Chapter 34: The Celebration Banquet (Part 2)

  At this time Zhao Xuan said to Gao Yuan: "Don't see those three people behind Guo Kai in the second row."

  Actually, these three people had already caught Gao Yuan's attention. The middle one wore a cloth wrapped around his head, with a ferocious face and a scar more than three inches long on his left cheek. The person on the left was thin and gaunt, with sunken cheeks, an eagle-like nose, but his eyes shone brightly. The person on the right was not tall, slightly chubby, but had a cruel look on his face. In short, none of them looked like good people, and it was these three who had been staring at Gao Yuan just now.

  The plateau noticed these three people, not only because of their ferocious appearance, which left a deep impression on others. The tables at this banquet were very wide and could accommodate six or seven people per table. Although it was not necessary to sit so crowdedly at such banquets, each table would still seat four or five people. However, behind Guo Kai's second row, only these three people sat, clearly indicating that they held a high position under Guo Kai.

  Zhao Xuan said again: "If someone from Guo Kai's side comes to challenge you after a while, it must be one of these three people who takes action."

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Do you know these three people?"

  Zhao Xuan said: "The one in the middle is called Shi Kui, a native of Wei State. Originally a great thief, he has at least twenty or thirty lives on his hands. The thin man on the left is called Ji Qi Zi, and the short and stout man on the right is called Xing Ren Jiu. Both are from Song State. They were originally bodyguards but killed their employer's family and fled with their wealth after seeing how much money they had. Now they are both swordsmen hired by Guo Kai at a great price, and they are quite skilled. They have some reputation in Handan."

  "Looks like you're quite familiar with him!"

  Zhao Xuan said: "These three people were originally not good things, and in Handan, they relied on Guo Kai's power to do evil, doing many bad things, known as the Three Evils of Handan. I had long wanted to deal with them, but unfortunately, my time in Handan was limited, and I didn't have the chance. If you encounter them, don't show mercy. However, with your current martial arts skills, you won't have a high chance of winning against any one of them, so it's best not to accept their challenge. Think of a way to push me out and let me fight in your place."

  Gao Yuan was also somewhat surprised, he had been in Zhao's camp for more than three months and got along well with both the upper and lower ranks of the army, except for some estrangement from Zhao Xuan. Gao Yuan could see that Zhao Xuan was quite wary of him. It wasn't until later when Li Yinghong mentioned it that he found out that when he first crossed into this time-space, he was surrounded by the Qin army, and then obtained his special ability from the amulet, suddenly bursting forth and killing over 200 Qin soldiers. Zhao Xuan said that at the time, Gao Yuan's aura was too heavy. In fact, Gao Yuan himself wasn't very clear about what had happened back then, but during this period of time, the amulet hadn't shown any unusual phenomena either.

  However, Gao Yuan also knew that Zhao Xuan's marksmanship was extremely high, and at the time he himself was defeated by a single shot from him. Moreover, Gao Yuan had personally witnessed Zhao Xuan directing other soldiers in practicing long-range shooting, and almost no one in the entire Zhao army camp could withstand his three shots.

  It was just that Gao Yuan didn't expect Zhao Xuan to kindly remind him. That's why he felt a bit surprised. And Zhao Xuan obviously also knew what Gao Yuan was thinking, and said calmly: "I used to be very wary of you, and I still am now. Although I believe it wasn't your intention at the time, I couldn't help but be on guard. What if one day you lose control in General Zhao's camp and start killing recklessly? However, we are both part of General's camp now, so we should present a united front against outsiders. If you fail, it will also tarnish General's reputation."

  Gao Yuan nodded, although he didn't say anything, but in his heart, he was quite unconvinced. Even if he had killed many people at that time, it was because he was surrounded by the Qin army and would have been killed if he hadn't fought desperately. Moreover, no matter how crazy he was, he wouldn't have gone on a killing spree.

