Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 617 Alas, this is what a heroine should be like!

Guo Kang originally thought that the dispute between the Yuan and Ming dynasties was related to the foundation of the country, and it would definitely be very intense and would last for a long time. One meeting might not be able to resolve it, and several meetings would have to be held. When it comes to the stage of formal decision, if there is still a fuss, it is estimated that other parties will have to be called in to witness the scene, so as to avoid being accused of bias on the Khan's side. If Sun Shiwan's offensive is fierce and cannot be resisted, even if reluctantly, I am afraid that I will have to call the old monk for help. In any case, this time is probably just a warm-up.

However, the actual situation changed much faster than he imagined. After this confrontation, Sun Shiwan seemed to have suddenly lost his fighting spirit and no longer sought to grab a seat. Instead, he began to praise Zhu Wenkui, saying that he was a man who could do great things and had the style of his great-grandfather. He would probably be a hero in the future. Besides, the West and the Central Plains are different after all. This place is big enough to accommodate the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Therefore, everyone does not necessarily have to clash.

This change was so rapid that Guo Kang felt like he was punching cotton. All the back-up plans he had prepared before seemed useless. But in this situation, one less thing is always a good thing. So, he didn't ask any more questions and quickly finished it so that he could get busy with other things.

Zhu Wenkui was quite satisfied with the result. He had gone ahead with it anyway, and avoided all kinds of problems later, so he was naturally happy to have some free time. As soon as the matter was over, he said goodbye to Guo Kang and went home to prepare.

The wedding ceremony didn't take too long. There were a lot of important things to do later, and Khan Ting obviously didn't want to delay it any longer. Theodora herself was more active, and whenever she had time, she would urge others to speed up the process. More than a week after this incident, the wedding was officially held.

On that day, Zhu Wenkui led Captain Jieshika and others to the Guo family's residence. According to the plan, he had to act as the best man today and participate in the entire process.

On the other hand, Princess Ma had to go to Theodora. She was one of the highest-ranking female guests today, and she also had to attend a lot of etiquette, so they had to act separately. As for little Jeanne, she should have followed her and formed a team with the ladies to welcome the bride.

However, when Zhu Wenkui accompanied Guo Kang on horseback to the gate of the Niangniang Temple, he found that little Jeanna had left the wedding procession with her pig and ran over here to wait.

At this moment, the entrance was also crowded with people. In addition to the citizens who came early to watch and the soldiers who were maintaining order, people from all walks of life in the church also came out in droves to make a final inspection of the venue and place the objects. The great lama Wang, wearing a tall hat and a robe with complicated patterns, was looking at her with a bitter face.

"Hey, you're here, my prince!" Seeing Zhu Wenkui jump off his horse, Da Lama Wang shouted hurriedly, "Please persuade the princess... no, the pig to leave. The road is blocked. If the ladies come here later and are hit by the wild boar, who knows how much trouble it will cause!"

"Don't worry, don't worry." Seeing that he was talking incoherently, Zhu Wenkui ran over and said, "My sister has to attend the ceremony later and can't leave. As for the pig, I guess she won't listen to my advice. I'll let her take it away first."

As they were talking, the priests were also trying to drive Nurhaci away, but Nurhaci was stubborn and refused to give in. He even grunted and dug the soil, baring his teeth at everyone. The priests were afraid and dispersed one after another. For a while, no one dared to go up.

Zhu Wenkui had no choice but to step forward and scold little Rangna, then go with her to drive Nurhaci out of the square.

During this time, Wang Da Lama and others had already arranged the groom and his party. Zhu Wenkui also returned to the team and waited for the bride to arrive. Just in case, he did not care about the detailed rules and forced little Jeanna to come over to prevent her from doing anything weird when no one was watching.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before the bride's team arrived.

This team was even larger than Guo Kang's. When Guo Kang came here, he had five carriages and more than 200 riders. In addition to the ceremonial guards corresponding to the official position, there were also family members, followers, and people brought by Zhu Wenkui and others to show their support. These people moved together on the street, which was already quite impressive. However, compared with the princess' team, it was still much smaller.

Theodora's starting point was not the nearby imperial palace, but the Queen Mother's residence, the "Mary of Mongolia" monastery in the city. There, everyone gathered the team and rushed all the way.

