Chapter 291 The bridal chamber
Throughout history, both in China and abroad, wedding banquets have had little to do with the bride and groom.
First, after completing a series of wedding etiquette activities under the arrangement of the ceremonial officer, Su Ze and Princess Chenliu accepted the blessings of the guests and accepted the gifts they presented.
When meeting an elder, Su Ze had to take Princess Chenliu with him to stand up and return the greeting, which was more tiring than fighting on the battlefield.
It was not until dark that Su Ze, at Su Xiang's announcement, led Princess Chenliu into the Qinglu, or bridal chamber.
The sounds of banqueting and music from the guests outside could not be blocked by a layer of green curtain. Su Ze looked at Princess Chenliu. The wedding customs of the Northern Dynasties were really too much. What was the difference between entering the bridal chamber and having sex in the open air?
Princess Chenliu looked at Su Ze, put down the fan in her hand, looked at Su Ze who was looking around uncomfortably and said:
"You, are you thinking bad things again?"
Su Ze smiled and said with a grin:
"Your husband is a common man, so it's not impossible to do this in the wild, but Your Highness is a precious person, so what?"
Princess Chenliu rolled her eyes at him and said:
"I don't know what's on your mind."
Su Ze approached Princess Chen Liu, hugged her in his arms and said:
"What am I thinking about? Of course I want Your Highness to give me a son!"
Seeing that she was about to be thrown down, Princess Chenliu changed her previous calm expression and said:
"Let's do the same prison ceremony first!"
Only then did Su Ze remember the last step of the wedding.
As expected, women all need a sense of ritual. On the wedding night, Su Ze was also ready to obey his wife. He looked around and saw two things on the table in the middle of Qinglu.
First up was a plate of minced meat.
Tonglao, lao is the meat used for sacrifice in ancient times. Tonglao means that the husband and wife eat "lao" together. It is a ceremony to the gods of heaven and earth, indicating that the husband and wife begin to live together and can enjoy the sacrifices of their descendants after death. From this day on, the bride becomes a member of the man's family and has the right to worship ancestors together with the man.
In ancient society, the status of wives has always been very high.
This is also the reason why Su Ze’s subordinates were happier than he was when he got married.
Marrying a wife of respected status can enhance the cohesion of the entire group.
The birth of an heir as soon as possible will allow the group to have future pursuits.
Rewards to the families of ministers and subordinates, such as rewards to their wives, also need to be made by the mistress.
There is no way. Even Cao Cao cannot directly reward his subjects’ wives. What will the subjects think?
Su Ze held Princess Chenliu in his arms and shared the plate of steamed minced meat. The meat was seasoned with 醓 (fermented bean sauce). The taste was very strange, but Su Ze, who had not eaten since the wedding, ate it with relish.
The meat used in this kind of ceremony is basically cooked according to the cooking methods of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Su Ze thought of his "colleagues" who traveled back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and mourned for their meals.
The next step is to combine the two.
A 巹 is a ladle for holding water. In ancient times, it was made by cutting a gourd in half. The husband and wife would fill it with wine and then pass it to each other to drink.
Because it is cut from a gourd, it symbolizes that husband and wife are one. The gourd itself has a slightly bitter taste, so when filled with wine, it becomes bitter wine, which also symbolizes that husband and wife share the joys and sorrows.
However, starting from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, wedding customs became increasingly extravagant.
It wasn't just feasting, music and dancing that were added to weddings; wedding ceremonial equipment also became extravagant.
For example, when Princess Lanling married King Liu Hui of Song, the He-jiu wine vessel they used was a wine vessel carved from jade into a gourd.
Some were made of jade, some were made of gold and some were made of silver, and even common people would sell their belongings to make copper ones.
What Su Ze used in Qinglu was a ladle made of an ordinary gourd.
Su Ze looked at Princess Chen Liu and said:
"When I was in Luoyang, I felt that the world was becoming corrupt, weddings were too extravagant, and even the Luoyang royal palace used weddings to compete for wealth."
"So I want to follow the ancient rituals. The gentlemen and ladies in ancient times could still play harmoniously without fancy ritual objects."
After saying this, Su Ze looked at Princess Chenliu somewhat awkwardly.
When it comes to changing customs and habits, if those in power cannot set an example themselves, those below them will only follow suit.
If Su Ze wants to reform wedding customs, he can only start with his own wedding.
Princess Chen Liu stared at Su Ze. Even Su Ze thought she was angry, but he didn't expect Princess Chen Liu to say:
"My dear, I support you in changing the customs and practices and improving the extravagant lifestyle."
"But after knowing each other for many years, he still doubts my character and thinks I am the kind of person who pursues these external things. It's really disheartening."
Although he said this with a chill in his heart, there was a smile on his face. Su Ze felt warmed up in his heart, and then his passion was aroused.
This goblin!
Su Ze thought of how Princess Chenliu loved to pretend. He opened the wine container, took out two scoops of wine and said:
"My lady, drink this drink quickly!"
Princess Chenliu blushed. She knew what Su Ze was trying to do so impatiently. The two exchanged the cups in their hands and drank the wine from the gourds.
Seeing that Su Ze was about to pounce on her, Princess Chenliu walked to the edge of the tent and handed out two halberds. Lu Zhu, who was guarding outside the tent, took the halberds and then held them up to show at the wedding scene. Only to hear Su Xiang outside the Qinglu shouting:
"It's done!"
There were bursts of cheers outside Qinglu, and then Su Ze heard busy footsteps.
