The celebratory bonfire was lit.
The stove where the potatoes were cooked was also lit.
In order to thank the King of Qin for keeping his promise, Zhu Xiang showed him his real cooking skills.
Xianyang sent another batch of supplies for the King of Qin, including more than a dozen live cattle, sheep, and pigs fed with grain.
Zhu Xiang laughed at the King of Qin: "You are sending these things now, and the King of Qin is about to return to Xianyang."
The King of Qin glanced at Zhu Xiang and said, "This was sent by Zheng'er's father. You are right. When I return, I will demote him."
Zhu Xiang said happily: "Great, great!" The scumbag parents who abandoned Zheng'er will be punished!
Bai Qi silently made an excuse to leave.
One of them really considers himself as the junior of the King of Qin, while the other is happy to pretend to be the elder. Bai Qi feels sick to his stomach just by looking at this.
He confirmed again that he was only fit to fight outside. Unfortunately, his health was getting worse day by day, and it was probably difficult for him to go out again.
Zhu Xiang grabbed Bai Qi's sleeve and said, "Don't leave, Wu An Jun. I'm going to show off my skills. If you miss this chance, you won't have the chance to see the world's best chef show off his skills!"
Bai Qi: "..." Does Zhu Xiang know what stupid things he is saying? If he is really the best chef in the world, he should be "caught" by the emperor and taken to the palace to cook for him.
The King of Qin put his hands behind his back and said, "I want to see how powerful you are."
Although Zhu Xiang made tofu and tofu pudding, which surprised the King of Qin, and also made a perfunctory but tasty food like tofu with soybean paste, the King of Qin still did not think that Zhu Xiang, a commoner, could know much about food.
The King of Qin also lived a life of luxury in the palace. He cooked lamb with a sauce made from mulberry juice (sugarcane juice), osmanthus, crushed mushrooms (dried and crushed shiitake mushrooms and button mushrooms), fish roe, and fresh fish. The dish was sweet and delicious, and was the King of Qin's favorite.
Zhu Xiang might have some cleverness in cooking, but the King of Qin did not think that Zhu Xiang could compare with the famous chefs in the palace.
Zhu Xiang said with a smile: "After I eat the food I cooked, King Qin, please don't hold me captive and not allow me to return to Handan!"
The King of Qin snorted coldly and walked around Zhu Xiang with his hands behind his back, ignoring the etiquette of "a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen". He was not a gentleman anyway.
Bai Qi sighed and offered to help Zhu Xiang kill the pig.
He could kill people, so he could kill pigs. He was born in a low-class family, and he even ate pork raised in the toilet. Although he could eat the piglets raised with this kind of food whenever he wanted when he returned to the mansion, he was still a little greedy.
The pigs that Zichu sent were not only half-grown piglets, but had also been castrated and fed with grain, so they did not have any fishy smell at all.
While slaughtering the pig, Zhu Xiang sighed in his heart that the Qin people were very good at raising pigs, almost as good as himself.
Zichu not only sent live pigs, cows and sheep, but also a lot of precious seasonings, such as green onions, ginger, peppercorns and garlic.
Although garlic was introduced to China after the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty, small garlic has long existed in my country. Zhu Xiang pounded small garlic into minced garlic, fried half of it in lard until dry, and then poured it into the other half of the minced garlic to make golden and silver garlic oil.
He then fried shallots, ginger and Sichuan peppercorns in lard until they turned golden, and then took them out to make a fragrant seasoning oil before starting cooking.
There was no iron pot here, so he smeared a layer of seasoning oil on the clay pot, and then put the shallot leaves in. On the shallot leaves, he put a layer of thickly cut pork belly slices, on the pork belly slices, he put sliced potato slices, on the potato slices, he put dried mushrooms, and on the mushrooms, he put another layer of pork belly slices... He stacked them layer by layer like this until the ingredients in the clay pot occupied most of the space.
Pour the gold, silver and garlic oil on the pot, and under the king's eyes, Zhu Xiang took the king's fine wine, poured it into a clay jar, covered the jar, brought it to a boil over high heat, and simmered it over low heat.
The King of Qin felt sorry for his fine wine and said, "That's it? So simple?"
Zhu Xiang said mysteriously: "Delicious ingredients only need the simplest cooking method to bloom into the ultimate deliciousness... Ah, I forgot to add salt!"
He quickly opened the jar and sprinkled salt into it.
King Qin: “…”
He looked at Bai Qi: "Do you think he can really cook?"
Bai Qi said: "It's definitely edible."
The King of Qin rolled his eyes. Nonsense!
