The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 73 Sun Quan's Questions
Upon seeing Cao Cao's envoy's anger, Zhuge Ke inwardly cried out that something bad was about to happen!
He quickly stepped forward to explain that he was ordered to protect the other party.

He also said that he learned that Liu Bei's envoy wanted to assassinate him, so he dared to break down the door and enter.

However, Cao Cao's envoy, looking at the group of strong and fierce soldiers behind him, simply did not believe it.

In addition, Fei Yi would occasionally chime in with jokes and banter.

In a fit of anger, he turned and left.

Helpless, Zhuge Ke glared fiercely at the infuriating Fei Yi.

He then hurriedly left through the back door of the inn.

He didn't use the main entrance because there was a deer there that annoyed him even more!

"If it weren't for Lord Mi's strategic planning, we would have suffered a loss tonight!"

"Didn't you see the look in Zhuge Ke's eyes just now? He looked like a defeated dog by the roadside! Hahahaha..."

Hearing that the future big brother was overestimating himself again, Miwei instinctively wanted to be humble.

But remembering the important matter, he immediately became serious and said:
“Wenwei, I observe that Zhuge Ke is young, impetuous and careless, and is certainly not capable of being an enemy of Captain Ma and you.”

"But his father was a well-known magnanimous and prudent man who was good at planning for the long term."

"Logically speaking, we shouldn't have so readily allowed his son to take such a rash and short-sighted approach!"

Upon hearing this, Fei Yi shuddered and stared intently, saying:
"Does Lord Mi mean that this person is feigning one way while secretly advancing another?!"

“Exactly!” Mi Wei said.

“I deliberately came to see you alone just now, with the intention of testing you.”

"As a result, although Zhuge Ke did not give me a friendly look, he clearly had soldiers under his command, enough to embolden him, but he did not even make any verbal threats."

"If I'm not mistaken, those soldiers clearly belong to other units, and he can't act recklessly like that!"

Fei Yi suddenly realized and admired him.

Then he noticed that Mi Wei, like himself, had come alone, and couldn't help but clap his hands and say:
"In the past, under the command of the Sun family, there was a man named Lu Zijing (Lu Su) who dared to fight General Guan alone with his sword."

"Unexpectedly, after Lu Zijing, my lord still has two men under his command who dare to fight alone, while the Sun family has no such heroes!"

Mi Wei was stunned for a moment before realizing that Fei Yi was comparing him to him.

Are they even being compared to Guan Yu and Lu Su?
No, no, that's not right... uh, no, that's not it.

Fei Yi is as bad as me!
Just as I was about to offer him some polite words, Zhan Sifu suddenly emerged from the alleyway.

Mi Wei hurriedly asked, "Mr. Zhan, have you found anything?"

Zhan Sifu nodded heavily, his face beaming with joy.

Fei Yi was confused and looked at Mi Wei.

Mi Wei: "Our arrival here is enough to draw the attention of the city's eyes and ears, which will make it easier for my men to investigate secretly."

Fei Yi couldn't help but admire Mi Wei's meticulousness.

He then looked at Zhan Sifu.

The latter was beaming with joy:
"As you predicted, my lord, there is important military intelligence!"

Fei Yi's heart tightened upon hearing the voice: "Where?"

Zhan Sifu: "Shut up!"

……

The following day, the group finally met Sun Quan in person.

Sun Quan personally hosted a banquet, which was naturally of a higher standard than Zhuge Jin's small banquet.

In addition to having more seats, musicians and dancers were also provided to warm up the atmosphere.

For a time, the foot of Baqiu Mountain was a riot of colors, and the air was filled with a sweet fragrance.

But all three of them were used to big events and wouldn't be distracted by this.

In particular, they were deliberately told that this group of entertainers had come all the way from Luoyang.

All that remained in my heart was a cold laugh.

The banquet dishes were also more plentiful than yesterday's.

Pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish—there's no shortage of any of them.

But the two most important ones are the most carefully considered.

One of them is "water shield soup," made with water shield, a specialty of Jiangdong, which is savory and delicious.

Mi Wei remembers that this dish later became known as "Lu Ji Chun" because of Lu Xun's grandson, Lu Ji.

Secondly, it was sheep cheese that was introduced from the Western Regions.

Miwei tasted it; it was salty and savory, but he really couldn't get used to it.

It reminds me that this thing was compared to Lu Jichun in later generations.

Together, they form the idiom "sheep cheese and water shield soup".

