Chapter 196 Song Junming, the governor of Shengzhou
Liu Lan and others hurried forward and bowed, saying, "Governor Song has worked hard on the journey! I have ordered people to prepare a banquet to welcome Governor Song!"
Song Junming also bowed and said, "Thank you for your trouble to welcome me here."
"This time, I am following the order of His Majesty to protect the prince's safety and invite him back to the capital! May I ask where the prince is now?"
"So that I can go to see the prince first!"
Song Junming did not forget his mission. When he came to Wantong City in Xiazhou, the first thing he had to do was not to welcome him, but to see Prince Chu.
"Your Highness is staying in my governor's mansion. This is Wang, the eunuch beside your Highness." Liu Lan pointed to Wang Quan beside her.
Song Junming looked at Wang Quan and said, "Thank you for your introduction, Eunuch Wang!"
"General Song is too polite! His Highness ordered me to wait for the General here. Please follow me." Wang Quan said and made a gesture of invitation.
"Eunuch Wang, please!" Song Junming rode forward and went to see Li Chengqian with Wang Quan.
Everyone came to the General's Mansion, where Li Chengqian was staying.
"My lord! General Song Junming of Shengzhou and General Liu Lan of Xiazhou want to see you!" Wang Quan reported to Li Chengqian inside the house.
"Since you are here! Come in!" Li Chengqian's voice came from inside.
"Everyone, please come in!" Wang Quan leaned over and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation.
Everyone rushed in and saw the crown prince Li Chengqian sitting on the main seat. Everyone hurriedly bowed and greeted him.
"I pay my respects to the Crown Prince!"
"No need to be polite!" Li Chengqian extended his hand to help him, and said to Wang Quan who was standing beside him, "Give me a seat!"
Wang Quan accepted the order and asked someone to bring chairs for the generals to sit on.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Everyone stood up to thank the Crown Prince for giving them seats, and then sat on both sides.
"General Song has traveled all the way by boat and carriage, and has not rested yet he came to me first. I am very touched." Li Chengqian said.
"This is my duty! Your Highness is in Xiazhou, and as a minister, I naturally have to come to pay my respects to the Crown Prince as soon as possible." Song Junming said.
Li Chengqian and Song Junming and others exchanged pleasantries, and praised Song Junming for a few words about loyalty to the emperor and the country.
"This time, I am here under the order of Your Majesty to lead the troops, one is to defend against the invasion of Xueyantuo, and the other is to escort Your Highness the Crown Prince back to the capital!" Song Junming explained the purpose of his visit.
Defending against Xueyantuo is secondary. The most important thing is to get the prince back to the capital. Everyone present naturally knows this.
Just when everyone was about to bring up the old matter, Li Chengqian changed the subject. He didn't want to discuss this topic. He would not return to Chang'an now.
Xueyantuo had not been destroyed yet. How could he, as the prince, go back like this
? "This time I left the capital to reorganize the army. I heard that the soldiers mobilized by Governor Song were elite soldiers who had fought in hundreds of battles
. I just took this opportunity to see the style of the good men of my Tang Dynasty. Governor Song should not have any objections!" Li Chengqian said with a smile. He was using the order of reorganizing the army to inspect the level of the 60,000 soldiers and horses brought by Song Junming.
"Your Highness, reorganizing the army, naturally, I have no meaning." Song Junming said.
The prince was going to visit the guards, so he naturally had no objection. What he wanted most now was to send the prince back to Chang'an as soon as possible.
Before long, the Tang Dynasty would have a major action against Xueyantuo. He didn't want the prince to stay here and affect his achievements.
Compared with Shi Shisili, Liu Lan, Tian Renhui and others, Song Junming knew more inside information.
"In this case, Governor Song will go to see the palace soldiers you brought tomorrow. I will set off to return to Beijing in a few days!" Li Chengqian said.
After hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up and they were overjoyed! Finally, the prince can be sent away!
Li Chengqian looked at their undisguised eyes and laughed in his heart. He just said this to them on purpose.
How could he go back to Chang'an like this? He just said it casually to them.
"Everything is up to your Highness!" Song Junming stood up and saluted.
"Okay, it's decided! Let's go and see the palace soldiers led by Governor Song tomorrow."
"Governor Song must be exhausted after a long journey. Why don't you go down and rest first!"
"Governor Song is coming to Xiazhou to help this time. Governor Liu must not neglect him. You must hold a banquet to thank Governor Song." Li Chengqian said to Liu Lan after talking to Song Junming.
"Yes!" Song Junming saluted.
"Don't worry, Your Highness! I will treat Governor Song with the best food in Xiazhou." Liu Lan saluted.
Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction. He had said what he needed to say, so he didn't force them to stay.
Liu Lan, Song Junming and others stood up, bowed and left. Liu Lan prepared a place for Song Junming to stay and asked him to rest and wait for the banquet.
That night, Liu Lan prepared a nice welcoming banquet for Song Junming who came from afar at the Governor's Mansion.
Before the banquet, Liu Lan went to Li Chengqian's residence in person and invited Li Chengqian to attend the banquet tonight.
After all, Li Chengqian is the prince of the Tang Dynasty. As a minister, Liu Lan has no reason not to invite the prince to attend the banquet.
More importantly, this banquet tonight is not only to welcome Song Junming, but more to celebrate the prince's departure from Xiazhou and return to Chang'an.
Prince Li Chengqian is also one of the protagonists today, and he must be invited to participate no matter what.
Li Chengqian naturally would not object to Liu Lan's personal invitation, so he gladly accepted Liu Lan's invitation.
At night, all the invited guests arrived, even Song Junming, one of the protagonists, came.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
After everyone had arrived and waited for a long time, Li Chengqian finally made his debut amid the eunuch's shouts.
As one of the protagonists and a crown prince of noble status, he naturally had to stay until the end and make his debut amid everyone's eager anticipation.
This was in line with his status as the crown prince, and this was how he would look cool.
As a crown prince, he should always look cool.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you!" Song Junming, one of the protagonists, Liu Lan, the organizer, and other guests including Zhi Shisi Li looked at Li Chengqian who came in from the door and bowed.
Li Chengqian sat down at the main seat and said, "No need to be polite!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Everyone stood up and sat down.
"Is it time to start the banquet, Governor Liu?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Yes!" Liu Lan hurriedly asked for the dishes to be served, and the party tonight officially began.
The maids brought the wine and food and placed them in front of everyone, then withdrew, and then there was a song and dance performance to liven up the party.
"Come on! Everyone raise your glasses! I will drink with you all!" Li Chengqian raised his glass to signal.
Everyone also raised their glasses and said, "Cheers to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Since Xiazhou is close to the Western Regions, the song and dance not only includes Han culture, but also some exotic song and dance performances.
Everyone enjoyed the food and drink very much, and the banquet lasted until midnight, and everyone dispersed and went back to rest.
In order to guard against the sudden attack of Xueyantuo, they had to stay awake at all times. Liu Lan and her friends did not drink too much to avoid making mistakes due to excessive drinking.