Chen Shengzhi looked at Zhang Yue, and it was hard to imagine that the young man in the past could actually eat at the same table with him today.

He remembered that when he was young, his family was poor and it cost thousands of dollars to take the provincial examination, so he went to a temple to divine whether he should pay the money to take the examination.

As a result, he was asked three times in a row to persuade him not to go.

Chen Shengzhi was so discouraged that he returned home and slept all night. In the end, he dreamed that the gods told him that he had just made a mistake. If you go to the imperial examination, you will definitely pass the high school, and you will be able to become the prime minister in the future.

After hearing this, Chen Shengzhi cheered up and took the last money from his family to take the provincial examination. He won the first place and won the Jinshi the next year. In the second year of Xining, he became the prime minister.

Chen Shengzhi always feels that his life is like a fate.

But today, when he looked at Zhang Yue, he really lamented that he had missed such a person at the beginning, and adding icing on the cake was not as good as giving someone timely assistance. Now it was too late for him to show his kindness to him.

In the end, he allowed the fellow countryman next to him to take the lead and call him his son-in-law.

Cai Ting, the deputy privy envoy on the side, looked at Chen Shengzhi, Wu Chong, Zeng Xiaokuan, and Zhang Yue, and sincerely lamented that the Fujian Party was so powerful that the Privy Council had become the world of the Fujian people.

Wu Chong glanced at Chen Shengzhi's legs and saw that Chen Shengzhi's foot disease was already very serious. After all, he was getting older and his health was getting worse. Now he could only hold his position barely.

He had long wanted to replace him.

The court officials each took their place and brought the dishes to the table.

This is the system of dining on the verandah that has been passed down from the Tang Dynasty. As for Huang Haoyi and Peng Jingyi, they were taken aside to eat with their entourage.

Five senior officials sat down around a rectangular table. Calling it a long table was a bit inappropriate, and it would be better to call it a big bed.

In the center of the giant table were meat porridge, soup cakes, steamed buns, rice, wine, and cold dishes, each served in a large basin.

Wu Chong and Chen Shengzhi sat on the benches at the east end, while Zhang Yue, Cai Ting and Zeng Xiaokuan sat on the benches at the west end.

The court officials on the side brought food boxes to the five people, which contained meat soup and vegetables. The best dish was roasted mutton. As for the staple food, soup and wine, they took themselves from the table eucalyptus.

Eating is a ritual. In ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, the etiquette of eating and drinking is the first ritual.

Why? This is most concerned with the distribution of benefits. Li teaches people how to distribute.

For example, if a wild animal living in a group is able to eat well, you will fight for it, and the appearance of eating will be very ugly.

Human society adopts a food-sharing system, where one person distributes food to prevent someone from eating too much and occupying more. This is a food-sharing system. How to ensure that food sharing is fair and equitable, so that those who can can eat more? What is the standard for being able? Food sharing

How much do people get? Or do they pay attention to balance? This is the earliest gift.

When the food is sufficient, the sharing system pays attention to the respect of superiority and inferiority. This is etiquette.

It was not until the Tang Dynasty that banquets were introduced, and they were mainly used among officials.

We are all social beings, so it prevents a group of dogs from fighting for food. At the same time, the dagger used to cut meat was changed to a tachyon, which also prevents people from being killed when eating together.

The most important thing is that a group of people can chat while eating and the atmosphere will be more harmonious.

Based on this, we came up with "Huishi Shuyi", which is a less formal discussion, and everyone just treats it as a casual chat without taking any responsibility.

The banquet is a team building or working meal for officials paid by the imperial court. We had just finished arguing in the political hall in the morning, and we exchanged opinions during the banquet to try to resolve the conflict.

Therefore, eating is not the purpose, but deliberation is the purpose.

The Bachelor of Duanming Palace is an official of the Privy Council. He was originally the eyes and ears of the emperor. Although he no longer serves in the Privy Council, he still participates in dinners.

After the five people are seated, they sit upright. According to the rules, everyone must be present when eating. If one person is not present, they will not eat.

Chen Shengzhi raised the wine cup and toasted to Zhang Yue, and Zhang Yue immediately drank a glass of rather dull plain wine.

Chen Shengzhi said: "On weekdays, the Privy Council does not prepare wine for meals, but today we made an exception to celebrate the occasion."

Zhang Yue thanked him.

Chen Shengzhi smiled and picked up the kuaizi. After pinching the first kuaizi, everyone started to get chopsticks.

Throughout the Privy Council Hall, the court officials did not dare to make a sound. They were all waiting for a few people to eat, for fear of disturbing everyone's interest in eating. Therefore, except for the sound of chewing, the eating environment was extremely quiet.

At this moment, there will be questions about the initial suggestions. Where are the initial suggestions?

This is just a joke, do you still take this to be true?

Just go through the process and come to practice for the real thing.

Zhang Yue just kept silent while working on his meal. In the Tang Dynasty, Lu Huaishen obeyed Yao Chong in everything and did nothing except eating. He was ridiculed as the Prime Minister of Food Companion. Now I am the Bachelor of Food Companion.

Of course, if you find it boring to work, you can also show your high emotional intelligence. For example, if you see a colleague next door accidentally getting rice on his beard, you can take the initiative to help him smooth the rice off his beard, and then praise his beautiful beard.

You can definitely win the favor of your colleagues immediately.

Wu Chong and Cai Ting said nothing, but Chen Shengzhi greeted Zhang Yue from time to time and expressed their friendship with fellow villagers.

After finishing the meal, Chen Shengzhi put down the kuaizi. At this time, the court official took several notes and presented them to Chen Shengzhi. Wu Chong read them.

Zhang Yue glanced around and saw the words "Someone has done something wrong, please report it to someone."