After Zhu Xiang had cooked the meat in the clay pot, he asked someone else to watch the fire while he went to preside over the preliminary work for the celebration.
The King of Qin continued to follow Zhu Xiang around with his hands behind his back like a wandering chicken. Bai Qi had no choice but to follow the guards.
"Pull the straw curtain higher. Yes, that's it. Put it down after each performance."
"The instrument has been tuned, don't touch my erhu!"
"Don't be nervous, take a deep breath, take a deep breath, it's not a matter of life and death. Wu Anjun won't rush onto the stage and beat you up just because you sang out of tune."
Wu'an Jun Bai Qi: "?"
The King of Qin laughed and agreed with Zhu Xiang. Bai Qi was patient.
It was indeed necessary for Lin Xiangru to always keep a ruler in his sleeve.
After Zhu Xiang pacified the Zhao soldiers who surrendered, he saw the Qin soldiers peeking around and asked a few questions out of nosyness.
"You also want to participate? Has Wu'an Jun agreed?" Zhu Xiang asked puzzledly.
The King of Qin said sternly, "The general has agreed."
Bai Qi: “Hmm…” The Lord probably agreed on his behalf without his knowledge.
"Okay, what can you do? Singing, dancing, and beating drums... Why are you hitting me?" Zhu Xiang touched his head and looked at the old King of Qin in confusion.
The Qin soldier said excitedly: "Yes, I can. There is no Qin person who can't beat the drum!"
The old King of Qin was gritting his teeth in his heart, but he couldn't show it. He whispered to Bai Qi, "Go find a Qin soldier who can play the harp!"
Bai Qi pondered for a long time before he remembered the meeting at Mianchi, where his own lord asked King Zhao to play the harp at the expense of others and himself, and was threatened with death by Lin Xiangru, so he beat the drum in public.
Bai Qi was helpless. It has been so many years. If Your Majesty does not think about this matter, who will remember it
Zhu Xiang rubbed his head and thought of the meeting at Mianchi. He lowered his voice and said, "King Qin, it happened many years ago. Don't keep it in mind. Besides, you didn't suffer any loss."
The King of Qin hit Zhu Xiang hard again.
Zhu Xiang bared his teeth. Although the King of Qin was old, his hands were still very strong.
The Qin people also wanted to join the celebration, and the Zhao surrendered soldiers had no objection at all.
In addition to being numb, many people who participated in the killing of generals or no longer had close relatives had decided to stay in Changping and Shangdang and become Qin citizens. So they subconsciously led the people around them not to hate Qin soldiers.
People always seek benefits and avoid harm. Those little thoughts are not bright and may even be ugly.
The King of Qin asked Zhu Xiang if he would be disappointed with the people of Zhao.
Zhu Xiang couldn't understand why the King of Qin asked this question: "The instinct of human beings is to survive. As long as they don't harm the interests of others, everything they do to survive should not be called ugly."
Common people eat wheat rice and retch while eating. Is that ugly
Ordinary people have very few clothes at home. In order to protect their clothes when the temperature is relatively warm, they go to the fields without clothes on to farm. Is that ugly
When the common people saw the nobles, they didn't even dare to bow down and kowtow. They could only stick their faces in the dirty mud, getting their faces covered with mud. Is that ugly
"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace. Those who can still think about morality and etiquette in the face of the pressure of survival are saints, but most people are just ordinary people." Zhu Xiang bowed, "Please, King Qin, don't denounce the common people's way of trying to survive as ugly."
The King of Qin looked at Zhu Xiang in silence for a long time, then pinched his cheek and said, "I was just joking. You are really a disciple of Xunzi."
Zhu Xiang grimaced in pain: "Xunzi scolds me every day, go and deal with the Mohists, the Agriculturalists, the Legalists, and the Diplomats."
The King of Qin let go of his hand and laughed.
Zhu Xiang touched his face, not understanding what the King of Qin was laughing at.
Did I just speak out? How could the King of Qin still laugh? Could it be that the big devil in the Chinese textbook is actually a good person
Zhu Xiang glanced at the system favorability list with a cold expression.
Today, the old King Qin still does not appear in my favorability list.
Bai Qi had almost become immune to this kind of situation. He no longer felt panic, shortness of breath, or cold sweats. Instead, he gave Zhu Xiang a cold and pitying look.
Zhu Xiang thought he was about to die, so he dared to say and do anything.
Today, Deputy General Wang He and Sima Jin also came to the celebration venue where all the surrendered soldiers of Zhao State gathered to maintain order.
There were more than 100,000 people, divided into several celebration stands. Wang He and Sima Jin were both terrified.
