"If you don't get hired, you have to pay a dowry. Cao Mengde is really impatient. In the study of the Hou Mansion in Huang County, Guo Jia was speechless and put together the edict issued by Cao Cao in the name of the Han Emperor and put it on the case.

Cai Ji, who was sitting in the first seat, had to smile bitterly in the face of Guo Jia's ridicule, and turned back to Huang Zhen, who was sitting on the side, and asked, "Huang Ji, how is the grain and grass prepared for the tribute to the imperial court?" ”

"Back to the lord, 50,000 pieces of grain are ready, and they can be sent to Xudu at any time." Huang Zhen hurriedly replied. In the Han Dynasty, Hu has two meanings, one is a unit of weight, one Hu is one hundred and twenty Han catties, which is equivalent to sixty catties and thirty kilograms now. The second is the volume unit, one Hu is 100 Han liters, which is equivalent to the current 20 liters, and the weight of one Hu is about 20 kilograms. Of course, there are differences in the weight of different grains. The grain and grass provided by Cai Ji could not be pure wheat or corn, but even if it was mixed with miscellaneous grains, 50,000 grains of grain would be equivalent to 7 or 800 tons of grain in later generations. This was not a small amount at the end of the Han Dynasty. It must be known that Yuan Shu had asked for 30,000 pieces of grain from Lu Kang, the former Taishou of Lujiang, but Lu Kang refused, which led to the later battle of Sun Ce's crusade against Lujiang. And Cai Ji imported 50,000 Hu to the imperial court at one time, which undoubtedly solved Cao Cao's urgent need.

However, Cao Cao certainly took the opportunity of this marriage to temporarily solve the dilemma of shortage of grain and grass, but such a heavy hemorrhage made Cai Ji's subordinates look like they had a toothache. This is not after Guo Jia ridiculed Cao Cao, Liu Yixun couldn't help but say in a strange voice on the side, "The lord is so generous, but I don't know how much dowry Cao Cao will pay over there." ”

"These 50,000 Hu grain rights should be handed over to the imperial court as a tribute. As for the dowry......" Cai Ji paused here when he said this, looked around at the subordinates present, and then proudly reached out and patted the cowhide map hanging behind him, "I still need to take it in person." ”

Seeing Cai Ji's hand patting the location of Qingzhou on the map, the subordinates suddenly ignited their fighting spirit in their hearts. But he saw Tai Shi Ci hugging his fists and asking him to fight, "I am willing to take Qingzhou for the lord"

"Please allow Yun to fight together as a vanguard," Zhao Yun also asked. The battle of Lü Bu in the south allowed Zhao Yun to win the respect of Cai Jijun. At the same time, Cai Ji's timely parting of ways with Yuan Shao also made Zhao Yun let go of the doubts in his heart. Therefore, Zhao Yun did not want to have this opportunity to not only achieve military merits, but also avenge Gongsun Zhan.

However, just when a group of officials were united in planning to launch the battle of Qingzhou, Jia Xu on the side suddenly said, "But it's not appropriate to start a war on the occasion of the wedding." ”

Cai Ji's scheming Jia Xu reminded him like this, and immediately smiled knowingly, "Wenhe Gong's words are reasonable. Since the government had already provided food for Cao Gong, it was not in such a hurry to share the defense for Cao's army. ”

"That's true. Yuan Shao's obsession with Cao Cao is very comparable. Guo Jia also nodded in agreement.

As soon as Guo Jia's words came out, the subordinates present suddenly burst into laughter. It turned out that Cai Ji had predicted earlier that Yuan Shao would not bypass Guandu to attack Xudu in order to compete with Cao Cao. At first, the prophecy of Cai Ji was not true. But as the Battle of Guandu fell into a scorching stage, Yuan Shao's actions finally fulfilled Cai Ji's prophecy. And everyone was amazed that Cai Ji was good at grasping people's hearts, and at the same time, they sneered at Yuan Shao's persistence.

