Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 42 The Wave of the Times
In the social occasions among bureaucrats in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to banquets, there was also fried tea.

While simmering and sipping tea, we chatted about government affairs.It can be said that we can advance or retreat, which invisibly brings us closer to each other.

Sencha is very elegant and popular. There is an eminent monk in Chang'an who loves tea so much that he would drink dozens of bowls a day before he could stop.

At this moment, in the study room of Li Linfu's house in Pingkangfang.Li Linfu was giving Zheng Shuqing fried tea in person, and the etiquette could be described as thorough.

He is taking out the tea cake with a bamboo tong, and roasting it on the charcoal fire. The charcoal is mixed with some kind of spices and made into the shape of a peony, which is not ordinary.

The tea cakes are evenly heated on the rack, toasted inside and out.

Fresh tea is freshly roasted, and then sencha meeting friends, a wonderful enjoyment.

The main procedures of the Sencha method are: Zhancha, Tencha, Luocha, Sencha and Zuocha.As for other preliminary preparations, such as preparing utensils, selecting water, making fire, and waiting for soup, Li Linfu naturally had domestic servants to prepare them.

The left prime minister of the Tang Dynasty started with moxibustion tea.

"The prime minister has already talked with Wei Jian. He is willing to take over the position of Jing Zhaoyin. The prime minister will also work from this and recommend him to be Jing Zhaoyin. As for the position of Minister of Household Affairs, what do you think?"

Li Linfu took down the baked tea cake, and used a bamboo "tea grinder" to grind it into fine granules, which looked neither thick nor fine and were very uniform.

In order to show their "nobility", the feudal nobles of the Tang Dynasty often had unusual persistence and love for certain "elegant etiquette".So as to show that you are different.

The most typical representative is Li Longji who loves music and dance and is proficient in it.

Obviously, Li Linfu's tea-making skills are very good.After all, he was young, held a lowly official position, and served others to please others.

Li Linfu stopped his hands and looked at Zheng Shuqing who was sitting silently on the high stool.

"Everything is up to Li Xiang to decide."

Zheng Shuqing bowed and bowed deeply.

Li Linfu quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "What I promise must be fulfilled. However, being the Minister of the Ministry of Finance is not a trivial matter, and I cannot recommend you to the position for personal gain.

so what……"

"Li Xiang might as well speak bluntly, and my subordinates are all ears."

Zheng Shuqing pinched his sleeves nervously and looked at the other party eagerly, his heart already in his throat.

"There is one Shangshu and several servants in the household department. Each person is in charge of the same stall and does not overlap with each other. You have never been in the household department, so even if you are the servant of the household department, it is impossible to do those ordinary things. Do you understand this truth?"

Li Linfu poured mountain spring water into a purple sand pot (tea cauldron), and then put it on the stove to boil.

This step looks very simple on the surface, but in fact there are many articles in it.

The water is boiled three times. When the boiling water has "fish eyes" bubbles and "slight sound", it is the first boil; then add an appropriate amount of salt flower to season.When the water bubbles around the kettle rush up like a spring, it is the second boiling.

Take out a ladle with a spoon and put it aside. Use a "bamboo clamp" to circulate and stir in the center of the teapot, and use a "ze" (a measuring device made of bamboo, copper, etc. in the shape of a spoon or dustpan) to measure the tea powder and pour it in. Zisha Zhong.

Wait for a moment, and when the tea soup splashes like a rushing wave, it is the third boil. At this time, pour the previously taken out second boil into the boiling water to stop boiling, so that the water stops boiling.

Li Linfu completed these actions in one go, looking at Zheng Shuqing with a little pride, waiting for the other party's answer.

While waiting, he was cultivating Tanghua.

The thin soup is called "mo", and the thick soup is called "祽".The delicate ones are called "flowers" and are the most wonderful ones.

Only after the "Tanghua" has been cultivated can tea be drunk, that is, the tea is scooped into a bowl with a ladle.

When the water is boiled for the first time, some people describe it as "there is a water film on the foam like biotite".The first water scooped out is also called "meaningful";
The first, second, and third bowls that were scooped out later tasted worse;

Besides the fourth and fifth bowls, "drinks that are not for thirst", the rich and powerful already despised this very much, and would not drink it to the death of thirst.

When drinking tea, you should make the foam evenly, so as to keep the taste of each bowl of tea the same.Boil one liter of water, and there is a saying that "divide five bowls at discretion, and drink it while it is hot".

The first "rule" is not to use tea powder and only boil three bowls to make the tea soup delicious and fragrant; the second is to boil five bowls, no more than five bowls at most.

"Please use!"

Li Linfu pushed the white porcelain teacup on the silver plate in front of Zheng Shuqing. This was the first bowl of tea.

It seems to be more than just a bowl of tea, and it seems to be just a bowl of tea.The specific details all depend on Zheng Shuqing's political IQ.

"Subordinate...just let Mr. Li do whatever he wants."

Zheng Shuqing gritted his teeth and said, picked up the teacup, endured the slightly hot tea, and drank it down in one gulp!

