Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"My lord, we are very close to the capital of the Song Dynasty."

On the official road from the Liao Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, horse-drawn carriages are traveling.

The person sitting in the carriage was none other than Ma Zhi, who had been urgently dispatched by Yelü Yanxi to the Zhao Song Dynasty to gather information.

"So fast?"

Ma Zhi lifted the carriage curtain in disbelief.

"Sir, didn't you say we had to hurry? We dare not stop for even a moment."

The groom said, "You asked for it to be fast, and now you're blaming me?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's not that I'm blaming you, it's just that I didn't think of that."

Seeing that the coachman was somewhat displeased, Ma Zhi quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Sir, please sit down properly, or you'll complain that I jostled you."

But the groom said it was too late to make amends now, and he wouldn't accept it.

Ma Zhi, having been rebuffed, could only sit back down dejectedly.

After sitting back down, he kept thinking about how he should speak to the emperor to convince him that he was loyal to the Song Dynasty and wanted to rebel against the Liao.

What if the emperor doesn't believe me?

What if the emperor thinks I'm a spy and drags me away to be executed?

Ma Zhi became increasingly frightened as he thought about it. He suddenly realized that going too fast was not a good idea. He wondered if he should first inquire about who in the court had influence.

"who?"

Seeing that the carriage was about to enter the city so quickly, the city defense troops immediately stopped the carriage.

"Sir, sir, there's a high-ranking official in my carriage, from the north."

The coachman quickly put on a smiling face.

"The north? Liao people? What are Liao people doing in the capital? Could they be spies? Men, seize them!"

The leading soldier guarding the city felt very uncomfortable when he heard that the man was an official from the Liao Kingdom, and immediately prepared to detain him!

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, brothers! I am an envoy from the Liao Kingdom! I have been sent on a mission!"

Ma Zhi quickly got out of the car, showed his nameplate, and spoke to the soldiers.

"You look exactly like a Han Chinese, yet you're acting as a dog for the Liao people!"

The soldiers guarding the city were fine until they saw him, but once they did, they became even angrier!

"That's right! Get down here! The Liao people have no right to swagger around in the capital! Besides, you're just an imposter!"

"Get off!"

……

Looking at the small squad of soldiers surrounding him, and the civilians who had gathered after hearing the commotion, Ma Zhi was filled with mixed emotions.

He was both surprised and delighted.

Surprisingly, the Song Dynasty even had soldiers who dared to openly curse the Liao people; they weren't afraid at all!

The good thing is, if everyone in the Song Dynasty were like these soldiers, then the Liao Dynasty would be nothing!

"What are you all doing here?!"

A man who looked like a general arrived with a group of men.

"General."

"General."

……

Upon seeing the general appear, the soldiers who had been surrounding the horse-drawn carriage had no choice but to stop what they were doing and bow to the general.

"who are you?"

The general walked into the crowd, looked at Ma Zhi, and asked.

"Ma Zhi, the envoy of the Great Liao, has come to pay homage to the Emperor of the Great Song on the orders of the Liao King!"

"Are you an envoy of Liao? Do you have any proof?"

“This is my nameplate, and this is an official document; both can prove my identity.”

Ma Zhi handed the items over to the general guarding the city.

After receiving the official document, the general guarding the city opened it, looked at the nameplate, and finally glanced at Ma Zhi, without saying a word.

"General! He's clearly a Han Chinese! Yet he works for the Liao people; he's a lackey..."

The junior officer guarding the city approached his general, still expressing his dissatisfaction.

"Snapped!"

But to everyone's surprise, the general guarding the city suddenly raised his hand and slapped one of his men hard across the face!

"How dare you! You're just a city guard, yet you dare to be so disrespectful to the envoy! Do you even know that the Liao Kingdom and our Great Song Dynasty are brothers? Are you tired of living and trying to damage the relationship between our two countries?!"

The general guarding the city turned to Ma Zhi and said:

“Sir, my subordinates are young and inexperienced. They offended you. Please don’t hold it against us.”

"I'll take you into the city right away! Follow me!"

The general guarding the city gestured for the coachman to follow him, offering no explanation for the slap he had just received.

The people around dared not speak, after all, that slap was really hard, and the young officer guarding the city's face was immediately red and swollen!

Ma Zhi sat back in the carriage. The scene he had just witnessed made him suddenly understand why the Song Dynasty had never been a match for the Liao Dynasty.

Ordinary soldiers were not afraid of the Liao people, but officers treated them like ancestors!

A cowardly soldier is one coward, and a cowardly general leads to a whole army of cowards. What use is it for soldiers to be brave if there is such a general?

It seems that during this meeting with the Emperor, he needs to remind him that the Song Dynasty's army needs improvement.

"My lord, shall we go directly to the palace?"

Just as Ma Zhi was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the coachman's voice again.

"No, let's go find our accommodations and settle in first. What's wrong?"

Ma Zhi said that he had traveled day and night and had finally arrived in the capital of the Song Dynasty, but he was not eager to get down to business so soon.

"It's nothing, it's just that this road seems wrong..."

This coachman had traveled all over the country for many years, and this wasn't his first time in the capital, but the route the city's garrison general was leading him on was clearly not one he was familiar with.

"Wrong way?"

Ma Zhi lifted the curtain of his car window and could see that the streets on both sides were lined with very bustling shops, as if he had been taken into a Tokyo market.

"General, where are we going?"

Ma Zhi summoned the general over, and suddenly he had a feeling that he was about to be betrayed.

"My lord, we'll go to one of the largest restaurants in the capital to welcome you."

"A welcome feast?"

Ma Zhi was somewhat surprised. "No, I came out of the Liao Kingdom in a hurry this time. Does anyone in your Song Dynasty know what I came here for?"

He kept a close eye on things the whole way, so there was no way the news could have leaked out.

"You don't need to guess, my lord. I simply want to make friends with you. You'll understand when we get there."

Ma Zhi got nothing out of the car and could only get back in. After driving for a while, the car stopped, and the general's voice rang out again:

"Your Excellency, we have arrived!"

Ma Zhi lifted the carriage curtain, and what came into his view were the three large characters "Hungry Man Valley"!

"This is……"

"This is the best-performing restaurant in the capital in the past year, Your Excellency, please!"

Left with no other choice, Ma Zhi got out of the carriage and followed the general into the restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, the manager also came to greet us:

"Envoy Ma, is that right? It's a pleasure to meet you. Please follow me; there are private rooms on the third floor."

"Shopkeeper, is someone inviting me to dinner? Who is it?"

If Ma Zhi still doesn't know what's going on at this moment, then he's a fool.

It's obvious that someone knows where he is and is waiting for him!

"Your Excellency, you and the person above you are both high-ranking officials. We ordinary people dare not make any unfounded speculations. Please proceed."

The innkeeper led Ma Zhi to the door of the private room, knocked on the door, and left.

"My lord, the envoy has arrived."

"Let him in."

A very young voice came from inside the room. Ma Zhi pushed open the door and found a young man dressed as a prince sitting in the middle of the private room, waiting for him.

Upon seeing him enter, the young nobleman smiled and then rose to greet him politely.

"Envoy Ma, we have been waiting for you for a long time!"

"you are……"

Ma Zhi was somewhat confused. Had news of his mission really leaked out?

"My name is Gao Kan, and I am temporarily serving as a Signatory in the Privy Council of the Great Song Dynasty. Envoy Ma, please sit down, let's eat and talk!"