Along the Jianye River, the gurgling water flows endlessly from west to east.
The crimson peach blossoms are in full bloom on the branches, and the patches of peach blossoms are like smoke and clouds covering the earth. A gust of wind blows, and the petals are flying, or caught in the wind, or floating along the river, or like a burst of dreamy rain.
Here in Taolin, the market is open, and countless people are crowding and wandering around, noisy and lively. On the other side of Taolin, a black line separates the sea of people. The closer you get to the river, the quieter and more solemn you become.
The black armor is layered on top of each other, and the silver spears are like a forest, leaving only a long door in the middle. Dozens of fighting ships cruised on the river, like fortresses on the water.
At this time, a gorgeous carriage pulled by four horses, escorted by a team of cavalry, stopped in front of the gate guarded by the Forbidden Army. After a brief negotiation, the carriage set off again and stopped in an open space outside the main venue after walking for a while.
Meng Du, Meng Huo, Zhu Rong, Wu Tu Gu, Ma Liang and other five people got off the carriage one after another. Looking up, there were many two-horse carriages parked around. Only a few people got on the three-horse carriage. .
"The Han emperor is pretty good to us."
Looking at the carriages around him, Zhu Rong nodded with satisfaction.
Ma Liang smiled and introduced to everyone.
"Many ministers are still qualified to ride in higher-standard carriages, but it is not easy to obtain war horses in the south, so the army is given priority, making the horses available to the public very rare and expensive. Therefore, the specifications of the carriages purchased privately by ministers have mostly dropped. There are some, but they are all private property. Each prince is in charge of the priest, and it is a public weapon. Not to mention a few horses, even thousands or ten thousand horses can be brought out, but they must also follow the regulations. The emperor drives six, and princes with the same surname fight. 5. The feudal lords with foreign surnames fight against each other."
Seeing everyone nodding in understanding, Ma Liang didn't know whether he should correct the term "Emperor of the Han".
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Central Plains have been unified for more than 400 years, and most foreigners have become accustomed to calling the Chinese people Han people. Chinese people have long been accustomed to foreign names, but now the new country name is "Chu". It is difficult for foreigners to distinguish them, but Chinese people have long been divided into Chu people, Qin people, and Wei people.
However, in this way, the title "Han Emperor" by foreigners extended to the emperor in the entire Central Plains region. Nowadays, Chu State only occupies half of the country. It cannot be said that this name is not a good thing for foreigners.
After thinking about this, Ma Liang no longer struggled with this issue.
Everyone handed over their carriages and horses to the guards who were in charge of taking care of them, and were about to enter the main venue. Suddenly, there was a loud sound of horse hooves in the distance, causing everyone to turn around and look.
I saw a dozen cavalrymen galloping towards them, all wearing white horses, silver helmets, and white robes as white as snow. Wherever they passed, the soldiers paid attention and saluted. The leading general pulled up the reins, and the entire team suddenly stopped and became uniform. Although he did not ride in a gorgeous carriage or horse, he quietly attracted everyone's attention.
Meng Du, who had remained calm all this time, had a bright light in his eyes, and Meng Huo also said in a low voice.
"The general in the distance looks quite extraordinary!"
Ma Liang was a little excited. Participating in the ceremony is a chance to meet celebrities, he continued.
"This Cavalry General, who must be one of the five marshals, Zhao Yun! The Imperial Guard is in charge of the imperial army to defend the capital, while the local troops and horses are controlled by the five marshals respectively. The marshal is only responsible to His Majesty, and his status is not lower than that of the three princes."
"There are rumors in the market that there are two candidates for the number one military man in the Chu Kingdom. One is General Gan Ning, and the other is Lord Zhao Yun in front of me. Unfortunately, the two have not decided the winner in public."
oh?
When Wu Tu Gu heard this, he squinted his eyes and raised his head to look at Zhao Yun. Unfortunately, Zhao Yun didn't look at him at all and walked straight to another road to enter the venue.
"We are a little late. The sacrifice is about to begin. Let's go in."
Meng Du gently patted his reluctant buttocks and asked everyone to come in quickly.
Entering the main venue, you immediately saw the towering stone platform in the center. On the stone platform, there were golden armored soldiers standing on each post, with silver spears standing on them.
There was a very wide circle of spectator stands surrounding the ceremony, and only the side facing the river was empty, like a person opening his arms and embracing the river.
The surrounding viewing platforms range from two to three floors and are about eight or nine meters high. Only the stone platform in the center is more than ten meters high, which seems to reach into the sky and is fascinating.
Under the guidance of the guards, everyone arrived at a small private room slightly blocked by wooden railings. Tables, chairs, tea, and fruits were already prepared in it.
Looking around, I saw several private rooms scattered around. They could see each other, and there were many spaces in the middle, so they were not next to each other.
There were men and women in the nearby private rooms, and most of them were accompanied by relatives, servants or guards.
"With this arrangement of seats, Your Majesty will feel at ease."
Ma Liang looked at the people around him and swallowed.
"What should I say? Brother Ma, what's so special about this?"
Xiao Meng Huo and Xiao Zhu Rong both liked Ma Liang very much. They sat next to Ma Liang on the left and right. It was Meng Huo who asked the question at this moment.
"Anyone with a title has either connections or soldiers. Throughout the dynasties, the imperial court was not very trusting of the princes, and its approach tended to reduce the contact between the princes."
But His Majesty Sun Ce is different.
Ma Liang shook his head slightly to indicate to everyone a private room not far away, where sat a beautiful girl with a ponytail, red leather armor, and a scarlet robe. She was very handsome.
"That is Princess Sun Shangxiang of Wuning! The person sitting next to her should be Sun Quan, the Marquis of Wu."
Everyone immediately looked over. What was very special about that private room was that there were four female guards standing around. Surrounding the middle were a beautiful woman and a handsome man who looked like a scholar.
Zhu Rong blinked his big watery eyes and said.
"The princess looks a few years older than me. She should be at the age to choose a husband. Brother Ma Liang, why don't you come up and get to know me? Maybe the princess will like you."
Ma Liang hurriedly coughed a few times, fearing that Sun Shangxiang in the distance would hear Zhu Rong's joke, so he explained.
"Her Royal Highness is a martial artist, but she doesn't look down on a scholar like me. There are some rumors in the Jingzhou family that Her Royal Highness likes General Zhao Yun. Just listen to it, but don't talk nonsense."
What!
It was the white-robed general I met earlier!
Zhu Rong's beautiful big eyes flashed and he agreed excitedly.
"Don't worry, I have a good mouth."
Ma Liangliang suddenly had a bad premonition and hated himself for saying it smoothly. Now he could only change the topic and pointed to the private room on the left.
"The woman sitting over there must be the widow of the Marquis of Zhou, I don't know how to call her, and the youngest son next to her is undoubtedly Ding Jiang Bo Zhou Ping."
"That baby is so cute, I kind of want to go over and squeeze his face!"
Ma Liang looked at Zhu Rong's violent remarks speechlessly and continued.
"The one who is left in the farthest room on the right, who is gorgeously dressed and accompanied by several beauties, should be Taiping Hou Liu Zhang."
Liu Zhang?
Before Yunnan was placed under the jurisdiction of Chu State, it was naturally under the rule of Shu King Liu Zhang.
Several other people in the private room turned their attention when they heard this, and saw Liu Zhang surrounded by beauties. One person was rubbing his shoulders, another person was slapping his legs, and another person was holding fruits in his arms.
Meng Du gave a rare snort and said.
"This man's life has been pretty good since he surrendered."
