The location of the third question was the back kitchen of the imperial kitchen. This was where the imperial kitchen slaughtered the cows and sheep. The entire palace used a lot of it, and there was a lot of livestock being slaughtered every day.
When Lu Dongzan led the Tubo ambassadors to the back kitchen of the imperial kitchen, he saw a hundred sheep and a jar of wine. His eyes narrowed.
These sheep were all adults. Even if Mo Jiazi did not deliberately make things difficult for them, the weight of an adult sheep was not small, not to mention a jar of wine of three catties. If it was highland barley wine from the Tubo highlands, a jar of wine of three catties would not be enough for the Tubo warriors. However, Lu Dongzan knew that these three catties of wine were all hard liquor, and they were all Xie Qianchou from the Village of Tubo. In addition, it was said that the Tang dynasty had banned alcohol, so the value of these wines was probably even higher. In order to kill him, Mo Jiazi did not hesitate to take them out.
"His Majesty has decreed that the solving of the questions begin." Pande said loudly.
This time, the solving of the questions took one day. Li Shimin naturally did not have that much time. He would not go to a dirty place like the back kitchen of the imperial kitchen. Not only did Li Shimin do so, but the civil and military officials did the same. Even Meton did the same.
Lu Dongzan's face suddenly became serious. He waved his hand, and the hundred Tubo ambassadors went up to slaughter the sheep. The entire back kitchen was suddenly filled with blood.
Including Lu Dongzan, everyone was very familiar with this. Slaughtering goats and cows was a necessary skill for every Tibetan warrior. After killing the goats, Lu Dongzan did not stop. Instead, he directly cut off four large goats' legs and threw them into the pot that was already prepared. He then started to cook the meat.
"Eat the meat!"
Very soon, the mutton was cooked. Lu Dongzan shouted and took the lead to eat a large mutton leg. The other Tubo emissaries also imitated him and eagerly ate the mutton. Very soon, two mutton legs were in their stomachs.
"Drink!" Lu Dongzan shouted again.
Immediately, the jar of wine was opened. Immediately, a strong smell of wine assailed the nostrils. Tubo was cold, and the Tubo ambassadors were also wine lovers. They all drank in big mouthfuls.
Soon, Lu Dongzan and the group of Tubo envoys had already finished four big lamb legs and a lot of wine. Pound and the imperial kitchen's imperial chef, Chef Yang, were stunned by their appetite.
"Tubo people can eat so much. One meal is too much!" Pande was stunned. In just a short while, the Tubo ambassadors had each eaten four large sheep legs.
Chef Yang observed carefully and could not help but shake his head, "That's not the case. From what I can see, these Tubo emissaries have not eaten for three days."
Pound suddenly realized that this was probably Lu Dongzan's method to solve the problem. What he didn't expect was that Lu Dongzan's mind was so deep. He had actually thought of a way to solve the problem three days ago. He had starved for three days just to solve the problem today.
The other Tubo ambassadors were not so bad. They were only starving. However, Lu Dongzan had starved himself for three days and still managed to solve the other two problems of Meton's. His wisdom and perseverance were admirable.
"So, Tubo won again?" Pande frowned.
Chef Yang shook his head and said, "No, a person's stomach has a limit. Even if they starved for three days, they can't eat for three days in one go."
"Isn't there still a day?" Pande asked.
"They can't finish a sheep in a day. You have to know that it's all meat. It's not easy to digest. Lu Dongzan's solution is indeed the best, but it's still very difficult to finish a sheep. There's also a jar of strong wine. If they get drunk, they might vomit.
Pande nodded and turned to look at the Tubo ambassadors again. He could not help but have some doubts. He saw that some Tubo ambassadors had already eaten four sheep legs, but they still seemed to feel hungry and wanted to continue cooking.
Chef Yang explained, "Some people are very hungry. Although they have eaten a lot, they still feel hungry. If they keep eating, they might even die."
"Don't eat anymore!"
As expected, after Chef Yang finished speaking, Lu Dongzan suddenly shouted. Under Lu Dongzan's prestige, the Tubo ambassadors resentfully put down the sheep meat in their hands. However, their eyes were still staring at the sheep meat reluctantly.
"From now on, every hour, eat meat and drink wine. Don't eat too much and don't get drunk. The rest of the time, use all your strength to knead the sheep. Do your best to exhaust your strength," Lu Dongzan said solemnly.
"Yes!"
All the Tubo ambassadors shouted in unison.
Soon, the Tubo ambassadors obeyed the order and kept themselves busy. Even Lu Dongzan was no exception. This kind of kneading was a necessary skill for everyone in Tubo. Although Lu Dongzan was a grand minister, he still did it with great ease.
Every Tubo ambassador did their best to exhaust their strength until they were completely exhausted.
"The Tubo ambassadors are trying their best to digest the sheep meat in their stomachs. This way, they can eat more sheep meat." Chef Yang saw Lu Dongzan's intention and could not help but slap the table and praise.
Pande could not help but take a deep look at Lu Dongzan. His heart could not help but become heavy. This person could solve Mo Jiazi's problems consecutively. He was definitely not an ordinary person.
In the Legislative Hall, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were chatting. Meton and Princess Changle were accompanying them. Pande hurried over to report.
"What, Lu Dongzan solved the third problem again?" Li Shimin could not help but exclaim. Starving for three days, eating meat and drinking wine every hour to exhaust his strength and increase his digestion. It could be said that Lu Dongzan's every step was correct. What was even more commendable was that Lu Dongzan had actually found a way to solve the problem three days ago.
Pound glanced at Morton and said, "That's not it. Chef Yang said that Lu Dongzan solved the third question, but he didn't."
Empress Zhangsun did not understand and asked, "Why is that?"
Modun explained, "Because even if Lu Dongzan took all three steps correctly, there is a limit to a human's stomach. I'm afraid that it would be difficult for him to digest this sheep. Perhaps Lu Dongzan could survive, but I'm afraid that more than half of the hundred Tufan envoys would die. This is the slim chance of survival that I mentioned."
"In other words, you knew from the beginning that Lu Dongzan could solve the problem and purposely left him a slim chance of survival?" Princess Changle was tongue-tied. She did not expect that Meton actually intended to let Lu Dongzan go.
Meton nodded and said, "Yes, although Lu Dongzan was behind the ambush of the Firearms Supervisor, the Firearms Supervisor had already killed five thousand Tubo cavalry, including Lu Dongzan's son, Lun Trinling. More than half of the enmity has been avenged. Besides, Lu Dongzan is an envoy. Not killing an envoy is not only a common practice in the Tang dynasty, but also a convention of all countries. Not to mention, Lu Dongzan is also an important figure in the Buddhism's westward journey and the next step of the Tang dynasty's plan. How could he die so easily?"
Li Shiming couldn't help but sigh. Lu Dongzan truly was a top-level strategist, and Modun had calculated every step of Lu Dongzan's. The clash between these two top-level strategists was truly spectacular.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
