Traveling through the early Tang Dynasty starts with hanging

Chapter 28 Digging a Pit

"Confucius cried and walked in the atrium. Someone hanged himself, but the master worshiped him. After weeping, he went to the messenger and asked about it."

"The envoy said: 'It's over.' So he ordered to overthrow him."

The clear sound of recitation echoed in the study. Wang Renbiao sat on the couch, holding a scroll in his hand, and read the "Book of Rites" attentively.

In the past two months, thanks to the Gewürztraminer business, he has made a lot of profits, and his friends have returned to Beijing. Wang Renbiao no longer focuses on general affairs. On the one hand, he takes care of his pregnant wife, and on the other hand, he begins to consider becoming an official. .

Wang Renbiao is a son of the Wang family in Taiyuan, and his father is the supervisor of Suizhou. According to the regulations, he can serve as an official, but with Princess Tong'an, it is difficult for Wang Renbiao to take this road in the short term. He went to Zhujiagou a few days ago. Thinking about it, maybe you can choose to become an official through the imperial examination.

In fact, many famous generals and prime ministers during Gaozong's reign, although they were descendants of aristocratic families, all of them were admitted to the imperial examination.

Suddenly he heard a commotion outside, Wang Renbiao looked sideways, and there was a servant reporting that someone from Dongshan Temple had come.

"Brother Li came so early." Wang Renbiao greeted him with a smile, "Why are there so many people?"

"Brother Xiaoqing." Li Shan greeted, and asked the few people who followed him into the city to move everything into the kitchen.

"Food is the most important thing for the people, Qiongwürztraminer is irrelevant, but brother Xiaoqing can't swallow his anger, can he?" Li Shan pointed to the baskets that had been moved in, "Change the name of Li's Restaurant... Dongshan Restaurant is ready."

Regarding the first half of Li Shan's sentence, Wang Renbiao agrees greatly. In fact, even if Wang Renyou asked his servants to open a shop in the West Market to sell Gewürztraminer, but the shop in the East Market is also profitable. What Wang Renbiao is most dissatisfied with is Wang Renyou is so starkly tit-for-tat.

Thinking about being kicked out more than two months ago, Wang Renyou helped a lot... Wang Renbiao suspected that his father transferred the house to his own name, which Wang Renyou revealed to Princess Tong'an .

In fact, Li Shan didn't care much about this. If he wanted to make money, he had to resort to tricks, but he always had to find a reason to come to his door...it wouldn't look too deliberate.

"By the way, brother Demou's over there?"

"It's been delivered long ago." Wang Renbiao clicked his tongue and said, "Brother Demou has been reprimanded...Brother Demou is here, let him talk."

"Brother Demou, Brother Zhaode." Li Shanxing said with a salute smile, "Thanks to Brother Demou for your help."

"Such fine refined iron is not used to make lances and knives, but to make cooking utensils." Li Zhaode yelled, "The seventh brother was trained by the third and sixth brothers this time..."

Li Zhaode seemed to be arguing for Li Kai, but with a smile on his face, he was obviously gloating.

This was Li Kai's second meeting with Li Shan, he cupped his hands and said with a wry smile: "If it wasn't for Xiaoqing's words, I really don't want to use that kind of refined iron."

Wang Renbiao led everyone into the main hall, and Li Zhaode said loudly, "Brother Xiaoqing said it was to make things difficult for Wang Renyou, so of course you can't miss such a good thing."

Li Shan explained a few words outside, followed up the main hall with a smile, "Brother Xiaoqing has a magnanimous temperament, but I also said last time, how can you repay a grievance with virtue?"

"Although it's not going to be tit-for-tat, but it's also a small lesson for the other party. It's better than nothing, and I have the right to laugh for everyone."

"Brother Li has a good temper." Li Kai nodded slightly, "It's not easy to end the trouble."

Li Zhaode snorted, "Taiyuan Wang, Taiyuan Wang!"

Wang Renbiao's expression changed slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Five surnames and seven families are well-known in the world, but in the early Tang Dynasty, the Wang family in Taiyuan was basically excluded from the central government and could only work in local areas. Wang Renbiao's father, Wang Yu, was already the first-class supervisor of Suizhou. Well, this is mainly due to Princess Shang Tong'an.

"By the way, Seventh Brother, I heard that the sage hastened to call King Qin back to the capital?"

Li Kai sighed, "That's true, the sage ordered King Qi to preside over the war in Hebei yesterday."

Sure enough, it was the King of Qi, Li Yuanji, the Prime Minister of Hebei... Li Shan lowered his head slightly, recalled Li Shimin back to Beijing to idle, and pushed out Li Yuanji.

