Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 66: New Year's Eve, Li Cha's first time! First night!

Under the dark night.

After dividing the money, Fu Zihou finally returned home, where he was scolded by his mother.

However, Aweng, Old Liu, and Fu Rui didn't take Fu Zihou's busyness to heart. Instead, they felt proud and proud of how much Fu Zihou had to do.

Not to mention anything else, just the events in Qinghe County this time, in Grandfather’s eyes, were enough for Zihou to have a separate page in the family tree and be revered by future generations.

The fact that Fu Zihou has a lot of things to do proves that he is capable of getting things done!

People stay up all night on New Year's Eve. Fu Zhi built a fire in the front yard, using not firewood but some bamboo.

Because the crackling sound when burning bamboo can ward off evil spirits in people's eyes.

Old shoes, clothes and the like were buried in a hole dug in the yard.

In the past, unless the clothes were torn beyond repair, the family would be reluctant to part with them. But now with the care of the Li family, they have plenty of clothes and often have new ones to wear. Tao, Zhang, and Tai naturally want to get rid of the old and welcome the new for their family, and they also pray that their descendants will be rich and powerful in the future.

After dinner.

With the help of his mother, Fu Zihou cleaned the wounds on his body and wrapped them with new cloth.

Seeing his mother complaining and about to cry, Fu Zihou quickly changed the subject and whispered to his mother to spend more time with his aunt.

"It's as if your mother doesn't know what I'm saying! Don't come back too late tonight, be careful!"

Tao looked at her son unhappily. She knew that her uncle was not around and her sister-in-law must be feeling uncomfortable.

Fu Zihou put on his clothes, nodded to his mother with a smile, then walked out of the room, said hello to Grandpa, Old Liu, and his father, and followed his cousins and their wives to light the wax lanterns.

Lanterns have been used by the royal court and high-ranking officials since the Han Dynasty. Beeswax is the most expensive material. After hundreds of years of development, lanterns have finally become popular among ordinary people. However, most of them are not made of beeswax, but are made of seeds pounded into candles as recorded in the book "Qimin Yaoshu". Although they are not as bright as beeswax, they are also very bright.

The beeswax inside the lanterns sent by the Li family were all specially made by the Zuo Shangfang Agency of the Sui Dynasty. The moment they were lit, their brightness surprised Fu Zihou, Fu Zhi and Tai Shi. They then took the candles and left home together.

New Year's Eve in Xin County.

The streets were filled with people, and the noisy and bustling sounds did not sound like those of a chaotic world.

Fu Zihou was holding a lantern. Before he even reached the gate of Li's mansion, he saw that all the Li family members were already outside the gate. Apparently, they had just set off firecrackers and were getting ready to watch the Nuo dance parade.

"Sixth brother-in-law!!!"

Seeing Fu Zihou, Li Le, Li Anjing and Li Anren all called out to him in a friendly manner, and then walked towards Fu Zihou.

"Sixth brother-in-law!"

Even Li Zhaotian, who looked down on Fu Zihou, his sixth brother-in-law at the beginning, called out to him obediently when he saw Fu Zihou.

"Sixth brother-in-law!!!"

Li Chengzhi, Li Chenggao and Li Lingchuan also bowed to Fu Zihou.

Although they met for the first time today, in the eyes of the three of them, they not only loved this young sixth brother-in-law, but also respected him and had endless gratitude towards him.

Fu Zihou looked at everyone, bowed to each of them, and then couldn't help but look at Li Cai and Li Qiong who were holding candles.

Fu Zihou raised his hand to salute Li Qiong, waited for Li Qiong to return the salute gently, and then came to Li Qiong's side.

Knowing that it was Li Cha's first time going out at night and she felt a little unfamiliar and unaccustomed, Fu Zihou held his lantern in one hand and gently held the lantern pole in Li Cha's hand with the other hand. He walked in front and led Li Zhaotian, Li Le and others towards the downtown area.

In Xin County.

The sound of drums has begun on the bustling streets.

Li Anjing and Li Anren held lanterns and moved quickly through the dense crowd.

