Chapter 92
That day, Yao Chunnuan trotted across the training grounds on her horse. She had just learned to ride, and she was hooked. She rode for an hour or so every day, exercising, and after a good sweat, she felt incredibly refreshed.
Zhou Yushu is now the Sima of the Second Cavalry Battalion of the Military Colony. Recently, he has been leading the new recruits in training on the parade ground.
Yao Chunnuan wanted to learn horsemanship, and she also took lessons on the track at the parade grounds. The person who had previously taught Yao Chunnuan and Qi Yingshan riding was an old cavalryman. Zhou Yushu would occasionally give them some pointers when he saw them, and sometimes when Qi Yingshan came late, Zhou Yushu didn't hesitate to chat with her.
At this time, Yao Chunnuan finished her last lap and simply stopped next to Zhou Yushu.
The soldiers on the parade ground saw this scene but didn't think much about it. What's wrong with two adults chatting while leading their horses on the parade ground?
Yao Chunnuan noticed this and couldn't help but laugh out loud. She was right to find a man!
When she joined the Shogun's court, she was already pregnant, and her maternal instincts significantly suppressed her single-woman characteristics. Her superiors, colleagues, and soldiers' first impression of her was likely that of a mother. After giving birth, as her figure recovered after the confinement period, her single-woman characteristics were fully revealed. On the full moon day, during the toasts, despite the men's restrained gazes, Yao Chunnuan still noticed them.
She felt at the time that her singleness was a hidden danger, a hidden danger that she had to face up to.
Think of those male officials of later generations who, if they didn't marry by a certain age, would be hampered from advancing in their careers. Being single often gave people the impression of being unstable and unreliable. Here, too, it might not matter to a man, but for her, remaining single and surrounded by so many colleagues would invite unnecessary trouble, such as rumors of infidelity and romantic affairs.
So she soon found Qi Yingshan. She didn't deny that she had some feelings for him, but she also truly liked him. She found this man's presence pleasing and joyful.
If he refused, she would be sorry, but she wouldn't pester him or use her power to pressure him. But since he agreed, he must be willing to accept her terms. Besides, she had no intention of playing two or three women at the same time. She simply wanted to keep her power stable and avoid any concerns from her subordinates, so she didn't plan to get married so soon. She was such a selfish woman.
Zhou Yushu only glanced at Yao Chunnuan when she dismounted beside him, and then concentrated on feeding his beloved horse with malt sugar.
"Sima Zhou, how old are the chickens you raise on Chicken Mountain now?"
Zhou Yushu looked at her warily upon hearing this. She loved eating chicken, especially chicken feet. Everyone in the shogunate knew this. The shogunate knew it, and so did the general's office. She had specifically asked about his chicken, so she must have had some bad intentions.
"I heard it weighs almost two kilograms."
"They weigh more than two kilograms." Zhou Yushu said that the chickens are now taken care of by his aunt. He goes to the mountain to check on them every night and knows the specific situation clearly.
Yao Chunnuan's eyes lit up. "How much more than two kilograms, including the fur?" This is the best age to make beggar's chicken.
"I'll ask Axia to get two chickens from my aunt when we get back, okay?"
Zhou Yushu turned his face away and said, "These chickens can grow to five or six pounds in weight. And they are about to lay eggs." Newly laid eggs are nutritious and are the essence of the hen's eggs.
It was only after he boarded the military settlement that he realized what first caught their attention was not his military training skills, but his unique skill in raising chickens. When he first learned this, he felt dejected, as if everything was premeditated.
Yao Chunnuan didn't know what was going on in his mind. She was still wondering if two were too few. "Three, then. I'll give you one when I'm done."
Zhou Yushu: ...
Who gave you the courage to push for more chickens before you even get one? He doesn't even want to give me two, so why three? But if I only give him two, then he won't get any? Then wouldn't his chickens have been raised in vain?
"It's settled then."
Zhou Yushu endured it and asked, "Do I have to eat it?"
Yao Chunnuan nodded, "I have to eat it."
"They are really still small," Zhou Yushu emphasized.
"Big ones have their own tastes, small ones have their own flavors. Please, don't be so embarrassed. That's just the chicken you raise, not your son." Yao Chunnuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was determined to take good care of the chicken to shut the mouth of this young chicken farmer!
"Whoever sees it gets a share. I'll take two too." Meng Yi appeared out of nowhere.
"No, no!" Zhou Yushu turned around and left.
