Qin Official

In August, Marquis Wu Zhong's new policy began with the Shaofu, and few of his subordinates were spared.

The Goudun Order in charge of the Garden has been severely slashed. The Three Hundred Miles Garden that was originally in charge was divided into three counties to accommodate the Lishan prisoners and their families, as well as some of the Northern Expeditionary Army soldiers who will stay in Guanzhong in the future. .

The Yuefu also had to stop the beautiful music of Zheng and Wei. Marquis Wu Zhong seemed to have no interest in the vast dance music they prepared, but asked the music officials to compose "Xia Li" and "Ba Ren" that even the illiterate Guizhou people could understand. Music, the theme is all about praising the New Deal...

Next, it was the turn of Taiguan Ling and Tang Guanling. They had a familiar name in later generations:

"Imperial Room!"

The general manager of the imperial kitchen, Taiguan Ling Yizhong, was a famous chef in the world. He was originally from Zhao, and was later brought into Guanzhong by Lu Buwei. It is said that Lu Buwei ordered his disciples to write "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", in which Yizhong participated in the "original flavor" chapter. , he has eaten and cooked delicacies from all over the world.

Later, Yi Zhong was responsible for preparing the three meals for the King of Qin.

The King of Qin grew up in Zhao. He didn't like the overly salty Qin cuisine or the Chu cuisine that was highly praised by the Queen Mother Huayang. He preferred the taste of Zhao. He was very satisfied with Yi Zhong's craftsmanship and let him cook it. Taiguan ordered.

The Taiguan Ling was in charge of the palace meals, brewing, growing vegetables, eating rare birds and wild beasts, and offering fruits of the four seasons. The Tang Guanling also had orders to provide cakes, bait, fruits, and wine. In addition to a group of specialized cooks such as cooks, Yong people, Jian people, Jiuzheng people, and Min people, he also has three thousand official slaves and maidservants, who are responsible for buying vegetables, skinning, washing, butchering, etc.

For more than thirty years after that, Yi Zhong concentrated on preparing dishes in the palace and paid little attention to external affairs. In his later years, the First Emperor had poor gastrointestinal problems and only ate one porridge, most of which was cooked by Yi Zhong himself. When the First Emperor passed away, he was also sad. For a while.

"I can no longer cook porridge for Your Majesty..."

But he was a dedicated man and quickly wiped away his tears and continued to serve the new emperor.

Hu Hai was a greedy young man and had been well-fed and well-dressed since he was a child. Not only did he demand rare and exotic animals, but he also demanded ninety-nine dishes for each meal. Yi Zhong was very busy at that time, and the expenses of the eunuch order were also quietly rising.

After Hu Hai died and a group of people with southern accents rushed into Xianyang and took charge of the court, things turned completely the other way around.

Although Marquis Wu Zhong was known as a simple man, in the eyes of Yi Zhong, he was actually a picky and suspicious person.

He didn't like the flashy dishes in the palace, and he didn't trust his old subordinates to eat the food of the imperial chefs. These chefs had been serving the Qin royal family for generations. What if someone secretly drugged the new Jiuqings and brought them down all at once?

So this farm guy from the south did something stupid.

He actually asked the military cooks and maidservants he brought from Nanjun to open a "canteen" in the official office, with a mix of northern and southern dishes for all officials to eat. Whether it was Wu Zhonghou himself or the officials with two thousand dan, every day The meal only provides three dishes and one soup, with less meat and more vegetables.

Yi Zhong and the others were "invited" out of the kitchen. They could hear the sound of heavy iron cauldrons frying all day long, and the greasy smell spread out. It is said that this is Wu Zhonghou's favorite taste, but some people say that it is It is really heartbreaking to learn from the barbarians and Yue people.

As a result, a large number of royal chefs were suddenly unemployed!

The stingy Marquis Wu Zhong naturally did not care for idle people, so an order was immediately sent to the Taiguan Ling:

"Tai Guan Ling and Tang Guan Ling each sent hundreds of chefs and thousands of servants to Xihe to assist the eastern captain of Neishi in handling relief matters and opened a porridge and cake shop..."

