After the afternoon, Du Zhongxiao and the officials went out of the Yushitai and went to the Yuxian Tower in the south together. Yuxian Tower is located in the west of the Royal Street, and is adjacent to the most lively state bridge, which is the most convenient place to go after the next dynasty. However, for officials, this is the time to go home, but to go less.

There is a flower building outside the Yuxian Building, and there are many female prostitutes sitting on both sides, all of them showing off their flowers. A few servants stood in front, and when they saw a guest coming to this side, they hurried to meet them. This kind of big restaurant, every day to make money, has its own way of doing business.

Du Zhongxiao led people to the outside of the building, and a small guy ran forward quickly, saluting: "When Du Zhongcheng first entered the capital, he came to our restaurant, which is really shining!" Hurry up inside, please, there is a window pavilion on the second floor, which is suitable for you to sit. ”

Du Zhongxiao was stunned for a moment, and wanted to ask the people around him, if someone had booked a seat here, otherwise how would he know himself? Think about it or forget it, Xu is a person in the capital has this ability, and a restaurant can know who he is.

In fact, Du Zhongxiao entered Beijing as the imperial history of Zhongcheng, the number of important ministers in the imperial court, and today he is wearing official uniforms, and the little guy can't recognize it, and Yuxian Lou is not worthy of being called a restaurant in the capital. Ministers like Du Zhongxiao, as well as their official uniforms and etiquette, these little guys are all familiar with each other.

Just as he was about to enter, Guo Shenxi said: "You don't have to go to the pavilion on the second floor, if you have a separate pavilion in your backyard, give us one." ”

"Okay, okay, please inside." The little maid agreed with a mouthful of promises, and led a few people into the restaurant.

The layout of the world's restaurants is based on the Fan Building near Donghua Gate, which is about the same. The hall on the first floor is for individual guests, with many seats, and the second floor is a pavilion. If it is a large restaurant, there will be a backyard with flowers and trees, and there are many pavilions. The pavilion on the second floor is a private seat, and the pavilion in the backyard is similar to a private room, which is more advanced. This is near many yamen in the capital, and the officials of the Imperial Historical Observatory gather for a drink, of course, they have to go to the backyard.

There are many flowers and trees planted in the backyard, and the weather is not cold at this time, with fewer flowers and more leaves, which seems to be very quiet. Entering a small pavilion shaded by bamboo shadows, the little servant said, "Officials, what do you want to eat today?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I first arrived in the capital, the first time I entered your house, what are the special dishes?" ”

The little servant said: "Official, we are one of the seventy-two main stores in the capital, and we are one of the few big restaurants in the capital. All kinds of dishes from the north and south, delicacies from the mountains and seas, everything. Officials just order according to their favorite tastes, and they will inevitably make them. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since this is the case, let's first have a taste of osmanthus carp, then a good pig's trotters, and a few seasonal vegetables." The rest of the dishes are ordered by them. By the way, what good wines do you have in the store? ”

The little servant agreed, and said, "We have the best lamb wine in our store, and it is very famous in the capital." ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head when he heard this: "As soon as I arrived in the capital, I said that lamb wine, and I felt that it was not interesting to drink too much." If you have wine, come to a few corners. Now is the time of summer heat, and fruit wine can relieve the heat. ”

The little guy agreed, apparently whether it was lamb wine or wine, the shop had everything.

This was a bit unexpected by Du Zhongxiao, although he knew that the restaurants in the capital must not be comparable to other places, but he didn't expect that it was really called something. didn't say much, so he asked Guo Shenxi to take someone to order.

The practice passed from the Baiting Supervisor has changed a lot in the restaurants in the capital in recent years. With the popularization of oil frying on fire, many new dishes have been added, and then on the train can transport goods from afar, and the restaurant has more abundant food. Even the rules of ordering food are different from before, and the major restaurants have sought perfection, and I have what others have, and others I have not pursued. In a big restaurant like Yuxian Lou, there are only a few dishes that can't be made.

Guo Shenxi saw that Du Zhongxiao ordered ordinary things, so he ordered two things casually. Yuxian Lou is a big restaurant, ordinary dishes are not cheap, since they come, there are often people ordering rare things. Guo Shenxi only thought that Du Zhongxiao deliberately ordered two common things to let people know his character. But I don't know that Du Zhongxiao has always disliked any delicacies from the mountains and seas, so he likes to refine ordinary things, but he didn't mean to.

After a while, everyone ordered the wine and food, and the little guy couldn't stop nodding, wrote them down one by one, and turned around to leave.

Looking at the departing little guy, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but admire a little. This little guy only listened to others once, and he remembered them all one by one, and this memory is really rare. The big restaurant in the capital is really a very place.

After a while, the restaurant served cold dishes and wine, allowing everyone to drink at will.

Du Zhongxiao raised his glass and said, "Today I will go to the Yushitai to perform my duties and discuss with you. In the future, I will rely on your help to do a good job. ”

Everyone didn't dare to say anything, so they raised their wine glasses and drank them all.

Putting down the wine glass, Du Zhongxiao said: "Today is the first time I have entered the Yushi Terrace, please drink a few glasses of wine and have fun." There is nothing taboo about what you have to say during the banquet. Before I came here, I was a soldier who led soldiers to fight, and I liked to do things straight, so don't be surprised. ”

Guo Shenxi said: "Zhongcheng Shuai Hequ, defeated strong enemies in a row, expanded the land for thousands of miles, and was the first hero of my Great Song Dynasty." When I heard that Zhongcheng was coming, all the officials were overjoyed, thinking that it was an opportunity for me to rejuvenate the Imperial Historical Observatory. Whenever there is something in Zhongcheng, just show it, you will do your best! ”

Everyone said yes and drank again.

