At the end of February, the imperial court issued an edict to Wu Jie and Zhang Jun. After receiving the edict, both parties naturally set off in a hurry for the capital.
Among them, Zhang Jun came from Xuzhou, and the distance was almost half that of Wu Jie, but he arrived early in early March, and then he got the order that he would wait until Wu Jie arrived to summon him, so he just bought a mansion in Beijing
He stayed there for a while and inquired about news from everywhere.
As for the city of Tokyo, especially the city whose population has returned to nearly 400,000 at this time... when has there been a lack of news?
Therefore, Zhang Boying just made some inquiries and found out everything he should know and what he shouldn't know, true and false.
Then, he started...opening the door to welcome guests!
That's right, Captain Zhang suddenly opened the doors of his mansion and set up a flowing banquet.
First of all, he entertained the neighbors, no matter how high or low they were, according to the age of the villagers, the elders were at the top, and the younger ones were at the bottom. Even Zhang Jun himself only sat at the table of middle-aged people, and his nephew Zhang Zi
Gai and Zhang Ziyi were also sitting below.
As for this round of entertainment, there were only twenty dishes on each table, but they were all fresh spring vegetables, plus chicken, fish, meat and eggs.
The kind that comes out of the cellar in the middle of the twelfth lunar month and is called wax wine.
So on the first day, everyone in the neighborhood praised Taiwei Zhang.
But the next day was a little different. Zhang Boying continued to host a banquet. This time he invited middle and lower-level officers from the armies inside and outside Tokyo. The dishes reached the level of a formal banquet like thirty, and the proportion of meat and vegetables was also greater.
They also hired a formal chef and cooked two hard dishes for each table, namely grilled lamb chops and braised elbow. The wine was also replaced by good wine sold by regular suppliers in ordinary restaurants.
In addition, there are special storytellers who tell stories in front of the courtyard before the banquet to add to the fun, telling stories from "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".
On the third day, the banquet continued. This time, the banquet was mainly hosted by officials and scholars whom he knew... Zhang Jun stayed in Huaidong for four full years, of which three years he was an envoy. There should not be too many civil servants who had contact with him.
, although it is a sensitive period, there are still many people who have a clear conscience and come here in person.
But this time, the number of dishes at the banquet has reached a level of forty, which can be called a luxury. Each table's dishes are cooked by professional chefs invited, and since he is a civil servant, Zhang Taiwei also specially invited Kabuki
, issued a Ci Pai and asked these people to compose poems. They also collected the poems and vocabularies and asked people to engrave and print them.
Of course, the drinks are also more refined.
On the fourth day, the city of Tokyo was already raising eyebrows, and the banquet was held as usual.
This time, all the dignitaries from Tokyo came, officials with serious backgrounds, and some well-known celebrities. The number of dishes reached the extravagant amount of fifty, the drinks were the kind that could be called famous, and the chefs were all
There are serious celebrity chefs invited from the main restaurants around, and fully half of the dishes are famous chefs' specialties.
Before the banquet, there were storytellers, raps, and dramas; during the banquet, there were performances and dances; after the banquet, there were acrobatics, pot throwing, and poetry.
So far, this has been considered a serious banquet that can be recorded.
On the fifth day, the banquet was still going on.
On this day, the people who came were mainly Zhang Taiwei's old friends from the Western Army, old troops who had been promoted and transferred from the headquarters, and a few civilian officials recommended and appointed by him. In other words, those who came this time were all Zhang Taiwei's real personal relatives.
It's old.
Logically speaking, when it comes to a banquet of this level, you can close the door and have fun as you like. But in fact, Zhang Jun still opened the door and arranged the banquet clearly.
The dishes were still fifty, the drinks and entertainment were the same as yesterday, and the chefs remained the same. However, after the banquet, these personal relatives of Captain Zhang were all presented with a large amount of money and silk in public, and those of appropriate age also received a beauty
Concubine goes back... For example, there is a young man from Guangzhou named Liang Jiaying, the so-called low-level Jinshi, the kind who registers in the army at his residence. He just happens to come to Tokyo to register, and then prepares to go south to assist Lieutenant Yue in suppressing the rebellion.
Just because it was Taiwei Zhang who came to Taixue as a guarantor that day, he was invited over at the right time. However, countless people saw him walking out of Taiwei Zhang's house with two concubines and a pile of money.
, and finally hired a donkey cart to return to his residence in confusion.
