Night slowly fell and the inner city of Xiangyang, which was supposed to be brightly lit, suddenly quieted down. In contrast, the outer city of Xiangyang, which belonged to the common people, became a place filled with carriages.
The Kuai Clan was overjoyed and the entire Jing Province began to move. All the nobles gathered in Xiangyang. Although Kuai Liang had notified them in the morning, many nobles who were dozens of li away rushed over. The bigger nobles were giving face to the Kuai Clan. After all, Kuai Liang was the second head of the Kuai Clan and he was also a high-ranking official in Jing Province.
As for the smaller nobles, they were trying to build relationships. This was a joyous occasion for the Kuai Clan and also an opportunity for them to gather together.
"There are quite a lot of people here!" Liu Mang was also in the Kuai Clan. He looked at the bustling Kuai Clan and said to Jia Xu.
"Of course! Jing Province is probably the place with the most nobles! " Jia Xu replied. In the entire world, Jing Province was the place with the most nobles. In other places, such as Zhili, Dong Zhuo had killed a group of nobles when he was still alive. Li Gui and Guo Si killed another group of nobles. There were not many people left in Zhili, let alone the nobles. The remaining nobles fled to Xu Du with Emperor Han. It was the same in Yangzhou. Those who had the ability ran away. Those who didn't were buried with Yuan Shu.
The nobles who were close to Gongsun Zan, Han Fu, Liu Yu, and Yuan Shao were all killed. It was the same in Yan Province and everywhere else. The nobles who were unlucky during the Yellow Turban Rebellion were all nobles. Only Jing Province had the most nobles because there had only been two rulers in the entire Jing Province. Even if Liu Biao replaced the previous Provincial Governor, it was a peaceful transition. Wang Rui could give these nobles benefits, but Liu Biao gave them more benefits. Naturally, these nobles knew who they should choose, not to mention that Wang Rui had been killed by Sun Jian.
There were many nobles, so naturally, many people came. Fortunately, Liu Mang had spent hundreds of gold to prepare for this banquet. Otherwise, the dishes would not be enough.
"The more the merrier!" Liu Mang did not care how many landowning households there were in Jingzhou. What he cared about was having more people. He wanted to announce in public that the Feng Family had already boarded the war chariot of Yangzhou.
"There really are a lot of people here!" Like Liu Mang, a dark-skinned and fat young man sighed with emotion. He was paying attention to the nobles coming and going, as well as the servants and gifts they brought. There were countless gold, silver, and jewels. With so many people coming and going, the carriage was almost unable to move.
"How great would it be if Jingzhou fell into the hands of my lord!" The fat young man looked at these nobles with envy. There were hundreds of nobles in Jing Province, and each of them was extremely wealthy. Just from this, one could see how wealthy Jing Province was. If this fell into the hands of any of the nobles, they would definitely be able to use this as a foundation to contend for hegemony. The greed in the dark-skinned and fat young man's eyes deepened. Liu Biao, Gatekeeper Liu, was not worthy of such a wealthy Jing Province.
That's right, this dark-skinned and fat young man was Liu Bei's chief strategist, Pang Tong, Pang Shiyuan. Pang Tong looked greedily at the people coming and going. There were millions of people in Jing Province, and 100,000 in armor. If they were really mobilized, it would not be a joke to have 300,000 soldiers in Jing Province. This was Jingzhou's foundation. However, this Liu Biao did not know how to use it. If Liu Biao had the slightest bit of ambition, then Cao Cao would not have called him a gatekeeper. Instead, he would have to be on guard against Liu Biao.
Pang Tong's original plan for Liu Bei was for the three nobles to besiege the Lvbu's Army and take over Yangzhou. Then, he would cooperate with Jiangdong's Sun Ce to take over Jing Province and rely on Jing Province's foundation to dominate the Central Plains. This way, Liu Bei would really be able to split the world with Jiangdong's Sun Ce and Cao Cao.
