It is the twelfth lunar month, and although snowflakes are constantly falling in Beijing, the streets are still very lively. In other words, the most lively thing in Beijing is the autumn harvest and the winter storage.

The capital is the most prosperous place, and materials from all over the world are gathered there, so much so that there is a saying in the capital that "Beijing was brought here by drifting".

Because the southern grain from Huguang makes the officials, the army, and the harem worry-free; the northern grain from Shandong and Zhili supplies the people in the capital.

Salt comes from Changlu Saltworks, silk brocades, cotton clothes and silks come from Nanzhili; porcelain incense burners come from Jingdezhen; horses and lambs come from the northwest and Liaodong.

In medicine, a large number of medicinal materials come from Anguo, Hebei and Bozhou, Anhui.

The wind and snow were howling, but it was hard to beat the bustle of the inn.

Several businessmen sat around, eating the recently popular mutton hot pot, and suddenly felt warm and connected.

"Guys, this is yellow mutton from Datong. You can get it for fifty yuan per kilogram. It's juicy and tasty. Add some soybean sauce to it. Oh, it's so delicious."

The businessman at the head of the table pointed to the hot pot and the paper-thin pieces of mutton that were presented and praised: "I heard that this way of eating came from the imperial palace. Who in Beijing wouldn't imitate it?"

As he said that, he picked it up with chopsticks, not caring about burning it, and wrapped it in his mouth.

"Yellow sheep?" The fat-faced businessman on the side chuckled and said: "There are at most 10,000 yellow sheep in Datong a year, how can we take our turn?"

"I can't tell whose family raised it."

"Hey, you don't know." The sharp-tongued businessman shook his head and said, "It seems like three or five years have passed since you went to Nanjing. The best mutton in Beijing now is the yellow sheep sent from Chifeng.

."

"As for the Datong yellow sheep? All the sheep in Suiyuan say they are Datong sheep, so it's our turn."

"Is that so?" The fat-faced businessman was stunned and shook his head helplessly: "It's better to stay in the capital and be comfortable, where there are all kinds of delicacies in the world."

As he spoke, he listed the treasures of his family: "Dongting tangerines, Fujian lychees, longans, Yongcheng dried dates, Dingshan chestnuts, Yunnan cistanche, Suzhou fermented bean curd, Kaifeng egg pine cones, Suzhou pine nuts and jujube paste sesame cakes, Sichuan lychee pancakes..."

"Good guy, if you wander around Beijing, you can eat all the delicious food in the world——"

The businessman sitting in the main seat also put down his bowl and chopsticks at this time, with a face full of approval: "That's true, I heard that there was a plague in Datong Xuanfu half a year ago, and the price of medicinal materials has skyrocketed, and there is no place to buy it, but if this is the case in Beijing,

, you have to use a big cart to pull it——"

"So, in this world, even if you are a dog, you have to go to Beijing. The taste and benefits will be more than anywhere else."

A few people said it rudely, but the diners nearby nodded.

No matter how hard it is, it cannot hurt the people of Beijing, and no matter how hungry it is, it cannot starve the city of Beijing.

"As the old saying goes, the east is rich and the west is noble, the south is poor and the north is poor. And with such benefits, even a tile-roofed house in Nancheng costs 300 pieces of silver!"

"At this price, people would be reluctant to sell it."

"Hey, dear, this is Tianjin, but you can buy a small courtyard that you can enter!"

The merchants were all speechless, and the nearby diners also listened with interest, not to mention the sense of pride in their hearts.

The waiter heard this with interest. Suddenly, with sharp eyes, he caught a glimpse of a carriage through the crack of the window, and immediately ran out to meet it:

"Are you going to work as a prostitute or stay in a hotel?"

As expected of a capital city, all the waiters in the store are dressed in cotton-padded clothes.

An old man who was nearly fifty years old got off the carriage. He was wearing a half-worn cotton robe that was neatly combed. He got off the carriage directly.

Looking up, the four big characters of Yuelai Inn were mostly covered by wind and snow, and the cover had long since frozen solid.

"Do you have a hotel room?" At this time, a tall man stepped forward.

"Yes, yes." The waiter nodded quickly.

"Come to two good guest rooms and a lower room, take the horses to the stables, feed them more concentrated feed, and by the way, prepare a table with three dishes and one soup for me -"

"Okay -" After accepting the two silver coins, the waiter said with a smile: "You can stay directly until the day after tomorrow, and the meals will be paid separately..."

How expensive!

The young man glanced behind him. The old man nodded slightly, and then he said: "That's enough."

So, the servant came in from the backyard with the carriage, and the old man and the young man went directly into the inn.

