"We voluntarily become acquaintances of the eight worshippers, and from then on we will be loyal to each other in life and death, loving each other as brothers, relying on each other for blessings and misfortunes, and supporting each other in times of adversity.
Heaven and earth are witnesses, mountains and seas are allies!”
Duke's Mansion of Qi, Taoyuan.
Although the garden was not filled with peach blossoms, there were many relatives and friends to witness it.
Qin Qiong also specially invited a statue of Guan Gong for the two of them, and chose a good time to offer sacrifices of pigs, sheep, fish and a live chicken.
After the two of them announced their oath of sworn brotherhood, Qin Qiong wrote it down personally, and it became the Golden Orchid Spectrum.
The golden orchid tree is a copy for each person. It contains not only the oath, but also the names of the two people, their ages, birthdates, and even the names of the three generations of their fathers and ancestors.
Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji, who were also witnesses, brought incense to the two of them.
Burn incense.
Kill the chicken and drop the chicken blood into the grape wine. Then the two of them prick their fingers and drop the blood into the wine. Stir evenly and sprinkle three drops on the ground.
Then Huaiyu drank first, and then Li Qing drank.
After drinking the blood wine, offer the remaining wine in front of the statue of Guan Gong.
Become allies by blood!
Betrothal to Jinlan!
"Second sister!"
"Brother!"
Qin Qiong looked at this scene with joy, stepped forward with a smile, and asked the two to exchange golden orchids, "If two people are of the same mind, their sharpness can break gold; if they speak of the same mind, they will stink like orchids!"
"Father!"
The two of them paid homage to Qin Qiong together.
Qin Qiong pulled the two of them up and put their hands together, "From now on, we will be a family and we will take care of each other."
Cheng Yaojin laughed and said, "Serve the wine and congratulate us together."
Li Jing stood aside and saw that Li Sanniang's face finally showed a smile, and he couldn't help but feel happy. Although this result is not the best, at least it is finally a result.
It is rare for Wagang generals to gather together today. This can even be said to be the most gathering of Wagang generals since Wagang Li Mi's defeat.
Huaiyu knew that this was a bureau set up by Qin Qiong specially for Huaiyu. He introduced these old friends to Wu Huaiyu in order to let him, who was young and proud now and was a bit high, have more friends and more help.
For the sake of this adopted son, he really even lost his old face. Originally, people like Li Ji, Zhang Liang, and Qin Qiong had no contact with each other anymore. Although there was a reunion in Wagang back then, they still had their own factions, not to mention that they are all big now.
Generals of the Tang Dynasty were even more taboo about such private gatherings.
But today he still invited these people.
The generals usually live in separate towns or in the capital, and rarely get together. Now it happens to be a winter gathering in the capital.
Zhang Liang was like a hunting dog, always observing and monitoring, trying to find out some problems from this party. Wu Huaiyu ignored him. He followed Qin Qiongcheng to bite Jin Li Jing, greeted and chatted with these Wagang generals, and helped them diagnose their bodies.
Prescribe some prescriptions, or chat about some miscellaneous things.
In fact, there is no need to talk about any in-depth issues. On such occasions, it is enough to lead the way and introduce acquaintances. As for the rest, that is a matter for the future.
"If Shu Bao returns to the court this time, will he hold any position? Will he be the Minister of War?" Li Ji asked with a smile.
Qin Qiong said: "My body is broken and I want to rest for a few more years. When I have to fight the Turks and conquer Liaodong, I will wear armor and fight again."
Among the generals here, only Li Jing has now been transferred to a civilian position and is appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. The rest are basically still in military positions, either as governor of a local area or as governor of a state.
Generals like Qin Qiong have no choice if they come back, or they can be appointed as generals, but this is actually a sinecure. After all, when there is no war, the soldiers of the Suwei Mansion in the capital are mainly commanded by the generals, and the local government
The army is led by various commanders and generals. The general is aloof and does not have much real power.
Either he leaves the town, supervises the military affairs of various states, or is the governor of a state, which actually controls the actual power of military and political affairs.
