Chapter 692: Attending the Banquet (Part 1)
"There is a bright moon in the world for three parts of the night, and Yangzhou is two parts of a rogue." This is also Jiang Tian's first time to come to this legendary southeastern metropolis, where is known as "Yang Yi Yi Two". If Chang'an and Luoyang represent the political centers of the Tang Dynasty, then Yangzhou is the wealth/economic center.
Moreover, Yangzhou, the head of the sixteen prefectures in the world, undoubtedly has more of the fireworks of urban life and the wealth of a commercial city than the majestic and majestic two capitals in the north. This can be seen from the huge city square that almost surrounds the outer city of Guangling.
What undoubtedly makes patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder uncomfortable is that there is no clear plan and arrangement for Xiachengxiafang; it is just spread out around the city, including many lakes, rivers, and bridges and docks; over the years, it has formed an area that is even larger than the city area. Larger irregular areas.
Therefore, as the dojo of Master Jianzhen who traveled east to Fusang to spread the Dharma, the Daming Temple located outside the water gate in the west of Yangzhou City was also included in these city squares and became the heart of the downtown area in a sense; it even became known as " "Ling Feng Hua" has become a part of Yangzhou's grand scene.
That is, it surrounds the oldest pagoda in the temple. In the first year of Renshou in the Sui Dynasty (601), Emperor Wen Yang Jian prayed for his own birthday and issued an edict to build one of the magnificent nine-storied pagodas across the country to worship Buddha's bones. It has been planted for generations. The garden is made up of large expanses of peony and viburnum trees.
Yangzhou peonies have been famous since ancient times, and are as famous as Luoyang peonies in the world; the essence of them is gathered in Daming Temple; the names are: "Guanzi", "Golden Thread", "Baoji", "Ice and Snow", "Double Head" ", "louzi" and so on. Standing on the top of Qiling Tower, you can look out over the city.
It can be seen that even in broad daylight, various entertainment venues in Chengxiafang are still open, shouting and shouting everywhere, and it is very lively; it seems that there are people enjoying themselves everywhere all day long, either reciting poems, singing songs, dancing, or playing the piano, enjoying themselves. Enjoy the wonderful peaceful time.
As the saying goes, "Ten miles of streets are lined with wells, and you can see the gods on the Moonlight Bridge. Life is only suitable for death in Yangzhou, and the Zen wisdom mountain is bright and the tomb field is beautiful.", the bustling artistic conception of smoked willows in the famous work "A Long Journey to Huainan" by the former poet Zhang Hu , as close as a picture scroll. The biggest feature is Fanrenfang.
As a prosperous metropolis where the southeast sea and land meet, Yangzhou City does not allow unnaturalized Tibetan people to stay. But in fact, there was an endless stream of vassals, foreign vassals, and foreign vassal states all over the world and on all four sides of the world. There was an endless stream of vassal, barbarian, and barbarian merchants who came to the Central Plains to make a living in the past dynasties.
Therefore, dozens of large and small fanfang/residential areas with different characteristics were naturally formed outside the city of Yangzhou, around the Yangzi Ports and Hangou. They also include fanfangs established by the Yin people's remnants from Xinzhou and the Haiyi Tu people from Xiao'ao.
Therefore, so many foreign elements with unique characteristics, mixed together in Chengxiafang, also constitute the "everything in the market", one of the three weird things in Yangzhou. Because here, you can appreciate almost all the humanities and customs related to the Tang Dynasty without leaving China.
By the time we entered the city, the sky had already darkened; the bright moon in the sky and the bright lights on earth were a perfect combination, complementing each other and creating a grand urban scene on the other side. There are large and small rivers and waterways running through the city, and ubiquitous bridges and ferries are dotted with large and small night markets.
Under the night, there are all the shadows of boats passing by, the sound of oars and fishing fires, waving flower branches and willow branches, carrying bamboo poles, chasing children playing on the streets by the river; the laughter of tourists and ladies taking candles at night, flying and drifting in the wind On the river bank and among the shade of flowers and trees along the street.
