In addition to banquets, social occasions among officials in the Tang Dynasty also included sencha.
While simmering and sipping tea, we chatted about government affairs. It can be said that we can advance or retreat, which invisibly brings us closer to each other.
Sencha is very elegant and popular. There is an eminent monk in Chang'an who loves tea so much that he would drink dozens of bowls a day before he could stop.
At this moment, in the study room of Li Linfu's house in Pingkangfang. Li Linfu was giving Zheng Shuqing fried tea in person, and the etiquette could be described as thorough.
He was taking out the tea cakes with bamboo clips and roasting them on the charcoal fire. The charcoal was mixed with certain spices and shaped into the shape of a peony. You could tell at a glance that it was not ordinary.
The tea cakes are evenly heated on the rack and thoroughly toasted inside and out.
Fresh tea is freshly roasted and then sencha is served to friends, a wonderful enjoyment.
The main procedures of the Sencha method are: Zhancha, Tencha, Luocha, Sencha and Zuocha. As for other preliminary preparations, such as preparing utensils, selecting water, making fire, and waiting for soup, Li Linfu naturally had domestic servants to prepare them.
The left prime minister of the Tang Dynasty started with moxibustion tea.
"The prime minister has already talked with Wei Jian. He is willing to take over the position of Jing Zhaoyin. The prime minister will also work from this and recommend him to be Jing Zhaoyin. As for the position of Minister of Household Affairs, what do you think?"
Li Linfu took off the baked tea cake and ground it into fine particles with a bamboo "tea grinder", which looked neither thick nor fine and unusually uniform.
In order to show their "nobility", the feudal nobles of the Tang Dynasty often had unusual persistence and love for certain "elegant etiquette". So as to show that you are different.
The most typical representative is Li Longji who loves music and dance and is proficient in it.
Obviously, Li Linfu's tea-making skills are very good. After all, he was young, held a lowly official position, and served others to please others.
Li Linfu stopped and looked at Zheng Shuqing, who was sitting on a high stool and said nothing.
"It's all up to Li Xiang to decide."
Zheng Shuqing bowed his body and bowed deeply.
Li Linfu quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "What I promise must be fulfilled. However, being the Minister of the Ministry of Finance is not a trivial matter, and I cannot recommend you to the position for personal gain.
so what……"
"Prime Minister Li, you might as well speak out, my subordinates are all ears."
Zheng Shuqing pinched his sleeves nervously and looked at the other party eagerly, his heart already in his throat.
"There is one Shangshu in the Ministry of Revenue and several ministers, and each of them is responsible for the same business without overlapping. You have never had any experience in the Ministry of Revenue, so even if you serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you will not be able to do those ordinary things. Do you understand this?"
Li Linfu poured mountain spring water into a purple sand pot (tea cauldron), and then put it on the stove to boil.
This step may seem simple on the surface, but there is actually a lot going on inside.
The water is boiled for three times. When "fish eye" bubbles and "slight sound" appear in the boiling water, it is the first boil; then add an appropriate amount of salt flowers for seasoning. When the water bubbles around the cauldron rise like a spring, it is the second boiling point.
Take out a ladle with a spoon and put it aside. Use a "bamboo clamp" to circulate and stir in the center of the teapot, and use a "ze" (a measuring device made of bamboo, copper, etc. in the shape of a spoon or dustpan) to measure the tea powder and pour it in. Zisha Zhong.
Wait for a moment, and when the tea soup splashes like a rushing wave, it is the third boil. At this time, pour the previously taken out second boil into the boiling water to stop boiling, so that the water stops boiling.
Li Linfu completed these actions in one go, looking at Zheng Shuqing with a little pride, waiting for the other party's answer.
While waiting, he was cultivating Tanghua.
The thin soup is called "mo", and the thick soup is called "祽". The delicate ones are called "flowers" and are the most wonderful ones.
After cultivating the "tang flowers", you can drink tea, which means scooping the tea into a bowl with a ladle.
When the water was boiled for the first time, someone described it as "there is a water film on top of the foam, like biotite." The first water scooped out is also called "meaningful";
The first, second, and third bowls scooped out from now on taste worse;
In addition to the fourth and fifth bowls, there is "nothing to drink unless you are thirsty." The dignitaries already despise this very much and will not drink until they die of thirst.
When drinking tea, the foam should be evenly distributed to maintain the same flavor in each bowl. Boil one liter of water, and there is also a saying of "dividing it into five bowls and drinking it while it is hot".
The first "rule" is not to use tea powder and only boil three bowls to make the tea soup delicious and fragrant; the second is to boil five bowls, no more than five bowls at most.
"Please use!"
Li Linfu pushed the white porcelain teacup on the silver plate in front of Zheng Shuqing. This was the first bowl of tea.
It seems to be more than just a bowl of tea, and it seems to be just a bowl of tea. The specific details all depend on Zheng Shuqing's political IQ.
"Subordinate...just let Mr. Li do whatever he wants."
Zheng Shuqing gritted his teeth and said, picked up the tea cup, endured the slightly high temperature tea, and drank it all in one gulp!