They couldn't believe that the Lord and the General would agree to this. This was too dangerous!
They followed behind Bai Qi and heard the "private" verbal confrontation between the King of Qin and Zhu Xiang. These two veterans who would not even blink when seeing someone's sword stabbing at them on the battlefield were so frightened that their clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
As the longevity of this King of Qin increased, his subjects became more and more in awe of him.
If the King of Qin gave them an unhappy look, Wang He and Sima Jin would immediately kneel down and apologize, even if they didn't know what they had done wrong.
Zhu Xiang was so bold that he even dared to contradict the King of Qin?!
"General..." Sima Jin came forward and whispered, "Zhu Xiang is too..."
Bai Qi said: "Zhu Xiang thought he would be killed if he returned to Handan, so he was very brave."
Sima Jin: “…” I understand, but I don’t quite understand. At least even if he was dying, he wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant in front of the king.
Wang He frowned: "Is it really impossible to let Zhu Xiang stay?"
Bai Qi said, "In Handan, there are his wife, his nephew, and Lin Xiangru, whom he regards as his father. He wants to exchange them back."
Sima Jin and Wang He thought of Zhu Xiang's rebuttal to the emperor, and could not help but sigh at the same time.
When the venue was set up, the meat in the clay pot was almost cooked.
Zhu Xiang, with a sense of humor, built a "rostrum" and filled it with delicacies, allowing the King of Qin, Bai Qi and others to eat while watching.
Except for one dish of meat in a clay pot, all other delicacies were cooked by the army's cooks. Whether they were delicious or not is another matter, but the portions were definitely substantial enough.
Zhu Xiang opened the lid of the earthen jar, and an indescribable fragrance wafted to his face. The King of Qin's throat could not help but move.
"You really have some skills." King Qin praised.
Zhu Xiang served the King of Qin a meal, discarding pork and mushrooms in favor of potato chips.
King Qin frowned and showed a look of disgust.
Bai Qi: "... Zhu Xiang!"
Zhu Xiang said, "I didn't mess around. The aroma of the dried mushrooms, pork, and seasonings are all blended into the potatoes, and the potatoes are the most delicious. Would you like to try it?"
Zhu Xiang quickly brought over the spoon.
The King of Qin glanced at Zhu Xiang, and with Zhu Xiang's help, he pushed the melting potato chips into the spoon and put them into his mouth.
The King of Qin's eyes widened suddenly, his mouth drooled wildly, and his breathing became a little rapid.
Zhu Xiang smiled proudly.
He really wasn't lying. Although stewing and roasting meat in clay pots was common during the Warring States Period, adding potatoes to the dish was the finishing touch. Every time he made braised beef at home, the potatoes, which melted in the mouth, would always be snatched up first, leaving the meat for last.
However, only those who have enough meat to eat think that potatoes are delicious.
The King of Qin was just such a person.
He praised: "The chefs in the palace would put millet strips in the stewed meat, and these potatoes are more delicious than millet strips."
The millet noodles that the King of Qin mentioned were millet ground with a stone mill and made into a food similar to noodles in later generations, and the way of eating it was almost the same as noodles.
Zhu Xiang said, "The method is similar. However, I use fried lard for seasoning, which is also one of the key points. I left a very thick recipe book for Zheng'er. When Zheng'er returned to Qin, the King of Qin asked Zheng'er to give the recipe book to the chef in the palace so that he could eat fresh food every day."
The King of Qin smiled and shook his head: "You really take advantage of every opportunity and never miss any chance to ask me to take Zheng'er back. Okay, I understand."
Zhu Xiang smiled and bowed: "Thank you, King Qin. King Qin is a very good man."
Seeing that Zhu Xiang was talking nonsense again, the King of Qin hit him hard on the head again, then brought the entire earthen jar in front of him and gave Bai Qi a few pieces of meat, some dried mushrooms, and a small spoonful of potatoes; Sima Jin and Wang He only got meat and dried mushrooms.
Zhu Xiang really wanted to say that the portion was sufficient and the King of Qin should not be so stingy.
Zhu Xiang shut up after Bai Qi stepped on him using the table as a cover.
While eating meat, the King of Qin asked about the tables and chairs.
He is old and his legs and feet feel uncomfortable after kneeling for a long time. This table and chair is just right for him.
When he heard that they were "Hu chairs and Hu stools", the King of Qin frowned and said, "Why have I never seen them among the Hu people? They will be Qin chairs and Qin stools from now on!"
Zhu Xiang: "... Yes." If he said that according to the time and place of appearance, it should be called Zhaoyi Zhaodeng, would the King of Qin let Wu'an Jun beat him up before sending him back to Handan? Forget it, it's better not to commit suicide.
