Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Lu Ci, who has never had the good habit of going to bed early, was still in his study pondering the reply to his relatives and friends in Bianjing after urging Di Qing and the others to bed.

When he heard the movement of a few people going out, he couldn't help but glanced down through the window unexpectedly, because he didn't know where they were going, he specially summoned his servants to ask about the situation.

When he understood the purpose of Di Qing and the other three going out, he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

——It’s good to be young after all, very energetic, even if you don’t sleep all night, you must be full of energy the next day.

It won't work if you change him.

Lu Ci, who claimed to be "advanced in age", honestly put down a pile of replies that he had finally written as soon as the child's time arrived, and immediately blew out the lamps and candles, changed into pajamas, and lay down on a comfortable bed.

He didn't bother to wait for those energetic cubs to come back, so he went straight to bed first.

Little did he know that Gao Jixuan's wailing had been hovering mournfully over the bamboo forest in the south of the city where no one visited at night, until the sky was just brightened before it gradually subsided.

However, during the Spring Festival, when the people are reunited and the officials rest and take a bath, the least leisurely one is the little emperor who has just succeeded to the throne, is hardworking by nature, and looks so gentle that he is almost weak.

Even though the early court was closed for three days with the festival, the impeachment papers of the most popular officials were still being handed up in an endless stream.

Even Li Di, who is cautious and low-key, with high qualifications and prestige, inevitably suffers from four nitpicks.

Not to mention that since the reign of the first emperor, he has been repeatedly impeached for extravagance, extravagance, and high-profile behavior, and he is still a Kou Zhun who has not changed-it is related to the extravagance of the banquets he held in the mansion, and the fact that he made friends with friends. The excerpts were as dense as snowflakes, which made Zhao Zhen a little dumbfounded.

He couldn't help but think of the comment that the little master, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, said jokingly: If you talk about the most suitable person in the court to be a living target, if Kou Laoxier ranks second, there is really no one. Dare to be the first.

With this group of excited attitude, it's really amazing.

Reluctantly, Zhao Zhen picked up the few copies with more familiar names in the memorandum, and flipped through them symbolically.

He soon discovered that the stories mentioned were almost the same, only slightly different in the degree of exaggeration of the author's wording: they all accused Kou Zhun of spending a lot of money and specially hired "cook maids" for the New Year banquet. Fifty people, and there are also five cooks'. During the five days of the banquet, the money is like running water...

Although Zhao Zhen sympathized with the hardships of the people's livelihood, and his daily life was extremely frugal, he never demanded this from his subordinates.When he saw Kou Zhun's wasteful behavior of "that's too much to write down", he frowned at most, and didn't take it to heart.

No one is perfect, even the first emperor could endure Kou Zhun's extravagance, how could he not?

When he read "Only for a sheep's head, it costs thirty sheep's heads, leaving only the face, which is outrageously extravagant", Zhao Zhen, who was still smiling helplessly, couldn't help being surprised, and repeated on the spot : "Thirty pieces, only the face is left?!"

The New Year's Eve is special. Even ordinary people will spend a little extra for the celebration, which is reasonable.

But such a waste of ingredients is too much!

Seeing Zhao Zhen's eyebrows fixed, Yuan's minister who was on the side of the waiter thought about it, and said in a low voice: "Perhaps the officials don't know that, among the cooks in the capital, anyone who has a little reputation is proud of their worth, and the ingredients they serve are only suitable for the nobles." Food is definitely not just Kou Xiangyi's family doing this. Sheep's head lottery sounds simple, but in fact it is very particular, and it is not surprising that only the face and two meat of the sheep are taken."

Zhao Zhen was dumbfounded and shook his head in disbelief.

Even the little master who was once called "Little Gluttony" by the emperor's mouth, has never used it so carefully!

Thinking about it again, I have been ridiculed by the nickname of "gluttony", but the "precious delicacies" used, even if you count the simple imperial meals given by the late emperor on a whim, the sum is far inferior to this "sheep's head stick" The word "Zhen" in '... at this moment, the little master who is still suffering from the strong wind every day for the country and the people in the wild north...

Zhao Zhen felt both honored and uncontrollably sad.

Compared with this, his little wife is really pitiful!

