For this family banquet, Li Yin adopted a different form from the past. There were bowls and chopsticks placed on the seats of each official, but no food was served on their respective tables. All the meals had already been prepared, but They were placed in the large pot in the middle. There were more than 20 large pots in total. Each pot contained different dishes, half and half of meat and vegetables, with a strong fragrance.
And there are some plates on one side of the cauldron. These plates are filled with all kinds of exquisite pastries, and even the bread that Li Yin has just made recently.
Although the edible oil and refined salt in Yizhou are no longer precious items, cooking is still not popular, so the officials present are full of praise for the elaborate meals prepared by the royal kitchen. You can taste this delicious food in restaurants, because only the chefs in these restaurants have mastered these skills.
For some old officials, this scene has been experienced twice, and this is the third time. They are not restrained. After Li Yin said to eat, they walked up to the pot with their own plates. Use a spoon to scoop up the vegetables inside, especially Shangguanyi and Wang Yinlong are the most active. This kind of opportunity only comes once a year, and when serving the dishes, he secretly looked at them, and it seems that a lot of meat comes from the Shengtang Chamber of Commerce The farm, especially the Boer goat, was still dripping with golden oil when it first came out, which made people greedy.
Old officials walked over, and those new officials followed suit. After walking over, they put whatever they liked on their plates, and the banquet suddenly became lively.
The officials here ate happily, and Cui Yingying and the family members of the officials also gathered together in a small hall at the back, and Su Moer and Su Xiaoyan were also there.
Compared to the liveliness of the front hall, this place can be called noisy, because in addition to the female family members, there are many children playing here, all kinds of snacks and dishes are eaten very quickly, Cui Yingying is full of smiles. It is rare to have such a lively event in a year. She chatted with the family members of the officials with a smile on her face, explaining what kind of electricity is being used in the palace. When she was happy, she even moved out the mahjong table. These female family members have nothing to do on weekdays, and they are also idle when they are idle. They were quickly attracted by this new type of entertainment, and formed a circle to learn how to play mahjong. If Li Yin saw this scene, he would definitely be dumbfounded .
The family banquet lasted until night, and the winter night was long and the day was short, and it soon became dark. At this time, the palace was lit with lights, and the officials were drunk. Looking at the light bulbs turned on, they were amazed. Except for a few people who often came to the palace, everyone else looked stupid.
Although the appearance of the electric light surprised the officials for a while, overall the family banquet ended in a happy atmosphere, especially Qin Huaiyu was already drunk. He was also helped back by Zhu Youzhi, and Li Yin shook his head. This guy is simply short-hearted. He drinks as much as others respect him, which is too sincere.
Although it was the end of the year, Li Yin's nerves did not relax. There are more than 200,000 slaves waiting for him to deal with. The next day, he called the heads of various industries to discuss the ownership of these slaves.
"Taoyuan still needs about 20,000 workers, just increase the number of workers to 100,000." Tong Yu said.
Li Yin turned to Tong Nian and said, "What about the Chamber of Commerce in the Tang Dynasty? There may be many new industries to be developed next year. You should need a lot of people, right?"
Nodding his head, Tong Nian said: "Your Highness said yes. I estimate that 40,000 people will be left as backup."
These two people needed the most slaves. After they were allotted, there were still 180,000 slaves left in this batch. Li Yin took another 30,000 to supplement Yang Li's construction team, mine and road repair team. The remaining 150,000 yuan was handed over to Jin Daqian.
After the others left, Li Yin said: "Daqian, after the new year, you can take them to Ryukyu. First, finish building the fort there. After a while, I will go to Ryukyu and give you some machinery."
"Yes, Your Highness." Jin Daqian replied, he had already handed over all the things in his hands to Rongda, and was only waiting to go to Ryukyu.
Compared to Li Yin's joyful New Year, the atmosphere in Chang'an was completely different from last year. Everyone ate the whole family banquet without taste, and Li Shimin's mood was even worse, and he left after eating half of it.
Empress Changsun looked worriedly at Li Chengqian, and then left with Li Shimin, because it was the last morning at this year's end, when Zhang Liang suddenly participated in Li Chengqian's book, which caused an uproar in the court and the public.
In Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin paced back and forth, the eldest grandson Empress said: "Your Majesty, Chengqian must not know that Lan'er's real name is Ashina Lan, let alone know that she is Xieli's daughter."
"What's the use of saying this now? He, a prince, actually raised the daughter of the enemy of the Tang Dynasty in the East Palace for more than two years. What does this make the minister think, and how does this make me explain to the soldiers who died in the northern battle? " Li Shimin said angrily.
Empress Changsun sighed: "But now it's done, Ashinalan is pregnant with Chengqian's child, do you have the heart to put their mother and child to death?"
Mentioning this, Li Shimin was even more annoyed, his face turned purple, and then he suddenly sighed, "I used to think that Min'er was the one who didn't worry me the most, but I didn't expect that I was very wrong. Every one of them pretends to be well-behaved princes, and each of them hides their scheming. You fight for the throne. My heart aches not only for Li Chengqian, but also for Li Tai. Zhang Liang belongs to him. Li Chengqian, but the mastermind behind the scenes is Li Tai, how could I not know."
A tear slid down Empress Changsun's cheek, how could she feel no pain in her heart, Li Tai and Li Chengqian are both her own flesh and blood, now brothers are killing each other, how can she, as a mother, see it.
"I understand what you mean. Although Ashinalan is a child of Jieli, she has broken the flesh and blood of the Li family after all. I will not kill her, but I have to give an explanation to the ministers and imprison her in the cold palace." Well, without my written order, no one will be able to see her, so let their mother and son spend their lives in the cold palace." Li Shimin put his hands behind his back and made the final decision.
Empress Changsun sighed lowly, now this is Li Shimin's biggest concession, otherwise with his temper, he will definitely execute Ashinalan.
As she was thinking, an **** ran over quickly and said, "Your Majesty, it's not good, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness King Wei are fighting."
"What!" Hearing this, Li Shimin became angrier, and he said angrily, "Let the imperial guards arrest them all, and put them all in prison for self-reflection!"
"This..." The **** was a little undecided, he looked at Empress Changsun, only to see Empress Changsun nodded to him, sighed, and the **** led the imperial guards and left.
Empress Changsun said: "Your Majesty, then I will go too." He knew that Li Shimin was in a fit of anger, and if he went over at this time, it would only make things more difficult to deal with.
In Baifu Hall, Li Tai was covering his head, a stream of blood was counting down his forehead, Li Chengqian was still holding the jug in his hand, with crazy hatred on his face, "Li Tai, you don't care if you have any dissatisfaction with me!" Coming towards me, isn't it the position of the prince? I don't want it, can I? Here you are!" Li Chengqian said hysterically, Ashina Lan's arrest had already made him lose his mind.
After Li Shimin left, Li Chengqian took advantage of Li Tai's unpreparedness, grabbed the jug on the table and threw it at Li Tai, and settled the old and new grudges with him. Shi Nalan was pregnant, and he only acted when his love for Ashina Lan was deeply rooted.
"Li Chengqian, if it weren't for me, when you ascended to the throne, half of the Tang Dynasty would not belong to the Turks in a hundred years. As the crown prince and the prince of the Tang Dynasty, you concealed it for your own selfishness. How intentional it is." Li Tai did not give in.
"Shut up, all of you!" When the two were arguing endlessly, Empress Changsun's voice suddenly came.