After noon, Liu Jiangsheng, who had changed his appearance and looked like an officer, hurried over with a battalion of soldiers to join him. After Li Yuan selected half of the soldiers to stay in the other courtyard, he led his two brothers and the rest.

The soldiers set off in great force.

In order to save time on the way back and forth, Li Yuan decided to cross the river from Runzhou to the east, then pass through Yangzhou, and then go north. In three or four days, he would reach the border of Chuzhou.

After more than three hundred miles of journey, there were not enough horses. Although the autumn wind had risen, when they really started to drive, the hundreds of soldiers were still sweating, and they just thought they were marching and practicing with Li Yuhou. Li Yuan, on the other hand, was

In a leisurely mood, I kept observing the topography and scenery along the way and secretly remembered it in my heart.

More than a day later, Li Yuan and his party arrived at Yangzhou Prefecture, the eastern capital. They had just settled at the inn in the morning. At noon, a large group of officials from Yangzhou got the news from unknown sources and came over, saying they wanted to pay a visit to Li Yu.

Wait.

Seeing these officials carrying large and small boxes, Li Yuan was now well aware of the prevailing atmosphere, so he did not refuse. After being polite to his colleagues, he just ordered some heavy items to be returned and kept the remaining items.

Some gold, silver and cash were distributed to the accompanying battalion of soldiers and personal soldiers. This naturally gained another group of military morale.

After everyone was settled, Li Yuan told Liu Jiangsheng to take charge of the inn. After washing his face, he picked out some desirable gifts, and went out with only Luo Erhu.

Having just found out clearly from the officials in Yangzhou, Li Yuan quickly found his destination in Yangzhou City, which was densely covered with lakes and alleys - the Dongdu Left-behind Mansion.

At this time, there were many cars and horses in front of the Liushou Mansion, the door of the mansion was wide open, and the servants were busy in line, as if there was a banquet to receive guests.

Luo Erhu struggled to squeeze to the door and handed Li Yuan the temporary greeting card he had written.

The person in charge first glanced at the reckless black man suspiciously. Because he had pushed many visitors, he had no choice but to glance at the greeting card. He suddenly showed a look of surprise and immediately raised his head to look at the person not far away.

The young man in purple robe then trotted back to his house to report the news.

Li Yuan did not pay attention to so many details. In his eyes, this trip to the left-behind mansion was a must. This Dongdu was on the same level as the national capital, and Zhou Zong, who was left behind in the eastern capital, was an old minister of the late emperor and a high-ranking official. He would not be offended.

Okay. Now that I have become an official and have arrived on someone else's territory, I must fulfill some etiquette. What's more, I have also bought someone else's house. It is a wonderful fate.

As soon as the sun was high in the sky, Luo Erhu began to complain: "Brother, what is the background of Mr. Zhou Zongzhou? This sect is too big! It's almost half an hour, and a rough guy like me has no time to wait.

That's okay, but brother, you are now the dignified Marquis of Yu, how can you be shut out of the door?"

"It's okay, Erhu. This Zhou Zong is an old minister who served the late emperor and is quite famous. Now he is guarding the Eastern Capital. We are passing through this place. As a subordinate, we have to pay a visit! Just wait a while!"

, Li Yuan was indeed waiting anxiously because he eagerly wanted to pay homage to this famous Qingliu minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and he was the father of Emperor Zhou E!

Finally, the steward ran over with an apology on his face, and then respectfully led a few boys to greet him.

Li Yuan and Li Yuan walked all the way through this unfathomable courtyard. When they arrived at the banquet hall, they discovered that at least fifty or sixty people had already taken their seats at the banquet. Most of them were wearing gold, silver and brocade, looking extremely luxurious.

, I think they must be local officials and wealthy businessmen. There are also more than ten people in plain clothes and long robes, who must be literary talents. Without others, all of them have thin arms and legs, and they are undoubtedly scholars.

According to the guidance of the steward, Li Yuan was arranged in a relatively low position. Although according to his current Pinyi, apart from Zhou Zong, there are really people who are taller than him in Yangzhou City who can be counted on two hands. But after all, he has passed.

