Chapter 211: Aweng, the old fool (Please subscribe)

It is a great ambition to let the people under your rule drink meat soup.

After hearing Li Xiang's words, the village head also felt the same longing.

Although he doesn't know Li Xiang's identity, it doesn't stop him from yearning for a better life.

In fact, not only vegetables, but meat was also scarce in ancient times.

The Chinese diet was not as perfect as it is today from the beginning. For example, the Eight Delicacies of the Zhou Emperor were not necessarily available to everyone.

For example, the main dish "liver fat" refers to wolf oil and dog liver porridge.

The specific method is to spread the dog liver with wolf fat, roast it, and then put it in rice to cook porridge.

This is the reason why the ancient times are not suitable for the present.

In ancient times, the government banned the consumption and private slaughter of cattle, not only because cattle were good helpers to humans, but also because cattle themselves were a strategic material.

Cowhide can be used to make armor with nitrate, and cow tendons can be used to make bowstrings, both of which are strategic materials.

This is also the reason why Cheng Yaojin had to report to the government and find a reason after killing a cow. That’s because cows have a government household registration called the “official cattle book.”

The Changsha Bamboo Slips Museum houses an official cattle book from the Three Kingdoms period, which records in detail information such as the official cattle's coat color, age, origin, and cattle breeder.

I can’t eat beef, so I can only eat other meats.

The nobles ate mutton, while ordinary people ate pork, fish and dog meat.

Pork was not popular in ancient times. Some online articles actually exaggerated the effect of castration. In fact, even if the pig is castrated, the meat will still taste fishy. The pork that modern people eat does not have a strange smell because it is flavored with a lot of spices and cooking wine.

Where did the ancients get so many spices? Even the nobles could not afford to use them every day.

Lamb is very high-end and can be fragrant without any spices.

But even so, pork is not available whenever you want. Modern pork is cheap because of imported pig breeds. For example, Landrace pigs and Soviet Large White pigs can gain one kilogram of meat by eating three kilograms of feed, while Chinese native black pigs need to eat five or six kilograms of feed to gain one kilogram of meat.

As for fish, they were not easy to get in the river. The four major carps were migratory fish and could not be farmed. At that time, the river was full of fish such as carp and crucian carp.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, scientific researchers worked tirelessly and finally mastered the artificial breeding technology of the four major carps. From then on, fish became a regular on the dining table.

Nowadays, people feel annoyed when they see the four major carps on the table, but they don’t realize that this is actually a happy annoyance.

As for carp, the Tang Dynasty royal family did not prohibit fishing.

There is some street literature saying that in the Tang Dynasty, because the royal family had the surname Li, people were forbidden to eat carp. This is pure nonsense.

This statement first appeared in "Youyang Zazu", and its status is roughly equivalent to that of today's online novels. You can decide how credible it is.

The Tang Dynasty's "Dietary Materia Medica" clearly states the edible value of various parts of the carp, and there is no record that carp cannot be caught and eaten.

In addition, Tang Dynasty poets also seemed to have a special liking for eating carp.

Wang Wei once wrote a poem saying "My beloved rides a horse with jade bridle, and my maid serves carp on a golden plate." Bai Juyi also wrote "There is a stove on the bow of the boat, cooking rice and red carp." If eating carp was really against the law, they would have been in jail long ago.

Li Xiang was also thinking about whether he should find some professional talents to develop the fish farming industry.

Enriching the dining tables of the people of the Tang Dynasty is also what he, the crown prince, should do.

Li Xiang was generally satisfied with the situation in Chenjiazhuang.

In addition to Chenjiazhuang where the Khitan monk lived, Li Xiang also visited several villages, where the Hu people had been well assimilated into the Han culture.

Just learn it. As for large mixed and small concentrated residences, Li Xiang still uses the upgraded plus version.

When he returned to the restaurant, Li Shu was waiting for him.

"Aunt." Li Xiang greeted her.

Li Shu pointed to a few boxes stacked in the corner and said, "Inside that is white folded cotton, which is what you call cotton. I have asked the craftsmen to play it with bowstrings. You can try it."

"Why are you still trying? It's already spring." Li Xiang curled his lips and said, "In fact, there is a simple way to use this thing, which is to stuff it into clothes or quilts. It can also be spun into thread like wool and woven into various clothes - of course, this still requires my aunt to have people study it."

