Outside Mayi City, thousands of soldiers lined up on both sides of the official road. Flags of various colors in the team were fluttering in the wind, the soldiers' armor was polished, and the spears, spears, swords and halberds in their hands shone dazzlingly in the sun.
At the front of the queue, under a huge yellow satin cap, stood a person. This man is more than five feet tall, with bronze skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a straight nose and thick lips, a short beard under his chin, and is wearing a yellow dragon robe. He was Emperor Liu Wuzhou of Tianxing. About a month ago, Liu Wuzhou ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor in Mayi City, changing his reign name to "Tianxing".
Behind Liu Wuzhou stood a military band of more than a hundred people. The musicians were waiting quietly with drums, drums and cymbals in hand, always ready to play military music. Liu Wuzhou made such a grand display today to welcome someone. This man's name is Song Jingang, a hero in the troubled times of the late Sui Dynasty.
Song Jingang was from Shanggu County. When the world was in chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he launched an uprising in his hometown Shanggu area and became the leader of the peasant uprising army, with more than 10,000 troops under his command. Song Jingang joined forces with another rebel leader, Wei Daoer. However, Wei Daoer was defeated by Dou Jiande. In order to rescue Wei Daoer, Song Jinjiang fought with Dou Jiande, but was defeated and lost the place to stand. So he led his four thousand men to join Liu Wuzhou.
Liu Wuzhou heard that Song Jingang was brave and good at fighting and was a rare general, so he personally went ten miles out of the city and arranged a welcoming team to welcome Song Jingang who came to seek refuge.
A horse galloped towards him. As he approached, the scout immediately dismounted, ran to Liu Wuzhou, knelt down and reported, "Your Majesty, General Song has arrived." Liu Wuzhou nodded, waved his hand and said, "I understand, let's get down. .”
After the scouts got up and left, Liu Wuzhou looked up and saw a group of people appearing at the end of the official road. Flags and flags were fluttering, horses neighed, and billowing smoke was billowing.
The group of people gradually approached. At the front of the team, a general sat steadily on a white divine horse. This man has a strong physique, a resolute face, a helmet on his head, and a Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his hand. He looks majestic.
The military band played military music, and Liu Wuzhou walked out from under Luo Gai and greeted him with a smile. The general turned over and dismounted, handed the sword in his hand to his soldiers, walked to Liu Wuzhou, knelt down on one knee, and clasped his fists in both hands: "Song Jingang, the general, is here to meet the emperor!"
"General Song, there is no need to be polite, please get up quickly." Liu Wuzhou said happily and pulled Song Jingang up, grabbing one of his hands and patting the back of his hand gently with the other hand, "I'm here The general who is waiting here has already looked through the autumn water. Come, follow me into the city in a jade chariot."
Song Jingang hesitated a little and said: "Your Majesty, it would be better to follow the general on horseback." However, Liu Wuzhou was unwilling to let go and said with a smile: "No, let's ride in the jade chariot together. I still have many confidant words to share with the general. Let’s talk in detail.” Song Jingang had no choice but to follow the other party into the jade chariot parked beside the official road. The jade chariot carried the two of them and galloped towards Mayi City...
Song Jingang settled in Mayi City. His troops were integrated into Liu Wuzhou's army, and he became a general under Liu Wuzhou. Liu Wuzhou thought highly of Song Jingang. He not only named him "King of Song", but also gave him half of his family property.
On this day, Song Jingang went to see Liu Wuzhou. After Liu Wuzhou ascended the throne, he changed the original Mayi County Prefect's Mansion into the imperial palace. However, the Prefect's Mansion is just an official office, not a real palace, and can only handle official business. Therefore, Liu Wuzhou still lived in his original mansion.
Liu Mansion covers a large area. After entering the gate, there is a screen wall. After bypassing the screen wall and passing through the courtyard, you will find the hall. Song Jingang entered the hall, and the waiter who received him served him tea and said: "The emperor is receiving distinguished guests in the west living room. Please wait a moment, King Song."
After the waiter left, Song Jingang sat there for a while. Seeing that Liu Wuzhou hadn't come yet, he stood up to admire the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall. At this time, a burst of elegant guqin sound floated over like a gossamer. Who is playing the piano here? Song Jingang had nothing to do and wanted to visit the Liu Mansion, so he followed the sound of the piano and walked over.
