Chapter 18 1. Knowing that Zhou Wuwang Jiujue was a gift from Xu Shilin, Zhang Zhidong suddenly felt disgusted

It has been almost a month since Zhang Zhidong took over Dayin and Wang Qi as governor of Shanxi.When he first arrived in Taiyuan for a few days, he almost spent most of his time at the banquet.First, Wei Rongguang, who is about to leave Shanxi to go to Jiangnan to serve as the governor of Jiangsu, treats guests.Wei Rongguang was his predecessor, and Zhang Zhidong wanted to ask him about everything about Shanxi, so he had to go for a treat.At the banquet, what Wei Rongguang said was all nonsense entertainment.After the meal, the two chatted in the tea room, but he also said something here and there, but Zhang Zhidong was very disappointed.Then there was the Feudal Secretary Baogeng's treat.Under the governor is the feudal secretary, and he will deal with this person every day in the future. Can he not go to treat him?

The round-headed Baogeng was so attentive that it almost made Zhang Zhidong feel uncomfortable.At noon, a grand banquet was held at Zhao's Restaurant, and he poured wine with vegetables and introduced Shanxi's famous wines and dishes.Bao Geng was a gourmet, and he talked endlessly about these things, and there was no room for Zhang Zhidong to intervene.The banquet at Zhao's Restaurant just ended, and the night banquet at Xinghuawu began again.When the wine was hot, the actors in Fenhe Garden sang again. Baogeng picked up the play list and insisted on Zhang Zhidong's play, but Zhang Zhidong had no way to do it, nor was he interested in it, so he couldn't refuse, and suddenly remembered that there was a play by Pihuang in the capital called "Yutangchun", which was about Shanxi.He flipped through the playlist casually, and sure enough there was a fold of "Su Sanqi Jie" on it, so he nodded with his hand: "Just sing this one!"

"Okay, my lord is really an expert!" Baogeng stroked his slick chin, and said with a smile, "When I arrive in Shanxi, I must listen to this play!" Turning around, he ordered the servants around him to prepare immediately. After a while, a delicate young woman covered in red prison uniform was led up by a rope by a chunky old man with a colorful face.The woman sang Shanxi Bangzi tune, although her voice was sad and melodious, Zhang Zhidong couldn't understand what she was singing.The feudal secretary beside him stared at the female prisoner without moving his eyes, and patted the chair with his palm lightly, fascinated by it.Suddenly, the vassal realized that he must not just listen to himself and neglect Mr. Futai, so he turned sideways and said to Zhang Zhidong with a smile: "Su San just sang 'there are no good people in Hongdong County' really well. There are indeed not many good people in Hongdong County, and the folk customs there are even more cunning than in other counties."

Hearing this sentence, Zhang Zhidong thought it was funny, so he said: "Is this sentence in the play really true?" "Really!" Bao Geng said with a serious face, "the troublemakers in Hongdong County are well-known in Shanxi Province. After a while, I will accompany you to Hongdong County when you are free. Just believe it." Zhang Zhidong said with a smile: "I'm not afraid that Baoweng will laugh at me, my ancestors are from Hongdong County!" Bao Geng was taken aback at first, and then immediately said with a smile on his face: "My lord is accusing me, and what I said is wrong."

"No." There was no smile on Zhang Zhidong's face, "My ancestors are indeed from Hongdong County. My ancestor Zhang Ben moved from Hongdong County to Zhili in the fifteenth year of Yongle. Only then moved to Nanpi." Unexpectedly, an unintentional sentence hurt Mr. Futai. Bao Geng was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his head, he hurriedly stood up, clasped his fists in both hands, and bowed to Zhang Zhidong: "I offended you, sin! It's a sin! I really If you don’t know, please forgive me.” "Sit down, sit down!" Zhang Zhidong laughed loudly, "Lord Bao, don't worry about it. What happened in the play happened during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, my ancestors were already Nanpi people. What started at that time has nothing to do with my Zhang ancestors."

Only then did Bao Geng feel relieved, and while sitting down, he laughed loudly, taking the opportunity to dilute the embarrassment just now.He really couldn't bear to part with the beautiful Su San in front of him, and his two small eyes fixed her firmly again.When he was full of interest, Bao Geng suddenly heard a slight snoring.He turned around and saw that Zhang Zhidong had fallen asleep.He kept silent and went to see Su San again.It wasn't until the play was over and Su San went down that the feudal secretary lightly patted Zhang Zhidong on the shoulder. Zhang Zhidong opened his eyes and said, "Have you finished singing?"

