"Best-tasting… friend?"
In Kongming's understanding, those who walk together may be called companions, and those who share ideals and purpose are called friends.
To be called a friend, one must either be like Shiyuan and Yuanzhi, willing to risk life and limb for the great cause, or like Zijing, possessing noble aspirations and aligned views.
Kongming had never imagined that more than a thousand years later, when future generations were asked:
"What is a friend?"
The answer would be:
"Delicious."
Well, one could only say that the wit and humor of later generations even outdid Xianhe's style.
But Jian Yong, who was silently compared in Kongming's mind, could not care less about that.
His gaze was locked tightly on the ancient text fragments shown on the light screen when braised pork was mentioned. He directly read aloud:
"Low fire, little water. When the heat is right, it becomes beautiful on its own… It's actually this simple?"
If the light screen had not yet ended, Jian Yong would have rushed straight to the kitchen to try it himself.
To Jian Yong, beyond doing his utmost to help Xuande realize peace under Heaven, seeing what had never been seen and tasting delicacies from across the world was also a personal pursuit.
And now, after hearing the later generations speak of it, he suddenly realized that such delicacies could be made by one's own hands. That alone carried a special kind of joy.
Liu Bei let out a sigh.
"We too would like to slaughter fat pigs year after year to welcome the New Year, but…"
Every time he glimpsed the later world through the light screen, what filled his chest was envy for their abundant food.
Not to even mention the so-called 'unmatched in five thousand years' later age.
Just look at the Tang dynasty, enjoying the best climate in two thousand years. Rice was nearly being planted up to Zhuo Commandery. To him, that was already like fantasy.
And what about Song?
Though later generations criticized its civil and military achievements, they still openly acknowledged the refinement of Song craftsmanship, the prosperity of its commerce, and a flourishing literary culture that rivaled Tang.
Moreover, whether Tang or Song, their populations far exceeded the chaotic age he lived in.
Not to mention that even now, the Central Plains were held by Cao's bandits, and Jiangdong commanded a hundred thousand troops, and the realm was still not unified.
Originally, this year had stabilized the Three Qins. Under Kongming and others' planning, there was confidence for a decisive battle with Cao Cao next year and victory. Liu Bei had truly felt ambitious and satisfied.
Yet every time, the prosperous scenes of later generations struck him back to reality.
His sense of self-satisfaction faded, replaced by self-reflection.
Compare others to oneself. When would the Han people under his rule be able to slaughter pigs to celebrate the New Year?
Only then could it truly be called the restoration of the Han.
Liu Bei once again felt his ambition surge.
But then he remembered that many households in Chang'an still built latrines following the old practice of front toilet and rear pigsty.
So what needed to be done next in agriculture became very clear.
Try crop rotation and mixed planting, so that household pigs could at least change their diet.
After all, pigs raised behind latrines…
Even if Liu Bei did not mind, he still felt something was a little off in his heart.
…
"Can this pork really be fattier and more delicious than lamb?"
This was Li Shimin's biggest concern.
But Sun Simiao suppressed him mercilessly.
"Your Majesty is already forbidden from eating fatty lamb and fatty beef. No matter how delicious this pork is, it cannot enter the imperial kitchen."
Li Shimin stared seriously at Sun Simiao for a moment, then turned his head away with a snort.
"I do not find it delicious. I merely wish to taste it first on behalf of the people."
His words said that, but the quiet swallow of saliva betrayed all his true thoughts.
Empress Zhangsun saw that even though Li Shimin had turned his head away, he was still sneaking glances at the braised pork on the light screen from the corner of his eye. She could not help but smile teasingly.
"Tasting it for the people is something I, as Empress, can also do. That would also help share Your Majesty's burdens."
Li Shimin raised his hand, and in the end could only force out a reluctant "Fine" through clenched teeth.
Seeing her husband in such a state, Empress Zhangsun smiled gently and said:
"When the imperial kitchen perfects this dish, they may present it to Your Majesty in a month. After all, the method shown above is far too crude. It will surely not be as delicious."
Empress Zhangsun understood cooking. At a glance, she could tell that these textual notes were far too simple. Just slow-simmering over low fire without adding other ingredients, how could it possibly produce such glossy color and mouth-watering appeal?
Hearing this, Li Shimin finally nodded and stopped thinking about it.
Then he said thoughtfully:
"This pig-raising method should be organized by the Directorate of Imperial Stables and promoted throughout the realm."
Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling exchanged a glance and accepted the order, making a note.
Having lived through chaos, they understood better than anyone.
If you wanted strong soldiers, you needed both grain and meat.
This pig-raising knowledge refined over a thousand years could naturally be called precious.
[Lightscreen]
[Due to feed-to-meat efficiency issues, it was not until the Ming dynasty that relatively complete meat-focused pig breeding methods were developed.
But lacking pork did not mean ancient people lacked meat.
Besides cattle and sheep, the most popular meat among ancient people was naturally chicken.
This common poultry was easy to raise. After exploration during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, by the Han dynasty, breeding methods were already quite mature, with scattered records of early large-scale farming.
However, due to chickens' weak disease resistance, large-scale farming quickly failed in Han times. For the rest of the feudal era, records of large-scale poultry farming were basically never seen again.
In ancient times, this problem was essentially unsolvable.
It was not until modern times, with large quantities of cheap antibiotics, that mass die-offs in poultry farms finally had a viable solution.
Even if ancient people suddenly had a breakthrough and used distillation to produce allicin, a very low-grade antibiotic, they would still face the problem that this "miracle drug" could only be preserved for half a day.
If it was difficult even for human use, it was even more unrealistic to apply it to animal husbandry.
Although large-scale chicken farming was difficult, when it came to eating chicken, ancient China could be called far ahead of the pack.
Modern people once asked: could ancient emperors resist the temptation of fried chicken?
In fact, if you secretly offered fried chicken as a trump card to an emperor, emperors after the Tang dynasty would most likely think you were a fool.
For example, Tang people would tie a whole chicken with hemp string, first boil it in plain water, then steam it with spices, and finally deep-fry it in rapeseed oil, eating it with pepper salt. This was called Hulu Chicken.
This method far surpassed ordinary fried chicken.
At most, the batter-coated crispy crust might surprise ancient people a little, but that was all.
In addition, chicken meat was not very expensive in ancient times.
From Emperor Wu onward, the Han dynasty emphasized military construction. Although it was somewhat difficult for common people to slaughter chickens regularly, Han Juyan bamboo slips show that a full Han military ration included grain, whole chickens, salt, vegetables, and wine, basically guaranteeing meat year-round.
The Western Han army's abundant food supply far exceeded that of the Xiongnu, who could only eat meat in winter. This supported the achievement of one Han matching five barbarians, and also quickly drained the Western Han treasury.
In the Song dynasty, with its developed economy, eating chicken became even easier. Three days of a commoner's wages could buy a large rooster. Lu You's poem is the best proof:
"Do not laugh at the farmhouse's cloudy preserved wine. In good years, guests are treated with enough chicken and pork."
From the literal meaning, this was the standard New Year setup for self-farming households or small landlords in Song times.
As for the Ming dynasty, there is no need to elaborate. One day's wages for a commoner could buy one chicken or two ducks, making daily meat consumption even more relaxed.
Of course, all of the above only applies to times of peace.
In times of chaos, forget about eating meat for the New Year.
First think about how to survive and compete with others for a single bowl of Laba porridge to get through the year.]