On March 20th, the examiners of the palace examination together with the new scholars went to the Ministry of Rites to attend the Enrong Banquet. In the Song Dynasty, it was also called Wenxi Banquet and Qionglin Banquet. It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that it was renamed the Enrong Banquet and was held in the Ministry of Rites. (in charge of music, dance, and opera) hosted the banquet, while the banquet was purchased by Guanglu Temple (in charge of sacrifices, court meetings, and banquet production).
Li Jie and Lin Lan drove to Honglu Temple to practice the ceremony of the Enrong Banquet. When they arrived at Honglu Temple, they registered first. The officials of Honglu Temple issued a bronze medal (the number one scholar was a silver medal) and a hairpin.
When receiving the bronze medal, the official from Honglu Temple had a pleasant look and a flattering tone: "Tanhualang, remember that this bronze medal must be hung on a hairpin. This is equivalent to a pass for the Enrong Banquet. If you accidentally lose it, come to me to replace it." Just take it."
When the two scholars who had just received the invitation and had not gone far heard the words of the officials of Honglu Temple, one of them muttered: "Huh! When you talked to us before, you looked businesslike. You are really a hot-tempered person who cares about others. "
The other person smiled helplessly and sighed: "Well, the world is declining, and even a small official knows how to climb high. It's only my fault that we can't be ranked among the top three."
When Li Jie heard the sour conversation between the two, he just pretended not to hear it. The weak often rely on the strong. People go to higher places, and water flows to lower places. It is human nature.
When Lin Lan received the bronze medal and hairpin, she was as excited as a child encountering a novel toy. She couldn't wait to put it on her black gauze hat. She just wished she couldn't see clearly without a bronze mirror.
"Shenzhi, hurry up and bring it with you so that I can see how beautiful it is!"
Li Jie smiled helplessly when he saw this, and then like Lin Lan, he placed the hairpin and bronze medal on the black gauze hat on his head. Lin Lan said with a smile: "It's so beautiful, so beautiful!"
After rehearsing the etiquette several times in Honglu Temple, the new scholars went to the Ministry of Rites together for a banquet. Among them, the Fujian scholars surrounded Li Jie like stars holding the moon and went to the Ministry of Rites with him.
One of the scholars, Liu Yang, said: "It's a pity that Tanhualang failed to win six yuan in a row this time."
Another scholar, Pan Yu, was dissatisfied and retorted: "Haha, the most glorious person in this imperial examination is not the number one scholar. Didn't you see who is the most talked about in the capital? It's not like there have been no champions in our dynasty during the Sixth Yuan Dynasty. The fourteen-year-old Tanhua This is my first time with Lang! Promote my reputation in Fujian!"
A person next to him hurriedly grabbed Pan Yu's sleeve and said, "Be careful what you say! Be careful what you say! That person's name (Huang Guan) has already been crossed out on the enrollment record."
Pan Yu was startled when he heard this, and then fell silent. Fortunately, he was surrounded by fellow villagers. If he was heard by others and reported to the censor, he would be in trouble.
When everyone rushed to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, they were surprised to hear that the British Duke Zhang Mao (mao four times) had arrived. Generally speaking, the host minister of the Enrong Banquet was often the last one to arrive. Before the Enrong Banquet, the minister The emperor appoints a minister as the host, usually a relative.
The British Duke Zhang Mao came from an extremely noble family. His grandfather was Zhang Yu, a famous general in Jingnan. He died of exhaustion in order to save his ancestor Zhu Di from breaking into the enemy's formation. After his death, he was named Rong Guogong by Zhu Di. During Renzong's reign, the title was changed to He. The king of time.
His father, Zhang Fu, even conquered Annan during the Yongle period, changed Annan to Jiaozhi, and established the Chief Secretary of Jiaozhi. He made great contributions to the country and opened up territory for the country. He was made a British Duke by Zhu Di and could be hereditary. Zhang Mao was the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Military Camp in the previous dynasty and was in charge of the 160,000-strong army in Beijing. Emperor Hongzhi also had great trust in him.
