Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 66 Banquet
Everyone in the venue sat down. Zhu Lang gestured to Li Guoyong who was standing beside him. Li Guoyong whispered a few words to Li Laitong who was standing beside him, and Li Laitong hurriedly left.

Soon after Li Laitong left, a group of palace servants came in with various dishes in their hands and began to serve the dishes to everyone.
"I was delayed for some time by some official business in the court. I hope you generals didn't have to wait too long," the young man said with a smile on his face.

"We just arrived, too. It's just in time for Your Highness to come down," the generals below responded in unison.

"That's good, that's good"

The young man above had a friendly look on his face. As he was talking, all kinds of dishes were served on the table. Roasted lamb chops, four-happiness meatballs, sweet and sour fish, bird's stomach chicken, crispy pigeon, seven or eight kinds of dishes were served, and in a blink of an eye, the table was full.
There were two blue and white wine jugs on each table. The aroma of the wine was already spreading before the wine was poured out.

Some generals in the field smelled the aroma of wine on the table and licked their lips. How many people in the army don't like wine? Yang Yandi smelled the mellow aroma of wine on the table and was already itching to taste what this imperial wine tasted like.

However, since His Highness had not spoken yet, he did not dare to move. He could only stare at the bottle of wine on the table and endure it silently.

His Highness found that all the generals were sitting upright, looking straight ahead, and seemed a little nervous, so he smiled and said:

"All of you generals are the backbone of our Ming army. Today's banquet is only to comfort you and relieve the hard work of the army. You can eat and drink as you like. There is no need to be polite."

"Yes, we thank your Highness," the generals below responded in unison.
Several rough men in the field were about to start eating when they heard this, but they felt the warning glances from the generals above them, so they had to sit on their seats with their eyes straight ahead, looking serious.

Seeing that everyone seemed to be unwilling to relax, His Royal Highness the Regent continued to speak.

"Do you know why I didn't invite the commanders of the various camps when I hosted a banquet for all the generals today?"

"Your Highness, please give me some advice."

Liu Qijiao and Guan Can and Deng Yao on the opposite side looked at each other, and these three people took the lead in the field. However, Liu Qijiao was a lieutenant general of the imperial army, so he was naturally half a level higher, so it was Liu Qijiao who spoke up to answer.

"The commanders of each camp are either generals or lords. These barons and dukes are too strict."

"If we invite them here as well, they will surely be stern and control the generals, making it difficult for them to even eat. How can the generals enjoy themselves today?"

"So I simply don't let them come over. We, the king and his subjects, will have our own meal today. We don't need to worry about so many rules. We just need to have a good meal," the young Regent laughed heartily.

The generals below were all stunned when they heard this, and a strong man with a beard clapped his hands and said loudly
"Your Highness is right. If my general came here today, he would definitely nag me again. It would be really unpleasant."

When the generals below heard this, they all looked towards the sturdy man on the right. When Liu Qijiao above saw the general who spoke, his face darkened instantly. This guy turned out to be Zhao Xing in his army.

Yang Yandi looked at the bearded man opposite him with a trace of contempt in his eyes. He didn't know where this guy came from. He actually took His Highness' polite words seriously.
He spoke ill of his commander in front of so many people. Based on his experience, this guy would probably get 20 military sticks when he returns to the army today.
When Yang Yandi saw the official robes on the sturdy man opposite him, his eyes were filled with contempt. This rough man without any scheming was actually a lieutenant general like him. He, Yang Yandi, was really ashamed to be associated with such a rough man.

Didn't you see that although Yang Yandi felt that what His Highness said was very true, he just nodded repeatedly and didn't agree?

What is this? This is called the ways of the world. This reckless fellow doesn't even understand this principle. It seems that he will only be a lieutenant general in this life. How can he compare with Yang Yandi!
Yang Yandi looked at the sturdy man opposite with some sympathy, but just as he looked away, he found that Deng Yao above him was staring at him with a vigilant look. He was immediately furious. What was wrong with this old Deng? The one who was talking was the brute opposite. What was Deng Yao staring at him for?

All the generals in the field stared at Zhao Xing, who was still unaware, with different expressions. After some Guangdong generals found out that this man was a general of the imperial army, they couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Liu Qijiao couldn't care less. A drop of cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He immediately stood up and said
"Your Highness, please forgive me. Zhao Xing is used to being casual in the army and does not know the rules of the palace. Please punish him."

The Regent above chuckled and pressed down with his hand. After Liu Qijiao sat back in his seat, he spoke
"General Liu, what are you talking about? How can you forgive me for that? General Zhao's meaning is exactly what I meant just now. Today, all the generals don't have to be restrained. Just have a meal and a drink to relieve the fatigue of the army."

"Today, all the generals should be like General Zhao. There is no need to be formal. Just eat, drink and have fun."

His Royal Highness the Regent spoke loudly with a smile on his face.

The generals below also looked at each other and shouted in unison, thanking him.

After this interruption, the generals found that the regent seemed to be quite kind and not arrogant. Their tense hearts relaxed a little, and the atmosphere in the field gradually eased.

The generals looked slightly relieved, but His Royal Highness the Regent spoke again.

"There is plenty of meat at the banquet today, please feel free to use as much as you want, but each person is only given two pots of wine on the table. If you finish them, you can only drink plum soup." "It's not that I'm stingy, but all of you generals are generous people. If you drink too much, you will inevitably let go of your temper. The adults in the previous dynasty are very nagging. If they find out that we are drinking to our heart's content, I'm afraid they will make a fuss again."