As the saying goes, "Thousands of lights in the night market illuminate the blue clouds, and high-rise buildings with red sleeves are crowded with customers." As a place where the wealth and elegant culture of the southeast gather together, one of Yangzhou's most famous features is that it is a fireworks resort, which is often seen in famous stories handed down from generation to generation. Middle: "With a hundred thousand guan tied around his waist, he rode a crane down to Yangzhou."
These include Luo Binwang, Li Qi, Wang Changling, Meng Haoran, Cui Hao, Li Bai, Gao Shi, Wei Yingwu, Gu Kuang, Dai Shulun, Wang Jian, Liu Yuxi, Bai Juyi, Zhang Hu, Yao He, Li Shangyin, Du Mu, Wen Tingyun and other famous figures in the past. Among them, Li Bai alone visited Yangzhou six times.
Therefore, in some streets and alleys in the city, even the air is filled with the charming and ambiguous atmosphere of pink and red; if we say that Pingkangli in Chang'an and Yuepei in Luodu almost represent the essence of the romance between the two capitals, the smoke with Yangzhou characteristics The willows and flowers are the spring scenery of the city that sneaks into the night with the wind.
The cool and refreshing night breeze blows gently on your face, the flowers, trees and plants that shade the road, the fragrance of the wisteria sprouting from the edge of the high wall; the fishy smell of water plants stirred up by the sound of oars, and the flower vendors wandering the streets The fragrance of tuye (jasmine), cinnamon twigs and viburnum; it is cordial and intoxicating.
Although it is not the month of March when you can see all the flowers and the most beautiful scenery with fireworks, nor is it the mid-summer period when you are naked and the fruits are fresh, but you can still see the girl in a thin robe, supporting the graceful girl who smells of powder and alcohol. Guests; accustomed to walking in the market, or boarding a boat and entering a house.
With horses hooves clattering and lamp shadows swaying, Jiang Tian and his entourage walked eastward through the old ruins of the Lost Tower in the West Water Gate and arrived at the largest pool in the city, the Jiuqu Pond; on the surface of the pond with clear waves and dim moonlight, There are scattered lights of small boats swaying, reflecting the brilliant lights of high-rise buildings and pavilions on the shore.
Between stillness and movement, brightness and brightness, there is a sharp contrast and contrast. This time, the Yangzhou Dudu's Mansion, a banquet venue used to entertain guests, is located among the many balconies beside the Jiuqu Pool, a seven-story cloister high-rise that looks like a flock of chickens, and the large Qionghua Garden.
According to the official who led the way, this place was once part of the Jiangdu Forbidden City of Emperor Yangdi, and it was also the only former site of the Shuijing Palace that remained during the Jiangdu Revolution. However, it was later stolen from the Yuwen culture of Jiangdu and rebuilt into a separate garden, which was used to overlook and monitor Linluo City (Waiguo); since then, the name Qiong Tower has been passed down to this day.
(Emperor Yang went to the Shuijing Hall of Jiangdu Palace and ordered the palace servants to wear crowns of Venetian venetian leaves and studded with sesame flowers. They were all covered with green pearls, draped in purple silk scarves. They wore half-moon pheasant fans and auspicious dove-headed shoes, which they called "immortal flying". )
Of course, at this moment, the whole Qionglou building has been cleared out as a place dedicated to entertaining Jiang Tian. Therefore, when Jiang Tian stepped into the banquet hall on the second floor with the sound of singing and singing, he saw the host of the Yangzhou Governor, a tall man in a purple robe and gauze crown.
I saw that he was nearly fifty years old, with a medium build and a heavy and solemn appearance, with frosty white hair on the temples and sharp eyes. The nasolabial lines on his forehead were particularly deep, and he had the hidden majesty of a long-standing man. Surrounded by a group of guests and subordinates with different temperaments; it is like a natural focus under the stars.