As soon as I opened the door curtain, a wave of heat hit my face.

Not long after the two sat down, a servant came over and the food was served.

Looking at several hot pot tables nearby, the young man couldn't help but ask: "Man, what is this?"

"You don't know, but this is a popular way of eating recently. It's called hot pot. It's eaten with mutton. Not to mention how delicious it is."

The waiter hurriedly asked: "Do you want to try it?"

"No need." At this time, the old man sitting in the chair spoke, his weathered face full of rejection.

"Teacher, the style of this capital is very different from that of Shaanxi." Young Guo Mi couldn't help but admire in a low voice.

Gu Yanwu couldn't help but echoed at this time: "The capital has abundant food and supplies, and is the best in the world."

"However, this kind of prosperity is only caused by the supply of materials in the world. One city consumes no less than one province. Even if there is no Beijing, there are Nanjing, Tokyo, etc...."

After traveling around the world for a long time, Gu Yanwu went through many hardships, but this was the first time he came to Beijing, and he was quite touched for a while.

In fact, the sudden selection of him as historian was beyond everyone's expectations, and Gu Yanwu himself couldn't react.

When he wanted to refuse, the disciples, relatives and friends around him tried to persuade him one by one, so he had no choice but to agree.

During this period of time, his mood had calmed down, and he thought to himself that his travels to the north and south of the Yangtze River were like searching for the reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Now that he was a historian, he had not been let down.

The next day, Gu Yanwu took his student Guo Mi to the Zhao Mansion to seek an audience.

It was rumored that he was appointed as the historian this time because of the recommendation of the chief assistant. Later, when Gu Yanwu inquired, it was true.

He is not a pedantic person, and he still understands the courtesy.

At this time, outside the Zhao Mansion, that is, the gate of Duke Fu's Mansion, there was a long queue of civil and military officers waiting to see him, all wanting to see the chief minister.

Gu Yanwu sighed in his heart, but handed over the name card and a silver dollar.

He still obeyed the rules and lined up directly.

"Is this all you do?" Seeing Gu Yanwu's attitude, the man on the body couldn't help but said: "Brother, do you dare to give me a dollar?"

"One dollar is a lot." Gu Yanwu said with a faint smile.

"Hey, in front of Shouxu's door, even ten yuan is still a starting point." The man said helplessly:

"I am the nephew of the First Assistant Wet Nurse. I only paid twenty yuan for this. There is no chance that I will ever see him again."

"You, I'm afraid you have to wait until the end of time."

Suddenly, the side door of the palace was opened.

The man was frightened, like a vulture seeing a dying animal. He took three steps and two steps, his face flushed and he squeezed forward, trying to rush towards the threshold that symbolized the future.

Unfortunately, the servants were experienced and quickly stabilized the situation.

Gu Yanwu looked at this farce and felt more and more ridiculous in his heart, and his desire to enter the officialdom became less and less.

"Is Mr. Gu from Kunshan here?"

"Is Mr. Tinglin here?"

The butler called diligently by different names and looked around, as if looking for his sweetheart.

Gu Yanwu stepped forward, raised his head and said, "I'm here, Gu Yanwu."

"My master invites you, come with me quickly——"

The butler was overjoyed and quickly and carefully led the way, crossed the threshold, and entered the dreamy little door.

At this moment, everyone was shocked.

Including the wet nurse's nephew, they were stunned and regretful.

The Duke's mansion was large in scale, but it was gorgeous and restrained, without any sense of excess or extravagance. This made Gu Yanwu couldn't help but nod:

He is worthy of being the first civil servant to assist the emperor.

"Mr. Huating, I have heard of his name for a long time. It is really a great blessing for Zhao to meet him today."

Zhao Shu was wearing a casual robe, and her long hair was pinned up by a jade hairpin. Obviously it was still bathing time.

Gu Yanwu complimented him, and the two sat down and started talking about compiling history.

"Your Majesty has established a new history museum and is preparing to compile the history of the pre-Ming Dynasty..."

Zhao Shu eloquently said: "When the History of the Ming Dynasty is compiled, the History of the Yuan Dynasty will also organize manpower to compile it. I am old and weak, so I can only supervise the revision as the chief executive..."

Good guy, the CEO of two history books...

When Gu Yanwu heard this, he took a deep breath.

He was completely sour.

Why does this sound so uncomfortable?

After talking about some ideas for compiling history, Zhao Shu emphasized that the report must be impartial and impartial, and no one should hide it for the sake of the emperor. The emperor only required the word fairness.

"Sir, you are a great talent. The position of historian must be yours."
To be continued...