Han officials

Chapter 35: Gentle Country【4K】

Although he had already prepared himself mentally, Guan Yue still felt a little uncomfortable when his daughter got married.

But he finally restrained himself, and after whispering a few words of advice, he watched his daughter get on the carriage.

Suddenly, bells and chimes rang out, and stringed instruments played together.

The musicians in the team played so hard that the people watching around them also cheered.

Then the wedding procession was seen holding colorful flags and marching towards Wei's house to the sound of continuous drums and music.

Seeing this, Huang Xiong, the county magistrate who was watching the excitement not far away, suddenly showed envy on his face.

"This Guan family is really generous!"

Hearing this, Kushoufu Ji Hong beside him couldn't help but nodded.

You have to know that the dowry they could see alone included dozens of maids, hundreds of servants, and boxes of silk and other valuables. If you add in the invisible properties, it would probably be even more terrifying.

In fact, this is indeed the case.

Guan Yue knew that Wei Zhe valued seagoing vessels, so he simply sent dozens of shipbuilders as a dowry and concubines. In addition, there were a large number of farmlands and shops in Donglai County, all of which were suitable for long-term operation.

Of course, the ownership of the dowry still belongs to Guan Yan.

It doesn’t matter if she is willing to let Wei Zhe use it, but the owner of these properties can only be her.

After all, the original intention of dowry is to give a daughter confidence when she gets married.

Even the shipbuilder was Guan Yan's bargaining chip. If he achieved any success in the future, it would all be attributed to Guan Yan.

In fact, during the Shang Dynasty, Yi Yin was originally a concubine of the Youshen clan. King Tang of Qin recognized Yi Yin's talent and gave him considerable favors, leading to the prosperity of the Youshen clan. Bai Li Xi also entered the Qin State as a concubine of Duke Mu of Qin's wife, Lady Mu Ji.

Therefore, in terms of weddings, the Han Dynasty still adheres to the customs of the Three Generations.

It’s just that in the past only the princes paid attention to these things, but now even wealthy businessmen can follow suit.

For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a saying that "one betrothal gift was for nine women" was used in the weddings of princes.

In other words, apart from the wife, the remaining eight women were all concubines, meaning eight sisters of the same surname as the bride were given as dowry. It was even common for an aunt and a niece to marry the same person, and for an elder sister and a younger sister to share the same husband.

But Wei Zhe was not a prince after all, and the Guan family was not a noble family.

So although Guan Yan had four concubines as a dowry, they were just maids carefully selected by Guan's mother for him.

But then again, such a generous dowry is no less impressive than the wedding of a daughter from an ordinary aristocratic family.

Of course, this is not surprising. After all, wealthy merchants in this dynasty were less bound by etiquette and laws, so dowries were often more generous.

Thinking of this, Huang Xiong, who only wanted to make money, couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect that marrying a wife would be such a profitable business. If I had known, I would have married more wives!"

Hearing this, Ji Hong glanced at his short and fat body, but out of politeness he didn't say anything.

……

"What a joyful occasion! Celebrate this auspicious occasion.

The friendship between the two families will last for hundreds of generations.

Tie the black hair into a character and write it with the wedding wine.

I write to you with my promise to you to be together till old age.
Let us record the Red Leaf Alliance in the Mandarin Duck Genealogy."

At dusk, Wei Zhe finally brought the bride back to his house.

However, unlike later generations, there is no custom of worshiping in the hall at current weddings.

The bride pays homage to her uncles, aunts and ancestors, usually on the day after the wedding.

Therefore, after the ritual officer Guan Ning finished his speech of praise, the bride was sent into the bridal chamber.

As for Wei Zhe, he stayed to thank the guests who came to watch the ceremony.

For example, Wei Zhe had long heard of Guan Ning and Guan You'an, and was particularly impressed when he saw Bing Yuan and Hua Xin.

If Guan Ning was an unrestrained hermit, then these two were truly capable ministers.

The most important thing is that these three people all come from poor families.

The Hua family of Gaotang and the Bing family of Zhuxu only became prominent in the world after these two people.

By the way, the so-called "Guan Ning Cutting the Mat" story is actually just a rumor fabricated by later literati.

The original origin of this allusion is "A New Account of Tales of the World" compiled by scholars organized by Liu Yiqing of the Southern Dynasty.

But what is Shishuo Xinyu? It is a fictional note novel!

It can be said that this is a group of literati who got together to record various anecdotes they heard from others.

I think it's good for conversation, but it's not credible enough.

After all, even though Guan Ning was a hermit gentleman, Hua Xin was not a greedy person.

The fact that Xun Yu, his predecessor, was the Minister of the Chancellery, and Zhong Yao, his successor, was the Grand Commandant, was enough to illustrate Hua Xin's ability.

But now was not the time to talk, so Wei Zhe left after inviting the three to stay for a few more days.

