Three Kingdoms

Fei Qian has always felt that as a member of a big foodie empire, if he could not activate this gene that has been deposited in his bloodline earlier, he would be sorry for so many Chinese dishes in later generations.

Therefore, there is also a very widely accepted rumor about the Hussars General, which is "Taotie's reincarnation".

After all, there are quite a lot of delicacies spread from Feiqian.

There are many delicacies in China, and each region has its own style, but this does not prevent these different styles of delicacies from appearing in the same place and being welcomed and loved by the same group of people.

Just like the dishes in Jiangnan and Shanghai are exquisite, there seems to be a taste of "I can never tire of fine food", with a bit of "willow bank, dawn breeze and waning moon" flavor, while Northwest cuisine is a different style, The trouser belt noodles are so wide and long that it’s not even enough to eat two bowls. Without the spicy food, it’s not fragrant. Without garlic, the nutrition is reduced by half...

Although the Han Dynasty has not yet introduced chili peppers from the Americas, it does not hinder people's love and pursuit of food.

For ordinary people, they don't have time to wait for the cook to cook exquisite dishes, and they don't have much time to chew slowly. They only need to eat a large amount of food. If there is a spoon of hot oil and a stronger salt taste, it will be better. Well, after all, the sun is hot in the northwest and the climate is dry. Daily work requires a large amount of electrolytes to be replenished.

But for the children of the noble clan, it was different. They have money and leisure, and can have the patience to wait for the chef to slowly prepare a meal that takes time and effort, and they will choose based on their own preferences, rather than for the purpose of being full.

Chang'an Zuixian Tower.

In the lobby, an inspector and several subordinates were sitting cross-legged or on mats in the corridor, and they were just eating and drinking around a table.

It was payday two days ago. I had just received a reward for inspection, so I took my brother to Zuixian Tower for a tooth ceremony. Of course, the cost of going to the second-floor private seats is too high. In such a small courtyard corridor, even if you have face, you can't afford it.

The inspector was originally from the army, and he still retains the habits of the army when it comes to eating and drinking. Several of his subordinates are also used to managing according to military regulations on weekdays. When they eat, they really gobble them up, surrounding a large plate of chicken. Have a great time!

It is said that Fei Qian also invented the dish of chicken. Some people say that it was not Pang Tong who was the first to eat it. But no matter who invented this way of eating, it is indeed very suitable for the taste of Northwest people. Although there are no condiments such as chili peppers in later generations, after adding spices from the Western Regions, the originally relatively ordinary dishes seemed to suddenly have a soul added to them and became quite popular delicacies.

Of course, if you only want to eat meat, the Big Plate Chicken is obviously not as good as the hand-caught mutton and beef, but the Big Plate Chicken is cheaper than those dishes.

Chicken is obviously much cheaper than mutton and beef.

Think about it, if five or six big men want to eat a big meal, a large plate of chicken is obviously more suitable. It is meaty and filling. Especially those who are semi-military like the inspectors. They eat in a hurry, as if they are going to do something big with their swords and guns as soon as they finish eating. Steamed buns, wide soup cakes, and a large plate of chicken. of soup...

Beautiful!

At this time, the banquet was halfway through, and most of the chicken on the plates on the table had been eaten. There were pieces of bones and dregs on the table here and there, but the big-bellied men seemed to be somewhat unsatisfied.

The inspector immediately clapped his hands: "Serve the naan!" 』

Upon hearing the greeting, the waiter from Zuixianlou came over carrying a basket of freshly baked naan and placed it next to the table.

Why is eating a large plate of chicken at Zuixianlou better than ordering other dishes? This is also because these steamed buns, wide soup cakes, grilled naan, etc. are all included in the price of the large plate of chicken. Enough!

The grilled naan and the large plate of chicken are also a perfect match. Break open the grilled naan and dip it in the juice of the large plate of chicken, which will make your belly round!

While eating the grilled naan, the patrol inspector felt a little emotional. He held a piece of grilled naan for a long time, but did not eat or speak for a long time.

Fei Qian did not invent grilled naan.

