Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 64 Intention
The blue-robed eunuch led the way, and Deng Yao followed with a dozen generals. After passing through several courtyards, they soon arrived at a wide garden.
The banquet was held by the lake in the garden. It was a clear autumn day with a blue sky and a breeze blowing, creating ripples on the lake.
Not far from the lake, there is a large field of golden chrysanthemums in full bloom. The view is golden and the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers.

The eunuch led a dozen generals into the garden and said goodbye. Everyone walked to the banquet hall. At this time, the open space in the garden was covered with carpets, and dozens of tables were placed on both sides.

Deng Yao approached a table and found it was filled with peanuts, walnuts and other dried fruits.
Next to the dried fruits are peach cakes, lotus seed cakes, candied longans, fried cakes, rice noodles and other snacks.

The snacks include pickled mustard greens spring rolls, braised chicken feet, shrimp dumplings, pickled cucumbers and other cold dishes.
In addition, there is a set of teacups and two porcelain pots on each table.
At the top of the field, a red-robed eunuch seemed a little overwhelmed when he saw Deng Yao and the others standing in the field. He recognized the robes on everyone and then stepped forward to speak.

"The generals are the officers attending the banquet today."

"Yes, I am Deng Yao, a lieutenant general under Marquis Wu Jing. I am here today to attend the banquet in compliance with your order."

Deng Yao looked at Li Laitong in front of him and bowed. The highest-ranking eunuch in the inner court was naturally the one wearing a scarlet robe.
The man in front of him was wearing a red robe and was in charge of the affairs of the court. He must be a very powerful eunuch in the palace.
"I dare not. Since they are under Lord Li's command, they are our family."

Li Laitong bowed and returned the greeting with a smile on his face.

Li Laitong had been sent to Jiao Lian's army to announce the imperial edict, so he naturally knew something about the military situation.
Li Mingzhong and Jiao Lian were both trusted generals recruited by His Highness himself. Outsiders all call their soldiers "personal soldiers". Aren't they his own family?

"General Deng, don't be shy. The dried fruits and pastries on the table are appetizers. You are welcome to have them. Before the banquet officially begins, other dishes will be served. There is tea, basil drink, and sour plum soup on the table. You can have whatever you like."

"Your Highness has instructed that all the generals are generous, so there will be no wine on the table for the time being. There will be wine after the banquet begins," Li Laitong said softly.
"Your Highness has been thoughtful. There is really no need to serve wine at this time."

Deng Yao glanced at the two large porcelain pots on the table. When he heard that they only contained cold fruit soup, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
If all of this stuff is filled with the finest wine from the palace, I'm afraid three or five of the people he brought with him would fall down before the banquet even starts. What's going on?
Deng Yao heard the eunuch say that these people were his family, and knew that this eunuch was probably an old servant of the palace. He was about to find out what happened today, but another young eunuch came to the red-robed eunuch and reported something, so he had to stop.

After listening to the report, the red-robed eunuch said, "I understand," and waved his hand, and the young eunuch in front of him stepped aside.

Li Laitong turned his head to look at Deng Yao in front of him and continued
"I am an old official of the palace, and Lord Li is your highness's favorite general. Since you are a general in Lord Li's army, you are naturally a capable military official that your highness values. There is no need to be restrained when you come here."

Deng Yao listened to the words of the eunuch in front of him, and his heart was slightly moved, but before he could speak, the eunuch in front of him spoke again

"It will take about half an hour before the banquet begins. His Highness has instructed that the generals can first explore the garden on their own."

"At this moment, the garden is full of capable military officials from the court, including the imperial army, the Gui army, and the Guangdong army. The generals are usually busy with their own military affairs, and I'm afraid they don't have much communication. You might as well take this opportunity to make some friends."

"There are so many things to do at the banquet, and I have some trivial matters to attend to in the kitchen, so I'll excuse myself first."

Li Laitong said something to Deng Yao in front of him, then he bowed and hurried away with the eunuch who came to report.

Deng Yao also hurriedly bowed and said, "Goodbye," and then looked at the red-robed eunuch walking away. Only then did he think carefully about what Li Lai had just said.

This eunuch was in charge of today's banquet, so he obviously had a high status. He didn't believe that this eunuch would come and talk to him for no reason.

Just now, this person intentionally or unintentionally revealed that he was an old official of the palace, and it was obvious that he wanted to tell him something.

Deng Yao stood there, reciting the eunuch's words several times, and then he vaguely guessed the eunuch's intention.

The eunuch seemed to have just mentioned his general and Jiao Lian, and then reminded him that he could tour the garden first, which was obviously telling him to get to know more generals in the army.

Who does Your Highness want them to meet?
Of course, he wanted them to get acquainted with the generals in Jiao Lian's army. Otherwise, could it be that His Highness wanted them to get acquainted with the Guangdong Army?
The general led the Gui army, and the Marquis of Wu'an led the imperial army, so why did His Highness let them make friends with each other? Deng Yao looked thoughtful.

Deng Yao glanced around the field and became more and more certain of his judgment. At this time, there were already fifty or sixty generals wearing military robes gathered in the field.
Everyone has arrived, but the banquet has not started yet. It is obvious that they have reserved time for them.

Besides the generals, the eunuchs also stayed far away. Apart from occasionally coming up to add tea and water, and adding snacks, they did not approach the scene at all.

Deng Yao's face flashed with a thoughtful expression, and he was about to discuss it with the people behind him, but when he turned around, his face suddenly darkened.