At this time, Zhang Mao's personal soldiers came to Li Jie and said: "Tanhua Lang, the British Duke has invited me."
Li Jie was taken to a side hall by the sergeant. He saw a majestic man in the hall who was about forty years old. His imposing manner was like a dragon and a tiger standing on a mountain, and like a stagnant abyss of water. When he heard the footsteps, the man turned around. A light flashed in his eyes, and his momentum surged towards Li Jie like an overwhelming force.
The strange thing is that the sergeant following Li Jie didn't notice it at all, and his vigorous steps were not affected at all. It was obvious that the British master Zhang Mao had reached the pinnacle of his own Qi, and he could send and receive it from the heart.
Under the pressure of Zhang Mao's momentum, Li Jie felt like a small boat in the storm, as if he was on a battlefield with mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Li Jie summoned up all his breath, kept his mind calm, and suddenly felt the pressure suddenly reduced.
Zhang Mao let out a light sigh, and then the pressure on Li Jie suddenly increased. Zhang Mao's momentum increased steadily, rising higher and higher.
Zhang Mao saw that Li Jie was struggling at first, but he adapted to it within a moment and moved faster and faster. This made Zhang Mao curious, so he tried his best to do it. Unexpectedly, the beauty scout still walked into the side of the road leisurely. hall.
As soon as Li Jie stepped into the side hall, he felt the breeze blowing on his face and the pressure disappeared. As if everything he had experienced before was an illusion, he only heard a majestic and deep voice: "Not bad!"
The sergeant next to him gave a military salute and said: "Report to the Commander-in-Chief to bring Lin Pingzhi, the newly discovered beauty!"
Hearing this, Li Jie first saluted Zhang Mao. Zhang Mao nodded, waved the sergeant to retreat, and then said, "What? Tanhua Lang looks unhappy, but is he not wrong?"
Li Jie thought to himself that he would be unhappy when he encountered the situation just now, so he would like to say hello to you before meeting him.
"I don't dare, I'm just a little confused."
Zhang Mao said: "I think you are very brave. In your policy discussions, you vigorously advocate the benefits of tribute and mutual trade. The Tatars are just feeding unfamiliar wolf cubs. They can only be defeated by war!"
When Li Jie heard this, he knew what was going on. It seemed that the Duke was the main war party. He just wondered how he could see the strategy he had written in the trial. Li Jie answered, knowing his purpose.
"My lord, war is never the best solution. Our predecessors once said, 'Don't let the king say anything about the matter of enfeoffing the marquis, for one general will make thousands of bones wither.' The Tatars are unparalleled in cavalry and archery. Once a large-scale war breaks out on the border, it will be inevitable." The ultimate goal of destroying lives, be it gentleness, or war is just a way to weaken the Tatars."
Zhang Mao snorted coldly, and Li Jie continued: "Now that the Holy Sage is wise and virtuous, he has only ruled the world for a few years, and the national power has not yet been restored. It is not easy to start a war at this time. The army is the most important weapon of the country and cannot be touched without authorization. The official stated in the policy statement that the tribute exchange was only a measure to maintain stability, and that large-scale exchanges were used to exchange Tatar cattle and horses. Once the Tatars discovered that it was easier to exchange materials through exchanges than to rob themselves, they plundered their money and corroded their will. , when our country recuperates and our national strength increases, and the enemy is weak and we are strong, it is not up to us to decide how to act."
Zhang Mao fell into deep thought after listening to Li Jie's remarks, but those who can practice martial arts to such a level are all determined.
"Young man, don't think of things so simply. Who do you think the little prince is? Can he not be able to see clearly that he can unite all the Mongolian tribes?"
Seeing that Zhang Mao's tone had softened, Li Jie smiled slightly and said, "Master Guo, of course it's not enough to just rely on mutual trading. For example, there are..."
At this time, an official from the Ministry of Rites came to the side hall and said, "My lord, the time has come. It's time to take a seat."
Zhang Mao heard this and said to Li Jie: "Don't leave until the banquet is over. I want to see what else you have to say!"
