On January 21, 954, a grand ceremony of knighting was held at the Tulip Cathedral of the East China Sea.
As the guardian of the empire's true princess, Grand Duke Charles IX, on behalf of the late emperor, granted the true princess's fiancé, Black Mountain General Lu Ming, the title of "Prince of Black Mountain Castle".
When he gently tapped Lu Ming's shoulder with the sword inlaid with countless gems, waves of applause broke out in the hall.
At the end of the ennoblement ceremony, in accordance with the laws of the ancient empire, Lu Ming was awarded the title of "Marshal of the Imperial Griffin Legion".
This is a special title for the husband of a true princess, that is, a princess who can inherit the name "Alice". It is the first time in the history of the empire in a thousand years.
There was a small episode after the ennoblement ceremony.
When Charles IX was talking with Lu Ming in secret, he mentioned that according to the "Royal Secret Code Law", the East China Sea had an obligation to provide supplies to the "Imperial Griffin Legion". However, the current situation was completely different from a thousand years ago. How much special funds could be taken out of the East China Sea's finances each year depended on the parliament. It was not something he, the Grand Duke of East China Sea, could decide. It was very likely that not a penny would be allocated.
Lu Minggu just listened to it.
In fact, from the perspective of Donghai’s fiscal revenue, even if it were just a tiny bit, it would be enough to support its 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers.
Everything depends on fate. As long as there are laws to follow, it will be fine. If they don't pull out the hair now, there will always be a time in the future when they will be asked to pull it out.
…
On January 25, the grand wedding of Her Royal Highness Princess Alice and His Royal Highness Prince of Montenegro kicked off in the provincial capital of Zhenjiang.
Amid the sound of military music, Her Royal Highness the Princess' personal guard, the Red Winged Guard, consisting of a hundred red-armored female knights with spears in hand, slowly set out from the square and circled the city.
Wherever they passed, flowers were scattered and the atmosphere was festive.
In the sky, the helicopter formation of the Montenegrin Legion was terrifying.
The black formation of airships, hanging colorful banners, aroused cheers.
During the day, there were bursts of salutes and fireworks in the sky, and one can imagine the grand scene in the evening.
At the fountain garden square of Qinchun Garden, Lu Ming, dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Marshal, and Princess Alice, in a snow-white wedding dress, slowly walked into the wedding scene.
The guests at the scene, who were either rich or noble, looked at the newlyweds with curiosity and expectation.
The wedding was presided over by Archbishop Berhanli Diocese from Donghai.
The congratulatory speech was delivered by Charles IX, Grand Duke of East China.
In fact, the Duke of Donghai wanted the wedding to be held in Donghai, but Lu Ming insisted on holding it in Zhenjiang.
Therefore, the Grand Duke was quite dissatisfied with Lu Ming.
Lu Ming felt that if the wedding was held in the East China Sea, the implication of him marrying into the family would be too strong.
Nowadays, I feel even more fortunate. In fact, the wedding procedures in Zhenjiang have been simplified.
Despite this, at the end of the day, Lu Ming felt extremely tired and exhausted, mainly because of his mental fatigue.
…
The bridal chamber is the master bedroom in the viewing tower of Qinchun Garden. The oriental-style bedroom is now filled with a festive atmosphere of red, with various red festive couplets posted on it. The curtains of the moon-shaped bed are also brand new red gauze curtains.
Princess Alice's manor in Zhenjiang has already broken ground. Before that, Princess Alice temporarily lives in Qinchun Garden.
Liuli and Jennifer returned to Longgang Shili Villa early.
Thinking about it, Lu Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly. His three concubines with extraordinary abilities are now: the Central Palace in Zhenjiang, the East Palace in Donghai, and the West Palace in Heishan.
Instead, they each rule their own area, and if I am not around, they will never interact with each other until they die.
After drinking with his generals, he returned to his bridal chamber, still thinking wildly about the three concubines.
As soon as he entered the new house, Lu Ming was stunned. Slightly drunk, he almost punched someone because there was a man in red iron armor standing in front of him.
Then he reacted, because the iron man's mask also popped up, revealing a delicate face. It was Yin Shabel, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, Christine's only daughter and his eldest niece.
With the sound of metal creaking, Yin Shabel knelt on one knee, touching her chest, "Your Highness, I, your most loyal servant, salute you!"
Lu Ming smiled bitterly: "Get up quickly, why do we have to go through all this red tape between us?" He remembered that Yin Shabel was the Templar Knight who protected Alice, and also the Knight Commander of the Princess's personal guard - the Red Winged Guard.
Yin Shabel stood up and stuck out her tongue, "It's my duty!" Obviously, she also found these ancient etiquettes very new, but it was not psychologically that she really felt that she was a servant from now on.
Yin Shabeier smiled playfully again: "Teacher, according to tradition, I have to stay by your wedding bed tonight, are you willing?!"
Lu Ming's face fell a little, although he would definitely not do anything to the little bean sprout.
Yin Shabeier smiled proudly: "I'll spare you this time. I'm leaving now, teacher. Happy wedding!"
