Chapter 52 Emperor Chongzhen Goes to the Banquet Zhang Zhimu gave a welcome speech

After Emperor Chongzhen and the ministers of civil and military affairs took a happy bath, when they came to the restaurant together, everyone else had finished eating. Originally, Emperor Chongzhen could let people send the food to the room to eat, but the little princess said to him: "Father! I think you'd better go to the restaurant to eat! There's so much there, you can choose what you want to eat. ”

Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand what was going on all of a sudden, and Queen Zhou came over and explained with a smile: "Hehe! Your Majesty, the kiln people are very interesting. What they do is a buffet, that is, they have a lot of things on the table, and whoever wants to eat can choose what to eat. ”

"I want to choose my own food when I go?" Emperor Chongzhen didn't believe it.

"You can let someone else choose for you!" Empress Zhou said.

"It's no fun to let someone else choose!" The little princess said beside her, "The characteristic of the buffet is that you can choose what you want to eat!" ”

"Huh! I really have to see for myself! Emperor Chongzhen said that he was going to the restaurant.

Before Wang Gonggong and Li Gonggong had time to change their clothes, they had to lead the way in front.

When Emperor Chongzhen took the elevator to the restaurant, he saw that the civil and military ministers who had just taken a bath together were also here.

These people, who usually don't know how many people are waiting, are choosing things with plates, and when they see the emperor coming, they want to kneel down but they have a full hand in their hands, and they don't know what to do, so they say one by one: Your Majesty! Where we go, where you follow, you don't let people live!

Emperor Chongzhen also saw their embarrassment! Busy said: "Everyone, Aiqing! It's convenient for each other, no need to be polite! By the way, there are no special circumstances in the future, so don't be polite in the hotel. We are all inconvenient! ”

At this time, the prince was beside Emperor Chongzhen with a plate and asked, "Your Majesty, which one do you choose?" ”

Emperor Chongzhen looked at the prince's soaked clothes and said, "Give me the plate, I want to come by myself!" Go back and change your clothes! ”

"That's okay! Emperor! "The prince still has to choose things for the emperor.

"Alright! Give it to me! Saying that, Emperor Chongzhen took the plate from the prince's hand, walked around the dazzling food, and then turned around and chose some things he was willing to eat. However, Emperor Chongzhen saw a sign erected next to him that read, "Don't waste it, there is a penalty of ten left!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen asked the waiter next to him: "What does this brand mean?" ”

The waiter looked at it and hurriedly said, "I'm sorry for the emperor!" This is what we use when we are open to the public, mainly to let everyone eat well, and to remind everyone not to waste it! As he spoke, the waiter put the sign up.

Emperor Chongzhen said: "Don't put it up! Put it in the most obvious place! This brand is so good! No one is allowed to waste food! ”

Emperor Chongzhen took his own food, came to the table of several adults, sat down and said to them: "Ladies and gentlemen, I see that you have too many things to choose!" I can't eat, I'll punish you when I go back to Beijing! ”

Liu Jiantai said: "Your Majesty! I promise to finish it! Otherwise, after returning to Beijing, he will be fined for this, and this person can't afford to lose it! ”

"Yes! Your Majesty, we can all eat it all! ”

“”

Others followed.

"Come on! It's the first time I've eaten this buffet, so I'll pay attention next time and get less each time. Do you want to get it after eating! Emperor Chongzhen said, "If you eat any of you badly because you are afraid of punishment, you can't afford to lose anyone when you go back to Beijing!" ”

"Haha!" It's rare for the monarchs and ministers to laugh together!

Emperor Chongzhen said while eating: "Remember in the future, things belong to other people, and the stomach is your own." Don't get along with your belly! ”

"Yes, yes! The emperor is right! ”

In this way, I choose to eat, it is very atmospheric, and the sauna just now consumes physical strength, and Emperor Chongzhen also eats a belly garden.

After eating, Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile: "I just said that you guys, I ate too much today." It's really unproductive! ”

"Haha!" After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, the ministers couldn't help laughing!

"Hey! What are you laughing at? Emperor Chongzhen asked puzzled.

