Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 34 Chaos Stairs

Dalu Mountain, Wang’s Mountain Courtyard.

In the early morning, the mountains were shrouded in mist.

In the backyard, Hongniang knocked on Wang Ji's door in a hurry. Seeing no response from inside, she quickly pushed the door open.

After taking a few quick steps, they came to Wang Ji's couch. Hongniang lifted the gauze curtain and shouted, "My dear, get up quickly. Mr. Zhang is here to ask for marriage!"

"what?"

Wang Ji narrowed his sleepy eyes and asked subconsciously, "When did it happen?"

"Hurry up, Mr. Zhang and his father will come to the house to ask for marriage. The master and his wife received the business card and learned about Mr. Zhang's intentions. They were quite unhappy."

Hearing this, Wang Ji quickly woke up from the couch and said, "Hongniang, hurry up and wash and dress for me!"

"promise!"

After washing up hastily, Wang Ji didn't bother to put on makeup and went to meet Wang Hong with a bare face.

At this time, Wang Hong was drinking hot noodle soup with a frown on his face.

"What is the origin of the Zhang family in Yunzhong?"

The Queen Mother's face was full of disdain, and she said, "How dare you come to ask for marriage today, relying on your few assets?"

"Husband, it is better to refuse directly, so as not to waste time by visiting and receiving him!"

Wang Hong put down the soup spoon and said, "Zhang Yu is my student. He came to Dalu to study last year. It would be unreasonable to refuse to see him directly."

The Queen Mother said angrily: "If you are afraid of being impolite, just say you are not at home and send them away!"

"Wait a minute!"

Wang Ji walked over with a dignified pace, calmed his breath, and said, "Father, someone has come from afar to ask for marriage. It may be against the rules to drive him away now."

As he spoke, Wang Ji walked into the hall and said with a smile, "And I heard that Zhang Yu defeated the Hu people with a hundred cavalrymen, so his military strategy must be extraordinary. Although he is not a famous person, his reputation is far-reaching. It may not be a wise move to drive him away in a hurry now."

The Queen Mother's face darkened slightly, and she said, "A mere warrior is no better than Wen Shao!"

"Husband~"

Wang Hong stroked his beard and chanted, interrupting and saying, "What Shulan said makes sense. Ji'an has come all the way from the borderland, and the journey is more than a thousand miles. For the sake of friendship, I should come forward to receive him, so as not to damage the reputation of the Wang family."

To be honest, Wang Hong was somewhat dissatisfied with Zhang Yu's proposal of marriage. In his eyes, although Zhang Yu was talented and worthy of cultivation, it did not mean that he would marry his daughter to Zhang Yu. After all, there was a big gap between them.

Wang Hong was giving Zhang Yu face by meeting his father and son today, so as not to ruin the teacher-student relationship between the two. After all, Wang Hong had been planning to take Zhang Yu as his disciple since Zhang Yu defeated the Hu tribe with his hundred cavalry.

"Someone, prepare the gifts and welcome Zhang to the house later!" Wang Hong ordered.

"promise!"

Seeing this, Wang Ji breathed a sigh of relief. Only if Zhang Yu could come to visit him would there be hope of successfully proposing marriage.

About an hour later, Zhang Ji and Zhang Yu, father and son, dressed in new silk clothes, came to the mansion to pay a visit. In order not to be impolite, Wang Hong went out to greet Zhang Yu and his son.

After some greetings, Wang Hong and Zhang Ji, father and son, took their seats in the lobby, while Wang's mother and Wang Ji hid behind a lacquered wooden screen, listening to the conversation between the three.

Zhang Ji presented the gift list and said, "Zhang Ji, the commander of the northern part of Dingxiang, greets you, Your Majesty. My son's current education is largely due to your teaching."

"I, the student, greet Lord Changwen and wish Master Wang a happy new year!" said Zhang Yu.

Wang Hong symbolically opened the cloth, took a quick look at it, and said, "I am deeply honored that you two have come all the way from the frontier. Last year, Ji'an came here to study. I was impressed by his courage and strategy, so I taught him the art of war. This time, you have returned home and made special contributions to defeating the Hu people. You are indeed extraordinary!"

Zhang Ji said modestly, "Ji'an is good at bravery, but not at strategy. Fortunately, thanks to your teaching, my son was able to achieve this extraordinary achievement."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Ji said, "I heard that the eldest daughter of the king has reached the age of marriage and is very talented and beautiful. I have brought my son here to ask for marriage from the king's daughter, hoping that our two families can become friends."

Zhang Yu bowed and said, "When I was studying at Dalu, I was lucky enough to see a thousand gold coins, so I wanted to marry you. Now I have the courage to come here, I hope that Master Wang will grant me permission!"

Wang Hong stroked his beard and pondered, then said, "Ji'an is a man of extraordinary military strategy, and I hold him in high regard. To be honest, I have the intention of accepting Ji'an as my disciple, and I have no contempt for him because of his family background."

"My daughter has reached marriageable age, but she is still young, and I cannot bear to marry her off. Therefore, whether it is the Taiyuan Wen family's proposal or the Shangdang Chen family's proposal, I have rejected them all."

Wang Hong wanted to refuse immediately, but thought it would be more reasonable to refuse later, so he pretended to hesitate and said, "Jian has come a long way to ask for marriage, let me discuss it with my family!"

Zhang Ji looked a little disappointed and said, "Everyone loves their children. I dare not force you to do so. I am willing to wait for your reply."

"Not urgent!"

Wang Hong smiled and said, "I have ordered people to prepare a banquet. You and Ji'an can rest in the mountain house for a while."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty!" Zhang Ji replied.

