Mrs. Qin Xiangguo

048

After two months of class, the caravan who stayed in Handan returned.

Some shopkeepers who were willing to follow Zhao Weizhen also came to Xianyang with the caravan, and the shopkeeper of the Handan restaurant was among them.

At the same time, the female official Ziying must also be escorted back to Qin by the caravan.

Zhao Weizhen was very happy about this, so he simply invited Miss Ziying to his restaurant to hold a banquet to celebrate.

So early in the morning, Zhao Weizhen came to the restaurant to check the specific situation.

She carried her clothes and went straight to the restaurant, followed by several eunuchs dressed in palace uniforms with tense and respectful expressions.

The shopkeeper of the Handan restaurant is now the shopkeeper of Xianyang. He just took up his post and was in high spirits. He was shocked when he saw this situation.

"Ma'am, what's the matter?" the shopkeeper asked quickly.

"Officials in the palace." Zhao Weizhen explained succinctly: "Miss Ziying said please don't waste it, and send someone over to learn a few tricks."

The female official Ziying was not polite to Zhao Weizhen, but she didn't care either.

Lu's restaurants and restaurants never have any secret recipes, anyway, Zhao Weizhen has many tricks.

She stepped across the threshold: "How about the tofu I asked you to prepare?"

When the shopkeeper heard the words, a faint joy appeared on his wealthy face: "It's been done a long time ago, and I'm just waiting for you, madam."

Zhao Weizhen's eyes were clear: "Take me to see it!"

The improvement of farm tools improves the efficiency of farming, which in turn increases the harvest of crops.This year's bean production is not low, so Zhao Weizhen decided to make tofu.

In history, tofu appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, and it is said that Liu An, king of Huainan, accidentally discovered it by making alchemy.

Now there is no shortage of beans, and the technical content of making tofu is not high, so Zhao Weizhen immediately sent people to start tossing.

At this time, Lu Buwei's caravan played a role again, and Zhao Weizhen specially ordered people to bring salt brine from the salt pond in Wei State.

The shopkeeper led people into the mill and took out several huge wooden boxes.

As soon as the wooden box was opened, the fragrant bean fragrance came to the face.

"It's all done according to Madam's instructions." The shopkeeper rubbed his hands happily: "The bean curd with salt and marinade, the soft tofu that has been pressed for a short time, and the long-pressed tofu are all ready."

Zhao Weizhen waved his hand, and said to the nervous eunuch behind him: "You are welcome, come and have a taste."

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves, picked up a wooden spoon, and gently dug some old tofu into her mouth.

As soon as the tofu is put into the mouth, it can be crushed with a sip of the tongue, followed by the aroma of lip and tooth beans, which is also mixed with a faint taste of brine.

Delicious!

The familiar aroma of tofu moved Zhao Weizhen to tears.

Nowadays, there are meat, vegetables and tofu, and it is only short of chili peppers to eat a complete hot pot meal!

For others, tofu is a taste and texture never tasted before.

"This... this is really strange."

"How can a bean do such a thing?"

"How can it be so soft, beans are hard!"

Without Zhao Weizhen's instructions, several officials discussed with the shopkeeper immediately after discussing the production method.

After they finished recording, the shopkeeper immediately looked at Zhao Weizhen.

"Ma'am, what should I do with this tofu?" he asked.

"Fish stew!"

Zhao Weizhen couldn't wait!

Things like tofu are delicious when stewed.Today, Zhao Weizhen doesn't have to cook in person, she holds a bowl of soy milk and is only responsible for standing in the kitchen and pointing out the country.

The freshly caught river fish is washed and processed, then sliced, fried with ginger and scallion oil, and then directly put into the pot and stewed with water and soy sauce.In the same way, Zhao Weizhen ordered the cook to wash and shred the cabbage, cut the mutton into minced meat, and stewed it with tofu.

Stewed fish with tofu and stewed tofu with cabbage, the most common home-cooked dishes in the north in modern life, are hard to eat now.

Just thinking about Zhao Weizhen makes my mouth water.

When the two dishes enter the stewing stage, the entire backyard of the restaurant will be full of rich aroma.

Xiao Yingzheng came here when the fragrance of vegetables surrounded him.

He went into the restaurant but found no one, and it was Wei Xing who brought Ying Zheng to the backyard.As soon as he entered the yard, Xiao Yingzheng paused for a moment when he smelled the strong aroma of beans and sauce, and then saw Zhao Weizhen standing in the yard, staring at the stone stone beside him in a daze.

"Ma'am." Ying Zheng walked forward: "What's wrong with this?"

Zhao Weizhen came back to his senses suddenly.

Seeing little Yingzheng, without saying a word, she put the tofu bowl in her hand into Yingzheng's arms: "Try it."

