The happy life of the devil and the devil

Passing through the territory of the Xi clan, Yuan Shao's driving direction shifted from due east to northeast, and headed straight for Heishui.Along the way, Dingling's Flying Cavalry Guards, Bohai's Baishan Guards and Black Water Guards successively came to protect the royal driver, and the surrounding Sushen, Wuluo and other small tribes did not dare to lag behind, even the Haixiye who had a trouble at the beginning of last year People, who braved the wind and snow for thousands of miles, sent people to pay tribute to the emperor, offering mink fur, mouse fur, bead and other things that had been accumulated for a year to show their submission.

According to the tradition of Beiliang, at the end of the first lunar month every year, the emperor went to Heishui to break the ice and hook fish.The Tie Le people have only risen in the north for more than a hundred years, and this custom is not found in the history books, so Ling Yucheng couldn't figure it out even after thinking about it. It is so cold and frozen for thousands of miles, what kind of fish can there be? The black water is covered with ice and snow, and the ice layer is at least a foot thick. Can a cart with four horses walk casually?

Besides, how delicious are the fish in the north!

On the white ice cap, various colored brocade tents spread out in all directions, surrounded by a particularly tall golden tent in the middle, and the sound of chiseling ice can be heard endlessly.The first fish must be caught by the emperor himself, and offered as a sacrifice to the ancestors of heaven and earth, which is called the head fish sacrifice.Now that the school of fish has not arrived, there is no music or banquet as usual, and Yuan Shao can only sit in the golden-roofed tent by the Heishui River, chatting, laughing and greeting the chiefs and chiefs who came to worship.

Ling Yucheng sat side by side beside him, listening with a smile, interjecting a sentence or two from time to time to brighten the atmosphere.Others only said that the empress and her majesty sang together, and they cooperated seamlessly. In Yuan Shao's eyes, Ling Yucheng's face was full of curiosity, and he wished that he would leave this account immediately and squat on the ice to watch others chisel the ice go.

Hey, this is really like this... When I was hunting swans last year, I never saw him so curious. Not only did he not have the mind to look around, but he even forgot to bring the necessary Haidongqing without reminding him.

Sure enough, I want to open up and become more lively. Have you started to find everything interesting?

Well, well... Actually, fishing on the ice is really interesting. He was brought by his father when he was young, and he could squat on the ice for half a day, use a fork and a net to fish, and fish on the ice. They slid around and chased each other, and they refused to go back unless they were dragged into the tent by the collar.What's more, since Ling Yucheng came here for the first time, isn't everything new?

As I thought about it, I started to feel a little distressed for some reason.He can memorize Ling Yucheng's experience without deliberately recalling it. Don't mention the poor life he lived with his biological mother before the age of seven. around...

For so many years, Ling Yucheng has never even had a childhood.

Although the head fish festival is said to be the emperor's own fishing, the emperor can't be like a fisherman, squatting on the ice for two or three hours with a fishing rod.The attendants in charge were all experienced, taking advantage of the fact that the large group of people were busy setting up tents, they had already used the large tent as the center, dug ice crevices in the river ten miles up and down, cast large nets, and drove the fish to the center.The fishing nets used on this glacier are not the hemp woven nets that are common on the seaside, but are made of wool, horsetail and other long hairs. roll hook.From the busy early in the morning, by this time it was already a matter of course, and the news came in one after another from outside: the school of fish has arrived, please Your Majesty to fish!

Yuan Shao immediately got up with Ling Yucheng.Ling Yucheng only said that a group of chiefs, big and small, from various ministries would follow, who knew that except for Yuan Shao's personal guards, the rest would just kneel down to send them off - even the guards also stopped outside the tent, and Yuan Shao took over with confidence. The rope hook presented by the attendant, when he slowly stepped into the big tent in the middle of the ice, he was alone with him.

"What's the matter?" Facing Ling Yucheng's undisguised curiosity, Yuan Shao's mouth turned up slightly, pretending to be staring at the water surface in the center of the ice cave casually, "The first fish in the new year was supposed to be caught by my own hands." Hunting, what's the point of getting a large group of people to follow and serve? —— Or do you think that I can't even take care of a mere fish?"

...Do you want me to kneel down and call Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty is omnipotent?

"I'm just curious. It is said that Emperor Taizong was only five years old when he succeeded to the throne, and Emperor Sejong was even younger, only two years old..." It is said that the fish was used for sacrifices, so the emperor must do it himself?

