After handing the written recipe to the cook, Li Xian started touring the imperial dining room with his hands behind his back.
Speaking of which, he still hasn't eaten a grain of rice. Now that he doesn't have to eat the offerings, and he's in the imperial kitchen, he would really be sorry for himself if he doesn't get something delicious for himself.
Pork was still a cheap meat at this time. Because of the breed and lack of castration, the taste was crazy. Only ordinary people would eat this kind of thing. As for the scholar-bureaucrats and nobles, the most common foods were chicken, duck, goose, fish, and beef, which few people could eat.
The Tang Dynasty lacked cattle, and even when the emperor offered sacrifices to heaven, he could only use cattle heads on rare occasions. The crime of slaughtering cattle without authorization is not much different from that of murder.
However, in Li Xian's view, even if the government and the emperor gave repeated orders, there would probably be some who couldn't stand it and secretly slaughtered the cattle. After all, even in the strict legal environment of later generations, there are still people who are greedy for all kinds of protected animals, let alone now.
No, within a few steps of the imperial dining room, I saw a piece of fresh beef.
If you want to say one thing on the surface and another behind the scenes, you have to be the emperor!
If such a large piece of beef can be stewed with potatoes... well, potatoes are still in America.
Stewed tomatoes? Gee, it seems that there is no such thing now.
Besides, in this solar term, there probably won’t be much vegetables.
He glanced at the beef regretfully. There were no potatoes or tomatoes, especially no pressure cooker. He really couldn't love beef.
Pointing to the beef, Li Xian said to the little cook on the side: "Cut off a large piece and chop it into minced meat. When I leave, I will take it with you."
The little cook was about to burst into tears. This was beef. If it had been made from other ingredients, there would be no problem at all. However, this was beef that the sage himself said he wanted to eat. Who dares to cut off a piece of something that the sage named and give it to others? ?
Just when the little cook couldn't help but kneel down, a voice rang out: "You are the first to fight for food with me, don't you feel unfilial?"
Hearing this voice, even the fat cook, who was obsessed with memorizing prescriptions, quickly jumped up and saluted.
Li Xian also bowed, stood up and said helplessly: "Aye, you are wrong to blame me. I want to bring the beef home, make it into delicacies, and then send it to you. I am filial, but how can I be unfilial?" ?”
Li Zhi is not ill now and seems to be in good spirits. He walked in with a smile and said: "What a mouthful you are. I heard that your mother wants to build another pavilion in the palace? Could it have something to do with your trip to the harem?" Bar!"
There is no fool in being an emperor. Li Xian could only smile bitterly and said: "It does have something to do with my son. If Aye is angry, he should punish his son."
Walking up to Li Xian, Li Zhi thought for a while and then said: "Although Xu Yanbo is close to Xian'er in private, if you do this, especially if you pretend to handle this matter with your mother's hand, I don't know how many consequences there will be. Indeed. It deserves punishment!
I had no appetite just now. After reviewing the memorial, I felt very hungry. I heard that you came to the imperial kitchen, so I followed you. Let's do this, I will punish you to cook me a full meal yourself, as for the ingredients..."
He scanned the imperial dining room, but didn't find what he wanted, so he had to continue: "Let someone bring a sheep and two chickens."
Sheep and chicken?
Li Xian looked at the chopping board not far away in confusion. On the chopping board was a half-processed sheep. In the corner, there was also a plucked chicken. Why did someone have to get it alive?
Thinking again about the clearly articulated word "personally", Li Xian suddenly smiled bitterly.
Good guy, this is forcing myself to start by killing chickens and sheep!
I have long heard that one of the essential lessons that ancient emperors taught princes was to kill people.
As an emperor, it is impossible not to be ruthless. An emperor who is indecisive and has a bodhisattva heart may have a good reputation. But looking at all dynasties, such emperors either did not end well or did not end well.
Therefore, it is necessary to teach the prince to be cruel.
The source of Li Shimin's comment about Li Zhi that "having a son like a sheep is worse than having a son like a wolf" is unknown. At least in Li Xian's view, Li Zhi is very inconsistent with this evaluation.
The so-called image of "Emperor Gaozong is cowardly" has been forcibly created by Guo Moruo and other pro-military factions. Come to think of it, someone like company commander Sun Wuji, a veteran and a relative, can decisively bring down someone, how can he be a coward?
Of course, even if this sentence is true, it is estimated that the reaction of ordinary people will be the same as that of Li Zhi.
The emperor is going to the battlefield. If he dies in battle, won't he be able to ascend to the throne? And if he went to war for his father, wouldn't he let his brothers applaud him once the hiccup fell?
Seeing the non-negotiable look on Li Zhi's face, Li Xian smiled slightly and did not resist. Instead, he turned to the fat cook and said, "Bring me a knife, a sharper one!"
"In addition, prepare a basket of soil, a fire, some lotus leaves, star anise pepper, green onion, ginger and garlic for me."
"What? Only drug stores have it? Then give it to me too!"
"Also, you guys, boil a pot of boiling hot water for me."
....
After finishing his instructions, Li Xiancai looked at Li Zhi and said, "Ah, I can't do so many things by myself, so I asked them to do some preparation work. Do you think it's okay?"
Li Zhi looked at Li Xian with interest. In his opinion, the most important thing was that Li Xian killed the sheep and slaughtered the chickens himself. The rest, even if someone else was cooking, he wouldn't care.
"Okay, but I'm very hungry, so you'd better hurry up."
Li Xian smiled and didn't say much. Instead, he took the sharp knife handed to him by the guard on behalf of the fat cook and walked out of the imperial dining room.
In the empty courtyard of the imperial dining room, the cooks were preparing frantically.
They never thought that they would see a saint appear in the imperial kitchen in their lifetime, nor did they think that the majestic prince would one day cook in person. However, there is no doubt that failure to serve these two people will be a disaster.
Five eunuchs had already brought sheep and chickens.
Sheep is a goat and chicken is a big rooster.
Holding the knife, Li Xian took over a chicken without a trace of hesitation. He held the chicken head and wings with one hand and scratched the chicken's neck with the sharp knife, and a stream of blood flowed out.
Throwing the chicken aside casually, the second chicken soon followed in the footsteps of the first.
Li Zhi, who was standing aside to watch this scene, was originally prepared to watch a good show. However, when he saw Li Xian killing the chicken so neatly, he was suddenly surprised.
In his memory, neither he, nor Li Zhong, nor Li Hong could be so calm when they killed livestock for the first time.
In just a short time, the first chicken stopped struggling too much. Several cooks carefully dug out the soil stained with chicken blood and prepared to discard it. Just looking at the amount of blood, this knife is also synonymous with stability and ruthlessness.
After all, Li Zhi himself couldn't do this. He still got ruthless and chopped off the chicken head with a knife to pass the test.
