Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 200: The Road to Creation

The sunset glow in the sky gradually dimmed, the bonfire made of firewood crackled, and the fire pots placed at intervals of ten steps illuminated the entire camp.

Liu Bei ordered his assistants and combat soldiers to clean up the Yellow Turban camp and dug pits far away to bury the bodies left on the battlefield.

The cavalry fed and brushed the horses, and some auxiliary soldiers sorted out the weapons and repaired the camp.

The surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers had their weapons and armor confiscated and could only be placed outside the camp in batches until tomorrow.

The cooks led people to set up pots and cook rice, and they were very busy using the cauldrons and steamers to steam the rice.

After every major battle, in order to boost morale, Liu Bei would order the head chef to cook the meat they brought with them. He would set up a large pot and pour sesame oil in it, and have the chefs pinch their noses to fry the hot dishes.

There are too few things that can be used to extract oil at the moment. Some of the livestock raised are thinner than humans and have very little fat. Not to mention the wild beasts in the mountains. They cannot be fried into oil and their meat is difficult to chew.

Only the sesame seeds brought back by Zhang Qian from the Western Regions and the soybeans used for oil extraction in the Western Zhou Dynasty can be used to extract oil.

Liu Bei also knew that according to normal development, cooking would not become popular until the rise of plant oil extraction during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Because most cooking oil now comes from animal fat, it will solidify when the temperature drops slightly, and it is extremely precious. Even as a governor, he cannot use animal fat to cook every day.

Besides, it was not like him to cook only for himself. The way of cooking dishes at that time had made Liu Bei miserable for a long time.

So he planted sesame seeds all over Qingzhou and encouraged craftsmen to forge iron. At the same time, iron pots also quietly appeared in Pingyuan County. In addition to being used by the army for cooking, he also sent craftsmen to various counties to teach Jin Cao how to make iron pots so that they could cook fragrant rice. Gradually, he changed people's customs with his strength.

At that time, Xun Yu advised: "Sir, if you vigorously promote the kitchen, I am afraid it will affect your reputation."

Liu Bei smiled and pointed at the iron pot, saying, "If I don't leave some traces, wouldn't it be a waste of time? We will know in a few decades how this policy will be implemented in various places. The Qin and Han dynasties have been around for more than 400 years, and the laws and policies have been changing all the time. How can there be anything that remains unchanged?"

"Things in the world should keep pace with the times to be evergreen. What we should do is to carry forward the past and forge ahead into the future, to carry forward the things that were pioneered before, to inspire future generations to settle down and settle the people, to carry forward the beauty of the predecessors and make the country peaceful. Only then can this merit and virtue be passed down forever and remembered by hundreds of generations, instead of doing what Wang Mang did and reverting to the old ways."

"Wen Ruo, we are walking on a new path that will open up new horizons. We have a long way to go and a lot of thorns on the road. How can we give up just for some false reputation?"

"How to lay a solid foundation for a hundred years or even longer is in your hands. The world is not only the world of the Liu family, but also the world that countless millions of people depend on for survival. The people of Qianshou are not servants of the Liu family. You should remember why the Qin Dynasty fell and why the Liu Han Dynasty rose."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, Xun Yu bowed deeply, stood up and said: "What you said today, my lord, must be recorded in the history books, so that people in the future will read and caress the words and say hello."

Liu Bei smiled, patted his arm and said, "Wenruo, don't think too much, just work hard with me. One year is dry, the next year is prosperous. There are still many things in the world waiting for us to work together. The problems in the world today are much more difficult than those in the time of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu."

Xun Yu nodded thoughtfully. After serving under the envoy for several years, he also vaguely felt where the root of the troubles in the world came from. Dealing with it now was much more difficult than what Guangwu had faced at the beginning.

Even if he takes over the Xun clan of Yingchuan in the future, he is afraid that he will not be able to compete with the aristocratic families that have been rooted in various parts of the world for hundreds of years.

Even so, the envoy still felt fortunate that he had met him now and had the opportunity to reshape himself. If another hundred years had passed, he, Liu Xuande, would probably not even have a chance to emerge.

After hearing this, Xun Yu shook his head, thinking that the governor was worrying too much.