However, in the battle of Yangzhou, not only did Liu Bei fail to destroy Lü Bu, he almost lost himself. Out of tens of thousands of soldiers, only a few thousand returned. He also lost his own general, Chen Dao, and the White Eared Heavy Armored Soldiers.
Luckily, Pang Tong helped Liu Bei kill his ally, Zhang Xiu, and took over Zhang Xiu's foundation. Otherwise, Liu Bei's Army would not be able to rise again. Not to mention conquering the world, it would be a problem for them to even protect themselves.
"Liu Biao is not worthy of such a rich Jing Province." Pang Tong sighed. Then, he retracted his greedy eyes. Jing Province would take its time. After all, Liu Biao was already old. Sooner or later, the ruler of Jing Province would change. The Lao Clan and the Cai Clan worked together for the sake of the successor! His Pang Clan was not bad either. It was hard to say who would inherit Jing Province.
Thinking of this, Pang Tong was in a good mood. The more people there were, the more he would be able to build connections.
"Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang, you will know that everything you do is for my Lord's dowry!"
… …
"Changsha's Han Clan's head, Han Cheng, is here to congratulate you! Here is a pair of Western Jade Annulus! " Naturally, there was a person at the door who was arranged by Uncle Chen to sing a congratulatory gift. His voice was loud and clear. Even though it was shouted from the outer hall, everyone inside could hear it.
The Han Clan of Changsha? Some people were surprised. They were not surprised by the gift from the Han Clan of Changsha. A pair of Western Jade Annulus, even if it was from the palace, was only worth a hundred gold ingots. It was not worthy of being surprised. They were surprised that the head of the Han Clan, Han Cheng, was from Changsha. Changsha was at the southern border of Jing Province. It was not close to Xiangyang. Even if one were to ride non-stop, it would still take half a day.
"Brother Han. Where did you come from? " Although the Han Clan was not an aristocratic clan, it still had some status in Changsha. Therefore, when he entered the Lao Clan, someone recognized Han Cheng and greeted him.
"Don't mention it!" Han Cheng looked tired. Obviously, he did not want to talk about it first. Instead, he wanted to find a place to rest.
"Little Brother, can I have a cup of tea first?" Han Cheng was the head of a noble family, but he didn't have the arrogance of a family head in the Kuai Family. He called Kuai Liang's servant little brother. This wasn't because Han Cheng was good, but because the Kuai Family was powerful.
"Please wait a moment. It will be ready soon. " The servant nodded and walked towards the backyard to bring some tea for Han Cheng. Han Cheng drank the tea in one gulp like an old cow drinking water. After drinking the tea, he spoke. Han Cheng was lucky. When he arrived, he had something important to do with the Han Clan's caravan and was already on his way to Xiangyang. When the Kuai Clan heard this, they were overjoyed and left the caravan behind. Fortunately, he arrived in time. Han Cheng's hard work was not in vain.
"The head of the Liu family in Maicheng, Liu Song, is here to congratulate the newlyweds. He has brought two thousand-year-old ginseng to wish the newlyweds a long and happy marriage." Maicheng was still fine. If they traveled by water, they would arrive in half a day. However, this also showed the friendship of the Liu family.
"The head of the Ge Clan in Xiangyang is here to congratulate the newlyweds. He has brought a hundred taels of gold!" This was a newly promoted aristocrat. He did not buy any antiques.
"Shallow!" Although a hundred gold coins was a lot, which one of the people present couldn't afford it? To describe the Ge Clan who had offered a hundred gold coins as a gift, they were superficial!
This was especially true for the scholarly aristocrats and famous scholars. They were even more disdainful of the Ge Clan.
