brush!
Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to Liu Ziyu, the emperor's brother-in-law.
Clearly, in everyone's eyes, Liu Ziyu, who is the sworn brother of the current empress and the military commander of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, will definitely be among the six candidates for the title of Duke of the Tang Dynasty.
General Xiong Kai, the garrison commander of Youzhou, immediately stood up and said, "Lord Su is absolutely right. This humble general also believes that the Imperial Brother-in-law should be ranked as one of the Six Dukes of the Tang Dynasty, and should even be the head of the Six Dukes!"
As he spoke, Xiong Kai began to recount Liu Ziyu's achievements in front of everyone.
Xiong Kai said, "In terms of seniority, the Imperial Brother-in-law was the first military general in the previous dynasty to lead troops in rebellion and declare his loyalty to the Emperor."
"Regarding military achievements, when the Emperor's brother-in-law was stationed in Wuzhou, he secretly assisted the Emperor in leading elite cavalry on a thousand-mile raid, circling around from the northern desert to Wuzhou, and then capturing Tumu Fortress, thus deciding the fate of the dynasty in one battle. This led to the capture and suicide of the former tyrant Zhao Gan, accelerating the demise of the new dynasty."
"Chang Yuchun, the deputy marshal of the Longcheng army, was able to seize thirteen of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun without shedding a drop of blood. Besides the mediation of Prince Wuning, the emperor's brother-in-law also made great contributions."
As he spoke, Xiong Kai held up two fingers, saying smugly, "These two military achievements alone are enough to place the Imperial Brother-in-Law among the Six Dukes of the Tang Dynasty."
"Moreover, when the Emperor's brother-in-law divided his troops in Zhuozhou, he, as the deputy general of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army, led 150,000 troops alone to attack Kaifeng Prefecture, advancing with unstoppable momentum all the way to the north bank of the Yangtze River outside Jinling City;"
"Furthermore, our founding empress of the Tang Dynasty is the adopted sister of the emperor's brother-in-law, who is ranked first among the six dukes of the Tang Dynasty. Who would dare to utter a single word of dissent?"
"that is--"
"Only by granting the title of Duke to the Emperor's brother-in-law, ranking first among the Six Dukes of the Tang Dynasty, can the people be convinced of his authority!"
"Yes, apart from the Emperor's brother-in-law, whether it's Chang Yuchun or Chen Qingzhi, if any of the others were to be ranked first among the Six Dukes, I would be the first to object!"
Xiong Kai's words immediately drew praise from a group of military generals.
Most of the generals of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were Liu Ziyu's confidants. After completing the southern expedition, Liu Ziyu transferred them back to the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to serve as garrison generals.
Furthermore, the close ties between these generals and Liu Ziyu, forged through shared hometown ties, made these arrogant and fierce soldiers disdain anyone else among the military generals of the Tang Dynasty except for Liu Ziyu.
"Gentlemen, please be quiet and listen to me!"
At this moment, Liu Ziyu, who was feeling very comfortable from being showered with compliments by everyone, finally stood up unsteadily with the help of two songstresses.
His eyes were bloodshot from drinking, and he shouted between hiccups, "Having come this far, will I, Liu Ziyu, finally be granted the title of Duke of the Great Tang?"
"To be honest, I really don't care at all!"
"What has sustained me until now is not the pursuit of fame or fortune, but the sacrifices of the soldiers of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun who died on the battlefield. It is for this reason that I persist in living on."
As he spoke, Liu Ziyu began counting on his fingers, saying, "To be honest, I, Liu Ziyu, have seventeen adopted sons and nephews who died on the battlefield in order to help the Emperor conquer the country."
"In the Battle of Kaifeng alone, I lost seven of my adopted sons!"
As he spoke, Liu Ziyu's eyes reddened, tears welling up, and he continued, "They are all upright and honorable young men, all flesh-and-blood people of Youyun."
"It is their fearless courage on the battlefield that has brought me, Liu Ziyu, to where I am today."
"I am still alive, but I must find a way to survive for their families and widows!"
"The Emperor's brother-in-law is truly righteous!"
"General, you are truly righteous!"
Upon hearing this, the civil officials led by Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and the military generals led by Xiong Kai, the Garrison Commander of Youzhou, all stood up, raised their wine cups, and toasted Liu Ziyu.
Seeing this, Liu Ziyu also raised his wine glass and said loudly, "Come, let's drink to those brothers who died on the battlefield!"
"cheers!"
"Dry!"
Led by Liu Ziyu, everyone drank their cups together.
Thus, the first drinking party between the civil and military officials of the North and South since the founding of the Tang Dynasty has finally come to an end.
After the pleasure boat docked, Su Chen's personal guards thoughtfully arranged for courtesans to accompany the generals and high-ranking officials on board.
The emperor's brother-in-law, Liu Ziyu, also brought two beautiful courtesans back to the inn where they were staying.
Only after everyone had disembarked did the owner of the chartered pleasure boat and the madam of the nearby brothel approach Su Chen's personal guard commander with beaming smiles, and cautiously say:
"Sir, the total amount of silver for chartering the boat tonight is two hundred taels. What do you think, sir?"
The madam, with her delicate fingers, stepped forward and said, "Sir, all twenty-seven girls from our Yichun Courtyard have been summoned. The total is three hundred taels of silver. We're troubling you, sir—"
"Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Unexpectedly, the personal guard commander, who had been all smiles as he watched the group of generals and officials leave, changed his tune in the next second and said viciously to the ship owner and the madam, "Don't you have any sense at all?"
Do you know who was sitting on this boat just now?
The commander of the personal guards, using the tiger's might as well, said sternly, "Let me tell you, I can scare you to death with just one name I mention. And you still want money?"
"Let me tell you, it's your good fortune that the military officer has taken a liking to you. If you're so foolish as to offend him, let's see if you still want to live in this Qinhuai River and in this Jinling City."
After saying this, the commander of the personal guards impatiently pushed the two men aside and made as if to leave.
However, how could the ship owner and the madam just let him leave?
The two men, one in front and one behind, grabbed the commander's hands and pleaded with tearful voices, "Sir, our business is just a small one, we can't afford to suffer like this!"
The madam cried and pleaded, "Sir, the girls at my brothel earn their money through hard work and blood. You can't be so unreasonable!"
"Sir, please be kind and help us!"
"Sir—"
"roll--"
The guard captain, whose sleeve had been grabbed, was now completely enraged. He shoved the two unarmed men to the ground and roared, "Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble for the soldiers? Do you want to die?"
Unable to get their money, the ship owner and the madam were unwilling to give up. After falling to the ground, they immediately grabbed the legs of the personal guard commander.
This really angered the commander!
He drew his sword and held it to the boat owner's neck, his expression ferocious as he said in a fierce tone, "If you don't let go, I'll chop you up with one stroke!"
"stop!"
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