Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 58 Concubinage
Empress Dowager Ma married her adopted daughter to Cen Danchu, obviously with the intention of winning over military generals.

The Ming army was said to have a million men, and even at Guni Pass, they had gathered two or three thousand defeated soldiers. But the only ones who could really fight were the five hundred cavalrymen brought by Cen Danchu. In times of crisis, only these five hundred men and horses could be used.

Danchu's psychology also underwent subtle changes. In the past few days, he had witnessed with his own eyes that Emperor Yongli was cowardly and incompetent, that there were many treacherous villains among the internal officials, and that the external officials were engaged in endless factional struggles, which was very disappointing.

This dynasty, it doesn't matter if it is lost. He was ordered to welcome Emperor Yongli back to Guilin, but Emperor Yongli was as timid as a mouse and didn't want to go back to Guilin at all. Rather than wasting time here, it would be better to lead the army back to Guilin.

With Zhu's concubine, it was naturally inconvenient for Danchu to leave.

At this moment, court officials, imperial concubines, and defeated soldiers gathered at Guni Pass. The living quarters were crowded, food was scarce, and order was in chaos. It was inconvenient for the small court to stay at Guni Pass, so it had to move elsewhere.

Hou Xingye, Marquis of Xiangfu, led an army of 1,000 to Guni Pass to protect the emperor. He robbed merchants and travelers in Liuzhou, obtained tens of thousands of silver coins, and presented 10,000 taels of silver to the court to bribe the title of marquis.

Change was imminent, and Danchu decided to stay and see what Emperor Yongli would decide.

On September 10, Empress Ma sent someone to take Zhu to Danchu Camp. The situation was chaotic, and since she was a concubine, it was naturally inconvenient to hold a ceremony.

According to etiquette, a man usually marries a wife first before taking a concubine. Now is a time of chaos, with etiquette and music in disarray. The Queen Mother wants to fight for Zhu's reputation, so she decides to let Danchu take a concubine in advance.

The dowry was very meager, consisting of only a black pig, ten ounces of gold, one hundred ounces of silver, and ten pieces of brocade. In this remote Guni Pass, it was not easy to raise such a dowry.

Danchu sent out an order to reward the soldiers. The five hundred soldiers had been cramped in Guni Pass for many days, and it was rare for them to have wine and meat, so their morale was boosted.

In the evening, a sedan chair drove out of the Tusi’s camp, meandered to Danchu’s army, and stopped in front of the central army tent.

In the sedan sat a master and a servant. The master was Zhu Shulu, the adopted daughter of Empress Dowager Ma. There was also a palace maid, who was considered a maid who came as a dowry.

The guards lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and ushered the master and servant into the tent. Danchu had been waiting for a long time. Through the candlelight, he saw Zhu Shulu wearing a green wedding dress with a pair of mandarin ducks embroidered on it. The luster was dazzling and it was mostly made of silk. She had a good figure, a slightly thin face, and a luxurious temperament all over her body.

"Madam, please take a seat." Danchu was very generous and invited Zhu Shulu to sit down.

Zhu Shulu blushed and sat down in front of Danchu. Most of the concubines, palace maids, eunuchs, princes and princesses in Yongli's inner court were baptized into Christianity, and Zhu Shulu was no exception.

She called out "husband" and her heart began to beat fast. The first time she saw her husband, he was indeed a handsome man. He just called her Madam. Did he change his mind and make her his legal wife?

Danchu said, "Madam, I am already engaged to Miss Qu, so I have to inconvenience you. However, I will set a rule from now on that you are like a lady in my house, and you can also be called Madam at other times."

Zhu Shulu felt a little disappointed, but also very grateful, and said, "Thank you, husband."

"You're welcome." The royal family has many rules, but Danchu is very disgusted with red tape. He said, "I will invite my fellow soldiers to come over for a drink later. You don't have to avoid me. You can join us for a drink. It will be a way for us to get to know each other."

"what?"

