69 Baked Carp Noodles
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In early spring in February, the sky is clear and blue. Under the strong and warm sunshine, the wheat seedlings in the fields are green and the rapeseed is golden, and bees and butterflies are flying all over the ground.
Jiang Qinglan and Wang Huiniang were wandering on the ridges of the fields on the outskirts of Lin'an.
The sky was bright and dazzling. Even though it was early spring, the scorching sun was like fire, burning people through their gauze clothes.
Jiang Qinglan was wearing a veil, and she used her fingers to lift a little of the white veil, revealing a pair of clear eyes, looking at the vibrant seedlings in the field.
Wang Hui Niang pointed to the flat fields and said, "From here to there, they're all planted with potatoes and peppers."
Not only are potatoes easy to grow, they also have a short growth cycle, a high yield, and can be prepared in a variety of ways.
Boil, fry, deep-fry, stir-fry, potato pancakes, potato cakes, potato chips, French fries, they all taste delicious no matter how they are cooked.
After Jiang Qinglan discovered potatoes in Songlin Village and tested that they were non-toxic, he invited many vegetable farmers to conduct research and finally cultivated a variety of potatoes that was similar to the modern ones.
Last year, she had informed Xie Linchuan of the tubers and cultivation techniques, and asked him to spread them throughout the north to alleviate the famine caused by the war.
The peppers started from the seeds sent by Xie Linchuan, and were also cultivated into finished products.
Although peppers are not as effective as potatoes in famine relief, they are crucial for seasoning.
Chili oil, broad bean paste, roasted pepper sauce, and chili powder are essential condiments in Sichuan, Hunan, and Guizhou cuisines. The advent of chili peppers was a revolution in these cuisines.
Jiang Qinglan took a closer look and saw that the weeds had been removed and the vegetable seedlings were flourishing. Thinking that the vegetable farmers were taking good care of them, he felt relieved and got into the carriage with Wang Huiniang.
Although the Xie family's grandparents gave Jiang Qinglan peace of mind, her sources of information were limited, and she was still worried about the ever-changing situation in the court and the volatile situation on the front line.
That day, she didn't want to go out, but Wang Huiniang saw that she was bored in the house, so she said that it was spring and insisted on taking her out to see the vegetable garden.
Now, Jiang Qinglan went for a walk in the suburbs for a few times. Seeing the bright spring scenery and the shining golden sun, his mood became much better.
When they reached Lin'an City, the two were chatting and laughing in the carriage when they heard a sharp cry amidst the various noises outside:
"Bitch, what the hell are you? Even if I cut you into pieces, it wouldn't be enough to compensate for this skirt of mine!"
Jiang Qinglan lifted the side curtain and saw a young woman wearing a purple goose-beaked reed flower jacket with narrow sleeves and a flowery phoenix-threaded gold-trimmed folded skirt, waving a whip and dancing towards the oil cake stall on the street.
The woman frying pancakes, hugging her two little girls who were about seven or eight years old, huddled in a corner, shivering.
Jiang Qinglan frowned when he saw it and was about to get off the car.
Seeing the woman dressed luxuriously and followed by a crowd of servants, Wang Huiniang became a little cautious and said,
"This woman looks quite powerful, so we'd better not get involved. Wait until she's done venting her anger and leaves. Then we can hire a doctor for her and leave her some money."
Jiang Qinglan said, "You don't know, but this is the one who gave me trouble at the Liang Mansion that day. Her surname is Liang and her name is Chan. She received a warning from Old Madam Xie, so she had to give me some face."
After saying that, she straightened her clothes and skirt and prepared to get off the car.
Just as he stood up, he heard a familiar voice say, "My dear gentleman, how much is your skirt worth? I will compensate you for them. Please be magnanimous and spare them."
The Chinese he spoke was a bit stiff, as if he were a foreigner.
Jiang Qinglan took a look and saw that the person who was speaking was wearing a golden thread leaf sand green flower skirt and was quite tall. It was Mrs. Xiao Yali of Xue Qi.
She had a smile on her face and held the whip tightly in her hand, making Liang Chan unable to move at all.
Liang Chan was furious and cursed, "Who the hell are you, a barbarian, and you dare to meddle in my business!"
He talked big, but his hands couldn't move at all.
Her eyebrows raised, and she glared at the maids and servants behind her, "You are all dead, aren't you?!"
