Although Ye Xiaotian is eager to return home, he also knows that it is inappropriate to ask Zhang Shangshu from the Ministry of War to help him with the arrangements at this time, and everything has to wait for the envoy of Kezhi Kingdom to leave Jinling. Therefore, during this period of time, Ye Xiaotian cheered up and took good care of them, only hoping to send these people away, and then think about ways to transfer them back to Guizhou.
Two days later, Prime Minister Ke Zhi recovered completely. Duke Wei, Uncle Li Guo and Guan Shangshu accompanied him to Qixia Mountain to pay homage to Prince Ke Zhi who died of illness in Daming. The day after the sweeping operation, Lin Siyan, the Minister of Rites of the capital, led his people to Jinling.
Even though Lin Siyan is just a servant of the Ministry of Rites, he is one level lower than Guan Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, but the gold content of officials in Nanjing is still very different from those in Beijing.
Of course, the Six Ministries of Nanjing are not fake officials, because Nanzhili has 15 prefectures and three Zhili prefectures under its jurisdiction, which is equivalent to the two provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui plus Shanghai in later generations. The Chief Secretary, the Inspection Division, and the Metropolitan Command Division are all under the responsibility of the Nanjing Six Departments, so they naturally still have power.
Among them, the Nanjing household department and the Nanjing military department have the most power.
The Nanjing Household Department is responsible for the collection of taxes and grains in Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang provinces (these four places accounted for almost half of the Ming Empire), and is also responsible for water transportation, national salt import surveys, and national yellow books. Collection and management. Therefore, the minister of the Nanjing household department often served as the prime minister's grain store.
The Nanjing Ministry of War is responsible for the defense of the Nanjing area. The forty-nine guards in the Nanjing area are all under the command of the Nanjing Ministry of War. The Shangshu of the Ministry of War in Nanjing generally bears the title of "Counselor and Mechanical Affairs", and manages all the affairs of Nanjing together with the guarding eunuch and Nanjing's garrison officials.
As for the Nanjing Ministry of Officials, it is responsible for the six-yearly Beijing inspection of officials in the Nanjing area, and the Beijing Ministry of Officials must not interfere. The Ministry of Criminal Justice in Nanjing was in charge of the criminal names of various divisions in Nanjing, Gonghou Bofu, and Jingwei Office. The duties of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry were similar to those of the Beijing Ministry of Industry, except that its jurisdiction was limited to Nanjing and nearby provinces.
Compared with the other ministries of the Six Ministries of Nanjing, the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing has the least power, because the emperor of the Ming Dynasty rarely came to Nanjing, and the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing did not have many ritual and sacrificial activities, and the greatest power of the Ministry of Rites was the imperial examination, but the right to take the Jinshi examination belonged to the Ministry of Rites in Beijing. The Nanjing Ministry of Rites only has the right to test tribute.
The tribute examination is a tribute, and the tribute is one level higher than the Juren, and one level lower than the Jinshi, which is a rather weak title. Therefore, as soon as Lin Shilang arrived, Guan Shangshu went to greet him in person, and then accompanied him to meet Prime Minister Ke Zhi, and paid a visit to Duke Wei and Uncle Li Guo, keeping his posture extremely low.
Ye Xiaotian was relieved when he heard that someone from the capital was coming, and immediately took some time to see Zhang Hongyun, asking him to help him transfer back to Guizhou. Zhang Hongyan couldn't understand Ye Xiaotian's thoughts at all. He heard that he wanted to transfer back to Guizhou, and tried his best to persuade him to stay in Jinling.
But Ye Xiaotian had already made up his mind, so how could he agree, Zhang Hongyan saw that he couldn't be persuaded, so he had to agree, and when his father came back, he would speak for him. Ye Xiaotian thanked Zhang Hongxuan and turned back to the Huitong hall. As soon as he entered the Huitong hall, Mao Wenzhi and Hua Yunfei, who had been waiting there for a long time, came up to greet him. ,want to see you."
Ye Xiaotian was stunned for a moment, and said, "What, what, what?"
Hua Yunfei smiled and said: "Brother, he is the head of the Ministry of Rites and the Cleaning Department. His surname is Zheng. I have been waiting for you for a while."
Ye Xiaotian hurried to the living room, and saw an official sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, drinking tea slowly, seeing Ye Xiaotian coming in, he just rolled his eyelids and didn't make any movements.
Ye Xiaotian just wanted to send the Kezhi country's envoy away in a safe and sound way, and then transferred back to Hu County through the relationship of Zhang Shangshu of the Ministry of War. Why?"
Director Zheng put down his teacup, and asked slowly: "You, the ambassador of the same embassy Ye Xiaotian?"
Ye Xiaotian nodded and said, "Exactly!"
Chief Zheng said "hmm" in a nasal voice, and said: "In the future, Minister Lin of the Ministry of Rites of the capital will host a banquet for the envoys of Kezhi Kingdom in the Huitong Hall. Officials from the Guozijian and other yamen, Wei Guogong, Li Guoshu and other meritorious officials and relatives, as well as the eunuch guarding Nanjing will all participate, so you have to pay attention to this matter."
Ye Xiaotian was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Master Zheng, why don't you go to the Chongyi Building to entertain foreign envoys? I'm afraid the same building won't be able to hold such a grand banquet."
Director Zheng said impatiently: "Where the adults want to hold the banquet, do they still have to listen to your arrangements?"
He paused, and then said: "For one thing, last time Prime Minister Ke Zhi attended a banquet in the Chongyi Building, and then fell seriously ill, so he inevitably had some scruples. Furthermore, this time Lin Shilang is representing the imperial court and holding a banquet in the Huitong Pavilion. This is in line with the identity of the landlord."
