This warrior is so fierce

Chapter 549 Dinner
In the first year of Yongning, Emperor Qianyuan died, and the temple name was Daozong.

After several months of turmoil, the eldest prince Wen You became a great treasure and became the successor of the new generation of the empire.

According to the theory, after the new emperor ascended the throne, the year name should be changed, called Gaiyuan.

But above the court, because of the reform of the Yuan system, there were ups and downs, and there was never an accurate tone.

It was not determined until recently that the new year was changed to "Xuanhe", which was known as "Xuanhe first year" in history.

Xuanhe is similar to Yongning. They both mean to pray for the country's good weather and the prosperity of the country and the people.

The little emperor didn't have much right to speak, so under the arrangement of Prime Minister Yuwen, he passively stamped one seal after another to ensure the basic operation of the empire.

And as the status of Queen Mother Yan, who was listening to the government behind the curtain, became more and more stable, she was unambiguous in the court, and her power was overwhelming. Every time she looked at the court, she hung behind the curtain behind the throne, and all the political affairs were foreseen.

Empress Dowager Yan is a strong person, although she has said several times that "the old man has nothing to tolerate, the prime minister must decide", but in the court, how can scholars have the final say?
With the comeback of General Yang Ming, although the momentum of General Yang Ming is not as strong as before, he is the status of General after all, and his long-standing reputation makes him quite a place in the hearts of the gods.

Above the court, the clan group headed by Captain Rong gradually showed its prominence with the support of Queen Mother Yan.

After a period of confrontation, a three-legged situation of Yu Wenbi, Rong Taiwei, and Yang Ming gradually formed. Among them, Yu Wenbi has the strongest voice and is also the prime minister of the dynasty.

After the formation of the three-legged confrontation, the Empress Dowager Yan gained more power, and many officials in the capital of the gods began to lean towards the empress dowager who listened to politics behind the curtain.

After the Empress Dowager gradually took power, she began to entrust the royal family members wantonly.

Among them, the Yan clan headed by Yan Da was promoted.

The young Yan Da became the representative of the Yan clan. On the premise of becoming Zhi Jin Wu, he was rewarded again. Now he has been conferred the titles of Marquis of Linxiang, Zhi Jin Wu, and Zhengfeng Doctor.

Several other princes and daughters of the former emperor were given titles. The older "eldest princess" was titled "Princess Anyang", and the second prince Wen Yan was titled "Prince Gong". All have enfeoffments, but most of them are still young and still live in the palace.

The two sons of the first emperor were both born of Empress Yang. Empress Yang has long since withdrawn from the struggle for many years, and since Concubine Yan took control of the harem, Concubine Yu and Concubine Xiao, who were originally relatively strong, also disappeared, and there was no sound .

On the first day of the first year of Xuanhe, the Empress Dowager Yan summoned all the people in the palace and set up a dinner party.
-
In the first year of Xuanhe, Youzhou Prefecture.

The new year is coming. In the past year, Youzhou Mansion experienced turmoil, but the overall situation is thriving.

General Cao Su of Pingbei, the lord of Youzhou Prefecture, is a hard-working warrior who attaches great importance to the development of agriculture and commerce, encourages major families to set up caravans, establishes free trade zones in the city, reduces or even reduces some taxes, and promotes urban development and progress. .

Youzhou Mansion quickly regained its vitality, the effects of population agglomeration continued to superimpose, and various advantages gathered.

The voices of support for Cao Su in the city are also getting louder and louder. The big families that had some "suggestions" have lost their voices now, and they are honestly hiding in the city to make money silently.

As long as these families are engaged in serious business, they can get Cao Su's support.

And the families who tried to get involved in the two bottom line indicators of "land and population" were not seen by Cao Su.

In order to please Cao Su, some families voluntarily gave up some land and population, and gained more and better convenience in the city.

Cao Su took back the land and population, further released the demographic dividend, and increased food production.

The imperial court changed the year name, and the atmosphere of the New Year became more and more intense. In Youzhou Mansion, every household hung up red lanterns to celebrate the coming new year.

