Chapter 847 Dance

Although it was not extravagant or grand, Tuhe was still bustling that day.

The Zhen family sent a hundred carts of dowry and drove into Tuhe in a mighty manner.

As the first wealthy family to surrender and bind, no one has gained more than the Zhen family. In the past three years, the scale of business has exploded. They are the largest distributors of books, salt and iron, furs, herbs, mountain products, etc., which has made their family size expand rapidly, and this is just a low-level business.

The highest-ranking Zhen Sheng is the internal historian of business in the general's mansion. In addition, there are many Zhen children who hold civil affairs positions. There are Zhen people in medicine and Wenchang Pavilion. Although the ranks are not high, they have formed a force and are deeply bound to General Wang.

Now as the first woman to marry into the general's mansion, no matter how other wealthy families view it, Zhen wants to let people know. If Wuji was not the ancestral land of the family and it was not easy to give it up, they would all move north now. In fact, they are already moving north now, and only a part of Wuji is left behind. Because Wang Yan said more than once that the Han Dynasty would fall and the world would be in chaos, they trusted Wang Yan's judgment very much.

No one had more contact with Wang Yan than them, and no one believed in Wang Yan more than they did.

The long convoy beat gongs and drums, and entered Tuhe City and drove to the general's mansion before the autumn sun became toxic.

Today, Wang Yan rarely wore a festive red dress, and a crown on his head, and a jade hairpin as usual. He was still very heroic after dressing up. He led a group of senior officials of the general's mansion, standing with his hands behind his back, smiling, and watching the Zhen girl being taken into the back house.

Listening to the Zhen family's accompanying steward reporting the gift list, what a pair of East China Sea pearls, a pair of Western Region jade bi, two Ferghana horses, South China Sea corals, tortoise shells... Anyway, it was all kinds of things, messy, and precious. After two thousand years, it was enough for General Wang to die dozens of times, without any slowness.

After the dowry gift list was read, Wang Yan waved his hand and led his men into the council hall of the general's mansion. The place here was very large, with low tables on the mat, which was just right for everyone to sit together to eat and talk.

Now almost all the people in the whole jurisdiction have used tables and chairs, and only this council hall uses the current mats and low tables that require kneeling. There is no special reason, mainly because it is not often used here, and it is only used when holding a meeting. In this kind of occasion, everyone sits on the tables and chairs separately, which feels like a primary school student in class. What's more, they all wear Hanfu and crowns, which feels a bit funny and not very formal.

Of course, they don't feel anything wrong, but they are all very serious, but Wang Yan can't do that. Although he is unmoved by the eight winds, he still feels uncomfortable. This will definitely be changed in the future. He has already thought about it. He will build a large hall, similar to the steps of the Great Hall. When the meeting is held, he will sit on the dragon throne below, and the ministers will sit on the upper side. It will be grand and magnificent, and no one will be tired...

Everyone sat at the table, and their postures were not uniform. For example, Cai Yong, Hua Tuo, Zhen Sheng, Bing Yuan, Guan Ning in the front row, and Liu Bei who sat at the end, all knelt upright. Military officers such as Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, Zhou Cang, and Liao Hua all sat cross-legged. They used to kneel, but when they found that the general was not bound by etiquette, they sat cross-legged, squatted, etc., and they relaxed a little bit. Now they have completely lost their manners, unlike the civil officials who still strictly abide by the etiquette.

The personal guards acted as waiters, serving dishes and wine one by one, braised pork elbows, stewed lamb, braised beef, fried yellow croaker, and smashed cucumbers. Each person had five dishes and a pot of wine, which was quite rich.

Cucumbers are called green melons, which is also the credit of Zhang Qian. Nowadays, the general has planted a lot of crops. Basically, every household will turn the soil in the yard and plant some crops. It is not much different from the rural areas in Northeast China two thousand years later.

"Today I am getting married, and I am taking this opportunity to gather with you. If it were not for the rules of my rule, today's meal would be just ordinary for you. However, you have worked hard and followed me to do great things for the Chinese people. You are all gentlemen. Today, you should eat and drink to your heart's content and get drunk. Everyone, drink a lot."

Wang Yan sat cross-legged on the table, holding the wine bottle in his right hand and covering his left hand in front of him, smiling and respecting his subordinates from afar.

The civil and military officials in the audience all responded to "drink a lot". They all bowed to the wine bottle towards General Wang and raised their heads to drink it all.

