The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 210: The Three Religions and the Nine Classes (I)

Such large restaurants are rare nowadays. Before the Chaos, there was at least one in every neighborhood.

A courtyard, without a roof, with counters set up under three corridors. A pavilion was built in the courtyard, with peach trees planted and colorful curtains hung. Dancers and musicians sat in rows, prostitutes came and went, and dining seats were distributed in between. There were single seats with a chair and a cushion, groups of seats with a long table surrounded by stools and chairs, and multiple seats with three or five bamboo mats and foot-sealing tables.

They sell tea, simple desserts and dishes, and also host high-end banquets. The Jingzhao Prefecture, the royal family, wealthy merchants, farmers... regardless of gender, status, government offices, or individuals are all customers.

"There are banquets every day in the two markets, and even if it is for 300 to 500 people, it can be prepared immediately." This shows that the business is mature and large-scale, and an industrial chain has been formed. Prostitutes, fruit and vegetable suppliers, charcoal sellers, cooks, musicians...are all dependent on it for survival.

The food provided is even more abundant.

The food includes vinegar, Hu, steamed, thin leaves, panting, hun dun, sandwiched, water urine, cut, roasted, roped, Ming Ya, stone Ao... dazzling cakes, soft beef intestines, sheepskin filaments, stewed turtle, small white, big huang, dancing pear flower, willow leaf, double butterfly various styles of sashimi dishes, wave ridges, pickled vegetables, okra, fried rice, ice cream, cake...

Drink.

Not to mention the cheap sugarcane pulp, the tribute-level Jiannan Shaochun, the elegant Wucheng sake, and the Wunu Jiuyun, the grape red wine and amber yellow mash sold at a prohibitive price by the Xuanhui Envoy. "Yogurt" and "juice" are the main consumer products for the common people. Yogurt is called "ruo". Unlike later generations, the yogurt of the Guo Dynasty is not all made from milk, but also goat milk and horse milk. Juice is the same as what you drink, also squeezed. Sour plum juice, grape juice, peach juice without fine powder...

"One Zhongping case! I want two liters of Xiangyang sake, five kinds of beef, pork, mutton, chicken and fish, one dish each of snake, dog and donkey, eight steamed buns... and two pieces of sashimi. I've got it! I want it delivered at dawn. If it's not fresh, I won't pay."

"Are there any prostitutes? Two prostitutes, please, please. I want them from Pingkang. Hey, I just got my salary, so I want to have some fun."

"Where do you work? How dare you be so extravagant."

"Haha, I am not talented enough. I am disgraced to be in charge of the Jingbei Road Depot—"

"It's a loss, don't cause trouble for the higher-ups."

"Please come up to the table! Don't want to drink? Okay... a bowl of steamed millet, sir. Would you like to try the newly arrived camel meat from Liangzhou? It's not expensive, just a dozen coins per plate. After we take over Helong, we have plenty of livestock. Those barbarians are so poor that a bushel of wheat and a handful of salt can be exchanged for a human life. If the saints hadn't pitied them and selected them to join the army, they would still steal and cheat."

"In that case, I'll have one plate. What's the price of grain now?"

"That's difficult. At least 70 or 80 yuan, and that's just after the harvest in summer or autumn. Now that spring planting is imminent, the price has gone up to 100 coins per bushel. Alas, it's all because of those dog officials like Du Rangneng and Wang Tuan who are constantly raising taxes, not to mention the saints, and they're pushing people to death."

"This fellow is full of nonsense. He should be flogged in the street." A customer waved his hand and said, "A few years ago, people paid according to fatness and thinness. Now, if you have a peaceful field to plant, you can sell wheat for a hundred coins. I don't know what this means."

"Haha, so you make a living in the restaurant. Doctor Han has no time to pay attention to a bitch like me when he sees me. He just talks about it, he doesn't want to rebel. I'm just thinking about the saint, and I'm afraid that he will cause chaos and destroy the country. I'll get busy now, and enjoy your meal!" The servant covered his mouth and laughed.

"The price of meat is so cheap. Camel meat costs only a dozen coins. It is transported from Liangzhou to the capital. There is not enough manpower for transportation along the way. And the price of grain is so rare. It hurts the barbarians and the Han people, and hurts the herdsmen and farmers. Such a bad policy is simply..." The young man just shook his head.

"Those who eat meat are vulgar!" The friend sitting across from him took a bite of millet rice and said, "A bunch of old bastards who just sit there and do nothing. The Taiwei was able to become prime minister only because he was born into an aristocratic family. He knows nothing about financial management."

