Chapter 115: Outing (Part 2)
Nanyang was in a state of revival, and the Jin people were retreating strategically. Logically speaking, this was the most difficult time for the exiled Song Dynasty regime, which had just settled down. It was time to make every effort to do everything, since there was no shortage of things to do anyway.
And at this time, Emperor Zhao suddenly organized an outing in the name of entertaining guests, so... of course he was forgiven.
After all, the emperor had never heard of such behavior before, and it seemed not appropriate to conclude that Emperor Zhao was addicted to beauty and started to enjoy himself just because of this activity.
In addition, the sharing of happiness between the monarch and his subjects, as well as the enjoyment of nature, is something that is extremely consistent with Confucian moral pursuits and can even be called politically correct, and it is difficult to criticize.
The last and most important point is that before the Jin army retreated, everyone was generally very tired and tense. However, the government sat in the palace all day long, smiling and urging people to pay the bills, like a debt collector. It’s rare that the government gives them face today, so why do they still need a mule cart?
Of course, it is also true that after leaving the palace and returning home, the emperor suddenly summoned them again, and everyone was caught off guard.
Back to the present, the so-called outing is actually eating and drinking in the wild, and for this high-level outing, it is inevitable to add some cultural elements, but everyone has come out of the prosperous and prosperous season, so they are not afraid. What's more, the government has already determined the theme of today... The knowledge of the great scholar Su is basically a famous one. Which literati in the Song Dynasty has not imitated him?
With this thought in mind, everyone could not help but look at the Minister of Works Ye Mengde, who was recognized as the number one poet in the temporary capital and was almost regarded as a leading figure in the world of poetry today... It seemed that this person would definitely shine today.
In fact, this person is a direct descendant of Su Men...his uncle is one of the four scholars of Su Men!
In fact, today's theoretical guests of honor were Su Shi's eldest grandson Su Dan, second grandson Su Fu, third grandson Su Yue, and sixth grandson Su Ji, who were standing behind Ye Mengde with excited expressions.
By the way, scholar Su Shi was a romantic scholar throughout his life. The three Su brothers were famous in the world at that time, and Su's learning was the most prominent in the world. However, his three sons had been wandering at the bottom of society all the time because of the Yuanyou Party Monument... The eldest son, Su Mai, never took part in the imperial examinations, and was content to be an official all his life; the third son, after failing the exam once, was content to be a minor official and wandered around; the second son, Su Dai, was outstanding in learning, but when he was young, he only studied under Zhang Zai, and later he easily passed the exam and became a Jinshi, but soon gave up his official career and just became a backbone of Taoism.
By the time of their grandchildren's generation, they have basically become just like everyone else.
"Since we are entertaining guests, we must have wine and food." It seems that the Emperor Zhao is ready to develop the theme of 'Su Zi'. Just after the two drunkards were settled and everyone had just made some guesses, he stood on the river bank and continued to pretend. "But today there is wine but no food. Please follow the example and find some food. Let's also learn from the great scholar Su who never tires of coarse materials and fine food... Those without food will definitely not be allowed to sit at the table."
As he spoke, the palace chef prepared the seasonings, and the eunuchs and servants built the pot and chopped firewood.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't expect that they would have to do it themselves when they got here. But since the emperor had spoken and forcibly dragged along the scholar Su, who seemed to be very interested, they could only go to pick wild vegetables despite being tired all day... Of course, the most popular activity was still fishing.
When we come to the riverside, how can we not eat Dongpo fish on a picnic themed after the great Su Shi scholar?
A few people who were interested went to look for fishing rods and indeed found those that had been prepared long ago. So a group of scholars and officials, especially the older and more important ones, starting from the Prime Minister of the temporary capital, Lu Haowen, each pretended to be a fisherman by the river.
The sun is gradually setting, the weather is beautiful and the water is white and golden. The emperor and his ministers are enjoying themselves together, fishing by the river and thinking of old friends. Perhaps there will be benevolent policies to be promulgated later... Isn't it beautiful?
However, after a moment, a group of scholars and officials near the river were stunned, because they saw with their own eyes that Emperor Zhao, who was probably impatient to wait, took off his linen robe, rolled up his trousers and went into the river to pull the net. Then, he took a few squad members and Yang Yizhong, who was in the river by boat, to cast a huge fishing net. They pulled up an unknown amount of fish, but it was enough for everyone here to have a full meal. All the interest was gone in an instant.
Seeing this, Mr. Xu sighed, threw away his fishing rod, and started washing his feet by the river.
On the other side, the net was ready, and all the fish and shrimp were caught. Emperor Zhao didn't even care whether the mercury he had poured earlier would cause heavy metal poisoning, so how could he care about what was elegant or vulgar? So the eunuchs and the chefs came up to clean up the fish and shrimp and cook them on the spot... steaming, baking, frying, boiling, stir-frying, and stewing. Soon, the riverbank was filled with fragrance and fishy smell.
And Zhao Jiu did not have the slightest official attitude. He just sat cross-legged on the embankment, put a large bowl on his knees, picked up his chopsticks directly, ate a few bites, and even picked out the fish bones with his hands... As for Mrs. Wu next to him, she was not so vulgar. She held a pot of wine and helped the emperor pour the wine carefully.
Most of the other officials had just returned home from the palace and were called in after changing clothes. They had been hungry for a day, so how could they bear it? Especially after experiencing the Jingkang Rebellion, the people here had experienced displacement to some extent, and they were no longer so particular about food. So they followed the lead of Mr. Xu, threw down their fishing rods, washed their hands and feet, and then sat down casually along the river bank with the emperor and Mrs. Wu, enjoying the food directly on the ground.
As for the previous words that no one is allowed to sit at the table without ingredients, everyone just thought it was nonsense!
Just like that, as the sun sank further to the west, everyone kept eating and drinking, but each of them had something else in mind, which was to write poems and lyrics after filling their stomachs… A few smart people and relevant people even made a connection with the "Great Su Theme Picnic", thinking that today's event was not just a picnic, and they might also have to deal with the Yuanyou Party members who had been perfunctorily dealt with by the government several times, so they naturally paid more attention.
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