"Going against fate and benefiting the king is called loyalty; obeying fate and benefiting the king is called obedience." [Xunzi·Chen Dao]
This is the most ordinary cake shop. It has only served the common people at the bottom. Where did nobles like the emperor come from? The boss and his mother-in-law used four large bamboo curtains hanging from the roof beams to separate a private space.
A used table top.
A little girl over eight years old and a boy slightly younger than her used a slightly white coarse cloth to wipe the table, tableware and chopsticks again and again, for fear that the emperor and others would be dissatisfied.
"Okay, okay, that's it. If I thought this place was dirty, I wouldn't have come in at all, so you don't have to be too formal." The emperor looked at the brother and sister nervously and awkwardly wiping the utensils, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
The brother and sister seemed to be frightened, and their wiping movements became more and more clumsy. Mu Shun couldn't stand it and drove them out: "Go down, you can't wipe anything clean."
Mu Shun took out a piece of plain silk from his sleeve and carefully wiped the corners of the table before letting the emperor and others take their seats at the table.
"Sir, what do you want to eat?" Mu Shun asked.
The emperor saw the accompanying guards sitting around and said, "What delicious food is there in the cake shop? It would be great if I could eat something that is not available in the house."
"Young Master is joking, there is nothing in the house, but in terms of exquisite food, it is even better than outside." Zhao Wen said.
In ancient times, people did not have many types of food. The take-off period of dishes was at least after the Tang and Song Dynasties. There were only a few cooking methods in the Han Dynasty, but the ones in the court were more sophisticated and the methods were better.
The emperor also understood this. If he was talking about the biggest regret of coming to the Han Dynasty, I am afraid that he would not be able to eat the dazzling food of later generations: "Then let's serve a bowl of soup cakes. Everyone including my guards will have a bowl of soup."
If the cake is not enough, please add more.”
Seeing that the emperor was treating guests to the same food as them, the guards were flattered. They all stood up, clasped their fists at the emperor and said, "Thank you, Master!"
This scene frightened the boss so much that he hugged his wife and children and ran to the kitchen, saying yes.
The emperor reached out and picked up the pottery pot on the table and poured himself a glass of water. The water was drawn from the well and had an earthy smell. The emperor smelled it, fearing that it was unclean and contained parasites, so he did not dare to
Xiakou.
Upon seeing this, Mu Shun knew that the emperor was accustomed to drinking boiled water after drying, so he took out the glass of water and the pottery pot, poured the water, boiled another pot of water, let it cool down before bringing it in. Before he entered the compartment
, the bamboo curtain was opened from the inside, revealing half of Yang Qi's face. He said to Mu Shun expressionlessly: "The country wants to see Zhang Liao."
Mu Shun was stunned and suddenly filled with resentment. He didn't expect that Mrs. Yang Qi didn't take him seriously. His tone just now was like casually giving orders to an unimportant servant.
Zhang Liao, the commander of Luben, was only twenty-three years old. He was a man from Bingzhou with a height of seven feet and a powerful posture. He stood upright, like a javelin stuck in the ground. As soon as he entered, he occupied a lot of space in the compartment, making him
The place suddenly became a little crowded.
The emperor admired Zhang Liao's martial prowess very much. He had heard of the reputation of Zhang Liao's five sons in later generations. Therefore, on the day when Lu Bu asked to send soldiers to the palace, the emperor hesitated for a long time, and finally accepted the temptation of such fierce generals as Zhang Liao.
Following Wang Yun's suggestion, he was appointed to the palace along with Gao Shun, who was also familiar to him. He also deliberately reinstated the Brigade Order abolished by Emperor Guangwu and put Zhang Liao in charge so that he could be close to him at all times.
He deliberately tried to win over him and said, "General Zhang was able to charge into Chi'er's enemy formation with a hundred cavalry that day and rescue Pao Ze. He is really brave and brave."
"All of this is due to the lives of my subordinates. The guard order Gao Shun also played a big role in it, so the last general dare not take the credit." Zhang Liao's eyes were bright, he glanced at the emperor briefly and then quickly turned elsewhere.
"You are all rare and good generals. In the future, if the imperial court wants to revive, it will definitely use troops everywhere. At that time, it will be necessary for you to risk your own life and serve the country." The emperor made no secret of his ambition to use force to seek peace, and said to Zhang Liao:
"You and Gao Shun were appointed by me to enter the palace. Don't think that after becoming the Guard Order and the Brigade Order, you have lost the opportunity to go into battle and kill the enemy. I have discussed with everyone at Shangshutai and intend to order Yu Lin to do so at the end of the month.