"What is the solution to this problem?"

"The imperial court is militaristic and the officials are incompetent—"

"That's right!" Someone said, reeking of alcohol, "I'm an official in Huyi. The children are all skinny, the women don't have full skirts, and the people are barely surviving the chaos. Three thousand men in one county were conscripted to serve as corvée soldiers. The county magistrate congratulated the victory in Hezhong and got countless weapons and treasures, but do you know how many men and women in Huyi returned home? Only 60%. Think about the entire Sanfu area... It's really cruel! You can be called a saint if you can protect the people from being eaten? Turning to death in a ditch, living in a zombie winter, how is it different from being ravaged by the thieves? Saint? Birdman!"

Hearing this, everyone who was eating, drinking and chatting fell silent and looked at him.

"Killing me."

"In the second year of Dashun, Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, Wang Xingyue, and Han Jian invaded the imperial palace. Who saved Chang'an from being sacked?"

"In the first year of Jingfu, the Qi bandits came back and massacred the west of the capital. The saint defeated them alone."

"The army in Tongzhou was in chaos, and the sage led the army to quell it."

"In the second year of Jingfu, the Bian army rebelled, and all the officials and civilians fled. Who was shot with a hole in the face by an arrow? Who blocked the forbidden ditch with his hair loose? My second and fourth brothers were in the army and saw it with their own eyes! The Shen Ce army raped and looted households, but who kept the city peaceful? When Jincheng swept away the invaders, who got you 15 cents of mutton to eat?"

"On Mount Shouyang, who was it that wore away his flesh and blood to the bone, saving the Qin people from exile once again?"

"The bloody battles in Guandong continued, people exchanged their children for food, and countless thugs entered the pass. Who gave them a way to survive?"

"What did you do again?"

"If there were no birdmen, the eight garrisons in the northwest of the capital would come at any time. The eunuchs would beat people to death at will. The fire in Chang'an reached the sky, and babies and children were buried by wild dogs. Haven't you ever experienced such a life? Since you are tired of corvée and hate birdmen, you can abandon your land and go to the governorship of a governor who cares about the people. Why don't you go? If you don't want to help the army, why blame the court for incompetence when the rebels come? People like you can also work in the capital county, the government is really corrupt. It's better to give the birdman's money to me than to you. I know what's good for me and I won't curse him behind his back."

"Humph, you are speaking for him, but you don't know if he has two brothers who are soldiers and received generous rewards from him."

Bang! Yu Wulang slammed the table and stood up: "Draw your swords, whoever wins is right!"

"Alright, alright." A dancing girl put down her pipa and said, "The sage is a holy king, not a birdman. You, please be careful with your words when you are doing business in the capital county. Although the sage is not King Li, the court will not allow the common people to make irresponsible comments. Don't ruin your future."

The servant was also shouting, "If there's a fight, have the thugs chase them out."

The two of them restrained themselves. The restaurant was filled with laughter.

"Yu Wulang, you are a worried saint who sells vegetables. The saying that your five fingers are worn out and become boneless... is just a lie. In ancient times, the emperors all sat high in the Mingtang. When they were in the army, they also wore fine clothes and ate delicious food, had many concubines, and indulged in their desires."

"I'm bored and happy to do it. Lie? My second brother is watching him right next to me. If I lie to you, my aunt will die first."

"Well, these bastards, if anything happens to Birdman, you'll cry."

"I, Li Er, wish that the birdman could live forever."

"Gentlemen, please stop blaming others. It's pointless to get involved in a lawsuit."

"The saint has done his duty to the people. Isn't it thanks to him that you can sit here and bicker while eating today?"

"Brother Dugu, the yellow mash sold by the Xuanhui Envoy is really good, drink it!"

"I am different from the two of you. I want to see Rounu's celestial beauty more than the yellow mash wine."

"Uh, I'm reporting that there's a traitor sitting in the other case, coveting the saint's slave!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

The crowds of citizens were busy and chattering, making the place lively and bustling.

"Brother, are you confident of passing the spring examination? Who are you submitting the paper for?" The obvious Wu accent triggered a new round of topic change.

