My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 451 Northern Cuisine: The Great Ming Pot
"Have the winter clothes and fur coats been distributed yet?"

Li Chengliang was inspecting a small outpost on the front line, asking Xia Zhongxiao questions as he stood beside him.

Xia Zhongxiao is the officer in charge of this area.

If it weren't for the special circumstances in Liaodong, a young officer like Xia Zhongxiao, who had just come from the battlefield, would not have been assigned to the front lines.

But this is Liaodong, the northern border of the Ming Empire. To survive, everyone must be mobilized.

Xia Zhongxiao fought several battles with Li Chengliang, who saw him as a promising talent and assigned him to this river mouth area.

Li Chengliang was unaware that the place he had set up outposts to guard was the very Wuguo City mentioned in his son Li Rusong's memorial to the military council.

Li Chengliang had only marched this far when he saw that this valley region was strategically important and could control the trade routes of the Jurchens, so he ordered the construction of outposts.

"Reporting to the Protector-General! They've all been distributed!"

Li Chengliang did not correct Xia Zhongxiao's form of address. In any case, everyone around him was his confidant, and Xia Zhongxiao and his son were close friends, practically family. So the atmosphere at the scene wasn't too serious.

Li Chengliang also believed that as long as he could achieve another feat of killing Wang Gao, he could successfully remove the title of "Deputy" and become the Grand Protector of the Andong Protectorate.

Li Chengliang nodded.

The imperial court was very determined to develop the Northeast, and all the people who migrated to the Northeast were given winter clothes.

Soldiers at the front lines didn't even have enough cotton-padded winter clothes; they needed fur coats and other fur products to keep warm.

Wuguo City is located further north than Liaoyang, and its winters are particularly harsh.

"Protector, this way please."

Xia Zhongxiao was strong and young, and he walked with a brisk pace.

He led Li Chengliang to a low-lying barracks.

Xia Zhongxiao said:
“Governor, these barracks were built specifically to be low. The wind and snow are very strong here. If the buildings are too tall, they will easily collapse and it will be difficult to keep them warm.”

"The lower the building, the better the heat will stay in place."

Li Chengliang nodded; he was becoming increasingly satisfied with these martial arts students.

Unlike the uncouth soldiers under his command, these military students were not like those who needed constant reminders. When the Protectorate issued military orders, they were always able to come up with excellent solutions for implementation.

However, on the battlefield, the military supervisors were extremely brave.

Li Chengliang understood that Su Ze had built the framework of the Military Academy, and he admired Su Ze to the point of prostration!
Everyone in the capital says that Su Shi was the reincarnation of the God of Literature! But he was clearly the reincarnation of the God of War! No, he was the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang!
Li Chengliang felt that the best thing he had ever done in his life was to establish a relationship with Su Ze during his last trip to Beijing.

The second right thing to do was to send his son to the military academy.

It's a pity that this rebellious son, having grown too powerful in the military command, refused to return to Liaodong to help him, and instead insisted on going to the Khrushchev Army!

Thinking of this, Li Chengliang became furious.

If the son can return to the Northeast, and father and son work together, the Li family might be able to make a run for a noble position.

Seeing that the barracks were warm and the soldiers were in good spirits, Li Chengliang was even more satisfied.

"It smells so good!"

Li Chengliang walked up to a large pot, looked at the food stewing inside, and asked in confusion:
"What kind of food is this?"

Xia Zhongxiao said:
"Guardian, this is a 'Great Ming Pot,' something that can't be served in public. I've prepared a meal for you."

Li Chengliang, however, said:

"I, the Protector-General, will eat here today. What is this large Ming pot?"

Xia Zhongxiao said:
"This thing was invented by Koreans."

"A Korean?"

Li Chengliang looked at the stew pot and recognized the square pieces of meat inside. These were the "canned meat" that the imperial court had recently distributed to the Northeast.

Canned food is the latest invention of the imperial court.

Meat is minced, seasoned simply with salt, cooked at high temperature, and then sealed in a ceramic jar to make this kind of canned food.

Li Chengliang didn't understand why this thing was called canned food. He only heard that it was a name given by Su Jianzheng. The quartermaster who transported the goods from the capital called it that, and the whole Andong Protectorate naturally followed suit.

It is said that this is thanks to Prosecutor Su's "micro-insect disease theory". A warehouse official from the Ministry of Works proposed the hypothesis that rotting was caused by "micro-insects".

The warehouse manager, named Shen Pei, discovered after his research that boiling water could kill most of the micro-insects.

He was inspired by cured meat to think that salt could also inhibit micro-insects.

Salt and meat are added, and the meat is sterilized at high temperatures before being bottled. These canned goods, with ceramic bottles and metal caps, can keep the meat fresh for up to six months without spoiling.

In the climate of Northeast China, it can be stored for up to a year.

