The place where Li Po entertained guests was in a side hall of the inner hall of Liangyi Hall. It was considered a relatively private place for the emperor, similar to the study rooms in various mansions.
There is a pond, two woodlands, and a garden outside, which are very unique in winter and summer.
Li Po prefers to have lunch here. In summer, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. In winter... needless to say, it's a bit cold if the windows are open.
At this time, the palace has been made as warm as spring by the palace people, and the floor is also very warm. There is a fire dragon burning. If you stay here at night, you may get angry after sleeping all night.
Xiao Yu and Wen Yanbo were led into the palace. Although Xiao Yu had already had a premonition that he was going to be in tragedy, the moment he saw the situation in the palace, he couldn't help but look at Wen Yanbo sadly. Damn this.
Isn’t it too complete a loss?
Your Majesty, what kind of trouble are you making?
Wen Yanbo was in a good mood, and he knew... Huh, what's wrong with your Xiao family's great success? What's the matter with the plentiful descendants? I, a member of the Wen family, will always keep you in check.
Well, he wasn't very ambitious, so Xiao Yu just showed off to him a little bit and then let him hit him with a stick.
Of course, Feng Deyi's funeral did affect Wen Dalin's mood...
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"We're all here, no need to pay homage, come on, come on, sit down."
Li Po warmly greeted the two important ministers and sat down on the roof. It was mainly because he was a little embarrassed to invite people into the palace on the night of the first day of the new year.
It wasn't that there was something urgent, but because he had been in the harem these past few days, and the women in the harem were chattering and trying every means to please him, which made him a little annoyed.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to the rules of the palace, relatives of the concubines were allowed to visit the palace. As you can imagine, there were cries almost everywhere.
A palace wall, the inside and outside are two worlds, but the continuous family and blood lines are cut off, which makes the scene a bit miserable.
Li Po simply left the inner confinement and hid in peace, but it was quiet when he came outside. But as Wen Yanbo said, he had no relatives. When other people reunited with their families, he was alone, and he felt a little bit inside.
feel bad.
So with a roll of his eyes, he summoned the two prime ministers to come in and "share joys and sorrows" together.
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"I thought Your Majesty was recruiting ministers to the palace for a banquet to celebrate his achievements, but unexpectedly there were only two ministers and Wen Pushe. This... Your Majesty has something to discuss with the ministers?"
Listening to Xiao Yu's words, Wen Yanbo almost laughed out loud. This big mouth is hopeless. How did you know that His Majesty is in a hurry?
This is obviously because the emperor found it boring and wanted two people to accompany him to talk, and he didn't like it to be too lively, so... How understandable is this?
As he expected, Li Po smiled slightly, waved his hand to the palace servants to bring the wine and food, and said casually: "What? I have to discuss something to invite you here?
Can't we, the monarch and his ministers, have a few drinks together and talk about stories from all over the world? Qing and Li Yuan are relatives, they seem to be quite close. When I was in the north...
At that time, Li Yuan was appointed to stay in Taiyuan, and he was actually the governor-general in charge of the two states. What official position did Pei Ji hold at that time?"
Wen Yanbo didn't say anything. He didn't want to give Xiao Yu eye drops at this time.
When Xiao Yu heard Li Yuan's name, his liver trembled. He knew that he had said the wrong thing. The emperor was not satisfied, so he brought up the old things.
In the years since he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, the emperor has never clearly said what happened to Xiao Shiwen and Li Yuan...
"Pei Xuanzhen seemed to be serving as the palace supervisor of Jinyang at that time."
"Ah, yes, he is the Palace Supervisor of Jinyang. At that time, I heard that he had a close relationship with Li Yuan, and he even went to Jinyang Palace to drink and have fun, and let the palace people accompany him.
At that time, I thought, these two people are really seeking death, and have reached the point where they have no regard for the integrity of their ministers... Later, I also understood that the world is in chaos and monsters appear in large numbers, so it is normal for them to have a disobedient heart."
At this point, he felt that he was going too far, so he smiled and said: "Not to mention this, I don't often hold banquets in the palace, but it should be okay to invite two prime ministers to the palace to accompany me, right?"
Seeing the emperor's argument, Xiao Shiwen's face turned red and white. Wen Yanbo suppressed his laughter and began to change his mind, "Your Majesty said it seriously, how can Li Yuan and other rebellious officials and traitors compare with Your Majesty?
This is the first time that Xiao Zhongshu has come to attend His Majesty’s private banquet, so he is quite flattered. It seems that Your Majesty will have to invite him to the palace to talk to him from time to time in the future.”
Li Po laughed and nodded: "What you said is absolutely true. You and I, the emperor and the ministers, are actually one body. We should really get closer to each other and not always care about the differences between the emperor and the ministers."
The words warmed his heart and lungs. Xiao Yu didn't know that this was the emperor's usual tactic, and his mood was a bit ups and downs.
In fact, as Wen Yanbo said, it was not the first time for him to attend a banquet in the palace, but it was the first time for him to attend the emperor's private banquet.
Nowadays, everyone in the civil and military dynasties knows how difficult it is to have a meal in the palace. The emperor does not like to treat guests to dinner, but his ministers feel that the opportunity is rare.
Therefore, being able to enter the palace and participate in Yanyin gradually became a sign of seniority. Rare things are more valuable.
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Food and wine were quickly placed on the table. A small square table was just the right place for three people to sit around and drink together. What was it if it wasn't a private banquet?
