Chinese New Year

Chapter 362: Leading the Rhythm (Additional chapter for the leader, the African Kingdom)
The aftermath of the turmoil also reached Yingchuan.

After hearing this, Yu Hua, who had been dismissed from his post by the emperor some time ago, felt a little frightened.

"Will Mr. Chen come to Luoyang?" Yu Hua paced back and forth in the room, feeling anxious.

"Probably not." Yu Liang actually had no idea in his mind.

"Where is he now?"

"Sacrifices should have been made to the late King of the East Sea in Fan County."

Yu Hua stopped.

He was also Sima Yue's assistant and knew the inner workings of the shogunate. In his opinion, this so-called Zhenjun General's shogunate was just the second Yuefu.

There are those who seek to make money, those who seek power, those who seek to speculate, and those who seek to get by. There are all kinds of people, and they are all different.

But all of them have one thing in common, they have more or less participated in conspiracies and intrigues against the two previous and current emperors, and they are not pure ministers or stupid ministers.

"Taibai is quite cunning." Yu Hua released his fear and gritted his teeth, saying, "At this point, he can only take this step."

If the emperor gets along with him at peace, the situation can be delayed.

But since the attack on Gou Xi began, things have become unpredictable.

He gathered the hearts of the old officials of Yue Prefecture and gained their direct support, and controlled the nine counties of Yanzhou through their official positions, reputation, connections, and their respective subordinates.

If you do well, you may be able to gain the support of the families behind them, at least partial support.

Take the Xiahou family of Qiao State as an example, they sent troops at the critical moment.

"Yuan Gui, do you think Mr. Chen can gain a foothold in the General's Mansion?" Yu Hua asked.

"Why not?" Yu Liang asked in surprise, "They are all thorns in the emperor's eyes and thorns in his flesh. They have no choice."

Yu Hua waved his hand, signaling his nephew not to speak.

Following willingly and depending on circumstances are two different things. Apart from other things, the two are different in terms of enthusiasm and responsibility when doing things.

If you just rely on it temporarily, there will be changes in the future.

"Alas, it is not easy to achieve this." Yu Hua shook his head and said, "What do you think about Wenjun's matter?"

"What do you think, uncle?"

"Zi Ju wrote back that he agreed." Yu Hua said, "I can't say for sure. I feel it's not a bad thing, but I feel very nervous."

Yu Liang thought to himself, I feel the same way.

Among all the members of the Yu family, the attitude towards Mr. Chen was probably the most positive among the Shizhong Yu Min.

Yu Hua's attitude has undergone two changes, from initial opposition, to neutrality later, and now to support - to put it bluntly, he just swayed with the situation.

Yu Liang directly served as an official in Chen Gong's mansion. Logically, he supported Chen very thoroughly, but he was also very confused in his heart.

He felt that his confidence in Mr. Chen might not be as great as that of his father, the prefect of Ji County.

By the way, my father’s letter has been sent back, and it only means one thing: obey the marriage contract.

My mother's attitude remains consistent.

She supported Wenjun's marriage to Mr. Chen, but only because the engagement existed. However, she always believed that Mr. Chen's background was too poor and that he had wronged her daughter.

"Have Xun and Yin responded?" Yu Hua asked again.

"Not yet." Yu Liang said.

My uncle did not ask about Guanqiu because my mother's hometown was in Jiangnan and it was inconvenient to contact her. My cousin had been living in their house and keeping Wenjun company, so there was no need to ask more.

"Mr. Chen wants to tie up the Yingchuan gentry tightly." Yu Hua suddenly laughed.

After defeating Gou Xi, the nobles and powerful families in Dongping, Gaoping, Rencheng, Jibei and other places were shocked. There was some unclear relationship between them and Gou Xi. After this battle, they would lie dormant and wait for the opportunity.

He was appointed as the military commander of the shogunate and took on the military affairs of Yanzhou with dignity. He also forced the shogunate officials to express their positions and work together.

In this way, Yanzhou was temporarily stable. Even if the emperor did not care and issued an edict to attack Shao, Yanzhou would not cause any waves.

Although Yuzhou has been in operation for many years, it is actually not as stable as the newly acquired Yanzhou.

