C25 (1/2)
It was winter in the north, and it was getting dark very early. The sun seemed to be afraid of the cold. It didn't stay long above the head of the mountain before it descended.
The plaza in front of the Castellan Mansion door had a total of nine tables, which was Huo Yanrann's special request. Instead of eating in the mansion, she moved the feast to the square outside the door to celebrate with the civilians and soldiers.
In addition to the ministers of the civil and military affairs, officers of the Phoenix City Pass and the pipe belts of the inland provinces, the Third Battalion of the Red Border People, the food transportation team, the citizens of the Phoenix City Pass, and the wounded soldiers were all selected and seated in the nine seats. They were told that at today's banquet, Her Majesty would be sitting with them and eating and drinking together!
Even more people who didn't get a chance to enter the Nine Seats wouldn't regret it, either. Large chunks of meat, large bowls of vegetables, fragrant rice, and jars of intoxicating wine were sent into the barracks like flowing water. They were told that the meat and wine they had tonight was exactly the same as what the Her Majesty had eaten.
Under the cheers of the entire city, Huo Yanrann, who was dressed in a gold-red military uniform, slowly walked out of the Castellan Mansion. Right behind her were two elders. Their red robes and white hair were carrying the empire's second-in-command, Shu Wendong. The old man was already in his seventies this year, but he was still as energetic as ever, his eyes shining. The arrogant middle-aged man beside him was the second marshal of Imperial Army Headquarter, Zhan Xiongfei. Although he looked middle-aged, he was actually an old man in his sixties. Other than their duties, these two had another identity, and that was the imperial tutor. Since young, the Emperor had been learning from them, so the status of these two could be said to be irreplaceable. Behind the two of them, was the main character of the show. commander of the northern theatre of operations and Phoenix City Pass were the ones leading them, while Phoenix City Pass were the ones leading them and bringing Kong Sheng along.
Everyone walked to the top of the plaza and did not take a seat, but collectively turned to face the Castellan Mansion door, and stared at the Divine Bird Phoenix statue above the entrance. Beside them, the royal guards were serving glasses of wine one after another. Everyone raised their glasses and stood still with their hands raised.
Shu Wudong took a few steps forward and turned around to face the crowd. He cleared his throat a little, then opened a roll of silk with both hands and began to read aloud. This was the ”Divine Bird Phoenix Wishing” that had been circulating for a long time. There were twelve praises, one for the harvest, one for the triumphant return, all sorts of festivals, ceremonies and ceremonies.
After Master Shu finished her speech, Huo Yanrann extended her slender finger and dipped it into her own wine cup, and then flicked it towards the Divine Bird Phoenix stone statue. The drop of wine followed the tip of her finger and drew an arc, landing right in the eye socket of the Divine Bird Phoenix. Soon after, the eyes of the statue began to glow with a bright light. The bright light split into seven colors and circulated within the eye sockets. In the northern darkness of the night, the seven-colored light was especially obvious, making the stone statue seem as if it was alive.
The crowd was silent. Only after a long while did the crowd burst into cheers like thunder. This was the ”Phoenix Colour” that everyone knew but only the current Fire Phoenix Monarch was capable of doing.
It was said that this ceremony was only used when the new Emperor ascended the throne. The original goal was to announce the new Emperor's bloodline, so the blood from the fingertip was mixed into the wine. As long as the new Emperor's bloodline was pure, it would definitely be used with the Divine Bird Phoenix. Later, because the effect was too gorgeous, it slowly evolved into the opening of a blessing ceremony for the masses. But even so, he only needed to use the fingertip blood once or twice a year. It could be seen just how important the empress had been to the use of the ”Phoenix Colors” in the Phoenix City Pass this time around!
After the cheers slowly subsided, Huo Yanrann raised the cup with both hands and bowed three times towards the Phoenix stone statue, then cleanly raised his head and drank the wine in it in one gulp. She quickly turned around and revealed the bottom of her glass to everyone. Seeing the young and beautiful empress so valiant and decisive, the rugged men at the border cheered once more and applauded with all their might.
Huo Yanrann drank all the wine in her cup in one gulp, making it difficult for the others to drag it out for him. The officials raised their cups at the same time and paid their respects to the Divine Bird Phoenix and Empress.
All of the soldiers and citizens outside the square also joined in. Everyone raised their wine glasses and shouted, ”Long live the fire phoenix!” ”Long live Your Majesty.” He finished the wine in his cup in one gulp.
From the very beginning, this ceremony had been pushed to the peak of the atmosphere by Huo Yanrann's cup of wine.