"The Confucian Cheng Kang from Xiangyang is here to congratulate the newlyweds. He has brought an inkstone and a brush." The Confucian Cheng Kang was just a humble title. In fact, Cheng Kang was a great Confucian scholar. Although he was not as good as Pang Degong or Shui Jing, his knowledge of Confucianism was not inferior. Many of his disciples were officials in Jingzhou. Therefore, when Cheng Kang arrived, many people immediately cupped their fists and greeted him.
After that, the family heads and some officials of Xiangyang also came to Kuai Liang's mansion. This was a good opportunity to curry favor with the Kuai Clan. Liu Mang looked at these aristocrats. They might have some influence but they could not control the overall situation of Jingzhou. When the banquet began, these people sat in the living room.
The main event had finally arrived.
"The head of the Cai Clan, Cai Mao, has brought his second brother, Cai He, and third brother, Cai Zhong to congratulate the newlyweds. They have brought a pair of Eastern Pearls, a hundred pieces of cloud silk, a hundred taels of gold, and a blood coral. " Cai Mao's gift was not small. The hundred pieces of cloud silk were worth a hundred taels of gold, the Eastern Pearls, and the blood coral added up to a thousand taels of gold. However, aristocratic families always reciprocated politeness, not to mention the Kuai Clan and the Cai Clan.
"Military Advisor Cai!" After hearing that Cai Mao had arrived, Uncle Chen came forward and bowed towards Cai Mao respectfully, "Counselor Cai, our master especially asked us to welcome you. Please have a seat!" Uncle Chen was the first one who came forward to greet Cai Mao as he said respectfully, "Counselor Cai, our master especially asked us to welcome you. Please have a seat!"
Kuai Liang didn't personally come to welcome them, and Cai Mao didn't say anything. Kuai Liang's personality was like that, and today was Kuai Liang's big day. Perhaps he was preparing things. There were still many things to pay attention to when the ancients got married.
"Military Advisor Cai!" As soon as Cai Mao appeared, all the family heads and officials present cupped their fists and bowed their heads to greet Cai Mao. Cai Mao was Jing Province's Military Advisor and the Cai Clan was Jing Province's aristocratic clan. It could be said that they were second only to one person and above tens of thousands of people. Those family heads and officials naturally had to salute Cai Mao. As for those famous people, whether they were willing or not, they had to salute Cai Mao. After all, etiquette could not be abolished.
Cai Mao didn't respond to the family heads and officials. Instead, he greeted a housekeeper. Cai Mao saw Uncle Chen and laughed. "You must be Chen Kang!" Cai Mao said to Uncle Chen. Cai Mao and Uncle Chen were very friendly. With Cai Mao's status, he wouldn't even spare a glance at a housekeeper. Even the family heads weren't worth mentioning in front of Cai Mao. Cai Mao couldn't remember the names of many family heads, but he still remembered Kuai Liang's housekeeper. When Kuai Liang left the Kuai Clan and split with his elder brother, Kuai Yue, he took his family and Chen Kang with him.
"Brother Zi Rou, it has been hard on you all these years!" Cai Mao said to Uncle Chen as if he was one of them. The Cai Clan and the Kuai Clan had been friends for generations and had formed an alliance over the years. Cai Mao could be unhappy with Kuai Liang's bad temper, but he could still compromise with Kuai Liang.
"I wouldn't dare. This is what Chen Kang should do!" Uncle Chen bowed and didn't take the credit.
"Let's go! Bring me in first! " It wasn't good to stand at the entrance. Cai Mao couldn't be too friendly with a housekeeper and only asked a few questions appropriately.
"Military Advisor, this way please!" Uncle Chen opened his arms and led the way.
Cai Mao's arrival attracted the attention of Liu Mang and Pang Tong, but the two of them still didn't appear.
"Cai Mao is here!" Pang Tong had expected Cai Mao's arrival. The Kuai Clan and the Cai Clan had a good relationship. It would be strange if Cai Mao didn't come.
Since Cai Mao was here, then the important people in Jingzhou would have to appear one by one!
Sure enough, below Cai Mao was the Huang Clan.
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