Fu Zihou was with Li Le and Li Zhaotian. He would look back at Li Cha from time to time to make sure that Li Cha was not lost. Then he would continue walking forward, asking the vendors about the prices of the things on the stalls nearby from time to time.

"Little sister, do you regret it?"

In the crowd, Li Lingchuan held a candle and looked at Li Cai who was walking in front of him and being led by Fu Zihou.

When Li Qiong heard her brother's words, her beautiful face looked forward, a complex expression flashed across her face, but her eyes were unusually clear.

"I won't regret it!"

Li Qiong said softly.

"He is the best husband for my sixth sister, but he will never be my Li Qiong's!"

After Li Qiong finished speaking, she looked at her brother with cold eyes.

Hearing this, Li Lingchuan looked at his younger sister Li Qiong and walked slowly forward, wanting to persuade her to give up her obsession, but he couldn't say the words in his heart.

The graves of his grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins are all still in that distant land. Li Lingchuan has never forgotten them.

Now that I am the elder brother, I have no ability to take revenge, so what reason do I have to persuade my sister?

Looking ahead, at Fu Zihou, who was accompanying Li Le, Li Zhaotian, and holding Li Cha's lantern pole, Li Lingchuan also understood what his younger sister meant.

Indeed, as a husband and a good man, Fu Zihou, apart from his humble origins, had impeccable looks and character, and his abilities far exceeded those of his peers. He not only defeated the thief Zhang Jincheng and rescued Qinghe County, but also went to talk to Xie in person. Although the details were unknown, he brought the enemy who killed his third uncle back to the Li family without telling anyone, allowing the Li family to take revenge.

This one thing alone is enough for everyone in the Li family to be grateful to him for the rest of their lives.

But for her sister, Shuofang Liang was not a thief. No matter how cruel and bloodthirsty Zhang Jincheng was, he was just a thief leader on the edge of the county. He was just taking advantage of the lack of military force in Qinghe County and dared to lead his men to attack the rebel leader of Qinghe County.

However, the Liang family is an aristocratic family in Shuofang County!

It is no exaggeration to say that in terms of influence on the entire world and power spread all over the place, the Liang family cannot compare with the Qinghe Cui family, Chenjun Xie family and other aristocratic families that have been passed down for hundreds of years. However, within the territory of Shuofang County, the Liang family, a powerful family accumulated over generations, is unmatched.

It was indeed amazing and shocking that Fu Zihou could lead troops to defeat a rebel, but behind the Liang family was the Shuofang County.

Moreover, it was not the Liang family's branch that killed my grandfather's family, nor was it just the Liang family alone. This is completely different from the Xie family.

That's why my younger sister said that Fu Zihou would be the best husband for my sixth sister Li Cha, but definitely not for her, Li Qiong.

But at this moment!

Li Lingchuan looked at his younger sister Li Qiong in front of him. Is it true that there was no regret at all in her younger sister's heart?
Li Lingchuan knows his younger sister well. She is strong-willed and has been the pride of the Li family since she was a child. But at the same time, she also has a strong possessiveness.

Looking at the sixth sister who was afraid of contacting others in the past, now with Fu Zihou's company, she showed a shy smile.

He saw Fu Zihou lead his troops to defeat the rebel army, defeat Zhang Jincheng, rescue Qinghe County, and gain favor from the Cui family of Qinghe.

Li Lingchuan didn't believe that his younger sister had never thought about what would happen if Fu Zihou was still her husband.

However, all these thoughts, in the end, because of reason, hatred, and the pride in my heart, made me unwilling to regret, let alone admit that I regretted, nor would I choose to regret.

The younger sister may firmly believe in her heart that her future husband will be better, more capable, and come from a prominent family.

"But even if he is from a noble family, how could he avenge the Li family?"

Li Lingchuan sighed.

In fact, just as my father said, there is no hope of avenging my grandfather's family.

The Liang family has the entire Shuofang County behind them, and they are recognized by the Sui Dynasty court. They also have many friends among heroes and scholars. Other county leaders and rebel forces will never offend the Liang family, let alone spend money to fight to the death with them.