Wang Renbiao shook his head and said: "King Qin Yingwu, he attacked Wei Dao'er in the year of Dancing Elephant, defeated Xue's father and son in the year of weak crown, and King Qi..."

Li Kai and Li Zhaode both said yes, the former is cautious, while the latter has a big mouth and has been nagging Li Shan for a long time.

In the second year of Wude, Li Yuanji guarded Bingzhou and acted mischievously. Liu Wuzhou led the army to attack, but Li Yuanji took his wives and concubines, left the army and fled back to Chang'an... Li Tang's base camp, Taiyuan, was lost.

Li Shan deliberately asked: "I heard that the King of Qin attacked Xia last year, making the King of Qi trapped in Luoyang?"

"Actually, Qu Tutong led the army." Li Zhaode explained, "Father was also there that day..."

"Twelfth brother." Li Kai interrupted suddenly.

Li Shan leaned forward slightly, "I'm being rude and talkative, please forgive me, Brother Demou."

Li Kai sighed lightly: "It's better not to talk about the important matters in the court, I wait for the juniors."

"That's right." Wang Renbiao looked towards the door with a smile, "Brother Li said that food is the most important thing for the people. He moved the cooking utensils and asked Li's restaurant. There must be something new?"

"The three are all descendants of aristocratic families, and I'm going to borrow your tongues to try." Li Shan laughed and asked his followers to bring in the dining table and dishes.

In fact, it’s nothing new, it’s just ordinary cooking, but the Tang Dynasty didn’t have iron pots, and most of the cooking utensils were made of pottery, so the skill of cooking hasn’t been developed yet.

The dishes in the early Tang Dynasty were either boiled, steamed, grilled or grilled. Li Shan, who was used to stir-frying, couldn’t stand it. Instead, he found a blacksmith outside the city to make a pot. The craftsmanship was very difficult, so Wang Renbiao helped to make two iron pots with refined iron.

A plate of fried shredded leeks, a plate of stewed tofu with cabbage, a plate of stewed mutton with tofu, and a plate of dried tofu with a clay pot in the middle.

"It smells so good!" Li Zhaode poked his head and glanced at the clay pot, "Isn't it chicken soup?"

Wang Renbiao also looked at it, and asked doubtfully, "This yellow one is..."

"Qiong Yaosha." Li Shan said with a smile: "Didn't he send someone to steal the secret recipe? If he can steal it this time, I will obey him."

Li Zhaode picked up the chopsticks and picked up the long one, tried to put it in his mouth, and praised: "It's fragrant and smooth, delicious!"

In fact, it is tofu oil, also called oil skin. The soy milk is boiled at a certain heat before it is stewed, but it is not boiling, and then it is made with long chopsticks. In this era when soy milk has not even come out, I want to develop it myself... Li Shan feels that the possibility is unlikely, although it is easy to say, he was taught by his grandfather back then, and it took him a long time to barely do it.

Li Kai tasted the plate of stir-fried dried chives, and thoughtfully said: "I remember that it is recorded in "Qi Min Yao Shu", it is delicious with oil, leeks and chicken."

Li Shan was stunned for a while. He had heard the name of "Qi Min Yao Shu" for a long time, but he didn't expect that it also recorded scrambled eggs with leeks.

"Chicken is not used, but Qiongyao silk is used." Li Shan avoided answering, and then pointed to dried stewed tofu, "This is Qiongyao recipe."

The catering industry in the Tang Dynasty...was relatively monotonous. Li Shan looked at Wang Renbiao, "Dongshan Temple sends it to Dongshi every day, and the Li Family Restaurant uses it."

Wang Renbiao nodded, "That's enough. Such skills, together with Qiong Yao's products, should make a lot of money. Is this all Lingnan skills?"

Both Li Kai and Li Zhaode were taken aback. This place name was enough to remind them of a lot... After all, Lingnan has always been the main place of exile.

Li Shan didn't care, and smiled at Li Kai, "Small tricks are just a little counterattack for brother Xiaoqing, so that people don't make progress."

"I was told by Xiaoqing that day that I have a high righteousness." Li Kai sighed: "In fact, this matter has nothing to do with this one step, but I don't use it to collect money, but to give it all. There is indeed an ancient sense of righteousness."

Li Shan smiled calmly, "It's just that we share the same illness with Brother Xiaoqing."

If you want to make friends with the person in front of you, you can't hide your life experience, and you can't hide it.

We must make friends, Li Shan thought, he had already had a feud with Du Ruhui, and the father in front of him is the commander of the Qin Palace, Li Jing's younger brother, and Li Shimin's brother-in-law!

(End of this chapter)