After hearing the order from Young Master Zhang Cang, Yi Zhong was so angry that he trembled all over, as if he had suffered great humiliation.

"Is this because he wants Qin Shi Huang's imperial chefs to cook porridge for a group of Guizhou chiefs?"

In Yi Zhong's view, this is simply an insult to them!

Zhang Cang was unmoved and said: "Why does the king enjoy eating? Eating the world brings peace and wealth."

"But if there is a famine in the world and the roads are full of hungry people, the emperor should take the action of withdrawing food to show that he is of the same mind as the world and considers the people's feelings."

Therefore, whenever the world encounters disasters and wars, emperors often reduce food to show their respect.

It's just that the First Emperor rarely had such moments, and Hu Hai never did.

Zhang Cang sighed: "If Ming Jun were in power, he would definitely do this. Marquis Wu Zhong is just doing what the emperor should do on behalf of him!"

Yi Zhong still refused to give in and said stubbornly: "The little chef can just do it. How can I let the palace chef condescend?"

Zhang Cang disagreed: "The way of a small cook is to feed one person. Therefore, the seasoning of Di Ya is to add water if it is sour and fertile, and add water if it is light. The phases of water and fire change, so there is no loss of saltiness or blandness of the meal. . However, it is only to please Duke Huan, so it is a small thing."

"The way of a great chef can feed the world. Therefore, Yi Yin cooked a tripod of gourd soup and put it into a soup for slaughter. He taught the people how to blend the five flavors and created the Chinese cooking technique. He opened up a river of food for future generations. He governed the country like cooking small delicacies. Later generations called him A sage is a great person."

"Official Ling, you think you are proud of the emperor cooking porridge, but you are ashamed of cooking for the hungry people in the world. You think you are a world-famous chef, but in my opinion, you are just a little Taoist!"

After saying this, Zhang Cang refused to say anything and gestured with his hands outward:

"If you are unwilling to do this, then please leave!"

Yi Zhong couldn't defeat Zhang Cang, but he had a bad temper, so he took off his crown, seal and ribbon on the spot, threw it on the ground, and left the palace in anger.

Zhang Cang picked up the seal ribbon, flicked away the dust on it, and muttered: "My young master has saved the world a thousand stones of salary..."

After speaking, he raised his eyes and glanced at the remaining people, with a smile on his fat face:

"Who else?"

…

Tang Guanling didn't have the backbone of Yi Zhong, so he obeyed Wu Zhonghou's order tremblingly.

The two departments used to go on tours with Qin Shi Huang, responsible for meals along the way, and were ready to leave Xianyang at any time. Within a few days, they were ready. Under the escort of the army, two to three thousand people and the last batch of goods sent from the Xianyang warehouse Chen Gu set off together and soon arrived at Chongquan City.

Chongquan has now almost become a refugee camp. The Xihe people who lost their homes live in the old fortress of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Their farmhouses were burned and looted by the Six Nations and they were displaced. Before the spring of the next year, they could only rely on government relief.

Thousands of young men and women formed a "Xihe Army", training day and night, looking forward to revenge on the Six Kingdoms, but the old, weak, women and children could only live in Chongquan and other counties, numbering tens of thousands...

The eunuch ordered that only the best cooks were qualified to cook for the emperor and his concubines, while the rest had to do menial jobs, even making simple meals for the slaves in the palace.

Therefore, it is not difficult to start making folk delicacies, and you will quickly become proficient in it.

Those who lighted the fire, those who washed the rice, those who washed the vegetables. The cook looked at the refugee children outside who kept looking in, shook his head, and added green sunflower seeds to the yellow and orange corns. A little bit of anointing oil, sprinkled with a handful of salt, and after thinking about it, sprinkled another handful. When adding water, there were two liters less...

Half an hour later, the porridge in the cauldron was cooked. With the support of the army, the Xihe refugees came to receive their daily meals in wooden bowls in a polite manner. They were overjoyed to see that the porridge was thicker than usual and there were still some oily spots.

