is short of people now, so you have to shoulder both responsibilities."

"Yes."

The young man who responded lowered his head slightly.

Lu Bu nodded, very satisfied with his attitude: "Okay, I will let Deng Fei go with you, and send Yang Zaixing to lead 500 soldiers to guard you. You and Deng Fei will discuss how to proceed."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Censor Deng and I will advance in two directions, one openly and one secretly. We will definitely not allow stupid people to appear in the court."

"Okay! Since Zijing has this in mind, I am relieved."

Lu Bu's eyes were full of admiration, and he encouraged him a few more words. Soon, when the sky outside became darker, he let him leave.

The emperor, who thought he was barely diligent in his work, stretched himself again, tied his cloak, and waved his hand: "Return to the palace."

He stepped out of the imperial study and went to the harem surrounded by armed guards.

The cold wind blowing in from the open door shook the lamp violently. The shadows of the two eunuchs swayed in the room and on the wall. Then the two men came out in a hurry, holding the reviewed memorials.

In the first month of spring in the new year, there is still no sign of warming. For merchants who make a living from trade, this is a big disaster. The difficult road increases the difficulty of transportation. The overdue fee is nothing more than a few dollars, but the loss of credibility is what they are worried about, which requires time and energy to make up for.

A small number of cavalrymen from the south of Linhuang Prefecture had already arrived in the early part of this month. They trampled the compacted snow into a dirty layer of ice, and their horses' hooves splashed out some broken ice on it.

They felt better only when they roared all the way to the vicinity of the city. Here, corvée laborers or people who were doing work-in-lieu of relief were responsible for cleaning the ground. The ground was clean and tidy enough for the cavalry to run freely.

Instead of entering Seoul from the south, the cavalry headed directly towards Gongchen Gate in the north.

Yelu Yudu looked at the familiar city, and it was hard to describe the feeling in his heart. Even though he had become one of the people who needed protection, he still felt a sense of shame.

Perhaps if I had died in battle that day I wouldn't have had so many distracting thoughts.

He sighed secretly and watched the cavalry stop outside the Gongchen Gate. The leading captain stepped forward and showed something to the city gate officer, said a few words, then waved his hand back, and the warhorse that had just stopped mobilized its muscles again and ran into the city.

The wind blew over overhead, and the high-hanging large flag with the word "Qi" fluttered and expanded.

The two hundred cavalrymen spurred their horses forward for a distance. When they saw the imperial city, the Khitan nobles in the crowd took a breath, looked at the captain in charge again and spoke to people, and then reported to the higher authorities.

The white mist dissipated in his eyes, and soon a familiar figure ran out.

"Your Majesty has ordered Yelu Yudu to appear before the Emperor in the Imperial Study."

After saying that, he stood aside.

The cavalrymen under Wang De listened to the order and turned to look at the Khitans they had escorted all the way.

"Yelü Yudu obeys your order."

He bowed and stepped off his horse, allowed the guards at the gate to search him, and then followed the eunuch in.

"Have we met this eunuch before?"

Amid the sound of footsteps, some distance away from the entrance of the imperial palace, the former Liao commander-in-chief could not help but speak.

"Xiang Wen has a good memory." The eunuch in front of him bowed slightly and said, "I once served in Concubine Wen's old palace for a period of time. Later, His Majesty... The Liao Emperor went hunting and did not return to the palace. I never saw Xiang Wen again."

"...So it's still the old friend." Yelu Yudu moved his lips, but didn't know what to say.

The eunuch in front walked a few steps and tilted his head slightly: "Excuse me, Xiangwen, is the nobleman okay?" "Dead." Yelu Yudu said two words softly and pursed his lips: "Died because of the wine given by Yelu Yanxi."

The eunuch's body trembled, and he was silent for a while, then he lowered his head and murmured: "May the gods protect the noble soul."

The figure following behind him didn't say anything, but his expression was quite gloomy. The eunuch said one sentence and stopped talking. He just led him around in this familiar yet unfamiliar palace. From afar, the house that had not changed its style came into view.

"The imperial study is in front of us." The eunuch stopped and gestured with his hand. A gentle voice suddenly came into his ears: "Your Majesty is in a good mood today."

Yelu Yu glanced at the eunuch, then nodded slightly, whispered a word of thanks, and strode forward.

In front of the door, the fat Wei He was standing at the door with a large sword in his hand. His fat face was red from the cold. He was guarding the door with several guards.

Guards on both sides came forward, searched him, and seeing that there was no dangerous object on him, they waved their hands and let him pass.

Yu Cheng knocked on the door and said, "Your Majesty, Yelu Yudu has arrived."

"Let him in."

The sound was heard by everyone. Yu Cheng immediately stepped aside and motioned Yelu Yudu to come in. The Khitan noble was not afraid of the stage and pushed the door open and walked in.

The daylight illuminated the room. Lu Bu sat behind the dragon table and looked at the Khitans who walked in with great interest.