The reason is very simple. Although Sima Yue had been stationed in Xuchang, he ran away before the Wang Mi Rebellion. He did not have many connections here, and the scholars in Yuzhou did not have a clear tendency. They were not the remnants of Sima Yue, and they had a way out.

Of course, it’s not that there are no benefits at all.

Concubine Pei and the heir prince stood up to support Lord Chen, which had some impact on Yuzhou.

Sima Hu, Sima Mo, and Sima Que had successively served as governors of Yuzhou. It was impossible for them not to make arrangements for any personnel. This was...

Before Yu Hua could finish his thoughts, a servant came to report: Lu Yuzhou is here.

There were several people following Lu Zhi, most of them were assistant officials from Yuzhou.

For example, Fei Li, a native of Nan'an, was a former lieutenant of the State of Chengdu. He is now a general under Lu Zhi - also a veteran, and has met Shao Xun before.

For example, Yang Bin, a native of Wuyang, served as the lieutenant of Chengdu and later became the internal historian of Hengyang. After the Du Tao Rebellion, Lu Zhi wrote a letter to summon him, and Bin resigned and surrendered.

For example, Cheng Mu, a native of Guangping, was the left Sima in the court of the former General Zheng Bei (Sima Ying), and once served as the governor of Qingzhou.

When Yu Hua saw it, he was immediately unhappy.

Lu Zhi served as governor of Yuzhou for several years and placed many private individuals there. If it weren't for Mr. Chen's own arrangement, Lu Zhi would have occupied all the positions in Yuzhou, big and small.

A bunch of Hebei people from Sima Ying's shogunate, plus a bunch of Shu people from Chengdu, did help Mr. Chen solve the problem of talent shortage, but their behavior was too ugly.

"Your Majesty."

"Shangshu."

The two men saluted each other. After the ceremony, others also saluted.

"I wonder what brings you here, sir?" Yu Hua asked.

Lu Zhi looked at Yu Hua and Yu Liang, uncle and nephew, and felt a little regretful.

"The palace has already chosen an auspicious day. I wonder if the Yu family..." Lu Zhi asked with a long syllable.

At this time, there are six steps to get married. The first step is "Nacai", which has been completed. Cao Fu acted as a matchmaker and the woman has accepted the "Cai Li".

The second step is to "ask for the name", that is, after getting the woman's name and birth date, go back to predict good or bad luck, and it's done.

The third step, "Naji", and the fourth step, "Nazheng", have also been completed, and the engagement gift has been presented.

At this point, the marriage is confirmed.

Now comes the fifth step, "asking for a date", which is to determine the wedding date.

Originally this step was shelved, but now it has been accelerated and taken seriously, and it has also asked the three major families of Yu, Xun, and Yin to express their stance - before this, Lu Zhi had already met with the prefect Chen Kuang, and the Chen family of Xuchang did not waver.

"Since Zimei is not here, why don't you come with me to meet my brother's wife?" Yu Hua asked.

"Okay." Lu Zhi nodded, asked the people who came with him to stay in the main hall, and then went to the backyard.

******
In the backyard, Yu Wenjun woke up from a nap. When she opened her eyes, she saw her cousin Guanqiu sleeping beside her with drooling. She was overjoyed.

She did not wake up Guanqiu, but sat down at the desk and started doing needlework.

There has been a lot of discussion at home these past two days, and many things have been discussed.

She didn't know much about the fighting on the battlefield or the treacherous officialdom, she only heard the most crucial message: Mr. Chen couldn't wait to marry her.

She couldn't describe her mood or expression at the time, but her cousin laughed at her and said she felt dizzy and her face was red the whole afternoon.

It seems like - I'm a little happy.

After she came to her senses, she immediately fetched various brocades and cloths, and under her mother's complicated gaze, she started making her wedding dress with her own hands.

Pu Tao and my cousin also helped.

The three of us did it together, talking, laughing, and playing around.

No matter what the world is like outside, Yu Wenjun doesn't understand it, so she just waits quietly to get married.

As for the fact that her brother once let slip that Mr. Chen urgently needed the support of the gentry in Yingchuan and even Yuzhou, Yu Wenjun did not take it seriously - even if Mr. Chen had other intentions in marrying her, she would still be willing.

