Chapter 22: Banquet for Two Sages Just as Tian Ze and Jia Xu were discussing future development matters, Tian Zhong rushed in. "Young Master, people are coming. Cheng Zhongde and Chen Gongtai have entered the city." Tian Zhong knew very well how much Tian Ze valued these talents, so he rushed to report without delay. "Oh?" Tian Ze smiled slightly, put the fishing rod aside, stood up and said, "The big fish is finally caught." A gleam of brilliance also flashed in Jia Xu's eyes. The tool man is finally here! During this period of large-scale reform, Jia Xu was busy formulating plans, conducting research and adjustments, and overall planning, while also overseeing education, cultivating talents, compiling textbooks, and handling many affairs in the county. He almost went crazy from exhaustion. The donkeys in the production team were not used like this. He was busy from morning to midnight every day, and his schedule was packed with things to do. Jia Xu even wanted to die. Tian Ze was very considerate and arranged an assistant and a doctor to assist him, but he basically just left everything to do, which made him very angry. However, he knew that Tian Ze's practical ability was average, so he handed all these matters over to him.
I can only work hard while being angry that there is no one around me who can share the responsibility with me. I have been looking forward to the great talent that Tian Ze mentioned. Now I finally see hope! "My lord, these two great sages have arrived, but I wonder if you have any clever plan to keep them here?" Jia Xu asked. Tian Ze said calmly: "Just treat them with sincerity. It's good that these two can come. If we can keep one of them, we'll be lucky." Jia Xu raised his eyebrows slightly: "My lord, are you not sure that you can recruit them?" "Yeah!" Tian Ze said very naturally, "These two are not from poor families like Wen and you. They are all from noble families. They just failed to achieve their goals because of their personalities. If I force them, the families behind them will probably not let it go." The corner of Jia Xu's eye twitched: "So this is why the lord chose me in the first place." Tian Ze nodded honestly: "There are not many scholars in this world who are truly poor, and the top wise ones are even rarer. Only Wenhe and you are the most outstanding, so I will naturally choose you first." Are you kidding? Dong Zhuo hasn't even entered the capital yet! The world is still ruled by scholars, and among the counselors, the only two soft persimmons that Tian Ze can think of are Li Ru and Jia Xu. Compared with the historical Three Kingdoms, this world is more like a fiction. Li Ru was not a doctor in the court, but a commoner, but he had another identity, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law. Faced with Dong Zhuo who had begun to show his ferocious nature, Tian Ze naturally did not want to provoke him, so only the unlucky guy Jia Xu was "invited" to Youzhou by him. Hearing Tian Ze's straightforward words, Jia Xu held his forehead with his hand and said speechlessly: "My lord, you are too kind." Tian Ze also realized that what he said was a bit off. He smiled awkwardly and changed the subject: "Wenhe, do you have any good ideas?" Jia Xu calmed down and said in a deep voice: "These two people are ambitious and upright. As long as the lord shows a little edge and then talks about righteousness, it should not be difficult." "If it doesn't work..." Jia Xu looked to the west. "My lord, winter is coming soon. I'm afraid some of the Wuhuan people can't stand it anymore!" As the most famous mercenaries in the Han Dynasty, the Wuhuan were very powerful, but they were only interested in profit. Sometimes they followed the Hu people to fight the Han people, and sometimes they followed the Han people to fight the Hu people. This year, the Xianbei went south to plunder again, and the western Liaoning and northern Liaoning regions were not spared, but the Wuhuan did not get any benefits at all.
To survive this winter safely, the imperial court must provide relief. But this is basically impossible. The imperial court cannot even pay the salaries of the Wuhuan cavalry in the army, let alone provide relief to their tribes. When these Wuhuan people were about to die, they would naturally turn their attention to the Han people around them. Hearing Jia Xu's words, Tian Ze felt a slight chill in his heart. Then he looked at the dark green dot representing Jia Xu on the small map, and then he felt relieved. Fortunately, I have attracted the other party. Otherwise, I would be in great trouble if I encounter him in the future. Suddenly he realized that if he recruited these two ruthless men, Jia Xu and Cheng Yu, this combination... It seems that I still need to find a way to recruit more counselors, otherwise, if I have to listen to these two people's advice every day, who knows what might happen. "Okay, let's talk about this later. Let's go and welcome these two wise men first." Tian Ze said casually. As for civil officials, Tian Ze naturally hoped to have as many as possible, but he kept a calm attitude. He had run into obstacles too many times with these civil officials and had become accustomed to it. Now he already has Jia Xu, the smartest man in the late Han Dynasty, under his command. Even if he cannot recruit these people, it would be enough to get a few second- or third-rate counselors to assist him. …… "Dong'a Cheng Zhongde (Dongwuyang Chengongtai), meets with County Magistrate Tian." Cheng Yu and Chen Gong were both rare wise men of the time. Through their observations along the way, they had already gained a general understanding of Wen County and were deeply impressed by Tian Ze's governance capabilities. When they arrived at the county government office, they saw Tian Ze, Jia Xu and Dian Wei waiting in front of the door. They were very moved and bowed to them. "Please get up quickly!" Tian Ze quickly helped the two of them up. "You two are both virtuous men of the time. You are willing to condescend to come to Wen County to meet me. I am very grateful. I have prepared a small banquet. Please feel free to give me some advice." Seeing Tian Ze's sincere expression, Cheng Yu and Chen Gong exchanged a glance and said, "How dare you disobey my order!" Tian Ze smiled slightly and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation: "Please, both of you!" "Please, County Magistrate." Seeing that Tian Ze, the county magistrate, was so humble, Cheng Yu and Chen Gong were quite flattered. Although the two of them had some fame in their hometown, they were just commoners in terms of status. Tian Ze treated them in this way, which really made them excited. Seeing this, Jia Xu smiled slightly. One of the great qualities of my lord is that he is modest, prudent and generous to others. Even when he meets an old farmer, he is polite. But he knew that Tian Ze was as arrogant as anyone else. But it's normal. If he had such "talent", he would also be proud of it. Tian Ze cordially welcomed the two into the backyard, and with his sincere and humble attitude, they became closer through a few casual conversations. In the backyard hall, the huge round table was filled with delicious dishes. The five generals Guan Yu, Ma Teng, Zhang He, Le Jin, Xu Rong, and Tian Chou, who had recently come to help Tian Ze, were already waiting at their seats.
