The rise of the prince

Chapter 517 From Joy to Sadness
There were not many golden chariots with them, only the commander of Shangzhi's personal guards, Empress Wei Li, and Concubine Tian accompanied them, and there were only four young maids serving, without eunuchs.

This detail alone made Li Xingzhou admire him in his heart. The emperor usually had little expression and no good looks, but he could be said to have insight into the details.

Most of the people in this banquet were court officials, and these people looked down on eunuchs the most, so the eunuchs had a rift with them and never dealt with them. If eunuchs were brought to such an occasion, many officials would inevitably complain to the emperor.

Ordinary people wouldn't care about such details, but the emperor noticed it, and he didn't say it, but secretly he didn't even take the Fu'an father-in-law with him wherever he went. This way, it will definitely win the hearts of the people.

Sure enough, after he took the lead to welcome the holy driver, all the officials bowed down and looked at the emperor with very enthusiastic eyes.

When all officials meet the emperor, if they are not in the court, they can bow to each other instead of kneeling. Before the Ming and Qing Dynasties achieved a high degree of centralization, the etiquette law was more relaxed than imagined, not so strict, and there was no need to kneel at every turn.

The emperor excused everyone, and then said: "Today's banquet was invited by King Pingnan, and I am also a guest. You don't have to worry about it, and you don't have to be cautious."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Emperor Shengming!"

"."

Everyone said one after another, and then watched the emperor enter the lobby, and the excitement became lively again.

As soon as the emperor arrived, Shiyu quickly ordered people to start serving dishes.

There are 88 dishes for the main table, which are served in turn, and 66 dishes for the outside table in the lobby, which are also served in turn, otherwise the table will not fit.

The small tables in the outer seats are arranged for the servants of the mansion, as well as some officials and entourages. Eighteen dishes are served on one table.

In fact, this is the result of Li Xingzhou making the poetry not too extravagant and wasteful, because it is unnecessary.

In fact, inviting the emperor to dinner in ancient times was a luxury far beyond people's imagination. The history books record it clearly, and even the names of the dishes are recorded in the book.

At the beginning, Zhang Jun, king of Qinghe County in the Song Dynasty, received more than 180 dishes of fruit, candied fruit, fragrant medicine, appetizers, main dishes, and soup for Song Gaozong Zhao Gou and his party.

Give Qin Hui and other officials 110 courses, [-] bottles of wine, [-] steamed buns, and a head of roast sheep.

The rest of the officials were arranged according to their ranks, and the accompanying sergeants had [-] pancakes, [-] catties of cooked meat, [-] boxes of deer crackers, and [-] bottles of wine.

When I leave, I also arrange many gifts to give.
So inviting the emperor to dinner is really no joke. People with insufficient family resources can eat and lose their fortune.

In the Qing Dynasty, the decline of the family of Cao Xueqin, the author of the famous "Dream of Red Mansions", began with three pick-ups. In the eyes of outsiders, this was a blessing from God, but because of these three pick-ups, the Cao family owed a lot of money to the state treasury. Catch up with the cold-faced emperor Yongzheng chasing money from the treasury for disaster relief, he doesn't recognize any old love, and his home is ransacked all at once.

Therefore, Cao Xueqin's family is actually a typical one that was eaten to death by the emperor.

The palace currently has enough food for the emperor, after everyone is seated, the emperor will naturally take the main seat, and only when he moves the chopsticks will everyone dare to move, and the banquet will really begin.

In fact, there is not much difference between the hall and ordinary banquets, except that the speech is more careful and refined, and the atmosphere can be regarded as happy.

The ministers toasted the emperor first, and then slowly talked about him. It was nothing more than about his wedding with Gillian on the twelfth day of the first lunar month. Before the wedding, he still needed to crown and choose characters. Twenty and crown, but there are quite a few early ones, and it is not so strict.

In the end, Degong proposed that one piece should be done on the twelfth day, because it is a rare auspicious day, and it is not good to advance it.

The emperor also agreed, and taking advantage of the lively atmosphere after drinking for three rounds, he actually asked everyone to give him a good name.

At this time, a kind of court officials are all excited. If someone's handwriting is valued by the emperor, they will have a relationship with the royal family.

The queen was also very happy to serve the emperor, and immediately ordered someone to bring a paper to write down.

Seeing that the banquet was getting more and more lively, everyone gradually gathered together and began to discuss on their own.

At this moment, Xue Fang came over with a wine glass, bowed first and then sat down next to him, apologetically, and sincerely said: "My lord, when my lord was in Jiangzhou before, because his subordinates were not doing well, and the Shibo Secretary obstructed him, It has been too late to issue the silver, and the lower officials will punish themselves with this cup, please forgive me, my lord."

Before Li Xingzhou could speak, Xue Fang drank all the wine in the glass one by one.

