The servants of the Yang family brought this cake, golden and crispy, charred on the outside and tender on the inside, neither the popular soup cake in the Central Plains (in fact, it is pimple soup), nor the pancake "invented" by Xun, it is clearly baked, and there are a lot of black particles sprinkled on the cake surface.

Yang Fu looked at this cake when he saw it, but when he hadn't seen it, he stretched out his hand and pointed out: "This cake is also, the one who is decorated on it, and the flax is also." ”

It's Xunxin who said that I don't read much, don't fool me, this is clearly naan, what kind of flax, it's clearly sesame. However, it is estimated that the scientific names of the two things in this year are probably "Hu Cake" and "Hu Ma", which were passed on to Hu Di in the Western Regions, so they were named.

According to the reading of ancient books by the previous life of Shi Xun, whether it is Hu cake or flax, it should have been introduced to the Central Plains after Zhang Qian's passage to the Western Regions, and it may not have been passed on at that time, but by the end of the Han Dynasty, there should have been no matter what. However, he rarely saw Hu cakes in Xudu and Anyi, probably because they did not conform to the eating habits of the scholars of this year, so they were not widely spread. As for flax...... Sesame seeds, since Shixun learned the art of oil extraction, he has been looking everywhere - vegetable oil and soybean oil always have a fishy smell, which can be compared to sesame oil to get a fragrance. However, although sesame seeds entered the Central Plains early, the planting range is still relatively small, and the use of oil extraction technology is not extensive, mainly used such as spices and medicinal materials, at most you can find a few handfuls, used to extract oil, I don't know if there are enough two or three drops......

I don't want to see these two things in Yunwu City today, it's a surprise.

When "the next is to tear the Hu cake to eat, accompanied by thin wine, there is milk and salt in the cake, and there is no need for other side dishes, it is very sweet. Wait until you're done. Then lick the sesame seeds off the palm of your hand. couldn't help but raise his head and ask Yang Fu: "Is this cake popular in Jincheng?" Or is there flax as a plant? ”

Yang Fu shook his head. It is said that this kind of hu cake is fresh, and it is not widely popular, as for the flax, it is not planted, and it is sold from other places. So he told Sù Shixun, saying that he had a good relationship with Zhang Liao, the general under Lu Bu, and that not long ago Zhang Wenyuan captured Jiuquan County and got a Hu kitchen from the county government. and flax and other spices in the Western Regions, sent people to Jincheng as gifts. I will come out today, especially for the waiter.

It is Xun who said that it is a pity, it is only a few dozen, if General Lu reopens the capital of the Western Regions, when the time comes, it will be much easier to get this exotic and special thing.

When it came to the issue of the Western Regions, Jiang Xu suddenly turned on a straight face, and asked Shixun sternly: "Duke Wei sent a letter to General Lu at that time. Induce the Western Regions to protect the affairs. General Lu and our clouds are willing to serve the far side. At the beginning, there are also suggestions in the service, and there are any? "Did you incite Lu Bu to go to the Western Regions?

Shixun nodded: "This is true." ”

Jiang Xu bowed slightly: "I know that this plan is to make General Lu focus on the west and not to the east, and it is not a long-term plan for the court." Far away, it is difficult to defend, it is a pity to abandon it, and the battle is endless. The world will eventually be unified, Liangzhou is not a king, and the death of Liangzhou is to kill the wheel, this labor and money is also, the former Xiaowu Emperor because of his own guilt. The car ahead can be learned, and think twice in the service. ”

In the current situation, it is a clever plan for you to direct Lu Bu's attention to the Western Regions so as not to cause trouble to the imperial court. But at the same time, we must also take into account that in the future, it will be easy to start the war, and it will be difficult to end it, and when the world is settled and Liangzhou is completely subordinated to the imperial court, it is necessary to cut off contacts with the Western Regions, so as not to waste people's wealth and industrious civil service, but to put an unnecessary heavy burden on the country. I think that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was because he had conquered the Xiongnu for a long time, subdued the Western Regions, and exhausted his finances, so in his later years, he issued the "Luntai Guilty Edict" and comprehensively shrank the defense line. We can't wait until the car is in the abyss before we hastily pull back the horse.

