In the evening, the heavy snow stopped, and the sky still showed the color of sunset. It was almost the fixed dinner time in the army, but Qin Mubai and Xue Rengui had already eaten their fill, so they sat in the room drinking tea and chatting. But Chen Yan didn't stop for a moment. After finishing the things in the kitchen, she called more than twenty sergeants to shovel all the snow in the courtyard and wipe the place clean. There were three thick layers of sheepskin blankets, and a lot of dry firewood and horse dung were obtained to build a big bonfire. It is said that there are too many people in the room and the room is too small to sit down. Today, for the traditional Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, we will follow the style of the Hu people and have a "bonfire feast".
Qin Mubai was amused, thinking that Chen Yan was really thoughtful and took care of the living habits of the Hu brothers. If she lived in the 21st century, she would definitely be a qualified neighborhood committee director.
It wasn't over yet. Chen Yan asked the soldiers to fetch ten large pots from the barracks and put the clean fresh snow shoveled into the pots to bake. It's not for drinking - let Qin Mubai take a bath.
She thought Qin Mubai smelled bad when he was sleeping at night. Here at Yumenguan, taking a bath is much more difficult than making a tooth sacrifice or marrying a wife. If it hadn't been for the snow and the Chinese New Year, Qin Mubai would have continued to stink, and he would have become Jigong in a few days.
Qin Mubai and Xue Rengui chatted about each other. Seeing Chen Yan and a group of sergeants rushing back and forth outside the house, Xue Rengui grinned with honest joy and said with a smile: "Mu Bai, you are really talented. Blessing."
"It's just average!" Qin Mubai was flattering, but his smile was completely embarrassing.
"Anyone who sees Chen Yan will think that she looks like what a beauty should look like. But as soon as he sees the sword in her hand, the temperament on her face and the look in her eyes, it is clear that she is an unworldly and repulsive person. The iceberg fairy who is thousands of miles away still has murderous intent, who dares to get even close to her?" Xue Rengui said.
"But you can't look at it from a distance, right?" Qin Mubai was plagiarizing confidently again.
"Yes, that's what I mean. Xue hasn't read many books, but Mu Bai has great literary talent." Xue Rengui said with a smile, "Xue has little knowledge and has never seen a woman like Chen Yan. She is really unique in the world! Who would have thought that a woman like her could be a good wife and mother? She is a hero when she carries a sword, but she is a hero when she holds a spoon..."
At this point, Xue Rengui was speechless. He scratched his cheeks in embarrassment and suppressed a bitter smile - "Take a spoon - make a meal!"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai laughed, "What a poem, what a poem!"
While smiling, Chen Yan walked in. Without saying much, she just said, "Here we come."
"Who is here?" Qin Mubai asked.
"A fire phoenix." Chen Yan, who rarely joked, smiled mysteriously and said, "You, the master, must have some hospitality, right?"
"Okay, come out to greet us!" Qin Mubai patted his knees and stood up with a smile, knowing that she was talking about the arrival of Ashina Blood Lotus.
But what does 'Fire Phoenix' mean
Qin Mubai and Xue Rengui walked outside the house and took a look, and they immediately understood.
All the houses in Guancheng City were demolished, and a dozen people walked in the empty snow field in front of them. They were all wearing the traditional white clothes of the Huihe people, moon robes, and white hats with mink brim. Only a woman walking in the middle was wearing a uniform. Wearing red clothes and red robes, even the brim of the hat is red, and the whole body is red. Walking on the snow among a group of people in white, they are dazzling and eye-catching, just like a jumping flame.
It is Ashina Blood Lotus.
As they gradually came closer, Qin Mubai and Xue Rengui looked at each other with astonishment on their faces.
In the past, Xuelian always wore armor and ordinary military equipment, and looked like a man from a distance. Today she was obviously dressed in the attire of a prairie aristocratic woman. The femininity and wildness all over her body were as gushing and unrestrained as a blazing flame.
Qin Mubai was still afraid that her outfit would burn the eyes of the soldiers who had not been around women for a long time.