Zhu Shulu was very surprised. She had just met her husband and they were not familiar with each other yet, but she was going to meet her fellow soldiers? Thinking of herself in the military camp, surrounded by soldiers, which was very different from the palace, Zhu Shulu couldn't help but frown.

Danchu's tone left no room for doubt: "It doesn't matter. We'll get to know each other sooner or later anyway."

There are rumors in the army that Danchu has broken off the engagement and wants to marry the daughter of the royal family as his legal wife. Today's banquet for all the generals is just the right time to put an end to the rumors. At 10:00 p.m., all the generals came to the central army tent, including Yu Houji, the central army commander Feng Lin, the musket captain Ferreira, the captain of the first team Wei Guosong, and the captain of the second team.

The food and wine had already been prepared in the tent. Danchu and his wife sat at the main seat, and the other generals sat down in turn.

The maid poured the sake, and Danchu made a speech: "Everyone, the current situation is chaotic, and Gu Ni is remote. Thanks to the favor of Empress Dowager Ma, she gave me a beautiful concubine. Today, I invite you to drink, first to celebrate the beautiful concubine, and second to appreciate the friendship of comrades. Everyone, please."

Hearing the word "beautiful concubine", the generals felt relieved. The commander's marriage seemed to be a private matter, but it was actually very important. Qu Shisi was very famous and had a close relationship with Jiao Lian. Miss Qu was also a legitimate daughter, so she was obviously more suitable to be the main wife than Zhu.

Yu Houji, as a representative, congratulated Danchu for taking a concubine and said, "A hero deserves a beauty. We wish the governor and the princess a long life together and a son soon."

Everyone laughed and drank the sake in one gulp.

Since it was their first meeting, Danchu of course had to introduce themselves.

Let me introduce Zhu Shulu first: "I am Madam Ru, born in the side branch of the Gui clan. Both my parents were raised by Empress Dowager Ma since childhood. My surname is Zhu, and my taboo name is Shulu. You can call me Madam Zhu from now on. I am an open-minded person, so from now on, we in the army will call me Madam Ru."

Zhu Shulu was deeply moved by Danchu's words in front of his subordinates. All the grievances in his heart disappeared and tears of joy rolled down his eyes.

Yu Houji was the most alert and tried to smooth things over by saying, "The governor is young and promising, has both literary and military skills, and is so loyal and righteous. Madam, you should be happy."

Yu Houji's title was "Joint Army", which meant he was actually Danchu's military advisor. He not only had to advise him on secret matters, but also had to pay attention to his private life. Zhu was the adopted daughter of Empress Dowager Ma, and had an extraordinary background. If she could get along with Danchu and his wife, it would be beneficial in the future.

Zhu Shulu was moved, raised her glass to Danchu, and said, "My dear, I have lost my composure."

Danchu took a sip with her, then introduced the generals: "Everyone here is my subordinate and my comrade. We share life and death in war and are like brothers in peacetime. This one's surname is Yu Houji, he is a military officer and my military advisor. This one..."

Zhu Shulu regained the graceful demeanor of a royal woman and toasted all the generals one by one.

Among those present there were military advisors with Confucian backgrounds, Portuguese musketeer captains, and old soldiers from northern Shaanxi, but they all bowed to the young Danchu, which surprised Zhu secretly.

She couldn't help but think of the time when she came to the camp in the evening in a sedan chair. After walking more than two miles, she saw many scattered soldiers through the curtain of the sedan chair. Fortunately, there were guards of the imperial guards, so the sedan chair was not harassed by the soldiers.

The situation was quite different in the military camp near Danchu. Despite the simple conditions, they had erected stakes and dug trenches. The camp was spacious, with many fine horses, and the soldiers were solemn, marching in formation, without anyone making loud noises.

It seems that the story of capturing the flag and killing the general is not exaggerated. My husband is not only brave in battle, but also good at training and commanding soldiers. His future is limitless.

It seems that I made the right move by getting carried away and marrying a warrior.

Well, helping my husband is helping myself. I will have to ask the Queen Mother to give my husband a promotion.

The more Zhu Shulu thought about it, the more proud she felt, and a smile appeared on her face involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)