However, the cautious Cai Ji did not despise Yuan Shao because of this. As the so-called ship of ten thousand years, with this idea, Cai Ji couldn't help but bow down and warn everyone, "But we must also beware of Yuan Shaojun's sneak attack on our department, after all, this government has formed an alliance with Cao Gong." Ziyi, who is now commanding Yuan Shaojun, who is stationed on the front line of Weishui? ”

"Back to the lord, since Yuan Tan led the troops to help Guandu, the defense of Qingzhou has been taken over by his subordinate Wang Zhao." Tai Shi Ci replied.

"Wang Zhao?" Cai Ji recalled the name and felt that it seemed a little familiar, but he couldn't remember who the other party was.

Seeing this, Tai Shici couldn't help but smile and reminded Cai Ji, "Lord, Wang Zhao is the Yuan Tan general who attacked the lord at night on the bank of the Mache River, and was burned by the lord instead. ”

"Ah, that's the man." Cai Ji finally remembered who the other party was after Tai Shi Ci mentioned this, so he couldn't help but smile with relief, "Speaking of which, this General Wang is still the first person to taste the taste of gunpowder, and he is our old opponent." ”

However, seeing that Cai Ji despised Wang Zhao quite a bit, Liu Yixun reminded Cai Ji in a timely manner, "My lord, although Wang Zhao is short-tempered, it is difficult to take on a heavy responsibility. But the Xin family, who stayed in Pingyuan County, are all shrewd people, and they must be guarded against. ”

Cai Ji heard Guo Jia mention Xin Ping and Xin Bi, and couldn't help but restrain his previous smile. Indeed, compared with the little-known Wang Zhao, the Xin family left a lot of records in the history of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty. However, it was not Yuan Shao but Cao Cao who made the Xin family, especially his younger brother Xin Bi, shine. Another thought of the situation of the negotiations in Huang County last year. Cai Ji couldn't help but turn around and ask Guo Jia, "What does Feng Xiao think of the Xin family?" ”

In the face of Cai Ji's inquiry, Guo Jia replied leisurely, "The Xin family is a famous person in Yingchuan. The eldest brother Xin is loyal and has always respected Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan. But Xin commented on his short-sightedness, did not distinguish loyalty and righteousness, and blindly fooled and loyal to the Yuan family, and there would be no good end in the future. In contrast, his younger brother Xin Bi is just bright and upright, and he is bowing to the bandits, although he is in the Yuan camp, he still has reverence for the Han family. ”

Guo Jia's analysis of the Xin family corresponds to the accounts of these two in later historical sources. Cai Ji immediately nodded and agreed, "Feng Xiao's words are reasonable. You and Xin are both from Yingchuan, I don't know if you can make a fuss about Xinbi? ”

"I'm willing to give it a try." Guo Jia said happily.

"Good, this matter will be handled by Fengxiao." After smiling at Guo Jia, Cai Ji turned back to Jia Xu and asked, "Wen Hegong, I don't know how the marriage in this mansion is going?" ”

"Back to the lord, the matchmaker has completed the gifts of Nacai, asking for names, Najib, and Nazheng, and has issued a letter of appointment, and is now asking for divination." Jia Xu replied.

Jia Xu's mention of some of the marriage steps, such as Nacai and asking for names, refers to the "Three Books and Six Rites" that have been passed down since the Zhou Dynasty. The so-called "three books" refer to the three kinds of documents that should be possessed to pursue the "six rites", that is, the letter of appointment, which is handed over by the male family to the female family at the time of engagement between the man and the woman, which is used to determine the marriage contract; The Book of Rites, the letters of the male family and the woman's family during the big ceremony, listing in detail the items and quantities at the time of the big ceremony; Greeting letters, on the day of greeting, the man's family gave the woman's letter. These "Three Books" are written records that guaranteed the validity of marriage in ancient times.