Hua Tuo ate a bite of the cucumber first, and said loudly: "General, what you said is wrong."

"Where is it wrong?"

"People eat grains, but they still get sick. If such a large amount of meat is eaten regularly, it is still good for military generals like Han Sheng, but civil officials like Cai Gong will inevitably become obese, which is a disease, not good for the body, and will also shorten their lifespan."

Otherwise, Cao will kill you, you speak too bluntly, and you talk about professionalism right away. The big boss said that it was difficult and hard, and you said that you couldn't eat too much. Although this is true, is it reasonable?

Wang Yan smiled and shook his head: "What Yuanhua said makes sense, although it is too early to say it, but we are getting bigger and bigger, and we will have more meat in the cage, so we will have no worries about meat, and then what Yuanhua is worried about will happen. Gentlemen, don't talk about civil and military affairs, there will always be a day when the war is over, and then you may be lazy, and you will be lazy and playful, and you will be as fat as pigs. As the saying goes, you can't chew too much. Civil affairs cannot make a country prosperous, and military affairs cannot keep the country safe. It also shortens your life. You should remember Yuanhua's words, think about it, and be careful."

"I will follow the general's teachings."

"Hahaha, don't be so formal, gentlemen, this is not a national event, but just a gathering to chat, just be casual. Left and right, please invite the music and dancing girls from Zhen's dowry house to come and help us have fun."

The guards responded, and after a while, a dozen dancers and a band of more than ten people, with guards carrying musical instruments behind them, came in to salute the general, and then played music and danced, and began the show...

Liu Bei, who sat at the last seat, drank by himself and ate and drank sweetly. His current position is not qualified to come to this banquet. It has only been three months, and he is still just the most basic civilian official in Tuhe City. He is not even a pavilion chief, but a staff under the pavilion chief, busy running around every day, issuing notices and statistics.

And today, the bosses of various departments in Tuhe, as well as the county magistrates of other counties, and the seven guards and the titled captains of the cavalry battalion, are definitely a gathering of the core military and political high-level officials of the general's mansion. He is an outsider who is sheltered here, a grassroots civilian official, and can sit at the last seat in such an occasion. It is already the highest courtesy given to him by General Wang.

To be able to reach today, there are no fools anymore. Maybe Hua Tuo said it unintentionally, but what General Wang said was a warning. But the confidence that the country is already in his hands revealed in his words, compared with the conversation with the general when he first came, Liu Bei is certainly used to it. He has accepted the wild words of Wang Yan, the traitor, but what surprised him was that the senior officials sitting here also had no doubts, as if it was natural.

This is a very scary thing, because it represents the strong cohesion of Wang Yan's current command.

In the past three months, he went deep into the grassroots and had in-depth contact with the people, and he had a clearer understanding of the current level of wealth in Liaodong.

Every family has surplus food, two meals a day, thick porridge in the morning and dry rice in the evening. There are three or five chickens, ducks and geese, and a certain number of eggs can be eaten every month. There is a pig, which is fattened and killed at the end of the year, and can be eaten by oneself or sold. There is a grain, oil, salt and sugar store in the general's mansion on the street market. Salt is cheap, grain is fair, rapeseed oil is expensive, and sugar is the most expensive.

There is a wine and food store, and the people can eat one meal a month. There is a cloth store, and the people can afford coarse linen clothes. Although there are silks and satins, there are few buyers. There are markets selling furs, mountain products, and vegetables and fruits grown by the people. There are fish shops that catch fish from the Haihe River, which are affordable for the people. Suizhong, Tuhe, Fangxian, and Pingguo are near the sea, and the price is cheap and fresh. The loss of shipping to the north makes the price expensive, but the people can afford it.

The richest are the people of Tuhe, but they only have more chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, etc. Relatively speaking, the people in Xiangping and Xuantu have mountains behind them and can also get mountain delicacies, which can be used as subsidies. There is nothing wrong with the balance between the two. As for the people living in the middle, the north-south merchants have to pass by, and the price is moderate. In addition, there are people who buy goods in the county, or carry a load, or push a cart, and sell them in various villages, which can also make more money. The overall price stabilization under the rule of the general is quite in place.