  Just then, a loud "Dong!" sound was heard, the bell rang out, and the sound of silk and bamboo music started, the grand hall suddenly became solemn, all the ministers stood up, only to see a team of guards leading the way, followed by musicians playing bells, drums, sheng and guqin, and then under the escort of a team of palace maids, a man wearing a crown with twelve pendants, dressed in magnificent royal robes, walked into the grand hall from outside. It was none other than King Zhao Xian of Zhao at that time.

  Behind Zhao Wangqian were several other men in Chinese attire, including Zhao Jia, who had been met on the street earlier and was probably a member of the royal family of Zhao.

  Zhao Wangqian walked up to the middle throne and sat down, while the armored soldiers stood guard on either side of him and behind him. The others took their seats on either side of him, with Zhao Jia's seat being the first one on Zhao Qian's left side, showing his high status in the Zhao royal family.

  At this time, the music stopped and all the officials turned to King Zhao Xian of Qin to kneel down and pay their respects. Gao Yuan could only follow the crowd and also knelt down to pay his respects to King Zhao Xian of Qin.

  After the ceremony, the officials returned to their seats. Gao Yuan then stole a glance at Zhao Wangqian and saw that he was in his thirties, with a face similar to Zhao Jia's by four or five points, but with a pale complexion, dark circles under his eyes, and an obvious look of excessive drinking.

  "Zhao Wang Qian said: 'This time, the State of Qin was overconfident and attempted to rely solely on military force to invade our great Zhao. However, they were defeated by the bravery of our Zhao generals and soldiers, suffering heavy losses and casualties, including the death of their great general Huan Ju. This has greatly boosted the prestige of our Zhao state and destroyed the morale of the Qin people. It is clear that our great Zhao has the protection of heaven and is not something that the Qin people can match.'"

  All the ministers heard this and also congratulated King Zhao Xiang of Zhao. When the voices had subsided, King Zhao Xiang raised his wine goblet and said: "I ask all of you to drink a full cup to celebrate our great victory over the Qin army."

  All the officials also raised their cups and drank the fine wine in one gulp.

  The music started again, and sixty-four young singing girls, each wearing a light silk long dress, walked into the grand hall in two teams. With the rhythm of the music, they began to dance and sing.

  According to the rites, only the Zhou Son of Heaven could use sixty-four singing girls to start the dance ceremony, called Tian Yi's Dance. The various marquises could only use thirty-two singing girls to start the dance, and the ministers were even fewer, they could only use twenty-four people. However, in this era where rituals have collapsed and music has been destroyed, no one would respect the rites, let alone other vassal states, even powerful ministers of the court used the Son of Heaven's Dance, not to mention that now the Zhou Dynasty had already been destroyed by Qin.

  Only this team of song girls with long sleeves lightly danced, and along with their dance poses, they sang in unison:

  The bow is strung and ready, but I store it away. I have a noble guest, and I treat him with respect. The bell and drum are set up, and in the morning I feast him.

  The bow is drawn, and the arrow is placed on it. I have a noble guest, and my heart is delighted with him. The bell and drum are set up, and in the morning we will receive him on the right.

  The bow is strung, I receive the words of wisdom. I have noble guests, with whom I am delighted to share my heart. The bell and drum are set up, tomorrow I will repay them.

  The singing girls sang the "Tong Gong" melody from the "Poetry and Music" of Zhou Tian, which was originally a music and dance performance that would only be performed by officials who had made great achievements in battle, to celebrate their victory. After the dance, Zhou Tian would reward his meritorious officials with a red bow, symbolizing their achievement.

  The tune of elegant music is smooth and the sound is solemn, many people do not like to listen to elegant music, but singing and dancing elegant music in formal banquets is a ritual habit passed down from the Zhou Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty no longer exists now, this habit has been inherited by various countries.

  As expected, after one dance, Zhao Wang Qian said: "This time we were able to defeat the Qin army, it was thanks to Li Mu and Sima Shang's loyalty. I should offer a toast to the two of you." And so he raised his wine cup again.

  Li Mu and Sima Shang also hastily stood up, raised their wine cups, and drank a cup with King Zhao Xiang.

