The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Yan Mansion family banquet.

Since he had just arrived the day before, he was tired all the way, and Yan Shu had to go to the palace to meet the emperor in the evening, so the family banquet to welcome Su Jin was postponed until today. No one dared to eat and drink with great fanfare during this meal, but it was Zhao Zhen's wishful thinking not to eat this meal at noon. Most people didn't take it seriously at all. On the contrary, more than before.

Yan Shu didn't invite many people to accompany him. Some of the sons in the family were idle and worked as lords at home, and some worked as small officials in various ministries. Yan Shu was very disappointed with them, and he didn't even let them attend the family banquet.

Yan Shu had his own considerations. In the presence of Su Jin, Yan Shu felt a little pressure. He didn't want Su Jin to see that his sons were worthless. That might be bad for the relationship between Su Jin and himself. It's not a good thing, he doesn't want Su Jin to look down on him.

Accompanied by his most beloved youngest son, Yan Jidao, of course, the two-year-old child must be taken care of by his mother, Mrs. Zhang, so the fourth concubine, Mrs. Zhang, was lucky to have a place, and the rest was Yan Biyun People who looked like Fu Bi and another official in their forties who had been specially invited.

After Yan Shu's introduction, Su Jin knew that the strange official was Yang Cha, whose name was Yinfu, and he was Yan Shu's second son-in-law.

Su Jin is a little funny. It seems that besides himself, these two sons-in-laws are the only ones in the Yan family who can make a move, but those sons are all worthless. This is probably why Yan Shu likes the youngest Yan Jidao. Too many hopes are pinned on him.

The food and wine were extremely rich. Yan Shu was fond of feasting and was greedy. He was really upset that he was forbidden to eat at noon. Although there were some snacks, compared with meals, snacks are an embellishment, and the latter is indispensable. lack.

Yan Shu didn't even have time to talk, he toasted several glasses of wine and ate two pigeon legs, then put down his chopsticks and started talking, but Su Jin was already dazed by his round of wine.

Yan Biyun looked at him worriedly, she knew that Su Jin couldn't drink, not to mention drinking several cups so quickly, it might be too much for her, so she hurriedly ordered the maid to make a cup of strong tea for Su Jin to drink.

Yan Shu laughed and said, "Su Jin's drinking capacity is not as good as that of a woman. People in official circles, if they can't drink, it means blocking a channel for making friends with people. Many things are done at the wine table."

Su Jin said: "I'm not an official, so it doesn't matter if you don't practice, even if you become an official, do you have to drink?"

Yan Shu chuckled and said, "Su Jin, don't be pretentious, it's a matter of time before you become an official; last night I went to the palace to face the saint, and stated the matter of Yingtian and the fact that you came to Beijing with me. You are very interested, so I will summon you in the next few days, don't run around in these few days, if the emperor summons you and can't find you, it will be a joke."

Su Jindao: "I just wandered around to the left. I went to Xiangguo Temple for a day today. The prosperity of Bianliang is unexpected. I'm a countryman coming to the city. I'm stupid to see it."

Fu Bi smiled and said, "At the foot of the Son of Heaven, the capital of the Great Song Dynasty, can it be the same as your Luzhou?"

Yang Cha, who seemed a bit dull, interjected in surprise: "Is Brother Su from Luzhou?"

Su Jin said: "The south city of Luzhou."

Yang Cha smiled and said, "It turns out that you and I are from the same township, and I am a nester in Luzhou Prefecture, drinking water from the same lake."

Su Jin hurriedly stood up and bowed, "That's close, my authentic fellow."

Yan Shu laughed loudly and said, "It's fate. Meeting an old friend in a foreign land is a joy in life. The two of you should have a drink."

Su Jin drank down the cup in one gulp, and Yang Cha also drank the wine with a smile on his face.

"You guys eat a la carte and drink all the alcohol. It's very easy to get drunk on an empty stomach." Yan Biyun couldn't help saying when he saw Su Jin's handsome face starting to turn red.

Fu Bi chuckled and said, "I won't drink too much, Biyun, don't worry, with your father-in-law here, how can you drink too much of him."

Yan Biyun said angrily, "It is precisely because of uncle's presence that he drank too much."

Yan Shu smiled, turned to Su Jin and said, "The Holy Majesty summoned you, have you thought about a countermeasure? Don't ask the Holy Majesty to ask you, but you are unprepared, that would be bad."

Su Jin scratched his head and said, "Didn't your lord come up with countermeasures? How can I talk nonsense if I don't know anything about this matter?"