Han Dang and Ling Cao were busy recruiting refugees, Gao Shun was in charge of inspecting the garrison of Wen County, and Yu Jin was training troops on Changxing Island, so they had no time to come. Seeing this scene, Cheng Yu and Chen Gong were slightly stunned. In this era, everyone defaults to eating separately, but Tian Ze feels that it is more comfortable to eat together. Before, he had to pay attention to the influence in the clan, but now that he has set up his own business, Tian Ze no longer cares about these things. Having the two sit on the chairs on either side of him, Tian Ze explained with a smile: "It will be more lively if more people eat together, and it will also avoid waste." The dishes on the table were rich and varied, including braised pork, scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts, etc., which were all stir-fried dishes developed by Professor Tian Ze's servants. Although there were fewer condiments such as chili peppers in this era, onions, garlic and the like had been introduced, so many dishes were copied by Tian Ze. Unfortunately, due to Han law prohibiting alcohol, this was not a day for drinking. In order to show respect to Cheng Yu and Chen Gong, no wine was placed on the table. Chen Gong touched the armrests of the chair and the table in front of him, feeling a little bit novel. After introducing everyone present one by one and exchanging a few polite greetings, the banquet began. Everyone was unknown at this time, so there was not much communication. They just talked about the interesting things they saw and heard in Wen County. Cheng Yu looked at the nearly twenty dishes on the table, and the aroma lingering around his nose made him salivate. "County Magistrate Tian, how are these dishes cooked? They are so delicious. Why have I never seen them before?" "This is a stir-fry made in an iron pan. It's a new cooking method I developed and it's quite delicious," said Tian Ze. As a time traveler from a flower-growing country, how could I possibly tolerate boiled vegetables and pickles all the time? Even though we already have hot pot and barbecue, we can’t eat them every meal, so we naturally have to resort to stir-frying. Originally, he had high hopes for cooking as another "invention" to make money, but after careful investigation, he soon gave up on it. Cooking requires a lot of oil and ordinary people cannot afford it, while hotels in various places have long been monopolized by local wealthy families, making it very difficult to open a store. The most important thing is that cooking does not require high technical skills and can be copied by just a few glances at the kitchen. Opening a store is just giving money to others. "Stir-fry?" Cheng Yu frowned slightly: "I also have an iron pot at home, but the dishes I made never had such a fragrance. I don't know how this stir-fry is cooked." The iron production in this era had increased greatly. Although ordinary people had few iron products, there were many in wealthy families. Iron pots had already appeared, but the cooking technique was not yet mature, so they were only used for cooking soups and stews, so they were not widely used. Tian Ze smiled, picked up the chopsticks and picked up two pieces of braised pork, placing them on the plates of Cheng Yu and Chen Gong respectively. "This is Ze's secret recipe. Come and try it." Tian Ze personally picked up food for them. Cheng Yu and Chen Gong felt very valued and were deeply touched. Put the braised pork in your mouth and take a light bite. The softness of the fat and the tenderness of the lean meat will explode in your mouth. The perfect combination of the two has rich taste layers, and the taste of the sauce is even more memorable. "how?" "It's really delicious! I never thought there is such a way to cook pork, and it doesn't have any fishy smell at all." Even Cheng Yu, who doesn't like delicious food, couldn't help but sigh. Tian Ze smiled slightly.
The raising and eating of pigs has become very common in this era, but the technology of castration has not yet matured and been promoted. After Tian Ze invented this operation, it not only greatly reduced the cost of pig farming, but also made the pig meat more delicious and reduced hernia. "Okay, everyone, start eating! Don't hold it back!" Although the portions were huge, the six generals present, including Dian Wei, were all big eaters. However, they slowed down their eating speed in front of the two new wise men. Tian Chou, who was at the end, cleverly turned the table to make it easier for everyone to eat. The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves for a while. (End of this chapter)