"Haha!" The ministers laughed even more.

After a while, Liu Jiantai, a scholar, stopped laughing and said, "Your Majesty, we have all eaten too much!" It's just that I didn't dare to say it, as soon as you said it, we all couldn't stop it! ”

"Oh!" Emperor Chongzhen understood, it was not only himself who was unproductive, "However, it should be said that the buffet made by the Yaogang people is really good, and whoever wants to eat can choose what they want!" So that there is no waste! ”

Zheng Sanjun, the secretary of the ministry, said: "Your Majesty! When I was in Beijing, I heard that the big shopping mall built by the Yaogang people was going to have a buffet restaurant in it! I didn't pay attention at the time because I didn't know what the buffet was all about! ”

Zhang Jinyan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Then you can't pay for death!" Those of us who should be said to be good eaters eat like this. Those who took some money still don't eat hard when they enter the restaurant? ”

Emperor Chongzhen was also very interested in this topic, and said, "You didn't see a sign over there, which said that there is one penalty and ten penalties left!" It is that you can eat as you like, and you are not allowed to waste it. If you can't finish the food you have brought you, you will be fined ten times the amount of silver! ”

"It's a good idea! Otherwise, some people will harm others if they can't finish eating! Liu Jiantai said.

"In any case, it's a good thing that Beijing has such a place!" It was said.

"Yes, it won't be the same! If you go to these delicacies from the mountains and seas, how much silver does a person need? Some people also analyzed, "The number of rich businessmen in Beijing is not as good as here in Yaogang." ”

"We've just arrived! Before I got out of this building, I was going to make a fool of myself! We really have to take a good look at what the kiln gang is like, and we also have to build Beijing stronger than the kiln! "Emperor Chongzhen is the emperor after all, and he is really not convinced.

Back in their big suite, Queen Zhou and Princess Changping were waiting for Emperor Chongzhen, seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was back, Queen Zhou asked with a smile: "Does the emperor feel used to eating buffets?" ”

"Not good!" Emperor Chongzhen deliberately stretched his face and said, "I almost broke it!" ”

"Huh!" Empress Zhou and Princess Changping both laughed.

Empress Zhou said: "Fang Cai, the people of Yaogang are coming." Let's go to the dinner as well. The ladies of the kiln will also participate. I don't know if it's appropriate? ”

This kind of thing is impossible in Beijing, but Emperor Chongzhen reads the newspaper in Yaogang every day, listens to the radio in Yaogang, and knows that the women of Yaogang will participate in many activities, and they are greeted today, and the female dependents of the Yaogang people also participated. After thinking for a while, Emperor Chongzhen said: "All participate!" Don't let the kiln people look down on us! ”

Empress Zhou and Princess Changping are waiting for Emperor Chongzhen's words.

Princess Changping said: "Just now Xiao Hongyu called me and said that she wants to drink with me at night!" We met in Kaifeng last time, and it's been so long, I really miss her. You are also not allowed to speak at the train station. ”

Emperor Chongzhen asked, "You can also call?" ”

"What's this?" Princess Changping said, "I talked to Anping on the phone for a long time! Oops! Anping is terrible now! Many movie theaters have been built in various places. ”

"Behold! When my princess was in Beijing, her heart flew to Yaogang. By the time I arrived at the kiln, the heart had already flown out of this building! Emperor Chongzhen said to Empress Zhou, "You have to watch her closely, don't let others fly!" ”

Empress Zhou and Princess Anping laughed when they heard Emperor Chongzhen's words.

Emperor Chongzhen said: "I want to sleep for a while, and I want to save enough energy for the night!" ”

Before the dinner began, Zhang Zhimu came to Emperor Chongzhen's large suite an hour early.

