Chapter 120 Birthday Banquet
The sun was already faltering on the top of the western mountain. The county magistrate and officials in Fuya's second hall had already talked about the topics they should talk about many times. They all stopped talking unconsciously, and the already reluctant atmosphere fell into an awkward silence. At this time, the governor of Yunyang was only a temporary assignment. Apart from the military attachés at all levels in the Fubiao camp, he did not have his own civilian subordinates. Therefore, the only people accompanying the master were two secret friends (masters) of Lord Jian. But both of them are not officials, and they are also preoccupied. They are just as absent-minded as everyone else, and they are dealing with one thing or another. However, after all, it was the governor's birthday. The host had been staying in the back house since the morning meeting. No one of the official officials dared to say goodbye first. They all sat in silence. From time to time, someone picked up a teacup and sipped. Concealing the embarrassment, the servants quietly went back and forth to refill the water, until everyone's tea turned into boiled water, and neither of the two masters thought about changing the tea.
Zhang Kexin noticed that everyone was looking at him intentionally or unintentionally, so she knew that it was time for her to come to the rescue. The person here is the magistrate and he has the highest official position. He should be the representative to go to Jian Futai, say a few words such as "I am busy with official duties, I wish you longevity and prosperity" and then leave. End it as soon as possible. Alas, I believe Master Jian can understand. After all, Xiangyang Mansion has not lost its etiquette - the people coming from the other mansions are all seventh-rank officials... But having said that, it is good to be able to come, isn't it? Were there more people who weren't there at all?
After coughing, he was about to get up and greet Master Jian to lead the way and inform Mr. Jian when he suddenly heard a burst of hearty laughter coming from outside the door: "Haha, I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long! Just now, Jian was a little tired and was in the back hall. I wanted to take a lazy nap for a while, but I didn't expect to sleep until now! Damn it, Lao Meng didn't wake me up. I apologize for neglecting you adults. Jian will punish himself with three drinks later!" When people arrived, Jian Jingneng, who had a cheerful face, strode in while talking.
All the officials said "Don't dare, don't dare" and hurriedly stood up to salute. After Jian Jing could sit down and the host and guest exchanged a few words, Zhang Kexin glanced at the officials. After receiving encouraging looks in response, he stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, there are some small matters related to rank..."
"No!" Before Zhang Kexin could finish speaking, Jian Jingneng laughed, "It's nothing big or small. If Jian says it's okay today, it means it's okay!" Then he deliberately sank his face, "Anyone who insists on leaving must really blame Jian. Someone was negligent!"
After looking around at the officials, he saw that all of them had shy and bewildered faces. Jian Jingneng then laughed again: "Hahaha, Jian is just joking. Sirs, please don't mind! Someone is coming, be prepared." Let’s have a party. No one is allowed to leave today, we won’t get home until we get drunk!”
After all, he is a powerful official in the border area. His expression changes back and forth between joy and anger in a moment. Few people can do this as well as Jian Fuzun without any sense of disobedience.
Of course, the officials who didn't know what was going on wouldn't know. Once they fully understood what Luo Shifan meant, Governor Jian's worries turned into joy, and when the young military advisor declined Master Fu Zun's false dinner invitation, Jian Jingneng had really fallen in love with him. This young man knows how to advance and retreat. A bleak future suddenly turned into a golden avenue, and Jian Jingneng's mood at this time could only be described as elated.
Several famous restaurants in Yunyang Prefecture sent their best chefs to the governor's office early in the morning to wait. As soon as they entered the door, the masters felt that something was wrong everywhere. The brave ones sneaked into the second courtyard and took a look at the second hall from a distance. The others asked the servants to inquire, feeling very sad in their hearts: Don't expect Master Jian. With the reward, it’s doubtful whether we can have a seat today! It wasn't until Uncle Meng hurriedly came to the kitchen to prepare food, that everyone woke up as if from a dream. The boys were very busy killing chickens, cutting meat, and cutting meat, while the master chefs were busy showing off their magic skills.
After all, he is a famous chef from a long-established restaurant. Although he was in a hurry, the cold vegetable and fruit plate on the table had not even been placed with half a stick of incense, but the hot dishes were already served like water. Yunyang is not a very prosperous place, but the dishes served to the governor are not careless at all, and are even unique. Just one dish of "Steamed Pork with Fire Noodles" has three ingredients and twelve general methods: "Sanheju" uses pork, "Yuweiyuan" specializes in beef, and "Laoqin Restaurant" specializes in mutton! It’s just these three types of meat plus some mountain delicacies. Each store uses different methods such as red steak, dry-fried, and twice-cooked. The taste in your mouth is completely different! Especially the last step of steaming, which requires high heat. Sanheju’s thick five-flowered pork belly is greasy and glutinous, and oil will flow from the corner of your mouth when you bite it. Yuweiyuan’s beef tenderloin is smooth and refreshing, and it is also sprinkled with red dogwood to whet your appetite. , As for Lao Qin Pavilion, there are only two words: enjoyable! The piping hot mutton pieces are dipped in a little salty green chive flower sauce. You sip and chew them in your mouth. Although your tongue is so hot that it hurts, the chopsticks in your hand have already been stretched out to pick up the second piece!