It means that different places have different flavors.

Thinking about it this way, and then looking at the delicacies from both the north and south that were deliberately placed side by side in front of me.

Take another sniff of the fragrant perfumes of Luoyang beside you. How could you not understand the perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste today?

Essentially, it's the same as that eyesore "General of the Cavalry" flag.

Is it all just Sun using his position to bully others and manipulate people's minds?
However, after all the events of yesterday...

At this point, these little tricks are somewhat unappealing.

Eat what you should eat, listen to what you should listen to, and watch what you should watch.

I should hug... cough, never mind that.

We can't afford to lose face in front of two powerful figures.

In short, after one dance and three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere in the room had become quite lively.

Sun Quan took the initiative to step down and invite Ma Liang to dance together.

Mi Wei, who had never paid attention to details in his previous life, now realized that Sun Quan was not only a great drinker but also quite talented.

Xiao Wu dances incredibly well.

With Sun Quan taking the lead, his subordinates naturally stopped being bound by etiquette.

A young man claiming to be the son of Gu Yong stepped forward and pulled Fei Yi into a drinking contest.

Even Mi Wei was captured by a young man who claimed to be the son of Zhang Zhao and forced to play pitch-pot.

Because the other party's ancestral home is Pengcheng, Xuzhou, while Mi Wei's ancestral home is Donghai, Xuzhou, they are from neighboring counties, so they should get closer to each other.

In short, the grand banquet lasted from day to night, and both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves immensely.

And so it came to a peaceful end.

But, just as everyone was getting drunk...

Sun Quan's eyes suddenly cleared, and he pointed at Ma Liang, asking loudly:
"Ji Chang!"

"Previously, I wished to form a marriage alliance with Yun Chang, but at that time there was a misunderstanding between our two families, which led to all sorts of troubles later on."

"Now that we have restored our old friendship, why don't you act as the matchmaker and ask my son to marry Yun Chang's daughter? What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, the banquet, which had been noisy all day, immediately fell silent.

Everyone, regardless of whether they were drunk or not, as long as they hadn't fallen down yet, all looked at Ma Liang.

Ma Liang was slightly taken aback and looked at Mi Wei first.

Mi Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly sobered up.

Why are you suddenly looking at me, thigh?
Fortunately, Ma Liang only glanced at him briefly before quickly turning back to Sun Quan:
"General, your description of 'the alliance between Qin and Jin' is excellent!"

"Unfortunately, General Guan currently only has one daughter of marriageable age, and the King has already personally arranged her marriage. I'm afraid she will have no chance to marry into the General's noble family!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan smiled enigmatically and said:

"Does Ji Chang mean that my son is inferior to Liu Bei's son?"

This time, the officials of Jiangdong not only remained silent, but everyone also looked at Ma Liang with suspicion, as if he were a threat.

Even the young people who had been playing with Fei Yi and Mi Wei all turned and returned to their seats.

This is a stark contrast to his previous enthusiasm.

However, Ma Liang had anticipated this scene.

But he calmly glanced at Mi Wei first before speaking in a deep voice:

That's not what I meant.

"But General Guan and my lord have a special bond of friendship, and it was arranged long ago that our children would become in-laws. We cannot break our promise to each other."

"Moreover, I have heard that the general's son has long been engaged to Zhou Gongjin's daughter."

"General, you have received the same extraordinary favor as Zhou Yu. If we were to interfere, wouldn't that cause you to break your promise to your subjects as well?"

Ma Liang's words were perfectly flawless.

They even managed to turn the tide and defeat Sun Quan's army.

First, it only mentions Sun Deng, the heir apparent, but not Sun Quan's other sons and nephews.

The implication is that only the crown prince is qualified to marry Guan Yu's daughter.

They praised their own company highly.

Secondly, and even more ingeniously, Sun Deng brought out Zhou Yu, who had already died of illness.

Although Zhou Yu was buried in Wu County.

However, he first fell ill and died at the foot of Baqiu Mountain.

This is the place right before our eyes.

Sun Quan's famous quote, "If I were not Zhou Yu, I would not be emperor," is still widely discussed in Jiangdong today.

As expected, when Sun Quan's ministers heard this, although they did not look at him with disdain, their imposing manner was somewhat restrained.

However, Sun Quan was clearly drunk at this point and continued his relentless pursuit:

"So, what Ji Chang means is that, if we disregard the favors shown between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, my son is actually more outstanding, right?"

(End of this chapter)