dhibooks Chapter 28 Hongmen Banquet
Chapter 28 Hongmen Banquet
Zeng Pan clapped his hands, and a series of maids came in with delicacies.
"This dish is watermelon cup. It is dry in the north. Eating this dish is the most thirst-quenching. This dish is milk custard. It is delicate and smooth, and it is especially good for the skin. General Situ will use it more later." Zeng Pan enthusiastically introduced one after another. vegetable.
Situ Qing and Li Jinchen looked at each other, understanding each other.
A bowl of soup was placed in front of everyone, and Zeng Pan continued to introduce: "This is bird's nest chicken soup, which can soothe the nerves; this dish is stewed bear's paw with fish tongue, and the tongue and bear's paw of fifty crucian carp are cooked. Excellent; this is stewed ham with quail belly..." After all the dishes were served on the table, Zeng Pan looked eagerly at Li Jinchen.
"Okay!" Li Jinchen slapped his hands and said excitedly: "These dishes are rarely tasted even in the palace! Thanks to Mr. Zeng for putting so much thought into it, he is worthy of being a giant in Zhongsu Prefecture!"
"Praise the king of Chu!" Zeng Pan hadn't felt the meaning of Li Jinchen's words yet.
At this moment, an officer and soldier came over and whispered something to Mu Xin.Mu Xin's face changed slightly, and she whispered the news she had just received to Li Jinchen.The smile on Li Jinchen's face deepened.
"Juhao is different. There has been a three-year drought in Zhongsuzhou, and I have climbed the waterside terrace in your house, and the stream has never been cut off! Three years of drought, the people have changed their sons to eat each other, and the dishes in your house have changed in a different way! It’s a rich family of wine and meat. Stinky, the road is frozen to death! You really opened my eyes!" Li Jinchen said, Zeng Pan lost his position and immediately knelt down.Xiao Ruhai beside him was sweating like rain.The eyes of the thin man sitting by the door lit up.
"My lord, this is what you want the rich to prepare, you can't give us a label!" Zeng Pan retorted.
"Bold enough to slander the lord, what is the crime?" Mu Xin scolded.
"It's my king who wants to fight the autumn wind. It's also thanks to the autumn wind that I know that you are living so extravagantly, even worse than the royal family!" Li Jinchen patted the soup in the soup bowl on the table for a while.
"This, this is to welcome His Highness the King of Chu, we also eat bran and swallow vegetables on weekdays!" Zeng Pan also quibbled.
"Eat rice bran? Half a month ago, your son even bought a million-dollar oiran and brought it into the mansion! You can afford so many maids and servants by eating rice bran? The sound of water in your yard is constantly flowing when you eat rice bran. The crops and seedlings are dying? Well, even if Juhao is rich, you, the parent official, let them do whatever they want? Zeng Pan’s son robbed the women and forced the tailor shop family to death half a year ago, why didn’t you make a sound?” Li Jinchen The more he talked, the more angry he became.
Hearing this, Situ Qing couldn't sit still anymore, presumably Li Jinchen arranged for someone to inquire about the news in advance and came prepared.She threw the knife on the table, "If what His Highness said is true, then the heads of Mr. Xiao and Mr. Zeng will not be kept!"
Xiao Ruhai trembled in fright, and fell to his knees on the ground, "His Royal Highness, I don't know, I don't know! That's right, if the people don't raise their officials, they won't be held accountable!"
"It's a good person who doesn't hold officials accountable, you can tell by licking your face!" Situ Qing said angrily.
"Even if the people don't raise officials and don't investigate, what about the money for disaster relief? Zhongsuzhou has been suffering from drought for years, and the court has allocated funds year after year, but the people say that no money for disaster relief has been distributed. How do you explain it?" Li Jinchen asked.
"Those tricksters, they said they didn't take it after they took it, and they didn't admit it when they took it! The state government really distributed the money for disaster relief. It really did..." Xiao Ruhai kowtowed like garlic.
"There are many lies! This king has checked, you have three real estate properties in Zhongsu Prefecture, all of which are no worse than the Zeng family's house. Moreover, there are many wives and concubines. What we see today is just your wretched wife! These expenses , Zhizhou's monthly salary may not be enough!" Li Jinchen gave Mu Xin a wink.
