Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 50

Gan Ning was bored guarding the gate of the city. Ever since he joined Liu Biao, he felt that he had not had a good day.

Although stable, there is no need to go to the battlefield to fight.

But for Gan Ning, such a comfortable life is better than letting him die.

As a slutty young man in his teens who licked his blood across the Yangtze River, Gan Ning didn't know how he got here in the past two years.

The last time he killed someone was after Liu Zhang's rebellion. Since then, he left the Yangtze River he was familiar with and came to this strange ancestral land.

Occasionally, he would visit the rural clans of the Gan family outside the city, but he felt that he had nothing to do with them.

Everyone has an ancestor at most 100 years ago, and apart from that, there is no emotional connection.

And that continues to this day.

From a distance, Gan Ning saw a huge procession coming from the east city gate, there were more than 20 hula-la horse-drawn carriages, huddled in front and behind, obviously a rich family was traveling.

Deng Hong brought Mrs. Cai back to Huangmenting after a new year. On the way back, he passed by Mrs. Cai Yang and stopped by her mother's house.

The father-in-law and mother-in-law were very pleased to see that the two were very affectionate, and seeing that the old people of Huangmenting gave the couple seven or eight carts of gifts in large and small packages, they suddenly felt that they could not be shabby.

So after leaving her natal home, there were seven or eight more carriages, plus the original dozen or so carriages, for a total of more than 20 carriages.

Although Gan Ning didn't know that this convoy was Deng Hong's, but when he was in Berkshire, his family was a wealthy family, and travel was even more luxurious than this, so he just glanced lazily and didn't pay attention.

But what surprised him was that when the team arrived at the city, they did not immediately enter the city, but moved out of the way, moved the chariot and horses to the base of the city wall, and a few people got off the chariot and came towards the gate of the city.

"General Xingba."

Deng Hong waved his hands above the city and shouted.

Gan Ning only recognized it at this time, isn't this the newly appointed governor of the state who is engaged in Deng Hong?

They had met several times before. Since Deng Hong was appointed by Liu Biao to promote keel waterwheels in various places in Nanyang, he had been in and out of Xiangfan many times.

Every time he passed by, Deng Hong would come to visit and talk with him with gifts, so the two parties could not be said to be close friends, but they could also be said to be good friends, and they were already very close.

But in the past, every time Deng Hong passed by, there were only two or three people, including himself and two subordinates from the state capital. Why did he suddenly bring so many people this time?
Gan Ning was puzzled.

At this time, he didn't know that Deng Hong had married the Cai family.

The reason for this is that the list of banquet guests was drawn up by Mrs. Cai, and Gan Ning's immediate boss Zhang Yun was included in it, but Gan Ning was not.

The Cai family is one of the top aristocratic families in Jingzhou. According to the words of later generations, the people who come and go are all people from high society.

Therefore, when drawing up the list of guests for the banquet, the Cai family invited high-ranking officials from Jingzhou and top families.

To put it mildly, Gan Ning was a surrendered general, but to put it bluntly, he was just a lower-ranking officer with [-] soldiers.

Not yet eligible for guest list.

Although Deng Hong wanted to invite, the sovereignty was in the hands of the Cai family, and he had no choice.

So until now Gan Ning does not know that Deng Hong has married a wife.

However, Shen Chen had already told him that he wanted to have a good relationship with Gan Ning, so when he came to Fancheng at this time, Deng Hong also brought his bride and Shen Chen to visit at the first time.

Although Gan Ning was puzzled, but when a friend came to visit, he waved back and called out, "Mr. Youshuo."

Deng Hong entered the city together with Mrs. Cai and Shen Chen, with several servants behind them bringing gifts.

After entering Fancheng, Gan Ning had already descended from the tower and was waiting for them. After the two met, they greeted each other, and then headed towards Gan Ning's house in Nancheng.

It was the afternoon at this time, and Gan Ning was supposed to be on duty, but he was a casual person, he went to work when he wanted to, and left work when he wanted to, everyone was used to it, and Zhang Yun couldn't control him.

So he brought everyone to his home, and everyone sat in rows in the middle hall, Deng Hong and his wife sat on the same mat, Shen Chen alone, and Gan Ning took the main seat.

Seeing such a situation, Gan Ning recalled it, and asked curiously, "Is You Shuo planning to faint? Are you here to invite me today?"

He thought it was an engagement. The Han Dynasty's dark ceremony was not a trivial matter. It had to go through six rituals, and the wedding ceremony was the last ceremony. Among the first few rituals, there was an item where the betrothed couple had to invite those who participated in the dark ceremony together.

Gan Ning felt that we were old acquaintances, you should invite me to get married.So when I saw Deng Hong bringing a woman here, I thought it was an invitation after the engagement.

"Ashamed."

