I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 445: Eating hot pot and drinking wine
In the banana garden and south of Chongzhi Hall to the east of Zhonghai in the Western Garden, in a pavilion overlooking the water, Zhu Yijun, wearing a cotton silk gauze casual shirt and a jade hairpin in his bun, sat at the head seat of a round table, facing the lake outside the railing.

Sitting opposite him was Tan Lun, and on his left and right sat Qi Jiguang and Xiao Ruxun, all of whom had changed out of their official uniforms and put on casual clothes.

In the middle of the round table, an iron pot was bubbling with steam on the charcoal stove. The iron pot was as big as a washbasin, divided into two compartments in the middle. One side was bright red, like a boiling sea of ​​blood; the other side was pale white, rolling slowly.

Double-boiled hot pot!
This is Zhu Yijun’s final concession!
Next to the hot pot were piles of vegetables, including cabbage, kelp, radish slices, tofu, sausage slices, tripe, beef slices, mutton slices, and pork belly slices.
Each person also had a small bowl with the dipping sauce that the chef had prepared according to their taste.

"Everyone, I and Ji Qing are still young, so we don't drink alcohol, we only drink this iced sour plum juice. How about Er Huagong (Tan Lun) and Yuan Jing drink iced beer?

This beer came from the West and is similar to the sweet wine mentioned in our ancient books, except that their method of making it is unique, with a stronger aroma and a more unique taste.

The new Li wine we brewed after learning it was different from the Li wine in ancient books, so we simply adopted the pronunciation of the name used by the Western barbarians, beer.

Ice-cold beer goes really well with this hot pot! ”

Zhu Yijun said enthusiastically, then picked up a pair of long bamboo chopsticks and said, "There are four pairs of public chopsticks here. Put the food into the pot to boil, and then put it back into the bowl to eat. Use these public chopsticks. Each person puts the food in the bowl into his mouth, and then uses his own private chopsticks.

It has to be clean and sanitary, otherwise those old-fashioned and rigid people in the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Household Department would never agree to let me eat with you three."

Tan Lun and the other two looked at each other.

When the emperor and the crown prince gave banquets, they always had separate food, with the monarch and his subjects eating separately. It was really rare to eat from one pot, or rather, two pots together.

Using serving chopsticks is indeed a good idea.

"Come, let me make an example first!" Zhu Yijun picked up some tripe with a serving chopstick and soaked it in the boiling red pot. He counted to ten silently, "one, two, three, four", passed it to Tan Lun, and then blanched some and gave them to Qi Jiguang and Xiao Ruxun in turn.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The three of them bowed and thanked him.

"Eat!" Zhu Yijun boiled the tripe for himself, put it in a bowl of dipping sauce, picked it up with his chopsticks, rolled it a few times in the dipping sauce, and picked it up again. It was rosy and translucent, and kept dripping with red soup.

I blew hard and tested it with my lips. Hmm, the temperature was just right. I stuffed a handful into my mouth and chewed with my eyes closed. A hot and fragrant taste exploded in my mouth, the crispness of the tripe and the spicy dipping sauce rushed straight to my head.

cool!

Tan Lun and the other two imitated Zhu Yijun and put the tripe into their mouths, with different expressions on their faces.

Tan Lun's face was twisted into a ball, and he swallowed the tripe in a few big mouthfuls.

Qi Jiguang frowned at first, then chewed slowly. As he chewed, his brows relaxed and he looked very pleased.

Xiao Ruxun was excited when she took the first bite, and she shook her head while chewing, her face full of enjoyment. When she was satisfied with the food, she pouted and shook her head, just like Crayon Shin-chan.

With Zhu Yijun's proof, people gradually started to enjoy the dish.

After taking a sip of iced sour plum juice, his hot mouth was suddenly stimulated. The intersection of ice and fire burst out with infinite pleasure, echoing in Zhu Yijun's mouth and rushing straight to his mind.

Tan Lun and the other two also took a sip of ice-cold beer and plum juice, and they felt extremely refreshed.

When something is extremely spicy, then taking a bite of something cold, it should be this feeling.

After eating a few more bites of food and drinking a few sips of beverage, Zhu Yijun started chatting.

"Mr. Tan, the censor has impeached you!"

Tan Lun was stunned, then asked with a smile, "Your Highness, may I ask what you are impeaching me for?"

"Last winter, Tumen Khan moved his army to the north of Liaodong and caught us off guard. An imperial censor impeached you for not being able to detect the enemy clearly, saying that you were completely unaware of the movement of nearly 100,000 troops over a mere few thousand miles, and were taken advantage of by the northern barbarians, which almost led to a major mistake.

