Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 301: New Year's Eve Banquet, Reminiscence and Pie in the Sky

"During the Zhongping Period, I first entered the capital. The Yellow Turbans had just been pacified, and the late emperor was delighted. He lifted the curfew and allowed night travel. At that time, the imperial capital was filled with moonlight and lanterns, and luxurious cars and luxury horses filled the streets. Nobles, ministers, craftsmen, and merchants all went out at night."

In the brightly lit provincial government, Zhang Yu, wearing a Sichuan brocade robe and a gold and jade belt around his waist, raised the wine jar high in his hand and expressed his deep emotion to his civil and military officials.

"In times of war, people are eating each other and many are selling their daughters as slaves. Anyi is now prosperous, so I would like to offer a bottle of wine to Military Advisor Zhong and Du Hedong first." Zhang Yu raised the jar of wine and said to Zhong Yao and Du Ji.

The New Year's Festival in Anyi naturally cannot be compared with that in Luoyang during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, but as Zhang Yu said, in this chaotic era, especially after experiencing severe droughts in spring and summer, and locust plagues that damaged farmland, the fact that Shanxi can now be temporarily safe without cannibalism and safely spend the New Year's festival is extremely precious.

Hedong County has more than 60,000 households and a population of more than 300,000. Specifically, in Anyi Prefecture, including the surrounding rural population, there are at least 50,000 or 60,000 people. However, even if there are only 50,000 or 60,000 people, it is enough to make the streets crowded and bustling. Compared with Yanzhou, where people eat each other, Anyi can be said to be a paradise on earth.

Zhong Yao had a lot of experience and knew that he could not take all the credit, so he held the wine jar in both hands and said with a smile: "Shanxi was able to end the war because of your great military achievements. How dare I accept the credit alone? Yao and Bo Hou will toast you a bottle to thank you for your appreciation and promotion!"

"It is easy to find a good horse in the world, but it is rare to find a good horse trainer. Your Excellency has a unique vision and has promoted you from humble beginnings. This is all due to your Excellency's merit," said Du Ji.

"Ha ha!"

Even though he knew the two were just talking for show, Zhang Yu couldn't help but feel happy. He raised his glass and said with a smile, "I dare not claim to be good at judging people, but I can say that the people I employ have all made the best use of their talents. Yuan Chang and Bo Hou helped me govern Shanxi and Hedong and supervised the transportation of grain and grass. I have to respect them."

Having said that, Zhang Yu finished drinking with the two of them.

When the attendant was about to refill the glass, Wang Ji, who was standing beside Zhang Yu, whispered to him, "Don't drink too much. You have to see your father later."

The servant was tactful and only poured half of it.

Zhang Yu held the wine in his hand and looked at the crowd, saying with a smile: "I wanted to thank you all one by one, but my wife advised me not to drink too much. In this case, I will thank you all together. Now that I can sit on the land of Shanxi, I thank you all for your great assistance. Congratulations, drink this cup to the full!"

"I am willing to follow you, my lord!"

On the left, there were officers led by Zhang Yang, Zhang Liao, Li Song and Xu Huang; on the right, there were counselors led by Zhong Yao, Guo Tu, Du Ji, Jia Xu and Xun You. Twenty or thirty of them stood up with glasses of wine in their hands and congratulated Zhang Yu.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yu could not help but feel heroic. Unconsciously, he had reached such a point, and the civil and military officials who followed him were also incomparable.

For example, Zhang Yang, Zhang Liao, Li Song, Hao Zhao, Shi Yi and their ilk, formerly were only humble men living at the frontier, but now they all live in wealthy families, go in and out with their retainers and close generals, and their reputations gradually become known in Central China; or Zhong Yao, Du Ji, Guo Tu, Jia Xu, formerly were only middle- and lower-level officials of the Eastern Han Empire, but now they all wear silver seals and blue ribbons, go in and out with clerks and servants, and become wise men famous in Central China.

If he could establish an empire, these people in front of him would be the heroes of the empire!
"Wenyuan, you left your post as an official and joined the army to join me. Have you ever thought about your current situation?" Zhang Yu sat back on the couch and said with a smile.