But really speaking, governors, governors, or generals are actually not as good as ministers. The world is peaceful and military generals are not as powerful as civil servants. This is inevitable.
Li Jing was the Minister of Punishment who was promoted to the Grand Governor, but now that the imperial court intends to abolish the Grand Governor, or to appoint a prince as the Grand Governor, it is already difficult for military generals to become the Grand Governor.
Li Junxian, the Fifth Lady of Zuowu Hou Zhonglang who was stationed at Xuanwu Gate, said that Li Daliang was about to enter the court.
Li Daliang did not hide it, saying that the emperor had summoned him, indeed mentioned the matter, and planned to let him serve as Tai Fu Qing in the next year.
"Then who should take over as the governor of Jiaozhou? It's impossible to let Shu Bao go, right?" Zhang Liang said with a smile.
Unfortunately, his joke was not funny, and no one picked up on it, which made him quite uncomfortable.
The position of Governor of Jiaozhou is very important. In fact, Li Daliang has only served in Jiaozhou for a little more than a year. It is certainly not that he did not do well when he entered the court at this time. He must have performed well and was promoted to a prominent position in the court. Although the position of Taifuqing is not high
, but he is a central official after all.
"I heard that His Majesty intends to let Lu Zushang go to Jiaozhou." Li Daliang revealed.
Lu Zushang was a powerful figure in the separatist regime at the end of the Sui Dynasty. His father was a powerful general in the Sui Dynasty. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was great chaos. Lu Zushang was young and chivalrous. His family was rich and powerful, so he recruited troops, suppressed bandits and defended the enemy. He was very famous.
After the culture and regicide, Lu Zushang occupied the state and called himself the governor of Guangzhou.
Later, he sent an envoy to surrender to the emperor of Luoyang, and was granted the title of Duke Shen, the general manager of Guangzhou. After Wang Shichong usurped the throne, Lu Zushang attached himself to Li Yuan, and was granted the title of governor, and was granted the title of Duke of the county. Later, he followed Li Xiaogong, Li Jing, and others to conquer the auxiliary Duke E and others. They also made meritorious service and successively served as Jiangzhou
, the governor of Shouzhou, and now the governor of Yingzhou.
After all, Lu Zushang was one of the top generals in the early Tang Dynasty. He was on the same level as Li Ji, Wang Junkuo, Luo Yi, Li Zihe and others.
The imperial court has gradually begun to adjust these warlords who once separated themselves from one side and owned the hilltop. The main thing was to transfer them away from their original territory, or even split their original tribes. After continuous adjustments, the hilltop was finally dispersed.
Now, we can no longer pose a threat to the imperial court.
Lu Zushang went from Guangzhou to Jiangzhou to Shouzhou and then to Yingzhou, getting further and further away from his base. Now he even has to be transferred to Jiaozhi, and he will be promoted and demoted properly. Of course, if he can cooperate, then in fact
It's not all bad, the rank and rank must have been promoted.
This is the big difference between generals like Lu Zushang and Wu Huaiyu. It is difficult for them to truly become the emperor's confidants and to gain enough trust from the court.
Just like Li Ji, after all these years, even if he became a member of the royal family, he still could not get the true trust of Li Shimin.
Just like Luo Yi, whenever there is an opportunity, the court will overthrow him.
Young people like Wu Huaiyu are different. He belongs to the same category as Hou Junji and others. They are the emperor's cronies. The less established they are, the more important they are to the emperor. Because these people are completely dependent on the emperor, their power comes from the emperor, and they will not have any influence on the emperor.
threaten.
To put it bluntly, it means that there is no real foundation of oneself.
If you understand this, if Qin Qiong really comes back, he probably won't be the Minister of War. After all, he used to have a higher status among the generals of the Prince of Qin's palace, much higher than generals such as Yuchi Gonghou, Junji Qiu Xinggong and so on.
The most likely option is to send the governor abroad.
If you think about it this way, it's better to get the rank of general and stay in Bailuyuan to recuperate.
At noon, a large group of people had a lively meal.
Just as the banquet started, someone came from the palace.