As the second-in-command of Yushitai, Guo Shenxi has been in Yushitai for many years and is familiar with Taiwan affairs. If he can support Du Zhongxiao, there will be a lot less trouble. As a Jinshi who has been a Heavenly Sage for eight years, he has rich experience in officialdom, and he is an unlikely deputy.

In this era, under normal circumstances, there is a lot of difference between the official position of the deputy post and the main post, and it is difficult to promote the deputy post to the main post. There is no competition between the principal and deputy positions, but more of a supporting relationship. It is precisely because of Guo Shenxi's appointment that the imperial history is miscellaneous, and the ministers of the DPRK and China are more at ease with Du Zhongxiao.

After drinking for a while, several people slowly became acquainted with each other, and they spoke without scruples.

Du Zhongxiao said: "What is the most important thing in the DPRK now?" In addition to daily chores, there are always special people and things that attract attention. ”

Lu Jingchu, the attendant in the palace, said: "The most important thing is nothing more than that the saint has no children. In the first half of the year, the Holy Communion was not at peace, and for several months he ignored the government and politics, and people inside and outside were panicked. Although Shengshang is now at the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, he has never had children, which is a hidden worry for the imperial court. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded. The emperor was in good health, and when he was officially in charge of the government, Lu Jingchu suggested that he choose a son to raise by his side, thinking that he was the crown prince, and of course he still thinks so now. In Du Zhongxiao's memory, the current emperor seems to be an adult prince, and finally chose a son to take over the throne. For the imperial court, this is an important event, and once there is a succession crisis, the impact will be too great.

Shi Liang said: "In addition, the two privy councillors divided the north and south roads of the party, and the intention of using troops is obvious. Zhongcheng came back, and when the autumn came, the court was afraid that it would use troops against the party. The soldiers are treacherous, and once there is a victory or defeat, it will inevitably shake the government and the opposition. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Now it is not as good as before, the party is unstable in the country, the two emperors of Khitan stand side by side, and it is just the right time to use the party item." It's just that the imperial army has not been reorganized for a long time, and I don't know what the combat power is. And the strategy is undecided, and there will be many things at that time. ”

Guo Shenxi said: "Judging from the fact that Zhongcheng was invincible and invincible when he was on Hequ Road, it was natural to use soldiers and party items. It's just that the two captains led the troops, and I don't know what happened. What the ministers of the DPRK and China are afraid of is that they will not be able to win when the time comes, and they will not know what to do when they are embarrassed. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Now that there is a railway, we can calmly deliver supplies to the Zhenrong army, even if we can't win for a while, there is nothing." Nowadays, it is not as good as before, there is a railway to transport grain, and it is common for a war to last two or three years, and there is nothing wrong with it. ”

Di Qing is a famous general in the world, especially after pacifying Nong Zhigao, his reputation in the government and the opposition is unparalleled for a while. It's just that immediately after, Du Zhongxiao defeated the Khitan and the party one after another, and opened up the Hequ Road, and Di Qing's exploits were not important. At this time, Du Zhongxiao returned to the Western Regions, and the government and the opposition thought that he was the most difficult commander, and they were very suspicious of Di Qing.

What's the solution? It's not that he can fight better than Di Qing, but he has opened up a new era, and under the new era, how can other armies be opponents. If Di Qing can adapt to the new style of play, of course, there will be no problem in dealing with the party. If you don't adapt, it's not unreasonable to suffer some setbacks in Lingzhou. The most important thing is not who can fight, but who has mastered the tactics of the army in the new era.

This kind of change is too rapid, and the more high-ranking people are, the more difficult it is to accept it, but the middle and lower-level generals are faster to accept it. So it takes time, it needs to be slowly run-in, and it needs to be slowly adapted. There is no way to do this, and Du Zhongxiao can't say anything about the party war.

Several officials knew that if they wanted to send troops to destroy the party, Du Zhongxiao was the most suitable candidate for commander. Since he led his troops to save Tanglong Town, he has defeated enough strong enemies and made enough military achievements, so what is there to destroy the party Xiang Shuang. But they also knew that Du Zhongxiao had been an official outside, and he was not familiar enough with the ministers in the court, nor with the emperor. In this case, it is impossible to let him continue to lead the army.

To tell the truth, with Du Zhongxiao here, the current officials in the DPRK and China are not optimistic about Di Qing and Han Qi leading troops to attack the party, and they feel that something will happen. It's just that Du Zhongxiao has won too many victories, and everyone is not familiar with the current army, so they can only wait and see what happens.

Wu Zhong replied: "In the past few years, the world has been under great rule, and the DPRK and China have sufficient financial resources, even if there are small setbacks in the party's operations, it is nothing. Four or five hundred thousand troops attacking the party, how much grain and grass can be consumed in a year? There is a railway to the Zhenrong army, which is naturally convenient to arrive. ”

Guo Shenxi said: "Yes, now that there are trains in the world, everything is different." Even if the troops are transferred from Hebei Road, they can go to the Zhenrong Army in less than a month, where did they dare to think of such a thing before? Now, even if the party is defeated, it will not shake the government. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, and then he got to the point. Now there are trains, and both troops and supplies can be transported quickly. Even if Di Qing's attack is unfavorable? It's nothing more than transferring more troops and transporting more supplies to the front.