The palace city of Lu is much smaller than the two palaces of Xinjiang City and Linzi City. However, unlike the other two cities, the palace of Lu Guogong was built on a rock higher than the ground, so the black-brown city walls and the stone gates on both sides of the city gate were particularly tall and majestic.

Kong Qiu got out of the car in front of the palace gate, and Duanmu Ci and Ran Yongyi entered the palace gate with him. The other forty or so Confucian scholars, including me, knelt down in the open space outside the palace gate.

The July sun scorched the earth, and as it approached noon, a layer of swaying heat rose from the dry ground. The Confucian scholars were all sweating profusely, and the two men sitting in front of me on the left were already soaked with sweat and stuck to their backs because they were fatter than the others.

Kong Qiu has been in the palace for more than an hour, and there is still no figure of him at the palace gate. The crowd gradually became a little agitated under the torture of the heat, and some people in the crowd began to talk to each other.

"Senior brother, why don't you say the master hasn't come out yet?" A thin man leaned over to a Confucian wearing a plain scarf and whispered

"I don't know, will the king hide and not see the master again like last time?"

"Hey, I heard that the Chen family of Qi Guo has sent another batch of female music into the palace in the past two days, and he won't ...... it" The fat Confucian sitting in front of me couldn't help but join the conversation.

"Where did you hear that? Did the Chen family send someone to our Qufu? The thin man hurriedly leaned over.

The fat Confucian wiped the sweat on his neck with his sleeve, and said mysteriously: "It's not only in the palace, my father said that the Chen family of Dr. Jisun also sent someone to give a big gift, and the gift was given by Chen Heng's cronies." ”

"What's the use of giving gifts! The suffering Mrs. Qi is the sister of Dr. Jisun, as long as the king agrees to the master's request, are you afraid that Dr. Jisun will not agree? ”

There were more and more whispering among the Confucian scholars, and I wiped the sweat from my forehead and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

What a thoughtful Chen Heng!

After the palace change, he sent people to issue conscription orders to all parts of Qi State non-stop. Now that the army has been formed, he sent people to send gifts to Lu State to bribe Lu Gong and Ji Sun. With a combination of soft and hard like him, and with a two-pronged approach, Lu Gong and Ji Sun probably won't go to war against the Qi State for morality anymore.

If Lu Gong does not raise the banner of "righteousness", if Lu State is still on the side of Qi State, then the previous idea of Jin and Lu alliance between me and Wuxian will become a ridiculous pipe dream. Why? Why does Chen Heng always have a way to disrupt our plan every step of the way!

We have lost the battle with Chen Heng in the Qi Kingdom completely. Next fall, an even more difficult war awaits us in the field of patriotism. How many more people will we have to sacrifice by then? At that time, can we really win the defense of the country from Chen Heng? After winning the defense of the country, will the battle for hegemony between Qi and Jin stop?

No, it's going to be a war that will never stop.

Qi Hou's death may be just the beginning, and none of us can avoid the bloody battle after that......

The summer was scorching, the heat was unbearable, and an indescribable sense of sadness grabbed my throat.

At this moment, one of the Confucian scholars suddenly stood up, pointed to the palace gate and shouted at us, "Look! Master, they are out! ”

I was shocked and hurriedly looked up, only to see that in the center of the two towering palace gates, Duanmu Ci, dressed in a green Confucian robe, was walking towards us with difficulty carrying Kong Qiu.

Did this old man, who knew he couldn't do it, finally fall too? When he first entered the palace, he obviously had a wound on his leg, but his steps were unusually calm and firm. But now, he saw Lu Gong and expressed his wishes, but he fell like this. It seems that it is impossible for the Lu State to send troops to the Qi State, and the Jin-Lu alliance is completely hopeless.

I closed my eyes and sighed, and went up with a few Confucian students.

In front of the palace gate, Bu Shang was the first to rush up. He held Kong Qiu's back and anxiously asked Duanmu Ci, "Senior brother, what's wrong with the master?" Have you seen your lord, and what did he say? ”

"The master waited outside the hall for more than an hour, his foot injury worsened and he suffered from heatstroke, and when he just came out, he almost fell on the steps again." Duanmu Ci squatted down and shrugged Kong Qiu, whose face was pale on his back and his eyes were closed, up.

"What does the king say about the affairs of the Qi Kingdom?" Bu Shang carefully supported Kong Qiu behind Duanmu Ci.

"The king said that Lu is a small country, Qi is a big country, Lu can't fight in alignment, and he can't control the matter of sending troops."

"The king can't control the conquest of the army, who else can manage it? Could it be that the king asked the master to find Dr. Jisun by himself? Bu Shang was stunned.

Duanmu Ci sighed lightly and nodded, and walked all the way to the side of the car with Kong Qiu on his back.

At this time, the Confucian scholars who had been waiting outside the palace gate for a long time all rushed up.

"Master, how are you?"

"Senior brother, what did you say?"

"Master, did you really accept Chen's female music?"

"Master's ......"

Confucianism, every word you say to me, everyone is very excited.

I thought that Kong Qiu had fallen asleep, but when the Confucian scholars called "Master", he slowly opened his eyes.

He didn't speak, just lay quietly on Duanmu Ci's back, silently staring at the young and excited faces beside him. He looked at them, his eyelids suddenly began to tremble, and he held Duanmu Ci's shoulders and his hands clenched tighter and tighter. When my gaze met his, I saw a silent apology and deep pain in his bloodshot eyes.