The servants were in a difficult situation, as they were ordered by the master of the Liang family to look after Liang Chan.
Just now, the little girl of the woman selling oil cakes wanted to sell her products and accidentally bumped into her, leaving a greasy handprint on her skirt.
No matter how they tried to comfort her, Miss Pian insisted on hitting someone to vent her anger. They couldn't persuade her, so some people could only watch while others sent someone back to report to the master.
Now that the young lady had spoken, they had no choice but to pretend to come forward and show off their young lady's power.
Only a silver bell-like voice rang out: "Miss Liang, how are you?"
When everyone turned around, they saw a slim girl in a moon-white silk skirt, with bright eyes, elegant demeanor, and a faint smile on her face.
When Liang Chan saw it was her, she was furious. She was about to explode, but then she remembered what Old Madam Xie had said, and she shrank back, a look of fear on her face.
At that moment, Xiao Yali's grip loosened. Liang Chan lost her strength and took two steps back, almost falling to the ground like the woman selling oil cakes.
Fortunately, she was hugged by the maid behind her, but she couldn't help but get furious, and the resentment on her face could not be wiped away.
Jiang Qinglan said, "This lady is right. Miss Liang, please forgive them."
She was afraid that Liang Chan would take revenge on her in the future, so she deliberately concealed Xiao Yali's name.
Seeing that Liang Chan still had a resentful expression, she continued, "Miss Liang, have you heard the story of General Tan's daughter in Zhending? As the saying goes, leave a way out for everything, so that you can meet again in the future."
Tan Yao, the daughter of Tan Qing, the defender of Zhending, was kind and benevolent, and was known for her wisdom.
Last year, Zhending fell, Tan Qing died in battle, and his family almost fell into the hands of the enemy.
Fortunately, Tan Yao met a village woman who had been kind to her before, so she hid her in her home. Later, she and her husband traveled thousands of miles, experienced 81 hardships, and finally sent her to Yingtian Prefecture.
The storyteller turned this story into a vernacular novel, called "Yongquan Bao", which is now very popular in Lin'an City.
Liang Chan, who had always been arrogant and unruly, refused to listen and sarcastically said, "I'm in Lin'an, the capital of the Song Dynasty. How could that day ever come?"
After a moment, she was stunned again, then reacted, "How dare you! How dare you curse the country's destiny to collapse!"
Jiang Qinglan shook his head and thought to himself: Before the Jingkang Incident, Song Huizong's more than 30 daughters were all princesses of wealth and status. Who would have thought that one day they would fall and be humiliated?
Seeing that Liang Chan still looked down on the world, he knew that he was talking to a deaf person and decided to ignore her.
Liang Chan, however, had some evil thoughts in mind. She looked at Jiang Qinglan, then at Xiao Yali, and with a sneer, she said:
"Great! Madam Xie said Lord Jiang was devoted to his country. But did she know that you were having a passionate affair with that Liao spy?!"
She had originally been making up stories and making random connections, but unexpectedly she hit the mark.
Xiao Yali was stunned. With the Liao-Song war, her status was awkward, and she had always lived in seclusion and kept a low profile.
Just now, she really couldn't stand it anymore, so she spoke out to stop it.
This made Liang Chan unreasonably accused of being a spy, and even implicated Jiang Qinglan, which made her anxious.
Jiang Qinglan shook his head again: "Miss Liang, please be careful with your words and don't make groundless accusations. The Liao and Song dynasties are at war and at peace from time to time. This is the work of the meat eaters. What can we ordinary people do?"
"For many years, the two countries have had mutual trade. Liao has many Song merchants, and Song has many Liao merchants. Most of them hope for peace and live a peaceful life. Spies must be a minority."
These words are entirely about war from the perspective of people at the bottom of society.
Lin'an was a prosperous city with many foreigners. Many of the onlookers had either done business with the Liao people or lived next door to them, and they all felt that what the woman said made sense.
On the other hand, Xiao Yali, a Liao national, showed sympathy for the weak, while Liang Chan, a Song noblewoman, was the culprit of the bullying. Everyone felt deeply indignant when they thought about this and began to whisper.
Liang Chan was furious when she heard this and sneered, "What a sharp tongue you have. You're so sweet-talking and you're calling a horse a zebra. No wonder you've bewitched Cousin Xie so much."
