Chinese New Year

Chapter 478: Full of guests
A new house has been built in the east of Xuchang City, which is magnificent and imposing.

This is the residence of Military Officer Yu Liang.

In the afternoon, guests arrived one after another, and the mansion was filled with guests.

The servants were so busy that they had no time to rest, delivering wine and food from time to time.

At this time, banquets often last from the afternoon to late at night, which is quite normal.

Liu Dayang had just slaughtered a lamb and had someone carry it away. He was very tired, so he wiped his hands and sat on the doorstep to rest.

There was a large cauldron in the yard, with a blazing fire underneath and steam rising from the cauldron.

On the wooden rack nearby, several gutted sheep were hung from south to north, swaying gently in the cold wind.

The sheep that had just been slaughtered were also hung up.

One servant carried the sheep, while another pulled an iron hook from the rack, aimed it at the cut on the lamb's neck, and easily hung it up. Then he took the sharp knife and gently peeled the sheepskin - when the blade cut through the membrane between the sheepskin and the mutton, it made a pleasant rustling sound.

"How is things in your hometown of Runan?" Liu Dayang asked.

"Not bad." The servant who was skinning said, "Yesterday, my cousin and the accountant came back from collecting food and said that a large army was dispatched from Langling, and there were also large armies coming from Ye County and Wuyang. Zhang Xiaoer has been beheaded."

Liu Dayang nodded.

Outsiders may not be very clear about who the troops from Langling, Yexian and Wuyang are, but for the servants of the Yu Mansion, they still know something vaguely: they are the military farming army.

Another person who started the rebellion, Li Mazi, also perished in Xincai, and even died earlier than Zhang Xiaoer.

One of these two men was from Guanzhong and the other from Bingzhou. Judging from their hometowns, most of those who followed them in the rebellion were refugees from other places who were settled in Runan.

Because of this incident, I felt like I had a very bad time joining the army, and I couldn't recover for a long time after I came back.

"After what happened in Runan, life will probably be difficult." Liu Dayang stood up, walked to the big cauldron, and added salt, pepper, onion, garlic and other seasonings into it.

The meat chunks float up and down, the oil foams around, and the rich aroma wafts into the air.

Someone was grilling jerky next to him, and when it was almost done, he brushed it with honey.

"Liu Dayang, go and deliver some wine and food to the people in the outer courtyard." Someone shouted not far away.

"Okay." Liu Dayang didn't waste any words. He took two earthenware jars, filled them with mutton soup, then carried one in each hand, walked out of the yard, entered another large yard, took a quick look, and then walked towards the makeshift shed.

There were quite a few people gathered in the tent, most of them were attendees of the banquet.

Although they were followers, their status was not necessarily low. To put it bluntly, they were all trusted officials of the nobles and scholars, and officials in reserve, and many of them were from the side branches of the noble families.

When Liu Dayang approached, he vaguely heard their conversation.

"Mr. Yu was appointed as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, most likely to recruit the old people in Hebei. Could it be that he wants to employ them?"

"Are there not many Hebei people in Yuzhou? Chen Guoxiang Cui Gong, Xiangcheng prefect Cui Kuang, Anfeng prefect Yang Bin, Longxiang shogunate Sima Cheng Mu, etc. Oh, by the way, because of the Ru'nan uprising, the old general Fei Li will be appointed Ru'nan internal historian. Although he is from Shu, he has always listened to Lu Zhi, just like the Hebei people."

"Fei Li is an old man from the Chengdu Palace. On the birthday of Lord Chen's eldest son, he presented a gift. But why did he also give a gift on the birthday of Madam Lu's son?"

"That time he was delivering the gift on behalf of Minister Lu. Minister Lu and Madam Lu were both from the Fanyang Lu family. They were originally distant from each other, but later they became relatives again. Madam Lu calls Lu Zhi 'uncle', and Lu Zhi calls Madam Lu 'niece', which is the way the closest relatives address each other. They visit each other every festival, and it is normal for Fei Li to come and deliver gifts."

"I see. If it weren't for Mr. Zhang's explanation, it would have been hard to see clearly."

"You'll know if you live in Xuchang more often, haha."

Liu Dayang put down the earthenware jar quietly, then returned to the kitchen and took out two plates of freshly roasted venison.

The deer were caught in Guangchengze.

During the two years of drought and locust plague, Guangcheng Lake, which was once full of birds, beasts, fish and turtles, suffered a great disaster. But after a few years of recovery, wild animals gradually increased in number, and deer began to appear in the mountains, forests and grasslands again.

I heard that four silver spear troops had withdrawn from Heyang and were training in Guangchengze. After winter came, they went hunting in the mountains and sent some of the prey to Mr. Chen's mansion. Mrs. Yu rewarded the officials and generals of the shogunate. The soldiers got a few deer and used them to entertain the guests today.

"I killed so many sheep and roasted so much meat, but I can't eat a single piece." Liu Dayang sighed.

"If you join the army, you can eat meat." Someone nearby laughed and said, "Meat is obtained by the soldiers from hunting, and it is available every year, which means they can eat meat every year. Why? You dare to kill sheep but not people?"

