The army stopped, Tuoba Tao was burly, strong, and fierce, he wore a golden helmet, wore gold armor, a sword hung from his waist, and the green tendons on the back of the hand holding the sword burst out, he jumped off the horse and walked to Wan Dugui to help him up and smiled: "Uncle Wan, get up!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wandu got up and followed Tuoba Tao forward, and the ministers, stewards and eunuchs also dismounted one after another and followed with the little eunuchs.

Tuoba Tao stood at the door of the post station, pointed to the post station and said, "The house of this post station is well repaired, better than the post stations that I have stopped along the way, this is specially built to welcome me?" ”

Wan Du Gui hurriedly said: "That's not it, the post stations in the whole county have been repaired and rectified a few days ago, and they are not specifically done to welcome Your Majesty!" ”

Tuoba Tao nodded, he was afraid that the local governments would be hollow out to whitewash the peace in order to welcome him, although this southern tour was to deter the Southern Dynasty, and secondly, to appease the southern generals, but he also didn't want to bring too much burden to various places.

I suddenly found a wooden sign hanging at the door, and when I looked closely, I couldn't help but laugh: "Why is there a sign hanging at the door that gives money first and then stays to eat?" Are you worried that business travelers and officials will eat overlord meals? ”

"This ······" Wan Dugui's face trembled, and he clenched his fists and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the merchants will not repay their debts, but the officials ······ It's really a bully meal. The Fa Cao Department also has no choice, it really can't afford to lose, so it can only force each post to collect money first and then live in the hotel to eat, otherwise it will not be accepted, which is indeed much better, and there is no need for special government funding to maintain the operation of the post station, otherwise the government will have to allocate a large amount of money every year for the Fa Cao Office to receive officials who go out on business, which costs a lot! ”

Tuoba Tao's face changed slightly, he knew that since Liang County was like this, what about other states and counties? I'm afraid that the officials don't give money for food, drink, and accommodation.

He took the lead and walked into the post station, followed by Wan Dugui and some ministers.

Outside the post station, the entourage of officials, and the eunuchs began to camp in the designated open spaces and fields.

It didn't take long for Zhao Junsheng to bring a large number of Gexiang Zhuangding to transport rice, wine, meat, dishes, soup, and water by cart.

The staple food of this meal is rice, and only the Ge family has grown rice nearby, and the Ge family used up 5,000 catties of rice to make this meal.

The dishes are stir-fried pork and white lamb, braised mutton, braised carp pieces, and mutton bone soup.

Zhao Junsheng looked up at the sky, at this time Shen Shi was about to pass, he immediately walked in the direction of the post station, but was stopped by the sentry arranged by the Yulin Army nearby.

Zhao Junsheng was about to say to the soldiers, but he saw the eunuch Zong Tai walking out, and hurriedly beckoned: "Grandpa Zong, Grandpa Zong!" ”

Zong Tai turned his head to see that it was Zhao Junsheng, who was in charge of the meal, and came over and asked, "Zhao joins the army, what's the matter, the meal is ready?" ”

"It's ready, you see that the sky will soon be dark, it will be dark with mosquitoes and flies, and the light is not good, do you want the soldiers to eat earlier?"

Zong Tai saw that the Yulin Army and the Tiger Ben Army who accompanied the escort had already set up the camp tent, and immediately agreed: "Okay, let's start dinner early today, and our family will call a little eunuch to inform the owners of each building one by one, or according to the rules of the morning, line up to receive food, you let the men get ready!" ”

"Understood, the next official will arrange it!"

As soon as the meal began, it was lively outside, and there were many queues in front of the rice stalls, and there was no end in sight at a long glance.

As soon as the lid of the wooden barrel of steamed rice was opened, a strong aroma of rice spread, and all the soldiers couldn't help but sniff, and the aroma of steamed rice and dishes made the soldiers and generals who lined up to receive the meal have their appetites.

The lively sound reached the post station, and the aroma of the food and dishes also spread with the air, and Tuoba Tao, who was sitting in the post station lobby drinking tea, was suddenly stunned: "Hey, it's so fragrant!" Uncle Wan, what kind of fragrance is this? ”

Wan Du returned to his fists and said: "Back to Your Majesty, this is a meal for the soldiers, officials, entourage and palace personnel who accompany and greet the driver!" ”

"Goo, Goo" Tuoba Tao's stomach rang twice, and he laughed and said, "Hahaha, you said to start eating, and my stomach is also hungry." Let's go, go and take a look, and see what delicious food you, the Liangjun Taishou, have prepared for the big guys! ”

A large group of court officials and famous generals followed Tuoba Tao to the place where the meal was served, and the closer they walked, the more their stomachs screamed, and many of them swallowed their saliva.

Tuoba Tao grabbed a soldier who was eating and asked, "Is it delicious?" What does it taste like? ”

When the soldier saw that it was the emperor, he hurriedly wanted to bow down, but he was stopped by Tuoba Tao and immediately said: "It's so delicious, the villain has never eaten such a delicious meal!" ”

Tuoba Tao asked several soldiers in a row, and they all answered like this, which couldn't help but arouse his curiosity, and he came to a place to receive food and said, "Give me a copy!" ”

A eunuch next to him immediately brought a jade bowl and a few delicate porcelain plates, and asked the man to make a full bowl of rice, each dish was made a plate, and finally a bowl of soup was served.

Tuoba Tao took the ivory chopsticks and began to eat, and all the ministers and generals looked at him,

"What kind of food is this? Why are they so sweet when they are crystal clear and full? It's so delicious! Tuoba Tao asked vaguely as he ate.

