In the autumn of the 27th year of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi finally ended her exile career. After choosing an auspicious day, she led the princes and ministers of the "Boxer West Hunting" to return to Beijing.
After the news spread, most of the prefectures and counties got busy. However, Zhaozhou, Hebei was an exception. Governor Sun Chuan still seemed to have nothing to do, and he didn't seem to take the matter of picking up the car to heart.
Seeing that Sun Zhizhou was so unconcerned, the big and small officials in the state were very anxious and advised him to prepare early. But Sun Zhizhou consoled everyone in turn, saying that he was measured.
On this day, a police officer was out of breath and announced: "Lord Zhizhou, I'm sorry… the police officer is coming to our government office."
Hearing this, Sun Zhizhou dressed up and came to Fuqian Street with his colleagues. Not long after, when a team of fast horses came to the street, after the chief police officer stopped the horse, Sun Zhizhou immediately went up to help him: "Old friend, how is your journey?"
This police officer is Wu Yong, and is specially responsible for making front stops and urging local officials to welcome him.
Speaking of which, Sun Zhizhou and Wu Yong are old friends, so Sun Zhizhou dared to put aside the official cliché and call him an old friend. Unexpectedly, after dismounting, Wu Yongdeng pulled his face down: "Humph! If you want to recognize me as an old friend, it won't be so unreasonable. Now, 'The places where the two palaces may pass by Huiluan are all going all out to welcome the saint, but you Zhao Zhou didn't move at all, how can you explain it?"
Sun Zhizhou was not in a hurry or annoyed, and still welcomed Wu Yong into the mansion politely. After ordering people to see the tea, Sun Zhizhou said, "There are natural disasters in Zhaozhou one after another, and the people are very bitter. I can't bear to toss the people."
"It's purely an excuse. Speaking of natural disasters, Luoyang is much bigger than Zhaozhou. Last year, the Yellow River flooded, and this summer, there was a severe drought, but Luoyang Mansion still prepared a million silver... If you neglect the Empress Dowager, you will lose your head. If nothing else, you must at least pave the official way and get a decent palace!" Wu Yong told Cixi about the reception he encountered on his way back to the capital. He did this not only to protect his old friends, but also to make friends.
"If that's the case, then I have nothing to say." Sun Zhizhou became serious, "However, you have to agree to one condition. If you are willing to agree, just go back to the Empress Dowager and say that I, Zhaozhou, have been able to properly take over, and I promise to make your face shine."
For the next few days, Wu Yong worried day by day, because Zhao Zhou still hadn't changed much. On the fourth day, after Cixi was stationed in Baixiang County, Wu Yong came to Zhao Zhou's government office again. Unexpectedly, Sun Zhizhou was chatting and laughing with his colleagues in the lobby, but Wu Yong couldn't hold back his anger and reprimanded, "Sun Zhuan, you are bold and you are bullying the king. Tomorrow, the Holy Carrier will be stationed in Zhao Zhou, but you will do nothing. At that time, you will anger Tianwei, and ten heads will not be enough!" Sun Zhizhou said calmly, "How can the agreed things be changed? Don't worry, the palace has been built, and we are going to Shahe Store to discuss the official affairs. Since my old friend is here, you might as well go with me."
As soon as Sun Zhizhou's voice fell, there was a commotion outside Zhaozhou Mansion. Wu Yong didn't know what happened and hurried out of the lobby to see.
Dozens of cars were parked on Fuqian Street at an unknown time, and two fat pigs were tied to each car. Wu Yong breathed a sigh of relief, and Sun Chuan still knew what to do in his heart.
While speaking, Sun Zhizhou had led the crowd to Shahe Store. The richest man in Shahe Store, Jin Lao Fu's family, was selected as the pick-up palace, and the outside was magnificent, and the inside was also dressed up.
Sun Zhizhou inspected for a while, and Jin Laofu said: "My lord, the grass people have informed the people of this township by word of mouth according to your assignment. Ding Zhuang of each village is always on standby. When to start construction on the road, you only need to speak!"