Before the new year, Youzhou Mansion ushered in another heavy snowfall.

It snowed heavily for three days and three nights, from the year before to the new year.

Lanterns were also hung in the General’s Mansion, and two couplets were pasted on the door, which were written by Pingbei General Cao Su himself——

"Majestic, loyal and loyal forever"

"Blessing the people and blessing the country for thousands of years, Zudou Yongshanhe"

The strokes are vigorous and powerful, hanging vertically at the door, everyone who enters and exits the general's mansion can see this couplet at the first time.

When he was young, it was rare for Cao Su not to practice.

He personally set up a dinner in the General's Mansion and invited everyone to attend.

For the dinner at the General’s Mansion, officials of all sizes from Youzhou Mansion gathered together. In addition, some patriarchs of big families will also attend. This dinner is a family banquet, and business matters are not discussed, so everyone who comes to participate can also bring their relatives.

In this way, the number of people attending the dinner party may exceed a hundred people. Fortunately, the City Lord's Mansion occupies a very large area to accommodate everyone.
-
An hour before the dinner, the Xiao family.

Xiao Xu, the Patriarch of the Xiao family, was sitting in the courtyard, and a fifteen or sixteen-year-old maid knelt down in front of him.

With tears streaming down her face, the little servant girl reported to the Patriarch: "Patriarch, Miss, she still doesn't want to, but Miss said, then Cao Su is a vicious person, and she won't go to see him even if she dies."

"Nonsense! What nonsense!"

Xiao Xu's face was very ugly, and he was furious when he heard such "wrong" remarks.

He slapped the stone table suddenly, pointed at the little maid and cursed: "Did you gossip in front of the miss all the time?"

"No! I am wronged, Patriarch!"

The little maid hurriedly bowed her head and complained: "It's because of the You family's affairs!"

You family?

Only then did Xiao Xu realize that the You family, one of the five great families in the past, has now been wiped out in ashes.

His daughter Xiao Zhuyan seemed to have had a good boudoir friend who also belonged to You's family, but he was busy with affairs on weekdays, so how could he really pay attention to these things?
So I didn't expect my daughter to be dissatisfied with Cao Su because of the destruction of You's family.

This made him feel quite helpless, and he waved his hand slightly: "Go down, and stay with Miss well."

The little maid hurriedly stood up, because her legs and feet were a little weak after kneeling for a long time, and after saluting, she hurriedly left the courtyard.

After she left, an old man beside Xiao Xu came over: "Patriarch, if Miss doesn't go"

He said with some regret: "I heard that General Pingbei set up a family banquet today, and it seems that he intends to select women of the right age from the various ethnic groups in Youzhou to marry. Su will like it too."

"It's all just speculation, without evidence."

Xiao Xu shook his head, feeling a pity in his heart.

The current Cao Su is different from a year ago. The current Cao Su has not only pacified the hidden dangers such as Tuxian Mountain, the "Youdi Mansion" in the Yangjia Mountains, and Li Xingxi, but also sorted out the economic, political, and cultural development of the entire Youzhou Prefecture. well organized.

No one in the Youzhou Mansion dared to disobey. There were still some families that had connections with Luo Jian, but they also silently cut off their connections.

And Cao Su is only 21 years old this year. The most shining star of the empire, the overlord of Youzhou, has a bright future.

Being in-laws with Cao Su is definitely a good strategy to bring the family's strength to a new level.

I heard that the other big families will bring girls of all ages to the dinner today to see if they can create a spark of love for General Heping Bei.

But having said that, Pingbei General Cao Suke never said that he would choose a woman to marry.

All the gossip was too strange, but everyone thought it was reasonable. After all, General Pingbei was 21 years old. From the perspective of major life events, he was not young at this age.

The more Xiao Xu thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became. What if, what if the daughter of another family fell in love with Cao Su?