After chatting for a while, Wang Hong found something to leave, leaving some space for Zhang Ji and Zhang Yu.

After Wang Hong left, Zhang Ji shook his head at Zhang Yu, indicating that this marriage proposal might not be successful.

Zhang Yu did not say much. Although his expression remained unchanged, he secretly hoped that Wang Ji could make a difference. At this time, Wang Hong went from the outer hall to the back hall and saw Wang Ji arguing with his mother again.

The Queen Mother commented: "Although Zhang Yu is handsome, his family background is not good enough. If his family background is higher, he would be a good son-in-law."

Apparently, because of Zhang Yu's good looks, the Queen Mother's favorability towards him has increased a lot. Now the Queen Mother is not entangled in Zhang Yu as a person, but in Zhang Yu's family background.

Wang Ji looked helpless and said, "Zhang Yu is a man of outstanding talent. He will never be a mediocre person in the future. If you compare Wen Shao with him, there is a huge difference."

The Queen Mother shook her head slightly and said, "How can we be sure that he will be extraordinary in the future if he is outstanding now?"

"Zhang Yu is good at archery and horse riding, and he has been fighting for years. He can be said to be safe at the moment, but swords have no eyes, so how can we know what will happen in the future?"

Zhang Yu's identity as a warrior was the second point that troubled the Queen Mother. Compared with scholars who studied civil governance, warriors who fought on the battlefield were more dangerous and more likely to get injured and die.

Wang Ji curled his lips, his face full of disapproval.

Everything in the world is equal. The casualties on the battlefield are indeed high, but in the Han Dynasty, they can be granted a title. For scholars who study literature and governance, the highest position is the highest official, and there is no chance of being granted a title.

At this moment, Wang Ji saw Wang Hong from the corner of his eye and asked with concern, "Father, what do you think of Zhang Yu?"

Wang Hong asked with a smile: "Could it be that Shu Lan has taken a fancy to Zhang Ji'an?"

“I like it!”

The Queen Mother said angrily, "She is bewitched by Zhang Yu's appearance and won't listen to anything you say."

"Really?" Wang Hong asked back.

"Yes and no!"

Wang Ji half turned around and said shyly, "When Wen Shao proposed to me, I said that the man who could be my husband would be able to shoot with a bow on horseback and study the classics on foot. He would be handsome and do things that ordinary people dare not do. Zhang Yu and the husband my daughter described before are quite similar!"

Hearing this, Wang Hong frowned slightly. He originally wanted to send Zhang Yu and his son away in the name of a discussion. But now that his daughter has taken a fancy to Zhang Yu, he has to hesitate.

To be honest, Wang Ji's description was quite objective. Zhang Yu was outstanding in all aspects, whether in talent or appearance, except that his family background was a little weak.

Now that he was going to marry his daughter to Zhang Yu, it was not that he could not accept it, but he just felt a bit resentful.

First, like the Queen Mother worried, although he did not dislike military men, he still had some reservations about having a military man as his son-in-law. He would rather his son-in-law go into politics.

Secondly, Zhang Yu came to Dalushan to study and fell in love with his daughter. His daughter was also quite interested in him. This made Wang Hong feel like his home had been robbed and he felt vaguely unhappy.

"Husband~"

Wang Hong stretched out his hand to signal his mother to be quiet, as he needed to think about whether to agree to Zhang Yu's proposal.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and brought him an urgent letter from his younger brother Wang Yun.

"Master, the Second Master has an urgent letter!"

The servant handed over the encrypted letter and said.

"A letter from Master Zi?"

Wang Hong's brows relaxed slightly and he opened the urgent letter sent by Wang Yun.

Just one glance and Wang Hong's expression changed, filled with shock.

"What's wrong?" asked the Queen Mother.

Wang Hong took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly, "Master Zi sent a message saying that Zhang Jue led the Taiping sect to rebel, with more than a million followers, and attacked cities and killed officials. Now the major states in the Central Plains such as Ji, Yu, Yan, and Qing are already in flames, and letters of help are pouring into the court."

"what!"

The Queen Mother was horrified and asked in panic, "What should we do? Will it endanger Qi County?"

Wang Hong ignored his mother's question and slammed the letter down on the table, angrily saying, "If it weren't for the eunuch party controlling the government and causing the people to suffer, there wouldn't be such chaos in the world today!"

Wang Ji was delighted, and stepped forward to support his mother, comforting her and saying, "Now the bandits are about to rise up, and the classics alone are not enough to stop them, we also need military force. Wang has his own troops, and Zhang has more than 50 cavalrymen, so even if the bandits invade, we don't have to be afraid."

"Father, does my uncle have anything else to say?" Wang Ji asked.

Wang Hong calmed down and frowned as he said, "Your uncle was recommended by the Three Dukes and appointed as the governor of Yuzhou. He will work with the Left General Huangfu Song and the Right General Zhu Jun to suppress the Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou."

"Although I have been appointed as the governor of Yuzhou, I do not have many followers, so I sent a letter asking my family to send some of my followers to the south to accompany me to take up my post."

There is not much content in Wang Yun's letter. First, it tells about Zhang Jue leading a rebellion with great momentum, and asks his family to form an association to protect themselves; second, because he was promoted from Imperial Censor to Governor of Yuzhou, facing the chaos in the Central Plains, he did not have enough manpower and needed to ask his clansmen to send people to help.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu appeared in Wang Hong's mind and he let out a long breath.

He had a very clear vision. With millions of Yellow Turbans rebelling and the Central Plains in chaos, it was not enough to become an official based on Confucian classics alone. Military merit was the way to go in the future.

A brave and wise man like Zhang Yu will shine in this chaotic world!

(End of this chapter)