Chapter 69 Tofu and Bamboo Slips
The dish on the plate was white in color and divided into large pieces. It seemed that it had just been made, and there was still a slight heat on it.
The way to eat it is to pick up one piece, put it into the dipping dish next to it, wrap it and dip it before eating.
The chamberlain who came to report said: "Master Li Nian said that this dish is called 'Douhua'. Master Li Nian also made it today. After he tasted it, he made this dish as a tribute to the king. Mr. Li Nian also talked about tofu There are many ways to make it, but it’s inconvenient now, so this tofu curd is slightly more suitable.”
Li Nian gave Ying Zheng the tofu curd. Although both tofu and tofu are soybean products, the recipes are similar, but there are still some differences.
It took him several days to make this. Of course, it was not just the time spent on making bean curds, but also the time spent on making tools, and he did not do it all the time.
Douhua or tofu, according to some records, is said to have been created by Liu An, the king of Huainan during the Western Han Dynasty. He was the king of Huainan who conspired to rebel during the reign of Emperor Wu, but failed and committed suicide. In "The Emperor of the Han Dynasty", He was caught by Huo Qubing when he was still a child.
It is said that the mother of the King of Huainan liked to eat soybeans. One time, his mother could not eat whole soybeans due to illness. Liu An asked someone to grind the soybeans into powder. He was afraid that the powder would be too dry, so he poured some water into it and boiled it. The soy milk was afraid of being bland, so I added some salt to marinate it. As a result, it condensed into lumps, namely tofu curds.
The mother of the King of Huainan was very happy after eating it and her condition improved, so the tofu was passed down.
Soybeans and many legumes were called "shu" in this era. Shu rice is rice made from beans. It is one of the staple foods commonly eaten by people of humble status and poor family backgrounds.
Li Nian's purpose of making tofu is mainly to meet his own needs in life. He always has to find a way to make his life more comfortable in this era, right?
Looking at the bean curd on the plate, Ying Zheng said to Meng Yi who was standing aside: "I am here to work hard on government affairs, but this guy is busy eating and doesn't know how to share my worries?"
< br>Although the words were meant to reprimand, Meng Yi did not hear any dissatisfaction from Ying Zheng's tone.
Looking at the bean curd in the dish, Meng Yi smiled and said: "Isn't Li Nian just sharing the worries of the king?"
Ying Zheng heard this and said: "Forget it, I will try this. What does bean curd taste like? ”
Picking up the chopsticks on the tray, Ying Zheng picked up a piece of the so-called "bean curd". Unexpectedly, the bean curd turned rotten.
This thing is so soft and fragile?
Aware that the tofu pudding is fragile, Ying Zheng gathered some strength and picked up another piece. This time he succeeded. He put the tofu pudding into the dipping dish and dipped it in it, then put it in his mouth. A strange smell came out. The flavor hits your taste buds immediately.
It is light and smooth, but mixed with the spiciness of the dipping sauce, giving Ying Zheng an experience he has never tasted before.
I can tell that this is made by Shu, but it has a different taste from Shu, but I always feel that the taste is not complete enough.
Ying Zheng then thought about it and figured out that there must be some lack of things from later generations, so that although this thing could be made, it did not have the taste that future generations should have.
At this time, he also knew what the other sauce was. It turned out to be the sauce made by Wu Yu, and some seasonings such as onion and ginger were added to it to complement the light and tender bean curd.
After eating a chopstick of bean curd, Ying Zheng did not continue immediately. He threw the bamboo slips he had just read to Meng Yi.
"Meng Qing should also take a look and tell me what you think after reading it!"
Due to Li Nian's relationship, Meng Yi's status around Ying Zheng is higher than in the original history. high.
Because only a few people knew the identity of Li Nian's later visitors, and the others were either chamberlains, guards, or maids. Only Meng Yi was the minister.
While not wanting to expose Li Nian’s identity as a visitor from later generations, when Ying Zheng encounters something, only Meng Yi can discuss it with him. You can't ask those chamberlains and maids how to govern the country, right?
Meng Yi took over the bamboo slips, which he sent to the palace and handed over to Ying Zheng today, but he had not read the contents, and this was the first time he saw them.
Opening the first bamboo slip and seeing the words recorded on it, Meng Yi quickly understood the purpose of Ying Zheng asking him to read the bamboo slip.
During this period of time, he and Ying Zheng listened to Li Nian's talk, and he learned a lot. He felt that some of what Li Nian said was quite reasonable.
Meng Yi was looking at the bamboo slips. Ying Zheng picked up the chopsticks and continued to eat the tofu pudding, but in his other hand he picked up a bamboo slip sent by Li Nian to read.
As expected, what was recorded on this bamboo slip was the method of making tofu. It had only one purpose, so that he could find an opportunity to spread the method of making tofu to the world.
‘This boy is really thoughtful. This thing is made of Shu, but it is not as hard to swallow as Shu rice. This method will be spread throughout the world, and the person who made it will be remembered by the people of the world. But this kid didn't hesitate at all and presented himself directly to me, so he wasn't worried that he would take away his credit? '
Ying Zheng watched how to make tofu while eating. Although he didn't cook, he could see that making tofu was quite simple and the taste of tofu was better than rice. It would be loved by people all over the world. , how much prestige will be gained by being the person who "pioneered" the practice of tofu?
'Maybe this kid didn't think about this at all. He just thought that taking it out would help people in the world eat better, so he took it out. Maybe he thought it didn't matter, but it was just a matter of eating and cooking. He had more there. ’
‘But no matter what you think, how can I take advantage of you? ’
If Ying Zheng can see the benefits of spreading the practice of tofu to the world in his name, it will surely make people all over the world remove some of their fear of him and gain some love.
But he won't do that.
Put this scroll down and pick up another scroll. The first scroll records the method of making tofu. So what will this scroll record?
Looking through it, Ying Zheng frowned. There was one thing written on the bamboo slips, asking him not to execute all the alchemists who refined the "medicine for immortality" and to keep them useful.
In the bamboo slips, Li Nian said some words that he didn't quite understand, such as "science" and "chemistry", but the overall meaning was understood by Ying Zheng. It was because the alchemists could refine the medicine to become immortals. Fake, but being able to refine something else will be of great help to Da Qin.
There are many benefits listed above, but the one that attracts Ying Zheng the most is: it can improve the strength of the Qin army. The reason why the army of later generations can be strong is because of the development of gunpowder.
With Da Qin’s current army, it is difficult to maintain control of the seven kingdoms, and he also wants to occupy more lands, and even occupy territories beyond the Nine Provinces, making Da Qin the first in Chinese history that the sun never sets. empire.
So, when the number of troops is difficult to change, the only way is to enhance the combat effectiveness of the army itself.
It used to take a thousand Qin troops to occupy one place, but now only a hundred Qin troops can occupy nine more places.
He originally wanted to trap and kill all the alchemists after the chickens and rats that had eaten the food refined by the alchemists died, to vent his hatred of being deceived, but now he saw what Li Nian presented. Bamboo slips, decided to change his mind.
Except Hou Sheng, Lu Sheng and Xu Fu, the other alchemists can not be killed for the time being.
‘Forget it, let them live! '
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(End of this chapter)