Yan Shu's face darkened and said: "Based on the conversations I've had with you these past few days, the old man knows that you must have thoughts in your heart, but now you come here to hide your secrets. It's not good, not good to be so cunning at a young age."

Su Jin rolled his eyes and said in his heart: "You are an old fox, I am a little fox, you still talk about me, you are full of ideas, but you want me to come up with ideas."

Yang Cha looked at Su Jin and said, "Brother Su, we've heard a little about you. Today, when we have a family dinner, we want to discuss this matter. My father-in-law invited me and Brother Fu to come here because he wanted us four People discuss the best way together. Firstly, the Holy Majesty must ask the countermeasures. Secondly, there must be a proper plan for the next thing. The matter of raising food is a big deal, not just talking about it casually. It can be done."

Su Jin looked at the faces of Fu Bi and Yan Shu, and knew that Yang Cha was telling the truth. It seemed that this family banquet was said to be a clean-up for himself, but it was actually a small meeting to deal with the upcoming affairs. This matter is the most urgent matter for the third division right now. If it is done well, Yan Shu will go directly to the two governments within a short time. up.

Yan Biyun knew that he had gotten to the point, and dismissed the maids softly. Yan Shu's concubine, Mrs. Zhang, also hugged Yan Jidao and said goodbye to her room. Only the son-in-law of the Yan family, Su Jin, and Yan Biyun were left in the flower hall.

"Say, let's talk freely at this moment. Everything must be done well for this errand. The emperor's mind is very clear. If this food crisis can be overcome safely, the old man can become the master. Lu Xiang is old, listen The meaning of the emperor's words is that he wants Prime Minister Lu to return home after the new year. Although the old man is not very keen on the aspect, it is better to have it in his own hands than the cheap Zhang Dexiang, Du Yan, and Pang Ji. Being in charge of the two mansions, many people's lives may be sad."

Yan Shu got straight to the point and expressed his thoughts directly. Being able to speak so frankly showed that in his heart, he already regarded Su Jin and his two sons-in-law as equals, and regarded them as confidantes.

Of course Su Jin was happy with Yan Shu's trust, but at the same time he was not willing to do so. It was like joining a small group, as if he was doing something shady.

Originally, the matter of raising food was a major matter for the imperial court. Su Jin agreed to come to the capital to help, in addition to wanting to make contributions to solve Yan Biyun's identity problem through this matter, in fact, it was more because he didn't want to see the situation where the hungry and robbers ran rampant; Nakedly linking these to the power struggle, Su Jin was a little upset.

Yan Shu didn't realize it and continued: "Originally, when Lu Xiang became an official, the most qualified person to succeed me was the old man. If it weren't for this troublesome incident, it would almost be a matter of certainty, but once this matter cannot be resolved perfectly, I will be the emperor The status in my heart has plummeted, and it is a trivial matter if the phase falls into the hands of others. I am afraid that you will also be excluded in the future, and it will be difficult to advance; Pang Ji, Zhang Dexiang, and Du Yan are all narrow-minded people, and we have all If you have offended him, how can he not make trouble everywhere?"

Fu Bi frowned and said, "What my father-in-law said is that it's fine to wait for me to be made things difficult. Pang Ji's schemes are not right, and Du Yan and Zhang Dexiang are mediocre people. My son-in-law is afraid that they will rule the two governments and will make the Song Dynasty If a good situation is ruined, then it is not a personal matter."

Su Jin nodded secretly, Fu Bi's words sounded pleasing to the ear, if you said that you were afraid they would mess up Chao Gang, that would be considered a noble reason, but if it was purely for aspect and personal honor, it would not be convincing.

But it's just a little dissatisfaction in his heart. Su Jin also knows that Yan Shu's appearance is naturally better than that of Pang Ji or a stranger called Zhang Dexiang. Du Yan and his like are their political enemies just like Pang Ji. A friend of a friend is a friend, and an enemy of a friend should naturally be an enemy. If you are dissatisfied, you should be inclined to Yan Shu's side. At least Yan Biyun belongs to the Yan family. The Yan family is in trouble. She It won't be easy either.

"Does your lord really want to listen to my opinion on raising food?" Su Jin said.

Yan Shu squinted his eyes at Su Jin and said, "Do you think the old man recommends you to do this on a whim? Those who do this must meet several conditions to be qualified, and you just meet all of them."

Su Jin smiled and said, "I didn't know I had so many advantages."

Yan Shu laughed loudly and said, "It's not necessarily an advantage, maybe it's a disadvantage, but in this matter, even a disadvantage can become an advantage."