Hearing that Zhang Zhimu was coming, Emperor Chongzhen immediately invited Zhang Zhimu in. As soon as he entered the house, Zhang Zhimu said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty! Good news for you! Our cavalry has already rushed to Yaksa and wiped out all the Cossacks who invaded there! ”

Emperor Chongzhen still didn't understand what Yaksa was, and he didn't understand why the Yaogang people and the Cossacks suddenly fought again. However, Emperor Chongzhen noticed that Zhang Zhimu did not kneel down as before after entering the house this time. Not only did Emperor Chongzhen discover this, but even the princes and fathers next to him were also sweating nervously. After Emperor Chongzhen gave up his seat to Zhang Zhimu, the prince came over and reminded: "Zhang Dongjia hasn't given a big gift yet!" ”

How could Zhang Zhimu not see the expression of Emperor Chongzhen, and followed the words of the prince and said: "Your Majesty! Let's simplify the etiquette in the building! Otherwise, we're all in trouble. From now on, we will meet several times a day, and it is not necessary to do this all the time. In fact, we have long been not allowed to kneel and worship in the kiln. It's much better to really respect from the heart than in these situations."

"Huh! We thought of a piece and went! Emperor Chongzhen also borrowed the slope to get off the donkey and said, "I was in the restaurant just now, and I told the adults not to do these big gifts in the building." ”

"Huh! We really thought of a piece! Zhang Zhimu said.

"Zhang Dongjia, tell me, what's going on with that Ya He Sa?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"That's right!" Zhang Zhimu saw that Emperor Chongzhen did not have any impression of Yaksa, "After our slave Gandusi was swallowed by Houjin, he had already lost control there. This time we sent two cavalry corps and one infantry corps and are marching on Nuergan. On the way, however, we heard that on the left bank of the Heilongjiang River, we had a Daur castle called Yaksa, which had been occupied by the Russian Cossack cavalry. These Cossacks, with their superiority in muskets, and the fact that our people over there were not well organized, did not have an advantage in the confrontation with them. These abominable demons not only burn and plunder, but also prey on the food that our Daur people have used for the winter. It's outrageous! ”

As soon as Zhang Zhimu said this, Emperor Chongzhen vomited and almost didn't vomit. The prince hurriedly came over and said, "Your Majesty! Are you alright? ”

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the teacup and rinsed his mouth, spit it out, and said, "It's okay!" All right! Zhang Dongjia, please speak! ”

"When the troops in front of us heard the news, the officers and men were filled with righteous indignation. After studying, we decided to abandon part of the original plan and sent a cavalry division lightly armed to advance to the Yaksa raid. A raid was made on Yaksa this morning. Forty-three Cossacks were killed and twenty-eight were taken prisoner. We are ready to attack Yakutsk, the stronghold of the Russians to the north, at the beginning of spring next year. To the north, we're all ready to take it down. All of Siberia is ours, and no one is allowed to touch it! I'll find time to report to you in detail later! ”

"Well played! Well played! None of these brutes can be kept! Emperor Chongzhen listened to it and applauded constantly. In fact, when he heard Zhang Zhimu say that such a thing would be reported to him in detail in the future, he felt very comfortable in his heart, and forgot that Zhang Zhimu did not bow down!

Zhang Zhimu smiled and said, "Hehe! The land is vast and sparsely populated, and I think these Cossack demons should be punished. But they are also strong laborers, and it is better to kill them than to keep them to work! ”

"Huh!" Hearing Zhang Zhimu say this, Emperor Chongzhen also smiled, and said in his heart: Zhang Zhimu is really a businessman! I won't let go of any benefits!

Zhang Zhimu said: "Your Majesty! There's no way around it! Silver is used everywhere, and I have to think about silver everywhere. Otherwise, nothing can be done! ”

"Zhang Dongjia, you did the right thing!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "Since I knew you, you have been calculating everywhere like this. But without your calculations, there would be no today's situation! ”

"Thank you for your understanding!" Zhang Zhimu said, "There is also good news! I can help the emperor with today's wine! ”

"Oh!" Emperor Chongzhen came to the spirit again, "Zhang Dongjia, please speak!" ”

"We have sent troops to fight the Datong River. The King of Korea, Yi Kuo, has re-signed the Peace Treaty with us and re-demarcated the borders. This state border was basically demarcated according to the national border drawn during the Yuan Dynasty and Joseon. Just to make the border easy to defend, we redrew it from Wonsan to Yeonsan to the seaside. The treaty clearly states that Korea is returning our land to us. As he spoke, Zhang Zhimu took out a simple map and spread it out and pointed it to the emperor.