After eating a few chopstick dishes and pairing it with a mouthful of golden Yunyang rice wine with some floating rice flowers, this birthday banquet made everyone sweat profusely and hearty!
"嘡嘡嘡嘡嘡..." A gong sounded, and the indispensable birthday lantern show began.
Lantern opera is a folk opera in eastern Chongqing, originating from the folk custom of "making lanterns" during the Lantern Festival. Different from Kunqiang Hui opera and other themes of talents and beauties in spring and snow, the plots are mostly taken from folk legends, and the performance style is known for slapstick and laughter. There are many homeless people in Yunyang area, so it is very popular. It is perfect to perform at a lively birthday banquet. .
The opening scene is "The Battle of Makino" inspired by Ba Xiang. It tells the story of King Wu's attack on Zhou, led by the "Long Ben Army" of the Ba people, who beat drums and held the army with great momentum. The Yin people were frightened and fled, and then turned against King Wu to win the victory. The biggest difference from other operas is that among the performers of Xianggu are women - most of the female roles in dramas of the same period were played by male actors. Obviously, this is the result of regional factors: this area is relatively poor, there are not many women with bound feet, and the audience also likes to watch... During the performance, the men are shirtless, and the women wearing masks shake their hair to the beat of gongs and drums, which is really beautiful. There are only two main musical instruments, one is the cowhide drum and the other is the gong. The sound of gongs and drums attracted everyone's attention to the stage set up in the yard.
Jian Futai temporarily changed the finale of "The Immortals' Birthday Celebration" to "The God's Meeting", and let "Liangshan Society" (Liangping County, Chongqing City, the birthplace of lantern opera, formerly known as Liangshan County). The old leader chose this name to emphasize authenticity, which is obviously a bit The class leader Mi Qidou, who is a bold artist and has the intention of cracking down on counterfeiting, was caught off guard. In the end, he had a sudden change of heart and simply made his own appearance. Although the gags and jokes in the plot are hilarious, and every time it is performed, it gets a lot of applause from the audience, but logically speaking, this play can never be performed in an official government office - not to mention a governor's office, not even a county government office!
This is also because of the plot: It is said that there was a magistrate of Shixian County in a certain dynasty, and his birthday was deserted - it turned out that all the elders of Jinshen Township went to the temple fair to worship the city god! Shi Zhixian was very angry. Could one parent be inferior to a clay idol? So I went to find out. At the temple fair, Shi Zhixian was infected by everyone's emotions and had fun with the people. He participated in a series of mass entertainment programs such as "Slap with Flowers" and "Drilling into the City Gate". He was so excited that he simply took off his official clothes and took off his clothes. He took off his official boots, went shirtless and barefoot and played the game of "flesh-beating lotus", which involved slapping his body until he was all red... In the end, Shi Zhixian understood that as a local official, he should care about the people and understand the sufferings of the people. In order to fulfill his mission, he generously allocated money to build the bridge, which won the heartfelt support of the people.
The reason why the play "Hao Huang Hui" cannot be performed in government offices is because there are too many taboo places. Putting aside the explicit admonishment of criticizing mulberry and locust trees, the official title "zhixian" clearly refers to this dynasty: before the Song Dynasty, the leader of a county might be called the county magistrate (big counties in the Song Dynasty did have the term "zhixian"). But this is just the abbreviation of the official position of "zhixianshi", which belongs to the official position of the central government and is not counted as a local official) or called county Yin. The term "zhixianshi" began in this dynasty! Of course, it’s hard to tell whether the scriptwriters of folk operas are literate or not. It’s impossible to really know that the county magistrate of this dynasty is called the magistrate, and the previous dynasty had to be called the county magistrate... But the problem is that the officials understand! They think you did it on purpose. Who can you go to to complain? As for the indecent action of taking off official clothes, going bare-chested and barefoot, it is nothing compared to the "flesh-beating lotus flower": this is a self-abuse method used by beggars to gain sympathy when begging! The subtext is: I beat myself up like this, you should be pitiful and give me the leftovers to eat! Let Mr. Qingtian, one of the parents, directly perform beggar performance art for the amusement of the people? Which opera troupe dares to perform such a play in the yamen? They are not asking for rewards. They are obviously asking for death because they are itchy!
Even though the officials who were exchanging glasses of wine seemed to be drunk and forgetful, many of them had big tongues and garbled words, in fact, everyone was very sober inside. As rice somersaulted, he did seven, seven, forty-nine somersaults on the stage, and then slapped his chest and back until it turned red - the sound was so loud, it even hurt! Everyone was looking at Jian Futai's face from the corner of their eyes, ready to get ahead of others and snap the case with righteous indignation, scolding the bold actor for daring to openly slander the imperial official... However, unexpectedly, Governor Jian saw clearly. They were enjoying it and took the lead to shout "hello" from time to time. As a result, everyone was relieved even though they didn't know what was going on, and a series of cheers came out of their mouths. Well, it was just right and Jian Futai was slowed down by a quarter of a beat: Neither can It overshadows Lady Jane’s cheers, yet reflects the exact same preferences and tastes as Lady Jane…
Rice somersault makes a lot of money.