However, Deng Hong was even more ashamed when he said this, and he said with some embarrassment: "This time I came to Fancheng to plead guilty to Xingba. Last November, I fainted with Awei Shi. At that time, I wanted to invite Xingba, but..."

Gan Ning's complexion suddenly changed, feeling very unhappy.

In vain, he still regarded Deng Hong as a friend, but when he got married, he was not invited across a distance. How could this make him happy?
But just when Gan Ning was about to explode, Cai stood up and bowed slightly to him, saying: "Uncle Lang is very polite. My husband often told me that Uncle Lang is his good friend. I came to see Uncle Lang today, and I hope that Uncle Lang is happy." .”

Gan Ning snorted coldly: "Since we are good friends, even Shihun didn't invite me, what kind of friends are we?"

Mrs. Cai said: "For the past few days, my husband has been talking about inviting Uncle to come. I have already invited Uncle on the list. It was my father who took the initiative to delete the list. It was not until the day of Shihun that my husband found out about it. Uncle please know, this matter is only my father's fault, not my husband's."

Gan Ning's face was still unhappy, obviously still angry.

Cai said again: "I know Uncle Lang is angry. My husband wanted to send someone to inform Uncle Lang about the situation. It was I who dissuaded me and said that we would visit together to plead guilty. I also blamed my father for being short-sighted. I don’t know a real hero. My husband often says that Uncle Lang is a great hero with a big heart, and I think he will understand my husband’s difficulties.”

After some decent words, he blamed his own father and flattered Gan Ning, which immediately softened his expression, and said: "Since your father only wants to invite those rich and powerful families, he must be from a family of aristocratic families, isn't it? Don't you know that my Berkshire Gan family is also a famous family in Yizhou?"

Mrs. Cai bowed slightly again and said, "Uncle Lang, although my father is Mrs. Cai Yang and Mrs. Cai, but he is only at home all day long, how can he recognize the heroes of the world? Apart from my uncle who is the prefect of Nanjun, he may only have eyes for those few in Jingzhou. Just a big family."

Cai Yang Cai?

After knowing that the other party was the Cai family, Gan Ning looked at Deng Hong, and saw that the other party's face was full of embarrassment at this time, but his mood improved a lot, and he also had some understanding and consideration for Deng Hong.

The Cai family is the most powerful first family in Jingzhou besides Liu Biao.

Cai Mao was the prefect of Nanjun and the military adviser of General Zhennan. He was in charge of most of Jingzhou's soldiers and horses for Liu Biao, so his eyes were higher than his head.

Even if the daughter of the family gets married, the person invited is also a high-ranking aristocrat, so it is normal to cross Deng Hong's friends off the list.

Gan Ning himself came from a noble family, how could he not know the arrogance of these noble families?

So now he also understood why Deng Hong wanted to invite him, but couldn't. He was really powerless.

Thinking of this, Gan Ning's dissatisfaction with Deng Hong dissipated a bit, and he said with a big smile, "I see, I misunderstood You Shuo, but luckily Madam explained it to me, otherwise I might lose friends because of it. "

Only then did Mrs. Cai smile lightly and bend down to sit down.

Deng Hong looked at his wife gratefully, hugged her in his arms, and gently held her hand.

Shen Chen on the side remained silent. After he entered the door, he was actually very worried that Gan Ning would turn his back because of this incident. After all, Gan Ning is also a violent person.

As a result, he never expected that the Cai family was really as virtuous and virtuous as the legends said, and he was generous, and turned the situation around with just a few words.

Or this is the heritage and upbringing of the big family.

Women in the Han Dynasty could not help reading and literacy. Many women in wealthy families were talented, although there was no lack of unruly and willful ones, such as Sun Shangxiang is a typical representative of them.

But most of them followed the elitist education of the nobles in the Han Dynasty, such as the second class, Cai Yan, Zhuo Wenjun, and later Xie Daoyun, Zuo Fen, and Su Hui during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties are all well-known figures.

The Cai family is the top family in Jingzhou. According to historical records, "at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Cai family was the most prosperous".Then you can know the status of the Cai family in Jingzhou.

Being able to cultivate such a well-educated, gentle and intelligent woman is also in the process of cleaning up.

Sure enough, the sixth uncle was lucky.

Although she is not good-looking, but like Huang Yueying, she is a virtuous housemate, so she will be prosperous in the future?
"Xingba, come to the door today to make amends, please forgive me for my rudeness."

Deng Hong clapped his hands, and a servant outside the door came in with a gift, and said with a smile: "This is some special product of my Huangmen Pavilion, including candied pork belly and spirits, how about Xingba?"

"Then I'll try."

Gan Ning greeted them, called the steward and ordered the gifts to be sent to the backyard, and asked them to take the food Deng Hong brought to the kitchen to make dishes, and serve the spirits for drinking.

