Naturally, Ang Lee would not agree to let the young imperial grandsons catch pheasants. It was too dangerous. If something happened, he would not be able to explain it to the imperial court. After all, the status of the imperial grandsons was too high. They were destined to not be able to hunt in the wild like the sons and grandsons of ordinary people.
It should be known that in many hunter families, boys around the age of ten could follow their elders to the wild to learn hunting experience. That kind of life experience was very happy and exciting. The children of the imperial family were destined to not be able to experience it. Even when they reached a certain age, it was still under the protection of many guards and not with good companions. The feeling was definitely different. There was a feeling of being imprisoned. This could be considered the sorrow of the imperial family.
Life was about experience. Only a life rich in experience and experience was a wonderful life. Only then would one be a winner in life. If a person at a different age could not experience the joy of this age, then his life would be sad, incomplete, and worthy of sympathy.
At this time, Li An sympathized with these imperial grandsons. They lived in cages all day and had almost no freedom when they went out. It was really a bit painful. However, the heavens were fair. Since they had already given you a life of luxury, they would not give you freedom anymore. Otherwise, if all the benefits were to be taken by you, how would others live?
Since the imperial grandsons had enjoyed a life of luxury, they had to pay the price for it. Being restricted in freedom was one of the prices. At the same time, if there was a palace coup, these people would most likely die under the blade of a sword.
For example, the change in Xuanwu Gate. Originally, it was a fight between Li Shimin and his brothers. However, the sons of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were also killed by the sword. When these children were dying, perhaps they did not know what they had done wrong and were killed by the sword for no reason.
Liu Ziluan of the Southern Dynasty even said, "I hope that I will not be reborn in the imperial family in my next life." Many members of the imperial family in later generations often mocked themselves with this sentence, especially many frustrated and suppressed princes. They often thought of this sentence. Probably, when the sons of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were on the verge of death, they also had such feelings!
In later generations, many people valued living conditions the most. Those who were rich and had good living conditions had a great advantage in all aspects. The poor people's lives were very difficult. However, if the rich did not have freedom, then there was no meaning. Life would be very painful. It was the same for humans.
For example, the wild boar in the wild lived in an extremely harsh environment. They had to work hard to find food and could be attacked by wild beasts at any time. However, the domestic pigs raised in large farms were different. Every day, there would be keepers to feed them on time. The living environment was very clean and tidy. Every day, there would be people to bathe them with a water gun. They even played some soothing music for them to listen to, allowing them to live comfortably and contently. They grew white and fat, and their lives were very comfortable. However, in the end, they were sent to the slaughterhouse to end their lives. These domestic pigs did not have any life experience other than eating and sleeping. Then, they were slaughtered. How miserable their lives must be.
Sometimes, Ang Lee would feel that these imperial grandsons who were raised in captivity were not much different from the big white pigs in the large farms. They all lived like princes and did not have much freedom. They all received meticulous care.
The difference was that the big white pigs would inevitably be slaughtered. As long as there was no bloody coup, the imperial grandsons were likely to survive. A few lucky ones could even become the next emperor.
No matter how much sympathy he had in his heart, the reality did not allow Ang Lee to be willful. He had to ensure the safety of these imperial grandsons. He could not let them get hurt. Otherwise, some one-track minded ministers would definitely impeach him to death. In this way, Ang Lee would have to suffer.
"Sir, what important task do we have?"
Although Li Shi's seniority was lower than the other imperial grandsons, he was the eldest grandson. Therefore, his status was higher than others. In addition, his father, Li Yu, was here. Therefore, he naturally became the leader of this group of children. If there was any question, he would be the first to ask.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Don't you want to drink chicken soup? You have to know that chicken soup is not just made with pheasants. It also needs a lot of ingredients to make it fragrant. Some of the ingredients need to be fresh. There are a lot of them in the grass here. You have to dig them up yourself."
After that, he led the imperial grandsons to look for the ingredients such as angelica.
Although there were many kinds of precious herbs in the grass of Mount Li, they could not be found by squatting down casually. Sometimes, it would take a long time to find an angelica plant.