Director Zheng stood up and said: "Don't worry, the Jiaofang Division is fully responsible for the singing and dancing entertainment. The banquet is held by our Host and Guest Division. You are only responsible for the food supply. It's not a big problem, right?"
Ye Xiaotian said: "To be honest, the number of cooks in the hall is very limited. Last time, although Master Shangshu called a few people temporarily, they could only provide the daily meals for the foreign envoys. To hold such a large-scale banquet, I'm afraid they don't have that Craftsmanship, not so big manpower."
Director Zheng said: "Don't worry, I don't understand the truth that a clever woman can't cook without rice? The money allocated by the Ministry of Rites will arrive soon. Today and tomorrow, you buy enough ingredients as soon as possible, and I will send some more cooking skills. Master, help you with your meals."
Ye Xiaotian heaved a sigh of relief, and said, "If that's the case, then the lower officials can rest assured."
Because there is going to be a grand banquet, not only all the leaders and brains of Nanjing will attend, but also distinguished guests from Beijing and Nanyang will come. Therefore, the Ministry of Etiquette attaches great importance to it. Nearly a hundred apprentices also settled in the Huitong Hall.
These master chefs ordered a list of ingredients, and Ye Xiaotian arranged for someone to go out to buy the ingredients with the list. In order to avoid buying fake products, he also invited a master chef to send two proud disciples to accompany them.
All day the next day, the entire Huitong Hall was busy preparing for the upcoming banquet, and on the third day, because the banquet started in the evening, the entire Huitong Hall was in full swing.
People from the Ministry of Rituals came to set up the banquet hall, people from the Jiaofang Department came to arrange singing, music and dancing, and people from the same hall were cooking all kinds of ingredients in the huge kitchen. Fry and fry in the pan. As for the soup, it has been stewed early in the morning.
In the evening, the banquet living room was decorated with lights and festoons, and the festive atmosphere was strong. The staff of the etiquette department were in place one after another, and everything was in order. However, as the dining room behind the scenes, it became more tense and busy. There were dozens of people in the kitchen with different functions. The different stoves were all blazing.
I don’t know how many years, these cold stoves have never been lit, but now they are all breathing out flames, pots of different sizes and materials are steaming, chefs and kitchen helpers are busy, coming and going like lanterns.
Ye Xiaotian was worried, and rushed to the kitchen in person. Seeing that everyone was so busy, he simply rolled up his sleeves and joined the ranks of helping cooks with Mao Wenzhi and Hua Yunfei. As for the two girls, Zhan Ning'er and Sister Sun, The occasion is not helpful, and the kitchen is full of smelly men who are sweating profusely, so the two of them can only stand in the yard and worry.
Mao Wenzhi sent firewood and charcoal back and forth to the cooks who were in charge of the fire in various kitchens. Hua Yunfei helped to clean all kinds of side dishes, Ye Xiaotian wore an official robe, but tied a white turban on his head, and two small horns were pierced out of the turban, and was brandishing two kitchen knives in place of a helper who accidentally cut his hand , help him chop the minced meat.
Zheng Qiaosheng, the head of the Ministry of Rites and the Cleaning Department, walked slowly to the door of the kitchen, looked inside, saw Ye Xiaotian and others were busy helping the cook, turned his gaze, and looked at a chef he had sent. The chef was watching his apprentice whipping the shark's fin with his hands in his sleeves. He met Zheng Qiaosheng's eyes and nodded slightly. Zheng Qiaosheng smiled, turned and left.
When it was about the same time, Ye Xiaocai left the kitchen, washed his face, put on his official hat again, and went to the front to welcome all the guests. In fact, although he is the ambassador of the same embassy, he has completely fallen into the trap during such an important dinner. As the chief steward of the kitchen, two members of the etiquette department, Wailang, are in charge of welcoming the guests. It is impossible for someone of his level to come forward, but he still has to accompany him. Take a second look.
But it's also interesting, although Ye Xiaotian's official position is small, there are quite a few big figures who greet him or pay attention to him. The officials from the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Rites all recognize him, and Li Guojiu, Gu Sanye and others all know him. Recognizing him, Ye Xiaotian was treated with attention and salute by the big shots, which the two Yuanwailang did not have.
When those people entered the banquet hall one after another, Ye Xiaotian was not qualified to enter. He waited in the corridor, waiting for news from the hall. Seeing Ye Xiaotian waiting there, he said: "The banquet has begun, quickly ask the chef to serve the dishes."
Ye Xiaotian agreed, and a group of pretty maidservants in colorful clothes sent by the Jiaofang Division followed him around the dining room. Ye Xiaotian stood at the door and shouted loudly: "Masters, are the dishes ready? Banquet here we go."
A chef wiped his face with a sweat towel on his shoulders, then raised his voice and replied, "Ambassador Ye, the dishes are all ready, and they are all on the table in order."
Ye Xiaotian hurriedly stepped aside, and said to the group of pretty maidservants: "Girls, the ground is slippery, be careful when walking."
Those pretty maidservants flashed into the kitchen like butterflies wearing flowers. One of the pretty maidservants picked up two food boxes, turned back and just took two steps, only to hear a "crash", and the handles of the two stacks of food boxes were unbuckled. The dishes containing the dishes inside were scattered all over the floor.
A girl next to her said "Oops" and hurried to the side, her buttocks touched the long food table. The food table shook twice and suddenly fell apart, and all the countless exquisite dishes on it fell to the ground. On the ground, fell in a mess.
Seeing such a scene, everyone was stunned.