Chapter 20: Hanging sheepskin high, alert and seeking treatment
Chapter Twenty
Yang Jian said proudly: "This old slave should do everything for the sake of the government and the family. It is his duty."
Zhao Ji said: "You have arranged so many delicacies for me, but I can't eat them. It's a waste!"
Yang Jian said, this was the first time he heard Zhao Guanjia say the word "waste".
Zhao Ji took a look and saw that if he didn’t eat this, wouldn’t it be even more wasteful?
He said: "I'm going to have a meal."
The great eunuch Yang Jian immediately announced in a loud voice: "Pass the meal!"
Several eunuchs immediately set up three royal tables and a dragon chair in Jimu Pavilion, and wiped them again and again, until the red sandalwood tables and chairs were polished until they shined.
Then, more than a hundred young and beautiful palace maids filed into the pavilion in orderly order, holding red sandalwood trays in their hands.
They opened the silver cover on the tray, and the tempting aroma of the food immediately floated out. They placed the food on the three royal dining tables, and then exited the pavilion in an orderly manner...
Zhao Ji saw that these more than a hundred young and beautiful palace maids presented more than a hundred delicacies, and the same three portions of more than thirty delicacies were placed on three dining tables...
Zhao Ji secretly sighed: Is this what the ancient emperors said when they ate, "eat one, look at two, and look at three"?
While announcing the name of the dish, the accompanying eunuch took out the silver piece already inserted in the plate and showed it to Zhao Guan's family to prove that there was no poison in this dish...
Zhao Ji, who has some knowledge of modern chemistry, knows the principle of using silver tablets or silver needles to test for poison.
Mainly here to test arsenic, a poison commonly used in ancient times.
The chemical name of arsenic is arsenic trioxide. Due to backward production technology in ancient times, arsenic is accompanied by a small amount of sulfur and sulfide.
Therefore, if the poison arsenic is added to the food, the sulfur in the arsenic will come into contact with the silver, and a chemical reaction will occur, causing a layer of black "silver sulfide" to be generated on the surface of the silver flakes or needles.
Zhao Ji knew that if the poisoner did not use poison like arsenic but used silver tablets or silver needles, it would be basically impossible to detect whether it was poisonous.
At this time, a fat eunuch accompanying him came to the dining table, picked up the public chopsticks, picked up a bite of the first steamed mandarin fish, put it on his own plate, put on his own chopsticks, and put it into his mouth.
Chew it quickly and swallow it.
Then, this steamed mandarin fish was served in front of Zhao Ji...
After Zhao Ji took three bites of steamed mandarin fish, he was taken away from him by the eunuch and placed at the far end of the table out of his reach.
Zhao Ji, who has mastered historical knowledge, knew that this was a strict rule in the palace. Emperors and empresses could not show what they particularly like to eat when eating to prevent someone from poisoning the food. Even for the dishes they like very much, they could not express their favorite food.
We must strictly abide by the rule of "no more than three bites of food".
The fat eunuch who tested poisons was served in front of Zhao Ji every time he tried a dish...
At this lunch, although Zhao Ji only took three bites of each dish, he couldn't bear the variety. There were so many kinds of fish, chicken, sheep, birds and animals, delicacies, vegetables, fresh fruits and so on. He was really full.
.
Zhao Ji saw that he only had three bites per plate on his table, and there were still a lot of delicacies left. There were two other tables with untouched delicacies just for him, the emperor, to watch.
He felt that after the original owner Song Huizong ordered the withdrawal of lunch, the eunuchs and maids would not dare to steal the imperial meal, so they could only throw it away and waste it.
Zhao Ji said to Yang Jian who was serving beside him: "Give the remaining imperial meals to the eunuchs and maids inside and outside Jimu Pavilion!"
"Thank you, Lord!" After Yang Jian took the lead in thanking him, all the eunuchs and palaces were flattered. They knelt down and kowtowed, and shouted in unison:
"Thank you, Lord!"
Zhao Ji enjoys this feeling of being superior to the emperor.
However, he knew that he must work hard to govern and enrich the country and strengthen the army. Otherwise, according to historical development, when the Jin army went south for the first time, he and a group of traitorous officials fled the capital in panic and passed the throne to his son Zhao Huan. Waiting for the Jin Dynasty
When the Jin army once again went south to besiege Bianjing in 1127 AD, he and his eldest son Emperor Zhao Huan, as well as tens of thousands of harem beauties, maids, princes, concubines (princesses), ministers, and craftsmen, all became prisoners of the Jin army.
By then, the good days of being an emperor will be over.
What follows is an extremely humiliating existence. For example, the original owner will watch his beloved concubines and emperors (princesses) being humiliated by the golden man...
According to the development of history, by that time, I, the Zhao Guan family, and my eldest son Emperor Zhao Huan would have to kneel three times around the mausoleum of Wanyan Aguda, naked and covered with hot sheep skins that had just been slaughtered.
, but the onlookers laughed and ridiculed...
When Zhao Ji thought of this, he clenched his teeth with hatred.
He felt that the dishes containing mutton in the imperial meal he just ate were no longer fragrant.
He asked Yang Jian: "Is the mutton used in the imperial meal just now the meat of a slaughtered sheep?"
Yang Jian immediately replied: "Report to the official family, all the sheep used are meat from live sheep!"
Zhao Jidao: "Send someone to bring the sheepskin of the sheep slaughtered today to this Jimu Pavilion."
Yang Jian didn't know what he meant, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He immediately sent his young eunuchs to run out of Jimu Pavilion and down Long Live Mountain to pass on the Holy Sage's oral instructions...
