"It depends on how many people Wang Gong can invite to the banquet."
"My army is coming soon. Maybe I will have to meet with Funan in a few days." Zhou Xu thought about the war and apologized to his wife. He held her hand and said, "Where is Mr. Xiao?" Qinghe County is under the jurisdiction of Yuzhou and is not far from Guangling. When I arrive there, my wife can go to Qinghe with peace of mind."
Xiao Luolan shook his head, but didn't say anything.
evening.
The family had a meal together. Xiao Qingxue looked at the green waist dancer and exclaimed from time to time. Seeing that her daughter liked it, Zhou Xu rewarded the dancer with money.
The courtyard is full of spring.
Xiao Luolan returned to her residence and opened the window to let in the evening breeze.
Zhou Xu came in with a bottle of wine.
Xiao Luolan was a little shocked: "Didn't you just drink it at night?"
"The ones in the evening don't count." Zhou Xu sat at the table, poured two small wine glasses, and said with a smile: "The wine my wife and I drank is considered wine."
Why don't you forget the rogue words? Xiao Luolan didn't want to drink, so he sat at the table and pushed it: "If you drink at night, you will be hard to get up in the morning. You drink it yourself, Zhou Lang."
"Madam, come and have a drink with me." Zhou Xu pushed the wine glass over again.
Xiao Luolan said helplessly: "Just one drink."
"Just one cup." Zhou Xu promised, raising the white jade wine glass and clinking it with his wife.
"Ahem." Xiao Luolan felt very choking as soon as she took a sip, and her mouth and throat were burning. After finishing a small cup, she couldn't help but choked and coughed, her cheeks quickly turned red, and she was a little dizzy: "Why is it a burning knife?" ?”
"This is the only thing I brought from Langge. I want to satisfy my craving and let Madam drink some." Zhou Xu wiped away the scattered tears from Madam's eyelashes and saw that Madam was already drunk after drinking a glass of strong wine. , pitiful and cute.
"It's too spicy." Xiao Luolan rubbed his forehead, feeling that his breath smelled like burning knives, his heart was burning, and he felt really uncomfortable.
"No more, no more." Zhou Xu peeled a green orange and gave it to his wife: "The burning knife is gone."
Zhou Xu always wanted to share any good things with his wife, such as the last glass of wine from Burning Knife.
Xiao Luolan seemed to be drunk, but she didn't seem to be drunk. She looked at the moon in the sky without thinking about anything. She found that drinking strong drinks occasionally was not bad, at least she could forget many things temporarily.
Zhou Xu also looked at his own moon.
Chapter 217
Chen followed the teacher with his sword on his back. The hot summer sun soaked everyone's clothes with sweat, making the team of 100 people a little embarrassed.
Only his teacher, with his wide sleeves carrying wind, linen clothes and straw sandals, seemed to be unable to feel the heat, and his white hair floating in the air, led his disciples from Guangling. After two days and three nights, under the leadership of Gao Chongying, they finally arrived. Guangling City.
Duke Xiao entered the city and observed the city under the rule of his eldest disciple. He found that the lives of the people in the city were very different from what he had seen in the past. Most of the soldiers patrolling the streets were Guangling guards, and there were few ghost Tuqi.
Ordinary people crowded on Guangling Avenue, and people doing small businesses abounded. Although the crowd sometimes lowered their voices and talked about something, and occasionally pointed in the direction of Nanshi, it was mostly peaceful. Even the sugar water stalls on the roadside, Rouge, gouache, and ready-to-wear shops have not decreased either.
On the contrary, restaurants, restaurants, Qinlou, Chuguan, gambling houses and teahouses in prosperous areas have become more depressed, and some have even been sealed and closed down. It should be that the owners behind them are in trouble, and this Only a corner of the property was revealed. Looking at the properties that originally belonged to various aristocratic families, Duke Xiao continued to lead his disciples forward.
Most of the wealth in Guangling City is in the hands of aristocratic families. Fertile fields and forests, shops in luxurious areas, Huai salt and ironware, Buddhist temples and incense pagodas, slave trade, official taxation, none of them are huge profits, and which family is not involved, the darkness under the prosperity is just It would be shocking, but it is rarely reported.
Because the lives of the people at the bottom are like weeds on the roadside, anyone who is lowly can trample on them.
They are mute livestock, water plants in the depths of rivers, and shadows of the mountains behind the sun.
The aristocratic families occupying the top class pride themselves on being romantic and unparalleled celebrities.
Under them are thousands of poor people who have no way to complain. When the people at the top don't behave, the people at the bottom have no way to fight them!
Duke Xiao has always understood this truth, so he was very pleased that after Zhou Youzhou broke the city, the soldiers did not attack these ordinary people.