My father said that if we want to get rid of the Liang family, the only way is to have a force that is hostile to the Liang family and has enough men and horses willing to pay the price to go to Shuofang and fight against the Liang family. This is possible.

But these are so slim that they are almost impossible to exist.

on the street.

As the drums beat, the Nuo dancers wearing wooden Nuo masks kept opening and closing their arms and legs in the streets. Among them, there were also some women wearing wooden Nuo masks and Nuo costumes, dancing back and forth around the men beating the drums.

The people on both sides of the street all made way for the Nuo dancers, looking at the held-up torches and the women dancing the Nuo dance, praying that they would be protected in the coming year.

During this period, many people, no matter how poor they were, would take out a coin and throw it to the Nuo dancers. Fu Zihou also took out a few coins from his pocket, watching Li Anjing and Li Zhaotian throwing coins vigorously, and looked at Li Cai who was hesitant and didn't dare to throw coins beside him.

"Don't be afraid, this is a custom! It's a blessing! And they need it too!"

Fu Zihou began to comfort her. He still felt a little uncomfortable looking at Li Cha, so he simply took Li Cha's lantern, put the money in Li Cha's hand, then came behind Li Cha and grabbed Li Cha's hand.

"leave!"

At Fu Zihou's shout, Li Cha instinctively let go of her hand and the few coins were thrown out in an instant.

It was the first time that Li Cai experienced the feeling of losing money. When she saw the Nuo dancers wearing wooden masks approaching her while dancing, she was so scared that she took a step back and leaned in Fu Zihou's arms.

When she came to her senses, Li Cha instinctively lowered her head, her little face and ears were all red.

soon.

Hundreds of Nuo dancers, both men and women, passed by, and many children followed behind. On the one hand, it was fun, and on the other hand, they kept looking at the ground, trying to pick up any money that had been dropped on it.

After the Nuo dance, the many vendors on both sides of the street started to perform.

Among them, the most common one is arrow throwing.

Fu Zihou brought Li Cha with him and watched Li Le, Li Anjing and others continuously sending money, but few of them hit the target. He tried it himself, and after several times he found that it was not easy to throw an arrow into the pot mouth, so he looked at Li Cha.

When Li Cha saw that the person shooting the arrow was being watched by so many people, she quickly shook her head and said that she would not shoot anything.

This was the first time in her life that she went out at night. Li Cha was already feeling uneasy, not to mention being watched by so many people.

Seeing this, Fu Zihou did not force it. Looking at the flute behind the vendor, he took out money from his pocket and joined the team of Li Le and others.

With the participation of Fu Zihou, the small vendors' smiles when collecting money were so brilliant that it soon made Fu Zihou, Li Le, Li Anjing and Li Anren feel angry.

Until Li Zhaotian pulled Li Qiong over.

The peddler had a smile on his face. While collecting the money, he handed Li Qiong a handful of arrows.

Subsequently.

Li Qiong held an arrow and hit the target almost every time he shot it under the watchful eyes of the vendor and others.

"Fourth sister is so awesome!!!"

"Fourth sister, you are so awesome!!"

"Wow! Look at that girl! What a beautiful beauty!"

"Yes! It's really breathtakingly beautiful!"

Amid the excited voices of Li Anjing, Li Anren and others, and the astonished voices of the people around them, the vendor's smile slowly disappeared, his Adam's apple moved uncontrollably, and then, with a mournful face, he looked at Li Qiong with an expression that was already begging for mercy.

After a while...

"Give!"

Li Qiong distributed the things he had obtained to Li Zhaotian and others, and picked out a flute to give to Li Cha.

The moment she looked into Fu Zihou's eyes, there was no expression on her beautiful face. She glanced at the vendor and left without making things difficult for him.

"Qiong'er has been playing the piano since she was young, so she has a good understanding of controlling strength!"

Li Lingchuan saw Fu Zihou looking at his hand with suspicion, so he stepped forward and explained with a smile.

"Great!"

Fu Zihou said with admiration, looking at the flute in Li Cha's hand, and no longer worried about not being able to get it for Li Cha in person.

