Song Zhewu, who returned to Laiyuan, simply visited Zhao Pilian with courtesy, and left under the pretext of military affairs, but told Zhao Pilian before leaving that he would hold a banquet for him in Beisheng Building at night to wash the dust.

That night, Song Zhewu hosted a banquet for Zhao Pilian in the Beisheng Building in the county seat, where Lu Zuo was last entertained.

In order to deliberately make Zhao Pilian feel neglected, Song Zhewu did not bring all the senior officers to accompany him as Lu Zuo did, and this time only Xiao Guodong and Tao Rong were the two to accompany him. This time, he wanted Zhao Pilian to feel that Song Zhewu had complaints about Yan Xishan, but he couldn't let Yan Xishan die for him, which would attract Yan Xishan's revenge, and he also wanted Yan Xishan to feel that he Song Zhewu was a huge force that could be co-opted.

Therefore, although Song Zhewu did not make a grand scene to welcome Zhao Pilian, he still did not dare to snub Zhao Pilian in terms of etiquette, if Zhao Pilian felt that he was personally despised, it would be terrible, he was Yan Xishan's cronies, if he slandered Yan Xishan, he Song Zhewu would have a lot more trouble. Therefore, Song Zhewu still attaches great importance to this banquet, and the dishes and drinks are arranged by him personally.

Zhao Pilian is a native of the fifth-level village of Wutai County, Shanxi, and is a fellow villager of Wutai with Yan Xishan. Song Zhewu had never been to Shanxi in his previous life, but he had heard that Shanxi cuisine was divided into three obvious flavors from north to south, and the north was represented by Datong and Wutai cuisine, and the dishes paid attention to heavy oil and heavy color, and Zhao Pilian was a Wutai person, so Song Zhewu tried his best to order the heavy taste of northern Jin cuisine. There are soft and fragrant oily meat, sweet and sour carp that is charred on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and sour carp, braised pork with fragrant taste, outstanding taste and long aftertaste, as well as four meat dishes such as pot roast mutton; In addition, there are two vegetarian dishes: fried flat mushrooms with celery and dried stir-fried tea tree mushrooms.

The celery was bought by the Quartermaster Department in Tianjin for Song Zhewu, and the tea tree mushroom was brought to her daughter by Li Rujuan's mother, Song Zhewu was not embarrassed to talk to Li Rujuan, but asked Ye Qing to find his sister Ye Zi, who was a personal guard for Li Rujuan, to ask for a little, and it was just enough for a plate.

As for the wine, Song Zhewu had no choice but to take out the fifty-year-old Shanxi Fenjiu that Yan Xishan gave him, which was his last five jars. Although he was a little reluctant, he finally gritted his teeth and took out the three altars. The only famous good liquor in the north is this Fenjiu, which is the representative of the fragrant type of Chinese liquor. Luzhou Laojiao in Sichuan and Moutai in Guizhou are the representatives of strong fragrance and sauce flavor respectively, at this time they are not as famous as later generations, and their names are far less resounding than Fenjiu in the north. Song Zhewu sent people to get dozens of jars of 'Hua Mao' that had been cellared for many years, and after drinking it, he thought it was much better than the Moutai drunk in later generations.

Although Song Zhewu thought that his Hua Mao was better than Fen wine, Song Zhewu was afraid that Zhao Pilian would not be used to drinking it, so he didn't dare to take it out.

Zhao Pilian was personally picked up by Xiao Guodong and Tao Rong at his residence, and Song Zhewu just took Liang Bi and Ye Qing and a few other guards to greet him at the door of the restaurant.

In the past few days when he came to Laiyuan, Zhao Pilian was very unhappy, although Xiao Guodong personally brought a battalion of people to Shuibao Town, the provincial border of Shanxi and Hebei, to meet him, which made him feel a little relieved, but it was also because he was not good at bringing the Jin Sui army who escorted military supplies to the current Taihang Administration, and these materials needed to be protected. Even Zhao Pilian thought that Xiao Guodong brought people to Shuibao Town to meet him, but he was unwilling to let the Jin Sui army enter the country, so he also let his battalion of the Jin Sui army stay in Shanxi.

However, when he arrived in Laiyuan, he was not angry, and this Song Zhewu knew that he was coming, so he even went to Fuping to inspect the training of the troops, and insisted on drying him, the representative of Yan Xishan and the vice minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of China, for two days. That's not all, what made him even more angry was that after this Song Zhewu came back, he didn't have too much apology, he just came to see him very casually and left.

Thinking that he Zhao Pilian, whether in Shanxi, Nanjing, or Shanghai, he has seen a lot of people with official positions much greater than him Song Zhewu, a small lieutenant general, and which one of them is not competing with him and even pleasing him. Even Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan, the two most powerful and powerful figures in China today, are also very polite to him and Zhao Pilian.

