Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 371 Yiluo Carp
Before long, Guo Tu arrived as summoned, but Liu Bian had already composed himself.

As soon as Guo Tu stepped his left foot across the threshold of the palace gate, he heard the emperor's question coming from inside the palace.

"Gongze, Chenjun is not like Luoyang. Are you getting used to the food there?"

Liu Bian's tone was calm, revealing no emotion, but Guo Tu's heart tightened. He quickly stepped into the hall, but perhaps due to his guilty conscience, he lost his footing and slid to his knees, which slid nearly half a zhang away on the smooth floor.

Guo Tu lowered his body, his breathing slightly disordered, and replied with heavy breaths, "The food prepared by the imperial chefs is naturally a delicacy."

Although both are located in the Central Plains, Chen County and Luoyang have very different dietary habits.

As the capital of the Han Dynasty, Luoyang City attracted many merchants from the Western Regions and other merchants from the north and south, and people from all over the world could enjoy food in the restaurants within the city.

However, Chen County has a genuine Central Plains culinary tradition. Lacking seasonings from all over the country, the dishes are relatively bland, and the locals particularly enjoy eating fish, turtles, snails, and frogs.

Although Guo Tu had lived in Luoyang City for a long time, he was, after all, a native of Yingchuan County and a chef of the imperial kitchen, so he was not incompatible with the local cuisine.

Liu Bian slightly raised his eyes, looked at Guo Tu who was still kneeling on the ground, and did not immediately tell him to get up. He simply asked, "Are you getting used to your stay?"

"We live in the same city as the country, so we're used to it!" Guo Tu looked up and forced a smile, his tone becoming increasingly submissive.

When moving to a new place, the primary concern is naturally whether or not one will adapt to the new environment.

Although Luoyang is hundreds of miles away from Chenxian, both areas are densely covered with waterways, so it's not so bad that people would suffer from acclimatization problems.

Moreover... I am the emperor's dog; wherever the emperor is, I am there!
A dog living with its owner is just living at home.

How could a dog not get used to living at home?!

Liu Bian glanced at him with a half-smile and then asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"With the body of the nation's supreme ruler, all evils retreat, and I can sleep soundly every night, feeling extremely secure."

With the divine might of the Holy Emperor shining brightly, how could any evil spirits dare to invade?
Guo Tu's reply became increasingly obsequious, and his face was filled with smiles.

Clearly, he knew he had done something wrong.

"Oh."

Liu Bian did not ask any further questions, but simply gave a cold reply, indicating that he understood, and then remained silent.

This soft response made Guo Tu even more flustered. He lay on the ground and secretly raised his eyes to peek at the emperor's expression, only to see that Liu Bian had already lowered his eyes and looked elsewhere, his face expressionless.

In the past, whenever he was granted an audience with the emperor, during the dialogue between the emperor and his ministers, Guo Tu would be granted the privilege of being exempted from formalities and given a seat, as well as tea and pastries. If he was summoned during mealtimes, he would also be given an additional meal as a special favor.

This is the first time he has ever been offered a seat and a meal, or even a simple "no need for formalities," and left to kneel there without getting up.

Could it be that they really messed up?
Guo Tu's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and he secretly thought to himself that something was wrong.

He originally wanted the Court of Justice to keep a low profile.

To date, although the new law, the Hanxing Code, is still in its early stages and only at the stage of establishing a general framework, it has already attracted too much attention.

This achievement was enough to warrant promotions and titles for all the officials involved in drafting the new law.

Trying to get rich quick by claiming credit for both the drafting of new laws and the investigation of powerful families in Chen County seems too greedy. It's likely that core government agencies like the Ministry of Agriculture and the Censorate will become hostile towards the Court of Justice.

Even though Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Wang Yun, and others initially failed to grasp this simple truth due to their preconceived notions about Guo Tu, they were able to understand and accept his goodwill after reflecting on it briefly upon returning home that day.

Of course, Liu Bian also noticed this.

However, he was busy planning the affairs of Jizhou some time ago and did not pay much attention to this major case that was being investigated and handled jointly by the three departments.

This is something that should be easily accomplished, so why pay too much attention to it?

By the time he came to his senses, more than half a month had passed, yet there had been no progress.

A hunting dog, after catching a large prey, instead of thinking about how to catch more prey for its owner, restrained its claws and let other hunting dogs show off their skills.
Liu Bian sneered inwardly, ignoring Guo Tu who was kneeling on the ground.

Before long, a group of eunuchs filed in, bringing the lunch for the day. Today's dishes were mainly fish.

One of the dishes is fish soup, also known as fish stew.

