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Text Chapter 649 Roman Dinner (Part 2)

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    There are three beds next to each table. Originally, according to Roman rules, the guests should sit on the top seat, that is, the middle or right seat, while the host sits on the bottom seat to accompany them.

    However, as the emperor of the empire, Constans II naturally could not sit in the lower seat, so he and Queen Irina sat in the middle, while Li Ke sat on their right. As for the left seat, there was a pair of ten  A young couple occupied the place. Li Ke remembered that Ciro was the first to introduce these two people just now. The man named Theodosius was the younger brother of Constans II and the prince of the Eastern Roman Empire. This year  He was only seventeen years old, and next to him was his wife.

    Li Ke and the others sat at the main dining table, the largest in the banquet hall. As for the other banquet attendees, they sat on both sides of other tables. Among them, Lu and Wan were accompanied by special guests. Even the sharp-eyed Li Ke noticed  , Wang Fangyi, who is strong and looks majestic, is already accompanied by a young Roman noble girl. I believe he will definitely have a very good night tonight.

    After everyone was seated, Constans II announced the start of the banquet, followed by relaxing music, and then the slaves in charge of serving began to serve the food.

    It is similar to the banquet of the Tang Dynasty. The first thing to be served is appetizers, such as sea urchins, oysters and other seafood, various fruits, cheeses, etc. However, both seafood and vegetables are all raw, with some sauce at most.  There is also some meat sauce that can be eaten with vegetables.

    But Li Ke and the others were not used to eating raw vegetables. They had eaten sea urchins and oysters in Taiwan and other places before, so they could barely eat some. In addition, the fruits were pretty good, so they made do with some.  After the appetizers, the main course began.

    These main dishes are served on exquisite silver plates, and like the banquets of the Tang Dynasty, the main dishes here are also based on meat, mainly goat and beef, and there are also a lot of game.  For example, the dishes made by flamingos and dormice, which are very precious in Rome, are very delicious. Even Li Ke, who is used to eating the delicacies of Li Min's house, praised them.

    In addition, Li Ke also discovered that the Romans really did not like meat in general. Among these main dishes, the only one was a "vegetarian dish" called vegetable suckling pig. This dish is made by cooking various vegetables and then cooking them.  The skin of a suckling pig was peeled off completely.  Then put these vegetables into the skin, as well as a lot of shelled snails and mashed pickled fish, and make the pig skin into the shape of a suckling pig, and bake it in the oven.  If this dish were placed in the Central Plains, it would definitely be a meat dish, but in Rome it is a vegetarian dish.

    The Romans liked sweet, sour and spicy flavors.  Therefore, when making these foods, a large amount of sucrose, honey and pepper were used, as well as a lot of spices, and most of these three things, sucrose, pepper and spices, were shipped from Nanyang and Tianzhu.

    It is worth mentioning that among the gifts Li Ke gave to Constans II, in addition to the necessary silk, porcelain and tea.  There were also many miscellaneous precious gifts, such as chili sauce, which had not yet spread to Rome. It turned out that this very spicy condiment was deeply loved by Constans II, and some were used at banquets, and only for them.  The few people at this table and others could only look at Li Ke's table with envy. The more flexible nobles were secretly asking Lu Wan and Wang Fangyi, hoping to buy some of these precious products at a high price.  condiment.

    Li Ke really likes the sauce called garam that comes with the main course.  It is said that the Romans made it from the guts of fish.  The production is very rare and is only eaten by the nobles.  However, Queen Irina seemed to notice that Li Ke liked this kind of sauce, and presented some to him in a private capacity at the banquet. This made Li Ke feel good about this beautiful hostess and she was also polite.  expressed his gratitude to the other party.

    After the staple food is the dessert, which is mainly made of honey, but also some fruits and liqueur.  Originally in the Tang Dynasty.  The banquet should have ended at this point, but for the Romans, the banquet was only halfway through after dessert was served.  Because the second half of the banquet, which is the cocktail party, will be held next.

    Although the wine has not stopped at the beginning of the banquet, it has always been a companion to the dishes. It was not until this time that it became the protagonist of the banquet, so it was called a cocktail party.

    When the reception started, most of the women and children should have left, but today because of Li Ke¡¯s special status, no one left.  This is mainly because during the cocktail party, the guests no longer have to sit in front of the table, but can move around at will. The format is similar to that of later Western banquets. This also facilitates conversation between people, so the final cocktail party  It is the best time for nobles to communicate with each other, and it is also the best opportunity to get to know Li Ke and others.

    At the beginning of the reception, song and dance performances began, and there were also poet recitations, juggling and other programs.  However, Li Ke, Lu Wan and the other four were quickly surrounded by nobles.Later, they rushed to talk to them, but unfortunately, there were only two translators, Silla and Kelis, present, so only a few people could communicate with Li Ke and the others, but even so, most people still gathered around.  As they refused to leave, it was not until the arrival of Constans II and his wife that Li Ke and Kelis were liberated from the crowd, leaving only Luwan and the three of them to deal with the enthusiastic Roman nobles.

