According to the old Beijing custom, people don’t eat hot pot until autumn. Therefore, once autumn comes, the dining tables of Beijing’s dignitaries and the private rooms of restaurants are all filled with this charcoal copper pot with a blue flame burning inside.

Even Zhao Hao always misses this dish when the weather gets cold. He agrees with Mr. Lao She's statement that "from hot pot to chopped green onions, everything is festive." But you can never get the authentic taste in Jiangnan, even though Qiaoqiao has asked Chen Huaixiu to transport all the ingredients, food materials, and even charcoal from Beijing to Suzhou, it still lacks the flavor.

Later, Qiaoqiao asked many people for advice and finally learned from an old gourmet that the best Beijing hotpot mutton is made with spring lambs from the Xilin Gol Grassland, no more than half a year old. They must be killed and cut on the same day to get the top-quality hotpot mutton that is cooked as soon as it is put into the pot, is tender and fresh, has a rich fragrance, and has no mutton smell at all.

But even if you transport Simon's lamb alive to the south, the quality of the meat will still deteriorate due to acclimatization.

So even though there is a legend that goes "A horse gallops through the red dust and the concubine smiles, but no one knows it is the lychees coming", this is still an era where you eat in season and eat locally.

"This is a good thing." Young Master Zhao put the whole plate of lamb brain into the clear soup base with only scallions, ginger and wolfberries. "It will make people's perception of the capital city more unforgettable."

"Haha, in ancient times, the Jiangdong infantry had the longing for water shield and sea bass, and now there is the idea of ​​the Jiangnan cavalry having the copper pot. It's also a good story." Zhao Jin smiled and used a spoon to mix the seasonings that suited his taste from several small bowls filled with sesame paste, tofu, leek, sesame, sesame oil, sugar, and salt.

"Jiangnan Cavalry? Jiangnan is a network of rivers and streams. Having horses is inconvenient, but not having horses is too ugly," Zhao Hao said with a smile, "I think we should call it the Jiangnan Navy."

"Jiangnan Navy? 'In broad daylight, the wind blows loudly on the sea, and 30,000 navy soldiers ride on the waves. Scholars who don't know how to participate in military affairs also put on their battle robes at the bow.' This self-proclaimed title is good." Zhao Jin smiled and scooped up the mutton from the pot, and started to feast on it with Zhao Hao while drinking a little wine.

While eating, he told Zhao Hao about the earlier court push.

"Gao had made sufficient preparations beforehand. He had all the people who had written letters to oppose the tribute system, such as Rao Renkan, Wu Shangxian, and Ye Mengxiong, banished from the capital. The worst-off was his student Ye Mengxiong, who was beaten with forty sticks in the court and sent to Heyang, Shaanxi to be the county magistrate." Zhao Jin ate a piece of fat and lean mutton and sighed:

"This will serve as a warning to others and, secondly, it will also reduce the number of votes against it."

Zhao Hao nodded. This kind of court discussion, which concerns national policy, involves a lot of people from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice. If he eliminated a few of them in advance, there would naturally be fewer votes against it when it comes to voting.

"As a result, in today's court meeting, those officials not only did not restrain themselves, but became more fiercely opposed to the tribute. They argued for things like 'the great defense of the Chinese and the barbarians', 'if the barbarians are given titles, their people will be more attached, which will help the enemy grow stronger; if they enter our territory, they will spy on our civilization, which will arouse their hearts', 'haven't you seen the precedent of the Song Dynasty recruiting Guo Yaoshi?', 'anyone who dares to talk about peace is a traitor to the country!', and so on. The crowd was surging and the momentum was magnificent. With the support of the Duke of Ying and other nobles, they completely suppressed the voices in favor of the tribute."

Zhao Jin continued, "We knew that Gao Ge Lao would definitely lose, and we were afraid that he would be too embarrassed and vent his anger on us, so we didn't all abstain from voting, but most of us voted for him. Otherwise, the result would be even uglier."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded. The situation was roughly what he knew. "It seems that it is not that easy for Elder Gao to cover up everything with one hand."

"You hit the nail on the head." Zhao Jin nodded and said, "I heard that Zhao Dazhou was backing the censors behind the scenes, and the prime minister only supported peace talks, not tribute. In addition, the interests of the nobles were directly affected. The parties united and actually made Gao Ge Lao and those old men lose the first battle."

"Is Lord Zhao dead?" Zhao Hao repeated, and ordered another plate of cucumber strips. The so-called cucumber strips are not real cucumber strips, but the inner thigh part of the lamb hind leg, with an oblique fiber and a straight fiber connected to the crotch meat, shaped like two connected cucumbers. Hence the common name.

It is light red in color, has the right amount of fat and lean, has a tender and smooth texture, and the meat is particularly fine, making it great for braising, stewing, or stir-frying.

"As soon as the court meeting ended, the two of them started arguing with each other face to face. It was so bad that they almost came to blows." Zhao Jin nodded and said, "Now that the conflict is out in the open, it's a fight to the death."

Zhao Hao nodded. The former Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Ting, because he had dealt with Qi Kang, the censor who impeached Xu Jie on behalf of Gao Gong, during the cabinet period, he said that Qi Kang was a traitor and that if he was not severely punished, the country would not be able to stabilize. As a result, the emperor dismissed Qi Kang and retained Xu Jie.

Later, Zhang Qi, the Imperial Censor, impeached Xu Jie again, but Wang Ting exposed Zhang Qi's treacherous and greedy behavior, and also implicated Yang Sihe, the salt merchant who bribed him. As a result, the emperor imprisoned Zhang Qi and sent him to the border, and once again retained Xu Jie.

Last year, Gao Gong was appointed as prime minister again. Wang Ting was worried that he would bear grudges, so he voluntarily submitted a petition to resign. Mao Kai, the Minister of Justice, also resigned because he stood on the wrong side of the cabinet and was afraid of retaliation.

