Chapter 616: A Banquet of Unity

Chapter 616: A Banquet of Unity

Chapter 616: A Banquet of Unity

It was dark and snowy outside, but warm inside.

Wang Dun took off his clothes and asked the maid to bring him a bowl of cold rice and a small jar of wine.

Everyone in the circle knows that after taking the powder, the heat and toxins will surge up, and they must be dispersed in time. Otherwise, "the five poisons will attack the heart" and "either death or disability".

There are many ways to walk.

There is walking and strolling. But there is a risk here, that is, when walking and strolling, the mind may not be clear, and it may take off clothes due to heat. Therefore, in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, scholars often ran naked on the streets. You think they are performing art and venting their depression, but is there a possibility that they are just walking and strolling?

This trend continued until the Tang Dynasty. But at that time, no one took Wu Shi San, because people found that this thing was harmful to the body, weakening body functions, destroying IQ, reducing fertility, etc., and there were many harms. Therefore, walking in the Tang Dynasty was really just a habit, called "strolling".

Wang Dun’s way of walking did not rely on taking a walk, but mainly on taking off clothes, drinking cold wine, and eating cold rice.

At this time, after he took the cold rice, he finished the whole bowl in no time - he had been at the banquet for the whole afternoon, and it was strange that he was hungry after drinking and eating.

After eating the cold rice, they drank two big bowls of cold wine in a row. The scholars of the Wei and Jin Dynasties loved drinking, which was very famous throughout history. This was because drinking could numb the nerves and relieve the depression in the heart, and it was also an indispensable thing for relaxation.

Zhou Xi's eyelids twitched as he watched from the side, and he hurriedly advised, "Chu Zhong, slow down, slow down."

Pei Xiu died suddenly at the age of 48 after taking the medicine and drinking cold wine. He was really worried that Wang Dun would die and never wake up again.

Wang Dun was too lazy to answer him and just asked, "Did you disperse it?"

"How can it be so fast?" Zhou Xi said with a smile.

Once it’s distributed, it’s meaningless.

He Pingshu (He Yan) once said: "Taking Wu Shi San not only cures diseases, but also makes one feel brighter and clearer."

The specific manifestations of this "cheerful and cheerful spirit" are high spirits and rosy blood. The effect of Zhou Xi's medicine has been half gone, and his face is not as red as before, but he still has some vigor.

If the effect of the medicine completely wears off, your face will become pale, so it is rumored that this thing has the effect of whitening your skin.

Zhou Xi waited quietly for the procession to end.

Suddenly, music started.

Zhou Xi and Wang Dun looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of dancers entering the stage to perform.

Seeing Zhou Xi watching intently, others whispered, "The one in the middle is Lord Tao's concubine. Whenever she meets a distinguished guest, she comes out to dance to entertain him."

Zhou Xi nodded slightly, still staring intently.

"This woman has a graceful figure. Look, she can bend over and touch the ground, and hold the jade hairpin on Tao Shiheng's table." Wang Dun also became interested. After putting down his wine, he marveled.

Zhou Xi looked at the dancer's soft body, which was like a bow bent there, with two mounds of flesh on the bow arms, trembling, and suddenly he could not control himself.

With a loud "crash", Zhou Xi stood up and overturned the table.

"Bo Ren, sit down." Wang Dun hurriedly pulled him and scolded him softly.

Zhou Xi came to his senses a little more. He looked at the dancer twice again and sat down unwillingly.

"What do you want to do?" Wang Dun had some guesses in his mind and asked deliberately.

For a long time, because Zhou Xi was very talented, Wang Dun felt inferior whenever he saw him. As time went by, his mind became twisted and he became full of jealousy.

Seeing Zhou Xi making a fool of himself at this moment, he felt suddenly pleased.

You can't control yourself, are you stupid? Haha!
However, when he felt the treasure in his crotch that showed no signs of waking up, he sighed inwardly and became more jealous of Zhou Xi.

Zhou Xi was probably still a little confused. When he heard Wang Dun's question, he subconsciously answered, "I want to have sex with this girl."

The sound was quite loud. The guests laughed uncontrollably when they heard it. Even the host Tao Kan laughed and waved his hand, asking his concubine, whose pretty face was flushed, to leave.

