The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 745 Hongmen Banquet

"General Lin, Yunyang was established as a prefecture during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. It has a complete school system, but compared to other prefectures, it's still a wild and barbaric place with a fierce and unruly people. Every few years, refugees would rebel. The Emperor sent the Second Corps to suppress the rebellion, and they had eradicated it. But since the arrival of the Fourth Corps, the rebellion has resurfaced..."

"Chongqing's Tusi have been making frequent incursions, robbing several groups of merchants over the past six months. The government has urged us to encircle and suppress them, but we've urged them several times, and there's been no response. The provincial capital has urged us again, and Marshal Qin has finally dispatched troops. He's been to Zhuxi twice, but to no avail. Who can explain what's going on?"

The two civil servants from the prefecture and county surrounded Lin Zhenyu and complained to him like Xianglin Sao.

The topic of conversation was directed to the Fourth Corps, implying that the ongoing rebellion in Yunyang was closely related to this group of warriors.

In the end, all that was left was to point out that Qin Jianxun was harboring enemies and was the same bird as the chieftain of Chongqing.

Lin Zhenyu did not want to get involved in the internal strife in the officialdom of Yunyang, but the prefect and the county magistrate regarded him as a life-saving straw. After all, Officer Lin was a general sent to Yunyang by Emperor Guangde.

"Officer Lin, Emperor Guangde sent you to Yunyang. He must have something to ask of you. Where is the Imperial Sword..."

Lin Zhenyu was wondering how to respond when he saw Ji Xiaobai's personal soldiers from afar.

"My two superiors, I have to go to Chunxue Tower for a banquet today. I will come to the government office another day to listen to your teachings..."

Before Lin Zhenyu finished speaking, County Magistrate Liang came up to him and said in a low voice:
"This group of warriors are unreasonable and have been running rampant in Yunyang for a long time. At this Hongmen Banquet, they asked you to drink, but you can't drink casually. In Yunyang, drinking is so bad that people can die."