When the King of Qin was eating meat and potatoes with big mouthfuls and thought the dried mushrooms tasted bad so he threw them all into Bai Qi's bowl, the celebration performance finally began.
The court music of various countries cannot do without chime bells. In rural celebrations, there are no chime bells, only flutes, iron bottles, earthenware jars, and even stones and wood hitting each other.
Bai Qi actually found a se, and the Qin soldiers found a zheng from somewhere, and with the addition of Zhu Xiang's huqin, the string music was barely complete.
When Zhu Xiang went on stage to play the huqin, he did not expect Sima Jin to play the Qinzheng and also invited Wang He to play the drum. Although Wang He was humiliated, he actually went on stage.
Several surviving generals of the Zhao army also went on stage to play together with drums, flutes, harps and zithers.
The King of Qin laughed out loud; Bai Qi turned pale; the soldiers of Zhao and Qin were dumbfounded, especially the Zhao soldiers, some of them almost wet their pants out of fright, and were driven away in disgust.
Zhu Xiang also thought this scene was quite a joke.
I wonder what identity Taishigong appears in this time, and whether he will continue to be Taishigong. If he is still Taishigong, when he recorded this scene, I wonder if he used irony or praise
When Zhu Xiang stepped down, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you two thinking about?!"
Sima Jin said happily: "Just join in the fun!"
Wang He said with a sad face: "General... the general wants to watch the fun."
Zhu Xiang: "..." It's the Lord, not the General, right? Wu Anjun's reputation was damaged.
Several Zhao generals shrugged their shoulders and didn't want to say anything. The Qin generals were already on stage to perform, so what couldn't they perform
Zhu Xiang returned to the podium and looked at the old King of Qin who was clapping his hands and laughing, and the Wu'an Jun who had completely paralyzed his face, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
Forget it, it’s something the King of Qin can do.
The Qin people regarded the etiquette of the Central Plains as nothing, but they attached great importance to the hierarchy. But the King of Qin was the most respected one, and with Sima Jin who wanted to join in the fun, Wang He was unfortunately implicated.
The generals kicked off the celebration with their own performances, and the soldiers also came on stage one after another.
Some of them danced with swords (using wooden swords instead of real ones), some sang, some played musical instruments, and some performed dances and talents from their hometowns... There were no rehearsals, and there were many unexpected things on the stage, with some singing out of tune, some falling down, and some even smashing their companions' heads with swords. Zhu Xiang held his forehead with his hand when he saw this.
The old King of Qin turned into a haha monster tonight. Whenever he saw someone making a fool of himself, he would laugh non-stop, as if he was watching a comedy.
The other people in the audience were similar. They were laughing and making noises, pointing and swearing at the stage.
The people on the stage will not get angry even if they are scolded. They will definitely finish their talent show with stumbling steps and even pretend to be applauding.
The old King of Qin almost died of laughter. Zhu Xiang respected the old and loved the young, and kept patting the old King of Qin on the back to calm him down.
The old King of Qin drank the warm water brought by Bai Qi and said with a smile: "Interesting, really interesting, I didn't expect it to be so interesting!"
Bai Qi was speechless.
He didn't expect that the prisoners of war would actually have fun, and even the Qin soldiers joined in.
Oh, even Sima Jin and Wang He have joined. Fortunately, the Lord did not go too far and let me go too.
Zhu Xiang turned his gaze to the long celebration venue built along the river bank.
The stove fire was lit, and the Qin and Zhao soldiers had already started roasting potatoes. While eating the roasted potatoes, they either cheered or laughed at the performers on the stage.
The firelight illuminated the expressions on each of their faces, as if their smiles were shining just like the firelight.
Zhu Xiang's heart gradually calmed down.
The King of Qin and Bai Qi looked at Zhu Xiang who had suddenly stopped moving. They saw the satisfied smile on Zhu Xiang's face and his eyes which had always been lively but were now calm.
Being calm does not mean having a stagnant heart.
The highest good is like water.
"Zhu Xiang, I will not come to see you off tomorrow. Do you have any last words to say to me?" asked the King of Qin.
Zhu Xiang came back to his senses, knelt down and bowed his head, saying: "The Book of Lord Shang says that to stabilize the rule, one must make the people ignorant, oppress the people, weaken the people, impoverish the people, and humiliate the people. But I have seen Qin law, which taxes 11th to 12th of the people and gives common people the opportunity to join the army and make meritorious contributions. This is not entirely as the Book of Lord Shang says."
King Qin nodded slightly: "Continue."
