"Enter the school, I have made an agreement with Li Hou to let you re-enlist in the army, serve as my adjutant in the Naval Intelligence Bureau, and be awarded the rank of second lieutenant... Although it is lower than your previous captain rank, you have made meritorious service in the Intelligence Bureau. There are many opportunities and I can pick them up soon.”
"Baozhi, I have made an agreement with Li Hou about your going to the Naval Staff College, and he has agreed to recommend it. However, you have to take an exam to enter the Naval Staff College, so don't go to Europe with me this time and prepare for the exam at home. Okay. Just have Jinxue accompany me."
In the study of Goulan Hutong House, Zhuge Weidao was arranging the future for his right-hand man.
When Zhuge Weidao "just came", he was a little suspicious of his stepmother's nephew Guo Xiaobao, but now he knows that his stepmother is a good stepmother, so he regards Guo Xiaobao as his number one confidant. Today, after the Navy Ministry reported to Li Tiezhu, they mentioned Guo Xiaobao's entrance to the Naval Staff College - if officers of the Ming Navy want to climb high, a diploma from the Naval Staff College is a must. Including the staff college, they are generally relatively young captains. After passing the exam, they will study for two years and become majors. After that, he was either assigned to the yamen of the Navy Department or served in the headquarters of the three major fleets. If you perform well, you can serve as the third mate, second mate, or first mate of a cruiser. In a few years, you will probably be able to become the captain of a cruiser.
One of the main reasons why Zhuge Weidao was eager to arrange for Guo Xiaobao to go to the Staff College was that he wanted to make him his second officer after he was promoted to captain. He still hasn't remembered how to be a captain, although he can You can study on your own by reading books, but it’s still good to have someone around to remind you.
As for Wang Wen, Zhuge Weidao in the original version valued him so much, so it must be about the same - well, believe yourself, that's right! So Zhuge Weidao asked Zhuge Weiyi to write a letter of recommendation last night, and today he used the opportunity of reporting to Li Tiezhu to bring Wang Wen back to active duty. Although he can only be assigned a second lieutenant, Zhuge Weidao is now Zhuge's military advisor. Isn't it a piece of cake to promote a confidant?
Guo Xiaobao was laughing so hard that he could hardly close his mouth, and he was very moved in his heart - this Zhuge Weidao actually "didn't forget" that he went to the Naval Staff College. What a good brother!
Wang Wen didn't have much joy on his face, but he was quite grateful in his heart. It was much more difficult for an officer who had committed a crime and was stripped of his rank and kicked out of the navy to return to serve in the navy than to recommend Guo Xiaobao to the Naval Staff College. This matter requires a letter of recommendation from a senior official in the Navy... and senior officials are generally not willing to write letters of recommendation to former officials who have committed crimes and resigned. This requires responsibility! For this matter, Zhuge Dao must have paid a lot of price.
Zhuge Weidao was still thinking about asking Wang Wen to bring the textbooks from the naval school so that he could make up lessons for him, when he heard a knock on the door outside. Zhuge Weidao said "come in", and then his butler Yu De and manager He Tianran walked in with a smile holding the account book and a list.
These two people have been preparing for the wedding of Zhuge Weidao and Natalie since yesterday. According to Zhuge Weidao's instructions, this wedding does not need to be grand, but should be low-key... After all, Natalie came to Beijing as a "candidate queen", but now she has become Zhuge Weidao's Wife, this is not normal, so don’t be too public about it.
At this time, he saw Yu De holding a list and said respectfully: "Dong Weng, according to your instructions, the guest list has been drawn up... There are not many people invited, just some relatives and friends. To two thousand.”
"You can't say much if there are less than two thousand?" Zhuge Weidao was a little speechless after taking over the thick stack of guest lists.
Yu De said with a smile: "Dong Weng, why do you call two thousand guests too many? When your eldest brother married the daughter of Zhendong Prince's Mansion, he invited thirty to forty thousand guests, plus the guests' entourage and servants, the huge Wuxiang Hou Mansion has so many guests. But there are so many people! You only have 2,000 people. Counting your servants, you can’t exceed 10,000. It’s really too few..."
