Just as Xiao Jiu was restructuring the newly rising Chamber of Commerce in Wanpingkou, the Imperial City of Kyoto, a close assassination operation was also planned.

Naoli, Kyoto Castle.

It's winter, and the first snow of the year is drifting in with a chilly wind, and there aren't many people walking on the streets, except for the soldiers patrolling the streets.

After the once prosperous city of Kyoto was breached by the rebels, there are not many things that a capital of a country should be.

Although the rebel army is known as the army of justice, after the unrestrained soldiers entered the city, the original peasant rebel army also staged a tragedy in which the dragon slayer eventually became an evil dragon.

Counting the days, the rebels have been in the city for more than two months, but the city is still in a terrifying atmosphere.

The people of Kyoto Castle had helped march to defend the city during the Battle of Kyoto, but now after the rebels entered Kyoto, they were sacked by the soldiers as if they were angry.

Thanks to Zhao Qinghe, who accompanied him, he had a lot of prestige in the rebel army, and he stopped this group of rude ruffians in time, so he was able to save these lives and not be slaughtered in vain.

And the reason why the family led by Zhao Qinghe stopped the rebel army from slaughtering the city was not because of how merciful these people were, but because these people who were about to be captive were the best laborers.

Now the world has been war-torn for a long time, and before that, a drought swept through the north, resulting in a sharp decline in the population of the entire Central Plains.

Now that the land of Zhili has entered the pockets of these landlords and families, it is natural that these excellent laborers will not be spared.

The power of these families entered Zhili, and the fertile arable land was basically divided, and the refugees displaced by the war became hired farmers on these lands.

With the passage of time, the many forces that entered the Zhili were gradually merging with each other, turning it into a game of big fish eating small fish.

As for the teachings and dogmas of the Divine Fire Sect at the beginning, they have long been discarded by these rebel leaders, and they are only used as a tool to control the minds of soldiers.

In this context, the strength of the strongest rebel army, the Green Guard Battalion, swelled rapidly with the support of the family, and the status of its leader, Huadong, also rose, and he was no longer constrained by the general altar of the Yuzhou rebel army, and began to cede land and claim the king.

In addition to the Imperial Palace, the largest palace in Kyoto City was also occupied by East China, serving as its own residence, and for a time East China became a rising star in the Central Plains political arena.

In fact, not only East China, but also the major leaders stationed in Zhili have gradually formed a loose alliance under the tandem of Zhao Qinghe and other families.

Their demands are also very simple, and now that they occupy the fertile land of Guanzhong, they have also turned into powerful princes.

As its own strength snowballs, its ambitions will naturally expand irrepressibly.

Great Xia has already perished, and their common enemy is gone, so why should they obey Yuzhou's orders?

When this thought popped up in their minds, they were no longer the rebel refugees who just wanted to struggle to survive, they now wanted to be a marquis and worship the prime minister, and find a territory to be the king themselves.

So on this day, Huadong held a banquet in his own mansion and invited the leaders of these rebel armies to discuss the division of territory and how to get rid of the jurisdiction of Yuzhou.

When the time came to noon, the guests from all over the world came from all over the world, and the doorman who greeted the guests kept singing the names of the "hero" visitors from the morning.

Most of these people were peasants, but since the rebellion, they have lost their duties as peasants.

From time to time, there was a gloomy gaze in his eyes, telling others that they were not easy to mess with, not so much a group of generals, but a gang of bandit leaders.

The sky gradually darkened, and the protagonist Hua Dong also appeared at the banquet scene, along with Zhao Qinghe and other family figures.

Just when the guests and hosts were talking happily in the banquet hall, the kitchen in the courtyard was also preparing the banquet meals in full swing.

In the kitchen in the backyard, the official in the courtyard is urging the handyman in the kitchen to prepare the meal quickly with two attendants, and the exit is dirty and mixed with punches and kicks from time to time.

"It's all sharp, if you delay the adults' dinner, you will have to cut off your heads one by one."

Listening to the harsh tone of the steward, these kitchen handymen didn't dare to breathe, so they could only step up the work at hand, working harder for fear of being targeted by the other party.

Of course, these words are only for these handymen who do some rough work, those chefs who are in charge of the cooks and the people in the back kitchen, and this housekeeper does not dare to insult.

I don't know if it's the impact of the previous Jizhou Governor Xia Cheng being poisoned at the banquet, and now most officials only use their trusted cooks to cook at home.

In East China, for example, the servants in charge of cooking in the government and the handymen who do rough work are distinguished, and outsiders generally cannot enter the inner kitchen.

Moreover, after the meal is cooked in the kitchen, it will be tasted by a special person who tries the food, and the cooked meal will be served on the table only after two hours of eating, so as to eliminate the possibility of poisoning the villain.

It's just that there is an unfamiliar face in the back kitchen today, and a Jizhou chef who is famous for cooking was invited to prepare one or two "foreign dishes" for this banquet.

"Sir, is the meal ready?"

The fat butler walked into the kitchen with a grin, and whispered a question to the out-of-town cook, a very different tone from the tone he had just spoken outside the door.