I have never eaten these delicacies at all, but I have taken on that notoriety!

Zhao Zhen clearly remembered that what the little master likes to talk about the most are those interesting snacks that are hidden in the middle of the capital and are cheap and delicious.

Moreover, in the little master's house, there is only one chef, and he is not a famous chef, but the little master personally dictates some dishes that he has thought about, and teaches them bit by bit.

Thinking about it again, the so-called most extravagant times in a year, my little master, are just ordering some ready-made food and wine from Fan Lou to be delivered to the house, and what's more, there are only imperial meals occasionally sent by the palace.

I have never tasted a luxurious dish like sheep's head lotus!

"Ugh!"

The more Zhao Zhen thought about it, the more distressed he felt.

If it wasn't for the little master who was far away in the northwest, he almost wanted to ask Kou Xiang to borrow the cook immediately, and also concocted exactly the same banquet, and sent it to Lu Ci's mansion to reward the suffering and suffering.

Lu Ci didn't know that the former gentle student had already made up his heart for this "poor little boy" after thinking about it.

In modern times, he never tires of fine food and fine meat, even the most exquisite delicacies from mountains and seas, and rare delicacies that are hard to find in various places, he never eats less.

Since the Song Dynasty, he has not been as particular about food as usual, but the superiority of the ingredients themselves, supplemented by the cooking methods he has personally trained, after cooking, it is also tempting.

For example, pork is cheap at this time, it is hated by the nobles, and the poor don't like to eat it. Su Shi, who created the dish of "Dongpo Pork", may not have been born yet, but for Lu Ci, it is absolutely impossible. Pour his.

"..."

What is the little emperor doing?

He read it over and over a few times, but he still couldn't figure out why the little emperor sent him such a lengthy letter describing the deliciousness of the dishes such as 'sheep's head lotus' and urging him to return to Beijing. Who inspired you.

Do you want to arouse his greediness and tempt him to return to Beijing earlier with delicious food?

After guessing casually for a while, Lu Ci shook his head amusedly, and stopped worrying about this trivial matter.

He put away the little emperor's letter first, and put it in the secret compartment, and then took out the secret letter sealed tightly with wax varnish from it, and put it on a candle to bake it for a while, and the code written in orange juice appeared.

The content of the letter was very short, and it simply told him that Yuan Hao, the son of Li Deming, the party member, had been erratic recently and often went out of the house.After investigation, it was found out that in a small pavilion in a dark alley, under the name of a favored singing girl, she had a secret meeting with two people from the Song Dynasty.

——Song people?

Lu Ci raised his eyebrows.

His memory of history is really vague, and he only has a vague impression that Li Yuanhao once made trouble.

But exactly how the storm started, I don't know anything.

From this point of view, there are actually "Song traitors" who are causing trouble.

The candle flame flickered and danced slightly on Lu Ci's thoughtful face.

His index finger knuckles tapped lightly on the wooden table rhythmically, his thoughts spinning.After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly stopped the knuckles that were about to be knocked down again, put on the cloak that was casually placed on the back of the chair, and walked outside.

Li Yuanhao thought that for the sake of prudence, the dark secrets he carried out must have been done without anyone noticing.

But he didn't want to have pairs of eyes from Qinzhou closely following his every move.

Since half a year ago, Lu Ci noticed something was wrong from his sudden decrease in his whereabouts to the forum.

Although Li Yuanhao's temperament is cloudy and uncertain, he is a self-proclaimed man of great talent, and he has always been quite restrained about beauty, but now he seldom even stares at the discussion scene in person.

Aside from Li Yuanhao's encounter with a rare beauty, the insignificance of his obsession may not be mentioned, and the remaining clues all point to another conspiracy.

Seeing that Li Deming attached great importance to Li Yuanhao, and under the circumstances of the rest of his sons being incompetent, he clearly wanted to establish his stance as an heir. Naturally, these shady little moves could not be preparations for usurping the throne in advance, but were probably aimed at Song Dynasty.

Lu Ci ordered people to intensify their efforts to investigate Li Yuanhao, but Li Yuanhao was extremely cautious, bringing only a fixed number of confidantes with him each time, and also sent soldiers to keep the secret house airtight when not discussing matters—to prevent the insiders from entering. People playing tricks are also to prevent the news from leaking out, making it difficult for the secret work to start for a while.