"The emperor is too young, so of course it's the queen mother who did it—otherwise, what do you think? Not only do you hunt fish and release eagles in winter, you hunt tigers and shoot deer in autumn, you also kill sheep and horses in winter solstice. The emperor has to fight in person. Otherwise, how can you convince the crowd?"

Ling Yucheng instantly had a feeling of looking up to the mountains.It is really not easy to be a queen dowager who has been in charge of Beiliang in the past. She has to be capable of writing and martial arts. Do you not need to be beaten by the descendants?

During the speech, the ice cave was already boiling with waves.There is not only one ice hole in this tent, as Ling Yucheng thought, but a total of four holes were dug out, one of which was pierced through, leaving a very thin layer of ice in the next three holes, and through the ice surface, you can see The school of fish below is crowded together, and there is a thin sound of ice cracking from time to time.

The waves in the ice cave rolled more and more quickly, and gradually some small fish bounced up. At first, they were only finger-length, but later they became more and more crowded, and even a foot-long fish jumped out of the water in a panic.Ling Yucheng grew up in the south, and the largest fish he has ever seen in his life is no more than an arm long. All kinds of famous fish, such as perch, salmon, shad, etc., are no more than a foot long. At this time, he will jump by himself when he sees a fish that is one foot long. After coming out, he couldn't help turning his head to look at Yuan Shao frequently, wondering why he didn't do anything.

Yuan Shao held the rope hook with one hand, stood by the ice cave and stared at the water surface without moving a muscle.After waiting for a long time, I saw countless large and small air bubbles popping up in the ice cave as if rolling away, and there were no small fish bumping upwards in the three holes next to it. I smiled and said, "Here we come!" The curved hook made of long stainless steel pulled the long rope through the water and went straight down. When it entered the water, it was silent.

As soon as the water surface was quiet, large swaths of water splashed straight up, splashing so that the ground inside the tent was so slippery that there was nowhere to stand, and there were strands of red in the snow waves.The long rope made of multiple strands of horsetail mixed with beef tendon hangs down softly and straightly for a while, and is held tightly in Yuan Shao's hand at one end, while the other end submerged in the water circles around the ice cave. Standing at the edge of the cave, I could only hear the thud on the ice under my feet.

But all big fish have a very long temper. Although Ling Yucheng himself has never fished before - he doesn't have that much leisure time. He has also heard people say that fishing a fish often takes a long time.Looking at the force of the fish hitting the ice under the water, the shock could be felt through a layer of ice more than a foot thick. I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take to catch this fish today.Maybe he should actually go out and help out with a harpoon?

Yuan Shao stepped firmly on the ice, the rope in his hand followed the big fish, retracted or let go, and he still had time to greet Ling Yucheng: "Hey, you should take a step, and watch out that your boots are frozen on the ice! I won't break the ice for you when the time comes—" He said while taking two steps forward, taking advantage of the big fish swimming close to the ice hole, exhaling and pulling hard, the rope was immediately wrapped around his arm again two laps.

After a meal, the place gradually quieted down, and the rope in Yuan Shao's hand was lowered five or six feet down again.Just as Ling Yucheng leaned closer and bent over to look, he suddenly heard a greeting: "Get out of the way—" There was a splash of water in front of his eyes, and without thinking, he immediately jumped upside down according to Yuan Shao's order.

In the blink of an eye, Yuan Shao yelled, the long rope in his hand shook violently, and then he held the rope with both hands and swung it up sharply.The internal force penetrated, and the long drenched rope suddenly jumped upwards, flying out of the water with a big silver fish.

This fish——Ling Yucheng's eyes followed reflexively, three feet, four feet, five feet... The body of the fish rising out of the water was already more than a person's height, and the tail was still in the water, so he had to bite He flicked his tongue to prevent his jaw from falling and freezing to the ground.

No way...Looking at Yuan Shaoling's slap in the air, the big fish weighing hundreds of catties opened the curtain and flew straight out. Hearing the thunderous cheers outside, Ling Yucheng couldn't help it. Shake off a cold sweat.

The work of the emperor is really a physical effort in Beiliang!

Following Yuan Shao out of the big tent, Ling Yucheng saw the oddly shaped giant fish about Zhang Zhang in length, with a pointed nose and wide mouth struggling on the ice.A whole small group of Jinwu Guards lined up in two rows facing each other, each holding a long halberd, crossed tightly and pressed the big fish on the ice, each gnashing their teeth, sweating profusely, and their legs tied tightly into a horse Step or lunge, trembling slightly on the slippery ice.

Ling Yucheng would rather believe that they were afraid of slipping and falling - it would be too incompetent for ten or so people to deal with a fish and not be able to clean it up.but……

"Let's go, what else is there to see?"

