In the back hall, after everyone had tea and sat down, Sun Quan said with a smile: "The reason why the three beloved ministers are left behind is because Zhuge Liang asked in his credential if Cao Pi is seriously ill and I will do something about it in Soochow. I would like to hear your opinion."
After saying that, he ordered the chamberlain who was waiting on the side: "I will give the certificate of credence to the three ministers' heirs." The chamberlain accepted the order and quickly handed the certificate of credence to Prime Minister Gu Yong.
After the three of them had finished reading, it was Gu Yong who spoke first and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that although Cao Pi is seriously ill, his life or death is unpredictable. The current situation is unclear, so we should not make hasty judgments."
Sun Quan stroked his beard, nodded, and asked, "What do Boyan and Ziyu think?"
Zhuge Jin glanced at Lu Xun and saw that he was still deep in thought, so he said: "Your Majesty, what the Prime Minister said is a mature move to seek the country. Although Cao Pi has not been to the court for many days, it cannot be said that he must be seriously ill or still. We will wait for more detailed information to be sent back from Xizuo before making further explanations.”
Sun Quan did not comment, and then asked Lu Xun: "Bo Yan, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I thought that since Zhuge Liang asked this question, maybe Western Shu had some definite information, and the Shu envoy was still there. I didn't believe that Yang Mingzhi was not ordered to mention this matter, so I thought it would be better to wait until the next time I summon the Shu envoy. We’ll figure it out later.”
Sun Quan nodded and said, "That makes sense. Just follow what you said and wait until you see Yang Qing again before making a decision."
Now that they had a plan, the four monarchs and ministers stopped discussing the matter and talked about other military affairs before they dispersed.
At night, the bright moon fills the sky and the stars twinkle.
It was bright and bright outside, and the Chongli Hall of Wu State was also brightly lit and lively. In order to entertain the Shu envoys, Wu King Sun Quan and a group of ministers and ministers had all taken their seats, and were now waiting for the arrival of Yang Qing and Fei Yi.
Sun Quan liked to laugh and have fun at banquets all his life. At this moment, he had a thought in his mind and said to the officials: "When the envoys from Shu come, please stay in bed and don't get up." The people were already familiar with their lord's temperament and knew that he was going to tease Shu again. The envoys from the country all bowed their hands and made promises.
After a while, the chamberlain came into the palace and reported that the Han envoys Yang Qing and Fei Yi had arrived. Sun Quan nodded and said, "Please come in, the Han envoys."
Yang Qing and Fei Yi entered the palace and saluted in unison: "The foreign ministers have met the King of Wu."
Sun Quan stood up and said, "Two gentlemen have finally arrived. Please take your seats." After saying that, he looked at the two of them with a smile.
The two soon realized that something was wrong in the atmosphere. Sun Quan stood up to greet him, but the officials of Soochow were still sitting in their seats, drinking and eating. Are all the ministers of Wu so arrogant and rude?
Yang Qing knew something was wrong. When he saw Sun Quan's half-smiling expression, he realized that Sun Shiwan was deliberately making things difficult for him.
Fei Yi also understood this very quickly. He looked at Yang Qing and saw that he nodded slightly, understanding in his heart, so he said loudly: "There is a phoenix flying over. The unicorn knows how to spit out food and stop eating, but the donkey and the mule are ignorant and just lie down and eat as usual." .”
This is calling the officials of Soochow as donkeys and mules. Sun Quan and his ministers looked at each other, thinking that Yang Mingzhi was well-known for his talent, but they never thought that Fei Yi was so quick in thinking and so sharp in his rhetoric.
Sun Quan thought to himself, if he didn't fight back, wouldn't he be humiliated instead? So he looked at a young official in his twenties on the left column.
The young man understood what his lord meant, smiled slightly, stood up and said loudly: "People plant plane trees, hoping to wait for the phoenix, but now there are some chaffinches claiming to be flying? Why don't we shoot them and let them return to their hometown!"