The ceremonial guards in front of the team were divided into three parts. In the front were more than 20 officers and a whole squadron of soldiers. They were all people who had made contributions in the war last year and the suppression of the rebellion in Dadu, so they had the opportunity to directly participate in the ceremony. The leader was Guo Kang's cousin Guo Zhaowen - these people were basically veterans from Henan under his command, and they were currently temporarily taking on the responsibility of guarding Dadu.

For the ceremony, everyone put on their newly issued black armor and bright red battle robes. Officers also wore tall helmet tassels according to their ranks. Everyone was very excited, holding the regiment flag and the flags of each squadron, and marched forward as the vanguard, beating the gongs and clearing the way. Obviously, they were very happy to get this opportunity.

After them came the nuns under the Queen Mother. They wore light armor and swords outside their monastic robes, and each held the flags of the Queen Mother, the Princess, and the order, as well as the church's holy images and relics. Although there were fewer people, only a few dozen people, they still attracted more attention.

The citizens who were watching gathered together to watch these heroic girls. Many of them threw flowers and ribbons to them in advance and cheered loudly.

"Sure enough, these nuns are very popular," Zhu Wenkui commented.

"I think those legionnaires in front of us are a little unhappy. Look, some of them are starting to look back secretly." Little Jeanna also said, "I hope they won't make a fuss."

"No, that's not the case. This is all expected." Zhu Wenkui explained, "It should be the first time for the citizens to see the armed nuns acting in groups like this, so it's normal for them to feel more curious. And since they are all fully armed, everyone will definitely pay more attention to these girls. We have anticipated this and have specifically informed everyone. They will not be unhappy because they think they have stolen the limelight."

"That's it..."

As they were talking, they saw several large trucks turning the corner and slowly driving towards them in the middle of the team.

The largest one had a tent-like structure on the floor. It was decorated with purple silk and satin, which hung down along the top felt cover - this was the origin of the name of the Purple Tent Khanate, and it was also the symbol of the Khanate. So when the princess got married, she would ride in this kind of carriage.

In front and behind it, there were a number of vehicles carrying guests including the Horse Princess and other noble ladies who were accompanying the ceremony. In front of the princess' wedding car, the Queen Mother rode a horse and led it personally, and several other elders from the Khan's chamber followed beside her.

According to traditional customs, in addition to the heirs of the Khan, other children will also be granted fiefs and establish their own Ulus. Since the establishment of the Purple Tent Khanate, it has often directly imitated Mongolian customs and granted fiefs to members of the Khanate and the families of meritorious officials on the grassland. In the early days, they were able to organize their own tribes and establish armies, which were under the jurisdiction of the Beiyadusi. However, with the development of the country, the area, population, and political importance of the farming areas increased rapidly, and soon far exceeded the grassland areas. Now if they were asked to leave Dadu and go to the grasslands, it would be almost like exile. Therefore, the kings of the Khanate generally chose to live in the city and not go to the tribes they were granted to actually govern. By the time of Basil, even the function of appointing managers had been taken away by the court.

Some members of the Khanate were content to be rich men in Dadu. Others who wanted to do something would often engage in business. Doing business on the grassland was also an old tradition of the Khanate, so many people chose to do so to make some money. Through their identities, they traveled on the grassland, managed trade routes, and made a profit by acting as middlemen between the East and the West.

Therefore, most people are still in Dadu. They are not very active at ordinary times, but they are very active during every celebration.

Behind the convoy, there were more than a hundred Beiya cavalrymen who nominally belonged to the various Khans, wearing traditional leather robes and holding ceremonial spears, escorting them. Behind them were the drum and music bands and more flag bearers. The entire team stretched for more than a mile.

After them, there were also groups of people coming to congratulate and show their support. The square from the departure point to the Niangniang Temple was packed. The princess' carriage had already arrived at the church, and the last guests were probably still in the monastery.

At this time, several priests guided the convoy to stop and wait on the side of the road. At the same time, another group of people came over from the palace.

