New Shun 1730

After waking up in the morning, washing up, and just going to his parents' place to take care of the morning, Tian Ping sent someone to deliver a message asking Liu Yu to go and have a feast.

The banquet will be held at the Duke of Qi's Mansion. It is clear from what was said above that many students from the Wude Palace will also go together. The reason why Tian Ping was the host was probably because Qi Guogong sent a letter to order.

Knowing that he was the host and guest, it was not easy to just hold someone up and ask people to wait. Tian Ping happened to have something to do with him, so he quickly changed his clothes.

It was spring weather, and the wind and sand in the capital were extremely strong. The wind from the desert in the west blew through the halls of the palace, making a whining sound.

After leaving the house, he didn't get in the car directly, but went to the small courtyard he was separated from.

After waiting for the steamed buns for a while, the steamed buns came over from outside carrying five pieces of silk cloth and a bunch of dried meat.

This is a relatively standard rite of repair, which can be regarded as a commoner's ceremony. For the heir of a prince like Liu Yu, the rite of repair is much more precious. The person who taught Liu Yu Latin back then was given three brocades, two wild geese, and a lamb as a gift for his apprenticeship.

Mantou knew that Liu Yu wanted to support him, but he was still a little panicked - in the past, he would often see Tian Ping and others following Liu Yu, but since he was Liu Yu's servant, he was also a servant in the eyes of those people. Today, Liu Yu wanted to take advantage of Tian Ping's banquet to remind him of his status as a servant, which really made Mantou a little panicked.

Liu Yu saw that Mantou was a little panicked and couldn't help teasing: "I heard that some servants were panicked. Today is a good day for you. Why do you think you are panicking? I just followed him, Tian Ping. , a person of good temper will help me deal with it properly.”

"First of all, in my circle, everyone will treat you as a human being when they meet you in the future; secondly, the people at today's banquet are either students from Wude Palace or the second sons of various princes. These are all connections. In the future, Whatever you do has this level of connection, even giving gifts has a reason, right? "

After saying this, Mantou felt warm in his heart. He knew that Liu Yu really regarded him as a person. He thought that although he didn't understand these etiquette, since the young master was taking care of him, he should be fine and he wouldn't be able to embarrass anyone.

Besides, only people can be embarrassed. How could they have the opportunity to be embarrassed when they were servants before?

So he got on his horse and followed the carriage sent by the Duke of Qi, carrying the gift of repair, all the way to the Duke of Qi's Palace.

When they arrived at the door, Tian Ping was already waiting there. Seeing Mantou following behind, carrying a piece of cloth, I didn't know what it meant for a while.

He was a well-educated man and knew that Mantou now had a distinguished status, so naturally he did not call him Mantou.

When Mantou greeted him as "Mr. Tian", Tian Ping coughed lightly and poked Liu Yu.

"Oh, let me introduce you, this is rice cake."

Mantou has been following Liu Yu for a long time, and he has met Tian Ping several times.

At this time, Liu Yu introduced the names as if they were meeting for the first time, which made both of them feel a little indescribable.

After being polite, Liu Yu said: "I'm here for the banquet today, and I want to use Brother Tian's venue to do something. Mi Gao wants to become a disciple of me, and all my classmates are here, so I will bear witness today. Then pick a word, From now on, you can just call me.”

When Tian Ping heard this, he smiled and said: "So that's it. It's just right. If someone comes, tell the chef to add another table of dishes."

The servants left quickly after hearing the words, and Tian Ping said again: "Brother Shouchang, you should have told me about this earlier. Since he wants to become your disciple, it is not easy to insert himself into the open table when he is eating. . You and I, my friends, have different seniorities. If I ask Mi Gao to share a table with others, the Duke of Qi will not be able to afford to throw this person away. I am afraid that the Duke of Qi will not be willing to open another table. "

After that, he smiled at the steamed bun and said: "I still blame Brother Chang for this matter, otherwise I would have found some people to sit with you to accompany you in advance, but where are you going to find them now? You will be sitting alone in a while, but it is a bit deserted."

Steamed Bun subconsciously wanted to perform the courtesy of thanking a servant. When his legs were almost bent, he finally defeated this subconsciousness that had lasted for more than ten years.

He knelt down and turned into a judge, thanked him, and said a few words of trouble.

Tian Ping didn't care about the trouble of adding an extra dish to the table. Instead, he felt that Liu Yu's affection was here. He couldn't find anyone to accompany him for a while, so he felt a little embarrassed to leave Mantou alone at the table.

This meal was requested by the Duke of Qi to prepare this meal. He was a serious guest, not the time they used to hang out and drink together.

As for whether his father had other deep intentions, Tian Ping didn't care for the time being.

I have a good relationship with Liu Yu from a young age. Seeing that my friend has become famous now, I feel happy from the bottom of my heart.

He led Liu Yu into the courtyard and ordered tea to be served under the rolled eaves. The boys carried food boxes and arranged tables in the hall.

Since it is a formal banquet, it is a formal banquet for six or six people.

First serve six dried fruits, six snacks, and six fresh fruits.

Sailboats had connected the world in the late Ming Dynasty, and many changes had also taken place in the banquets that Dashun used to treat guests to dinner.

Among dried fruits, sunflower seeds from the Americas counterattacked the orthodox watermelon seeds; pistachios and hazelnuts introduced in the Tang Dynasty counterattacked the walnuts introduced in the Han Dynasty.

The most traditional and orthodox dried fruits left are torreya.

The snacks were as usual, and the six fresh fruits showed the luxury of the Duke's mansion.

There are no mulberries on the table, only yellow loquats brought from the south.

The strawberries that have just been introduced to Luzon from South America and then to China in recent years still have water droplets on them after being washed.

