October 15, Chang'an University.

Tang Weiming, a bachelor of the Great Qin Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shi of Zhan Shifu, has been in Chang'an for more than a month, and it is the period when he eats meat most frequently and the largest amount of meat in his life.

In the state guesthouse where the Daqin mission stayed, the breakfast that the Qi people prepared for the members of the mission was usually eggs, cold beef, bacon - a smoked pork product from the West, a large glass (or several cups) of milk with sugar, of course, if you don't like this drink, there are also various teas - well, most of them are tea leaves from my Daqin, as well as rice porridge, biscuits, fried dough sticks, meat buns with foot filling, and toast.

In the afternoon, the food is more abundant and diverse, in addition to beef, mutton, pork, all kinds of poultry, there are countless fresh and delicious sea fish, all kinds of interesting game that cannot be named, and many seasonal vegetables, which make people see and have a great appetite. After the meal, there are also many fruits and drinks for guests to enjoy.

When it comes to dinner, a variety of drinks will be placed on the table with a wide variety of food, such as wine, sorghum wine, honey wine (sugar cane wine, that is, rum), and rice wine, so that everyone who wants to have a drink has a full choice.

Of course, as a high-ranking official of the Great Qin Imperial Court, Tang Weiming has not enjoyed all kinds of delicious food. However, the food provided by the people of Qi is not as "fresh and elegant" and "small jasper" as the Daqin drinking banquet, and one of the most prominent features is that the amount is large and sufficient, just like the "Kansai Han", all kinds of carefully cooked meat and vegetables are placed on a huge table that can be rotated in the middle in the form of large plates and large bowls, which looks very visually impactful.

You must know that during this period, ploughing cattle was the most important and most important agricultural means of production in Daqin, and they were generally not slaughtered easily and made into various culinary delicacies. Although Great Qin had already controlled Monan, Mobei (but the current situation was already unstable), Qinghai, and the northern frontier of the Western Regions, due to the distance and the inconvenience of transportation, horses, cattle and sheep could not fully supply the Central Plains and Jiangnan, let alone serve them on the table at will and become the food of ordinary people.

Yes, if the Qi State was only entertaining the Great Qin Mission, providing a sufficient amount of beef, mutton, pork and other meat every day to show their wealth, then we in Great Qin could do the same. A large country with a population of tens of millions can also gather some cattle and sheep to entertain guests from afar.

However, according to Yang Shengping, the special envoy of the mission, the deputy assistant of the cabinet and the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and the scholar of the Jinshen Temple, in the territory of Qi, even ordinary people can often eat beef, mutton and pork in their daily lives.

In Qi proper, the average family usually consumes 3-4 taels of meat or fish, as well as sufficient vegetables, grains (or rice), eggs, sugar, tea, and a small amount of alcohol almost every day or two. Moreover, under the promotion of the government, the people of Qi will also consume a large amount of milk every day to fully consume enough nutrients. It can be said that the consumption of meat, eggs, milk, and wine in Qi is quite common, which is the result of a relatively comfortable material life, and cannot be simply attributed to dietary habits.

You must know that during this period, the vast majority of the people of Qin had not yet achieved food and clothing, and in order to satisfy their stomachs, they discovered countless ways to eat sweet potatoes that were introduced to the mainland decades ago, just to solve the single taste of them.

In Qi State, people use sweet potatoes as snacks, roast sweet potatoes, fried potato chips, and occasionally mix rice porridge, and even many farmers in villages will mix sweet potatoes with white radishes as pig feed!

Of course, the high income of the people of Qi is well known. In Hanzhou, a worker's annual income is 50-60 yuan, which is equivalent to 160-190 taels of silver, and over time, those who are more skilled and have more seniority tend to earn more than twice as much.

Anyone who has been to the Qin State will be very surprised to find that although there are still poor people in the Qi State, they cannot see the kind of displaced people who have no food and clothing, let alone beggars who are hungry and cold, and whose faces are yellow and thin. Almost all of them looked ruddy-faced, dressed in long robes, wearing shoes and socks, and they were significantly taller than the Qin people on the mainland.

In terms of wealth, Qi is definitely the richest country in the world, and there is no one.

Qi's economy is developed, not only in terms of industrial production and manufacturing, but also in the development of animal husbandry, which has become one of the pillars of their domestic economy.

Yang Shengping mentioned that 30 years ago, during his study tour in Hanzhou, the number of sheep in Qi had reached more than 20 million (including lambs). Today, the number of sheep in Hanzhou and Dongzhou (present-day New Zealand) is estimated to have exceeded 80 million. As for the number of cattle in the herd, it has increased from more than 6 million to more than 13 million at present. The output value of the entire animal husbandry products (including dairy products) reached more than 38 million yuan.

