The magnates of the Huizong era of the Great Song Dynasty were divided into five major groups, high above the Zhao royal family, they had a lofty status, stood proudly, squatted at the top of the pyramid, and close to the periphery of the pyramid were the group of relatives, represented by the two major families of Empress Dowager Xiang and Empress Zheng, who relied on the imperial power and enjoyed the status and wealth second only to the royal family in the Great Song Dynasty.

The third group is the eunuch group, represented by Liang Shicheng, Li Yan, Tong Guan, Yang Jian, Tan Zhi and others, who are an extension of the power of the Son of Heaven, holding the army of the Great Song Dynasty and the power of the Son of Heaven Zhu Pi, although they have no prestige status, no one dares to offend any of them.

The fourth group is the civilian-official group, represented by Cai Jing, Wang Hao, Yu Shen and others, who protect each other, maintain the interests of civil officials with a high degree of consistency, control huge political resources, and control the operation of the Great Song Dynasty, even the Son of Heaven does not dare to offend this group easily.

The fifth group is the meritorious family group, composed of the descendants of the founding heroes, represented by the Cao family, the Gao family and the Pan family, although they have no real power, but they have a high prestige in the Great Song Dynasty military, and at the same time they control a lot of wealth in the capital and local states and counties, they have been married to each other for a hundred years, the relationship is intertwined, one is prosperous, one is lost, the interests are highly consistent, even the Son of Heaven has no way to take them, as long as they do not make mistakes of principle, they will generally not be investigated, and they dare not study deeply.

This is the real reason why Zhao Ji was so annoyed after the prince sent a secret letter to Gao Shen, Gao Shen not only represents the Gao family, but the entire meritorious family group stands behind him.

These five major groups occupied the upper part of the pyramid and monopolized the wealth and power of the Great Song Dynasty for more than 100 years, especially at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, when the strata were solidified, and it was really difficult for ordinary people and ordinary officials to move up.

Today is the day of the Cao family's treat, of course, this kind of treat is just a trivial matter worth mentioning in Bianjing, but the scale of the Cao family's invitation is not small, the Cao family sent out nearly 100 invitations, which means that hundreds of guests will come to the banquet, and it is common for the meritorious families to invite each other to dinner, and they always find various reasons to gather to maintain their relationship with each other.

Today, the reason for the Cao family's invitation is to give the young children a chance to communicate, which is actually the most common reason for them to get together for decades, and the other meaning behind it is blind date.

Marriage is an important bond that has maintained the relationship between the meritorious families for a hundred years, and it has extraordinary practical significance, and they have been like this from generation to generation.

Of course, they will also replenish fresh blood, like Gao Shen's recruitment of Jinshi Zhou Chun as his son-in-law is to replenish fresh blood, in fact, it is also a manifestation of the meritorious family's unwillingness to be isolated and attempt to intervene in the politics of the Great Song Dynasty.

From noon, ox carts or carriages will send the masters of various meritorious families to the gate of Cao's mansion, because it is an invitation sent by Cao Ping, so the heads of each family must attend, and then there are young children and their parents who need to go on a blind date, or graceful girls, or young and heroic teenagers, so a family will probably come five to six people.

Although Li Yanqing did not receive a formal written invitation, he was personally invited by Cao Ping, which was more sincere than a written invitation.

In the afternoon, he took an ox cart to the Cao Mansion located on the north bank of the Jinshui River, the Cao Mansion is the ancestral house, it is a huge mansion given to Cao Bin by Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and later several emperors continue to give the homestead, let the Cao family expand the mansion, the current Cao Mansion covers an area of 300 acres, it is one of the famous mansions in Bianjing, although the Cao Mansion is large, but compared with the mansions of Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, Wang Hao and others, it is still a small thing.

According to the regulations of the Song Dynasty's residence level, only the houses above the prince are allowed to be called mansions, the homes of hundreds of officials are called houses, and the people are called houses, and it is also because Cao Bin was posthumously named the king of Jiyang County, and his mansion can also be called a house.

The ox cart Li Yanqing was riding in was still more than 100 steps away from the gate of Caofu, and the road was blocked, making it difficult for the vehicle to move an inch.

"Official, the front is blocked!" The coachman shouted outside.

Li Yanqing lifted the curtain and looked over, only to see that there was a lot of traffic in front of him, and I don't know how many ox carts blocked the street, and people kept getting out of the car and walking directly to the gate of Caofu.

"I'll go over there, you go back! In the evening I went home by myself. ”

This ox cart is Baoyanzhai's special car, Li Daqi specially transferred it to Li Yanqing for use, and the driver is also from Tangyin, honest and reliable.

"Don't forget when the gates are closed."

"I won't forget, you go!"

