A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1157 Celebration Wine

"Serve the wine!"

Everything was settled, and the next step was naturally the banquet.

Wu Huaiyu was not stingy in entertaining the khans, kings, and shijins of the Western Regions. He took out the royal wine given by the emperor.
This wine was originally sent by the emperor after Wu Huaiyu's western expedition by a special envoy on a fast horse that traveled eight thousand miles, saying that it was to celebrate the victory after the conquest of Gaochang.

"Everyone, let's celebrate today and don't go home until you are drunk."

"Here we have the imperial wine bestowed by the Holy Emperor. They are all famous wines of the Tang Dynasty, including Xinfeng wine from Chang'an, Fushui from Yingzhou, Ruoxia from Wucheng, Shaochun from Jiannan, Lingxi from Shaozhou, Shidongchun from Fuping, Sangluo from Puzhou, Yichun from Yuanzhou, and Penshui wine from Jiangzhou..."

"If you think it's not strong enough, I still have various liquors brewed by the Wu family, including Wuliangye, Erguotou, Laobaigan, Shaodaozi, Sanyuan Gongjiu, Bailu Laojiao..."

Traditional rice wine, Shaochun, the white wine brought by the Wu family, and various fruit wines,

A bunch of wine was placed on the table,
When the wine jars were opened, the aroma of various wines filled the air.
The Khans and Kings of the Western Regions were all in high spirits. They had drunk many famous and fine wines, but these wines seemed particularly different because they were offered by Wu Huaiyu and were from the royal collection of the Holy Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

No need to persuade people to drink.

Regardless of whether they could drink or not, everyone picked up their glasses.

Don't go home until you are drunk.

One by one they shouted,

"The first cup is to the Holy Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the Khan of Chang'an."

"Drink victory!"

"Respect the Holy Emperor, Respect the Heavenly Khan, Drink to Victory!"

The leaders in the hall raised their cups and drank them all.

The lowest status here is at least the Turkic special forces and the prince of the Western Regions. Each of them is a leader of a region. Now they have another identity, such as the governor of the vassal prefectures and states in the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, or the chief secretary, Sima Langjiang, etc.

Wu Huaiyu raised his glass frequently.
However, the glass was not filled with white wine. Although white wine was an important industry of the Wu family, he would only drink a couple of glasses occasionally. On an occasion like today, he did not drink this stronger wine, but chose the local wine of Gaochang.

In the early years, the Wu family also introduced and planted Gaochang mare's milk grapes and then brewed wine, which was quite successful. In the past, Gaochang wine was an imported high-end wine in Chang'an and sold at a very high price. But since the Wu family started this industry, from growing grapes to brewing wine, its production scale, quality and taste have surpassed Gaochang in all aspects.

Not to mention that the wine in Chang'an was almost completely dominated by the wine of the Wu family, the same was true in other places. Even Gaochang wine was no longer the representative of wine and was driven out of the mainland market.

Wu Huaiyu savored the Gaochang wine carefully.
The taste is still the same as before, it should be said that it is good. The special geographical and climatic conditions of Gaochang make the grapes here of very good quality, and the wine produced is also good. The reason why Gaochang wine cannot compete with the Wu family in the Tang Dynasty is that

The main limitation was the production and cost. Their scale was not as large as the Wu family's, so the cost was higher. Moreover, it was thousands of miles to transport the wine from Gaochang to Chang'an, which was also very expensive. In the past, Gaochang wine was quite special and was synonymous with high-end wines. However, the Wu family came later and had a higher level of marketing. In addition, their own costs were lower and they had connections in the court. Naturally, Gaochang could not compete.

But in terms of quality and taste alone, each has its own merits.

Lao Cheng came over with a glass of Erguotou. He didn't like sweet and sour wine, thinking that was for women to drink. He liked this kind of strong liquor, which was powerful and was the kind of wine that men should drink.

"After I finish drinking this celebratory wine, I will go back to Chang'an."

Old Cheng had already drunk several cups, his face flushed with wine, he sighed, "I never thought that this Western Expedition would have such a great record, capturing Yugushe, destroying Gaochang, subduing Helu, and beheading the four other leaders Yuzhi Shijin, Zhuxie Shijin, Chi Shijin, and Yanmian Shijin.

The imperial court newly established two directly subordinate prefectures, Xizhou and Tingzhou.
Looking back now, Lao Cheng finds it a little hard to believe it.

"Back then, in order to compete with Hou Junji for the commander's seal, you issued a military order in the Golden Palace, saying that 8,000 cavalry could capture Yu Gushe and destroy Gaochang. Almost no one believed it at the time. To be honest, even I, Old Cheng, thought it was impossible to accomplish."

Wu Huaiyu nodded, "Yes, the saint even specially gave me an extra 8,000 cavalry and arranged for follow-up reinforcements."

The emperor certainly didn't believe it.

But Wu Huaiyu's performance when entering the Western Regions was even more exaggerated than what Wu Huaiyu said in the Golden Palace.

