A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 861: The dragon who failed to become a dragon returns to accompany the mortal fish

The banquet was very lively.

Various kinds of dishes are abundant. Jiangzhou is right on the Yangtze River, so today’s dishes naturally focus on river fresh food.

"Live grilled mandarin fish, crucian carp fish painting, steamed bream, pan-fried grass carp, spicy shrimp and eel soup, steamed crab, Farewell My Concubine..."

Xu Jingzong introduced the dishes for today’s river fresh feast,

Wu Huaiyu is no stranger to these dishes. He has basically eaten them all. There are all kinds of sturgeon, herring, carp, bream, trout and mandarin fish in the Yangtze River, and they are all very delicious.

For example, the point-fronted fish is also called jumping over the dragon gate, and it uses tuna. These two kinds of fish are actually sturgeons of later generations, not carps. Before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the fish that jumped over the dragon gate were not carp, but tuna. The shape of sturgeons is more like Dragons, and it has always been a custom to swim back to lay eggs in February, but later, I don’t know why, it slowly turned into carps leaping over the dragon’s gate.

If you can't become a dragon by counting your forehead, you will be accompanied by ordinary fish when you return.

However, there were still a lot of carp in the Tang Dynasty, and everyone liked to eat carp. However, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, he began to issue edicts prohibiting people from catching and eating carp. The Taoists also called carp Chihun Gong. From then on, carp became rampant in the Tang Dynasty. , people can only eat it secretly, just like wild boars have become protected animals in later generations, and they are not allowed to destroy crops.

"Are these dishes suitable for the Prime Minister Wu?" Xu Jingzong asked with a smile.

"Did this cook come from Fanlou?" Huaiyu asked.

"Oh, the Prime Minister is so powerful that he can eat it with just a pair of chopsticks. He is indeed the cook invited from Fanlou in Jiangzhou."

Fanlou is the property of Fan Xuanfu, and now it has opened many branches. Jiangzhou, an important water and land terminal, has naturally opened one as well.

Xie Shufang said from the side, "I went to Fanlou to eat once when I was in Chang'an. It was very unforgettable. I heard that the chefs in Fanlou's main store and branches in various places are mostly female cooks. The good dishes they cook are good-looking and young. Well, I’ll call you later to take a look.”

The Governor Xie said again, "Prime Minister Wu, when will we open a Fanlou in our Hongzhou? It will be opened on the bank of the Gan River. The business will definitely be prosperous."

Speaking of Hongzhou and Ganjiang, Huaiyu thought of Prince Teng's Pavilion, but there was no Prince Teng yet. In the fourth year of Wude, Li Yuan granted the title of Prince Teng to his thirteenth son Yuan Yi, but this year he changed the title to Prince Zheng. In history, Li Yuanying, the Teng king who built the Tengwang Pavilion, was the 22nd son of Li Yuan. He was still weaned and had not yet been enfeoffed.

“This spicy shrimp and eel soup is pretty good.”

Chef Fan Lou of Jiangzhou, who was called from the back kitchen, was indeed a cook, about thirty or so, tall, plump, and smooth.

After asking, I found out that her ancestors were from Jiangzhou. She used to work in the kitchen of the Duke of Jin State in the Wu family and had quite a talent for cooking. Later, she became a veteran of Fanlou and performed very well. When she opened branches in various places, she started from the head office. The chefs and shopkeepers of the store passed by,

"For this dish, blanch the shredded eel, rinse the peeled shrimp in clean water, stir-fry them together, add water and cook slowly, and finally add starch to thicken, and a spicy shrimp, jade and eel soup is ready."

Xie Shufang asked, "There is a word for spicy in this dish, but no pepper?"

"It's true that no chili pepper is used. This dish is an old recipe and uses pepper as a seasoning."

Pepper is very expensive, so this dish used to be a royal dish and was out of the reach of ordinary people. Of course, there is also a popular version, which is spicy ginger.

Nowadays, Prime Minister Wu introduced the chili pepper, so there is also a marina version of shrimp, jade and eel soup. It uses chili pepper and ginger, which is spicy enough. It even adds more garlic. The taste is actually very different from the original version.

Fan Lou is a high-end restaurant that follows the most authentic cooking methods.

In addition to this dish, there is also a similar shrimp, fish, bamboo shoots and fern soup on the table, which is also seasoned with pepper.

However, Xie Shufang was very interested in the dish called Jin Yuguo.

This is also a fish dumpling, using sea bass.

The plump cook explained to Governor Xie, “The fish in this dish is sea bass, and the golden jellyfish is made from golden oranges.

