Through Tian Yingzhe and Shen Zongsi, Wang Zhenyu smoothly grasped the land of Fenghuang County with little effort. Of course, if it is said to be thoroughly grasped, then a big question mark should be added, because according to Tian Yingzhe's words, Fenghuang not only has the Gun Army but also Miao Village forces and Ge Lao Hui forces, in short, very complicated.

  However, being able to subdue the stick soldiers, what comes next is no longer a worry. Just as everything was going very smoothly, an unexpected episode occurred.

  That night, the Shen and Tian families jointly hosted a banquet to entertain the town's guardian couple. The people of Fenghuang worshiped heroes, and Wang Zhenyu dared to come here without an army, which was considered a brave act in the eyes of the people of Fenghuang. Moreover, during the Xinhai Revolution, Wang Zhenyu's stories about the Changsha soldiers' rebellion, the suppression of bandits in Jingzhou, and the expulsion of Zhou from Hongjiang had already been spread throughout Fenghuang by Tian Yingjiao's big mouth. The people of Fenghuang regarded him as a god of war, who would surely become a towering figure in the future. What was even more astonishing was that such a great god was actually so young, with an unlimited future ahead of him.

  Shen Zongxi and others brought their sons one after another, with the intention of letting the Town Guardian General take a look at them, so that in the future, if there is a chance to be favored, the road for their children will be much smoother.

  The banquet was very lively, everyone was enthusiastic, and the beautiful Miao girls even came up to dance a beautiful group dance. This kind of rhythmic dance naturally made people feel extremely joyful.

  Xiao Yue sat beside Ye Zhiwen, although her identity was a maid, but the experience of living with Ye Zhiwen for ten years made Ye Zhiwen treat her like a sister. In contrast, Song Haomin and Zhu Cihang were not so happy, they could only stand honestly behind Wang Zhenyu.

  Shen Zongxi brought three children with him, Shen Yunlu, the eldest, Shen Yuehuan, the second, and Shen Quan, the fourth.

  Due to Shen Congwen's relationship, Wang Zhenyu took a closer look at the three children. The eldest was already 14 or 15 years old, and the second child looked like he was ** years old. Which of these two children was Shen Congwen? Both were thin and small in stature, looking like they had been ill as children. Wang Zhenyu suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly - all literary creations come from life, so why did he need to know who Shen Congwen was? If he rashly changed someone's life, it was possible that there would no longer be a person named Shen Congwen in history.

  Thinking of this point, the curiosity about the juvenile version of Shen Congwen is also relieved.

  When he saw the third child, Wang Zhenyu was surprised. The first two brothers were weak and sickly in appearance, while this fourth child, Shen Quan, who was only six years old, had a robust physique that was very obvious. If it were a modern sports team doing selections, this child would definitely be chosen.

  Wang Zhenyu immediately asked Shen Zongyi sitting next to him: "Brother Shen, why is your fourth brother so robust and not like these two brothers?"

  Shen Zong didn't expect the town guard to ask this question, and after a slight pause, he replied: "These three children were all sickly when they were young. The second and fourth child even had smallpox, but fortunately, they survived. I was afraid that the children wouldn't grow up, so I hired a nanny to take care of them specifically. The nanny for this fourth child is a Miao woman, who took good care of him, so naturally his physique is much stronger than his two older brothers."

  Wang Zhenyu nodded after listening and didn't say anything else.

  At this time, Shen Yunlu squeezed beside his father Shen Zongyi and whispered.

  It turned out that the child saw the little month beside Ye Zhiwen, thinking that this sister was very beautiful, more beautiful than the girls in the village. In this era, early marriage was prevalent in Xiangxi, and some poor families even arranged for their children to have a child bride when they were only a few years old, or even in their teens.

  In the case of large families, it's quite unusual that instead of men choosing women, women choose men. Large families intermarry with each other, and children are betrothed at a young age. Shen Yunlu was not betrothed as a child due to poor health. On the other hand, Shen Quan, being healthy and likable, was quickly betrothed to Tian Yingquan's older brother, Tian Yingquan, as his daughter-in-law.

  Shen Zongxi was very fond of his eldest son, and seeing that his son liked this little girl, he immediately asked Tian Yingkui to inquire about her background. He learned that the girl was a personal maid of the wife of the town's guardian general. Although he felt that their social status was somewhat mismatched, out of doting love for his son, Shen Zongxi proposed on the spot to Wang Zhenyu that they betroth Little Yue as his eldest daughter-in-law.

  Shen Zong's words were swift and decisive, first his own son expressed interest, then he proposed the marriage. The Phoenix family seemed to take it in stride, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. However, on Wang Zhenyu's side, from Ye Ziyuan downwards, everyone fell silent.

  Shen Zongxi wasn't a coarse person either; as soon as he saw the chill in the air on this side, he immediately felt an inexplicable sense of panic.

  The most embarrassing person is not him, but Wang Zhenyu, who now doesn't know what to say. A man needs face and a tree needs skin, he just accepted someone as his partner, but then refused their request, how can others deal with him in the future?

  But looking at his tense wife, Ye Zhiwen, Wang Zhenyu was both angry and amused. Shouldn't Xiaoyue and Song Haomin be the most anxious and nervous? Why are you, little girl, looking so tense at me? What's with the staring, and what's with the kicking under the table, what kind of behavior is this?!

  Tian Yingjue suddenly felt a chill, especially when he saw Zhao Dongsheng, the captain of Wang Zhenyu's guard, with his eyes blazing like fire. He immediately knew that Shen Zongyi had done something wrong and hurriedly came out to mediate: "Wen Zheng, my younger brother, this phoenix is from our land, and it's our local custom to be straightforward. If there's anything improper, you can also directly refuse, which is also allowed by our local custom."

