As soon as the first day passed, Zeng Guofan arrived at the palace of Prince Xuan in the north street of Chaonei on time, Guan Zhuofan personally went to the second hall under the dripping eaves to wait, and when he saw Zeng Guofan, he said in a slightly complaining tone: "Didn't the post say, please wash Weng to serve in a humble manner?" Why is Di Weng still wearing court clothes? ”

Without waiting for Zeng Guofan to answer, he said loudly: "Come here, wait for Zeng Zhongtang to change clothes!" ”

The prince is a hundred courtesy, that is, with the respect of a scholar, and he also kowtows when he formally sees the courtesy. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎforanw?enw?w?w?．? If you don't wear court clothes, you don't have to perform "state courtesy" to the prince, and "casual clothes" is a sign of courtesy; Zeng Guofan did not follow his words, and still wore a robe and gown, which means that he does not dare to ignore the etiquette of the court, which is a sign of self-humility.

Generally speaking, it is necessary to give way to the promotion and enter the door, so as to formally greet the ceremony, sometimes for the grand event, but also to lay out the red felt strips, no one is still outside, a step, a step, just do the "national ceremony". Guan Zhuofan asked someone to "wait for Zeng Zhongtang to change clothes" at this moment, which was a clear expression of preventing Zeng Guofan from meeting with "national courtesy", since Prince Xuan insisted on "courtesy", Zeng Zhongtang only asked for it.

After changing into civilian clothes and inviting An, Zeng Guofan followed Guan Zhuofan to the flower hall, and after serving tea, they exchanged pleasantries with each other and came to attend.

The first dish had a surprise just after it was brought into the flower hall, and before it was served, Zeng Guofan smelled the spicy smell of the dishes.

Sure enough, the chili fried meat.

Then, chop the fish head with pepper, stir-fried blood duck, aged vinegar chicken, steamed cured meat, ginger and spicy snake, grandma's dish...... It's all the most authentic Hunan cuisine!

Moreover, this "authentic" is not in vain, the appearance and taste are also very authentic, and even, more than what Zeng Guofan himself is used to, but also "authentic" Zeng Guofan's self-proclaimed minimalism, daily coarse tea and light rice, as long as there are chili peppers in the dish, the appearance, taste or something, never pay attention to it.

This table is very different!

Chop the head of the pepper fish, not the usual fathead fish, but it is far fatter and more delicious than the fathead fish, I don't know what kind of fish it is?

At the time of the dropping, Prince Xuan introduced that this is the white fish of the Songhua River, not only the meat quality is better, but the meat of the fish head is thicker and more than the fathead fish, which is more suitable for making chopped pepper fish head.

Fried blood duck, duck blood black and red, bright color, sweet and crispy; The duck meat is golden in color, spicy and soft, salty and delicious.

Aged vinegar chicken, red, white, green, yellow, bright in four colors, fat and tender, sour and spicy and fragrant, and, Prince Xuan said, the material of this dish is Dong'an chicken in Yongzhou, Hunan, this kind of chicken, chicken legs are small, the chest is large and fat, and it is most suitable to be used to make aged vinegar chicken.

The most suitable and not the most suitable not to talk about him, the key is, how did the chickens from Hunan come all the way to Beijing alive?

Prince Xuan did not explain this trick, but only said that if he used local chicken in Beijing, "I am afraid that the taste will not be authentic."

Steamed cured meat, cured chicken, preserved fish, add rich chicken soup, and steam it in a bowl, the cured meat is fragrant and heavy, salty and sweet, flexible and not greasy.

Hey, in this era, don't say that northerners rarely eat snakes, that is, Zeng Guofan, a Hunan man, has been for most of his life, this "ginger and spicy snake", he has not eaten it a few times, and there will be this dish on the table?

The last dish, called "Goldfish Lotus Play", is a "kung fu dish".

Hunan cuisine generally does not pay much attention to appearance, but "goldfish and lotus" is an exception, this dish is based on the chef's knife skill squid as the main ingredient, rolled like a goldfish, frolicking in the lotus made with eggs, shrimp and green beans, vivid, bright and lovely. Of course, although the taste is not the first selling point, the squid is crispy and tender, the lotus canopy is smooth, sour and spicy, and it is still fresh in the mouth.

In Beijing in winter, it is not easy to renovate such a table of dishes, not to say how much money is spent on the materials of Hunan cuisine, which are not too expensive, but some materials, I am afraid that there is no place to find such as Yongan chicken used in Chen vinegar chicken.

That's it, the key is that this kind of mind or "heart" is rare!

What especially made Zeng Guofan uneasy was that the dishes on this table, at a glance, were all red dishes, and a large number of chili peppers were put in them. I am from Hunan, no spicy or happy, naturally the taste is right, Prince Xuan is from Beijing, so spicy, how can I stand it?

However, Prince Xuan said, "I also eat spicy, and on weekdays, I don't have many opportunities to eat Hunan food seriously. ”

Zeng Guofan thought that Prince Xuan was polite, but he was still very uneasy in his heart, but he didn't know that this was actually the truth:

Since Lao Tzu crossed, I haven't eaten a serious Hunan cuisine, hum, today can be regarded as a solution to my hunger!

When the chopsticks were raised, Prince Xuan really drank very well, and he was not "spicy", Zeng Guofan couldn't help but be a little surprised.

At the banquet, in addition to Guan Zhuofan's persuasion, he only talked about some gossip in and outside Beijing, and serious things, without mentioning a word. Zeng Guofan knew that when Prince Xuan was summoned today, he would never just want to "have a quick meal", and there must be something urgent to discuss, but since the prince didn't mention it for the time being, he didn't open his mouth to inquire.

However, this "no inquiry" is just at the table.

After the banquet, sit down, and serve tea, Zeng Guofan felt that some words were better to say on his own initiative.

"See you today," Zeng Guofan said, "Heavenly language is sincere, it seems that I think that sericulture should be promoted in Zhili?" This one...... I don't really understand, I want to ask the prince for advice. ”

Today, His Majesty saw that the emperor's reasoning was clear and strict, and his tone was free, which left a very deep impression on Zeng Guofan, although he knew that most of what the emperor said today was taught by a master in advance, but a sixteen-year-old girl, raised in the deep palace since she was a child, had never seen any foreign ministers, and had never heard of any books, but she was able to write down these words, say them clearly, in a disciplined manner, sound, no stage fright, not pretentious, and her current identity, tightly matched, this is extremely rare, It is worthy of the four words "heavenly language".

What's more, this is not an endorsement, it is a meeting with the courtiers, it is a process of you coming and going, the courtiers' replies, it is impossible to be 100% as expected in advance, then the emperor's words, which sentence to say first, which sentence to say later, which sentence is light, which sentence is heavy, and which sentence can not be said, must be decided by the emperor himself. It is okay for the "master" to mention one or two points on the spot, but it cannot replace the emperor's own judgment, and Zeng Guofan watched coldly, and the "master" who stood above him did not seem to have made too many "points" to the emperor.

Therefore, today is really "heroic".

The only thing that puzzled Zeng Guofan was why the emperor took the initiative to promote sericulture in Zhili?

Because this is simply not possible, it is impossible for the professor and the "master" who mentioned the emperor not to know this.

*(To be continued.) )