Xue Lian was dressed in a daughter's outfit, still holding a sword on her waist and striding forward. She walked to the front of the house and glanced at Qin Mubai and Xue Rengui, but first she raised her hand and gave Chen Yan a fist salute, "Sister Yan!"
"Ah, very standard etiquette for warriors from the Central Plains!" Xue Rengui was happy.
Chen Yan smiled and nodded: "Hello, princess."
"Hey, when did the two of them call themselves sisters?" Qin Mubai curled his lips in confusion.
The two women met and finished the ceremony before Xue Lian walked up to Qin Mubai with a dozen Huihe generals behind him, stroking his shoulders and bending down to perform the Huihe salute, "I have met Marshal Qin and General Xue!"
Qin Mubai felt a little puzzled. After returning the gift, he asked, "Your Highness, why are you doing the fist-push salute with Chen Yan, but the Huihe military salute with us?"
"Of course there is a reason." Xue Lian raised his head, looked directly into Qin Mubai's eyes with his big eyes, and said, "Sister Yan and I are from the world and hit it off at first sight. It's just a personal relationship, and of course it's a fist push. And I and Young Master Each commander has military power, and the only relationship is between the commander-in-chief and the general."
"Oh, I understand." Qin Mubai nodded as if he suddenly understood, and thought to himself: This girl is still angry with me, which means that there is only business between us, no friendship.
Xue Rengui, Chen Yan, the Uighur generals and others next to him were coughing and snickering. Qin Mubai just pretended not to notice and remained calm, but Xue Lian glared: "What's so funny? Could I be wrong?"
"Yes, yes, that's right." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "The princess and the generals are here, please come and sit down at the table - today is my traditional New Year's Eve in the Central Plains, and my wife has prepared some simple meals. Let’s have a bonfire and treat you all to a simple meal to celebrate New Year’s Eve!”
"What do you mean by 'even'?" Blood Lotus rolled his big eyes and glanced sideways at Qin Mubai, and said like a thimble, "As far as I know, the New Year's Eve dinner in the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains is a family banquet for family reunions. , it’s rare to invite outsiders to attend. Sister Yan’s invitation to us means that she treats us as family members, so don’t bury her kindness!”
Qin Mubai felt a little embarrassed now, and grinned twice, "You know too much!"
Xue Rengui hurriedly came out to smooth things over, and said with a chuckle: "Sister-in-law, you only know one thing but not the other. The young marshal actually means the same thing, which is to be polite in words. This is also the habit of us Tang people in the Central Plains, and it is a kind of politeness. ”
"What kind of politeness and habits are just hypocrisy! We grassland people are not used to this!" Xue Lian retorted rudely, immediately turned around with a smile, stepped forward and hugged Chen Yan's elbow, and said with a smile, "It's better to This heroine readily admits that I like it!”
"Okay, you two should get married!" Qin Mubai grinned.
"You think I don't dare?! Sister Yan, come back to the grassland with me tomorrow and become the prince's consort of the grassland!" Blood Lotus snorted and rolled her eyes twice. Everyone laughed, and then they all sat down at the table.
After a while, Basimi, the commander of the Turkic South Courtyard, came to the banquet with about ten Turkic generals. When they saw this bonfire feast, these people were as happy as the Chinese who saw the hot Peking duck in Antarctica. Before he sat down, Bathemi asked two of his followers to go back and fetch two fat sheep from his camp. They slaughtered them, skinned them and washed them on the spot, and prepared two whole sheep for the crowd to roast.
This bonfire feast lives up to its name. Chen Yan and the soldiers of the Tang Army really didn't know how to do this. The Uighurs do, but they have always been more reserved than the Turks, naturally because of the subtle relationship between Xuelian and Qin Mubai. It's like two children who 'seem' to be in love, and their parents accidentally bump into each other. Of course, the more polite and polite the better.
After a while, the generals of Gaochang Kingdom, Qu Wensheng and Qu Wenyuan, also came, only two of them came. When Qin Mubai left the Gaochang military camp, he casually asked them to have a New Year's Eve dinner. These two people were afraid of the Hongmen Banquet if they came, and they didn't dare to come if they didn't come, so they had no choice but to come and didn't dare to bring one more person. As guests came, Qin Mubai also invited them to the table. The two of them sat down timidly and never raised their heads again.