The livestock industry of Qi mainly has two major incomes, namely wool and meat products. More than 30 years ago (1690), the output of wool in Hanzhou and Dongzhou reached more than 46 million kilograms, and in 1720 it was 340 million kilograms, providing a steady stream of wool raw materials for the woolen industry of Qi, making their woolen products almost monopolize the sales market in the entire Indian Ocean region.

It is said that several food industry research institutes in Qi are developing more practical technologies for the freezing and transportation of meat products, with a view to exporting their abundant beef and mutton products to further countries and regions.

At present, the method used by Qi for frozen food is still the use of ice, which can only be transported over short distances, and cannot cross thousands of miles of sea routes, let alone through the warm Nanyang region all year round.

However, the Qi people, who are good at tricks and tricks, have obtained the method of using air compression to produce a large number of ice cubes, which can also obtain a steady stream of ice cubes in the hot summer, so as to use it for short-distance transportation of seafood and various meat products.

"With such a rich life in the Qi country, it is no wonder that the people of Daqin have tried every means to go to the sea and escape to the territory of the Qi country."

Yang Shengping and his delegation members were invited to visit and visit Chang'an University, and some people couldn't help but feel emotionally moved as they walked around the beautiful and garden-like campus.

"Who in the world would have thought that in the past, the Han continent was a wild land more than 80 years ago. Today, the country of Qi is rich in things, the people are happy, and the national strength is far stronger than my Great Qin! ”

However, although the Qi country is rich and powerful, the people may not be happy. Fang Cai, when talking about education with many professors in Qi State, they actually advocated that students should be barbaric and civilize their physique, and they would like to disagree. When Tang Weiming heard this, he said quite unconvinced: "Barbarism has the suspicion of encouraging the people to fight bravely and ruthlessly, and urging them to breed warlike thoughts, and in the end, there will inevitably be the disaster of ransom by poor soldiers." Looking at the more than 80 years of the establishment of the Qi State in Hanzhou, except for a few years when there were no wars, there were almost three years of small wars, five years of wars, more than 100 kingdoms were swallowed up, and countless natives were slaughtered. You must know that the strength of the Han and Tang Dynasties in the past will eventually be defeated, and in the long run, the Qi country will be in danger and the Han continent will be defeated! ”

When the accompanying Qin officials heard this, they immediately looked at each other.

We are the Great Qin Mission, and we are summoned by His Majesty the Emperor and entrusted by the head of the cabinet to come to Qi to obtain the necessary military and economic support.

You see, the faces of several Qi people who accompanied them turned dark, but they were just confined to hospitality, so they endured it and didn't have a seizure on the spot.

"A few days ago, I visited the Museum of All Nations, and the number of collections on display, the complexity of the classics, and the high value of the museum made people dazzled and amazed to see it." Tang Weiming continued: "But I have a question that has been haunting my heart for a long time. ”

"What questions does Master Tang have?" An accompanying Qi State official asked with a nonchalant face: "If it's okay, but please speak up." I'd like to hear more about it. ”

"One of the things in the museum is owned by your Qi country?"

"Of course, all the items in the collection are ......" The official was about to say disapprovingly, but suddenly realized that the items in the collection that Tang Weiming said were owned by the Qi State, which meant its true source, and immediately glared angrily, "What is the purpose of what Master Tang asked?" ”

"The meaning of my words is naturally to ask, those classics and cultural relics, the way is bright?"

“……”

"Many of these cultural relics are owned by my Great Qin." Tang Weiming looked playfully at the red-faced Qi State official, and said softly: "I think those things should be placed in my Great Qin Pavilion. ”

"When we rescued and protected those cultural relics, we didn't have your Great Qin!" The Qi official said coldly: "At that time, the Qing Dynasty was raging, and Shenzhou was in trouble, not to mention that there was no one to protect these classic cultural relics, even hundreds of millions of people, who would support them?" If it weren't for me, these classics and relics might have been stored in the flames of war? If it weren't for the continuous support of my Great Qi, would your Great Qin be established? In this era of the jungle, if the country is not strong, the people will not stand, and if the people do not stand, there will be no words. Meaningless battle of words and tongues, indication, only to increase laughter! ”

"You ......" Tang Weiming was angry for a while, "Your remarks are domineering, not the way of Confucianism to rule the world with benevolence and righteousness!" ”

"It's domineering or kingly, but it's just a trick. As far as our Daqi is concerned, only by being inclusive, advancing with the times, constantly developing, and making progress can we strive for a better future for the country, more living space for the nation, and more voice for our Chinese civilization. The era of half of the Analects ruling the world has passed. The so-called Confucian sages and moral articles may not be able to adapt to this era! ”