Zhu Xiang raised his head and said, "I have observed the governance of the Qin State. Each generation of monarchs will change the policies of the previous generation according to the changes in the situation at that time. There is no fixed law, so we should take advantage of the situation. After the King of Qin unifies the world, we must educate the people of the six countries to be the people of Qin. It is not advisable to fool the people, abuse the people, weaken the people, impoverish the people, and humiliate the people. It will arouse their resistance and make them miss the time when they were in the six countries. Please reduce taxes and levies and let the king of Qin rest and recuperate."
The old King Qin chuckled and said, "I'm afraid I won't live to see that day."
Zhu Xiang said, "I have written down the difficulties that Qin might encounter after unifying the world, as well as possible solutions to the difficulties, and gave it to Zheng'er."
The old King of Qin sighed: "Okay, okay, I got it. I will go and pick up Zheng'er and bring him back to Qin immediately."
Zhu Xiang bowed his head again and said, "Thank you, King Qin."
The old King of Qin patted Zhu Xiang on the shoulder and said, "Stand up. Take care."
Zhu Xiang stood up and said with a smile, "Yes. Please take care of yourself, King Qin."
The celebration is over.
Lian Po's fiefdom.
Ying Xiaozheng sat in his aunt's arms, flipping through the book left by his uncle.
Xue was in poor health and could not stand being tired. When she was at home, although Xue would always pay attention to Ying Xiaozheng, she trusted the old servants at home, and with Cai Ze and Xunzi watching over her, Xue would not always stay by Ying Xiaozheng's side, nor would she always hold Ying Xiaozheng.
After arriving at Lian Po's fiefdom, Xue protected Ying Xiaozheng like the apple of her eye, holding Ying Xiaozheng in her arms and holding him at all times, fearing that something might happen to Ying Xiaozheng if he left her sight.
Ying Xiaozheng sensed his aunt's panic, so he snuggled up beside her and gave her a hug from time to time to comfort her.
My uncle said that no matter how sad my uncle and aunt were, Zheng'er would just give them a hug, a kiss, and they would immediately feel better.
Ying Xiaozheng was embarrassed to rub and kiss his aunt, but a hug was fine.
Lian Po and Lin Xiangru were chatting in the front yard.
After Pingyang Lord Zhao Bao was refuted and left by Cai Ze, Pingyuan Lord Zhao Sheng came next and was refuted and left by Xunzi himself.
Perhaps not wanting to create any more trouble, the King of Zhao and the Zhao royal family stopped demanding Ying Xiaozheng and Xue.
They were all waiting, waiting for the day when Zhu Xiang and the remaining Zhao army would return.
In order to protect and take care of Xue and Ying Xiaozheng, Lian Po and Lin Xiangru dared not leave the Lian family's house. They could only wait anxiously at home for news.
The sound of hurried footsteps was heard. The two looked in the direction of the footsteps and asked in surprise: "Cai Ze, weren't you waiting at Zhu Xiang's house? Why are you here?"
Cai Ze rarely made exaggerated expressions because of his ugly face. Now he completely disregarded his image and smiled with all his teeth showing: "Zhu Xiang is back!"
Lin Xiangru took a few steps forward with his cane: "Really? Why haven't I received any news yet!"
Cai Ze smiled and said, "Zhu Xiang brought back nearly 100,000 Zhao soldiers. They were hardly treated harshly by the Qin people, so their marching speed was particularly fast. It is possible that the people who inquired about the news from Lord Lin and Lord Lian did not have time to deliver the message. Zhu Xiang has returned home! I am here to take Xue and Zheng'er home."
Lian Po frowned and said, "I asked my personal soldiers to accompany Zhu Xiang to Changping, why didn't they deliver the message?"
Lin Xiangru frowned and said, "Could it be that he was stopped?"
Cai Ze was puzzled: "Zhu Xiang has returned to Handan, and he has done what he promised to King Zhao. Is there still danger?"
Lian Po pulled his beard and said, "Should... not? Zhu Xiang is a great contributor to the State of Zhao. How could the King of Zhao hurt a loyal minister? He should have made use of Zhu Xiang."
Lin Xiangru said, "Since Zhu Xiang has already gone home, send Xue and Zheng'er back first. We will follow them and stop them if anything happens."
Zhu Xiang had already returned to Handan, so Lian Po and Lin Xiangru had no excuse to keep Xue and Zheng'er in their fiefdom. If they forced them to stay, or took Zhu Xiang back with them, someone might accuse them of treason.
Lian Po nodded, and said in a gentle tone: "Xue and Zheng'er have waited too long."
Lin Xiangru sighed: "Yes."
(End of this chapter)