Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 207: Honesty and Frugality
"I am Cao Pi from the Prime Minister's Office, and I would like to pay my respects to Mr. Bai." Cao Pi bowed to Bai Tu in the central hall of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion.
In name, Cao Pi was only an official of the Prime Minister's Office, so he naturally had to perform salute when he saw the General of Chariots and Cavalry, but it was not a great salute.
"Cao Pi...Okay, as expected, a good father will have a good son. Please take a seat." Bai Tu said with a pretentious tone.
It’s a pity that he is too young and doesn’t have a beard to stroke.
There was already a waiter at the side, leading Cao Pi, Sima Lang, and "Cao Bang" to their seats...
During this period, Cao Pi felt a little curious - in the mansion of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, people actually sat on Hu beds and used Hu tables?
In contrast, Sima Lang remained calm and did not show any abnormality even when seeing this "weird" layout. However, Cao Bang looked around curiously, appearing a little "unruly".
Cao Bang, whose courtesy name was Anguo, was the son of Cao De, nephew of Cao Cao, cousin of Cao Pi, and younger brother of Cao Anmin who died in Wancheng. Of course... this person was not actually Cao Bang.
This was the identity Xiahou Juan arranged for himself after he pretended to be an official of Cao Pi.
After all, Cao Pi was only thirteen years old, and Xiahou Juan was only fourteen years old. Even at this age, the girl seemed more mature, but compared to their status, "Cao Bang" looked young!
Therefore, since he had to appear as a clerk in the Prime Minister's Office and an assistant to Cao Pi in military campaigns, it would be reasonable to arrange for him to be a relative of the Cao clan.
Now, more and more people in the General's Mansion use Hu beds and Hu tables in various occasions...
Of course, there are actually some differences between the Huchuang and Huzhuo. The Huchuang is the prototype of the "cross-legged chair" in the Song Dynasty. The legs of the chair are crossed, but it is larger than the cross-legged chair. Bai Tu's chair is more like a square armchair from the Ming Dynasty.
The so-called Hu table is called this because only the Hu people used this kind of high-legged table. The Han people, who were used to kneeling, would definitely not use such high tables and chairs, so it was called this way.
But in fact, Bai Tu’s table is not the result of Hu customs. In short, it is designed in a comfortable way.
If Bai Tu had just traveled through time, using these in his own home would have caused criticism, but now... they are placed openly in the main hall, and are used during banquets with the officials in the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion, and no one will say anything. Even in Jiangdong and Huainan, many officials and wealthy families are vying to follow suit.
Only the relatives of the great aristocratic families could not save their face for the time being.
And... nominally, this is not a way of sitting for comfort!
"Zihuan, this chair in Jiangdong is really high. Is it a Huchuang? In this way... it doesn't make you tired." Cao Bang said in a strange voice.
Others did not pay attention to the voice, and just thought that Cao Bang, who looked a little weak, was in the voice changing period.
However, Kong Rong, who was standing by, heard Cao Bang's words, and smiled and turned around and said, "Young sir, you don't know that this chair is completely different from the Hu bed. It is designed to embody the principle of 'the benevolent love others', that is , the people-oriented principle, and to show the people's status improvement. "
"Is... that so?" Cao Bang looked at Kong Rong awkwardly.
Theoretically, Kong Wenju, who "understands Confucius best", should not speak nonsense, but... Cao Bang felt that this statement was weird.
"Well, Anguo, Kong Jijiu will certainly not lie to you." Cao Pi said on the side.
When in Xudu, Kong Rong did meet Cao Pi, but at that time Cao Pi was still a bastard and was still young, so Kong Rong did not have a deep impression of him.
As for Cao Anguo... I have even less impression of him!
"Today is a welcoming party for Xiao Cao Zhengshi, so we won't talk about government affairs." Bai Tu said specifically.
