Hua Mingqiao replied: "Yes, yes."

Inviting General Tang and the other two to the second floor, Hua Mingqiao quickly wiped the table and chairs, then invited General Tang and the armored youth to sit down. "General Tang, how many pounds of meat and drinks would you like to order?"

The young man asked, "Do you have any burning knives?"

Hua Mingqiao nodded: "Yes, I wonder how many pounds you want, young master."

"Four catties." The young man continued, "and two catties of Du Kang."

Hua Mingqiao said with some embarrassment: "Young Master, there are no famous liquors like Du Kang in small shops, but I brewed some myself."

"Is there any wine?"

Hua Mingqiao shook his head.

The young man said dissatisfiedly: "Why don't you have any good wine?"

General Tang raised his hand to stop the young man from speaking. He looked at Hua Mingqiao and said to him, "Boss, bring me four pounds of Shaodao, two pounds of other good wine in your store, two pounds of roasted mutton, and a mutton hotpot with extra chili."

Hua Mingqiao said, "Please wait a moment, I will bring the wine and mutton pot over in a moment."

Not long after, Hua Mingqiao brought the wine to General Tang and placed it on the table.

The armored youth loved wine, so he picked up a jar of Du Kang and started drinking. After taking only one sip, he put the jar down and stuck out his tongue at General Tang, saying, "General, this wine isn't as good as the one brewed by our Uncle Wang."

General Tang said to the young man, "Speak less."

Hua Mingqiao said embarrassedly, "It's okay. I brewed the Du Kang myself. My brewing skills are not very good, so the taste of the Du Kang I brewed is a little lacking."

He picked up two jars of wine and placed them in front of General Tang and the armored youth respectively, "General Tang, young master, this is the famous wine from my hometown. You should try it, it tastes quite good.

General Tang picked up the wine jar and opened it. A fragrant aroma filled his nose. He couldn't help but wonder, "Is this rice flower wine?"

Hua Mingqiao pretended to be surprised and said, "General Tang, do you know what rice flower wine is?"

General Tang smiled and said, "I am from Yiling, how come I don't know about rice flower wine?"

Hua Mingqiao laughed and said, "General Tang is from Yiling? What a coincidence! I am also from Yiling."

General Tang looked at Hua Mingqiao and asked, "Is the shopkeeper also from Yiling? Which county is he from?"

Hua Mingqiao said, "I am from Wuxiang Village, Yi County."

General Tang was from Yiling, and he heard that Hua Mingqiao was also from Yiling. He had been guarding the border for nearly twenty years, and he didn't expect to meet a fellow townsman today.

The opera says that when fellow villagers meet, their eyes are filled with tears. Although his eyes were not tearful, he was also quite emotional in his heart.

If I could go back to my hometown once in my lifetime, I would have no regrets in my life.

"I am from Jinghe Town, Yiling," said General Tang.

Hua Mingqiao said, "The general is from Jinghe Town, which is far away from me."

General Tang sighed softly, "It's not that far."

Jinghe Town is hundreds of miles away from Yi County, but Jinghe Town is thousands of miles away from the northern border, so a hundred miles is not far.

There were many diners in the restaurant, so Hua Mingqiao went downstairs quickly. After a while, a plate of roasted lamb and a mutton pot were brought to the table of General Tang and the young man in armor. He said, "Please enjoy your meal," and was about to go downstairs to greet other diners.

General Tang suddenly stopped Hua Mingqiao and asked, "Boss, prepare thirty jars of rice flower wine and send them to my home tonight."

Hua Mingqiao's eyes lit up with joy as business came knocking on his door. He said, "General, please rest assured. I will personally deliver the rice flower wine to your residence tonight."

The armored youth interrupted, "Boss, please send another roasted whole lamb to our house. I want it to be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."

Hua Mingqiao responded quickly.

He returned to the kitchen, where Huo Linglong, who was slicing mutton, said, "He didn't recognize you, did he?"

