Chapter 319: Hu Xuan

The Great King was given a hard time all morning, only released when it was nearly lunchtime. The Chancellor and Grand Tutor also gathered the remaining memorials and had Zhao Bao take them all away, leaving the Great King with some free time to look at them.

As soon as the Great King left Chengguang Hall, he had no free time left.

The Great King, bear in tow, dashed back to Suiyu Hall, far from the study.

The warehouse supervisors of Youzhou are actually all the Chief Steward, although she usually does not attend court.

The Great King's celebration was also handed over to the Chief Steward to handle directly, with a single aim: to be grand and lively.

The celebration took place in the plaza of Jingxing Hall, with all doors of the main hall thrown open; the Great King and civil and military officials were inside the hall, while the plaza was lined with barriers holding tables, filled with the soldiers of this western expedition.

The plaza of Jingxing Hall is second only to the main Chengguang Hall, and today it was buzzing with people.

The Chief Steward strictly followed the Great King's orders, laying out wine and meat on the tables, along with all sorts of court pastries.

Before the banquet began, the Great King awarded merits and rewards: everyone who had joined the expedition, from top to bottom, received a share, and even those not promoted were given generous gold and silver rewards.

Since following the Great King into the army, as long as one obeys orders, trains diligently at home, and fights bravely on the battlefield, the whole family can rise in status.

On this western expedition, even those with poor luck and mediocre performance received eight taels of silver; those who took many enemy heads all received promotions.

Even if the Great King's Youzhou army lacked many offices to bestow, he devised a new approach: granting ordinary soldiers military ranks, something the former Great Jin dynasty did not have.

They were divided into ordinary cavalry, third-class cavalry, second-class cavalry, and first-class cavalry; accordingly, the pay for these three ranks also differed. In short, under the Great King, promotion and wealth depend entirely on ability, not on family background.

The atmosphere on site exploded, turning this otherwise dull winter day into a lively one.

The Great King's earlier banquets were so shabby they lacked even a performing troupe, but this time the Chief Steward also filled that gap for him.

Zhuti, taking advantage of the turmoil in the south, bought many people; her newly opened tavern now features dance performances, including not only Great Jin performances but also a troupe of Hu women dancers.

The Great King had no interest in the toast segment; while others drank alcohol, he drank tea, and soon grew bored. As soon as he heard the cheers outside, he craned his neck, sure that the outside performance was better than theirs.

That poor little fellow, looking as uncomfortable as sitting on pins and needles, made Wei Ke unable to suppress his laughter.

He turned his head to see his younger brother whispering with that Changli person, giving Wei Shen a meaningful glance.

Unfortunately, that fellow didn't catch the hint, so Wei Ke lowered his voice and said, 'Go rescue His Highness; the child's soul has already flown out of the hall.'

Wei Shen looked and laughed.

A group of old men praised the Great King's toast with flowery classical phrases; he thought it was a waste of breath, the Great King surely wouldn't like that sort of thing—it was pure brown-nosing.

Wei Shen wouldn't bother thinking about it; he stepped forward and simply pulled the Great King out of the old men's grasp.

He is not like his elder brother, who is discreet and self-disciplined, always mindful of the image of the Wei Ting Marquis Manor wherever he goes.

The Great King followed him out through the rear hall, while Wei Ke remained in his place, dutifully portraying the future heir of the Wei family army and exchanging polite greetings with those around him.

After waiting for him another half hour, when he went out he found the plaza outside the hall even more bustling.

In the open space, Western Region dancers performed the Hu Xuan dance; large groups of soldiers left their seats to join in, and the atmosphere reached a fever pitch.

Wei Ke had a bad feeling; sure enough, in the noisiest spot he found two conspicuous individuals.

The Great King brought Wei Shen personally onto the field to dance the Hu Xuan.

The Great King had a fine appearance and was young; his dancing was rather cute. But because he hadn't learned the essence of the dance at all, he just spun around like a little top in the middle, happily turning aimlessly.

If one must praise, the most one can say is that the comic effect was passable.

As for Wei Shen… he was like a thin bamboo stalk struggling desperately against the wind, refusing to submit.

Unfortunately, the watching soldiers greatly appreciated their desperate cheering and even joined the outer circle in dancing; the two conspicuous individuals became all the more energetic.

Wei Ke thought that in just another three years the Great King would definitely not be able to do this; as for Wei Shen, in another ten years he could also do it.

……………………

ps: I'm still revising the text; those with time can reread the revised parts; those without, wait for my update; all for the Great King to go further.