"Master, the banquet is ready. When will the banquet start?"

Just as a group of people were sighing around the map and discussing and feeling, the old butler came to report.

"Well, there is no information coming from the Mongolian invasion. It's already noon. Go to have a meal first, drink and chat. Please give me!" Wu Qian shook his head and threw away his messy thoughts and invited a group of people to have dinner in the living room.

The Duke's Mansion will naturally not be too shabby. In the spacious living room, there is a main seat with three tables and chairs on both sides. After the guest and the host sit down, all kinds of delicious dishes will be delivered like flowing water. As the servant and maid go back and forth, soon the dining table in front of each guest and the host and the host will be filled with dishes, and the maid will also fill the wine glass.

Separate meals seem to be an ancient Chinese habit, and many people have always thought so.

But in fact, it is not. China's catering culture has been very long, so separate meal system and combined meal system have always coexisted.

The separate meal system is a dietary etiquette of the aristocratic class and is also a symbol of wealth. Only when there is enough food can guests provide separate meals. Therefore, in ancient China, it was generally described that aristocrats and gentry treat each person and each table eat and drink separately.

But compared with poor people who lack food, it is definitely not realistic to eat at home with one table, so among the lower-class people in China, it is normal to serve the food together.

In the Tang Dynasty, as the food became more and more abundant, the combined meal system gradually began to replace the divided meal system. However, in grand occasions, in the family of gentry and nobles, the separate meal system was still mainstream. However, as time went by, in the Song Dynasty, a large number of gentry and nobles had dinner at home on weekdays, and it was already a combination of meal system. It was also a joy of family life when the family gathered together.

It is said that the Song Dynasty had a kind of market atmosphere that was not available in other dynasties. It was most obvious in terms of diet and dining. From the emperor to the people, almost every meal was shared. There was no difference between restaurants and restaurants and later generations. They were all a large table of dishes.

As for eating with separate meals like Wu Qian today, it is rarely seen on weekdays, reflecting Wu Qian's grand etiquette for Zhao Qi to come to visit today.

And this etiquette naturally made everyone who attended the banquet feel flattered.

Chen Ji and Yao Ran felt that there was no place to put their hands and feet. They had never enjoyed such high-quality treatment before, and Zhao Qi also felt extremely novel. It was the first time he had eaten separately. The most familiar treat was a big round table.

Although the food was rich and the specifications were surprisingly high, the atmosphere in the restaurant was not very warm after the wine and food was served, because almost everyone was still immersed in Zhao Qi's speculation and speech just now and could not let go.

When the wine and food were filled with wine, looking at the depressed look of everyone in the room, Wu Qian picked up the wine glass and said, "Xijian will leave Qingyuan Mansion tomorrow and return to Beijing to resume his post. This banquet is regarded as a celebration of the resumption of Xijian. At the same time, I would like to thank Nephew Zhao for the priceless gifts he sent today. Everyone should raise their glasses and drink them together, please!"

Zhao Qi and others also raised their glasses quickly.

After a glass of wine, the atmosphere on the table became a little relaxed. I started talking about some relaxed topics after drinking and eating. After three rounds of dishes and five flavors, just as the atmosphere of the banquet gradually became lively, a servant suddenly rushed in from outside.

"Master, the capital sent an urgent letter!"

"Where is the urgent letter?" Wu Qian was surprised, and Zhao Qi and others also put down their wine glasses, bowls and chopsticks.

"The messenger is outside the mansion and said he would hand it over to the master himself!" The servant replied quickly.

"Then why don't you bring it with you now!" Wu Qian put down his glass and stood up. The servant turned around and went out. He quickly brought in a sweaty young man.

"I am Wu Qian, who will arrange for you to send you an urgent letter!"

"Return to Duke Chong, the villain is the retainer of the right prime minister's mansion. The right prime minister has a letter, so that the villain will definitely present it to Duke Chong!" The young man took out a letter from his arms panting, and his sweat had soaked the envelope.

"It's Cheng Shenfu again!" Wu Qian's face sterned, and he couldn't wait for the housekeeper to present the letter. He left the seat and strode to the young man to take the letter, tore it apart, took out a piece of letter paper, and his face changed drastically with a glance.

"Brother Luzhai, what happened in the capital?" Wu Wenying also stood up nervously.

"Please look at me by Jueweng!" After Wu Qian finished reading it, he trembled and handed the letter to Wu Wenying.

Wu Wenying only looked at it a few times, and his face also changed drastically, "Sure enough, the Mongolians really attacked Sichuan, and the leader was Mongolian Khan Mengge..."

"What?" Ye Mengding, Chen Ji and Yao Ran and the middle-aged scholars who were accompanying each other all exclaimed and stood up.

"Jueweng, let me see!" Ye Mengding rushed to Wu Wenying and grabbed the letter. After a moment, his face became both terrifying and strange.

Wu Qian slowly walked back to the chair and sat down, his eyes fell on Zhao Qi and said, "What my nephew speculated at the beginning was indeed correct. The letter was sent by the right prime minister Cheng Yuanfeng from the capital. The news must be wrong. In February, Mongolian sent troops to attack our Song Dynasty. Mengge Khan from the west side personally led 100,000 personal troops to attack Sichuan in three directions. In addition, he sent the zong king Tachaer to lead 50,000 troops to attack Jingshan on the east side. Sichuan is now very urgent to attack, and the Mongolian army has already entered several states!"