Sima Lang then stood up and bowed, saying, "Please allow me to report to you, Lord Bai. The one who came here for government affairs is Cao Zhengshi, and the one who treated you with respect as a junior is Cao Zihuan. So where does the term 'young Cao Zhengshi' come from?"
Bai Tu did it instinctively, wanting to take advantage of Cao Pi in name first, but in this regard, Sima Lang was very sensitive and spoke with reason and evidence.
Bai Tu didn't care when he heard this, and said frankly: "Okay, I made a mistake. Today I am here to welcome Xiao Cao, and tomorrow I will discuss the remnants of Yuan's evil with Cao Zhengshi."
So it's still "Xiao Cao"...
Sima Lang couldn't say anything this time. After all, Bai Tu pointed out that today was not a formal occasion, and... he had to be neither humble nor arrogant. He couldn't just be "neither humble" all the time. Now they were still in the enemy camp. If he was too "arrogant", and killed them, Bai Tu would only suffer damage to his reputation.
The diplomatic mission to the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion was undoubtedly a crisis for Cao Pi and Sima Lang - even if it was dangerous, it was also an opportunity.
As long as they can return safely and ensure that Bai Tu will not turn against Cao Cao during this period, especially will not hurt Cao Cao's face again , their position will be consolidated.
Cao Pi could basically secure his position as heir, and convince a large number of counselors from the Cao, Xiahou, and even other families; Sima Lang could also go from being a "favored" and "potentially promising" newcomer in the Prime Minister's Office to being one of the core counselors.
If they didn't return safely... then it would be all over, so both of them took this matter very seriously.
Originally, Sima Lang was worried that the subsequent banquet would have some etiquette, but he didn't expect... Although it had nothing to do with etiquette, what Bai Tu ate was the same as what they ate, so Sima Lang didn't say much.
And...it smells so good!
Although he sat on a lover's chair and used a Wangmin table, he still practiced the separate dining system. Except for family dinners, Bai Tu really preferred the separate dining system, which was more hygienic and there was nothing wrong with it.
The first thing served was the four most famous dishes of the highest standard from the General’s Mansion – white pork, braised pork, pork rib soup and steamed wild goldfish!
Previously, in the impressions of Cao Pi, Xiahou Juan and even Sima Lang, Jiangdong and Huainan were suffering from drought. Even when there was no drought, Jiangdong was not as prosperous as the Central Plains.
Especially... who is Bai Tu? Since entering Huainan, especially after entering Jiangdong, no matter how Sima Lang tried to get information from the people, no one had anything bad to say about Bai Gong.
It is said that when Bai Tu was in Jinling, he would eat and drink with the disaster victims every day to remind himself of the suffering of the people. Sima Lang, Cao Pi, and Xiahou Juan really believed it at the time...
I believed your lies!
None of the imperial chefs who were brought to Xudu with the little emperor had such skills!
How did Wang Mang manage to be such a simple person?
Whenever there was a flood or drought in the Han Dynasty, he would eat vegetarian food, and his wife would wear the same clothes as the servants when she went out. When he saw poor people, he would sell his carriage to help them... For this reason, he was known as "honest and frugal."
According to the mainstream view of the Han Dynasty, Wang Mang was a fake righteous man who was actually a treacherous traitor. Some people in later generations also believed that Wang Mang's character was not fake, because after he became emperor, he should have achieved his wish, but he was still as simple as before. If the Xin Dynasty had not fallen, Wang Mang could probably compete for the ranking of the simplest emperor...
Regardless of whether Wang Mang was real or fake, at least he really put on an act, but what about Bai Tu?
So this guy is living a life of extravagance and debauchery in his mansion every day, while there are millions of people outside saying that he shares the same sufferings as the people and praising him?
When it comes to the word "fake", even Wang Mang is not as good as him, right?
Of course, whether it was Cao Pi, Xiahou Juan, or even Sima Lang, although they had their doubts in their hearts, they had to say that this meal... was so delicious!
