Chapter 467 Two swords combined
Chapter 467 Two swords combined
Seeing that Luo Shixin was rather depressed, Xiao Xia smiled and comforted him, "This is not your problem. I did not think it through. I should not have asked you to go to suppress bandits at the end of the year, let alone let you lead the Jiangnan local army to suppress bandits. If I had asked you to lead 10,000 recruits, there would not be this problem."
Luo Shixin sighed and said, "I really can't understand it. During the training, everyone was in high spirits and full of energy. But in the middle of the month, the captains came to me and asked to withdraw. The soldiers also became listless. It took more than a day to walk 30 miles. Later, they were faced with two choices: either let the soldiers plunder the city, or...
I really have no choice but to order the troops to return to their local military headquarters. Fortunately, I still have 2,000 recruits, otherwise I would be left alone."
Xiao Xia nodded: "Sometimes cattle and horses get angry and won't go away even if you drive them away, let alone people. People have their own thoughts and can only be motivated by interests. If the government soldiers are unwilling to work hard, the court will take back their permanent land, so they must work hard. The same is true for recruits. If they don't work hard, they will have no salary, and they will not be able to support their families. They must obey orders and fight.
What are these Jiangnan County soldiers afraid of? They don't have a penny of military salary, an acre of land, and no tax reduction. They don't lack food at home. Who would be willing to fight for them? Besides, it's the New Year, and their parents, wives and children are waiting for them to go back and reunite, and their ancestors are waiting for them to worship. I guessed on the way that there might be problems, and I was right! "
"What should we do next?" Luo Shixin asked.
"I will continue to recruit soldiers. This time when I go to the capital, the emperor will allow me to recruit another 20,000 soldiers. I will start recruiting after the New Year. Then I will have 50,000 standing troops, and 30,000 naval troops. In the end, I will have 80,000 troops and build an elite army."
Luo Shixin nodded, "Your Highness is right. The soldiers of Jiangnan County are good at maintaining public order, but they are unreliable when it comes to fighting. This is actually a good thing. At least I understand it in advance and won't suffer a big loss in the future."
"So everything has its pros and cons. The key is to know the pros and cons in your mind!"
Xiao Xia smiled and asked, "Didn't we achieve any results in this campaign against Lin Shihong?"
Luo Shixin said quickly, "Of course there were results. We fought a few small annihilation battles, killed more than 2,000 enemies, and recovered three counties occupied by the enemy. Cao Shiqi led his troops to escape into the mountains of Yuzhang County, and Lin Shihong led more than 1,000 remnants to Jiangxia County and Baling County. Those areas are not under our jurisdiction. Originally, I had the opportunity to wipe them out, but something happened at this time, which became a turning point for the entire army."
"What happened?"
"I led the army to annihilate more than a thousand bandits in the east of Jianchang County. Lin Shihong abandoned Jianchang County and fled westward in a hurry. Jianchang was Lin Shihong's old nest, and there were many civilians in the city. At that time, many southern generals advised me to let the soldiers loot Jianchang County to boost morale, but I ordered that the army was not allowed to enter the city without permission, and anyone who entered the city without permission would be executed! This made the southern generals very dissatisfied. It was after this incident that the morale of the army took a sharp turn for the worse, and eventually they watched Lin Shihong and the remnants flee to Jiangxia."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Now you understand! The problem is not with the soldiers, but with the generals. No matter how dissatisfied the soldiers are, they will only complain and slack off. At most, they are unwilling to fight, but they dare not easily confront the army. Only when the generals who command them instigate and instigate behind their backs will the morale of the army quickly collapse. Training the army and changing the generals are the key."
Luo Shixin nodded slowly, "I will remember this lesson in my heart!"
The next day is New Year's Eve. Today is a very important day. Xiao Xia will officially take Zhang Qiao as his concubine. Big red "囍" characters are pasted all over the palace, and the palace is decorated with lights and colorful lanterns.
Taking a concubine can be lively or simple. You can invite relatives and friends to be witnesses, and both parties will get married in the hall and enter the bridal chamber. If it is simple, it only requires the family to have a meal and hold a simple ceremony and it will be over.
The key still depends on the wishes of the person involved. Zhang Qiao grew up in a Taoist temple and has been a Taoist nun for more than ten years. She is deeply influenced by Taoist thoughts and is indifferent by nature. What she fears most is the hustle and bustle, and she does not pursue status. She is satisfied as long as she can live with the person she loves.
