The ancients said that it is true that I examine myself three times a day. Gu Yuanbai did such a self-examination before going to bed and examined what he had done so far. His mind was a lot clearer for a while, and he was more clear about what to do in the future.
Not long after, Tian Fusheng found the famous flowers in the capital, and went to several royal springs on purpose to pick the famous flowers that were carefully tended and should not bloom in winter.
Each of these flowers is worth 10,000 gold. In the past, when the late emperor was there, there was a Xifu Begonia in the palace that lived among the people, and was bought by a rich man for 10,000 gold. Today, the sage has strict control over the palace, and no one dares to take the flowers from the palace to sell outside, so it is even more precious. As long as any flower is crowned with the royal name, it can be exchanged for white flowers. silver.
When Tian Fusheng plucked the thousands of flowers to air-dry, his heart hurt so much that he was bleeding.
Xue Yuan said that it is a flower to be imported, so there are many procedures for dealing with the petals, and it takes half a month to go back and forth. After Gu Yuanbai ordered the matter, he seldom asked about it, but I don't know when, rumors of the saint's love of flowers rose among the people.
For a while, the price of flowers in Beijing ushered in a series of high prices.
Time slowly, and finally came to Nianhe.
In the northern Xinjiang, two days before the New Year's Eve, the soldiers of Daheng, under the vigilant scrutiny of the nomads, began to prepare to celebrate the New Year.
The Spring Festival is the first day of the lunar calendar, commonly known as "Chinese New Year". This day is the most lively and festive day of the year since ancient times. As generals and soldiers, I can’t go back to celebrate with my family this year. Although it’s a pity, they also have to make it lively. Let the generals and soldiers have fun together, and we must welcome the new year together. , Filled with good wine, eat and drink to say goodbye to the plague of locusts, and let those disgraced nomads have a good look at the strength of their Daheng Dynasty.
The inn sent enough seasonings and salt to the border gate a few years ago. Early in the morning, General Xue led people to slaughter sheep and oxen, and then sent another group of people to pluck ducks and cook duck soup in advance.
The Daheng soldiers at the border were busy processing the ingredients that day. Strips of safflower meat were hanging on the ground covered with a layer of cloth. At first glance, the ground was covered with bones and piles of duck feathers, which easily reminded people of a bumper harvest. When I saw it, I felt satisfied.
That night, these batches of meat were processed by the gangs and stored outside in the freezer overnight. The next day, everyone got up early and started making dumplings.
The stuffing for the dumplings had been prepared by the kitchen a few days in advance, and the people in the kitchen were not polite at all. There were a large number of soldiers ready to use, so they handed over the heavy responsibility. Those who went to the battlefield were all the old men, and they were all wielding knives, guns and sticks on weekdays. The soldiers looked at each other and looked at each other.
General Xue and the other generals were also among them, and together with the soldiers, they slowly wrapped dumplings.
General Xue laughed, pointed at General Yang Hui and said, "General Yang, are you making dumplings?"
Yang Hui scratched his ears and scratched his cheeks, looked left and right, and said with a bitter face, "Look, General, there are not many that look good."
When General Xue saw it, he was amused again. He suddenly noticed that there was no sign of Xue Yuan in this group of people.
"Xue Jiuyao took someone to pick the bones," someone explained. "The staff in the kitchen was short of soldiers, and the bones were hard. Xue Jiuyao was very strong, so he took someone to chop the bones first."
"This is to boil bone soup," Old General Xue felt relieved, smacking his lips, "I'll start boiling it today. After two days pass, it won't be too fragrant to swallow?"
Dumplings are also available. There are vegetarian fillings with meat fillings. There is really a lot of oil from the beef and sheep at the border. When mixing the fillings, the oil and seasonings seem to be sprinkled on the dumpling fillings at no cost. Chopsticks Put a piece of filling, and you can see the oil pinch out of the filling.
The iron pots in the army have been cleaned out. When the oil is poured into the pot, whether it is dumplings or beef and mutton into the pot, the fragrance can be fragrant for ten miles.
Thinking about it like this, I feel that my stomach has begun to growl, and I can't wait to eat a mouthful of oily wine and meat now that it's New Year's Eve.
General Xue and his colleagues made dumplings for a while, and then went to the kitchen to have a look. Good guy, as soon as you walked into the kitchen, you were greeted with a mist-like aroma. A group of people followed the aroma, and the duck soup was simmered in a large pot. As soon as the lid of the pot was opened, the fragrant smell suddenly caused everyone to saliva subconsciously, and it was about to die.
The generals wiped their mouths reservedly, glanced at the place where the big bone soup was boiled, and asked worriedly, "Are you enough?"
"We have recruited people who are skilled in the army and the common people to help us. There should be enough people, but they must be dizzy." The soldiers were sweating profusely. If you guys are all right, go make another dumpling, what are you doing here?"
General Xue left with people embarrassingly, and ran back to make dumplings.
The morale of the soldiers was exceptionally high on these two days, and then they buried their heads in the air to deal with the ingredients for two days, eagerly waiting for the coming of the Spring Festival.
In addition to the Spring Festival, they also have to pay attention to whether there will be nomads coming. The soldiers murmured in their hearts, hoping that this group of nomads can grow their eyes, and don’t attack on such a good day. If they really come to attack at this time, the soldiers in Guan are really full of anger and have nowhere to go. .