"Master, shall we go home first?" Duanmu Ci tilted his head slightly, his voice choked and hoarse.

Conciu remained silent, and he raised his head to look at the towering walls of Miyagi.

"Master, go back......" Ran Yong grabbed Kong Qiu's hand tightly, "Your Excellency may not have understood Master's words today, but Zigong and I will come again tomorrow, as long as Your Excellency understands what Master means, he will definitely agree to send troops." ”

Kong Qiu turned his head slowly, he looked at Ran Yong with a wry smile and shook his head, and then motioned for Duanmu Ci to put him on the ground.

He straightened up, and walked tremblingly through the crowd towards the left side of Miyagi. His left leg could barely land, and every step he took was so small that everyone didn't dare to stop him, so they could only follow him silently for unknown reasons.

After reaching a corner of Miyagi, Kong Qiu suddenly stopped, and he slowly knelt down with his hands raised to the southeast of the city.

What is he doing here? Who is he saluting?

I was suspicious in my heart, and I tried to squeeze two steps forward, and looked in the direction of Confucius kneeling, and the temple of the Lu country, the majestic temple that enshrined the dead of the monarchs of the Lu country, came into my eyes in this way.

Kong Qiu dragged his weak body to the temple of the Lu State Mansion, looking at his figure lying on the ground and bowing for a long time, I suddenly seemed to understand something. The pain in his heart at the moment may not be because Duke Lu rejected him, but because he finally realized that he was no longer able to defend the monarch and return to the monarch!

Duke Lu had given up the dignity of the monarch because he was afraid of the authority of the Jisun clan, and he, as a supporter of "Li", could not do anything about it.

"Master......" Ran Yong knelt beside Kong Qiu and whispered, "Let the disciple help you up!" It's hot, and the earth burns your body! ”

"Yong, let's go!" Kong Qiu's back moved slightly, Ran Yong quickly knelt up straight to help him, and Duanmu Ci also walked to the other side of Kong Qiu in a few steps. But just as Kong Qiu was about to get up, his body fell sharply.

"Master—"

Kong Qiu fainted, and there was chaos in front of the palace gate......

In the chaos, Kong Qiu was carried into the chariot, Duanmu Ci took the name of the medicine I reported to him and rushed towards Xicheng, and Ran Yong commanded the Confucian scholars to make way for the chariot. I sat in the chariot and watched Confucius, and the merchant took the reins, shouted loudly, and drove away in the direction of Confucius.

By the time we finally arrived at Confucius, Confucius' left calf had swollen to the left of Confucius, which was a full circle larger than the one on the right. Less than half a moment after entering the house, he had a high fever again.

Bu Shang was so anxious that he kept pacing back and forth in the wing: "Senior Brother Duanmu and Senior Brother Ran haven't come back yet, and there are only a few packets of headache herbs left in the mansion. Zidian, what can I do? Why did the Master suddenly burn it? ”

"Senior brother, don't worry." I reached out and probed Kong Qiu's forehead, and the scorching temperature under my hand made me frown, "Senior brother, I'll go out now to collect some herbs for the master, and you go to fetch a bucket of well water and wipe the master's body with a wet cloth." ”

"Wipe yourself at this time?" Bu Shang stopped and looked at me with a stunned expression.

"Well, Master is getting older, and it is dangerous for him to have a high fever at this time, so we must quickly find a way to help him lower the heat." Kong Qiu on the bed was already curled up with his hands and feet, and his whole body was trembling, and I hurriedly lifted the thin quilt on his body when I saw this.

"Zidian, the master is already shivering with cold, what are you going to do?" Seeing that I was about to tear off Kong Qiu's collar, Bu Shang hurriedly grabbed my hand.

"Senior brother, Master's convulsions are due to fever, not cold. I'm a physician, and you have to listen to me. I took out the hand that was clenched by the divination shang, quickly removed the Xuan crown from Kong Qiu's head, and then found a light linen single dress from the box in the room and handed it to the dividing merchant, "Senior brother, the dress on the master's body is too heavy, you can help the master change this dress after you finish wiping his body later!" ”

"Are you really a doctor?" Bu Shang took the single coat and looked at me suspiciously.

"I am a sorcerer and a physician. I may know less poetry than you, but the medicine I know must not be lost to any doctor in Qufu City. I looked at Bu Shang and said sincerely.

Bu Shang stared into my eyes, and finally nodded after a while: "Okay, I believe you." It's just that there are no mountains and no forests in this Qufu city, where are you going to collect medicine? ”

"On the way here, I saw a few acres of fertile land next to the road, and there will be a kind of antipyretic herb on the ridge of the field this season, I will pick a few plants and come back for emergencies, and when Senior Brother Duanmu comes back, let him buy antipyretic herbs."

"Okay, there's a rattan basket in the backyard, I'll get it for you." The merchant pulled out his legs and ran out.

I grabbed his hand: "No need, senior brother, hurry up and fetch water to wipe the master's body and dissipate heat!" I'll be back soon. I glanced at Confucius on the bed, turned around and ran out. The old man of this age is like the hoarfrost on the tiles in winter, when the sun shines, it will disappear when it says no. Although I can't stay with him all the time as Duanmu Ci said to help him compile "Spring and Autumn", I always have to think of ways to save his life.

sanjiangge