In troubled times, some generals would indulge their subordinates in openly looting after breaking the city. After disturbing the people, they would just pat their butts and leave. If two armies were fighting, they would burn countless wheat fields under the opponent's city, especially in the spring, which would make the opponent miserable. It is not uncommon for people to be hungry and cannibalistic, and ruthless massacres of cities are not uncommon. It is not only the Turks who massacre cities. When the empire is sunset, it is not uncommon to fight for territory and occupy the mountain as king.
In the early years of the late Emperor's reign, he granted too many military governors, which resulted in domineering generals with power, troops and land. They attacked each other, and the Central Plains became a mess. If it hadn't been for the sudden rise of Zhou Youzhou's new army, which defeated the Turks and unified the north, large and small. I don’t know how many warlords there are.
The Duke of Wei in the south either incorporated or suppressed them, and also wiped out all the thorny warlords one by one, and only then achieved peace in recent years.
But Xiao Jingshu knew that these were only temporary.
The war is imminent.
In troubled times, only you and me live.
When Xiao Luolan learned that Mr. Xiao was coming, he quickly took people out to greet him. The old man was still in good spirits and his hair was loose and graceful.
She walked down the steps and said a thousand blessings to Mr. Xiao: "My granddaughter is late, I kept you waiting for a long time."
When Xiao Jingshu saw Madam Xiao, whom he had not seen for a long time, he laughed heartily and helped her up: "They are all members of the family, so there is no need to be polite."
"Please come in quickly." Xiao Luolan greeted Mr. Xiao with a smile, and found that there were many people following him, most of them were Confucian scholars, and some were dressed as knights like Chen Fu, about a hundred people.
Qinghe was not there. Xiao Luolan thought for a moment, and Mr. Xiao should have come to him as soon as he arrived in Guangling.
"After I learned that Tongjie was fine, I couldn't tell you how happy I was. I wanted to see you and the prince first before going to Tongjie. Tongjie was unjustly imprisoned this time. I have to thank you and the prince for his timely rescue." Xiao Jingshu sat down. On a green mat in a side hall near the water.
Xiao Luolan asked Xia He to arrange the disciples of Duke Xiao before entering with Chen Fu.
The small pavilion near the water has waterwheels to dissipate heat, it is transparent from the north to the south, and the breeze is gentle, so the heat in summer is suddenly much less intense.
Xiao Luolan also sat on the green mat, opposite Mr. Xiao. Seeing Mr. Xiao again, Xiao Luolan was sincerely happy. She recounted the situation at that time and said: "Tian Jian helped us a lot. I am It was from him that I learned that Commander Wu was in trouble, but fortunately, Commander Wu finally had his own destiny."
"Princess is witty." Mr. Xiao praised, and the more he looked at Mrs. Xiao, the more relieved he felt.
"Qinghe is with Governor Wu. I guess they will come soon after they get the news. It's such a hot summer. It's hard for you to come here and stay here for a while." Xiao Luolan felt that Mr. Xiao was like An old and knowledgeable friend said warmly.
"Then I will be disrespectful." Xiao Gong said with a smile: "The prince gave me several carts of books years ago. I want to thank him in person this time."
"Your Majesty, he is not in the palace today. He went to the Evernight Tower to entertain Mr. Wang and everyone. When he comes back, let him have a drink with you." Xiao Luolan said.
Duke Xiao pondered for a moment, wanting to know the details, so he asked knowingly: "Did the prince start this banquet?"
"He started it because Fu Nan was coming fiercely in Xuanzhou. If the prince doesn't want to fight, there will be many troubles in the inner city of Guangling, so he is planning to entertain a group of aristocratic families led by Wang Zhi to have dinner." Xiao Luolan knew Xiao Luolan. Gong Gong had a good opinion, so he made it clear: "The main reason is to use a group of aristocratic families who have taken refuge in him to contain and monitor the restless aristocratic families."
Mr. Xiao stood up and walked slowly.
Xiao Luolan asked doubtfully: "Do you think there is something wrong?"
"Guangling is the hinterland of the south of the Yangtze River, with a strong atmosphere of literati. Most of the hundreds of prime ministers of the Chu Dynasty were from the Jianghuai family. When we break it down, these Jiangnan families are actually from the same branch. Although they do not advance and retreat in the same way, they have a common tendency to report to the group and be exclusive. , In addition, Wei Guogong has always been kind to these families, just like brothers and sisters."
"Comparing the two, if they learn that Fu Nan has gathered troops in Xuanzhou to attack Guangling." Xiao Jingshu said slowly: "Their arrogance will only become more arrogant and confident."
"The prince's painstaking efforts to show his kindness may be in vain and he will be ridiculed instead." His words may be exaggerated, but it is not impossible.
After all, the Jiangnan aristocratic families under the protection of Wei Guogong have long forgotten what a butcher's knife feels like.