And at this moment, there are really nomads staring at the tip not far away.
On the same day, the Daheng soldiers fought too much, and all the Khitan tribes had already received the news. Regarding Daheng's seeming to send troops and their stubborn attitude, the Khitan tribes were a little unbelievable, but also annoyed and a little bit angry. disturbed.
The contact between their tribes is scattered, and winter battles are not good for the Khitans. They can only send people to station at the border, and constantly watch whether the Daheng soldiers have any offensive moves.
For the past two days, the north wind was blowing, blowing the aroma of the Daheng soldiers to the north, making the eyes of the people sent by various tribes to follow them green.
So fragrant, really fragrant.
Strong food aroma, meaty, boney, and sweet mixed with rice noodles. As soon as this fragrance was inhaled into the nose, the mouth and mouth were full of saliva, and the whistling wind and the snow all over the ground could not freeze the fragrance.
The nomads who stood on the border and looked at the pass had their necks stretched out, wishing to reach out to see what the Daheng soldiers were doing.
Why is it so fragrant, it will be the end of the year, they are preparing for the new year
They even got meat, and there is still the smell of meat and oil in the aroma, and they still have oil.
Aren't they all affected by the locust plague? How can they eat so well!
The nomad who watched dryly was surprised, "Did you smell this fragrance?"
"I smell it," the other person sniffed, "Isn't it just eating meat? What's the big deal, we used to march to fight, and we ate jerky meat, and Daheng people ate rotten bran that pigs don't eat. Can't beat us!"
"Yeah," the nomad was melancholy, "I didn't expect these Daheng soldiers at the border would have such a good day. But now, they are all eating meat, but we are eating grass."
The others stopped talking, and they were not in the mood to stand here and continue to stare. A group of people returned to the tent, but the tent couldn't keep out the aroma, and when they smelled it, it was still an unbearable aroma.
The nomads have no iron pot and have never eaten stir-fried vegetables. They can't imagine the meat with such a strong aroma. Is it the same as the jerky they used to eat
Why didn't the previous jerky have such a fragrance
Maybe there is, but they never paid attention to it in the past. It will be a long time since they have eaten jerky and tasted the meat, so their mouths are full of saliva, and envy arises when they swallow.
They stared at the Daheng people on the front line, but the food and equipment sent to them from the rear became more and more perfunctory. Everything they eat is left over from the tribe, and the horses can eat less and less forage. At this time, they smell the aroma from Daheng, thinking in their hearts, when will they eat these things
After taking Daheng as your own
*
On the evening of the New Year's Eve, the big bonfire was lit, and the soldiers surrounded the bonfire, and everyone had a smile of anticipation and joy on their faces.
As soon as the time came, the drums prepared by the army were beaten, and the roar was endless. In the sound of drums resounding throughout the world, General Xue raised his wine glass and shouted loudly: "Thank you for always remembering us, so that we can eat so many good things on this day. Today, regardless of the amount, everyone will open their stomachs to eat. The old year has passed, and when the new year comes, congratulations to all of you for a safe next year!"
The soldiers responded in unison, and the voice resounded for hundreds of miles.
The bonfire was hot, and the tongue of the flame was spitting out the firewood. The soldiers got their own food, devoured it, laughed and huddled with their comrades to warm themselves.
The duck meat in the duck soup has been stewed, and the spices and salt have been put in enough. With the hot duck soup, it is put into the mouth together. Every time I chew it, I feel that my lips and teeth are fragrant. It was swallowed in a hurry.
At this time, who cares about the conflicts with whom? There is no distinction between recruits and veterans. Everyone is leaning on their shoulders, and they only feel very happy in the firelight.
There are many people, it is lively, it is festive, and the laughter cannot be suppressed.
Some recruits were munching on meat-filled dumplings, breathing in the air so hot they didn't forget to ask the soldiers who used to be stationed in the northern Xinjiang: "Did you all have such a happy New Year?"
The soldiers in the northern Xinjiang were buried in the pieces of meat, and they were so hot that they couldn't say anything, "How can you, this is the first time!"
The soldiers from the capital kept in mind: "That's because the saint had no money in the past, but now the saint has money, wait, there are more good things."
The Northern Xinjiang soldier nodded and sighed, "It's delicious."
He smacked his lips, feeling that it was not enough to just say, "It's really delicious."
The soldiers below were eating and drinking, and the officers and generals were not far behind. After everyone finished their toasts, looking at the barbecued meat, dumplings, and duck soup and bone soup brought by the kitchen, their appetites suddenly widened, and with chopsticks they began to wind up in the clouds.
Xue Yuan was also among them. He ate and drank and seldom spoke. General Xue glanced at him, thought about it, and asked, "Do you want to go back to Beijing?"
Xue Yuan shook his head, "I can't go back."
Could it be that he didn't want to, General Xue glared at him, "Are you still playing sloppy eyes with me?"
"Since General Xue said so, then I'll just say it straight," Xue Yuan put down his chopsticks and picked up the jug to drink, "I want to go back, but I don't want to go back either. I haven't done anything with the sage yet, where should I go back? go?"
"It's right to think so," General Xue was slightly satisfied. "Tell me, what are you going to do when you return to Beijing? Is it true that you have a sweetheart in your heart like what your mother said in the letter?"