Ying Zheng looked suspiciously at the tofu in the bowl.

No matter how you look at it, this thing doesn't look like something you can eat.

There were not so many food patterns in the pre-Qin period. This soft, yellow-white substance looks more like something that would be produced in an alchemy furnace.

However, Ying Zheng has natural trust in Zhao Weizhen.

He firmly believed that Mrs. Wei Zhen would not harm himself, nor would she ask him to try strange things.So Ying Zheng didn't ask much, just dipped some tofu with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Ying Zheng:!

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be made of beans!

Ying Zheng, who never liked to show his emotions on his face, rarely showed a surprised expression.

Zhao Weizhen smiled and said, "How?"

Ying Zheng: "The taste...is very strange."

Let's say it is sweet, it has a bit of bitterness of brine in it; say it is bitter, the fragrance is particularly strong.Coupled with the taste that melts in a sip, it is a food experience that Xiao Yingzheng has never had in his six-year life.

Careful tasting, quite addictive.

"I want to try dishes made with this thing." Ying Zheng said.

"Okay."

Zhao Weizhen happily said: "The stew will be ready later, the first one is for Mr. Zheng to eat."

Hearing this, Wei Xing on the side couldn't stop: "Ma'am, what about me, what about me?"

Zhao Weizhen: "Go to the kitchen and fish it yourself."

Wei Xing was elated: "Yes!"

He went straight to the kitchen happily, and for a while, there were people coming and going in the backyard, only Zhao Weizhen and Xiao Yingzheng were left idle.

Holding the bowl in his hands, Ying Zheng turned his gaze to Shi Gong next to Zhao Weizhen.

Just now Madam has been staring at this hole, but he has not forgotten it.

"Ma'am." So Ying Zheng insisted and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Huh? Oh."

Zhao Weizhen followed Ying Zheng's gaze: "I was thinking about something else."

Stone mills were not called stone mills until the Han and Tang Dynasties, and they were called 硙 in the pre-Qin period.

"Other?" Ying Zheng asked.

"Water mill." Zhao Weizhen patted the stone mill with his right hand and answered honestly.

Hearing the unfamiliar words, Ying Zheng blinked.

Without asking, Zhao Weizhen knew he wanted to explain himself.

Zhao Weizhen's thinking is very straightforward: Now that the grain output has increased, can the manufacturing industry also keep up?

Just when she was making tofu, she thought of water mill.

This aspect is also related to the conversation with Qin Wangji not long ago.

On the first day of class, King Qin visited Zhao Weizhen's school in person, and he said that he wanted Zhao Weizhen to "give him a few more steps".

What steps?

Naturally, it is possible to reward meritorious deeds, but it is not enough to allow running a school.

——It means to ask Zhao Weizhen to do something more.

The greater her contribution, the greater the "pressure" on King Qin Yingji.

At that time, he can "under pressure" to discuss with the ministers and nobles: Although there is no precedent for a woman to be a minister, there is no woman who has made such a great contribution. It will be impossible not to reward him. Hurry up and think about it Contribution reward program.

Then Zhao Weizhen had to think hard about what else he could take out.

Water mill is just one of the ideas.

"It means the water hole." Zhao Weizhen said patiently: "Look, Mr. Zheng, this hole needs strength to turn, and after turning, it can grind beans or rice. It takes a lot of effort to use manpower. It saves effort to use cattle. , but there are not enough oxen to cultivate the land, where can I use it to push the arbor? I was wondering if I could use other strength, neither humans nor cattle, to make the arbor turn by itself.”

Ying Zheng understood.

He immediately followed Zhao Weizhen's train of thought: "Madam, do you mean water?"

Zhao Weizhen: "Yes."

However, a new confusion appeared: "However, what kind of turbulent water flow is needed to push the abutment made of stone?"

"We can use gears," Zhao Weizhen said.

my country is one of the first countries to use gears, and even iron gears from the end of the Warring States period have been unearthed.

Zhao Weizhen vaguely remembered that the water mill and the water row were both invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty, not too far away from the present. The production process is not difficult, but the technology is the most difficult.

but--

Although he probably knows what a water mill looks like, Zhao Weizhen doesn't know how to design gears!

The knowledge blind spots of pure arts students have appeared again.

"Gears?" The six-year-old Ying Zheng didn't understand.

"Uh, it's a wheel with grooves on the rim." Entering the blind spot of knowledge, Zhao Weizhen gesticulated and chattered, trying to explain clearly to Xiao Yingzheng: "The small gear connects to the big gear, the big gear connects to the big gear, and the big gear connects to the big gear." Water mill, in this way, only the force of turning the small gear can be linked to turn the water mill."