Zhang Liao's face showed a look of nostalgia, and he said, "I left my post as a border official to join the army, just for the promise of a young man, and followed you with my passionate courage. But only ten years later, I am now in this situation. I can't imagine it!"

"What about another ten years?" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Liao was so excited that he looked up at everyone and said, "In the next ten years, Liao will follow you to suppress the rebellion and help you build the foundation of Emperor Gaozu!"

As soon as the rebellious words were spoken, everyone in the hall fell silent and looked at Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu took in everyone's expressions and laughed and scolded: "Wenyuan is drunk, how can he say such nonsense. Although the Han Dynasty is in decline, it is still the common ruler."

Seeing this, Zhang Liao immediately realized that he had said something wrong, and quickly apologized, saying, "I was drunk and my words were inappropriate. I hope you will forgive me, my lord."

"Don't talk nonsense anymore!"

"promise!"

Zhang Yu changed the subject and asked, "Gong Ming led his army to surrender to me in the battlefield. Did you expect this day to come?"

Xu Huang stood up from the table and said respectfully, "When I followed the bandits, I was worried about my safety and was troubled by the disgrace to my reputation. But since I followed you, I don't have to worry about trivial matters. I can concentrate on honing my martial arts and defeating the enemy for you. I never dared to think of being the general of the southern expedition. Thank you for your grace."

Zhang Yu said to everyone with a smile: "Gongming joined the bandits because of his defeat, but he had great ambitions. The surrendered soldiers were brave but the military discipline was lax, so I entrusted Gongming to lead them. But Gongming lived up to expectations, first he rectified the military discipline, then he strictly disciplined the troops. Therefore, in terms of bravery and fighting skills, the Hezhong Army is second to none."

Then Zhang Yu looked at Xu Huang and said, "You have the spirit of Zhou Yafu, who quelled the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms and was a famous general in the Former Han Dynasty. I hope you will work hard."

"Thank you for your care!"

"How about Bo Dao?" Zhang Yu asked with a smile.

Hao Zhao took a sip of wine, laughed and said, "When I was young, I sold horses. I met you, the prince, who helped me. Back then, I was a businessman. Now I am in charge of 5,000 soldiers and horses, resisting Yuan Shao outside the fortified city, and being granted the title of Tinghou. This is the greatest happiness in my life."

Zhang Yu continued to instruct Shi Yi and Zhang Shan, saying: "Shi Yi and Zi Feng are both old men. You and I have shared the joys and sorrows together, defeated the Xianbei and intimidated the Xiongnu. I remember all of this now, and when the mission is accomplished, we will all be greatly rewarded."

"I am willing to go through fire and water for you!"

After the military officers had asked all the questions, Zhang Yu looked at the civil officials and asked, "Shao Ran came thousands of miles to join me. Could you have expected this day to come?"

Yu Yi took the wine cup and stepped away from the table, saying, "I followed you to the frontier. I was invited by the king to work as an official to support my family. I never expected that I would be like this today." Zhang Yu laughed and said, "You were poor and went to the army thousands of miles away. Now you are in charge of the Shanxi Salt Lake, making tens of millions every year. In terms of wealth and honor, no one in the world is richer than you!"

"The profits from the salt lake belong to the provincial government. I am only guarding the money for you, my lord, and I dare not take it without permission!" said Yu Yi.

The reason why Zhang Yu was able to let Yu Yi be in charge of salt and iron affairs for a long time was not only because of Yu Yi's seniority, but also because Yu Yi knew his limits. Although he was in charge of salt and iron affairs, he would not abuse his power or engage in corruption.

"Gongze, Yuanchang, Gongda, I met you three in Yingchuan, and I knew you three were talented, and you three have lived up to my expectations." Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The future is long, I hope you can help me."

Zhang Yu raised his wine cup again and said with a smile, "In the past, I rarely had a big banquet with you at the beginning of the year. Now I invite you all here, which is my promise to you. When I achieve success and fame, I swear to treat you well. You are here today, you will be here next year, we will be together in five years, and we will meet again in ten years."