Lin Zhenyu bowed and said, "Thank you, Sir Liang, for the reminder."

~~~~
He urged Lin Zhenyu to go to Chunxue Tower for the banquet, saying that Marshal Qin had been waiting for a long time.

"Then please lead the way."

It was July, and the summer heat was gradually subsiding. In Yunyang City, the weather was hot and dry, and the streets were filled with smoke and dust. When Lin Zhenyu led everyone to Chunxue Tower, he was already sweating profusely.

Chunxue Tower was already surrounded by guards. When they saw Lin Zhenyu and his group coming in, they looked at Lin Zhenyu with hostility.

Lao Pan whispered, "It seems that even the Fourth Corps doesn't obey you. It will be difficult for you to gain a foothold here."

It was more than easy. The commander of the Second Battalion was inexplicably involved in the Liaodong Rebellion and inexplicably dismissed by Emperor Guangde. When Lin Zhenyu was replaced, everyone would naturally focus their attention on him.

"It's a blessing, not a disaster. If it's a disaster, it can't be avoided. What's there to be afraid of? Qin Jianxun and I have no personal grudges, so I don't think he would dare to do anything!"

Qin Jianxun and four battalion officers of the Fourth Corps sat in a private room on the second floor.

Lin Zhenyu followed the guards, walking up the stairs, and heard from afar the sounds of clinking glasses and playing finger-guessing games in the house.

"General Lin, please! Marshal Qin and the commanders of each battalion are inside, waiting for General Lin."

The guard gently pushed the door open and stepped aside. Lin Zhenyu, Wu Zi, Lao Pan and Cui Qi were standing at the door.

"General Lin Zhenyu pays homage to the Marshal!"

Before he finished speaking, the room, which had been bustling with activity just now, suddenly became quiet. All the generals in the room turned their heads to look at the door. Even Wu Zi, who was standing behind Lin Zhenyu, could clearly feel a strong murderous aura.

There were seven or eight small tables in the room. The dishes on the tables were not very rich. Each person had a roasted leg of lamb, a jar of wine, and some local vegetables, fruits, and the seats near the door were left empty.

Sitting at the top was a military officer in his forties with a white face and a thin beard. He was scooping a ladle of wine from the wine jar and gulping it down. After finishing, he wiped his chin, looked back at Lin Zhenyu, and said in a deep voice:
"Oh, so it's General Lin, the one appointed by His Majesty, who has come to Yunyang. I thought you would have arrived the day before yesterday, and the generals and I have been waiting for you for two days."

After saying that, he threw the ladle back into the wine vat, and with a snap, a cloud of wine splashed up.

Lin Zhenyu glanced at the wine jar, then at Qin Jianxun's face. Hearing the unfriendly tone of his words, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Reporting to the Marshal, we encountered several gangs of thieves on the way, which delayed our trip..." Qin Jianxun interrupted him without waiting for him to speak, "Okay, Officer Shu and the others have already told me. Come on, these are all battalion officers of the Fourth Corps. They will be your colleagues in the future. This is Officer Zhang of the First Battalion, this is Officer Zheng of the Third Battalion, and this is Officer Bu of the Fourth Battalion..."

When Qin Jianxun introduced each battalion commander, Lin Zhenyu saluted each other with his fists clasped. The first few battalion commanders just nodded to him slightly, and only the battalion commander of the fifth battalion, Wu Zhengchun, also stood up and bowed.

"General Lin, please take a seat," Ji Xiaobai pulled Lin Zhenyu and arranged him to sit at the lower seat. Lin Zhenyu glanced at him, suppressed his anger and did not lose his temper.

"Marshal Qin, generals," Lin Zhenyu turned around and looked at the three people behind him, introducing them loudly, "These three are my personal followers, who followed me all the way from Nanjing."

Although he was a close follower, he was not qualified to take the seat.

Wu Zi, Lao Pan, Cui Qi and the other two stood far behind Lin Zhenyu.

Ji Xiaobai winked at the camp officers, and when Lin Zhenyu sat down, a group of generals began to persuade him to drink.

Lin Zhenyu raised his wine glass and was about to drink it all in one gulp, but Ji Xiaobai stopped him and replaced the glass with a wine jar.

"General Lin, you don't know that the people of Yunyang can drink a lot. Even the women in the countryside use large bowls to drink. We should follow the local customs and naturally cannot drink from small bowls, otherwise we will be laughed at."

Lin Zhenyu looked up and saw a group of warriors looking at him with murderous intent. Then he looked at the full wine jar in front of him and couldn't help but gasp.

The jar of wine in front of him contained at least ten bowls, if not eight, and it was mellow wine. If he drank it with his neck tilted, he would probably die lying down.

Lin Zhenyu had heard about the drinking culture in the Da Qi military, but he did not expect that the Fourth Corps would drink so recklessly.

"General Lin, please don't refuse. This is the custom of the people of Yunyang. If you drink this jar of wine, you will become close friends with the battalion officers of the Fourth Corps. We will all be one family now."

Qin Jianxun put down the watering can and looked at Lin Yu's son thoughtfully.

At the critical moment, a personal soldier jumped out from behind Lin Zhenyu, holding a sword and shouting:
"Cui Qi has something to say!"

When everyone looked back, Cui Qi was fully armored and stood majestically in front of Lin Zhenyu.

Ji Xiaobai was shocked by this sudden change and said at a loss:

"you are?"

Cui Qi held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other. He slammed the sword against the round shield vigorously while looking around with a sharp gaze:

"Cui Qi of Shaanxi, recruited soldiers in the first year of the Wuding reign. He now has 78 bandit leaders under his command! He's killed the White Lotus Sect and fought against Japanese pirates! He's now serving as a personal soldier under Officer Lin's command!"

Qin Jianxun stroked his beard and smiled: "Brave man! Give me some wine!"

The guard lifted a jar of wine and brought it in front of Cui Qi. Cui Qi remained calm, picked up the jar, and poured out half of it.

"A huge amount!" Qin Jianxun laughed. "Give me some meat!"

The guards on both sides brought up half a raw sheep.

Cui Qi pushed the guards away, put his round shield on the ground, and began to eat the raw mutton voraciously.

The whole room of officers were stunned.

(End of this chapter)