At this point in the explanation, Wei Xing, who went to the kitchen to steal tofu to eat, has returned.

He was holding the bowl, and when he heard Zhao Weizhen's last words, he couldn't help interjecting: "Madam said, but those things from the Mo family?"

Zhao Weizhen: "..."

Oh yes.

How could she have forgotten the group of master handicraftsmen from the Mo family!

Fortunately, she was still here staring at Shi Mo and pondering for a long time, wondering if she should muster up the courage to roll up her sleeves and count.

Ying Zheng curiously continued: "Since there are people who are studying it, it's just a matter of finding them."

It's not that easy.

However, the Mo family seems to have always been mysterious because of inheritance issues.According to Yuan Bo's few memories of the Mohist school, after the death of the patriarch Mo Di, the Mohist family was divided into three factions.

When she married to Qi State, she occasionally met a few Mohists, but they were all disciples who were good at defending and propagating theories, and they were far from the technical leaders in modern cognition.

The Mohist school has strict discipline in inheritance. In Zhao Weizhen's view, it is like a practice sect in martial arts novels. The skills you have mastered must not be casually passed on to the outside world. If you can keep it secret, keep it secret.

He doesn't even remember the original body, and Zhao Weizhen doesn't know where to find it.

"If you want to find the Mohist family, do you have to find Juzi first?" Zhao Weizhen hesitated: "But I don't know where to look for it."

Ying Zheng let out a disappointed "Oh".

But after understanding, he looked at Zhao Weizhen again, and saw that regret was clearly written on her face.

"Madam thinks the Mo family is useful?" Ying Zheng asked.

Zhao Weizhen pursed his lips.

Now that she is in Handan, she dare not run the train with her mouth full!Zhao Weizhen first glanced around and saw that everyone was coming and going, and no one was coming to the edge of the stone mill, so he was relieved.

"Let's not mention their governance propositions."

Zhao Weizhen patted the stone mill again: "Since the Mohists have researched the gears, then find any student and make a total calculation with him, maybe you can make a water mill."

The water mill is only one aspect, she is still thinking about the water row that appeared together with the water mill!That thing can be used for metallurgy, which is much more practical than a water mill.

"How can you say it's useless when you can make a tool that's easy to use?" she concluded.

Speaking of this, Ying Zheng also understood.

Back in Handan, little Yingzheng was thinking about a problem.

Mrs. Weizhen briefly explained the theories of various schools of thought to him. She seemed to understand everything, and she could eloquently analyze any one she mentioned.But she doesn't seem to have any in-depth understanding of any of them, she only knows a general idea, and has never done a detailed understanding.Ying Zheng thought secretly, and felt that the reason for this was that Mrs. Weizhen did not support any theory.

It’s just because the state of Qin ruled the country strictly according to the “Law of Qin” after Shang Yang’s reform, so Mrs. Weizhen studied the “Book of Shang Jun” and “Law of Qin” seriously for him. I also read a lot of articles.

She learned it and came to teach herself, but occasionally, Mrs. Wei Zhen didn't seem to fully agree with the content of "Qin Law".

"lady."

Ying Zheng lowered his voice: "Which theory do you think is the most useful?"

Zhao Weizhen looked at Ying Zheng in surprise.

Of course she understood what Xiao Yingzheng meant.

But if she said it, would Xiao Yingzheng agree?

Zhao Weizhen thought for a while, and felt that his ability to ask this question was already the result of careful consideration.

According to Ying Zheng's cautious and vigilant character, he would not ask questions carelessly just because he realized that Zhao Weizhen was not a true supporter of Legalism.

"I, I don't have that much idea, and I don't have much ambition."

Zhao Weizhen smiled and teased in a very brisk tone on purpose: "All schools of thought, strategists, all want to promote their own theories. To obtain the approval of the monarch, or for the ambition in the heart, or for the fame and fame, there is always something to do." It’s a pursuit. But in my opinion, it’s enough to learn this thing if it’s useful.”

Ying Zheng turned his head and listened patiently to her.

"The "Qin Law" stipulates the life of the family and the country, so it is useful. Confucianism teaches the world to help the people, loves the world, and sets a noble moral goal for everyone. Isn't it also very useful? Similarly, the Mohist researched these rare things. Better to improve things?"

As soon as Zhao Weizhen's real thoughts were mentioned, she couldn't help it.

These words, since coming to this era, Zhao Weizhen, a modern person, does not know how long he has held back.

"In my opinion, it is not the theory of a certain family or someone who is perfect, nor is it a certain everyone who holds the theory." Zhao Weizhen concluded: "The most complete is to integrate theories of a hundred schools of thought, and keep the good things. Throw away the bad things, just like the jigsaw puzzle that Zheng Gongzi likes, and spell out a complete picture."