"Okay, let's get started." Zhu Wenkui quickly told his sister, "You can stay here first, but you have to be honest and don't run around. Don't underestimate Mother's good temper. If something goes wrong this time, it will be a big deal. She will beat your butt when she goes back, and I won't be able to protect you by then. Remember?"

"I remember, I remember." Little Jeanne replied, still thoughtful.

Zhu Wenkui was obviously skeptical, but after looking back and forth, he realized that the venue was very crowded, and he probably didn't have time to send her to Princess Ma and then rush back. He could only nod and accept it for the time being.

The team coming from the palace was the Khan and his wife. There were not many distinguished guests participating in the ceremony, but all the "Varyags" guarding the palace came out and blocked the road.

Captain Olafsson, carrying his iconic axe, with a long beard tied into a braid and a large white round hat of the Khexue on his head, walked in the front of the team, attracting a lot of attention. Behind him were a group of guards, holding weapons and ceremonial objects such as axes and sticks. The Khan and the Queen, accompanied by several close nobles and attendants, rode on horses and came to the square surrounded by the crowd.

"It seems like no one on their side rides in a sedan chair," Little Jeanna commented.

"This is also people's habit." Zhu Wenkui said: "The sedan chair is not a good thing. It is more comfortable than riding a horse or a carriage, but it is precisely because of this that it is easy to make people weak and arrogant. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a special regulation that most officials could not ride in sedan chairs unless the emperor gave special permission or they were sick and unable to ride a horse."

"The people who liked sedan chairs the most were the Song people, especially after the Jingkang period, when sedan chairs quickly became popular in the south. Even Zhu Xi said with emotion that everyone in the world now rides a sedan chair. But in the eyes of later generations, this thing is also associated with the weak Song Dynasty."

"The Qin State believes that fighting requires carriages and horses, but sedan chairs are obviously irrelevant and are only for enjoyment. Avoiding war and pursuing enjoyment is the reason for the demise of the Song Dynasty, so it must be avoided. Of course, they are not the only ones who think so. When the Qin State was first established, Emperor Taizu also issued an order not to allow people to ride in sedan chairs. The reason was to learn from the lessons of the Song Dynasty. It can be seen that this kind of thinking is also quite normal."

"That's it..."

As they were talking, the great Lama Wang came forward with the priests to greet them, asking Baisaihan and his wife to dismount and wait, then waved to the band, indicating that the ceremony had begun.

The orchestra, which had been ready for a long time, began to play. The crowd beat gongs and drums, blew suona, and played cheerful and holy religious music. Amid the hymns, the team moved again, and the door of the princess's carriage opened. Theodora, dressed in a purple gown, walked out slowly with the help of her maid. The crowd immediately gave a warm cheer that was far greater than before. The atmosphere on the scene reached a climax.

"Ah..." Seeing this, little Jeanne exclaimed loudly: "A real heroine should be like her!"

"What?" Zhu Wenkui didn't understand.

"Look at her pomp..." Little Jeanna couldn't help but sigh: "The last time I listened to Mr. Luo's storytelling, I felt that every era was like the Three Kingdoms, with protagonists, supporting roles, and many more who were just background characters. People like her are the protagonists of the era, right?"

"What does this have to do with anything..." Zhu Wenkui obviously still couldn't understand.

"The Great Qin State and our Wu State are theoretically on the same level, right?" Little Jeanna didn't know what she was thinking, and continued, "I don't know if I can have this kind of treatment in the future."

"If you can return to the country legitimately, your situation will definitely be better than hers. But competing with each other to see who is more extravagant is not a good thing. If Taizu knew, he would not be happy." Zhu Wenkui advised: "It is better to focus on more valuable things and focus on the most important part, so that people can be truly happy."

"I know the core part, I just want to express my feelings." Little Jeanna seemed to agree with what he said, but she still said stubbornly: "Hey, if you want to be a princess, you have to be the princess of the Great Qin State; if you want to get married, you have to marry a man like Brother Kang. This is the most important point."

"What a mess... Your last name is Zhu, not Liu, so stop quoting from the classics here." Zhu Wenkui came up and knocked her: "Just watch the ceremony!"

"You are such a bad brother. You don't know how to take care of people..." Little Jeanna rubbed her head. She had no choice but to keep quiet.

(End of this chapter)