After receiving the urgent official document from Nanjing, Wang Lanping's face changed after just a quick look, but he soon regained his calm, and still led the generals and colonels at all levels back to Chenzhou City like no one else, except for the Yulin Right Guard stationed in the city, the rest of the soldiers and horses were all stationed outside the city, the Dingyuan battalion was stationed at the south gate, the Dingjun camp was stationed at the west gate, and the original Liangguang and Jiangxi troops were stationed in the east city after the first battle of Changle Mountain.

The belated celebration banquet also kicked off before nightfall, and the truckloads of wine and meat were sent to the camps, not to mention, He Tengjiao has no difficulty in defending the city, but in this Chenzhou City, he has saved a lot of food, according to the military order to collect military food along the way of the Western Expedition, so far only He Tengjiao can do the full supply.

In addition, Zheng Sen collected and transported grain from Huizhou one after another, so that the army of nearly 100,000 people in the small city of Chenzhou has never worried about military food, so that the Gui army that fled from the Changle Pass has come in one after another to take refuge, although the battle is more tragic, but on the whole, Wang Lanping is making a lot of money, from the 20,000 when he just left Beijing has only been more than three months now, the strength has climbed to 100,000.

The army was completely immersed in joy, drinking again and again, and the aroma of meat and wine poured into the city from all directions, causing many people in the city to sigh that the military lords are now living a great life, eating meat in large pieces, drinking wine in large bowls, and they are about to catch up with the old wealth.

When the banquet was in full swing, there were bursts of cheering voices from the barracks, this is because the new promotion order came down, after the previous war, many middle and lower-level military academies died in battle, and the reappointment of the military order was officially issued, and many people in the army were also promoted, all of them were officially appointed by the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, these things were originally planned when Wang Lanping left Beijing, and there were officials from the Ministry of War who came with the army, but it was still unexpected, I didn't expect to be able to incorporate so many people, so that it started yesterday, the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies kept making official documents in Chenzhou City, but fortunately, these were only some low-level officers, and they didn't need jade seals.

The military academies that have been promoted are all elated, although it is a pity to not get it, but there is no resentment, because the practice of the King of Han is there, all the officers are only from the army, there will be no nepotism, and the current facts are also in front of them, some military schools are promoted several levels in a row, and even a few small soldiers are directly promoted to centurions because of their combat merits, the opportunity is fair for everyone, to be promoted to make a fortune, the next time you go to the battlefield, you will cut off your head more.

Besides, everyone in the army can see that the Western Expedition is an unprecedented war, to put it mildly, I am afraid that when the war is over, all the generals can be replaced several times, don't look at Lao Tzu is now a big soldier, maybe the army will be a general who will command 10,000 soldiers earlier.

In the city, Wang Lanping chartered the most luxurious restaurant in the city, a full ten tables, all of which were officers above the rank of general and officials above the fourth grade of Huguang, which was really a lively place, and the joy dissolved between the exchange of lamps, and at the same time, Wang Lanping also reached the appointment of Huguang in front of everyone in the audience at this time, at this time he seemed to be a powerful figure of the government and the opposition, and the appointment of the official position did not need to greet the court at all, just let Nanjing send a document of appointment after the official took office.

According to the current situation in Huguang, Li Laixiang is newly defeated, it is impossible to have any thoughts about Huguang in the near future, at least Huguang in the south bank of the river has completely departed from the shadow of Li Laixiang, the Qing army is also because of the full attack on Sichuan, the strength in Huguang is also very small, in a word, half of Huguang Province has returned to the embrace of the Ming Dynasty, and so early tomorrow morning, He Tengjiao will lead the provincial officials to Changsha to take up their posts, tonight's wine is not only to Zhao Zhishang to suppress the shock, but also the whole army celebration banquet, or why Tengjiao and other officials to return to the rule and practice.

In addition to the people who fled to Chenzhou to support the crisis, there are also some newly appointed officials, who don't know much about the four books and five classics, all of them are selected from the army without exception, and it is not without precedent for awarding local officials for military merits in all dynasties, not as good as Jinshi and Juren, because these people have one thing in common, they are all people who are personally selected by Wang Lanping to be loyal to themselves, and this is enough, and the soldiers, there are not so many flowery intestines, they like to go straight, Even if you have the mind to be greedy for ink, you will be more restrained, the most important thing is that these soldiers are all from a hard background, and they really climb up from the bottom, and they can't do anything that is tyrannical to the people in the short term.

The banquet lasted for several hours from nightfall, everyone was drunk, Wang Lanping was seriously injured and just recovered, and did not drink anything, but symbolically expressed himself in front of each table and returned to a guest room in the restaurant under the pretext of not being able to drink.

It wasn't because he couldn't keep drinking, and it wasn't because of his wounds, but because of the urgent official documents he received from Nanjing today, and there were also a few private messages mixed in these official documents.

