At the end of December in the fifth year of Jian'an, in January 201 AD, the Battle of Guandu, which attracted the attention of the world, came to an end.
Cao Cao won, but not by much.
Yuan Shao lost, but only slightly.
The two men's losses were considered to be seven to three, Yuan Shao's loss was seven, and Cao Cao's loss was three.
Because in the end, there were 80,000 troops in Jizhou, and about 30,000 people fled back. Jiang Yiqu led the troops to suppress the rebellion, destroyed more than 10,000 people, and surrendered 20,000 people.
Yuan Shao only killed those mid-level generals who took the lead in making trouble. No matter how bad their crimes were, the lower-level soldiers would not be liquidated even if they looted and killed many people around Liyang, so the rebellion was finally quelled.
In addition, he has a strong foundation and a big family and business, so he can eventually recover.
Although the losses were heavy, the remaining 20,000 elites returned and had a strong foundation. People believed that sooner or later he would make a comeback.
Although Cao Cao won the battle, his hometown of Xudu was stolen. He was so angry that he marched south to Kunyang to confront Liu Biao's army. However, in fact, he did not want to attack Nanyang, but to buy time.
In order to prevent Liu Biao from making a surprise attack when he was rebuilding Xudu, he had to first deter Liu Biao's army, so the two sides remained in a stalemate until the end of December before withdrawing their troops back to Yingchuan.
Yuan and Cao were like two wounded beasts at this time, both starting to go back to lick their wounds. Only Jingzhou's industries were prosperous and full of vitality.
Soon the sixth year of Jian'an arrived as scheduled, and just after the New Year, Shen Chen returned from Huangmenting to Suiting to prepare for teaching.
His reputation is so great that there are so many people who come to study. It is completely different from the past when the first time to recruit students was not only during the off-farm time, but also there were only two or three kittens, and there were not many regular students.
But now that there are so many students, there are also worries about too many students.
Confucius had three thousand disciples, seventy-two of whom entered the house. Not most of them studied with him every day.
Just like a mobile classroom in a university, there are often dozens of people attending class at a time, and some people come and leave, and come and go again.
As for Shen Chen, a large group of students came at once, so he had no choice but to conduct separate classes, divide them into classes according to age, and study according to time every day.
Fortunately, today's students do not have to learn so many subjects as in later generations. They have a full schedule of nine subjects including language, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, politics, history and geography. Now they only need to study Confucianism, and the teaching materials can be unified.
For example, at the beginning, you should learn the Analects of Confucius and the principles of life, which will make it easier to teach. You will have a fixed amount of teaching every day and a record of how to teach, so you will not be in a hurry.
In addition, Shen Chen only has ten days of class each month, which is from 3:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the early morning of each month, that is, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day.
There is a half-hour break at noon, and the teaching time is nine hours. There are more than 130 students in three classes, and each class teaches three hours.
In the middle of every month, he would go to Yuliangzhou to discuss academic matters with Pang Degong, Sima Hui, Xu Shu, Pang Tong and others.
In the second half of every month, I practice martial arts and archery diligently, and I also practice on daily basis. For example, when teaching, I get up at six o'clock every morning, hear the chickens dancing, practice for an hour, rest for an hour, and then go to class.
After school in the afternoon, practice for another hour, then prepare tomorrow's lesson plan, go to bed early, and get up the next day to continue living like this day after day.
Human energy is limited, but as long as we maintain self-discipline, we can still achieve multitasking.
In history, there were many people who were versatile in both civil and military affairs. Confucius, Mozi, Sun Tzu, etc. were all talented in martial arts and had a high level of education. They could force you to submit with a sword.
A recent example is Jia Fu, one of the twenty-eight Yuntai soldiers. He was a Confucian scholar. He always took the lead in fighting and was unparalleled in his bravery.
There are also people like Jiang Wei, Deng Ai, Lu Meng and others during the Three Kingdoms period. They are also talented people with both wisdom and courage. They can be generals on horseback and prime ministers on horseback. They are all good at literature, Taoism and military strategy.
So whether you are studying literature or martial arts, what matters is not the direction you choose, but whether you have perseverance and perseverance. You cannot fish for three days and dry the net for two days. As long as you persevere, you will always be rewarded.
During this period, in addition to teaching and practicing martial arts, Shen Chen would visit Pang Degong and Sima Hui in the middle of every month to study academics and study Confucianism.
The reason why I didn't look for Zhuge Liang was because Zhuge Liang seemed to be very busy recently. He came to see him several times but was never at home, so he had to go to Yuliangzhou.