The emperor actually sent the eunuch Zhang Ananda to come personally, and the county eunuch with purple robe and jade belt came to deliver oral instructions and give him wine. The emperor said that he heard that the Qi Duke's mansion was so lively today, and he wanted to come and join in the fun, but unfortunately things got busy at the end of the year.
I couldn't come for a while, so I gave ten jars of royal wine for everyone to drink and enjoy themselves.
Originally, today was indeed a rare event, and everyone was in a good mood. However, Zhang Ananda gave us ten altars of royal wine, and the joyful and relaxed atmosphere disappeared immediately.
The banquet that followed seemed very formal and ended in a hurry. Soon Li Ji and others left.
Although the emperor gave him the imperial wine, in fact, it was a bit taboo for a group of generals of this level, especially those who came from Wagang in the past, to gather like this. Everyone gave Qin Qiong face, but the emperor gave him the wine and reminded him.
Everyone.
Qin Qiong had no choice but to send them to the door one by one.
It cannot be said that the emperor has a small belly, but the position of the emperor is indeed not easy to sit in. He must be vigilant at all times, and he cannot be careless.
It's still early.
Cheng Yaojin wanted to take Huaiyu to his house, so Huaiyu followed him. Li Sanniang still stayed at Qin Qiong's house. The county master of Qin Qiong's house built a sutra hall. Li Sanniang practiced here and also taught Qin Qiong's children.
Horseback riding and archery.
Take a carriage from Dongcheng to Xicheng, a journey of more than ten miles.
The long street in Chang'an is not as good as the road in Yongxingfang. Except for Tianjie, which is paved with a sand embankment, the other ten streets are not paved with sand, making it very muddy and difficult to walk.
In winter, everything looks desolate. The walls of Huanghei's rammed-earth mills, the trees without green leaves, and the clothes of pedestrians are mostly gray.
"Give me more of that soju from your Wu family."
"Send it to Shu?" Huaiyu asked.
"Well, your shochu sells very well in Shu, especially in Xichuan, Nanning and other places. The barbarians like these spirits very much and the supply exceeds the demand." Lao Cheng did not hide it from Huai Yu. He is now pulling the Cui and Zheng families
They really made a lot of money in Shu.
Lao Cheng used many captive barbarians to re-open the road to Nanning (Yunnan) and even to the barbarian lands further south. He sold goods through horses and mules, and the profits were astonishingly large.
Among the goods that the barbarians traded, the ones that Cheng Yaojin liked the most were mainly slaves, followed by medicinal materials, horses, mules, etc.
In the past, transportation was inconvenient and tribes were blocked. Many goods from the Central Plains had to change hands layer by layer. Not only was the circulation slow, but the key was the high cost of many intermediate links. Now Cheng Yaojin used the powerful force of the Tang Dynasty to advance further and even supported many governors and generals.
Being an agent is like picking up money.
Salt, tea, wine, silk, cloth, porcelain, and products from the Central Plains are all very popular there, including iron pots, axes, knives, and even needlework and shoes.
The Wu family's persimmon-burning, sweet-potato-burning, and sorghum-burning liquors are particularly popular among the tribesmen there, not to mention the many elixirs, which are enchantments that only the tribal leaders can enjoy.
Cheng Yaojin was appointed as the governor of Luzhou. He really didn't think about Shu anymore. No, he didn't think about Chang'an anymore.
"Shojiu in exchange for oxen slaves?" Huaiyu suggested.
"Okay," Cheng Yaojin said happily.
"Uncle Cheng, I heard that there are many copper mines in Shu. Since you can get many barbarian slaves in Shu, we might as well mine copper and iron ores there. The profits will be very huge."
When Cheng Yaojin heard this, he became energetic and said, "Tell me about it in detail. If it's really suitable, we two uncles can have a big fight together."
"The Cui and Zheng families originally told me that there are many precious and fine woods such as golden nanmu in Shu. They said they planned to cut down more precious woods there next year and then transport them out of the mountains, down the Yangtze River, and sell them to Luoyang, Chang'an and other places. Now,
Think about it, cutting wood is definitely not as profitable as opening a copper mine."
