Red Mansion Soldiers

Chapter 281 Longevity Banquet

With the eunuchs shouting who is offering what, the longevity banquet has begun.

Holding a cup of Lushan Yunwu that exudes the clear fragrance of tea, Jia Hui watched with interest the envoys in front of him giving gifts.
As a filial son who considers himself the first vassal of China and the number one emperor in China, North Korea jumped out of his way and pushed aside the Japanese envoy. He even glanced at him proudly, straightened his clothes and left solemnly. Go up.

A eunuch with a loud voice recognized the person at a glance. After a moment of recollection, he remembered their tribute list and began to sing at the top of his voice: "A birthday gift from Korea! Thirty pieces of ramie of various colors and thirty pieces of cotton silk of various colors." Horses, two dragon-patterned mats, sixty flower mats of various colors, two tiger skins, ten leopard skins, twenty otter skins, thirty old Korean ginseng plants, two thousand rolls of white tissue paper, and ten volumes of thick oil paper!"

The North Korean envoy fell to his knees with a thud, and threw himself towards the Emperor like a mountain of gold and a jade pillar: "Foreign ministers, on behalf of my king and the people of North Korea, wish His Majesty the Emperor a long life!"

"I am very relieved that the envoy is safe!" The emperor stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction.

Before the North Korean envoy could say anything else, the eunuch behind him began to announce another name. As a last resort, the North Korean envoy could only swallow all the auspicious words in his stomach and bent down to leave.

"Annan is here to present birthday gifts! Twenty rhinoceros horns, thirty pairs of ivory, seventy pieces of white silk, twenty kilograms of lavender incense, twenty kilograms of true incense, twenty kilograms of agarwood, twenty kilograms of quick incense, and forty kilograms of woody incense. Jin, forty kilograms of black thread incense, and nine paper fans!”

A relatively short, skinny, dark-skinned old man walked up in fear, and also prostrated himself to the ground and shouted to the Supreme Emperor, "Longevity".
"Tsk, there are not many people offering these incense as tribute." Jia Hui took a sip of Lushan Yunwu and whispered to Li Wan beside him.

"Huh? These incense are weighed by the pound, so they are still small, aren't they?" Li Wan felt there was nothing wrong.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? If our house doesn't burn, can't we use it as a gift?"

This is not the 18th or 19th centuries when Tsarist Russia was suppressing Central Asia. Now, the Romanov family is still a grand duke!

"What a shitty gift. The specialties of Jinling and the Western Regions are not enough for you? Girl, who needs you to give so many things?" Jia Hui raised his eyebrows and teased Li Wan in a joking tone.

This is a taste that I have learned from eating it all over the city since I was a child. It is very similar.

On weekdays, burning just a handful in the incense burner would make her feel painful. Even if it was a pound, Annan would be bleeding heavily, right?

Different from the Emperor's 60th birthday, this time there was a large group of people
Mongols.

There was no way, the Dzungars would definitely not come. Torgut couldn't stand the beatings he suffered from the Dzungars. In the past few years, he gritted his teeth and resisted the obstruction of the Turkic tribes and Slavs, broke through the army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and ran away. He went to Eastern Europe to become the emperor.

There are eight major tribes in southern Mon and northern Mo, as well as many small and medium-sized tribes, plus the Dulbert and Heshuote tribes in western Mo.

Slavs, your grandpa Mongol is back again!

And as soon as you eat good food, the previous nastiness will be over.
After eating almost a dozen dishes, I finally had something to fill my stomach, and the previous part of giving gifts to the feudal lord was finally over.

"Shut up and eat the cake!" Li Wan glanced at Jia Hui, stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a piece of pea yellow, and dropped it on Jia Hui's plate.

"Really? Let me try it!" Li Wan still trusted Jia Hui's tongue. As long as he could eat it and still find it delicious, it would never be unpalatable to her.

As for the incense that Li Wan burned, if he really bought it by the boat, he would probably burn it for three lifetimes without even knowing whether it would be finished.

However, buying by boat is a bit exaggerated, especially in order not to damage the sense of smell of the seven two-legged gold-eating beasts at home. In addition to the ancestral hall, Li Wan occasionally visits the ladies at gatherings. Apart from this, incense has not been burned in other parts of the county government house for many years.

"Oh, look what you said, you feel pain because you bought it in Shendu. You have gone through so many middlemen. Isn't it expensive?" Jia Hui showed a rare and strange expression, "It's shipped from Annan. When coming out to Zhennanguan, the merchant needs to take care of the guards, which adds a layer of cost, not to mention the various freight and management costs all the way from Zhennanguan to Luoyang.

