Chapter 374 A negotiation that changed the history of the dynasty (Part 1)
"Yes." The elegant and sweet Xu Junling smiled and nodded, as if he was always like this.
"..." Zhao Duan was silent for a moment and said quietly: "Why didn't the princess say anything before? If I remember correctly, the princess only said that she would take me to visit the night view of the lake pavilion and arrange a dinner. That’s all.”
The King of Huai’an wants to see him!
This really caught Zhao off guard, although he could vaguely sense from the little princess’s behavior along the way that this guy seemed to have prepared some surprise.
But on the first day after entering the city, he met King Jing first and then met King Huai'an, a native of the Huaishui River...
This tight rhythm still made him a little uncomfortable.
The key is...
No preparation.
Xu Junling pretended to be confused and pretended to be stupid: "Really? Didn't I say it? Maybe I forgot for a moment? Or did you not hear it?"
Zhao Duan sighed, there was nothing he could do with this thoughtful princess, but he was not dissatisfied in his heart.
From a standpoint, if he, representing the imperial court, could meet with the King of Huai'an, it would undoubtedly send a positive signal.
This is the clever thinking of the big family. It caught Zhao Duan off guard and prevented him from making complete preparations, so as to gain the upper hand in this meeting.
But such a grand banquet is beneficial to him, making people unable to get angry...
Well, let’s put it this way, it was Linglong’s idea to arrange for the woman Xu Junling to handle this matter. This shows that if Xu Qianlai, the prince of Huai'an, completes this "deception", Zhao Duan will not expose it easily.
While his thoughts were spinning, he cheered up and turned to look at Eunuch Hai and others who were following him:
"So many people..."
Xu Junling smiled sweetly:
"There are six floors of Dafeng Tower. In addition to the top floor for viewing, my father held a separate banquet for the envoys on the fifth floor, and also held a banquet on the fourth floor to entertain you all."
Okay... No wonder With such a large-scale exhibition, even the guards have been taken into consideration.
The old priest smiled and said:
"Come on, hurry up, we are really hungry, and we also want to try this Huaishui River delicacy. The last time we came to Dafeng Tower was decades ago."< br>
Haitang, Lang Shiba, Jiyue, and the Lihuatang Jinyi people were all moved.
There is only one layer between them, so there is no need to worry about danger... Zhao Duan pondered for a moment, nodded, and continued to climb the stairs.
The entire Dafeng Building is extremely quiet and has excellent sound insulation. Walking inside, you can hardly hear the noise outside.
When we got to the fourth floor, there was indeed a clerk from Dafeng Tower waiting respectfully. Standing at the front was the princess's brother, the eldest son Xu Qian.
Xu Qian greeted Zhao Duan with complicated eyes, and then said respectfully towards the sea:
"Please, Mr. Hai."
If it is an ordinary guard, There was no need for the crown prince to accompany him personally, but Hai Chunlin's status was different.
As the head of the royal family and a legendary figure who has served three generations of emperors, he must leave important people to accompany him.
"Haha, okay." Eunuch Hai was very carefree and led his guards to sit down at the table.
The maid Lushui and others beside the princess also stayed on this floor.
Leave Zhao Duan and Xu Junling alone to move up to the next level.
……
……
When Zhao Duan stepped on the stairs and walked up to the fifth floor, he saw that the entire spacious and luxurious floor was decorated with bright lights.
The floor is covered with precious knitted carpets, and the lampposts in the corners reflect the light like daylight.
On this floor, there are maids who are obviously servants of the Huai'an Prince's Palace, standing around with their heads bowed respectfully. In the center of the crowd, there is a long table that attracts people's attention.
On the long table, there is a spindle-shaped bamboo tray, with a well-proportioned large herring lying on the tray.
At this moment, after a long case, there was an old man with a rich figure, a fair face, and so well-maintained that it was almost impossible to tell his true age.
Wearing an apron and holding a narrow knife, he was handling the herring. Every time his wet hands moved, an extra knife edge appeared on the fish, as if he had reached the final step of cooking the ingredients.
"Father, Ambassador Zhao is here." Xu Junling saluted softly.
This "rich businessman" who kills fish is the King of Huai'an, Zhenbao's uncle, Xu An, who controls several fleets in the Huai Waterway and is extremely rich?
Zhao Duan was surprised.
Although he had seen the portraits of the Eight Kings, it was still difficult to connect a royal prince with the cook who personally killed the fish in the restaurant.
The King of Huai'an happened to take the last blow, raised his head, and looked at Zhao Duan with his eyes on his fat face.
"My lower official, Zhao Duan, has met the prince." Zhao Duan smiled and saluted.
The attitude towards this person is very different from that of Prince Jing.
When the King of Huai'an smiled, he looked like Maitreya in the temple:
"Haha, today is not a formal meeting. Since you are familiar with my daughter, just treat her like a junior."
Zhao Duan followed the good example, changed his words and said with a smile:
"What the prince said is true, even this junior did not expect that in addition to being a famous gourmet in the Yu Dynasty, you also have this skill."
< br>Good praise must be implemented in a practical way. Sure enough, the corners of King Huai'an's mouth widened a little more, and the princess next to him smiled and said:
"My father likes to cook when he is at home, but not often, but this time Only by borrowing your light can I taste the fish cooked by my father.”
Zhao Duan was flattered.
