The guards were divided into teams, and those called captains by the guards were colonels. After all, what they intercepted were gifts for the emperor, and ordinary guards did not really have the courage to take charge.
The captain was a young man. In the Beijing Suburbs Command Camp, those with a certain rank were all from aristocratic families. Many of them felt honored to be able to join the Beijing Suburbs Command Camp.
The captain followed the guards to the city gate. At first he heard the guards say that a cart full of things were given to the emperor, but he didn't believe it. But now that he saw it, his eyes were about to fall out. This thing... is it too much
The guard asked, "Captain Du, what do you think?"
Captain Du nodded, walked over, and looked Tao Shan up and down: "Are these all for the emperor?"
Tao Shan saw that the official uniform the man wore was the same as that of Lieutenant Yang and Lieutenant Lu, and he knew that he was a lieutenant. He said, "To answer your question, most of this is for the emperor, and a small part of it is for the residence of the Minister of War, Du Fu."
The captain was stunned. Not only the captain, but also the guard next to him was stunned, and asked, "Sir, isn't this for your family?"
Tao Shan was also stunned when he heard the guard's words: "Are you from the residence of Lord Du Kedu, the 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. After the legitimate son passed the imperial examination, he was sent out. Since ancient times, the aristocratic families have always had greater hopes for the legitimate son, because the legitimate son bears the family's daily life, while the illegitimate son has less hope, as long as he does not cause trouble for the family. This captain is Du Ke's illegitimate son. He has no ability, he is neither good at literature nor martial arts, so through Du Ke's relationship, he got a captain's position in the suburban command camp, a seventh-rank official, which is not bad.
Tao Shan bowed and said, "Hello, Mr. Du. My name is Tao Shan. My master is Qin Fang, the city guard 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's my father's student." The whole capital knew about Du Ke's taking in a disciple, how could he, as Du Ke's son, not know? "Is my father still in Yunxiang County? Is he okay?"
Just as Tao Shan was about to speak, a guard stepped forward and said, "Brother Tao, these things must be transported away quickly, otherwise the ice will melt."
Captain Du also heard what the guard said. He saw that water was leaking from under the cart. He also heard the word "ice". He saw that the thing was frozen with ice. He was also worried that something might happen to the gift to the emperor, so he said, "Wait, wait. I'll take you to the palace. Oh, that's right..." Then he looked at the guard, "Have you checked his pass? Is there any problem?"
The guard said, "We have checked it and there is no problem."
Tao Shan said, "Mr. Du, I've been to your mansion and I'm back. The housekeeper and the guards at the door all recognized me."
Captain Du nodded: "Okay, I'll take you to the palace gate..." The guard behind him said, "Send someone to my house and ask the housekeeper to identify people at the palace gate, and then take back the things given to me at the Du Mansion."
Captain Du made such arrangements in order 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 take responsibility.
Guard: “Yes.”
With the help of people from the Beijing Suburban Command Camp, the road from the city gate to the imperial palace in Taoshan is still very easy to walk on. If it weren't for 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 housekeeper of the Du Mansion had already arrived. He saw Captain Du and Tao Shan: "Second Young Master, Brother Tao."
Captain Du felt relieved when he heard what the housekeeper of the Du Mansion said.
Tao Shan also said enthusiastically, "Housekeeper, say hello to the housekeeper. Lord Du is doing well in the general's mansion. I recently sent something 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."
When the housekeeper of the Du Mansion heard this, he hurriedly said, "Then I'll take the things back first, and Brother Tao will have to give them to you later." Tao Shan is different now, because Qin Fang is now a student of Lord Du, so the Qin family and the Du Mansion are also their own people, so Tao Shan can be regarded as one of their own, so the housekeeper of the Du Mansion is even more enthusiastic.
Tao Shan said: "Definitely."
At the palace, because it was a gift for the emperor, and the things seemed to be too many, most people didn't dare to accept it, so they went to tell the chief steward Chi. When the chief steward Chi heard it, he said, "You mean General Qin from Yunxiang County sent someone to deliver a lot of things, and they are waiting outside the palace?"
Palace gate guard: "Yes, Chief Steward Chi, would you please take a look?"
Manager Chi said, "Let's go and take a look."
Manager Chi knew Tao Shan, and Tao Shan also knew Manager Chi. Seeing Manager Chi coming out, Tao Shan stepped forward and bowed first: "Meeting Manager Chi."
Chief Steward Chi: "Tao Shan, what are you sending to the Emperor?"
Tao Shan said, "I am sending His Majesty a few kinds of vegetables and fruits on the orders of the general. Except for the fruits, the rest of these things have been frozen along the way. The ice is about to melt. What do you think, Chief Steward Chi?"
