"Okay...come, let's have a banquet."
Zhu Quan shouted at the guard at the door.
"As commanded."
The guards went out and got ready.
Zhu Jian was worried, so he went out to supervise in person.
A few guards came in and tidied up the place.
The rectangular conference table was moved to the wall, and a square table and six wooden round benches were set up in the middle of the room.
Two large pots of charcoal fire were moved to the left and right empty spaces.
Five large celadon bowls and basins were placed on the table, containing braised hare, stewed pheasant, roasted goat, wild mushrooms, radishes and green vegetables.
Several kinds of game are steaming hot and fragrant.
A large jar of old wine with a seal that had not yet been removed was placed in front of everyone, along with several pots of kumiss.
The wine sealed in mud is called Laoshaoguo, highly distilled wine, also known as smelly wine.
The cold border sergeants in northern Xinjiang like this kind of shochu the most.
Wine was poured into the wine bowls on the table.
"Your Highness Prince Ning, please make an opening statement."
"good…"
Zhu Quan stood up and said loudly:
"This drink tonight is not only for my fourth brother and His Highness King Yan, but also for the reunion of brothers. There are no outsiders in this room, so we can talk freely and drink freely."
"Oh, King Ning is right." Xu Li praised.
"So, this bowl of wine is not only a welcome wine, but also a wine of brotherhood. In short, I drink this bowl so that we can live a peaceful life."
With that said, Zhu Quan picked up the wine.
"Thank you, Seventeenth Brother."
"Welcome King Yan..."
"..."
Zhu Di stood up, held the wine bowl with both hands and touched it with Zhu Quan, then touched it with Chen Wen, Xu Li and Zhu Jian, then raised his neck and drank it all.
The wine was very spicy, dripping from my throat all the way to my stomach. It was burning, and my whole body felt hot.
Zhu Quan and the other four people all shouted and drank in one gulp.
This is the drinking habit on the grasslands beyond the Great Wall.
"Come and eat some meat, Fourth Brother. I am a very good cook."
Zhu Quan used a bowl knife to cut off large pieces of roasted meat for Zhu Di.
"Thank you Seventeenth Brother."
After Zhu Di munched on a few pieces of roasted whole lamb and a few braised rabbit legs, he felt much more comfortable in his stomach.
On the wine table, people exchange glasses and drink happily.
The commotion lasted for more than an hour, and all five of them were a little drunk.
In particular, the two brothers Zhu Di and Zhu Quan complained extremely about Zhu Yunwen when they recalled the current situation of vassal kings everywhere.
Zhu Quan was drunk and fell on the table in confusion.
"I...I can't do any worse. Please arrange a place for me to rest."
Zhu Di is almost done, walking staggeringly.
"The arrangements have been made for Your Highness King Yan, and I will help you go."
Zhu Jian stepped forward and took the initiative to help Zhu Di out of the door.
Zhu Di was tall and strong, and it was difficult for Zhu Jian to support him alone.
So Xu Li joined in, and the two of them carried Zhu Di to a guest courtyard not far away.
To enter, the three of them could not enter at the same time. Zhu Di held Xu Li's neck and held on.
Zhu Jian had no choice but to let go and stay outside the door temporarily.
In this moment, Zhu Di quickly took out a folded letter from his arms and stuffed it into Xu Li's pocket.
Xu Li was stunned, but quickly regained his composure.
Zhu Jian then entered the hospital. The two helped Zhu Di into the room, and personally helped him take off his boots and coat and get on the kang to sleep.
…
When Xu Li returned to the Zhongwei tent, he drank a large bowl of herbal tea and took out the letter Zhu Di had given him from his pocket without even bothering to wash his face and feet.
Slowly unfolding the wrinkled rice paper, there are beautiful handwriting on it, written by a woman. "Good morning, my dear brother Xu Li'an! Fifteen years ago, my father became ill due to overwork. Unfortunately, he died young.
When he passed away, you came from the military camp to attend the funeral and knelt in front of my father’s body in agony..."