It wasn't until half a year later that Li Yuanhao, who thought he was in perfect condition, relaxed his vigilance a little, and then he had the opportunity to take advantage of the meticulous work.

Li Yuanhao, who couldn't have dreamed of this, rushed to Li Deming's place after being informed by the soldiers.

As soon as he entered the room, the icy and snowy air on his body was quite incompatible with the surrounding warmth. He couldn't help frowning, took off his coat, and respectfully saluted the expressionless Li Deming: "Father."

Looking at his most proud heir, Li Deming was finally softened by his obedient attitude, and the anger in his heart subsided a little.

He nodded slightly: "Sit."

Li Yuanhao sat down generously, looked at Li Deming calmly, without saying a word.

Li Deming couldn't hold back, and cut straight to the point: "What happened to the two Han people you raised privately?"

Li Yuanhao was silent for a moment, and suddenly did not answer and asked: "I don't know, in Daddy's opinion, after being used to wearing silk and satin, and bowing to the Han people for so many inferior teas, can he still keep his clothes and fur, and be a hero of animal husbandry?"

Li Deming, who was dressed in red satin, was furious: "Unfilial son! What nonsense are you talking about?!"

Li Yuanhao snorted softly: "I'm just afraid that Dad has endured the humiliation for so many years, and finally ended up making a fake out!"

Li Deming suppressed his anger slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Since you know that I am bearing the burden of humiliation, then you know how people in Song Dynasty will react if the news of this matter leaks? Now that you are fledgling, if you act rashly, my hard work for many years will be in vain. !"

Li Yuanhao vowed: "How can I not know about Daddy's worries? Please rest assured Daddy. When I was discussing with those two good dogs, even half a mouse couldn't get in. There is absolutely no reason to leak the news. Besides, Song People are used to being comfortable, and they always underestimate us, how can they keep a close eye on people?"

What Li Yuanhao didn't say was that, in his opinion, even if Da Song really knew about his conspiracy with the two Han people, he might not take any action.

At best, they sent some talkative people who didn't know the so-called veterans came, and reprimanded them condescendingly, then gave them many rewards as rewards, and walked away.

If it was the founding emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, or Taizong, it would be fine, even the Emperor Zhenzong of the year turned a blind eye to them, let alone the young boy who is currently on the throne?

Even Taizong, who was hyped up by the Song people, was nothing more than an incompetent person who failed to bully the orphans and widows of Daliao and ended up bleeding himself.

Li Yuanhao smiled contemptuously.

Seeing his disapproving appearance, Li Deming had no choice but to scold him again, ordering him not to take it lightly, and let him go back.

I don't know if he is overly cautious, or there is a real omen somewhere, but he always... can't let go.

The author has something to say: Notes:

Cook lady: In the Tang and Song dynasties, female chefs were popular. Not only were there "cooking ladies" in the imperial palace, but it was also fashionable for rich and powerful families to hire female chefs to cook. A skilled cook.

According to legend, Cai Jing, the prime minister at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, had "hundreds of kitchen maids and 15 cooks."

Sheep's head lottery: The story of sheep's head lottery is adapted from "Jiangxing Miscellaneous Records" written by Liao Yingzhong, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Around Song Lizong’s Baoyou period, a prefect took leave of absence at home. Because the family’s food was “sloppy”, he remembered that he attended an official banquet in the past, “The cooking meal was served by a cook in Kyoto, and the spoon was very delicious”, so he couldn’t forget it.It happened that a friend was going to Hangzhou, so the prefect asked him to find a cook in Kyoto. As long as the craftsmanship is good, "Fei doesn't care about it."

Not long after, a friend wrote to say that the cook had been found. She was a young girl in her twenties, "has a good looks and can do calculations".A few days later, the cook also arrived, but stopped at a place five miles away from the city, and sent a porter to send a notice. The writing was very correct and elegant, and the wording was also very polite. Fortunately, I will serve you around the same day"; at the end, it reads: "Beg to pick up with four sedan chairs, and I will be decent", which means, please send a special car to meet you, so as not to hurt your face.The prefect didn't dare to neglect, so he sent a sedan chair to meet him, "When you enter the door, you should be elegant, green jacket and red skirt, look around, and then retreat."The prefect was very satisfied when he saw how she described her demeanor as elegant, knowledgeable about books and etiquette, and elegant in temperament.

