Chapter 856 Hunting and Politics

Chapter 856 Hunting and Politics

Chapter 856 Hunting and Politics (Part )
"After the Taishi era, Chinese prime ministers began to use Hu beds and Mo plates, and to cook and roast Mo food for Qiang people. The rich and powerful would always keep these utensils, and would always consider them as the first priority at auspicious celebrations and gatherings."

The people of the Jin Dynasty were quite open-minded. They did not reject things from the Hu people at all. They learned anything they thought was useful, interesting or even fun, and did not pretend that it was their own. Instead, they clearly wrote that they learned it from the Hu people. They were very generous and confident.

After the hunt, a banquet was held, and the "Qiang boiled and Mo roasted" dishes, which were popular throughout the north, were naturally indispensable.

The soldiers brought a young wild boar, gutted it, cleaned it, pierced it with a spear, and then roasted it.

The pork is placed a little further away from the fire and rotated continuously, and is coated with lard, sake, and sesame oil. As it is roasted, it becomes "amber-colored" and "like real gold."

As the most distinguished guest in Pingcheng, Shao Xun was undoubtedly the focus of the whole event.

At his mother's urging, Tuoba Shiyijian clumsily cut a piece of meat in front of the grill, put it on a plate, and held it with both hands to Shao Xun's table.

In one word, filial piety!

Shao Xun took it with a smile, cut off a piece with a knife, put it into his mouth, chewed it, and said, "It melts in the mouth, smooth and delicious, not bad. Shi Yijian is thoughtful."

A major characteristic of "貊致" is that it cannot be roasted too much. It should be cut when it is almost done, and then continue to roast, cutting while roasting.

If the meat is overcooked, it will not be tender enough and will be bitter and unpalatable.

You know what, this dietary theory of the Donghu people was quite popular among the scholars of the Jin Dynasty, because they also liked to eat sashimi, so the "Mozhi" technique was very popular in the Central Plains, and many wealthy families purchased such grills and the Qiang people's utensils for boiling meat.

Shao Xun usually doesn't eat raw food unless he has to, but today he won't spoil everyone's fun. After all, "Mo Zhi" should be at least seven-tenths or medium-rare.

After Shao Xun finished eating a piece of roasted wild boar meat, the generals of Dai State and the nobles of the tribe cheered.

The heavenly being from the Central Plains said that our food was delicious, so everyone felt proud of it and developed some good feelings towards him.

"Duke Dai is filial, friendly, wise and intelligent. In the future he will surely be able to carry on the great achievements of his ancestors and carry forward the great plans of his forefathers." Zhuge Xian began to comment again.

The crowd was confused and didn't understand...

Wang Feng, Duan Fan, Wei Xiong and others understood what was said, and Mrs. Wang also understood what was said, and they all had their own thoughts.

Liu Lugu was sitting at the bottom and asked gently, with a smile on his face.

He had just heard about something that Zhuge Xian praised him as "Zhou Bo", so he immediately asked Yang's staff and learned about Zhou Bo's life. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

But he still had some good feelings towards Zhuge Xian, but was also a little wary.

These people from Jin are the best at stirring up trouble and inciting people's hearts.

At that time, Tuoba Liwei was instigated by Wei and acquiesced to the tribe leaders killing his eldest son, Mo Mo Khan. Later, he came to his senses and regretted it, but it was too late to undo the mistake, and it became a regret for his whole life.

Humph! Do you think I'll be fooled?
However, Shi Yijian was still a long way from ruling the country, and he would have to wait at least eight to ten years. This period of time was enough for the Guangning Wang family to stir up a lot of trouble, so he had to keep an eye on it.

Wang Chang, the former head of the Wang family and the newly appointed prefect of Yunzhong, was in high spirits. He ate meat and chatted with others.

As far as the Dai State is concerned, the Yunzhong Taishou is equivalent to the Henan Yin of the Jin State.

In fact, they can just be called Yunzhong Yin. After all, they are a foreign vassal and have great power.

The Liang Kingdom of the Jin Dynasty did not have the power to confer titles, but the Dai Kingdom could.

The King of Liang did not have the power to offer sacrifices to heaven, but the King of Dai could.

Even Duke Dai often called himself the Great Chanyu on the grassland, which was a much greater title than that of King Liang.

It only took a single word to upgrade the Yunzhong Taishou to Yunzhong Yin, but Cao Cao couldn't appoint Wei Yin, Sima Zhao couldn't appoint Taiyuan Yin, and the King of Liang couldn't appoint Chenliu Yin or Pingyang Yin. Moreover, since the Han Dynasty, there have been a large number of kings and princes in foreign vassal states, but few in the Central Plains. This is the difference.

