Liu Shuai's good news pushed the entire birthday celebration to a climax. The Palace of Supreme Harmony, which had become sluggish due to the courtesy officials, immediately regained its vitality.

Because Shen Haolin and Shen Cha were the leaders, the royal relatives and nobles also congratulated Song Jue and the Queen Mother. They threw baskets of nice words out. Even Wu Qingruo, who was usually very taciturn, said more. Two sentences.

The Minister of Rites never expected that the planned celebration would be interrupted by such an accident. But this accident was great news for the whole of Daxia. He himself was also very happy. If the southern border could be completely eradicated, Disaster is really a matter of immeasurable merit. Therefore, he doesn't know whether he should cry or laugh at this moment and here.

The birthday banquet really begins only after the congratulations from all the officials are completed.

For this birthday banquet, Song Jue personally begged Jin Miaomiao, hoping that she could be responsible for some of the dishes, mainly for himself, the Queen Mother, the royal family, and nobles, and for the officials, other imperial chefs could be responsible for it. .

Jin Miaomiao felt that she had to instruct Song Jinyu to cook the birthday dish anyway, so she agreed to Song Jue's request.

After Shen Haolin heard about this, he mocked Song Jue once in front of him, saying that when the birthday banquet started and the officials saw that their dishes were different from those of the royal relatives and nobles, they would find themselves being distinguished. When dealing with people, see what reasons he has to convince them.

As a result, because of Liu Shuai's battle report, when the birthday banquet actually started, everyone's excitement had not really passed. They didn't realize that the dishes in front of them were any different from the others. They were still focusing on discussing the results of the battle. above.

"Shuai Liu saved Song Jue's life." Shen Cha covered her mouth and snickered, then whispered to Shen Haolin, "Sister Jinyu is here."

When Song Jinyu walked in with the birthday dish she made by herself, she slightly attracted the attention of the officials. She respectfully placed the roast pork she made in front of the Queen Mother and watched the Queen Mother eat it. He took a sip and narrowed his eyes happily.

“Tastes very good!”

Hearing the Queen Mother's praise, Song Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief, and finally felt relieved.

The officials stood up again and congratulated the Queen Mother again, praising the eldest princess for her good craftsmanship and her filial piety towards the Queen Mother.

After the eldest princess left the Palace of Supreme Harmony, the conversation among the officials turned back to the battle report. Even people who usually disliked each other frequently raised their glasses to celebrate this victory.

"This news about Liu Shuai came very timely!" Song Yaojia stretched out her thumb and whispered to Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, "Look at Mr. Shao's face, it was green just now, now Only then did he recover. Yesterday, he told us very seriously that we must remember not to make any mistakes. As a result, God is not as good as man. This battle report from Liu Shuai ruined all his arrangements, and he did not dare to What are you talking about? Do you think Liu Shuai sent it here according to the time?"

"It's not impossible." Bai Meng, who had been standing next to Song Jue, walked over with the battle report and handed it to Shen Haolin, "Looking at the date of signing, Liu Shuai rushed it here from eight hundred miles away."

Shen Haolin lowered his head to read the content of the battle report. Liu Shuai wrote it in great detail. In the past month, he had fought with Japanese pirates and water thieves more than thirty times. The number of people counted is even higher, because there are about a hundred people who were shot down into the sea by Daxia's navy but their whereabouts are unknown. No one is found alive or dead.

"This kind of large-scale invasion was not common in previous years." Song Yaojia looked at Shen Haolin and then at Shen Cha, "According to previous years' experience, it would take at least two months for Japanese pirates to harass them frequently. Today Why is it so early? And it comes so aggressively? The total number of people who kill Japanese pirates and water thieves every year is not as high as this time."

"Probably because when Liu Shuai first arrived in the south, he fought with them and drove the Japanese pirates back to their lair. The Japanese pirates were unwilling to give up. After a brief rest, they came back again."

"They didn't collude with the water thief last time. This time they knew they couldn't compete with Liu Shuai, so they asked the water thief to help. But the water thief knew how powerful Liu Shuai was, so even if they wanted to help, they didn't come out with all their strength. It was just some help. The old, weak, sick and disabled are just holding us back." Bai Meng sneered, "This time the Japanese pirates shot themselves in the foot."

"Water thieves..." Song Yaojia touched her chin and looked at Bai Meng who was sitting next to her. "Logically speaking, the south is rich and the life is much better than the north. Why are there still water thieves?"

"His Royal Highness, do you think those are real water thieves?" Bai Meng took a chopstick of steamed fish and put it into his mouth, "Behind those so-called water thieves, there are local gentry, big and small."

"The wealthy gentry in the southern region all have their own guardians and thugs. Although the government has express requirements, the number of guardians or thugs in each family should be limited to twenty to thirty people, and should not exceed this range. But the above With this saying, there is also a countermeasure below. Let your guards or thugs pretend to be servants or servants. As long as they don't say it themselves and hide it better, no one will know." Shen Cha picked up the soup bowl. , took a sip, her eyes instantly brightened, she patted Shen Haolin's arm, "This soup is so delicious!"

When Song Yaojia heard what Shen Cha said, she took the first step to pick up the soup bowl and took a sip, signaling Shen Cha to continue.

"What are you talking about?" Shen Cha took another bite of the roast pork cooked by Song Jinyu that the Empress Dowager asked the chambermaid to bring over. "Are the water thieves actually not water thieves, but nurses or thugs raised by these wealthy gentry?"

"Even you people in the north know about it, and the local officials are not aware of it, so they just let it go?"

"Your Highness, the collusion between officials and businessmen is not just talk. Some of the big men in the southern border receive more than a drop of gold and silver. It's just this time that they have kicked the iron plate. Liu Shuai will not accept their money." set."

"I'm not pouring cold water on you. Even if you win this battle, you can't take it lightly. There will be a lot to deal with in the future. The local officials' lack of cooperation and the gentry's overt and covert troublemaking will put a certain burden on Liu Shuai. Even though the battle is over, But the burden on Liu Shuai’s shoulders will become heavier and heavier.”

"The Duke is right. Liu Shuai had already anticipated this before he left the capital. He has made all preparations. We don't have to worry. He has good help around him. If he encounters any difficult problems that he is not good at, , and old Hua Ge and his son are here. Mr. Ge has experienced three dynasties and has seen all kinds of storms and waves. Those people can't fool him." After Bai Meng finished speaking, he glanced at Shen Cha nervously, waiting for her to put the food in her mouth. After finishing the roasted meat, he raised his eyebrows at her and asked, "How does this... taste?"
Chapter completed!