An official from the south next to him immediately said, "Your Majesty, this is called rice!" ”

Stir-fried pork and lamb stew, and braised carp are all delicious, and for Tuobatao, who has never eaten stir-fried dishes, these dishes are so delicious that he eats five bowls of rice in a row and adds the dish several times.

"Your Majesty, don't hold on!" Eunuch Zongtai reminded.

Tuoba Tao also knew that it was easy to eat too much at one time, so he reluctantly put down the dishes and chopsticks, but immediately instructed: "Buy the cooking method of these foods and bring them back to the palace, remember to give money, how to say that this is also someone's secret recipe!" ”

Zong Tai hurriedly agreed: "The old slave obeys the order!" ”

There are too many people, and all aspects must be covered, Zhao Junsheng, Ge Qingyuan and others were so busy that they hadn't eaten in the middle of the night, and when everything was arranged, he asked someone to bring a few food boxes to greet Ge Qingyuan and the post chief Jiang Yanyao to eat together.

At the rice stall, several plates of exquisite stir-fried vegetables are placed on a square table, with wine and meat, and several people eat with relish.

"Zhao joins the army, you will leave after eating early tomorrow morning, where are you going to go next?" Ge Qingyuan took a sip of wine and asked.

At this time, a young man in civilian clothes walked over lightly next to the tent.

Zhao Junsheng was about to speak, but he heard a slight footstep outside, and the cultivation of internal strength during this period of time was not in vain, and his hearing and other perceptions had increased greatly, so he immediately shut up.

I saw a tall young man walk in and saw a few plates of exquisite dishes on the table in front of Zhao Junsheng and the others, and his eyes lit up and said, "Hey, are you eating?" ”

Zhao Junsheng looked at the young man and asked, "Yes, who is Brother Tai?" ”

The young man was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "My surname is Huang, and I came with my father to see the world!" ”

"Oh, Brother Huang, do you want to have a few sips together?" Zhao Junsheng asked and observed, and suddenly his heart moved.

The young man waved his hand and said, "No, I don't know if you have any extra food, can you share some with me?" ”

Zhao Junsheng lifted the food box next to him, opened the lid and looked at it, there were still a few dishes in it, handed it over and said with a smile: "There are still some more, Brother Huang just take them to eat, just send the food box over after eating!" ”

The young man was not polite, and after taking the food box and thanking him, he turned and left, but he did not go far, and after walking for a while, he turned around and walked back lightly to listen carefully outside the tent.

Zhao Junsheng's ears moved, his heart moved, and then he said: "Let's go on, who will we go to tomorrow to make a relationship?" Anyway, the official is only responsible for preparing meals for these thousands of people, and as for where the money for buying ingredients comes from, the official doesn't care, and he doesn't dare to ask! ”

The post commander Jiang Yanyao was unaware, he took a sip of wine and couldn't help but ask: "Joining the army, isn't it possible that the emperor has not taken money from the treasury as expenses along the way during the emperor's southern tour?" ”

Zhao Junsheng hesitated: "There shouldn't be, right?" Otherwise, it will not cause the officials and people along the way to complain. It is said that today's son has made great achievements in civil and martial arts since he ascended to the pole, and he is a generation of wise masters, who only defeated Hu Xia a few months ago, and won countless gold, silver, jewelry and other property, so he shouldn't be so picky! ”

Ge Qingyuan shook his head and said: "Other local governments will definitely not pay out of their own pockets, they will increase taxes and taxes for the people." Our Liang County is counting this loss on the heads of the rich families, and my Ge family is really unlucky. When the emperor came, he didn't follow the light, but instead posted a large amount of money, what is this? ”

The young man standing outside the tent heard that his face was extremely gloomy, he turned around and left, and before he reached the door of the post station, Zong Tai, who looked anxious, came up and complained: "Hey, my majesty, the old slave turned around and disappeared for a while, scared the old slave to death, why are you dressed like this?" ”

Tuoba Tao's face was so gloomy that it was about to freeze, and he shouted: "Let the ministers who accompany me come to see me, and there will be ten thousand returns, immediately, immediately!" ”

"Yes, yes!" Zong Tai was taken aback by Tuobatao's look of wanting to kill, and hurriedly agreed and sent someone to summon him.

It didn't take long for the hall of the post station to be crowded with court officials, and Wandu could only stand by the gate.

Tuoba Tao looked at the ministers and said in a deep voice: "I want to know, what did you plan to spend on this southern tour, and how much money did you take from the treasury for the expenses of this southern tour?" ”

The ministers all looked at King Leping and the hussar general Tuoba Pi, who was the emperor's half-brother and his mother was the Great Murong Lady.

Tuoba Pi stood up and hugged his fists and said: "Your Majesty, before coming out of Pingcheng, some ministers thought that they should take money from the treasury for spending along the way, but most of the clan ministers and generals objected, thinking that the whole world belongs to my Tuoba family, and the royal driver and the accompanying escort soldiers and horses can eat wherever they go, and the ministers and brothers also think that it should be so, so they did not carry money before leaving, and the expenses along the way are borne by the local governments!" ”

Tuoba Tao was furious when he heard this, and slapped the desk and shouted: "Bastard, I am a generation of emperors, rich all over the world, can't I even take out the cost of a southern tour?" You think that you want to make the local government burden, but they will let the people bear it, and the people have already paid taxes, and they will think in their hearts why should they pay taxes! I ask you, if you were to be asked to spend money on this southern tour, would you be willing? ”

"Your Majesty forgives your sins, my brother is wrong!" Tuoba Pi knelt on the ground with a look of fear.