kvmb Chapter 259 Rewards
Chapter 259 Rewards
The meal at Bai Zhi's table was quite lively.
Qiao Wanwan raised her large bowl, speaking in a loud, slurred voice, addressing the soldiers sent by the imperial court as "sister" and "brother." Bai Zhi, her hands gleaming with oil, brandished a dagger, concentrating on slicing a leg of lamb. Few in the Yanxi army recognized her, which allowed her to enjoy her meal without any distractions.
The man who addressed Qiao Wanwan as "sister" and "brother" was none other than the burly soldier she had fought in private. The burly soldier, quite drunk, put his arm around Qiao Wanwan's shoulder and called out in a booming voice, "Brother Qiao!"
Qiao Wanwan raised the bowl high, paused for a moment, and placed it back on the table: "I am... Qiao Wanwan! If you must call me, then call me Sister Qiao!"
"Oh yeah, yeah, I forgot, Joe... Sister Joe! Come on, sister, let's have a drink!"
"Brother! Let's have a drink!"
"Soon, we'll be going back to the capital. I know you, and I don't regret it. I'm your brother, and you're my sister."
"You look like a... hiccup, a brute, but I didn't expect you to be such a good fighter."
"Definitely a good player, definitely a good player."
"If you... hiccup, you could stay here, you'd definitely be an even better fighter!"
Further down the table, the two sang and shed tears, appearing to sympathize with each other. At the next table, Ji Feilan drank even more, stomping her foot on the table and cursing. The soldiers, slightly tipsy, cheered along, but no one knew who she was cursing.
As the smell of alcohol from the banquet dissipated, Bai Zhi moved to the side and joined a few soldiers who didn't drink in chewing mutton.
The lamb wasn't particularly tender, and the wine wasn't particularly fragrant, but the atmosphere was just too wonderful. The soldiers were thoroughly enjoying themselves, and even a palace banquet couldn't compare.
The banquet lasted until late into the night, and the soldiers, some drunk and others sleepy, dispersed. Bai Zhi was also taken back to her tent by Chu Yunchuan, where she fell into a deep sleep after the charcoal fire was lit.
The clamor recedes, and we await the new dynasty.
Upon returning to Ningzhou City, the twenty-one tribes of the barbarian lands, excluding the Salam and Sanhoudi, successively sent their envoys to surrender to the Great Yan. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, Chu Yunchuan dispatched a caravan to escort these people to the capital.
After pacifying the barbarian lands, the next step is to settle the people and improve their livelihoods. The Silent Shadow Formation set up in Wu County must be completely dismantled, all the refugees in the prefecture must be reassured and allowed to return to their hometowns, the military expenses borrowed from various prefectures must be settled one by one, the corpses of those who died in battle must be carefully buried to prevent a major epidemic, and there are also measures to crack down on bandits, clear up backlog cases, reduce taxes, reopen markets, and so on. Bai Zhi listened to Chu Yunchuan nagging in her ear every night, and she was getting increasingly annoyed.
However, Chu Yunchuan was unusually happy. Although he was burdened with official duties, his calm and composed demeanor was more than ever before.
So Bai Zhi put up with it.
Chu Yunchuan also mentioned that the people who passed the vermilion test were all brought to court for trial. Among them, Yang Jinlang helped spread the plague, which caused the initial New Sukha to spread from the people to the army. However, he did not know that the plague was part of a deadly poison. Moreover, a letter of release allowed an insider to infiltrate Salam and avoid the death penalty.
He may escape the death penalty, but he cannot escape punishment. Bai Zhi remained silent for a moment, then said only, "If Ge Zhen hadn't run into him, he might have been a good person."
Soon all the trivial matters were handed over to Wei Fuguang and Lord Zheng, because Chu Yunchuan had more important things to do as soon as possible—to pay tribute to the dead and honor their loyalty.
It is said that the ancestors of the Great Yan Dynasty strictly enforced the law that after every major battle, the martyrs should be honored first before the military merits were rewarded. There were also strict rules and regulations regarding how to honor the martyrs and how to reward merits. Since the founding of the country, this has been a major event that could not be taken lightly.
So Chu Yunchuan had the astrologer choose a day, set up a grand altar, and dressed in mourning clothes to express his grief.