"A thoughtful person is also made up of many things. How can the thought of governing a country be comprehensive?"

When talking about the thinking of later generations, Zhao Weizhen didn't stop: "Think about it, if Confucianism is the heart, the law is the bone, Mo Dao, peasants, soldiers, Yin and Yang, etc. are the flesh and blood, wouldn't such a theory be complete? "

Although the "Law of Qin" is good, relying entirely on strict laws can make Qin State unify the six countries, but it cannot make Qin State long-term stability.

The people were suffering from corvee labor and the post-war hardships, but the law did not provide a solution.

In Zhao Weizhen's view, there were many factors for the death of Qin Zhi II, and the single and harsh thinking of governing the country is definitely one of the important reasons.

Due to social contradictions, the law came into being, but with the development of society, the law did not keep up with the changes.This is because the superstructure fails to keep up with the economic base, and problems are bound to occur.

Zhao Weizhen Balabala said so much, but also hope that Xiao Yingzheng can figure this out as soon as possible.

She didn't know exactly how to change the conflicting situation at the end of Qin, but what if Xiao Yingzheng figured it out, paid attention to this problem, and could make changes as soon as possible, maybe the crisis could be resolved as soon as possible?

Although it was just a dream, Zhao Weizhen still felt that he had to say it.

But Xiao Yingzheng didn't answer immediately.

His mind has already started to spin rapidly, seeing him thinking wildly, Zhao Weizhen is not in a hurry.

It wasn't until she was about to finish drinking a bowl of soy milk that Ying Zheng came to his senses.

"I understand."

The boy concluded: "What Ma'am means is that I hope that the theories of a hundred schools of thought can be unified like writing and weights and measures."

Zhao Weizhen: "..."

You are really thinking about unification!

"That's right." Zhao Weizhen laughed: "Unification is the best, just like Mr. Zheng said, wouldn't it save a lot of trouble?"

"However, if you want to unify, how can you convince a hundred strategists?" Ying Zheng asked again.

"There's no need to convince them."

Zhao Weizhen said indifferently: "As long as the monarch says unification, what are the courtiers for?"

Ying Zheng nodded approvingly: "We still have to unify the family and the country."

Zhao Weizhen: "..."

She has long seen that other monarchs dare not, or only think about unifying the six countries in their dreams, but Qin really dares to do so. Half of the reason for the idea of ​​unification does not come from acquired education, but because Xiao Yingzheng beats the mother's womb brought out.

"But it's useless to say that."

Zhao Weizhen said regretfully: "Even if we can find the Mohists, we must know where they are."

Ying Zheng was at a loss when he heard the words: "Lu Buwei has many caravans, and their footprints are all over the world. How about asking the caravans to inquire about the news for your wife?"

Zhao Weizhen froze for a moment, then suddenly came back to his senses.

Yup!

If you don't use the cheap husband at this time, when will you use it? !

…………

……

Near noon, outside Lu's restaurant.

Lu Buwei's carriage stopped at the door of his restaurant, Wei Sheng respectfully opened the curtain.

He stepped across the threshold first, then said with a smile: "Master, this new dish is so delicious!"

Is it?

Lu Buwei got out of the carriage, followed closely, and also smelled the smell of beans and sauce in the room.

I have tasted steamed wine, soy sauce, and stewed chicken with mountain mushrooms before, and after smelling the aroma, even though Lu Buwei has traveled far and wide and seen countless rare delicacies, he can't help but look forward to it.

"I heard," he said, "Madam has researched something new?"

"I heard from Wei Xing that beans were used this time." Wei Sheng replied.

Lu Buwei wanted to say something more, but before he could say anything, he saw Zhao Weizhen walking out hurriedly with his sleeves in his hands.

The little lady from the north is not too tall, not too old, with a dignified appearance under a head of black hair, but there seems to be a fire hidden in her clear eyes.

She walked up to Lu Buwei, without saying a word, grabbed his hand through her sleeve.

Even though there are clothes separating them, the soft touch of Zhao Weizhen's fingertips can still be clearly conveyed.

Lu Buwei's whole body stiffened.

This action quieted down the noisy restaurants.

In broad daylight and under the watchful eyes of everyone, this couple directly held hands? !

Lu Buwei was overjoyed, but he didn't show anything on his face, he just said gently: "Ma'am, slow down!"

"Come with me." Zhao Weizhen pulled Lu Buwei and walked out.

"What's the matter?"

"I want to find the Mohist giant." Zhao Weizhen said without hesitation: "Go and tell the caravan to help me pay attention in various countries."

"..."

"Go!"

"........."

Lu Buwei looked at the enthusiastic Zhao Weizhen, and really didn't know whether to say it or not——

Can't we let him go after dinner?