"Does he know that you're secretly colluding with this spy, or is this his instruction..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard a loud shout: "Shut up!" Then a middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes came running over like a gust of wind. It was Liang Shen, the master of the Liang family.
His face was gloomy. He ordered his men to take Liang Chan and stuff a towel into her mouth to stop her from saying those outrageous words. Then he threw her into the carriage.
Seeing Jiang Qinglan was there, Liang Shen did not dare to be careless. He bowed deeply and said many nice things carefully.
He was relieved when he saw that Jiang Qinglan and Xiao Yali both looked calm and didn't seem angry.
He also ordered his men to comfort the woman selling pancakes and her family, compensated her with a large sum of money, dispersed the crowd, and took the people home.
After that, Xiao Yali became more and more reclusive, and Jiang Qinglan was a little worried. Fortunately, Xue Qi had already made a plan and sent Xiao Yali away soon. Let's not talk about this matter for now.
The terrible thing is that in March, the war broke out again.
It turned out that last winter, Xixia suffered a cold disaster and a large number of cattle and sheep froze to death. The Xixia people were helpless and plundered on the border.
Emperor Xining took the initiative to offer annual tribute to help them overcome the difficulties, and the border between Song and Xia was temporarily peaceful.
However, there were occasional conflicts on the Liao-Xia border, and Western Xia planned to seize the Liao Kingdom's Datong Prefecture.
Emperor Xining thought this was a good opportunity, so he sent envoys west to ally with Xia to attack Liao. Princess Anguo and the crown prince tried to persuade him, but Emperor Xining refused to listen.
What is even more hateful is that this matter was leaked.
Emperor Xiantian of Liao was furious and said: Western Xia is poor, but its soldiers are brave and fierce, so there is no need to confront them head-on; Song is rich, but it is a loose sand, and he vowed to destroy their country and exterminate their race.
The Liao Kingdom immediately dispatched 300,000 troops. The Western Army marched along Hejian, Dezhou, and Qizhou and headed straight for Tokyo Bianliang; the Eastern Army set out from Tianjin, circled the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, and landed in Haizhou.
Emperor Xining had a plan, but the Western Xia was hesitant. At this time, fearing the prestige of the Liao Kingdom, they had already retreated, and the Liao army continued to conquer the country, seizing cities and plundering land.
For a time, the government and the people were shocked and panicked.
…
"Gentlemen, please look! This sweet and sour fish noodle dish is made with carp from the Yellow River and dragon beard noodles sold in Bianliang."
"Eight horses died while being transported here overnight. Now what we eat is authentic!"
In Fengle Building, a group of young men gathered together to listen to the beautiful young lady speak. Her sweet voice was enough to melt anyone's heart.
Everyone looked and saw a carp with corrugated patterns lying on a long white-glazed plate from Ding kiln. It must have been fried before, as the skin was charred.
The sweet and sour, yellow-orange sauce pours from the fish head to the tail, seeps into the fish meat through the corrugated cuts, and slowly flows under the fish body, gathering at the bottom of the plate.
After being stretched repeatedly, the dough finally becomes extremely thin threads. Then it is deep-fried in oil until it becomes crispy and golden brown.
Finally, spread the baked noodles on the sweet and sour soft fish, like putting a layer of clothes on it.
The waitress continued in a delicate voice, "Legend has it that this dish was favored by the Emperor Taizu. This fish is like the fish leaping over the dragon gate, and this side is like the emperor wearing the imperial robe."
This is the story of Emperor Jiande, who was crowned with a yellow robe by his subordinates and rose from a former inspector of the imperial palace to the founding emperor.
After hearing this, everyone nodded repeatedly with expressions of respect on their faces.
King Zhao Kan of Wu smiled and thought to himself: A broken carp has become known throughout the country just because it was associated with Emperor Taizu. It's nothing more than a businessman's scheme.
Everyone just followed the crowd and scrambled to eat it, which shows that the people are ignorant and stupid.
He smiled and said, "Alright, I've introduced the dishes and their origins. How can we miss such a beautiful scenery and beautiful weather?" He clapped his hands twice and shouted, "Play music! Let the feast begin!"
Suddenly, singers and dancers in gorgeous costumes came out from behind the curtain with light lotus steps.
In the hall, there are tinkling sounds of pendants and pipa music, graceful dances and magnificent music.
Countless prostitutes sat beside the gentlemen, some serving wine, some helping them with food, and some peeling grapes.