After devouring some food, I noticed that the person who served the food today was unfamiliar. After asking the clerk, I was told that they were all chefs in the palace. I was stunned on the spot, and I didn't even have time to swallow the porridge I put in my mouth!

"The emperor's chef is here to cook porridge for us?"

The news spread from one word to another, and the entire Xihe refugee camp was in a state of excitement.

Although on weekdays, after working in the fields, ordinary people like to imagine what His Majesty the Emperor eats when joking. Can he eat Japonica rice every day, how many chickens and eggs in a meal? Are the dishes served by the imperial chef dragon liver and phoenix brains?

But one day, when I actually eat the food cooked by the imperial chef, I feel like I am dreaming.

"You are as humble as me, but you are still qualified to eat the porridge made by the imperial chef?"

For a moment, the Xihe refugees felt that the porridge in this bowl was really more delicious.

Of course, there are also those who are difficult to serve and mutter: "I eat this porridge just like usual. It turns out that the emperor's cooking skills are just like this."

After licking every grain of the porridge cooked by the imperial chefs clean, the people from Xihe inevitably asked:

"Is the palace chef sent by the new emperor?"

The officials of the Northern Expedition immediately corrected this group of ignorant people: "What does the emperor have to do with it? The country has not yet established an emperor. This is the benevolent policy of the regent Wu Zhonghou!"

Obviously, the political gesture of sending people from the Royal Kitchen Palace to Xihe to provide disaster relief this time far outweighs the actual effect.

As he said this, a new batch of winter clothes also arrived, one for each household, and they took turns wearing them when going out.

The official told everyone while sending it out: "This is woven by the weaving room of the Shaofu and the Imperial Palace in the palace. Marquis Wu Zhong ordered all silk and brocade items in the palace to be weaved, and they specialized in weaving wool and linen clothes to make up for the winter clothes of the people of Xihe." It’s not enough!”

Not only the kitchens and weaving rooms, but also officials from the Imperial Medical Order were mobilized to come to Xihe to diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses to prevent the spread of epidemics. Because medicine was in short supply and there were many injuries and illnesses, even Chen Wujiu had no idea how many people could be saved. , but this does not prevent the people of Xihe from being more grateful to Wu Zhonghou.

They ate porridge cooked by the imperial chef, wore clothes woven by the fairy-like weaver girls in the palace, and had imperial doctors come to visit and inquire about things to prevent serious diseases.

Although the autumn wind outside is bleak, the Xihe refugees only feel that their body and stomach are warm...

They have a greater sense of security and are more certain that this difficult year will eventually pass!

The Qin royal family has always treated the people coldly. Like King Zhao of Qin, the people set up temples and killed animals to pray for him to recover from illness, but were severely punished. This is just normal operation.

In a hundred years, the people of Qin have never met a ruler who loves his people like his own son. For a while, the people of Xihe were a little flattered...

"The regent is more considerate of us than the emperor."

A sincere song "Wind" by Xihe people is also sung in the refugee camp.

In mid-August, it had spread to Weinan and Bashang...

"The city of Rao Yan is on the bank of the Xihe River; the fish of Longmen is the fish of Shang Yan."

"When thieves invaded, Marquis Wu chased them away; when they were hungry, Marquis Wu ate them; when they were not old enough, Marquis Wu clothed them; when I had an illness, Marquis Wu diagnosed me; you are my parents, and I am an innocent child!"

"Madam, listen, it's the people of Guanzhong who are preaching about the virtues of kings and marquises!"

Next to the pavilion in Baqiao, Yuan listened for a long time, turned around and happily reported to Ye's mother and son on the carriage.

"He, in just half a year, he has given birth to so many innocent children, but how can it be so easy to be a parent? You should be good to your children. If you are not good, you will suffer the resentment of the world. With this time, in the future, We must always be good in the future, children, but it is easy to forget the kindness..."

Since returning to Jiangling, Ye Zijin, who has been trying his best to be "invisible", shook his head, but finally smiled:

"But he did cook this little dish very well!"