This action made Li Xingzhou immediately attach importance to this person in his heart. One of the most common mistakes made by people in high positions is that they can't let go of their face.

But the real big man is the one who can bend and stretch with ease, and this is Xue Fang in front of him.

He just spoke, and he only thought he could speak, and dared to admit his mistakes. In fact, he knew from Shiyu that this Xue Fang was also one of Yu Chengan's accomplices, but because of his keen sense of smell, he escaped.

But it is far from enough to just admit mistakes. Xue Fang, a second-rank senior member, has a higher official position than Li Xingzhou if he doesn't look at his title, and his real power can be said to be evenly matched.

But after he admitted his mistake, he drank the wine in the glass without waiting for himself to speak, no matter whether he forgives or not, this is being strong.

Showing others weakness first, and then tactfully and mercifully expressing his tough attitude, even if he doesn't forgive, it won't help.

Li Xingzhou smiled on the surface and drank a glass of low-alcohol fruit wine, but he had a high opinion of Xue Fang in his heart. It seemed that it was not a coincidence that he escaped a catastrophe.

There was a commotion outside the hall, the candles flickered in the hall, everyone was discussing in full swing, the emperor, empress, and concubine Tian were also very happy, talking about the eventful past with Duke De and Zhong Daoyu.

Li Xingzhou glanced at the paralyzed Xue Fang: "Is Master Xue's restaurant business okay?" He asked with a smile.

Xue Fang was stunned for a moment, her face was full of shock, but she quickly covered it up, and the corner of her mouth twitched: "Thank you, Lord Hongfu, it's okay."

Everything cannot escape Li Xingzhou's eyes. The reason why Xue Fang is against him is that several restaurants in his family have been squeezed by the business of the palace and are about to go bankrupt. In addition, he is one of the rare officials in Beijing who has actually risen from the local area step by step. , There is no family background behind it.

For others, a few restaurants may not matter, because many high-ranking officials in the court have rich family backgrounds, and the rent of an acre of land is enough for them to live for a lifetime.

It's very difficult for Xue Fang, the salary of the imperial court is not high, and the annual salary of the second-rank officials is only more than two hundred taels. If you want to live decently, you have to work with your colleagues, which is definitely not enough, so a few restaurants have become Xue Fang. The foundation of Fang's survival.

"Perhaps we can talk about the restaurant in the future. If Mr. Xue is interested, he will come to the palace after the fifteenth day." Li Xingzhou said.

"My lord, is this a dismissal?"

"Maybe it's to point out a way for Mr. Xue to make money." Li Xingzhou smiled and didn't say any more.

Xue Fang didn't speak, her face reflected the candlelight flickering, she cupped her hands after a long time: "If that's the case, thank you, my lord, for your kindness." After speaking, she left with her wine glass.

When the banquet reached the second half, when everyone was almost drunk, the emperor waved his hand to calm everyone down, as if he had something to say.

Li Xingzhou also put down their wine glasses with Wei Li, Ji Chunsheng, He Zhao and others who drank almost as much. Not to mention Lao He's face was dark, but his drinking capacity was not bad at all.

The emperor stood up with the support of the empress and concubine Tian, ​​and said slowly: "Today's feast, I didn't want to disturb everyone's interest, and I know that you have been tired recently, but it just so happened that the Privy Council came with a note, it was from Yang Wenguang, It’s not a trivial matter, so I’ll take this opportunity to tell you about it.”

When the emperor said that, everyone pricked up their ears.

Li Xingzhou was also curious, Yang Wenguang, isn't that the Taiyuan generation?Could it be a matter of the Liao Kingdom?

The emperor waved his hand to let the empress and concubine Tian back down, and then said slowly: "Yang Wenguang said that Xixia has secretly sold armaments to Luliang Mountain in recent years, and the bandits of the Taihang Mountain generation have obvious intentions and ulterior motives."

As soon as this remark came out, everyone talked a lot, but it didn't cause a bigger sensation. Xixia's small move was not so unexpected. After all, although the two countries had an alliance, they also had blood debts.

Li Xingzhou himself was even more so. The black leopard had already confessed to him that the jade-faced fox's crossbow was given by the Xixia people in order to support her in judging Jingguo to be self-reliant and weaken Jingguo.

The emperor went on to say: "In addition, Xixia began to increase troops to Yongle City in Yinzhou, and the number of the brave army in the left wing more than doubled within two years. According to Yang Wenguang, he estimated that there were more than 2 people!
The Hequ Qinghe Army and the Jinsu Army have also continued to increase their troops. I don't think I will say much about the intention of this, so you can guess a thing or two. "

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar, and Li Xingzhou couldn't react for a while, because he was not familiar with the geography of the border between Xixia and Jingguo.

But judging from the reaction of the ministers, it must be a big event. When such a big event happened, everyone's first reaction was to look at the experienced and experienced Zhong Daoyu.