The soup in the celadon bowl had a faint yellow hue, the color of which came from the essence of the fish bones and the marrow that had been simmered for a long time. A few scarlet goji berries and finely chopped green dandelion seeds floated on top, and the soup was garnished with ginger slices, cinnamon, and other spices.

Stir gently, lift the congealed oil film on the surface to reveal the almost milky white broth and tender white tofu cut into cubes underneath, and a rich, warm aroma of fish, tofu and spices rises gently.

Liu Bian still did not allow the eunuchs to serve him. He picked up the soup ladle, scooped a spoonful into a small bowl, and saw that the soup was thick and smooth. There was no whole fish in the soup, only fish meat that had been carefully dissected, bones removed, and almost blended into the soup.

I took a sip, and the rich, fresh aroma immediately filled my mouth. The minced fish melted in my mouth, and the warmth reached my very core as the temperature gradually dropped in late autumn.

Liu Bian nodded slightly, looked up at Gao Wang's smiling face who was standing to the side, and said, "Is it a silver-bellied bream from the Yi River?"

"The nation is wise," Gao Wang replied, bowing.

If you ask what the most famous delicacy in Luoyang is, it must be the Yiluo bream.

The Yiluo carp is the most beautiful in the world!
The Book of Poetry, Chen Feng, Hengmen, says:

"Why must one eat fish from the Yellow River? Why must one marry a woman from Qi?"

"Why must one eat carp from the Yellow River? Why must one marry a woman from the state of Song?"

Although it is a poem about love, it also fully expresses the undisputed status of the Yiluo bream in the hearts of diners.

Among them, the finest are the Yi River silver-bellied bream and the Luo River golden-scaled carp, whose prices far exceed those of the freshest veal and lamb.

Among the classic dishes made with Yiluo bream, the most famous are bream stew and carp sashimi.

In the past, the imperial chefs would prepare a fish stew made from silver-bellied bream from the Yi River, and the other main dish would naturally be sashimi made from golden-scaled carp from the Luo River. This was a top-notch delicacy that was highly sought after by the imperial relatives and nobles in Luoyang City!
The latter, in particular, features thinly sliced ​​fish, its flesh a delicate blush, served with a sauce made from a mixture of mashed ginger, garlic, scallions, mustard, vinegar, plum sauce, and other acidic condiments. It is a dish that many consider a delicacy.

However, since Liu Bian ascended the throne, he has banned the consumption of all raw foods, including raw fish, in the palace.

It wasn't just that Liu Bian himself disliked eating raw food, but also the advice of the Imperial Physician Zhang Ji and the Imperial Physician Hua Tuo.

While current medical technology doesn't offer a complete understanding of parasites, it's not entirely without knowledge.

When Hua Tuo was treating patients in the countryside, he used emetics to make them vomit long worms that were called "long snakes".

Zhang Ji also summarized a lot of experience in treating the relatives and nobles in Luoyang, and compiled it into a book. In it, he mentioned fish sashimi: "Eating fish sashimi and drinking cheese will cause worms in the stomach and cause malaria."

According to medical principles, cheese is acidic and cold in nature. If eaten with raw fish, it can cause worms and abdominal masses. Therefore, it is best to avoid eating them together.

The reason for banning sashimi is that in this day and age, there is simply a lack of methods to kill parasites with low temperatures.

However, this prohibition was limited to the palace. Outside the palace, the custom of eating raw food included not only fish, but also beef, mutton, pork, and other river and seafood.

Liu Bian did not want to die young or even perish prematurely, so he cooked the golden-scaled carp in a roasting method, turning it into another Luoyang fish delicacy, "Luoyang Roasted Carp".

The fish is split open from the spine, and like an unfolded fan, it is spread out and flattened by several thin bamboo skewers. Under the baptism of the blazing charcoal fire, the oil sizzles and the fish turns into an enticing golden-brown color that is almost reddish-brown.

The aroma, a blend of the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, the spiciness of dogwood, the salty freshness of refined salt, and the charred fragrance of roasted fish, is exceptionally strong under the influence of heat, forcefully filling the nostrils and the entire hall.

The enticing aroma naturally wafted into Guo Tu's nose, who was still kneeling on the ground.

However, for someone like him who loved fresh fish, and who was starving at midday, the strong and overpowering aroma was nothing short of a silent torture.

-

P.S.: No eunuch was involved; he was just in a car accident and suffered a mild concussion.

In summary, on my way to work this morning, the road ahead was temporarily closed due to heavy fog. Traffic police were setting up barriers and letting people pass in batches. When it was my turn, there were only me and the two cars next to me (both were the lead cars). Then some idiot sped up at 80 km/h without looking at my fog lights and hazard lights and gave me a speeding ticket.

I feel like the airbag taught me a lesson; I probably wouldn't have had a concussion if it weren't for the airbag...

(End of this chapter)