Tsk tsk, poor Maozi
I saw a group of Mongol men wearing fur coats and felt hats. Four of them were carrying a roasted whole lamb and walked towards the tables of various princes and nobles.

Grandpa can't defeat the Dzungars and the Turks, and he can't defeat you bunch of Juchi Uluse's bastards?

"No, otherwise why wouldn't I let you go to the merchant store to buy the incense separately? Instead, I want you to ask the south to buy the incense directly by ship. Even including the cost of sea transportation, it is nearly half cheaper than buying it in Luoyang!" Jia Hui smiled proudly.

Can't the merchants bear these miscellaneous expenses themselves? It's a crappy business, so let's just do charity. I'm sure all the costs are added to the selling price, so you think it's expensive. In fact, buying it in Annan may be half or even two-thirds cheaper than buying it in Luoyang! "

"Hey, it's so expensive?" Li Wan's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, the peas are yellow, but I haven't eaten them for a long time." Jia Hui didn't care about Li Wan's attitude. After all, he was so anxious that he was so crowded, so he didn't want others to lose his temper?
But this pea yellow
"Tsk, tsk, hey, it tastes just like the teahouse at the corner of Ningrong Street in Peking when I was a kid!"

This is probably Mongwu's gift, right?
"Slave Ereleheke pays homage to the general and his wife!" After placing a whole roasted lamb on the table, one of them saw that the big man in the lead gave Jia Hui a salute neatly.

"Haha, Lao Er is here, get up, get up!" Jia Hui stretched out his hand to help Erile and Ke up, looking very happy.

"What, why did you come to me instead of congratulating the emperor on his birthday?" Jia Hui asked with a smile.

"Hehe, the general has really broken this slave. Who in this court treats the slave well? The slave's heart is like a mirror. If it hadn't been for the care of the general over the years, how could I, Hongji Labu, have such a good life today? I am sure. I have to come over and kowtow to you first!" Ereleheke said with a naive smile.

Erileheke is currently the king of Zasak County in the Hongji tribe.

In fact, considering Hongjila's qualifications, it would not be a bad idea to be granted the title of prince. However, due to some reasons, a series of civil strife occurred within the ministry, which led to the departure of three tribes, namely Yiqilisi, Huoluolasi and Oqinhu Nawuti. , Today's Hongji Labu headquarters is no longer as powerful as before.

That's why he was granted the title of county king. Coincidentally, he is the direct grandnephew of the old maid who was entrusted to Jia Hui after Boyan was transferred to the capital.

Jia Hui only found out that her old lady's status in the Hongji tribe was so high after the Jia family's caravan sent the old maid to the Hongji tribe.

As for why the person who spoke to Hongji La today is the grand-nephew of the old maid and not the grand-nephew of Boyan Hudu
I don’t know, it’s too complicated here.

However, it was precisely because of this good relationship that Hongji Labu made a prompt decision and followed Jia Hui. It was considered that he had found a golden partner in this unfamiliar court.
Facts have proved that their choice was very correct.

While other tribes were begging grandpa and grandma to flatter the Second Saint and make the court love them more and give them more gifts, the Hongji tribe, who was favored by Jia Taiwei, already had enough iron pot to make a living. .

While other tribes are vying for more quotas in the mutual market, ordinary herdsmen in Hongjila can also buy a tael of sugar every now and then to have fun.
Hongjila's sudden wealth will definitely arouse the covetousness of other tribes, but Erileheke is not afraid. Everything has a price. The general is so good to them, so the general wants them to check and suppress them. The affairs of the eastern tribes must be handled well!
Otherwise, it will be a waste of money to hold it!
One is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer.

In short, the relationship between Jia Hui and Hong Jila became better and better. Even every year when offering New Year's gifts to the emperor, Erile and Ke would drive more than a thousand cattle and sheep into the customs and travel thousands of miles to Jia Hui. Hui sent it to Zhuangzi for him to eat.
After a while of joking, a young waiter moved a stool over for Erele and Ke to sit on.

Li Wan was no stranger to Erelekhok. In recent years, if Jia Hui was away on business and away from home, she was the one who came to receive Erelekhok.

How can a housewife get so many rules?

This kind of treatment received by the hostess in person made Ereleheke, who was familiar with Han customs, very moved. This really meant that he was not considered an outsider!
So I worked harder for Jia Hui.

