Chapter 426 Hulan is getting married
In the Song Dynasty, the cities along the Grand Canal should have been the most prosperous places, but now they are so depressed and dilapidated that Zhao Yulin was a little surprised.
It's all because of the war .
Hu Lan looked at him with delight. She leaned on him and pointed at the house in the distance and asked him to look: This restaurant is so big, and there is also a silk shop over there.
The little woman was depressed being locked up in the government office all day, so she was happy to be out patrolling the river today.
Zhao Yulin let her do whatever she wanted and happily accompanied her to enjoy the scenery.
At this time, Hulan's two brothers, Mengge and Hubili, were drinking tea in the government office in Xuzhou, looking towards Suzhou where she was playing.
Hubili told Mengge: Secret report from Suzhou, our sister and Zhao Yulin have already entered Suzhou City, the two of them are seen together and it seems they are getting married.
After taking a sip of tea, Brother Meng said, how come there is no news at all about Zhao Yulin’s wedding?
This is inconsistent with his status as the second-in-command and general of the New Song Kingdom.
Hubili said very seriously that Zhao Yulin's marriage was as unpredictable as war, so maybe he just did it quietly with his sister.
Mengge took a sip of tea and said that Hulan would be taken care of by him for the time being, and he should not be allowed to get away with anything on the battlefield.
Hubili knew his brother was going to talk about something serious, so he stood up and accompanied Mengge to the war room in the back hall...
When Zhao Yulin saw that the boat was about to leave the north gate, he told Hulan that they should go back. The banks of the canal were desolate and bleak in winter, and not as beautiful as the snow-covered prairie.
When I heard him talk about the beautiful prairie of my hometown, the joy I had when I went out slowly faded away, and I walked back to the cabin with a sense of loss.
Zhao Yulin knew that he had lost control of his mouth and had reminded the little woman of her distant hometown and her worries about her family, so he quickly went up to hug Hu Lan.
The two entered the cabin, and Hu Lan sat in his arms and rubbed his head.
He asked with a smile: It’s not fun, huh?
It’s not fun, so let’s just get married and have a simple ceremony.
The little woman immediately raised her head, looked at him with surprise and said "OK", and gave him a quick slap on the face.
Suddenly, the little woman asked him to stop. She did not agree to do it simply. She wanted to go to Cuiping Mountain to take care of it properly. She wanted Zhao Yulin to take her to the Zhao Mansion in Cuiping Mountain in a sedan chair carried by eight people.
Zhao Yulin said with a laugh, "We still have to wait to return to Cuiping Mountain, so why don't we have some fun here first?"
The woman was delighted and lowered her head for a kiss.
Zhao Yulin led Hu Lan off the boat and told the guard captain Ke Zhenxie to get ready because he would marry Hu Lan the next day.
Ke Zhenxie stared at him in a daze. He didn't expect Zhao Yulin to do what he said and really hold a grand wedding in Suzhou.
Zhao Yulin was a little puzzled. What's wrong with this kid?
He asked: "Why are you standing there? Are you worried that you don't have enough money?" "Go, go, go and decorate the government office for me."
Ke Zhenxie received a clear order and immediately went to do it. Not only him, but also the officials of Suzhou around him heard Zhao Yulin's loud voice: Commander of the Divine Power Army, the third young master of the Zhao family is going to hold a grand wedding in the government office.
Zhao Yulin wanted to use the great victory at the front to create some excitement in Suzhou, divert the people's attention, and make everyone forget the pain of war and have more happy things.
For a time, all officials and wealthy businessmen in Suzhou City knew that Zhao Yulin, the commander of the Shenwei Army, was going to get married, and he would definitely marry a petite lady from a wealthy family.
The captain of the guard was really good at doing things. He found the staff of the government office and found a confiscated traitor's house by the canal and cleaned it up to be Zhao Yulin's temporary residence. He asked the government office to use money to hang up lanterns on both sides of the canal. Suzhou at night immediately became brightly lit and festive.
The next day, Zhao Yulin was drinking tea in his mansion when the guard reported that Mr. Fan from the Central Court had arrived.
Zhao Yulin thought that old man Fan Zhong was in a hurry to come so quickly, so it was just right to ask him to be the witness.
He strode out and welcomed Mr. Fan into the mansion.
The old man smiled and said that his brother was getting married, but he didn't bring any suitable gift.
Zhao Yulin said that Mr. Fan's visit to his humble home was an honor to him, and what other gifts did he need? He wanted to ask Mr. Fan to be their witness and also needed him to give him a red envelope as a thank you.
The two of them went to the back hall to have tea with a smile on their faces. The old man presented a gift of 600 strings of new currency and said that the New Song Dynasty did not allow lavish weddings, so he would give a small gift to show his appreciation.
Zhao Yulin accepted it cheerfully, drank two sips of tea, then returned it to Mr. Fan and asked him to keep it and hand it over to his new wife for safekeeping tomorrow.
The old man was happy and thought Zhao Yulin was a really funny person.
He asked: The army has recaptured several large cities. How do you consider the deployment of officials?
Zhao Yulin said that he had not had time to think carefully yet, but there was one thing he had to do first. He asked Fan Zhong to go to Yingtian to persuade Yan Shilu to take up the post in Xiangyang, and asked Chen Chen to be transferred there to take charge.
Fan Zhong hesitated for a moment and told him: It is not difficult to persuade Mr. Yan to go to Xiangyang, but asking Madam Chen Chen to come to Yingtian, wouldn’t it be hard for Madam Chen?
Mrs. Chen was punished earlier this year.