"As a juren, studying classics goes without saying. But according to information I got from the imperial decree last year, after the provincial examination there must be the Taiji Palace Examination and the Imperial Examination. I guess the Palace Examination will test the same things. But the Imperial Examination is said to be more mysterious than the re-examination. It may be that the sage doesn't like you or you said something wrong... I wanted to meet with Liu Situ, Zheng Xiang, Changshan Hou, Han Sili... Alas." The blue-clothed scholar held his forehead and sighed.

"You have to be good at what you do, otherwise you won't be able to pass the provincial exam, haha." An enthusiastic citizen reminded.

"What are the palace examinations and memorials to the emperor testing? Are they about administration of officials? Military governors? Systems? Revival?" He asked after drinking a sip of honey water.

The scholar in blue held up his face and said, "In troubled times, anything is possible, but things are divided into important and urgent, big and small. The current priority is to suppress Zhu. As for suppressing the rebellion, the rebels are still strong, but their arrogance is weak, just like the rebel Shi in Luo. The threat is strong, but the power to subvert is completely lost. The people are suspicious and are just turtles in a jar. Therefore, it is better to be enterprising and reconcile the princes, rather than to close the door and defend."

Sitting opposite him, he shook his head and said, "If I want to attack Shu and Jin, but I am not strong enough, attacking the enemy is like making wedding clothes. It is like killing one enemy and giving birth to another. Ke Yong has a wolfish ambition, Tuoba Gui and Yang Jian. Xing Mi is already a prime minister of Sun Quan. When the success is about to be accomplished, I am afraid that the two enemies will steal the fruits and divide Henan. If the people of Bian kill Zhu and surrender, it will be like Huaixian forcing Chaoyi, then the remnants of the rebels should be left for a while. Wait until the two powerful vassals of Hedong and Huainan are dismembered like the Shuofang Army, then the remaining poison can be eliminated; this is also a perfect example left by Daizong for future generations."

"It is too difficult to restore the country under the rule of the feudal lords." The blue-clothed scholar shrugged and let out a long sigh: "Emperor Xianzong could only achieve formal unification. This is a view of statecraft. It depends on what the saint thinks. Killing Zhu Wen is only the hundredth step of a journey of a thousand miles. The situation and people's hearts are complicated. We must not be arrogant and reckless."

"Zhao and Wei Qin Wang, what do you think?"

"Since Wang Wujun, the Zhao people have had more than a dozen military governors pass down peacefully. The Wei thieves have changed eight surnames in a hundred years, and they can kill three generals in one day. They are extremely dangerous and cannot be trusted. It's like looking for fish in a tree." The blue-clothed scholar was full of disgust. When the others heard this, they immediately looked at the two with admiration.

"Brother, your opinion is profound! May I ask your name?"

The scholar in blue said, "Wu County Gui An."

Another person smiled and said, "Shame on you, Lu Yousheng of Fuchun."

"My name is Du Hu. Thank you very much!" A young man in luxurious attire stood up and bowed.

I go!

Someone exclaimed, isn't Du Hu the nephew of the general?
"Jingzhao Duhu?"

"Du Laosan, you can obviously enter the government through family connections, why are you competing with us for it?"

"The little fox is so shameless, hiding in the corner pretending to be an ordinary person and eavesdropping on others."

"Hiss, you're so nervous, so shouldn't I be able to skip the exam?"

"Prime Minister, get out of the restaurant!"

"I am a small family, not worth mentioning. I am not talented and well-educated, but I like to make friends with heroes." Du Huyan smiled and was very modest. Then he shouted, "Hey, put the bill for the talented people here on me, and I will pay for all the consumption of you all."

What a thief!
"Brother Du is a righteous man. Can I... ask your father Meng for the scroll?"

"Du Laosan, don't forget the banquet now that you're on the list."

The atmosphere became more cheerful, and the dancing girls and musicians became more energetic. Amid the passionate dancing, music, and noise, Du Hu, carrying a cushion, came to the table with Gui An to try to get close to him: "Brother Gui, Brother Lu, I have a few questions for you."

Gui An sat still. His ancestors had been top scholars for two generations, his uncles had been governors and ministers of finance, but the prime minister's nephew was not enough for him to deliberately associate with.

On the other hand, Lu Yousheng, who was always outgoing, poured the wine and said, "It is fate that we meet. Please accept Brother Du's advice."

"Now that we have defeated Zhu, where do you want to go next? Luoyang? Bashu? Pingxia? Uighur? Anxi? Ehu?"

Lu Yousheng touched his chin.

The specific policies depend on the situation, and the character and behavior of the sage must be considered. As we all know, the sage is an emperor who likes adventure and is highly cautious.