The "he" she was referring to was naturally General Tang, now the second-in-command of the Northern Border Army - Tang Huanli.

Hua Mingqiao shook his head, "No."

Ten years ago, when he was in the Northern Border Army, he and Tang Huanli had little contact. After so many years, it was normal that Tang Huanli did not recognize him.

"Go to Tang Huanli's house tonight. He wants thirty jars of rice wine and a roasted lamb."

Huo Linglong placed the slices of mutton on the plate and said, "No problem."

Hua Mingqiao warned, "We must be careful and not reveal any flaws."

Huo Linglong knew her limits, "There's no need to rush this."

In Beijing, the fifth day of the twelfth month.

Five imperial decrees were issued simultaneously from the palace, respectively promoting the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Xiang, the Prince of Zheng, and the Prince of Xuan to the rank of Prince, and the Ninth Prince to the rank of Prince, with the title of Ning.

It was not sudden that the four county princes were promoted to princes on the same day. As early as two months ago, there was news that His Majesty wanted to promote several county princes to princes.

The Prince of Qi and the Prince of Xiang are both brothers of Zhao Zixu. Like the Prince of Zheng, they have been in the position of Prince for many years, so it is reasonable for them to be promoted to the position of Prince of Jin.

If the three kings of Qi, Xiang and Zheng became the Princes of Jin as a result of years of endurance, the situation of King Xuan was somewhat different.

The princess that Prince Xuan was about to marry came from the Rongguogong Mansion. The Duke of Rong, a veteran of four dynasties, held a distinguished reputation and a distinguished status, standing on par with the great general Ye family. Although Prince Xuan was a member of the royal family, his mother's family was not prominent, and he suffered from a leg disease. His promotion to prince was also due to the Rongguogong Mansion.

Before this day, Prince of Qin Zhao Yingyi was the only prince among the late emperor's sons.

After this day, Prince of Qin Zhao Yingyi was no longer the only prince among the late emperor's sons.

Qinghe Palace, study.

A charcoal stove was burning next to the six-foot-eight-inch-long and three-foot-three-inch-high sandalwood desk. The silver-bone charcoal in the stove burned red, dispelling the coldness in the study.

If you stand by the stove wrapped in a fur coat, you will probably sweat in no time.

A piece of rice paper was spread on the desk and weighed down with a paperweight. Prince Qinghe picked up a pen and wrote three words on the rice paper. These three words were Qi, Xiang and Zheng.

Qi, Xiang and Zheng were the royal titles of Zhao Zixu's brothers.

His deep gaze swept between the three words Qi, Xiang and Zheng without leaving a trace, as if he was thinking about something.

People say that a son inherits his father's business and a younger brother inherits his elder brother's business.

Zhao Zixu will not live long, and he will definitely choose one of his younger brothers as the crown prince to inherit the throne.

He wondered, among the three kings of Qi, Xiang and Zheng, who would Zhao Zixu choose?

The Prince of Qi was Zhao Zixu's fourth brother. He was twenty-three years old at the time and had never married. He had countless beauties in his backyard and often frequented places of entertainment. He was a well-known playboy.

Prince Xiang was Zhao Zixu's fifth brother. He was twenty-two years old, had a capricious and violent temperament, was moody, had no talent, and was a complete fool.

Prince Zheng was also Zhao Zixu's half-brother. He was six years old, the same age as Prince Xiang. He was gentle, well-read, and quite talented, so he was appointed to the idle position of Yuanwailang.

Among the three, King Qi and King Xiang were useless and a waste, only King Zheng was relatively good.

If he were Zhao Zixu, among the three kings, he would definitely choose King Zheng.

But will Zhao Zixu really choose King Zheng?

No, not necessarily.

Zhao Zixu seems gentle and kind, but in fact he is cunning and treacherous. He often strikes without making any sound and hits the vital parts, leaving the opponent with no chance of recovery.