Once a person fails to recognize his situation and status clearly, he will bring disaster upon himself.
Xiao Jingshu was planning in his heart, it would be better to do nothing and kill all those clans to avoid future troubles and at the same time make room for his disciples to ascend to higher positions. Xiao Jingshu lowered his eyes.
After Xiao Luolan heard this, she actually had the same feeling yesterday. Wang Zhi might not recruit many people. After all, Sect Leader Zhou showed no mercy to those Guangling clansmen, and so far, only Wang Zhi has openly taken refuge. However, seeing that Sect Leader Zhou was full of confidence, he still didn’t say anything.
"Princess, I want to go to the Evernight Tower, but I don't know if it's possible?" Xiao Gong said.
Xiao Luolan thought for a while: "I'll go with Mr. Xiao."
I don’t know what happened to the banquet at Sect Leader Zhou’s side.
Guangling River, a building that never sleeps.
The banquet was luxurious, and beauties played the strings.
Zhou Xu sat at the top and had a panoramic view of the expressions of everyone below.
Below were more than fifty family heads and famous scholars. Wang Zhi spent a lot of effort to convince them last night. When they all came, their hearts were still in the air.
Guangling's celebrity style is not just talk, but it is really implemented.
As the leader of this group of noble families, the leader of Guangling celebrities, and the person Wang Zhi tried his best to win over, Guo Bi was unruly even at banquets.
Guo Bi had a beautiful face and a good appearance. He admired the teachings of Laozi. In the summer, because he had eaten Wu Shi San, he opened his clothes and invited maids to serve him wine. He was undaunted and said: "Today Zhou Youzhou is not staying up late to entertain guests. Everyone should enjoy themselves to the fullest." yes."
He took the lead in raising his glass and drank it all in one gulp: "Not enough wine, not enough wine."
Someone from everyone present immediately echoed: "Guo Gong didn't drink for three days, and then he felt like his soul was leaving his body. When someone comes, he still doesn't have a drink?!"
Wang Zhi was displeased. What he said last night was good. Why did Guo Bi take the lead? He had obviously mentioned that Zhou Youzhou was the worst person to be dissolute.
"Zhou Youzhou, you can't be so stingy and don't even give me a small amount of wine." Guo Bi asked, smelling of wine in his wide robe and long sleeves.
Zhou Xu looked at him, took a sip of wine, and said nothing.
"The dignified Youzhou Jiedushi is really stingy." Guo Bi said with a smile, turned to look at Wang Zhi, raised his hand to hold the wine bottle and started drinking. When he finished drinking, he pointed his hand and said: "Master Wang, I I once learned a little bit about the art of physiognomy, and today I suddenly noticed that Mr. Wang’s face has changed. Let’s take a closer look and see if Mr. Wang has changed.”
Someone in the hall laughed and said: "It's not like he has changed. He has changed from a human to a ghost."
"It looks like the legendary ghost."
"When Mr. Wang was beside the immortal, he never looked so hateful. What was the reason that made Mr. Wang change so much?"
Ridicule ensued.
Wang Zhi lowered his face and looked at Guo Bi and others who were not giving face. He finally realized that he had been tricked. These people were deliberately trying to embarrass him. If they wanted to die, no one could stop them.
Zhou Xu watched the farce in the hall and waved to the dancers and musicians. After they retreated, Zhou Xu stood up.
The lobby fell silent instantly.
Zhou Xu stood still and looked at everyone in the hall with a smile: "I originally wanted to leave you a way out, but I didn't expect that you would not have to drink the fine wine for the toast, so that's fine."
"Don't worry, everyone, the wine I have here will satisfy a few of you, even if it reaches the bottom of the Nine Springs."
Surrounded by everyone, Guo Bi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't talk too much. At that time, Funan was already in Xuanzhou, and the army was about to attack the city. Your Majesty is in the hinterland of Jiangnan and cannot protect himself. He still wants to threaten us. And I’m not afraid of making people laugh.”
"What's more, all the nobles in the world have left my country in the south of the Yangtze River, and the prince has killed us. Who among the scholars in the world dares to go to the north, just because of the crooked melons and cracked dates under Xiao Gongmen? What do they have? Sesame vision, Wojiao Jiying, a hundred people A book that has not been handed down from generation to generation cannot be used for much purpose."
Zhou Xu looked at the roar of the river outside the building.
Squinting your eyes slightly, the weather is so nice.
In the distance, 10,000 armored ghost warriors galloping from the north emerged like a black tide, and the banners of the King of Youzi clanged.
Tuoba Amu led the formation as soon as he rode. When he saw Lord Jiedushi from afar, he turned over and knelt down and shouted respectfully.
"See General."
At the same time, 10,000 horsemen were all in darkness, kneeling down at the same time and shouting loudly.