Grandpa Futai waved his hand and rewarded the Liangshan class with a total of twenty taels of silver. The other adults also followed suit and threw silver coins, large and small, on the stage. I don’t even know which of the adults had some of the silver they brought scattered. , I was too embarrassed to take it out, so I swung a bunch of copper coins over and hit Ban Leader Mi directly on the head! He did somersaults, then somersaulted, and then he lay on the stage and kowtowed to thank the Lord for the reward, which made all the officials laugh.
Backstage, Master Mi put the broken silver into an open bag and weighed it in his hands. There were as many as a hundred taels. He took out a piece of handkerchief and wrapped it in a dozen taels, then hesitated for a moment, took out two more five-tael ingots and put them into the handkerchief. These nearly thirty taels are a filial tribute to Uncle Meng - forgetting this is no different from directly offending Grandpa Futai, no, it is worse than that!
Mi Jindou touched the big bump on his forehead, feeling a burning pain all over his body, but he was really happy in his heart: it was worth the internal injuries to get such a harvest!
At the same time, Governor Jian, who seemed to be still intoxicated with the opera, turned to Zhang Kexin inadvertently and said: "Weiting, I remember you are also from Zhejiang Province, right? How do you think this Liangshan lantern opera compares with our Yuyao accent? ?”
Zhang Kexin is from Cixi, Zhejiang (that is, Cixi, Ningbo*), and Jian Jinneng is from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. This kind of relationship between the same province and different prefectures can be distant or close in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty. Listening to Jian Jingneng's words, and then thinking of the finale scene of Mr. Fu Zun's kiss, although he still couldn't figure out its true meaning for a while, Mr. Zhang knew clearly in his heart that Mr. Jian would never make a mistake! So he answered cautiously: "Your Majesty is flattering me, I'm afraid! I think our (when it comes to these three words, Zhang Kexin emphasized the tone) Yuyao accent is good at lyrics and singing; this lantern opera, ahem, that... ...Well, it’s full of fun and seems to be more people-friendly.”
The officials, like Zhang Kexin, were all guessing what Jian Jingneng was thinking. When Master Jian opened his mouth to speak, the officials all shut up and listened carefully.
Jian Jingneng knew without looking that all the officials were waiting with bated breath for his next words. When he heard Zhang Kexin's answer, he clapped his hands heavily: "Be close to the people! What Wei Ting said is good! We all have the same duty, and we have to report to the emperor. "As he spoke, he stood up and held his hands far away in the direction of the capital. There was a clatter of chairs and stools all around, and all the officials hurriedly stood up and saluted. "By the way, you must always have the people in mind! The word "people-friendly", and It's not just about being close, it's about being close to the people! Treat the common people as your own relatives! Do you all agree?" Jian Futai said loudly after sitting down.
"Lord Fu Zun is so right!"
"Your Excellency lives up to the noble dignity of the imperial court, and is humbled by the humble position!"
"The people are blessed to be under the rule of Lord Futai!"
Of course, all the officials were full of flattery.
Jian Jingneng waved his hand: "Of course I believe in your original intention. I hope that you will always remember to love the people first. The people are suffering, the people are sick, the people are at heart, and the people are at heart! Jian has no talent. , I just want to encourage each other with you adults!"
The officials knew that Master Jian would not say anything more. The real meaning needed to be carefully considered and pondered by oneself. After Mr. Fu Zun resigned and came out of Fu Yamen, small groups of people who were friends with each other gathered together to discuss and speculate, but they still couldn't get to the point. They had no choice but to say goodbye and each went to find his or her superior officer to continue to study and understand.
Fortunately, what happened soon after made some people discover the clues. Soon, almost everyone understood.
Knowledge points in this article: Ningbo and Cixi:
*Ningbo, Zhejiang was called Qingyuan Mansion during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Zhu Yuanzhang initially felt that these two words had the potential meaning of "celebrating the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty", so he changed its name to Mingzhou Prefecture, and included the four counties of Yin County, Xiangshan, Cixi, and Dinghai as well as the two prefectures of Fenghua and Changguo. After it became prosperous, Taizu became even more particular. In the 14th year of Hongwu, in order to avoid the taboo of the country's name of "Da Ming", he changed the name of Mingzhou Prefecture to Ningbo Prefecture, which means "Ningding Waves".
During the Yongle period, the county seal of Cixi County was lost. The local officials were afraid that the gangsters would use their proceeds fraudulently, so they reported to the court and requested that when the official seal be recast, the character "氵" in the character "xi" should be changed next to the character "氵" - in this way, if the gangsters used the old seal fraudulently, the authenticity could be determined. So Cixi was changed to Cixi.