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A tall young man holding a phoenix-head axe stood not far to the side with a serious expression. Another young man sat behind a smaller desk with paper, ink, brush and inkstone on it. Seeing him come in, he spread out a blank booklet, obviously preparing for shorthand later.

Yelu Yudu took a breath and smelled the aroma of wine, but he didn't care. The face behind the dragon case reminded him of the last battle. His hands shook unconsciously and he knelt down: "I am the guilty minister Yelu Yudu, I kowtow to the emperor. I offended the emperor last time and deserve death. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Alright, get up. This kind of empty formality is not acceptable here." Lu Bu waved his hand and leaned back. "If I wanted to blame you, I would have ordered Wang De to chop you off. Why would I have asked you to go all the way to the capital?"

"Your Majesty is magnanimous."

Yelu Yudu stood up with a normal expression, and he didn't know whether to believe or not believe what Lu Bu said.

He had thought it through clearly when he came. As a general among the Khitan nobles, he still had value to the Qi State. The other party would not kill him without any use. However, he did not know whether the people behind the table would hold a grudge against him if he was impolite.

Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. This sentence has been well experienced by Yelu Yanxi, and he does not want to experience it again in Qi State.

"Sit down." Lu Bu pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "I want to ask you something. It may take a long time."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yelu Yudu walked over and sat down with his head held high, and bowed: "Whatever Your Majesty wants to know, I will certainly tell you everything I know."

"Okay, that's great. I hate people who dawdle the most." Lu Bu clapped his hands and laughed, motioning Yu Cheng to take the old wine that was boiling on the brazier behind him: "It's cold, drink something hot to warm yourself up."

Yelu Yudu watched Yu Cheng pour the hot wine into the cup, then held it in his palm. Suddenly, a wave of heat came into his palm. He looked at the swaying liquid in the cup and raised his head: "I wonder what your majesty wants to know?"

The figure behind Long An narrowed his eyes and spoke lightly: "Everything, Liao's current armaments, responses, the number of generals on the Zhongjing Road defense line, and whether to mobilize Nanjing and Xijing to enter Zhongjing, these..."

Lu Bu slowly reached out and picked up the wine cup and blew on it: "I want to know everything."

Not a surprising answer.

Thinking about this, Yelu Yudu lowered his head and took a sip of the hot wine. The old wine with the taste of ginger went down his throat. Feeling the heat generated by his body, he pondered and said, "That will indeed take some time. Let's start with the defense line of Zhongjing Road."

He looked up at Lu Bu and said, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, before I surrendered to Qi, I actually had no confidence that I could stop your Majesty's army. There are troops in Zhongjing..."

The voice was not fast, but clear and methodical. Sitting behind the small table was Li Xian, who had been promoted to the position of Chief Secretary, and was writing down his words at a rapid pace.

The Secretary General belongs to the Taichang Temple and is in charge of books and maps. It was established in the second year of Yan Xi. It was abolished and reopened many times later. This position is generally used to train people.

There are not too many books and classics in Shangjing. Among the five capitals, Nanjing and Zhongjing have the most books and classics. Therefore, after finishing his job, this young man is often summoned by Lu Bu to the imperial study to assign him some tasks.

For a while, the only sound in the room was Yelu Yudu's voice, with Lu Bu occasionally asking a few questions. When Li Xian stopped writing, the eunuch in charge of lighting had already walked in and lit the lights in the imperial study.

In the dim sky, the light of the candle made the brows of several people relax. Yelu Yudu pondered under the gaze of the three people, and said after a while: "This is all I know. There is really nothing more to tell you."

"Alright." Lu Bu glanced at the pile of books on Li Xian's side and stood up. "Wang De wrote that you have more than a thousand soldiers coming with you?"

"Yes." Yelu Yudu clenched his fists slightly, looked at Lu Bu and lowered his head: "They are all former subordinates of the guilty minister."

"Then these people will still be under your command." Lu Bu waved his hand and said, "Promote them to General Ping Liao, treat them as a third-rank general, and grant them a title..."

Tiger eyes glanced at him: "Guan Nei Hou."

Yelu Yudu's eyes lit up. He was well aware of Qi's official positions and titles as a rival. By the time Lu Bu ascended the throne, there were only a few second-rank officials and marquises of Guannei. Although he knew that he was a horse bone among those worth a thousand gold, and was for the Khitan and Xi nobles to see, it was much better than being treated coldly as he had imagined.

As for the name Ping Liao...

Yelu Yudu now wishes to change his name to Pingxi.

At that moment, the newly-commissioned general bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Bu nodded: "You will be stationed in Linhuang Prefecture for the time being." His tiger eyes suddenly focused: "If we go to war with the Liao Kingdom..."

Yelu Yudu clasped his hands together and said in a resounding voice: "I would like to be the vanguard and help Your Majesty to eliminate all obstacles!"

Lü Bu then smiled with satisfaction: "It is not possible to start a war with the Liao people in the short term. It is getting late today, so go down first."

"My minister retire."

Those who have finished the ceremony will walk back out. (End of this chapter)