Chief Steward Chi hurriedly said, "Oh, then hurry up and send it in, send it in... send it to the door of the imperial study first." He originally wanted to send it to the imperial kitchen. But... the emperor couldn't see the things sent to the imperial kitchen. Since the emperor also had a good impression of Qin Fang, he was Du Ke's student, so Chief Steward Chi naturally gave Qin Fang a good word. "Tao Shan, come with me to see the emperor."
Tao Shan: "Ah? Yes." His heart was beating fast and he was nervous.
Steward Chi did not make the decision casually. After these things were sent over, the emperor would definitely ask about them. He was the kind of person who knew nothing about anything, so he naturally had to bring someone he knew well with him. Isn't Tao Shan just the right person
The Emperor was reviewing memorials in the Imperial Study. The capital has been quite quiet recently because of the issue of the imperial grain franchisee. Everyone is waiting for the follow-up of this imperial grain franchisee, so even if there is something going on, they are holding it back.
Chief Steward Chi walked in: "The Emperor is very happy."
The emperor asked without even looking up: "What is the source of your joy?"
Chief Chi said, "General Qin from Yunxiang County sent you some gifts, including vegetables and fruits, which were kept frozen all the way. I brought them here. Since you must be tired after reading memorials for the whole morning, I brought them outside for you to take a look at."
When the emperor heard this, he really became interested: "Did Qin Fang send something? Let's go and take a look."
The emperor followed Chief Steward Chi outside and saw the boxes of things, all of which were packed in wooden boxes. There were eight boxes in total. One of the boxes was still dripping with water. The emperor was in a good mood. Regardless of whether the things were valuable or not, he owned the entire country, and no matter how valuable the things were, they were just rare toys. After all, they were just toys. So for him, the thought was the most important.
People like Qin Fang, who can still serve his subjects and subjects even with potato flour and sweet potato flour, are what he likes most.
Chief Steward Chi observed the emperor's expression and saw that he was happier than before. He said, "General Qin's personal guards were stopped by the guards when they entered the city because they had too many things. Your Majesty, is this funny?"
When the emperor heard this, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "How did he get in?"
Chief Chi said, "That's really a coincidence. The one on duty today happens to be Du Caiming, the second son of Lord Du. Isn't the second son Du in the command camp outside Beijing?"
The emperor laughed and said, "It's that boy, what a coincidence. Show me these things. What are they?"
Chief Steward Chi waved towards 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 step forward, then knelt down with a plop: "Your humble servant pays respect to the emperor."
The sound of kneeling was so heavy that the emperor could not help but look at Tao Shan. He saw that Tao Shan was sweating all over his head, and the sweat was still dripping down. He looked very dusty, but he lowered his head and was too nervous to look up. The emperor knew that he must be tired after traveling from Yunxiang County to here with so many things. He said, "Give this private guard a bowl of water." Tao Shan said, "Stand up and answer."
Tao Shan was touched: "Thank you, Your Majesty." It turned out that the emperor was so approachable, no wonder the general would send these things from thousands of miles away.
The guards had already unpacked eight wooden boxes, four of which contained ice, and the other four did not. The emperor asked curiously, "What are these?"
Tao Shan introduced them one by one: "The red one is a tomato, the green one is broccoli, the white one is cauliflower, the long one is a cucumber, and the other four boxes are watermelons. The watermelon is a fruit and needs to be cut and eaten." Then he took out a notebook from the side of the box and gave it to Manager Chi, "Here are the recipes and ways to eat various things. However, this broccoli cannot be left alone. It needs to be eaten quickly, otherwise the green part will turn yellow."
The emperor was deeply moved when he saw these vegetables and fruits. He walked over and touched each one, then said to the chef, "These vegetables should be cooked according to the recipes here. Ask the chef to prepare each dish on the side."
Manager Chi: “Yes.”
Tao Shan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this watermelon is very delicious. You can eat it as long as you cut it. You can also eat it after it is chilled. You can also eat it by cutting it in half and scooping it with a spoon."
After hearing this, Chief Steward Chi said, "Your Majesty, shall I go cut one for you?"
There are four boxes of watermelons, ten watermelons in each box, forty watermelons in total.
The emperor said, "Go ahead."
Manager Chi brought out a watermelon and showed Yang Haiyan how to eat it. Yang Haiyan listed four ways to eat it. The first one was the simplest, which was to wash the watermelon, slice it and eat it; the second one was to squeeze the watermelon juice and drink it; the third one was to cut the red fruit of the watermelon, put it in a bowl, make toothpicks and eat it with it, and then use the toothpicks to make it; the last one was to cut the watermelon into pieces and eat it directly with a spoon.
Manager Chi took a look and decided to use the first one because he had toothpicks at the moment and the first one was the most convenient.