So, in order to please his young daughter-in-law, Zhu Junyang ordered the boat to dock when he arrived at the border of Cangzhou that evening. The two of them... No, plus Su Ran, to be precise, the three of them got off the boat without any of the servants taking them with them.
There are one or two passing ships docked on the pier. Although the pier in Cangzhou is simpler than Tanggu's newly built port, there are quite complete places to stay and eat.
In the evening, there are a lot of snacks sold. Although many are just a simple shed, there are bursts of strong fragrance from inside.
"Donkey meat fire! Authentic Hejian donkey meat fire!!" The yelling with a strong dialect attracted Xiaocao's attention. She followed the voice to find it, and was immediately intoxicated by the rich meat aroma.
"Uncle, bring us three donkey meat fires, put more donkey meat!!" Xiaocao said to the forty-year-old man selling fire.
"Okay! The three donkey meats are on fire, please wait a moment!" The man skillfully pulled out a piece of dough, stretched it into a long strip, coated with oil, folded it in half, and baked it in a pan. After the fire was basically cooked, he put three more fires in the stove to bake the crispy skin.
"Little girl, pick a piece of meat! Pick whichever piece you want!" the man pointed at the donkey meat in the pot.
Xiaocao picked a piece of fat and thin meat, and the man cut it into thin slices, put some green peppers in it, and added some spices to it. Whether the donkey meat is delicious or not, the key lies in the stew!
"Little girl, eat it while it's hot, it tastes good! I'll make it for your two elder brothers!" The man obviously misunderstood the relationship between the three of them. However, Xiaocao was not in the mood to remind him, because - donkey meat is so delicious! !
As the saying goes, "Dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat in the ground", the donkey meat in the fire is red and tender, with a strong taste, thinner than beef, without the fatness of pork, and without the smell of mutton, the taste is very unique. tasty!
Xiaocao gulped down the crispy, juicy donkey meat with a satisfied face. Seeing that the other two fires were also ready, Xiaocao asked the price, paid 30 copper coins, ate while walking, and continued to stroll on the pier.
After wandering around for a long time, they tasted the famous sheep intestines in Cangzhou. The soup is milky white, bright in color, and the sheep intestines are refreshing but not greasy, with an attractive fragrance, without any fishy smell, but a unique fragrance. The more you eat, the more you will become addicted, and the more you eat, the more you will love it.
According to the hawker, this sheep intestine soup is warm in nature and has the effect of dispelling asthma and stomach cold. In addition, sheep brain soup has the function of strengthening the brain and improving eyesight, which is suitable for the elderly and people with neurasthenia.
Yu Xiaocao tasted a few mouthfuls of each, and wrote down the taste and efficacy. I plan to go back to the ship and sort it out, and send it to the Herbal Cuisine Workshop in Beijing, and let Yangliu pound out these soups to enrich the types of Chinese herbal cuisine in the Herbal Cuisine Workshop.
Xiaocao, who was full and full, bought some bacon and brought it back to the boat for lunch tomorrow. I also bought a few jars of Cangzhou winter vegetables.
The winter vegetables in Cangzhou have a unique flavor, golden in color, fragrant in taste, slightly sweet in the mouth, slightly spicy in salty, and have four flavors of sweet, salty and spicy. It can be eaten as pickles for meals, or you can add some freshness when cooking soup, and you can also make it with winter bamboo shoots to make Cangzhou's famous "stir-fried Erdong", which is crisp, tender and refreshing, and full of fragrance...
After returning to the boat, several maids, guards and servants who went out in turn, except Hou Xiaoliang and Wutong, all came back. Another quarter of an hour later, the two came back talking and laughing. Hou Xiaoliang's hands are full, and they are all delicious and interesting things that are not available in the capital.
The boat stayed at the pier overnight and set sail again the next morning. The next city on the way is Texas. Thinking of the grilled chicken in Texas, Xiaocao's saliva began to secrete vigorously again.
However, under the desperate stop of Master Wu, the boat passed by Cangzhou, Xiaocao could only look at the grilled chicken and sigh.
Master Wu is about to cry! Imperial envoy, you are not here to search for delicious food, can we focus on official business? Farming waits for no one! ! Hundreds of acres of experimental fields in Jinling are still waiting for you! Can we travel day and night and hurry up? Those delicacies can't run away. When you return, you and the two guards can eat whatever you want and stay as long as you want! OK
When Wutong conveyed Master Wu's suggestion to the master. Only then did Xiaocao realize that, as an imperial envoy, she couldn't be too fooled. Don't embarrass the old man who worries about the country and the people!
Ever since, the ship never stopped easily except for the necessary supplies. When it came to the border of Changzhou, the waterway of the canal narrowed and the water flowed fast. There were high mountains on both sides of the canal, and there was no human habitation for hundreds of miles. What a good place to kill people, rob goods, and rob houses.
When Xiaocao told her man her brain hole as a joke, Zhu Junyang said with a serious face: "You are right! There are often pirates here, and the ships that come and go either spend money to avoid disasters, or are killed." They robbed goods. However, as long as they don’t resist, this gang of water bandits only robs money and doesn’t hurt people.”
