Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 486: Guests and Vision
Can it still be calculated this way?
When Zhang Shou made such a convincing calculation, not only the emperor was stunned, but even the nobles who had just been watching from the sidelines were stunned. After they were stunned, they all laughed. There were a total of five nobles present. The one who was most familiar with Zhang Shou was Weinan Bo Zhang Kang, followed by Xiangyang Bo Zhang Qiong, and then Huaiqing Hou Zhang Jingzhou.
Weinan Earl Zhang Kang met Zhang Shou at Tingyu Cottage. Later, he not only showed Zhang Shou the globe left by Emperor Taizu, but also gave Zhang Shou a very difficult problem to unlock the text lock of Emperor Taizu's secret box. Zhang Qiong got to know Zhang Shou because of his son Zhang Dakui, also known as Zhang Wuji, who cheated, and was relatively familiar with his personality.
As for Huaiqing Marquis Zhang Jingzhou, although his son Zhang Lu was Zhang Shou's student, he only sent people to give gifts during festivals. His familiarity with Zhang Shou was limited to the few times he met Zhang Shou during court sessions, and he never spoke to him alone for more than five fingers. The most profound impression he had... well, that was that Zhang Shou was the future son-in-law of his old boss, Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing, and that was all.
As for Dingtao Earl Zhang Qian and Linfen Earl Zhang Wuxi, their understanding of Zhang Shou was not much more than that of ordinary people in the capital. Apart from the few things that Zhang Shou did that made a sensation in the capital, they knew nothing about him.
So, after they laughed at Zhang Shou's five-on-five description, Huaiqing Marquis Zhang Jingzhou couldn't help but joked: "It seems that Yue Shanzhang is not considered a civil servant, right? The same goes for Tang Jieyuan. Although he was the Jieyuan in the Shuntian Prefecture's provincial examination, he was only a juren after all."
"Emperor Taizu once said that if a local government official sets up a school to teach regular subjects, and has hundreds of students and five teachers, then the headmaster is considered to be of the seventh rank." This time, the person who spoke was the emperor. Seeing that Zhang Jingzhou was stunned by what he said, he sighed and continued, "During the reign of Emperor Taizu, there were few Jinshi in the world. Those who passed the examination went to Beijing to join the Imperial Academy, or to the ministries and courts for internship, and were often directly appointed as officials. So from this point of view, it is not an exaggeration to say that Yue Qing and Tang Jieyuan were civil servants."
It can be solved this way?
This time, Zhang Shou was the one who was surprised. He was just forcing a sophistry to even out the ratio of civil officials to military officials. In fact, he knew that Yue Shanzhang and Tang Ming were not civil officials. Strictly speaking, Lu Wan, the current chief priest of Daming Public School who had already handed over the post of Minister of War, was also not an official.
Even the title of Jijiu was given to Lu Wan as an exception by the emperor in order to commend his courage, and he even retained his previous rank and treatment.
The emperor explained it himself, and Xie Wanquan saw his senior brother Tang Ming's face flushed red, which was really wonderful. It seems that anyone would be excited to have the opportunity to let the emperor speak for him once in his life. But in comparison, Xie Wanquan felt that he was really out of place sitting among the big shots in this building, and he couldn't help but want to slip downstairs.
But at this moment, he heard Lu Sanlang's voice from below: "Mr. Liu, please slow down."
Following the voice, Lu Sanlang supported an old man up the stairs and appeared in front of everyone. However, just looking at the old man's vigorous steps and upright posture, anyone could tell that Lu Sanlang's support was not only unnecessary, but also just for show. Sure enough, after the man stood upstairs, his face was not red, his heart was not beating, and he was not out of breath. He went straight forward and bowed.
The emperor raised his eyebrows and immediately pushed the fourth prince beside him and said, "Silang, go and help Mr. Liu over and let him sit next to me."
"I don't deserve it." Liu Zhiyuan smiled and bowed again. Seeing that the Fourth Prince stubbornly grabbed his arm, he looked down at him and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, don't forget that when I was in the court, a lot of people said that I was full of evil spirits and even more bloody. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the reputation of Liu the Headless. It's not good for me, an evil star, to sit next to your Majesty, right?"
"They say that severe punishments should be used to govern a chaotic world, but I think that this should also be the case for a well-governed world. Otherwise, if you continue to be lenient and give light punishments to serious crimes, many people will just take chances. Besides, you are killing people who deserve to die."