You are impeached for negligence, neglect of duty, ignorance of the enemy, and lack of military strategy."

Tan Lun chuckled, picked up a piece of mutton from the Liaohe grassland with a serving chopstick, blanched it in clear soup, put it in the bowl, took a bite, and it was delicious!

The sheep from the grassland are brought to the capital and slaughtered right away. They are really delicious!
Zhu Yijun took a bite of the beef. The beef was from Zhangbei and was slaughtered right before arriving in the capital. It tasted delicious when dipped in the sauce!
He took a sip of sour plum juice and continued, "Qi Jiguang, someone has impeached you, too."

"Your Highness, what are you impeaching me for?"

"Impeachment: When the situation was good this spring, why didn't you mobilize all your forces, march north, and pursue the victory to achieve complete success? Why did you have to stay in Luanhe River and guard against black coal?

The main force of the 60,000 Chahars was defeated, so what is there to fear about the 30,000 or 40,000 miscellaneous cavalry? Even if they want to march south to attack the border, they will be able to find traces over a thousand miles of territory. "

Qi Jiguang was familiar with Zhu Yijun and knew his temper. He quickly said, "Your Highness, I know my crime. I don't have the ability to see through the sky and spot the enemy within a radius of thousands of miles."

"Haha, it's good that you know your crime. The censor even impeached the Intelligence Bureau. He said that the Intelligence Bureau wasted manpower and material resources, planted so many secret agents in the Northern Tartars, but was completely unaware of such a large-scale operation by the Northern Tartars.

It's rubbish, a waste of money and food, it's better to just remove it."

Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

Xiao Ruxun, on the contrary, ate more happily, sweating all over his head and even the tip of his nose.

Zhu Yijun could not help but sigh: "These imperial censors, each of them claims to be well-read in military books, unparalleled in wisdom and strategy, and able to predict the enemy's fate! Don't they have any idea of ​​how big an area of ​​thousands of miles is?

But in their hearts, it is as big as their own yard, and they can see everything clearly at a glance. "

Qi Jiguang said helplessly: "From Xinghua City at the upper reaches of the Luan River to Kaiyuan City, it is 1,500 miles from east to west. From the capital to Jinan, it is only 1,000 miles.

From the Tumen Khan's tent on the bank of the Uluxu River to Chengde City, which is backed by Jizhou Town, it is a thousand miles from north to south. The area of ​​five thousand miles in radius from east to west and north to south is as large as Shandong and the capital. It would be difficult to detect even an army of two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand, let alone one hundred thousand.

Moreover, the southern part of the desert is vast and sparsely populated, and the northern barbarian cavalry is erratic and difficult to find. They are too harsh in impeaching like this." Tan Lun stroked his beard and added: "Before, the Ming Dynasty was completely in the dark about the border. Even the name of the northern barbarian chief was passed down by word of mouth and learned from merchants and travelers.

With the support of the border towns and caravans, the Intelligence Bureau took great pains to plant spies around the Northern Tartar dignitaries. They even asked us to know everything about the Northern Tartars' movements.

Even someone close to you can keep you in the dark if they are deliberately plotting, let alone an enemy thousands of miles away."

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Mr. Tan and General Qi are right. The Ming Dynasty's border affairs are in a mess. In my opinion, it is all caused by these civil servants who are ignorant of military affairs but self-righteous.

Some are afraid of the enemy and miss the opportunity to fight; some underestimate the enemy and fight recklessly, rushing forward to achieve success. The final result is that the blood of the soldiers at the border is shed in vain. "

Xiao Ruxun suddenly said, "'Sun Tzu said: Those who are good at fighting in the past first make themselves invincible, waiting for the enemy to be defeated. The invincibility lies in oneself, and the victory lies in the enemy.' Your Highness and Mr. Tan have stationed a large number of troops on the Luan River, and General Qi did not dare to leave the Luan River easily, because they made themselves invincible first.

Our weak spot in the Northeast is along the Luan River. Once the border is breached, we can go straight into the capital, shocking the world."

Zhu Yijun said approvingly: "Yes! In war, there will definitely be casualties on both sides, and it is just a matter of life and death. If my casualties are small and the enemy's casualties are large, I will win; otherwise, I will lose.

