Chapter 105: Kang Maocai, the confidant
When Kang Maocai sat on the carriage going to Chen's house, the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat.
He finally understood why Chen Guorui had a mental problem and asked Chen Biao to call everyone "uncle". It turned out that Chen Guorui was the master, and the master was joking with his trusted brothers.
He also came over to seriously correct Chen Biao, and privately complained that Chen Guorui had a mental problem and was deliberately making trouble for Chen Biao.
I don’t know if my lord knows that I said in private that he has a mental problem.
Kang Maocai felt that there was something wrong with his brain and wanted to crash into the carriage and escape.
"My Lord, I feel a little sick in my stomach, so I won't go today." Kang Maocai said weakly, "I'll go back and practice my acting skills before going."
Zhu Yuanzhang joked, "I think you're just scared. What are you afraid of? The Chen family doesn't have any ambush of swords and axe soldiers."
Kang Maocai said: "But..."
Hua Yun placed her heavy arm on Kang Maocai's shoulder and winked, "It's rare for Biao'er to cook a big meal by himself. I heard that this time it's an exotic meal. If you don't go and eat it now, you won't have the chance later."
Li Shanchang also smiled and comforted him, "Shouqing, after this meal, you can spend more time with Biao'er in the future. Your child will be starting school soon, so why not get along well with Biao'er?"
Kang Maocai thought of his six-year-old eldest son and said, "I'll go!"
Although he was almost scared to death, he had to go for his son's future educational environment!
Hua Yun used her arm to press Kang Maocai hard and said, "Yes. We must go. Hahaha, Dahai doesn't know Biao'er's identity yet. He must be very sad if he knows that we go to dinner without inviting him."
Ye Chen said, "Who told him not to stay in Yingtian to help us work, and instead ran off to the outskirts of the city to train troops so early? He deserves it."
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, right, I haven't told Dahai yet! Forget it, I'll wait for the next opportunity."
Poor Hu Dahai.
A person's development depends not only on their own strength but also on luck. Hu Dahai held a far higher position in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart than Kang Maocai, but Kang Maocai happened to be here, while Hu Dahai lived and ate in the military camp to avoid being checked by Zhu Yuanzhang. This was bad luck.
Kang Maocai wiped his sweat again. He wanted to use his head to smash the carriage and escape.
Those who knew Chen Biao's identity were all his lord's confidants. He knew his own limitations and that although he had made many contributions, he was far from being his lord's confidant.
Although this metaphor is not quite appropriate, he felt like a dog among wolves when he infiltrated the lord's confidants. He did not feel safe at all.
For important secrets, if people with insufficient status know about them, it will bring more disaster than blessing!
But no matter how scared Kang Maocai was, he already knew the identities of Chen Biao and Chen Guorui, and it was too late to jump off the carriage.
When they got off the carriage, Kang Maocai walked to the back and kept hypnotizing himself in his mind, "He is Chen Guorui, not Zhu Yuanzhang. He is Chen Guorui, not Zhu Yuanzhang," to get himself into the acting state.
Kang Maocai was the main executor of Chen Youliang's counter-espionage plan when he attacked Yingtian. His acting skills were naturally not bad. When Chen Biao saw him, he had already called Zhu Yuanzhang "Chen Guorui" very naturally.
Even though his clothes were soaked.
Chen Biao looked at the large group of uncles, put his hands on his hips and said, "Today I got a cow, two pigs, three sheep, four geese and five chickens! I can definitely fill you up!"
Ye Chen smiled and asked, "Biao'er, why is it exactly one, two, three, four, and five?"
Chen Biao said: "Because it's more interesting this way."
Everyone burst into laughter. Kang Maocai didn't know what was so funny about this conversation, so he could only grin and laugh along.
Chen Biao said, "Come on, wash your hands and face first, then roll up your sleeves. Foreign dishes require you to cut the meat yourself with a knife and fork, so everyone should follow the local customs. Let's have the soup first!"
Hua Yun rubbed his stomach and said, "Ah? Drink soup before eating? If you're full from the soup, you won't be able to eat much. Biao'er, you're so stingy!"
Chen Biao said, "Each person only has a small bowl of soup, which is not enough to fill you up. Uncle Hua doesn't like soup, so you can give it to others, humph ."
Yan Qian said: "Well, you can give it to me."
Hua Yun immediately said, "Don't even think about it!"
Everyone burst into laughter again. Kang Maocai still didn't know what was so funny about this conversation, but he could only grin and laugh again.
His head was about to explode. How could this acting be harder than staging a counter-espionage plot?!
Fortunately, Chen Biao had the food served quickly.
The soup was cream of mushroom soup, the appetizer was fruit salad, and then there was roast chicken, roast goose, roast lamb chops, roast steak, chicken pizza, goose pizza, lamb pizza, beef pizza...
Chen Biao had an oven and a kiln built, and after many experiments, he was able to make fancy Western food using the most primitive equipment.
Western food with the addition of various foreign seasonings such as vanilla and rosemary is very delicious, but no one paid attention to Chen Biao's attempt to popularize Western dining etiquette.
Only three scholars, Li Shanchang, Song Lian and Ye Chen, were curious about Western court etiquette and tried it out.
Li Shanchang sighed: "Although it is a bit simple, I didn't expect that Westerners also have strict etiquette."
Chen Biao said, "Ah, not now. I will teach them when I go out to sea."
Western etiquette was created by the Sun King Louis XIV during the reign of the Sun King of France. Louis XIV was a ruler during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, so it was still a long time before the West had a complete set of aristocratic etiquette.
Li Shanchang was silent for a while and said, " Oh." He suddenly didn't want to learn anymore.
So, they had the servants cut the meat and started using chopsticks. The rougher generals just started eating.
