Dahan: A 100-year-old veteran, I will build the strongest family

On that day, Li Hong refused to accept the reward from Liu Hong.

Liu Hong felt both relieved and troubled and gave Li Hong some advice.

They pushed and pulled each other back and forth for more than ten rounds, and Yuan Feng, Yang Ci, Cai Yong, Wang Yun, the civil and military officials, as well as Jian Shuo, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Cao Cao, Lu Zhi, Liu Bei and dozens of other generals were all exhausted.

Li Hong's firm attitude made everyone realize that Li Hong was really unwilling to accept such an honor.

However, Li Hong was unwilling to accept it, but Liu Hong had to give it to him.

After all, the imperial edict had been issued and read out in public. How could it be taken back?

Moreover, if Li Hong doesn’t accept it, will Liu Hong not give it to him?
Whether Li Hong accepts it or not is Li Hong’s business.

Whether Liu Hong gives it or not is Liu Hong’s business.

Therefore, after Li Hong and Liu Hong presented facts and reasoned with each other for nearly half an hour.

Many civil and military officials and the queen also joined in and began to persuade Li Hong to accept the imperial edict.

And so, there was another round of pushing and pulling, and half an hour passed.

Li Hongcai took the imperial edict from the queen.

At this time, an hour had passed and the content of the imperial edict had already spread.

The content of the imperial edict and Li Hong's humble attitude also caused hundreds of thousands of Luoyang people to discuss it excitedly.

Li Hong rode into the city with Liu Honglong, and cheers came like waves, making Liu Hong very excited. Li Hong was all smiles as he entered Luoyang City.

On that day, Liu Hong once again held a celebration banquet in the palace. Li Hong brought dozens of generals including Jian Shuo, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Cao Cao, Lu Zhi, and Liu Bei to the banquet.

Liu Bei's eyes were very bright when he entered the palace for the first time.

With the introduction of Lu Zhi, he unexpectedly found one of the Nine Ministers, Zong Zheng, and mentioned that he was a descendant of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan.

Li Hong did not stop Liu Bei from showing his face, but stroked his white beard and watched quietly.

Because he had seen that when Liu Bei said that he was a descendant of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan, the corners of Zong Zheng's mouth twitched, and he glanced at Liu Bei twice, and his attitude became several levels colder.

That night, Li Hong did not drink too much and went back to his residence in Luoyang.

Because the Yellow Turban Rebellion has been pacified, stability will soon return to the states. Therefore, Luoyang's status as the imperial capital will be consolidated and become the center of the world, and the Li family's business can be restarted again.

The four heads of the Zhen Yi, Mi Zhu, Lu Su and Wei Shu families have gathered in Luoyang, waiting for him.

……

Cai Mansion.

Cai Yong, drunk, had just entered the hall after returning from the palace.

A gorgeous, gentle and elegant woman came up to him.

"Father, have you finished the celebration banquet at the palace?"

Cai Yan handed her father some warm water and asked curiously with a smile. Cai Yong looked at his attentive daughter, raised his lips, took the water and drank a sip, and said with a smile: "Do you want to ask about General Li? Father, you don't care about it, but you ask about General Li as soon as you come back. If father didn't know that you admire General Li, father would be very sad."

When Cai Yan heard this, she looked embarrassed and said softly:
"I can't hide it from my father. Father, please tell Yan'er quickly. Did General Li say at the banquet what he was going to do next? Is he going to go to the grassland?"

Cai Yan was not pretentious and asked Cai Yong directly.

As a famous talented woman in the Han Dynasty, it is not surprising that Cai Yan has a kind of admiration for Li Hong, who was brave and good at fighting, turned the tide, defeated the Xianbei, and pacified millions of Yellow Turbans.

This sense of admiration is a respect for Li Hongbao's defense of his country.

If it were placed in later generations, this kind of worship could perhaps be explained as "chasing stars."

Cai Yong did not keep the secret. He drank water to sober up and said with a smile: "General Li did say at the banquet that he would not stay in Luoyang for long and would return to Bingzhou. He would not only stay in Bingzhou to suppress hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban captives, but also take back the six counties of Xihe, Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Wuyuan, Shuofang, Shangjun and Bingzhou that fell into the hands of Wuhuan, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qiang and other Hu people. Then, he would send troops to the Mo Nan grassland and work together with Li Li to bring the vast Mo Nan grassland into the territory of our Han Dynasty in one fell swoop!"

"You don't know, when General Li told you about his plan, His Majesty was so excited."

Cai Yong stroked his beard, thinking about Li Hong's ambitious scene at the banquet, and felt quite emotional.

Cai Yan listened to her father's words, her clear eyes brightened, and she couldn't help but say:

"Recovering the six counties of Bingzhou and expanding the territory, General Li is indeed from the Longxi Li family. He is truly a great hero."

"I just don't know how long it will take General Li to unify Bingzhou and bring the grasslands south of the desert into the territory of our Han Dynasty. I don't know if General Li will be able to mount a horse and kill the enemy by then. I really hope General Li can live a few more decades!"

Cai Yan admired Li Hong's ambition, but at the same time she was worried about his age.

Cai Yong listened to his daughter's words, nodded in agreement, and said with emotion: "Yes, General Li looks strong and healthy, even the young people can't compare to him, but he is too old. I am really afraid that one day when he really gets old, it will be a serious loss to the Han Dynasty!"

As he spoke, Cai Yong suddenly turned to look at his beautiful, gentle and elegant daughter, nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile:

"Yan'er, you are not young anymore, it's time to talk about marriage. If you don't get married now, you will be old. If you don't get married, I'm afraid others will say that the Cai family is not upright. If it were others, I'm afraid they would have children. A few days ago, Taichang introduced you to the Hedong Wei family, and you got married to Wei Zhongdao of the Wei family. How do you feel about it?"

"Ah? Get married?" Cai Yan was shocked when she heard that her father was going to arrange a marriage for her.

But soon, Cai Yan gritted her teeth, knowing that she could not delay any longer.

During the Han Dynasty, the age of first marriage for women was roughly between 13 and 17. This age range reflects the general expectations of society at that time for women to get married.

In order to promote population growth and stabilize social order, the Han Dynasty introduced relevant policies to encourage early marriage and early childbearing. For example, in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it is recorded that "if a woman is over 15 years old and does not marry until 30 years old, her tax burden will be increased fivefold." This means that if a woman is over 15 years old and has not married, the family's tax burden will increase fivefold. This policy has a great impact on the age at which women can get married.

Cai Yan is the daughter of Cai Yong, a respected scholar and counselor.

Other noble families are not short of money and food, so they may not care.

However, she didn't want her father to be slandered by others.

Therefore, she is no longer young and has to get married.

Cai Yan gritted her teeth, her beautiful eyes sparkling with tears, and said to Cai Yong:

"It's the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. Yan'er listens to his father."

Cai Yong looked at his daughter's tearful eyes, sighed softly, and said: "Father will find you the best and most suitable husband." (End of this chapter)