Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2556 Duke of Yan, Ode to the Primordial Beginning

After walking around like this, Wang Yu was already slightly tipsy, and he even felt himself swaying a little as he walked.

However, he once again had the eunuch following closely behind him refill his wine cup and walked towards another corner of the banquet.

This corner, while not remote within the banquet hall and even quite prominent, was relatively quiet compared to the bustling activity and clinking of glasses in other corners.

There's no other reason than that those sitting in this corner at this moment are mostly surrendered officials and generals from the Yan, Song, and Liao dynasties.

Zhao Pu, a representative of the surrendered officials of the Song Dynasty, was away on official business at this time. In the vast area of ​​surrendered officials of the Song Dynasty, there was no other representative figure. As a result, the person with the highest status and influence in this area was Xuanyuan Xuanxiao, the son of Xuanyuan Huang.

"Duke Yan!" As he walked over, Wang Yu raised his already filled wine cup and gestured to him.

Upon noticing Wang Yu's actions, Xuan Yuanxuanxiao naturally dared not be careless and immediately stood up to greet him.

Xuanyuan Xuanxiao was well aware that although he, or rather his generation of the Xuanyuan family, could not obtain real power in the Han Dynasty, they had already gained wealth and status.

The title of Duke is already the highest among subjects. At present, among the civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty, apart from members of the imperial family and people like Zhao Anling, there are only a few who have been granted the title of Duke, and they are only Dukes of the Commandery, not Dukes of the State.

Even though his status was awkward, the emperor wouldn't do anything to him.

The Xuanyuan lineage still enjoys considerable popularity in both the East Sea and Guangyang regions. As long as he doesn't leave Tianjing, the emperor can't do anything to him, simply because of the support of these two groups.

It was precisely because of the help of their former officials that the recovery and restoration progress of the four Xuanyuan Yan Circuits was on a completely different level compared to that of the four Zhao Song Circuits.

The current Xuanyuan Yan Four Paths are almost no different from the original paths of the Han Dynasty.

Furthermore, if the emperor were to deal with them, how could anyone dare to easily surrender to the Han again?
However, even though the Xuanyuan lineage was already wealthy and powerful in the Han Dynasty, due to the awkwardness of their status, and the fact that their father, brothers, and other relatives had all died in the war with the Han Dynasty, Xuanyuan Xuanxiao was still unwilling to take the initiative to befriend the civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty. He lived a secluded life and was quite aloof.

"Today's grand banquet is a gathering of distinguished guests, celebrating peace and prosperity. Since you are seated here, you are now a subject of my Great Han Dynasty." Wang Yu stopped Xuan Yuan Xuan Xiao from bowing, and while having a eunuch hand him a cup of wine, he spoke gently.

"The past is like smoke, the flames of war have been extinguished. Your father... Lord Yan, although he and I fought for our respective countries, he defended his homeland in his final days and died unyielding. He was a valiant ruler and a hero of his time. I will not comment on him, but I am moved by his story."

Wang Yu showed the deceased Xuanyuan Huang the utmost respect.

However, he did not dwell on Xuanyuan Huang's issue, but instead continued to encourage him, saying, "You are a direct descendant of the Yan family, and you are intelligent from a young age, as I have heard."

"Now, the world has changed, and the mandate of heaven belongs to the Han. A great man should be aware of the times and follow the trend. The past is not your fault, but the future path depends on your choices."

"Our great Han Dynasty embraces all rivers and promotes talent. If you can forget the past and devote yourself to learning our dynasty's laws and regulations, distinguish right from wrong, and know when to advance and retreat, you will surely achieve great things in the future, enjoy wealth and honor, and bring glory to your family in the new dynasty."

In the Han Dynasty today, surrendered officials and generals make up a considerable proportion of the civil and military officials. Moreover, there is no shortage of talented individuals among them.

Even among all the surrendered officials and generals, Xuanyuan Xuanxiao was the most unique and even the most representative.

For these people, it is naturally essential to select a representative group to appease. After Wang Yu finished speaking, he tilted the wine cup in his hand slightly forward as a gesture, "This cup of wine is not for the past, but only for the future. I hope you will think carefully and discern clearly."

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Xuanxiao, regardless of what he was really thinking at the moment, at least on the surface he cooperated very well. After a brief statement, he immediately took the full cup of wine handed to him by the eunuch, and then tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

"Very well!" Wang Yu gave a soft approval, then turned to the assembled officials and said loudly, "Today's banquet is a joyous occasion, so let's not stand on ceremony. Please continue to enjoy yourselves!"

"Your Majesty, today the whole country is celebrating, so how can we not have something to say to mark the occasion? We, your humble servants, would like to offer our humble opinion and compose a poem to celebrate this grand occasion and to praise Your Majesty's civil and military achievements. Is that alright?" Just as Wang Yu had finished encouraging the civil and military officials in the hall, an official suddenly stood up and spoke up during the banquet.

Wang Yu remembered him, Yan Shu, who was originally the governor of Hexi Circuit of the Zhao Song Dynasty. During the war against Song, although he did not surrender to Han, he did not directly resist after the city fell, but cooperated very well.

At this time last year, the other party, as one of the representatives of the surrendered officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty, was received by Wang Yu.

Wang Yu considered that this famous prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty had presided over the Qingli Education Promotion Campaign in history, promoted the popularization of official schools in prefectures and counties, and ended the situation of educational neglect since the Five Dynasties.

Therefore, he was assigned to Guan Zhong's side to assist Guan Zhong in continuing to promote the education reform of the Han Dynasty and to continue his old profession.

Today, we have achieved considerable results.

"Excellent!" Wang Yu nodded. "I have long admired Minister Yan's talent, and today I will allow all my beloved ministers to display their literary skills."

Yan Shu accepted the order, pondered for a moment, and then recited the opening line aloud: "The auspicious snow of the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty has not yet melted, and the palaces of the capital are brightly lit at night."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a middle-aged official across the table stroked his beard and replied, "From all directions, tributes flow to the imperial palace; across ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, the music of Shun and Shao resonates."

This man was Zhang Dun of the Zhang family of Guangyin. He entered officialdom through his family background and initially served as the magistrate of Hebei Circuit. After the war against Yan, he was temporarily transferred to Donghai Circuit and promoted to prefect.

After the war against the Song Dynasty ended, he was transferred to Heyang Circuit as the prefect.

During his tenure, he achieved quite good results and was considered one of the candidates for the next batch of promoted officials.

The third line is continued by the unrestrained Xin Qiji: "The sword has swept away the dust of the Song Dynasty, and the banners have been raised to subdue the waves of the barbarians."

After saying this, Xin Qiji immediately downed a large cup of wine.

Although he was a civil official, his drinking style was even more unrestrained than that of many military generals.

Of course, although he was a civil official, Xin Qiji's martial prowess surpassed that of many military generals. If he had joined the army, he would definitely have been a powerful figure among the martial arts faction.

When he began to recite, compared to Yan Shu, it carried an even stronger sense of war and conquest.

Finally, Zhuge Liang, the governor of Henan Province, known for his composure, slowly recited the concluding lines.

"If only the emperor could govern with ease and grace, then the names of those in the Hall of Heroes would not be forgotten."