Chapter 2269: Attending a Banquet (April Monthly Ticket Plus 5)
Bai Shan nodded and said, "We'll settle the remaining money with you in two days."
Da Yu immediately laughed and said, "Sure, sure."
This would make it difficult for them to live together anymore, so he decided to go back and take his people to find another inn so they could move out tomorrow.
Oh, the places where these young masters from wealthy families live are too expensive.
After this was said, everyone started talking about other things. Nie Canjun said, "Don't we have to go to the barracks?"
Bai Shan nodded, "I'll go to the Protectorate tonight. If General Guo brings up this matter, I'll explain."
If they didn't mention it, there was naturally no need for them to bring it up specifically, but the other party just acquiesced at the time.
Lieutenant General Nie was relieved and finally had time to care about other things. "Why does it seem like General Guo has something against our delegation?"
Everyone turned to look at Liu Huan.
Liu Huan: "...Why are you all looking at me? I'm still a child, I don't know anything."
Even the youngest, Zhou Liru, couldn't help but despise him, "You're already this old, but you're still a child?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and gave him a few words of advice, "When you get to the Protectorate, follow Bai Shan and the others. Don't go alone."
Liu Huan agreed.
Mr. Zhuang continued, "Don't eat the wine and drinks of the Protectorate casually. In short, you should eat whatever Bai Shan and the others eat. It's better to be cautious."
Liu Huan agreed, but he always felt that the advice was very familiar, very similar to what his grandmother had told his cousins.
After such a comparison, Liu Huan felt a little depressed.
In the end, Mr. Zhuang only took two pieces of cloth and went to the banquet. There was no other way. Although they had a lot of things, most of them were this kind of goods. He really didn't bring any interesting local specialties.
The Anxi Protectorate was located in the former royal palace of Gaochang.
The entire palace was converted into a government office for handling affairs, and General Guo and his family lived in the palace.
Although the Gaochang Palace was far inferior to the imperial palace in the capital, it was also extremely luxurious and far better than the average military governor's residence.
The main reason is that the door is too high and too big, which has long been against the rules, but General Guo who lives inside does not seem to have any intention of changing it.
After they entered the palace... oh no, after they entered the mansion, servants led the way for them. Fortunately, they entered through the side door, and as soon as they entered, they saw where General Guo and his family lived. If they had entered through the front door, they would have had to pass through many government offices before they got there.
When Hou Ji invaded the Gaochang royal family, he looted it extensively, but things like houses could not be taken away, and many things inside were not destroyed, so they saw many rare sights along the way.
The banquet was held in a hall, which seemed to be the main hall of the royal family. The room was quite large, with desks and couches on both sides. Fortunately, the desk at the head was not high up, otherwise Zhou Man would have to consider whether to report to the emperor that General Guo was plotting something bad.
Manbao breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't like getting involved in this kind of thing at all.
Bai Shan didn't like it either, so there was some silence after they sat down in their seats.
General Guo didn't seem to want to make things difficult for them with the seating arrangement, and Zhou Man's official rank was considered high in the Western Regions, at the fifth rank. Only General Guo and the two deputy generals in the army were above her, and the rest, including Guo Zhao, were below her.
General Meng had also arrived early. Since he was there to provide support, he was considered a guest and had a good seat, just across from Liu Huan. When he saw them, he slowly stood up, holding his stomach, and came over to greet them, "Master Zhou, I was thinking of looking for you."
Manbao's eyes fell on his stomach and he asked, "Has the wound opened again?"
General Meng hissed. His wound had already been torn once during the charge, and the second stitch was much more painful than the first. He said, "It's not torn, but it's bleeding."
He lowered his voice and said, "Doctor Zhou, I don't think the medicine I used is as good as the one you used before."
Manbao said, "That one has Panax notoginseng powder added to it, and it's all used up."
General Meng looked regretful, and Manbao said, "But I plan to make some more hemostatic ointment and hemostatic powder. Although they don't contain Panax notoginseng, they should be better than yours. You can have someone come to me to get them later."
After that, he warned: "General Meng, you can't drink alcohol at this moment, you can't eat anything too greasy, and you can't move around casually."
She said quietly, "You shouldn't have come to the banquet."
General Meng said, "...I can't help it. This is a welcome banquet specially held for me by General Guo. If I don't come, it would be too disrespectful to him. I will have a hard time explaining it to my father later."
"No wonder you warriors always have all sorts of hidden injuries and old ailments. It's not just because you're constantly injured, but also because you don't take good care of yourself after your injuries." Manbao paused before saying, "But isn't tonight's banquet a welcoming banquet for our delegation?"
General Meng: "...The steward clearly said it was for me."
Manbao: "What a coincidence, the steward also said it was for our delegation."
The two of them stared at each other.
Bai Shan said, "What's there to argue about? The two sides just happened to come together. General Guo said so. You should just listen to him. Tonight's main purpose is to build relationships and prepare for the subsequent expedition to Kucha, right?"
General Meng turned his head to look at him, "How do you know?" Guo Zhao had told him this in private.
Bai Shan raised his chin and gestured for them to look at the generals standing nearby and talking together. "They are too loud, constantly cursing how ungrateful Kucha is. They were so sweet before the New Year, but after a rumor, they're already hurling insults at us."
General Meng was still a little confused and couldn't react. "What rumor?"
"Your Majesty has also contracted smallpox. Isn't this a rumor that has been circulating in the Western Regions?" Bai Shan glanced at him curiously and asked, "Why, you didn't know?"
"Oh, I know." General Meng had a cold expression on his face. Of course he knew. Guo Zhao had mentioned these things to him, but why did Bai Shan also know everything?
Obviously no one told him this.
Bai Shan had already turned around and said to Man Bao, "We'll ask them when we find them. If we're close to Kucha, we should take General Nie and the others with us."
Manbao nodded.
General Meng couldn't help but ask, "Who are you looking for?"
Bai Shan said, "A group of people."
So perfunctory?
Before General Meng could ask more, Bai Shan changed the subject with a smile, asking, "General Meng, are you going to stay and participate in the Battle of Kucha?"
General Meng was silent for a moment before he said, "Since I'm here, I'm naturally following General Guo's orders."
However, General Guo would most likely transfer him to intimidate the Tubo army so that they would not dare to invade when the Anxi army attacked Kucha.
The reason why the Anxi Army asked for help at this time was, firstly, to reopen the trade route, and secondly, because if they wanted to attack Kucha, they would not be able to guarantee their rear, and the Tubo side was cunning and would take advantage of any opportunity.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