After Su Ze learned of Shen Pei's invention, he immediately built canneries in areas with cheap meat, such as Datong.

The trade between Datong and the grasslands was cheap, and the cattle and sheep suffered considerable losses during transportation, making it impossible to transport them over long distances to Liaodong.

But things are different now. After being canned, merchants can transport them to the capital and then ship them to Liaoyang.

Li Chengliang also liked this canned food at first.

However, after a month-long march in the field, Li Chengliang ate canned food for half a month and couldn't take it anymore.

The officers of the Ming army were all similar. At first, they liked canned meat very much, but after eating it for a long time, they felt like vomiting at the smell.

Canned meat is actually this delicious?
Li Chengliang picked up a large ladle and stirred the pot. Underneath the canned meat was cabbage, a common winter food in Northeast China, and some bean sprouts, a popular dish among naval personnel.

Cabbage can be stored in a cellar for a winter, and bean sprouts only need a suitable temperature to germinate. They are also military rations that the military manual clearly states should be provided to soldiers to supplement their nutrition.

Besides these, there's the food available at the camp.

With the seasonings added, Li Chengliang actually thought it was quite good when stewed in such a large pot.

"How could this have been invented by Koreans?"

Xia Zhongxiao honestly replied:

“Governor, as you know, we’re really tired of this canned meat, but it’s a delicacy for the Korean soldiers.”

“This outpost of mine is surrounded by four North Korean joint defense camps. In the past, the North Koreans would ask for the canned food that we couldn’t finish, even the ones that had been opened and gone bad.”

"I later learned that these North Koreans couldn't even get enough to eat back home, let alone meat."

"They just put canned meat together and cooked it randomly, and it actually tasted quite unique."

"After finishing this pot, we'll add some noodles at the end. The sticky soup mixed with the noodles will keep us warm when we go out on duty!"

"The North Korean soldiers said that this pot was a gift from the Ming Dynasty, so they named it the Daeming Pot."

"When I went to inspect the camp, I thought it tasted good, so I had the cook learn how to make it. The soldiers also cook it like this on a regular basis." So it was invented by those Korean soldiers!

Li Chengliang nodded.

After Tang Jinxing, the military commander of the agricultural settlement, entered Korea, he indeed obtained reinforcements from Korea.

These North Korean soldiers were physically and militarily incompetent, but they were sufficient to guard outposts.

In remote camps like Xia Zhongxiao's, a sentry post would be set up with Han Chinese troops at its core, surrounded by camps of Korean and other auxiliary troops.

The Han army did not have high requirements for its auxiliary troops. They only needed to be able to issue early warnings when attacked by the enemy and hold out for a period of time until the arrival of Han reinforcements.

These Korean soldiers were initially reluctant, but they soon discovered that fighting alongside the Ming Dynasty was really enjoyable!

Korea "voluntarily" sent troops, and the Ming generals could not bear to see these Korean soldiers freeze to death, so they petitioned the court to distribute the winter clothes discarded by the Ming army to them.

Although it was discarded winter clothing, it was a perk that North Korean soldiers could never even dream of!

The same applies to logistics. After ensuring sufficient logistics for the Han Chinese army, the Korean army was also able to get food. In remote camps like Xia Zhongxiao, the Korean camp's supply standard was half that of the Han army, and the rations were plentiful.

This is already a fairly high standard for North Koreans!
Many North Korean soldiers in North Korea used to go hungry, but now they can not only eat their fill, but also have meat.

Li Chengliang and his soldiers enjoyed themselves together. Sure enough, when the whole pot was finished and noodles were added, the flavor of the entire pot was infused into the soup. Li Chengliang ate until he was drenched in sweat and exclaimed, "That was delicious!"

It's a pity we can't drink alcohol in the camp now. Otherwise, cooking a big pot of stew in the warm indoors while the wind howls outside, along with a few cups of fine wine, would be the life of a god!

But Li Chengliang dared not.

As his official rank rose, Li Chengliang became increasingly cautious.

Duan Hui, the military commander of the Protectorate General, was strict and impartial in enforcing military discipline. No one knew whether there were any of Duan Hui's spies in this outpost.

Just as he dreamed of being promoted to the position of Protector-General of the Protectorate, Duan Hui dreamed of returning to the capital as soon as possible.

Therefore, Duan Hui strictly enforced the law in the army, and even Li Chengliang, the deputy protector, dared not easily violate military discipline.

His relationship with Duan Hui was already bad, and if Duan Hui found something to use against him, he would definitely be severely impeached.

After inspecting Xia Zhongxiao's outpost, Li Chengliang rode back to his own camp. When he returned to the Andong Protectorate's residence, Li Chengliang realized that the New Year had already passed without him noticing.

Upon returning to the main camp, he saw his trusted confidants hurriedly step forward and say:

"My lord, an urgent document from the Ministry of War arrived a few days ago."

