Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In the first month of the second year of Jianwu, he went to the capital.

The wind and snow howled.

White ice crystals fell on the houses. From time to time, people could be seen wearing thickly dressed people, wearing barrel-shaped hand cages made of various furs, and running quickly on the street with their hands cupped in them. When they saw acquaintances, they would just smile and nod, and then quickly run away.

After two or three days, the snowstorm finally stopped, and the atmosphere in the capital became warmer as the wind and snow stopped. From time to time, knights riding strong horses and wearing fur coats could be seen running out of the city and galloping to the east and north. The horses left deep tracks on the snowy roads, and the white mist they exhaled melted into the cold air.

Soldiers wearing armor and cloaks were patrolling back and forth in the imperial city. A general named Su Yi strode in. His originally childish face looked much more mature. Someone took him into the guest hall.

"Are you used to Wuwei's life?" a woman's voice rang out.

Across from him, a young man sat down, his armor making a slight sound as he moved. "Second sister, I've been in the army for a few years, how can I not get used to it?"

He looked around and asked, "Where's Qun'er?"

A maid came over with a bowl of steaming hot soup and put it down. Then she withdrew expressionlessly. Su Jinniang held out her hand and picked it up: "In the academy. Now that you are old enough to learn, it's time for you to learn something."

"Tsk... He has to study at such a young age." Su Yi shook his head, and said with emotion: "He is still young, he should play."

"Drink your hot soup." Su Jinniang glared at her brother in anger: "Why don't you learn some principles in elementary school? When you grow up, you will fall asleep after reading books and run away when you hear poetry!"

"Hey, second sister, just talk about Qun'er, why bring me up?"

Su Yi straightened his neck immediately, and seeing Su Jinniang glaring at him, he curled up again and muttered quietly: "I really can't concentrate on learning. My eldest brother is the only one in the family who can read and write letters. Besides, I am not completely illiterate. I can read military books, right?"

The elder sister held her forehead with her hand, reached out and picked up a piece of cake and threw it at her brother, cursing: "Dad has asked a professor to teach you since you were four or five years old. After more than ten years of study, you have not made any progress at all."

Su Yi also reacted quickly, stretched out his hand to catch the cake, threw it into his mouth, and said vaguely: "I like martial arts more than reading, and you can't force me to learn, second sister.

He... is just a cow. He is not thirsty and he will not drink even if you put him in water."

"You think you are right?"

Su Jinniang was so angry that she stood up and was about to twist her brother's ear. Su Yi quickly admitted his mistake and shrank back: "No, second sister, isn't it okay for me to be wrong?"

His eyes moved, and he quickly changed the subject: "Why did you call me here today? If it's just to scold me, then I'll leave."

Su Jinniang stopped and sat back with a snort. "Is there nothing wrong? I can't ask you to come over? You were always in the army before, and you were stationed somewhere else with General Lu. Now that you finally come back, I have to see you."

After a pause, he said, "You've been back for such a long time, have you ever been back home? How are your father and mother?"

"I've been home." Su Yi knew from her expression that she was homesick, so he sat up straight and said, "Everything is fine at home, and my eldest brother is no longer busy and often goes home to take care of us, so don't worry, second sister."

"It's good that nothing happened at home." Su Jinniang nodded, her face a little depressed: "I can't go out often in the palace, and they can't come in at any time when they are outside. I am a little worried."

He looked at his brother and said, "Now that you are here, go back and take a look when you are not on duty, and then tell me about it. It will put my mind at ease."

"That's easy." Su Yi naturally had no reason to refuse, so he nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, Second Sister, I will definitely come home often."

Just as he was about to continue speaking, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him. Several maids came in with dishes that were kept warm over charcoal fire, put them down, and then went out again.

Su Jinniang looked at her brother's puzzled eyes, smiled gently, and said softly: "Since you are not on duty, stay here with me to eat something. After all, we haven't seen each other for a long time. You must have not eaten well in the army. Try the food in the palace. I specially asked someone to prepare it."

Su Yi scratched his cheek with his hand, moved his body awkwardly, and his expression was a little complicated: "Second sister..."

"Hmm?" Su Jinniang picked up a piece of lamb chop and was about to take a bite. She looked up at her brother after hearing his voice and asked, "What's the matter?"

"This..." Su Yi's eyes moved left and right, looking a little hesitant.

Su Jinniang frowned and said, "But it doesn't suit your taste?" Then she looked at the dishes and said, "No, these are all the things you used to like to eat."

"...No, you speak so gently..." Su Yi felt itchy all over and moved his butt: "I'm a little uncomfortable."