In addition, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Ma Sen, had also retired. It was not because he had offended Gao Gong, but because he could not stand Gao Gong's rough working style. In addition, the mess in the Ministry of Revenue would sooner or later be overwhelmed, so he used the excuse of begging for support from his old mother and decided to leave.

Now the newly appointed Minister of Revenue Zhang Shouzhi and Minister of Justice Ge Shouli are both considered to be Gao Gong's party, so Gao Gong naturally feels very inflated.

Zhao Jin told Zhao Hao that Gao Gong originally wanted to make another of his accomplices Liu Ziqiang the Minister of Justice and Ge Shouli the Left Censor-in-Chief. However, Li Shoufu plotted against him, and in the end, the Left Censor-in-Chief was concurrently held by Grand Secretary Zhao Zhenji.

The Left Censor-in-Chief is the leader of the Fengxian officials and oversees everything in the court. If this position is not in his hands, it will be easy for him to face the dilemma of today's court recommendation.

This made Gao Gong very unhappy, and he probably bullied Zhao Zhenji a lot. If the contradictions had not accumulated to the point of being irreconcilable, how could a great scholar be unable to even show superficial harmony?

"Oh, yes, the Prime Minister also submitted a petition the day before yesterday." Zhao Jin wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said, "For a while, the court and the public looked at him with a frown. Many people privately said that it was Gao Huzi who went too far and made the Prime Minister, who was tolerant and tolerant, unable to stay."

"It's useless to say that. It will only make Gao Xinzheng angry." Zhao Hao shook his head. He was about 70% full, so he put the cabbage heart, tofu and vermicelli into the greasy copper pot. It would be perfect if there were some vegetarian dishes after the meat dishes.

"Gao Gong is now invincible. Even if Zhao Gong can turn the tables, I'm afraid he won't be able to keep his tail long." Young Master Zhao sighed. He actually had some connections with this relative. But since Zhao Zhenji's conflict with Gao Gong had become public, he couldn't protect him.

"Is this your judgment?" Zhao Jin was a little disappointed when he heard this. He thought that Zhao Hao was young and energetic, so he would definitely fight with Gao Gong.

"Then it will be difficult for us Jiangnan officials. If we support the tribute, once Gao has dealt with the north, he will be free to deal with us. If we don't support it, he might deal with us now." Zhao Jin sighed helplessly, "It sounds good to be the High Nine Ministers, but it's not as good as being the Governor."

"Of course, being an official in the capital is difficult." Zhao Hao smiled and nodded, "But now you are the only one left among the Nine Ministers. You have to persevere no matter how difficult it is."

"Alas, I am just one of the Nine Ministers, just to make up the numbers." Zhao Jin said with a bitter smile: "But we Jiangnan officials are indeed alone and powerless now, far inferior to when Lord Xu was here."

"If it rains, my mother wants to get married, so let it be." Zhao Hao poured him a glass of wine and comforted him with a smile: "People are tired of each other since ancient times, but my husband is determined to stick to his principles. The highest virtue is like water, which can be round and wide. Remember the good things of the past and throw them away now."

"It's better to sleep alone than to take medicine. Why not marry a young man from him?" Zhao Jin said with a smile as he added the last two sentences.

"Hahaha!" The two looked at each other and laughed.

The highest good is like water, and one should keep a low profile while keeping a low profile. This is the advice Zhao Hao gave to officials in the south of the Yangtze River.

It is said that water is good at benefiting all things without contending, and it stays where people hate it… It lives in a good place, has a deep heart, is kind to others, speaks truthfully, governs well, is capable in doing things, and acts at the right time. It is because it does not contend that it has no blame.

After laughing, Zhao Jin looked at Zhao Hao and asked in a low voice: "We can certainly be as kind as water and let everything go, but will Gao Xinzheng let us go?"

"At least in the short term, he won't kill us." Zhao Hao looked at the jumping flames in the copper furnace and said quietly, "What we need most is time."

"I understand this," Zhao Jin said frankly, since the matter has come to this. "Give you another ten or twenty years, and you won't have to worry about the high minister or the short minister. No matter who is the prime minister, they have to exercise restraint towards our Jiangnan lineage."

"But can Lord Gao give you so much time?" Zhao Jin paused and asked in a low voice, "I see that he is very decisive in his actions, which is rare in a century. Even Xia Guixi can't compare to him. In the past 200 years of the country, I am afraid that the only ministers with such power are the Three Yangs."

"As the saying goes, the sun will set and the moon will wane. Can Lord Gao really be so domineering for more than ten or twenty years? I don't think so." Zhao Hao couldn't tell Zhao Jin that Gao Gong still had a year and a half to live. He could only comfort him, saying, "Besides, even if we want to deal with him, we will never make trouble for him, otherwise it will be the Ming Dynasty that will suffer... This court can no longer withstand internal friction."

"Alas, my dear brother, your vision and bearing are really impressive. I am far inferior to you..." Zhao Jin raised his glass in shame and toasted him.

In fact, Zhao Jin came here in a hurry today for another very important purpose, which was to suggest Zhao Hao to join the Anti-Arch Alliance and launch a second anti-arch.

But after hearing what Zhao Hao said, he found it hard to speak, so he had to give up the idea of ​​doing it.

"Brother, don't say that. I'm just talking without any worries." Zhao Hao clinked glasses with him and said sincerely, "But don't worry. Now that I'm here, I will take care of things and won't let you worry anymore."

"Okay, then I don't care. Let's do what you say." After what happened in Guangxi, Zhao Jin had long regarded Zhao Hao as his backbone. He believed that this boy had foresight that ordinary people could not achieve, so he naturally listened to his advice.