Fenghou

Cao Changchun then smiled and introduced other wives, concubines and children to Chen Qing.

Yellow-headed Uighur is a country founded by Buddhism, and all the wives and concubines came forward to salute with palms together. Among the dozen or so wives and concubines, Chen Qing saw a tall woman with a veil on her face. Beautiful eyes.

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered that ridiculous night in Zhangye.

But he immediately regained his composure, that time he lost his temper after drinking, and he would not do such absurd things again.

Chen Qing introduced his officials one by one to Cao Changchun, Cao Changchun nodded and praised: "They are all great talents in governing the country and the country, dear brother, I heard that Jingzhao Taixue is about to open, I also want to send a batch The children of the Uighur nobles come to study at the Taixue, there are about [-] of them, I wonder if it can be arranged?"

Chen Qing said happily: "No problem, I will let Taixue set up a special Uighur class and arrange courses specifically for their academic situation."

"Great, I'll urge them to leave when I turn around!"

Chen Qing invited Cao Changchun to get on the topless carriage. He personally accompanied Cao Changchun. Cao Changchun was warmly welcomed by the people of Jingzhao. Tens of thousands of people lined the road with songs and dances.

Cao Changchun was quite moved, and said to Chen Qing: "I didn't expect the people in Jingzhao to be so warm and kind. I already feel the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty."

Chen Qing also said with a smile: "Brother Cao is a distinguished guest, and the Yellow-headed Uighur is our friend. It is only natural to warmly welcome distinguished guests and friends!"

Cao Changchun nodded and said with a smile, "I don't know if there is any grass near Jingzhao City. We are used to living in tents, so living in a walled yard is really uncomfortable."

"Since this is the case, I will not arrange an expensive hotel. There is a large grassland in the east of the city. It is our pasture for raising horses. There are rivers, lakes, and woods. It is a place that the people of Jingzhao like to go for outings. The elder brother can bring his family. stationed there."

Cao Changchun warmly invited: "Well, let's have a barbecue and drink together tonight, my virtuous brothers and officials, come with their wives and children!"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Of course, but I want to be the host, eat the mutton from Tongzhou, and drink our good wine!"

Cao Changchun laughed, "I haven't drunk sake for many years, I still really miss it!"

……

In the afternoon, Yan Jun, the commander of the soldiers, went back to the mansion and found his wife, Lu Xiu. He clasped his fists and saluted, "I want to report to Madam, the Xuan Fu envoy said that at night a bonfire banquet will be held at Changlepo, outside the East City, to entertain the Uighur chief and his party. The Xuan Fu envoy asked Madam Can you bring your son to the banquet?"

Lu Xiu shook her head, "Your generals know that Xue'er cannot leave me at night, she is too young to go out at night."

Yan Jun said again: "Xuanfu envoy said, if the madam can't come, then let the second madam bring the young master to attend."

Lu Xiu thought for a while and asked, "Is the chief's wife and concubine here?"

"Reporting to Madam, all the wives, concubines and children have come."

Lu Xiu smiled and said: "Let's do it! It's not polite if I don't go, you tell the general, I will bring Ji'er and A-Lian to the banquet, but Ji'er and I can only show up for a while, and A-Lian will take care of us he."

Yan Jun hesitated and said: "The Xuan Fu envoy specifically ordered that the third and fourth wives should not go, but the second wives can!"

Lu Xiu thought about it, and immediately guessed what her husband was thinking, and she couldn't help laughing. The husband should be worried that the chief will take a fancy to A-Lian and A-Ying.

"Okay! I'll take the second lady there."

Yan Jun saluted and wanted to leave, but Lu Xiu called him again, and said calmly: "General Yan, you have failed your duty in Zhangye."

Yan Jun's face was a little hot. In Zhangye they really failed their duty. They let the Uighur chief's woman stay alone with the lord for most of the night, and the lord was in a state of drunkenness. If the Uighur chief wanted to seize Xihe Road, the lord would be in danger.

"Madam, don't worry, there will never be a second time!" Yan Jun saluted and hurried away.

It's not that Lu Xiu is narrow-minded. She doesn't allow her husband to marry a Uyghur. It is a piece of property that is given away at will.

Lu Xiu didn't like this kind of property at all, and didn't want her husband to accept it.