Li Po greeted the two of them to sit down, picked up the wine cup and said: "On the first day of the new year, the whole family is reunited. It's not easy to invite you into the palace, but it's so hard to get up. Come, let's drink this cup and treat it as my own.
I apologize to my two beloved ladies."
The two of them bowed in turn, raised their glasses with both hands and drank it all in one gulp. At the same time, they were very happy in their hearts. How could a family reunion be as important as drinking with the emperor?
Li Po's mood also improved, "Eat food, eat food. The dishes in the palace are much more exquisite than before. You guys have a try to see if they suit your taste."
That was certainly in line with his taste. Li Po was always a man who never tired of food and food. A few years ago, because the world was uncertain, he only secretly found a few cooks to enter the palace.
Now that the situation has been stabilized and the world is no longer able to resist, the generals from various places are ordered to send several famous chefs to the palace, and finally taste the delicious food from all over the world.
The chicken from the mother-in-law's house can only be regarded as a snack.
The monarch and his ministers drank a few cups, used a few chopsticks to fill their stomachs, and started talking about the delicious food.
Wen Yanbo was from Jinyang and had been an official in the north.
Xiao Yu's ancestral home is Lanling, but he has never been to Lanling's ancestral land in his life. He can only be regarded as a Jiangling native. However, after living in Chang'an for thirty or forty years, his taste has long become the same as that of northerners.
Therefore, both of them like meat, but don't like fish very much, and their taste is much heavier than that of southerners.
But when talking about delicious food in front of the emperor, they all chose southern delicacies.
Because the people there can get their hands on anything, and there are many tricks, so they can learn from the past and learn from the present, and then add poetry to it, which gives Li Po, a country bumpkin, a lot of knowledge.
Of course, Li Po also understood that despite the excitement these two people mentioned, in fact they may not have enjoyed it all. Many of them were based on what they read, either from books or from other people's stories.
Food goes well with wine, and for men, wine is an eternal topic.
The topic was opened, and Xiao Yu was no longer restrained. He smiled and said: "Wang Wugong's wine recorder has read it and explained the wine recipe. It is really eye-opening. If you follow this to collect the best wines in the world, you will definitely be able to do it." Return with a full load.”
Wen Yanbo was also happy, "Wang Wugong, we are from the same hometown, and he is about the same age as me. He became famous early. When he was young, he followed his elder brother Wang Tong to Beijing, and he also paid a visit to Yang Su, Duke Jingwu of Chu State.
If he hadn't been addicted to alcohol, with his talent and learning, his achievements should be no less than those of An and Shiwen."
Li Po twirled his wine glass and recalled the scene when he first met Wang Ji's brothers. He couldn't help but smile and said: "Wang Ji is not bad now. He writes very good poems and his reputation has been spread all over the world. Even the people of Silla came. Will ask for his poems.
It's just that the writings are a bit out of tune, forgetting about wine classics and wine recipes, there is also a biography of Mr. Wudou, nothing serious.
I have raised him for so many years, and I have given him several bottles of wine, but instead I have fed him a Mr. Doujiu. Do you think it is a loss?"
Both ministers were amused and burst into laughter.
Since Wang Ji wrote a book about wine and wrote good poems, he became famous. Therefore, he was affectionately called Mr. Doujiu by people at the time. His status in the world was not any worse than that of Li Taibai who came after him. In fact, he was considered successful. .
Wen Yanbo said: "Compared to his two brothers, it is indeed not satisfactory."
Li Po glanced at Wen Yanbo and said that I hate people like you the most. I have heard of Wang Tong, a great writer in the former Sui Dynasty. Who is the other person? Are you bullying me for not memorizing the hero's book?
Wen Yanbo understood it and was about to explain it to the emperor.
Xiao Yu had already smiled and said: "Are you talking about brothers Wang Tong and Wang Ning? I met them both when they were in Chang'an. They are both well-educated people, and their talents and learning are incomparable to ordinary people.
There is a brother like this...if it were me, I would have to drink to drown my sorrows and become an idle person."
Wen Yanbo looked at Xiao Yu with a smile and thought to himself, if you say this, you are right. Why do you need to compete with others and always want to show off?
Sure enough, Li Po raised his wine glass and said, "I have also figured it out. Spring is when a hundred flowers bloom. They are both brothers with great talents and learning, but they have come to the same destination through different paths."
Without any one of them, the world would be a little bit eclipsed. Come and have a drink with me. I hope there will be more such people in the world and that they can add some glory to the Tang Dynasty."
"Your Majesty is so courageous."
"With your Majesty's broad mind, why worry about the Tang Dynasty not being prosperous?"
The two ministers flattered each other and drank another drink.
The atmosphere was already tense, so Li Po asked caringly about their family affairs.
Xiao Yu pretended to say that there were too many people in the family, and every time there was a festival, he was even busier than handling government affairs at Zhongshu.
Many times, he can recognize all the people of the same generation, and most of the people of the next generation, and they have to be from the near branch. As long as they are a little far away, when they meet, they have to tell them which room they are from. .
As for the grandchildren, no matter how far or near they are, as long as they don't meet often, only once this year or once next year, they can recognize 30% of them, even if Xiao Shiwen has a good memory.
After making several jokes, Xiao Yu developed a good memory and stopped talking to any relatives he didn't recognize, so as not to recognize the wrong person.
This chapter has been completed!