In the guest room, the candle flame flickered, Wang Lanping stood in front of the window, standing on his back, holding a few letters in his hand, looking up at the starry sky, it has been more than three months since he left Beijing, Fang Ling said in the letter that the queen is pregnant She already knows, it can be seen from the letter that Fang Ling is very generous, and many details are written very clearly.

She wrote down every sentence during the court discussion and even the expressions of the elders, and she was really relieved to have such a woman sitting in Nanjing.

Looking at the various reactions to the queen when she was pregnant, Wang Lanping blamed herself a little, a woman must be very hopeful that someone would be by her side at such a time, but unfortunately, the lack of children is too luxurious for him, and if he doesn't struggle, all this will become a thing of the past.

In Fang Ling's letter, he also mentioned something that made Wang Lanping cry and laugh, Queen Jin didn't know what to think, she actually asked Li Laixiang for marriage, and almost recruited a concubine for herself in the name of the queen, this is nonsense, Li Laixiang is also a young man in his twenties, and his blood is strong, marry her eldest aunt to me Wang Lanping as a concubine, and he will not agree to kill him, and it may cause dissatisfaction on both sides, it seems that this Golden Queen has the art of imperial people, but when it comes to the national policy, she is also an ordinary woman, Wang Lanping understands that the reason why she wants to do this is nothing more than to show favor to herself again, to prove that she is really on her side, and she does not hesitate to push the state affairs to the forefront for this reason.

These things are not worth mentioning compared to another thing, the emperor woke up, why was it so unfortunate that he woke up when he was out on the expedition, and it would be easy to go crazy all the time.

The emperor woke up may not be the most terrible, what he is afraid of is that the people in Beijing have different intentions when they are far away, after all, Zhu Yousong is still the emperor, the legitimacy is unique for now, it is so far away, it is too inconvenient for the news in the palace to pass back and forth, God knows what this Zhu Yousong will do, Song Xian should be a person who can be trusted, but there is always a time when the paper can't hold the fire, it is always the emperor, if he sneaks out of the palace and raises his arms, it will be troublesome.

Wang Lanping thought about it carefully, the emperor should have no backer in Nanjing City, all the royal relatives who should be killed have been killed, and even the ministers who are closer to the emperor have been killed, although hundreds of Beijing officials are sympathetic to the emperor's suffering, but these people have no soldiers and no power, that is, a group of civil officials who can only play with the pen, and they are not a big threat to themselves, will the cabinet betray themselves? After all, the usual office of the cabinet is in the palace, and they must have known about the emperor's madness, but no one dared to mention it, and now that the emperor is awake, he must not be able to hide from these people, however, the cabinet is nominally the highest power of the imperial court, but in fact it has no power, the military power is completely above the executive power, and all the decisions cannot be passed on without Fang Ling, and Fang Ling is assisted by Gan Hui, at least the government will not go in the opposite direction of itself, it should be fine.

Thinking about it, this is just the best result of Wang Lanping's wishful thinking, and it is best that this result can be maintained until he returns from Pingchuan, but can it really be like this? Wang Lanping didn't know that this risk could not be taken, in the era of imperial power, the emperor's prestige was not comparable to any powerful minister, just like in real history, after the death of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, there were still people who rebelled under the banner of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty.

While he was thinking, there was a knock on the door outside the room.

Then came two pure and beautiful women, dressed obviously, one red and one green, thinly dressed, almost similar to the flower girl in the brothel, Wang Lanping recognized them, he just woke up from a coma a few days ago, and the first one who appeared in front of him was them, only saying that in the more than 20 days that he was in a coma, they had been taking care of themselves, and even scrubbing their bodies were doing this kind of thing, at this time it was the autumn tiger raging, that is to say, he would bare his butt in front of the two of her every day, so think about it, It's not an outsider anymore.

When I saw them dressed like this, I also understood at the moment that this must have been arranged by He Tengjiao, and I didn't know where these two girls came from.

"King Han, General Song asked the slave and maid to come here to serve, and the slave and maid brought you some decanting soup" The woman in red bowed humbly and politely, and came to the table in the room with a tray.

Another woman in green closed the door with her backhand, and then put the fruit bowl on the table, and then stood with the woman in red with her head bowed, judging from their cramped expressions and small movements, someone must have told them to do something before they came, and it must not be as simple as sending something, and there are guys in this restaurant, so how can they call the two of them from their residence at night.

Wang Lanping didn't have the heart to think about men and women, as soon as he heard what they said, he put away the letter in his hand, looked at the soup with smoke floating on it, and walked over, and said casually: "General Song? Song Dali? "Isn't it He Tengjiao? How could this reckless man have such a mind.

The woman in red said: "Exactly, King Han, this soup was boiled by the slave maid herself, fortunately, the road is not far, and it is not cold" Saying that, she took a small bowl and held it out in front of Wang Lanping, but her eyes did not dare to look at him, she looked at the tip of her nose with a red face and shyness, and she was indescribably shy.

Ten fingers are like onions, delicate and white, from Wang Lanping's gaze that is a head taller than her, the furrow under the pink bandeau is very obvious.

Wang Lanping sniffed lightly, chicken soup!

