At noon the next day, the Black Pearl had arrived at Chaotianmen Wharf, the main city of Chongqing on the Yuzhong Peninsula in today's Yuzhong District, Chongqing, where the Yangtze River and the Jialing River converge to form a long and narrow peninsula.

Standing at the bow of the ship facing the Chaotianmen Wharf, here only official ships are allowed to moorth, civilian ships are not allowed to moorth, must be far away from the wharf outside the city gate. Fortunately, the whole city is on a peninsula in the shape of a waist knife head surrounded by the Jialing River and the Yangtze River, and there are docks on three sides, and boats can be parked.

The city wall of Chongqing was the capital of Ba in the pre-Qin period at the earliest, and Chengdu was the capital of Shu, so the land of Sichuan was called the land of Bashu. After the Qin State destroyed the Ba State and the Shu State, in 316 BC, in order to consolidate the rule of the Qin Dynasty in the local area, Zhang Yi began to build a city wall in Jiangzhou, the capital of the former Ba State (now the Yuzhong Peninsula in Chongqing). This is the earliest prototype of Chongqing's urban area in history.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongols invaded the south, and Peng Daya built a city according to the topography of the peninsula, basically including the peninsula, and the urban area of Chongqing at this time was basically stabilized, forming the pattern of the ancient city wall of Chongqing. In the fourth year of Hongwu (1371), Dai Ding built a total of 17 city gates symbolizing the "Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams" at the old site of the Yuan Dynasty. Surrounding the Yuzhong Peninsula, close to the river, nearly eight kilometers of city walls have been built, and a total of 17 city gates have been opened, nine are open and eight are closed, a total of 17

In addition, in addition to the main city of Chongqing, there is the ancient city of Jiangbei, which is just north of the Jialing River, in this place of Chongqing, the Jialing River is parallel to the east and west, and the Yangtze River is showing the north-south direction. In this way, there is a Jiangbei city across the Jialing River in the main urban area, and the east and south of the Jiangbei city are the Yangtze River and the Jialing River. The ancient city of Jiangbei is square, with a total of ten city gates.

If the main urban area of Chongqing is compared to a chicken's head, then the only place where the Yuzhong Peninsula is connected to the land is very prominent, and the only exit here is Fotu Pass. The Buddha Tu Guan Bi stands thousands of miles, and it is the throat of the ancient Chongqing land route, and the place where the ancient road of Chengdu and Chongqing must pass.

Historically, anyone who wants to take Chongqing City must first capture Fotu Pass, without exception. Very early, Fotu Pass is an independent castle, made of stacked stones, the city wall is as high as 10 meters, about 5 meters thick, Fotu Pass City Gate four have Yingqing, Tai'an, Shunfeng, Dacheng Gate four, the north and south of the wall are nearly two riversides, take the cliff as a barrier, tall and strong, the pass is triangular, the range is larger, the distance is like a majestic castle, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Twenty miles west of Fotu Pass, there is a steep mountain range, which runs north-south, reaching the Jialing River in the north and the Yangtze River in the south. It is fifty miles long, and there is a passage called Erlang Pass in the middle. It is also a dangerous and majestic fortress and the second protective barrier of Chongqing.

Li Jing looked at the map and explained to Li Weier and Li Yueer that this important town in the southwest was also an important reason for attracting Li Jing.

and the management officials of Chaotianmen went through the handover procedures. After getting off the boat, Li Weier and Li Yueer excitedly pulled Li Jing to find Chongqing hot pot, but they were disappointed, there was no spicy hot pot described by Li Jing, only a boiling pot made by dock workers. It's just a simple wash of some offal and use some simple condiments such as peppercorns, and cook it simply. There's no appetite for it

As for Li Jing's steamed vegetables, spicy hot, boiled fish, mandarin duck hot pot, husband and wife lung slices and other dozens of delicacies, I didn't see them, so angry that the two daughters kicked Li Jing alone.

At this time, a group of children ran by, singing songs and singing songs over and over again. Li Jing has an ex-girlfriend who is a Sichuan girl, although she can't speak Chongqing, she can understand it. So he grabbed the group of children and said, "What are you singing, can you sing it for my brother, and my brother will buy you candy to eat." ”

A group of children shouted, yes, yes, and sang to Li Jing. Li Jing and his second daughter listened carefully, and it turned out that they were singing the ballad of the seventeen city gates of Chongqing.

"Chaotianmen, big wharf, welcome officials and receive saints. Cuiwei door, hanging colored satin, five colors are bright. Thousands of doors, flower buns, snow as white as silver. Hongya Gate, the wide boat opens, killing chickens and worshiping God. Linjiang Gate, manure wharf, fertile field has this. Tai'anmen, Taiping, Jigu Limin. Through the far gate, gongs and drums sounded, and the dead were buried. Golden soup door, wooden coffin, neatly sized. Nanji Gate, vegetable blues, gushing in and out. Phoenix Gate, Sichuan Road Turn, herds of cattle and sheep. Chu Qimen, the medicinal herb gang, cures all diseases. The Golden Purple Gate, just opposite, the Zhentai Yamen. Taiping Gate, the old drum tower, the time is accurate. People and doors, artillery sounded, and the master went out on patrol. Dingyuan Gate, Compare Field Dam, Dance Knife and Stick. Fuxing Gate, running horses, as fast as clouds. East Water Gate, there is a square ancient, opposite, Zhenwu Mountain, carp jumping dragon gate. ”

Li Jing was very happy, this group of children singing ballads was simply a living map, so one of them gave a copper coin in his hand, and the children dispersed happily. Li Jing took his two sisters, four maids, and guards to find a restaurant and restaurant that had been established, ready to taste the food.