"You're so lazy." Li Shu snorted, and then said, "There are two boxes of white sedge seeds. Take a look and see where it would be best to promote them."

"Well," Li Xiang thought for a moment and decided to choose Chenjiazhuang nearby.

Anyway, Qibi Heli's younger brother is there and it is close to Chang'an. Let the people in Chenjiazhuang taste the sweetness first before promoting this thing better.

But what Li Xiang didn't expect was that his idea of ​​promoting Baidiezi encountered obstacles in Chenjiazhuang.

The villagers didn't know what this thing was and didn't want to plant it at all. No matter how much they were persuaded, they were reluctant.

Li Xiang even offered to compensate one acre of cotton at the price of two acres of grain, but it still failed to impress these greedy villagers.

Of course, this cannot be blamed. After all, everyone has lived through poverty and is afraid that if they plant one less acre of grain, they will have less harvest. And if the weather is bad, cotton cannot be eaten as food.

You can't force a cow to drink water if it doesn't want to. If you force it to drink water, it will easily affect the enthusiasm of the villagers.

Just when Li Xiang was worried, Qibi Shamen volunteered, saying that since no one in the village wanted to plant it, he and a few brothers would plant all the white floccoli.

The people of the grassland have no special feelings about growing crops. Since the government wants them to grow cotton, they will just plant it. As long as they can make money and survive, they will plant it without hesitation, let alone cotton, even if it is golden beans.

They also believed in Li Xiang's conditions without reservation.

Could the Crown Prince still deceive us? On the grassland, you can buy a lot of wool for a few cents, but His Royal Highness resolutely chose to tell the truth. He wanted a fair trade and valued credibility. They all heard about this.

Li Xiang didn't expect that these grassland people would be so enthusiastic, but since someone volunteered, things would be easy.

Once the first person to try it out tastes the sweetness, there will be no need to worry about others not planting it.

If there is one, there will be two. The rest will be easy.

After cotton was popularized, the people of the Tang Dynasty had more ways to keep warm and more types of clothing.

The ancients said that food, clothing, housing and transportation are the basic necessities of life. Now Li Xiang has made some progress in food and clothing, and the next step is housing and transportation.

These two...the little elephants haven't figured out any good solution yet.

It is possible to burn red bricks, which have been fired as early as the Yangshao culture period. However, their large-scale application had to wait until the late 19th century when they were introduced to my country from the West. At present, the houses in the Tang Dynasty are mainly thatched houses, loess houses and wooden houses.

The advantage of red bricks is that they are cheap and easy to mass produce. There are many tiny gaps on the surface of red bricks, which can reduce noise and isolate heat.

But the drawback is that red bricks are very destructive to farmland. We have to eat one bite at a time, so burning red bricks to make a transition is not a bad idea.

Li Xiang sat in the backyard of Jingzhao Prefecture and began to have wild thoughts.

Besides fired bricks, what other good building materials are there?
Oh, got it!

Cement!
Cement can not only be used in construction, but also in road construction!
Li Xiang jumped up from the stool. Cement is a good thing.

In fact, it’s not just cement, there’s also asphalt.

When I was a child, there was an asphalt road in the town, which was quite durable.

He immediately gathered the craftsmen and prepared to talk to them about cement.

Fortunately, Li Xiang had not returned the high school chemistry course to his teacher, so he still roughly remembered the production process of Portland cement.

After he told the craftsmen the general situation, he left them in the courtyard of Yongchangfang to study.

After that, he rushed into the palace, intending to ask Lao Li for instructions.

Old Li was lying on the bed in a daze. When he saw Li Xiang walk into the room, he didn't even turn his head, but just asked calmly: "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"There is something I want to ask Aung for advice." Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Just make your own decisions on anything. There's no need to ask me for everything." Li Shimin said casually.

Old Li has always been very satisfied with Li Xiang's sense of propriety.

Even though he was given the military power of Dengzhou, Xiaoxiang did not do anything out of line.

Old Li felt very casual when getting along with the baby elephant, just like a grandparent and grandchild in an ordinary family.

Therefore, the attitude towards him is also very casual, basically giving him whatever he wants.

"Well, I just want to hang a sign on the craftsman's yard in Yongchangfang and set up a scientific and technological research institute under the Jingzhao Prefecture." Li Xiang said.

"Science and Technology Research Institute?" Li Shimin sat up and asked, "What is science and technology research?"