As a result, in mid-February, on this day, he was discussing academic issues with Ma Hui of Pang De Company on Yuliang Island. They talked about national identity. They both believed that it should be summarized by the pre-Qin Hua-Yi debate and the relationship between the Xia. Shape the cohesion of the Han nation.
When we were chatting happily, Xu Shu suddenly walked in from the door. He bowed to Mr. Pang De and Sima Hui first, and then said to them mysteriously: "Second Master, Ah Chen, Kong Ming has been missing recently. Every day. I can't find him even if I look for him, do you know why?"
Sima Hui was also surprised and said: "A few days ago, I was visiting friends in Zhonglu. When I returned to the north, I wanted to climb Atou Mountain. Thinking that Kong Ming and Ah Chen were in Longzhong, I sent someone to ask. Ah Chen, on the other hand, I came here to accompany me on a mountain climbing trip, but Kong Ming said he hadn’t returned for a few days. Why is that?”
Shen Chen was also very curious and said: "Brother Kong Ming has been rarely seen since late last month. I have only seen him once this month. When I asked him what he was doing, he just smiled and said nothing. He didn't see him back all day long. There seems to be no trace of home, does it mean that Brother Yuanzhi knows where he has gone?"
Xu Shu said proudly: "Of course, these days he often goes to Baishui Township in Miannan to find Duke Chengyan."
Huang Yueying?
This thought suddenly flashed through Shen Chen's mind.
Before he could ask, Xu Shu added: "Gong Chengyan was looking for a son-in-law. He fell in love with Kong Ming, so he called him to Baishui. Baishui was too far away from Longzhong, so he has been living in Chengyan's house recently. .”
"oh?"
Pang Degong smiled and stroked his beard and said, "It seems that Kong Ming is going to be the son-in-law of the Huang family."
"It's two generations higher than me."
Shen Chen cried sadly.
Huang Chengyan’s wife is the sister of Liu Biao’s wife, Mrs. Cai.
In other words, Huang Yueying and his sixth maternal grandmother Cai are cousins, so Zhuge Liang becomes Cai's cousin-in-law, and he is two generations shorter for no reason.
If you knew this, why bother?
Why did you help Deng Hong find Cai as his wife?
Now you have to eat the bitter fruit yourself.
Several people saw his confused expression and burst into laughter.
Sure enough, happiness should be based on the pain of others.
Especially for genius prodigies like Shen Chen, the more painful they are, the happier they are.
And soon, the news of Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying's engagement spread in Jingzhou celebrity circles.
The Zhuge family has close ties with the eight major aristocratic families in Jingzhou. The Pang family and the Kuai family are all related by marriage, and the other aristocratic families also have close friends.
After the news spread, it immediately stirred up waves, and all major families sent people to send gifts.
There were a total of six wedding ceremonies in the Han Dynasty, namely nacai, name asking, naji, nazheng, date request, and personal greeting.
Among them, accepting a betrothal gift is a betrothal gift. Giving a betrothal gift is considered an engagement. After that, invitations must be distributed widely and everyone will be informed of the date of the wedding. This is called the invitation period.
So when the six rites have reached this stage, the wedding has almost come to an end, and all that is left is to welcome the bride and hold a wedding banquet.
No wonder Zhuge Liang is so secretive these days.
Since all the elders in the family have passed away, the eldest brother has separated the family, and the two sisters have married off, leaving only the younger brother in the family. Therefore, according to the rules of the time, he can only do these things by himself.
This made the first four rites almost all handled by him alone. During this period, Zhuge Liang went out early and came back late, and was away from home all day long, which was understandable.
Shen Chen received the invitation. The wedding date was at the end of February, and he had prepared generous gifts in advance.
February 18, Longzhong Township.
On this day, Shen Chen moved back to Suiting from Yuliangzhou, but instead of living in the school, he moved into Zhuge Liang's house and practiced swordplay in his house every day.
On the 21st, Zhuge Liang finally came back. At this time, Shen Chen was playing Go with Zhuge Jun.
Zhuge Jun is already eighteen years old this year, two years older than Shen Chen, but his Go skills are far inferior to Shen Chen's. He was killed indiscriminately by him, and his armor was discarded. The dragon was slaughtered to pieces.
"Brother Ziping, he can't be saved."
Shen Chen looked at Zhuge Jun, who had been thinking deeply, and said to him with a smile.
Zhuge Jun looked at it for a long time, then smiled bitterly and said: "I can't do it anymore, I can't do it anymore. Ah Chen, you are truly a genius. I can't compare to you in anything."
"Brother, don't give up on yourself."
Shen Chen comforted him and said, "Although you can't compare to me in anything, you are older than me."