The method is to clean the fresh sea bass, make it into dried shredded fish, marinate it with seasonings, then wrap the fish in cloth and drain away the water. Fragrant, soft flowers and leaves are blended together and cut into thin strips, and thinly sliced ​​fish fillets are mixed with fine streaks of golden orange.

The golden orange silk is as yellow as gold, and the sea bass slices are as white as jade, so it is known as Jinyuyu. "

Yang Guang was full of praise for this dish when he tasted it.

The cook was a good talker. Even when facing these powerful princes, she still looked calm. She even quoted a related poem written by Wu Huaiyu in public,

"On a winter night, I am sad and separated from Wuxi. Herrings and snow fall on oranges and oranges. Looking at the slanting moon on the road in front of Wugang, the clouds in the boats are heading west."

"We in Jiangzhou Fanlou also have homemade orange juice, which tastes very good. If the officials don't dislike it, they can take two bottles back to try it."

Orange jelly, the restaurant’s homemade ponzu sauce, is great when eaten with fish breasts. Thinly sliced ​​and translucent sashimi, dipped in this ponzu sauce, is delicious.

Xie Shufang was surprised by the unusualness of this cook. After careful questioning, it turned out that she was really from a noble family before. Her family also used to be an official family. She received a good education since she was a child. However, later her father was convicted and the family fell into decline. slave,

But fortunately, she later joined the Wu family and had a chance to make a comeback. Now she is the chef of Fanlou in Jiangzhou, has gained freedom, signed a long-term employment contract, and has a high salary.

Hearing this, Xie Shufang felt a little regretful. He had originally taken a liking to this fat and tall cook and wanted to take her away.

Huaiyu, Xie Shufang, and Xu Jingzong chatted while eating, quite relaxed.

But the Jiangzhou officials at other tables were all drunk, because before the banquet, Xu Jingzong not only read the emperor's oral edict in front of everyone, but also granted Wu Huaiyu the appointment, dismissal, and recruitment of officials below the sixth rank in Jiangzhou. right,

Wu Huaiyu was also asked to conduct a round of examinations on the existing officials in Jiangzhou.

Use the capable ones and eliminate the mediocre ones.

Thinking that maybe after this meal, they might be demoted or even dismissed. In fact, no one would be happy.

How could Jiangzhou, a good imperial court, turn into Jiangguo of Wu Huaiyu?

Why didn't Wu Huaiyu change his title to Jiang Guogong?

The saury, known as one of the three delicacies of the Yangtze River, was brought to the table, and each person had a portion in front of them. This fish was long and thin, silvery in color, quite like a silver knife, and the meat was not many thorns but had a lot of thorns.

The meat of this fish is delicious, fat but not greasy, and can be steamed, braised or fried.

There are many such fish in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from the mouth of the Yangtze River to Jiangzhou. Especially during the Qingming Festival, saury fish return to produce seeds. They are easy to catch and are also the most delicious season.

Fanlou also has many famous saury dishes, such as steamed saury, double-skin saury, hibiscus saury, dried fried saury, hairy saury ball soup, grilled saury, etc.

The saury dish we served today is steamed saury. Compared to the Yangzhou double-skin saury that is cooked without the spines, it retains its original flavor.

In the past, the officials would have been patient enough to taste one of the three delicacies of the Yangtze River, but now they are distracted and are not so careful when picking up the thorns.

As a result, someone got stuck from time to time. In fact, ordinary fishermen and ordinary people don't like to eat saury very much. They think it has less meat and more spines. They prefer to eat meat instead of eating fresh food.

A dish of steamed saury,

In the end, more than a dozen Jiangzhou officials stopped their throats and made it very embarrassing.

Wu Huaiyu also knew why these Jiangzhou officials were still choked by Jiang's sword. It was all because of exams. As long as he announces that he will not take exams, hello, me, hello, everyone.

But Wu Huaiyu saw through it but did not say not to take the exam. Instead, he followed Xu Jingzong's suggestion and proposed that the exams for one state and three counties would start tomorrow. All Jiangzhou officials, big and small, would come to Jiangzhou Governor's Yamen to take exams.

The exam includes your own work report, as well as comments from your superiors, subordinates, and colleagues.

After dinner,

Wu Huaiyu asked people to serve tea.

Several assessment matters were announced in public.

All Jiangzhou Liu internal officials will first report themselves to Wu Huaiyu, and then their superiors, subordinates, and colleagues will also give comments. Finally, Wu Huaiyu will conduct overt inspections and secret inspections, and finally there will be a public announcement.

According to the performance of the officials, there are eight categories: greed, cruelty, impetuousness, inadequacy, old age, illness, failure, and carelessness.