The emperor glanced at the map and blurted out: "Great! That's great! Grandpa Tai asked to demarcate the border with them Koreans according to the original border of the Yuan Dynasty. North Koreans just don't do it. Later, in order to take care of them, we re-demarcated the boundary along the Yalu River! But when we fought with the Manchus, they did not send troops, and they all surrendered after reluctantly sending troops. In the end, they joined forces with the Manchus to deal with us! You guys played well this time! Well done! I really should have a few more drinks tonight! ”

"And yes!" Zhang Zhimu said, "After we demarcated the border, we originally allowed the DPRK officers and soldiers to return to the DPRK freely, but many DPRK officers and soldiers did not leave at all, and insisted on staying to be Ming Dynasty people." The angry North Korean envoy can't help it! That's all strong labor! We are going to nail stakes and pull barbed wire on this new border. Only a few passes remained. In this way, it won't be long before the hearts of the people in the places we have recovered will be stable! ”

"Good! We can also re-immigrate there. Emperor Chongzhen suggested.

"We have opened routes from Dengzhou (Penglai) to Datong River and Qingchuan River, and we just need to connect them with us. In the future, if we build telegraphs, telephones, and railways there, we will be more connected with them, and it will be easier to manage. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Good! Zhang Dongjia is very thoughtful! Emperor Chongzhen couldn't stop praising with joy.

Today's welcome dinner was held in the Grand Ballroom. The ballroom is as bright as day! Rows of large tables filled the guests. People from all walks of life in Yaogang are the greatest honor to be able to participate in such a banquet.

At one end of the banquet hall is a stage, where the Silk and Bamboo Band plays relaxing music non-stop.

When Zhang Zhimu accompanied the emperor and the queen to the banquet hall, everyone stood up and applauded to welcome the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhen understood that this was the Yaogang people who had made arrangements to the guests in advance, and everyone did not kneel down to give salutes. However, Emperor Chongzhen himself also felt that this was actually very good, and the guests were dressed neatly one by one, and it was actually very inconvenient to kneel.

The Emperor's seat is arranged at the first table in the front row. At this table, the emperor was accompanied by Liu Jiantai, a scholar from the imperial court, and Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He from the kiln gang.

The other six books were all assigned to each table, and they were accompanied by special people.

Huang Yukun, Yang Yulin, and Xiao Hongyu accompanied Queen Zhou at the same table. The tables of the female soldiers were symbolically separated by a simple screen, but they were not blocked against the stage.

After Emperor Chongzhen beckoned to everyone, he sat down under the service of the prince, and Zhang Zhimu waved to everyone and sat down before the guests sat down.

Zhang Zhimu attached his ear to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "I heard that today's banquet is mainly based on Huaiyang cuisine. I don't know if the emperor likes it? If you don't like it, we'll let them change it! ”

"Hmmm! Huaiyang cuisine is good! The knife work is exquisite, and the original taste of the ingredients is even more important! "Emperor Chongzhen is in a very good mood sitting here at this time, and he feels that his breath is even. Even said that Huaiyang cuisine is good!

After the emperor sat down, the waiter began to bring some cold dishes to serve the food, and at this time the prince stopped the waiter to pick up the prepared chopsticks to taste the food.

Emperor Chongzhen saw it and said, "Come on! That's it! When you get to the kiln, you don't have to worry about safety! ”

"Oops! Your Majesty, this can't be done! The prince said uneasily.

"I'll just do it!" Emperor Chongzhen understood that if the people of Yaogang wanted their lives, they didn't need to work so hard.

Zhang Zhimu also said to Wang Gonggong: "Li Jing and Yang Jing have arranged people in the kitchen!" Rest assured! ”

"But!" What else does the prince want to say?

"Everybody watch!" Emperor Chongzhen is a little angry, and it is inconvenient to be angry on this occasion!