This thing has been around for a long time, and it is called Hu Pancake. Even Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty liked to eat it very much and would eat it every two days.

Of course, Nang in the Han Dynasty did not have as many variations as later generations. At first, this kind of naan was reserved as dry food for the military. There was no way. The Western Region in the northwest of Hexi Province was really too big, with a vast land and sparsely populated areas. Adjacent oasis city-states were often separated by hundreds of miles, and the northwest area There are also relatively few water sources, and some places do not have the conditions for cooking, so they can only eat dry food to satisfy their hunger.

Therefore, when sending troops, they must carry good dry food, otherwise life and death will be determined in the blink of an eye.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Li Guangli was ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to march westward with 6,000 cavalry and tens of thousands of evil youths from the counties. The small countries along the way were very scared and each held fast to the city and refused to provide food to the Han army. The Han army could only get food and supplies after they captured the city. If they couldn't capture it, they would have to leave within a few days, otherwise they would be dead.

In this way, they were exhausted all the way to the west of Congling. Before the capital of Dayuan could be seen, the Han army had lost its combat effectiveness. Only a few thousand people followed, and they were extremely hungry. Of course, Li Guangli was also a coward. He didn't have the courage to make a desperate move like Huo Qubing, so he traveled around the gate of Dawan and returned empty-handed.

Later, I learned better and added some logistics on the technology tree.

After a year of preparation, the Han Dynasty devoted all its efforts to developing the Hexi Corridor and building roads. Yumen Pass was also moved to the west of Dunhuang. The newly recruited army drove 100,000 cattle and more than 30,000 horses. Countless donkeys, camels and other animals, carrying rice and grain, followed Li Guangli on his expedition, burying cauldrons to make rice along the way, and eating the rice and livestock. Seeing that the Han army was strong, all the countries in the Western Regions opened their cities to welcome the Han army, except for the Luntai resistance who was destroyed. The Han army successfully arrived in Dawan.

But the embarrassing thing is that a little logistics is still not enough.

The war ended a year later, and there was another food problem on the return trip. The countries in the Western Regions had few people and food, and it was difficult to supply the Han army, so Li Guangli had to divide the army into several waves and return home separately from the north and south roads of the Western Regions. But because of the serious problem of official corruption, many people still died.

Many Han soldiers did not die in battle, but died of thirst and starvation on the way...

The reason for this is that the main dry food in the Han Dynasty was Cizi, which was cooked and sun-dried corn. This thing has a huge drawback, that is, it doesn’t need to be eaten. In addition, there was not enough fat in the Han Dynasty and the soldiers who were physically exhausted had to eat at least more than one stone a month. This may seem a bit exaggerated, but in fact this is just an ordinary amount of food.

Later, after learning from the painful experience, Hu cake, also known as baked naan, replaced Qici and became the first choice of dry food for the Han Dynasty at that time. And under such a choice and change, countless lives have been sacrificed.

An inspector who was engrossed in eating saw the team leader in a daze and was a little puzzled, "Brother Wang!" What's wrong with you? Don't want to eat? 』

"ah? Haha..." Captain Wang waved the roasted naan in his hand twice, "Hey, you guys think, is this guy cheap? When I was a soldier in the North, sometimes I had no place to cook, so I just ate. I've been eating this stuff for more than a month at most! The moldy ones, the hairy ones, scrape them, roast them, but you still have to eat them! Later, didn't the Hussars have new dry food, so I swore that I would never touch this thing again... Haha, but isn't this back? It's good now. It would be weird if I couldn't eat this for three to five days... Hahaha……"

"Speaking of which, so do I! Let me tell you... the water in the cowhide bag, in order to prevent it from smelling easily, do you have to throw some vinegar cloth into it... When I was in the army, I was really annoyed by this vinegar cloth... …Hey, now that we’re no longer in the military, hey, guess what? Two days ago, I saw someone selling it at the market. I didn’t know what happened, so I bought one myself, threw it in a water tank, drank it...and then got scolded by the guy at home..."

"Ah ha ha ha ha..."