The emperor waved to the fourth prince, and seeing that Liu Zhiyuan was being dragged over, he asked the old man to sit on the seat to his right, while Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying sat directly opposite him. The seat to his left was empty, so he looked at the fourth prince again and said, "Silang, go and invite two more guests to accompany you. As for who to choose, it's up to you."
It was a great honor to sit at the same table with the emperor. However, among the remaining civil and military officials, no one was willing to give up. Especially the nobles, who felt that they were not suitable to sit next to the emperor.
This would be more or less the same if it were the Duke of Zhao, the Duke of Chu, and the Duke of Qin. The first two were conferred the title of duke by Emperor Ruizong, and they were all very convinced of it. Although the Duke of Qin was already the second generation and was not as good as them in terms of merits, his title was still higher than theirs.
Therefore, when Zhang Jingzhou, the Marquis of Huaiqing, who had the highest rank among the people present, saw the Fourth Prince's eyes rolling around, he quickly laughed and said, "Fourth Prince, a rough man like me, Zhang, dare not go up to sit at the same table with the Emperor. Besides, Mr. Liu and Doctor Zhang are both learned people. I can only drink and eat, and there is nothing else I can do."
Regardless of whether the Fourth Prince's move was premeditated or not, Zhang Jingzhou decided to get himself out of it first.
With him taking the lead, the remaining four nobles surnamed Zhang naturally made it clear that they would not get involved. However, what made them feel relieved and overjoyed was that the fourth prince stood in silence for a moment, then asked the eunuch beside him to pour a cup of tea in a small wine glass, and then went directly to the eight-immortal table where the five of them were sitting together.
"You are all important officials of our ancestor, Grandpa Ruizong. You are of high seniority and old age. I know that you are all declining in order to help me. I don't have anything else to thank you for, so I will use tea instead of wine to toast to all the dukes and earls."
Seeing the Fourth Prince raise his cup and bow when he said this, everyone stood up in a hurry. When the Fourth Prince actually drank the tea in the cup, they didn't care how much wine was left in the cup and drank it all. After drinking, they saw the Fourth Prince even came up to apologize quietly. No matter how they felt, they at least felt proud.
Therefore, when the Fourth Prince went to the table of Wu Ge Lao and Lu Wan, Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong could not help but whispered: "The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince really have their own strengths. Just in terms of temperament, they are a thousand times better than their two brothers."
Who says it’s not?
Not to mention that all the rough guys thought so, even Lu Wan and Wu Ge Lao, who saw the Fourth Prince's attitude, felt the same way. When they found that the Fourth Prince was walking towards them, Wu Ge Lao quickly glanced at the Emperor, and seeing that the Emperor looked normal, with his usual smile on his face, he immediately became alert.
The emperor has been on the throne for 27 years, and he has been in official career for exactly 27 years. As a Jinshi (a special imperial examination candidate), although he cannot be said to have watched the emperor grow up, he can definitely be said to be well versed in the emperor's temperament. Otherwise, how could he be a good yes-man for the emperor?
So, he immediately laughed and said, "The Third Prince, just invite Old Lu to accompany you. I am just an old hand, and the Emperor sees me all the time. It would be boring to go there for an occasion like today. It would be better to have some new faces! Old Lu, you don't have to worry about you being alone without me. Tang Jieyuan, Master Xie, how about coming over to drink and chat with me?"
Tang Ming and Xie Wanquan looked at each other in surprise. When they saw that the Fourth Prince really accepted the invitation, he thanked Elder Wu with a cup of tea and then asked Lu Wan, who was obviously surprised and seemed unprepared, to leave. Although they had no idea what would happen next, they were not so sure as to refuse the invitation of such an elder, so they immediately stood up and moved their bowls and chopsticks over.
At this time, Shanzhang Yue, who had come to Beijing from a long distance and didn't know anyone, so he sat alone at the table, had finally understood everything.
When he saw the Fourth Prince escort Lu Wan to sit beside the Emperor, and then came to him with a smile and bowed, he quickly stood up to return the greeting. Although he had prepared to be humble in the most amiable voice, when the words came to his lips, he finally changed to another question.
"I wonder what other subjects the Fourth Prince likes besides mathematics?"
"What else do you like..." The fourth prince didn't know much about Yue Shanzhang, he just knew that he probably came to the capital to be his teacher. Although he admired Zhang Shou more, he was impulsive but smart and would not show his color to others casually, so he tilted his head and thought for a while, then he said with a smile, "I also like history and physics."
History is easy to understand. A child who likes history books at a young age is obviously smart. But what about physics?