She didn't even want to dress up, as long as everyone acknowledged her, she was a member of the family.
Finally, even Cui Yu couldn't bear it anymore and insisted on finding someone to paint her eyebrows, put on gorgeous wedding clothes, and wear a phoenix crown on her head.
Of course, there was no bustle, as the servants and maids had all gone home for the holidays. Only the housekeeper, the cook and a few personal maids were left in the house.
At nightfall, an interesting scene appeared in the inner hall. Two wedding candles were burning brightly, and a huge Chinese character "囍" was hung above. The surrounding area was decorated with lights and flowers.
There were only five people in the entire back hall. Cui Yu was sitting beside him holding the child. Xiao Qing acted as a temporary master of ceremonies and shouted loudly: "Bow to heaven and earth!"
Xiao Xia also wore a groom's suit and knelt side by side with Zhang Qiao in front of the wedding table, bowing to the big red "囍" character. Xiao Qing shouted again, "Second respect to the mistress!"
When a couple gets married, they should bow twice to their parents, but it is different when taking a concubine. The concubine has to bow to the mistress and offer tea. Only when the mistress accepts the tea, she will recognize her as a sister.
There was a cup of tea on the small table next to him. Zhang Qiao slowly walked forward, picked up the tea, squatted down, and presented it to Princess Cui Yu, "Please accept the tea, Madam!"
Cui Yu smiled as he handed the child to Xiao Qing, took the teacup from Zhang Qiao, and said slowly: "From now on, you will officially become a member of the family. I hope you can abide by the rules of being a wife, respect your husband, help me manage the family, and give birth to a child as soon as possible. That's all I have to say!"
Zhang Qiao bowed his head and said, "Madam's teachings, I will remember them in my heart!" Although there were no outsiders, not even maids, the ceremony was still very solemn and formal. Xiao Xia helped Zhang Qiao up again, and the two walked to the wedding table again. Xiao Qing said loudly, "Please bow to each other and tie the knot!"
The two knelt down face to face and kowtowed together. After they finished, Xiao Xia and Zhang Qiao tied a pair of red silk hearts on the table into a knot. This is called tying the knot of marriage.
"Please invite the newlyweds into the bridal chamber!"
Xiao Xia held Zhang Qiao's hand and walked out from the back. Two maids had been waiting here for a long time with their heads down. They held lanterns and escorted the newlyweds into the small building at the back.
Xiaoqing came over, picked up the child and said, "Madam, let's go back!"
Cui Yu stood up and said with a smile: "I just remembered that I should have asked you and Chuchen to kneel together. You must not have had any ceremony at the beginning!"
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "I was given to you by your wife as a concubine, and then I was promoted from a concubine to a concubine. Unlike A Qiao, I was still a slave when I was with you, and later you took my place as a slave."
"I know this, but I think you are being treated unfairly. I will give you a replacement in the future, at least a tea ceremony, so that it will be justified."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
"There's no need to be so polite between us. You've worked hard on the arrangements today. Go back and get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow morning."
The two walked into the yard and followed their personal maids back to their own yards.
The bridal chamber was filled with candlelight and spring. Xiao Xia held Zhang Qiao in her arms and the two kissed passionately.
After a moment, Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Let's do the last ceremony first!"
The last ceremony refers to the wedding ceremony. A pair of bitter gourd ladles have been placed on the table. Zhang Qiao smiled sweetly, and she and her husband raised the wedding wine, gently clinked the cups, drank it all, and threw the gourd ladles under the bed together.
Zhang Qiao then took off the phoenix crown on her head, pulled out the golden hairpin, and shook her head gently, letting her black hair fall down like a waterfall.
Xiao Xia held Zhang Qiao's extremely delicate and pretty face and looked at her carefully. Zhang Qiao shyly lowered her head and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I'm looking at my little sister from back then. Today, we finally joined forces."
"There is no such thing as a two-sword combination. You are the only one bullying others!"
Xiao Xia laughed, "Without the two swords working together, you can't have a child!"
Zhang Qiao finally understood what he meant. He shyly punched Xiao Xia on the shoulder and bit his lip, saying, "I remember now. The double swords can only be used in the dark!"
"It's up to you!"
Xiao Xia blew out the wedding candles, and the room suddenly became dark. Xiao Xia picked up Zhang Qiao's legs and carried her to the soft and warm bed, and lowered the thick bed curtains.
The bed rocked gently, and that night, the lovers finally became a couple.
(End of this chapter)