Zhuge Jun was paralyzed at that time. Is this really a human thing to say?
I am nothing but older than you?
While I was feeling depressed, suddenly Anu's crisp voice came from outside: "Dalang is back."
"Brother Kong Ming is back."
Shen Chen and Zhuge Jun stood up from the corridor and went to the front yard.
I happened to see Zhuge Liang entering his home in the courtyard with a few servants.
"Brother Kong Ming."
Shen Chen walked over and complained: "It's so hard to hide it from me. If Brother Yuanzhi hadn't told me this, I wouldn't have known you were getting married."
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "There are no elders in the family, so I can only handle things by myself, and there is no other way."
"Then why don't you call me? Why do you have to do everything yourself?"
Shen Chen spread his hands: "Ziping is your brother. Yuanzhi, Zhouping, Guangyuan, Gongwei and Shiyuan and I are all your friends. We can all come to help. It's not a good thing to have to do everything yourself. It will easily tire yourself."
He almost said, "You don't know how you will die in the future?"
certainly.
Zhuge Liang must not have known that he was exhausted.
Shen Chen knows.
So for the sake of his health, I still have to help him get rid of this bad habit of being a micromanager and having to deal with everything personally in the future.
"Okay, okay."
Zhuge Liang smiled and said perfunctorily: "I will definitely call you if something happens in the future."
However, Shen Chen was not happy anymore and said: "No, there will definitely be something going on now. Let me think about it. You have set a wedding date on the 28th, and then you have to prepare for the wedding. Okay, leave this matter to me. , you don’t have to worry, just wait at home.”
Zhuge Liang hurriedly said: "Ah Chen, don't act nonsense. How can you treat a marriage lightly? You haven't become a drunkard yet, but you don't know the details. If something goes wrong, I won't be able to see Duke Chengyan."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "Although I have never been married, I have seen my great-uncle get married, so I know the details. Don't worry, I will ask everyone for help."
As he said that, he looked at the courtyard grounds again, shook his head and said, "But we can't have a banquet in the mountains, so let's put the banquet in Sui Pavilion."
"Achen."
Zhuge Liang frowned slightly.
Shen Chen walked up with a smile and said, "Brother, do you think I've been doing this for a long time? Even if I don't understand, wouldn't I still find someone? Just let me do it."
"Yes, brother, you are so busy these days that you don't have to rest for a moment. Just take a good rest at home for two days."
Zhuge Jun said, "How about I and Ah Chenlai handle this matter together?"
"Well"
Zhuge Liang hesitated.
Shen Chen pulled him aside with a smile and whispered a few words.
In the end, he could only nod helplessly.
From now on, Shen Chen and Zhuge Jun, together with Xu Shu, Shi Tao, Cui Jun, Meng Jian, Pang Tong and others, will help handle the matter.
Afterwards, Zhuge Jun curiously asked what he said, and Shen Chen told him that if he didn't agree, he could only ask the sixth grandmother to come forward. The sixth grandmother was Huang Yueying's cousin, and it was reasonable for her cousin to help her cousin organize the wedding.
Zhuge Liang finally had some leisure time in the next few days. He was really exhausted from the busy schedule these days. It was a good thing to have a few relatives and friends to help him with it.
But in fact, he has finished most of the things, and there is not much left to do. Basically, it is preparing gifts, banquets, etc.
Soon the Zhuge family became lively.
Countless gifts are delivered to my home every day, including silks, cows and sheep, herbs, deer, turtles, wild geese, pampas grass, selaginella, relic beasts, blessed beasts, nine wives, etc., as well as a large number of exquisite porcelain and papers. I also keep sending them to my home.
In the early morning of February 28th, the wedding was officially held. The banquet was held at Suiting in Longzhong Township. Since the early morning, the hired villagers had been busy.
Those who kill pigs kill pigs, and those who slaughter chickens slaughter chickens. They also clean up the place where the banquet is held, clean the sanitation, sprinkle water to clean the streets, and so on.
Zhuge Liang was caught and gathered in the backyard early in the morning, washed and put on new clothes. He was wearing a brand new black and red silk robe, tied with a jade belt around his waist and a knight's headband on his head, which was fragrant with spices.
After cleaning up, I followed Shen Chen, Xu Shu and other friends down the mountain.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, Zhuge Liang was shocked.
I saw a team of hundreds of people waiting at the foot of the mountain. On the left and right of the team were ten maids holding up countless fluttering ribbons, and a few servants carrying boxes. The boxes contained gold, silver, jewelry, coins and gifts.
Two carriages of silk and satin were parked next to the carriage used to carry the groom. Baskets of gifts were carried by porters. Musicians were playing ritual music, shengs and flutes were blaring, and gongs and drums were shaking.