The cousin thought more than she did. When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, she quietly asked her, "Will it hurt?", which made Yu Wenjun laugh at her - in fact, she didn't know either.

Half an hour later, Guanqiu woke up and stretched on the couch.

Seeing that Yu Wenjun was busy, he immediately jumped off the bed. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Pu Tao coming over in a panic and said, "Jiangxia (Xun) and Qiniang (Yin) are here."

"Where?" Guanqiu looked delighted.

Yu Wenjun also put down her needle and thread, stood up and looked outside.

Her concubines didn't always live in the Yu family. Xun and Yin went back home a while ago. It's only been less than two months, and they're here again?
She hadn't yet realized the political implications of this.

A moment later, Xun and Yin stood at the door and smiled at the three people in the room.

The five girls immediately gathered together, some holding hands, some hugging each other, looking extremely happy.

"Ten days ago, my father sent me a letter from the capital, asking my parents to pack my luggage and send me to the Yu Mansion. I think things will take a turn for the better." Xun pretended to be a female Zhuge Liang, adjusted the subtle expressions on her face, and spoke in a leisurely tone.

Everyone else was stunned, except Yin, who lowered her head, looking as if she didn't know where to put her hands. A red cloud floated across her face from time to time. It was obvious that she also knew what this action meant, and even her family had told her to do so.

"I just met Envoy Lu, who probably came to 'ask for the date'. Once it is set, each family will spread the news, and it will soon spread throughout Yingchuan and even Runan, Chenjun, Liangguo..." Xun said again.

The female Zhuge Liang was indeed extraordinary. She spoke in a very eloquent manner, which made the young sisters very convinced.

Yin plucked up her courage and looked up at Xun.

They were both fourteen years old, but she was amazing. When she was twenty-four or thirty-four, I don’t know how skilled she was.

Yin sighed secretly. She knew everything except that she was not good at speaking and blushed easily. She could not do things as easily as Jiangxia.

A hearty laugh came from not far away.

Pu Tao sneaked forward and looked around.

Yu Wenjun could not help it, so she lifted her skirt and took a few quick steps, looking around secretly, only to see Lu Yuzhou, her uncle Yu Hua and her mother talking happily.

"Well, it's settled. I'll send a messenger to inform Lord Chen." Lu Zhi put away his smile and said, "I'll trouble Zisong for Yingchuan."

"It's my duty." Yu Hua said.

Neither his cousin nor his sister-in-law objected, so why should he object?
Zimei was in Ji County and could not spare time, so he had to come forward and help arrange the wedding.

Lu Zhi’s meaning was very clear. We must make a big splash so that more people can know about it.

My niece is getting married and needs a dowry, so you can start preparing it now.

Let’s not talk about wealth and other things, the key is land and troops.

We can send people to measure the land in Yanling and the neighboring Fugu, and use the most fertile land as our niece's dowry.

In addition, he also has a piece of land in Nanton.

This was something Sima Yue managed to get after he killed Ying Shao - he was not qualified to take Ying Shao's land, but there were many local tyrants who were dependent on Ying Shao, and although Sima Yue did not want to take action against them, the shogunate officials were watching them, so it was inevitable that he would take advantage of them.

The land is no less than 80 hectares and is located in a river bend, so it is easy to irrigate and has a very high yield per mu.

Although it was a bit painful, he still planned to give it to his niece.

In addition, the Pu Tao family had little wealth and also needed help from him and Zi Ju.

On Guanqiu's side...

Oh, heavy bleeding.

Fortunately, he didn't need to worry about the Yin and Xun families, but he still had to ask about them and make a big fuss about it, even making it a hot topic in the city and known to everyone - this was Lu Zhi's request.

He was used to this tactic, hoping to set the tone and influence the choices of other nobles - well, in the 21st century, this is called "setting the pace."

In this way, Mr. Chen is indeed as stable as a rock.

Openly standing on one side and secretly supporting someone are two completely different things.

Between the emperor and Duke Chen, the Yu family, the Yin family, and the Xun family have already made their choice, and it is difficult to change it.

(End of this chapter)