Zhao Jiu nodded: "This is correct, just like the principle of putting whole eggs in... But if you say that, wouldn't it be impossible to tell how much filling there is in the dumplings?"

"Your Majesty is wise, that's true. And because there are too many soldiers, to prevent the pot from getting rotten, the dumpling skins have to be extra thick, so they can't be cooked through at all." Ma Kuo smiled bitterly. "But there must be some explanation for the Lantern Festival, and it's nothing more than trying to compromise as much as possible."

"What kind of filling?" Zhao Jiu put aside this question for the time being, leaned over to smell the pile of fillings on the chopping board, and continued to ask the cook.

"Half pork, half mule, horse and donkey meat." Monk Dahui explained. "The various offal and a little mutton will be used to make soup later, and a very small amount of chicken, duck and fish will be provided to the officers... In addition, today is a special case, each person will receive a glass of sweet wine, but it must be drunk right in front of you."

Zhao Jiu nodded slightly.

"Pork is bought from surrounding towns and villages, and mule, horse and donkey meat is from animals that died while we were transporting supplies." Ma Kuo added. "These two categories are the most numerous, and the rest are incomparable... The turbid wine is privately brewed from Hedong, and there is not much of it. Considering that there may be a major war in the future, we dare not put too much."

After hearing the last sentence, many people glanced at Emperor Zhao's reaction.

However, after listening to this, Zhao Jiu just nodded and seemed to be leaving, which made many people disappointed.

However, after walking a few steps and urging the crowd to turn around, the official suddenly seemed to have thought of something and turned back to the flat-headed cook to ask curiously, "Can you make pancakes? The kind that's crispy on the outside and soft in the middle? Some are fried in oil, and some are baked in the oven."

"You are joking, sir." Monk Dahui laughed. "How could I not know this? Crispy biscuits, also called hard baked biscuits, were sold in Shandong during the Party Banishment Disaster in the Han Dynasty. All over the country, wherever there is wheaten food, people will make this kind of fire-baked crispy biscuits."

When Zhao Jiu heard Zhao Qi's story, he glanced at him and thought he looked familiar, but he was too lazy to study it in detail. He just continued to discuss cooking seriously:

"Then how about dividing the meat filling into two parts? The pork filling can still be used to make dumplings, and the mule, horse and donkey meat can be cooked and chopped into fillings. Then, when the soldiers are served wine, take the hot crackers directly from the pot, cut them open with a knife, and stuff the cooked meat fillings in. In this way, the fillings can be placed inside the crackers, but they can be clearly seen at a glance. Isn't it fair? Besides, this fire-baked food is also a Hebei specialty, and it is worth celebrating the festival."

Pancakes are stuffed with fillings...who doesn't understand that?

It’s just that meat is precious, and even a little bit of offal has to be cooked into soup, and precious meat has to be served with great care, so few people would handle it in this way.

However, as Ma Kuo said before, the army has its own sayings. Fairness is the most important thing, and real ingredients are the most important. Therefore, it is appropriate to directly sandwich the cooked fillings with hot pancakes.

Of course, the more important point is that the government has said so, do you insist that it is inappropriate?

As for the fire and the Hebei characteristics, no one pursued the issue.

So, everyone discussed it for a while and then agreed.

Among them, after Han Shizhong left, the military generals were headed by Li Yanxian, Wang Yan and Ma Kuo. Li Yanxian had a cold and arrogant personality, Wang Yan was also arrogant, and Ma Kuo was serious and simple. Naturally, the officers below did not say anything... However, those who came from the southeast for consultation, the first batch had already served in Hezhong and Linfen areas, and seeing that the appointment from Taiyuan Prefecture was about to come down, who would not be considerate of the emperor?

This means that the government is distributing rewards and distributing them openly, which is in line with the style of ancient wise rulers.

That person said that this was the benevolence of the officials, their consideration for the soldiers, and the unity of the upper and lower levels, which would surely lead to the victory.

Some people also said that this was a huge military innovation and would be promoted in the military in the future... I don't know how it was innovative to change the usual sesame seed buns with vegetables into ones with meat.

What's more, finally an acquaintance in the southeast could not help but point out Master Dahui, saying that the master was practicing true Buddhism by killing pigs for the army and would become a Buddha in the future, and that the government personally cared about the meat rewards for the Lantern Festival, which was like governing a big country like cooking a small fish, and the effect was the same.

This attracted countless people to marvel at it, and Master Dahui was so panicked that he quickly stated that he was just helping to collect the pig's blood and did not kill any animals.

"Master Dahui, I remember that, too."

Zhao Jiu was so excited that he immediately clapped his hands in front of the chopping board, not caring about Master Dahui's explanation. "For such a grand and good event, Master Dahui can kill a pig for practice, so why can't I cook for the soldiers myself? This should be done personally... Those of you with titles can do your own things, I will stay here today to help Master Dahui make potstickers!"

There was complete silence in the kitchen camp, with only the bubbling of water in the pot.

This is not to say that these people are reluctant to talk back at this time, nor that no one dares to persuade them, but rather, does this official who seems to be completely ignorant really not understand some mundane principles?

The most important point is, if this official wants to do something frivolous and foolish, who can stop him?

Finally, after a lot of trouble, high-ranking officials in the army such as Li Yanxian, Ma Kuo, Wang Yan, and Fan Zongyin were all driven out. The few people who had praised Emperor Zhao before stayed with Emperor Zhao for consultation and started to cook in a daze... But even so, they did not dare to let these famous scholars from the southeast cook the oil pot, so they could only let them cook the soup pot.

I don’t know how these people will write in their notes when we go back tonight about how Emperor Zhao was hypocritical and causing trouble.

However, putting aside these troubles, the fire set by Emperor Zhao did have some miraculous effects... After the news spread, countless officers and soldiers peeked in from the main and back doors of the kitchen camp. From a distance of hundreds of steps, no one knew what these people saw, but they all said they saw it clearly.

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