Chapter 118: Being a dog of the Tang Dynasty is the greatest honor (asking for monthly tickets)
This is not the first time that foreigners have been so savvy, and Old Li is no longer surprised.

This was the first time Li Xiang had seen it. Misled by later generations, he still thought that the Tang Dynasty was burdened with the status of the Celestial Empire and liked to be a money-giving boy.

More than 10,000 cattle and sheep... Well, after the profits are divided, it will be enough to eat for a while.

"You have come from afar, so I guess you haven't had your meal yet. Come and have a simple meal with me."

Li Shimin smiled gently. Since Tumidu was so understanding, Li would naturally not hesitate to give him a meal.

In fact, this was not his intention, but Li Xiang's sudden idea.

Mr. Li thought the suggestion was very good and feasible, so he adopted Li Xiang’s suggestion.

After hearing this, Tumidu's face, which had been dark, instantly turned red. He was so excited that his face was flushed and his neck was thick, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

This was the first time he met Li Shimin. In the past, he always brought his own dry food to the tribe and was a big fan of Li Shimin. Now, he suddenly met a man he admired so much. Not only did the other party affirm his behavior, but he even invited him to have a meal together...

He now felt that his face had even surpassed the Xueyantuo grassland and was running towards the vast sky.

"This... this..." After being excited for a long time, Tumidu finally spoke: "Your Majesty, I would rather obey your command than disrespect you, uh, that..."

I don't know if this is right or not, but he tries to say it in a more elegant way.

Old Li did not demand too much of him about how well he had learned Chinese culture. He just smiled and told Wang De to prepare the meal.

Since Tumidu, an outsider, was invited to have a light meal, we chose to have separate meals for dinner.

It's not that I dislike Tumidu, it's mainly because the separate dining system is the mainstream in formal banquets nowadays.

Old Li sat at the upper seat, while Li Xiang and Tumidu sat at the lower seat, opposite him.

Soon, the eunuchs came in one after another and presented the three people with the dishes that had been prepared in advance.

Tumidu was almost dazzled. The dishes... were like works of art. He even saw a delicate flower on a tray.

This dish of boiled cabbage was originally prepared by Li Xiang at Fubao for Li Shimin. There were exactly three flowers carved from cabbage cores, and each person was given one without favoritism.

In fact, it was also the first time for Lao Li to eat it, and he was a little stunned when he saw the boiled cabbage.

Did you make this for display? He looked at Li Xiang suspiciously, then lowered his head to look at the flower carved from the cabbage core. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like a decoration.

But he found that Li Xiang was whispering something to Fubao.

In line with the principle of avoiding waste, it was originally planned to have four dishes and one soup in total. However, given that the meal was served separately this time, and Tumidu's appetite was a little bigger, the portion in front of him was also a little larger.

Tumidu of course also noticed this, and he looked up at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin smiled and said to him: "My grandson told me that you have worked hard on the grasslands, and your appetite must be bigger than my grandson and me, so the amount of food I give you is also slightly larger."

Tumidu was filled with gratitude and immediately stood up to express his gratitude, saying, "I... thank His Majesty the Khan and the Emperor's grandson."

"Fubao, go and tell the Huihe leader about these dishes." Li Xiang said with a smile, especially motioning Fubao to explain the boiled cabbage in detail.

Of course we have to tell him about it. Making him understand how to eat is secondary. The main thing is to let Tumidu, a Uighur, get a good look at the food culture of the Tang Dynasty.

What does it mean to look up to a lofty mountain?

Fu Bao stepped forward as ordered, skipped over the stir-fried lamb with green onions, crab meat and chestnut cabbage, which were obvious to eat, and explained to Tu Midu the candied apple and boiled cabbage.

The so-called Lingo is the name for apples in ancient my country, and of course it is also called "Nai". The "Guozhen Li Nai" in the Thousand Character Classic refers to it.

As for the Japanese name...that was learned from the Tang Dynasty, please be clear who is the ancestor!
"Chief, please look," Fu Bao pointed at the candied apple and said, "This dish is candied apple. It tastes sweet and sticky. When you pick it up with chopsticks, the syrup wrapped around the apple will be pulled into a long thin thread, hence the name 'candied apple'. If you feel that this dish is too sticky, you can dip it in the cold water in this small bowl before eating."

After hearing this, Tumidu couldn't wait to pick up a piece of apple, and sure enough, the thread was very long.

He even stood up and raised the chopsticks high, but failed to break the thin thread.