I have thought about the deployment of the Northeastern war repeatedly and it is the best choice. As long as the capital is not lost, I can exchange Liaodong for the Chahar King's tent. Liaodong can be lost and regained, but once the Chahar King's tent is lost, Tumen Khan's prestige will be destroyed and he will have no power to turn things around. "

"Your Highness is wise!" Tan Lun, Qi Jiguang and Xiao Ruxun said in unison.

"Haha, I am so proud to receive your praise. I will use this water instead of wine to toast you three. I also toast to the soldiers in the Northeast who fought bravely! I toast to the Ming Dynasty!"

"Respect the Ming Dynasty, which is as bright as the sun and the moon!"

The four of them drank a glass and laughed heartily.

After eating a few more bites of food, Zhu Yijun continued the conversation.

"Yuan Jing, I have read your memorial impeaching Li Chengliang."

"Your Highness, I have sent people to verify this matter again and again, and there are witnesses and evidence."

"Your impeachment has been transferred to the Central Military Governor's Office, and the Central Military Governor's Office will make a fair ruling. I have repeatedly emphasized the strict military discipline. If it were not for the repeated persuasion of Cao Gong and Mr. Wenchang, I would not have wanted to confer the title of Guangning Earl on Li Chengliang.

Mr. Tan.

"Chen is here!"

"Go and have a good talk with Li Chengliang. If he continues to behave recklessly and indulge his subordinates as before, the military and legal laws will not tolerate him!

In my Lingyan Pavilion, there will be no place for someone who does not follow military discipline!"

Seeing Zhu Yijun's harsh words, Tan Lun immediately responded, "I obey your orders!"

Zhu Yijun added: "Speaking of Li Chengliang's indulgence of his subordinates in looting, I remembered one more thing. The reason I tolerated Li Chengliang this time was that he did not kill innocent people to gain credit, otherwise, I would have directly appointed him as the City God of Guangning City!"

After hearing this, Tan Lun, Qi Jiguang and Xiao Ruxun couldn't help but tremble their Adam's apples twice.

Only the dead can be named City God.

"During the Guihai Incident, in order to escape responsibility, Yang Xuan, the governor of Ji and Liao, actually ordered the frontline generals to kill the Mongolians who had surrendered and use their heads as credit, which resulted in a major incident and the loss of the troops in Jizhou.

frenzied!

I also think this is one of the reasons why the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall surrendered and rebelled again, and could not return to the Ming Dynasty. Killing a northern barbarian head can be exchanged for a considerable reward.

In the eyes of some vicious border officers and soldiers, the herdsmen of the six wings of Mongolia were not the people of the Ming Dynasty, but walking bounties. A few border officers and soldiers, for their own selfish interests, killed innocent people and took credit for themselves, which resulted in the rebellion of the left six wings of Mongolia that the court had tried so hard to win over, and the good situation was completely ruined.

I will not allow this to happen. Lord Tan, General Qi, you should abolish the old practice of rewarding the heads of northern barbarians as soon as possible and put an end to this evil!"

"As ordered!"

After finishing the hotpot and drinking enough sour plum juice and beer, Zhu Yijun burped and stood up. A eunuch came over.

Zhu Yijun picked up the cup, rinsed his mouth, and spit the water into the basin. Another eunuch brought a copper basin filled with warm water.

Zhu Yijun washed his face several times and wiped it with a dry towel.

Tan Lun and the other two also stood up, rinsed their mouths and washed their faces, then went to the nearby attic to have some tea.

The breeze first blows through the shade of the willow trees, then along the rippling lake surface, bringing with it the fragrance of the willow leaves and the moisture of the lake water, blowing coolly in, making people feel relaxed and happy.

Zhu Yijun and the other three drank tea while letting the cool breeze blow away the heat from their bodies.

"Yuan Jing, is Chengde City cool in the summer?"

Qi Jiguang immediately replied: "Your Highness, Chengde City is much cooler than the capital in summer!"

"Okay, Yuan Jing, develop Luanhe into the heartland of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible. I will go there every year to escape the summer heat, and then call together the Mongolian princes from the south and north of the desert to gather in Chengde City.

The Han and Meng families are close because they often visit each other. "

The Mongols are such good fighters. We must win them over. In the future, when we open up the Eurasian Continental Bridge, now it’s called the Zhenzhou Continental Bridge, they will be the main force.

Advance by land and water, One Belt, One Road!
If I don't open up the water and land routes in the west as soon as possible, where will the dumping market come from for the industrial revolution that I'm about to launch? How can I let the people of the Ming Dynasty live a prosperous life without exploiting you?
(End of this chapter)