It also made many people jealous.
On the sixth day, with the attention and expectation of the entire city of Tokyo, the banquet continued. This time, the guests who came to visit were Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, the commanders of the imperial class; Lan Gui and Feng Yi, the internal ministers of the province; and Lu Haowen, the public minister.
Zhuzi, Zhao Fen, the eldest son of the provincial minister Zhao Ding, and several commanders from inside and outside the city also arrived.
At this time, the table was not even served, but the food was divided into dishes. The number of dishes was meaningless. I recommended two rounds of wine and another round of dishes. All the drinks were served at Lanqiao Fengyue. Dozens of dancers danced in front of the court.
...I don’t know if Zhang Taiwei Xiao knows the meaning of the eight-year-old dance in the court?
On the seventh day, under the expectation of everyone, Lu Haowen, the important military affairs official of Pingzhang, Zhao Ding, the prime minister of the province, Liu Ji, the deputy prime minister, Zhang Jun, the privy envoy, Chen Gui, the deputy privy envoy, Wang Yuan, the commander of the imperial camp, and the Chinese Army
Wang De, deputy commander-in-chief on the left, and Wu Pan, the second state abbot, arrived together.
At this time, the whole city of Tokyo watched a top-notch banquet that had not been staged in Tokyo for a long time with extremely complicated emotions.
The banquet is divided into four sittings...the so-called first sitting, second sitting, upright sitting, and resting sitting.
The first sitting and the second sitting are for fruits. Each time there are two rounds of dishes, totaling four rounds, which are dried fruits, vegetables and fruits, honeyed fruits, and salty and sour fruits, with eight varieties each.
Then comes the formal sitting, which is a serious banquet, divided into fifteen rounds of wine cups. Each round is a main dish from a famous chef, and each main dish has a corresponding ceremony, appetizers, and tea for mouthwash.
After fifteen rounds of wine, it was time to sit down. At this time, the dishes became clear. They were the forty dishes from the previous banquet.
Needless to say, the wine was all made from Lanqiao Fengyue, and for the water, everyone noticed at this time that the water used throughout the whole process was actually water from the pressurized well, and there was no spring water or old well water.
On the eighth day, because all the previous guests had arrived, Zhang Jun was full of confidence and went to write the eighth invitation in person. However, before the invitation was finished, he received an invitation instead... It was from Zhao Guan's house.
Second official Feng was sent to deliver the invitation, asking him to go to the palace for a banquet with Wu Jie, who had just arrived in Tokyo today.
Zhang Jun was caught off guard for a moment, but he had no choice but to leave immediately in panic.
According to the invitation, the commander of the right army of the imperial camp first met Wu Jie, the commander of the rear army of the imperial camp, in front of Tongtian Gate in the north, and then followed Feng Yi towards Hanfang Garden.
Hanfang Garden is also known as Ruisheng Garden. As you can tell from the name, it is also the private real estate of Zhao Guan's family.
However, because this real estate is outside the city, it has been demolished long ago in Jingkangzhong, leaving only a rough outline. But now it has been used by Zhao Guan's family as a venue for the Tokyo Little Cuju League.
The so-called Little Cuju League is a new competition system formulated by the imperial court based on last year's extremely effective Cuju League. However, the Cuju competition is divided into spring and autumn. In the spring, starting in mid-March, there will be a round-robin competition in the divisions and points ranking; in the autumn, it is the season.
In the playoffs, the top eight teams competed in a series of knockout rounds to determine the league champion. For this, Zhao Guanjia also gave a special name, calling them the champions; and in the end, by the year before, it was Kaifengfu, Jingxi, Jingdong, and Yu.
The four champions of the camp's army will compete in the world's best Cuju competition... When the time comes, Zhao Guan's family will personally award the badge to the world's best Cuju team.
Back in front of me, the two handsome ministers suppressed their uneasiness and followed Feng Yi to Hanfang Garden, where they entered a huge Cuju venue shaped like a cauldron... Of course, this was said to be designed by Zhao Guan's family. He always likes to do something.
It was a meaningless thing... and then he went straight to the house on the top floor.
And this simple building with an observation deck at the top also has a name, called a box, because Zhao Guan's family reserved a large box in the middle facing north and south, and pointed out the boxes on the left and right to several officials.
He is the head of the country, so all dignitaries would like to have a box here.