A few days later, the prefect was going to invite some friends to his house for a meal.The cook forcefully invites her to try the cooking.The prefect said that tomorrow is not a big banquet, so there is no need to be too extravagant, just a few home-cooked dishes.The cook said, yes, I will draw up a recipe for you first.Immediately, I took a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote down the recipes and the ingredients used: five servings of "sheep's head sticks", each using ten sheep's heads;

"Sheep head stick" is a popular "sign dish" in the Song Dynasty. It is not today's toothpick mutton, but mutton rolls-the mutton head meat is rolled up with lard net oil, fried in hot oil until it is browned, and taken out with a large strainer. , It is the extremely delicious "sheep's head lottery".But the cook made five "sheep's head sticks", but the ingredients used required ten sheep's heads.As a side dish, the five dishes of "scallions" require [-] catties of green onions.This is too unreasonable.The eunuch was puzzled, but since the cook had just arrived, it was inconvenient to point it out, so he asked the cook to handle it.At the same time, they sent someone to secretly monitor how the cook cooks.

The next day, the cook took out a full set of kitchen utensils from the dowry she brought: pots, saucepans, basins, ladles, soup plates, everything was available, "all made by yellow and white", what do you mean?All made of gold and silver.As for "knives and anvils, all of them are exquisite", the onlookers were amazed.The cook rolled up her sleeves, put on her apron, sat down on the bed, and began to cut the mutton, but saw that she was "Fangzheng who is used to cooking, well-organized, and really has the potential to be lucky."It really is a unique skill.

But the cook's actions were too extravagant and wasteful. A sheep's head only "cut off the face", and all other parts were thrown on the ground and discarded.The guy who helped the kitchen asked her why.The cook said that according to the kitchen standards of our top cooks, there are only two pieces of cheek meat in a sheep's head that can be used as "sheep's head sticks".Meat from other parts is "not eaten by the nobles"!Only those with undeveloped taste buds eat it.Everyone was secretly shocked when they heard this, and thought, fortunately, the standards of Yangzhou fried rice and Shaxian snacks were not set by the cook, otherwise, no one would be able to afford them.Some folks felt that it was a pity to lose the sheep's head like this, so they picked it up from the ground and prepared to take it home and stew it for food.The cook made fun of them: "You are such a dog!" Everyone was very angry, but they were " speechless" and were overwhelmed by the cook's aura.

After picking the mutton head meat, the cook began to chop the onions—all the onions were “removed” and cut into slices according to the size of the plate.Then, peel off all the leaves outside the scallions, and only "take the ones whose hearts are as thin as the yellow of leeks" (no wonder it takes [-] catties of scallions), soak them in wine and vinegar, and serve them as cold dishes.The other dishes are also "fragrant, crispy, delicious, crisp and delicate".

At the dinner party, the prefect’s guests smacked their tongues and said, “Everyone cares about each other.” He asked where did the cook come from? The dishes are so delicious that they could be made into “The Great Song Dynasty on the Bite of the Tongue” .The prefect also felt that Bel had face.

After the banquet was withdrawn, the cook came forward to thank the eunuch, saying, "It's a good day to test the kitchen, and I'm lucky, and I will reward you as usual." It means to ask the eunuch to give money, saying that this is the rule of their cooks.The prefect asked someone to search for the standard of rewards as usual.The cook said: "How can there be a case for this?" She took out a few pieces of paper from her bag and said, "This is the list of rewards I got when I was a chef in a certain official office." The eunuch took it, see above The number of rewards recorded is usually two or three hundred.

The prefect didn't want to be compared by others, so he had to spend a lot of money to reward the cook.After two months, the prefect found an excuse and sent the cook away.In private, the prefect said to his friends, "My generation is weak, and this kind of cook should not be used frequently!" Such a "tall" cook, if it is not a wealthy family, how can it be used. ("Feng Ya Song: Visible Great Song Civilization"-Society)