"How are you? How is everything at home? Is the old lady still in good health?" Jia Hui asked with a smile as she took a sip of tea.

"Everything is fine, my aunt's body is also strong, but she eats less and less, I'm afraid," Ereleheke quickly replied, but when he talked about the old maid's body, he couldn't help but reveal a trace of sadness.
Although he had never met this great-aunt several times, it was a kind of spiritual support for him who originally thought he would be able to carry Hongji's family alone after his parents and a series of elders passed away.

Those weak words that cannot be told to the subordinates, those strategic plans that are not dared to be known to the people around her, suddenly have someone who can tell them without reservation, and she can even check for her own mistakes. This feeling is really great. Got it!
In particular, my great-aunt was someone who had seen a lot of the world, and her vision was so much higher than mine. For example, it was my great-aunt who suggested risking her life to get close to Captain Jia.

Otherwise, ginger is still spicy.

And now, such an elder who took him flying is getting weaker and weaker, how can he not be sad?
"Alas" Hearing this, Jia Hui also sighed. He, who was never good at comforting others, could only pat Erilehok's shoulder to express his comfort at this moment.

Seeing that if he didn't interrupt the mood of these two people, Li Wan was afraid that they would continue to "sigh", so he quickly changed the subject: "Today is a happy day, so it's better not to talk about these sad things. By the way, Lao Er, these Is roasting a whole lamb your tribute this year?"

"Suck back Madam's words," Orelhok blinked hard and changed his mood, "This is not the holy birthday of Sarula Bilig Khan. Everyone is rushing to give birthday gifts, but they don't know what to give. .

However, Sarula Bilig Khan sympathized with the difficulty of herding sheep and did not allow us to pay too much tribute. So when everyone puts it all together, they will put together a nine-white tribute and donate it to his old man, and then each major tribe will donate 3,000 sheep and 500 cows together! "

After saying that, Ereleheke showed a pained expression, but thinking that it was not like he had to pay more tribute every year, he didn't say anything more.

Saru Labilig Khan, the leader of the large and small tribes of the Mongol tribes inside and outside, and the living Buddha lama of Tubo jointly gave the Supreme Emperor the title given to him, which means "Khan of Bright Wisdom".

The emperor was very satisfied with this title. He liked others to praise him for his wisdom.

Naturally, the emperor also had the title of Khan presented by them, named Eri and Mubilig Khan, Noble and Wisdom Khan.

After all, after receiving the national seal of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty and serving as the Great Khan of the Mengwu Dynasty, the Great Khan still had to take a title.

"I see," Jia Hui nodded, "By the way, did you enter the prison from Datong or Juyong this time?"

"Back to the general, the slaves entered from Juyong Pass." Ereleheke quickly replied.

"Oh, that's okay." Jia Hui pursed his lips, thought for a while and continued to ask: "By the way, did the leaders of the tribes do anything unusual when they entered the customs this time?"

"Unusual behavior?" Erileheke squinted his eyes and thought carefully, "I didn't find anything unusual about entering the pass from Juyong Pass with the slave, but the one who entered Honglu Temple two days ago At that time, I actually saw the group of people from the Zhasak Tu tribe who entered the customs from Datong and several people from Monan gathered together, sneaking around and not knowing what they were talking about."

"Huh?" Jia Hui's eyes suddenly became sharp, "Zasaktu? Sneaky?"

"Yes, yes, General, I can see it clearly. The people from the Zasak Tube and some Monan people are muttering in the corner and not knowing what to say. They also look around from time to time. The slave at that time I was quite curious, so I planned to lean over and listen to what they were talking about, but they had very sharp eyes and stopped talking when they found the slaves."

Jia Hui silently took a look at Ozhilekok, who was a big man with a big waist, a round face and a big beard. He looked like a typical Mongol man, and smiled with relief.

This kind of physique will never be involved in any "infiltration" or "eavesdropping" actions in this life, so there is no need to be harsh on others.

Jia Hui smiled and patted Erelekhok's big belly: "Okay, I understand. Your information is very useful. You have done a good job, Erhilek!"

Erileheke didn't understand why Jia Hui praised him at all, but it sounded like his information was of great use, so he giggled happily.
"Jinyu, Jinyu! The Emperor is calling you!" Chen Si, who was drunk and smelling of alcohol, suddenly appeared in front of Jia Hui's table, holding a wine glass in his right hand and supporting the table with his left hand and shouted towards Jia Hui.

"Sure, here it comes!"

(End of this chapter)