The sound of the piano comes from the back hall, and there is a corridor connecting the front and back halls. Song Jingang walked through the corridor and came to the door of the back hall. Here, the sound of the piano vibrated crisply in his ears. Song Jingang was a rough martial artist who didn't understand music at all, but he was still attracted by the sound of the piano. Then, what attracted him more than the sound of the piano was the woman playing the piano.
Although Song Jingang could only see her sitting upright in profile, he could guess that she must be very slim. Her clothes are exquisite and luxurious, her black hair hangs down like a waterfall, her skin is like cream, and her long eyelashes are clearly visible. Her profile alone was breathtakingly beautiful.
The elegant sound of the piano is like gurgling water, flowing out from under her slender fingers. The woman suddenly sang: "The wheat is gradually falling, and the pheasants are flying towards the sky, and the locust trees are on their backs, and they are leaning against the river..." Her voice was clear, long, and sad. Song Jingang didn't know what she was singing, but he could hear her sadness in her singing. Sure enough, tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes, condensed into a crystal clear teardrop, slowly flowed down, and hung on her cheeks...
When Song Jingang was stunned, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder: "King Song, what are you doing?" He was startled, and when he turned around, he saw Liu Wuzhou standing in front of him. He quickly knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, I broke into the back hall without permission. Please punish me!"
Liu Wuzhou pulled him up and said in a gentle tone: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Come on, I'll introduce you." He pulled Song Jingang into the room and came to the woman. After the woman heard the movement at the door, she stopped playing, stood up and wiped away the tears hanging on her cheeks.
Liu Wuzhou pointed at the woman with his hand and said to him with a smile: "King Song, this is my sister-in-law Liu Ruolan." Then he pointed at Song Jingang and said, "Little sister, this is General Song." Liu Ruolan is a lady of the family, elegant and generous. There was no trace of sadness on her face, and she smiled brightly. She said in courtesy: "Ruolan has heard about General Song for a long time, so this is polite." Song Jinjiang quickly returned the greeting with cupped fists: "I have never met Miss Liu before."... …
Song Jingang and Liu Wuzhou returned to the front hall. After they finished chatting about business, Liu Wuzhou suddenly said: "King Song, you have already met my sister-in-law. I want to marry my sister-in-law to you. What do you think?" Song Jingang heard this. , was greatly surprised, and didn’t know how to answer for a moment, so he could only say: "Your Majesty, I have already married a wife..."
Liu Wuzhou waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "You're a vulgar village woman, so let's get married." Seeing that Song Jingang was still hesitating, he said, "King Song, please go back and think about what I said carefully before you make an answer."
At sunset, Song Jingang returned to his mansion. This mansion was also given to him by Liu Wuzhou. At night, he lay on the bed tossing and turning. He was not thinking about whether to divorce his wife and remarry, but he was thinking about the scene during the day. Liu Ruolan left such a deep impression on him that her image could not be removed from his mind for a long time.
Song Jingang was born in Caomang, and his wife was just an ordinary-looking village woman. Before that, he had had little contact with the wealthy young ladies living in deep mansions. When he saw Liu Ruolan today, her beautiful face and the look of her beautiful eyes made him unforgettable. When Liu Wuzhou said that he would marry his sister, he was secretly happy, and he decided to divorce his wife and remarry. The reason why he acted hesitantly was simply to make himself look less like a heartless man who liked the new and disliked the old, and to leave some room for maneuver for his conscience.
At this moment, thinking that he was about to marry a beautiful woman, he was so excited that he could not sleep.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" asked my wife lying next to me.
Song Jingang did not answer, but turned sideways, with his back to his wife. This village woman never expected that the man beside her would no longer have his heart on her, but on another woman...
The next morning, before Song Jingang went out, his wife helped him get dressed as usual. Song Jinjiang glanced at her and said, "I won't be back tonight."
"What, are you going to fight?" the wife asked casually.
"No, not to fight." Song Jingang said, "From now on, I will not return to this home."
His wife looked at him in astonishment, her face a little pale: "Husband, you...what do you mean by this?" Song Jinjiang said calmly: "The emperor wants to marry his sister Liu Ruolan to me, and I have decided to marry Liu Ruolan. . I have written the divorce letter and placed it on the table in the study."
When the wife heard this, she felt as if she had been struck with a stick, and was so horrified that she could not speak. Song Jingang couldn't bear to see his wife's shocked and painful face, and turned to leave. But his wife grabbed his sleeve and said in a trembling voice: "If you insist on marrying Liu Ruolan, I won't stop you. I am willing to be young and just ask not to leave my husband!"