Lamb chops came flying.

Su Yi ducked to the side. Su Jinniang stood up, bent over and grabbed his ear: "I think you are itching for trouble. Are you upset that I haven't beaten you in these years?"

"No, no." Su Yi hurriedly shook his hands, but he was relieved in his heart. Now his body was no longer itchy and his butt was heavy. He quickly comforted his sister: "Second sister, you misunderstood. It's just that we have been apart for a long time. You will adapt soon, you will adapt soon."

"Eat your food, stop talking nonsense." Su Jinniang let go of her ears, sat down, and rolled her eyes: "Wait and tell my parents about it later, and ask them to find a little girl to take care of you. Hmm? By the way, do you have a little girl you like?"

She looked at him with some interest: "If there is, Second Sister will be your matchmaker."

"I spend all day in the army, so I don't have time to meet girls." The young man spread his hands and said, "Besides, I have you here, my second sister. Why should I worry about not having a young lady to marry me?"

"You want me to help you find a wife? You're so lazy." Su Jinniang rolled her eyes and said unhappily, "Okay, I'll remember this. If you find someone you like, don't forget to tell me."

"Got it. Thank you, Second Sister."

Su Yi laughed and looked quite fawning. The two siblings ate and drank here, talking about their family situation and childhood stories, and they laughed from time to time.

"Second sister." Su Yi spat out a chicken bone and said, "His Majesty will select a vanguard in a few days. Did he tell you when?"

"The snow has to melt first." Su Jinniang was peeling river shrimps in her hands and glanced at her brother who was eager to try. How could she not know what he was thinking?
He shook his head and said, "Don't think too much. You are the general of the Right Guard. Your duty is to protect His Majesty. How can you fight for the position of vanguard? You should honestly protect the central army."

"I didn't say I wanted to compete..." Su Yi licked his lips: "It's okay to just go down and fight with others, right? It won't stop anyone from winning the championship."

Su Jinniang didn't say anything, but just rolled her eyes at him. The young man immediately chuckled, knowing that his idea was feasible. He ate and drank, then patted his stomach and said, "I'm done."

Su Jinniang ignored her and ate her meal leisurely. Su Yi was also patient and waited for her to finish before talking to her for a while. He drank some tea and then stood up to say goodbye. "By the way, second sister." The young man walked out and stood still, turning his head to look at his sister who had matured a lot: "My parents asked me to bring you a message last time I went home."

"what?"

With one foot back, Su Yi bent over and said with a smile: "You don't need to worry about the family affairs. Have more children with His Majesty. One is too few."

"you……"

Even though Su Jinniang was already a married woman, she still felt shy when she heard this. When she stood up and pointed at her brother, the young man turned around neatly and ran away like the wind.

"I'll deal with you next time..." Su Jinniang walked to the door and glared at her brother's running back. She couldn't help but shouted loudly: "Slow down, be careful of the slippery road."

Su Yi in the yard had already run far away. I don’t know if he heard it or not. He disappeared after turning a corner.

Su Jinniang pinched her waist and let out a long sigh. As she spoke, "Let's go back to the palace," someone naturally came over and put a thick sable coat on her.

Soon after, a group of people left the palace.

……

Under the daylight, several figures were sitting in the place renamed the Council Hall. Fang Xuedu, who was muscular and did not look like a scholar, held a book in his hand and said, "There are currently 80,000 armored warriors on the list, 20,000 Jurchen soldiers, more than 35,000 soldiers from Liaodong, and another 25,000 or so are the old soldiers who followed us north that year."

He pursed his lips and said, "There are still some local militias and militias, which can be counted as many as 110,000 or 20,000 people. However, if we mobilize all the troops to go south, it may have a certain impact on local stability."

"The current food and grass can support 100,000 people to march south." Jiang Jing added: "The time limit is half a year."

Several closed copper stoves were emitting heat. A eunuch came over quietly, added some charcoal, and then slowly retreated with his body hunched.

Lü Bu listened, tapping the table with his fingers: "Have you found out how many Liao troops there are in Zhongjing, Xijing, and Nanjing?"

"Most of the soldiers in Zhongjing Road are in Dading Prefecture. There are more than 60,000 soldiers in Dading Prefecture alone. If you add the soldiers in other cities, there are still 150,000 to 160,000 soldiers."

Qiao Lie held the heater on his lap with both hands and spoke softly, "The number of people from Nanjing Road and Xijing Road will only be greater than theirs, and the soldiers from Xijing Road have never been mobilized. If we go south, the Liao people may mobilize their entire army."