"If you are ashamed to hold a peach, recommend it to the ancestral temple first." The cherries, which are "high enough" to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple, are served with smoothies made of crushed ice and milk.

Wang Wei wrote in "The Imperial Court Grants Cherries to All Officials" that "You don't have to worry about internal heat after eating, the officials still have sugarcane juice to cool you down." Cherries are as red as fire, so they must be internally hot. Cherries are fresh fruits on the table in the mansions of dukes and marquises, and they must be accompanied by something cold to reduce dryness, such as ice cream or sugarcane juice.

There were originally only four tables of various fruits and vegetables, but because of the matter of Mantou, another table was set up on the lower right.

When the fresh fruits were served, the people who were supposed to come also came. After congratulating Liu Yu one by one, when they were about to go to the table, Liu Yu talked about Mantou's apprenticeship.

Mantou was very nervous at first, but at this moment, the nervousness disappeared.

This was a person who gained the identity of a person in Liu Yu's circle, or in a circle that had always treated Mantou as a slave. This subtle change of identity made Mantou lose the last bit of uneasiness.

He knelt down at the bottom of Liu Yu and presented a simple gift of tribute.

Because he did not take the imperial examination or study Confucianism, he did not use the "teacher was trapped in Chen Cai with no food, and the disciples picked vegetables for food" ceremony, but only used the cloth and dried meat used to learn martial arts in the Tang Dynasty.

After paying homage, Liu Yu gave Mantou a name.

Hua Gao is Gao, and the name is Ziming.

Tian Ping was standing aside, afraid that Mantou did not understand the meaning, so he said: "The ancient wise man Baili Xi, the name is Ziming. He was a slave, and finally achieved a career. The meaning of keeping the constant is also to encourage you."

A group of people next to him also thought of this first, and nodded, saying that this name is good.

Liu Yu thought: one is the story of Baili Xi, and the other is that Lu Meng Lu Ziming is proficient in water battles. Mantou, mantou, I hope that one day in the future, Lu Ziming will cross the river in white clothes, and you will cross the sea in blue clothes, and achieve a career on the ocean!

After the apprenticeship ceremony, everyone sat down.

Liu Yu declined several times, but finally sat at the top: firstly, he was the host, and secondly, he was the only one among them who had the status of a guard and the military merits of a light chariot commander.

Yesterday's Mantou and today's Mi Ziming sat at a separate table. The quality of the dishes was the same as the other tables.

It was just that Mantou was Liu Yu's disciple and the others were Liu Yu's classmates, so they could not sit at the same table.

Sitting alone, the servant of the Duke of Qi's mansion came over with an embroidered curtain and spread it on Mantou's knees, and brought a hand towel for washing hands.

A young musician who played the zither and the pipa sang at the bottom. Tian Ping was the host and was celebrating Liu Yu, so he ordered a festive song, and the young musician began to sing: "It is a lucky day, Chang Geng appears, and colorful clouds float. Look at the jade tree in front of the hall, and the auspicious grass grows..."

Mantou couldn't help feeling dizzy during the lyrics.

Last year, he was the same status as the servant who served him now, but today he was sitting here and being served by others.

Having followed Liu Yu for a long time, he had eaten a lot of dishes, but he had never eaten at the table in a formal occasion. Often after the meal, he would be rewarded with some food, which he would cover on the rice and eat while squatting down. The taste should not be bad, but he had never eaten at the table.

In between toasts, Mantou stretched out his chopsticks and picked up the bean sprouts and Liaodong golden shrimps that he had picked up and eaten countless times with Liu Yu.

He stuffed half a bean sprout and half a shrimp into his mouth, closed his eyes and chewed for a long time, thinking that this was strange, today's dishes were fresher than many times before, and he was reluctant to swallow them.

He tasted it carefully for a long time, until the bean sprouts turned into paste, and then he picked up a chopstick of the fir oil chicken shreds that he had eaten many times before squatting down, and tasted the mellow taste that he had never felt before.

He thought for a long time and finally figured out the difference in taste between eating the same dish squatting down and sitting at the table.

The singers were still singing, and the atmosphere at the banquet was cheerful.

Mantou quietly raised a glass of wine to Liu Yu, silently prayed and poured it on the ground.

"Third Master, I, Mi Ziming, will never give up in this life, and I will repay the kindness of others!"

"The heavens and the earth are my witnesses. If you break this oath, you will not live."

…………

At the table at the top, Liu Yu picked up some things about the war in the north.

Everyone was listening attentively. Tian Ping smiled and said, "The captured Russians are now in Yang Erguan Hutong. The Western monks accompanying the army requested that they build a Western temple so that they can worship and chant scriptures."

"It has been approved by the higher-ups. A Western temple is being built at the entrance of Yang Erguan Hutong. I heard that it is slightly different from the Western temple in Xuanwumen. Originally, they wanted to build it in the Xuanwumen Church, but the missionaries disagreed and the Russians disagreed, saying that it was "attacking heresy! This is harmful." So they chose Yang Erguan Hutong. There is a Yuewang Temple nearby. Grandpa Yue is ambitious to sweep the north, so it is just right to suppress them."

Liu Yu has been hiding at home these days and doesn't know the situation of the Russian captives. When he heard Tian Ping talk about this, he thought that there might be another reason for arranging it here.

Yang Erguan Hutong is also in the northeast of the city, only a few hundred steps away from Wude Palace.

Either the emperor really wants to learn from the Byzantines and set up a Varangian Guard to incorporate these Russians into the army to make it look good; or, is he really going to select some people who understand Western warfare so that they can teach in the Wude Palace in the future?

I was thinking that I was going to ask Hannibal and others for some knowledge, and now that these people are arranged so close to the Wude Palace, it is convenient.