Song Jingang turned around slowly, looked at her and said: "You and I have been married for ten years, how can I bear to do this to you? I will leave this mansion to you, and I will also give you the manor outside the city, which will ensure your livelihood." Yu. One day, you should choose another lover and remarry." After Song Jingang said this, he cruelly broke her hand away, turned and walked towards the door. From behind, his wife's heartbreaking cry could be heard: "Husband--!" Song Jingang had already made up his mind, his steps were only slightly slow, but he still walked out of the house resolutely...
Song Jingang moved into a new mansion. Although this mansion is not as big as the original one, it is still impressive enough. A few days later, Liu Wuzhou held a grand wedding for him. All the civil and military officials in Mayi City, as well as the royal family and nobles, came to attend. Song Jingang, dressed as a groom, led the welcoming team to carry Liu Ruolan's sedan into the Song Mansion, and then went to the wedding hall to marry her.
After the bride was sent into the bridal chamber, Song Jingang was only thinking about Liu Ruolan and had no intention of greeting the guests in the front hall. After reluctantly drinking a few glasses of water and wine, he couldn't wait to go to the new house at the back. In addition to Liu Ruolan, there was also a matchmaker and a maid in the room. When the matchmaker saw him, she smiled and said, "General Song, congratulations!"
The matchmaker was brought in temporarily and was responsible for teaching the final etiquette in the room. Back then, the green gourd was divided into two, and the green gourd was extremely bitter. After pouring the wine, the taste became even more bitter. After exchanging the green gourd, the couple drank together, which was called Hexin. It means sharing joys and sorrows. Each takes a strand of hair, cuts it and twists it around to give it to each other. It is called a hair knot, which means that they will remain together until death. At this point, the wedding ceremony is completed. The matchmaker and the maid go out, leaving only the husband and wife in the room.
Song Jingang saw a red lacquered wooden plate on the table beside it. There were two utensils on the wooden plate, one was a pine wood Ruyi carved with boys and girls, and the other was a wedding scale carved with two stars. It is unlucky to lift the newlywed's hijab with your hands. You must use Ruyi or Xixi scale to lift it. As for which one to use, it depends on the couple's preference.
Song Jingang hesitated for a moment, then picked up the wedding scale and gently opened the bride's red cloth hijab. Liu Ruolan was dressed up today, and her appearance was even better than that day. Her fine hair is tied up on top of her head and hangs down on both sides. Her oval face is fair and flawless, her eyebrows are slanted and her temples are slanted. Her contact lenses are clear, her nose is like a gallbladder, and her mouth is like a red cherry. Her shy and bowed head after the hijab is lifted is even more revealing. The charm of the little daughter.
Facing the beautiful woman, Song Jingang felt thirsty in his mouth and could not say anything for a while. He coughed dryly, sat down carefully next to the bed, and bravely grabbed one of her hands, but Liu Ruolan did not pull her hand away. Her hands were like catkins. Song Jinjiang put them in her palms and rubbed them gently. She said with a smile: "Ruolan, I am older than you, and I divorced my wife and remarried. Don't you feel aggrieved?"
Liu Ruolan glanced at him and said shyly: "The general is famous all over the world. Ruolan is extremely honored to marry the general. How can she feel aggrieved?" After hearing this, Song Jinjiang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Then Okay. I swear, I will treat you sincerely from now on!" After that, he stretched out his arms to hug her, and Liu Ruolan obediently nestled her head into his arms...
Song Jingang was satisfied to have the beauty back in his arms, so he was naturally grateful to Liu Wuzhou. During the court meeting that day, Song Jingang proposed to Liu Wuzhou the strategy of going south to capture Jinyang in order to conquer the world.
"Your Majesty, Jinyang is an important town in the east of Hedong. If we capture Jinyang, Hedong can be leveled. Later, we can capture Chang'an to the west and Luoyang to the east. As long as Chang'an and Luoyang are captured, the world will be settled!... Your Majesty is determined. Going south, I would like to be the vanguard."
After Liu Wuzhou heard this, his face was overjoyed, he stroked his beard and laughed and said: "Okay, what the King of Song said is exactly what I want. I have decided to prepare the troops and horses, raise food and fodder, and choose a day to go south..."