The prince knew that something was big at this time. The emperor dared to oppose so many people when he spoke, this is not a small matter.

Li Jiantai, a scholar, also said: "Listen to the emperor!" ”

However, Zhang Zhimu still appreciates the heartfelt heart of the prince, and he knows that it is this prince who died in the coal mountain with Emperor Chongzhen in the original history. And the sanctimonious Li Jiantai in front of him was the surrender of Kaicheng when Li Zicheng's army besieged the city.

After the cold dishes were served, Ouyang He got up and came to the ** stage to host the welcome dinner!

"Long live the supreme Emperor Chongzhen! The queen mother is a thousand years old! Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen!

Our Welcome Dinner is now on! ”

There was a round of applause below! The people of Yaogang are accustomed to expressing their mood in this way, and the adults from the court, including the emperor, also think this way is very good! Also applauded!

"Now I would like to invite Mr. Zhang Zhimu, general manager of our Yaogang Trading Corporation, to give a welcome speech!" After Ouyang He finished saying this, the applause below rang out, and the discussion also rang out.

In fact, how did they know that Ouyang He's words were only said here after careful study. In this way, it is emphasized that Zhang Zhimu is the general manager of Yaogang Trading Corporation. At the same time, it is also necessary to highlight the identity of Emperor Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen listened to Ouyang He's words, and of course he felt very comfortable in his heart. Xin said, no matter what, Zhang Zhimu is still just a businessman.

Zhang Zhimu got up and nodded respectfully at Emperor Chongzhen under the gaze of everyone, then walked to the front of the ** stage, looked up below, and said into the microphone:

"Long live the supreme Emperor Chongzhen! The queen mother is a thousand years old! Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen! Good evening!

It is with great honor that we hold a grand banquet here to welcome the supreme Emperor Chongzhen, who has worked tirelessly from Beijing to Yaogang! The queen mother is a thousand years old! Ladies and gentlemen!

This is the eternal glory of all our employees and people from all walks of life in our kiln!

Long live the supreme Emperor Chongzhen! The queen mother is a thousand years old! Ladies and gentlemen!

Since the establishment of our Yaogang Trading Corporation, through hard work and even the blood and sacrifice of many people, we have built a poor land into a world-famous metropolis with a population of nearly 200, and have achieved remarkable results! We feel that the arrival of the emperor, the queen and all the adults is the greatest affirmation of us.

Your arrival will continue to inspire us to make further efforts to build a better kiln. We will repay the emperor, the queen and all the adults for their care for us with our efforts!

Long live the supreme Emperor Chongzhen! The queen mother is a thousand years old! Ladies and gentlemen!

We are well aware that the kiln has made some achievements now. But it's far from complacent. We have to keep going. While we were sitting in this brightly lit banquet hall, we still had many employees working in their respective posts, and there were many soldiers from the kiln gang fighting on the battlefield. Although no strong enemy can threaten our security at present, the battle to unify our territory is far from over. Even in the places we have taken back, there are still many people who have not solved the problem of food and clothing.

We have a long way to go.

We believe that with the guidance and care of His Majesty the Supreme Emperor Chongzhen, and the support of all adults, we will be able to do better in the future!

Heartfelt welcome to His Majesty the Supreme Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Niang, and heartfelt welcome to all adults. I hope your guidance in the kiln gang goes well!

Long live His Majesty the Supreme Emperor Chongzhen! Banzai! Hooray! The queen mother is a thousand years old! Chitose! Chichitose! ”

After listening to Zhang Zhimu's speech, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but take the lead in applauding in admiration! In his speech, Zhang Zhimu raised the emperor and the ministers of Niangniang very high, and also pointed out the achievements of the kiln gang people very implicitly. The etiquette is very thoughtful, and everything that needs to be said has been said!

Emperor Chongzhen also felt that his speech must be underprepared at this time.

However, when Ouyang He introduced, "Next, please ask our Supreme Emperor His Majesty to give us instructions!" At that time, Emperor Chongzhen still came to the ** stage with his head held high.

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.