As for today, it is not an official match day, but a day for public buying of boxes before the official start of the game. There is only an exhibition match to add to the fun. The so-called buying is a very popular gambling behavior in the Song Dynasty, which is roughly equivalent to that of later generations.
Bidding to win.
"Well done!"
Outside the box, Yang Yizhong was dressed in casual clothes and led seven or eight big men to stand in awe. Seeing the two of them, he just said nothing. Inside the box, Zhao Guanjia personally held the youngest Princess Yiyou, beside him were Foyou and Shenyou.
The little princess, plus two concubines, accompanied by four or five people, greeted the visitor casually, "Just sit back and watch a football match, and wait for the results to come out."
The two of them looked at each other, and could only step forward to salute the official and the two concubines in turn, and then carefully sit down on the stage outside the box.
The game seemed lackluster.
Of course, it is possible that the competition was good, but everyone's thoughts were not on it... The two handsome ministers did not need to say much, and the two noble concubines were not interested at all. They just sat around with a little princess each. Zhao Guan's family
She even wanted to tease the youngest Princess Yiyou... Occasionally everyone said something, but Zhao Guan's family did not interfere. Although Pan Guifei was more powerful, the two foreign ministers were here and could not say much. The others were waiting.
, just echoing.
Just like that, when a Cuju competition was about to end, Feng Yi pushed the door in and handed a piece of paper. Zhao Guanjia just hugged the little princess and laughed and said: "These people said that they fled south and returned north, and lost most of their property."
, but still managed to get so much money... Boying, you and Jin Qing have a look."
Zhang Boying hurriedly picked it up and went to see it with Wu Jie, but as expected they were also filled with emotion.
It turned out that, according to what was written on this paper, the powerful people who were interested in buying the private rooms of the Hanfangyuan Cuju Club gathered here to buy nearly a hundred private rooms one by one. The transaction price continued to rise, ranging from dozens of dollars.
The number was several thousand guan, and in the end, the total price was nearly 50,000 guan! The average price for each box was 500 guan!
Fortunately for Zhang Jun, Wu Jie was acting like a country bumpkin when he entered Beijing for the first time. He pinched the piece of paper and looked around. He felt that this weird-looking semi-open box was not worth five hundred dollars at all. How could he sell it?
Going out for five hundred guan? I was also stunned for a moment.
But at the same time, Zhang Boying turned around and laughed: "The official told me earlier, so naturally I have to buy a box closer to the official's house."
"I've left it for you." Zhao Jiu replied casually, but he sighed for a moment. "It's just that I didn't expect to receive so much money... I only visited this Cuju venue twice, and it was mainly designed by Mr. Chen.
Yan Dayin took care of the renovation. Because it is my private property, I borrowed money from Wu Guozhang in my private capacity to renovate it. It cost more than 10,000 yuan in total. I made 40,000 yuan in vain before the game started."
After Zhang Jun listened quietly, he immediately laughed again: "Look, Yichen, if this Cuju stuffing continues like this, the official family is probably going to make a fortune...not just private rooms, but also building some shops and restaurants around Hanfang Garden."
If you go out, the rent will be another big bag every year."
The yellow-faced Wu Jie immediately woke up and nodded repeatedly.
"I am more greedy than you think." Zhao Jiu continued to hold the little princess and laughed in the audience. "I am also planning to start a Cuju betting in the Kaifeng Prefecture Division. I promise a bet for every game..."
Zhang Jun was slightly startled, and couldn't help but turn sideways and ask: "I have thought of this just now, but will the officials... the princes and censors allow the officials to do this?"
"This kind of thing is inevitable. If I don't do it, some people will do it secretly. Then there will still be a mess. Why not find a good name and come to be the banker in person? For example, it is a closed stake gambling set up for the Northern Expedition. The banker's money will be enough.
To fund the Northern Expedition..." Zhao Jiu spoke with certainty, but soon shook his head. "But I also know that Yushitai will not allow me to get involved in this kind of thing after all, so I am going to take advantage of this Kaifeng competition area.
The property rights of the stake-sealing gambling, as well as the various Cuju courts, as well as the property in the Jingxi West Road competition area, will be given to you Zhang Boying."
Zhang Jun was stunned, and Wu Jie was even more confused.
"Nothing else." Zhao Jiu, who was dressed in casual clothes, watched the game end below and stood up with the little princess in his arms. "Leave the ones in Jingxi to Han Shizhong. If Guanzhong does this, I will give you Wu Jinqing and Qu Duan."