Jiang Long, you have to lie down. Think about Li Yuan and you will feel relieved.

Soon, after the banquet was filled, an old man in purple robe with a long beard and white beard stood up slowly under the attention of everyone and said with a smile: "Although Zhou has lived in the court for a long time, he has always admired celebrities and elegant people, so today

We are going to have a grand party. Please come to my humble residence. We will talk about poetry and wine and meet friends. Please don’t despise me for being arty!”

Talking about poetry, eating wine and meeting friends... Li Yuan was a little speechless. This was not the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty. There were wars outside every year! Why do you still do this? It's too comfortable...

...

After all, Zhou Zong was the founding hero of the country and the host. There were some powerful people present, but they all showed enough respect to let Zhou Zong go around holding a wine glass and introducing the official names one by one.

This process has taken a lot of time. Li Yuan and Luo Erhu almost fell asleep watching this large group of people bowing and being polite. But it seemed that all the guests present liked this.

After all, in this feudal era, the idea of ​​officialdom was deeply rooted.

Unknowingly, Zhou Zong staggered up to Li Yuan. He smiled brightly and suddenly raised his voice: "This newly arrived distinguished guest is General Xuanwei, and Li Yuan, the direct capital of Yuhou! I believe you have already seen him.

I heard that this time when the Tang Dynasty sent troops to the Chu Kingdom, Li Yuhou rode three horses into the city, saying that he had surrendered the King of Chu to show his power in the sky! Come on, everyone, raise your glasses to welcome Li Yuhou and wash away the dust!"

The guests present all looked sideways, but they were very cooperative and raised their wine glasses. Many people pointed curiously, but most of them were kind.

Li Yuan was a little flattered, and he immediately regained his energy to deal with it. He quickly raised his wine glass with his right hand and bowed respectfully to Zhou Zong: "I'm sorry for bothering you today! Thank you, Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Zong unexpectedly took a few steps closer, showed a kind smile, and whispered: "Li Yuhou, there is no need to be polite. You and I are destined to take care of each other. It's natural for us to take care of each other!"

Li Yuan quickly followed Zhou Zong and drank it all in one gulp.

Immediately afterwards, the whole audience exchanged cups and cups happily.

Luo Erhu had never seen such a big banquet before. He didn't know whether he was hungry for a while or tired from standing. As soon as these dazzling arrays of good wine and delicious food were put on the table, this black man ignored the eyes of the people at the table and rushed to get started.

.

Every time a dish was served, the man would first put a large chopstick into Li Yuan's bowl, and then start eating. Li Yuan smiled awkwardly, but he didn't want to stop him. He felt a little sorry for this black man in his heart, for fear that he would choke to death.

.

Li Yuan used his chopsticks to eat for a while. After he was only about seventy-eight percent full, he glanced in the direction of Zhou Zong. He saw that a lot of food and wine had been removed from the two or three tables near Zhou Zong, and the maids began to put a lot of food on them.

Rice paper, inkstone, pen and other items. Presumably this so-called "talking about poetry" has already begun.

"Brother, these scholars and talented people are really busy with their time! We are out fighting in various situations, and we work with these people every day, just to do this? Let me tell you, it is better to practice martial arts!" Luo Er

Tiger held the buttery chicken leg in one hand and gnawed on it, muttering at the same time.

Li Yuan just smiled faintly: "You can't say that. We are used to being in the barracks, but these people are not! If you let them go to the battlefield, they will probably pee as soon as they touch the sword."

Luo Erhu smiled knowingly: "Hehe! That's true!"

Then he cleaned the chicken leg bone, wiped it casually on his clothes, and began to persuade: "Brother, why don't we leave quickly! I'm really bored, and my stomach is full."

full."

Li Yuan took a glance and saw that the black man's belly was full, but there were still many uneaten meats and vegetables in the bowl. Then he looked at the guests at the same table, all of them were staring at the food on the table with sad faces.

Empty porcelain plates.

It's just because of Li Yuan's current official position and reputation, these people must have cursed this black guy tens of thousands of times in their hearts! Li Yuan thought and shook his head, holding back his smile and whispered: "This is not in a hurry.
Chapter completed!