Liu Bei can say with certainty that the people of Liaodong are the richest, because any family he picks out is better off than he was at the beginning. As for the situation in China as a whole, after the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion, and the various chaos such as the Yellow Turbans' fleeing soldiers and Taishan bandits that have never stopped in recent years, taxes everywhere have become heavier, and the lives of the people are not even as good as they were in his time.

What surprised Liu Bei even more was that every citizen he had come into contact with, from the elderly in their 50s and 60s to the children of three or four years old, had an extreme reverence for Wang Yan, almost like worshipping him as a god. However, he thought about it and thought that if he were a commoner in a difficult situation, and his life was getting better and better under the leadership of General Wang, he would do the same.

In addition, in terms of the army, when he was on vacation before, he and his two good brothers gathered together to talk about Liaodong, and the internal situation of the army described by Guan and Zhang surprised him even more. Three meals a day, meat every half a month, the training intensity is extremely high, the military formation is very strong, the soldiers have a strong desire to fight, and their combat effectiveness is very strong. The weapons are not only complete, but also of better quality and tougher.

Similarly, these soldiers worship Wang Yan even more superstitiously. When they chat normally, they basically talk about the general. Moreover, after dinner, the military stewards will organize the soldiers to learn to read and learn according to the military regulations and civil laws. Occasionally, the military stewards will also talk about what policies the general's office has issued, and explain in detail what benefits they will get.

It is impossible to say that such a team has no combat effectiveness. Not only combat effectiveness, but also very strong combat effectiveness. Not to mention the ideological problems, just the food and drink, even if the army is allowed to rob the people, it can't get this level of food and drink.

As for his two good brothers, they followed the cavalry to the grassland last month.

Liu Bei, who was sitting at the end of the table, had no mood for singing and dancing. Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and even the food he ate tasted bland...

The song stopped, and after the dance, Wang Yan stroked his short beard and nodded with a smile: "Liaodong is a bitter and cold place, with no singing and dancing, Meng Guang is thoughtful."

"To be honest with you, General, this is not my idea, but the idea of ​​my mistress. My mistress is well-read and especially loves singing and dancing, so she came as a dowry." Zhen Sheng bowed and replied with a smile.

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows. He planned to appreciate it carefully after the banquet was over...

"This trip is very good. Our Liaodong soldiers and civilians do not know music, music, or dance. They work hard all day long, and they should also enjoy this song and dance. Since Madam loves song and dance, we should set up a song and dance department, recruit more singers, dancers, and musicians, and compose new songs and dances that inspire people to perform in the army and the county, so that our people can enjoy it. Meng Guang, this matter will be handed over to you. Find a place to open a government office for the song and dance department to work. Madam will discuss the details with you tomorrow."

"Yes, General."

Wang Yan nodded, and then looked at the dancers and musicians who were standing obediently in the middle of the field but could not hide their astonishment, and said: "You are not lowly, nor noble, and you are no different from the common people. When choreographing new songs and dances, you must remember that teaching our soldiers and civilians to be happy is the best. Don't be arrogant and cut yourself off from the people."

"I will follow the general's instructions."

The general waved his hand.

The group bowed and took three steps back, then turned around and quietly left the council hall. They were all professionally trained...

After drinking a glass of wine with everyone, Wang Yan said: "I know that you have all wanted to go south for a long time, but now the north is not settled and the grassland is not pacified, so it is not appropriate to raise troops to go south. And even if we go south, we can't expand too much. Now I say again, raising troops is for the people's livelihood. Now I rule a million soldiers and civilians. If I raise troops, the people's livelihood will decline and the people's hearts will be in chaos. Even if I go south to conquer the Central Plains, my people will be poor again. What's the use of the throne?

If it is for my wealth, today's foundation is just right, even if I become the emperor What about the emperor? To protect the people's livelihood and even make it better, we must slowly plan the world, step by step, and it will take at least 20 to 30 years. Don't be anxious, you should be serious about it. "

After everyone responded, Wang Yan continued: "Recently, there is news from Luoyang that the emperor of Luoyang is unable to walk, weak and even coughing up blood, and I am afraid he will not live long. I expect that there will be changes next year, and you should make preparations. If there are changes, after the autumn harvest, the troops will enter Linyu to spy on the land of You and Bing states. "

Wang Yan called all these people back today because he noticed their restlessness and unified their thoughts. It is true that after four years, the granaries are full, and they are still importing grain to the jurisdiction. The current grain reserves are enough to support 150,000 troops for half a year. Of course, this is based on the current food standards of their soldiers. If it is based on the general army, they can last for a year.