Lord Xuande had the spirit of Emperor Gaozu and was also a relative of the Han clan. Even if he was born a hundred years later, he would still be able to stand above everyone else in times of chaos.

After hearing this, Liu Bei smiled but said nothing and did not explain.

Tell Xun Yu not to think too much and just do the current task with him, starting with promoting all kinds of iron farm tools in Qingzhou.

Only when the people were well fed could the rest of the matter be handled easily. This way of eating stir-fried dishes was not stopped and was successfully introduced into the military camp, so that the soldiers began to use chopsticks instead, otherwise it would be inconvenient to eat hot dishes with their hands.

By the time Dian Wei led the wealthy families of Qiao County, including Cao, Xiahou, Xu, Ding, and Zhu, as well as the county magistrate, county magistrate, county lieutenant, and knight Xu Chu, they had already smelled the rich aroma of rice before they even walked to the military camp.

Hundreds of huge pots were burning in the back of the camp, and the wind blew gently, filling the military plates with appetizing aromas.

The Xu clan leader stroked his beard and smelled the food. He couldn't help but look at Dian Wei and said with a smile, "Marquis Dian, what is this dish that smells so delicious and makes people salivate."

Confucius said: Asking when you don’t understand is wisdom.

In recent years, there have always been some rare things in Qingzhou that have attracted the attention of the nobles and wealthy families, such as tea and refined salt, which are difficult to purchase without some channels.

Especially tea, the patriarch of the Xu family also has a few cans of it, but he doesn't drink it. He just displays it in the hall for others to see.

Whenever the guests looked at him with envy, he felt extremely happy.

The wealthy families all kept musicians and dancers, so it was not uncommon at all. So what if the maids were pretty? After the age of being obsessed with them, people would have long since regarded them as normal.

But he had channels to buy more tea produced in Qingzhou than others, which made him feel comfortable. He packed the tea leaves in exquisite containers so that he could hold back even if he wanted to drink it. Only when he saw that the customers could not take their eyes off the tea, he would open the can and brew the tea.

At this time, you can hear the guests giving thumbs up and praising him from the bottom of their hearts: "Mr. Xu is magnanimous and open-minded, and he is very willing to do so. He has the demeanor of a famous scholar."

Then he would decline with a smile, but he was actually secretly very happy.

Dian Wei looked at the farmers who stretched their necks to smell the aroma as if they had never seen the world, and stroked his beard gently, saying, "This is a new cooking method in Qingzhou. You are in for a treat. The envoy has rewarded all the soldiers today and has also set up a banquet to entertain you. This is something I have never seen since I joined the army."

Dian Wei thought about it and realized that he had followed the envoy on the expedition from the second year of Xingping to the third year of Xingping, so he remembered it wrong. It should be the first year of Jian'an.

Indeed, I have never seen an envoy who, while cooking, also invites the wealthy and powerful to the table, or at least holds a banquet in the county government office. This is the first time.

When Cao, Xiahou, Xu, Ding, and Zhu heard what Dian Wei said, their eyes lit up.

I didn't expect Lord Xuande to think so highly of us. The leaders of the Cao and Xiahou families were even more delighted and surprised.

After exchanging a glance with Ding, the three of them nodded secretly.

No matter what, Lord Xuande would let bygones be bygones, and since he was also serving as Prime Minister of Pei State, they would have to agree to even the most excessive demands.

The Cao and Xiahou families are loyal allies of the Liu family. We must let the clan members lead their horses to follow Lord Xuande and support the Han Dynasty again.

The head of the Cao clan muttered secretly, "It seems that we should write a letter to Meng De and ask him to release Zixiao and Zihe. After all, they have established a firm foothold in Yangzhou, and they can return to catch up with the battle in Hebei."

The head of the Cao clan thought that Cao Ren's bravery in charging into battle was quite similar to that of his ancestor Cao Shen, and it would be a bit of a waste to have him next to Meng De. It would be just right for him to go into battle shirtless for Lord Xuande and make outstanding contributions.

He looked at Xiahou again and thought, "Why not call Xiahou Miaocai back as well?"

Anyway, Meng De is familiar with military strategies, so he can just leave Xiahou Yuanrang in Jiangdong and there is no need to use so many of his young men.

(End of this chapter)