"I'm looking for a shovel..."

"Ok?"

"They pressed so hard, will the big fish be frozen on the ice later?"

At this moment, Yuan Shao was extremely thankful that there was no one around them, and Ling Yucheng kept his voice down as much as possible.

There is such an unbelievable idea, is it really his queen?

Whether the fish would freeze on the ice before dying, so that it needed a shovel to shovel it off, was obviously not a topic that the emperor and empress needed to care about.Surrounded by the guards, the two returned to their sleeping tents, changed the leather hats they wore when hooking fish, and put on the same solemn sacrificial attire as on the day of the winter solstice.

"520 three catties!" A loud voice full of joy yelled with all his strength, "The head fish weighs 520 three catties! The catch is over [-], which means there will be plenty of rain this year, and the harvest will be safe! God bless us!"

"God bless me! Long live my emperor!"

"Long live Long live Long live!"

The thunderous cheers spread far from around the imperial tent, Ling Yucheng's lips twitched, but he still held it back.God knows what a big fish has to do with rain... The auspicious snow heralds a good year, and there is a snow at the end of the year and the beginning of the year. This year's harvest has already been set in half, and the emperor needs to come all the way to find a fish for divination?Besides, is too much rain a good thing?We have to prepare for waterlogging and flood prevention, okay!

Yuan Shao saw his eyes rolling around, with a strange look on his face, he knew that he was thinking wildly again.However, the head fish sacrifice is one of the most important sacrifices in the beginning of spring in Beiliang. You can slander, but you must not talk nonsense. Fortunately, Ling Yucheng finally shut up and didn't say a word, which saved him from yelling.

The place where the sacrificial offering was held was quite a distance from the imperial tent, and Ling Yucheng walked side by side with Yuan Shao's gaze, and arrived after a cup of tea.What unfolded in front of my eyes was not houses and palaces, and I didn’t even see the statues carved out of rocks. As far as I could see, there was only a lush forest—maybe the word gloomy cannot be used to describe it in winter. The trees have lost all their leaves, and the branches are covered with ice and snow. It is a natural Yushu Qionglin.

The woods are not a large area densely packed, but like two arms embracing, with a large area of ​​ground vacant in the middle.In the center of the open space, two big trees with similar heights and postures stand opposite each other, like a pair of flag gates unfolding in front of you, passing through the flag gates, you will see an extraordinarily tall and straight giant tree, standing majestically and imposingly.All the nearby trees lowered more than one end of it, and the breeze blew, and the treetops swayed slightly, as if worshiping the king of the tree.

The gods of the gods and the earth, as well as the tablets of the past emperors of Beiliang are set behind the giant tree.Ling Yucheng dismounted with Yuan Shao, passed through the banner gate made of big trees, still turning his eyes left and right, waiting to see where the offerings should be put, when he saw the big fish being dragged all the way on the sledge, and then—— , passed a rope thicker than an arm through the gills of the fish, and hung it to the giant tree in the middle?

Amidst the sound of praise and worship from the ceremonial officials, Ling Yucheng followed Yuan Shao meticulously, burning incense, laying down wine, bowing down and getting up.After praying three times, he walked forward and crossed the giant tree. Ling Yucheng only said that he would kowtow again. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao turned a corner at his feet and walked to the left, leading the mighty ministers and workers who followed behind him. Turn around three times around the giant tree in the middle and the opposite Qimen double tree.

"Three turns around the tree..." Ling Yucheng muttered to himself, but he didn't dare to make a sound.Yuan Shao next to him has turned his head and stared at him fiercely, his meaning is very clear: you dare to say the following sentence and try it out!

After three circles, he stood aside and watched the courtiers continue to circle the trees four more times, and all the rituals of the head fish sacrifice ended.After returning to the account and changing back to casual clothes, the river surface was already boiling, and the world was full of noise. There were clanging ice chisels everywhere, Hangyu Hangyu's chant, as well as exclamation and laughter, betting bravely to win... one by one Fish, big or small, were also carried on shoulders and dragged by sledges in baskets, and they were dragged off the ice one after another.

The smoke from the cooking rose far away, and the silk and bamboo in the golden-roofed tent were intertwined, and a variety of dramas were played, and the grand fish feast finally kicked off.

Although Yuan Shao told him "I'll take you to eat fish this year" a month earlier, Ling Yucheng really didn't have any expectations for the fish dishes in the north.But apart from the green vegetables and fresh fruits that have been hoarded in the autumn or specially cultivated in warm cellars, Yuan Shao didn't even look at the roe, deer, rabbits, and bear's paw humps that were presented to the banquet, let alone signaled to the followers to take them. Come here, as for whether there are people next to you who are hungry and growling, they don't seem to pay attention.It seems that looking around, I am waiting for the fish with all my heart.

