Today is Qin Mu's wedding, and generals like Ma Yongzhen, Huo Sheng, and Liu Meng have all gone to Ganzhou. It is inevitable that the soldiers in Huichang Qianhu Suo are a little slack. Everyone is talking about Qin Mu's marriage to the prefect's daughter, and they have no intention of training at all.
Seeing this, the centurions Xiang Liancheng, Ma Liuliang and others who stayed behind in the camp simply stopped their morning training and prepared to give everyone a snack at noon. They had to let the soldiers share in Qin Mu's good luck. This was also what Ma Yongzhen said before he went to Ganzhou.
"Who are you? Stop immediately or I will kill you without mercy."
Two miles outside the camp, a convoy of forty or fifty people was stopped by the guards of the Qianhu Suo. There were three guards in total, two of them stepped forward to stop them, and one stepped back and looked over here vigilantly.
Hu Ge, the garrison commander of Ganzhou who was following in the convoy, frowned even more tightly. The intensity of alert at Huichang Thousand Households Station was no different from that during wartime. This was probably unique among other garrisons in the Ming Dynasty. Just from these subtle details, it could be seen that Huichang Thousand Households Station was extraordinary, which made Hu Ge feel even more depressed.
Hu Ge made a slight gesture to his captain Zhang Qi, who stepped forward and replied, "I am Zhang Qi, the captain of the Qianhu Division of Ganzhou. I am here to reward the troops on the orders of Mr. Yang, the prefect of Ganzhou. Here is my military badge and the reward document from Prefect Yang."
The sentry who blocked the road saw that they were carrying 20 to 30 pigs and sheep, and the carts were loaded with wine jars and other things. They really looked like they were here to reward the soldiers. After verifying the documents and military badges, he said, "Wait, Niu Er, you hurry back to the camp and report."
In the camp, Xiang Liancheng was asked about the situation of the convoy, and then he ordered the people to enter the camp.
After Zhang Qi and his party entered the camp, he immediately asked Xiang Liancheng and others to gather the soldiers in the camp, and then read out Yang Tinglin's commendation document in public.
"Soldiers, Gu Wancheng has repeatedly caused chaos, endangering the peace of southern Jiangxi and causing great suffering to the people. Fortunately, the soldiers of Huichang Qianhu were well-trained, brave and good at fighting. In the battle of Jiulongzhang, they once again wiped out Gu Xiancheng's gang of rebels. This merit must be rewarded. Prefect Yang sent me here to reward you soldiers first and record your military exploits so that they can be reported as soon as possible. Naturally, there will be other rewards when the time comes. Moreover, today is the wedding day of Prefect Yang's daughter and Huichang County Magistrate Qin. Although we cannot let everyone go to watch the ceremony together, we cannot miss a good meal with wine. I have brought dozens of fat pigs and hundreds of jars of fine wine on the order of the prefect. Today, I invite everyone to drink to their heart's content..."
Before Zhang Qi finished speaking, he won warm cheers from two thousand soldiers. Needless to say, with meat to eat and wine to drink, who wouldn't be happy
Yang Tinglin and Qin Mu are now father-in-law and son-in-law, so their relationship is even closer. Zhang Qi and others were sent by Yang Tinglin to reward the troops, so they are his own people. Even Xiang Liancheng and others are happy and their guard is gone.
The camp was filled with joy. Pigs and sheep were being slaughtered. Big pots were set up and large pieces of meat were thrown in. Soon the aroma filled the air, making the soldiers drool.
Some greedy soldiers bit the half-cooked bones, laughing with blood in their mouths, then broke the seal of the wine jar, gulped down a few gulps of wine, and swallowed the half-cooked pieces of meat into their stomachs.
All officers above the rank of general flag were invited to the big tent by Zhang Qi. It was said that in addition to the meat, there was also a mysterious gift to be distributed, and the atmosphere in the big tent became even more lively.
Although Xiang Liancheng and Ma Liuliang still disliked each other, they also knew that they could not embarrass Qin Mu in front of outsiders. Since fighting was not an option, they started drinking. The two of them drank one bowl after another, each wanting to get the other drunk first.
Seeing that Xiang Liancheng and his officers were completely unprepared, Hu Ge secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As the saying goes, a snake cannot survive without a head. As long as all the officers above the rank of general flag were captured, the only ones left in the camp would be the mediocre soldiers, who would be leaderless. If they were appeased in the name of the prefect, with some benefits and salary, he believed that few people would be willing to take part in the mutiny.
***
"Bow to heaven and earth."
"Bow to your parents."
"Husband and wife bow to each other."
The hall was crowded with guests. Qin Mu and Yang Zhi completed the wedding ceremony amidst laughter and joy. From that moment on, the two were officially husband and wife.
Yang Zhi was wearing a phoenix coronet and a red bridal robe. When she bowed, a corner of her red veil was lifted up, revealing a hint of shyness on her bright red lips. Her slender figure was graceful and elegant. Beside her stood a pair of beautiful twin sisters, who looked like a pair of lovely porcelain dolls, adding a bit of joy to the atmosphere.