"It's over." Said the vassal, "Please order another song, my lord." Zhang Zhidong said: "I don't listen anymore, I'm going back to sleep." "Okay, don't listen, let's go home." After passing the order, Baogeng said to Zhang Zhidong, "My lord has drunk too much. My family has hundreds of years of old vinegar. I asked the cook to make a bowl of fish for you." Soup. How about resting in the humble house tonight?" Zhang Zhidong hurriedly said, "That won't work, that won't work!" Bao Geng said with great concern: "My lord, if Baojuan came together, I would naturally not dare to ask you to go to the humble house at such a late hour. Just because Baojuan did not come with you, your lord has had some alcohol tonight, if you feel uncomfortable at night, How can I afford it! So please stay in the humble house for one night, Mr. Right, and return to the yamen tomorrow morning, so you won't delay your business."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhidong was quite moved by Bao Geng's concern.He himself was very careless in these aspects, and it was rare for him to be so considerate for others, but after all, it was inappropriate to bother others so late. Seeing that Zhang Zhidong was still hesitating, Bao Geng said to him softly: "My lord, I invite you to go, and I want to ask you to help me identify an antique. I don't know how to do this, and Muyou said that it was used by King Zhou of Shang. I don’t quite believe it. My lord is a famous connoisseur, how about helping me identify it?” Zhang Zhidong has a fondness for ancient things, and he is interested in anything in the world that has an ancient character on it.Needless to say, ancient characters and paintings, even a piece of broken tiles and bricks with a long history, he also regards them as treasures.That year, he chatted with Pan Zuyin and talked about what is the best way to entertain people in the hot summer.The two of you have a word, and I have a word: rubbing ancient inscriptions, reading ancient steles, talking about ancient springs, discussing ancient seals, using ancient inkstones, and examining ancient books, everything is inseparable from an ancient character.Hearing that it was the wine vessel used by King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, Zhang Zhidong's eyes lit up, and his tiredness disappeared immediately: "Okay! Go to the mansion to have a look."

Bao Geng was overjoyed, and immediately sent an order to prepare the sedan chair.Two big green woolen sedan chairs were carried into the feudal yamen by shouting from front to back.As soon as he entered the gate, Zhang Zhidong couldn't wait to ask Baogeng to take out the antiques. Bao Geng said: "My lord, sit down for a while and drink some fish vinegar soup!" Zhang Zhidong said: "Don't worry too much, my wine is gone." "Try it!" Bao Geng said, "The fish vinegar soup in the humble house not only sobers up the alcohol, but also tastes amazing."

After a while, the servant brought two small bowls of soup.Bao Geng personally brought a bowl to Zhang Zhidong, and then brought a bowl himself.Zhang Zhidong took a sip, it was fresh and sour, the taste was really delicious.He drank three sips in a row, only to feel that the smell of alcohol in his stomach was completely gone, and his spirit suddenly cheered up, as if he had just woken up after a peaceful sleep.He repeatedly boasted: "Good soup! Good soup!" Bao Geng said: "As long as adults like it, I will often send some to adults in the future." Zhang Zhidong hurriedly said: "That's too much work. From now on, I'll ask the cook to come to my house to learn, as long as your cook can pass on this unique skill to him, that's fine."

