In the northwest corner of Andu County is the military camp, where more than a hundred soldiers are stationed.
The garrison of each county ranges from 300 to 400, but most of them are stationed outside the city. On the one hand, they regularly clear out zombies, and on the other hand, they guard key positions.
The garrison inside and outside the city usually rotates every half a month, so not some of them are always outside the city.
But today, those who stay in the city are undoubtedly lucky. They can at least celebrate the New Year in a lively way.
At this moment, in the military camp, more than a hundred soldiers gathered in the school grounds, with several bonfires lit in the middle and various foods placed on both sides.
Tonight, New Year's Eve, food is open in the military camp. As long as you can eat, feel free to eat.
But now, no one of the soldiers moved. They lined up and stood facing the high platform in front.
After a while, several people walked out of a house not far away. The leader was Cui Xing'an, deputy Qianhu.
Nowadays, Cui Xing'an is in the limelight. Although he is a member of the Qianhu household, his reputation is louder than that of several Qianhu households.
On the one hand, it is true that Cui Xing'an is capable enough, but more importantly, Zhao Yanxun is praising him.
Although this feeling of admiration is good, Cui Xingan is also very clear-headed and must not be proud or complacent.
He must train his army solidly in order to withstand the test in future battles.
Walking up to the high platform, Cui Xing'an looked at his subordinates and said loudly: "Brothers, let's eat and drink with open stomachs during the New Year tonight!"
When talking to his subordinates, Cui Xing'an didn't like formality, so he was naturally as straightforward as he could be at this moment.
He has a high prestige in the army, and he easily aroused the atmosphere at this moment, and the scene became lively.
"Long live His Royal Highness King Yong!" Cui Xing'an shouted.
This is the rule before meals, you must shout Zhao Yanxun's name.
Slogans are only effective if they are shouted out, and can influence people's hearts subtly.
"Long live His Highness King Yong!"
The soldiers roared along, and the atmosphere was extremely lively.
"Let's eat!"
…
Five streets away from the military camp is the Andu County Government Office, where the New Year's Eve dinner is also being held at the moment.
Wang Pingyan, the current magistrate of Andu County, is sitting in the back hall of the county government office. Sitting in front of him are several county government officials.
"Everyone, tonight is New Year's Eve. The yamen is so simple that I can only offer tea instead of wine to wish you a happy New Year!"
In fact, if they can drink tea instead of boiled water at this time, it means that their living conditions are good.
Everyone drank the hot tea, looked at the few side dishes on the table, and moved their chopsticks under Wang Pingyan's guidance.
"Have all the food been distributed from tomorrow to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year?"
"It has been distributed. In accordance with the prince's instructions, five additional eggs have been distributed to family members who have joined the army!"
Wang Pingyan nodded and said: "This must be done well. If someone in the family is serving in the army, they should take extra care!"
Next, several officials chatted about what was going to happen next in the Yamen while eating.
At the end, Wang Pingyan sighed: "I think Yuanyang will be very lively tonight!"
………………
Wang Pingyan is right, Yuanyang City is indeed very lively at night.
Following Zhao Yanxun's instructions, Yuanyang City lifted the curfew on New Year's Eve, and each community prepared for the celebration on its own.
In the past six months, people's lives have been too depressing, so Zhao Yanxun wanted to let everyone relax.
Each community celebrates the New Year in different ways, but they all call on people to participate voluntarily.
For example, in Changmafang, Nancheng, many people gathered in the small central square, and there were many wooden and bamboo trees placed among them.
Changmafang has a lot of activities planned tonight, including stone lock lifting, log lifting and tree felling competitions.
After passing these three levels in a row, the first place will be rewarded with fifty kilograms of grain and one kilogram of pork.
This is already an extremely generous reward, especially that pound of pork, which can be said to be the hard currency among hard currencies.
At this moment, Hu Xiaolin put his hands into his sleeves and stood in the crowd looking at the officials in the center of the square who were explaining the rules of the game.
"Young and old men who are willing to participate can start now. First, lift the stone lock with one hand and lift it above your head twenty times in a row. You can then enter the next level!"
This stone lock weighs fifty kilograms, and most people can lift it with no problem, but it would be extremely difficult to lift it twenty times in a row.
"Those who are willing to compete can come up now...who will come first?"
"I'll do it!"
Then they saw Hu Xiaolin pushing aside the crowd and walking directly towards the stone lock. Under everyone's suspicious eyes, he raised the stone lock above his head.
Seeing that Hu Xiaolin was not tall and tall, everyone present was amazed and asked who this boy was.
Being able to be selected and rush to Yuanyang with Ma Jin, Hu Xiaolin naturally has the characteristics of a Chinese, such as his brute strength.
Soon, Hu Xiaolin lifted twenty of them in one go and successfully passed the test and moved on to the next item.
As more people joined the competition, the atmosphere became more and more lively. Everyone was cheering and venting their many experiences.
Half an hour later, the first place result came out, and Hu Xiaolin got fifty kilograms of grain and the one kilogram of fresh pork.
Hu Xiaolin had never received so much food since the zombie outbreak, so he was so happy that he was speechless at this moment.
At this moment, he remembered the cannibalism in Zhuangzi, the bark-gnawing in Liaoping, and the series of tragic scenes that occurred in the fight for food.
Passing the grain to Hu Xiaolin, the official said solemnly: "Boy, you are very good...you must contribute more to the palace in the future!"
At this time, someone shouted; "Hurry up and start the next item..."
The crowd immediately burst into cheers, and the scene was filled with joy.
In fact, at this moment, every village in Yuanyang City is in a state of joy.
Longqianfang, this is where Prince Yong’s Mansion is located.
At the main gate of the palace, the guards were on duty like sculptures. The light from the red lanterns filled their faces with joy.
At this moment, at the gate, officials walked into the palace from time to time. They came to attend today's dinner at the palace.
Ordinary people celebrated the New Year together, and Zhao Yanxun also summoned officials to celebrate the New Year, which was regarded as having fun with "everyone".
"Envoy Guan Shu, you are here at this time too!"
"Growth history, didn't you just come now?"
The two of them laughed immediately, and then walked into the palace together.
The officials they met along the way saluted the two of them one after another. After all, they were numerous high-ranking officials in the palace.
The royal banquet was held in Yuqiong Garden. This was originally a place for banquets, but it was left idle most of the time.
When Guan and Cheng arrived, dozens of officials were already present, including Zhou Chengping and Chen Anming.
In Yuqiong Garden, the main seat is located due north. There is no doubt that this is Zhao Yanxun's position.
On the south side of the main seat, there are ten tables respectively, and a large area of land is left open in the middle.
Near the entrance of the palace, musicians were lined up and seated. It was obvious that there would be a performance here soon.
When Guan and Cheng entered the hall, someone immediately came up to greet them. After some greetings, they sat down in their respective seats.
Four senior officials were placed on both sides of the throne, sitting in pairs.
Even though they all sat down, people kept coming up to talk, leaving them no privacy at all.
Some asked for instructions from the Yamen, some came specifically to pay New Year greetings... and so on.