The generals behind him, except for a few who were still standing aside a little stiffly, after listening to the words of the eunuch, saw that there was no one to control them, and they actually walked to the table and ate heartily.
"Why is there no wine? Such a good dish can only be paired with this sweet soup. What a waste!"

Yang Yandi picked up a piece of fried cake and stuffed it into his mouth, while mumbling to himself. Several guerrilla generals beside him nodded frequently and stuffed various dried fruits and cakes into their mouths.
Deng Yao was about to yell at them, but after looking around, he found that many other generals from other armies were doing the same thing, so he stopped talking.
They were the last to arrive, as the Guangdong Army's Imperial Guards had arrived earlier than them. The generals from both places were bored waiting there, and seeing that the eunuchs beside them really didn't care about them, they also started to eat heartily.
Deng Yao glanced at the generals behind him and couldn't help but cover his forehead. It seemed that these people were unreliable.
Although he didn't know what His Highness's intention was, since the eunuchs in the palace had come to hint at it, he had to complete the task of making friends with the generals on behalf of the Gui army. At this time, all the military officers in the field were wearing military robes, and some military officers were scattered in the field, taking tea, snacks and cakes from the tables everywhere. It was impossible to tell who was which.

But this did not affect Deng Yao's actions. Although there were many military officials in the field, there were only a dozen or so who could wear red robes. Excluding those who were eating a lot,

Those wearing red tiger and leopard official robes, just standing by the table drinking tea, or quietly observing the situation on the field, must be the leaders of the various armies this time.

Deng Yao followed this method, holding the silver cup and walking around the field. After talking to two or three people, he soon started talking to Liu Qijiao.
The two stood on the sidelines, each holding a cup, talking on one side of the field.

After the two of them explained their identities, Deng Yao soon discovered that Liu Qijiao was the person in charge of Jiao Lian's army.

"I was a little overwhelmed when I suddenly entered the palace banquet. Fortunately, the eunuchs in the palace advised me that I had plenty of time and could first meet the heroes of the Ming Dynasty. That's how I was able to meet General Liu, a famous general from Jin Province," Deng Yao said.

"No, no, I also received guidance from the eunuchs, which is why I have the honor to meet General Deng, a hero of Liaodong," Liu Qijiao said softly.
After the two finished speaking, a thoughtful look flashed across their faces, and they both confirmed in their hearts that His Highness intended to use this opportunity to let the generals from all sides get to know each other.
The two of them just came back to their senses after a moment of distraction, and then they also noticed the expression on each other's face just now.

The two looked at each other and knew that they must have thought of the same thing. And judging from the other's behavior, it was obvious that he was also a quick-witted person. The two sides must be on the same path.
Both sides confirmed His Highness' intention, so Liu Qijiao no longer hesitated and took Deng Yao to introduce the generals in the army.
"General Deng, this man is called Zhao Xing, and he is also a lieutenant general in our army. He is quite brave when charging into battle."

Liu Qijiao introduced Deng Yao, then looked at Zhao Xing behind him, his face serious, and said
"Zhao Xing, this is General Deng, a hero from Liaodong and a favorite general of Marquis Wu Jing's army. I have never met General Deng before."

Zhao Xing didn't care. After listening to Liu Qijiao's words, he stuffed a piece of fried cake into his mouth, clapped his hands, and then stood up and bowed.

"Zhao Xing met General Deng"

"Meet General Zhao"

After the two of them exchanged greetings, Zhao Xing sat down again.

Zhao Xing took two walnuts, clenched them in his right hand, and when he opened his palm, the shells of the two walnuts had actually shattered.

Zhao Xing crushed the walnuts, took out the pulp, and then carefully piled it on the table. Looking at the walnut pulp that had been pounded into a small mountain on the table, Zhao Xing's face flashed with satisfaction.

Zhao Xing peeled the walnuts and realized that the two people at the table were still looking at him, and Liu Qijiao was staring at him dangerously.
Zhao Xing looked at Liu Qijiao who was on the verge of exploding, and his neck suddenly felt cold.

"This walnut is pretty good. How about... General Deng have some too?"

Zhao Xing looked at the pile of walnuts in front of him, then looked at Liu Qijiao's ugly face. After hesitating for a moment, he had to take a small handful of walnuts and handed them over with some pain.
"No, General Liu, please use it," Deng Yao said with a smile.

Zhao Xing's expression relaxed when he heard this, but then he noticed that Liu Qijiao's expression became even darker.

"Old Liu, why are you still looking at me? General Deng said no himself, so you can't blame me," Zhao Xing looked at Liu Qijiao with dissatisfaction.

"You, go eat over there," Liu Qijiao said through gritted teeth.
"Let's go. The emperor is inviting us to dinner, why are you still looking so stern? It's really unpleasant."

Zhao Xing complained, took the peach kernel on the table, put it in his palm, and then stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling incoherently:

"My goodness, this palace is a palace. Even the walnuts are sweeter than those outside."

Liu Qijiao looked at Zhao Xing who had walked aside, a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face, and he said to Deng Yao
"General Deng, don't worry. This guy is a straightforward person and has no intention of treating you badly."

Deng Yao looked at the burly man with a full beard eating rice noodles on the table. A figure suddenly appeared in his mind, and he couldn't help but sigh:

"It's okay. There is also a person in my army with the same temper. I'm used to it."

The two looked at each other's faces with emotion, and somehow they suddenly felt a sense of sympathy. It turned out that they were not the only ones who had such a scumbag.

(End of this chapter)