At dawn tomorrow, everyone with their equipment will gather here. Five hundred people will go south to pave the boundaries of Baixiang County, and the rest of the people will go north. Tomorrow at noon, they will arrive at Zhaozhou Mansion and meet in Luancheng before dark. "
Wu Yong stood by and listened carefully, frowning and thinking: The common people are not soldiers, they only pass word verbally, and do not give orders to die, they will volunteer to build the road? Wu Yong roughly calculated that this official road requires at least 3,000 people to complete in one day.
Sun Zhizhou didn't care about Wu Yong's expression, but ordered the pig to be killed. Wu Yong knew in his heart that Sun Zhizhou killed the pig to entertain Cixi, so he didn't say anything more. Afraid of a change in the middle, that night, Wu Yong rested at the Jin house.
The next morning, Wu Yong was about to return to Baixiang to "invite Luang" to Cixi. As soon as he got to the official road, he saw a black crowd in front of him.
Wu Yong was stunned. He didn't know what method Sun Zhizhou had used to gather so many people overnight.
At this time, the North Face suddenly heard a few noises of donkeys and horses. Wu Yong pulled his horse aside and found that there were more than ten carts, each of which was equipped with a large pot, a large tank, and a steamer. There was fragrant cooked pork in the big pot, hot millet soup in the big tank, and golden wowotou in the steamer.
After being stunned for a moment, Wu Yong hurriedly went back to chase Sun Zhizhou: "When I saw the pig slaughtered yesterday, I thought it was you who entertained the two palaces, but you rewarded the people, and the pork was eaten by the people. What should the Empress Dowager and the Emperor do? Are you hungry?"
Sun Zhizhou said: "I have prepared hundreds of pigs, anyway, the Empress Dowager can't finish it, can't you let the common people eat some inferior pork?"
Wu Yong wanted to severely scold Sun Zhizhou, but he had nothing to say, so he had to grit his teeth and give up.
On the same day, Sun Zhizhou brought his subordinates to kneel at the border to receive the holy driver early. At the time of the application, the flags were waving and the mighty people arrived in Zhaozhou. After a short stop, Sun Zhizhou and Wu Yong led the way to Shahedian Jin Lao Fu's house.
In the Jin family mansion, Cixi settled down, rested a little, and it was dinner time. Looking at the table full of meals, Cixi, Guangxu, and the princes were all full of food, because Sun Zhizhou arranged a famous dish in the Shahe restaurant - braised pork elbow. Cixi put down her chopsticks after eating three mouthfuls, and praised with satisfaction: "This elbow is golden red in color, soft and rotten and fragrant, fat but not greasy, thin but not firewood, which can be called delicious in the world."
Hearing Cixi's reputation, the stone in Wu Yong's heart fell. He couldn't help but glance at Sun Zhizhou, just in time to see Sun Zhizhou wink at him, and he suddenly remembered Sun Zhizhou's condition.
So Wu Yong bent down and said to Cixi, "Since this elbow is deep in the taste of the Empress Dowager, why doesn't the Empress Dowager leave the ink treasures for future generations to admire?"
Cixi was an excellent painter. She immediately wrote the words "Tianfu Hong Elbow."
That night, because she was in a hurry, Cixi went to bed early. After dawn the next day, Cixi passed on Sun Zhizhou's gossip, and Sun Zhizhou talked about it, and then brought the topic to eating, drinking and having fun: "Empress Dowager, Zhaozhou has three delicious foods, three good places. The delicious dishes are braised elbow, Sydney, and braised vermicelli; the good places are the big temple, the stone tower, and Zhaozhou Bridge. This good place can be seen when the Empress Dowager returns to Luang; the only three delicious dishes are Sydney, which the Empress Dowager has not yet tasted."