According to the banquet between the two prime ministers, officials are not allowed to pay homage, so all matters are written on slips of paper, which are collectively reviewed by the prime ministers after the meal.

Chen Shengzhi glanced at it and then said to Zhang Yue: "Duzhi, are you used to eating the food of the Privy Council?"

Zhang Yue said: "Lao Shu asked each other, it is particularly delicate and delicious."

Chen Shengzhi smiled and stood up immediately, and everyone also stood up to see him off.

Wu Chong gave Zhang Yue a wink and left.

Zhang Yue also returned to the Bachelor's College to rest.

There was nothing to do in the afternoon, Zhang Yue lay down on the couch and took a nap, letting Peng Jingyi and Huang Haoyi clean up and decorate the bachelor's pavilion.

When it's almost evening, we have a feast.

According to the old system, the Kaifeng Mansion was allowed to invite female musicians to the reception banquet for newly appointed Hanlin scholars. This was an etiquette that even the prime minister did not have, and that was not the case later.

However, this time the reception banquet was still quite grand.

In the Song Dynasty, the public expenditure was always high, especially on food and drink with public funds. If you carefully read the Song Dynasty poetry, a large part of it was spent on banquets.

There are four major banquets: seeing off the old and welcoming the new, daily gatherings and festive banquets.

The Third Secretary Zeng Bu learned that Yuan Jiang and others from Kaifeng Prefecture had arrived, as well as Cai Ting and Zeng Xiaokuan from the Privy Council, and from Zhongshu came Wang Gui, Han Wei, Wang Lian and others who were in the court.

Before the banquet, everyone chatted for a while.

Everyone understands that Zhang Yue is now a bachelor of Duanming Palace, and is only one step away from Zaizhi. Even though he is not Zaizhi, he has won the trust of the emperor, and his words have enough weight for the emperor.

Whether in the future or now, Zhang Yue plays a decisive role in the political arena.

Otherwise, Lu Huiqing would not have condescended to go to Zhang Mansion to congratulate him as the second most important person in Zhongshu.

Everyone here is acquaintances, and they are also trying to figure out Zhang Yue's thoughts without leaving any trace. It is unknown whether such a new political force will break the existing court structure in Bianjing.

However, Zhang Yue has always dealt with it calmly. Compared with when he left Beijing in embarrassment a few years ago, he can deal with today's situation with ease.

No one could glean anything from his words.

Even if all of you here are old foxes, there is nothing we can do.

How to speak nonsense correctly is an art. It's like someone asking you, does the sun come out from the east?

Zhang Yue also had to answer that in general the sun rises from the east, but I do not rule out the possibility that the sun rises from the west in other circumstances.

Everyone will think that Zhang Yue opposed the market change law in the northwest, but when he arrived in the capital, his attitude became ambiguous.

Finally, the officials came to announce the start of the banquet, and everyone went to the courtyard of the Academy.

The two prime ministers Han Jiang, Lu Huiqing, Feng Jing, Wu Chong and Chen Shengzhi did not arrive.

Han Jiang is the head of the hundred officials and has a distinguished status, so it is the same if he is replaced by Han Wei. Needless to say, Wu Chong, and Lu Huiqing visited yesterday. Chen Shengzhi met him at the dinner, and he is older and is the chief minister.

You don’t have to come.

Feng Jing and Feng Sanyuan showed no expression at all, which surprised Zhang Yue. Zhang Yue remembered that on the night when Emperor Renzong died, he, Feng Jing, Han Qi and other seven prime ministers joined forces to help Emperor Yingzong ascend to the throne.

That night, they experienced a battle of swords and swords, and the two had some friendship, but now...

Everyone recommended Wang Gui to take the throne, followed by Cai Ting. The Zhongshu Province had a higher status than the Privy Council, so they were both prime ministers, and Wang Gui ranked before Cai Ting.

Zhang Yue was Wang Gui's student. In the imperial examination in the second year of Jiayou's reign, Wang Gui selected Zhang Yue. During the banquet, he mentioned that when the butterfly was marking the papers, it was magical. It was in the cold spring of February.

There were butterflies falling out of the paper, which made it even more obvious that Zhang Yue, the number one scholar, was a gift from heaven.

Today Zhang Yue is a bachelor of Duanming Palace, Wang Gui must be happy.

Regarding the Zeng-Lu dispute between the DPRK and Zheng Xia, his attitude is that he has no attitude. I will not help anyone and try my best to play the role of a good political mascot.

Although Wang Gui was unreliable and never expressed his position when things happened, no one dared to offend him. Wang Gui was a Hanlin bachelor in the first year of Jiayou. When Lu Huiqing failed to become a Jinshi, he was on duty in this courtyard.

.

Wang Gui repeated his old tune and talked about his time in the Hanlin Academy. Because he was talking about himself, such words were not about sensitive topics and would not easily offend others. Everyone put down their tense hearts and listened happily.

Roughly set the mood before the banquet.

Cai Ting, on the other hand, was recommended to be the prime minister because she was married to Zeng Gongliang. She had no chance to go further. At the same time, she was in poor health and often felt dizzy. She didn't know how long she could stay in office.

His attitude was quite peaceful. He came to the banquet to give Zhang Yue face. He admired Zhang Yue for his achievements in leveling the northwest, which was comparable to that of Cao Bin. At the same time, he would no longer be in power, but several of his sons were still serving as officials.

Zhang Yue looked at the others. Among them, Han Wei was about to be released because his brother Han Jiang was the prime minister. Zeng Xiaokuan was the second generation, and his qualifications and abilities needed to be improved. Zeng Bu could not protect himself now.

Only Yuan Jiang and Wang Lian must be alert.
To be continued...