Hearing the butler's inquiry, the chef didn't dare to hold it up, and hurriedly quickened the movements in his hand, and did not forget to respond respectfully to the butler.

When the meal was ready, the butler sniffed the fragrant fragrance and couldn't help but pick up the chopsticks to try it, and was full of praise after just two bites.

"Well, the rumored Jizhou Eight Dishes really live up to its reputation, but how should I eat this big meat bun?"

Hearing the housekeeper's question, the chef carefully explained that the last dish was called Split Melon Dish, and according to legend, a chef named Liu Huaqiang was inspired by eating watermelon at a roadside fruit stall.

Before this dish is eaten, the chef needs to split the meat bun on the spot, so as to ensure that the juice and aroma inside it will not leak out in advance.

When the butler heard that the chef said that he would bring a knife to the banquet site to split, he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious in his heart.

Because now is different from the past, East China, as the leader of the party in charge of the life and death of tens of thousands of people, secretly does not know how many enemies want to take his life.

If the cook had been an assassin sent by the enemy, he would not have escaped a joint crime if he had carried a knife at a banquet.

Seeing the butler looking at himself with unkind eyes, the chef naturally understood his concerns, picked up the kitchen knife with a cold glow on the board and slashed at the round meat bun.

I saw two cold lights flashing, and the meat bun that was originally the size of a watermelon was instantly divided into four petals, among which the vegetarian vegetables wrapped in meat puree were steaming in front of the two of them.

The housekeeper was originally startled by the sudden flash of cold light, and asked about the fragrant food at this time, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously left saliva.

After picking up the chopsticks and tasting them, the suspicion in the housekeeper's heart was swept away, and he asked, "How many can you make this melon chopping dish?" ”

The cook saw that the butler was impressed by the delicious food, and said with a smile that he could make three in a hurry.

Hearing this, the butler bowed his head slightly, signaled the cook to cook well, and only after he came out of the back kitchen did he call the servant who was in charge of preparing the ingredients and asked him to take care of the chef so as not to have bad intentions.

For the housekeeper's care, the servant did not dare to be careless, and solemnly agreed.

In fact, I don't blame the housekeeper for being cautious, but the chopping melon dish can't be tasted in advance, and he still has to be smart to take precautions, after all, no matter how good the chef is, he is still a foreigner.

In fact, the fat butler expected that this chef was an assassin sent by Gu Chong, the high priest of the Divine Fire Sect, to assassinate East China.

It's just that because the kitchen is heavily guarded and can't win the trust of the housekeeper in a short period of time, the chef decides to carry out the assassination operation at the banquet with a special kitchen knife in the name of chopping melon vegetables.

As the banquet began, various delicacies were gradually brought up from the back kitchen, and the assassin who claimed to be the chef of Jizhou was also in full swing to prepare.

The assassin's name was Zhang Liang, and he became a chef in the Yuzhou City Lord's Mansion under the guidance of a famous chef.

Originally, he should be the envy of others, after all, not everyone can enter the Yuzhou City Lord's house as a chef.

But the bad thing is that he married a beautiful daughter-in-law, was favored and occupied by the son of the governor of Yuzhou, and threw his family into prison.

originally thought that his life should end here, but he was accidentally rescued by the rebels who rushed into the city of Yuzhou.

This time, Zhang Liang accepted Gu Chong's assignment to go to Kyoto to assassinate East China, and he was ready to die, more to repay Gu Chong's kindness to him.

But he is a cook, and it is false to say in his heart that he is not nervous, and his hands that cook can't stop trembling because of nervousness.

"The last gourd chopping dish is about to be delivered, you are ready to go over and chop."

The butler's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he nodded in response before taking a few deep breaths to make himself look less nervous.

On the way from the back kitchen to the banquet hall, a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on Zhang Liang's head, and his walking movements were also a little awkward.

"You'll be able to get up close and personal with the assassination target, so hold your breath."

Zhang Liang kept repeating it over and over again in his heart, trying to make his state easier.

Just when Zhang Liang slowly walked towards East China with his Xuantie Treasure Knife, the banquet had already been carried out for most of the time, and many people were drunk, and East China on the main seat was even more red.

It's no wonder that East China is out of shape, through the banquet just now, agreements have been reached with many leaders of the rebel army, and today's task can be regarded as a successful completion.

As soon as he thought that he would be the king of the land and no longer be bound by the Divine Fire Sect, Hua Dong couldn't help but drink happily with the guests, and even Zhao Qinghe, who had always been steady, was drunk.

Seeing the embarrassed appearance of everyone at the banquet, the assassin Zhang Liang sneered in his heart, and gradually approached Huadong on the main seat.

Just as Zhang Liang was about to climb the steps and walk in front of Hua Dong to carry out the assassination operation, the other party suddenly sat up from his seat.

"Eat well, I'll go to the toilet first, and I'll go back when I go."

Hua Dong, with a mouth full of wine, had already begun to babble nonsense to the guests, and the drunk guests didn't care at all, and after a little response, they drank with their wine glasses.