Lu Xiu immediately asked the maid to find the Yu sisters and Zhao Qiaoyun.

"Tonight, the officials will have a banquet for the Uighur chief in Shiliyuan, and they may not be able to come back. I will take Ji'er to attend the meeting for a while, and I will be back in half an hour at most. Ah Ying will take good care of Xue'er for me, and then Qiaoyun will stay. Take care of the officer, don't let him drink too much, it's best to bring him back."

Yu Lian was stunned, and reminded in a low voice: "Ma'am!"

Lu Xiu smiled at her and said, "You and Ah Ying just stay at home honestly, if that big hairy chief takes a fancy to you, the officials won't be able to turn against him for such a thing."

Both Yu Lian and Yu Lian couldn't help trembling when they thought of the great chief with long hairs all over his body.

Chapter 625 The Banquet

Changle Slope is located in the east of Chang'an City. To the north is a large grassland covering an area of ​​[-] mu. Bashui flows through the middle of the grassland. In addition to the grassland, there are also large forests. This place is called Shiliyuan, which was originally a forbidden garden of the Tang Dynasty imperial palace. During the Five Dynasties, it was also a place for dignitaries and nobles to play, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter.

After entering the Song Dynasty, the era of civilians came, not to mention a meadow, even the imperial palace in Bianliang was open to ordinary people to play, and Shiliyuan became a place for Jingzhao people to go outing with their families. The spring is sunny and the grass is beautiful Small tents were set up on the ground, and many common people brought food to relax and spend the night here.

It was late spring and April, and the heyday of outings had passed, but there were still dozens of small civilian tents stationed in Shiliyuan, but a large camp began to be stationed on the other side of Shiliyuan, and more than a dozen small tents were invited away. People built [-] tents, and this is where they camped.

That night, Chen Qing held a grand bonfire banquet in the Uyghur army camp in Shiliyuan, and invited musicians and dancers from several music and dance workshops to perform singing and dancing. Nearly a hundred officials and generals also brought their families together. Come to the banquet, Chen Qing's 1000 soldiers also drink and eat meat with more than [-] Uighur guard soldiers, or compete in martial arts.

Lu Xiu brought his sons Chen Ji and Zhao Qiaoyun to the banquet together, Chen Qing hugged his son and pointed at Cao Changchun with a smile: "Uncle!"

Chen Jizhi called out childishly, "Uncle!"

Cao Changchun laughed loudly, "Good boy, Uncle gave you a gift!"

He took out a roll of paper from his pocket and stuffed it into Chen Ji's pocket, "This is for you!"

Chen Qing was startled, what is this?He took the scroll, which turned out to be a land transfer decree, signed by Cao Changchun and ten elders, transferring Jiuquan County to him, and adding his son's name on the back.

Of course, Chen Qing knows what this means, which means that he can incorporate Suzhou into the territory of Sichuan and Shaanxi. This is a special way of sharing, just like the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty, which was nominally owned by the Tang Dynasty. territory, but in fact the Tang Dynasty only controlled four military towns, and the other vast lands were still the land of various small countries in the Western Regions, such as the Khotan Kingdom, the Kucha Kingdom, and the Shule Kingdom.

Liangzhou is Chen Qing's Shizhi County, and the entire Liangzhou land belongs to Xihe Road, while Ganzhou is only nominally owned by Chen Qing, and the actual land belongs to the Yellow-headed Uyghur, but according to the agreement, the Yellow-headed Uyghur will give up a city To Chen Qing, since Zhangye City was the capital of the Yellow-headed Uighurs, the Yellow-headed Uyghurs ceded Zendan County in the east to the Song Dynasty, and Zendan County was used as the seat of Ganzhou. A thousand troops were stationed.

Cao Changchun gave Jiuquan to Chen Qing's son, which meant that Suzhou also belonged to the Song Dynasty in name, and the Song Dynasty got Jiuquan County, the only county seat in Suzhou.

Of course, Cao Changchun sent Jiuquan County out not really as a gift to Chen Qing's son, but to draw the Song army in to fight against Xixia's counterattack.

Chen Qing laughed, "It's not sincere to give this to my son! It's better to give a pony, he likes it better."

"Yes!"

Cao Changchun said with a smile, "I'll pick a special pony to send to the son later on. This is the uncle's meeting gift."