Because of Song Zhewu's unreasonableness, Zhao Pilian wanted to slap his ass and leave several times. But when he thought of Yan Xishan's expectant eyes before leaving, he had no choice but to freeze down, he wanted to bring back Song Zhewu's clear attitude towards Chiang Kai-shek to Yan Xishan, who had the grace of knowing him.

Therefore, when Xiao Guodong and Tao Rong came to pick him up for the banquet, Zhao Pilian did not show any displeasure, nor did he ask Song Zhewu where he was, and followed the two of them. It's just that when he arrived at the door of the restaurant, he saw Song Zhewu standing in front of the door to greet him from a distance, which made him feel a little strange, this arrogant "nouveau riche" actually realized that it was a little inappropriate to treat him so slowly, which made Zhao Pilian's heart feel a lot more relieved.

After a few words of greeting with Song Zhewu at the door, he followed Song Zhewu to the restaurant and came to the private room set by Song Zhewu. Zhao Pilian was arranged to be under Song Zhewu's hands, and after several people sat down, Song Zhewu signaled to serve the food.

Because Song Zhewu, the supreme governor of Laiyuan, wanted to come to Beisheng Building to entertain guests, the owner of the restaurant naturally did not dare to slack off, and cleared the guests early in the evening, and everyone knew that Song Zhewu was going to entertain here, but no one dared to say anything. Because there were only guests at their table, the dishes were served quickly.

As soon as the wine and food came up, Zhao Pilian was stunned, among these dishes, except for the tea tree mushrooms he had eaten in Shanghai, all the dishes were Wutai dishes in his hometown, although the celery was not from Shanxi, but the flat mushroom was a specialty of Wutai County. Especially when Xiao Guodong told Zhao Pilian that all the dishes were ordered by Song Zhewu himself, which made Zhao Pilian even more surprised, Song Zhewu was obviously very respectful to him when he did this, but he couldn't understand, what was the reason why Song Zhewu was so condescending, could it be that something happened in the afternoon?

Just when Zhao Pilian was confused, Song Zhewu said to Zhao Pilian with a smile: "We met this afternoon, I am meeting Vice Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of China and Deputy Minister Zhao Pilian Zhao of Chairman Yan of Shanxi; Now I am at a banquet for Mr. Lutai (Zhao Pilian (1882-1961), the principal of Shanxi Provincial Normal School, and Mr. Lutai (Zhao Pilian (1882-1961), the name Zhiqing, the number Lutai). ”

Song Zhewu Zhao Pilian didn't understand this, which clearly meant that he was here, 'You are here on behalf of Yan Xishan, I am a little dissatisfied with Yan Xishan, so naturally I will treat you Zhao Pilian slowly. But if you don't talk about business, I, Song Zhewu, still have a lot of respect for you. Zhao Pilian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said in his heart that this is good, as long as the atmosphere is harmonious, everything is easy to talk about, and he began to think nervously about how to bring the conversation to the point in a while.

Song Zhewu took the silver wine pot that the restaurant owner was only willing to take out when entertaining distinguished guests, and poured wine for Zhao Pilian with his own hands, as soon as the wine in the pot was poured out, the house was immediately filled with the crisp fragrance of Fenjiu, Zhao Pilian couldn't help but say "good", sniffed and said: "This is more than 50 years of Fenjiu, I can't imagine that you can drink such a good Fenjiu in Laiyuan." This kind of Fenjiu can only be drunk occasionally from Chairman Yan now. ”

Song Zhewu also smiled and said: "Mr. Lutai is very knowledgeable, this is more than 50 years of Fenjiu, this is what Chairman Yan asked Mr. Cilong to bring to me before I went to Hubei." Don't hide it from Mr. Lutai, now there are only five altars left, and I am really reluctant to take them out if they are ordinary people! ”

Song Zhewu's words made Zhao Pilian very happy, nodded and said, "Yes!" In the past 50 years, because of the continuous war during the period from Xinhai in Shanxi to before the Second Northern Expedition, the winery was afraid of the loss of the war, so it was sold in advance, and now there are not many good wines in the cellar, except for Chairman Yan, who can't buy it even if he has money. Chairman Yan is willing to give such a good wine to Wen Ge, which is very rare! ”

Seeing that Zhao Pilian wanted to put the topic on the right track, Song Zhewu said, "This is not the time. Pointing to the dishes on the table, he said: "I know that Mr. Lutai is from Wutai, and I wanted to cook some of Mr. Lutai's hometown dishes, but there are many dishes in Shanxi, and it is said that there are three major cuisines, and I can't tell the difference. If there is a mistake, I am also willing to express the 'heart of Qin's dedication' and hope that Mr. Lutai will correct it. ”