"I don't want to waste time talking to you." Liu Dayang took the meat and left.

"Nowadays, soldiers can be promoted to higher positions after making meritorious service. It's different from before." A voice came from far behind.

Liu Dayang paused, sighed, and came to the courtyard where the nobles and their entourage were again.

"Have you heard? The Right Attendant of the Duke's Mansion, Wu Qian, has returned from Liangzhou and Qinzhou. Lu Hun ordered Gao Qiu to marry his daughter to Wu Qian's son, Yong, as his successor."

"Chenliu Gao Clan? Could they be descendants of Gao Guang and Gao Xuanmao, the Imperial Court Judges?"

"They are from the same clan, but not the same family. To be honest, Gao Qiu is Gao Guang's great-great-nephew."

"That Wu Yong is marrying up! He is just a ninth-rank shepherd, dealing with horse manure all day long. How could such a lowly person marry Gao's daughter? And a second wife!" "Gao's daughter has been widowed for a year and has been living at home."

"That's beyond your reach."

"Tingmei, be careful with your words. Don't let your mouth cause trouble. Let me ask you, who started the saying that a soldier's son marrying a girl from an aristocratic family is considered marrying up?"

This sentence made people silent all of a sudden.

It is hard to say who started it, but in the past ten years, there was a man who swept through the noble ladies of Luoyang and then married the sister of General Yu. Can anyone tell about this man?
He started the process and forcefully reversed the trend. In the past year, he also significantly raised the status of military men. It was normal for some small families to start clinging to him.

The Gao family of Chenliu is not having a good time now.

After Gao Guang was killed by Sima Yue, his family was repeatedly suppressed and suffered heavy losses. There were almost no Gao family members serving as officials in the court.

Gao Qiu was only the magistrate of Luhun County. Luhun was located south of Yique, close to Guangchengze and Xiangcheng, the two old nests of Chen Gong, and was greatly influenced by him.

This person's attempt to curry favor with the Wu family, who had settled in Xiangcheng, was actually a manifestation of the Gao family's efforts to save themselves.

Times have changed, and new families are slowly rising.

But the flavor of these new families is somewhat different from that of the old aristocrats.

First of all, they have very little land, and a family could only own a few dozen hectares at most.

Secondly, the number of soldiers and farmhands was also very small, often less than a hundred households.

Finally, a large number of their children joined the army, or engaged in matters related to the war, such as farming, horse management, and iron smelting. This is another important feature.

It is hard to say whether these families can eventually rise up, as too many people are waiting and watching.

But one thing is certain, these families cannot occupy high positions for as long as the old aristocratic families. They rise and fall too quickly and are not stable enough.

To put it bluntly, for those who made their fortunes through military merit, once their descendants are unable to gain new merits, they will naturally be replaced by new military elites who emerge later, and will not be able to pass on their legacy from generation to generation like the old aristocratic families.

If a family is not stable enough, its value will naturally be greatly reduced.

"Okay, let's not talk about this and eat meat." The person called "Tingmei" nodded and smiled at Liu Dayang, took the plate personally, and shared a plate of venison with the person opposite him.

Liu Dayang continued to serve the dishes, going back and forth, busy all the time.

After finally finishing the class, he was called back to continue slaughtering sheep.

As I was killing, I gradually became distracted.

There is no doubt that the Yanling Yu family is now the most dazzling family in Henan, even overshadowing the originally very prestigious Yingyin Xun family.

As a servant in such a big family, as long as you pay attention, you will always know a lot of things that the outside world doesn't know.

For example, today he learned about the so-called "Hebei forces" in Henan, as well as the complicated relationship between this force and Mrs. Le and Mrs. Lu.

He also learned that some aristocratic families that had lost their power had begun to curry favor with the new nobles with military merits, which was simply a rebellion against the Tiangang!

Oh, by the way, he also knew the result of the Ru'nan uprising, but some officials in remote counties and prefectures might not know it yet.

All these things made him feel a little proud, a little vain, and then a little lost.

He also wants to be the subject of discussion among others one day.

He also wants the nobles to attach themselves to him.

This might have been impossible before, but Mr. Chen made everything possible.

Who are Wu Qian and Wu Yong? Their status was similar to his ten years ago, but now it is far behind.

Perhaps, the only way out is to join the army...

The sky gradually darkened and the banquet had just reached its climax.

Most of the participants in today's banquet are talented people of the time, and many of them are even powerful officials.

Yu Liang served as a military officer in the shogunate, a position that was neither low nor high, but because of his wife's relationship, he was naturally attractive. Gradually, more and more people approached him, especially officials and staff from Yingchuan and Runan.

Mr. Chen's power has gradually become more stable, and factions are beginning to take shape.

Well, there are all kinds of weird things, and this kind of thing is inevitable at any time.

Yu Liang was half-hearted and gradually became the center of public opinion.

This good feeling lasted until after the banquet, when Yu Chen, who had returned from Liang State, slapped him hard...

"Mr. Chen has returned to Xuchang. Come with me to meet him tomorrow." Yu Chen said with a stern face.

(End of this chapter)