When Zhou Xi saw everyone laughing, he came to his senses and started laughing too.

After taking the medicine, he becomes like this, with all propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame gone, and he turns into a beast. It's normal - in history, Zhou Xi and Wang Dao went to someone else's house as guests, and the host sent his concubine out to sing. Zhou Xi couldn't control himself, and went forward to grab the girl, wanting to have sex with someone else's concubine in front of all the guests, "exposing his ugliness without any shame on his face", and even took out his thing.

"Bo Ren is a man of his true character." Tao Kan, the prefect of Xiangyang, raised the wine jar from a distance and took the initiative to rescue him.

Zhou Xi knew that he had been reckless, so he also raised his cup to return the toast.

The storm subsided.

Wang Dun looked at Zhou Xi and then at Tao Kan, feeling annoyed.

Tao Kan, Gan Zhuo, Zhou Fang and others led the army to quell Du Tao's rebellion and made outstanding contributions. They once competed for the position of governor of Jingzhou, but were defeated by Wang Dun in the end and failed.

Of course Wang Dun could feel their vague hostility, but he didn't care.

My Wang family of Langya is a very powerful family. No matter how talented you are, you have to keep it to yourself.

The only thing that made him dissatisfied was that these people respected Zhou Xi very much and thought he was very talented, so they made friends with him a lot.

Seeing this scene, Wang Dun's petty mind couldn't help but make up his mind that if he had the chance, he would kill all of them.

Perhaps to hide the embarrassment, the conversation at the table quickly turned to the battle report from Hebei that had just been received.

"Wang Pengzu was from a famous family, and his reputation spread across the northern states. But in the end, he was schemed against by villains and fell into obscurity. It is truly lamentable."

"Who is plotting against Wang Pengzu? I heard that there is a Zaotai property from the Zao family of Changsha. Is it true?"

"Zao Taichan did betray Wang Pengzu. What a pity. Zao Daoyan (Zao Ju, the father of Zao Song) was handsome, good at writing, and had a gentlemanly demeanor, but his son turned out to be such a dwarf. Alas."

"Helping the thief Shao is truly aiding and abetting the evil." "It's pitiful, how lamentable!"

Everyone talked at once, and after sighing, they all drank a round of wine, and the atmosphere became even more lively.

You know, the more lively the atmosphere is at the dinner table, the more informal the conversation becomes.

Someone said, "I heard that Shao the thief loves women. If he goes to Youzhou, can Jun's wife Cui be guaranteed to be innocent?"

"Haha!" Everyone laughed again.

Zhou Xi also couldn't stop smiling.

Wang Dun's face looked a little unhappy.

He thought of Sima Xiuwei, who actually gave birth to a child for Shao Ze? !
If only she had died in Qingzhou, she would have saved me the shame. It was a pity that this slave girl had some skills, and she managed to stabilize the situation and finally returned to Luoyang successfully.

To be honest, Wang Dun would rather his wife be abducted by bandits than have her give birth to a child for the bandit Shao.

This matter made him very uncomfortable.

"The thief Shao has taken over Youzhou and is in great power. He may move south in the future. We should be prepared." Tao Kan, the host, guided the topic and said.

"Don't worry, Shiheng." Perhaps feeling guilty, Zhou Xi said, "I have already settled all the refugees from Guanxi that Chuzhong gathered in Nanjun. I have also given land and houses to the surrendered people of Du Tao and refugees from Bashu. After the good harvest next year, we will have no shortage of food and silk, and all the war equipment. We will definitely not delay your mission."

Tao Kan was delighted when he heard this and said, "With Bo Ren here, what else do I have to worry about?"

This is not an exaggeration.

Zhou Boren was addicted to alcohol and often took medicine, so he was not sober very often. But as long as he was sober, no matter how difficult the task was, he could handle it for you perfectly, this was his ability.

So humans are a very complex animal.

Zhou Boren would have sex with someone else's concubine in public, and he would often be unconscious for days after drinking. But that did not stop him from being a good official and doing good things, although he later got the nickname "Three-Day Pushe" - he would never work for more than three days in a row.