Seeing his embarrassment, Fubao said with a smile: "Chief, you can use the chopsticks to circle it twice like this."

As he spoke, he made a double circle motion with his hands.

Hearing this, Li Shimin behind him finally took action. He picked up a piece of apple with chopsticks, swirled it around twice, dipped it in cold water, and put it into his mouth.

Mmm... delicious! Sweet!
These days... sugar has a lot of impurities, and there is no good way to purify it. When Li Shimin ate the rock honey presented by the Magadha envoys to Beijing, he couldn't hold back and sent a large number of "sugar envoys" to learn how to make sugar from his third brother.

It should be said that my country is very good at learning this. The history books record that "they sent envoys to Magadha to learn the method of making sugar. They ordered Yangzhou to offer sugarcane, which was as heavy as the dosage, and the color and taste were far better than those in the Western Regions." This probably means that the method they learned was better than that of the place of origin...

This also shows the craze for sugar and the scarcity of sugar in these days.

Lao Li is also a big sweets lover. After eating a piece of candied apple, he couldn't stop.

But after he ate six or seven pieces, he subconsciously reached for the candied apple and heard a clanging sound...

He couldn't help but raise his head and look at Fubao unhappily.

But he was brought back to his senses by Li Xiang's wink, and then he realized that it was his grandson who was causing trouble.

Li Xiang knew that eating too much sugar was not a good thing, so he specifically instructed that the portion given to Li Shimin must be small.

He himself didn't eat much candy, and there weren't many on the table with the Tumidu. Li Xiang stuffed the rest to Lao Xue and asked him to share it with his brothers.

Old Xue was very happy when he got the sugar-coated apple. He thanked the prince for his kindness, but the apple was so hot that he kept munching on it in his mouth, and he couldn't bear to spit out the scalding hot apple.

Li Xiang also kept the matter of sugar making in mind. He couldn't just purify salt, he had to develop the technology to make white sugar!
In this day and age, it costs a lot of money to make white sugar as pure as snow!
You know, sugar these days... is a bit dark and seems to really affect your appetite.

Tumidu was instantly conquered by the sweet taste. He couldn't help but burst into tears. Even the honey on the grassland was not as delicious as this dish...

After he finished tasting the sugar-coated apple, Fubao began to introduce him to the next dish.

"This dish is called boiled cabbage," Fubao introduced.

Old Li frowned as he looked at the boiled cabbage, recalling the difficult times when he had to eat boiled vegetables.

Old Li knew about cabbage, it was just cabbage. But he didn't know why his eldest grandson called it "cabbage".

Tumidu certainly didn't dare to be careless. He felt that since Tian Khan invited him to dinner, he couldn't serve a boiled dish, right?
There must be something fishy going on inside!
As he expected, Fubao introduced to him: "The rule of this dish is 'the taste should be strong, not greasy, and the taste should be fresh, not bland'. Leader, you must not underestimate this clear soup that looks like boiled water. In fact, it is made by putting old hens, old ducks, roasted fish, spare ribs, horse mackerel, etc. into the soup pot, adding sufficient water, ginger, and green onions, and simmering for at least two hours after boiling." "Then chop the chicken breast into a paste, add fresh soup to it and stir it into a slurry, and pour it into the pot to absorb impurities. After repeated absorption two or three times, the chicken soup in the pot, which was originally slightly turbid, is now as clear and crisp as boiled water, with a rich and mellow aroma, not greasy, and refreshing."

"For Chinese cabbage, choose cabbage that is not fully cooked, and only use the yellow tender heart. After blanching it, rinse it with clean water to cool it down. After removing the fishy smell, pour boiling chicken soup over it until it is cooked."

“The broth used to blanch the cabbage is discarded, and the blanched cabbage hearts are placed at the bottom of the bowl. Fresh chicken broth is then gently poured in. At first glance, the finished dish looks watery and has no oil, but it smells fragrant and tastes fresh and tender, surpassing all other delicacies.”

Old Li was listening from behind and couldn't help but shudder.

My dear, this dish is really troublesome. Don’t eat it anymore. It’s too extravagant…

Old Li has really been through a hard time. The people in Guanzhong are so afraid of poverty that they dare not spend a penny more.

But to Tumidu's ears, it was a completely different scene.

This... just a dish of inconspicuous cabbage, the process is so complicated, and the ingredients are so many...

Tumidu was deeply shocked by the complicated process, and was also shocked by the wealth of the Tang Dynasty.

Is this the cultural heritage of the Tang Dynasty? Eating is like an art...