Zhao Ji said to Yang Jian again: "Today, you will draw up a list of officials in Beijing who want to visit Genyue.
The donations they make to Genyue should be collected in the name of ‘donating for the country, relieving the victims, and supplementing military expenditures’! It will also leave those upright ministers speechless.”
"Official sage, I will make a list of the first batch of ministers to visit Genyue tomorrow."
The original owner, Song Huizong, was an artist emperor who loved calligraphy and painting. He would let his eunuchs carry pens, inks, paper and inkstones with them.
At this time, Yang Jian took up his pen and drafted a list of some officials in Beijing who would visit Genyue tomorrow...
Zhao Ji saw that the list lacked corrupt officials and the traitor Cai Jing, and he was very unhappy. He said:
"Taifu Yang, why didn't the visitor to Genyue write the name Taishi Cai?"
"If you go back to the official's house, it's because the old slave didn't think carefully!" Yang Jian was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and replied:
"The old slave thought before that Grand Master Cai was old and had retired from office last year, so his name was not included.
However, after being reminded by the officials, the old slave felt that the officials were really wise!
Although Taishi Cai became an official, he still had to attend court meetings on New Year's Day.
What's more, when Taishi Cai was prime minister, he was favored by the officials and received generous rewards from them.
Therefore, Taishi Cai must be included among them!"
Zhao Ji nodded with satisfaction and said: "If you love me, please fill in the list of Grand Master Cai and continue writing the list!"
"I obey the order." After Yang Jian stood up, he continued to write the list...
After he finished writing, he gave the list of people to visit Genyue tomorrow to Zhao Ji.
Zhao Ji took a look at the list and saw that there were more than a hundred names of officials in Beijing written on it.
Zhao Ji has no impression of some of these hundreds of names.
However, corrupt officials such as Cai Jing and Wang Fu are still among them.
Zhao Ji nodded with satisfaction.
The great eunuch Yang Jian finally breathed a long sigh of relief and finally completed the list that the officials told him to write.
Zhao Ji added: "Mr. Yang, I will send someone this afternoon to estimate the family assets of the ministers listed on this list.
When they enter Genyue, they must pay one-tenth of their family wealth."
"Old slave, I obey the order!" Yang Jian agreed happily on the surface, but in his heart he was afraid to say it!
After all, it was very offending for him to be assigned such an errand by an official. Moreover, many of the people he was about to offend were high-ranking officials!
But Zhao Ji smiled with satisfaction.
Now, Zhao Ji is forcing himself to take advantage of officials, especially corrupt officials.
Why doesn't Zhao Ji use thunderous means to imprison all the corrupt officials he knows and hold them accountable?
He knew that the judicial system of the Northern Song Dynasty was very sound.
If you want to arrest those corrupt officials who claim to be scholar-bureaucrats and put them in jail, you must have conclusive evidence, and you must also go through a long trial to verify the evidence. Finally, you must measure, judge, and calculate according to the "Song Xingtong" code.
How much wealth should be confiscated from corrupt officials, but corrupt officials cannot be killed...
In short, if the evidence is solid, it will definitely take a few months to deal with a corrupt official.
And Zhao Ji wants to get more money as soon as possible to use for military expenses and to relieve people affected by disasters everywhere...
Zhao Ji knew that forcibly harvesting the wealth of Beijing officials and wealthy businessmen was not a long-term solution, but it was still very useful in resolving an urgent need.
Moreover, although it will cause dissatisfaction and reluctance to donate money to the corrupt officials in power in the DPRK and China, no matter how dissatisfied they are, they will never think that the Zhao family will settle accounts with corrupt officials like them.
At this time, the eunuch who went to deliver the holy edict to get the sheepskins ran back to Jimu Pavilion in Long live Mountain. He brought two young eunuchs from the imperial kitchen, each holding two blood-stained sheepskins in their hands.
Zhao Jidao: "Hang these two sheepskins under the eaves of Jimu Pavilion."
Everyone was puzzled, but they still complied.
Zhao Ji must remind himself that he must work hard and never become a prisoner of the Jin soldiers like the original owner Song Huizong. He and his son Zhao Huan, naked and covered in bloody sheepskins, knelt in front of the Jin Taizu Mausoleum to confess their "crimes"... p>
Zhao Ji saw Yang Jian's surprised look, and when he couldn't tell his true thoughts, he said:
"The reason why I hang up the sheepskin under the eaves of this Jimu Pavilion is to warn the officials that they must work hard to govern and enrich the country and strengthen the army. Otherwise, the wolf-like barbarians from the north will bully our Song Dynasty like wolves preying on sheep!"<
/p>
Yang Jian nodded in agreement and echoed Zhao Guanjia's words, saying:
"The old slave will definitely convey the official's edict to the adults who come to this pavilion!"
Zhao Ji added: "Not only that, but also a set of tables and chairs, pens, ink, paper and inkstones should be set up under these two sheepskins."
"According to the order." Yang Jian replied immediately, but his face showed an expression that he didn't know what he meant.
Zhao Jidao: "In order to prevent the wolf-like barbarians from the north from bullying our Song Dynasty like wolves hunting sheep, shouldn't our Song Dynasty have a strong army?"
Yang Jian nodded in agreement.
Zhao Ji added: "A strong army requires military expenditures!
This piece of ink, paper and inkstone is for officials and wealthy businessmen to write down the amount of their wealth pledged and sign it."
Yang Jian:…………
***The author has something to say***
3100 words chapter, please give me a monthly ticket!