Qin Official

As a rich man from the countryside, Dongzhang's mansion is indeed not small, especially the place for banquets. The roof has angled eaves, the corridor columns are round, and the hall is large enough for thirty-four people to sit down.

Although it was not yet dark, the hall was already lit with candles, as if to show off the wealth of the host's family, and two rows of three-foot-high bronze lamp stands were placed against the wall. The shape is not very exquisite. Most of it is a small bronze figure in the shape of a slave kneeling on the ground, holding a lamp plate with both hands. There is animal ointment in the plate. The wick of the lamp burns quietly, giving off a faint burnt smell.

In front of the lamp stand, there are lacquered wood desks painted uniformly black. Behind each desk is a mat, divided into two rows, east and west.

Zhang Bo, who was tall and fat, felt a little crowded in the central seat. There were two maids in green sitting on the small platform to serve him. In the end, he did not send his own children to invite Hei Fu to the banquet. He won the game, so he was in high spirits. He raised his hand and invited everyone to sit down.

The guests who came today were divided into east and west seats, which seemed to be clearly differentiated.

Sitting on the east side are the Zhang family's children and local elders. Except for Zhang Fu, the third elder at the head of the east table, who is wearing a brocade suit with wide sleeves, most of the others are wearing ordinary kudzu and hemp clothes.

These people are all members of the local clan and township party, and their relationship is based on blood. Even if they don't have the same surname, they are related to each other by marriage. Every twelfth lunar month, all families in the same town can go to visit their ancestors' graves together, and even eat and drink together. We are all fellow villagers, but they live just a little further apart. Of course, such a group of people knew each other well. When they met, they greeted each other in local dialects, chatted enthusiastically, and glanced at the group of "outsiders" opposite from the corner of their eyes.

Heifu, Gong Ao, and Zhong Ming, together with the ten soldiers he had brought deliberately, were sitting at the guest seats on the west side. Everyone was also very conscious of being "outsiders". They all wore light armor, hung swords on their waists, and sat on their knees in a military posture. They all looked solemn and did not speak too much, which seemed incompatible with the lively atmosphere of the banquet.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhang Bo clapped his hands to quiet down the chatting township party elders. He spoke a lot in dialect, and Hei Fu could only understand a general idea. Today's banquet is just to let everyone get to know the new arrival. Everyone, please feel free to eat and drink without restraint.

Then, under the leadership of the third elder Zhang Fu, everyone at the east table stood up and bowed to Hei Fu, who was at the head of the west table, and Hei Fu returned the bow.

Although the customs in Wei were very different from those in Nanjun, fortunately, the banquet for local nobles did not have the red tape of aristocratic banquets in big cities. After mutual introductions were completed, the banquet officially began.

"Is this blog meant to show off in front of me?"

Looking at the candles burning in broad daylight behind him, and looking at the servants and maids filing in, carrying lacquerware food boxes, Hei Fu thought to himself.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, princes, ministers, officials, scholars, and common people all had different etiquette regulations on the utensils used for eating. People with low status could not use bronze utensils.

But gradually, some nobles became poor, and some common people became rich. Although they were restricted by etiquette, they still did not dare to use bronze tripods excessively. However, another kind of utensil became popular, and it became as representative as bronze. The symbol of wealth is lacquerware.

The land of Liang and Song Dynasties is known as the "Thousand Trees of Lacquer" and is the handicraft center for the production of lacquerware in the Central Plains. Zhuangzi was working as a lacquer garden official in the Song Dynasty. But the lacquerware here is still not cheap. The price of good lacquerware is comparable to gold.

But I saw the lacquerware in front of me. The small lacquer plates for serving vegetables were all black, and the lacquer bowls were all red. The wine cup is an ear cup, with the same red and black cloud pattern, simple and bright. No matter which one it is, the style is exactly the same. It cannot be made in small counties, cities and towns. It should be specially customized in big cities...

At this time, Zhang Bo spoke, babbling in a lot of dialects. After he finished speaking, the township party members in the east seat burst out laughing and looked at Hei Fu.

"What did he say?" Heifu tilted his head and asked his "translator" Zhong Ming.

Zhong Ming was a little embarrassed, but he still told Hei Fu truthfully: "Zhang Bo said that he spent a lot of money to hire the best lacquerware workshop in Daliang City to make these lacquerwares. They are extremely exquisite, and they are rarely used even at home." It was put on the table today to entertain the distinguished guests who came from afar. He also said..."

Seeing Zhong Ming's hesitation, Hei Fu asked, "What else did you say?"

"He also mentioned that a few days ago, when he was hosting a banquet at home for a group of passing merchants, one of the merchants got greedy and hid a lacquer-eared cup on the case in his arms to steal it! Zhang Bo finally asked You "Xiao, you must have never seen such exquisite utensils in Qin's counties and villages, right?"