But these are all trivial matters. The Dai Kingdom's system is rough and mixed with many Xianbei customs. The official system is a mess. There is no need to rush. We can deal with it after it is sorted out later.

He is more concerned about external issues now.

After hearing that Duke Dai was offering sacrifices to heaven, Tuoba Yihuai reacted violently. Although he has not yet openly abandoned the title of Duke of Wuyuan County conferred by the State of Jin, it is only a matter of time.

Wang Chang was worried that after the Jin army withdrew, what would happen if Helan Aitou and Tuoba Yihuai turned against each other and launched a large-scale attack?

Thinking of this, he secretly glanced at King Liang.

He was chatting and laughing with a group of tribal nobles, and seemed to be very popular, but -

Wang Chang sighed quietly, after all, time is still short.

Now he just managed to stabilize the floating people's hearts a little, and it was limited to the three counties of Mayi, Yunzhong and Dai. The area north of Yinshan Mountain was mainly stabilized by the Wang family, Liu Lugu, Changsun Rui, Daxi Heruo and others. The people's hearts were much more floating than here.

Some people, even though they seem to be chatting and laughing with you now, can turn their faces against you very quickly without any hesitation.

This country has ushered in a prosperous national situation, but it has also planted a huge hidden danger. If there is a strong leader to keep the situation under control, nothing will happen, but what is lacking now is a strong leader.

Wang Chang glanced at Dai Gong again.

He was eating meat, and there were many people around him, mostly young nephews and nephews of the tribal leader.

There's an undercurrent.

******
After the bonfire banquet, Shao Xun, who was well fed and drunk, summoned Chanyu Protector Wang Que'er, the four assistant ministers of Dai, the four generals, and the leaders of various small and medium-sized tribes for questioning.

"Is the winter fodder ready?" he asked.

Duke Dai sat on his right like a puppet, and Madam Wang sat on Duke Dai's right. Together with the officials and leaders, all the core senior leaders of the New Generation Country were here.

"Fortunately, the war ended in mid-July. The harvest in Yinshan will not start until August, and we still have to cut the grass. We are busy now, so we can barely make it in time." Wang Feng was the first to respond.

This highlights his position on himself: although there are four assistant ministers, how can their status be equal? ​​Guangning Wang family should naturally take the lead.

"While you are busy with these things, don't forget to continue to recruit the tribes that are scattered outside. I am not familiar with these people, you have to take responsibility and don't let them be recruited away by Yihuai." Shao Xun glanced at everyone and said.

These people in front of you may appear respectful to you on the surface, but who knows what they are thinking in their hearts.

After the morning congratulations on the first day of August and the heaven sacrifices on the second day, people's hearts have become much more stable.

The congratulations may not be a big deal, but for the tribal leaders, offering sacrifices to heaven and holding alliances are still relatively important. After all, this is a sacred political activity witnessed by Tengri, and it is not good to break the oath.

Of course, Shao Xun’s travels in late July were also crucial, otherwise not many people would come to pay homage and offer sacrifices to heaven.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Wang Feng added, "The Guangning Wang family has been cultivating for generations, and there are many tribal leaders that I am familiar with. I will go there in person."

Shao Xun nodded, looked at Wang Feng with approval, and said, "The Shanyu Protectorate will send a military officer to accompany you."

However, most of the people his family knew were from the eastern tribes. Those chiefs had a good relationship with the Wang family, and an even better relationship with the Qi family. In the beginning, many people helped the Qi family fight the Wang family, and now it was more or less awkward.

Shao Xun was worried that Wang Feng was young and full of energy, and that it would be bad to show off in front of those tribal leaders, so he decided to send a military officer who was well versed in the ways of the world to accompany him, using the tiger skin of the Great Jin Dynasty to create momentum for him and hold up the scene. "Dongmugen Mountain needs an important official to guard it, you should discuss and select one as soon as possible," Shao Xun said again.

Wang Feng's eyes flickered, and he finally gave up.

That area was mostly populated by nomadic tribes, and he didn't have many acquaintances there, so it was beyond his ability to handle.

Unconsciously, the Dai Kingdom had been divided into two factions: the Pingcheng faction and the Dongmugenshan faction, as if it had returned to the state of division between the new and the old.

"The situation next year is not optimistic." Shao Xun had someone unfold a map, pointed at it, and said, "Helan Aitou hasn't figured it out yet, but he is ambitious. Maybe one day he will march eastward in a big way. If he comes, I will not let him go. I will definitely do it like this time, until I capture Shengle."

After saying that, he glanced at everyone one by one.

Some people looked calm.

Some people looked thoughtful.

Some people looked uneasy and extremely conflicted.

Some people didn't dare to look him in the eye.

People’s hearts are divided, this is the current situation.

The purpose of Shao Xun's words was actually to intimidate.