The Empress Dowager was in the mood for a while, and during breakfast she ate most of the Sydney pears, boasting that they were different. After dinner, she rested for a while, and Wu Yonglai, who went to Luancheng to supervise, invited Cixi Qiluan, and Sun Zhizhou led the state officials to escort them, stopping and walking, all the way to the border.
However, the Empress Dowager went far away, and Sun Zhizhou still did not go back. Colleagues asked him why, and he smiled and said that the Empress Dowager would summon him later.
Not long after he said this, he saw Wu Yong riding back from Luancheng.
Before Sun Zhizhou could open his mouth, Wu Yong reprimanded his face: "You are confused! On a cold day, the Empress Dowager actually let the Empress Dowager eat Sydney raw. The Empress Dowager had already eaten a lot of cooked meat and hot rice, and the cold was mixed, hurting the stomach, and I got upset halfway… I am waiting for the Empress Dowager's order to bring you to justice. You are to blame, not to mention me, even the King of Heaven can't protect you."
After saying this, Wu Yong waved his hand, and a few soldiers flashed behind him, about to bring Sun Zhizhou to justice.
This time, it was a mess, and when the soldiers got off the horse, they were surrounded by the people.
Seeing that the scene could not be cleaned up, Wu Yong ordered that the rebels be killed without mercy! After the soldiers heard this, they drew their swords one after another. Wu Yong thought that the people would be afraid, but unexpectedly, the people also took up hoes and shovels... The people were so numerous that Wu Yong did not dare to act rashly, and the two sides were deadlocked for nearly half an hour.
Suddenly, a shout came from a distance: "Keep someone under the knife, and by the order of Empress Dowager, please inform Sun of the state and send him to Luancheng for questioning."
When the people heard the word "please", they all shushed for a long time and got out of the way. Wu Yong stayed there for a long time and didn't recover.
When he arrived at the Luancheng Palace, the scene in front of him made him even more confused: Cixi actually ordered someone to take a seat for Sun Zhizhou, a fifth-rank official.
"Tell me, what reward do you want?Cixi asked with a rare smile.
Sun Zhizhou knelt down again: "Returning to the Empress Dowager, I beg the Empress Dowager to list Zhaozhou Sydney as a tribute, and I promise to pay a thousand catties of high quality Sydney every autumn. I hope the Empress Dowager will wave the imperial pen and gold ink again to inscribe Zhaozhou Sydney."
Cixi said two "good" words in a row, picked up the pen and wrote four big characters: "Zhaozhou Yuli." After receiving the inscription, Sun Zhizhou quickly kowtowed and thanked him.
From then on, the story of Cixi passing through Zhaozhou came to an end, but Sun Zhizhou's various strange practices stayed in Wu Yong's heart like a mystery one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a few years passed. On this day, Wu Yong passed Shahe Store on a business trip and revisited his hometown. He couldn't help but slow down.
At this time, the waiter of a restaurant asked him, "This official, would you like to try the 'Tianfu Hong Elbow 'given by the Empress Dowager?"
Wu Yong asked knowingly, "Are you really a royal gift?" "I can see you are a foreigner. Back then, the Empress Dowager passed through Zhaozhou and left two imperial pen signs! One is this'Tianfuhong Elbow."
Wu Yong asked again, "What about the other piece?"
"The other piece is ""Zhao Zhou Yuli.""" There is another thrilling story here… After the Empress Dowager had eaten Sydney raw, she had a stomach attack, and she was angry and ordered to kill our prefect. Who knew that this stomach attack actually cured her old constipation, and she was happy and ordered to forgive the prefect... In the end, not only did she not kill him, but she also awarded Zhao Zhou Yuli's golden signboard. I want to kill him now, and I will reward him later, do you think it is dangerous?"
"It's quite dangerous," Wu Yong said. "So you Zhizhou is a good official?""
"That's not right. If he's not a good official, he won't take the risk finding a way out for the people. If he's not a good official, the people won't risk their lives to protect him!"
"Well, this Sun Chuan..." Wu Yong sighed to himself.