When Xun heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing. Jiang Xu saw that he had this reaction, and hurriedly apologized: "The waiter has already made a calculation, so there is no need to talk nonsense." "You already have a plan to terminate the operation of the Western Regions, but I'm too worried.

In fact, what Xun was thinking in his heart was: The so-called Liangzhou sergeant is nothing more than Er'er, and the vision of the scholar doctor in these years is really short-sighted. Forget it, everyone is chatting happily, and in the future, Liangzhou's policy still needs this vote of the head snake to be in charge, so I might as well take this opportunity to teach them a good lesson. Raise your glass and take a sip of wine, moisten your throat, and start reciting -

"By the value of the text, Jing Xuanmo, the fifth generation of Yangmin, the world is rich, the financial resources are surplus, and the horses are strong. Therefore, you can see the rhino cloth and tortoiseshell to build the seven counties of the Pearl Cliff, and the wolfberry sauce and bamboo cane are to open the Ke and Yueshan, and to smell the Tianma and Pu Tao are to pass Dawan and rest in peace. Since then, the treasures of pearls, Wenjia, rhinos, and green feathers are in the harem, thin tips, dragon texts, fish eyes, and sweat and blood horses are filled in the Yellow Gate, and giant elephants, masters, fierce dogs, and big sparrows are eaten outside. Strange foreign objects, coming from all sides.

So open the forest widely, wear the Kunming Pool, camp the palace of thousands of households, set up the platform of the gods through the sky, build the tent of A and B, fall with the beads and Bi, the Son of Heaven bears the clothes, attacks the cui quilt, Feng Yuji, and is in it. Set up a wine pond meat forest to feast on the guests of the four yi, and make a play of Bayu Dulu, Dangji in the sea, diffuse fish and dragon, and horn to watch it. and bribes and bequests, thousands of miles of service, the cost of division and travel, incalculable. As for the insufficiency, it is to drink wine, to manage salt and iron, to cast platinum, to make leather coins, to count the chariots and ships, and to rent and six animals. The people's strength is bent, the financial resources are exhausted, so it is a fierce year, the robbers and robbers rise, the road is not passable, and the direct point is to make the beginning out, the clothes are embroidered with canes and axes, cut off in the county, and then win.

"It is not a repentance of benevolence and sainthood to abandon the land of Luntai in the last years and issue an edict of mourning! And through the Western Regions, there are dragons near the pile, and there are green mountains in the distance, with body heat, headaches, and the misfortune of the county. Huainan, Duqin, and Yangxiong all think that this heaven and earth are all divided into regions, and they are absolutely outside and inside. The book says, "Xirong is the order", Yu is the order, and the non-prestige is the tribute.

"The countries of the Western Regions, each with its own monarch, the soldiers are weak, there is no unity, although they belong to the Xiongnu, they are not attached to each other. The Xiongnu can get their horses and livestock, but they can't lead them to advance and retreat. Isolated from the Han Dynasty, the road is far away, it is not beneficial to gain it, and it is not harmful to abandon it. Sidley is in me, and there is nothing to be taken from ......"

This large passage is from Bangu's "Book of Han. The biography of the Western Regions", the general meaning is similar to what Jiang Xu said just now, saying that the kind of distant foreign land, "gain is not beneficial, abandon is not harmful", Emperor Wu forced to collude, and as a result, "the people's strength is bent, and the financial resources are exhausted", and in his later years he was forced to issue "Luntai's guilty edict", "Isn't it the repentance of benevolence and sainthood".

Yan Xing didn't read much, and he was a little confused when he listened. Yang Fu and Jiang Xuzhi are all Xizhou sergeants, the family is large, the land is rich in gold, there must be a lot of books, and the ambition is vast, and the history is more than the scriptures, and the classic works such as "Hanshu" are also all read through. When they listened to it, they couldn't help but smile, and thought that it was Xun who wanted to say: Ren Bangu has already explained the truth, will I not understand? Am I reading less books than you?

