The guards came in teams. The one called by the guards was the captain. After all, what they intercepted was the gift for the emperor. The ordinary guards really didn't have the courage to make the decision.
The captain was a young man. In the Beijing Suburban Command Camp, those with a little rank were all children of aristocratic families. Many children of aristocratic families felt honored to be able to join the Beijing Suburban Command Camp. The captain
followed the guards to the city gate. At first, he heard the guards say that the car full of gifts were for the emperor. He didn't believe it. Now that he saw it, his eyes were about to fall out. These things... are too many?
The guard said, "Captain Du, look?"
Captain Du nodded, walked over, and looked Tao Shan up and down: "Are these all for the emperor?"
Tao Shan saw that the man was wearing the same official uniform as Captain Yang and Captain Lu, so he knew that this was the captain. He said, "My lord, most of these are for the emperor, and a small part of them will be sent to the residence of Du, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."
The captain was stunned. Not to mention the captain, even the guard next to him was stunned, and said, "My lord, aren't these for your home?"
Tao Shan was also stunned when he heard the guard's words: "Are you from the residence of Lord Du, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War?"
The captain nodded: "Yes, that's my father."
Tao Shan: "..."
Du Ke had two sons, one legitimate and one illegitimate. The legitimate son passed the imperial examination and was sent out. Since ancient times, noble families have always had greater hopes for legitimate sons, because legitimate sons bear the family's burden, while illegitimate sons have less hope, as long as they do not cause trouble to the family. This captain is Du Ke's illegitimate son, who has no skills and is neither good at literature nor martial arts. Therefore, through Du Ke's relationship, he commanded a lieutenant in the suburbs of Beijing, a seventh-rank official, which is not bad.
Tao Shan saluted: "Hello, Mr. Du, my name is Tao Shan, and my master is Qin Fang, the city defense general of Yunxiang County, and also a student of Minister Du. You..."
"Ah..." Captain Du interrupted Tao Shan, "It's Qin Fang, I know, he is my father's student." The whole capital knew that Du Ke accepted disciples, so how could he, as Du Ke's son, not know? "Is my father still in Yunxiang County? Is he okay?"
Tao Shan was about to speak when a guard stepped forward and said, "Brother Tao, these things must be transported quickly, otherwise the ice will melt."
Captain Du also heard the guard's words. He saw that water was leaking from under the cart and heard the word "ice", which showed that the things were frozen with ice. He was also worried that something might happen to the things sent to the emperor, so he said, "Let them go, I'll take you to the palace. Oh, by the way..." As he spoke, he looked at the guard, "Have you checked his travel permit? Is it okay?" The
guard said, "Have you checked his travel permit? Is it okay?" The guard said, "We have checked it, and there is no problem."
Tao Shan said, "Mr. Du, I have been to your mansion several times. The housekeeper and the guards at the gate all recognize me."
Captain Du nodded, "Okay, I will take you to the gate of the palace..." He then said to the guards behind him, "Send someone to my house and ask the housekeeper to come to the gate of the palace to recognize people, and then take back the things for my Du Mansion."
Captain Du made such arrangements to ensure Tao Shan's identity. After all, it was a gift to the emperor. If there was a problem with his identity and something went wrong, he would not be able to bear the consequences.
Guard: "Yes."
With the people from the Beijing Suburban Command Camp leading the way, Tao Shan's way from the city gate to the palace was still very easy to walk. Otherwise, with so many things, it would take a long time just to avoid people and make way.
However, when they arrived at the palace gate, the steward of the Du Mansion had already arrived. He saw Captain Du and Tao Shan and said, "Second Young Master, Brother Tao."
When Captain Du heard the steward of the Du Mansion say this, he felt relieved.
Tao Shan also said enthusiastically: "Housekeeper, say hello to the housekeeper. Lord Du is doing well in the General's Mansion. I have sent some gifts to the Emperor and the Du Mansion on behalf of my general. The things in the car behind are for the Du Mansion. They are kept in ice. You have to take them back quickly, otherwise the ice will melt and the things will go bad."
The housekeeper of the Du Mansion heard this and hurriedly said: "Then I will take the things back first. Brother Tao has to come to the mansion later." Tao Shan is different now. Because Qin Fang is now Lord Du's student, the Qin family is one of the Du Mansion's own people, so Tao Shan is naturally one of the Du Mansion's own people, so the housekeeper of the Du Mansion is even more enthusiastic.
Tao Shan said: "I will definitely come."
In the palace, because it is a gift to the Emperor, and the things seem to be too much, most people dare not accept them, so they naturally have to tell the chief steward Chi. Upon hearing this, Steward Chi said, "You mean General Qin from Yunxiang County has sent people to deliver a lot of things, and they are waiting outside the palace?"
The palace gate guard said, "Yes, Steward Chi, what do you think?"
Steward Chi thought for a while and said, "Let's go and take a look."
Steward Chi knew Tao Shan, and Tao Shan also knew Steward Chi. Seeing Chief Steward Chi coming out, Tao Shan stepped forward and bowed first: "Greetings, Chief Steward Chi."
Chief Steward Chi: "Tao Shan, what have you brought to the Emperor?"