In addition to the high-intensity training in the past four years, the army has developed strong combat effectiveness and fighting will, as well as the two generals Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci who have become titled lieutenants, and Zhou Cang and Liao Hua, who are less powerful but have been trained in military command and mobilization, not to mention General Wang, an invincible general and commander.

Without bragging, if they send troops now, they can completely fight from Liaodong to Luoyang within half a year, kick the emperor of Luoyang off his position, and replace him with Wang Yan.

So these people are a little arrogant, and can no longer hide their enthusiasm for war. Then General Wang, the leader, needs to gather these people together and give them a beating.

In fact, to be honest, a considerable number of these people still want to follow the dragon's merits, enfeoff their wives and children, and be rich and noble for generations. Although Wang Yan has told them more than once that at best, it is better for their descendants, but it is absolutely impossible to take power without merit, and they will be beheaded if they commit crimes. But they don't care at the moment, they all want to get rich first, and the rest will be dealt with later.

But they were wrong, and it would be the end of them if General Wang killed them at that time...

As for the idea of ​​deciding the Central Plains with one battle, that was a joke. The world is not just Luoyang. Even if the Liu family is kicked down and General Wang takes over, what can he do? If that is the case, the whole world will still rebel. Who will listen to his orders? Instead, they all want to kill him first.

He is not in a hurry. He should develop slowly like now. He will conquer as much territory as he can grow land, have as much food, and feed as many people. The iron hoof that is slowly moving southward has given Lao Cao and others fear and powerlessness, like a cat playing with a mouse. For General Wang now, perhaps it is a little interesting...

After exchanging ideas with his high-level subordinates and ending the banquet, General Wang returned to the bedroom behind the general's mansion.

"I greet the general." Seeing Wang Yan coming in, the two serving maids bowed quickly.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Just now the general's maid came here to deliver food, and we have eaten."

Wang Yan waved his hand: "Go away."

The two maids bowed again, turned around and left the room, and closed the door considerately. Although it was autumn, the weather was hot, but fortunately there was enough ice in the room, so it was still cool.

Looking at the woman in red sitting on the couch with her head covered by a veil, Wang Yan walked over and lifted the veil, and met the pair of eyes that were caught off guard and widened. In an instant, Zhen Dao's face was dyed with red.

She had big eyes, curved willow-leaf eyebrows, a beautiful nose and cherry mouth, and a baby-fat face, which was very attractive. There was a natural fragrance on her body, which had the effect of a sachet and her own body fragrance, which felt very good.

The Wuji Zhen family started from the time of Wang Mang, and it has been 150 years. There is a generation every 15 years, and there have been ten generations so far. I doubt that the aesthetics of the wealthy families are just like the aesthetics of the South Korean chaebols. To be honest, the aesthetics of the chaebols are definitely not as exquisite as those of the wealthy families. After all, beauty is never as simple as beauty.

And it is common for wealthy families to marry each other. After the two families have continuously improved their genes, the next generation they have achieved is naturally not bad. So when it comes to Zhen Dao, she is also stunning. What's more, she is the daughter of a wealthy family and has received a very superior training.

Why is Zhen Mi famous, but Zhen Dao is not famous? Because she doesn't have an emperor husband and an emperor son.

Looking at the man in front of her who has made her undergo four more years of family training, Zhen Dao bowed and opened her pink lips slightly: "Concubine, meet the general."

Wang Yan stroked her face with his hand, feeling her trembling, and then he took off the complicated headdress on her head one by one with both hands.

"I heard that you love singing and dancing, and the singers and musicians you brought with you as a dowry are also in response to your wishes?"

"That's right."

Zhen Dao tried her best to control her breathing. She certainly knew what she was going to face next. Her mother had already taught her...

Pulling out the last long golden hairpin, Wang Yan stroked her scattered black hair and patted her back with a smile: "Let's dance."

"Yes, General."

Zhen Dao smiled brightly. She shook her hair, stood up and saluted General Wang, then went to the spacious space in front of the couch, slowly swung her red wedding dress and danced.

General Wang had already taken off all his clothes except for the plain white brocade dress, lying on the bed, with his hair also loose, and smiled at Zhen Dao, who was dancing in red in front of him.

That dance was so beautiful...

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