"Zeng Pan is rich and unkind, slandering the lord with wild words! Xiao Ruhai is guilty of dereliction of duty! Come and tie the two of them up! Overwhelm the city to show the public!" Mu Xin ordered the officers and soldiers to take them down.
Xiao Ruhai became anxious, and blurted out, "King Chu, you can't treat me like this. I belong to King Jin. If you touch me! King Jin will not let you go!"
"Are you threatening me?" Li Jinchen smiled wryly, is this person stupid?
Xiao Ruhai asked Situ Qing for help again, "General Situ, you are the cousin of King Jin, you need to save me!"
"Oh!" Li Jinchen raised an eyebrow at Situ Qing, "He's grabbing you! Do you want to save him?"
Situ Qing snorted coldly.
Li Jinchen pointed at Xiao Ruhai, "This guy's mouth is not clean, shut it up! Mu Xin, order someone to put up a sign on the two people's cruiser, whoever can provide evidence of their crimes will be rewarded five taels of silver!"
Situ Qing looked at the dancing guy, thinking that this guy would be very resourceful, she was still worried about her, if she was an enemy, she would not be able to count him in.
There were two seats vacant at the dinner table, and all the merchants lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.Li Jinchen didn't speak, and scanned the remaining dozen or so people with his eyes.
"My lord, the grass people have something to say, please forgive me." The thin man sitting at the door knelt down.
He was the only one who didn't smile just now, he seemed very dissatisfied with such a banquet, Li Jinchen really wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Forgive your innocence, just say it!"
"My lord, the grass-roots are Qian San, who sell grain. In Suzhou, there have been years of drought, and the people are struggling to survive. The imperial court does not distribute money and food for disaster relief, forcing many refugees to be displaced and even exchange their children for food. The grass-roots also gave porridge to accumulate blessings. It’s just that The big households in the state are suppressing the merchants who donate porridge, and the grass people have no choice but to follow the crowd. Seeing the prince’s cruel methods today, the grass people have the courage to donate [-]% of the food to solve the urgent need!"
"Okay! Qian San, the imperial court needs a businessman with a heart like you! Mu Xin, pass on this king's oral order that Qian San's shop will be exempted from taxes for three years."
"Thank you, Lord!"
"Get up! The rest of the big families, don't you have to express it too? Or should I also let the king go to your house for a meal?"
Hearing what Li Jinchen said, the rest of the big households donated one after another, but it was only a drop in the bucket.Li Jinchen took the opportunity to raise the price.But they didn't pay taxes for their meeting, so it must be that she wanted to come, not someone else sent it on their own initiative, and no one invited them.
"Okay! Let's leave today. It's a pity that the dishes are cold. Mu Xin, pack it up and bring it home to warm up for the female relatives to taste." Li Jinchen stood up with a proud expression on his face.
"My lord, this house and Mr. Xiao's house must be controlled. We just bombed it today, and there is no real evidence. How can you punish it? What if they falsely accuse you?" Situ Qing suggested.
"That's why we have to parade in the streets and offer rewards for evidence!" Li Jinchen explained, "This king is also afraid of being bitten, so he must belong to King Jin. This king has just cleaned up King Jin in the imperial capital, and now he is here to clean up his money bag." , This king is also forced to help! Look at those refugees outside, if they don’t provide disaster relief, these refugees will become refugees and flood into the imperial capital! Besides, the people are the foundation of the country, even if there is no evidence, this king will punish them! "
Listening to Li Jinchen's sonorous and powerful eyes, Situ Qing was in a daze. She moved in front of Li Jinchen, "Unexpectedly, my lord, your heart is so sunny!" thirsty.Feeling embarrassed, Situ Qing took a step back to distance himself, "Where shall we go next?"
Li Jinchen picked up the bird's nest and shredded chicken soup and took two gulps, cleared his throat and said, "Go to the state government office, Zhizhou has been paraded through the streets, and someone needs to represent Zhizhou's affairs."