The King of Huai'an shook his head, picked up the rag and wiped his hands, and said seriously:
"My skill in cooking fish is not as good as that of the Royal Chef of Dafeng Tower, but good ingredients are always good. You can feel at ease only when you handle it with your own hands. For most of the dishes for a table, the chef’s contribution is the sixth and the comprador’s contribution is the fourth... Besides, this thing has its own flavor and cannot be confused..."
"Just like in the Yu Dynasty in recent years, people used to use hot pot for banquets in winter, which was noisy and noisy to the guests. Moreover, the taste of each dish has a certain degree of heat. It is suitable to be literate and powerful, and it is difficult to change it in an instant. In this case, if you use fire to force it, will the taste be better? People in recent times used shochu instead of charcoal, thinking that it was a trick, but they didn’t know that the taste would change if it was boiled..."
Zhao Duan was dumbfounded and didn't want to. He came up with a topic and started talking to the other person incessantly... No wonder he was nicknamed "The Foodie King".
Although I don’t understand much, I can tell that he does have a lot of research on “eating”.
Xu Junling said helplessly: "Father, Prince Zhao has an empty stomach at night."
The King of Huai'an laughed and said: "But it's me who is verbose. Someone is here. Take it and cook it, and pass it to the kitchen to serve." Immediately, a maid came forward, took the big herring and went downstairs.
Some people even worked together to remove the long case.
King Huaian took off his apron and made a gesture. Zhao Duan immediately followed and sat with the father and daughter at the Eight Immortals table prepared nearby.
He was opposite Xu An, with Princess Zuo accompanying them.
With the sound of footsteps coming one after another, the maids brought dishes one after another from downstairs. In the blink of an eye, the dishes with exquisite presentation, delicious taste and color were all placed around the table.
Only a large piece of space was left in the middle, as if it was reserved for the fresh fish that was still cooking.
Zhao Duan glanced around and found that the main dishes on the table were "river delicacies" and the rest were supplementary. Among them, the eight plates of river delicacies in a circle were the most eye-catching.
He looked towards the side window again. This time the window was slightly open, and he could vaguely see continuous lights in the distance, which seemed to be coming from the boat.
“That’s Yansuo Lake over there.” King Huai’an explained:
“This lake has a history of more than a thousand years. When the previous dynasty was digging the Grand Canal, it was used to discharge floods. Although it was originally a scenic spot, it was not very famous. Instead, thanks to the opening of the canal, Huting gradually became lively.
Although it is outside the city, it is not far away. There are painted boats there at night. Although it is not as prosperous as the "Huaihe River" in the Huaihe River, it is also known as the "Little Huaihe River" in recent years. Unfortunately, in the Eighteen Prefectures of the Yu Dynasty, there were more than ten people vying for the title of "Little Huaihe River".
Oh, its scenery is nothing special except for the statues of gods carved on the ancient mountain wall. In my opinion, its reputation is greater than its reality. Most of it is due to the praise of the literati in their poems. .
However, my daughter had a different idea. She said it was unique and she actually wrote several poems about it. "
You'd better just talk about Yansuo Lake, rather than metaphor... Zhao Duan smiled:
"This junior has only been in Huting for half a day, but he hasn't had time yet. Go and see. "
"Yes, there's no rush. "The King of Huai'an smiled. He leaned back in the seat, and his rich body filled the gap:
"According to what I see, in this world, natural scenery is second, and talent is the most worthy. Taste the scenery. ”
"For example?" Zhao Duan praised.
The King of Huai'an said with great interest:
"For example, the lively scene between you and Xu Jinglong on the river, or the personal visit of Xu Wen in the Humble Administrator's Garden. ”
Let’s get to the point!
Knowing that the greetings were over, Zhao Duan quietly tensed up his nerves. His mind suddenly moved and he said in a joking tone:
"Your Majesty is very well informed. He even knows what happened between Prince Jing and me on the river. Could it be that he saw it with his own eyes?"
The King of Huai'an smiled and said, "I did see it by chance."
It was actually Admitted!
Zhao Duan was startled for a moment, realizing that the source of the peeping that he was vaguely aware of on the official ship was the foodie prince in front of him.
Zhao Duan’s thoughts turned and a smile appeared on his face:
"It's like this, that's a coincidence. Well, then tonight's banquet couldn't be just a whim after seeing Prince Jing go to the Humble Administrator's Garden, right?"
Huaian Wang Weiwei Surprised, but nodded with a smile: "That's true."
Admitted it again!
Xu Junling, who was accompanying me next to him, smiled and explained:
"My father indeed arranged this dinner temporarily after hearing what I said about it, so it's really not that I didn't inform the ambassador in advance. Jun said it.”
An innocent tone.
I believe you are the one with the devil... Zhao Duan cursed, watching the father and daughter singing together, but from the beginning to the end, they firmly held the dominance of this meeting.
This is not a good idea... Of course he would not think that this was a simple banquet.
I also know that if I keep following the opponent's rhythm, I will always be at a disadvantage.
Zhao Duan thought for a moment, smiled with relief, bent down and picked up the wine bottle, stood up and poured a glass for King Huai'an, then looked at the princess, who raised his hand to protect the wine cup and said with a smile Drink tea instead of wine.
Zhao Duan put down the wine bottle and used this action to artificially interrupt the rhythm of the conversation dominated by the father and daughter.
Then he said leisurely:
"Your Majesty met with me alone. If word spreads, are you not afraid that Prince Jing will know about it and misunderstand your position and intentions?"
……
The next chapter will be updated before midnight
(End of this chapter)