Chapter 197: The Dinner Party and the Loquats
Well, the governor has been in the city for so long, it is impossible for the Yunzhou officialdom not to know.... Xu Qi'an's mental state was much better, he couldn't sleep anyway, and he was bored in the post station, so he said:
"Okay, sir, wait a minute. β
He put on his boots, tied the gong at the head of the bed to his chest, and hung the long black and gold knife at his waist, and opened the door to the room.
Governor Zhang stood outside the door, wearing a scarlet official robe, with a straight posture and a remarkable appearance.
The two bowed to each other, went downstairs together, and waited in the lobby for a while before Jiang Luzhong walked in from the courtyard and said, "The personnel are counted, let's go." β
The luxury carriage stopped outside the post station, accompanied by 30 tiger guards and 7 guards. The venue of this night banquet is a compound facing the river.
The residence of the political envoy is specially used to entertain officials, and the mansion with four entrances and four exits.
Tonight the moon is bright and the stars are scarce, there is no wind, although it is the middle of winter, but it is suitable for a banquet in the back garden. As the core of this dinner and also a guest, Governor Zhang deliberately arrived a quarter of an hour late.
This is not only a show of prestige, but also a generous time for guests to prepare.
When you arrive at the door of the mansion, you can already park all kinds of carriages and sedan chairs, either gorgeous or simple, representing a great man with different official positions.
Under the leadership of the attendants, Governor Zhang and his entourage came to the front hall and saw Yunzhou officials wearing various official robes, more than 100 of them.
Among them is the prefect of Yunzhou that Xu Qi'an has seen today.
"Your Excellency. In the midst of hearty laughter, an official wearing a scarlet robe and a long beard greeted him.
"Your Excellency. Governor Zhang smiled and arched his hand.
The political envoy... It's equivalent to a high-ranking official.... Xu Qi'an looked at the political envoy of Yunzhou, his cheekbones were slightly high, his eyes were narrow, and when he smiled, his eyes narrowed into a slit, giving people the feeling of being a philistine.
Ning is Song Tingfeng's long-lost father? By the way, if memory serves, this political envoy is also surnamed Song.... The corners of Xu Qi'an's mouth hooked.
The political envoy of Song Bu led Governor Zhang and introduced them one by one, and Xu Qi'an followed with his eyes and kept the officials present firmly in mind.
"This is Lord Li, the commander of our Yunzhou. The political envoy of Song Bu came to a middle-aged man in the style of a Confucian general.
The surrounding voices suddenly became much quieter, and a pair of eyes stayed on Governor Zhang and Yang Chuannan.
The two court officials looked at each other for a moment and laughed in unison:
"Governor Zhang, look up for a long time. β
"All command the envoys, look up for a long time. β
The atmosphere suddenly relaxed again, and smiles appeared on the faces of the officials.
.... For a moment, Xu Qi'an thought that the scene would be frozen, or that the two sides would mock each other with a few strange words, hiding needles in the cotton, and this time it was in line with the image of an old yin-yang man in the officialdom.
The result is so harmonious?
"Lord Governor, the dinner has been prepared, let's go to the backyard together?" said the political envoy immediately.
In a state (province), the three highest-ranking yamen are: the Commander of the Envoy Division, the Political Envoy Division, and the Punishment and Prosecution Envoy Division.
Among them, the Sentencing and Procuratorial Envoys Department is subordinate to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so the Sentencing and Procuratorial Envoys are most like a dog's leg in front of Governor Zhang.
When I came to the backyard, the officials took their seats, and two interesting episodes occurred at the main table.
First episode:
Governor Zhang beckoned and said, "Ning Yan, come to the official's side." β
There are a total of ten positions at the main table, one spit and one nail, who should sit and who can sit, there are strict rules in officialdom.
Everyone immediately looked at the young man called "Ning Yan", who was wearing a dark uniform, a short cloak, a gong with dark patterns tied to his chest, and a special slender war knife that was different from the standard saber hanging from his waist.
A person with an old and spicy eye, just looking at this sword, realized that this gong's identity was unusual.
No matter where you are, if you can engage in special people, you will not be ordinary people.
Many officials secretly paid attention to Xu Qi'an.
The second episode is that Yang Chuannan blocked an official who was seated, pointed to the position next to him and said:
"A friend is coming. β
The official was stunned for a moment, then remembered something, and suddenly slapped his head and went to the other table without complaint.
.... Friend, not an adult, but a friend? Xu Qi'an sat precariously.
"Ning Yan, that anagram I said today..."Governor Zhang said in a low voice.
"Lord Governor!" Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice: "It's actually very simple, you just need to change your thinking. β
"How?"
"You're just too serious. "As the inspector of the imperial history, Governor Zhang belongs to the Qing noble in the officialdom of the capital, and the official is naturally noble.
If you want to change to an officialdom bastard who is proficient in eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling, you will already understand it in seconds.
Governor Zhang was about to speak, when he caught a glimpse of a young female general in light armor, tall and delicately proportioned, with a high ponytail.
Beautiful and handsome military lady.... Xu Qi'an's eyes lit up violently, and he said in his heart that there is such a beautiful military lady in Yunzhou?
This dress is much more attractive than what JK, black silk, nurses, and flight attendants, not a grade.
The American military lady went straight to the main table and sat next to Yang Chuannan, the commander of the capital.
Governor Zhang looked at the military lady, went through the list of characters in Yunzhou officialdom in his mind, and found that he couldn't sit in the right seat.
"This isβ" he said curiously.
