Chapter 269 General Gan Gives Gifts
However, the government had no intention of raising troops, so it did not pay much attention to the high morale of the soldiers.
Instead, the idea of disarmament came into play.
Once the land is counted, the imperial court will be able to obtain a large amount of land.
We don't need to do it like Kaifeng Prefecture, where more than 200,000 acres of hidden farmland were discovered. It would certainly not be difficult to discover more than 10 million acres of hidden farmland in the entire world.
By then, we can streamline the troops and have more places to accommodate them.
…………
When the emperor received the news, Zhao Xing also received it.
This matter was originally advocated by him, and he had been sending people to keep an eye on it.
Zhao Xing did this to see how much of a motivation the soldiers would receive from rewarding them with land.
The results were unexpectedly good.
Once this incident spreads among the army, every time there is a war, the soldiers will surely fight bravely and take the lead.
As the year draws to a close, there is less work to do, because each government office needs to finish what needs to be done before the New Year before they can close for the holiday.
Zhao Xing slept in for a rare time.
Zhao Xing was sleeping soundly when he woke up when he felt someone pushing him.
"Sanshui wants to see His Highness about something." Yu Yanran said when she saw Zhao Xing waking up.
Hearing this, Zhao Xing rubbed his eyes, lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
Seeing this, Yu Yanran hurriedly got up and helped Zhao Xing get dressed.
After Zhao Xing finished washing up, he asked someone to call Sanshui in.
"Your Highness!" Sanshui saluted.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Xing asked with a yawn.
"General Gan requests a meeting." Sanshui said.
"Huh?" Zhao Xing was stunned and asked, "Why is he here?"
General Gan is old, so he also returned with the Duke of England this time.
Next, General Gan will either take up a sinecure in the Privy Council or live out his days in the western suburbs.
"General Gan brought a pair of twin girls here." Sanshui replied.
Zhao Xing: "..."
He forgot that General Gan liked to give concubines to other people.
In the original drama, Gu Tingye followed Zhao Zongquan to suppress the rebellion and became a new upstart in the court. General Gan then gave Gu Tingye a concubine.
As far as he knew, General Gan had given concubines to many people over the years.
It was common for colleagues to send concubines to each other, and even when there were distinguished guests at home, it was not a big deal to arrange for concubines to serve them.
Although General Gan sent concubines everywhere, which caused many people to be disgusted, no one made a fuss about it.
"Yanran, you can have your meal without waiting for me." Zhao Xing said.
Twins are actually identical twins. In ancient times, giving birth to a child was called passing through the gates of hell, and twins were even more dangerous.
It’s not so bad for wealthy families, as they have adequate nutrition and medical care, but it is very difficult for ordinary people to give birth to twins safely.
Therefore, twins are also considered ominous.
Zhao Xing had never seen twins since he came into this world. He just wanted to see them out of curiosity and had no other intentions.
"Yeah." Yu Yanran nodded, and reminded Sanshui with concern to remember to serve Zhao Xing the meal after he finished his work, for fear that Zhao Xing would be so busy that he would forget to eat.
Zhao Xing came to the main hall and found that Sanshui had not explained the matter clearly.
They were indeed twins, but the twins were actually women from the Western Regions.
It is said that things are valuable because they are rare. Wasn’t it the same for people in ancient times?
Twins are rare to see, and a pair of twins from the Western Regions who are very beautiful are even rarer.
It would be difficult to get this pair of twins without thousands of taels of silver.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" General Gan saluted.
Seeing Zhao Xing's eyes fixed on the twins as soon as he entered the hall, General Gan was secretly delighted.
Zhao Xing withdrew his gaze from the two women, nodded slightly and said, "No need to be polite."
After saying this, he came to the seat at the head and sat down. After having someone offer General Gan a seat, he smiled and said, "I wonder what General Gan wants to see me for?"
"Your Highness, I have been worried about my eldest grandson for many years. Your Highness has graciously given my grandson a job. Since he came to work in the Eastern Palace, he has become much more sensible. I don't know how to repay your kindness, Your Highness. I have obtained two dancers from the Western Regions before, and I specially come to present them to Your Highness." General Gan said.
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I hope General Gan doesn't blame me!"
General Gan’s statement that Gan Dalang has improved is all nonsense.
During this period, Gan Dalang also beat up many playboys in Bianliang, but these were all instigated by Zhao Xing.
General Gan also knew this, so he didn't even mention it.
However, it is not completely nonsense to say that Gan Dalang has made progress.
Gan Dalang worked in the Eastern Palace. Because of Zhao Xing's instructions, no one treated him as a fool, and naturally he would not have conflicts with others.
He often has to be on duty, and unless Zhao Xing deliberately arranges him to beat people up, he doesn't have much free time, so naturally he has no time to go out and get into conflicts with others.
"Your Highness, what are you talking about? I am a person who eats the emperor's food and is loyal to him. Whatever Your Highness asks him to do, there is a purpose behind it. How dare I blame him!" said General Gan.
"In that case, I will accept that person." Zhao Xing said.
"Then I will take my leave!"
General Gan showed a hint of joy when he heard this and saluted.
