"The third brother has come a long way and it is bitterly cold in northern Xinjiang. The second brother has nothing good to entertain you. He only has some local dishes and shochu. Please don't find it too simple. Please" Zhu Ruodeng, the king of Hebei, said in a speech at Erkou City (Ir.
In the governor's office in Kutsk, a banquet was held in honor of King Zhu Ruofeng of Yu, Wang Guoxi of Wu Jingbo, and generals Chen Shangchuan, Li Shiyuan and Deng Yao.
Just as the crown prince wanted to win over the third brother, he also wanted to win the support of the prince's younger brother, so the banquet was very grand. To say "don't be too humble" is to be modest. In fact, the whole banquet was delicious.
One after another, you can find delicacies from the mountains and seas, such as tiger bones, bear paws, shark fins, deer breasts, seal meat, etc.
"Second brother, you are too polite. If this can still be called simple, I really don't know what luxury is," Zhu Ruofeng said with a smile and a toast.
Zhu Ruodeng also smiled, raised his glass and said: "Third brother, this shochu was presented by Franzbekov, the Rakshasa warlord who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. It is said to be the royal wine of the Rakshasa court. Come, try it. How does it taste?"
After hearing this, Zhu Ruofeng had a drink with him. As soon as the wine entered his intestines, he felt burning. He couldn't help but sigh, "This Rakshasa wine is really strong!"
"The third brother doesn't know something. In this bitter cold place, if the wine is not strong, no one will drink it. Hahaha, come on, have another drink. You and I haven't seen each other for a long time. I miss my second brother."
"Second brother, I miss you too!"
While drinking, the two brothers chatted about family matters, recalled interesting childhood stories, and danced with joy. As they drank and drank, the atmosphere of the banquet gradually heated up.
Zhu Ruodeng suddenly laughed, "Third brother, Brother Yu, let you see something good." After saying that, he winked at the chamberlain.
The waiter bowed and left, and a moment later, a middle-aged Rakshasa musician carrying a big piano entered the tent. After saluting, he sat upright and started playing.
Zhu Ruofeng listened to the melodious sound of the piano. The timbre was very similar to the yangqin, pipa, and guzheng, and the style was also like the guzheng. He couldn't help but be surprised, "Second brother, where did you find a Rakshasa musician who can play the guzheng? It's really strange."
"Haha, third brother, this is not a guzheng, but a Rakshasa Gusli. If you don't believe me, look at it. It has more strings than the guzheng."
Zhu Ruofeng took a closer look and found that the number of strings on this zither was indeed more than that of the guqin. There were actually 30 strings. In this era, the guzheng only had 13 or 16 strings. Even in later generations, it only had 25 strings at most. And the Gusli qin had only 13 or 16 strings.
The strings range from 5 to 30, and can reach up to 30.
There was a melodious and cold piano sound, and six beautiful Rakshasa dancers, wearing looming white gauze, danced gracefully. These beauties danced steadily and smoothly, and some imitated natural images while dancing, such as a
A tree, a mountain, etc.; some dance very fast, like a flywheel.
Seeing that his younger brother was watching it with great interest, Zhu Ruodeng laughed and said, "This is the dance of the Rakshasa people: the round dance. Since the third brother likes it, Brother Yu will give this musician and dancer to the third brother."
"Oh, how could this happen! How dare I take away my elder brother's beauty!" Zhu Ruofeng hurriedly declined.
"No matter how hard it is, brothers are like brothers, and they are just actors, so how can they compare to our brotherhood?" Zhu Ruodeng insisted on sending him away, and his words were righteous. In this evil imperial society, these princes and grandsons do not regard actors as human beings at all, but
They were sent around like animals. In fact, in the hearts of those feudal emperors who kept saying "for the sake of the common people", the common people were not considered "common people" at all, but just "animals". Only those who stood at the top of the power pyramid
Only the powerful are qualified to be "common people".