Zhao Pilian nodded and said: "What Wen Ge said is basically good, but if it is subdivided, it is not the three major cuisines, but the four major cuisines, specifically: Taiyuan cuisine, Jinnan cuisine, Jinbei cuisine and Shangdang cuisine." Among them, Taiyuan cuisine is the main representative of Jin cuisine. Taiyuan cuisine is Jin Chinese cuisine, also known as Yangqu cuisine, bringing together the cooking skills of Shouyang, Yuci, Qixian, Taigu and other places, absorbing the cooking strengths of dishes from Beijing, Shandong, Henan, Shanghai, Sichuan and other northern and southern places, eclectic, and gradually forming a set of cuisines with unique local flavors and widely adapted to surnames. The general flavor characteristics are: heavy and salty, like sour vinegar, thick oil and heavy color, soft and crispy. This is the sixteenth figure block of Jin cuisine's authentic flavor. Although it absorbs the strengths of many families, its own style is also weak. In today's Jin cuisine, only the northern Jin cuisine represented by our Wutai is more distinctive. Especially because it is cooked with Shanxi old vinegar, Shanxi's sweet and sour dishes have a unique flavor. ”

He pointed to the dishes on the table and said, "These dishes are all authentic Wutai dishes, not bad!" Not bad! I want to thank Wengo for bothering. ”

Song Zhewu picked up the wine glass and said: "Mr. Lutai is erudite and knowledgeable, Zhewu has been taught, we are today one is to pick up the wind for Mr. Lutai, and the other is to compensate Mr. Lutai for the crime of negligence, come, we will pay tribute to Mr. Lutai together." ”

Zhao Pilian humbly drank the wine in the cup with Song Zhewu and others. Then everyone pushed the cup and changed the lamp, Song Zhewu, Xiao Guodong, and Tao Rong toasted Zhao Pilian again and again, Zhao Pilian had a lot of wine, and the cup bottomed out, after the third round, Xiao Guodong and Tao Rong, who had a poor amount of wine, did not dare to toast anymore, only Song Zhewu still talked and laughed with Zhao Pilian and said some painless gossip.

After a toast with Song Zhewu, Zhao Pilian said: "Shanxi Fenjiu has exquisite craftsmanship and a long history, and is known for its soft mouth, sweet mouth, aftertaste and long aftertaste. Historically, Fenjiu has had two glories: 1500 years ago, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Fenjiu was highly respected by Emperor Wucheng of the Northern Qi Dynasty as a royal wine in the court, and was recorded in the history of the Twenty-fourth Dynasty, making Fenjiu famous in one fell swoop; In the late Tang Dynasty, the great poet Du Mu sang a poem "Qingming" for the ages: "Where is the restaurant?" The shepherd boy refers to Xinghua Village. "This is Fenjiu's second fame. Fenjiu should be the oldest famous liquor in China, according to historical records, Guizhou's 'Moutai' was passed down by a Shanxi salt merchant during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. Shaanxi's 'Xifeng' is the relocation of Shanxi Liquor Factory, and the establishment of 'Xifeng Liquor'. So far, there are still the word 'Fen' in the famous liquor in many places in China, such as 'Xiangfen', 'Xifen' and 'Jiafen', which can be seen its origin. ”

Zhao Pilian put down the wine glass, glanced at Song Zhewu inadvertently, and said to a few people: "The reason why Shanxi Fenjiu is good, Zhiqing thinks that this is mainly because the water in Shanxi is good, only the water in Shanxi can brew Fenjiu, even if someone in Jiangsu and Zhejiang uses the same process and raw materials, it is impossible to brew Fenjiu." This is the saying 'one side of the water and soil raises one side of the people'. Shanxi's folk customs are simple and simple, and there are frank and sincere northerners, which cannot be compared with Jiangsu and Zhejiang. ”

Song Zhewu said: "This is to get to the point. ”

However, he didn't want to take over the topic now, and pretended to be confused and said: "What Mr. Lutai said is true, the quality of the water does have a decisive impact on the quality of the wine produced. The rice wine in the south is very good, such as Shaoxing rice wine, which is known as one of the four famous wines in ancient China, it uses the water of Huiquan, which is called the second spring in the world by Lu Yu, the tea saint of the Tang Dynasty, and its aroma is peaceful, between the exposed and the connotation, and its mellow and fragrant aroma penetrates into the heart, cool and pleasant, and it is also a unique flavor. ”

Zhao Pilian smiled unmindfully and said: "The rice wine in the south is indeed unique, but he is not suitable for northerners like Wen Ge, the winter in Taihang Mountain is cold and windy, only the spicy taste of Shanxi Fenjiu can warm Wen Ge's cold, and rice wine is not good." ”

Although both of them were playing dumb riddles, not only Song Zhewu understood the meaning of the exhortation and warning in Zhao Pilian's words, but also Xiao Guodong and Tao Rong.