The altar was set up on the hill behind the city. The two generals and several thousand soldiers were gathered there, along with thousands of civilians. Chu Yunchuan, dressed in plain white mourning clothes, performed the three bows and nine kowtows ceremony before the altar, in homage to the nation.
"In June of the fourth year of the Xiangyuan era, the enemy invaded from the north and committed heinous crimes. We look up to the bravery and loyalty of the soldiers who defended their country and were willing to die for it..."
The sound of weeping could be faintly heard from below the steps.
Looking back, this battle was truly arduous; not only did the common people shed tears, but the soldiers were also sobbing.
If you hadn't died yesterday, I wouldn't be alive today.
"...The fighting has stopped, the world is at peace, and the great victory is announced to comfort the loyal souls."
Everyone bowed deeply.
Three days after the mourning period, the entire army was rewarded for their merits.
Bai Zhi initially didn't want to get involved, but Chu Yunchuan told her that Qiao Qiao and Chu Qi would receive a share of the reward. Chu Qi was in the prefectural city, and he had already written to Qiao Qiao, asking her to come to the prefectural city to collect the reward.
Qiaoqiao is acting very mysteriously, and no one knows what she's up to. Bai Zhi really wanted to meet her, so she decided to participate anyway.
Ten days later, a grand gathering of heroes, officials, and commoners filled the Ningzhou government office. Before the auspicious time for bestowing rewards, many lingered in the courtyards and gardens, chatting in small groups. Chu Yunchuan conversed with the generals in the main hall, while Bai Zhi weaved through the crowd searching for Qiaoqiao.
After searching around, I couldn't find Qiaoqiao, but I saw Qiao Yuanshan first.
Bai Zhi stepped forward and said with a smile, "General Qiao, how have you been? Have you seen Qiaoqiao?"
Qiao Yuanshan greeted him with a smile, but his smile froze when he heard the name Qiaoqiao: "I just arrived and haven't seen her yet."
"General Qiao, what's wrong?" Bai Zhi asked jokingly. "Did you have a fight with Qiaoqiao?"
“…I’m ashamed, Miss Bai.” Qiao Yuanshan’s gaze fell to the ground. “I don’t know if she will come today. If you see her, please let me know. There are some things I haven’t had a chance to tell her yet.”
"I'll go look for Qiaoqiao again."
After Bai Zhi turned around, the smile on her face vanished without a trace, and she quickly plunged back into the crowd.
When the auspicious hour arrived, the assembled heroes gathered around the main hall, but Bai Zhi still couldn't find Qiao Qiao. She clicked her tongue and simply left the government office.
About twenty steps away, there's a small shop selling braised offal. It's doing good business, with a big pot of braised offal under the sign.
Seeing Bai Zhi coming this way, the waiter hurriedly went up to greet her: "Sir, try our braised pork belly. It's the best in Ningzhou. Even Lord Zheng from the prefecture has come to eat here!"
Bai Zhi entered the room, found a table to sit at, and said with a displeased look, "Give me a bowl of braised pork belly, with lots of seasoning."
"okay!"
Everything was ready, and the waiter quickly brought out the braised pork. Bai Zhi had just picked up two chopsticks when she heard a crisp voice from the doorway, "Boss, one bowl of braised pork!"
Clever!
Bai Zhi immediately stood up and shouted, "Qiao Qiao!"
Qiaoqiao looked over, delighted. Carrying a large bundle on her back, she sidled over, her big eyes sparkling: "Sister! What are you doing here! I heard there was a big reward today, I thought you went with Brother Yun."
Bai Zhi pushed the braised pork belly and chopsticks in front of her: "Look at you, you're as dirty as a mud monkey. I went there thinking you would come, but I came out when I didn't find you."
Qiaoqiao grabbed her chopsticks and started eating, looking extremely hungry. Baizhi naturally took the other bowl from the waiter and said, "Eat slowly, no one will take it from you."
After filling her stomach, Qiaoqiao finally had a chance to speak: "I originally asked Chuqi to help me collect the reward, but I wanted to know what the reward was as soon as possible, so I rushed over overnight."
Bai Zhi narrowed her eyes: "Why did you ask Chu Qi to help you collect the reward? I just saw Qiao Yuanshan. Tell me honestly, did he bully you?"
Qiaoqiao shook her head: "No, it's just that he wanted to exchange hairpins with me, but I didn't agree, so we parted on bad terms."