Yue Shanchang decided that he would have to go through all the bookstores in the capital in the near future. But he did not show any fear on his face. He smiled and nodded as if to encourage him, and then followed the fourth prince to the emperor.
Although this was his second time to meet the king, the meeting outside the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College was not a very good memory for him. Even at this time and place, he was also worried that someone would reveal Fang Qing's words that were not careful enough at that time. However, until he bowed and took his seat, no one mentioned it until a little eunuch came over with a plate to serve the food.
But when the dishes were served to everyone, they were only small bowls the size of fists, with clear soup, two or three scallions, and some silver noodles half floating and half sinking inside, with only the space of one chopstick at most.
The emperor, who personally visited Xinglong Tea House for the first time to taste the cooking skills of the future imperial chef, could not help but raise his eyebrows when he saw this scene. Just a little bit? Not even enough to fill the gaps between teeth! However, seeing Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying pick up the food with chopsticks and eat it immediately after taking it, and then chewing it slowly to appreciate the taste, it was obvious that they were very experienced. He was a little confused and took a sip of the soup first.
The soup seemed a little bland at first, but as it gradually spread in the mouth, the slightly sour and spicy taste instantly spread throughout the mouth. So he didn't use chopsticks and directly poured the remaining noodles and soup into his mouth. He only felt that the noodles were smooth and chewy, and the soup was sour and spicy, and he couldn't tell what kind of broth was used for the seasoning.
At this moment, he, who had never expected anything from a creature like the imperial chef, couldn't help but slam the bowl on the table: "Another bowl!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor was greeted by Zhang Shou's cough: "Your Majesty, this first appetizer is made by Chef Fang from Yangzhou Guild Hall. He is already an imperial chef, but he has not yet entered the palace to serve. If Your Majesty wants to taste his cooking, there will be plenty of opportunities later."
What? He was the guy who was kidnapped by the second prince and made into a cook, and who was the most unlucky yet the luckiest person in the so-called Kunning Palace poisoning incident? Although he was in a bad mood at that time, he was still unwilling to vent his anger on others, so he just gave him the treatment of an imperial chef to appease him, and he didn't even plan to really call him into the imperial kitchen. As a result, such a chef turned out to be so talented?
If you have real talent, why don't you send it to the palace as soon as possible? I have been eating so much ! The Queen Mother's small kitchen tastes better than the imperial kitchen, but there are too few varieties, and they always talk about health preservation. I am almost losing my appetite! If this chef Fang can really cook as well as this appetizer, I will definitely support the selection of such imperial chefs in the future!
The emperor wanted to order Chef Fang to be tied up and sent back to the palace right now... back to the palace. Fortunately, he reacted very quickly and immediately regained his reserved expression, nodded slightly and said: "As expected of an imperial chef, this noodle is good."
As expected of me, I have always had good taste and directly ordered someone to be the imperial chef!
Zhang Shou saw this kind of emotion in the emperor's eyes strangely, and couldn't help laughing and crying. Fortunately, he was using the opportunity of tasting food to sell private goods today, and of course he would not expose the emperor's little thoughts, so he just smiled and said nothing.
Next, small portions of extremely exquisite dishes were sent upstairs one by one, which were obviously specially modified to make it easier for the emperor to eat. After all, unless they were strong-willed people like Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, most people would have a psychological shadow about snatching food from under the emperor's chopsticks.
The emperor went from gulping down the dishes in one gulp and scoring them at lightning speed to gradually slowing down and mostly taking only one bite. Zhang Shou knew that after the initial surprise and joy, the emperor inevitably felt full after finishing more than 20 dishes.
Therefore, after finding out that there were about seven or eight chefs who had not yet presented their works, he smiled and said, "Go down and see if these dishes are still unprepared or still need some work. If they need work, you might as well go slower so that the emperor has some time to digest them and then slowly taste them. If they are not yet prepared, then just stop and wait."
The emperor was very satisfied with Zhang Shou's knowledge and interest. He glanced at him and burped. When he saw Lu Wan and Yue Shanzhang, they also looked like they were almost full. But Liu Zhiyuan and Zhu Ying were still calm and composed, as if their stomachs were full. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised. When he went to see Zhang Shou again, he found that Zhang Shou looked as if he had not eaten before.
At this time, it was Zhu Ying who revealed the answer with a smile: "Your Majesty and the elders have never been here before, so they have no experience. In such occasions, no matter how delicious a dish is, you can only taste one bite, otherwise your mouth will want to eat, but your stomach will not be able to hold it!"