Well... Yue Fei and Li Yanxian probably won't want them."
Zhang Jun and Wu Jie wanted to speak, but when the game was over and Zhao Guan's family got up, they had no choice but to suppress their thoughts for the time being. They left Hanfang Garden with Zhao Guan's family, returned to Tokyo City, and came to the palace in the afternoon... from the north.
Enter through the Gongchen Gate, turn to the Hua Gate and enter the back garden, and finally arrive at a pavilion in the Yingyang Gate next to the fish pond and mulberry forest.
At this time, the two noble concubines and the three princesses walked out of Yingyang Gate and entered the harem to rest. However, Zhao Guanjia sat down in the pavilion and then invited the two of them to sit together.
Wu Jie was still uneasy. It was his first time in Tokyo. He didn't understand anything and didn't have time to inquire about anything. Zhang Jun, on the other hand, had known that this place was the official's favorite place to stay in private, and it was also the official's favorite place to have private conversations with important ministers.
The place where we talked and even drank here in person was a little more peaceful.
After waiting for a while, three pots of wine were served, of course it was Lanqiao Fengyue, and then several plates of fresh vegetables and home-cooked dishes were put on the table, including meat and vegetables, about a dozen bottles... Then, Zhao Guan's family started to pour their own.
He drank by himself and started using his chopsticks, officially starting today's banquet.
Zhang and Wu did not dare to neglect and followed suit one after another, but they did not dare to relax at all, which was also hard work.
However, after drinking for three rounds and exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Guanjia finally got down to business: "Do you two know why I've called you here?"
Wu Jie immediately put down his chopsticks, almost jumped up and tried to leave his seat and kneel down, but Zhao Jiu raised his hand to stop him, and then he could only sit down again and be careful:
"It is said that the Ministry of War impeached the minister's imperial camp and the army underestimated the amount of money."
Zhao Jiu nodded and looked at Zhang Jun again: "Where is Boying? You came so early, you know more than Jin Qing, right?"
Having said that, Zhang Jun, who had always been prepared before, was at a loss for words.
Zhao Jiu, on the other hand, couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this: "Is it difficult to say, or do you know too much?"
Zhang Jun was embarrassed for a moment.
"But someone told you that the imperial court wanted to launch a comprehensive anti-corruption campaign in the military? Others told you that the official family wanted to drink wine to release military power? Or maybe the Zhao family wanted to trick Wu Jie and Zhang Jun into house arrest in the capital, and then clean up the imperial camp and rear army. Right Army?" Zhao Jiu laughed while picking up vegetables.
Wu Jie was in a trance for a moment, but Zhang Jun finally opened his mouth, but he still couldn't help but feel embarrassed: "I made the officials laugh. At that time, the officials did not want to see me, and I really had no choice but to find someone to ask around, and then I heard a lot of nonsense speech."
"It doesn't matter." Zhao Jiu chewed a mouthful of spring wild vegetables and swallowed it slowly, and then said indifferently. "What is this? I have also heard something even more outrageous, saying that Zhao Guan's family has decreed that everyone in the world will embezzle ten thousand dollars. The above, whether civil or military, were skinned and stuffed with grass to show to the world... Don't you say you haven't heard of them?"
Hearing this, Wu Jie and Zhang Jun relaxed and laughed.
However, Zhao Jiu suddenly sneered: "This is all because the dignitaries in the city are idle and have nothing to do, so they are trying to spread rumors. They hope to use this method to attract my attention, and then ask for official duties." Money is spent... But I don’t know that I have already made up my mind. I would rather subjugate the country than give these people a little salary. The reward is not just that. I am going to send people over now to raid these households and spread rumors. The most important people are used as military resources."
The two commanders were stunned. After hearing this, Yang Yizhong, who had been standing by, slightly cupped his hands and led the soldiers directly to the direction of Yingyang Gate.
"Bo Ying." At this moment, Zhao Jiu turned around and looked at Zhang Jun again. "Did you really believe these rumors? That's why you made such a show before?"
At this point, Zhang Jun still dared to cover it up, but he immediately stood up and bowed his head in embarrassment: "It made the officials laugh."
"If I accept your invitation today, how many dishes will you prepare to entertain me?" Zhao Jiu was very interested and kept asking.