Just as he was talking, several fast boats appeared on the river, heading towards their official ship aggressively. Behind them, the same fast boat also appeared, in a pincer attack, approaching their boat little by little. The boss of the boat hurried over, clasped his fists to Zhu Junyang and said, "My lord, there are pirate boats on the river, and we are surrounded!"
"Are you sure it's a water bandit?" Zhu Junyang narrowed his long and narrow phoenix eyes. Generally, water bandits will only attack merchant ships passing by. They are such an obvious official ship, and it is too late for water bandits to avoid them. How can they move forward? There must be something strange about this matter!
The boss of the boat seemed to be aware of the strangeness, and said: "The logos on those fast boats are indeed the logos of the water bandits here... It stands to reason that the water bandits don't have the courage to openly attack the officials. Could it be that someone pretended to be a water bandit?" , come with us?"
The boss of this ship is also Zhu Junyang's subordinate, who is in charge of the north-south trade under his command. Because he is familiar with the canal waterway and has rich experience in sailing, he was temporarily transferred to take charge of the official ship.
Zhu Junyang waved his hand lightly at him, and ordered: "The turrets at the bow and stern of the ship are activated, fire two cannonballs as a warning, if they are obsessed with their obsession, let them come anyway!"
The boss of the boat opened his mouth wide, excitedly eager to try: "Yes! This subordinate obeys orders!! I will tell him to come and go without returning!! Little ones, light the 'explosive' bamboo!!"
"Okay!!" A dozen sailors appeared on the deck, and the voices that responded were loud.
Xiaocao felt a little funny, and said with a smile: "Master, your subordinates are really wonderful people, when it comes to fighting, they are full of energy!!"
"Some of these people have retired from the army, and the belligerent factor is still in their bones. Some are some bandits I subdued. They say they are bandits, but they are actually forced by life. None of them are cowardly!" Zhu Junyang said He has gradually grown up in the past ten years, not only running his own power in the court, but also recruiting a group of capable people from the people to help him with affairs!
"Boom—boom—boom—" Yu Xiaocao felt the deck under her feet tremble, and after a few cannon shots, she heard the sailors cheering: "It's a hit, it's a hit!!"
Hou Xiaoliang came back out of nowhere, showing two rows of white teeth: "Boss, Boss Cai and the rest of them are not bad gunners, they destroyed the opponent's two clippers!"
Yu Xiaocao lay on the ship's side, tiptoed her body and looked forward, and sure enough, two of the opponent's boats stopped, their hulls tilted, sinking bit by bit. The remaining ships didn't intend to stay at all, and rushed straight towards this side. Obviously, this is prepared!
The boss of the ship commanded the turret at the bow, and fired a few more shots at the opposing ship. Two other Clippers were hit by bombs. The fort at the back also disabled the other two ships. The opponent's ship is very fast, and the artillery can't be used anymore if the distance is too close!
"Brothers, copy guys!!" The boss of the boat yelled strangely, and took off his obstructive coat, revealing a capable bunt body with bulging muscles in his arms. At this time, there was an extra long ax in his hand. The sailors showed their weapons one after another.
The oncoming ship threw out the iron hook "swish" and caught the side of the official ship. Zhu Junyang embraced the curious young daughter-in-law, pushed her gently towards the cabin, and said, "Good boy! Go hide in the room first, and it will be over here in a while. Chunhua, I want to protect the princess." …”
"That... I can help!" Yu Xiaocao shook the firecracker in her hand, she was praised as having the potential of a sharpshooter.
"Be obedient! This place will be chaotic for a while, don't splash your blood!" Zhu Junyang dissuaded him with some helplessness. His young daughter-in-law is too courageous, which is really worrying.
Yu Xiaocao pursed her mouth, reluctantly said: "Okay - be careful."
Under the protection of Chunhua and Wutong on the left and right, Xiaocao walked towards the room. Suddenly, on the side of the ship on her right, a head covered with a black scarf appeared. She jumped up excitedly: "Chunhua, beat this guy to me!!"
As he spoke, his eyes flicked left and right, and he saw the thick bamboo pole used for fishing a few days ago leaning against the wall outside the door of the room. The bandit who just showed his head and wanted to come up slammed down on the head hard.
The hapless bandit screamed, and his head fell into the water. The thieves who came up immediately behind him became a little vigilant when they saw this. When the bamboo pole was knocked over again, he grabbed the end of the bamboo pole.
Seeing that the bamboo pole was caught, Xiaocao pulled it hard, but it didn't move, so she gave up trying to fight the opponent. With his right hand, he pulled out the firecracker from his waist, and aimed at the opponent's head at a distance of two steps.
"Hi!" Just when the bandit thought he was about to board the ship successfully, Xiaocao waved his left hand at him, and kept aiming with his right hand, with a bright smile on his face. The bandit stared at the muzzle of the black muzzle with a dazed expression, as if guessing the function of this thing.