Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 92 What your money? It’s all His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s money!
The next morning, the prince sent his officials with business cards to visit various wealthy families and invite them to a banquet with their families.

The reason is to appease the people.

Of course, the so-called "people's hearts" naturally do not include the hearts of real ordinary people, but the hearts of wealthy families.

If the wealthy and powerful families are stable, the common people will be "stabilized". Otherwise, why did Emperor Taizu Gao "summon the elders and heroes of all counties" to make three laws after he returned to Bashang?
However, the banquet process this time was quite complicated, unlike the last time in Changsha. It just so happened that the wealthy families in the city gathered at the city gate to welcome the army, and took the opportunity to invite them to participate in the celebration banquet.

Moreover, Changsha is a small city, and the number and quality of wealthy families are far inferior to those in Xindu, the capital of Jizhou.

Officials of the Crown Prince's Mansion had to think twice before just sending business cards to invite someone. For example, at the suggestion of Lu Zhi, the Crown Prince sent Xun Yu, a quasi-relative of the Crown Prince, to visit the Guo family, a family of relatives from the time of Emperor Guangwu, and sent Xun You, a quasi-relative of slightly lower status, to visit the Xindu family, a family of relatives from the time of Empress Dowager Gao.

On the surface, Chen Lin, the Prince's Groom, who had the most ordinary status, only needed to visit the descendants of King Xie of Zhao from the Zhao family. However, Liu Dai and Liu Yao, who were relatives of the Han Dynasty, respectively visited the Feng and Pi families, descendants of the twenty-eight generals of the Yuntai of the Later Han Dynasty, to show their respect for the descendants of meritorious officials.

Then Qian Zhao and Li Su were responsible for visiting other noble families. The wealthy families did not receive such good treatment and could just send eunuchs or ordinary clerks.

At the Pi family mansion in Xindu, Liu Yao was warmly received by Pi Qin, the head of the Pi family.

"Be polite and drink a cup of honey water to moisten your throat."

"I dare not refuse the gift from the elder. Thank you very much, Lord Pi." Liu Yao bowed calmly. His every move was in accordance with etiquette, but not stiff, and was very natural.

Pi Qin looked at Liu Yao, who was sitting in the first seat on his right, and was drinking water with his black sleeves covering his face. Although he was thirsty, he was not impatient, but took three sips and then stopped. There was still most of the honey water left in the cup. Pi Qin couldn't help but feel more happy for Liu Yao.

He has a dignified appearance and decent manners. He is also a well-educated man with the demeanor of a famous scholar in his speech and behavior, which naturally makes people want to interact with him.

What's more, Liu Yao was a descendant of King Daohui of Qi, Liu Fei, and the nephew of Grand Marshal Liu Chong. He was an orthodox and pure-blooded relative of the Han royal family. He was also an official in the Prince's Palace and a close minister to the Prince.

A relative of the Han royal family, a close minister to the crown prince, handsome, elegant, and a well-educated man. These five words are concentrated in one person. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the brothers Liu Dai and Liu Yao are at least talented enough to be among the Nine Ministers.

If not now, when else would we have a warm interaction with such a person?

"Lord Pi, Your Highness is personally leading the expedition against the Yellow Turbans this time, and he has only brought a few eunuchs to look after him. And there will be many guests at the banquet tomorrow, so..."

Liu Yao's words did not say everything, of course this was intentional.

It is true that he behaved politely, but as an official of the Prince's Mansion, there are some things that they should not ask for. Instead, they should throw out the hook and let the other party take the bait and ask for it voluntarily.

Pi Qin stroked his beard and smiled knowingly. Borrowing cooks, servants and maids was quite common among wealthy families.

It was not uncommon for families to hold large-scale banquets, or for county officials to hold New Year's parties on the first day of the Lunar New Year, to borrow cooks, servants and maids from the wealthy families in the county.

"The Crown Prince personally went to the battlefield, yet he also cared deeply about us common people. He is a wise and benevolent ruler, a rare example of a wise ruler. We should naturally share his worries."

Pi Qin certainly wouldn't refuse such a request. He was eager to interact more with the Crown Prince, and naturally he would seize this opportunity to show his favor to the Crown Prince. So, he smiled and said, "How about letting my Xindu Pi family cover the expenses of this banquet?"

"Military expenses are already high. How can the Crown Prince spend more money to appease the common people like us?"

Liu Yao straightened his waist slightly, and there was a hint of strangeness in his eyes when he looked at Pi Qin.