    "His Royal Highness King Wu, I once heard Xi Luo say that the palace where His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty lived was several times larger than our Holy Palace, and the palace was also taller and more majestic. This made both the Queen and I marvel.  , It¡¯s a pity that Rome is too far away from the Tang Dynasty, so we have no chance to see it in person. You grew up in the palace, why don¡¯t you give us a detailed introduction to the situation in the palace?¡± Constans II  Shi held the wine glass and spoke with a smile on his face.  This is a corner of the reception. There are only the couple, Li Ke and Kelis, and no one else dares to come forward and disturb them.

    Li Ke and Constans II met formally this morning, so they mainly talked about the national conditions of the two countries, which were more political, but they were much freer at the reception, so Constans II opened his mouth  When asked about the comparison between the Holy Palace and the Tang Palace, it seemed that he, like Li Ke, was very curious about each other's palaces.

    "What Marquis Ciro said is only half right. Our Imperial Palace in the Tang Dynasty is indeed larger than the Imperial Palace in Rome, but in terms of building area and style, it is different from the Holy Palace in Rome. Most of our Imperial Palaces in the Tang Dynasty are built with wood.  , so it is definitely not as strong as the Holy Palace in Rome, and I am very afraid of fire. I remember that I have experienced several fires in the palace since I was a child, and several palaces were burned down by fire." Li Ke said very modestly after hearing this.

    In fact, to be honest, the Imperial Palace of the Tang Dynasty was indeed more majestic than the Holy Palace of the Romans. For example, there are several main halls such as the Taiji Hall, Liangyi Hall, and Lizheng Hall in the imperial palace. There are no buildings similar to them in the entire Holy Palace of Rome.  Comparable architecture.

    Hearing Li Ke mention his Holy Palace in the same position as the Imperial Palace of the Tang Dynasty, Constans II was very happy. He then asked some other questions about the Imperial Palace of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Ke also  One answered.

    "His Royal Highness King Wu is so humble. Although I have not seen the palace of the Tang Dynasty with my own eyes, after listening to your description, I can still imagine what this majestic palace looks like. If I have the chance, I really want to go to the Tang Dynasty to appreciate this palace.  A beautiful palace!" At this time, Irina next to her also said, with a faint smile and longing on her face, which surprised everyone who saw her, because everyone knew that Queen Irina's character  Relatively "old-fashioned", it is rare for a man to show such a charming expression.

    Li Ke also responded with a smile and said: "There will be a chance. My sixth brother once said that with the convenience of transportation, the world will become smaller and smaller. From our current perspective, the Tang Dynasty is thousands of miles away from Rome.  , but Sixth Brother has begun to promote extremely fast steamships on a large scale, so maybe in a few years, going from Rome to the Tang Dynasty will become simple."

    "I hope so!" When Irina heard Li Ke's comforting words, the smile on her face became even brighter. Her whole body looked like a blooming flower, which made the men around her lose their minds. Even Jun Jun  Stans II also noticed something strange about his wife.

    "Your Highness King Wu, the clothes your female companion is wearing should be the clothes of a noble lady of the Tang Dynasty. I don't know if you still have some in your fleet. Can you give me a few pieces?" Irina suddenly said again,  The eyes looking at the palace attire on Kelisi's body were also full of envy.

    In fact, this morning, she had already noticed the palace clothes on Kelis. Compared with the palace clothes, their Roman clothes seemed extremely monotonous. For example, among the nobles attending the banquet today, both men and women wore the same name.  The clothing called "combination suit" is a short-sleeved tunic with a small cape on the shoulders. At most, the style of the cape and the color of the clothes have some changes, but the others are almost the same, so Keli  The exquisite palace clothes made of fine silk naturally attracted the attention of all the women at the banquet.

    "Of course there is no problem with this. There is a tailor among my entourage, and he made this palace dress on the road. If you are free, the queen, you can call him into the palace at any time and ask him to help you measure the dress and make it.  In addition to palace clothes, our Tang Dynasty also has some other different women's clothing, which will definitely satisfy you, the Queen!" Li Ke said with a smile.  He also needed help from Rome, so he naturally wanted to have a good relationship with Constans II and his wife, not to mention that this beautiful queen had always been very kind to him.

    Irina was extremely surprised when she heard that Li Ke had a tailor by her side. No woman doesn't like beautiful clothes, not to mention that Li Ke also gave her a lot of exquisite silk this time. Now she has decided to put these silks  They are all made into Tang-style costumes, especially the palace clothes worn by Kelise, which require several more sets.

      But just when Irina was about to say thank you to Li Ke, suddenly there was an unfriendly voice behind them: "Your Royal Highness, I heard that the Tang Dynasty practiced a barbaric polygamy system. I wonder if you  What do you think about this?" (To be continued.)
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