"Thank you!" Lu Ming added, "You guys have worked so hard today!"
Yin Shabeier smiled, "You should be nicer to my cousin." Then she said, "I'm going to have dinner with them. I've been busy all day and now I have some free time. They are all happy for His Highness. Let's have a good drink later." After a pause, "Annie is here too."
Lu Ming nodded slightly, feeling a little strange in his heart.
I do know that due to the civil strife in the imperial capital, the FBI existed in name only and became like a secret police force. Yin Shabel and Han Annie left the bureau and returned to the East China Sea. Yin Shabel devoted herself to becoming the princess's knight commander, while Han Annie did not return to the Red Winged Guards, but returned to the High Prosecutor's Office. Because she and Yin Shabel were close friends, she did not encounter the same troubles as before. She has developed well and is now the chief prosecutor, the fourth level of prosecutor. In theory, she can have her own prosecutor's office, which is extremely rare considering her age.
Watching Yin Shabel leave, Lu Ming hesitated for a moment and walked into the room.
Then he was startled again. Between the red gauze curtains hanging high on both sides, on the edge of the moon-shaped bed, sat a small figure wearing a phoenix crown and a red veil.
Obviously, the wedding was conducted in accordance with all the Western royal etiquette, but when entering the bridal chamber, the little one followed Eastern traditions, which was a great respect and thoughtful to himself.
She was still hesitant, but at this moment Lu Ming felt inexplicably warm in his heart. He took two steps forward and gently lifted her red veil.
Under the dazzling jewel phoenix crown, she seemed to be a little angel sitting and bathing in holy light, with deep blue eyes, so clear that it seemed as if the entire universe was within them, and her platinum-colored hair bun, which looked like silver, gave people an extremely cold feeling.
Lu Ming shook his head, the illusion disappeared, and what came into view was a little face of incomparable beauty.
She was so adorable that it was hard to describe her loveliness when reflected by the red color of her phoenix coronet and bridal robe.
"You big bad guy!" The girl pouted.
Lu Ming was feeling a little embarrassed at first, not knowing what to say, but when he suddenly heard her speak, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
In fact, I wanted to reach out and pinch her little face, but when I saw her delicate face like cream, I didn't reach out my hand.
"What's wrong with me?" Lu Ming smiled and said, "I never thought that the second time we met would be on our wedding night."
It's incredible. When we first met, did we ever think of this day
Alice looked at Lu Ming with her green eyes quietly, "So, the person I'm looking for is you. You are the smartest person I told you about last time."
This topic is very dangerous to continue talking about. The so-called smartest person she was looking for a few years ago was the one who gave her father nightmares.
Lu Ming coughed and said, "You must be tired after working all day. You should rest early."
"Okay!" Alice nodded her head, "You're tired too. I don't need you to sleep with me tonight!"
Lu Ming stumbled and nearly fell to the ground, and said jokingly, "Can I come to sleep with you tomorrow?"
Alice pouted. "If I don't ask you to come, will you not come?!"
Looking at her cute and adorable appearance and listening to her words, Lu Ming felt his heart melt. He momentarily forgot the secular values formed in his previous life and even had the urge to stay here tonight.
After all, Alice is not a secular person, and it is difficult for people to associate her with secular etiquette.
However, Lu Ming finally shook his head and thought, forget it, the psychological pressure is still too great.
Although, according to Liuli, there is no need to really do anything, just sleeping on the same bed with this little demon is a perfect match, and the fire girl and the like can be discarded like a worn-out shoe.
It is very beneficial for my so-called shedding and transformation period in the past two years.
Of course, the little devil will also benefit greatly, and maybe even cause the old devil to come into the world earlier.
Lu Ming smiled at Alice as he was lost in thought: "Can you sleep by yourself? I've prepared a doll for you to keep you company."
As he spoke, Lu Ming went to the cupboard and took out the big snow-white fluffy bear that he had prepared long ago. It looked much bigger than Alice's small body.
Alice frowned: "I'm not a child, and I never like fluffy things!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Why don't you try it today?" and put the big bear next to her on the bed.
"Then write your name on it!" Alice thought.
"Okay, you want to beat me up to vent your anger, right?..." Lu Ming smiled, then turned around and picked up the brush on the table. According to Zhongzhou tradition, there were pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the desk in the bridal chamber.
When dipping the ink, Lu Ming suddenly had an idea. The legendary alchemy in his previous life could be used to cast curses and the like. What about this puppet with his own name written on it
Then he shook his head, casual, open and aboveboard, no taboos, and this little guy, in fact, saw her again, I still felt very kind in my heart, could she be so cruel as to hurt me? If she really did that, what's the point of this marriage? It's better to break up as soon as possible.
He wrote the word "Lu" on the big bear's head, using the font from his previous life, and said with a smile, "This is not a ghost painting, it really represents me, and one can say, it represents the real me!" As he spoke, he sighed softly in his heart.
Alice nodded her head: "It looks like oracle bones."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Okay, go to bed early, I'm leaving!"