It should be good tea, but it’s too hot when you drink it and you can’t taste it!

"This Minister of Household Affairs does nothing else. He specializes in managing the central government's finances and providing supplies for the war in Hexi. Do you have the confidence to take over?"

Li Linfu put away the smile on his face and asked softly.

"Subordinate willing!"

Zheng Shuqing suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said almost like a low growl.

Taking this step is basically the fast track.If the Minister of Hubu does a good job, he will be the Minister of Hubu. If the Minister of Hubu is higher up, he will directly become the Prime Minister!
As long as he can reach this position, he is only two steps away from Li Linfu!

Moreover, the Household Department is a place where it is easy to achieve results and also to make trouble. It all depends on the individual's ability.

It’s not like Mr. Nan Guo can be a gangster here!

"In the past few days, you draft a financial management note. If it is well written, I will hand it over to the sage, and then recommend you to be the Minister of Household Affairs. In this case, there should be no big problem.

Otherwise, the sage would definitely mind your refusal to be Jing Zhaoyin before. "

Li Linfu took a sip from the teacup, and it was really fragrant.

"This method is safe..."

Zheng Shuqing said with a worried look on his face.

The imperial court's financial management actually includes two aspects.

The first aspect is to make good use of the taxes collected so that these taxes can be used scientifically and will not be damaged during transportation.

This is what Zheng Shuqing wants to do, and he feels that he can also do it.

Another aspect, summed up in two words, is: making money.

In short, on the premise of not causing mutiny or civil commotion, just let your hands and feet go to make money.

Of course, the money you make must be legal.By formulating simple rules, the goal can be achieved without much effort.

It sounds simple, but this kind of thing is like people from different generations doing the same quiz together, and it's a quiz with multiple answers.

Problems that are easy to solve have been done by predecessors!
And those that are not easy to do and easily offend people, either no one is willing to do it, or because the officials who made the formulation and implementation were counterattacked by conservative forces, they were dismissed, resulting in the death of the government.

He doesn't know how to make money like this!
"Do you have any difficulties? If you have difficulties with the position of Minister of Household Affairs, I can recommend other candidates and then rearrange you to a lower official position. Anyway, these are all up to you, I don't care.

For example, Wang Yu and the others are very interested in this position, and the truth will not embarrass you. "

Li Linfu said slowly, poured another cup of tea for Zheng Shuqing, and this was the second cup.

Zheng Shuqing had a hunch that after finishing these three cups of tea, Li Linfu would probably see off his guests.

"I will go back and prepare now."

He stood up, bowed deeply to Li Linfu, turned around and left.

"This position is not trivial. It's very risky to hold it by force. If you delay the saint's important event, you won't be able to cut off as many heads as you want. After you think about it, come back to me tomorrow."

Li Linfu's cold and faint instructions came from behind Zheng Shuqing.

……

"In short, this thing is like this, and then it happens again, and then it happens again, and finally it comes back."

Fang Chongyong patiently told Zhang Xun and others all the things that happened in the past three days in the Tang Dynasty, the Fang family's house in Yongjiafang.

He gestured while talking, and even informed the people of the Ministry of Rites that Li Longji had ordered Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan to destroy their future in the imperial examination.

"It doesn't matter if you don't win this year, Xianggong Zhang's career is blocked, Yan Ting has been dismissed from office, and the government is in turmoil. It may not be a good thing to win at this time."

Li Kui couldn't help but sighed.

Of course he was unwilling to do so. He originally thought that the imperial examination would be a sure thing, but he didn't expect that there would be so many twists and turns.The nobleman who promised to recommend him was about to fall, and was beaten down by the emperor himself. The road to the imperial examination was so difficult that he had never thought of it before.

However, Li Kui is not worried at all, because after this "political investment", he must have been "registered" with Li Longji, and he may have the opportunity to be "leapfrog promoted" in the future.

Who knows what the future holds.

"It's okay for us, but I didn't expect Fang Jieshuai to be so proud."

Xu Yuan couldn't help but lament. At first, he thought that Fang Chongyong would definitely escape death after being imprisoned.Unexpectedly, he was released after being detained for three days.But think about it, a half-grown child still did something that was in line with the people's wishes.

If Li Longji "vigorously punished", wouldn't it be appropriate to prove to the world that he really has no heart, and that he is still incapable of angering his children?

Li Longji has been the emperor for decades and grew up with court struggles since he was a child. He will definitely not make such low-level mistakes.

"Young Master returned safely today, I am very happy to congratulate you. I will bring the wine and food right now."

Fang Dafu grabbed Fang Laique who was in a daze, and greeted Fang Chongyong with a smile.

After a while, the first dish was served. Except for Fang Chongyong, Li Kui and the others were slightly stunned.

"My family doesn't eat this jushengnu very often, mainly because the cook is not good at it and wastes natural resources."

Li Kui pointed to the plate of "dishes" that Fang Dafu brought to the table with emotion and said that this thing is somewhat similar to the "fried dumplings" that were common in the north in Fang Chongyong's previous life. Of course, they are just similar in shape.

