Banquet

Xie Hongfang said loudly to the brothers around him: "Everyone, this is the famous lamplighter Zhao Sheng. He serves as a counselor under me. Now that he has made great achievements, I have decided to become brothers with different surnames.

Everyone who goes out with my brother Zhao will be promoted!"

"Zhao Sheng thanks Brother Xie on behalf of all the brothers," Zhu Yuanzhang bowed and said.

"Now that I have returned and it is no longer suitable for me to lead the army, I will hand over all my three thousand brothers to Brother Jie," Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly.

Everyone was shocked, three thousand people!

Now Jie Hongfang's scattered troops totaled only 7,000. Zhao Sheng handed over so many troops at once, and everyone was a little jealous.

When Xie Hongfang heard that there were three thousand people, his heart skipped a beat. He estimated that Zhu Yuanzhang would hide some of his private soldiers. Unexpectedly, he actually handed over all the military power. Zhu Yuanzhang took out the official seal of Qianxi County and said: "This is the troop dispatcher."

"Token".

Xie Hongfang waved his hand and said: "Since you and I have become brothers with different surnames, whoever holds the military power is the same. Could it be that your brother is still going to harm me?"

"Brother Jie, what you said is wrong. These soldiers were just lent to me by you, brother. Now they are just returned to their original owners!".

Xie Hongfang was very satisfied with Zhu Yuanzhang's statement and accepted the official seal half-heartedly and said: "Then I will accept it shamelessly. If you need it, I can borrow it from you."

As he spoke, Xie Hongfang assumed that the soldiers in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands were borrowed from him.

"Zhao Sheng will be our second brother from now on. Except for me, no one dares to disobey his words. Don't blame me for not giving face to someone!" Xie Hongfang warned everyone.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately took over the conversation: "Brother, on the way back, I met a man who bullied men and women. The most hateful thing is that he said he was your brother-in-law. As far as I know, the eldest brother is not married. I will kill people like this who slander his reputation.

A man is given a knife to give him a long memory."

Xie Hongfang's face turned ugly when he heard this and said, "I'm not satisfied, dear brother. I just married a woman not long ago, and I was planning to introduce you to her. My wife also happens to have a younger brother with a slightly worse character."

"Ah! Isn't this person a fake?" Zhu Yuanzhang said pretending to be surprised.

"Then I have to go find my sister-in-law to apologize."

As he spoke, a woman came out with red eyes. Xie Hongfang stood up and introduced to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Brother Xian, this is Tu Qilan, the daughter of your sister-in-law Tu Yuan's family. Tu Yuanwai is a big family in Yunhe County. Even the county magistrate wants to

Look at his face."

"Zhao Sheng has met Mrs. Sister-in-law!".

Tu Qilan ignored Zhu Yuanzhang and said to Hongfang: "You are still eating here, and you don't even know that your brother-in-law was injured on your territory."

Xie Hongfang consoled him: "Madam, this is all a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding, what misunderstanding did my brother, such an innocent person suffer from this unreasonable disaster?"

"Mrs. Sister-in-law, your brother was hurt by one of my subordinates because he molested a wife of Qianhu. It was a misunderstanding. If Madam-in-law has any hatred in her heart, I will ask him to give you a couple of blows to vent his anger."

Then Zhu Yuanzhang shouted loudly: "San'er, Er'er!".

The two men stepped forward and said respectfully: "Counsellor Zhao! Brother Jie!".

"Why don't you plead guilty to Madam Xie!" Zhu Yuanzhang scolded.

The two of them quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "Please punish me, madam!".

"I want you." Before Tu Qilan could finish his words, Xie Hongfang said, "If there is a reason for your trouble, I will demote you. The two of you will be demoted from one thousand households to one hundred households!".

The two of them were stunned and glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said: "Why are you not convinced?".

"I am convinced! Thank you Madam and Brother Xie for not killing me," the two said in unison.