The banquet began immediately. Everyone sat in the open air, the soldiers sat on the ground, laughing and laughing, while the officials and family members were more reserved. There were tables and chairs, and teams of dancers danced in front of the bonfire.

From time to time, soldiers put pots of roasted whole lamb on the table, and special chefs cut it into plates, and the maids served it to every guest like flowing water.

Chen Qing and Cao Changchun sat at the main seats, beside them were their wives and daughters, and they chatted sideways from time to time.

Lu Xiu drank a glass of wine with Chen Qing, and seeing that it was almost time, she whispered to her husband, "Ji'er and I have to go back first."

Chen Qing nodded, turned his head and waved to Yan Jun, who hurried forward.

"Send Madam and Young Master back, send more brothers, be careful on the way!"

"Understandable!"

Cao Changchun next to him asked puzzledly, "Is my sister-in-law going back?"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "There is a half-year-old daughter at home who is not in good health and cannot leave her mother at night."

"So that's it, the sister-in-law hasten to go back and take care of the child!"

Lu Xiu bid farewell to Cao Changchun and the others, and then left with her son.

Cao Changchun watched their mother and son get into the carriage, and then asked with a smile, "Your brother only has one son and one daughter?"

"Currently there is only one son and one daughter!"

Cao Changchun shook his head, "There are too few heirs, which is not conducive to succession, how about this! I will give my virtuous brother a few beauties, all of whom I like, and let them carry on the family line for my virtuous brother."

Zhao Qiaoyun's heart skipped a beat, and what the eldest sister was worried about came true.

She lightly pinched Chen Qing's leg quietly, and Chen Qing said with a smile: "Actually, there is no shortage of women around me. The main reason is that the wars with the Xixia people and the Jurchens have continued in recent years. I have been fighting outside. I don’t spend much time with my family, but I will spend more time with them in the future.”

"Brother Xian really doesn't regret it?"

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "I appreciate my brother's kindness. If it's convenient for you, why don't you give me a few more good horses for breeding."

"Okay then, I'll send you twenty top stallions later!"

Cao Changchun saw that Chen Qing was not good at women, so he stopped mentioning this matter. For him, women are property like horses. Since Chen Qing asked for a horse, it was the same thing to give it away.

Cao Changchun picked up the wine cup and said, "My virtuous brother should know about the Jinbing's entry into Xixia, right?"

Chen Qing said calmly: "I know about the Jinbing's entry into Xixia. Specifically, I only heard that Xiao Heda died and that some of his sons had internal strife. I don't know about the rest."

Cao Changchun nodded, "Your brother is concentrating on dealing with the Jurchens, and may pay less attention to Xixia, but I am very concerned about Xixia and have sent a large number of spies. To be precise, Xiao Heda's power has been completely destroyed, and the internal strife among several sons In the end, the second son won, but he was arrested by Xiao Heda's son-in-law that night and sent to the Xixia court, and the remaining 2 people surrendered."

"How many troops does Xixia have now?" Chen Qing asked.

"The sum of all the troops currently available to Xixia is 15, of which 13 are in Dunhuang, Shazhou, and [-] are in Xixia mainland. This includes [-] Xiao Heda's surrendered troops, but does not include [-] Jin soldiers."

Chen Qing took a sip of wine and asked with a smile: "Isn't it rumored that there are 40 soldiers in Xixia?"

"Xixia has a total population of just over 200 million. How could it be possible to support 40 soldiers? As far as I know, when they were the most, their standing troops were only 10,000+. When they faced a big war, they kept recruiting soldiers. This civil strife , The Xixia court and Xiao Heda almost squeezed out all the sources of soldiers, and I estimate that at least 50 people died in the entire Xixia."

"There are so many people?"

"Almost! The Xixia army almost wiped out all the eastern counties, even the party members."

"and then?"

"Then the latest news I got is that the Kingdom of Jin will support Xixia with 30 shi of grain and [-] sets of armor, and then Xixia must go on an expedition, but I didn't find out exactly how to go. This should be their top secret."

"So brother is worried that Xixia will attack the Hexi Corridor?"