……

At the same time, Guan Yan in the bridal chamber was feeling a little uneasy.

She was a little nervous, a little expectant, but mostly shy.

Especially when she thought of the dowry painting her mother showed her last night, she couldn't help blushing.

Of course, it is nicely called a "dowry painting", but in reality it is just a pornographic picture.

Even the original purpose of "Spring Palace Pictures" was to teach wives how to have sex with their husbands.

Therefore, most of the early "Spring Palace Pictures" came from aristocratic families.

After all, some knowledge is not popular among our family members, and it is estimated that it will be popularized by others in the future.

The big families have suffered a lot in this regard and have inherited a lot of experience, so there is nothing to be ashamed of.

But for a young girl like Guan Yan, it was a bit too much to handle.

Although she couldn't help but steal glances at the dowry paintings again and again, she was still a rookie after all.

Guan Yan's face turned red when she thought about having to practice with a man soon.

As soon as Wei Zhe came in, he saw Guan Yan, who was as beautiful as a peach or a plum.

Wei Zhe didn't expect that she would be so stunning in her gorgeous dress, and he felt so happy in his heart.

However, Wei Zhe was happy, but Guan Yan couldn't stand Wei Zhe's burning gaze.

She immediately said shyly and nervously, "Husband, it's time to do the washing ceremony."

The so-called washing ceremony is that the newlyweds clean their hands to show respect for each other.

Seeing her so nervous, Wei Zhe deliberately chatted: "Do you still like it after getting off the horse?"

Seeing Guan Yan nod gently, Wei Zhe immediately smiled and said, "Since you like them, how about we go pick out a few more horses in a few days? Then I'll go for an outing with you."

A girl's feelings are always poetic. After hearing what Wei Zhe said, Guan Yan felt much more relaxed and even looked forward to her married life.

So after Wei Zhe's few words, the little white rabbit soon became happy with his eyebrows and eyes curved like crescent moons.

However, after eating from the same nest, drinking from the same wedding banquet, and tying the knot, the critical moment finally arrived.

"Have a few more drinks!" Seeing Guan Yan's nervous expression, Wei Zhe immediately comforted her softly, "Drink a few more drinks...it won't hurt anymore."

After hearing what he said, Guan Yan actually believed it and drank two more glasses immediately.

Then... then her face turned red and her eyes became blurry.

She was so dazed that she didn't even notice when the maid undressed them and Wei Zhe carried her to bed.

However, she did notice something.

I don't know how long it took, but on the bed in the bridal chamber, Guan Yan was nestled in Wei Zhe's arms, mumbling aggrievedly:

"Husband, you're lying. It's clearly painful."

After saying that, the little girl whined and nudged Wei Zhe a few times with her little head, which made Wei Zhe laugh.

So he immediately leaned over to Guan Yan's ear and whispered a few words.

No one knew what Wei Zhe said, but Guan Yan's face immediately turned red.

But after hesitating for a long time, she still tried it out of curiosity.

As the war broke out again, the maid outside the bed couldn't help but blush more and more.

……

Bai Juyi once said:

The spring night is short and the sun is rising,
From then on, the king did not go to court early.

The next morning, Wei Zhe finally understood the suffering that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had endured.

Just when Wei Zhe wanted to savor the warmth and fragrance again, the young lady in his arms refused.

On her first day of marriage into the Wei family, she didn't want to give her uncle and aunt the impression that she was lazy.

So under Guan Yan's gentle plea, Wei Zhe had to get up early.

When the two arrived at the main hall, Wei Xuan and Liu were already sitting there waiting.

Seeing this, Guan Yan immediately followed Wei Zhe and went forward to pay her respects. There was no need to pour tea.

Liu was obviously very satisfied with her new bride Guan Yan. After the ceremony, she pulled her aside to talk.

Wei Xuan had nothing to say. After telling Wei Zhe to live a good life, he let the two of them leave.

But the matter was not over yet. After a while, Zhong Hu and other Wei family servants also came to pay their respects.

After all, Guan Yan is the legitimate mistress, so they have to recognize her.

As for Taishi Ci and Xi Zhicai, they were close friends, so they didn't need to be so formal.

However, after all the busy work, Guan Yan was still very tired.

Seeing this, Wei Zhe simply asked the maid to help her go back to her room to rest, while he went to the county temple to handle official business.

Although the land of gentleness is nice, Wei Zhe still hasn't forgotten what his family's roots are.

"Have the military farms been doing well these past few days?" On the way to the county temple, Wei Zhe and Xi Zhicai chatted, "There are a lot of idle people in the city lately. Zhicai, please take good care of them and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Hearing this, Xi Zhicai immediately said with a smile: "It's my job, don't worry!"

Without waiting for Wei Zhe to speak, Xi Zhicai took the initiative to mention, "Guan Huaian has already arrived in Chenhan. According to the agreement, the caravan will depart in a few days. Does Mingshou have any other arrangements?"