Old Cheng finds it a little hard to believe when he thinks about it now. In his military career, besides Wu Huaiyu, there were only two people who could create such a miracle. One was the current Holy Emperor, and the other was Li Jing, the Duke of Weiguo.

"I heard from Zhang Jian that you will be promoted to the rank of General of the Auxiliary State after your victory this time. Congratulations in advance."

Cheng Yaojin laughed, "It's all thanks to you, Erlang. I, the deputy chief steward, really didn't do much this time. Originally, we asked you to come out to suppress that dog slave Hou Junji and prevent him from taking command. Since you have taken the seal of the commander, we must help you too.

But we all benefited from you this time."

Cheng Yaojin had also received the news, and was promoted to General of the Auxiliary State upon returning to the court. This was a second-rank military official and the second level of military official. Above it was only a first-rank General of the Cavalry.

There are not many people in the court who can be appointed as the General of the Auxiliary State.

For Cheng Yaojin, it was a pleasant surprise to be promoted to the rank of General Auxiliary to the State. He also knew that this was all due to his military achievements in the Western Expedition.

No matter how he said he was lucky, the Western Expedition achieved such brilliant results, and as the deputy general manager, he naturally had a share of military merit. What's more, he also broke through Gongyue City, defeated the Gelulu Chishi tribe and the Yan face tribe, defended Khan Futu City, and subdued Helu. Each of these was a brilliant achievement.

"Are you still the General of the Left Winged Guards when you return this time?"

"Ah."

The General of the Auxiliary State is of the Wusan rank, which is the original rank, while the General of the Left Feathered Guards is the commander of the Northern Yamen Forbidden Army, which is a job title.

The position of General of the Left Winged Guards is still very important. Old Cheng has not been in the position for long since he returned from Youzhou, so it is impossible for him to change the position immediately.

"Then I wish you a safe journey!" Wu Huaiyu raised his glass, Lao Cheng clinked glasses happily, and then drank the full glass of white wine in one gulp, showing his heroic spirit.

"Actually, I really want to go back to Chang'an, or even to Lingnan," said Wu Huaiyu.

Old Cheng smiled and said, "Western Region cannot do without you now. No one has as high prestige as you do in Western Region now. Only with you can we control the situation. Otherwise, if someone like Guo Xiaoke comes, if he fails to control the situation and causes chaos, wouldn't all our efforts be wasted?"

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with the Western Regions. It's a vast area of ​​thousands of miles, with so many tribes and countries. All the khans, lesser khans, yehus, shiqin, chushes, and kings must obey you." "Why don't you stay and be the protector general?" Wu Huaiyu said.

"No, to be honest, I know my own business. If you want me to charge into battle, that's absolutely fine. You can even let me lead a group of troops. But if you ask me to protect the Western Regions, I will definitely not be able to take care of such a chaotic situation. I am not suitable for such a hard-working job. It is better for me to return to Chang'an and serve as the General of the Left Winged Guards."

Wu Huaiyu was quite envious of Lao Cheng. He made a trip to the Western Regions, gained merit, and was promoted to a higher rank. He returned victoriously and was promoted to a higher position, feeling very happy.

Unlike him, he originally thought that after the victory, he would recommend his brother Huaiyi to stay and serve as the Grand Protector of Anxi, and then he would return to Chang'an and then request to return to Lingnan to continue his stay.

Unexpectedly, the emperor actually let him stay in the Western Regions as the Protector General.

The Anxi Protectorate has a lot of authority. Compared with Lingnan, the Western Regions is the focus of the Tang Dynasty's next stage of operations.

Originally, he thought that the emperor would be unlikely to give him such an important position. After all, he knew in his heart that the emperor had always trusted but was wary of him, and was suppressing him.

"What are you talking about?"

The Eunuch Zhang Ananda came over. Wu Huaiyu had known this sword saint eunuch for fifteen years. He seemed to have always been so listless, without any change. In fact, in the past ten years, he had been sitting firmly in the position of Eunuch Zhang Ananda and had always been the emperor's most trusted chief eunuch.

This time he was even asked to come to the Western Regions in person to announce the decree.

Wu Huaiyu felt that Zhang Ananda must have been responsible for many secret missions on this trip.

After all, this person is the emperor's confidant, or it can be said that the eunuchs have a special identity. They are different from ordinary officials. Eunuchs can be said to be the people closest to the emperor and are also the emperor's slaves.

They are people who serve the emperor and are loyal to him. Unlike many officials, they do not claim to be loyal to the emperor, the court and the country. Eunuchs are only loyal to the emperor.

"I was just congratulating Mr. Cheng on his promotion."

Zhang Ananda smiled and said, "General Cheng has made great contributions this time, and the promotion is a well-deserved reward. It just so happens that you two are here, and I have an errand that I need your help with."

"Please speak, Supervisor Zhang."

Zhang Ananda then said that he had a side errand this time, which was to purchase a batch of fine horses from the Western Regions and bring them back to Chang'an, including some Dayuan Ferghana horses, Yanqi dragon horses, Gaochang celestial horses, etc. for the Emperor's Imperial Horse Supervisor, and also to select a batch of excellent war horses for the Hundred Cavalry, Thousand Cavalry, and Flying Cavalry of the Northern Ya Forbidden Army.