Following that, the soldiers once again filled the glasses of everyone. Huo Yanrann raised her glass again to the people, one for the well-being of the citizens, one for the courage of the soldiers. After the three toasts, they led the officials to their seats. The other tables were also seated, and the soldiers began serving the dishes like flowing water.
Looking at the somewhat clumsy soldiers of the palace guard, everyone wanted to laugh, but they were both moved. They laughed at their clumsy looks, moved by the thousand miles of help from the Her Majesty, apart from the eight female riders, they did not bring a single maid with them. They could only let this group of noble children, the elites of the empire, do whatever it took to serve wine and food.
It had to be known that out of the nine tables, other than three of them being officials and one table being the captains of the Red Camp, the rest were all whiteboards without titles. However, the servants of these tables were the future barons and viscounts from Imperial Military Academy.
Not only that, there were even some people who deliberately observed carefully. Not only were the dishes on the nine tables the exact same, even the dishes sent into the camp and living quarters were the same. In other words, in tonight's grand feast, from the Her Majesty to the commoners, everyone's food, drinks, were completely the same! The so-called ”eating and drinking together” was definitely not an empty phrase!
After three rounds, with Huo Yanrann's hidden approval, she stood up, stretched her hand out to press down on the ground, and said loudly: ”Everyone, everyone ~ ~ I have another piece of good news ~ ~”
After a few breaths, the plaza regained its calm. Everyone quietly looked at the person who was actually in charge of the military affairs of the Empire, the current Her Majesty. Although the Imperial Army Headquarter Marshal was the current Her Majesty, in reality, the military affairs were all handled by the Vice Commander-in-Chief.
Master Zhan did not take the scroll, but instead called out the names of the four people first, ”Master Shi Keren, Lord Kong Kong Sheng, Master Zhao, Master Ling Zilu Ling, who are the four of you?”
The four people who were called stood up and bowed to Zhan Xiongfei, ”Reporting to the Vice Marshal, this lowly general is here!”
Zhan Xiongfei smiled and nodded, he then took out a scroll and gently opened it, and clearly read out loud.
”...” The appointment was as follows: Shi Keren was removed from the post of Principal of the Imperial Military Academy, Shi Keren was appointed as the highest military officer of the north of the empire Battlefield, was given the rank of Commander, and was promoted to a first class marquis without permission.
Exempting from his post in Phoenix City Pass, Kong Sheng was appointed as the deputy general of the north of the empire Battle Zone, becoming a commander of the Phoenix City Pass at the same time, and was granted the rank of deputy commander, being promoted to a third tier Count.
Exempt from the post of commander in charge of the second battalion of Zhao Handong's Border Army, and appoint Zhao Handong as the deputy commander of Phoenix City Pass, giving him the rank of Red Feather Battalion Commander, to be promoted to a first tier Baron.
Exempt from the position of captain in Ling Zilu's Red Camp, appoint Ling Zilu as the leader, bestow him the rank of White Feather Battalion Commander, and raise him to the rank of Viscount.
”…”
Scrolls were unfurled and appointments were made one after another. The other three were acceptable, the matter of the Commander Elder Shi leading the Grand Commander in the north of the empire Battlefield was already set in stone, it was just a matter of time. old commander had served the nation for his entire life, and half of the generals in the army could be considered his students.
Zhao Handong and Ling Zilu both levelled up because of their accumulated battle achievements. It just so happened that Zhao Handong finally broke through and jumped straight to be a first class Baron. Although it was a little sudden, his Phoenix City Pass alone carried a few hundred thousand soldiers, so this kind of reward was still acceptable.
The most shocking thing was Kong Sheng's appointment. He had jumped from White Feather Battalion Commander to a first grade Baron, becoming a second rank commander. This kind of reward was unprecedented, and it was hard to say whether or not someone else would come. Furthermore, he was only in his early thirties. If he were to continue like this, it was likely that before even reaching the age of fifty, the Lord Kong would become the empire's youngest general and marquis. A ”Marquis” who was in his forties was something no one dared to think of before.
Phoenix City Pass and the management band of the inland province were dumbfounded. However, the civil and military officials who accompanied them were all calm and composed, obviously knowing about this already. Seeing this, some people could not help but think of the intimate words the Emperor said to the Lord Kong when he entered the city. Could it be that this reward was meant as a reward to the Lord Kong, but in reality, it was the Emperor paving the way for his own future? When the time comes, Commander is already old, he won't be able to stay in the commander of the northern theatre of operations for more than a few years. When that time comes, Lord Kong will supplement the time and become a commander of the northern theatre of operations. At that time, the two words ”Marquis” were already underestimated. It would be more accurate to call him ”Prince” instead. After all, this was the first man to marry the emperor.