Chapter 220 Celebration Banquet
The celebration banquet was very lively. King Zhenbei not only made an exception and allowed the soldiers to drink a small amount of alcohol, but also ordered people to play music and let the soldiers dance to the battle march.
The King of Zhenbei even personally held the wine glass and walked up to Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan and said:
"The two girls were originally elegant scholars, but now they have shown extraordinary courage. They bravely explored the tiger cave without fear of life and death, defeated the enemy and returned, and made immortal contributions to the stability of our Daliang border. On behalf of tens of thousands of people on the border, this king would like to toast you two."
Zhu Lan and the other person stood up quickly. After all, the King of Zhenbei was a high-ranking official and the chief of the Liang military generals. He came in person to toast them, which was a huge honor in the eyes of others.
“Your Highness, you are too kind. Today, thanks to your wise command, the princess’s bravery, and General Gu’s timely arrival, we were able to achieve this great victory. The two of us have only contributed our humble efforts, and we dare not take credit for it. We should rather respect Your Highness.” Zhu Lan returned the greeting respectfully and drank the sake in his glass.
Zhu Qingyan didn't know how to say these polite words, so she could only maintain a polite smile. Fortunately, Zhu Lan was there to deal with it. When she saw Zhu Lan drinking, she followed suit.
King Zhenbei returned to his seat and said loudly:
"We won a great victory today. I have sent a message to the court, requesting that the meritorious officers and soldiers be rewarded."
Murong Jing had already forgotten the death of Cheng Hu and the other two. Nothing could dilute her joy of annihilating the main force of the Great Purification Army today. She drank the wine in the glass with great interest and said to the King of Zhenbei:
"Father, today we are all grateful to my Thirteenth Disciple. If he hadn't led his men to hold back the Great Purification's troops, it would have been too late by the time we got there. You must reward him accordingly!"
Cheng Lian also agreed. There were originally twelve brave guards around the King of Zhenbei. Although they were brave guards, they were more like the King of Zhenbei's adopted sons and had a respected status in the Northern Frontier Camp.
I estimate that soon there will not be twelve, but thirteen guards.
King Zhenbei laughed and said that he would certainly not forget, and then mentioned Gu Chaoyang's name.
Gu Chaoyang hurried forward and knelt on one knee.
The King of Zhenbei announced that Gu Chaoyang would be appointed as the Cavalry Commandant, in charge of the stationed cavalry.
This meant that Gu Chaoyang was promoted twice. Murong Jing happily raised her glass to congratulate Gu Chaoyang. Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan also raised their glasses.
Cheng Lian was still waiting for the news about Gu Chaoyang being appointed as one of the Thirteenth Guards, but the King of Zhenbei had already changed the subject and there was no further news.
King Zhenbei asked Zhu Lan when they were going to return to Jiangzhou.
"Your Majesty, since there is no trouble in the northern border, the two of us can set off today..."
Zhu Lan was halfway through his words when he was interrupted rudely by Zhu Qingyan.
"Your Majesty, we want to leave in three days!"
Zhu Lan looked at Zhu Qingyan with some surprise, not understanding why she was still staying here when everything was done.
Zhu Qingyan's cheeks turned red and he hesitated for a long time, refusing to explain the reason.
Although the King of Zhenbei didn't want to see these two people again, he still had to do his best to save face. He then said that there was food and drink in the Northern Frontier Camp and it didn't matter how long they wanted to stay.
Ding Xiaoqiu, who was sitting in the back, stood up and said that his father Ding Wangyuan was about to take up the post of prefect of Yunzhou, and he was ready to set off back to Yunzhou immediately.
King Zhenbei nodded and asked Ding Xiaoqiu to say hello on his behalf.
After all, Yunzhou is close to the Northern Frontier Camp, and they will inevitably have dealings in the future, so the relationship should be maintained.
"Hehe, I'm also planning to go to Yunzhou for some time. The mutton there tastes... wow, it's simply amazing!" Master Xie rubbed his palms and smacked his lips as he recalled the taste of the steamed buns soaked in mutton soup.
Ding Xiaoqiu smiled and said, "Thank you, Master. You can stay at the government office. You are most welcome."
After saying almost all the polite words, King Zhenbei drank a glass of wine and stood up, saying that he still had military affairs to deal with, so he would not stay with them any longer, and asked Murong Jing to accompany everyone to eat and drink.
…
Cheng Lian followed behind the King of Zhenbei, and as soon as he returned to the main tent, he asked impatiently:
"Your Highness, didn't you mention before that you wanted to promote Chaoyang to one of the brave guards after he had accumulated some military merits? Chaoyang has made great contributions this time, and he was brought up by the princess, so he has great skills. Why is he only promoted to the rank of cavalry captain?"
The smile on King Zhenbei's face had long disappeared when he left the banquet. At this moment, there was a hint of sinisterness in his eyes, and he spoke in a deep voice:
"What did the general order say before you sent out the troops? Use the red Kongming lantern as a signal and assemble the troops. Although he has made contributions, he violated the military order. Who instigated him? Why didn't you report it to me in advance?"
"This, but he did turn the tide after all..."
Cheng Lian wanted to say something, but was shocked back by the gloomy gaze of King Zhenbei.
"Xiaowei is the most trusted person around me, and I won't tolerate any disloyalty from him. Cheng Lian, do you still want to speak for him?"
Cheng Lian immediately knelt on the ground in fear, "I dare not! This life of mine was given by the prince, and I swear to be loyal to the prince until death!"
"Well." The Prince of Zhenbei then withdrew his gaze indifferently, "You go back to the capital in person and tell the eldest lady and His Royal Highness Prince Qi that now that the Great Purification has been broken, the 200,000 taels of military pay that His Majesty promised may not be so easy to come down. Please ask His Royal Highness Prince Qi to mediate."
"yes!"
…
Three days later, at the military camp.
The gun in Gu Chaoyang's hand was knocked away by Murong Jing again, and he staggered back a few steps and fell to the ground, but there was still cheers from the audience.
"Captain Gu has made great progress. He can now withstand more than twenty moves from the princess!"
"There is always a difference between the princess teaching in person and General Cheng Lian teaching!"
"That's right! Wasn't it the princess who taught General Cheng Lian how to develop his Kung Fu? They are... of the same lineage!"
Murong Jing switched the gun to her left hand, reached out to Gu Chaoyang, pulled him up from the ground, and nodded in appreciation:
“Yes, great progress.”
"Really?" When Gu Chaoyang heard the praise, a bright smile appeared on his dark face, and he wanted to fight with Murong Jing again.
Although I got beaten every time, I was able to learn a lot of new things and benefit a lot from fighting with masters every time.
Murong Jing was naturally very happy to do so. Just as she was about to agree, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure peeking outside the training ground.
When she saw who was coming, she suddenly grinned and threw the gun in her hand directly to Gu Chaoyang, "Practice by yourself."
After saying that, he jumped off the stage swiftly and walked towards Zhu Qingyan who was wandering outside the fence of the training ground with a smile.
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