Yang Chuannan said with a smile: "Everyone must have never heard of the name of Feiyan Woman, her name is Li Miaozhen, she is a ranger general hired by this official, and for more than a year, she has been suppressing bandits everywhere and making many military exploits. If it is about meritorious deeds, the position of the commander of the official will have to be handed over. β
His words caused a burst of statements from the officials, who praised the female general.
Governor Zhang didn't say anything, just nodded.
The Ranger General hired by Yang Chuannan .... That is to say, there is no establishment, and it does not belong to the regular court generals .... Xu Qi'an looked at the American military mother, and his heart moved.
No. 2 is also in Yunzhou, and he is also keen on suppressing bandits and spraying Emperor Jing..... She said that she was not a member of the court.... I also praised her for her chivalrous courage, and this handsome young lady is called Feiyan Woman... Poof, Swift Woman....
When chatting on the canal, No. 2 strongly supported Yang Chuannan and had a great relationship with him.... She can't be No. 2, right? Xu Qi'an drank tea quietly.
Don't be in a hurry, slowly find another opportunity to try.
In the book chat group, it can now be confirmed that No. 5 and No. 2 are both girls, No. 2 is very good-looking, and the temptation of uniforms is okay... I don't know how the fifth looks like.... The little brute girl in southern Xinjiang.
Two rows of dancers dressed in colorful clothes and showing their shoulders entered the stadium and danced to the accompaniment of musicians.
There are no Ziyang monks in Yunzhou, so everyone doesn't lift Xu Qi'an, and the topic revolves around the capital and Governor Zhang, phew, officialdom is really boring and a waste of time.
Li Miaozhen looked at the governor and his party quietly, she focused on Jiang Luzhong, knowing that he was a golden gong and a four-grade martial artist.
I don't know what I'm good at or what my personality is.
He is not young, but his qi and blood seem to be at his peak.... I don't know what weapons I'm good at, what kind of "meaning" I've raised, well, after the banquet, ask No. 3.
Li Miaozhen lowered his head and took a sip of wine, and immediately began to examine Xu Qi'an: his breath was restrained, and he couldn't see the depth of his qi, but a martial artist in the Copper Skin and Iron Bone Realm occasionally had divine light flashing on the surface of his body, but this person didn't, at most he was in the God Refining Realm...
It is difficult to hide the tiredness in his eyes, the bags under his eyes are puffy, and he looks like a color embryo that has been hollowed out by wine.... This person is either a relative of a certain big man in the yamen, or a relative of Governor Zhang, I heard Yang Chuannan say that the Metropolitan Procuratorate is under the management of Wei Yuan, and Governor Zhang arranged his relatives in the watchman, which is reasonable....
The dinner came to an end in a harmonious atmosphere, and the people brought up a plate of loquat with a dull color, full and large.
Xu Qi'an twisted a loquat that was not very fresh, peeled it, tasted it, it was sweet and sour, and the taste was very good, but the most important thing was that there was no core.
"Lord Governor taste, our loquat in Yunzhou can be described as a must, mature in late spring and early summer, the capital can not eat such a refreshing loquat.
"When the loquat matures, it is kept in the freezer, and the spoiled ones are picked every ten days, and now there is nothing left. "Song Changfu, Song Bu's political envoy enthusiastically grabbed a few and put them in front of Governor Zhang.
Governor Zhang took one and his eyes widened in surprise: "It's seedless?"
The envoy laughed silently, and the other officials laughed too.
Governor Zhang was quite surprised, it was the first time he had eaten the seedless loquat, and the experience was simply not too good, and he couldn't believe it:
"There are seedless loquats in the world, wonderful, wonderful. β
What is this, if you want to eat seedless watermelon, won't you be moved to tears like rain? Xu Qi'an said.
"This seedless loquat is a special breed of Yunzhou, why hasn't this official heard of it before?" said Governor Zhang.
"No, it is only because the loquat tree has been blessed by the incense breath of the White Emperor Temple that it bears seedless loquats. Song Bu said with a smile.
"Yes, yes, this is my Yunzhou Jirui. β
"Yunzhou is already a unique place, under the care of the White Emperor, and the wind and rain are smooth. β
The officials immediately touted it, instilled the idea of "the auspicious land of Yunzhou" to Governor Zhang, and united as one.
Governor Zhang fell into deep thought, he tasted the taste, but he couldn't guess where the mystery of loquat was without a core. Cautious did not refute.
The political envoy of Song Bu peeled another loquat, handed it over, and asked with a smile: "Lord Governor, did you say it?"
... Governor Zhang said helplessly: "What Lord Song said..."
"Lord Song's words are wrong. Coldly, Xu Qi'an opened his mouth to interrupt.
The officials at the main table and the other tables looked over and stared at Xu Qi'an.
Li Miaozhen, who bowed her head and ate vegetables, was very disdainful in her heart, she knew the reason, but she was now on the battlefield in Yunzhou officialdom, so she did not demolish Song Bu's political envoy.
She raised her head and stared at Xu Qi'an, who was outrageous, wanting to hear what he would say.
Envoy Song Bu frowned, looked at the gong that he had almost ignored, and said with an unchanged smile: "What advice does this lord have?" β
Xu Qi'an put down the wine glass, chewed the food in his mouth slowly, swallowed, and then picked up a loquat and said with a smile:
"The principle is actually simple, just pull out the center of the stamen during the loquat flowering stage, and the loquat will not have a core.
"Your Excellency, is what the lower official said right?"
There was silence at the table all of a sudden, and the Yunzhou officials around him looked at him with stiff faces.
Song Bu's expression froze.
.....
PS: Ask for a monthly pass, ask for a monthly pass, ask for a monthly pass.