Those who are determined to collude with Tuoba Yihuai secretly may not be intimidated, but those who are hesitant and have not made up their minds will most likely have some effect.

Of course, he didn't lie.

If Tuoba Yihuai is willing to surrender and cooperate with him in attacking Guanzhong, then everything will be fine.

If Tuoba Yihuai refuses to surrender, or even intends to annex Wang's mother and son, then we must resort to war.

As for the outcome of the war, it is hard to say.

But these tribal leaders had seen the strength of the Jin army. With the cooperation of a large number of Wuhuan and even Xianbei cavalry, the famous Silver Spear Army could turn Shengle upside down.

"There is no future for you following Yi Huai." Shao Xun retracted his gaze and said, "Besides leading people to rob, what else can he do? I can let you do business."

"Doing business?" Wang Feng became interested when he heard it.

Didn't Mo Han's family make their fortune by doing business? But he mainly sold livestock.

"Livestock, horses, medicinal herbs, ox horns, animal tendons, bird feathers, leather, anything is fine." Shao Xun said, "I just want to ask, what do you do with the wool that the sheep shed during the change of seasons?"

"Make a blanket..." Wang Feng said subconsciously.

Shao Xun glanced and looked at Liu Lugu.

"Sometimes I use it to make ropes." Liu Lugu replied; "It is used to make felt carts, felt tents, felt pads, felt hats, felt mats, and some are used to make felt shirts, but they are rare."

In fact, all textiles on the grassland are made of wool. As the name suggests, it is related to "felt".

"Can the wool be used?" Shao Xun asked again.

"It's useless."

"It would be better to sell it to the Central Plains," Shao Xun said.

Liu Lugu was somewhat puzzled: "Besides the need for felt blankets, why do the people in the Central Plains need wool?"

Shao Xun couldn't answer this question either.

In fact, these days most people have a hard time enduring winter.

The only warm clothing was called "mianyi", which originally referred to clothes stuffed with some silk threads or the like to make a padded jacket.

However, the leftover silk scraps from silk reeling are not affordable for ordinary people. There are people in the market who specialize in purchasing them, but most people choose to sell them in exchange for more urgently needed supplies.

As for keeping warm, just stuff reed fluff into the interlayer - in fact, the warmth-retaining effect is very poor, and not everyone has such clothes.

The rich families did not have such complicated ways to keep warm. They wore fur coats, which were very warm.

This thing was worn until the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, I don’t know what was wrong with the Northern Song Dynasty literati, but they criticized officials who wore fur coats to court, saying that it was a symbol of the Hu people. It was like a stress trauma and they were too unconfident.

Shao Xun actually also wears fur coats, which are made by his wife herself. He has more than ten pieces, and he never wears the same ones twice. They are really good for keeping warm.

But ordinary people could not be so extravagant. They might not even be able to afford the cheapest sheepskin coat.

In short, they need a cheap winter coat that keeps them warm: wool sweaters or sheepskin coats are all worth trying, at least they are much better than inferior cotton-padded clothes.

These are all grassland specialties.

Of course, the above are just Shao Xun’s preliminary ideas, but there are actually many difficulties in implementing them.

Silk is made by weaving technology, while wool is made by knitting. The two are not made using the same technical route.

According to the current situation, there are no corresponding wool textile machines in the Central Plains, not even simple single-operated spinning machines, because there is no large-scale hand-woven textile industry using wool as raw material.

In addition, wool cleaning is also a hassle, and alkali is needed to remove grease.

These are issues that need to be addressed urgently.

In fact, when doing business with the grassland, it is just these things, and no matter how much you do, it cannot get away from this scope. Livestock, leather, and wool are destined to be the main items, and they can't offer anything else.

Moreover, wool may not be sold. Currently, only scholars use wool, mainly as carpets on the ground, and sometimes draped over the body. There are very few other application scenarios for wool.

"Whether we can use the wool is another matter." Shao Xun said, "There are still many people who want livestock and leather. You are all nobles and have no shortage of livestock and leather. If we can trade with each other, how much profit can we make?"

Liu Lugu and others looked at each other and thought seriously.

When they cannot defeat you and cannot rob you directly, they will seriously consider doing business, because it does bring considerable benefits to these noble people.

Shao Xun didn't urge him either.

Anyway, today we just want to start a conversation and let them know that this is happening. There are still many details that need to be improved in the specific implementation, so it is not that simple.

The things he mentioned today, such as conquering Helan Aitou and his ilk sooner or later and conducting trade with the grassland tribes, had only one purpose, which was to make the leaders of these nomadic tribes think twice and not get involved with Tuoba Yihuai in a rush and ruin his overall plan.

The Dai Kingdom was not yet a political entity with strong cohesion, and Shao Xun was really worried about it.

(End of this chapter)