"Shao Xun is a serious villain in our country, and we must not let him go easily." Wang Dun suddenly slammed the table and said loudly: "Shiheng, don't worry, we will not let Shao Xun succeed. Soldiers, food, and weapons, no matter how difficult it is, we will raise them for you. You train the land forces in Xiangyang, I will go to Jiangling to train the water forces, and Boren will raise food and grass in Jiangxia, train and prepare troops, and sooner or later we will capture Nanyang."

When Tao Kan heard this, he immediately stood up and thanked him.

He had just arrived at Xiangyang and had just taken office. As soon as he arrived at the government office, he asked someone about the previous war.

The Mianyang North Shogunate, controlled by the thief Shao, assembled tens of thousands of men and besieged Xiangyang, but was defeated and retreated.

Troops were also sent from Xiangyang to attack Xinye, but were also repelled.

The battle line was almost deadlocked.

Tao Kan was very confident in the soldiers of Jingzhou because they had experienced brutal battles since the Zhang Chang Rebellion and were not a mob that would collapse at the first blow.

The troops that Wang Chuzhong brought to quell the rebellion mainly came from Jiangzhou. They were the remnants of the Jiangxi generals' group with the most martial virtue in the entire Wu area. They served as the backbone and joined forces with the local soldiers of Jingzhou. After some tempering, they would become a strong army.

"As for King Langya..." someone said worriedly.

"We have to squeeze out some money, food and equipment." Wang Dun stretched out his hand to stop the man from talking, and said, "If it's not possible, I will submit a petition to ask for it myself."

Although Jiangdong and Jingzhou have more than five million people in total, most of them have nothing to do with Jianye Shogunate. They cannot collect money and food, and cannot mobilize manpower, so they can only watch. Everything must be discussed. If the nobles do not agree, there will be no sufficient food, equipment, and soldiers. This is the most puzzling thing.

Fortunately, the situation in Jing and Xiang states is not as serious as that in Jiangdong. He and Zhou Xi can still play a considerable role. This may be the biggest consolation.

"Shao is a lowly thief, but he is a thief who has stolen our country. If we let him get ahead, we will all be in trouble." Wang Dun concluded, "Fortunately, things have not reached the point of no return. Shao still has strong enemies in the north. If he is attacked from both north and south, he will be fine for one or two years, but after ten or eight years, he will definitely be exhausted. Then we will have an opportunity."

Zhou Xi, Tao Kan and others nodded secretly.

In fact, on the premise of guarding the gates and maintaining stability, they continued to harass Henan, consume the Shao bandits' troops and supplies, destroy their agriculture and sericulture, and echo each other with the Huns in the north.

It’s a pity that Shouchun and Xuzhou may not have the same determination as the Jingxiang Group, and most of them just work without putting in any effort. There is nothing to be done.

But Shao defeated Shi Le and Liu Yao and seized Youzhou, which caused quite a stir and even made people feel a little scared.

In this way, perhaps Jianye would be more alert and provide more supplies to support the Northern Expedition.

But - well, never mind, that's unlikely.

I heard that the Jiangdong area has built fortresses and docks along the Huai River and stationed soldiers there, and they look like they are prepared to defend themselves until they are beaten. How can we expect them to launch a large-scale Northern Expedition?

To be honest, it is better to hope that Shao the thief will die in a woman's belly one day than to rely on those people. Civil unrest in the north is more reliable.

"Drink!" Zhou Xi no longer thought about his troubles, picked up the wine jar and urged.

Tao Kan sent another concubine out to sing a song: "Who doesn't see the beauty of spring? But I feel sad when autumn falls..."

She has a melodious voice and a pretty appearance.

As she was singing, seeing Tao Kan's signal, the concubine came to Wang Dun gracefully.

Wang Dun smiled and waved his hand, looking aloof from women, which made people respect him.

Zhou Xi was not polite, however. He took the concubine into his arms, played with her for a while, then laughed loudly. He then pushed the girl into the arms of another guest and allowed him to molest her.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became heated again.

Tao Kan, like an outsider, quietly looked at the guests in the room and sighed inaudibly.

If you want to get things done, you have to curry favor with these people first, which is so difficult.

(End of this chapter)