The prey that was surrounded had no way to escape. They could only run back and forth within the fixed encirclement. After a large number of arrows were shot, some of these prey were shot, and some of them took the opportunity to break out of the encirclement.
"Let's see what good things we've hunted."
Li An urged his horse forward excitedly. He wanted to see what species the prey was. The bushes nearby were too tall, so he really couldn't see the prey's true appearance. He could only see it when he got closer.
"Assistant Minister Li, it's a group of rabbits. We've hunted three in total, and the rest have run away."
A soldier dismounted from his horse and carried over the three rabbits they had hunted.
Ang Lee looked at the rabbits and said, "These rabbits are big enough. They're much bigger than the rabbits of the Tang dynasty."
These were rainforest rabbits, a breed of rabbit that was larger than domestic rabbits. This kind of rabbit had more meat and was more suitable for eating.
"These rabbits are really big! They don't look like rabbits anymore. "
Zhao Yafu said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "You're right. These rabbits are really strange. It's not wrong to call them rabbits, but it's also not right to call them rainforest rabbits."
Ang Lee didn't know whether rainforest rabbits existed in the world. However, there were rabbits in the tropical rainforest, so there was definitely no problem. At least, these were real rabbits. The food resources in the tropical rainforest were extremely rich. It was very suitable for the survival and growth of rabbits. For rabbits, they could reproduce quickly in the tropical rainforest.
Perhaps because the vegetation in the tropical rainforest was too rich, rabbits could enjoy it to their heart's content. Therefore, the rabbits became bigger and bigger. They were much bigger than ordinary rabbits, but only two or three times bigger than the rabbits of the Tang dynasty.
"Pack up the rabbits. Let's continue hunting."
Ang Lee looked at his subordinates and said.
After saying that, Li An continued to go deeper into the rainforest, preparing to continue looking for prey. If he didn't have a sufficient harvest on this hunting trip, wouldn't it be a wasted trip? At the very least, he had to hunt a few big animals.
Through the recent patrols of the soldiers within a hundred miles, Ang Lee had a rough idea of the basic prey situation within a hundred miles. Because this area was a tropical rainforest, the prey resources were very rich. There were all kinds of prey, even large prey. However, large prey were easy to hunt, so there were not many of them. Most of them were hidden in the densest areas of trees. It was not easy to find them. It depended on luck.
It was said that within a radius of a hundred miles, there was a terrifying species like the forest tiger. The tiger was the king of the forest, and its fighting strength was not ordinary. If someone was discovered by the tiger in the forest, they might lose their life. However, if they entered the forest in a group and had excellent weapons, they could hunt the tiger. Although the tiger was strong, it was still far from being as smart as humans. As long as a person had a weapon, they would have the strength to defeat the tiger.
Ang Lee's group of more than ten people had enough weapons to deal with the sudden attack of a tiger. If they really encountered a tiger, it was not a bad thing, but a great thing. Tiger's skin was not cheap. No matter where it was, it was a good thing. In the bandit's nest, tiger's skin was an essential symbol of the mountain king. Under the mountain king's seat was a tiger's skin. If there were more tiger's skin, the mountain king would also wear a tiger's skin.
However, Ang Lee's group did not seem to be very lucky. Along the way, they did not encounter any traces of tigers, not even a tiger's roar.
Along the way, they only encountered a few sika deer which were easily hunted down. After that, they did not encounter any larger prey.
"Assistant Minister Li, the prey in this area are all small prey. The larger prey should be hidden in the forest, but the forest is too dense for us to enter on horseback."
A guard saw that Ang Lee was complaining about the lack of prey and said.
Li An nodded and said, "I know. Let's forget about it for today. We'll gather more people to hunt in the forest some other day. There are too many plants in the forest and it's not safe. We'll need at least 50 people."
In the areas with the most lush vegetation, there were too many hidden dangerous creatures. Without sufficient preparation, it was not easy to enter in order to avoid unpredictable dangers. Especially with Zhao Yafu, Ang Lee did not dare to enter the forest easily. He could only hunt some small animals in the areas where the vegetation was not too dense.
The hunt lasted for more than two hours, and they had hunted enough prey. Ang Lee decided to stop hunting and prepare to make lunch. After lunch, they would go back.
In these more than two hours of hunting, they had obtained three large rabbits, three sika deer, six pheasants, and some unknown prey, but they could definitely be food.
