Spring and Autumn I Am King

ps: One chapter tonight, three more tomorrow

Wang Sunsheng is the grandson of Chu State, and his background is not low. He is also the adopted son of Wu Zixu. He has been in Wu State for 20 years, and has traveled north to the lords, and finally belongs to the Zhao family. He has rich experience.

Therefore, Wang Sunsheng has tasted almost all the food in the north and south of the river: the rice, rice, soup and fish in Wu State are delicious, and the fragrant mushrooms in Yue State are also a must; The celery of Menghu, stewed with orangutan's lips and badger's palm, is a delicacy in the world; Qi's seafood, shark's fin and sea cucumber are not bad, but the most famous is the ooli stew from the East China Sea...

After arriving in Jin State, in addition to the traditional leopard embryos and other rare items, they also tasted the popular pasta here, water-yin cakes, scones, caramel desserts, and tofu, which is said to taste better than meat.

Although Wang Sunsheng is not a disciple of Confucianism, he also pays attention to food and food, and his knowledge of food is the second, I am afraid that no one dares to be the first.

However, at the banquet held in the mansion of the eldest son county governor today, the dishes served were an eye-opener for him.

"It's really unpretentious..."

Wang Sunsheng muttered in his heart, but his eyes were fixed on the dish in front of him without blinking.

The golden color, with the freshly sprinkled green salt, exudes a mouth-watering coke aroma. This is undoubtedly the food that has just come out of the kettle, but the material made is stunned, it is actually locusts!

There were thirty or forty cases in the office of the Chief of the Eldest Son County, and those who could attend the banquet were either ministers and officials above the doctor of Eldest Son County, or the local three elders and dignitaries, or Wang Sunsheng who followed Zhao Wu. The generals who led the army to exterminate the locusts all looked at the locust feast on the table, and their faces were embarrassed and they did not dare not lay down the chopsticks.

"We are all decent nobles, how can we eat cheap insects?" Everyone thought so.

"Why, don't eat?"

Above the chief, Zhao Wuxi's case was no exception. There was a dish made of locusts. He said: "This is the live locust that was just caught yesterday. I got it and ordered the kitchen to wash away the dust and sand. , remove its head and wings, fry it with soybeans, and cook it until it is crispy and cooked. He can eat human grains, and people also eat its meat, so if I have a head, two or three children can taste it.”

Zhao Wuxi was someone who had swallowed locusts raw, and he was even less afraid of cooking them. He immediately picked up a little fried locust and put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times and swallowed it.

After a while, Zhao Wuxi opened his eyes and praised: "Golden in color, crispy and delicious, with endless aftertaste, it is really a delicacy to serve with wine!"

All the ministers in the official office followed his swallow and moved their Adam's apple, but they were skeptical of what he said, but the lord had already eaten locusts twice, and it was impossible for him to do anything.

Then, Zhao Wuqi asked the vertical people to bring the remaining dishes, each of them ate a few chopsticks, and then made a "please" gesture to the ministers. Zhao Wuqi had already set an example, and now it was their turn. .

The ministers were helpless and picked up the chopsticks and chopsticks one after another, but someone was ahead of them, and that was Tian Ben, a fierce general under Zhao Wuxi. He was called by Zhao Wuxi to the banquet today, let alone locusts, even if it was broken iron, he would eat it for you to see!

He aimed at a bowl of honey locusts, grabbed them one by one with big hands, stuffed them into his mouth and crunched. These locusts are made by first rolling them with spices and then pouring hot honey, so they are sweet and hot, and Tian Ben enjoys eating them, and they are delicious.

Others saw that someone else made an example, so they picked up a chopstick and put it in their mouth with their eyes closed...

"Hey, the taste is really good..." Wang Sunsheng was taken aback. He was eating a bunch of locust skewers that were cooked on bamboo skewers. Remove the wings and legs of the locusts, put them on bamboo skewers and slowly roast them over a charcoal fire. When roasting, the locusts should be brushed with soybean oil to ensure that the roasted locusts are tender on the outside and tender on the inside. After sprinkling salt and pepper, there is a fragrant crispness that people can't help but want to chew.

The ministers followed suit. After eating, they realized that Tian Ben and Wang Sunsheng had not lied to them. Although these fried and grilled locusts were average in appearance and looked horrible, they tasted really good!

The courtiers praised one after another: "Eat it like dried shrimp, but this little katydid turned out to be a delicacy in the world."

Zhao Wuchun smiled but said nothing. Eating locusts is not a new thing in China in later generations. Tianjin and Yunnan people like it. Looking at the world, Japanese and Thais also have a soft spot for locusts. Due to the high protein content, fried locusts taste a bit like fried chicken, and their nutritional value is comparable to that of fish, making them a good snack.

Eating marrow knows the taste. After tasting the taste of locusts, the courtiers have no psychological burden to eat. After all, many people have the experience of eating bee pupae or silkworm pupae. In terms of the degree of disgust, locusts really dare not be ranked first. Moreover, under the encouragement of Zhao Wuxi "he can eat the valley of man, man also eats his flesh", everyone seems to be punishing the crime of locusts.

After everyone's appetite was full, the main course of today's locust feast was long overdue, "Pancake Rolled Locust", a famous snack in Tianjin in later generations.

