The majestic emperor eats whatever he sees. He is interested in all the food of the Li family. He can't wait to pick up a finger to taste the saltiness of the Li family's latrine.
What if it suits your taste?
I am such a childlike and curious man.
Men are all big pig's hooves, and men also like to eat big pig's hooves.
In this era, pigs are actually domestic livestock. In the Chinese character "家", the hijab above represents a house, and the character "豕" below is actually the word "pig" in oracle bone inscriptions, which means that pigs are raised in the house. It's just a home.
It's just that the meat of pigs is not that delicious, and the powerful scholar-bureaucrats think that pigs are dirty and pork is something for the lower class, so they don't bother to eat it.
Tonight, Li Qinzai opened a door to a new world for Li Zhi.
Li Zhi didn't expect that the stewed pig's trotters would be so delicious. The melt-in-the-mouth texture made him want to stop eating.
He no longer cares about appearances or anything like that. In front of Li Qinzai, Li Zhi doesn't have to act like an emperor at all and can completely let himself go.
Li Zhi, whose mouth was full of oil after eating, had light in his eyes, as if he had found the direction of his life, and the way he rushed towards it regardless of his own life was inexplicably touching.
Serious men are the most handsome, and men who chew pig trotters seriously... can still be considered handsome.
In the blink of an eye, the three pig's trotters were eaten. Li Zhi sipped his oily fingers and reluctantly looked at the remaining five pig's trotters in the casserole.
He rationally told himself that he couldn't eat any more, as his blood vessels would burst if he ate any more, but that damn desire seemed to turn into an evil little devil, constantly encouraging him in his mind to eat one more, and another...
"If you eat one more, I won't eat it!" Li Zhi gritted his teeth, picked up another pig's trotter with his bare hands, opened his mouth and gnawed it down.
Even the pig's trotters in the casserole seemed insulted by these words.
"Your Majesty, you can't eat any more, or your blood vessels will burst..." Li Qinzai hurriedly advised.
"What happened?"
"Your blood vessels," Li Qinzai carefully explained: "It's like a firecracker stuck in cow dung, bang! It exploded..."
The metaphor is not scary, but disgusting.
Li Zhi imagined the scene of cow dung exploding, splattering all over the floor...
I lost my appetite in an instant, and the pig's trotters in my hands no longer smelled good. They were tasteless, as if they had entered sage mode.
"Jingchu, you are really a talent, even the metaphors are so vivid and apt." Li Zhi sighed.
"Don't waste things. Keep them and put them away. I'll eat them tomorrow. I didn't expect pig's trotters to have such a flavor. Jingchu is really extraordinary. Anything in your hands can become magical."
Li Qinzai was relieved and quickly ordered his servants to make a pot of ginkgo leaf water to relieve Li Zhi's fatigue and lower his blood pressure.
"Your Majesty was busy eating just now, and I couldn't bear to disturb him. In fact, I have something to say." Li Qinzai lowered his head and said.
Li Zhi seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "You say."
"Well, my father, who is serving as the governor of Runzhou far away, has a name that goes beyond his name. He accidentally broke his leg two months ago. I am anxious and frightened. I want to ask your majesty for a long leave and go to Runzhou with my wife and children to serve my father. On your knees, I will fulfill my filial piety as a son of man, and I hope your majesty will grant me your permission."
Li Zhi narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "I thought only your cows would accidentally break their legs, but I didn't expect that your father also has the same hobby..."
"Hobby..." Li Qinzai was stunned and said hurriedly: "It's not a hobby, it's an accident, an accident."
"My father, who is safe and sound far away in Runzhou, would feel how he would feel if he knew that his only son used this excuse to take a long leave from me. Your filial piety really made me laugh, haha."
Sweat broke out on Li Qinzai's forehead. His tone just now was so sincere. What went wrong?
"Your Majesty, I am serious. I really miss my parents. I would like to take my wife and children to Runzhou to visit Cheng Huan. Please allow me to do so."
Li Zhi sighed and said, "Did you feel wronged by the Queen this morning?"
Li Qinzai was startled, shook his head and said: "I am not aggrieved. Everything the queen said is reasonable. From the standpoint of the Tian family, every word she said cannot be refuted. It is me who is naive."
Li Zhi said calmly: "Reason is indeed reasonable, but love is ruthless. I don't know how emperors in the past behaved and acted, but my Tang Dynasty will not do such foolish things."
"In the fourth year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty swept through Mobei, conquered the Turks, and the barbarian states came to Chang'an to congratulate and honor the late emperor as 'Tian Khan'. Jingchu, do you think the title 'Tian Khan' was just because of the power of the Tang Dynasty?
Conquer the world and make the barbarian Di Rong have no choice but to obey?"
"Wrong. Since the beginning of the first emperor, the Tang Dynasty has been able to bring the world back to its heart and make the barbarians surrender. This is not only because of its invincible military strength, but also because the emperors of the Tang Dynasty are broad-minded and open to all rivers."
"As long as you submit to the Tang Dynasty and are used by the emperor, all barbarians inside and outside will be treated equally and will never be questioned. If you don't believe it, you might as well ask the Turkic Ashina people and ask Qibi what power he has.
Ask the foreign generals who hold military power in the Tang army."
"I can tolerate even foreigners and let them take over the military power without any doubts. How can I not tolerate a minister who has made many contributions to the country and has meritorious service in three dynasties?"
"Ambition, desire for power, disloyalty...a joke! Don't say that you, Li Jingchu, are not this kind of person at all. Even if you are, if I don't even have the ability to control this ambition, how can I be the emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Qinzai was moved in his heart and his eyes gradually turned red. At this moment, Li Zhi finally looked a bit like the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
And Li Qinzai felt for the first time that the Tang Dynasty had a broad mind that could accommodate all things.
In this hot land, the Tang Dynasty could accommodate everything, including light and evil.
Its broad-mindedness comes from the emperor's self-confidence, his commanding military prowess, and his boldness and frankness mixed with a hint of Hu people's blood.
Mix these together, and then add a little tolerance and compassion, a little blood and poetry, and a moonlight in the heart of the down-and-out talent.
All these together make Datang unique.
"I... I am grateful to His Majesty for your consideration and service. I cannot be more grateful." Li Qinzai said with emotion.
Li Zhi said in a deep voice: "I know that you have been wronged by the queen. Don't worry about the woman's words. I have never had the slightest doubt about you. If I don't even believe in your loyalty, the world is so big.
Who else can I trust? Can I really just be a loner?"
"Don't mention the matter of asking for leave anymore. I know your grievances, but you must also know, Jingchu, that the Tang Dynasty's surname is Li, not Wu!"
"If the Queen wants to quit because of her few words, it will be a great loss to the Tang Dynasty. I cannot afford the loss. Jingchu calms down. I will use you again in the future. You are the most important asset to me.
The utensils must not be covered with dust or lost in the world, otherwise they will be punished by heaven."
Li Qinzai lowered his head and was silent for a long time, then suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I... still want to take a long vacation."
Li Zhi was stunned and said, "Didn't I make it clear enough just now?"
"Your Majesty has made it very clear. I am deeply moved and vow to continue to serve the country in the future, but I still want to take a long leave."