I heard that there is also a beautiful girl in Cao Su's mansion. Cao Su himself should be the kind of person who loves beautiful women. If other families get on line with Cao Su, with such a relationship, his Xiao family can still remain the No. [-] family in Youzhou Mansion. respected status?

His expression changed for a while, he had already walked to the door, but suddenly his expression changed, and he turned around.

"Hey, Patriarch?"

The old man beside him was slightly taken aback, and stepped aside.

Xiao Xu walked directly into a certain courtyard, and under the surprised eyes of the maids in the courtyard, he came directly to the door of the young lady's room.

"Hey, Patriarch?"

The servant girl is in a hurry, didn't she ask her to accompany the lady well, why did the owner suddenly come over again?

The head of the family still had a menacing look, which made her face pale, and she didn't dare to stop her in the slightest.

The old man and others were all standing outside the house, Xiao Xu stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Boom boom boom——"

"Zhuyan?"

Xiao Xu shouted in a deep voice.

However, there was no sound in the house.

Xiao Xu frowned slightly, this kid is really getting worse and worse, now he is standing outside the door, why don't you come out to see him?
He reached out and pushed the door open.

"Squeak-"

The door was not locked, Xiao Xu walked directly into his daughter's boudoir.

He glanced around, his face suddenly changed, and he saw that the room surrounded by the faint fragrance was empty!
Zhu Yan's maid who followed Xiao Xu in was also dumbfounded.

Xiao Xu turned around suddenly, his face was gloomy like water, his eyes contained a cold murderous look, he stared at the servant girl firmly, walked in front of her, then raised his palm, and slapped her suddenly.

Xiao Zhuyan's personal servant girl "Peng" fell to the ground by Xiao Xu's slap, bleeding from the corner of her mouth, her eyes turned black.

"Say, where is Zhuyan?"

The sighted guard also quickly pulled out his knife and put it on the maidservant's neck.

The servant girl's face was dazed, with tears in her eyes from being slapped, and her face was swollen: "I really don't know that Miss has been in the room all the time, and she never went out at all."

"Damn things!"

Xiao Xu was furious, wishing he could beat the maid to death on the spot.

The old man next to him gave the guard beside him a tactful glance: "What are you still doing here? Why don't you all go out and look for it?"

"Miss doesn't know martial arts, how did you get out? There must be someone helping, check carefully, where has the lady been recently, who has met, don't miss it!"

The old man was quick in thinking, and after quickly making arrangements, the guards left one after another.

And he whispered next to Xiao Xu: "Patriarch, it's almost time to go, the dinner party is about to begin."

Xiao Xu's face was very ugly, and it took a long time before he breathed a sigh of relief: "In the past, I indulged Zhuyan too much, which made her lawless, and even dared to run away from home."

"After I find her, I must discipline her well. Even if I can't marry General Pingbei, I will help her find someone else to marry."

Xiao Xu walked away angrily, and the old man followed suit.

And another steward asked someone to set up the maid who was on the ground, and took it to another place for severe torture.

Xiao Xu walked out of the courtyard and went to the General's Mansion in a carriage.

General Pingbei's Mansion is located in the center of Youzhou City, the Xiao family's carriage rolled over the soft snow, making a "squeaky" sound.

Sitting in the carriage, Xiao Xu could smell the scents coming from the street, including sweet-scented osmanthus cake, steamed stuffed bun, rice wine and other scents. The Youzhou Mansion, which was approaching night, smelled more of human fireworks.

"Patriarch, we're here."

Half an hour later, the carriage arrived outside the General's Mansion.

At this time, red lanterns had been hung up in the General's Mansion, and there was a lot of people inside and outside the mansion.

Xiao Xu got off the carriage, and as soon as he stepped into the snow, he heard someone greet him warmly: "Brother Xiao, you came early!"

Xiao Xu heard the reputation and looked, it turned out to be the Jiang family, one of the old families in the city.

The head of the Jiang family is a skinny old man. Today he wore a purple robe, showing a bit of wealth and dignity. Looking to the side, he saw a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, wearing a goose-yellow shirt, slender. The slender waist is like a willow in early spring, and the willow eyebrows are curved, delicate and beautiful. After seeing Xiao Xu, she bowed nervously.