It should be good tea, but it’s too hot when you drink it and you can’t taste it!
"This Minister of Household Affairs does nothing else. He specializes in managing the central government's finances and providing supplies for the war in Hexi. Do you have the confidence to take over?"
Li Linfu put away the smile on his face and asked softly.
"My subordinate is willing!"
Zheng Shuqing suppressed the excitement in his heart and said almost like a growl.
Taking this step is basically the fast track. If the Minister of Hubu does a good job, he will be the Minister of Hubu. If the Minister of Hubu is higher up, he will directly become the Prime Minister!
As long as he can reach this position, he is only two steps away from Li Linfu!
Moreover, the Household Department is a place where it is easy to achieve results and also to make trouble. It all depends on the individual's ability.
It’s not like Mr. Nan Guo can be a gangster here!
"In the past few days, you draft a financial management note. If it is well written, I will hand it over to the sage, and then recommend you to be the Minister of Household Affairs. In this case, there should not be a big problem.
Otherwise, the saint will definitely still mind your previous refusal to serve as Jing Zhaoyin. "
Li Linfu picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and it was indeed fragrant.
"This method is quite safe..."
Zheng Shuqing said with a worried look on his face.
The imperial court's financial management actually included two aspects.
The first aspect is to make good use of the taxes collected so that these taxes can be used scientifically and will not be damaged during transportation.
This is what Zheng Shuqing wants to do, and he feels he can do it.
On the other hand, it can be summed up in two words: making money.
In short, on the premise of not causing mutiny or civil commotion, just let your hands and feet go to make money.
Of course, the money you make must be legal. By setting simple rules, you can achieve your goals without a lot of trouble.
It sounds simple, but this kind of thing is like people from different generations doing the same quiz together, and it's a quiz with multiple answers.
Problems that are easy to solve have been done by predecessors!
As for those things that are not easy to do and are easy to offend, either no one is willing to do them, or the officials who formulated and implemented them were dismissed from office because of the counterattack of conservative forces, leading to the demise of people and the government.
He doesn't know how to make money like this!
"Do you have any difficulties? If you have difficulties with the position of Minister of Household Affairs, I can recommend other candidates and then rearrange you to a lower official position. Anyway, these are all up to you, I don't care.
People like Wang Zhi and others are very interested in this position, and the truth will not embarrass you. "
Li Linfu said slowly and poured another cup of tea for Zheng Shuqing. This was the second cup.
Zheng Shuqing had a hunch that after finishing these three cups of tea, Li Linfu would probably see off his guests.
"I will go back and prepare now."
He stood up, bowed deeply to Li Linfu, turned around and left.
"This position is not trivial. It's very risky to be forced to take it. If you delay the saint's important event, you won't be able to chop off your head. After you think about it, come back to me tomorrow."
Li Linfu's cold and faint instructions came from behind Zheng Shuqing.
…
"In short, this thing is like this, and then it happens again, and then it happens again, and finally it comes back."
In Datang, the Fang family residence in Yongjiafang, Fang Chongyong patiently told Zhang Xun and others everything that had happened in the past three days.
He gestured while talking, and even informed the people of the Ministry of Rites that Li Longji had ordered Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan to destroy their future in the imperial examination.
"It doesn't matter if you don't win this year, Xianggong Zhang's career is blocked, Yan Ting has been dismissed from office, and the government is in turmoil. It may not be a good thing to win at this time."
Li Kui couldn't help but sigh.
Of course he was unwilling to do so. He originally thought that the imperial examination would be a sure thing, but he didn't expect that there would be so many twists and turns. The nobleman who promised to recommend him was about to fall, and was beaten down by the emperor himself. The road to the imperial examination was so difficult that he had never thought of it before.
However, Li Kui is not worried at all, because after this "political investment", he must have been "registered" with Li Longji, and he may have the opportunity to be "leapfrog promoted" in the future.
What happens in the future, who knows.
"It's okay for us, but I didn't expect Fang Jieshuai to be so proud."
Xu Yuan couldn't help but lament. At first, he thought that Fang Chongyong would definitely escape death after being imprisoned. Unexpectedly, he was released after being detained for three days. But think about it, a half-grown child still did something that was in line with the people's wishes.
If Li Longji "punished vigorously", wouldn't it be an appropriate way to prove to the world that he really has no ambition and is incapable of taking out his anger on his children?
Li Longji has been the emperor for decades and has grown up with palace struggles since childhood. He will definitely not make such a stupid mistake.
"Young Master returned safely today, I am very happy to congratulate you. I will bring the wine and food right now."
Fang Dafu grabbed Fang Laique, who was stunned, and greeted Fang Chongyong with a smile.
After a while, the first dish was served. Except for Fang Chongyong, Li Kui and others were slightly stunned.
"My family doesn't eat this jushengnu very often, mainly because the cook is not good at it and wastes natural resources."
Li Kui pointed to the plate of "dishes" that Fang Dafu brought to the table with emotion and said that this thing is somewhat similar to the "fried dumplings" that were common in the north in Fang Chongyong's previous life. Of course, they are just similar in shape.