"Be careful, don't fall."
Because the road was not smooth, if they were not careful when walking, it was very likely that they would fall. Ang Lee had to remind them.
"Angelica, I finally found one."
Ang Lee led the imperial grandsons to search for a long time before finding an angelica plant. He gently used the tools in his hand to collect it.
"You see it! This is Angelica. It's a necessary ingredient for us to make chicken soup. Look carefully. Then, everyone go and look for it. Look carefully. "
Ang Lee took out the angelica plant he had collected and let the imperial grandsons observe it carefully. Until all the imperial grandsons looked at it several times, he let them split up to collect it.
Of course, each imperial grandson had an attendant and two guards with him. It could be regarded as a group of four. In this way, the probability of finding an angelica plant was greatly increased. They could collect enough ingredients for the stew as soon as possible.
"Sir, I've collected one."
Li Shi had just walked a few steps when he dug up a plant by himself. He ran to Ang Lee excitedly, wanting to take credit.
Ang Lee glanced at it casually and took out the angelica plant in his hand to compare. He said with a smile, "Shi 'er, look carefully. Is that angelica in your hand? It's not angelica! Haha! "
"Sir, if this is not angelica, what is this?"
Li Shi asked curiously.
Ang Lee looked carefully and said, "Shi 'er! This is Qianhu, also a Chinese herb. It looks similar to angelica, so it's easy to mistake it. However, if you look carefully, you can still find the difference. "
"Oh, it's Qianhu! Got it. "
Li Shi gently threw away Qianhu, and then continued to look for angelica.
In fact, Qianhu was also a very good Chinese herb. Its main functions were to relieve fever, dispel phlegm, and treat colds, coughs, bronchitis, and other diseases. However, Ang Lee wanted angelica. If he changed the ingredients casually, it was likely to change the taste of the chicken soup. Therefore, he still had to find angelica.
"Father, I found a lot of wild garlic."
Tang Er quickly ran over with a large handful of wild garlic in his hand and handed it to Ang Lee.
"Tang Er, father asked you to find angelica. Why are you digging wild garlic?"
Ang Lee asked curiously.
Tang Er looked at Ang Lee naughtily and said with a smile, "Father, isn't wild garlic edible? When I drank the chicken soup yesterday, I ate garlic. If you use wild garlic, the taste will be better!"
After that, he ran away naughtily.
Ang Lee thought about it and agreed. Wild garlic was similar to garlic. It didn't matter if they were replaced. As long as the ingredients such as angelica and pheasant remained unchanged, the taste would not be much of a problem.
The search continued. From time to time, a royal grandson would run over and hand over the harvest in his hands to Li An. Some of them dug up real Angelica, but some of them were like Li Shi and mistook other plants for Angelica. After all, these royal grandchildren usually did not come into contact with too many herbaceous plants, so it was normal for them not to recognize these plants. Li An would not blame them.
The nearby terrain was undulating. There were a lot of protruding stones and bush roots. If they were not careful, there was still a great possibility of falling. Ang Lee prepared protective gear for the grandchildren in order to prevent them from falling on his hands.
This invention eventually proved to be very important. In the process of searching for the Angelica, several imperial grandsons fell down. However, due to the protective effect of the protective gear, none of these imperial grandsons were injured. At most, their clothes were a little dirty. As long as they were fine, it was fine.
After searching for a while, Ang Lee got a total of six angelica plants. None of the guards who went out to hunt pheasants returned. It could be seen that it was not so easy to hunt pheasants. Pheasants were animals and would run around, but angelica was a plant. As long as one observed carefully, they could always find that there was an essential difference between the two.
"You are all tired. Then take a rest!"
Ang Lee saw that the grandchildren were tired after being busy for a while, so he let them rest. Everyone quietly waited for the guards to bring back the pheasants.
"Sir, they have been out for so long. Why haven't they brought back any pheasants? When can we drink the chicken soup?"
Li Shi could not help but ask.