Heifu immediately frowned. This photo was not only flamboyant, but also had a thorn in its words!

He glared at Gong Ao, who was so angry that he was almost ready to strike, shook his head at him, and then faced the people at the east table and started talking.

"Tell them my words in the Liang and Wei dialects, and don't miss a word."

Zhong Ming agreed, so Hei Fu said something and he relayed it.

"Youyou said that he has seen lacquerware that is ten or a hundred times more exquisite than these!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone at the east table was stunned and looked at each other, while Zhang Bo burst out laughing and said that Hei Fu was bragging.

Heifu was not busy and began to talk about the tomb robbery case he solved when he first became the director of the pavilion.

It is the tomb of the Ruo'ao family of Chu State that has been passed down for hundreds of years.

Compared with the history of the Ruo'ao family, the Zhang family can only be traced back two hundred years, especially the Yangwu Zhang family, which is not more than three generations old. It is simply the light of a grain of rice, competing with the sun and the moon.

In Ruoao's Douxin's huge coffin room, in addition to the bronze tripod and gui that represent his identity, there are also piles of lacquerware in various shapes.

There aren't many people Heifu can name, just a few.

There are openwork lacquer bans, which are wine cases. Heifu remembered that the table was carved from a single piece of thick wood, with cloud patterns engraved on it and red paintings on it. Two dragons were embossed on each of the four corners, and the four legs were roundly carved into the shape of an animal. The desk is painted with cloud patterns and grass blade patterns, the animal-shaped feet are painted with scales and swirls, the whole body is painted with black paint as the ground, and the patterns are painted with red...

"Isn't this thing ten or a hundred times more exquisite than this low black lacquer table?"

There is also a painted lacquer box in the shape of a mandarin duck. Heifu described that its head, body, wings, feet, tail, etc. are all in low relief, with fine carvings and lifelike images. The surface of the vessel is on a black lacquer base, with patterns painted in vermilion, gold, yellow and other colors: the mandarin ducks are painted with feather patterns, two symmetrical looking back standing phoenixes are painted on both sides of the tail, and the handle and seat are painted with curling cloud patterns and interlocking cloud patterns. …

"Isn't this thing ten or a hundred times more exquisite than this ordinary lacquer box with no patterns?"

Zhong Ming relayed Hei Fu's words, which shocked Zhang Bo and everyone at the east table.

If the Ao family was an extremely wealthy aristocrat, as far as Heifu could see, the shape of his burial was completely comparable to the "Tomb of Marquis Zeng Yi" where countless national treasures were found. Therefore, the shape of his lacquerware was rare and the craftsmanship was exquisite. It can be called the leader of the times.

When those artifacts were unearthed, even he, a well-informed modern man, was shocked. He almost couldn't help but secretly take a few for himself, not to mention the wealthy Zhang family in front of him.

After Hei Fu finished speaking, Yun Danfeng smiled softly. Although he didn't say it clearly, his meaning was self-evident.

Compared to a true aristocrat like the Ruo Ao family, you, a wealthy country man, are nothing like you. You dare to show off in front of me. Do you really think that I am an ignorant Rongdi soldier?

Everyone at the east table was speechless, Zhang Bo also opened his mouth, but stopped talking. He just asked Hei Fu if he had seen him before, and he didn't ask if Hei Fu was at home, so there was nothing wrong with Hei Fu's answer.

At this time, Gong Ao, who was awakened by Heifu's words, also started to brag.

Isn't it just showing off? Their surname is Mi, they are also a distant branch of the Chu Kingdom, and their ancestors were once wealthy. Although it is not as good as before, the lacquerware used for sacrifices and banquets in the clan is also custom-made in Jiangling. The custom of the Chu region prefers exaggerated and wild patterns. In comparison, the Central Plains lacquerware is really less imaginative. Now, it was the turn of Zhang Bo and everyone at Dong Xi to be embarrassed, and they all began to retort, and a regional aesthetic war was about to break out.

Seeing that Gong Ao was getting louder and louder, Heifu stopped him and said with a smile: "If the Ao family has a long bloodline, no clan in the world can match it. Its fiefdom is ten times larger than that of Hufu Township; the household registration of the people it rules is, There are so many in the entire Yangwu County, and their wealth puts even the King of Chu to shame. However, when the army of Lord Wu'an of the Qin State came, the descendants of the Ruo Ao family could only bury their wealth in a hurry, abandon their ancestral graves, and rush away in a hurry , it can be seen from this..."

Heifu banged his scabbard on the lacquer table, startling everyone at the table.

He said coldly: "No matter how exquisite the lacquerware is, it cannot withstand being chopped by copper and iron swords. No matter how dazzling the wealth is, if it wants to survive for a long time, it must be respectful in front of the Qin officials!"