Tao Shan said: "I am here on the orders of the general to bring some vegetables and fruits to His Majesty. Except for the fruits, all the other things were frozen along the way. The ice is about to melt. What do you think, Chief Steward Chi?"
Chief Steward Chi said hurriedly: "Oh, then send it in quickly, send it in... send it to the door of Yu's study first." He originally wanted to send it to Yu's kitchen. But... the Emperor couldn't see the things sent to Yu's kitchen. Thinking that the Emperor had a good impression of Qin Fang and that he was Du Ke's student, Chief Steward Chi naturally gave Qin Fang a thumbs up. "Tao Shan, come with me to see the emperor."
Tao Shan: "Ah? Yes." His heart was beating fast and he was nervous.
It was not a random decision by Chief Steward Chi. After these things were sent over, the emperor would definitely ask about them. He was a person who knew nothing about anything, so naturally he had to bring someone familiar with him. Isn't Tao Shan just the right person?
The emperor was reviewing memorials in the study. Recently, because of the issue of the imperial grain franchisee, the capital was very quiet. Everyone was waiting for the follow-up of the imperial grain franchisee, so even if there was something, it was kept to himself.
Chief Steward Chi walked in: "Your Majesty is very happy."
The emperor did not even raise his head and asked: "Why are you so happy?"
Chief Steward Chi said: "General Qin from Yunxiang County sent you gifts, including vegetables and fruits, which were refrigerated all the way. I thought you must be tired after reading memorials for the whole morning, so I carried the vegetables and fruits outside for you to take a look."
When the emperor heard this, he really became interested: "Did Qin Fang send something again? Let's go and take a look."
The emperor followed Chief Steward Chi outside and saw that the boxes of things were all packed in wooden boxes, a total of eight boxes. Some of the boxes were still dripping. The emperor was in a good mood. Regardless of whether the things were valuable or not, he owned the entire country, and to him, no matter how valuable the things were, they were just rare toys. Yes, it was just a toy. So for him, the thought was the most important.
People like Qin Fang, who would still think of his subjects and people when he had potato flour and sweet potato flour, were what he liked the most.
Chief Steward Chi observed the emperor's expression and saw that the emperor was happier than before. He said, "When General Qin's private guards were entering the city, they were stopped by the guards because they had too many things. Your Majesty, don't you think it's funny?" The
emperor raised his eyebrows and asked, "How did they get in?"
Chief Steward Chi said, "What a coincidence. The one on duty today is Du Caiming, the second son of Lord Du. Isn't the second son Du in the command camp outside the capital?"
The emperor laughed and said, "It was that kid. What a coincidence!" "Open these things and show me what they are."
Chief Steward Chi waved at Tao Shan and said, "Your Majesty, you have stumped me. This is Tao Shan, General Qin's personal guard. Let him tell you."
Tao Shan took a few steps forward, then knelt down with a thump and said, "Your Majesty, I am here to see you."
The sound of the kneeling was so heavy that the emperor could not help but look at Tao Shan. He was sweating all over his head, and the sweat was still dripping down. He was covered in dust, but he lowered his head and was too nervous to raise it. The emperor knew that he must be tired after rushing from Yunxiang County to here and carrying so many things. He said, "Give this private guard a bowl of water." He then said to Tao Shan, "Stand up and answer."
Tao Shan was touched and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." It turned out that the emperor was so approachable. No wonder the general would send these things from a long distance.
The guards had already unpacked the eight wooden boxes, four of which were iced, and the other four were not. The emperor asked curiously, "What are all these?"
Tao Shan introduced them one by one, "The red one is a tomato, the green one is a broccoli, the white one is a cauliflower, the long one is a cucumber, and the other four boxes are watermelons. The watermelon is a fruit and needs to be cut open before eating." As he spoke, he took out a notebook from the side of the box and gave it to Chief Steward Chi, "Here are the methods of cooking and eating various things. However, this broccoli cannot be kept anymore. It must be eaten quickly, otherwise the green area will turn yellow."
The emperor looked at these vegetables and fruits and felt very touched. He walked over, touched every vegetable and fruit, and then said to Chi: "These vegetables are cooked according to the recipes here, and ask Chef Yu to cook each dish on the side."
Chi: "Yes."
Tao Shan thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, this watermelon is especially delicious. You can eat it as soon as you cut it, or you can eat it after it's been chilled. You can also eat it by cutting it in half and scooping it with a spoon."
Chi said, "Your Majesty, I'll go cut one for you?"
There were four boxes of watermelons, each with about ten, for a total of forty.
The emperor said: "Go ahead."
Chi brought out a watermelon, and then looked at the ways to eat watermelons. Yang Haiyan wrote four ways to eat it on it. The first one is the simplest, which is to wash the watermelon and then slice it to eat; the second one is to squeeze the watermelon juice to drink; the third one is to cut the red watermelon fruit, put it in a bowl, and then make toothpicks and eat it with toothpicks. Of course, the method of making toothpicks should also be included; the last one is to cut the watermelon into a board and eat it directly with a spoon.
Manager Chi looked at it and decided to use the first one, because he didn't have toothpicks at the moment, and the first one was the most convenient.
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