After saying this, the officials of Soochow laughed loudly. They all knew that their side had defeated Xishu, and many people had raised their glasses proudly to congratulate him. Sun Quan also breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down, looking at Yang Qing and Fei Yi leisurely.
Yang Qing smiled when he saw this, took two steps closer to look at the young official, and saw that he was seven feet six inches tall, with a young beard, a large forehead, and a loud mouth. He asked curiously: "I wonder who you are?"
Before the young man could reply, Sun Quan said, "This is the son of Zuo General Zhuge Jin, and Zuo Fu Commander Zhuge Ke is also the son."
Oh, this man is Zhuge Qiao's eldest brother, the famous child prodigy! As expected, he responded quickly and was extremely resourceful.
"It turns out to be Captain Zhuge. I already knew from Bo Song that you had a reputation as a child prodigy since you were a child. When I saw you today, you really lived up to your reputation.
Yang Qing bowed his hands in greeting.
Zhuge Ke saw that the other party praised him so much and seemed to be familiar with his second brother, so his expression softened a little and he politely said: "I don't dare to accept it."
But although he spoke modestly, the complacency on his face remained undiminished, and he still looked at Yang Qing and Qing leisurely.
This guy is indeed a proud and competitive person, no wonder he was able to bring trouble to himself in the future.
Yang Qing was slandering in his heart, but he said with a smile on his face: "In the past, the phoenix sang in Xiqi and Ji Zhou rose. Now that the Han Dynasty is flourishing in the west, it must be a phoenix soaring in Yizhou. How can it be a sparrow?"
It was difficult for Zhuge Ke to refute this. Yang Qing meant to compare the current Ji Han to Xiqi back then. In the past, the phoenix of Qishan Mountain meant the prosperity of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Now that the Han Dynasty is reviving in Yizhou, it also means that a phoenix will surely come to the west. Naturally, people like Yang Qing and Fei Yi from the west flew over like phoenixes.
Now that Han and Wu have re-allied, although Soochow secretly often refers to Ji Han as Shu, they dare not say openly that Ji Han is not the continuation of the Han, otherwise it will damage the relationship between the two countries.
Zhuge Ke also knew this very well. Although he wanted to continue to retaliate, he did not dare to break this taboo in public, so he stood there with his head bowed and remained silent.
Sun Quan saw Zhuge Ke's embarrassment, laughed, and came out to smooth things over: "There are no sparrows here, they are all phoenixes. Gentlemen, please take your seats."
Yang Qing and Fei Yi stopped arguing, smiled, and sat down in the guest seats.
Sun Quan held the wine glass and said loudly: "Everyone, I would like to toast the Han envoy with a glass of wine." The ministers responded and raised their glasses to each other.
Yang Qing and Fei Yi also raised their wine glasses and said in return: "To the king, to all the gentlemen."
Everyone drank together, and the banquet officially began. The palace maids performed dances, the musicians played music, and the officials of the Eastern Wu Dynasty diligently encouraged the banquet. It was very lively. The person opposite Yang Qing was Wu Xiang Gu Yong, and the first person under Gu Yong was Lu Xun, the auxiliary general.
During the day, Yang Qing did not take a close look at this famous Soochow general. Looking at him now, he saw that he was in his early forties, handsome and gentle, and the mustache on his lips gave this man a bit of maturity and wisdom.
Thinking of what Zhuge Liang told him, Yang Qing walked over with his wine glass in hand: "General Lu, I would like to toast you."
Lu Xun stood up and said, "It's time for me to have a drink with you, please."
After they both drank at the same time, Yang Qing said again: "My prime minister has a letter for me to take to the general. I wonder if the general will be free tomorrow so that I can pay him a visit at his residence."
In fact, not only Zhuge Liang had letters to Lu Xun, but Li Yan also had letters and gifts, which he took the time to give to others.
"Okay, I will be waiting at home tomorrow to join the army."