Ten thousand... is really too little!
Zhuge Weidao took a breath and said in his heart: "The connections of this top family are really unimaginable!"
Thinking of this, Zhuge Weidao asked again: "Where is the wedding banquet? Ten thousand guests...that means a thousand tables. It can't be held in an ordinary restaurant, right?"
The servants also have to take care of the food! So I have to prepare a thousand tables of drinks...
He Tianran smiled and took over the topic: "Where can we have a banquet in a restaurant... What is your identity? How can you have a banquet in a market restaurant for your wedding?"
"Then where should I place it?" Zhuge Weidao asked.
"Put it in the Xishan Villa!" Yu De said with a smile, "It's a big place there, and it's relatively secluded, so no one can go there."
A villa that can hold a thousand tables of wine...
Zhuge Weidao still felt something was wrong after thinking about it, "Then the Xishan villa has always been vacant. There are no family members, no furniture for serving wine, and no cooks. How can we arrange a thousand tables?"
Yu De smiled and said: "Dong Weng, this matter has been arranged... the household items for serving wine, the servants for serving, and the cooks for cooking are all borrowed from Xishan Palace."
"Xishan Palace? That is..."
"This is the royal palace," Yu De said with a smile, "The Queen Mother has already asked Black Tornado to give her orders. She has provided all the cooks and household items needed for your wedding. Don't refuse, otherwise it will be ignored. "
"What a good sister!" Zhuge Weidao nodded and thought to himself: "This sister really has nothing to say. I can't let her down. I will have to go to the palace more in the future."
"Dong Weng, this is the budget for the wedding. This wedding will cost about 20,000 silver yuan!" He Tianran presented the account book to Zhuge Weidao at this time, "Twenty thousand? Is this too much? That amount of money How much can you charge?”
"Share money?" He Tianran was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile, "Are you kidding? With your status, you don't accept money from weddings, weddings, or weddings, let alone gifts... This is a hundred It has been an old rule for many years, and it has been like this since the time of King Wu Zhong."
"Oh." Zhuge Weidao nodded, thinking: "Is this to prevent corruption?"
"Okay, let's do that," Zhuge Weidao nodded and handed back the list and account book in his hands to Yu De and He Tianran, "I'll trouble you two for this big deal."
Yu De and He Tianran took over the list and account book, but did not turn around and leave. They both looked like they were hesitant to speak.
"What's wrong? Is there anything else?" Zhuge Weidao looked at the two people and asked.
He Tianran glanced at Yu De, and Yu De said: "Dong Weng, when we reported the preparations for the wedding to the Grand Duchess just now, she asked... to take a concubine, and asked if we could do it together. ?”
He Tianran added: "Dong Weng, it's okay for you to accept a small star for your status, as long as the Grand Duchess has no objection. But are you waiting for two years for this matter? It seems that you have just married a wife and taken a concubine together. So horny.”
Guo Xiaobao, who was standing next to him, also smiled and said, "Daozi, this is your fault. Your wedding to the Grand Duchess hasn't even been held yet, so why are you taking concubines?"
Wang Wen also smiled and said: "Yes, this is too hasty...According to the rules, you must be over forty and have no children before you can take a concubine. Although no one follows this rule now, but now As for taking a concubine, I’m really in a hurry.”
Zhuge Weidao was dumbfounded when he listened to their words. Although he has plans to marry a concubine, that will have to happen in two years, not now! And I didn’t tell Natalie about this, so how could she know about it?
Thinking of this, Zhuge Weidao asked hurriedly: "Xiao Qian, Mu Ru, did the Grand Duke tell me who the concubine she wants me to take is?"
Both men shook their heads.
"No, I didn't say that."
"Dong Weng, you don't know who you want to take as your concubine? Why are you asking us?"
"That's right..." Zhuge Weidao was also confused: "How could I not know who I am taking as my concubine?"