"Your Majesty." Lü Sili was also in the hall. When he saw the former finish speaking, he spoke up, "I have received news that Yelu Yanxi has recruited many Han soldiers in Nanjing Road, and as more and more Khitan nobles surrendered, he began to gradually rely on Han and Xi officials.

I heard that Wu Yong, Ma Renwang, Chai Yi and other older Han officials were dismissed for their incompetence, and younger Han officials such as Li Chuwen and Zuo Qigong replaced them to help handle court affairs. "

Lu Bu's eyes moved: "Maybe he could be trying to instigate a rebellion?"

"It won't work in a short period of time. After all, Yelu Yanxi just promoted them." Lu Sili thought for a moment and spoke cautiously: "If our army wins consecutive victories, I think... maybe they will understand who is worthy of their loyalty."

"In that case..." Lu Bu thought for a moment and said, "Send an order to have the Zhechongfu in various places train more before sending out the troops. Send a dispatch order to the generals in charge of the troops in various places, asking them to prepare the army as soon as possible and rush to Yong'an in the early spring."

Fang Xuedu bowed and replied, "Yes."

Lu Bu turned his gaze to Jiang Jing. The divine fortune teller stood up and bowed, "Don't worry about the food and grass, Your Majesty. I will take care of everything."

The sturdy emperor nodded in satisfaction, and everyone relaxed. Assistant Li stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, the news of the vanguard has spread throughout the army. When will the competition begin?"

"We have to wait for the generals from all over the country to come." Lu Bu chuckled and thought for a while: "In that case, let's set the time on Xinmao in the last month of spring, select the vanguard, rest for three days, and send the troops south on Yiwei."

Fang Xuedu was beaming with joy: "If that's the case, I will include all of this in the transfer order, and I believe all the generals will come running."

Several people in the hall laughed when they heard this. The Qi army was a martial nation, and although the generals had a good relationship with each other, they also had a competitive spirit. They were probably more anxious to be the first to march south, and it was probably common for them to march quickly and urge the soldiers to hurry up.

Lu Bu's eyes narrowed slightly. It was a good thing for him that neither the civil nor the military officials in the court avoided fighting. He then discussed some details with the people in the hall and confirmed that all the departments were well coordinated with each other before waving his hand to signal everyone to leave.

Looking at the empty Council Hall, Lu Bu stood up and stretched himself, a series of crisp sounds coming from his joints: "Return to the palace."

The eunuchs behind him lowered their heads hurriedly and began to pack up. Lu Bu's eyes swept over them before he stepped out of the palace gate. The guards wearing armor and cloaks outside hurriedly followed the emperor, and they walked towards the harem before stopping. They stood on both sides of the door, waiting for the people who would take over the night shift to arrive.

The sky darkened, and the blue sky turned into golden with crimson edges at the end of the sight. Birds turned into black dots in the sky and flew by, and it was unknown which tree they landed on.

With a faint white mist floating from his mouth and nose, Lu Bu opened the door of the palace and walked in: "Hiss... huh, it's really cold today."

Stretching out his arms, he took off the cloak that he was wearing and put it aside by the maid. He watched several short figures coming towards him. Lu Lan called out "Father" and trotted over. Lu Bu picked her up. Seeing Lu Wen, who looked like a big child, standing behind him, he walked over and picked her up as well.

The only boy left, Lu Qun, watched his father pick up his sister and brother. He blinked and looked at them with some envy, then bowed according to the etiquette he had just learned: "Meet the Emperor, Father."

"If there are no outsiders, don't be so polite." Lu Bu walked over with his two daughters in his arms, looked at his son and said, "You are still young, don't learn to be so dull."

"Here."

Lu Qun responded in a babyish voice, which made Lu Bu frown. He looked at the women sitting at the table and sighed, "Who taught him to be like this?"

Su Jinniang pursed her lips and said, "The royal family is different than usual, so it's better to understand more rules."

Lu Bu turned to look at his son. Seeing that he looked a little reserved, he somehow thought of a young man and turned his head: "Rules are rules. He is too reserved. I don't want him to become like the young emperor of Han in the future..."

Su Jinniang wanted to say something, but Lu Bu shook his head and sighed, "Stop the etiquette lessons for now, let him play for a while, don't let him become so old-fashioned, he doesn't look like a child."

Several women looked at each other. Su Jinniang thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Since my husband wants this, I will not let him go tomorrow. But if someone says he is unruly in the future, please don't blame me."

The man looked at her like this, smiled and sat down: "I didn't say it's bad for him to learn these things, it's just that it's too early now. When he grows up, he will definitely have to learn them again." (End of this chapter)