This gift is a bit expensive, Zhu Ruofeng muttered to himself, should he accept it or not? When he left the capital, the eldest brother saw him off in person and gave himself a mink shawl; now the second brother also gave himself a musician and a dancer. Both brothers
He is so good to himself. Behind Bonon's family affection, he is probably for the position of prince. He grew up in the palace and has long been accustomed to the tactics of power, so he naturally understands this.
On the surface, he is neither as knowledgeable and steady as his eldest brother, nor as resolute and decisive as his second brother. He seems a bit plain and ordinary, but in fact, he is just "sensitive to things but cautious in speaking", knowing what he knows and what he says.
Just don’t say it.
Zhu Ruodeng once asked his teacher, Zhang Luxiang, a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, for advice on how to get along with his two brothers.
Zhang Luxiang was a famous Neo-Confucian in the Ming Dynasty. He was a native of Tongxiang, Zhejiang. Because he had lived in Yangyuan Village, Qingfeng Township, he was called "Mr. Yangyuan" by scholars.
Since he is a great Confucian, he naturally educates his disciples to follow the principles of brotherhood and harmony. To put it bluntly, neither of them should offend.
"On your Royal Highness's journey to the north, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness King Ji give you gifts, you may accept them; but if they ask you to express your stance, you must not express your stance. You must not offend your two brothers, but you must also keep your distance from them. Don't stay far away.
, don’t get close. Remember! Remember!” At that time, Master Zhang’s expression when he said these words to himself is still in front of his eyes.
Since Master Zhang said that gifts can be accepted but attitudes cannot be expressed, then we will not be polite to the gift given by the second brother. Zhu Ruofeng was a little moved.
Seeing his hesitation, Zhu Ruodeng said hurriedly: "These actors are all presented by Franzbekov, the Rakshasa governor who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. They look fresh and are not rare. If the third brother does not accept them, he is looking down on Brother Fool!"
”
"Since the second brother said so, then the younger brother is being disrespectful." Zhu Ruofeng smiled and filled a glass of soju, "Thank you second brother for your kindness, and I would like to give you a glass."
"Well, that's right. My brothers, please show me your courtesy." Zhu Ruodeng smiled boldly and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.
As gifts were given and received, the banquet atmosphere reached its climax.
The grand finale arrived, and a team of maids served plates of golden bacon.
Zhu Ruofeng took a bite. It tasted a bit like three-layer meat, with a soft texture and a bit of bite. He asked strangely: "Second brother, what kind of meat is this? It's so special, I've never tasted it before."
"Haha, third brother, this is the meat of Kun and Peng. There is a fish in the North Ming Dynasty, and its name is Kun. The Kun is so big, I don't know how many thousands of miles it is. When it turns into a bird, its name is Peng. The back of the Peng, I don't know how many thousands of miles it has.
It flies in anger, and its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. Come here, you have a taste, this meat is something you can only meet but cannot ask for." Zhu Ruodeng said with some pride.
The so-called Kunpeng meat is actually whale meat. In this era, whaling technology was backward, and it was not easy to catch whales. A few days ago, a whale stranded on the coast of Okhotsk. The local tribe hunted it and sacrificed its meat to King Ji.
Zhu Ruodeng just used it to entertain his younger brother and show off his strength to him.
Sure enough, when Zhu Ruofeng heard that it was Kunpeng's flesh, his eyes showed reverence, "Oh, Kunpeng is a prehistoric alien species. The second brother is really good, he can even get Kunpeng's flesh. It's amazing! It's amazing!"
"Third brother, I'm so impressed. Although this Kunpeng is a strange species from the ancient times, my Ming Dynasty has a fierce tiger and is invincible in the world. It's just a big fish. It's no big deal."
The tone of the word is emphasized, which means: I am now in control of the military. If you want to surrender to me, you must do it as soon as possible.
Zhu Ruofeng pretended not to understand, shouted with admiration: "Second brother is mighty," and then passed him by.
This chapter has been completed!