Although the scene was not as good as when Cai married his daughter and the city was filled with colorful ribbons, it was still spectacular and showed extremely high financial resources.
"Achen, you!"
Zhuge Liang was shocked. Is this a gift he can give?
Shen Chen said with a smile: "Although my brother comes from a scholarly family, marriage is a major event in life. We can't miss the betrothal gift to make people look down upon. However, the Huang family is also a heirloom of classics and righteousness, so in addition to these, I also prepared a lot of Pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and some great Confucians hand-copied scriptures and meanings, which should satisfy Duke Chengyan."
"Achen."
Zhuge Liang no longer knew what to say.
He is not a pedantic person. He has spent all his money and there is no way he can return it.
But he didn't expect that Shen Chen would spend so much money for him.
On the one hand, I felt distressed, but on the other hand, I was a little moved.
Fortunately, the customs of the Han Dynasty were not like those in later generations where the man paid hundreds of thousands in betrothal gifts and then paid for all the wedding banquet expenses, while the woman could not pay any of it.
At that time, there was the so-called betrothal gift, and there was also the so-called dowry. Especially among aristocratic families, the amount of betrothal gift you gave should be at least equal to the dowry in return, or even more.
So if you give it out, you will still get it back. Zhuge Liang thought that he would return it to Shen Chen when the time comes.
After going down the mountain, Zhuge Liang got on the chariot surrounded by people. There were many colorful ribbons tied to the trees along the way. This is where the so-called betrothal gift comes from.
The team marched all the way past Suiting and headed towards Xiangyang.
Then we passed through the city, then to the east of the city, across Mianshui River, and all the way to Miannan Baishui Township in the east of Xiangyang City, which was probably located in the area from Dongjin Town to Yushan Town in Xiangyang in later generations.
Although Longzhong and Baishui both belong to the same township of Xiangyang, one is in the west and the other is in the east, with a straight-line distance of more than 20 kilometers.
Therefore, the convoy set off at around three quarters after midnight and walked for two hours at an average speed of five kilometers per hour. It arrived at Baishui Township near the end of the day.
The Huang family is a wealthy family in Xiangyang, with dozens of kilometers of land around them, including the Huang family's acres. It can be said that they are very powerful.
Colorful ribbons were hung on the trees in the surrounding countryside, extending to the Huang family manor.
Accompanied by many friends, Zhuge Liang went all the way to the manor to welcome them. Huang Chengyan received them personally.
After the groom arrived, the Huang family held a grand banquet in the manor. The participants included eight major families, numerous wealthy families from each family, and there were thousands of people in attendance.
Then we went through some rituals, such as visiting the clan ancestral hall and holding sacrificial ceremonies. We were busy until the afternoon before it was completed.
But this is just the beginning.
wedding wedding.
In ancient times it should have been called the evening ceremony.
A banquet will be held at the woman’s house at noon, and then the woman will be taken back to the man’s house.
Basically, it is already dusk when you get home. At this time, the groom's family will also prepare a banquet, and there are many ceremonies, which often take place until midnight.
Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying had previously performed rituals in the family temple inside the manor, and Shen Chen and the others were not allowed to enter as outsiders.
At this time, it was finally time to set off back to Longzhong, and only then did Shen Chen see Huang Yueying's appearance.
She was wearing a black dress, and her name was "Pure Clothes". At that time, there was no custom of wearing headscarves. Her appearance was indeed ordinary, but very attractive, and she looked like Xiaojiabiyu.
Zhuge Liang took Huang Yueying's hand and came to the motorcade outside the manor. According to custom, the two were not in separate cars, but two black ink cars lined up side by side.
Zhuge Liang helped Huang Yueying get into the carriage, then pretended to drive, handed the carriage's traction rope to Huang Yueying, and jumped into the carriage himself.
This is another etiquette that expresses the husband's love and care for his wife.
At this time, it is necessary for the female coach to come forward and help the bride to refuse. Huang Yueying will get on the carriage a few more times. The female coach will put a robe on her to protect her from the wind and dust. At this time, the carriage driver will come over to replace Zhuge Liang and help drive.
After all the ceremonies were finally over, the motorcade set off again. More than a dozen carriages headed for Longzhong Township carrying the dowry brought back from the bride's home.
At the beginning of dusk in the evening, the motorcade finally arrived at Suiting.
Because the Zhuge Liang family's manor was in the mountains, it was inconvenient to hold a large banquet. When Zhuge Xuan passed away, not many people came, so the banquet was held in a nearby house.