Li Jing didn't expect that Sichuan cuisine in this era had not yet taken shape, although there were also stir-fried dishes, but there was no later Sichuan cuisine at all. Chili pepper was planted on a large scale in Chongqing in the fourth year of Kangxi, and it was widely used in Sichuan cuisine in large quantities after Kangxi 27 years later.

But this is not difficult for Li Jing, who let us have the silver, so that Li Bao temporarily found a restaurant to be redeemed in the city near Chaotianmen. The boss's family is from Jiangxi, and he has not made any money in the restaurant here for a few years, three rooms on the street, and three two-story restaurants in the depths, one hundred and fifty taels will be plated down, and the shopkeeper, the cook, and the hall are all retained. The backyard is a two-entry quadrangle, each of which is the main house and the wings on both sides are three, which happens to be used as a temporary residence for everyone. and the boss went to the tooth shop and the yamen to complete the formalities, and this place will be owned by Li Jing.

Li Jing called the biochemical chef and others on the Black Pearl, and scattered all the guys to make a big purchase, and there were various spices such as chili peppers on the yacht. In this era, a lot of spices could be bought in the pharmacies, which were used as medicinal herbs, and fresh live fish could be bought by the riverside, and a slaughtering market was set up, with all kinds of tripe, shutters, and beef (some local Hui people allowed to kill cattle). The slaughterhouse did not want to buy the water, hooves, duck blood, etc. Under the guidance of the biochemical chef, more than a dozen chefs of all sizes in the restaurant started together. Handle the ingredients.

Li Jing asked Li Wei to find a coppersmith, and knocked out ten copper-carbon hot pots with copper skin on the spot, which was the kind of old-fashioned hot pot that was filled with carbon in the middle and water around the perimeter in later generations. And the middle is divided into two to make a clear soup and a spicy mandarin duck pot, the bamboo charcoal produced here is very good, there is no smoke at all, and it is resistant to burning.

The soup is boiling in the kitchen cauldron, and the beef bones that are not wanted in the market. It will be used to make hot pot soup. Frozen tofu is also easy to do, buy saltpeter, directly make ice, this season is the New Year, is the coldest time of the year, ice is easy. After saltpeter is dissolved in water, it absorbs a lot of heat, and dozens of pieces of tofu are placed in a copper basin in the water and soaked in water. After a while, it froze into ice.

Li Wei'er and Li Yue'er's eyes widened in surprise, the little brother can actually make ice artificially, it's amazing. They grew up in the south, and they rarely saw ice and snow, and they generally couldn't stay in the snow, so they melted quickly. Especially watching the tender tofu turn into a porous yellow cheese-like shape in the ice, it is even more curious.

The dozen catties of sesame seeds bought were directly ground into sesame oil and sesame paste, and the garlic paste and pepper oil were also prepared. Of course, the authentic one is dipped in sesame oil.

The beef and mutton bought according to different parts are put into copper basins, frozen, and then the men use carpenter's planers to push mutton rolls and beef rolls, put them on plates, and serve them like water.

After completing the formalities at noon and taking down the restaurant, I worked all afternoon, and finally everything was ready after dark. The restaurant closes its doors and lights up the lanterns. The windows on the second floor open to see the night view of the castle. The interior is brightly lit. The guards and the guys from the restaurant were in the hall on the first floor, and Li Jing, his two sisters, and the four maids opened a separate table on the second floor.

At this time, on the largest table on the second floor, there was a large copper and carbon hot pot with a diameter of two feet in the middle. Li Jing sat on the main seat, the two sisters sat on both sides of him, the four maids sat down, and on the table were tripe, shutters, yellow throat, yuba (already in the Ming Dynasty, and the Compendium of Materia Medica was introduced), oil bean skin, dried tofu (the Tang Dynasty had been transmitted to Japan) and various different parts of beef and mutton. There are not as many vegetables as in later generations, only cabbage, cabbage, pure, white radishes, lotus roots, etc.

Li Jing introduced to everyone how long each ingredient was soaked and how to eat it. Smelling the fragrance of the hot pot and looking at the red and bright oil soup, the six girls couldn't bear to move. Although it is spicy and I can't stop drinking water, I can't stop it. The second daughter Lian said that this time was the most enjoyable time to eat on this trip. Their personalities are spicy, but they are also suitable for this Chongqing hot pot.

There are many restaurants on this street, which is a relatively famous restaurant street, and the competition is also very fierce. Li Jing's hot pot simmered, and the fragrance immediately wafted out, attracting many diners to stop, but seeing that the door on the first floor was closed, they were standing in front of the door and talking.

At this time, a group of strong men wearing batik coats and blue cloth wraps their heads hugged these two sides with wide mouths and gold rings in their ears came to the door. One is a middle-aged man in his forties, and the other is a dark and fat teenager. Smelling the fragrance coming from the inside, I couldn't help but swallow my saliva, and my stomach growled. One of the chubby young men said, "Uncle, why don't we have dinner here?" ”