Chapter 1374 Unable to grasp
The first year of Longshuo (663), Zhengdan.
Luoyang Palace Night Banquet.
Senior officials above the third rank and relatives of the emperor went to the state banquet, and vassal monarchs and foreign envoys were invited to participate. The palace was decorated with lanterns and festoons, and red candles were shining brightly.
Everywhere embodies the majesty and luxury of the Tang Dynasty.
For the palace state banquet that night, more than a hundred catties of pepper alone were used, and a lot of other cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg were also consumed.
The head of the mission of the French kingdom from the far west, as the son of the king, Prince Lorwen, looked at the delicacies that were so exquisite that he dared not eat them. After hearing that almost every dish used spices, his mouth was even more shocked. They can't fit anymore.
The translucent red dish, which looks like agate, was introduced as Dongpo Pork, which is actually pork, but this stewed pork should not be underestimated.
Because it is said that this meat is made of Shaoxing rice wine, Lingnan rock sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, star anise, hawthorn, fragrant leaves, green onions and other spices.
Frank is called a barbarian country in the West because they were established after the barbarians destroyed Western Rome. Compared with Rome and Persia, they were much more barbaric and backward, but in Western Europe, they are now the first-class barbarian big brother.
Frankish princes of course have seen spices before, but even in the queen's kitchen, spices are not used so casually.
How many spices are used in something like pork?
In Frank, a catty of pepper is worth a horse, a catty of **** is worth a pig, and cinnamon and cloves are even more expensive. Those **** profiteers even add silver chips to the cloves to cheat money.
In Europe, to see if a person is an aristocrat, you can directly see whether he uses perfume or spices. If you say that a person has no money, you can directly say that he does not have pepper. Calling something expensive is like pepper.
It is as expensive as Queen Frank's kitchen. Although the spices in it are rich in varieties, they are generally only a few catties of each, and some are even only one or two catties. This is enough for the queen to show off to the ladies every time.
And the emperor of the Tang Dynasty actually set up a thousand seats at a palace state banquet. An ordinary dish of pork used four or five kinds of spices, as well as that extravagant rock sugar, not to mention that the pork was served on a blue and white porcelain plate.
There is a glass wine glass clearer than crystal in front of each person. There are several kinds of wine on the table, such as red wine, white wine, rice wine, etc. You can drink whichever you want.
After hesitating again and again, the Frankish Prince Lorwen still picked up his chopsticks and reached for the pork.
He practiced a lot of chopsticks in private, which is not bad, he didn't lose his manners in front of everyone, picked up a piece of meat, and smelled a very good smell as soon as he got close.
One bite, soft but not rotten, fat but not greasy, mellow and juicy, fragrant and soft.
I have never eaten such delicious pork.
Prince felt that the pork he had eaten for decades was all for nothing, or it was not the same kind of food at all.
It takes more than a hundred catties of pepper alone.
The prince was extremely shocked. Datang is indeed the Garden of Eden in the East.
The dinner party begins.
Those ministers and ministers in purple robes and jade belts, and relatives of the emperor are not bad. Now it is not the early years of Wude, when the imperial court could not even pay the salaries of Beijing officials, and local officials could only collect rents to cover their salaries.
It is now the first year of Longshuo, and it has been almost 50 years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. The rapid development of these 50 years has not only made the founders of the country not only expensive but also rich, all of them are rich, Even for imperial officials, their salaries have increased several times in the past few decades, and their superior treatment is unimaginable by the predecessors.
Although the dishes of the state banquet are exquisite, they are not unusual.
It was the governors and governors of the four borders, the kings and princes of the vassals, and the envoys from all over the world. The ignorant and amazed look made everyone feel full of superiority.
A group of country barbarians.
Spices are expensive, but now the court’s maritime trade brings back a large amount of spices for the court every year. The price of spices in the Central Plains has actually dropped a lot. In Frank Europe, a catty of pepper is worth a cow, but in today’s Guangzhou, etc. In the seaport, the entry price of a catty of pepper is only a few hundred dollars.
The imperial court extracts and buys a large amount of spices through the Shibo Department every year, some of which are shipped back to various parts of the Central Plains for sale, and some are directly used for royal rewards and the welfare of officials. Officials' salaries include silver and lumi, and silk cloth, pepper, sumac and other incense and medicines have also been added to the salaries of officials in recent years.
This extra fragrance is a kind of welfare treatment given to officials by the imperial court, which is based on the fact that the imperial court has a large number of spices and fragrances in its hands.
Now among the officials, who cooks mutton without adding some pepper? Who doesn't sprinkle some cumin on a kebab? Which stew doesn't throw two star anise and cinnamon?
That is, the barbarians are ignorant.
But in the Tang Dynasty, even ordinary common people’s homes now have at least a small glass mirror. For the rich official’s family, who doesn’t have a makeup mirror? Inlaid with a life-length mirror to try on.
As for the kind of top giants who even use glass windows and sunshine rooms, let alone.
