How much can Zhang Qixian, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, eat

Many people are not familiar with Zhang Qixian, so let’s follow the history encyclopedia editor to appreciate it together.
Speaking of foodies, I believe everyone is familiar with this term. It is a title that people nowadays refer to those who are very good at eating and have never lacked foodies since ancient times. There is a saying in ancient Chinese folk that goes, ‘A prime minister’s belly can become a boat.’ This is a joke specifically for those prime ministers who are very edible. So in ancient times, which prime ministers were very edible?
Looking through historical books, I discovered an interesting phenomenon: there were not many people surnamed Zhang who became emperors, but many who became prime ministers. There were a total of 63 prime ministers surnamed Zhang in history. During the Tang and Song dynasties alone, there were several prime ministers surnamed Zhang, including Zhang Jiuling, Zhang Shuo, and Zhang Qixian. Among them, Zhang Qixian was a distinctive prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhang Qixian is a very distinctive person, he is particularly good at eating. His stomach seems to be constantly unsaturated, and one person’s appetite can rival that of five people.
He grew up in a poor family and often had no food to eat. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, my appetite increased significantly, but I never dared to let go of my belly to eat. Only during festivals and holidays, when I slaughter pigs, cows, and worship the gods, can I indulge in a big meal. One day, he was too hungry. When he saw someone killing a cow, he just sat there and didn’t leave. The other person sympathized with him and gave him the peeled cowhide. He didn’t know how to deal with it when he went back, so he ate it all in his stomach.
On this day, it happened that Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, was on a tour of Luoyang in the western capital. Zhang Qixian got up early and prepared to volunteer himself. When others self recommend themselves, they adopt the method of “submitting”, which is to respectfully submit a pre written self recommendation letter to the relevant department and then forward it to the emperor. But Zhang Qixian’s self recommendation was too reckless: he directly stopped the driver on the road and met the emperor in person.
At that time, Emperor Taizu of Song was patrolling Luoyang, with a majestic carriage and ceremonial guard. But in this atmosphere, someone ran over and blocked the way. The accompanying officials asked him what he was doing, and he said he wanted to provide some rational suggestions to the emperor and offer advice to the country. Huh? Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin thought it was a good thing. He said to his attendants, “Take this person with you and talk about it when you return to the palace
But when he arrived at the palace, Zhang Qixian didn’t rush to report the plan, instead he sniffed around and smelled it. It was already noon, it was time to eat. Song Taizu said, “Let this person eat with the guards
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qixian had a sharp nose and his eyes were also effective. When he saw a large plate of cooked beef in the kitchen, he grabbed it and ate it, taking three or two bites, and finally finished a plate of beef. The people next to him were stunned by his eating habits, even Emperor Taizu of Song was surprised. He waved to the guards and said, “Bring him some more meat and see how much he can eat.” Another plate of beef was served, but Zhang Qixian didn’t respond and lowered his head to eat.
He ate another plate like this, but it seemed like he hadn’t eaten enough yet. He didn’t look at the emperor, only at the kitchen. So another plate of beef was served, piled up like a small mountain. Emperor Taizu of Song saw that Zhang Qixian was still eating and came over to knock his head. Stop, stop, let me ask you a few questions and see if you can answer them. “Oh, this Zhang Qixian is really amazing. Although his head was pounding, he still didn’t lift his head and kept stuffing beef into his mouth while saying,” Your Majesty, please ask me, I’ll answer while eating
So Emperor Taizu of Song asked ten questions in a row, and Zhang Qixian answered while eating. When he couldn’t keep his mouth busy, he would use his feet to draw the ground and “illustrate” it, in short, it wouldn’t delay eating meat. So, another large plate of beef was swallowed, and after answering the emperor’s question, he wiped his mouth and stood aside.
Emperor Taizu of Song was very satisfied with him and nodded repeatedly, “Strange person, strange person, with a large appetite and good knowledge. Can you still eat?” Zhang Qixian felt a little embarrassed, his mouth full of oil, and whispered, “It depends on whether the emperor allows me to eat. If he wants me to eat, I can still eat three large plates.” As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present burst into laughter. Emperor Taizu of Song couldn’t hold back and smiled, saying, “Can’t you eat enough?” Turning to the guards who hadn’t eaten yet, he said, “Why don’t you just stop eating? Bring him all the cooked beef and let him eat it at home. Give him some gold and silver, so that he can focus on his studies and prepare for exams next year
Emperor Taizu of Song returned to the capital city of Bianliang and said to his younger brother Zhao Kuangyi, “The biggest takeaway from my inspection of the Western Capital this time is that I discovered a strange person named Zhang Qixian. He can be your prime minister in the future. But I cannot use this person now. Let him read some more books and gain more experience
When Zhao Kuangyi succeeded to the throne later, he became Emperor Taizong of Song. At the beginning of his tenure, he searched for talents and coincidentally, the then prime minister Zhao Pu recommended Zhang Qixian to the court. Emperor Taizong remembered his brother’s instructions and actually promoted Zhang Qixian. Zhang Qixian was indeed brave enough to take on responsibilities and achieved great political achievements.