In a more open area of the rainforest, Ang Lee and the others prepared simple cooking utensils. There was a clear stream next to it. Cooking could not be done without water. Placing the cooking area next to the water was undoubtedly the best choice.
For cooking in the wild, the simplest way was to have a picnic. Make a bonfire, clean the prey, and place it on the bonfire. They only needed to turn it over and roast it to obtain the simplest and most delicious food. Of course, when roasting, they also needed to put some seasoning on the meat. In this way, the delicious food was even more fragrant.
Li An had been out all year round, so he was naturally very familiar with making barbecued food. No matter what kind of prey it was, Li An would be able to make it into very delicious food.
There were five or six types of prey in front of them. Ang Lee and his subordinates roasted the meat together. Ang Lee personally roasted the rabbit meat. These rabbits were different from the rabbits they had encountered before, which aroused Ang Lee's curiosity.
According to Ang Lee's knowledge, there were many types of rabbits, but Ang Lee had not seen many types of rabbits. There were mainly Mongolian rabbits, northeastern rabbits, highland rabbits, southern rabbits, and the most common domestic rabbits. He was not too sure about the rabbits in the rainforest.
Mongolian rabbits were also known as prairie rabbits or jumping cats. They were of medium size, about forty to fifty centimeters long, and their tails were about nine centimeters long. They generally weighed more than two kilograms. Their ears were relatively long, with narrow black tips that were folded forward past the tip of the nose. The hair at the tip of the tail was slightly equal to the length of the hind legs. The back of the whole body was sandy yellow, mixed with black, and the head was darker. On the cheeks on both sides of the nose, there was a round light colored hair circle, and there was a narrow white ring around the eyes. There was sparse white hair on the inside of the ears, and the belly of the tail was pure white. The fur of the winter was long and fluffy, with slender white needle hairs that extended out of the fur. The fur of the summer was slightly darker, light brown. They lived in plains, grassland, hillside shrubs, hilly plains, farmland, and nursery. Their habitat often moved due to different seasons and changes in food conditions. They generally did not have a fixed cave. During the day, they often dug temporary nests in more hidden places. They fed on grass, twigs, bark, vegetables, grains, beans, and other crops. They were distributed in the northern and northeastern regions of the Tang dynasty.
As for the northeastern rabbits, they could also be called grass rabbits, mountain rabbits, black rabbits, and mountain hoppers. This type of rabbit was relatively large, with short ears that could not reach the nose when folded forward. Its tail was relatively short, and its head and back of the body were brownish black, with long black hair and light brown hair alternating. Its sides were lighter, with less black needle hair. Its head was darker, and its neck was yellowish brown. The back of the tail was blackish gray, and its belly was gray. Sometimes, there were also individual variations that were entirely black and brown. They mainly lived in mixed coniferous forests, but also moved in plains, grassland, river valley shrubs, and other places. They generally did not have a fixed nest. They only had a certain residence when they gave birth. During the day, they lived in bushes, weeds, or under tree roots, and came out to hunt at night. They mainly fed on bark, twigs, and herbs. They were distributed in the northeastern regions of the Tang Empire.
Speaking of highland rabbits, they could also be called gray-tailed rabbits or long-haired rabbits. This type of rabbit was relatively large, with long and fluffy hair. Its ears were longer than ordinary rabbits, and when folded forward, it obviously exceeded the nose. Its back was dark yellowish gray, and its fur was thin and slightly wavy. Its buttocks were full of gray fine fur, darker in the center and lighter on the sides. Its head, especially the center of the nose, was darker, and its cheeks and the area around the eyes were lighter. The back of the neck was light brownish gray, and the neck and belly were yellowish gray. The belly hair was pure white. The forelimbs were very light brownish yellow, the outside of the hind limbs were brown, and the dorsum of the feet was white. There was a very narrow dark gray area on the back of the tail, and the sides of the tail were white with gray hair bases. They generally lived in alpine meadows and grassland areas at higher altitudes. They did not have a fixed cave. During the day, they often moved in the grass and ate plant food. They were mainly distributed in the western and southwestern regions of the Tang Empire. There were also a large number of them in Nanzhao.