  Then Zhao Wang Yi ordered that the two be given 500 taels of gold, and Quyang County was granted to Li Mu as his fiefdom. Sima Sang was also granted a food estate of 3,000 households. Originally, Li Mu had been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wu'an with a food estate of 5,000 households. However, having a fiefdom and a food estate were different. A high-ranking official only had the power to collect taxes from his food estate, whereas in his fiefdom he was like a small feudal lord, able not only to set up taxes but also to appoint officials, form an army, etc. Therefore, apart from their official positions, obtaining a fiefdom was what every minister aspired to as the highest honor.

  A eunuch brought in two boxes of gold and placed them beside Li Mu and Sima Sang. The music started again, the musicians returned to the stage, this time playing not elegant music but Wei Zheng's tunes that everyone loved. The melody was beautiful, the rhythm clear and quick, and the dancers' movements were much faster too, their flying skirts creating various enchanting poses that left the audience dazzled.

  After the song ended, Zhao Wangqian stood up again and said, "High Plateau."

  Gao Yuan immediately stood up and replied: "Your subject is here."

  King Zhao said: "I have heard that you followed the shooting star and the heavenly stone to descend upon our great Zhao. This time, in defeating Qin, your merit is the greatest. You beheaded Huan Gui on the battlefield and established a great achievement for our kingdom of Zhao. It is truly heaven's gift to bestow you upon our great Zhao. It can be seen that the rise of our great Zhao is indeed heaven's will, not something that human power can resist. Qin has gone against heaven, how could it not be defeated?"

  The other officials also congratulated Zhao Wangqian one after another.

  After a brief pause, Gao Yuan said: "The great defeat of the Qin army and the beheading of Huan Yi were still the result of the concerted efforts of the three armies. It was not the achievement of one person, so I do not dare to take credit for it alone and deprive other generals of their merits. As for me following the meteorite's descent from heaven, it was an unexpected event. I am just an ordinary person, no different from others, and even more unrelated to the will of heaven." He then repeated what he had just said, as if carried away by the strong wind.

  Zhao Wang Qian's face also showed a hint of embarrassment, and at this moment, Shi Kui stood up behind Guo Kai and said: "Your Majesty, I think Gao Yuan is still pretending to be the will of heaven and deceiving you. I am not talented, but I am willing to compete with Gao Yuan in martial arts in front of the emperor. If Gao Yuan really has the will of heaven, he will definitely not lose to me. If Gao Yuan is not my opponent, it can be seen that he must be deceiving Your Majesty. Please punish him according to the law."

  All the ministers who heard this were also greatly shocked. Although Shi Kui's words were only directed at Gao Yuan, if it was determined that Gao Yuan had deceived King Zhao Xiang of Zhao, then Li Mu would also be guilty of deceiving the king. This is because Gao Yuan's actions were reported to King Zhao Xiang by Li Mu.

  Zhao Wangqian listened and didn't find anything unusual, but in fact, this was a plan that Guo Kai had given him yesterday. He wanted Shi Kui and Gao Yuan to engage in a martial arts competition. If Gao Yuan really did have the Star-Controlling Technique, then he definitely wouldn't lose to Shi Kui. Therefore, if Gao Yuan won, it would prove that he was genuine, but if he lost, it would prove that he was fake. Zhao Wangqian also thought this method wasn't bad, so he turned to Gao Yuan and said: "Gao Yuan, Shi Kui wants to compete with you in martial arts. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

  Although Li Mu and Zhao Xuan had reminded Gao Yuan not to lightly accept the challenge of Guo Kai's gang, in this situation, it was also impossible for Gao Yuan to refuse. Moreover, in his heart, he felt somewhat unyielding and wanted to see how excellent the swordsmanship of this era was. Therefore, he said: "I will report back to Your Majesty, I am willing to accept the challenge and compete with Shi Kui in a martial arts competition."

  Zhao Wang nodded and said: "Good, then let's prepare for the martial competition."

  Dividing line Dividing line

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