In the past, Zhang Yu would have a banquet with civil and military officials in the first month of each year, but he did not have one with the generals from other garrisons. Now that he has established a small foundation and entered the sprint stage, in order to keep everyone's momentum, Zhang Yu must send positive signals to his subordinates, that is, to paint a rosy picture for everyone.

Upon hearing Zhang Yu's promise, the atmosphere became lively, and the guests toasted each other in great joy.

It was already late at night when the banquet ended. Zhang Yu and Wang Ji hurriedly went to see Zhang Ji again, and then left again.

After returning home, Wang Ji called a few maids to help Zhang Yu wash up.

"Jian was very happy at the banquet today?"

Looking in the mirror, Wang Ji took off the jewelry on her hair and suddenly asked.

Zhang Yu felt the warmth of the foot washing water and said comfortably, "How did you know?"

Wang Ji rolled his eyes at Zhang Yu in the mirror and said, "How can I not tell whether my family is happy or not!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Since the turmoil in the world, I have worked day and night for six years to conquer the bandits in all directions. Now I have a million people under my rule and a hundred thousand soldiers, and I am as powerful as Qin and Jin. So when I think back to the hard times in the past, how can I not be happy!"

"Shu Lan, I will make you the queen in the future!" Zhang Yu looked at the beautiful figure and said proudly.

"This is inevitable. If my husband is the emperor, then I should be the queen!" Wang Ji let her hair down, looked back and smiled.

That night, the artillery fire was roaring, but because Wang Ji was pregnant, Zhang Yu had to stay still. And Wang Ji, perhaps stimulated by the word "Queen", let Zhang Yu enjoy the taste of warmth and warmth.

On the second day, Zhang Yang came to the mansion to say goodbye and return to Hedong to take charge.

"Ji~"

"Lord!" Zhang Yang wanted to address Zhang Yu by his courtesy name, but considering their status, he changed his words to "Lord".

"Now that there are no outsiders here in private, you can just call me Ji'an!" Zhang Yu said.

Seeing that Zhang Yu had no dissatisfaction on his face, Zhang Yang finally felt relieved and said, "Jian, I am going back to Henei now. Chunyu Qiong has stationed his troops at Jinkou, and Yuan Shao is already preparing for our army to cross the river to welcome the emperor."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said, "I have informed Dong Cheng and Liu Bei that you are leading the army to transport food for the court and Lu Bu. As for how to trick Chunyu Qiong into sending troops, it is up to your uncle to make good arrangements."

"rest assured!"

Zhang Yang said solemnly: "When I return to Hanoi, I will send someone to join Chunyu Qiong and lure him to attack me."

"If Chunyu Qiong sends out troops, I can use the excuse that Yuan Shao wants to seize the throne and ask Yuan Shu to send troops to the capital," said Zhang Yu.

In order to have a legitimate reason to ask Yuan Shu to send troops, Zhang Yu prepared to use sending troops as bait to trick Chunyu Qiong into sending troops. Once Chunyu Qiong used troops, Zhang Yu could invite Yuan Shu to send troops for protection.

Whenever Yuan Shu sent troops to the capital, in order to prevent the emperor from falling into Yuan Shao's hands, Yuan Shu would welcome the emperor to Wancheng without Zhang Yu saying anything. If Yuan Shu wanted to hold the emperor hostage, he would even take the initiative to welcome the emperor to the south.

Zhang Yang pondered for a moment and said, "Ji'an asked Yuan Shu to go north to welcome the emperor. It is hard to predict whether it will bring good or bad consequences. If we turn against him in the future, it will be disadvantageous to our army!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Uncle, don't worry. I have a plan now."

In order to get Zhang Yang's full cooperation, Zhang Yu hinted to him that Yuan Shu would want to replace the Han Dynasty, and if Yuan Shu became emperor, how much benefit Zhang could get from this event.

Zhang Yang was overjoyed and said, "Ji'an is very wise, which is beyond my comprehension. I will not let you down on matters concerning Henei."

"good!"

Zhang Yu stood up and said, "In the spring, I will lead a large army to attack Longyou. My uncle is stationed in Henei, so we need to be cautious and protect the counties."

"As ordered!"

(End of this chapter)