"Master, the young master's letter has also arrived."

An urgent document from the Ministry of War, and a letter from his son?
The Ministry of War's official documents were handled by Duan Hui, the military commander.

Li Chengliang chose his son's letter without hesitation.

Li Chengliang eagerly opened the letter.

He didn't dare tell his father about Li Rusong's memorial to the throne. It wasn't until the memorial was approved that Li Rusong wrote a letter to Li Chengliang to report the whole story.

When Li Chengliang saw Li Rusong’s letter saying that he had joined forces with the students of the Imperial Academy to submit a national policy and military strategy, Li Chengliang almost fainted!

How could such matters of state be discussed by my own immature son?

Li Chengliang wished he could fly over and beat his son to death!
However, when Li Chengliang saw in the letter that Su Ze actually supported his son and also submitted a memorial to second the motion, his mindset gradually changed. Could it be that his son's memorial was really well written?
Otherwise, how could Prosecutor Su possibly support it?

Upon seeing the back of the letter, which stated that the emperor had approved his son's memorial and even transferred him to the Imperial Guard, Li Chengliang laughed excitedly!

"Is Commander Duan in the main camp?"

"Commander Duan is currently handling government affairs at the main camp."

"Quickly go and invite Commander Duan over!"

Needless to say, the urgent document from the Ministry of War was naturally the memorial submitted by the son.

These days, I have often been suppressed by Duan Hui with military discipline, but now it is time to stand up for myself!

When Duan Hui saw Li Chengliang's old face, he understood why Li Chengliang had invited him over.

The urgent official document sent by the Ministry of War was naturally the "Memorial Requesting the Construction of Five Cities to Secure the Northern Border".

After reading the memorial, Duan Hui also felt that it was very practical and feasible. However, when he saw that the first name of the person who wrote the memorial was Li Rusong, Duan Hui was extremely surprised.

He initially thought it was just a coincidence of names, but after seeing Li Rusong's position, he became even more certain that this was the son of his old rival, Li Chengliang.

Wasn't Li Rusong a military general?

Duan Hui never expected that such ingenious national and military policies would come from the hands of a military general.

Are the Ministry of War officials just sitting around doing nothing?

Thinking about Li Chengliang's personality, this guy is like a peacock spirit, always showing off. Now that he has the capital to flaunt it, won't he keep talking about it every day?

Just then, Li Chengliang's subordinate came to deliver an order, saying that Li Chengliang had returned from his inspection and invited Duan Hui to come over for a meeting.

Duan Hui immediately sensed something was wrong, but there was no escaping it now, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Li Chengliang's meeting tent.

Li Chengliang hadn't even had time to remove his armor. He sat upright in the main seat of the council tent, with a copy of the Ministry of War's urgent document, "Request to Build Five Cities to Secure the Northern Border," spread out on the table.

Upon seeing Duan Hui enter, Li Chengliang raised his eyelids, a subtle, enigmatic smile on his face.

That smile was a mixture of smugness, exhilaration, and a hint of deliberately suppressed boasting.

Li Chengliang picked up the teacup on the table. Because of the hasty preparation, there was no tea in the teacup. Li Chengliang pretended to blow away the tea foam and took a sip.

"Commander Duan has arrived," Li Chengliang said, setting down his teacup with a deliberately relaxed tone. "Please sit down. It's nothing major, just the Ministry of War's document regarding the 'Five Cities Agreement.' I presume you've already read it, Commander Duan?"

really!

Duan Hui knew it was bound to happen eventually.

His expression remained calm and composed: "Reporting to the Deputy Protector-General, I have indeed reviewed it. This proposal is far-sighted and hits the nail on the head; it is truly an excellent strategy for stabilizing the northern border. The Ministry of War has ordered the Protectorate to discuss the detailed implementation rules, and I am currently working on them."

"Hmm, not bad, indeed a good strategy." Li Chengliang nodded, tapping his finger on the copy of the memorial on the table, his gaze fixed intently on Duan Hui. "What does Commander Duan think of the judgment of the person who submitted this memorial?"

Duan Hui felt as if he had eaten shit. He cursed the Ministry of War officials in his heart for being incompetent and lazy. These Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) couldn't even come up with a brilliant strategy for the Northeast, and Li Rusong, a military student, stole the limelight.

Duan Hui cupped his hands and said:

"Congratulations to the Deputy Protector-General on having such a promising young talent! With such a strategic plan, his future is limitless!"

"Hahaha!" Li Chengliang finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, his laughter filled with delight:

"Commander Duan, you flatter me! My son has grown too big for his britches and dares to submit a memorial to the emperor behind my back! When I first heard about it, I was so angry I almost fainted! How could a mere brat like him dare to discuss such important military and national affairs? He is simply ignorant of his own limitations!"

(End of this chapter)