"Jushengnu, the rough production process is to mix flour with water, cow and goat milk and honey, or use boiled red date soup instead of honey, then put it into an oil pan and fry it to set, and finally sprinkle with Jusheng ."

As Li Kui explained, he broke off a section and put it on the dinner plate in front of Fang Chongyong. The small particles stuck on it looked very familiar to Fang Chongyong.

Isn't this riding a horse black sesame?Also called "Jusheng" such an awesome name!

Fang Zhongyong put a jushengnu into his mouth and chewed it. The sweetness of frankincense and juice instantly filled his mouth!It’s much more delicious than Li Kui said!
Everyone didn't speak, and wiped out the dessert with three or two blows.The beauty of Jushengnu lies in the fact that "there is a universe inside", and the fried skin on the outside is just to lock in the taste.

Fang Chongyong thought to himself, Zheng Shuqing also invited famous chefs to cook, and the ingredients were also rich and expensive.But if we only talk about cooking skills, I'm afraid Fang Dafu's skills are far better than that "famous chef" back then.

The only disadvantage is that I don’t have enough money to buy expensive ingredients.

Soon, Fang Dafu served another plate of "dishes", which was still in a non-mainstream style. Except for a very small amount of soup, there were only "sausages" on the plate. The appearance was very simple and unpretentious.

"This is Tonghua soft beef intestines! This, this, this..."

Li Kui was a little incoherent. This dish is so awesome that you can only have the opportunity to see it at the "Shaowei Banquet" held by those who become Jinshi.He has only eaten once in his life!
"Tonghua Soft Beef Intestines" is made from sheep bone marrow mixed with mutton and then poured into beef intestines. no the same.

This kind of dish is not for that kind of "front work".Many chicken chefs can also make similar ones, which look similar in appearance.But diners only need to take a bite to know the difference between the master and the rookie.

An average cook would not dare to serve this dish to diners, for fear of ruining his reputation.

Fang Chongyong originally thought that his launch of "fried dishes" in Chang'an would sweep the catering industry by storm and lead the trend.It now appears that is not the case.

The aristocratic class of the Tang Dynasty were so good at eating, and iron pots were not a rare thing. How could they not know that there was such a cooking method as stir-frying?

The Chinese people's pursuit of food is unparalleled and tireless.Even in Lingnan, where normal cooking utensils are unaffordable, the locals have invented a type of stove called an "earth pot", but it is not as durable and does not affect the cooking effect.

The reason why cooking can’t develop is just because the corresponding cooking technology has not been developed, and the dishes made have no competitiveness in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty when the catering technology was extremely developed and a hundred flowers bloomed, so it has not been recorded in the history books.

As for the lack of cooking oil, there is no obstacle among the nobles. They also like to eat fried food!It’s impossible to require less cooking oil for frying than for stir-frying!

The problem with cooking is that it not only needs a pot, but also needs matching ingredients, matching processes, and matching social needs.

The improvement of skills requires inheritance and years of training.

In other words, cooking is not impossible, but the people at the bottom cannot afford expensive cooking oil; the aristocratic class is used to eating good food, and has already filled their stomachs with various fancy cooking, so they have no motivation to develop cooking.

Especially they don't like to eat vegetables!

It can be said bluntly that if Fang Zhongyong wants to develop cooking skills and enter the catering industry in Chang'an, he will lose all his money and be beaten by other cooking methods that are so exquisite that they explode in Chang'an city.

Seeing Li Kui, Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun eating intoxicated, Fang Chongyong let go of distracting thoughts and sighed lightly.

It's a pity that another way to make money has been blocked.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help sighing, watching Fang Dafu bring up one dish after another, not to mention dishes that he had never eaten before, and his heart was bleeding.

It seems that a lot of profits lost because of not being able to cook have turned into a galaxy of gold and flowed away from me.

At this moment, Fang Laique hurriedly ran over from the concierge and whispered in Fang Chongyong's ear: "Lang Jun, that poor guy in Kuizhou who always asks us for money is here."

Kuizhou?Poor?
Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment. He hadn't recovered yet, and he didn't know who Fang Laique was talking about.

"Can you tell me not to add your own judgment, and tell me quickly, who is it?"

Fang Chongyong scolded in a low voice with a worried expression.

"It's Zheng Shuqing who came and brought an oxcart of gifts. He probably came to pay off a debt."

Fang Laique said somewhat complacently.

"A night owl comes to the house for whatever reason. He will definitely do no harm to me. Alas!"

Fang Chongyong was very puzzled, there should be quite a few concubines in the old Zheng's family, and when we arrived in Chang'an, the world of flowers, it was getting late and he should go back and watch the moon with his concubines in his arms, why did you come to me, a half-grown child, at night?
Now that the gates are closed, he wants to stay overnight!
Fang Chongyong stood up helplessly and said to everyone: "There are guests coming, I will go and take a look first."

　I can't write fast, I have to read a lot of historical materials every day, and I have to eliminate the interference of some Xiaobai historical novels. The current update speed is the limit.

　　You can tell the historical depth of the plots being written now by comparing them, so there is no need to say more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)