After taking two steps, he suddenly turned back and said solemnly: "Alice, thank you for helping me! I will take good care of you! From now on, I will never make you worry about nightmares again!"
Alice was slightly startled and nodded her head gently: "Big bad guy, let's go!"
Lu Ming laughed and walked out.
…
The viewing building is a three-story traditional oriental wooden building with flying eaves and pointed corners. The wedding room is on the third floor.
Lu Ming went down to the first floor and turned left. He heard that the room over there was very noisy. He walked over and reached the door. He saw dozens of girls inside. They were all wearing gorgeous clothes and were having a meal at several tables. One table seemed to be full of drunkards. They were drinking happily and playing drinking games.
There were many familiar faces there, but he couldn't remember their names. They were all members of the Red Winged Wither Guards, and they had also been students of the Red Class when he was the head teacher at the East China Sea Military Academy.
“Teacher!” “Teacher!”
Seeing Lu Ming coming in, the girls stood up one after another.
Lu Ming smiled and gestured, "Go on, you guys go on!"
Someone had already given up their seat at the main table, so Yin Shabel gave up the main seat and said with a smile, "Teacher, please sit here."
Lu Ming did not refuse and walked over to sit down. Someone poured a full glass of wine for him. Lu Ming raised his glass and stood up. "Everyone has worked hard today. I want to toast you. Those of you who can drink can drink. Those who can drink tea can drink tea. Let's drink together!"
"Great!" Everyone cheered loudly. After all, most of these female knights have tomboyish personalities.
After finishing the glass of wine, Lu Ming sat down and said everyone was welcome to do as they pleased. Then many girls came over to toast him.
Lu Ming was busy dealing with things. Even though Han Annie was sitting next to him, he couldn't find a chance to talk to her.
Today is a festive day. Han Annie is wearing a bright red dress, revealing her youthful, healthy and energetic white legs. She also wears cute brown leather shoes with buckles, which makes her look even more bright and beautiful.
"Qianxing, congratulations!" Finally, the girls who toasted her left. Han Anni picked up the wine glass. She was originally drinking tea, but now she poured a glass of wine for Lu Ming. She also poured out the remaining wine for him and poured him some fragrant tea. She said, "Just drink tea!"
Seeing that there was nothing unusual in her expression, Lu Ming sighed softly in his heart and clinked glasses with her, "Thank you!"
"Teacher, it's time for you to enter the bridal chamber. Don't get drunk!" A rough girl laughed and cheered.
Then, someone pulled her clothes. This guy was obviously drunk. It was nothing to make trouble for the teacher on such a happy day, but the problem was that the bride was Her Royal Highness the Princess. It would be inappropriate if everyone said something too much and offended Her Royal Highness the Princess.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Okay, it's time for me to go! You guys continue!" He stood up and said, "No one should see me off, you guys continue to play!"
But naturally, he was still escorted out by the students and went upstairs under their gaze.
However, although Lu Ming returned to the third floor, he did not go to the bridal chamber, but slept in the small dormitory next to it.
…
January 27th and 28th are the election days for the Zhenjiang general election.
The counting of votes will begin at 8pm on the 28th.
There was almost no suspense. Marshal Lu Ming was far ahead in the votes in every constituency in every city, county and township.
At 8 a.m. on the 29th, the Election Supervision Commission announced the election results to the people of the province through television and radio stations.
Candidate Lu Ming won the election with a total vote share of 81.9%, far ahead of other competitors, and was elected as the first democratically elected head of the Zhenjiang provincial government and took office as the provincial premier.
After the inauguration ceremony in the afternoon, Lu Ming announced a series of personnel appointments, mainly members of the Provincial Executive Committee, commonly known as members of the autonomous provincial cabinet.
It is headed by the Chief Minister and consists of ministers from various departments.
The Chief Minister, appointed by Lu Ming, is Shapard, a Western old man in his fifties, and the Privy Councilor of Her Royal Highness Princess Alice.
The expansion was too rapid, and there was inevitably a shortage of talent under him, so he took advantage of the situation. During the chat, I realized that this old man was very capable.
The politics of Zhenjiang Province follows the standard imperial autonomous province model, which allows everyone to display their talents to the fullest.
The Chief Prosecutor's Office and the Minister of Justice were also appointed. Although they are also members of the cabinet, they are not under the leadership of the Chief Minister and the relationship between the two parties is parallel.
The first seven justices of the autonomous province's High Court were also appointed.
In addition, the commander-in-chief of the provincial national guard was appointed, and Lu Xiangqian, the chief of staff of the Montenegrin Corps, also served as the commander-in-chief.
In Zhenjiang Province, the military reorganization began. The original border defense divisions and security brigades were reorganized, some were dismissed, and new soldiers were recruited. Eventually, two security brigades and three field brigades would be formed.
The official numbers are the Griffin Legion (Montenegro Corps) Zhenjiang 1st Brigade, Zhenjiang 2nd Brigade, Mixed 101st Brigade, Mixed 102nd Brigade and Mixed 103rd Brigade.