Compared with the Tang Dynasty, we Huihe are not even worthy of being called bumpkins!

At the same time, he also determined to become a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, if for no other reason than to be able to eat such delicious dishes often.

With an almost pilgrimage-like mentality, he gently scooped a spoonful of clear soup with a spoon and slowly put it into his mouth.

"It's really delicious..." Tumidu exclaimed.

Afterwards, he tasted the remaining three dishes one by one, each one more amazing than the last.

Oh no, what should I do if I can’t eat such delicious food after returning to the grassland?

Tumidu ate a lot in this meal.

He ate almost all the food on the table.

Looking at him, it seems he still has some courage left.

People these days have big appetites, but luckily I didn’t eat much of the staple food, so I didn’t have to worry about vomiting and getting too full.

After eating and drinking his fill, Tumidu burped and moved into the inn.

While lying in the inn, Tumidu was still thinking about things.

Before leaving, Li Xiang casually mentioned to him that there were two restaurants in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and the food there was no less delicious than what he had eaten today.

After dealing with the Xueyantuo, should we bring the Uighurs to submit to the country and try to learn from Ashina She'er and Qibi Heli and become a general in Chang'an? Wouldn't that be better than living a miserable life outside the Great Wall?
After Tumidu left, it was time for Lao Li to settle the score.

Old Li looked at Li Xiang with a very dissatisfied expression.

"Is this how you are filial to me? Why did you only give me six or seven pieces of such delicious candied apples?"

"Uncle, you can't enjoy delicious food too much. Eating too much sweets is very bad for your health." Li Xiang spread his hands.

Li Shimin reached out and tapped him, but he was not angry.

My grandson is really a gentle person...

"Why did you suddenly think of giving a banquet to Tumidu?"

"Aunt, didn't you say that you wanted foreign countries to learn the culture of the Tang Dynasty?" Li Xiang said with a smile, "Food is actually also the culture of the Tang Dynasty."

Old Li nodded in agreement and said, "This is one of the reasons. Once the news of my banquet for Tumidu spreads, you will see."

"What are you looking at?" Li Xiang asked, looking up.

"Xueyantuo is in trouble..." Li Shimin said coldly.

As Li Shimin expected, after Tumidu returned, there was already a group of people waiting in his tribe.

Among them were Tubo, Tuyuhun, Khitan, etc. Almost all of them came and wanted to ask him what happened when he met the emperor.

"Of course His Majesty the Heavenly Khan is very happy," Tumidu boasted in the tent, "You don't know that His Majesty the Heavenly Khan is extremely majestic, as majestic as the God of Gods and the King of Kings!"

"But he was as kind as a good father. He even asked me about my well-being and whether the Huihe tribe had good food and warm clothes..."

At this point, Tumidu shed tears emotionally. He was not pretending, he was truly moved.

"His Majesty the Khan even gave me a delicious meal. One of the dishes was called... something like boiled cabbage. It was simply the best delicacy on earth!"

When they heard that the Heavenly Khan not only did not blame Tumidu for sending troops to plunder Xueyantuo without authorization, but even gave him a royal meal, the envoys of various tribes began to think about whether they should persuade Tumidu to send troops to plunder Xueyantuo after returning.

Tumidu certainly did not forget to mention the protection fee paid to Datang: "Of course, this honor is also related to my understanding of reason."

"Why do you say that?" asked the Khitan envoy.

"Half of what we gained from this attack on Xueyantuo will be handed over to the Tang Dynasty." Tumidu patted his chest and said proudly, "Of course, it was not requested by the Tang Dynasty. I offered it voluntarily out of my respect for the Tang Dynasty and my love for His Majesty the Khan."

After hearing this, everyone had their own thoughts. Although not everyone agreed with Tumidu's approach, no one raised any objections. After all, they were all messengers and could not make any decisions.

However, when they return, they still have to report truthfully to the headman or leader.

"In that case, after we return, we will also advise the leader to attack Xueyantuo!" the envoys said one after another.

"The Tang Dynasty will not mistreat any warrior who is loyal to it!" Tumidu stroked his beard, as if he were a real Tang person: "As long as you are loyal to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will grant you a gift."

Then, Tumidu said with emotion: "It is our greatest honor to be the dog of Datang!"

He glanced in the direction of Xueyantuo again and cursed, "Some dogs, when they have enough to eat and drink, start to think about all sorts of things and don't even know who their real masters are!"

(Sleeping, my eyes hurt)

(End of this chapter)