The "six rites" refer to: Nacai, the man asks the matchmaker to propose to the woman, and after getting the answer, he asks the matchmaker to officially accept the "gift of choice" to the woman's family; Ask the name, the man sent the matchmaker to the woman's house to ask the woman's name, the birthday of the eight characters, after retrieving the Geng sticker, Bu Ji combined the eight characters; Najib, after the man asks for his name and joins the eight characters, notifies the woman of the auspicious sign of the marriage, and gives a gift to indicate the etiquette of the engagement; Na Zheng, also known as Na Cheng and Na Yuan, is a dowry gift from a man to a woman; The invitation period, also known as the notice period, is that the man's family sends someone to the woman's house to inform the date of marriage; Kissing, also known as kissing, means that the groom personally goes to the woman's house to marry the bride. Such six steps were first seen in "The Book of Rites? Faint righteousness. Most of the subsequent generations followed the Zhou rites, but only changed the name and content.

However, it is worth mentioning that since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the whole of China has become turbulent due to war. In this era of precariousness, the marriage steps of the people and even the public secretary and doctor class have been much simpler. In many places, they don't even care about the six rituals, only the ritual of worshipping (worshipping the in-laws), and even the ceremony of the union (the husband and wife drinking together in the new house). According to the original historical process, it is precisely from the end of the Han Dynasty that the crown prince got married and no longer had a "personal welcome gift". It was not until the Sui and Tang dynasties that the crown prince resumed his personal greetings, and the imperial family began to respect the "six rites" again when they got married.

Because of this, although Cao Cao only sent a letter of appointment, he was in a hurry to ask Cai Ji for a dowry. But in addition to sneering a few words, everyone present did not criticize Cao Cao. After all, it was out of respect for the status of Cai Ji's princes that Cao Cao tried his best to meet the steps of "three books and six rites" in this extraordinary period. Otherwise, if it is replaced by other ordinary women to marry, Cao Cao is afraid that he will only send a few carriages loaded with cotton and silk to come here, and he can directly pick people up and get married.

In fact, Cai Ji himself is not obsessed with the "Three Books and Six Rites". In her opinion, getting engaged to Cao Pi was only a temporary expedient measure. However, since Cao Cao made the matter so grand, Cai Ji would not refuse, and besides, she gave 50,000 grains. In fact, there was something else that really gave her a headache. But after seeing Cai Ji nodding his approval to Jia Xu, he turned back to Sai Luban, the president of the Craftsman Guild who was sitting at the very end, and asked, "Ma Bo, how is the renovation of the mansion in this mansion?" ”

Sailuban, who had never participated in such an important meeting, was named by Cai Ji, and even though he straightened his waist slightly, he replied with a little restraint, "Back to the lord, the backyard will be renovated in ten days." As for the lobby expansion, it will take a few years to complete. ”

It turned out that although Cai Ji had already sat on the land of the six counties and was named the marquis, the mansion where she lived was still the original Donglai Taishou Mansion. As far as Cai Ji himself and the servants and disciples are concerned, if the big Taishou Mansion is concerned, it is naturally more than enough. After all, Cai Ji doesn't have to raise a large family of wives and concubines like other princes. And she herself is not interested in some extravagant decorations. Because no matter how opulent Cai Ji decorates the mansion, it is impossible to live more comfortably than the apartments of later generations with modern facilities such as air conditioning, heating, television, etc. Rather than spending a lot of money on the flashy ones, it's better to be simple and tidy. However, now that we are getting married, we will inevitably have to renovate it. And no matter how the entire Taishou Mansion is carved and painted, at least a courtyard must be vacated to house Cao Pi and the accompanying personnel who are about to come here.