If he hadn't known that the wealthy Xindu family had embezzled 330,000 shi of grain, he would have really thought that Pi Qin was a sensible person. Ha, what do you mean by "you paid for it"? It's all the prince's money!
But Liu Yao still gave a formal smile, stood up and saluted, saying: "Now the Crown Prince will have fewer worries. Thank you for your help, Lord Pi."

Pi Qin was proud in his heart, but he did not show it on his face. He still waved his hands to show that sharing the worries of the prince was just the duty of the people of the Han Dynasty. However, he did not avoid it and actually accepted Liu Yao's gift, revealing his true thoughts.

Afterwards, both the host and the guests were very happy. Liu Yao turned around and left to report to the prince. After leaving the Pi Mansion, he looked at the red gate and tall pavilion, and a sneer could not be concealed on the corner of his mouth.

As for the other four families, Feng, Guo, Zhao and Xindu, Liu Dai, Xun Yu and Xun You also successfully borrowed cooks, servants and maids from the four families, and also took the initiative to offer to cover the expenses of the banquet for the prince.

Except for the personal maids of the female members of the harem and a few gatekeepers, almost all the people in each mansion were loaned out. There were more than a hundred people in the kitchen alone, and the rest of the servants and maids numbered more than 600.

It seems like a large number of people, but in fact the number is just right.

The first thing was to arrange the venue. The prince did not hold the banquet in the Jizhou governor's office. After all, there were so many people and the office was a little insufficient. So he simply held the banquet outdoors in a courtyard provided by the Xindu family.

The housekeepers of each mansion assisted in borrowing bamboo mats and cushions from other mansions. Even tables and tableware might be temporarily borrowed. Then a group of servants and maids would set up the venue and clean it, and they would also hang open curtains around the courtyard.

Then it was time to buy food. After the siege of the city was lifted the day before, merchants spontaneously began to transport grain, rice and meat to Xindu for the army to buy. Unexpectedly, this actually made it easier to buy food for this banquet.

After Lu Zhi, the eunuch Zhao You and many eunuchs discussed with the chefs, they made a cooking list, and then the chefs took a group of servants to buy things in the city.

As for fruits and vegetables, wealthy families have no shortage of them.

The Han Dynasty royal family and wealthy families used greenhouses to grow off-season fruits and vegetables in winter. The "Book of Han: Biography of Zhao Xinchen" records: "The imperial gardens were used to grow winter onions and leeks, covered with roofs, and kept a fire burning day and night to wait for the warmth to grow."

Cai Ru means vegetables.

The royal family and wealthy families would build walls around their vegetable gardens, add roofs, and burn charcoal fires day and night. In this simplest way, they could enjoy the taste of vegetables such as winter mallow, onions, leeks, and eggplants in winter.

The cooks, servants and maids were busy without stopping, from the afternoon of the previous day to the early morning of the next day.

In the dim morning light, dozens of ox carts loaded with food rolled over the thin frost. The sound of the wheels and the shouting scared away the birds perched on the eaves.

The cooks wrapped in coats stood in front of the steps, breathing out white air as they counted the goods. Fat lambs were lifted off the carts, kicking their legs. Live fish in bamboo baskets splashed water with their tails. Freshly picked winter mallow, hummus, leeks, and perilla still had traces of mud on them. There were also rare fruits such as the "Zhending Imperial Pear" and "Anping Winter Peaches" from Changshan State, which were offered as tribute to the royal family, attracting the attention of the servants passing by.

Liu Bian stood on a platform, looking down at the busy crowd below, and shook his head slightly.

This banquet held to appease the "people's hearts" seemed beautiful and lively, but unfortunately...

Today's banquet is destined to be a bad one!
Suddenly, Liu Bian turned around and looked at the historian, saying with a smile, "In the past, King Xiang invited Emperor Taizu Gao to a banquet at Hongmen, and later generations called it the 'Hongmen Banquet.' Today, I invite them to a banquet in Xindu. Do you want to call it the 'Xindu Banquet?'"

"Well, well, well, the Emperor Taizu Gao had his 'Hongmen Banquet,' and I also have my 'Xindu Banquet,' but now I am the butcher and they are the meat!"

In the face of the prince's soliloquy, the historian did not respond, but silently held the white brush and wrote down the words.

"On December 7th, the sixth year of Guanghe, the virtuous crown prince met with the powerful in Xindu, intending to punish those who were corrupt. What a magnificent achievement!"

(2375 words)
(End of this chapter)