The Spring Snow Building by the Guangling River was full of guests tonight.
Guangling Prince Zhao Yi held a big banquet and invited distinguished guests. Those who entered the building were either rich or noble, and they were all very rich and noble. Among them, there was the newly appointed Guangling Jiedushi Lu Baijie, the Administrator Wang Xionggui, who was a former subordinate of Zhang Lu, and Song Li, who had been promoted from General Heng Jiang to General Zhennan and Deputy Jiedushi of a Dao. Song Li could be said to be an old man of the Spring Snow House, and was once Zhao Yi's lucky general. It was also Song Li who had successfully blocked Kou Jianghuai's sneaky attack and harassment, which delayed the war until Wu Zhongxuan's army went on a northern expedition. The Ministry of War in Liyang had held a very small but very high standard military merit evaluation, and Song Li was ranked as the fifth most meritorious official.
Other than these three, who were now considered people from the capital, the provincial governors of the three provinces of Guangling Road also appeared. Compared to the storms of the past two years, the six provincial governors were now beaming with joy. Their speech and actions were filled with the elegance of a noble official.
Unfortunately, the Prince of Shu, Chen Zhibao, who was rumored to be attending, did not appear for some reason. On the other hand, the Crown Prince of Yan Chi, Zhao Zhu, came uninvited, which could be considered as adding flowers to brocade. If this young Crown Prince was the flower, under the premise that Chen Zhibao was absent, then the King of Jing'an, Zhao Xun, was naturally the grand finale of the luxurious brocade. After Zhao Xun's carriage stopped at the Spring Snow Building, Zhao Yi, who was also the Great Feudal Lord of Liyang, personally went downstairs to welcome him.
As the owner of the Spring Snow Building, after all the guests had taken their seats, Zhao Yi raised the priceless luminous goblet in his hand high, and laughed loudly, "There was once a literary giant in Dafeng Dynasty who said, 'There are four people who wish to be safe and sound in life, and an old friend of Qingshan has a collection of famous books.' I like to pretend to be cultured, so I want to have one more wish, which is that Spring Snow is safe and sound. Therefore, I named this building Spring Snow. The Spring Snow Building is honored by the presence of so many virtuous people tonight. Let me drink this cup of wine! "
The Tangxi Sword Immortal, Lu Baijie, and the former Minister of Revenue, Wang Xionggui, were the leaders of the civil and military officials. They sat at the head of the table on the left and right. After the toast at Guangling Road, the two of them also picked up their wine cups. However, Wang Xionggui and Zhao Yi downed their wine cups in one gulp. Lu Baijie only took a small sip before stopping. She quickly put down her wine cup and glanced at the Crown Prince, Zhao Yi, sitting next to Zhao Yi. This Provincial Governor frowned.
Following the self-immolation of the young West Chu Empress on the battlefield of the Western Wall, the civil and military officials in the capital of West Chu, which had once been renamed Dingding City, had all surrendered. The Guangling War officially entered its final stage. The Emperor ordered that the imperial army was not allowed to harass the people of Guangling Road. They were not allowed to kill people to vent their anger. Once discovered, the Provincial Governor and the Administrator of Guangling Road could be killed on the spot, bypassing the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice. However, not killing people did not mean that the rebellious officials of West Chu could escape this calamity. Other than those who had been tactful enough to flirt with the generals of the Liyang imperial court, or those who had been able to get the high officials of Taian City to give them protective talismans, most of the other officials who had resolutely chosen to serve in West Chu did not have a good ending. Thus, two great jokes were made in Guangling Road. The first was to use money to avoid disaster. Gold and silver objects, as well as antique calligraphy and paintings, were all sent to the mansions of certain generals. The second was to "pawn" women to curry favor with the new nobles of Guangling Road. Of these, the new General of Zhennan, Song Li, and the Guangling Heir, Zhao Yuang, were the most unscrupulous. If one said that Song Li only chose a few famous young and beautiful women to keep in his house, his influence was limited. But Zhao Yuang really did not care. Whether it was young women or married women, he only counted them based on their family status. The wealthy families ranked in the top ten of West Chu's new dynasty took three people from each family. After that, there were more than forty aristocratic families that extorted one or two people from each family. If there were people who were unwilling, Zhao Yuang did not dare to kill them openly, but he had his own methods to deal with them. He had plenty of ways to make those families who did not want to be humiliated live a life worse than death.
Lu Baijie raised her wine cup and then put it down again. She looked around with mixed feelings.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Expedition Lu Shengxiang, the General Who Pacifies the South Wu Zhongxuan, the Prince of Shu Chen Zhibao, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War Xu Gong, the Duke of Huainan Zhao Ying, Yan Zhenchun, and Yang Shenxing. These were the real heroes who quelled the war in Guangling Road. They were either not here or dead.
Lu Baijie smiled bitterly. What was the point of her sitting here? It was only because of the title of the Provincial Governor of Guangling Road.
Song Li, who had a meteoric rise in the imperial court of Liyang, was actually sitting beside Lu Baijie. However, he probably knew that he was not on the same side as the Tangxi Sword Immortal, so the youngest permanent general of the Liyang Dynasty did not show too much eagerness. Instead, he was chatting happily with his old acquaintance, the General of Jizhou. He did not get carried away by his meteoric rise.
Soon, Song Li, who was a little tipsy, looked up at the magnificent ceiling of the Spring Snow Building. His fingers twirled the wine cup, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. Revisiting the old place, he had been living under someone else's roof. Now, it was hard to say who was living under someone else's roof.
When awake, he had a hundred thousand palms. When drunk, he lay on a beauty's lap. A real man was nothing more than this.
Inside the Spring Snow Building, toasts were exchanged, and singing and dancing were celebrating peace.
It seemed that when the first floor was peaceful, the world was at peace.
Lu Baijie looked at the distant Administrator Wang Xionggui, who was sitting across from him. This noble and upright civil official who was about to make a comeback and return to the center of the capital was raising his cup to toast the Prince of Guangling and his son. He held the cup with both hands, his sleeves hanging down. He was wearing a high hat and a wide belt.
Lu Baijie looked at some of the people at the back of the seats. Previously, they were all important officials of the Jiangling Dynasty, who held jade edicts in their hands and wore red and purple robes in the imperial court of West Chu. Although they were slightly more submissive now, it was difficult to hide the joy of being pardoned. Therefore, they had the demeanor of having to enjoy life to the fullest.
Lu Baijie lowered his head to look at the cup of wine. For some reason, he thought of a young face. When that young man first came to visit, he asked the Tangxi Sword Immortal, who had not yet become an official at that time, "How many pounds of benevolence, righteousness, and morality do you sell me?"
He suddenly raised his cup, tilted his head back, and drank the wine.
The hall was full of well-dressed guests.
He was full of himself.
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