As for the Huanan rabbit, it could also be called a short-eared rabbit or coarse-haired rabbit. This type of rabbit was relatively small, and its ears were relatively short. When folded forward, they did not reach the nose. Its tail was also short, less than half the length of its hind legs. Its limbs were relatively thin, and its whole body was dark yellowish brown, mixed with long black needle hairs. Its forehead and face were lighter, and there was a light area on each side of the nose, extending back to the base of the ears. There were long black needle hairs on both sides of the ears, and the edges of the ears were lighter. The outer side of the limbs was yellowish brown, the back of the tail was yellowish brown, and the ventral surface of the tail was light yellow. It lived on the hillside bushes, weeds, graveyards, and other places near farmland. It was active day and night, and did not have a fixed cave. It fed on the green parts of herbs, saplings, and young leaves, especially wheat seedlings, bean seedlings, and vegetables. It was distributed in the southern and southeastern coastal areas of the Tang Empire.
As for the last type of rabbit, it was the most familiar. The individual variation of the rabbit was very large. Generally, the head and ears were shorter than that of the wild rabbit, and the same was true for its hind legs. There were also many variations in the color of its fur. Usually, it was pure white, and the tips of its ears were not black. It fed on vegetables, grains, fruits, and grass. It was raised in most areas of the Tang Empire.
Rabbit meat was also meat, so it naturally belonged to the category of meat dishes. However, because rabbit meat was high in protein, low in fat, and low in cholesterol, and the content of fat and cholesterol was lower than that of all meat, there was a saying that it was the element of meat. Eating rabbit meat could get the taste of meat dishes, but at the same time, it also had the effect of eating raw materials to maintain the body. Therefore, in many areas, rabbit meat could also be called beauty meat. It was favored by young women and often eaten as beauty food.
The nutritional content of rabbit meat determined that eating rabbit meat was not easy to make people fat. It was the ideal meat to lose weight. To be more specific, rabbit meat had twice the protein of pork, but the fat was only one-sixteenth of pork and one-fifth of beef.
In addition, rabbit meat was rich in lecithin, which was indispensable for the development of the brain and other organs. It had the effect of strengthening the brain and improving intelligence. Eating rabbit meat often could protect the blood vessel wall and prevent the formation of thrombosis. It was good for patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. It could also strengthen the body and strengthen the muscles. It could also protect the activity of skin cells and maintain the elasticity of the skin. The fat and cholesterol in rabbit meat was lower than that of all other meats, and the fat was mostly unsaturated fatty acids. Eating rabbit meat often could strengthen the body, but it would not make people fat. It was the ideal meat for obese patients. Eating rabbit meat often could keep the body slim. Eating rabbit meat often had the effect of dispelling diseases and strengthening the body. Therefore, some people called rabbit meat health meat. It was said that rabbit meat contained a variety of vitamins and eight kinds of essential amino acids for the human body. It also contained more lysine and tryptophan that the human body was most vulnerable to lack. Therefore, eating rabbit meat often prevented the deposition of harmful substances, allowed children to grow healthily, and helped the elderly to live longer. It was really a rare food.
Of course, rabbit meat was different from pork. There were still more taboos to eating rabbit meat. Eating rabbit meat together with many other foods would cause serious consequences.
For example, using rabbit meat and oranges together would cause diarrhea because oranges were hot and rabbit meat was sour and cold. If the two were used together, it would cause a violent reaction, which would cause gastrointestinal dysfunction, and then lead to serious consequences of diarrhea.
In addition, rabbit meat and mustard, eggs, ginger, celery, and other foods could not be eaten together. Otherwise, it would cause serious gastrointestinal problems and cause pain to oneself.
There were too many dishes that could be made from rabbit meat, but in the forest, the conditions were too simple. Therefore, there was no condition to make rabbit meat food. Ang Lee could only choose the simplest barbecue rabbit meat. He put the cleaned rabbit meat on a bamboo stick and then put the bamboo stick on the bonfire to roast. From time to time, he turned the barbecue meat to prevent the meat from being burned. If it was burned, it would not be delicious.
In order to save physical strength, two small temporary stands were made on both sides of the bonfire. Then, the bamboo sticks used to pierce the rabbit meat could be placed on the two small stands. In this way, it would be very easy to flip the rabbit meat, and the need for arm strength would be minimized.
"Come, put some seasoning on it."
Ang Lee used a dagger to make a cut on the rabbit meat. Then, he sprinkled the seasoning that had already been prepared on these cuts evenly and turned it gently. Although some fell to the ground, this was inevitable.
"It smells so good!"
Not long after the seasoning was sprinkled, the rabbit meat exuded an intoxicating meat fragrance that smelled particularly comfortable.
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