The aristocratic officials of the Tang Dynasty realized the freedom of spices early.
The ladies have long been popular with the incense ceremony, flower arrangement, incense ceremony, and tea ceremony have become the top fashion life of the ladies. The clothes are scented, and the home must also be scented, and even the candles are added with spices.
Some even add spices to wine, tea, and dishes.
Qin Lang was alone with the emperor, and the Qianniu guards guarded him far away.
The Li family is really not as good as one generation after another.
Qin Lang chatted with the emperor for a while, and came to such a conclusion. Although the emperor was his son-in-law, he didn't change his opinion.
As for Li Zhao, the son-in-law, Qin Lang is actually not very familiar with him.
He has not been back to the Central Plains for fifteen years.
Li Zhao is both his son-in-law and his nephew.
But the two actually didn't meet much, and now they are even strangers. When his younger sister Qin Shu married into the royal family, he had already started to fade out of court, and later he simply returned to Luzon, where he stayed for fifteen years.
The last time he saw Li Zhao, he was just a little guy at that time, but now he has become the emperor.
After a short conversation, Qin Lang came to the conclusion that Li Zhao is indeed not as good as Li Yin, let alone Li Shimin. But maybe this is not a bad thing, Li Yinluo's current ending is actually a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, with Li Yin's personality, if he continues, he may cause even greater disasters. Maybe if he is tossed about for another ten or twenty years, he may really be like Yang Guang.
Now that the stroke has abdicated, it may be regarded as saving the reputation. After all, in the past fifteen years of rule, although many hidden dangers have been buried, but on the surface, it is still a great martial art. Qi's merits are enough for him to confer the title of Chan Taishan, not to mention the merits of abolishing the Western Turks.
Li Zhao is very young, and compared to Li Yin, he lacks sufficient experience. When Li Yin was young, he was guided by a teacher like Qin Lang, and he had many opportunities to practice, and even went to the battlefield to make military achievements. However, Li Zhao was favored even though he was young, but after all, he was just a grandson of the emperor. Just a favored prince.
Didn't have the opportunity to get a comprehensive experience like the crown prince, and lacked enough good teachers to guide him. Li Yin didn't even have the patience to teach this son himself.
Now that he is hastily embraced to the throne, Li Zhao is actually at a loss.
To the imperial court, Li Zhao is a pretty good emperor. He is young and smart, he can even treat virtuous and corporal officers well, and he can accept advices well. Isn’t this the emperor most courtiers want?
Emperors like Li Shimin, who can control his courtiers to death, and emperors like Li Yin, who completely ignore his courtiers and even always find opportunities to kill them, actually the ministers are neither happy nor afraid.
An emperor like Li Zhao is the best.
Everyone wished that the emperor was incompetent, it would be best to indulge in pleasure, and then leave all important affairs of state to them.
Qin Lang only chatted with this nephew and son-in-law, and he could see that Li Zhao had a good skin that looked very much like the ancestor Li Shimin, young, tall and handsome, especially the beard that looked more like the ancestor. Li Zhao really hoped that Qin Lang could stay and assist the government.
Regarding the government affairs, Li Zhao, who was newly succeeded to the throne, was obviously at a loss and uncomfortable. It has been more than a month, but he has not yet entered the state of emperor.
This is the disadvantage of not having received systematic training.
Before Li Yin became emperor, he had been the prince for 21 years, and even supervised the country for many years. His East Palace was originally a small court, and he was often ordered to supervise the country as a regent, so he had already developed rich experience.
But Li Zhao was suddenly supported, without any preparation.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager Qin and the Empress Qin were both knowledgeable women, so I persuaded him to listen to the advice of the ministers.
"I have been overseas for a long time, and I am not suitable for the climate of the Central Plains, especially this winter, it is too cold. Luzon only has summer and autumn, no winter and spring, and no frost and snow. I have adapted to the climate of Luzon, and I can't bear the wind and snow in Luoyang. gone."
The young emperor was a little at a loss. He thought that since Qin Lang entered the capital, he would have the backbone, and the government could rely on the head of the country, but who would have thought that Qin Lang would not stay.
"Uncle is a veteran of the four dynasties. With Uncle in the court, the government and the people will be stable." Li Zhao can only persuade in this way.
"We old guys are getting old after all. There are talented people from generation to generation. The waves of the Yangtze River drive the waves ahead. In fact, there are many capable ministers and sages in the court. As long as the saints use their loyalty, the world will be safe."
Qin Lang told the emperor bluntly that this time, he would show his loyalty to He Xinjun, and then return to Luzon after staying for two or three months. At that time, he would bring Qin Jun back again.
"Although Ah Jun has made great achievements in support, he is only a young man in his early thirties. Before that, he only served in the middle of the court with false titles. Now the sage has given him the order of Zhongshu, and he is still in charge of political affairs. He also holds several positions. An important position is not a good thing for him, and he will be criticized and attacked by the world. He is still young and can't grasp it."
(end of this chapter)