Zhong Daoyu did not shirk, bowed his hands to the emperor, and then said solemnly: "Your Majesty, fellow colleagues, if this transfer of troops from Xixia is true, I am afraid that the wolf will be ambitious and disobedient for a long time.

Not to mention anything else, Yinzhou Yongle City was specially built for the confrontation with Jingguo, and it is an important town on the border between the two countries.

But if it is just to increase troops to Yongle City, there is no need to be prepared. After all, after passing through Yongle City, there is still a big river, and the south is under the jurisdiction of Cizhou and Danzhou, and the west of Yan'an Prefecture can also provide support. "

Speaking of this, Zhong Daoyu frowned: "The key is that they increase troops to the Hequ generation."

As he spoke, he grabbed four meatballs from a plate beside him, pushed away the plate and placed one of them on the table, regardless of his hands being full of oil.

Everyone gathered together one after another, and Li Xingzhou also squeezed over to watch.

"If this first meatball is the garrison of Yongle City and the brave army on the left side, then the important town of Tang Long set up by Jingguo to defend Xixia is here." He said, and he put it a short distance above the first meatball. The second meatball.

"Then the camp of Hequ's first-generation Heqing army is here." As he spoke, he placed another meatball in the upper left corner of the meatball representing Tang Long Town in the middle, a little farther away.

"Jin Su's army is stationed here," Zhong Daoyu said, and the last ball was placed directly above the middle ball, very close.

All of a sudden, everyone gasped. The situation in the Northwest was so simple by him, and it was instantly clear. Tanglong Town, an important town in Jingguo, was unknowingly surrounded by the Xixia Army, Heqing Army, and Jinsu Army of Yongle City. Connected like a triangle!

If it wasn't for Zhong Daoyu who put it out, few people would be able to see what was going on just by reading the battle report, but he made it so simple, but for a while, everyone's heart was chilled. From the perspective of the macro situation, Tang Longzhen Unknowingly, he was surrounded by Xixia's Yongle City Garrison, Left Wing Warrior Army, Qinghe Army, and Jin Su Army!
"East, isn't it still possible to go east?" Tang Zhouwei approached with a flustered face and asked. When he said this, everyone quickly looked at the ball formation that Zhong Daoyu had set up. It seemed that there was a big gap on the right.

At that time, De Gong, Xue Fang and the others shook their heads slightly, but remained silent.

I saw Zhong Daoyu dipped his index finger in the wine, and then drew up and down on the right side. In an instant, the meatball representing Tang Long Town was completely blocked, "The east is the big river!" Zhong Daoyu said in a deep voice.

As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent, and Tang Zhouwei, who was rushing to speak before, also lowered their heads.

No one expected that the situation was so serious that even the emperor opened his mouth slightly and couldn't close it. Obviously he hadn't thought of it before, thinking it was just an urgent letter, but he didn't expect to say it tonight, Zhong Daoyu With sharp eyes, he can see the huge conspiracy in it at a glance.

"It would be good if Zhongqing is still in the Privy Council." The emperor sighed, and then asked: "Is there a remedy?"

Although the emperor didn't mention his name, everyone knew that it was Zhong Daoyu who was asking, and all eyes were on him. Li Xingzhou also looked at him, admiring him.

Zhong Daoyu shook his head: "Your Majesty, the Xixia people have been laying out for so many years, and now it's too late. In this situation, they only need to attack from all directions, and it will only take two or three months to win Tanglong Town.

And these times are not enough for the imperial court to recruit a large army, and then go to the northwest. "

When he said this, everyone was depressed and felt a sense of loss. Amidst the joyous laughter of Jing Guo, the emperor and ministers were still having a banquet, and they had lost the number one town in the Northwest without knowing it!

Zhong Daoyu went on to say: "Once the important town of Tang Long was lost, the surrounding areas were naturally out of control. I thought that the land bounded westward by the Dahe and northward by Yan'an Mansion, Danzhou, and Cizhou would belong to Xixia.
But the emperor can also rest assured that there is a big river in the east, Taiyuan mansion in the east, and Dan, Cierzhou and Yan'an mansion in the south. Worst outcome. "

Zhong Daoyu sighed: "Your Majesty, it is fate to lose, and it is too late. Please, Your Majesty, consider taking Nanjing from the hands of the Liao Kingdom. Nanjing is much more important than Tang Long."

The emperor didn't speak for a long time, and a joyful feast suddenly turned miserable.
If it wasn't for Zuka Daoyu's point of view, who would have thought of it.

Even Li Xingzhou felt helpless and emotional. It would be too late for the imperial court to send troops to affect the Northwest Frontier for at least a few months. He didn't have the sharp eyes like Zhong Daoyu, so naturally he couldn't think of those.

Just eating hot pot and singing, suddenly lost a large piece of land, that feeling.
(End of this chapter)