Bao Geng said: "If other people come to learn, I will never pass on my cook, of course the master's cook is an exception." After drinking the soup, Baogeng took out the antiques and specially ordered to add a few more candles to make the living room as bright as day.Zhang Zhidong took the antique and appraised it carefully.This antique is about five or six inches high, with three legs supporting a fish-maw-shaped container, with one end of the container raised high, like a sparrow's tail.The other end is a slanted groove, and the middle section has a larger belly.Between the belly and the tail are two small pillars one inch high.Those who are familiar with ancient utensils will know at a glance that this is an ancient wine vessel called Jue. "This is Jue." Zhang Zhidong pointed to the antique and said to Bao Geng, "It is a very popular wine vessel in the Shang Dynasty. The wine is contained in the belly in the middle. Holding these two small pillars, one hand tilted, The wine just flows down the chute into the mouth." Baogeng picked up Jue with great interest, tried it on his lips as Zhang Zhidong said, and said, "It's really interesting to drink like this. This Jue has a big belly, and I'm afraid it can hold four taels of wine." Zhang Zhidong said: "This kind is relatively small. The big one is for generals to drink, and it can hold more than a catty of wine." Bao Geng said, "I'm already drunk before I've finished a jug of wine." "I won't get drunk." Zhang Zhidong said in an expert tone, "The wine at that time was made from fruit, and it was not as strong as it is now. The princes lived in the wine pond and meat forest all day long. If the wine was as strong as it is now , how much can you drink?" "My lord is still very knowledgeable." Bao Geng said with a smile, "When I was watching a play, I often saw ancient people drinking on stage. They drank from night to dawn the next day. I wondered: How can there be such a large amount of alcohol? Hearing what the lord said, I I understood in my heart that the wine at that time was made from fruit. I could also drink fruit wine from morning to night, and from night to dawn.” Zhang Zhidong took the title from Bao Geng again, and studied it carefully. Bao Geng said: "Mu You said that this was used by King Zhou of Shang, do you think so?" Zhang Zhidong looked Jue up, down, left, and right several times, and then said in a firm tone: "This is not from the Shang Dynasty, but from the early Western Zhou Dynasty." "How can you tell that it's not the Shang Dynasty but the Zhou Dynasty?" Bao Geng leaned over and asked while looking at Jue. "The difference between the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty is here." Zhang Zhidong pointed to the decoration on the surface of the jue, "Look, this is a two-headed dragon. From the unearthed Shang Dynasty jue, this kind of decoration has never been seen. Most of the decorations on the Jue of the Shang Dynasty are fish, turtle, bird, horse, kui, gluttonous, phoenix, etc. There are also dragon patterns, but they all have one head, not two heads. Only the jue unearthed in the early Zhou Dynasty has the Two-headed dragon patterns began to appear. Therefore, this Jue should have been made in the early Western Zhou Dynasty." "Your Excellency's knowledge is amazing!" Bao Geng admired from the bottom of his heart, and after a while, he said, "Zhou was after Shang, so the value of this noble will be lower." "No! On the contrary, the value of this noble is much higher than that of the merchant." "Why?" Baogeng asked with joy and suspicion. "At the end of the Shang Dynasty, the atmosphere was extravagant. From the court to the government offices at all levels, they were immersed in wine and sex all day long, which finally led to the demise of the Shang Dynasty. In view of this, King Wu of Zhou banned alcohol and banned the manufacture of wine vessels at the beginning of the founding of the country. Therefore, there were many wine vessels in the Shang Dynasty, but very few wine vessels in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Rare things are more expensive, so the value of this Jue is much higher than that of ordinary Shang Jue. Where did you come from?" "It was given by Xu Shilin, magistrate of Yangqu County last year." Baogeng said sincerely to Zhang Zhidong, "As the saying goes, a sword is given to a strong man. I don't know anything about antiques, so Xu Shilin gave it to me. I really feel wronged. My lord is really an expert." , this noble is in the hands of the Lord, it can be regarded as its owner. My Lord, I will give it to you!" Xu Shilin?After Zhang Zhidong heard the name, he immediately became alert.He thought, Xu Shilin, a county magistrate who was extremely dereliction of duty, was not punished at all. Did he just rely on gifts to curry favor with his superiors?From this point of view, this jue is no longer an ordinary antique, but an object for bribery.Bao Geng gave it to me tonight, maybe the intention behind it was the same as when Xu Shilin gave it to him at that time.Thinking of this, Zhang Zhidong trembled in his heart.Although he liked this extremely rare wine jue from the period of King Wu of Zhou very much, and he knew the value of this wine jue, he still made a decision without hesitation: "Bo Fangbo, thank you for your kindness, this wine is yours. Keep it safe for yourself, I'm going back to the yamen." Seeing Zhang Zhidong's sudden change of attitude, Baogeng was very surprised, and said with embarrassment: "My lord, it's late at night, let's go back to the yamen tomorrow morning!" "Get up the sedan chair!" Zhang Zhidong ignored Bao Geng's embarrassment, and walked towards the gate without looking back. Back at the Yamen, Zhang Zhidong couldn't calm down for a long time.From Xu Shilin, he thought of Yangqu County, the depression in Yangqu County, and the old woman with white hair who looked like a beggar in front of the Yamen.He thought again of the poverty of Shady Camp, and of the poppy seedlings along the way.The people in Shanxi are so impoverished, and the people's livelihood in Shanxi is so desolate. As the parents and officials of a province, how can they spend all day in singing and dancing?Can this be worthy of the empress dowager, the emperor's family, and his life's ambitions? Early the next morning, Zhang Zhidong sent a message: no matter who it is, no matter how much face he has, he will not attend all the banquets.As soon as the word spread, Fang Junyi came to the Governor's Yamen panting, and almost begged the Lord for his favor, because the banquet had been booked, the invitation to accompany the guests had been sent out, and the plays in the theater had already been ordered.Zhang Zhidong raised his face, and did not let go of a word.After a while, the admiral of Shanxi Land Road came in a hurry.Before the admiral could sit still, Wang Ding'an, a Taoist priest from Jining, came again.Immediately behind him was Taiyuan's richest man, Boss Kong of Taiyu Bank, who also came in.Several people chattered and begged each other bitterly, and there was nothing more than one content: enjoying dinner and watching a theater.The more Zhang Zhidong listened, the more annoying he became, and the more he listened, the more angry he became.He stood up abruptly, and said to everyone with a livid face: "I Zhang Zhidong came to Shanxi, did I come to eat and watch a play, or did I come to work? You are chattering like this, do you think you think highly of me, or do you look down on me? It has always been said that one is the same and will never change. If you are willing to cooperate with me in the future, please go back to your home now and be diligent in state affairs; if you stay here again, I will not be polite." After finishing speaking, he left the lobby with a flick of his sleeves, making all these dignitary and dignified figures lose face, feel depressed, and exit the governor's yamen in desperation.