"This...what should be done? After Yu Jie's death, there was no more good generals in Shu. Mengge led 100,000 personal soldiers to attack Shu. The generals in Shu will definitely not be able to resist..." Ye Mengding was shaking his hands and feet, and he was a little unsteady.

"Don't panic in Xijian. Although Yu Jie left, I heard that Shu had built a stone city in recent years and prepared food and stationed troops, and that they were not unprepared. However, Meng Ge actually led his troops to conquer our Song Dynasty in person. His morale must be high, and his march was unstoppable. The people in Shu were afraid that they would suffer again..." Wu Qian's face was very ugly, but his tone was helpless.

"Brother Luzhai, this time the Mongolian army is prepared and aggressive. The troops are divided into two groups to attack our Song Dynasty. Shu is naturally the main force. It must be as Zhao Xiaoyou said. The Mongolian army tried to take Sichuan in one battle, and then attack Jingxiang along the river. The 50,000 troops on the east side must be just a cover to divide our Song Dynasty troops!" Wu Wenying said after returning to his seat and sat down.

"Jueweng said it right. The 50,000 east road must be the miscellaneous soldiers of the Liao, Jin and Western Xia countries. Jingshan is guarded by Huaiyuan Army and is equipped with stone cannons and firearms. It is not easy to break through. Moreover, the neighbors of Shouchun and Anqing are well equipped and can reach it in a few days of assistance. I am not worried about this journey, but Bashu is too far away. The court cannot control it without any preparation at the moment, so I can only leave it to fate!" Wu Qian shook his head with a worried face.

Zhao Qi used to say that the Mongol invasion might be a good time to overthrow Ding Daquan, but now the Mongolians really came suddenly, and Wu Qian lost his room in an instant, and Ye Mengding was even more confused, feeling that the sky seemed to collapse.

Moreover, the Mongols attacked Song this time were too fierce, and it was actually the Mongolian emperor who led the army to fight in person. This was definitely a kind of determination, and the Mongols' ambitions were fully exposed.

Wu Qian, Ye Mengding, Wu Wenying and the other two were in a mess in an instant, and Chen Ji, Yao Ran and middle-aged scholars were also trembling with fear and pale faces.

Only after Wu Qian said the urgent letter, Zhao Qi calmed down after only a moment of loss of consciousness. He sat down and picked up the chopsticks to start eating. After a few bites, he seemed unsatisfied and picked up the cup to invite Yao Ran to drink.

"Brother Zhao, when is it time for you to still have the mood to drink!" Yao Ran's face was twisted like a shoehorn.

"The soldiers come and the generals stop them, the water comes and the soil is covered, the Song Dynasty court is still there, and the emperor is still there. I am so sad that I live in a broken kiln, and I am worried about what it is, let alone eat and drink enough to have the strength to worry about these things!" Zhao Qi smiled and comforted, but no matter how he looked, he looked like he was not concerned about his own affairs.

"Brother Zhao, drink it alone, I can't drink it!" Yao Ran slapped the wine glass on the dining table.

"Oh, I always thought that the Mongols would give up being enemies with the Song Dynasty like the Liao and Jin Dynasties, and eventually live next to each other. I didn't expect that they would be so savage and unrighteous soldiers. What should we do in the future..." Chen Ji sighed in fear.

"I said before that the Mongols are not the Liao and Jin countries. They have no sense of etiquette, righteousness, integrity and shame, nor do they have the idea of ​​benevolence, righteousness and morality. They are just a group of barbarians, who have the greatest hobby of robbery. Therefore, from the emperors to the civilians, we always thought that we could govern the land like the Mongolians in the past, like the Liao and Jin people, which was completely a fool. If my Song Dynasty was not yet recovered, the danger of national destruction was near, and the Jin Kingdom was destroyed, the Western Xia was destroyed, and the Dali was destroyed. The Western countries had already been taken into their pockets. The Western Huats and Dashi were also conquered one after another. Now our Song Dynasty is the last piece of fat in the eyes of the Mongols. Not only does a large population have to be enslaved, but a large amount of gold, silver and treasures will become their spoils. Unfortunately, my Xiaolongwan Harbor... I'm afraid it will be ruined before it is built!"

Zhao Qi took a glass of wine, threw down his chopsticks and looked at the sky forty-five degrees, with a look of bitterness and deep revenge on his face.

The sudden news instantly made the originally pleasant luncheon mess. Wu Qian and Ye Mengding, two court officials, were naturally at a loss. Even if they were anxious, they could only stare at them. Wu Wenying was just a staff member with no fame and no idea when facing such military and national affairs. Chen Ji and Yao Ran and the middle-aged scholar were completely indifferent.

From the urgent information, we can see that Zhao Qi's speculation on the Mongols before the luncheon had been fully fulfilled, and the analysis was almost correct.

"The matter is now clear. Zhao Xiaoyou's speculation is like Zhang Liang and Zhuge is reborn. He can guess the overall situation and trends of the Mongols without leaving home. He really admires me!" After a long time, Wu Wenying fell on Zhao Qi.
Chapter completed!