"No wonder your face was so bright two days ago..."

A group of men gathered together and laughed.

After laughing, everyone seemed to have some nostalgia again.

"Okay, eat quickly, finish eating and get to work!" 』

Captain Wang grabbed another roasted naan, broke it open, took half of it himself, and gave the other half to the people around him, just like he did when he was still in the army and eating together...

Perhaps it was because Captain Wang and others were talking and laughing too loudly, which attracted the attention of the other two people on the Zuixian Tower.

There was scrutiny, impatience, sarcasm, and even a look down from above in this gaze. It's like looking down at a gathering of ants, a bunch of caterpillars.

Above the second floor of Zuixian Building, there are private seats separated by screens, which cost a lot of money.

Those who can come here often and don't feel any pain in their body must naturally be members of the noble family with a certain amount of money. Ordinary poor families may be able to do it, but they will definitely not come here every once in a while, or directly treat Zuixianlou as their own restaurant. .

Then it led to a question, which kind of noble family would regard Zuixian Tower as their own restaurant?

The two soldiers on the second floor were still inspecting the people in the corridor downstairs, whispering something.

The view from the second floor will be better.

Looking out from this angle, you can see Chang'an Avenue, the end of the street.

Moreover, the Zuixian Tower was noisy, and two people sitting together could speak in a low voice, so they were basically not afraid of others eavesdropping.

Among the crowds of people on the street, there are patrols on horseback, wearing red and black armor, with three-color recognition flags on their backs. They line up in teams to patrol every move on the street, as if to remind passers-by that this is Chang'an. This is the territory of the Hussar...

The two of them withdrew their gaze.

"When I first heard about the inspection in Guanzhong, I looked down upon it and didn't take it seriously..." One of the middle-aged men with three strands of beard said, "Now that I think about it, I realize the beauty of Qiusi's move..."

The young man opposite also nodded and said: "That's true. Before I went to Chang'an in the future, I thought that these inspections were just Sikou changing his name... But looking at it now, it's not the case..."

The inspection system is an original policy under the rule of Qiusi.

At the beginning, it didn't get any special attention.

Inspection inspections have the functions of a Sikou, but they are not simply equivalent to a Sikou.

Strictly speaking, there was no special police system in ancient China. In local areas, administration and justice were not separated. The chief executive of the prefecture and county was responsible for public security and judicial trials. There are patrols, detectives and other personnel with functions similar to modern police, who are responsible for maintaining public order on the front line of society and arresting criminals.

In the pre-Qin period, the central judicial authority was Tingwei Mansion, and the highest judicial officer was Tingwei. The Qin Dynasty had a system of prefectures and counties. The local judicial organs were concurrently served by county governors and county magistrates. Difficult cases were reported to the central government, while ordinary cases were handled by themselves.

Liu Bang, who founded the Han Dynasty, probably had the equivalent of a police station plus a post office plus a tax office in later generations. It was basically the same position, but he did not have as many people as later generations, and only had two or three subordinates to look after him.

The Han Dynasty basically inherited the system of the Qin Dynasty, including the judicial system. Therefore, it can be seen that before Feiqian, there was a lack of social security and judicial trials at the grassroots level. Even though the population of the Han Dynasty was far lower than that of later generations, the society The breadth and depth of coverage of public security and judicial trials are still pitifully small.

But there must be disputes between people. Under such conditions, there is a foundation for the survival of clan law. But now under the cavalry, the foundation of this clan law is being weakened and shaken...

"The inspections first started when we were working in the fields..." The middle-aged man said slowly, "The people who are working in the fields are either thieves or poor people. They live in the countryside and are often dirty. Therefore, we patrol the cities and countryside to inspect the fields." Yu Qianmo..."

At the beginning, Feiqian introduced the inspection system. These gentry and squires thought it was good, because they were no longer needed to mediate disputes and handle disputes, and they could have more free time to drink, dance and have fun. I found that things were gradually going wrong.

"Who would have thought of the current inspection..." the young man said, "Qingqi's strategy... is simply..."