Cao Changchun nodded, "Xixia certainly doesn't want to fight. The civil war almost destroyed it. It will take at least 20 years for them to slowly recover, but now it is not up to Xixia to choose. The Jin soldiers to relieve Xixia's difficulties are to let them fight. , Xixia will attack in the direction of Xihe Road, but if the Xixia people choose their own enemies, they will definitely swallow the yellow-headed Uighur and replenish a little vitality, it depends on how Xixia and Jin Guo negotiate."

"What do you think, brother?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

Cao Changchun narrowed his eyes, and said with a sly smile: "Your brother is not really asking me to come to Jingzhao to relax!"

Chapter 626 Drunk

At one o'clock, Lu Xiu, who was dozing on a chair, was awakened by the sound of footsteps. She hurried out, and saw Yu Lian and Yu Ying supporting her husband into the yard. There was a strong smell of alcohol, and on closer inspection, the husband was actually drunk.

Lu Xiu hurriedly asked Yu's sisters to send her husband to the inner study, and asked the maid to fetch hot water and make hangover soup. Chen Qing suddenly rushed to the corner of the wall and vomited violently.

The crowd was in a hurry, and after a long time of tossing, Chen Qingfu fell asleep.

Lu Xiu asked Yu Ying to take care of her husband at night. In terms of taking care of others, Yu Ying made Lu Xiu feel at ease.

Lu Xiu took Zhao Qiaoyun to her room and asked, "What's going on?"

Zhao Qiaoyun smiled wryly and said, "The chief said that sake is like water, so you won't get drunk, so the officials bet with him to see if he would pass out with five catties of sake."

"So he's so drunk?"

"Both of them were drunk. Commander Yan said that the main reason is that they drank three kinds of wine, milk wine, wine and water, and they drank too quickly, and they easily passed out."

"That incident didn't happen?" Lu Xiu asked again.

Zhao Qiaoyun shook her head, smiled helplessly, Lu Xiu was startled, "What's wrong?"

"At the beginning, the great chief offered to give the official a few beauties to carry on his family, but the official declined. This was when they were sober. Later, when the two of them got drunk, they started talking nonsense."

"Why are you talking nonsense?" Lu Xiu asked again.

"The great chief said that he must give the official a beautiful woman as a concubine, which is the one from last time. The official said that he also misses it..."

"How could he say that!" Lu Xiu said angrily with a sullen expression on her face.

Zhao Qiaoyun hurriedly explained for Chen Qing: "Sister, the officials are drunk and talking nonsense!"

"And then?" Lu Xiu held back her breath and asked again.

"Then I found the chief's wife, and I told her clearly that the wife did not agree with officials taking concubines again. The chief's wife said that she understood his wife's feelings very well, so she asked the guards to help the chief back to rest, and took the woman away. It was taken."

"Are they angry?"

"no!"

Zhao Qiaoyun smiled and said: "When I was helping the officials to get into the carriage, the eldest son of the great chief came to apologize to me, saying that his father liked to give concubines to his generals every time he was drunk, and he had given away more than a dozen concubines. He said The father was very rude, and he apologized to the lady on his behalf."

The dissatisfaction in Lu Xiu's heart dissipated a little. The Uighur chief's behavior was really rude, as if his husband couldn't find a woman, and he just waited for his leftovers.

"His son is still very sensible."

Zhao Qiaoyun took out another gemstone and handed it to Lu Xiu with a smile: "He also gave a gemstone to my little sister, saying it was his heart, wishing my little sister a healthy growth."

"He is indeed a sensible child, and tomorrow I have to return a gift to his sister."

Lu Xiu took the gemstone with a smile, looked carefully, and couldn't help being amazed. The gemstone looked like a jujube, dark blue like sea water, transparent without any impurities. Even in the Song Dynasty, this kind of gemstone was extremely rare and extremely valuable.

Zhao Qiaoyun said in a low voice: "My father has this gem in his collection, but it was taken away by the gold man."

Lu Xiu thought about it, this gift is too expensive, she has to tell her husband about it tomorrow.

……

Early the next morning, Chen Qing only felt a splitting headache. Lu Xiu brought a cup of hot soup into the house, carefully let her husband drink it, and then patted her husband's head. Fortunately, he was not sick.

Lu Xiu pursed her lips and smiled: "It's okay, after drinking a few wines, I will definitely have a headache, and I will look for water everywhere at night, Ah Ying, right?"