Xiao Guodong said with a smile: "What Mr. Lutai said is true, in the ravine of Taihang Mountain, we do need a strong wine like Fenjiu to be cold, but Chief of Staff Tao and I are both southerners, and we prefer to drink rice wine in the south, even our commander has to take care of our habits, and we all drink rice wine together." ”

Xiao Guodong pointed at Tao Rong and said: "Originally, there were very few people in the south of our Fourth Route Army, and only me, the chief of staff, liked rice wine in the headquarters, but Chief of Staff Tao, a native of Guangxi, since joining our Fourth Route Army, I am no longer the only one who likes to drink rice wine." ”

Regarding Zhao Pilian's statement about the quality of the water and soil in the north and south, Xiao Guodong was afraid that Song Zhewu would not be able to answer, so he took the initiative to take over the topic, wanting to tell Zhao Pilian that although Song Zhewu is a northerner, he and Tao Rong, the two important people, are both southerners, and Song Zhewu's decision should also consider their opinions.

Song Zhewu naturally understood what Xiao Guodong meant, pointed at Tao Rong and said to Zhao Pilian: "Mr. Lutai doesn't know, right? Chief of Staff Tao was the chief of staff of Hu Zongduo of the 19th Army of the former Gui Department, who joined our Fourth Route Army in Hubei and is now the deputy chief of staff of our Fourth Route Army in charge of operations. ”

Song Zhewu's words couldn't help but make Zhao Pilian stunned, the chief of staff of Hu Zongduo of the Gui Department is now the deputy chief of staff in charge of operations of Song Zhewu's Fourth Route Army, and such an important position was handed over to a general who had just come over, which really surprised him, and he was surprised that Song Zhewu, a young man who was less than thirty, was so broad-minded, and this alone could not be underestimated.

Zhao Pilian looked at Song Zhewu and said to Tao Rong with a smile: "As the old saying goes, good birds choose trees to perch, good ministers choose masters, and Brother Tao is a good choice." ”

Zhao Pilian picked up the wine that the waiter had given him, gestured slightly, drank it all, and then fiddled with the cup in his hand and said: "The Gui system is over, it is very difficult for Li Zongren to restore the glory of the past, and it is really a clever move for Chief of Staff Tao to resolutely join the Fourth Route Army." It's just that, in my opinion, Chief of Staff Tao should join the Central Army, not the Fourth Route Army. ”

Tao Rong didn't expect Zhao Pilian to say this suddenly, and asked Zhao Pilian after a slight stunned: "Mr. Lutai, how can you say this?" ”

Zhao Pilian glanced at Song Zhewu and said: "Chiang Kai-shek's ultimate goal is to use force to recover the powerful factions in various places, and cleaning up the Gui family is only his first step. The problem now is that as soon as the Northwest Army in Shaanxi, Gansu, Qingdao, and Ningbo is reorganized by the Central Committee, Chiang Kai-shek will immediately go to find the next target he will deal with. And the next goal ......"

When Zhao Pilian said this, he deliberately pretended to take out a cigarette, but he was actually observing Song Zhewu's reaction.

Song Zhewu took out a cigarette expressionlessly and handed it to Zhao Pilian. Zhao Pilian lit a cigarette and said, "Who will be next?" ”

Taking a puff of cigarette, Zhao Pilian continued: "You don't have to think about it to know that this is Chairman Yan and Jin Suijun. Since Chiang Kai-shek could easily force Feng Yuxiang, who was strong and strong, to go up the mountain to study, it would be even easier to deal with Chairman Yan, and then he would clean up the forces outside the Central Army one by one. Of course, Chiang Kai-shek will not solve every problem by force, he only needs to recover a few of the strongest ones, and he is not afraid that others will dare to give in. Among these local powerful factions, Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui's uncle and nephew in Sichuan are the strongest, and the other is the Fourth Route Army. ”

Zhao Pilian didn't look at Song Zhewu either, and continued to take care of himself: "Actually, Liu's uncle and nephew have deep contradictions, and they will never unite together, which Chiang Kai-shek knows very well, not to mention that the Sichuan warlords have a good tradition, that is, they will not go out of Sichuan easily, and there is no threat to Chiang Kai-shek. Of course, if Wen Ge takes the initiative to hand over the Fourth Route Army to the Central Committee, with the strength of the Fourth Route Army and Wen Ge's great contributions to him Jiang someone, Chiang Kai-shek will never treat Wen Ge badly, and he will definitely give Wen Ge a good position. ”

Zhao Pilian saw that Song Zhewu did not say anything, and added: "The position of deputy minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs cannot run." ”

(To be continued)