  Wang Zhenyu smiled and said, "Captain Shen, sit down and listen to me. This little Yu'e is indeed my wife's maid, but after ten years of being together, she has become like a sister to me. If I were to marry her off to you as your daughter-in-law, it would actually be a case of me, Wang, reaching above my station."

  Song Haomin is now standing behind Wang Zhenyu, hearing the two words "Gao Pan", almost excitedly shouting: Commander, Xiaoyue and I are in harmony, don't mess with our love affair.

  Xiao Yue's eyes were misty, and her small hands were tightly clenched together.

  Wang Zhenyu's next words made them change from tension to shyness...

  "I, Song Fu Guan, and Little Moon have long been in harmony with each other. It's just that the two of them were afraid of being laughed at by me and my wife, so they kept it a secret from us. I'm a kind-hearted person, so I believe in that saying: 'It's better to demolish ten temples than to ruin one marriage.' Unfortunately, Little Moon and your son's fate is still lacking this time around, so I, Song Fu Guan, have no choice but to decline your request."

  Shen Zongxi knew he was rejected, his face turned blue and white as he stood there, the other people in Feng Huang looked at him, Shen Zongxi felt very uncomfortable.

  Wang Zhenyu seemed to have sensed the discomfort, he stood up and personally pressed Shen Zongyi back into his seat: "Brother Shen, don't worry about it, I think your son is a great talent and will definitely find a good match in the future. There's actually something I'd like to ask of you."

  Everyone at the banquet stopped talking and looked at Wang Zhenyu and Shen Zongyi, they were all curious about what Wang Zhenyu was asking for.

  "Even if it's a big deal, it doesn't matter, as long as Shen can do it, I'll die for him." With this statement, Shen Zongyi felt a bit better.

  "I'm very fond of your fourth brother, looking at his appearance, he will surely be a pillar of the country and a great general in the future. Mr. Wang has an impolite request, wanting to adopt him as a son, and when he turns 15 years old, take him under his wing personally, I wonder if it's possible?"

  Wang Zhenyu finished speaking and looked at Shen Zongyi with a sincere expression.

  Shen Zongxi was overjoyed in his heart, what is a bright future, this is a bright future. The guardian of the four prefectures of Xiangxi, who held hands with Shen's family, recognized his own son as a sworn son, which was equivalent to publicly guaranteeing the political status of the Shen family to everyone. What else could be desired? The unpleasantness before immediately disappeared. Shen Zongxi immediately grabbed Shen Quan over to pay respects to his sworn father and mother, Wang Zhenyu was also in a good mood, hugged Shen Quan in public, and immediately felt that this child was a bit heavy.

  This is not the end, coming but not going back is also impolite, Shen Zong's immediately proposed to hold a wedding ceremony for Song Haomin and Ye Xiaoyue according to the Miao family's customs, and he would be the witness. Wang Zhenyu couldn't refuse again, nor could he care about his wife's little movements and Ye Xiaoyue's shyness, so he nodded in agreement. The whole banquet was once again pushed to a high tide...

  Afterwards, Wang Zhenyu also took Shen Zongyi's eldest son Shen Yunlu alone, first to understand his love for painting, then encouraged him a few words, and asked Zhu Cihang to arrange to send this child a set of oil painting tools later, this small unexpected episode finally came to an end.

  Regarding the Phoenix's problem, it is indeed different from other places due to historical reasons. The Phoenix's military is actually a garrison force. If this army's problems involve land, they will be very complicated and troublesome. However, in Wang Zhenyu's view, because of the special nature of the times, it doesn't matter that these garrison forces are now, and soon these able-bodied men from Phoenix will be recruited into the army by themselves, and the garrison force will also become a tool for them to compete for hegemony. Therefore, regarding the current system in Phoenix, except for the government's control, everything else remains unchanged, Wang Zhenyu's plan is to let it change slowly by itself. After all, there is no need to underestimate the wisdom of the working people, as long as there are no restrictions from the centralized power, under local autonomy, they will adjust themselves.

  Now that the rod army has been subdued, it's time to take his wife on a trip around the world. Wang Zhenyu pinched his fingers and calculated that after returning this time, he would probably be even busier and have no time to accompany his underage little wife.

  Tian Yingxu was already tired of the mountains and rivers of his hometown, while Shen Zongyi was busy preparing to take up his post in Jingzhou, so in the end only Tian Yingquan, Tian Yingxu's elder brother, could be confirmed to accompany him, after all, the anti-smuggling team was still being formed.

  The first stop was naturally Fenghuang Ancient Town, of course not to say it's for tourism, but to visit the residence of Xiong Xiling, the current Finance Minister of Beiyang Government. This has become a rule in Fenghuang, although Xiong Xiling is not here, the visiting card still needs to be delivered.

  However, what disappointed Wang Zhenyu was that Ye Ziyuan, apart from having fun in the stream, did not show any surprise at the architecture of Fenghuang, probably because there were too few high-rise buildings in the city.

  Wang Zhenyu racked his brains to please his wife, how could he give up halfway? He thought that in the past when he was a child, his parents had taken him to visit Yongshun's Mengdong River, and the macaques on both banks of the river had left a deep impression on him. He immediately told Tian Yingquan about his idea.

  Tian Yingquan happened to have been there, although he didn't understand what was so great about a few monkeys and a pitch-black cave, but since his new boss liked it, he went along with it.

  A group of people passed through Guzhang when Tian Yingquan introduced someone to Wang Zhenyu.