"Let's drink a little wine today and eat meat to our heart's content, so that those great men from the previous dynasty won't disturb the mood of our monarch and his subjects. Is that okay?" the young prince said in a loud voice.

"Your Highness has thought of everything. Thank you for your grace."

The generals, led by Liu Qijiao, shouted in gratitude.
His Majesty the Regent seemed to notice that the generals were still reserved, so he chuckled.

"It seems that you generals are still too formal. In this case, I will start first."

His Royal Highness the Regent pondered for a moment, then spoke:

"Generals, you are stationed in the army, training soldiers every day, and protecting our Ming Dynasty. You have made great contributions. I will host a banquet for you all today. This first cup of wine is to thank you for your hard work."

"I dare not, this is our duty"

His Highness the Regent raised his glass, and the generals below all said they dared not to, and quickly raised their glasses.
When His Royal Highness the Regent raised his head and drank the wine in one gulp, all the generals below also drank the wine in their cups.

"Today I am delighted to see all the generals in the garden. They are all handsome and heroic. All of you are the pillars of the army and must be rare heroes in the world. This second cup is for the heroes of the Ming Dynasty."

The young prince raised his head again and drank the second cup of wine. The generals below also said they dared not to drink the wine in their cups.

"Today, there are generals in the garden, some from the south and some from the north. We have come a long way from each other, but by chance, we are able to gather here today. This third cup today is to toast our fate."

The Regent said this and drank the third cup of wine. The generals followed suit.

After three rounds of drinking, the young prince put down his glass and said
"Three cups have been drunk. Generals, please do as you please."

"Today, all kinds of meat are prepared and they are all grilled and ready to eat. Just tell us what you want to eat and someone will bring it to you. If you are interested, you can grill one yourself."

His Highness the Regent pointed to a shed a hundred meters away by the lake. Under the shed, there were iron ovens half a person's height. On the table were various processed meat ingredients. Cooks wearing aprons were grilling various meats.
"There are also games such as pitching pots and shooting willows in the courtyard. Generals can enjoy them on their own."

"In this case, generals, please enjoy your meal. Forget about military affairs today, just eat and drink, and be a carefree person for a day."

His Highness the Regent said one more word to the generals, and then stopped talking. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
Li Guo used Zhu Lang's signal and waved to one side.

Soon, several musicians came to the stage holding pipa and guqin. The musicians slightly adjusted the sound of the guqin, and then the sound of the pipa suddenly sounded. Several dancers also entered the stage one after another, holding swords, and began to dance with swords.

The generals below looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing that the music and dance had already started, and His Majesty above was actually watching the music and eating and drinking, they tentatively picked up the dishes.
The generals below ate carefully for a while, and found that although His Majesty the Regent would occasionally call people up to ask a few questions, the people he called were all the generals in charge. So the generals below finally put their minds at ease and began to eat and drink by themselves.
After everyone had eaten for a while, His Royal Highness the Regent suddenly stood up with his plate in his hand. Li Guoyong was about to take the plate from the young man, but was waved away, so he had to retreat behind the young man.

When the generals below saw His Royal Highness the Regent suddenly stand up, they also stopped what they were doing and prepared to stand up.
But the Regent above him pressed his palms in advance, indicating that everyone didn't need to pay attention, and then he just carried the plate and went to the shed not far away.
Liu Qijiao and Guan Can and Deng Yao, who were standing opposite him, looked at each other, put down their chopsticks, stood up and followed His Royal Highness the Regent.
When the generals below saw their leader stand up, how could they dare to stay in their seats? They also stood up and followed the three men.
Just now, His Highness the Regent had signaled that everyone did not need to stand up, but now that the generals had followed him, the young prince seemed to be unaware and ignored the people behind him.

When His Royal Highness the Regent came to the pavilion, the cooks were startled to see him approaching with a group of red-robed generals. They were about to salute him with panic on their faces, but were stopped by his hand.
His Highness the Regent ordered the cook to grill a few lamb chops and pork ribs. The cooks grilled the ribs tremblingly under the stares of the generals. His Highness the Regent took the ribs and put them on a plate, and then walked back to his seat.
The generals who followed him looked at each other in bewilderment, watching the regent walk back without saying a word.
I thought His Highness had some hidden agenda when he stood up, but it turned out that he was just here to get food.
Liu Qijiao and the others looked at each other, took a plate from the table, picked up some roasted lamb and chicken wings, and returned to their seats with their plates.
The guerrilla generals below were somewhat at a loss at this moment, with a trace of confusion in their eyes.

His Highness took the meat and left. The officer in charge took the meat and left too.

So what should they do? They are not here to take the meat. They haven’t finished eating the meat in their bowls yet.

Some generals followed suit and pretended to take some food. Then they walked back to their seats. The freshly baked food on the table was cleared away in an instant.

Most of the generals followed him back to their seats, but a few actually stayed in the shed and directed the cooks to grill various ingredients.
When the generals returned to their seats, they found that His Royal Highness the Regent had not given them any follow-up instructions. They ate the meat they had just retrieved and watched the sword dance below with relish.

Liu Qijiao, Guan Can and other military commanders looked at each other, and their hearts were shaken at this moment. Could it be that His Highness the Regent really just wanted everyone to have a meal today?
(End of this chapter)