But Jiang Tian thought again that he had collected relevant information about the other party before. As the governor of Yangzhou in charge of the southeast, his real name was Dugu Yun; he was born in the famous Yue family of the Northern Dynasty, and was also a distant branch of the Dugu family of this dynasty's relatives; he came from a family of generals in the Yulin army.
It's just that he is not the eldest son who can inherit the family business. Therefore, he was selected into the Jiangwu Academy, one of the three affiliated schools, as usual very early on, and then used this as a springboard to enter the Imperial Military Academy. Finally, with excellent results in the general subjects, he was awarded the title of accompaniment to the army and was selected into the Zuo Qianniu Guard. Apprenticeship in the military.
However, he did not follow the path of serving as a guard of the Qing Dynasty or serving in civil wars like other nobles and sons of relatives; instead, he asked to be released very early, and as an envoy of the Xuanfu, He went to foreign vassals and even foreign vassal states, and even stayed in the Western Kingdom of Daxia/Amagi Dynasty for half a year.
His experience of traveling abroad was also written as "The Customs of Three Continents", and a lot of descriptive words were used in it. Then, after the envoy of Xuanfu returned, he stayed for half a year to recuperate due to illness, and was accidentally invited as a foreign aid to participate in the war between the Kunlun kingdoms.
As a result, he also brought out a well-known righteous followers in the local area; coupled with his aristocratic/famous family background as a descendant of the Dugu family, he was almost defeated by the Ansu Kingdom (Kingdom of Aksum), one of the few local vassals. The deputy king of the Tang Dynasty recruited him as his son-in-law and promised him the position of general of the imperial army.
Later, on his way back to China by sea, he accidentally got involved with some Tu nationality kings in Western Tianzhu and colluded with the great rebellion of the Polo Dynasty in Central Tianzhu. He was recruited to join the joint reinforcements nearby. As a result, it took more than half a year to win the battle. Escape; but it also became an important bonus to his qualifications.
As one of the few nobles and relatives who knows how to fight, even if he comes from a branch of the general family, it is enough for him to enter the fast lane of his official career. But his real rise was more than 20 years ago, when he led troops to escort the new princess and participated in quelling the Tonghai Gongshi rebellion.
In this specific process of countering the rebellion, relatively speaking, there was nothing good to say; however, he gained a large amount of resources and potential contacts from it; he also established a certain connection with the contemporary princess. Therefore, his later official career was relatively smooth, and he became the governor at the age of thirty.
Even if the princess couldn't take things seriously in the early years, the two parties had been communicating privately. Dugu Yun, on the other hand, speaks in a loud and clear voice. In conversations where topics are deliberately created, the public and private standards are also clear, but it does not make people feel uncomfortable or offensive.
At least in the first impression, he feels more like a capable minister and official, rather than like the potential mastermind and the all-powerful suspect that Xu Zhiyuan, the censor, is secretly investigating. In fact, when Xu Zhiyuan was introduced to him on the spot, he didn't even raise his eyes.
After the polite greetings and the serving of wine and food, it is the most common part of the banquet where each person is subordinate, testing and getting close to each other. And Jiang Tian started to taste the local Huaiyang cuisine. For example, crucian carp and carp are finely shredded and basil leaves are made from green bamboo shoots and chrysanthemum seedlings;
Golden jade carp made with finely sliced fresh seabass and wild vegetables mixed with seasonings; the flying snow carving dish of fried wild rice until golden and then topped with refined cheese; the casserole of tender mutton cut into cubes and crushed almonds The "Mountain Boiled Sheep" is simmered in the same way; the "Zhuhai Danxin" is cooked with seafood, shrimp balls and soup.
There are also steamed jade pillars with pumpkin powder, fish eggplant and brain flower, three-color belly silk soup, two-color water dragon powder... As the saying goes, it was the desire for food that made Jiang Tian temporarily suppress his other plans. Instead, he picked up the wine bottle as a cover and looked at the performances of everyone at the scene with a cold eye. The sounds of singing and dancing instruments sounded in turn.