Among the people coming and going on the street, one of them suddenly noticed Fu Zihou and his companions illuminated by the candlelight of the vendors.

Seeing this, the man looked a little excited, and quickly looked at the leader and said something.

But then he saw that the man in the lead had no intention of stopping.

"Dou Gong! Zihou is a man of both civil and military talents. Now that you have met him, why don't you meet him?"

Cui Luxing looked back and saw that Fu Zihou and his group were leaving the street not far away among the people coming and going. He looked at Dou Jiande with an anxious look on his face.

"If we can't stay together, why should we meet?"

Dou Jiande shook his head and spoke softly.

Looking at the shops around him, Dou Jiande walked slowly with his wife and subordinates, feeling the hard-earned lively and festive atmosphere.

"Dou Gong really doesn't consider Zihou?"

Cui Luxing asked with a frown, looking a little lost.

I saw those things with my own eyes in Kuangcheng. Before that, Zhang Jincheng led his troops to besiege Qinghe County. Now, after finally waiting for Fu Zihou, this is the result I got.

"How can one person be as important as a family from three counties?"

When Dou Jiande saw Cui Luxing's appearance, he stopped and comforted him.

Now in the Bohai Gao family, as long as Gao Shining persuades the remaining Gao family members to support him, then the Gao family members who originally supported Gao Shida will also abandon Gao Shida. He will be able to get the support of the entire Gao family and get rid of Gao Shida.

Gao Shining also promised that as long as his conditions were met, he would bring his wife Xiao to Lanling to lobby the Xiao family.

The Lanling Xiao family is a prominent family in the county that is comparable to the Cui family. Even the current empress of the Sui Dynasty, Empress Dowager Xiao, is from the Lanling Xiao family.

Empress Xiao had been with Yang Guang since his early years and had always helped him to succeed to the throne. Now, members of the Xiao clan are also serving as officials in many places in Hebei.

And in the end, Gao Shining even personally guaranteed that he could let the Feng family of Xin County go to lobby the Lu family.

Feng Shi of Xin County is the mother of Feng Deyi, the current minister of the Sui Dynasty. She was originally a talented woman of the Lu family and the sister of Lu Sidao. The relationship between Feng Shi and Lu Shi has become increasingly close over the past few decades.

Although he didn't know why Gao Shining was so sure of persuading Feng, Dou Jiande felt that Gao Shining would not lie.

What's more, Gao Shining also said in person that he and his son would assist him wholeheartedly in the future.

Dou Jiande also knew that the young man named Fu Zihou was brave and resourceful.

However, the Gao family of Bohai, the Xiao family of Lanling, and the Lu family of Fanyang are prominent families in the three counties, and their clansmen, disciples, and friends are spread all over Hebei.

With the support of these three noble families, as long as he gets rid of Gao Shida in the future, all the officials in the cities of Hebei will come to him. When Dou Jiande thought of that scene, he had already seen his own hegemony.

How could a young boy compare to him?
"Fulfillment, after all, I have no chance with that young man!"

Dou Jiande sighed.

"If he can achieve hegemony in the future and rule the world, I will definitely see him again. If he has the talent to govern a place, I will still use him!"

Dou Jiande raised his hand, patted Cui Luxing on the shoulder, and then continued walking forward.

At this time, Cao Zhan also walked to Cui Luxing's side.

"Brother Cui! What Lord Dou said makes sense! As long as Lord Dou can achieve his hegemony and gain control of the world, this is the most important thing!"

Cao Zhan also spoke to comfort Cui Luxing, saying that in his eyes, Fu Zihou was indeed a great talent, but there were countless great talents, brave and resourceful people in the world, and how many prominent families were there in a county!
This comparison will help you know how to choose.

"Performance is also known!"

Cui Luxing nodded and looked back at the street.

Among the people coming and going, many people were holding torches and climbing up the stairs, but Cui Luxing could no longer see Fu Zihou.

In fact, Cui Xingxing also knew that Dou Gong’s choice was not wrong, but Cui Xingxing really felt sorry that a talented person like Fu Zihou could not assist Dou Gong.

(End of this chapter)