However, at this time, Cai Jier heard that the construction of the lobby was going to be delayed for the New Year, and couldn't help frowning slightly and said, "The lobby is not just renovated, why has it become an expansion?" ”

Sailuban was asked by Cai Ji like this, and couldn't help but cast a distressed look at Huang Zhen and the others on the side for help. saw that the latter hurriedly explained to Cai Ji, "Lord Mingjian, the lobby of the mansion is too narrow, even if it is renovated, it is not in line with the identity of the Lord Prince." Therefore, the ministers thought that it was appropriate to expand the lobby directly. Anyway, there is still some time before the marriage of the lord, and as long as the people try their best to hurry, they will definitely be able to complete it before the arrival of the imperial court's envoy. ”

"But wouldn't this be a waste of money and labor?" Cai Ji said with a sad face. In fact, if it weren't for the repeated requests of his subordinates, Cai Ji would not have planned to break ground to renovate the mansion when the war was imminent. But who knew that according to the current situation, the amount of work is getting bigger and bigger.

However, Guo Jia on the side saw that Cai Ji seemed to have plans to stop expanding the lobby, but advised Huang Zhen and others, "The lord is sympathetic to the people, and the ministers can understand." However, as Huang Zhi said, the lord is now a marquis, and sits on the six counties of Donglai, Beihai, Langya, Donghai, Beiping, and Liaoxi, and the Donglai Taishou Mansion no longer matches the status of the lord today. The lord may not have taken this seriously. But the lord was given by the Son of Heaven to marry and marry the Cao family, and there will be many famous families in Qing and Xu Erzhou to come to Donglai to congratulate. If the lord's mansion is too shabby, how can it show everyone the identity of the lord 'Qi Hou'. ”

"Feng Xiao's words make sense. But at this extraordinary time, won't this government be criticized for being arrogant and extravagant? Cai Ji asked worriedly.

When everyone saw Cai Ji ask like this, they couldn't help but smile with satisfaction when they looked at each other. Obviously, their little lord did not have a heart of pleasure because of the change in status. This is a good thing for the people who are courtiers. However, as the so-called time and time, sometimes the necessary façade still has to be supported. No, Jia Xu followed and persuaded Cai Ji, "Don't worry about the lord." Since ancient times, a person's food, clothing, housing and transportation have been determined by their position. The common people have the standards of the common people, the doctors have the standards of the doctors, the princes have the standards of the princes, and the kings have the standards of the kings. If a person's food, clothing, shelter and transportation do not reflect his status, then dignity and humility cannot be demonstrated, and there can be no distinction between the young and the old. In this way, the world will not be chaotic. Therefore, as long as the lord does not cross the line, the world will not blame the lord for being arrogant. ”

As soon as Jia Xu's words fell, together with Guo Jia, Tai Shici and other civil and military subordinates, they all admonished Cai Ji in unison, "Please don't excuse yourself." ”

In the face of everyone's enthusiasm, although Cai Ji had no choice but to reply to everyone in a homely manner, "That's it, just expand the lobby according to what the monarchs said." However, Ma Bo must remember not to criticize the people for rushing to work, let alone deduct their wages. ”

"Whoa." Sailuban hurriedly bowed down and received the order.

Cai Ji saw that the matters that should be discussed were almost discussed, and he was about to wave his hand to signal everyone to disperse. But he didn't want Jia Xu to suddenly give up his hand and say, "Lord, there is still something to discuss." ”

Seeing this, Cai Ji hurriedly nodded and said, "Wen Hegong, please speak." ”

"Since the lord's wedding is imminent, he should pay the ceremony first." Jia Xuti said.

"Etiquette?" After Jia Xu reminded them like this, everyone remembered that although Cai Ji was over eighteen, he had not yet performed the salute. According to the Zhou system, a noble woman could perform the ritual after reaching the age of fifteen to show her adulthood, and she could also perform the ritual after she was engaged or married. Compared with women of the same era, although Cai Ji is a little older, it is not too late. But here comes the problem again. With Cai Ji's current identity, who should be invited to preside over the ceremony for her?

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