Li Yanqing jumped out of the carriage, closed the door and walked quickly to the gate of Caofu, he wore a light blue narrow-sleeved shirt today, good Suzhou water satin, wearing soft feet on his head, and leather belt around his waist, which looked particularly refreshing and capable, energetic, this is also the most common attire of the Northern Song Dynasty scholar class, living at home or attending banquets, relaxed and etiquette.

At this time, the time has just arrived, that is, around three o'clock in the afternoon, it is the peak of the arrival of the guests, the front of the gate is crowded with guests who come to the banquet, many of them are middle-aged couples with children to participate, the men's dress is similar, mainly in shirts, while the women are showy, graceful and luxurious, all kinds of jewels and jade sparkle on the high bun.

But the most striking are the young people, they are the protagonists of today, the young men are dressed like their parents, the clothes are mainly robes and hats, most of them are burly, and the physique is strong, which is also the reason why the meritorious family has practiced martial arts for generations, most of them are around 20 years old, and they look particularly heroic.

The most eye-catching is the young girls, most of them are fifteen or sixteen years old, it is the age of the flower season to be married, they are mainly dressed in gowns, but the color is purple and red, or delicate or plump, the skin is like condensation, the air is like a quiet orchid, the cheeks are flushed, and the shame is green.

Li Yanqing walked to the door and saw Gao Zhong at a glance, he was chatting with two young companions, but his eyes looked at the street from time to time, he and his two companions were tall and heroic, attracting a group of young ladies next to him from time to time.

"Ahh Brother Yanqing. ”

Gao Pet saw Li Yanqing, and hurriedly waved his hand and shouted, he immediately walked forward quickly, Li Yanqing saw that he was dressed very capably, and couldn't help laughing: "Are you going to practice guns today?" ”

"I don't know about this yet! Let's see how the uncle arranges. ”

He introduced Li Yanqing to the two young men next to him, "These two are my friends, Cao Xing and Pan Chengyu, who are currently studying at Guozi University. ”

Before, the two of them knew that Li Yanqing was the famous Li Tanhua in the capital, the first place in the bow and horse competition, both civil and military, they had admired it for a long time, and they all stepped forward to salute, Li Yanqing saw that although they were disciples of the family, they were modest and steady, and they also had a good impression in their hearts, so they hurriedly returned the salute.

The three of them had just exchanged a few words, and at this moment, a man from the Cao family who was greeting guests at the door strode over, "But Yanqing is here?" ”

Li Yanqing knew him, it was Cao Sheng, a friend of King Zhao Kai, Li Yanqing smiled, "Brother Cao, I haven't seen you for a long time." ”

"Father said that he didn't have time to prepare an invitation for you, and he was afraid that you wouldn't be able to enter the door, so he specially asked me to wait at the gate, come with me!"

He glared at Cao Xuan again, "Are you okay?" ”

Cao Xuan was a little afraid of him, and said tremblingly: "Sixth Uncle asked me to command the vehicle." ”

"Then you don't go quickly, what's the blockage!"

Cao Xuan pulled Gao Chong and Pan Chengyu, and the three of them said goodbye to Li Yanqing and hurried away.

Cao Sheng smiled and said to Li Yanqing: "He is the third son of my eldest brother, he is good at riding and shooting, and he has always admired you, Pan Chengyu is skilled in swordsmanship, and his literature is relatively poor. ”

Li Yanqing nodded, "They are all talented children." ”

Cao Sheng said with a smile: "There are also children of meritorious families, I was when I was young, and now that I have a family, I have begun to converge." ”

Li Yanqing laughed, "I heard that Brother Cao has been promoted?" Congratulations! ”

Cao Sheng was promoted to the capital of the infantry army in front of the palace at the beginning of the year, from the fifth rank military attaché, Cao Sheng shook his head and said: "An official like me is a hereditary official, which is meaningless, unlike the virtuous brother who has the capital to kill from the battlefield, but I heard that you are going to be transferred to the imperial court?" ”

Li Yanqing smiled faintly, "I have already received the appointment, and I will officially take office the day after tomorrow." ”

Cao Sheng suddenly laughed and laughed quietly: "This official position is very ordinary!" ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Although it is easy to offend people, the imperial history has a lot of power, and he has the right to supervise hundreds of officials and participate in the trial of the three divisions, which makes people afraid and hate, but he does not dare to offend, but the relationship between the court is complicated, and the virtuous brother should be cautious in the future."

Li Yanqing nodded silently, "Thank you Brother Tai for reminding me." ”

"Let's go! I'll take you into the house and get you a better seat. ”

Cao Sheng took Li Yanqing into Cao's Mansion and walked quickly to the atrium.

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