Chen Biao simply wanted to see the Ming Dynasty's founding group eating Western food with knives and forks, and then go back to his room to draw it. He had already seen this scene, so he was satisfied and asked someone to bring up the chopsticks, not forcing everyone to use knives and forks.
This Western food specially prepared by Chen Biao, which is not available in the West, is really delicious. Kang Maocai was a little dazed after eating it.
So this is what it's like to be the lord's confidant. The prince cooks for us himself! And the food is so delicious!
Wait, where's the food?
Kang Maocai said embarrassedly: "Biao'er, that's it, no more food?"
Chen Biao stared at Kang Maocai's bulging stomach: "Ah? Not full?"
Kang Maocai said, "I'm full, but there's no rice."
Chen Biao and Kang Maocai talked at cross purposes for a long time before Chen Biao finally understood what Kang Maocai meant.
Although he was full, they were not on a march to fight, and since it was a formal meal, Kang Maocai felt uncomfortable without having rice.
After Kang Maocai said this, others also felt that it made sense.
Hua Yun yelled, "Biao'er! Bring Uncle Hua a bucket of rice! I can just eat the leftovers on the plate!"
Chen Biao looked at the cheese and side dishes that had fallen off the pizza on the plate and said with a complicated expression, "Rice? It's not steamed."
Hua Yun's eyes widened: "Why is there no food?!"
Chen Biao said, "Who knew you guys would still want to eat after having eaten your fill of meat? Well, stop complaining. You guys can just take a break. I'll have someone steam the rice."
Hua Yun said, "Okay, okay, go quickly, I want to eat a bucket!"
Yan Qian said: "Well, Biao'er, he is a real glutton."
Hua Yun nodded: "Yes...ah, Yan Qian! You scolded me!"
Yan Qian said: "Well, I scolded you."
Hua Yun and Yan Qian started fighting loudly, while the others stretched, lit lanterns in the yard, and continued their discussion in the cool night breeze.
Zhu Wenzhen and Chen Biao were also pulled in to discuss.
Zhu Wenzheng covered his ears and said, "I've been dismissed from office! I won't listen! I won't listen!"
Zhu Yuanzhang scolded him, "After you recover from your injuries, you still have to go to Guangdong! Do you think you can escape?"
Zhu Wenzheng immediately turned his back and said, "Fourth Uncle, if you beat me again, I'll go ask my adoptive father for leave."
Zhu Yuanzhang kicked Zhu Wenzheng and said, "Don't even think about it! Come quickly! Do you want Biaoer to do it all alone?!"
Chen Biao pointed at himself, his face full of disbelief.
Why did the arrow aimed at Zheng Ge suddenly turn and hit his knee?! I'm just a bystander, don't get hurt!
But with so many elders present, Zhu Wenzhen and Chen Biao were pitifully forced to join the discussion.
The topic of this discussion is the official system of the Ming Dynasty.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was only the Ming Prince and not the Ming Emperor, the imperial court could be established. After the Ming Dynasty was established, the same team could be used.
As Chen Biao had expected, Zhang Chang immediately demonstrated his talent and virtue after Zhu Yuanzhang returned and his house arrest was lifted, and quickly became friends with Zhu Yuanzhang's civil officials.
If Chen Biao had not made Zhu Yuanzhang and his subordinates wary of Zhang Chang in advance, perhaps many people would have become Zhang Chang's friends.
Now Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou did not come to the banquet, but went to accompany Zhang Chang to a poetry reading.
Zhang Chang worked so hard to show off his reputation that Zhu Yuanzhang took him for a walk. As he had hoped, he kept him and appointed him to an official position, putting him in charge of establishing the Ming Dynasty's official system.
Zhu Yuanzhang, aware of the Yuan dynasty's shortcomings in abandoning administrative power below the provincial level, did not intend to simply adopt the Yuan dynasty's system. Therefore, he instructed Zhang Chang to establish a Ming dynasty official system that absorbed the essence of the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, creating a Ming dynasty-style official system.
Zhang Chang submitted the memorial on official . This efficiency shows that Zhang Chang had memorized the classics by heart and could quote them effortlessly.
Zhang Chang presented three official systems for Zhu Yuanzhang to choose from, favoring the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties respectively. Previously, they had argued fiercely over which dynasty's official system to adopt.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "What do you two think?"
Zhu Wenzheng took a look and held his forehead with both hands: "No, my head is starting to feel dizzy and I'm about to vomit."
Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and his hand had already touched the whip at his waist.
Chen Biao didn't give up like Zhu Wenzheng did. He carefully read it over, comparing it with his memory of the complete official works of the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, and said, "This, this has a flaw."
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately asked, "What pit?"
Chen Biao said: "The Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties all carried out reforms based on the official systems of their predecessors. For example, the Tang dynasty's three provinces and six ministries were intended to weaken the power of the prime minister and increase the power of the emperor. The Song dynasty further weakened the power of the prime minister and generals, replacing the three provinces with two ministries, and increasing the official system, which led to redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses. The Yuan dynasty saw the shortcomings of the Song dynasty and borrowed official positions from the Jin dynasty, but failed to integrate them properly, resulting in a very chaotic central official system..."
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly waved his hands: "Stop, stop, stop, Biao'er, speak slower! I don't understand!"
Chen Biao was helpless: "Dad, didn't I tell you to read more history books? Read more history books! The changes in the official system are one of the most important things to pay attention to when reading history books! How could you not understand?"
Zhu Yuanzhang covered his ears and said, "I don't understand, I don't understand."
Chen Biao looked at Zhu Wenzheng, who was still covering his ears, then turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang, who was also covering his ears, and sighed to the sky: "Dad, you and Brother Zheng are the real father and son, right?"
Everyone nodded, even Kang Maocai, who had infiltrated the inner circle, couldn't help but nod secretly.