Ang Lee also felt that it was not a good idea to keep waiting, so he looked at the remaining half of the guards and said, "As the saying goes, when there is a great reward, there will be brave men. From now on, whoever can bring back a pheasant will be rewarded with two strings of money."
"Assistant Minister Li, will it be dangerous for us to go hunting?"
The captain of the guards was not greedy for the reward. If something happened to the grandchildren, not to mention the two strings of money, he might even lose his life.
"Don't be afraid. The personal guards of Gwangbyeong Of Gojoseon stay here. They are enough to protect everyone. Go and come back quickly."
Ang Lee ordered.
The guard nodded and let everyone go hunting, but he himself was unwilling to leave. If he didn't personally look after these imperial grandsons, he wouldn't feel at ease, and Li An wouldn't force him.
"Sir, isn't angelica a medicinal material? Why are you using it to cook?"
Li Shi asked.
"As the saying goes, medicine and food come from the same source. Medicine is food, and food is medicine. There is not much difference between the two. It is just that food can be eaten every day, but medicine cannot be eaten often."
Ang Lee explained.
In many eras, many of the staple foods that people ate were medicinal herbs. However, in the era of abundant resources, these had become the food of ordinary people. Therefore, there was not much difference between medicinal herbs and food. They were all for the sake of healthy growth.
However, some medicinal materials in the past could be eaten as rice, but angelica could not be eaten as rice. At most, it could be used as an ingredient in dishes. For example, angelica was added as an ingredient in chicken soup to squeeze out the herbal flavor. At the same time, it was also for the health of the human body.
As a medicinal herb, the main effect of Angelica was to nourish the blood and promote blood circulation, regulate menstruation and relieve pain, and moisten the intestines. It was a relatively mild medicinal herb and a relatively common medicinal herb. Many people should have heard of its name.
"Assistant Minister Li, we didn't find any pheasants. We shot two pigeons."
A guard returned and placed the two dead pigeons in front of Ang Lee.
"Father, pigeon meat is also very delicious."
Tang Er often ate pigeon meat, so he naturally knew how delicious it was.
In the daily life of later generations, the most common poultry food that people ate were definitely chicken and duck. In addition, quail and geese were also relatively common. As for pigeons, they were no stranger to them.
However, relatively speaking, the price of chickens and ducks was the cheapest, and people ate them the most. The price of geese and quail was slightly higher, and ordinary people ate less of them. As for pigeon meat, it was even more expensive, and fewer people ate it. In terms of nutritional value, pigeon meat was undoubtedly the most nutritious, far surpassing the nutritional value of chickens and ducks.
"Alright! Since we didn't find any pheasants for the time being, let's make some squab pigeon soup first! Come, clean up the pigeons. "
Ang Lee said.
It was almost noon and many of the imperial grandchildren were hungry. It was time to make some snacks for them to fill their stomachs. Even if it was just a mouthful of soup, it would be good.
The preparation of squab pigeon soup was similar to that of pheasant soup. The most basic ingredients were the same, which was the main ingredient and angelica. In addition, various spices needed to be added, such as ginger slices, green onions, red dates, wolfberries, angelica, mulberries, poria, lotus rice, ganoderma, and so on. They were all placed in a pot and stewed.
After the guards processed the pigeon meat, Li An personally went into the kitchen to prepare the delicacies for the imperial grandsons. The location of the delicacies was a piece of grass, and all the necessary ingredients were prepared.
Ang Lee first boiled a pot of water and rolled the pigeon meat in it a few times to remove the blood and dirt on the meat. Then, he took it out and washed it with water.
The second step was to pour water into the pot again and add ginger slices, green onions, wolfberries, red dates, angelica, ganoderma, and other ingredients. After the water boiled, he put the washed pigeon meat in and stewed it on low heat for about half an hour. It was almost ready to be served.
In order to let the pigeon meat be cooked earlier, there was a small technique during the cooking process. That was to use chopsticks to gently poke a few small holes on the body of the pigeon meat. This way, the pigeon meat would have better contact with the soup and be cooked earlier.
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