"That's no problem. The last thing the Western Region lacks is good horses," Wu Huaiyu agreed immediately.
"There is one more thing. Prime Minister Fang suggested that in order to promote the return of the Western Regions, a group of beautiful women should be selected from the Western Regions to return to Beijing."

The selection of concubines was not simply a selection of beauties for the emperor, but a policy similar to marriage alliance. The daughters of the leaders of the Turkic tribes and countries in the Western Regions were selected and sent to Chang'an. Some entered the emperor's court, and some were given to the East Palace and various kings.
Others were given to nobles and ministers.

Fang Xuanling's suggestion was actually quite good. In this way, the Turks and other countries in the Western Regions would marry into the Tang Dynasty and become relatives.

Unlike previous cases where the imperial court sent princesses to marry, this matter was always opposed by many people in the imperial court, who felt that it was forced and even relied on women to sacrifice women.

But it was different when the daughters of the leaders and nobles of the various Turkic tribes were selected to come to China to fill the harem or to be given to kings, nobles and ministers as concubines.

"How many do you want to choose?" Wu Huaiyu asked directly. He supported Fang Xuanling's suggestion. And since Zhang Ananda came with this task, it was obvious that the emperor also agreed. He might even have the support of the ministers in the government hall and the court.

"In principle, every chieftain of a Fanhu tribe who is above the rank of governor, governor, chief secretary, or military commander must select and send at least one daughter to marry in Chang'an.

Of course, if we can follow Chinese etiquette, it would be best if the princes marry off their daughters with nieces from the same clan."

Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment, "Marry one and give two away?"

Wu Huaiyu said, "If we strictly follow the Spring and Autumn Period princes' concubine marriage ritual, in fact, the princes would marry nine women. For the princes who marry daughters, they will also marry a niece and a concubine."

Niece refers to niece and younger sister.

When marrying off a daughter, the bride will also have her niece and sister marrying off.

Then, the princes with the same surname had to send three wives each, and thus the saying of "a prince could marry nine wives" came into being.

Of course, this is an ancient custom. Even in the Tang Dynasty, although there are still some aristocratic families, they still give concubines in marriage. When their daughters get married, they choose one or two cousins ​​or nieces from the clan to marry with them, and they become concubines when they arrive at the groom's house.

But in ancient times, the niece who was married in as a concubine had a higher status. If the wife died, the niece who was married in as a concubine could become the principal wife. But in today's Tang Dynasty, concubines are just high-level concubines. Even if the wife dies, they cannot be made the principal wife, otherwise it is illegal.

When Wu Huaiyu married Fan Xuanfu, the Fan family, as a famous family in Anlu and also one of the top nobles in the court, also married three daughters as concubines, all of whom were Fan Xuanfu's cousins.

Now Fang Xuanling and his men are making their plans very loudly.

The leaders of the Turkic and other countries in the Western Regions who had obtained the fifth-rank official title were required to send their daughters to Chang'an for marriage, and they were also required to marry one, two, or even one, eight concubines.

The leader of an official of the fifth rank or above in the Western Regions is at least the head of a tribe. His goal is to catch all the local tyrants in the Western Regions in one fell swoop and form an all-round marriage.

Good idea.

It did help the Tang Dynasty strengthen its control over the Western Regions.
"The selection of concubines is a good thing. If we have a good talk with the various tribes, they will probably support it. The issue of concubines is not a problem either."

Whether it is marrying one and two concubines, or one and eight concubines, there is no problem as long as the conditions are not set too rigidly. It is allowed for the various tribes to marry off their daughters with daughters from the same clan, then there is no problem. You don't have to ask for legitimate children or something like that. If a tribe marries off its daughter and gives seven or eight daughters from the same clan as a dowry, then that's not a problem.

Moreover, it is very easy to marry off the daughters of the various tribal leaders without forcing them to marry their legitimate daughters.

Zhang Ananda agreed with Wu Huaiyu's words, but he also reminded that there was one point that must be taken seriously, that is, when the leaders of each tribe marry off their daughters, it doesn't have to be a legitimate daughter, but it must be their own daughter.

You can't just pick a girl from your clan and say she's a princess and send her to marry like the emperors of the Central Plains did. It's even easier to pick a singing girl and say she's a princess and marry her to Chorokhan like Li Yuan did back then.
This cannot be faked.

"When the daughters of each tribe are getting married, it would be best if their brothers and nephews could also be selected to go to Chang'an together. This way, they can be escorted all the way and serve the emperor when they arrive in Chang'an. They will also have a relative by their side in Chang'an."

Wu Huaiyu nodded,
This is just like asking someone to marry off their daughter and to send a hostage.

He understood, he understood everything. He was just about to set up a military academy in Xizhou, and would select 3,000 young men from various foreign countries to serve as his personal soldiers.

(End of this chapter)