To prevent Meng Yi from insisting and causing Zhou Yushu to regret his decision, Yao Chunnuan quickly grabbed Meng Yi and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Aren't the people from the northern border supposed to be arriving in a couple of days? Chief Steward Wu remembered the horses weren't well groomed, so he told you to take your mounts to the stables. There are craftsmen there to trim their feet."
Tsk, Manager Wu definitely has obsessive-compulsive disorder!
But Yao Chunnuan still went to see it out of curiosity.
One horse after another was pulled forward, and then with the sound of the master's click, the excess front part of the hooves was trimmed off.
Yao Chunnuan watched with gusto. This was a folk craftsman. By the time she came to her senses, more than a quarter of an hour had passed. She was actually so engrossed in watching? Yao Chunnuan thought to herself that this was poisonous.
On the third day, when the distinguished guests from the North arrived, they needed to go out of the city to welcome them to show their sincerity.
Yao Chunnuan and the others were all dressed in riding clothes, ready to go, and had no objection to what Manager Wu said.
Their side was led by the general, and all the senior military officials went with them, and they also brought three thousand elite soldiers.
They had brought a lot of soldiers, very good. Yao Chunnuan nodded secretly. It's better to be safe than sorry. What if they were too careless and only brought a few hundred elite soldiers? What if they were wiped out in one fell swoop? You know, in order to demonstrate the solemnity and sincerity of their military settlement, all the senior officers of their military settlement were dispatched.
The general was preparing to await the distinguished guests from the northern border at the Shili Pavilion outside the city of Yichun.
Not long after they arrived at Shili Pavilion, they heard the sound of a large group of people coming behind them. Looking back, they found that they were people from the prefectural governor's office, about 500 people, and the leader was none other than Wang Lang.
The wedding of Wang Lang and the daughter of Governor Lei was to take place in three days. During these few days, guests came from different places one after another.
Judging from the other party's posture, it was obvious that they were also here to welcome guests.
When Wang Lang left, it was not a good look, and he also poached Ji Ze's girlfriend, so there was no incense relationship between them. After marrying Lei Taishou, the Taishou Mansion still made things difficult for the military settlement on the issue of population and land. The senior officials of the military settlement knew that he was the one who was obstructing it.
So when they saw him at this time, no one from the military settlement greeted him. Fortunately, he was also sensible and did not go forward and humiliate himself.
Meng Yi was riding his horse right next to Yao Chunnuan. Seeing this, he couldn't help but whisper to her, "Prefect Lei and your ex-husband are riding on our heads, so why don't we deal with them?"
Yao Chunnuan rolled her eyes at him as she pondered her own plans. "What's the rush? The most important thing right now is to properly entertain the visitors from the North. If you ruin the general's wedding, even if the general can spare you, Chief Steward Wu will definitely have you beaten."
Because their troops had arrived first and occupied the Shili Pavilion, and Wang Lang was unwilling to approach them to negotiate, he could only let them occupy it.
If the visitor was from another force, they would give up some space, but since the other party was the governor's mansion and Wang Lang, then sorry, first come first served.
The people in the prefectural governor's office watched helplessly as the Yichun military settlement troops lined up and completely occupied the Shili Pavilion, forcing them to squeeze to the right side. They had no choice; if they didn't want this position, they would be completely blocked by the Yichun military settlement troops.
They knew, in fact, that there had been some discord between their governor and the people of the military settlement recently. Facing the hostile glares glaring at them from the elite soldiers of the Yichun military settlement, what could they do? They dared not speak or ask, fearing they would violently attack them. They felt wronged, too. Their governor wasn't behaving properly, so what was it to them?
Wang Lang sat aside, lost in thought. Who was the Yichun military settlement going to welcome? Even the general was coming in person to welcome him. Furthermore, he looked around and saw that all the high-ranking officials had also come out?
They didn't have to wait long before the ground shook with the sound of a marching army.
Yao Chunnuan and others were in the front row, looking into the distance, and then everyone started discussing it in a buzzing manner.
"Hey, why are there so many people here?"
"Yes, didn't the news from the North say that only 500 people were coming?"
"At this glance, there are definitely more than five hundred."
"There must be at least eight hundred people."
"More than a thousand."
"two thousand!"
The people in the military settlement looked at each other in confusion as the dust flew. They had been here for so long, and if they really wanted to borrow food, were they planning to clear them out?
"Don't think about all that mess. The three flags flying here prove that there are three groups of people."
Isn't it? Three banners, with the big characters "Huo", "Meng", and "Pan" written on them.
Suddenly, a man flew out from the front troop, riding a horse in the lead, rushing towards them with a loud laugh, stopping his horse in front of them, and then jumping off.