This is unusual, I haven't heard of chicken soup for decanting, and he never drinks this soup except for Yun Niang's cooking, and he can't drink that taste, he seems to see Yun Niang's voice and smile in the clear soup bowl, hateful, this Fang Ling doesn't know to mention her in the letter, she knows that Yun Niang is illiterate, and she can't write to herself, alas!

"Let's put it down first, I don't have a taste now, I called you here at night, it's not too much, it's none of your business, I'll arrange someone to send you back" Wang Lanping shook his head, trying not to think about these daughters' affections, there are things to do now.

Who knew that the two of them suddenly became nervous, and after glancing at each other, they both knelt down, and the woman in red said urgently: "King Han, is it that the two slaves and maids did not serve you well, if there is anything inconsiderate, please also ask the King of Han to punish him, please don't drive the slaves and maids back."

"What are you doing kneeling, get up" Wang Lanping waved his hand, then walked to the edge of the desk, spread out the paper, and said with a smile: "It must be that Song who scares you vigorously, okay, if you don't go, you won't go, come and help me polish the ink."

The second daughter was overjoyed, and hurriedly stood up, and the woman in front of the red said: "Yun Niang knows that the king of Han can't bear to see the slave and maid punished."

"Wait?" Wang Lanping was surprised, pointed to the woman in red, and said, "What did you say your name just now?" ”

"Yun Niang" The woman in red blinked her big round eyes, revealing an affectionate appearance.

Wang Lanping's eyes widened, looked at her and then looked at the chicken soup on the table, and then turned his head to the woman in green and said, "If this king is not mistaken, you must be called Du Ningning."

The woman in green Wan Er smiled and saluted: "Back to the Han King, the slave maid is exact"

Wang Lanping immediately walked over and looked at the two of them, his face became cloudy, how could it be so coincidental, someone must have instructed him.

"You didn't call this name originally," Wang Lanping half-squinted and looked back and forth on the second daughter.

The two girls didn't dare to hide it, and they didn't know what these two names represented in the Han Palace, the two of them squatted together, and the woman in green said: "General Song said that the two slaves and maids tonight will be called Yun Niang and Du Ningning, King Han, is there anything wrong with this name?" ”

Wang Lanping said quietly: "Do you know what General Song asked you to do tonight?" ”

When the two of them heard this, they lowered their heads, blushed and said in unison: "Everything is under the orders of King Han."

"Someone," Wang Lanping snorted.

Immediately, the door was pushed open, and four personal soldiers walked in, "King Han! ”

Wang Lanping raised her chin, "Send a few people to send her back, early tomorrow morning, give her some silver taels, and let them go home."

When the second daughter heard this, her face was pale, and she knelt down, her eyes watery, "King Han, what did the slave do wrong, why did you drive us away?"

Wang Lanping smiled bitterly, shook his head and said: "It has nothing to do with you, this king thank you for taking care of you these days, take the silver taels early tomorrow morning, go home and live your own life, you are not Yun Niang, you are not Ning Ning, get up, take her away"

The two girls suddenly crawled over on the ground, hugged Wang Lanping's legs, and burst into tears, "King Han, the slave maid is willing to stay and serve you, please don't drive us away, the slave doesn't want money, I just hope to serve you for the rest of my life"

Another girl also cried: "If the king of Han doesn't like the name of the slave maid, the slave maid can change it, the slave maid's original name is Xianglan, she is my sister, her name is Xiangling, King Han, please, don't drive us away, our family has long been empty"

"You're sisters?" Wang Lanping was also a little moved when she saw this, it was unacceptable to pretend to be the woman she loved, but the two of them should not know the origin of these two names.

The woman in red wiped her tears, and said pitifully: "The slave and maid sisters were exiled in Chenzhou a month ago, at that time my sister and I fled from Changsha, Governor He took pity on us, and led us into the house, saying that he wanted us to serve a nobleman, and later we learned that the noble man was the King of Han, the King of Han, please don't drive us away, out of this Chenzhou City, our sisters have nowhere to go, the family has been killed by the rebels, King Han, you are good, let us stay."

Wang Lanping snorted, waved at the four pro-soldiers, and said, "Go and call Song Dali for me, no, tie me up."

"Yes!"

The green-clothed woman kneeling on the ground hurriedly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said with a little timidity: "King Han, are you willing to keep our sisters?" We don't ask for anything, we just want to have a stable life, and we can be content when we have something to eat."

"Get up" Wang Lanping helped her up one by one, if her bones were weak, the woman in red was weak, she just stood up and stumbled, and threw herself directly into his arms, and suddenly a faint fragrance of hair drilled into his abdomen.

It's a pity that I abstained from sex for a year for my deceased mother, even though I was beautiful, I was not blessed.

"What you have suffered, but it is also because I, the king of Han, am incompetent, and I have no ability to make this world peaceful, forget it, you clean up the table and go back with me in a while"

"King Han really won't send us away," the second daughter was full of joy.

"You'll have to wait for me to bathe tomorrow morning, so don't leave when you're used to it." )