Xiao Xu secretly scolded Old Jiang for being shameless.

"Brother Xiao came alone?"

The old man Jiang asked Xiao Xu with a smile, knowingly asking.

Xiao Xu didn't give him a good face when he heard the words, and nodded stiffly: "Since it's a family banquet, why bring so many people."

"Brother Xiao is wrong. General Pingbei's mansion is such a big place. Are you afraid that General Pingbei won't have a place to sit?" Old man Jiang teased Xiao Xu, not without complacency in his words.

Xiao Xu snorted coldly. In this situation, he didn't want to argue with old man Jiang.

The two walked forward side by side, presented a small gift brought by themselves, and then walked into the general's mansion.

The Pingbei General's Mansion occupies a very large area. In the huge courtyard, many banquet tables have been placed. In addition, there are specially set banquet tables in the hall. From the hall to the courtyard, there are many servants walking back and forth, placing food and drinks. , fruit and wine.

"Hahahaha!"

At this moment, a hearty laugh came from behind the two of them.

The laughter was very rough, and the two of them turned their heads to look back when they heard it was unfamiliar.

He saw a tall and strong man walking towards the two of them with big strides. The man had a broad forehead and nose, and was wearing a fur and tiger coat.

"It turned out to be the head of the Ma family."

The person who came was Ma Liao, the head of the Ma family.

This Ma family is in Youzhou Mansion, and it can be regarded as a new big family. The Ma family from the northwest brought their germplasm resources to Youzhou Mansion, bred a group of excellent war horses, and gradually established themselves in Youzhou Mansion. After gaining a firm foothold, it is said that General Pingbei Cao Su is also closely related. Ma Chao, the eldest son of the Ma family, is now working under General Pingbei's account.

Next to Ma Liao was a middle-aged man in a white robe. He smiled and nodded when he saw the two Patriarchs.

This is Bai Jing, Ma Liao's sworn brother.

On the other side of Ma Liao, there is also a beautiful little girl who is only fifteen or sixteen years old. She is taller than the little girl from Jiang's family, with a high nose bridge and big eyes, round and slender legs, and a cheerful temperament. Rouge horse on the steppe.

"You two, please!"

Ma Liao also knew the heads of the Xiao family and the Jiang family, and had contact with them several times in the past year.

Now we met again in the General's Mansion, and warmly greeted the two of them to go inside.

When Xiao Xu saw that even a reckless man like Ma Liao knew to bring his daughter to the banquet, he felt even more uncomfortable.

Several people walked into the hall together. There were several stoves in the hall room. The charcoal fire was burned in the stoves, and the room became much warmer.

In front of the high seat in the middle of the hall, Zhong Jin, an important scribe under Cao Su's command, was arranging servants to do things.

This Zhongjin was ugly, but he was tall, wearing a black Chinese dress today, he looked a bit extraordinary.

"Oh, the Patriarchs are here, take your seats quickly."

Seeing the arrival of several Patriarchs, Zhong Jin took the initiative to greet them.

"Brother Zhongjin, where is General Pingbei?"

What they were most concerned about was not where they were sitting, but where General Pingbei Cao Su was.

Zhongjin smiled and said: "The general will arrive later, everyone, don't worry, please take a seat first."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw another person walking outside the hall.

The man was tall and tall, surrounded by evil blood, his face was as sinking as water, and he was very indifferent.

"General Hong Ding, please take a seat."

It turned out that some senior generals under Cao Su had arrived.

After Hong Ding arrived, generals such as Wang Qing, Du Ning, Heng Xuesong, Zhang Ke, Li Li, and Luo Yi also arrived one after another. In addition, there were also young generals such as Shi Yong and Ma Chao. Can only sit outside.

There was a lot of voices inside and outside the courtyard, all waiting eagerly.

Not long after, Cao Su came out from the backyard like a dragon and a tiger.

(End of this chapter)