Under Lu Zhu's command, Princess Chenliu's maids and servants brought blankets and quickly covered the chalet tightly.
The guests who were closer to Qinglu also left their seats, and the sounds of music and dancing became much quieter.
There's one more step!
Su Ze suddenly realized that this was a ceremony that the woman had to prepare, so Su Ze didn't know about it. It seems that the person who planned the Qinglu wedding also thought about the sound insulation of the bridal chamber!
Looking at Princess Chenliu sitting on the couch, Su Ze could no longer bear it, he rushed over and said:
"Your Highness, I will serve you well!"
"How can there be such a rebellious subject as you?"
Knowing that this woman was acting, Su Ze also became interested. He did not take off Princess Chen Liu's palace dress, but covered her mouth with his mouth. It was not until Princess Chen Liu's eyes were blurred that Su Ze said:
"Your Highness, I am ready to serve you!"
The next morning, Princess Chenliu woke up with great fatigue, only to find that she had not taken off her palace dress from yesterday. She was sticky all over and fainted in Su Ze's arms.
Thinking of this, even though Princess Chenliu had made love with Su Ze many times before and often took the initiative to seduce him, her eyes turned slightly red.
She broke free from Su Ze's arms and called Lu Zhu to help her wash up. After she finished washing, Princess Chenliu woke Su Ze up. There were still many things to do today.
-
Su Ze was newly married, and the rebels in Guanzhong were tactful enough not to cause trouble.
The main reason was that the counter-espionage strategy worked.
Hu Chen, who retreated back to Jingzhou in defeat, heard the news that his old subordinate Su Qinmingda had defected to Mozhe Tiansheng.
Upon hearing the news, Hu Chen, who was already short of manpower, was naturally furious.
Hu Chen hated Su Qinmingda's betrayal and actually defected to Mozhe Tiansheng. What was worse was that some Qiang people in Jingzhou also saw that Mozhe Tiansheng valued Su Qinmingda and began to flee to Qinzhou.
When people are in the rising stage of their careers, they tend to appear magnanimous because they have many resources and cards in their hands.
Therefore, to judge a person's character, we often have to see whether he can remain the same in adversity as he is in prosperity.
That's Hu Chen.
Jingzhou has a larger population than Qinzhou, and the Jing River basin is also richer than Qinzhou in Longshang.
Originally, Hu Chen had defeated the Beihai King's tribe in Huazhou, and he felt that he was more powerful than Mozhe Tiansheng. At that time, Hu Chen did not care about Su Qin Mingda, let alone this Qiang army.
But now that he has retreated back to Jingzhou, these have become a thorn in Hu Chen's heart.
First, Hu Chen severely punished several Qiang tribes who were preparing to flee to Qinzhou, killing all those who led the escape, and then organized these Qiang people into the vanguard camp.
In this kind of rebellion, the vanguard is no different from the rebels who are seeking their own death. They all use human lives to disrupt the enemy's formation and consume the enemy's weapons and arrows.
After Hu Chen did this, the Qiang people in Jingzhou began to flee on a larger scale. He was even more convinced that it was Mo Zhetiansheng from Qinzhou who was behind this and secretly recruiting the Qiang people in Jingzhou.
In fact, war is sometimes a real-time strategy game and sometimes a turn-based game.
For example, the King of the North Sea won first and then lost because he took the initiative but failed to maintain the advantage, and was defeated by others after being caught by the flaw.
The reason is very simple, which is due to the difference in cost between offense and defense.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng in Yongcheng pushed the front line to Wugong County, but could not fight any further.
As the battle line lengthened, the supply line became longer. Liu Kai's army, which retreated south of the Wei River, constantly harassed Mozhe Tiansheng's already fragile logistics.
When they attacked Wugong, which was the base camp of the Guanzhong gentry, local wealthy families organized militias to resist. Mozhe was naturally under completely different combat pressure.
When he was in Qinzhou, the government troops were unpopular and the tribes of Qinzhou also responded to Mozhe Tiansheng's rebellion. So wherever he fought, the city would open and surrender, and people would send him supplies.
After entering Yongzhou, Mozhe Tiansheng's army was plunged into a sea of war. The martial arts nobles were hostile to them and harassed their army. The villages along the way either had to fortify their walls or defend themselves to the death. The occupied cities and villages had to send troops to defend them, so the manpower was stretched to the limit.
After April, Xiao Baoyin turned from defense to offense. Liu Kai launched several effective attacks on the south bank of the Wei River, causing considerable casualties to Mo Zhe Tiansheng's Qinzhou.
At this time, Mozhe Tiansheng naturally also set his sights on Jingzhou.
Originally, he thought that Jingzhou was not as prosperous as Yongzhou, and Hu Chen also joined him in advocating the slogan of the true king, so Mo Zhe Tiansheng was too lazy to annex Jingzhou.
But now the military forces are tight, and the territory to the west and the north is all Su Ze's. Looking around, Hu Chen, who suffered a defeat, has become a soft persimmon.
Hu Chen's harsh criticism of the Qiang people in the territory also gave Mo Zhe Tiansheng an excuse to send troops to intervene.
But now Mozhe Tiansheng's army was fighting with Xiao Baoyin's army, so Mozhe Tiansheng only gave orders to the generals in the rear to take some small advantages, occupy some border territories, and take the initiative to gather some Qiang tribes.
Just the friction together was beyond Mo Zhe's control.
(End of this chapter)