The general also dismounted, and Yao Chunnuan and others followed suit.
It was obvious that the man was an old general who had fought on the battlefield for a long time. As soon as they met, he hugged the general and patted him on the back with his palm as big as a palm leaf fan. "Brother Xing, it's been a long time since we last met. You are still as elegant as ever."
"General Qin, you are still as strong as ever."
As they were exchanging greetings, a few more people came over with horses.
General Qin quickly introduced them to each other, "Huo Bing, the second son of the God of War Huo Ting. Pan Buyi, General Pan and the young chief of the Gaoshan tribe. Meng Chong, General Meng." The daughter of Commander-in-Chief Huo did not come.
The Gaoshan tribe lived in Jiachuan, which was located between the northern border and Yichun, and was closer to the northern border.
"These two are the brother armies we met on the road."
After General Qin's explanation, Yao Chunnuan and the others realized that their three groups had met on the way. The northern Huo family army was headed for Yichun, and Meng Yi was also in Yichun for a wedding as a guest of Governor Lei. Upon hearing their shared destination, the two groups immediately agreed and decided to travel together. Pan Buyi pondered this and, after consulting with his army, decided to visit Yichun as well, considering their encounter wasn't far away.
So, this is the scene before our eyes.
As they were talking, their stomachs rumbled and they looked at each other in embarrassment.
Manager Wu said sympathetically, "It's okay, it's noon already, and we're hungry. But when we left, the kitchen had already slaughtered pigs and sheep. Now that everyone's here, let's go back, shall we? Let's go together!"
"But..." General Pan said hesitantly.
"No buts, since we've met, we're brothers. Isn't it my duty to treat you to a meal and a drink?"
"Exactly, absolutely—"
The atmosphere was lively and everyone was talking and laughing as they were about to head back.
At this moment, Wang Lang, escorted by his guards, squeezed forward and said, "But General Meng Chong? I am Wang Lang, the new son-in-law of the Grand Administrator Lei. I have come here specially to welcome you, my distinguished guest."
A trace of embarrassment crossed Meng Chong's face. Could he say that he had forgotten that he was here to congratulate someone? He could only say that the people in the military settlement were too enthusiastic. He almost followed them and left.
After inviting Meng Chong, Wang Lang bowed to Pan Buyi and said, "Is this General Pan? I've heard of your name for a long time. Would you like to have a drink with me?" He suppressed his excitement. This was Pan Buyi, the famous general of Jiachuan!
"In fact, half of us are still left behind." Pan Buyi said slowly.
The people from Juntun and Lei Taishou were all surprised when they heard this. Brother, what big thing are you going to do? Leading more than 3,000 people from Jiachuan to Yichun?
To prevent them from overthinking, Pan Buyi quickly said, "Actually, we came out to fight bandits, but we got further and further away."
Yao Chunnuan raised her eyebrows. Is the drought situation in the northwest so severe?
The people at the prefectural governor's office also had dark expressions. It would be fine if they came uninvited, but there were too many people. How could they accommodate them? They were also in tears. Who would bring an army to celebrate?
Yao Chunnuan glanced at both Wu Zongguan and Yu Chen. As a large organization, the Yichun Military Settlement now had a territory. While expanding their territory, they also needed to cultivate more allies. The Gaoshan people were a perfect fit. As brotherly allies, they could communicate more. They could help each other in the future, should anything happen. After all, more friends meant more paths.
After receiving Yao Chunnuan's hint, Yu Chen immediately stepped forward and said, "Sir Wang, first come, first served, understand? General Pan is a friend of our General Qin and Major General Huo, so he is naturally our friend as well. Isn't it a pleasure to have a friend from afar? Naturally, we are the ones to entertain him. What does it have to do with you?"
Chief Steward Wu also said, "Yes, General Pan, without saying anything, you send someone to call the more than a thousand brothers behind you, and we will return to the military settlement together!"
Wang Lang was about to say something when someone tugged at his sleeve. Understanding the implication, Wang Lang's mouth instantly turned bitter. This was clearly a golden opportunity to make friends with the Gaoshan people, yet he couldn't make the decision. He wanted to bypass these restrictions and act on his own, but he had no money. He swore that he would find a subordinate who was good at managing goods and finances!
Pan Buyi's eyes were sharp, and he immediately ruled out the idea of going to Prefect Lei. As for whether to go to the Yichun military settlement, he looked at his military advisor, who nodded. Since he agreed, then let's go. His people and his soldiers really needed some rest and refreshment.
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