But at this time, there were more than a thousand attendees, so the banquet location was set at Sui Pavilion at the foot of the mountain. Sui Pavilion had a large open space for the banquet.
At this time, the people of Longzhong Township have been waiting for a long time. As soon as the motorcade arrives, the ceremony officially begins.
The first is the sacrifice.
The Zhuge family is not a native of Xiangyang, but the family has also established a family temple in their own manor. They go home first to worship their ancestors.
The sacrificial process is very troublesome. Three cauldrons should be placed on the east side outside the dormitory door, facing north, with north as top. The objects contained in the cauldron are: a piglet, with the hoofs removed, and the left and right bodies put together in the cauldron.
Lift the lung ridges, sacrifice one pair each of the lungs, fourteen fish tails, and a pair of dried rabbits with the tail bones removed.
The tripod is equipped with a carrying handle and a lid, and the washbasin is placed on the southeast side of the stairs. The food set in the room includes two beans with fermented sauce, four beans with meat sauce, and six beans covered with a towel.
All have lids.
Boil the gravy and simmer it on the fire. The wine statue is placed under the north wall of the room. The wine is placed to the west of the wine statue. Use a coarse kudzu cloth as a cover and place a wine spoon on the wine statue with the handles facing towards
In the south, there is a wine statue on the east side of the door in the hall, without Xuanjiu. The basket is on the south side of the wine statue, with four Jiujue and Hexin inside.
The bridegroom and the bride worshiped their ancestors in the family temple, which meant that Huang Yueying had completely entered the Zhuge family and became the mistress of the Zhuge family.
Next is the evening ceremony.
Zhuge Liang is wearing a groom's suit. This suit is the same as Huang Yueying's bridal suit "Pure Clothes Fleece". It also has a nice name, called "Jue Bian Xuanduan". The upper body is black, the edge of the right fold, the cuffs, the collar are red, and the waist
She has a leucorrhea and her lower body is red.
The bride and groom, under the leadership of the etiquette officer, have to do various activities.
Generally speaking, if the parents are present, they must also participate. For example, in later generations, there will be a ritual of worshiping in the high hall. At that time, the parents and the newlyweds had to bow to each other to show respect.
But Zhuge Liang's parents had already passed away from illness, so he immediately started rituals such as husband and wife worship.
Entering the hall from the west stairs, a banquet has been held in the house.
The newlyweds sat at the table. Under the gaze of everyone, Zhuge Liang sat on the east side of the room, facing west. Huang Yueying sat on the west side, that is, on the opposite table, facing east.
The two sat opposite each other, and then Nu and Yu, the maids who were married to Huang Yueying, and the maids in Zhuge Liang's family exchanged with each other, and each took off the shoes of the male and female masters. For example, Anu, the maid in Zhuge Liang's family, wanted to baptize Huang Yueying.
Wash your feet.
After washing the feet, another person who paid tribute, that is, the master of ceremonies, removed the cloth covering the table, revealing the sumptuous dinner, and then brought in a large cauldron and placed it on the south side of the door steps.
Then there were dagger holders and servants who cut off the cooked meat on the table, arranged them one by one, and then left.
The patrons spread the sauce in front of the table, smear the sauce on the cooked meat, and finally place the sauced meat on the north side of the sauce. The attendants enter and place the sauce on the east side of the meat sauce. The fish are placed in sequence on the east side of the meat sauce.
Zu Dong.
After these ceremonies, servants came in with rice, millet, millet, wheat, and beetroot. They were all fried grains and were placed in order according to their positions. For example, millet was placed to the north of the cured rabbit meat, and millet was placed on the north side.
On the west side, the gravy is placed on the north side of the sauce.
After everything was displayed, Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying began to offer sacrifices, kowtow in turn, and offer sacrifices to grains and food. Somewhat similar to the Western meaning of thanking their Lord for giving them food before eating.
After the sacrifice is over, eating begins. A total of three meals are required, and only a small amount of each food is enough. Finally, the wine is sacrificed, which is to drink a glass of wine together.
The previous ritual of sacrificing food has basically disappeared in later generations, but the last ritual of sacrificing wine evolved into the well-known drinking cup.
After drinking the wine, the praiser brought another glass of wine from outside, placed it on the ground, and then kowtowed.
The newlyweds should also bow down together with him.
This ceremony is almost the same as worshiping heaven and earth when you get married later.
By the time these trivial matters were finally over, it was almost the end of dusk, that is, nine o'clock in the evening.
Only then did the feast begin.
The Sui Pavilion at the foot of the mountain became lively in an instant, and people from the surrounding countryside came to have a feast. The entire Longzhong Township was celebrating Zhuge Liang's wedding!