The reconciled wheat noodles are first rolled into pancakes with a rolling pin, sprinkled with fine salt, rubbed with soybean oil, sprinkled with chopped green onion, and then rolled into pancakes. The temperature of the pancakes should be properly controlled, and the pancakes will be slightly burnt on the outside and soft on the inside. Then pick a female locust with a belly full of children, take off the wings, pinch off the thighs, leave a pocket of the fat body of the child, put it in the kettle and fry it brown, pick it up and drain the oil, sprinkle with fine salt, Mix it with chopped green onion soy sauce, spread it on the cake, roll it up, and eat it in one bite, it is simply crispy and tempting!

After the main course was completely eaten, the cups and plates were messed up, and the feast was over. Zhao Wuxi finally revealed to them his original intention of holding a locust feast.

"The locusts caught by the people with all their strength are exchanged for the rest of the grain. If they are disposed of as waste, it would be too wasteful. After drying and storing, they can be fed to chickens and ducks, and can also be used as fertilizer for the next year. This is one method. "

"And since bee pupae and silkworm pupae can be eaten, and fish roe can be eaten, why can't locusts be eaten? Mr. Bian Que said that this food is not only more nutritious than fish and shrimp, but also has the effect of relieving cough and relieving asthma. It can be eaten as a non-staple food. After going down, you can promote this eating method downwards, pouring it with hot soybean oil and sprinkling a little coarse salt is a delicious food. It is incompetent, and it is impossible for everyone to have meat to eat. Eat them like pigs and sheep."

Everyone said yes, so under Zhao Wuxi's deliberate propaganda, today's events were soon known to the whole county, and the "Eight Laws of Eating Locusts" were also spread. Of course, these various methods will be tried by wealthy people one by one. It is worth noting that this method is specially emphasized that it is best to use the Donghai black salt produced in Langya, and don’t use Anyi salt…

It is easy for folks to catch locusts. People tasted the oil-drenched locusts under suspicion, and immediately raised their thumbs and began to fall in love with this kind of food. After all, meat is difficult to obtain, and fish and shrimp are not easy to catch. They are like locusts. Set up a basket that will be half full by sunset.

As a result, eating locusts quietly became popular in Changzi County, and even some people would rather eat it by themselves than exchange it for rice. In this way, the enthusiasm of the people to catch locusts has increased to a higher level. After mid-August, the number of locusts that have been scattered after the dispersal has been declining, or because the local capture is very strong, they have flown to other places, or the weather is bad. It is getting colder and the most rampant date for locusts has passed, and the local locusts are starting to disappear.

With the habit of eating locusts and the previous preventive measures, even if the locusts in Changzi County breed every year, it will not be a disaster. caught."

And the Wei family's territory finally ushered in the end of the locust plague...

...

In August, after raging for half a month, the locusts left. Unlike the compatriots who were slaughtered in Changzi County, here, they were able to preserve the population under the reputation of "God Locust".

That day, it was like hearing a unified password. At almost the same time, the swarms of locusts spread their wings and flew into the sky. They had stored enough energy to go to a suitable place to lay their eggs. For a time, Yanchiyi was dark again, and everything was shrouded in darkness. After a few hours, Yanchiyi slowly revealed light on the edge of the locust swarm.

"Finally gone." The Yan family's daughter exposed her head from the room and breathed a sigh of relief.

It's a pity that only a sad piece of clean remains in Yanchiyi under the sun. Their food was eaten cleanly, and all the grass and trees were eaten up. Yanchiyi became a white field.

Most of the families in Yanchi City did not have enough surplus grain left. They had already made up their minds. After paying the tax, the grain in the rice jar was just enough for the corn to ripen. But now, there is not a single grain of new millet, and as the grain in the rice jar decreases little by little, the hearts of the villagers are getting heavier day by day.

"The locust is gone, but what should I do in winter..."

Late autumn has come, and the weather is getting colder by the day. In this township alone, the daughters of the Yan family and the others, several farming families have given up their arable land and went to their relatives far away. There are also a few families who keep the elderly and children at home, and those who are physically stronger take the initiative to join the army in Anyi. The Wei family did not have food to provide relief to the victims, but they had food to maintain the sporadic war between the Hexi frontline and the Qin state. They could finish the labor, carry food to Hexi, and eat all the way, but at least they would not starve to death~www.readwn .com~ But the father of the daughter of the Yan family said that it was courting death. I heard that Qin and Wei were fighting fiercely. When they arrived in Hexi, most of them would be a dead end to fill a gully.

As for the salt workers, there is still a glimmer of hope.

The father of the daughter of the Yan clan stood up from the wild and lonely fields and said to the family, "Don't panic, the Yan Guan will come to collect the salt, and when the salt is sold, you can go to the city to exchange food!"

The whole family saw hope again. However, the salt officials who usually go to the townships near Yanchi every month to collect salt did not come to the right or left. The father of the daughter of the Yan family was in a hurry and brought her and the eldest brother with him. , pulled the salt with a rickshaw, and took the initiative to run to Anyi to see what happened. After entering the market in Anyi, I found that the salt workers in the eight townships in Shili were all anxiously pulling the salt around the city, and they communicated with each other, but there was no useful information.

So I waited all day, and at sunset, everyone was hungry, and finally someone in charge came out to speak.

Wei's city clerk lazily dialed the abacus, increased the price of grain from one hundred zhao money to one hundred and ten, and lowered the price of salt by two times, and then said to the salt workers: "I have something to do. I didn't inform the second and third sons that starting from this month, the salt officials in Anyi will not accept salt for the time being..." (To be continued.)