Zhang Jun became more and more embarrassed: "I originally wanted to find the old servants in Cai Taishi's house to get the regulations for the 180 dishes in Cai Taishi's house in the past, but I never got it together. If the officials really go, it will only be 123. It looks like a dish..."
"How do you get it all together?" Zhao Jiu threw down his chopsticks and shook his head repeatedly. "When Cai Taishi Fengheng was in Henan University, there was a group of people in the kitchen who specialized in making steamed buns. Some people rolled the dough, some kneaded the pleats, and some even cut onions. ...That kind of luxury is, on the one hand, too excessive, and on the other hand, it is a temporary illusory spectacle under the fierce fire of north and south during the prosperous Henan period. It is something that can only be encountered but cannot be sought."
"Yes." Zhang Jun finally sighed. "I'm actually looking for a gimmick. I mainly want to invite the officials to come to my house to talk about it, but I have other explanations."
"Of course." Zhao Jiu shook his head more and more. "When you were in Xuzhou, you liked to exchange the money you saved into gold and silver as much as possible. The silver was specially melted into large silver balls of nearly a hundred kilograms, one thousand six hundred taels each.
I got a helpless nickname... In the past four years, I have saved a total of fifty-seven, and this time fifty-seven were sent directly from Xuzhou overnight; I saved eight thousand taels of gold, and this time I sent six thousand taels. Look at you.
The idea is that you should give it to me during the banquet, and then resign from the position of commander-in-chief to seek long-lasting wealth, right?"
Wu Jie on the side was stunned when he heard this, while Zhang Jun could only avoid the seat in the pavilion and kneel down as he was sweating profusely:
"The official sage."
"You still don't know what I'm asking for..." Zhao Jiu sighed. "You thought I allowed those people to go to your banquet to acquiesce to your decision, right?"
Zhang Boying hurriedly explained: "I have been uneasy for a long time when I saw that the official family was so poor. I am afraid that I may have misunderstood it."
"You are not always wrong." Zhao Jiu shook his head. "That day at Huaishang, you were never wrong... Boying, and Jin Qing."
"I'm here." Wu Jie also quickly stood up and knelt down beside Zhang Jun.
"I admire the theory of utilitarianism, and I can barely be considered a utilitarian person. The so-called utilitarian person is the kind of person who encounters so-called structural contradictions and always thinks of disregarding propriety, justice and integrity in order to gain the greatest benefit in the end..." Zhao Jiu
He clasped his hands and looked at the dishes in front of him and sighed. "The Western Army has the status of a vassal town. I could reorganize and disband in Kansai that day. Once I leave, it will return to its old ways. I know this and am extremely worried about it. As for Uncle
Ying Na, I have always been greedy for money. I have had this problem for many years. When I was working in the field, I took the opportunity to occupy land and changed the place where I was stationed to make it easier for the soldiers to build a big house for me. I ate empty pay, discounted the money and took bribes. I felt bad in my heart.
I know clearly and have been accumulating dissatisfaction... There is nothing to hide. But my dissatisfaction and worry are not because I am suffering here and you are doing so, so my heart cannot be at ease, but because I am a handsome minister after all.
After all, your subordinates are the main force of the imperial camp. If it continues to be ruined like this, when the time comes for the Northern Expedition, there will be no fighting power, but at the same time, it is intended to preserve life. What should I say?!"
Zhang Jun and Wu Jie were both stunned, and immediately faced each other... Obviously, Wu Jie really didn't understand this official, and Zhang Jun had really been at ease for a long time, and he would have made a mistake.
"What else? If we really want to fight corruption at this time, why don't the whole army fight against it together? If we really want to release military power over a glass of wine, shouldn't Han Shizhong come first?" At this point, Zhao Jiu looked at the dozen or so dishes on the stone table.
But his tone gradually became colder. "I am calling you here, but I only have one sentence... If you can make achievements in the Northern Expedition in the future, I will finally deal with the collusion of the imperial army and the bad things you Zhang Boying did.
, but they will just forget about it, because after all, they all came from extraordinary times. But if something goes wrong in the Northern Expedition on your two families, then don’t expect to be able to escape unscathed by paying the money and resigning from office, because
I will make you walk around without food!"
Zhang Jun and Wu Jie were both relieved and frightened at the same time, so they prepared to express their stance together. Unexpectedly, Zhao Guan's family gave them no room to speak at all.
"Get up and eat." Zhao Jiu said coldly. "After eating, I will tell you in detail how to temper these two armies!"