Those who are old or sick will be promoted to official positions;

Those who are weak and do nothing, and are careless in their conduct, will live in peace and quiet;

Those who are greedy for cruelty and are on the run are the people;

For those who are not capable, consideration will be given to changing the position. The fourth-level ending will ultimately indicate whether the official will stay or leave.

For officials who have left the country, the state meritorious officials will first be responsible for the assessment, and finally report to Wu Huaiyu for decision on disposal.

In short, the emperor transferred the power of evaluating, appointing and removing officials in Jiangzhou from the Ministry of Personnel to Wu Huaiyu, the governor of the world.

After he makes a decision, he can just send another report to the staff.

Of course, in exchange, the Shifeng Governor's Office will be responsible for the future expenses of Jiangzhou officials' salaries, daily supplies, miscellaneous welfare, etc., which can be regarded as a reduction in the burden on the court.

This is actually equivalent to the opening of the governor's office, and Jiangzhou officials have basically become private staff.

Wu Huaiyu felt that the emperor had taken too big a step, but the emperor insisted on having his own way.

"Starting tomorrow, officials from various departments, first from the prefectures and then from the counties, will line up to come to the Governor's Yamen to declare their positions to me."

After saying that, Wu Huaiyu ended today’s reception banquet.

All the officials left with their own thoughts, and it was obvious that they were very heavy-hearted. Most of them felt that this exam was actually a cover. From now on, Jiangzhou would be Jiangguo, so Wu Huaiyu would definitely replace all Jiangzhou officials with his people.

So everyone will definitely fail the exam.

Those who have a way are already thinking about starting operations immediately after returning, and quickly move out of Jiangzhou to make room for Mr. Wu's people. Don't make people tired to rush. If they anger Duke Jiang, no, they anger Duke Jin. I'll lay some charges on you then, but I'll regret it later.

Xu Jingzong pulled Xu Ang, "In the past two years, the Prime Minister Wu has no time to teach this traitor. He has become more and more crazy and has wasted a lot of studies. I brought him here specially this time and asked the Prime Minister to stay by my side to teach me. I hope This kid studies hard, and in a few years he will be able to keep up with Guanyi Li Yifu and the others, and be named a Jinshi,"

Huaiyu looked at Xu Ang, then at Xu Jingzong,

"Would Dalang be willing to go to Lingnan?"

Xu Ang was very conflicted. He didn't want to go to Lingnan, but in the end his father glared at him. After all, his wings were not strong enough, so he had to bite the bullet and say yes against his will.

The matter was settled, Xu Jingzong sent his son to take his junior brother Wu Chengsi to play.

"When will the Prime Minister's Military Guard's Office, Tent's Office, and Marriage Office be recruited?"

Huaiyu shook his head.

The emperor's decree stated that the kings should be divided into enfeoffments, with three guardian armies for the big country, two guardian armies for the secondary country, and one guardian army for the small country.

Wu Huaiyu had more than 17,000 Zhongzhou households, but his position was critical, so he was promoted to Zhongzhou.

However, Wu Huaiyu is a meritorious official, not a sect king, so he has to be downgraded to one level in the guardianship area. He can have a military guardian mansion with a thousand people.

In the early years, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji's Princes' Mansion of Qin and Qi each had six Protector's Mansion, and under each Protector's Mansion there were five Tongjun Mansion, but now the Princes' Protector's Mansion is actually equivalent to the original Tongjun Mansion.

As for the marriage affairs and the two palaces in the tent, these are the guards who guard the entourage.

There are 333 people in the Prince's Marriage Office, and 677 people in the tent, led by Dianjun and Deputy Dianjun. The Marriage Officer is the personal guard and inner guard of honor, while the tent is responsible for the outer guard of honor.

All princes have marriage affairs and tents, princesses, princesses, and county lords have city officials, first- to fifth-grade ministerial officials have Fangge, sixth- to ninth-rank ministerial officials have common servants, and state and county officials have Baizhi and Zhi. Clothes, the garrison officer has a strong body.

Different from the Hujunfu, it is actually the unified Fubing.

The bodyguards responsible for marriage affairs and the palace are the guards, which are similar in nature to the three guards and five palaces of Qinxunyi. However, the candidates for the palace of the prince are the descendants of officials below the sixth rank.

This is also a way for motley people to enter the mainstream. These descendants of low-level officials take turns serving as bodyguards for the princes. After ten years, they can be awarded official positions after passing the examination.

Wu Huaiyu's marriage affairs and the inner palace must recruit people, and they cannot be recruited casually. They have to look at their background, which means they can only recruit high-ranking officials, or the descendants of high-ranking officials or casual officials.

Serving as a guard for the princes is a kind of sexual service, a kind of birth, and even requires rotation, just like the government soldiers.

(End of this chapter)