"Jushengnu, the rough production process is to mix flour with water, cow and goat milk and honey, or use boiled red date soup instead of honey, then put it into an oil pan and fry it to set, and finally sprinkle with Jusheng .”
As Li Kui explained, he broke off a section and put it on the dinner plate in front of Fang Chongyong. The small particles stuck on it looked very familiar to Fang Chongyong.
Isn't this horse riding black sesame? And he's called "Ju Sheng" by such an awesome name!
Fang Zhongyong put a jushengnu into his mouth and chewed it. The sweetness of frankincense and juice instantly filled his mouth! It’s much more delicious than Li Kui said!
No one said a word, and the plate of desserts was wiped out in two or three strokes. The wonderful thing about Jushengnu is that "there is everything inside", and the layer of fried skin on the outside is just to lock in the flavor.
Fang Chongyong thought to himself that Zheng Shuqing also hired famous chefs to cook the dishes, and the ingredients were rich and expensive. But if we talk about cooking skills alone, I'm afraid Fang Dafu's skills are far better than that of the "famous chef".
The only disadvantage is that I don’t have enough money to buy expensive ingredients.
Soon, Fang Dafu served another plate of "dishes", which was still in a non-mainstream style. Except for a very small amount of soup, there were only "sausages" on the plate. The appearance was very simple and unpretentious.
"This is Tonghua soft beef intestine! This, this, this..."
Li Kui was a little incoherent. This dish is so awesome that you can only have the opportunity to see it at the "Shaowei Banquet" held by those who become Jinshi. He has only eaten once in his life!
"Tonghua Ruan Beef Intestine" is made by mixing sheep bone marrow and mutton into a stuffing and then filling it with beef intestines. The composition of the stuffing and the mixing of spices are all secrets that are not passed down. Every cook makes it the same way. no the same.
This kind of dish is not made for "appearance". Many novice cooks can make similar ones, and they look almost the same. But diners only need one bite to know the difference between a master and a novice.
Even average cooks would not dare to serve this dish to diners for fear of ruining their reputation.
Fang Chongyong originally thought that his launch of "stir-fried vegetables" in Chang'an would become popular in the catering industry and lead the trend. Now it seems that is not the case.
The aristocratic class of the Tang Dynasty were so good at eating, and iron pots were not a rare thing. How could they not know that there was such a cooking method as stir-frying?
The Chinese people's pursuit of food is unparalleled and tireless. Even in Lingnan, where normal cooking utensils are unaffordable, the locals have invented a type of stove called an "earth pot", but it is not as durable and does not affect the cooking effect.
The reason why stir-fry food did not develop is simply because the corresponding stir-fry technology was not developed. The dishes produced were not competitive in the Tang Dynasty when catering technology was extremely advanced and hundreds of flowers were blooming, so it was not recorded in history books.
As for the lack of cooking oil, there is no obstacle among the nobles. They also like to eat fried food! It’s impossible to require less cooking oil for frying than for stir-frying!
The problem with cooking is that it not only requires a pot, but also supporting ingredients, supporting processes, and supporting social needs.
The improvement of skills requires inheritance and years of training.
In other words, cooking is not impossible, but the people at the bottom cannot afford expensive cooking oil; the aristocratic class is used to eating good food, and has already filled their stomachs with various fancy cooking, so they have no motivation to develop cooking.
In particular, they don’t like eating vegetables!
It can be said unceremoniously that if Fang Chongyong wanted to develop cooking technology and start a catering industry in Chang'an, he would lose all his money and be beaten by the other exquisite cooking methods in Chang'an.
Seeing Li Kui, Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun looking intoxicated after eating, Fang Chongyong put aside the distracting thoughts in his mind and sighed softly.
It's a pity that another way to make money has been blocked.
Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh, and felt his heart bleed as he watched Fang Dafu bring up dishes one after another that he had never seen before, let alone eaten.
It was as if the huge amount of profits lost because he couldn't cook had turned into the Milky Way and flowed away from him.
At this moment, Fang Laique hurriedly ran over from the concierge and whispered in Fang Chongyong's ear: "Lang Jun, that poor guy in Kuizhou who always asks us for money is here."
Kuizhou? Poor guy?
Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment. He hadn't recovered yet, and he didn't know who Fang Laique was talking about.
"Can you please tell me without adding your own judgment and tell me who it is?"
Fang Chongyong scolded in a low voice with a calm look on his face.
"It's Zheng Shuqing who came and brought an oxcart of gifts. He probably came to pay off a debt."
Fang Laique said somewhat complacently.
"A night owl comes to the house for whatever reason. He will definitely do no harm to me. Alas!"
Fang Chongyong was very puzzled. There must be a lot of beautiful concubines in the old Zheng family. In the colorful world of Chang'an, when the weather is getting late, he should go back and enjoy the moon with his arms around his beautiful concubines. Why do you come to see me, a half-year-old child, at night?
Now that the gates are closed, he wants to stay overnight!
Fang Chongyong stood up helplessly and said to everyone: "There are guests coming, I will go and see them first."