It’s not that Lao Li is ignorant, it’s just that this word didn’t exist in that era.

"The so-called science and technology is the abbreviation of science and technology. Science solves theoretical problems, and technology solves practical problems." Li Xiang said: "Science is a knowledge system that reflects the objective laws of nature, society, and thinking. For example, why there are four seasons, why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, why it rains, and why steel is better than bronze in making weapons. The study of these issues is collectively called science."

"As for technology, it is the method and principle of solving problems. For example, how to smelt iron is technology." Li Xiang spread his hands and said, "And this science and technology research institute is an institution that researches newer, better and higher technologies."

"I understand what you said." Li Shimin nodded and said, "You also learned this from your teacher, right? He is indeed a wise man. If so, this technology is fundamental to the prosperity of our Tang Dynasty!"

"In that case, I will grant your request. You can appoint and dismiss officials below the seventh rank in the Institute of Science and Technology."

"Thank you, Grandfather." After Li Xiang thanked him, he immediately praised, "Grandfather, you have a keen eye. I admire you."

"Haha." Li Shimin laughed, obviously seeing through the insincerity of his great grandson, "You said 'old man has a keen eye', but what you actually thought was 'old man is a fool', right?"

"It's my fault." Li Xiang pretended to be aggrieved: "If Grandfather has this attitude, it would be better for him to ignore me directly, otherwise it would seem that I am being unreasonable!"

"You rebellious grandson, I've only said a few words to you, but look at your attitude now?" Old Li had a complicated expression, and felt a bit like he was facing Empress Zhangsun back then.

The couple usually joked with each other, and sometimes Empress Changsun would tease Lao Li, who would choke and remain silent.

"When you put it that way, it seems that I'm being petty. My heart is colder than the coldest days of winter!" Li Xiang said aggrievedly.

Li Shimin:...

He took a deep breath and decided not to bother with this rebellious grandson.

It’s so frustrating, there are always ten thousand words waiting for him!
"Alright, alright, you always have some weird things to say!" Old Li waved his hands impatiently: "Anything else? If not, get out of here! I'm sick of you when I see you!"

"Look, I just said a few more words, and Grandpa is like this." Li Xiang sighed: "Forget it, forget it, I said too much..."

Before he could finish his words, he felt himself being held down by Li Shimin.

"You little bastard, wait for me to be beaten!"

"Ouch!" Li Xiang felt a shoe sole hit his buttocks. He howled: "Aunt! Aunt! Help!"

Unexpectedly, Li Mingda heard his cry for help, but had no intention of paying any attention to this heartless, ungrateful and unreasonable little elephant.

After finally escaping from Old Li's clutches, Li Xiang covered his butt and ran out of the Lizheng Hall.

After finishing a set of Jiangxiang Eighteen Shoes soles, Old Li felt refreshed. He stood at the door of Lizheng Hall and laughed loudly.

"Hahahahahaha..."

"Why is Aye laughing?" Li Mingda opened the door of the side hall and asked curiously.

"Hahaha, I feel good after beating up that rebellious grandson!" Li Shimin said happily.

"If there is a next time..."

Li Mingda was interrupted by Li Shimin before he could finish speaking.

"I know you feel bad for Xiang'er, just let him go next time."

"No, I mean, Aye, give me a few more hits too." Li Mingda narrowed his eyes and gleamed fiercely at Li Xiang's back.

Hearing his good daughter was going to beat up the little elephant, Old Li rolled up his sleeves and planned to help out: "Next time I'll call you, and we can fight together as father and daughter!"

Li Xiang just didn't know what happened in Lizheng Hall, otherwise he would have to sigh about it.

After getting Lao Li's approval, he officially hung a sign for the courtyard in Yongchangfang.

Just when Li Xiang entered the palace, Fang Yiai also received an invitation from his cousin.

The gist of it was that he wanted to invite the couple to a simple meal and discuss important matters.

Fang Yiai always felt something was wrong, so he told Li Shu about it.

Li Shu always felt that the Lu family was up to something bad, but if he didn't go and take a look, he would never know what they were going to do.

"In that case, my husband should agree to my cousin's request." Li Sufeng's eyes flickered: "I want to see what kind of sword dance the Lu family will perform at the Hongmen Banquet!"

(Ask for some monthly tickets)
(End of this chapter)