"The world has changed. Unexpectedly, Jianwen listened to the slanderous words of treacherous ministers, ignored the ancestral precepts and family ties and forcibly cut down the feudal vassal, and acted in the opposite direction..."
"What is unbearable is unbearable! King Yan is awe-inspiring and has decided to surrender to heaven. My family and I firmly support it and we will live and die together..."
"Sister, I hope you will assess the situation and help King Yan at the critical moment..."
A letter from home is also a long letter of persuasion.
Xu Li was so excited that his hands were shaking.
He was only five years old when his father died in the war.
It was the military god Xu Da who took him in and asked him to practice literature and martial arts since he was a child.
In the farm on the outskirts of Beijing, the eldest daughter of the Xu family is their owner. She often comes over to ask for help and is very caring.
When he was fifteen years old, the God of War officially adopted him as his adopted son. Only his adopted sister Xu Miaoyu and his adopted brother Xu Yungong were present.
Then, he entered the military camp and relied on his adoptive father's previous arrangements, so his career went smoothly.
People only knew that he was a soldier orphan adopted by Xu Da, but they did not know that he was Xu Da's adopted son.
You know, during the Hongwu period, Emperor Taizu Gao was very afraid of the generals who led the army and had many adopted sons.
Feng Sheng and Lan Yu had more than a hundred adopted sons, but they were all killed in the end.
A year ago, Zhu Yunwen powerfully reduced the vassalage soon after he ascended the throne.
Half a year ago, King Zhu Di of Yan held high the banner of "Qing Jun Side".
He only knew that his adoptive father's two sons were with Zhu Yunwen in the imperial court, but he didn't know where they stood.
But Princess Xu Miaoyun of Yan had no doubt that she followed King Zhu Di of Yan.
As the adopted son of Xu Da, he was still worried about the future safety of his adopted sister and adopted brothers.
Although Ning Wang Zhu Quan was only twenty-one years old, he was extremely ambitious and unwilling to rely on others.
He was dissatisfied with Zhu Yunzhen and did not want to be controlled by Zhu Di, so he adopted the strategy of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight.
Let the Yan Army and the Central Army fight to the death first. It is best for both sides to suffer losses. He can step in to clean up the mess.
At least, he can separate one side and become a prince.
Although Xu Li is currently a third-grade guard commander, he only has more than 5,000 elite cavalry under his command.
His authority is not as good as that of a fifth-grade Du Sicheng.
Therefore, he can only go with the flow and wait and see.
Now the letter from his sworn sister Xu Miaoyun made him feel overwhelmed.
The eldest sister is like a mother, and there is no way to repay the kindness of the adoptive father in raising her.
Since the eldest sister requested it, he was bound to do it.
Thinking of this, he secretly made up his mind and made his own calculations.
Noon the next day.
The west door of Daning City is open.
More than a hundred mules and carriages drove out of the city, loaded with grain, horse grass, etc., and sent them to the Yan Army camp ten miles away.
The general who escorted the grain and grass was none other than Xu Li.
Zhu Di, who was standing on the top of the city and looking out, snorted to Zhu Quan beside him, "Seventeenth brother, I'll go back to the military camp to take a look at the brothers."
After saying that, he turned around and went down the stairs.
"Oh, then I..."
Zhu Quan originally wanted to follow him.
After all, he is a landowner, so it is reasonable to meet the Yan army soldiers.
But as soon as he took a step, his arm was grabbed by Zhu Jian beside him.
"Oh... Then I will wait for the fourth brother to return at the top of the city, and we two will continue drinking in the evening."
"Um."
Zhu Di rode out of the city without looking back.
…
Yan army camp.
The surrounding area is heavily guarded.
There were only two people, Zhu Di and Xu Li, in the handsome tent.
They sat by the brazier drinking tea and talking secretly.
"When I go back, I will first instigate a rebellion against Chen Wen. I have worked with him for more than ten years. We were both officers at the Dongchang Prefecture Guard, and then we went to the Yingzhou Guard together."
"Zhu Jian is the only one who can't handle it. He came down from the capital with Zhu Quan. He is from Fengyang Mansion and was originally Taizu's Jin Yiwei."
