Linzi City, Qi County, Qingzhou, is the official office of the governor.
Fu Lang, the governor of Qingzhou, was sitting in front of the case. Instead of his usual gloomy complexion and slightly swollen eyes, he was full of energy, his face glowing red, and he looked heroic and somewhat heroic. He was a subordinate of the governor's office. The officials were also surprised.
Fu Lang listened carefully to the military report from the front, holding in his hand the edict from the King of Qin ordering him to be ready to send troops to support Murong Chui at any time and appease the various places in Hebei. For some reason, he had been feeling palpitated and very uneasy recently.
Official: "Yuzhou Military News reported that General Mao Dang of the town army led the 4,000 Guanzhong Army to defeat the Jin Army's Jianwu General Liu Laozhi's troops. He killed 5,000 enemies and captured numerous troops and horses. This greatly defeated the Jin Army's front line and secured the victory. Chen County is safe."
"Official letters from Jizhou Mu and Changle, pay close attention to the movements of Xianbei and Dingling tribes in Hebei, and report in time to inform the situation, appease the local area, and prevent it from happening before it happens."
"In the past, Yang Ziyun said that the ministers who held halberds in the previous dynasties were still called strong men. Although I have weak virtues and am a vassal prince, I still work hard to rise to the country, benefit the people, build a lasting legacy, and make contributions with gold and stone. , How can you only regard calligraphy as merit and poetry as a gentleman?"
"This is a private letter written by Cao Zhi to Yang Xiu. What he says is that his ambition is not to be content with being a scholar, writing lyrics and writing poems all his life, but to establish a great cause that will be passed down to future generations and be praised by others, to serve the country and the people, and to benefit the common people. .”
A powerful voice came. A handsome man wearing a Confucian crown and a white shirt stepped across the threshold and entered, saluting Fu Lang from afar.
"I'm here to keep my promise, please take a seat." Fu Lang put down the edict and greeted the visitor with a smile.
Xi Jian, whose courtesy name was Shuu Yue, was the chief registrar of Qi County in Qingzhou and Fu Lang's best friend.
Fu Lang dismissed the officials, stepped down from the main seat and sat down in front of Xi Jian. The two sat across the table.
"The envoy is neither Yang Ziyun nor Zhuge Kongming. How could he think of Cao Zijian's "Book of Ancestors with Yang De" and suddenly say something about working hard for the country and benefiting the people? If this was heard by someone who was interested, it would be spread to the world. Duke Changle and Duke Pingyuan may have spread to Chang'an, which will be very detrimental to the envoy!" Xi Jian said seriously with a solemn face.
Fu Lang was awakened by Xi Jian's words and accused him repeatedly, saying that he was talking in his sleep in broad daylight and was drunk before drinking. He told him not to mind.
Xi Jian hurriedly stood up from the table and said, "Your Majesty," you are about to be in disaster. Don't you know? "
Fu Lang didn't understand, so he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Xi Jian's hand. Xi Jian slowly sat down again: "Do you know that Murong Chui has returned to Hebei under the imperial edict?"
"It's natural. It has been many days since I received the imperial edict from my father. My father ordered me to cooperate with the barbarians in Sanlang and Liulang areas to clear Qingzhou and appease the area to prevent Zhai Bin from escaping."
Xi Jian: "In that case, why didn't your Majesty take any action?"
"Zhai Bin is far away in Sizhou, and Yanzhou is just across the road from me. There's no rush."
Xi Jian's face was full of solemnity, "You are mistaken! The person you are referring to is Murong Chui."
"Although Murong Chui had different aspirations, he did not openly contradict him after all. Is Zijin exaggerating? Is it too early for Chen Bing to cross the border at this time?"
Fu Lang felt that it was important to be wary of Zhai Bin. Murong Chui was not ordered to appease Hebei. If Zhai Bin rebelled, he should be the first to attack him. There is no need to sacrifice the good and the weak, right?
Unexpectedly, Xi Jian sighed: "Murong Chui is the son of Murong Kui, a nobleman of the Yan family. He is the highest generation and the most famous among the Murong clan today. There are millions of people in Xianbei, Hebei, and there are more than 300,000 Ding Ling. Changle The Duke's tens of thousands of men and horses were walking on thin ice guarding Yecheng. Once Murong Chui raised his arms and shouted, the sky in Hebei would immediately change. The Central Plains of Hebei were integrated into one body. At that time, the envoy still wanted to use Qingzhou's weak troops to resist Murong's strong troops. Really? Isn’t it like hitting an egg against a stone?”