Since Guan Xiu was traveling along the coast, the agreed transaction times along the way were also different.

Although the period is six months, the later the tribes are, the later the trading time will be.

Therefore, starting from this month, Wei's fleet will go out to sea almost once a month until the coast is frozen and landing is impossible.

Under such circumstances, it became much more convenient for Wei Zhe to contact Guan Xiu and Yuan Jun, and now they basically contact each other once a month.

It is precisely because of this that Xi Zhicai can roughly know Guan Xiu's progress.

After hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Wei Zhe immediately had an idea and said, "Since Chen Han was formed by the intermingling of the exiled people from the pre-Qin period and the Bird Barbarians, do you think it's possible to have them come from the Barbarians and enter Xia, and use them for my benefit once again?"

It is said that there were six countries in Jinhan at the beginning, and later it was divided into twelve countries, that is, there were twelve tribes in the country, namely Yidi Country, Bushi Country, Qinqi Country, Nanmilimidong Country, Ranxi Country, Chenlenu Country, Junmi Country, Ruzhan Country, Hulu Country, Zhouxian Country, Silu Country, and Youyou Country.

Among them, the Srira Kingdom, like the "Boje Kingdom", is the predecessor of the later Silla.

Although Jinhan was far smaller than Mahan, it also had tens of thousands of households and over 100,000 people.

If these people could be used by him, it would be much easier for Wei Zhe to destroy the Three Kingdoms of Han.

However, Xi Zhicai thought for a moment, then frowned and shook his head, saying, "It's difficult!"

Without waiting for Wei Zhe to speak, Xi Zhicai took the initiative to explain, "According to Guan Huaian, all the Qin people who entered Han over the years were enslaved, and many later defected. This shows that the powerful people in Chen and Han are still mainly Koreans, and do not consider themselves descendants of the Huaxia Miao people."

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe immediately shook his head regretfully and gave up.

After all, Chen Han no longer considers himself Chinese, so there is no question of him returning to China from the barbarians.

"Alas~ I wanted to give these people a glimmer of hope, but since they themselves don't value it... well, then I'll treat them all the same!"

After saying this, Wei Zhe no longer took the matter to heart and led the cavalry away along the official road.

……

At the same time, Guan Ning, Hua Xin and Bing Yuanze were strolling outside the city.

"Twelve military camps, forty-six townspeople... Tsk tsk, the young are truly formidable!"

Even though Guan Ning was a noble and reclusive person, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved by Wei Zhe's handwriting.

Hua Xin also agreed with what he said.

Although we don’t know exactly how Wei Zhe cultivated the land, the current results are enough to explain everything.

The twelve battalions of troops were stationed to defend the frontier and could almost be considered frontier troops.

Residents from forty-six towns settled there, with men farming and women weaving in an orderly manner.

As he traveled along, he saw that few people looked hungry, and everyone was happy to follow Wei Zhe's orders.

If Hua Xin hadn't known that this group of people were refugees, he would have even suspected that they were local people.

And this is what they admire most.

In just over a year, they were able to not only bring order to Daifang County but also settle down tens of thousands of refugees. They knew they did not have the means to do so.

Bing Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in amazement: "This man's achievement in bringing order to chaos is truly unprecedented in my life."

"That's right!" Hua Xin even asserted, "This person will definitely be among the three highest officials in the imperial court tomorrow."

This can be said to be the highest compliment.

After all, the Three Dukes are the pinnacle of officialdom, and even those who are granted titles of nobility and appointed as generals may not be able to hold the position of the Three Dukes.

However, Guan Ning was a little surprised to see that his two friends were optimistic about Wei Zhe.

The three of them were all smart people. When Wei Zhe invited them to stay for a few more days, they naturally guessed his purpose.

I guess, just like the local officials in the past, they just want to recruit them.

Guan Ning couldn't help but ask, "You guys...are you willing to stay?"

Bing Yuan, who was plain-looking, did not hide anything when he heard this. He nodded without hesitation and said, "I'm willing to follow in your footsteps!"

Perhaps if he waited a little longer he could get a higher starting point for his official career, but Bing Yuan didn't care.

Compared to these, he felt that it was more interesting to do some practical work alongside Wei Zhe.

Hua Xin was not surprised to hear this, but he did not choose to stay like Bing Yuan.

"Let's wait and see!" Hua Xin frowned and said cautiously, "There's no need to rush."

Hearing this, Bing Yuan didn't find it strange. Hua Xin was the kind of person who thought twice before acting.

The three of them have very different personalities, but they can become close friends because they do not interfere with each other.

In comparison, the two were more curious about whether Guan Ning would change his decision to live in seclusion and not serve as an official.

After all, Wei Zhe is the son-in-law of their Guan family, so Guan Ning might change his mind.

However, Guan Ning smiled and said, "You are not me, how can you know my joy?"

As soon as these words came out, the three of them smiled at each other...

(End of this chapter)