, Huben, the fifth battalion of the Northern Army, and the palace guards went to Shanglin Garden to practice martial arts."
Looking at Zhang Liao's slightly surprised expression, the emperor smiled and said: "At that time, I will evaluate your leadership ability one by one and whether it is worthy of the important responsibility I will place on you in the future. Wenyuan, don't let me down."
In the past two days, the emperor intentionally or unintentionally took Zhang Liao and Gao Shun to watch the training of the Northern and Southern Army, especially the training scene of the fifth battalion of the Northern Army after the emperor ordered to reorganize.
Gao Shun was amazed by the knowledge. The emperor was ambitious, capable and powerful, but what he lacked was a strong general like Zhang Liao.
After hearing the emperor's words, Zhang Liao was inexplicably excited. He had seen the emperor and the two previous generals who were equally young. In terms of intelligence, he boasted that he was not inferior to Gaishun, and in terms of bravery, he claimed that he was not inferior to Zhang Meng.
But these two people, one is Yulin Superintendent and the other is Changshui Colonel. They have never been on the battlefield. They are here today only because of the emperor's trust. If Zhang Liao can stand out in front of the emperor, with his wisdom and bravery, he can still
Afraid of being inferior to others?
Today the emperor went on a patrol incognito, without anyone else, but took Zhang Liao as a guard. The emperor trusted him with his life. Didn't he still know the meaning of this?
Lu Bu took him in because he only took into account the feelings of the local people and the thousands of troops under his command, but he never regarded him as a direct descendant. However, the emperor really valued his military ability and entrusted him with important tasks. If he didn't know that he was
How to choose between the emperor and Lu Bu? Then why should he struggle in troubled times?
Zhang Liao prostrated himself with sincerity and said solemnly: "The last general will live up to the trust of the country!"
The emperor was very happy. Zhang Liao was not as good as Gao Shun. He had just surrendered to Lu Bu and had not yet given up his heart for Lu Bu. Historically, he surrendered to Cao Cao very easily after Lu Bu was killed.
But Gao Shun is different. He is currently a person who is blindly obedient to Lu Bu. Instead of wasting more words and energy on Gao Shun, it is better to bring Zhang Liao to his side first. If Zhang Liao can persuade Gao Shun on his behalf later, then
It couldn't be better.
This was the emperor's idea. He had been acting on this idea these past few days, and now he finally saw results. Just as he was about to say some words of encouragement to deepen the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, he heard the boss's voice coming from outside the curtain: "Several of you
Your Majesty, the soup cakes are here."
After getting permission, the boss held up a small case with a pottery bowl, followed by his wife and children who also held a small case. They not only brought soup cakes to the emperor, but also bowls of pickles, Hu cakes and
Raw fish sashimi and grilled meat.
Although the emperor had said in advance that everyone should eat soup cakes, this did not mean that etiquette could be ignored. The boss was familiar with the rules. In addition to preparing soup cakes for the emperor, Zhao Wen and others, he also specially added a few special dishes.
Side dishes, and the quantity and size of fish are used to differentiate between superior and inferior dishes.
Zhang Liao was concerned about his safety, so he took the food outside and ate with the guards. The boss followed him down, and after taking his wife and children to serve the soup cakes to the guards, he hid in the back kitchen as if he was running away, just waiting for
These people should finish their meal and leave early, so as not to cause trouble to themselves.
The boy didn't seem to understand why the body of his father was trembling while he was holding him. He raised his head and asked innocently: "Aweng, are you cold?"
The boss shook his head and was about to say something when he heard his daughter happily say in his wife's arms: "Those people's clothes are so clean. Will they give Awen a lot of money after eating?"
"Definitely, Aweng even fished out the fish we kept in the well for that brother to eat." The boy muttered, "We bought those fish from the fish market outside the city and put them in the well.
For a long time, even my parents were reluctant to eat it."
The eldest father and the eldest mother refer to the grandparents. They were called to hide in the house by the boss in advance. In ancient times, only the elderly could eat meat in common people's homes, and even children could rarely eat it. This time, the boss wanted to please the emperor.
They paid a heavy price.
Seeing these two inexperienced children discussing how much soup and rice the Emperor and the others would eat and how they should divide it, the boss sighed, not knowing what to say.
About a quarter of an hour later, two people suddenly walked in from outside. The leader was Mu Shun. He didn't mind that the kitchen was dirty and walked straight in. "Go to the front and remove all the things. By the way, my son-in-law."