It was already dark. Qin Mubai took a look at the scene and saw that there were forty or fifty people from the four generals of the Han and Hu families, and they had already formed two circles around the bonfire. The sergeants were carrying wine jars, dining tables, flatbreads and other items and passing them back and forth. The banquet was about to begin. In the camp outside Yumen Pass, there were hundreds of miles of lights and bonfires, and there was a lot of excitement.
Qin Mubai thought to himself that when the Tubo prisoners saw this scene, they would definitely feel very uncomfortable and might even cry. While he was thinking about it, Su Dingfang came over and whispered in Qin Mubai's ear: "Mubai, why don't you call Gar Sidoyu here too?"
"Just what I want." Qin Mubai smiled, "But who can invite me?"
"Xue Rengui, I can definitely do it!" Su Dingfang vowed, "Although each is fighting for his master's life and death, the Tubo people believe in one fatal truth - they respect warriors who are braver and better at fighting than them. Xue Rengui was so brave and invincible that he captured Sita alive in front of the formation. So, although he personally beheaded Sitayu’s second brother Zanpo, Sitayu definitely respected Xue Rengui.”
"Okay, please excuse me and take a trip!"
Sure enough, not long after, Xue Rengui really invited Gar Situo!
When they saw the captured Tibetan commander, the whole place fell silent, with different expressions on their faces. Qin Mubai stood up and waved his hands with a smile: "Let's continue! General Gar is also one of today's guests. Today, we just drink and eat meat, and don't talk about state and military affairs!"
Everyone felt calm and the banquet quickly returned to its previous liveliness.
Xue Rengui led Sitayu to sit next to Qin Mubai. Sitayu sat down cross-legged without saying a word, and just drank, ate meat and ate big cakes as if no one else was around, without even looking at Qin Mubai.
Qin Mubai smiled, poured a glass of wine and handed it to Sitayu, "General Gar, let me toast you."
Sitayu paused, picked up a glass of milk wine on the table in front of him, touched Qin Mubai's glass hard, drank it all in one breath, put down the glass and continued to eat as if he had never eaten in eight lifetimes. of.
"What a man!" Qin Mubai praised, smiled with amusement, and drank the wine.
Sitayu paused for a moment, did not turn his head, and said with a stiff neck: "The defeated general can kill or behead him with just one sentence, why bother with sarcasm and sarcasm?"
"Hey, General Gar's Chinese is really authentic!" Qin Mubai smiled and praised, "If you just talked, I would think you are from Chang'an."
"Is there anything strange? The three of us brothers visited and lived in the Central Plains together for seven years, and we lived in Chang'an for four years!" Sitayu said angrily, "Is it important to be able to speak Chinese? My eldest brother How many Han people can compare with his wealth of knowledge?"
"It turns out he is a master of the Central Plains!" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "You are right, your eldest brother Gar Qinling is indeed outstanding and stunningly talented. I don't know about others, but I, Qin, am a self-proclaimed Ashamed of it.”
Sitayu turned his face sternly, glanced at Qin Mubai sideways and said, "Just be proud! It's up to you to be a king or a bandit!"
"I'm telling the truth."
"You Han people don't tell the truth!"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai laughed, "Okay, then I will tell you a few stories. Do you want to listen? Stories are naturally lies."
"It's up to you, talk about it or not. I just eat and drink. When I'm full, either behead me or send me back to sleep!" Sitayu yelled a few words angrily and continued to eat and drink.
Qin Mubai played with the wine glass and spoke slowly and politely. He told Sitayu in detail about the battle situation in Dafeichuan, the Sky Burial Huanyue Valley, the flooded Golmud and the defeat of the Garqin Tomb and the retreat to Qingluo Plain.
Sitayu didn't pay attention at first, thinking that Qin Mubai was just "having sex" blindly. When he heard that there was a nose and eyes behind him, he couldn't help being a little stunned. Then he got angry later and jumped up and slammed the cup on the ground. Throw: "Bragging! Fart! You Han people don't tell the truth!"