Yang Tinglin sat high up in the hall, looking natural and pleased, and everything seemed normal.
The slight doubt in Qin Mu's heart was completely gone. He had previously felt that considering Yang Tinglin's upright character, it was a bit unusual for him to marry off his daughter in such a lavish manner. But now that he thought about it, if he really had some plan, he should not have let his daughter get married to him.
After the ceremony, Qin Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he had been worrying too much.
According to etiquette, after sending the bride into the bridal chamber, Qin Mu had to come out and toast to the guests.
There were more than a hundred tables of guests attending the wedding banquet. The front yard was too small to accommodate them, so twenty or thirty tables were set up on the street outside the gate. Inside and outside the gate, people in bright clothes were feasting and drinking, and laughter and noise could be heard constantly. It was a very lively place.
Chen Shaoping, the co-magistrate of Ganzhou, Gao Dingfang, the judge, Ma Sizhong, the co-magistrate of Ganzhou Guard, and other high-ranking officials were sitting in the main hall. When Qin Mu came out, he had to toast them first.
Chen Shaoping's face was flushed, and he laughed loudly, "The groom is both civil and martial, talented, and the bride is virtuous, beautiful and intelligent. It is a match made in heaven for them to get married now. Come on, come on, the groom has to drink a few more glasses today."
Gao Dingfang and the others also echoed and laughed. Qin Mu naturally could not refuse the face given by others, so he went up to toast and said, "Thank you for the praise, my lords. Today I am getting married, and I am grateful for your presence and coming to watch the ceremony. I am young and inexperienced, so I am a little reckless in my behavior. In the future, I hope you will give me more support and guidance. If I make any progress, I will never forget your support. I offer you a toast."
"How can one cup be enough? Don't just think about going back to the bridal chamber and ignore us old men. If you don't drink a few more cups today, don't expect us to let you go, hahaha..."
"Yes, yes, yes, we must drink a few more glasses. We won't leave until we are drunk."
"Starting with the prefect, the groom should toast each person with a glass, otherwise don't think you can get away with it."
The guests at the tables in the hall were all prominent officials and gentry, but now they all started to make a scene. Qin Mu had no choice but to go up to them one by one to toast. After walking around the tables, he was already dizzy and his legs were shaky.
Liu Meng can drink quite a lot, and usually he drinks like water. But Gao Dingfang and others are ruthless, they supervise him and don't allow others to drink on his behalf.
Qin Mu drank one cup after another and had to keep smiling. There was nothing he could do about it. To be honest, you were not a human being before the groom entered the bridal chamber. This has been the case since ancient times. If you are not tortured enough, you can forget about returning to the bridal chamber to embrace the bride.
After toasting the high officials in the hall, there are still those outside the hall. There are hundreds of tables of guests outside the hall. You have to toast each table. This is the most basic etiquette, but it adds up to hundreds of cups.
Qin Mu staggered out of the hall and looked at the guests in the courtyard. His head suddenly buzzed, like a swarm of bees flying around his head. Damn, there were so many guests. He received a lot of gifts, but the wine made him want to vomit blood. It was hard to say whether it was worth it...
As Yang Tinglin's staff, Sima An had no official position, but he had a special status. He sat at a table outside the hall and could clearly see what was going on inside the hall.
Sima An was a thoughtful person. Yang Tinglin seemed to treat him the same as before these days. However, Yang Tinglin summoned Hu Ge and Qian Qing, the garrisons of Ganzhou, a few days ago. According to his previous habits, even if Yang Tinglin did not let him summon Hu and Qian in person, he would definitely mention them afterwards.
But the fact was that Yang Tinglin did not mention this matter at all, and Sima An only found out about it by accident later. From this, Sima An could sense that Yang Tinglin was vaguely intending to distance himself from him.
In the past few days, he had been guessing the reason why Yang Tinglin distanced himself from him, but he had no idea. At this moment, when he saw Qin Mu staggering out of the hall, Sima An suddenly had a flash of inspiration and understood something.
That day, when Yang Tinglin and I were analyzing Qin Mu's actions in the study, there was a sense of similarity in our words. Perhaps this was the reason why Yang Tinglin distanced himself from me.
Thinking of Yang Tinglin's abnormal behavior of holding a grand wedding banquet and avoiding him to meet the two Ganzhou garrison commanders, Sima An's mind raced. He pretended to turn his head and look around casually, but did not find Hu Ge and Qian Qing. All the officials and gentry in the city were there. Hu Ge and Qian Qing were both Ganzhou garrison commanders, and they were both promoted by Yang Tinglin. There was no reason for them not to come to congratulate him.
Sima An had followed Yang Tinglin for many years and knew him too well. After discovering this series of problems, he became even more certain that anything abnormal must be a demon.
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ps: Dear friends, here is the second update, please vote for recommendation!
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