"Sanshui, please see General Gan off on my behalf." Zhao Xing ordered.
After Sanshui and General Gan left, Zhao Xing looked at the two women who seemed a little hesitant and nervous, and said, "What are your names?"
"Your Highness, my name is Dashuang (Xiaoshuang)."
The two had clear and melodious voices, and their pronunciations were clear and melodious. If you only listened to their voices and didn't see their appearance, you would think they were Han Chinese. Their etiquette was also very standard, and it seemed that they had been trained since childhood.
This is also normal. Ever since the Han Dynasty established the Protectorate in the Western Regions, beauties from the Western Regions have been very popular among Han nobles.
Where there is a market, there is no shortage of people with vision.
At that time, there were people who specialized in training women from the Western Regions and selling them to Middle-earth to make money.
"What do you know?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Your Highness, I know some musical instruments, songs and dances from the Western Regions." The two said in unison.
Not only do the two look very similar, making it difficult to tell them apart, but even their voices are almost identical.
I don’t know if they have received special training, but their voices and speeds are consistent, as if one person is speaking.
"Then please dance for me so I can enjoy it." Zhao Xing said with interest.
"Your Highness, I need to change my clothes." The two said.
"Did you bring your clothes?"
"Bring it."
Western dance requires special clothes, only in this way can it be better displayed.
When General Gan brought the two people over, he naturally brought their clothes as well.
However, they have all been handed over to the eunuchs of the Eastern Palace. These clothes need to be carefully checked and will only be sent to the two people's residence after the people stay.
"Take them to change clothes." Zhao Xing said to the palace maid beside him.
"Yes!"
The palace maid responded and led the two people out.
At this time Sanshui came back, and Zhao Xing asked him to notify the meal to be served.
After the meal was served and Zhao Xing finished eating, Dashuang and Xiaoshuang changed into the costumes of Western dancers and walked into the hall.
Zhao Xing's eyes lit up when he saw the two men's clothes.
Both of them were dressed in red, with only a bra on their upper body, revealing their lower abdomen.
She was wearing a pair of very loose gauze pants and a gauze dress on the outside, revealing her graceful figure.
She wore many jewels on her head and arms, and the jingling sounds when she walked sounded like music.
"There's no need for musicians. Just dance as you like," said Zhao Xing.
"Yes!"
The two looked at each other and danced in unison.
Zhao Xing showed admiration on his face, it was not like he had never seen Western dancers dancing before, but he didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he always felt that the big double and small double dance was more pleasing to the eye.
The two had solid dancing skills and did not make any mistakes even without any music.
After a long time, the dance ended and the two bowed.
"Good, very good." Zhao Xing clapped his hands and smiled, "Sanshui, take them downstairs and let Mammy teach them some manners. Let them be my personal maids in the future."
"Yes!" Sanshui responded, walked forward and said, "Two girls, follow me."
The two men bowed to Zhao Xingfu and followed Sanshui to retreat.
…………
General Gan's gift-giving seemed to have set a precedent, and after that people came to give gifts to Zhao Xing every day.
Zhao Xing accepted all kinds of rare treasures.
Some people even followed General Gan's example and sent women to Zhao Xing, but Zhao Xing refused to accept them.
He has no shortage of women, and General Gan is a creative person. He just imitates others and doesn't even know how to give gifts.
I really don't know how these people got to their current positions.
While Zhao Xing was busy accepting gifts, Minglan was talking to Li Yunchu in Xia Ge.
Xia Ge is the name Li Yunchu gave to his courtyard.
After hearing Rulan say that all their courtyards had names, Li Yunchu missed Xixia and named them after the country of Xixia.
The reason why Minglan came here alone was that although Li Yunchu had a good relationship with Rulan and Yu Yanran, they were not close friends.
But for some reason, Li Yunchu trusted her very much.
Usually when Ruolan and Yu Yanran were around, Minglan would find excuses to ask about things in Western Xia. Although Li Yunchu would tell her, he would be reluctant to say more when it came to some secrets.
Li Yunchu has been in the Eastern Palace for more than a month. Minglan wants to talk to her alone to see if she can get some secrets out of her.
Minglan originally just wanted to give it a try, but unexpectedly it went surprisingly smoothly.
Li Yunchu even told Minglan some palace secrets.
"vomit…"
As he was speaking, Li Yunchu suddenly felt a little nauseous.
"Sister Li, are you okay?" Minglan asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell somewhere? I'll go get the imperial physician to take a look at you."
"It's okay." Li Yunchu smiled and said, "I just don't know why I suddenly feel... nauseous..."
Before Li Yunchu could finish his words, he felt nauseous again and started to dry heave.
Minglan quickly stood up and came behind Li Yunchu to rub her back. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly thought of something and said in a daze, "Sister Li, are you pregnant?"
"What happened?" Li Yunchu looked at Minglan blankly.
"She's pregnant." Minglan said, "Sister Shulan told me before that she also felt nauseous for a while when she first got pregnant."
"You have a child?" Li Yunchu was stunned when he heard this.
"We'll know if we let the imperial physician take a look." Minglan turned her head and said, "Quick, go get the imperial physician."
(End of this chapter)