Zhao Yulin said that now is the time to recruit people. In order to properly settle Mr. Yan, we must give him an important and convenient position to let the people of the world see that we have not treated those who have surrendered badly.
At the moment, he feels that Xiangyang is the most suitable place, and Chen Chen will not complain.
The old man felt that Chen Chen was sensible and had made great contributions in Xiangyang, so he would be indebted to Chen Chen by doing this.
Zhao Yulin said that this was for the sake of the country's overall stability and it was okay. He wrote a letter to Chen Chen personally.
He suggested to Fan Gong that the level of prefectures and counties did not have to be determined according to the settings of that year. For example, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Yingtian, these cities had experienced the devastation of the mountains and rivers, the decline of people's livelihood, and the sharp decline in urban population and economic size after the Mongol-Jin War and the Song-Mongol War. They could be temporarily downgraded to prefectures and placed under the administration of Kaifeng or Zhengzhou.
As the saying goes, the emperor guards the country's borders, so we choose to build a government in Kaifeng. He will be the first prefect of Kaifeng, and Chen Chen will be the chief steward. We will slowly build up the popularity of the recovered areas in the north.
The old man understood what Zhao Yulin meant. The large area recovered in the north required major adjustments to the administrative divisions and management levels, and only Chen Chen was suitable to do it.
Early the next morning, Zhao Yulin went to the government office to marry Hu Lan. The big sedan chair carried the bride to the canal and she sat on his official boat. The two of them stood on the bow of the boat in brand new gorgeous clothes, waving to the people on both sides of the river and accepting their blessings.
Hu Lan was happy and kissed him excitedly on the face, showing off their love in public.
A sharp-eyed young man saw it and exclaimed: Wow, whose little girl is this? She is being intimate with the third young master in front of everyone. How presumptuous.
The man next to him immediately scolded him: What do you know? This is the Third Young Master's doted woman. Can't you see how happy the Third Young Master is?
The boys and girls on both sides were shouting: Look, the Third Young Master, the Third Young Master is here.
The third young master is happily married.
Zhao Yulin helped the bride get off the boat and then carried her on his back all the way to the mansion, which stunned the common people along the way. The petite ladies on both sides were so surprised that they covered their eyes and watched. They were so excited.
Wow, what a happy bride.
The two followed the new wedding etiquette designed by Zhao Yulin himself, and stood at the door in their wedding dresses to welcome the guests who came to congratulate and celebrate.
Fan Gong was the first to hand the red envelope to Hu Lan.
The young lady was delighted and thanked the old man repeatedly. Zhao Yulin asked her maid to take over and put away the gifts, as she would be the mistress of the household in the future.
Hu Lan's face was flushed and she greeted wave after wave of guests with a smile on her face.
The auspicious time has arrived.
Zhao Yulin walked into the mansion's living room arm in arm with Hu Lan. The master of ceremonies announced the start of their wedding ceremony. Fan Zhong, as the witness, walked to the front and read a long speech of good wishes to the newlyweds . The couple bowed to heaven and earth, then to their parents, and then the couple bowed to each other and entered the bridal chamber.
The seats outside were packed with guests attending the wedding, and the opera troupe performed one piece after another. The whole yard was a sea of joy and it was very lively.
Hu Lan was delighted with Zhao Yulin’s new wedding. She fell sweetly into his arms and asked: How did he come up with this idea?
Haha, he had seen many weddings like this in later generations, so he didn't dare to tell the truth. He just made up a story about a dream to deceive the woman, then held the little woman's cheek and kissed her. The couple soon began to interact enthusiastically.
In Xuzhou, the news of Zhao Yulin and Hu Lan's wedding reached Hubli's ears the next day.
After reading the information given to him by Hubili, Mengge slammed the secret letter on the table, snorted coldly, and said lightly that it was good that Hulan was finally given a status, but Hulan was no longer a Mongolian from now on.
Hubili asked him, are we going to continue fighting in Suqian?
My sister is getting married, but we are planning to attack Suqian. Isn't that a bad idea?
Mengge glared at him and said, "What's wrong with that? This is a war between countries. Hulan married Zhao Yulin. She is no longer a child of our grassland. Wake up."
Haha, it turns out that these two brothers-in-law were planning to attack Suqian.
This place is an important node of the old Yellow River course and the Grand Canal. Intelligence shows that a large amount of supplies of the Shenwei Army are transported through Suqian.
Hubili wanted to use the troops he had to add fuel to the fire. By taking over Suqian, he could obtain advanced weapons and food supplies for the Shenwei Army.
However, when they learned that Zhao Yulin and Hu Lan were going to get married, the detailed military reports had not yet arrived. By the time the military reports were collected and the battle plan was formulated, Zhao Yulin and Hu Lan's wedding was over.
At this moment, he was discussing military affairs in the back hall of the government office.
Zhou Ping reported to him that Xuzhou had sent scouts south to spy on military intelligence. He judged that the Mongolian army might cause trouble in Suqian.
Jiang Hai was originally stationed in Suzhou. After Zhao Yulin arrived, he moved to Suqian. He thought that Zhou Ping's judgment was not impossible. There were his 20,000 infantrymen in the Suqian garrison, but they were all in the countryside suppressing bandits and rebellions. They would have no problem stopping the Mongolian army. He had ordered the main force to return to the city to guard against possible sneak attacks by the Mongolian army.
Zhao Yulin felt that the Mongolian army had just been defeated, and there must be a lot of spies left behind. They must still have the ability to conduct battlefield reconnaissance and perception. The mobilization of the Shenwei Army would definitely attract their attention, and they would not launch an attack rashly.
However, it is better to be safe than sorry, so he told the two to keep a close eye on the situation and then left.