"Xuzhou in the south has been captured by Zhu Xu, and Yuzhou will soon fall into the hands of Xie Xuan. Zhang Chong, the governor of Yanzhou in the west, is arrogant and domineering. Yanzhou is so divided that it will never be able to stop the attack from any party! Qingzhou will soon be attacked from three sides. The enemy makes you unaware. Murong Hong is ready to make a move in Beidi County. Murong Chong is wandering around Hedong and Pingyang. His treasonous intentions are obvious. He begs Guoren to summon more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians from various ministries in Jincheng. He doesn't know what to do. What? Your Majesty has too much to take care of himself in Chang'an, and Qingzhou is two thousand miles away from Chang'an, beyond reach..."
When Xi Jian said this, Fu Lang lost his mind. His scalp was numb and his face was red. He was thinking about his future situation and was deeply worried about his future.
"I wonder if there is any good way to keep my promise to get me out of trouble?" After a long time, Fu Lang finally remembered that there was such a capable person as Guo Shang beside him.
Xi Jian waved his hand: "I have made you admire the clothes."
"Don't others know that I don't know you, Xi Shouyue? I have never met Cao Zijian, Yang Dezu, but I know you, Zhuge Kongming of Qingzhou, very well! With your talents, how can a mere county administrator satisfy you? What? A county guard can only govern a land of a hundred miles, and a state governor can only govern a land within a thousand miles. But you can decide the life and death of thousands of armies with one word, and stabilize the country with one policy. Isn't it easy to save me from this predicament? "Having said this, Fu Lang bowed deeply to Xi Jian solemnly and saluted.
At this point, Xi Jian could only tell the truth: "There is still one way for you to go, and that is to the south."
Xi Jian's words are neither light nor heavy, but the weight of these words is indeed more than ten thousand! When it reached Fu Lang's ears, it was like a thunderclap, which made him confused and he didn't regain his consciousness for a long time.
"Imagine your Majesty, if you surrendered the six counties of Qingzhou to the Jin State, would the Jin court treat you poorly for such a great achievement? I heard that Wang Xian, the governor of Xiapi, defected to Zhu Xu's general Xu Xiao. After a trip to Jiankang, he immediately became a count and received the official position of the Emperor's Chamberlain. He was very favored by the Emperor of Jin in the Jin State. Wang Xian was only a vassal from a county, but he was able to receive such preferential treatment. You hold the entire six counties of Qingzhou in your hands!" Xi Jian got excited and stood up to make gestures with his hands.
Fu Lang hesitated. He stood up and walked to the door and told no one to come in. Someone answered and left. He closed the door and came back: "Keep talking."
A glimmer of light flashed in Xi Jian's eyes, and he paused, "In my opinion, when you arrive in the Jin Kingdom, you will definitely be granted the high position of Three Dukes. There has never been an example of a state surrendering. Grand Tutor Xie An The Emperor of Jin will not understand this truth, you only need to write a letter of divorce to Taifu Xie An or Zhu Xu in the south, and everything will go as you wish!"
"Keep your promise, if you hadn't been my old friend for ten years, I would have thought you were a craftsman of the Jin State." Fu Lang looked at Xi Jian with a bit of fear in his eyes.
Xi Jian stood up and said, "If you don't believe me, please behead my head."
"Oh, I was just joking! Please discuss it carefully with me..."
In Linzi City, in the Taiping Tower not far from the governor's office, Xu Zongwen and his party were having a drink.
"Dear guests, here are the ten kinds of dried fruits in our store. The dishes will be here soon. Please wait a moment."
Iron pots have already appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but the records of Chinese people cooking are in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. These basic knowledge are basic for Xu Zongwen, a top student in the history department.
"This is the Yunmeng wings, five-flavored preserved meat, and muntjac meat dumplings among the ten kinds of preserved meat...this is the flower-cooked quail, Yuzhi vegetarian kidney, three-crispy fresh, sprouted tripe. Gizzard sticks, quail soup..."
The waiter introduced the dishes while gesturing with his hands, as if these dishes were all made by him.
"The last step is Glorious Qiuju. We take the Songxi puffer fish in season, remove its lips and fins, peel the skin, and then remove the internal organs. Finally, Mr. Ji Mo, our 72-year-old chief case officer, will personally slice it into pieces. It’s as thin as a piece of paper, crystal clear, and presented in the shape of a chrysanthemum!”
Xu Zongwen thought to himself: "The Taiping Tower of Emotions is still a chain industry."
The waiter walked up to Xu Zongwen and said carefully: "Generally speaking, pufferfish is the freshest within two hours of death. After that, the meat will become stiff and affect the taste. But our Songxi pufferfish in Taipinglou is different. Its meat is originally firm. , it will take a full twelve hours after death for the meat to soften. Dear guests, it is the best to eat at this time and has the smoothest texture. Dip it in some dogwood sauce and it will taste like a fairy!"
"Thank you, thank you for your work." Zhang San took out more than ten dollars and gave them to the waiter, who slowly left with a smile on his face.