"Okay, let this matter be revealed!" Xie Hongfang said to several people.

The three of them dispersed, but Zhu Yuanzhang and Xie Hongfang were still drinking and mingling at the wine table.

Xue Cong was drinking in the house at the moment. At this moment, a knock on the door alerted Xue Cong. Xue Cong said angrily: "Who is it?".

When Xue Cong went out to greet him, he was shocked when he saw the visitor: "Brother Jie!".

"Why don't you go pick up Feng Yan?" Xie Hongfang asked, smelling of alcohol.

"I'm used to being quiet and don't like to join in the fun," Xue Cong replied casually.

Xie Hongfang snatched the wine glass from Xue Cong's hand and said, "Military advisor, you were the one who advised me when the incident broke out. How could I forget you?".

"But Brother Xie seems to be very fond of Brother Zhao!" Xue Cong emphasized the second brother.

"Military advisor, don't forget, he brought back 3,000 soldiers. I asked my fourth brother, he originally left more than 100 wounded soldiers in Qianxi, but he actually brought 3,000 soldiers back in just ten days.

I love and fear this person at the same time." Xie Hongfang and Xue Cong expressed their true feelings.

"Brother Xie, are you afraid that Zhao Sheng cannot be used by you?"

"The military advisor asked Xue Cong knowingly, but he seems very resentful towards me." Xie Hongfang smiled bitterly and poured a glass of wine for Xue Cong.

"Military advisor, have you ever heard about my wife's brother?" Xie Hongfang changed the subject.

“See it with your own eyes!”.

"Then what did the military advisor think of Zhao Sheng's handling of the matter?" Xie Hongfang told what happened at the banquet.

"Comply with the rules and regulations," Xue Cong commented.

"The military advisor thinks that my brother-in-law did something wrong," Xie Hongfang said.

"Brother Xie, we have just established ourselves now. If he is allowed to ruin your reputation like this, I am afraid that the meaning of our rebel army will be distorted." Xue Cong took this opportunity to explain to Xie Hong that he actually did not want to see his brother-in-law either.

.

"But after all, his family is the first family in Yunhe County, and has some relationship with the government."

"Forget it, let's not mention him. Let's talk about the three thousand people stationed outside the city. Will Zhao Sheng use them?" Xie Hongfang did not say the next words.

Xue Cong thought for a while and said: "Brother Xie, if he wants to deal with the army outside the city, he can only divide it into groups."

"They were divided among their subordinates, but there were too many of them."

Brother Xie seems to have forgotten that Qianxi County is also under your rule!" Xue Cong reminded.

Xie Hongfang suddenly thought that no one in Qianxi County had gone to garrison yet, and then asked: "Then who should be sent?".

"Qianxi County handed over the ready candidates from Zhao Sheng. Who has a grudge against Zhao Sheng now?"

"You mean Tu Tan?" The Tu Tan mentioned by Xie Hongfang was his brother-in-law.

"Can he do it?" Xie Hongfang thought, his usual style was a bit worrying.

"Brother Xie, you can ask one of your men to assist him!".

Xie Hongfang asked: "Does the military advisor want to help that kid?"

"I thought so, but suddenly I thought that one person can control Tutan!".

"Who?" Xie Hongfang didn't know that this kid was actually afraid of someone.

"Wei Chang, Fourth Brother Wei!".

"Oh? Let me think".

After a moment of silence, Xie Hongfang stood up and said: "The military advisor is really my nobleman, so I will follow your plan!".

Xue Cong sent Xie Hongfang out of the house and said bitterly: "It is impossible to escape from this place after all!".

Xue Cong wanted to take this opportunity to get out of Xie Hongfang's sight, but Xie Hongfang noticed it, so he had no choice but to tell Wei Chang out.

On the street, Liu San and Wang Er were walking arm-in-arm toward the outside of the city. Suddenly, a man stopped the two of them and said, "Your Excellency, you are invited!".
Chapter completed!