Who would have thought that he had just finished memorizing the classics, but Shi Xun's face suddenly sank, and he changed the conversation: "According to this article, it is the leader of the article of Ban Mengjian (Ban Gu), only carved ears, and he can not be tricked with Ma Zichang (Sima Qian)." "Bangu's knowledge is too shallow!

Yang and Jiang both frowned, but after all, these words came from the mouth of the world-famous Shixun, but they didn't dare to ignore it, and they couldn't refute it on the spot. Even Xun is also the leader of today's literary world, he directly stood up and said that Ban Gu's literary talent is not good, and he will laugh and be generous, but he said that Ban Gu is not knowledgeable, so it is debatable - after all, Ban Mengjian is a writer and historian, and he is not a politician, but Xun can barely be honored with this crown.

Jiang Xu hurriedly asked: "We are ugly, please teach us." ”

Yes Xun said, let's start from the beginning: "Emperor Xiaowu of the past recruited Zhang Qian for the Tongyue clan to flank the Xiongnu. Qian went to the age of thirteen and returned, and all the countries in the Yunxi Regions were sick with the violence of the Huns, but they could pass it and cut off their arms. It is to pass through the Western Regions and Tunluntai. With Ban Meng's insistence, the Xiongnu have escaped, and the Western Regions are useless, and the tribute is a foreign object, only filling the inner court, making the Son of Heaven extravagant, and not beneficial to state affairs, it is ...... to stop."

Yang Fu and Jiang Xu nodded again and again, and Yan Xing next to him was ignorant, and he also followed suit, saying that you are right, Ban Gu means this, and we also mean this - the purpose of passing through the Western Regions is to fight the Xiongnu, and when the Xiongnu are not enough to be a big disaster for the Han, there is no point in carrying the burden of the Western Regions.

Shixun shook his head slightly: "Actually, it's not. Distant and faraway countries, there is no such thing as a county...... "it is impossible to directly annex the Western Regions," but it cannot be discarded. Why? To have two. As he spoke, he began to snap his fingers: "First, although the Western Regions are full of mountains and deserts, the oases are enough to establish a country, rich and rich, if there is swallowing, it can threaten the Central Plains, such as the Xiongnu in the past." Dingxi Regions are Anliang Prefecture, Anliang Prefecture is in the middle of the solid pass - east of Yangguan, and there is no danger to the pass, one horse can reach Longguan, and it is not worrying? ”

Whether it was the Xiongnu in the past, or the Xianbei and Khitan in later generations, they could easily control the Western Regions through cavalry expeditions, and obtain financial resources from them, which could threaten the Central Plains. And as soon as you enter Yangguan, until Longshang, there is almost no danger to defend, so the Western Regions are lost, Liangzhou will be in danger, Liangzhou will be mourned, and Guanzhong will be shaken - "With its enemies in Guanzhong and Longshang, how can it be outside the country?" ”

Jiang Xu nodded and said, "I see Chengyuan in the service, but I am afraid that the gains outweigh the losses...... "You do have a point, the Western Regions is a barrier to Liangzhou in terms of politics and military, but the problem is to maintain this barrier, the financial pressure is too great-" It is like a three-year-old child dancing with a blade, but he is afraid of hurting himself before he hurts the enemy. ”

Is Xunxin saying that he dominates such a brilliant Silk Road, what financial pressure are you afraid of? Sure enough, traditional Chinese scholars know that they are like shaving food in the land, and there is no difference between them and ordinary farmers in this respect. It seems that not only do I have to give you a lesson today, but I also have to write an article to systematically expound on foreign trade issues. Dingxi Regions, the protection of the capital, not the source of poverty and weakness in the last years of Emperor Xiaowu......"

So I now make up a fable to explain the matter: "In the past, when Weng was dying, he passed on his son to have 100 acres of fertile land, and there was 100,000 yuan in the cloud. His son didn't know how to grow crops, but he recruited workers day and night, and he had to bury money, and he couldn't do it at the age of three, and his family was surrounded by four walls, so he hated his father. So he sold it to his neighbor, and he got ten thousand, and his neighbor ploughed it and got it, and the price of the grain he received before he was three years old was one hundred thousand dollars. (To be continued......)