Others bend over and deliberately show off their proud curves to arouse the interest of men.
The King of Wu drank for a while, opened his hazy eyes, and took a bite of the sweet and sour fish and baked noodles served by the prostitute. Unexpectedly, he frowned immediately.
The texture of this thing is okay, crispy yet tender, soft yet soft, but the taste is... too sweet.
When the second chopstick came, he pinched the fair, tender face of the charming girl beside him and said with a smile: "This is my dear, I give it to you as a reward."
The prostitute was surprised and happy.
In today's war, it's hard to find the authentic fish baked noodles from Tokyo Bianliang!
She thanked him profusely before eating slowly.
The King of Wu leaned on the couch, squinting his eyes, enjoying the sound of the pipa, and clapping his hands to keep the rhythm on the armrest.
After resting for a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "Silence!"
In a moment, the dancing and singing stopped, the prostitutes put down their cups and kept silent, and the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"What's that commotion outside?" King Wu said with a gloomy face. He clearly heard someone saying his name, as well as words like "harming the country" and "being humiliated".
The guards had no choice but to report: "There's a scholar outside, drunk and talking nonsense. We have already chased him away."
The King of Wu said with a half-smile, "Why drive him away? My Zhao Song Dynasty has always valued poetry and literature. Since you are a scholar, please come in and have a drink with us."
A moment later, a tall, thin, pale-faced young man dressed as a scholar was brought in.
As soon as he saw the extravagant scene in the hall, he immediately started cursing:
"The enemy is invading, and the border is in danger. You hold high positions, living off the people's blood and sweat, yet you spend your days living a life of drunkenness and indulgence! You are ashamed of the people of the world, and of the millions of citizens of the Great Song Dynasty!"
He said this with his neck stiff, his fair face flushed red.
The King of Wu looked at him coldly for a while, glanced at his clothes, and sneered, "Are you a juren?"
Someone had already checked his identity and reported it.
The King of Wu's contempt grew more pronounced. "No wonder you're so audacious, so presumptuous before me. You're hoping to earn a reputation as a loyal and rebellious person. The Censorate will summon you tomorrow to serve as an official, right?"
It turned out that Emperor Taizu of this dynasty had stipulated that anyone who had achieved the title of Juren could not be sentenced to death for any crime except the crime of treason.
There were many candidates like this man who took an unconventional approach and specifically cursed the royal family to gain fame.
It’s a pity that this man was unlucky and met the King of Wu.
He hated such pedantic people the most, who talked about benevolence, righteousness and morality but were useless and just parasites.
He narrowed his eyes and took a look at the scholar. Seeing that he was pale and beardless and looked quite weak, he came up with a good idea.
"Come here, pass on the king's order to send him to the front lines. No paperwork allowed, he must go to the battlefield and fight the enemy with real weapons."
"As for the place, you can choose it yourself. Lanzhou, Qingzhou, Damingfu, Jinzhou? Fight against the Western Xia or the Liao people? It's all up to you."
"I want to see what kind of earth-shattering feats you can accomplish!"
When the scholar heard this, his face turned pale and his whole body trembled. If the guard had not held his collar, he would have fallen to his knees.
Seeing this, the King of Wu became even more contemptuous. He gulped down a mouthful of wine and waited for him leisurely for a moment before urging him, "Well, have you made up your mind?"
The frail scholar cowered for a long time, then suddenly straightened his back, looking ready to die. He gritted his teeth and said, "I... I am willing to go to Jinzhou!"
Jinju?
The King of Wu was stunned for a moment, then laughed:
"You have some backbone. Thank you, Prince, for defending Jinzhou against the enemy, holding back the Liao Kingdom in the north, and resisting Daxia in the west. If you go there, you must be loyal to your country and live up to your passion!"
The scholar was trembling with fear and could not utter a word. He let two guards lift his collar and walk away.
This little episode was quickly covered up, and the atmosphere in the hall continued with drunkenness, endless drinking, singing and dancing.
Speaking of Jinzhou, the King of Wu looked gloomy.
He had been planning for several years and had always been confident and calm. But today he was very worried and thought to himself: Liuguang and I have been friends since childhood and have been planning for ten years.
This great event in Bianliang was accomplished without his knowledge. He will surely be furious. I have to be humble and try to persuade him.
…
While the King of Wu was enjoying peace and prosperity all day long, Emperor Xining was in a state of panic.
