Qingtai Town is located on the North-South Avenue and is facing a water blockage, so it is particularly lively. After Wang Xiaolie occupied Luoyang, it became even busier and there was a constant flow of people on the road. Two months ago, a new "Human Fireworks" opened not far from the horse shop, adding a lot of fireworks to the town.
Looking at the "Human Fireworks" sign in front of him, the public bus blog said happily: "Okay, let's go to the front to eat something and have a good rest tonight. After traveling thousands of miles, we are finally back to Luoyang!"
Xu Sui said: "There are still hundreds of miles ahead, so why be happy?"
Gongcheng's blog said: "Although there are still hundreds of miles, there is a lot of excitement ahead. Even though the road is long, there is no need to endure hardship."
The others laughed together. As we walked into the town, we saw many large cars parked in front of the horse stalls, guarded by soldiers. Judging from his banner, he is not an ordinary official.
Zheng Gangzhong looked at it and couldn't help but frown. He said: "I haven't heard of any envoys coming recently. Who is this? It seems that he is going south."
The others shook their heads together.
Mu Ying said: "Why bother guessing? We will find out once we go up and ask."
Everyone stepped forward and asked a soldier outside the horse stall: "Who is the envoy? Why are you going south?"
The soldier looked at several people up and down and said, "Who are you?"
Zheng Gangzhong stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "We are the new Jinshi who have come to Jingxi Road to serve as officials. We have been ordered by Xuan Fu to check around and are about to rush back to Luoyang."
After hearing this, the soldier hurriedly bowed his hands and saluted. He said: "This is an order from the Privy Council to seize the officials' carriages. He was ordered to go to Luoyang to ask for artillery, and he is about to return home!"
Zheng Gangzhong looked around and shook his head. He said to Mu Ying beside him: "What kind of weapon are artillery? Although this is the territory of the Song Dynasty, Zhe Ducheng is still too careless. Who knows if the cart is parked here? When you reach a place with few people, something may happen."
Xu Chen said: "We have not seen a single robber along the way. Under Wang Xuanfu's rule, there are no robbers, so what are we afraid of!"
After hearing this, Zheng Gangzhong still felt it was inappropriate. Asked the soldier: "I wonder if Du Cheng is in the stable? Since we have met him, we should pay him a visit."
The soldier said: "We all went over there to eat in the world of smoke. There is no food in this horse shop."
Zheng Gangzhong thanked him and said to the others: "Okay, let's go to eat too. I met Du Cheng and I just happened to pay my respects."
Several people walked around the horse stall and walked to the "Human Fireworks" next to it. A boy at the door saw him and hurriedly came forward to greet him. Said: "Guests, please come inside. I don't know if you want to drink or eat? Should you go outside or stay in a small attic?"
Mu Ying said: "Looking at the big car outside, it is said that Zhe Ducheng has come to your place for dinner. Where is he? Take us to see him."
The boy didn't dare to neglect. He led a few people into the hotel, walked around the many tables outside, and led them outside a small pavilion at the back. He cupped his hands to the soldiers guarding the door and said, "Officers, these guys are looking for officials. Please let me know."
The soldiers looked at Mu Ying and others. He said: "Who are you Shen? What business do you have with Lieutenant Zhe?"
Mu Ying said: "We are new Jinshi who have taken up a post on Jingxi Road, and we have been ordered by Xuanfu to inspect the surrounding areas. Now that the matter is over, we are about to return to Luoyang to hand over our orders. When I came here, I happened to see Du Cheng's driver, who came here. Goodbye."
The soldiers asked their names one by one, opened the door and walked in.
After a while, the soldiers came out and invited a few people in.
When he entered the pavilion, he saw an official in his fifties sitting in the middle, surrounded by several junior high school officials.
Mu Ying stepped forward and cupped her hands. He said: "I am Mu Ying, originally from Jinan Prefecture. I was a Jinshi in the second year of Jianyan. Recently, I was ordered by the court to serve as an official on Jingxi Road. When I came here today, I saw Du Chengchai, so I came to pay my respects."
Zhe Yanzhi nodded: "Jinshi is determined. These people are——"
The other people came forward one by one and introduced each other.
In the second year of Jianyan's reign, Jinshi You Gongcheng Bowen was born in Dongping Prefecture; Li Hui was born in Hebei Province. The Jinshi in the second year of Shaoxing include Zheng Gangzhong, a native of Wuzhou; Fan Yinbin, a native of Tangzhou; and Xu Chen, a native of Caizhou. There is also Xu Sui, the first person in the martial arts examination in the second year of Jianyan, who was born in Jiankang Prefecture.
Although Zhe Yanzhi was born into a general, he himself was a Jinshi during the Chongning period, and could be regarded as having both civil and military skills. I saw so many new scholars today, and I showed special respect to them. I asked them to sit down and ordered the servants to bring the food and wine.
Mu Ying said: "Thank you for your kindness, I accept it with my heart. We have been traveling for many days and are about to stay in this town for a day. It is not suitable for us to share the same table with Du Cheng."
Zheyan said: "It's such a pity! You are both great talents. I met you today and I was about to have a drink with you."
Mu Ying just said something was inappropriate.
Zheng Gangzhong said: "Du Cheng, I was waiting to see your chariot outside the horse shop. To be honest, it was a bit arrogant. Bandits did not occur under Wang Xuanfu's rule, so there was nothing to worry about. But after leaving Suizhou, there were so many bandits on the road in the past few years. It’s better to be careful. It’s better to let some of them disguise themselves as ordinary people so as not to draw attention to themselves.”
Zhe Yanzhi smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. At the beginning of the year, Taiwei Zhang pacified Ezhou. As soon as Kong Yanzhou left, his troops were scattered and no more trouble could be caused. I have three hundred soldiers by my side. Which thief dares to look at me!"
Seeing that Zheyan refused to listen, Zheng Gangzhong had no choice but to say, "It's me who talks too much."
After exchanging a few words, Mu Ying led a few people out of the small attic. Said: "Zhedu is not afraid of thieves, so why should we bother? The 'Human Fireworks' is run by the Xuanfu Division. It can be found in all prefectures and counties, and it is very famous. I heard that this stall is adapted to local conditions, and the food everywhere is delicious." It’s different. I arrived in Qingtai Town today and I’m about to have a taste of the local flavor.”
The few people no longer cared about Zheyan's character and found a quiet place in the yard surrounded by green bamboos to sit. They called the waiter and asked for the menu.
Not long after, the waiter came over with wine and food. He said: "Several guests, there is a kind of white lotus grown near Qingtai Town. Its lotus roots have few silks, are broken and not connected, and are white and without residue. They are not found in other places. Have a taste. Other dishes will be served soon."
Mu Ying listened and looked at the lotus root slices on the table. He said to everyone: "This is a rare thing, everyone eats it."
After saying that, he took a piece of it and put it in his mouth. After tasting it, I couldn’t help but nod. He said: "It's really different from other places. These lotus root slices are particularly crisp and have no residue, which is really a rare thing. In this hot weather, eating lotus root slices is just right."
The others listened and ate lotus root slices together.
Li Hui picked up the chilled wine and poured it for everyone one by one.
The cold wine paired with crispy lotus root slices will make people forget about the hot weather.
After a while, grilled meat, grilled fish, and cold dishes such as cucumber salad were served. Several people exchanged cups and drank together.
These days, they set out from Luoyang, first passed through Ruzhou to Caizhou, then went from Caizhou to Xinyang Army, and finally from Xinyang Army to Tangzhou and returned to Luoyang. Although I was accompanied by officials everywhere and had good food every day, it was still very hard.