Now within Chang'an's Sanfu, there are other Qiusi under the rule. They have become accustomed to the existence of inspections. When encountering problems, they can go to inspections to solve problems. So who will go to some clan or squire?

In a certain way, the so-called nostalgia and nostalgia are harmful. For example, in later generations, there are "foreign wives" in the whole village, or the "processing factories" in the whole village. In fact, "everyone is a neighbor". 』. Under the guise of "we are all fellow villagers", they were either actively or passively brought together, even if these people knew that what they were doing was not a good thing.

"Two guests! Chumi Duck is here..."

The work in Zuixian Tower interrupted the two people's whispered discussion.

The so-called "Chumi Duck" is a new delicacy that appeared in Zuixianlou some time ago.

Different from those dishes that are biased toward northwest flavor or Qiang and Hu customs, the cooking method and material selection of "Chumi Duck" are more biased towards the Chu region. In the north, most of the food is millet, while in the south, rice is the most popular food. Chumi is obviously cooked with rice and glutinous rice.

The two were overjoyed and agreed to eat with their chopsticks.

Although it is said that food knows no borders, if you stay in one place for a long time, you will tend to gravitate towards the habits of a certain place. Just like boiled fish was once popular all over the country, but as time goes by and the popularity subsides, it becomes no longer human. People liked it.

After all, eating habits in different places are still different.

It was obvious that the two of them had a strong preference for Chumi Duck. For a while, they only focused on eating and didn't speak for a while. After eating some, they slowed down slightly.

"Now... at the Qinglong Temple..." The middle-aged man picked up the drink on the side and took a sip, "There is a little trouble... When everyone pays more attention to the scriptures, what about the affairs of Hanzhong, Sichuan and Shu..."

The young man also stopped using his chopsticks, thought for a moment and said, "I thought you were fair..."

"..." The middle-aged man shook his head, and then sighed, "Have you ever gained anything from the Xuanwu Pond?" 』

"This..." the young man hesitated for a moment and said, "The surrounding area is tightly controlled and difficult to enter... However, I found some ways..."

"The connection..." The middle-aged man pondered for a moment.

Qinglong Temple's work was not done well, and it turned out that a new warship appeared under the rule of General Hussar!

According to the descriptions of officials who went to Xuanwu Pond to watch the ceremony at that time, the new warships under the Hussars were not only wide, but also had weird sails and strange equipment. , it simply broke through the original restrictions and brought the battleship to a whole new level!

At the beginning, after hearing the news, I was of course skeptical, and even thought it was pretentious and not necessarily true. However, after intentionally or unintentionally contacting some different officials, different people came to a similar conclusion. The conclusion...

General Hussar has a new type of warship in Xuanwu Pond that far exceeds the level of Jiangdong!

It was like a bolt from the blue!

This matter is obviously more important than disturbing the discussion in Guanzhong or causing any disputes. The problem is that although Xuanwu Pond is large, the surrounding areas are under supervision. Anyone who appears there for no reason will be warned and expelled. If they do not listen to dissuasion, they will be shot on the spot!

It is obviously impossible to go directly to the scene to see it.

In the past, some people used various excuses and pretended to explore some important workshops under Fei Qian's command. Some people who broke in recklessly were directly killed, and some people who went round and round to find out did not go well.

Just like the gunpowder under the hussars, some true and false news leaked out, but what followed were inspections and soldiers who smelled the smell, and some people were even arrested for it. In the prison, in the end...

But if you don't know or haven't heard about it at the moment, it's fine. Now that you've heard about it, you can't pretend that you haven't discovered anything and then do nothing.

"It's best to have drawings..." the middle-aged man whispered, "it's useless to only know its shape but not its reason..."

Generally speaking, there are two ways to steal technology. One is to obtain design drawings or specific objects, and the other is to kidnap or bribe the craftsman responsible. Obviously, for things like new-style building ships, it is difficult to get the actual objects. The only possibility is to bribe the craftsmen, and it is best to get the drawings.

The middle-aged man said, "If you can get the plan, you should spare no expense... However, you need to be careful..."