In the Purple Palace, he looked at several trusted ministers below and said gloomily:
"Our country has millions of men and women, and countless military expenses and supplies every year. How could it be defeated in just one battle? Did they use all the money to support useless people?"
Someone then analyzed the situation with him.
The Liao army's western route deliberately avoided important western cities such as Daming Prefecture and Longde Prefecture, and instead easily broke through the Yellow River defense line and advanced along the eastern line of Qizhou and Yanzhou.
The Eastern Army coming from the sea was unprecedented. The coastal defenders were panicked, unable to prepare for battle, and fled in panic.
Emperor Xining was so angry that he had no time to take care of the affairs of the Eastern Army.
The Western Army headed straight for Tokyo Bianliang, the birthplace of Emperor Taizu. If it fell into the hands of the enemy, how would he face his ancestors?
He said coldly, "Daming Prefecture is only an arrow's throw away from Qizhou. Where is Master Zhu Congda? Did he just let them pass?"
The prince stood to one side of the emperor's presence, muttering to himself: My father secretly ordered General Zhu to prepare for war, and gave him countless money, food, and soldiers, but he also sent a eunuch named Tong to be the military supervisor.
This person is sweet-mouthed but treacherous. He won the trust of the emperor, but he was indecisive and cautious, and had ties with several forces.
I heard that he was a eunuch, but he had several concubines from the Liao Kingdom at home. How could such a thief be loyal to his country? General Zhu would certainly hinder him in every way.
Sure enough, a loyal and righteous man said frankly: "General Zhu sent troops to rescue, but the order to transfer food and fodder was in the hands of Supervisor Tong. The supply was insufficient, so General Zhu had no choice but to retreat."
Emperor Xining was in a state of panic, secretly thinking of chopping this Tong into pieces. He then said fiercely, "Where's Xie Linchuan? He's in Jinzhou, not far away. Why didn't you save him?"
Qin Yan, the governor of the northern wing of the Privy Council, was originally the father-in-law of the King of Wu and had a grudge against Xie Linchuan.
After Emperor Xining ascended the throne, he flattered the emperor and bribed countless eunuchs around Emperor Xining with huge sums of money. He spent a lot of effort to clear his name.
At this time, he said quietly: "I heard the other day that Master Xie's fiancée..."
When Lu Fei heard this, he thought to himself that this was not good.
Since the Liao-Song War broke out, Qin Yan has been stirring up trouble. He wants to use the conflict between Liang Chan and Jiang Qinglan to implicate Xie Linchuan.
He stepped forward, interrupting Qin Yan and said in a deep voice, "Xixia Yuanhao's 30,000 bandits ambushed us, and Prince Xie was unable to return to Bianliang for support. The two armies are currently engaged in a fierce battle in Zhengzhou."
The strategy of joining forces with Xia to attack Liao was personally decided by Emperor Xining. When Liao declared war, Xixia had simply retreated and refused to respond. Now, Xixia became Liao's helper and turned to attack Song.
This incident severely humiliated Emperor Xining, and everyone was hesitant and didn't dare to speak directly. But at this moment, Lu Fei no longer cared about anything else.
Sure enough, when Emperor Xining heard this, he immediately fell silent, his face turned pale, and he was in shock for a long time.
Qin Yan narrowed his eyes, looked at Lu Fei, and thought to himself:
This kid is trying to contradict him!
They were both followers of the King of Wu, and he had long wanted to make friends with him and wanted to marry his second daughter to him. But he didn't know that the man surnamed Lu was so ungrateful that he not only refused the marriage but also helped Xie Linchuan.
Isn't it just that he's still thinking about Jiang Yuan's daughter and is afraid of getting her involved? What a hopeless person!
Emperor Xining, however, was not interested in these matters. His mind was full of the matter of Bianliang. He swallowed the fishy-sweet taste in his throat, took a deep breath, and said with deep sorrow:
"So, Bianliang, the birthplace of our Great Song Dynasty, is about to fall?"
Upon hearing this, several people knelt down and remained silent.
After a while, "Report!" an eunuch shouted from outside the palace, fell to his knees, and trembled like a sieve. "Your Majesty, Bianliang... has fallen."
When everyone heard this, they were all terrified, their heads falling to the ground, and they even held their breath. The hall was silent as death.
Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Xining was stunned for a moment, with a streak of blood flowing down the corner of his mouth.
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