...What is so delicious? Hey!

The steaming fish was served at the end.Ling Yucheng sat on a high place and looked down. This cooking style is really... rough as always.The cauldron that can feed a dozen people at one time is boiling, and the small pieces of fish meat are at least as big as a palm, and the large ones can weigh one or two catties.The waiter filled a bowl full of soup and meat for every nobleman in the tent, but no one touched it. Yuan Shao raised his glass leisurely in the upper seat, and saw everyone avoid their seats and stand up, bowing down on the ground in unison.

"Thanks to His Majesty's grace, I am grateful to be able to feast on this giant fish! Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live—"

"Excuse me, gentlemen!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty—"

After worshiping Wu Shanhu, they all returned to their seats. Ling Yucheng looked down at the floating fish in the bowl, and asked in a low voice: "So, it's all thanks to His Majesty's blessing to have this fish meal today?"

"It's really—" Yuan Shao looked down with a smile, without squinting, and his voice was low, "Let's not talk about it in the next few days, the first fish feast must be the fish I caught, don't you Know?"

"Your Majesty really, no, knows, knows." After a glance, there must be hundreds of people sitting below, "If the fish your majesty catches is too small, wouldn't it be enough?"

"So you know why they thank you so hard?"

"..." Ling Yucheng finally had no words to respond to this kind of shame that was too thick to be pierced. He lowered his head and picked up a piece of fish, cut it into small pieces and put it into his mouth as if venting his anger.God knows that the fish meat is really not tasty at all: it is at least two inches square, and it tastes fishy in your mouth. The fish meat is as dead as wood, and there is at least an inch of fat under the skin. "...they won't add more scallion and ginger? Or pour some wine into it!"

"Don't eat it if it doesn't taste good." Yuan Shao only moved a little bit, "The first dish of the head fish banquet must be boiled white fish in river water. It’s a story about a big fish bestowed by God to survive the whole winter. When you’re hungry, you don’t care if it’s delicious or not... Wait, I’ll have something good for you later.”

"Really?" Although he didn't say it out of his mouth, the eyes full of disbelief already explained everything.Yuan Shao smiled without saying a word, and after a while, the soul-stirring fresh fragrance filled the big tent.The dishes served this time were much more normal. The fish meat was cut into half-inch squares and three-quarter-thick slices, braised in soy sauce, vinegared, and fried in various ways.Ling Yucheng tasted a bite or two of each, although he still felt that it was a little too greasy, he could eat it if he didn't care too much.It's just... is this worth showing off?

Yuan Shao continued to laugh without saying a word.What was served next made Ling Yucheng really guess: the thickness of translucent fingers, one by one exudes a burnt fragrance, and it is quite chewy when biting into the mouth, it feels quite like the inch gold that I have eaten before. Cartilage, just where did it get so big?

"Can't you guess it? This is a fish bone—we eat the cartilage on the head of the fish. The people below," his chin lowered a little, "can only eat the big bones on its body. Fortunately, there are also fish bones. It's soft enough to make up for. It's fried in oil, and it's also delicious when chewed dry."

The last fish dish was really a rare commodity. You could tell from the way the dishes were served, except Yuan Shao's side and the tables in front were served with plates, and the rest were just a small cup for each person.Ling Yucheng picked up a piece and looked down. It wasn't fish meat, and the texture didn't look like fish skin or fish tendon. It was a slightly transparent and elastic chunk, thickened with sauce, soft and smooth, crispy and fragrant.Unknowingly, he ate three yuan in a row, but he still couldn't figure out what it was, so he couldn't help turning his probing eyes to Yuan Shao again.

"This time it's fish lips..." Seeing that Ling Yucheng was finally stumped, the corners of Yuan Shao's mouth twitched slightly, quite proudly, "Even if you've eaten it, it's from dried food, right? Fresh ones can only be found here. One fish weighs only a few catties, if the fish caught is too small, it’s only a little bit for each person’s head, and the taste will be gone after a taste.”

"It means that the minister called Long Live to thank the emperor for his kindness?"

"Of course, no matter how small the fish is, it's still enough to feed my queen—"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Why did you want to throw the plate in his face without saying a few words to him?

The author has something to say: As a native of Modu, I am really exhausted from checking the sturgeon fish...

Fortunately, there are still dishes worth showing off, so that the southerners won't be overwhelmed...