The so-called candied meat is actually dried meat, later called bacon, which was one of the common gifts in ancient times.

When Confucius accepted disciples in the Spring and Autumn Period, he used this as a tuition fee, and named it the ceremony of Shuxiu, and friends often gave it to each other.

Soon the steward brought up the spirits.

Everyone opened it and poured it into the cups, Deng Hong reminded: "Xingba, this wine is strong, don't drink it all at once, just taste it."

"Really? I don't believe it."

Gan Ning also likes to drink, but there is no alcohol that can make him feel strong, so he pours the wine into the glass with a face of disbelief, and pours it into his mouth in one gulp as usual.

As a result, he realized the seriousness of the matter as soon as he poured it in. There was a pungent feeling in his throat, and the remaining wine was in his mouth.

Seeing this situation, Deng Hong hurriedly advised: "Xingba spit it out quickly."

Gan Ning is quite stubborn, you are afraid of being looked down upon by persuading him like this, so he just gulped down the rest of the wine in the glass with a few gulps.

Then he pretended to be calm, put down the wine glass and said: "This wine is really good, it has some energy, but it still needs some heat to make me drunk."

He said so, but the slight blush on his face still betrayed him.

The wine glasses commonly used in the Han Dynasty are called wine goblets, which are not what people think of as wine bottles. The sizes of wine goblets unearthed in later generations are different, but according to the records in "Shuowen", a regular wine goblet should be between two and three liters.

In the Han Dynasty, one liter was equivalent to 200 grams in later generations, and a glass of wine was equivalent to about [-] to [-] grams.

In other words, Gan Ning drank at least a catty of baijiu in this cup, which is equivalent to drinking a bottle of Niulanshan, which is easy for people who have never been in contact with spirits.

Deng Hong immediately praised: "Xingba is really huge. I only dare to drink a sip or two to warm up in winter on weekdays. I didn't expect Xingba to drink it all in one gulp."

"Oh, it's nothing."

Gan Ning braced himself, glanced around, and suddenly noticed that Shen Chen was a little silent today, so he asked curiously, "Why didn't Shen Xiaolang speak today?"

Shen Chen, who is ten years old this year, has grown a lot taller. When Gan Ning asked him, he cupped his hands and said, "Uncle was fainted before and didn't call him Uncle Xingba, so I feel ashamed."

"It's okay, just a little misunderstanding."

Gan Ning waved his hand, and seemed to remember something, looked at Shen Chen and smiled, "By the way, last year Sui Xiaolang said that there would be chaos in Nanyang at the beginning of this year, how come it is still very calm now?"

Shen Chen said meaningfully: "That's right, there was chaos in Guanzhong last year, and the warlords in Guanzhong lacked food and grass, so they must live in Nanyang. As expected, after a while, there should be news from the direction of Wuguan."

"You guy is just stubborn."

Gan Ning shook his head, glanced at Mrs. Cai, restrained himself a bit, and said: "Liu Shijun is now strong and powerful, who would dare to provoke him?"

Shen Chen smiled and said: "Then the general will take it as Chen's joke. After a while, we will be able to prove it."

"Come, come, Xingba drinks."

Deng Hong immediately persuaded him to drink.

The two drank and chatted, and in the afternoon, Deng Hong's servants had already found a boat, loaded the horses and chariots, and prepared to cross the river.

Fancheng is very close to Xiangyang, just cross the river, and there is no need to spend the night in Fancheng today.

Gan Ning drank a little too much at the beginning, then slowly tasted it, didn't drink too much, and was a little drunk, but he still insisted on sending Deng Hong and the others out of the city.

When parting, Shen Chen said to Gan Ning again: "Uncle Xingba, do you still remember our original agreement?"

Gan Ning thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Of course I remember, if your words are right, I will listen to your words in the future."

Shen Chen showed fox-like sly eyes again, nodded and said: "Just remember, Uncle Xingba, don't break your word."

"Don't worry, I promise as much as Ji Bu."

Gan Ning made a promise.

They boarded the boat and waved goodbye to Gan Ning on the side of the boat.

After they left, Gan Ning staggered on his horse. The wine was really strong and had a lot of stamina. At this moment, he just wanted to go home and sleep comfortably.

However, as soon as he reached the gate of the city, he suddenly saw a few of his personal guards running out of the city in a hurry.

Gan Ning was a bit puzzled, he himself skipped work to receive his friends, but he ordered his soldiers to keep guarding the city, why did all his subordinates follow his example?
Unexpectedly, the guard came to him, so he knelt down on one knee and cupped his hands and said, "Sima, something happened."

At this time, Gan Ning was working as a Sima under Zhang Yun's command. Hearing the report from his subordinates, he frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"Wuguan is in a hurry. A group of Xiliang troops from Guanzhong are attacking Wuguan and threatening Xixian County."

(End of this chapter)