When he fell out with Zhu Wen, the court was still at a disadvantage, but he made the decision, even though 70% of the ministers put pressure on him. In Hezhong and Xia Sui, he was already in an advantageous position, but he chose to support Wang Ke and turned a blind eye to Tuoba Sigong, being overly cautious.

"The road to Bashu is long and difficult, and the saint will not be distracted."

"Why? Lord Cui's entry into Shu was smooth."

"The road ahead is long and difficult. There have been changes in Guanzhong, so we don't have time to turn back."

The army entered Shu, and perhaps the outcome would be decided in one battle, or perhaps it would be stuck in a quagmire. The magic power of that place was so deep that it could turn Wang Jian, who was born in the Five Capitals, into a beast soldier and enter Shu to rebel. Once the army left, even generals and soldiers might become disloyal and not want to return to Guanzhong; if the army entered Shu, Guanzhong might not be affected, or the remnants of Shuofang and Tubo might rebel. Or someone might support the establishment of various kings, such as Li Keyong who caused chaos and kidnapped the King of Dai. Or Zhu Wen might enter Guanzhong.

"Xia Sui and the north, as saints who know how to repay kindness, will not mention their attitude towards Si Gong until he dies."

"The Uighurs are serving the king. How could the saint relocate them?"

"The Western Regions are the same as Bashu. I will definitely not go there."

"Eyue and Hunan have been deterred, so there is no need to resort to force."

"Brother Lu has a keen eye, and we agree on this by coincidence." Du Hu sighed softly.

If the traitor Zhu is not killed and Li Keyong's powerful vassals are not weakened, he will have no time and no energy to take care of other things.

I thought he was the only one who thought so, but now the scholars in Jiangzuo also think so, which shows that this is something that all wise men can see. There are also many shrewd counselors like Li Keyong, and they must know that after the death of Zhu Ze, they will be the next Guo Ziyi and the Shuofang Army.

They may not necessarily have rebellious intentions, but they definitely have revolutionary power. If we don't deal with it, there will be no way to talk about anything else.

If the saints had no brilliant ideas, the situation would probably be like this.

After the violent fight, Zhu Wen surrendered and a multi-pronged approach was adopted to deal with Li in the north and Yang in the south, at least to eliminate the aggressiveness of both sides.

ZTE, it’s so difficult!

There is no other reason. The local forces are strong. Each vassal has the confidence to fight against the imperial court, which leads to a serious separatist atmosphere! The central government is too tough and fights too hard, and it is easy to unite and resist. If an emperor who is willing to maintain the status quo is replaced, it will be like they are now supporting Li to destroy Zhu. Don't look at Chengde's loyalty to the universe. Once the saint shows signs of eradicating the vassal, hehe.

Ugh!
Du Hu sighed.

"Brother Du, don't..." Lu Yousheng was about to say something when he suddenly heard a burst of shouting and cursing from far and near outside the yard.

"The Saint has returned!"

"Long live!"

"Get lost! Yeye injured his legs in the river, hurry up and serve him wine and meat, or else I'll turn the bird shop upside down!"

"General..."

"Um?!"

"An old man who never dies..."

There was a loud slap.

Everyone who was eating stopped drinking and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw people and horses flowing into the street, and then the old man who greeted the guests retreated backwards with his face covered and a group of thugs, and a group of soldiers who looked embarrassed and ferocious kicked the door and rushed in.

The diners immediately stopped talking, whispered to their friends and slipped out the back door.

The servant stepped forward bravely and said with an apologetic smile: "Generals, the food is exhausted. Please go somewhere else."

He was slapped to the ground by a one-eyed warrior, who swung his flesh and said, "If you can't even eat an incense stick, I'll throw you into the well!"

"Everyone, everyone, the saint has a decree not to disturb the people." Du Hu ran up to dissuade them.

"It's not that I don't want to pay! You're just making excuses for having a meal, and now I'm angry. I'll tear your bones apart and use them as a coffin for Zhu Wen!" He grabbed Du Hu's collar and threw him against the pillar next to him, causing Du Hu to see stars.

The restaurant was quiet until the manager came out hurriedly after hearing the news, smiling and inviting everyone to sit down.

Gui An and Lu Yousheng, who were sitting there and had not run away, looked at each other.

"Father, the king——"

The steward shook his head and said, "Well, that's good! Please take a seat, my two guests. I'll just send these killers away first."

(End of this chapter)